I am 23 years old and have struggled with my weight since I was 8. In my adult life the most I've ever weighed is 216, and the least I've weighed is 140.
I am married to a Marine that doesn't seem to get why it's so hard for me to lose weight. In a way, he understands, because he was overweight going into Boot Camp, but since then he's stayed under 180.
We used to go to the gym together, used to do a lot of walking together, even if it was just around the mall. However, in July of 2011, we took on the care of my then-10 year old sister (long story). After she moved here, we didn't have the time to do the same things we once did, but with how much my husband worked, I was my sister's primary caregiver. I guess, with everything she needed, with living away from our mom, (we're in Virginia, our mother's in Florida) I stopped putting myself first.
I had started to gain weight right before she moved in with us. It was only 10 pounds and I'd gone from 170-140 before so I thought I could handle it. But it just kept going up.
After my sister moved back down to our mom (July of this year), I really had the time to sit back, reflect, and realize how unhappy I was with myself. But, since I'd put on so much weight, and I'm relatively short, my knee joints ached any time I tried to exercise.
Then more things came up, but I managed to get my weight down to 202. Then it went back up. I just want to go back the 140 me, the me that could handle a real workout, the me that could do fun things. It's 4 months later, my husband and my older sister are my cheerleaders. Nothing I do goes unnoticed, or uncelebrated, even on days I don't feel I accomplished anything ("You didn't order the bacon cheeseburger like you wanted. You beat temptation." Things like that) .
I'm hoping once I lose the weight that I never find it again. My genetics put me at enough risk for things that being overweight just makes it that more likely I'll develop them. In short, I want to be free to be me, the real me.
And that is my overly long, drawn out introduction, thanks for sticking around to finish it
