Hi there!
My name is Avery and I'm 22, a recent college graduate (last May). I came home to my parents' house from working at summer camp last summer knowing I wanted to be back there summer of 2012, and without a job. While I was looking for a place to be this year, I started JUDDD (for those of you who don't know, it's a calorie cycling plan) just for fun/to see if it would work. I've been overweight since probably late elementary school (trying to get ahold of my medical records to see more exactly when it became a problem), but have also always eaten fairly healthy (hippy crunchy parents) and been active (I played soccer first, then rugby for the last 6 years) and no one's ever told me to lose weight (family, doctors, etc), so I sort of took that to mean it wasn't really possible for my body, and I was stuck where I was forever.
I started (at 5'10) at 240 pounds. To my surprise, on JUDDD, I lost 8 pounds the first week and 3 pounds a week for quite a few weeks after. 30 lbs in the first 2 months, and I've lost about 13 more in the last 3 months. Weight loss slowed at first because of the holidays and giving myself more freedom on my Up Days, but since then, I've fallen into semi-destructive eating patterns. On Up Days, I've been having trouble stopping eating, including binging, which I've never really dealt with before this plan. I would say I do have a history of overeating (obviously), in terms of social eating and some secretive eating, but nothing that felt quite like what I've been doing to myself binge-wise. I realized that it's time for me to go to a regular old calorie counting/cutting diet for a while, something I've never done. I'm appreciative for JUDDD for those missing 43 pounds and some good times, but I'm ready for the comfort of daily moderation, control, and accountability. If I feel secure in those, I could see myself returning to JUDDD at some point. I still want to lose almost 40 pounds (I think! Not sure, because I have never been that light as an adult), and I think this is the way to do it right now!
So, here I am. I appreciate having an online community to interact with. I've been hanging out on another message board specifically for JUDDD, so I'm ready to talk about things besides JUDDD that are relevant to my dieting life!
Some more about me besides diet stuff real quick: I'm the eldest of four kids, I work part-time caring for kids right now (looking for a full-time job for next year soon), I love reading and music, I run pretty regularly and also like to go on long walks and hike and play rugby, and I am a big sleeper but also a morning person (left to my own devices, I'll go to bed at 10ish and get up at 7:30ish every day.)
I'm looking forward to seeing everybody around! (I'm generally a big reader and a sometimes poster, but I may jump in more than I expect!) It seems like a great place here, with tons of information and support.
Best to all!
Avery
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