Hello! My name is Emily and I'm 20, 21 in a couple of weeks.

I've struggled with my weight since I was about eight or nine years old when Burger King came out with Pokemon toys... needless to say, I HAD TO HAVE THEM. Meaning I ate at Burger King about two or three times a week. :P Stupid on my part, but my mind was on my toys, not my weight. That kinda kick started a weight gaining spree until I reached 245lbs at 16 years old. Then, I really kicked it in gear, and by my 19th birthday, I was down to 155lbs.

Then college started, and I was completely on my own when it came to buying food for myself... and since I was a college student, it meant I was poor and therefore had a terrible diet. I'm now about to enter my senior year this fall and currently am up to 195lbs. It's depressing - I can't fit into half my clothes anymore. I had to pull out my 'fat girl' clothes that I had put away into boxes. :/ It's my own fault.

SO, I've been determined to put myself on a healthier diet for a while now with the goal being to get back down to 155, if not lower after that. The thing that triggered the 'I GOTTA DO THIS NOW' thing is that last week, my boyfriend moved down to Florida for college and won't be home to visit until Thanksgiving. I'm gonna miss him, but it'll give me the chance to work hard at losing weight while he's gone. He's not the reason I've decided to get into shape, but he is a contributing factor. I wanna surprise him with it when it comes back to see me. :P Wrong reasons for it? Perhaps, but it's motivation nonetheless. He's always been very kind to me about my weight, insisting I'm fine just the way I am. I appreciate it, but I still wanna change for the better.

At some point, I might put up before/after picture.. but I'm still too insecure about myself to put up a pic right at this moment. xD

Wish me luck though!

(Also, I can't wait 'til I can put a ticker in my signature! o:< I'm looking forward to it, hehe)

I totally get the boyfriend motivation thing hun! When my BF and I first started dating I was at my lowest weight (well that I can remember) of 150, and slowly since then (dating 1 1/2 years) I've ballooned back up to almost 200lbs. It's sad really, I don't blame him at all but I do blame that tendency to 'get comfortable' when in a relationship. He's never said anything about it and I know he loves me unconditionally but I feel like I want to get back in shape for him, because I've let myself fall apart (he's stayed the same since we've met.. funny how that happens lol) He works out of town 1 month out, and then home for 2 weeks. I think a month makes a huge difference so I've been working out and eating well and can't wait to see him in (16 days and counting lol) I think it is a great motivation and helps to keep me on track! I hope it does the same for you, plus you have till Thanksgiving!! You go girl, you will look fabulous, and he'll be so shocked and I'm sure so excited for you! Hang in there, I know how hard it is to be away from the one you love for extended periods but if it helps, it really allowed me to love myself more and find out who I am independently instead of always being the 'couple' and defining yourselves as such. Wishing you the best of luck in this journey! You can do it

LOLOLOLOLOLLLLL!!!! POKEMON!!! Story of my life. =D Not making fun of you I swear!!! I'm a gamer girl too (Nerdy shirt picture on my page <===) and I was fat ever since I was 9 and I too was average weight at 16 then I started hanging out more with said bf at the time and I gained weight slowly because I would eat what ever he did. I went from 169 to 202 in 3 years, then eventually I got tired of that bf and dumped him. (well thats a difference too you have your man. lol) Anyways. Good luck.

Bee optimistic: Thanks! I know what you mean. He just left a few days ago and already I'm finding myself at a loss of what to do. I mean.. I'm bored a lot now - never realized how much my activities involved him. xD Hopefully this'll give me the chance (along with the weightloss) to become a more interesting person with my own hobbies and all that fun stuff. xD Thanks for the luck - best to you as well!

SarRawrNaomi: First off, it took me twice to say your username right. xD I initially read 'Sawwaw', hehehe. Pokemon is awesome. xD I may be a college student, but I shall always partly retain the mentality of a five year old. I wish you best of luck reaching your goals too.
(Also, nice game shirt. xD Favorite titles? o: )

I collect Mario related things. I'm in college as well, going to be a junior this fall. Favorite titles are God of War, Metal Gear Solid, Zelda, Mario, Poke'mon, Kirby, Crash Bandicoot, World of Warcraft (haven't been playing very long) and alot more. I'm kind of a huge nerd.... no pun intended... x]

o: Niiice. I've never played Metal Gear Solid or Crash Bandicoot (and I'm more of a StarCraft fan than WoW :P ) But otherwise, definite thumbs up on your gaming tastes. xD

lol, thanks. I never, ever played StarCraft. So what are you studying for in college?

It's amazingly addicting, 'specially the 2nd one. If you want to retain a social life, I suggest avoiding it. xD

Psychology. People are funny. xD
What about you?

lol, all my friends are either gamers or musicians, pretty sure they have played this game as well, I'd have a life, I'd probably just snack binge and become as big as a house gaming x]

Paralegal studies.

xD Heheh. That's kinda what I did there at the beginning of last semester before I really met any friends in class, haha.

Cool! Though I have to admit, I'm not exactly sure what all that entails. xD

TBH, I have yet to actually take any core classes, I've only have taken 6 college classes, orginally I was going to be a sociology major so I could become a social worker, then I discovered that you don't necessarily need a BA in sociology to get a Masters in Social Work. So, I picked Administration in Justice so that I could actually have a job while working on my Masters. I could have had a job with a sociology degree but it would most likely be researcher and to **** with that.

Ohh, okay I gotcha. That's pretty cool. The social justice background was a good pick you made, me thinks. That way your social work degree will have the legal knowledge background as to why it's necessarily in the first place. xD