My story is so much less than some of the victories you all have accomplished, but I wanted to share anyway. . . .
I spent my entire teenage years with one question: "Is this my real body, the one God intended me to have and the one I should be thankful for, or is this what my body looks like because I pick at foods and don't exercise?" I was in the upper 130s in high school, but by the end of my sophomore year of college after a trip to Italy, my weight shot up to 144.
With my mom's pretty healthy cooking, I got down to 141-142, but I wasn't happy there. So on June 6, 2010, I changed my life--I went for a walk. Marching along 3 miles in 45 minutes in the blazing sun, I sweated, I panted--and I got fierce with myself and decided I wanted this thing called a healthy body more than I wanted to quit.
I kept walking, six days a week, all summer. Towards the end of the summer, I added a little weight training as well.
On the food front, I tried too hard at first to limit calories, but one day of doing TOO well limiting (it was after dinner and I had only eaten 1100 that day), I knew I couldn't do this. So I eat whatever my mom makes--just not as much as I used to.
Once I got to school, I didn't have 45 minutes each day to devote to exercise, so I began running and using the elliptical.
I now weight 121.6 lbs, run 2 5Ks a week, workout on the elliptical for 35 minutes 3x a week, and do weights and/or pilates twice a week. I eat a mostly vegetarian diet (not vegan--I do eat eggs and dairy products), have given up junk food, and I will never look back.
So not as dramatic as some of the amazing stories here, but it's my story and I'm rather proud of it.
Good luck to you all!
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