Hi Mari!! You are beautiful!!

I’m Emmy from New York, in America :)

I need to get a LOT of help and support!!

The pandemic really, really scared me. I started working from home and was afraid to go out. I don't know how to cook and I ordered delivery from restaurants every night.

I was already pretty lazy before the pandemic but normally I would get exercise from walking during my commute or walking around stores... but then for 16 months I didn't even get that.

There were a lot of days I barely got out of bed or off the couch.

I watched 6-12 hours of TV per day.

I felt super stressed and food was a big coping mechanism and source of comfort for me!!

I felt tired all the time and my productivity dropped but my work was super understanding because they knew everybody was under a lot of stress. They didn't check in on us a lot. I definitely started to feel lazy and I got used to taking a lot of naps.

My body changed a lot during te pandemic. Especially my belly. My waistline grew a lot.

Now, they are making us go back to the office and expecting more productivity. For the past few months I have been really struggling to adjust because I still feel scared and feel weird about going outside without a mask.

I am 5'5" and was a healthy 160 pounds at the start of the pandemic. In July when I started going back to work I weighed 242 pounds. 

Since then I have tried to lose weight but nothing has worked. I’m getting close to 260 and I’m scared because the weight won’t stop!! :(

I am noticing changes like not being able to walk as far without feeling out of breath. The first time back at work I felt faint and dizzy when I was going up the stairs, and had to stop to catch my breath. It was really embarrassing and scary. But I hadn't really done stairs in SO long so I guess my body was not ready for that. Now I feel afraid to do the stairs too much so I walk to the other end of the hall to use the elevator even though it takes longer.

I work on a computer so I sit all day long. Even though all I do is sit, I feel exhausted. I am always tired and after lunch time all I want to do is lie down. I have pillows to make my office chair more comfortable but I miss laying on my bed when I worked from home!! My muscles feel sore all the time even though I'm not even using them much.

I feel so overwhelmed I just want to quit. My friend said I should get a gym membership. But if I'm struggling this tired out walking around the office I don't feel like I can handle the gym.

I'm not an athletic girl - I've always been more of of the “couch potato” type girl and a curvy and thick and larger size girl. I'm apple shape so I've always had extra fat around my belly, but I used to carry my weight better and I could hide the belly fat with spanx and high waisted pants. But now my fat is just really noticeable and I can't hide it.

I have gone up sizes. I did a lot of online shopping when I was staying home but I can't fit into most of it comfortable anymore. I have rolls on my arms and back now. I am trying to accept my self and I am okay with how my legs, butt, and arms look... but my belly area is a big insecurity for me.

I have no clue where to start to get in shape again. I need something EASY because "just hit the gym" is not really do-able for me.

Here are before/after pics from pre-pandemic and then from when I started going to work again (wore the teal dress to work on my first day).

PLEASE be kind and give me lots of encouragement and support!!!