Hi everyone!
I've been lurking in 3FC for a little while now, but I've always been too shy to post. But I see how kind and encouraging everyone is here, so I've decided to take the plunge and introduce myself
I have been all pudgy and fat since forever! Looking back, I think perhaps my dad's attitude was the root cause of my lifelong pudginess. He really *loves* his food and likes to have very generous portions. He likes the whole family to have big portions too, because he's always said that eating is one of the greatest pleasures in life. And, well, my mum is a really good cook :P
However! That meant for me as a little kid I always saw the big portions I was fed as normal, so I really have always been overweight for my frame. It wasn't so bad when I was young because I used to be very tall for my age, and my parents just assumed it was 'baby fat' that I'd grow out of. But in my teens my growth slowed right down and I grew to a statuesque 5'1", and all that fat just makes me look stumpy :P I never made much effort to exercise or diet then, I just accepted my fatness as normal. I don't even know what my highest weight was, maybe around 12 or 13 stone and size 16 UK clothes.
Once in a while I would try to diet but it would never last very long, chiefly because I felt too self-conscious of my serious unfitness to exercise. I never thought weight loss would be something I could do until I moved away to university for the first time and, due to a combination of a tiiiiny £10-a-week food budget and not knowing how to cook (but with a determination to learn!) I dropped 2 dress sizes within the first couple of months. Some of my flatmates commented on it and that made me feel soooo good!
Until then, I had never realised what a freedom it was to be in complete control of what I cook and when I eat, and how fun it was to experiment with new recipes and ingredients. Life was good, food was both healthy and delicious (except for a few memorable kitchen fails :P) and I loved being less of a blimp than always.
But I have since moved back home and I have noticed that I'm slowly creeping back up to size 14 clothes. I have made a vow to once and for all go on a proper diet and, this time, go to the gym and get fit!
Wow, OK I didn't intend to write that much! :P
I really have to stick to it this time!
