Weight Struggles

     It has been exactly 2 weeks today since I have started this journey. I have to admit this is not the first time that I have taken this journey. I have been down this road several times but for different reasons. This time I am going to make sure I never travel down this road again!
     For as long as I can remeber I have struggled with my weight. I was always the chubby kid. I always envied my younger siblings because they have always been underweight. They can eat whatever they want and never gain a pound. If I even look at it I would gain 10! So not fair! The key is that they rarely over eat. I on the other hand will eat till I am literally sick! I can not stop! I use to have no self control even as a child.
    I was always over weight growing up until I reached puberity. Then magically I slimmed up. Now looking back, I can say I was skinny. Then, I could never see it. Isn't it funny how that works! From junior high to high school I was average weight or slightly below average. I was very active and participated in basketball and cheerleading. It was ok to eat anything I wanted because I burned a lot of calories. This quickly changed though!
    Once in college my lifestyle completely changed. I wasn't cheering or playing basketball but eating the same and maybe even worse. I quickly gained the freshmen 20. This actually wasn't a big deal. I went from weighing 115 lbs in HS to 135 lbs in college. This weight is pretty close to my ideal body weight for my height of 5'6. I stayed aroung this weight until my junior year of college. This year in college I started dating my now husband. He was an offensive lineman (center to be exact) for the Delta State football team. He would eat a lot which meant that I began to eat A LOT! After dating for one year, I had put on 50 lbs! That's right, when I graduated college I weighed 186 lbs!!!!!
   After college I decided to go back to school to become a Cardiac Sonographer. I had to move by myself to Mobile, AL to go to school for this. The program was for one year. During this year of living on my own I managed to live off of lean cuisenes and soup with an occasional meal with friends. My mom would come down usually once a month and we would of course eat good that weekend :) During this year in Mobile, I managed to lose 45 lbs. Once I moved back home I weighed 141 lbs.
   I started my career, moved to Memphis with John, got engaged, bought a house, and got married all within 9 months. We began eating out a lot. I also get 2-4 free catered meals a week at work. It wasn't long until the weight began to creep back up! I managed to keep my weight around 170 - 175 lbs. After being married for a year and a half we found we were expecting! At my first doctors appointment I weighed 183 lbs! I gained 29 lbs with my pregnancy, weighing 212 lbs when I gave birth to Cash.
    I have been up and down for going on 5 years now. Now I am starting to learn and realize that I have to change my whole lifestyle and the way I have always looked at food. It takes dedication and determintation. I know I can do it! I am going to lose the weight and KEEP IT OFF!