Growing up I was a pretty active kid, I loved going outside and playing with my friends, climbing trees and running around. When I was about 9 or 10 I remember coming into my curves. I started growing a butt and a grown woman body shape (boobs, hips, etc), to where the girls at school would make fun of me, because they could see I was getting cellulite. I was an active kid so I was no where near unhealthy but the fact that my body was changing in a way I didnt know how to deal with and I would get put down for that really truamatized me. I also had a abundance of family issues growing up that really taught my sister and I how to turn to food for comfort. By the time I was 13 we had moved to a new state in hopes to build a fresh start, when in reality it just made our family problems worse causing me to turn even more to food and making my weight sky rocket. I remember I was hanging out with my new friends and they started to get on the scale just to see where they were at not to make fun of anyone but just to know. When I stepped on the scale and saw 155 lbs at just 13 years old I almost died. For my friends who seemed to be the same type of body shape and height as me were only 130 lbs. After that I continued to go back and forth with my wieght, I would be active but I also ate whatever I wanted so by the time I was 15 I hit 170 lbs, after that i told myself a change had to be made. I started walking EVERYWHERE, I ate healthier and by the end of my Junior year of highschool I was back down to 155, I stayed there my whole senior year then I graduated... Thats when things start to become a huge messy blur for me. For I litterely ate everything I wanted, all the time, everyday, when I would make the effort to exercise I would just give up again and again. I told myself that people love me the way I am and thats alright for me that this was the body I was given and nothing can change that. But in reality it hurt, it hurt to gain the weight, it hurt to look at myself in the mirror. I would take pictures and ask myself who is that? I was stuck in living this crazy lie that by the time I moved away AGAIN to get a fresh start I was 20 years old and 210 lbs. It felt gross, I remember I would stuff my face with the bad things, because it felt so wonderful to consume but it would put me in so much pain afterwords to where I would just go to sleep. I remember watching my stomach grow and my body change yet I didnt really see it cuz it never motivated ME to change. It was painful dark times, so when I stepped on the scale and saw 210 lbs was when I said THATS IT! So I started with the basics, I stopped drinking soda, stopped eating fast food, and went to try out healthier options, I even tried crazy diet bills that would make me feel like a different person, which I hated but they helped and I got down to 190 but i stayed there for a while for I couldnt find a structure to keep up with. It wasnt until about a year and a half ago that i realized if I want to be the best I can possibly be I would need to work out everyday and eat the healthiest things I could find, dont get my wrong I fell off the wagon still. I sure do enjoy sweets, Ice cream is one of my weaknesses and when the holidays come around I cant help but want to eat EVERYTHING, this last holiday season I didnt though, so that was a huge step for me. I also have a bad back and suffer from depression/anxiety that just esculate my pain to where I just dont feel like working out. But I am done finding excuses, so here I am at 177 lbs ready to conquer my dreams and be the BEST I CAN BE. This will always be a journey for me, but its something I want and NEED to keep up with. For when I have kids they can grow up and see how i do things and want the best life for themselves!