First entry, here we go.

Hello internet! Hello people who read this (or more likely person who reads this! haha).

My name is Blair. I'm 24 years old and since I was really young, I've been a Chubby girl. I can probably pinpoint the time in my life when I became a chubby girl and it was around the age of 6 or 7. So for the vast majority of my life, I've been teased by classmates, frustrated at clothing stores, miserable walking up hill, and just plain unhappy with my body. I know, I know, you all out there who don't have weight problems are probably thinking "Why don't you do something about it? Like lose weight?" Well, the thing about that is... I tried. A lot. I tried many different types of diets as a teenager and as a young adult, but either frustration or life circumstances through me off track.

But this time, it's different. I reached my highest weight last spring on the eve of my 23rd birthday. Are you ready? I'm about to post my highest weight. Sure, it's embarassing and some might say even pathetic, but I need to be accountable to more than just my Mom and my boyfriend. Last spring, I weighed 353 pounds. Shocking, isn't it? 353. Sometimes I hardly believed it. But my body felt it. It was hard to be on my feet for long periods of time and I didn't feel good in my own skin.

So last summer, my Mom and I started Weight Watchers, right after my birthday. And I ended up losing about 26 pounds over the course of the summer. But then, of course, those pesky life circumstances come in and I went on to my second year of graduate school, where time was scarce (especially time in my apartment), food was an emotional crutch for stress, and I ate out at restaurants a lot. I didn't gain all the weight back, but I got back up to 344. And I just realized that I needed to make a change. A real change. A lasting change.

I have quite a few reasons for this change, some of them legitimate and some of them a bit vain. You see, being overweight runs in my family: parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, second cousins... you get the point. My family has a lot of overweight people. We live in the South, food is a social and comforting thing, which is fine until you forget about that thing called moderation. Likewise, my family has a history of health problems: diabetes, heart disease, knee and joint problems. Ergo my first reason for really really really being serious about getting the weight off is that I want to lengthen my life and increase my quality of life. I want to be able to climb stairs without sounding like I've had an asthma attack. I want to be able to run with my dog. And I'd also like to stop the knee problems I've started to have. At 24.

The second reason is that I am in a relationship with a wonderful man and one day, I think I'll marry him. We've been dating for 2 and 1/2 years and I can't imagine being with anyone else who could make me happier. And, of course, since he's so wonderful, he loves me just the way I am... Now. He wants me to be healthy and to make this change, but he tells me I'm beautiful every day. But the real second reason for losing weight is that I simply do not want to be a fat bride. I want to look my best, for me and for him. I want to be able to buy a wedding dress, wear it, and think I look stunning. And it may seem vain, but every little girl dreams of a wedding and I'm dreaming of one where I'm mostly happy with my body.

Likewise, my third reason involves a pregnancy. I am the type of person who wants to have children very badly and having a child in the body I'm in now would be extremely dangerous, if not impossible. I want to lose weight so I can safely carry a child without excessive complications.

So those are my reasons and the first week of June, my mom and I started Weight Watchers again, mixing in a 3-day-Diet that my uncle recommended. We started doing the three day diet on the Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday of every other week, and then all other days and weeks will consist of counting Weight Watcher Points. So far, I've lost 17 pounds. My weight is 327.6 pounds and I have no intention of stopping anytime soon. My favorite thing about Weight Watchers is that it is so easy to incorporate into a life change and though I'm definitely watching what I eat, I don't feel deprived, which is the first step in diet failure to me.

So, that's my story. I made this blog to chronicle my journey into weight loss. If you have any encouraging things to say, any tips or ideas, or any questions, please feel free. If you have any negative comments or smart remarks, please (by all means) keep them to yourself or simply don't read my blog. Your choice. :)

Until next time,

BB