5'9" and down nearly 50 lbs since January 2013

I started at about 220 lbs, give or take, and as long as I can remember I've been pretty heavy. Back in 6th grade, I was even wearing a size 12 women's pant, and I was shorter then. My point is, I couldn't remember not being overweight. At my lowest in the past, I could barely remember being under 200, and after feeling crappy about myself for that long, it took me until my freshman year of college to do something about it. The first step I took? Enrolling in the Physical Fitness 101 course as my Health and Wellness requirement.

The first thing we did in that course, naturally, was make an account on MFP. At first, my goal was 170 lbs (a goal which I am very nearly at), the minimum weight I could calculate that would put me below 'overweight' and into a normal range. Through all the courses I got to experience, everything from Zumba to Tai Chi to CrossFit, as well as a diet I kept much better track of (I've even quit drinking most liquids but water), 30 lbs came off easily between January and the end of April, and now here I am approaching my 19th birthday nearly 50 lbs lighter and with higher goals.

Now revised, I aim to get to 155 lbs, if I feel comfortable there, but more than that I want to tone and get more into the strength training and cardiorespiratory endurance I so loathed building up in the past. I want to eat healthier foods, not just drop pounds, and I'd love to pass on healthier habits to my dad, but it's a bit late for his stubbornness. Still, I can and will and have changed myself, and that is enough for me.

Then (2011-12 photos), 220 lbs, size 18:


Now (Summer 2013 photos), 173 lbs, size 12:

(NSV: first bikini top too)