Hey guys my names Nat and the amazing weight loss stories and journeys of so many people here have inspired me to share my own experiences:

Being an overweight teenager is hard in any circumstances but for reasons I cannot really explain, being an overweight teenager who was once training for the olympics is harder.
I was always a very active child. From the minute I could walk I was practically playing any sport with a ball in it as well as roller blading, Taekwondo and of course, swimming. Taekwon do was special to me and I was very good at it but my real talent lay in swimming and more specifically the 100m backstroke. I was so good in fact that from the ages of 10-14 I trained with a world renowned coach to get me fit and ready for the 2012 Olympic trials.
If I had continued that would have been next year.
Sadly though, I didn't continue. the pressure to always be better became so much that I began to resent the sport and the fact that my seven days a week traing had made me give up Taekwondo and my social life. I was a 14 year old girl craving social contact. I had to get out of the pool. So I did and I quit. Cold Turkey.
For the next two years I indulged my social butterfly, blind to the fact that I was slowly gaining weight. That was until I went to my doctor after having an asthma attack and he told me I had late onset asthma brought on, most likely, from being overweight. Overweight? Me? I thought. The thought was ridiculous. Sure I had gained a little weight since I stopped training but there was no way I was overweight. As it turns out, I was. The scale read 174 pounds. I was so far in denial that not only did I demand he remesure, but when the result was the same, I insisted the scale was broken.
My last straw came when the doctor became so fed up with my refusal to see reason that he took a photo of me and showed me. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I went from being a 5"7", 125 pound 14 year old to being a 174 pounds. I had gained 50 pounds in two years. I walked out of the doctors office in a daze and dully reported the results to my mum. As she drove me home, reality finally set in and I cried for the first time in a year.

After my short lived pity party I decided to take action and joined my local gym. Not only did I not lose any weight, I gained it. I had never dieted before and I had become so use to my exercise being my traing that I wasnt doing the right thing and for the next year I fell into depression, considered suicide and lost a lot of my friends.

My real last straw moment came when I realised that my mother who had always been at least 20 pounds heavier than me was in fact losing weight and was now 10 pounds lighter than me. I was mortified, ashamed and hit rock bottom, hard. I was a 17 year old athlete by nature and my 47 year old, scoliosis riddled mother was losing weight and I wasn't? It was ridiculous, so ridiculous, I actually laughed.

So two months ago I began my weight loss journey. I rejoined Taekwondo, went on a calorie controlled diet and starting today i started the couch to 5k program by cool runnings. In 9 weeks I 'll be running 5ks

I started my journey at: 184 pounds
Now: 174 pounds
Goal: 145 pounds

Thanks for listening and I'll see you guys again in the goal section at 145 pounds!!!

I'm glad to hear that you managed to pick yourself up and decide to do something for your health. Keep working at it! And welcome!

I'm right there with you. I am 17 aw well, but Im not to active though, even as a child. I used to swim like mad during the summers but that was it. I started my journey a little heavier then you did, 193-195 was actually my heaviest but got down to 190 and stayed there for over a year. I am now down to 176.2. Good luck to you and the rest of your weight loss.

It's so great that you're getting back on track, thanks for sharing your story!

Thanks guys, I really appreciate your support and good luck with your weight loss!
and White, its good to hear from another teenager! I swear there's a thread for everyone but teenagers
It's sad because i know there are a lot of us on this forum. You're a swimmer too? I live in Australia, on the coast, on the beach, so it was hard for me to avoid the water Good luck with your journey too, see you at goal!

Indeed it is! I am, I love to swim. I live in California, not far from lakes, rivers, and even the ocean. It is very hard to avoid the water when you are so close to it. Thank you!