Time for a Life Change

Hello everyone, my name is Natalie and I am 27 years old. I have struggled off and on with my weight and self-esteem issues for my entire life; I have always been a bigger girl, both in height and in weight. Roughly three years ago, I began working at a very physical job in which I was doing a lot of manual labor in a heated environment, and because of this, I dropped 40 pounds. After seeing the results of losing this much weight, I also began to change my eating habits and began exercising at home, which caused me to drop another 40 pounds. Losing this much weight caused my self esteem to go up tremendously; I felt powerful and confident in myself, my body, and my capabilities.

When I decided to go back to school two years ago, it meant that my life became completely sedentary. I had since gotten another job, which is a desk job, so I was sitting all day long. I also did not have much time to cook or prepare meals, between working a full time job and being a full time student, so my eating habits also declined. During this time, I regained 40 of the 80 pounds I had lost, causing my self esteem to suffer once again.

Now I am out of school and I am making a commitment to change my lifestyle so that I can lose the weight I have regained. I am also hoping to lost an additional 20 pounds, making a grand total of 60 pounds my weight loss goal. I chose to start using My Fitness Pal for the calorie counting benefits, because this makes me feel more accountable and aware of what I am putting into my body. It also helps me stay focused and motivated to eat right and exercise daily. Weight loss and management are not about a quick fix or doing a certain diet for a set amount of time: it is about changing your life and your habits for the better.

I look forward to this journey, and I also hope to share this journey with all of you!