Hello! I'm new to these threads. My name is Julie. I'm 27 and originally from Ohio!! Woot woot! The past year has been quite amazing for me. I've been teaching English to 1-3 year olds in Beijing, China. Crazy! I've had quite a bit of a roller coaster ride with weight throughout my life. Well, not too bad, I suppose, but not steady, that's for sure! I plan on ending that right now. I've always had issues with food and dieting for as long as I can remember. I don't I was ever really fat. I just thought I was at the time. Silly. But I got serious about losing weight and getting healthy in 1999. From 1999-2001, I did weight watchers and started running a lot. I went from 169 to 130, but I was pretty extreme when I was at 130. In 2004, I gained weight cause of some stress I was going through and got up to about 190. That was a horrible time for me. I just couldn't get a grip on my mental and emotional state of being. I stayed around 175-180 till the beginning of this year. I kept trying Weight Watchers, but really think I was just so burnt out from it. I needed a change. Points was so annoying to me and a dead end. It just wasn't for me anymore. I moved to China in February and hit a pretty low point here before I decided it was time to take control and do something about my life. If I didn't, I was only going to get bigger and more depressed. So I started doing something I'd never done before. I started doing everything I could to love myself at that very moment in time. I didn't focus on weight. I focused on myself and having friends and being happy. At the same time, I started working out more. I've always been a runner, but I started doing it consistently. I also started really watching what I ate. By October, I got down to 145. I am the happiest I've been since I can remember. But it's because I did it the right way. In October/November, however, I got mono and that seems to really have taken a toll on me. I haven't gained any weight, but I just feel like a slug. I'm better now. I'm able to work out and run about 50 minutes, 4-5 days a week. So I'm about back on par with the working out. However, I've been battling some binging. I don't know why. I have had problems with binging in the past and had a bout with binge/purge crap. But I'm mentally and emotionally healthy now and I know I can work through this and learn how to deal with it. I'm not going to let it get me back to the point I was before I started being healthy. I'm just not going to let that happen. So, I'm starting over. Right now. I'm going to act like I'm starting for the first time. It's exciting when it's new, so I'm going to act like it's new. Trying new recipes, doing new workouts. It's been a bit of a challenge since I'm in China to make things to eat that are healthy and I really love. I've been learning though, so it's getting easier. I just know that I love myself far too much and am way too proud of the progress I've made to let it all go. It's not worth it. So here I am. That's a little intro to me. I did post in the newbie thread and what not, but I wanted to post a separate hello and intro just so everyone is sure to see there is someone new here! I've got a lot of energy and I'm ready to make more positive changes in my life. I'm here for support and to give support. I look forward to getting to know everyone.
Hugs!
Julie ( Jules)