Well, here I am!
My name is Victoria, to start with! The stories I have read here before registering have encouraged me and touched my heart to the point of tears. I'm a young woman of twenty-two years [ soon to be twenty-three this month! ] and I look forward to making my dream come true by reaching my target weight and body fat percentage. I'll start with a little information about myself, so this community can get to know me a little better.
Being overweight is a genetic problem of my family. Diabetes, heart problems, hypertension runs desperately through my family because of this. We tend to start off extremely small. In high school, I had to weigh no more than 120 lbs due to my metabolism and activities [ cheerleading and dance ]. But after a certain age, we tend to just gain and
gain with no end in sight. We call it our 'genetic curse'. One day we're small and fit, and a year or so later, we just look completely different.
This is our responsibility - however. Laziness and poor eating habits in combination with having children and doing nothing to remain healthy are our true enemy. Sadly, I have fallen into that pattern soon after graduation from my High School - as well as financial problems and mediocre jobs leading me into stress and depression. Soon, I stopped caring completely about myself.
But, no more! I want to change my life completely. About a few months ago, in March, I decided to make a major change in my life and join the Military while I was still young to start on an actual path to a worthy career. I knew I was mentally mature and ready to take on the task, and I met everything on the checklist. Imagine my dismay when I came to realize that the
only thing keeping me from this life-changing goal was my weight. I was not sure how far I spiraled until that moment - 260 lbs was where I stood. Over 100 lbs since five years ago in high school.
I would not let this deter me, however. Shortly before the summer began, I joined a gym to prepare myself to change. I am not a huge eater nor a fan of sweets, so I know my diet would not be too much of a problem. What I lacked in was
portion control and
good eating habits/urges. I eat when I'm hungry and I don't stop when I'm full - so I have to really get that under control. I would run on the treadmill for 20 minutes at a steady pace of 3.5mph and compliment that with an additional 30 minutes of weight training on the machines [ 50 lbs and reps of 20 each ]. It took a lot out of me, but I was able to see that I could still do the hard work even after years of inactivity, and I got motivated.
I went four days a week, pushing myself into jogging [ 5 mph ] a mile and doing the machines, and soon I lost 15lbs! I am now at 244 lbs. The weight is coming off, but I can feel myself growing discouraged. Its been a month since I've started, and sometimes I can feel myself slipping on my eating habits and being able to make it to the gym as much as I want. My dream is to be within the Service by the time I am 24 of 2014, and my target weight is 150 pounds. This requires me to lose the 100 lbs I have gained, and I want to do it in the healthy way. No shortcuts, no gimmicks.
I am changing my life for the better. I want to look better, eat better, work on my career, and take care of my body once more. I want to break that 'genetic curse' and be the first amongst the women of my family to be
proud of my body and my life. This site, within the hour that I have read the stories on here, has motivated me to share my story and my goals with the women [ and men! ] here and moved me to tears with the loving support gained.
Please journey with this young, silly woman as she seeks to brighten her future in all ways.
Start of a New Life!
