Hi everyone, My name is Katie. Im 5'6. I am a 21 year old Respiratory Therapy Student in Iowa. I will be transfering to U of I and then will be trying for either Carver Medical or UCSD for an MD. I work full time and then some (about 52 hrs. average) in a factory that produces plastic parts for John Deere, Caterpillar, Rug Doctor, Case, Blah Blah... Whatever- I run a CNC if any of you know what that stands for, Im impressed!I go to school full time, and I love being outdoors. Anyway, Im here because I am unhealthy, and love telling and hearing stories about people changing their lives for the better!

My background is I grew up being chubbier than average, suffered from annorexia for 2 years in highschool was down to 125 lbs(although it never really goes away), graduated highschool 17 yrs. old at 195 lbs. lost 30, gained 15, lost, gained, lost.... you probably understand.

Currently I am 166 lbs. My goal is 140. I started at 170, The 1st of May... So far, so good!

Katie

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The cure for everything is salt water... Sweat, tears, the sea.

Welcome Katie! You must be so busy balancing full time work with being a student. I graduated from college a year ago and I know how hard it can be to stay healthy when you're running around trying to stay on top of everything - it's so easy to grab a slice of pizza or fast food for lunch instead of something healthy. I'm a lot better now at preparing lots of healthy foods over the weekend to pack for lunches during the week - I'll make red beans and rice and put it into individual tupperware and cut up and bag fruits and veggie servings. I hope you find something that works for you

Hi Katie! We are in very similar situations. I too used to have a disorder which took me down to an unnatural weight and even though I don't want to go back there it's hard to lose weight healthily with that background. Not eating properly for so long has really punished my metabolism which hangs on to every last ounce of fat.
The important thing is that we don't go back there. Losing weight is losing weight is losing weight and doing it happily and healthily on a diet and exercise plan will produce the same results and reactions in the end that fasting and purging do.

I have more weight to lose than you do but I will do it this year. I feel more positive than ever and you should too! Congrats on your successes, keep me up to date and message me if you ever want to talk.

Much love