Any Pittsburghers out there?

Hi everyone... I'm Beth, 34, from Pittsburgh, PA.

My (abbreviated) story is as follows: I was always a chubby kid. Always had a belly on me. When I was in junior high and high school, I was pretty average-sized, but I never saw myself that way. I was one of those kids who got teased for being a "nerd" and for being "fat," so eventually I just identified myself that way. When I hit college, I had no healthy eating or exercise habits. I started packing it on and by the time I graduated I was about 60 lbs overweight. I resigned myself to the idea that I would always be overweight. Then in April 2002, I suddenly had the motivation to change. I started counting calories, watching portion sizes, and exercising and by December of that year I'd dropped almost 60 lbs. I was able to keep it off for about 6 years. Then about 3 years ago, I moved to Pittsburgh, and the stress of the move, starting over, etc caused me to gain about 25 lbs of the weight back. And that's why I'm here! I want to fit into my old clothes again and get my self-confidence back.

I actually started back in December, so I've already lost about 12 lbs. It has really helped that some of my co-workers are also on board and we've been supporting each other. But having a place like this to turn to is nice, too. I was using another site to track my food and exercise, but some friends intoduced me to mfp and I like it better.

Anyway, just thought I'd stop in and introduce myself! Have a great day, everyone. :happy: