Gaining the weight

So let's cover some more history.. I wasn't always over weight. In high school I was a gymnast and I was pretty fit. I was very active but I had terrible eating habits. I ate a lot of fast food and pasta was my absolute favorite food. I ate a diet of almost all carbs. But I worked those calories off and managed to stay at a healthy weight.

After I graduated high school, I went to college and got a full time sedentary job. I spent the majority of my days sitting. I also was "on my own" with no parents to limit my food choices. I ate horribly tons of fast food, desserts, anything and everything I wanted. I started to gain weight. 15 pounds here.. Another 10 lbs. year after year getting heavier and heavier. 

By age 20 I was probably about 180-185. I managed to get down to about 170 by age 21 when I got married. Then I guess I gained newly wed weight. I managed to stay under 200 at least for a few years. But eventually I surpassed that mark. 

When I got pregnant with my first daughter at age 24 I was 215 lbs. I managed to have a pretty healthy pregnancy. I was more conscious of what I ate. I only "gained" 5 lbs. so I actually weighed less after giving birth. But still was about 200 lbs. I made an effort to eat healthy while I was nursing. I got down to 185. But that didn't last long. I didn't stick with it and I gained and gained and gained. And ended up at my high weight of 249. In June 2011, when I took this picture, I was literally at Rock bottom

I took this and promised myself that I wouldn't look like this anymore. I wasn't happy. I wasn't comfortable. I hated shopping. I didn't want to go anywhere or be photographed.  I wanted to wear cute clothes. I wanted to feel good about myself. I wanted to feel comfortable in my skin.  I wanted to be happy.  I knew I needed to make a change.  

Next post I will share what I did to lose the weight. What didn't work and what did.