I was with my friend at the mall when she was looking for a prom dress. (I wasn't able to go since I'm just a freshman...) Now, she's pretty skinny. A size 7. Even she was finding a dress that fit right. I started panicking about my prom and my dress. That also brought up the point I never even had an actual boyfriend. (A gay guy doesn't really count... >.>;) I wanna come back from summer break and be one of those pretty girls who everyone knows.

I saw a photo of myself and I wanted to tear it up and burn it and pour acid on it.

I avoid cameras like the plague, I hated to see myself, I avoided mirrors and reflections in glass too.

I'm looking forward to being able to be comfortable posing for a photo, maybe Christmas this year? That sounds so good.

im in a constant struggle. im still not motivated enough . i think a big thing is i dont think i should be this overweight. i mean i've gotten motivated and gone all crazy on diets but nothing. i ride my bike everywhere . i hate driving. i loooooooooovvvvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeeee healthy food i had maybe one hamburger this year and it was protien style at in and out. i love fruit and veggies . i just dont get it. i need that moment still i guess were i just eat only salads and run all day i hate being ugly.

Hey Freegeegrl,

The sad thing is, lots of people do become overweight eating healthy food--just too much of it. First step is finding out exactly how much you are eating... calories. Just as a reality check.

Jay

That Picnic/Chip thread aside, that is exactly how I got up to 240lbs, then back up to 201lbs! Portion sizes are sneaky monsters that sabotage us from all directions.

I was a bridesmaid at my sister's beautiful wedding in Mexico. When I saw the pictures I wanted to cry, I didn't even look like myself! Also people always used to tell me that my sister and I looked a like, and I loved that, but in those pictures we looked like we weren't even distantly related. It took me a while to seriously get started with the weight loss but that was the actual "aha" moment

I always thought my mom was a big lady. Well she's been on a diet but still is heavy on the bottom! The other day she weighed in at 3 pounds less than me! Thats when I realized, it's time to change!! On a scrapbook forum I visit they started a weight loss thread and it just sparked a revelation in my head to do it! I want to be healthy and eat right!! Losing the weight is just a pleasant bonus!

There are many moments that stand out in my mind. The biggest moment I guess was just looking down at the scale and seeing the biggest number I'd ever seen... 195! Also when I had to buy a size 14 in pants at American Eagle. That was a little scary for me.
I used to think 165 was a lot, now when I look at pictures of myself then I wish I was that weight... not having a scale for a semester of drinking and amazing food in nyc wreaked havoc on my weight. Second Semester was better, but now that it is summer I have made it my ultimate goal to get my life in order, be healthy and what not... I am well on my way there and I have a little less than 3 months to go!

I've had several reasons to lose weight that have piqued my interest (health reasons, feeling sexy etc.), but what really drove it home was the day I was in Target clothes shopping and I saw myself in one of their multi-view mirrors. I saw my butt for the first time as everyone else sees it. It was not the curvy/bubbly cute-but-big butt that I had imagined it to be. It was flat, fat and not at all appealing. I almost cried as I stood there staring. That was about a year ago and I just sort of let my efforts drop.

Then more recently, I started going to a big university where everyone (it seems) is young, skinny and beautiful. I've never felt more fat in my life. I don't fit in the seats very well. I am out of breath by the time I get to the top of the stairs. It's all embarrassing. And about two weeks ago, I ran into someone that I used to work with about seven years ago. He looked at me and said, "I know you, don't I?" and I was so embarrassed because I had gained like 50 lbs since I worked with him and he still worked where I used to work. I know he went back to work and told everyone that I got big.

For me, it was sort of several things clicking for me towards the end of 2006. I'd gone over 200 lbs for the first time in my life. Some clothes weren't fitting on me anymore. My thumb and index finger were getting rough skin from me trying to force my jeans zippers up. Bad close-up picture at Christmastime. Several women at work were at various stages of trying to lose weight (some succeeding beautifully, others not at all). End of the year was coming so that whole "New Year, New You" thing played in my mind. And there was just this shift in my thinking. It was like...I knew all this stuff wasn't good, I knew it would only increase if I let it but I sent it to the back of my mind because I didn't want to deal with it. Then it moved to the forefront of my mind and I was like, okay, this is your reality, what are you going to do about it? Make it worse or make it better?

I agree when people say, first and foremost, it involves a shift in thinking. If your mind isn't in it, beyond just telling you what it wants, I think that's a quick recipe for failure. Your mind's gotta figure out ways to make it happen and get the rest of you, heart and body, into gear.

I lost around 75 lbs and I definitely ate more than salads and only did 45 minutes of aerobics, 5 times per week. It might be helpful to post a typical daily menu so we can offer specific areas of advice. If you eat healthy foods, ride your bike everywhere (basically burn more calories per day than you consume) and you still can't lose weight - it's time to get checked by a physician. It takes a lot of honesty though, to really really write down everything you eat for a full day.

It was strange for me this time - and I suppose that's why this is different.

I stopped drinking any alcohol late in 2005; if anyone had told me I would be able to do that, I would have laughed in his or her face! But I did it. And then, early this year, I was given a fabulous part in a play - and I struggled for a while with that: 'Wait - I'm so fat - is everyone going to laugh at me???' And it forced me to really take stock of my life and the way I was living it - IN FEAR. Unless you've ever really 'taken stock' of yourself that way, with absolute honesty, you probably have no idea what I am talking about.

And I came to three conclusions:
1. I was able to stop drinking. Period. What else am I able to STOP doing? Sabotaging my health, failing at 'dieting', feeling like crap.
2. I got the part because of my talent, not my fat. I wanted to return to acting - I have. These people think I can do this role - why don't I? I'd better get a lot fitter if I DON'T want people to laugh at me, except at the comedic moments!
3. What ELSE could I be doing that I'd like to, that I don't as a result of being 'fat'?

And suddenly, everything made sense. I wish I could explain it better than this, but I can't. Once that change in my head took place, that was it. I can't explain why it happened now, and not at any other point in the last ten years, but it has. I guess some people would explain it by saying 'she was ready' - and that's how it feels.

I guess, for me, the difference this time is that it doesn't matter WHAT else might happen in my life - there's not a single thing that can get in the way of this life change.

Hope it helps, and thanks for the therapeutic thread!

Heather

im an honest gal here it goes my typical day.

i work at starbucks opening shift. sooo i wake up at three get ready ride my bike to work get there at four. sit and eat a yogurt and banana untl four fifteen when i start. work . . have a glass of water. then i get a break at six. i have a cheese and fruit plate it has one strawberry,10 grapes, 1 mini bite of grain walnut raisin bread, and some brie. with a glass of passion tea / unsweetened . . . ok back to work take out trash , sweating and all that good ol stuff. get off at nine ride home. clean . go to eat with my mom. had salad at the olive garden and chicken gidadhi something like that its a low fat option they have thats chicken and veggables. then i go out do things . . blah blah blah errands. quesadilla on wheat with lean turkey and soy cheese, with jalepenos. then read for hours go to bed wake up to do pretty much the same thing. . . .i just dont know what im doing so wrong. please if you know i should change something tell me.

My cruise pictures. I went on a cruise in the beginning of May and took a ton of pictures. I looked at my cruise pictures and thought "I didn't know I had gotten that big again...." I lost weight a few years back and started putting it back on...I was in a bit of denial about how much I had put on.

Man...I tell you what....pictures don't lie do they?? lol. I looked great in my mirror, but let me see a picture in the same outfit and i was like, "Who is that cow???" lol. So what did i do??? I just avoided the camera!! I don't think that was the right tactic!