My Story

So this is the long drawn out all inclusive story about how I got to be so overweight.  I was thin until I was 13.  I was tall and thin, but I peaked in height at the age of 12, I've been 5'2'' (158cm) since I was 12 years old. My weight, however, has continued to climb since that point.  I started using food as a way of comforting myself.  My senior year of high school I weighed 160lbs.  I was overweight but athletic.  I made the first team all state in volleyball, was team MVP and we took second in the state tournament that year.  After volleyball season ended I didn't play another sport and by the time graduation rolled around I was 180lbs. This picture of me (on the right) was taken during my first month of college.

Richmond Greek Festival May 2011
230lbs (107kg)
Heaviest weight 

Then I started college.  I moved 8 hours away from everyone I'd ever known to go to Nursing School.  By the time freshman year ended I weighed 230lbs.  That was the heaviest I've ever been.  Since that time my weight has yo-yo'd between 200 and 230lbs.  I graduated Nursing School and got a job.  This is where things got challenging.  When I graduated college I weighed 215lbs.  I started working primarily nights, and for those of you who don't know working 12 hour nights 3-4 days a week absolutely wreaks havoc on your body.  All the progress I made stopped.  I went back up to 230lbs and couldn't seem to take any weight off.  I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't working out anymore and my eating habits were terrible, I mean really really terrible.  I was eating fast food on the way to work and then again at work and then going out 2-3 times a week with friends for greasy, fried goodness. I blame part of it on my job.  I was exhausted all the time and didn't transition from college student to adult all that smoothly.  I was living alone and when I got home I usually wouldn't eat breakfast. If I felt hungry I would go to the cafeteria at the hospital for some greasy food. I felt like I deserved it after working 12 hours.  I then would never feel like cooking when I woke up somewhere around 5pm and would usually order pizza, Chinese, or go to a drive through.  I was in serious denial about my eating habits and looking back I can't believe how out of control it was.


To throw some complication into the matter I have PCOS.  This is a hormonal disease that makes it very challenging for woman to lose weight. Not impossible, but even with a healthy diet, and regular exercise it can be challenging for women with PCOS to lose weight, but I refuse to use that as an excuse and will do my best to reach and maintain a healthy weight despite the challenge that PCOS causes.

So my most recent life development is an engagement!

My now fiancee, who loves me beyond reason, seriously, I'm ridiculously lucky, proposed on December 20, 2012.  I said yes! I want to look amazing in my wedding dress.  He loves me and thinks I'm beautiful, but I want to feel and think that way about myself on my wedding day.