Hello

Hi there

I thought I'd say hello as this seems to be a good tool for motivation and tracking progress.

I'm Charlotte, I'm 22 and I live in Edinburgh. I'm 5'4" and weigh about 164 at the moment, but I've always struggled with my weight. From being dangerously underweight to overweight and inbetween. So I really need to take matters into my own hands and maintain a healthy weight in a healthy way.

This is made difficult for me, as once I decide to demonise a food it can't pass my lips at all, so I've promised myself that if I really want something I can have it in some form or another, making the healthiest choice. So that means I'll be able to get all the food groups without unduly excluding something like I know I might. And keeping track will help me realise if I'm eating things in the right proportions.

My reasons to this are that my dad almost died after bariatric surgery in March, he needed that due to medications making his weight unmanageable, so I'm not in danger of following suit. However there is a family history of diabetes, which is something I desperately want to avoid. Also seeing him in that position and being so angry that it was avoidable in some respects made me realise I'd never want to get to that stage.

I'm also going to a wedding in Scandinavia in 9 weeks and you never know if I might run into a tall viking (specifically Alexander Skarsgard...dreamy), so I want to get in shape for that. I know I won't lose the whole amount by then, but I'll give it a go to do as much as I can in a healthy way.

So in total I want to lose between 20-30lbs to keep my BMI in the healthy range. I've given up alcohol and do CV exercise 5 times a week in differing intensities and I also do core strength and weight training at home. These are the biggest changes I've made, as I try to eat a balanced diet, but I'm also replacing less healthy choices with healthier ones.

I look forward to chatting with you all!