Vanity's story: It started 3 years ago
It was January of 2001 when I saw my “before” picture. It was of me at a party at a friend’s house. I thought I was looking all cute, until my friend showed me the pictures a week later. My famous words were “Damn, how come you didn’t tell me I was fat!?” I knew I had a little weight problem, but it never really affected me before.
I was a fat baby, fat toddler, fat adolescent, fat teenager and on my way to being a fat adult. The only time that I knew I was overweight was as a young child, attending a snooty private school where all the rich kids made fun of my weight. I cried constantly. My parents finally had the good sense to transfer me into another school in the 6th grade. There, I was free to start all over. The kids at the new school didn’t make fun of me; they accepted me and tried to include me in activities. I began to open up. By the 8th grade, I was the most popular kid in the school. I was voted homecoming queen, had boyfriends and was liked by most. I was 220 pounds and only 13 years old. I had forgotten that I was fat.
High school was no different. I was popular and very active in clubs and sports. By my senior year in 1997, I was 238 pounds, a size 16. Again, I had no idea I was seriously overweight. Both of my parents were fat, and no one was telling me to make better food choices. I just ate what mom and dad cooked.
I went off to college in June of 1997 and I was alone. No parents, no teachers standing over my shoulders telling me what decisions to make. I was by myself, and had choices and that was GREAT! At Indiana University, there were only fast food options, hardly any traditional dining halls where I could get a decent meal. So every day I ate hot dogs, hamburgers, Chinese food, pizza, and tacos. The freshmen fifteen came along rather quickly.
College was a blast, I made new friends, went to all the parties and bars. I was living it up. I don’t know how I maintained a “B” average. Which brings us back to January 2001. I saw that picture and I could not believe how I looked. I thought I was much smaller than that; at least I was in my own mind. I guess I could not conceive what 263 pounds and a size 22-24 really looked liked.
So I tried LA Weight Loss. It worked for a while, but I was starving to death. I was miserable. But I was losing. I thought that’s how a diet was supposed to work. If you weren’t hungry and depriving yourself, you weren’t doing it right.
I had a friend, who was at the most a size 12 at the time, try the Atkins diet. I scolded her, saying the diet was unhealthy. But she proceeded anyway and lost the weight quickly and successfully. I stuck to my sad LA Weight Loss existence.
May 2001, I received a huge opportunity. I got an internship for the Local Fox News affiliate. This was my dream come true, or that’s what I thought. The camera and those behind it are very cruel. I looked horrible on TV. I was told ‘you have such a pretty face, but you really need to lose weight if you are going to be a TV reporter.’
I was so depressed and upset at myself that I started drinking alcohol very heavily. Drowning the pain of finally realizing that I was fat. So in June of 2001, I was fed up. I had to do something about my weight. I could not accept hearing my faults. I was under the impression that I was doing just fine. So remembering my friend and the low carbohydrate diet she tried, I did some Internet research and got started. Boy was it hard. I had headaches and was in a bad mood. But I stuck with it.
By December 2001, my graduation date, I was 50 pounds lighter and the smallest I had ever been as a young woman. I continued the fight, on and off. Now I’m back on, cheat free and I’m going towards my goal of 140 and now training for a marathon on October 24, 2004.
Wish me the BEST!
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