Hi, there! It's nice meeting you!
I'd like to be called Jasmin, I am 20 years old and live in Romania, Europe. Please bear in mind that English is not my native language and I might end up making a silly error!

I stumbled upon the forum a few days ago and was impressed by how supportive people seemed to be around here. ^_^
I decided to improve my health a little over an year ago and I mostly did so through choosing more natural foods, calorie counting and becoming more active.
My goals now are stepping towards maintenance, maybe lose a little bit more and what I feel it's most important to me right now: developing a more positive attitude towards myself.

Maybe some of you can relate, but my weight-loss came with a lot of anxiety.
Once my change became noticeable, I received a lot of uncomfortable attention from the people around me, less like politely congratulating me and more like receiving repetitive remarks on my body and eating each time I socialized.
As my weight loss progressed, the remarks became more blunt, more frequent and often made me feel cornered and terribly self-conscious.
Added to my already lack of social skill, it definitely affected my self-image, but I decided to make an effort to harbor more positive thoughts from now on!
I guess I needed to vent a bit...

I'm happy to have registered and I'd like to cheer on everyone around here!

Welcome, and congrats on your weight loss! You should be very proud. Sorry about the anxiety and comments.

Hi Jasmin! Congrats on your successful weight loss! What an accomplishment! I'm so sorry you've been getting uncomfortable attention. Unfortunately, we can't teach others how to behave well. I'm so glad that you have decided to start thinking positive though! Good for you! You deserve to be proud of how far you've come toward a healthier you! Good luck on maintenance!

congrats! It sounds like you are a pretty strong person if you were able to keep going for your goal despite some of the people around you making you uncomfortable. I know what it's like to build self-confidence, and it is not easy. However, as I'm finding with weight loss, it's best to celebrate your progress, even the small victories. Good luck!