Hello Everyone,

I will start by saying that my name is Jaime and fighting with my weight is not something I am new to. For most of my life I was surrounded by skinny girls. My older sister and younger sister have always been thin and it seemed like it was never difficult for them. They could eat whatever they wanted and stay the same but for me, it was different.

By the time I started realizing that I was even considered overweight was around the age of 12. Both of my sisters were sizes 5 and under and I was a size 12 in my pants, if I could go back to that size now, I'd be delighted!

I was raised a tomboy and did a lot of stuff with my dad because being around girls always made me feel bad about myself. They were always so pretty and thin and I was just awkward and chubby. Eventually, I grew out of the tomboy phase when my early teen years hit and I felt alone and empty.

Both of my sisters had men fawning all over for them and that was something I just didn't get. Being tall (6'1) didn't help my case at that age and most boys referred to me as "giant" and even adults would say I was a "big girl." Then would quickly comment that it was only because of my height. But being called a "big girl" only makes an over weight person think of one thing, fat.

So here I am now. I'm 22 years old and I weigh 297 pounds, as of my last weigh in. My older sister is getting married in October for the second time and I'm a bridesmaid. I remembered the photos from her last marriage when I was 14 and how fat I was then and I can't stand the thought of it. So for the last 3-4 weeks, I have begun to diet, again.

For once I want to be able to put on a dress and have photos taken without feeling like I'm the biggest person in the group. I understand I can't lose all my weight by October but I have set myself a goal to lose 50 pounds by her wedding. I just want to feel pretty in a dress.

Also, my younger sister is getting married next spring, in April and I am the Maid of Honor. By then, I want to have lost 100 pounds. My family is supportive of my plan, especially since I have high blood pressure because of my weight but none of them are going through it with me.

I'm hoping to find people on here that can help me through this process and that I can help. I want to find a friend of sorts that is going through this with me so that I won't give up, like I have so many times before.

Any support is appreciated and if anyone else needs it, I'm willing to give support back.

Thank you for reading my post.

Hey Jaime,

I'm here if you need support, if you have been eating well for the last 3-4 weeks that is really really great and the hardest part is over I think. I've been doing it for a week and a half and know i won't stop now. ARe you following a specific diet?

Hello,

I have gone to the point of cutting out most processed foods and sticking to a daily calorie total of 1500-1700 which was recommended through a site for my weight loss goal. I'm doing my best to stick with vegetables and fruit but am also making sure I don't get bored with my meals.

I haven't really started exercising yet but I've begun to do light swimming with the weather getting warmer. I've also taken to not weighing myself so much, I did after the first week or so and it was just disappointing me. So I've now made it so I only weigh myself every couple of weeks. I'm not weighing myself again until the 1st of June.

Really though, I'm interested in any pointers I can be given. I want this to be the new me and not to fall back on emotional eating.

I'm doing something very similar, I have boiled eggs for breakfast for a protein breakfast and try to drink a lot of water. Another thing I find that really helps (in all aspects of life) is to try not to compare yourself with other people. I know it's easier said than done. And to look at the bigger picture. In a year's time if you keep your healthy habits you will have your dream body and can look back and have learned lessons from this time. I try to see the bigger picture

Jaime, I have to say your post came at a time when I needed it. We are in very similar boats. I am about the same age as you and I have two brothers getting married this year. I am a bridesmaid for the one coming up soon, in July. I too want to lose weight for that wedding and like you said, not be the biggest one in the pictures!!! So the time I have left is a little scary, especially since I started this week, but I'm trying. I am the most overweight in my family and as you talked about, basically everyone in my life is skinny. I find this to be very difficult when looking for support for my weight loss, I feel like they don't know the struggle like I do because they have never been as heavy as I have. And sometimes I feel like that is not a fair judgement, but it's something I struggle with nonetheless. I also wished I had enjoyed the time when I was smaller, I always felt huge, when in reality I wasn't. And just like you had mentioned, I want to go back to my size 14. Oh how lovely that would be. At this point I weigh the most I ever have. So enough with this rambling, I just want to say, I really relate and would love to offer support. It's so therapeutic to even read of someone going through something similar to me. As for me and what I am doing, I am currently on a smoothie diet, it is mainly all I consume. I have found it helpful as a kick starter to my diet and help shrink my appetite!

That's what I'm trying to do now. Last time I dieted I got down 35 pounds and weighed 263.4. I remember that number because I could never get past it. I even stopped weighing myself for 3 weeks. I lived on a 1200 calorie diet and I would walk/jog 4 miles a night and bike 4 miles each day after work. I pushed so hard to get past that stupid number. 3 weeks later I stepped on the scale and it popped up 263.4. I couldn't believe. I changed the batteries in my scale and even had other people get on it to make sure it wasn't broken but 263.4 was the evil looming number that popped up. I half halfheartedly went through another week or so of dieting. I would swim laps for 45 minutes, power walk 2 miles, and bike 3 miles, until I was dripping with sweat and couldn't breath, I weighed myself at the end of the week. 263.4. I was so upset I got in my car, went to Wal-Mart and bought one of the mechanical scales. I couldn't even weight until I got home. I took it out of the box and weighed myself in the parking lot, it said 264. I really couldn't believe it. So sadly, I went and got fast food and pigged out on that.

So I guess you could say 263.4 is one of my mini goals, once I get past that, I'll be soaring high! It's just a matter of getting there. I'm gonna do my best to stick with it this time and to look at the bigger picture!

It's nice to have someone in the same boat! (No offense!)

And I know it's hard to get support when you're surrounded by naturally skinny people. My sisters would just always be like, JUST DON'T EAT SO MUCH! Because to them, they could always eat whatever they wanted and not gain a pound, so in there mind, I must have been eating twice as much!

My older sister, the one getting married in October, is a size 2 and all I hear her talking about is how much she has to work out so she can be skinny. To me that is mind blowing, if I was a size two, I'd be thinking I had more than succeeded at having an awesome body. My upper arm is pretty much the size of her thigh and that comparison makes me so self conscious. Plus all the other girls in her bridal party are these gorgeous model types. This sister also called me, for most of my teen years, "fatass." It was something she would call me in front of everybody and that didn't help my self esteem.

I have also gone to shakes for help. In the mornings, I mostly drink blended shakes and I'm taking Green Tea pills to help boost my metabolism. My shakes are nothing that isn't fresh fruits, vegetables, fresh orange juice, and organic yogurts. They're not the tastiest things in the world but they give me all my vitamins so that I don't have to worry about my diet messing up my body in anyway.

It really is nice to find someone who's sharing the same hardships.