Hey everyone!
Well, it 's been a looooong time since I've been to this forum, but I've been serious about losing weight since January.
Here is a brief history of my struggle with my body:

I was always the fat kid....ALWAYS. I was picked on by kids at school and even my brothers and cousins. I spent most of my life being depressed and not fitting in.

Late in middle school, I had a growth spurt where I grew to about 5'8" and I started playing volleyball. I didn't really lose weight but because of my new height, my weight was better distributed and I felt pretty comfortable in my body, but I still had some hangups about my huge thighs and butt.

When I came to college, I gained the freshman 15...and then some. I continued to gain weight through my sophomore year, especially since I lived off campus and I was consuming more fast food, pizza and beer than ever.

In my first semester back to school my junior year, I lost 25 pounds without hardly trying. I moved back onto campus after a year off campus and just walking to class and making myself my own meals made me lose weight. I didn't really notice until close to the end of the semester when all of my pants started getting too big and people who I hadn't seen in awhile when I went home for Christmas had a lot to say about how thin I looked.
While I was at home, I weighed myself and discovered that I was about 175 pounds, and I was 200 the last time I had weighed myself.

Now, since January, I have changed my lifestyle even more. Not only do I make myself my own meals, but I have cut out a lot of red meat. I mostly only eat chicken, ground turkey and fish for dinner. I always have a lot of fruit and veggies in the fridge and I don't keep ANY junk food or candy in my apartment. I used to drink at least one Diet Pepsi every day, and now I am down to about one or two a week. I only drink water and coffee in the morning sometimes. One of the biggest changes that I have made as far as eating goes is I always eat breakfast, now. I used to just run out the door with a granola bar and was hungry before my first class was over. Now I usually have a bowl of cereal and a yogurt and I take a piece of fruit with me to class.

Another big change I have made is I have started running and quit smoking! I decided that I wanted to run a 5K (3.1 miles) back in January, so I have been trying really hard to train since then. However, I was a smoker and running any more than a mile was like torture for me. Now I have been smoke free for about a week and I can already run 2 miles! Quitting has been difficult because I quit cold turkey, but every run is a constant reminder of why I quit. I have about a month until the 5K and I can't wait to cross the finish line!

I called this diary my journey to better health because it isn't all about weight loss for me. I want to be healthy overall. Quitting smoking has certainly made me feel much better, even though it's only been about a week. But I can't wait until I reach my goal. I don't really have a goal weight set in mind, I just want to feel comfortable in the bikini I bought for myself That's when I know I will be at my goal. From there I will probably still want to tone up a lot, but I will worry about that when I get there

So I guess that was more than just a brief history, but it gives an accurate explanation of my battle with weight loss over the years.

I hope to get the extra support that I need here and I hope that seeing everyone else here succeed will motivate me!

<3
Mel

WB, Mel! Funny how many of us leave this place and come back, isn't it?

Sounds like you have your act together. I look forward to following your progress

Yeah it is funny how weight loss works for some of us. This is my third time leaving and coming back! I definitely need to stay here this time and get rid of this weight for good!

So I've been pretty sick for about a week now and the past couple days have been the worst. Monday I was feeling awful for most of the day, but I still managed to get to the gym in the evening and run for two miles. Yesterday...forget the gym or anything but work for that manner. I laid on my couch all afternoon until I had to go into work. Then last night I took some NyQuil and I couldn't sleep! I was up until about 5AM tossing and turning, then of course I overslept this morning and missed my two classes.
What a way to start my day...exhausted and angry! But I am looking forward to going to the gym tonight and I'm hoping I'm feeling well enough for a good workout. I need to get better, it's the last three weeks of the semester and I have so much to do, but when I'm sick I don't have the motivation!

I always tell my students to eat right mid-semester so they don't get sick during finals. I tell them "Broccoli, garlic, onions, and oranges!"

It's amazing how many of them STILL get sick before the exam

Hope you feel better soon.

Mel, you are doing awesome and you are a huge inspiration!! Good luck with your goals and with school!

You're on the right track for sure!

Yeah us college students aren't exactly the definition of healthy, but at least I'm working on it haha. I always get sick in the couple of weeks before finals. I think it's a combination of the weather changing (I live in Michigan) and the extra stress of trying to get everything done. I'm feeling a little better today

Thanks for the encouragement, kimmy!!!


Well I didn't make it to the gym yesterday and that really bums me out. I spent most of the day in bed, then I worked on my term paper that's due today for the rest of the day/night.
I didn't eat much yesterday. Almost anything I tried to eat made me feel nauseous. I'm feeling better today and I am going to attempt the gym tonight. Even if I get on the stationary bike for 30 minutes instead of running will make me feel better. Going to the gym is always my favorite part of the day...maybe that's why I've been so crabby for the past two days haha!

What a crappy week...
I just can't get over this cold/flu thing and I am in the midst of finishing the semester so I'm slammed with projects, exams and papers. I managed to make it to the gym last night. I figured it would relieve some stress and it did. I'm still working really hard on quitting smoking, but it is sooo difficult. I haven't been buying packs of smokes, but all of my friends and family smoke so it is difficult to be around them and not ask to bum one.
I haven't been able to weigh myself lately, which bums me out because I don't feel like I've lost any weight but you never know...