High school was a very stressful time. No, nothing incredibly traumatic happened to me, but the usual stresses of high school were in full effect. I woke up at 6 am everyday, went to school, and had rehearsals everyday after school until 6 pm (9 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays). I maintained a 3.6 GPA, had all A's and B's, kept up a social life, was an officer for drama club, in band, show choir and theater... and with all of that I gained about 50 pounds throughout high school. Yes folks you read that right. By the end of my senior year I was 264 pounds. I started my freshman year at around 215.

No, I was never skinny. I was always considered overweight for my age and height. I've always found that weird however... No matter how much I was dancing, walking, running, I always ate more than I burned off. In middle school I just ate when I was bored. It wasn't even at social events or with friends. I wasn't busy in that time so I went home and ate. In high school however, it was more because that was the fun thing to be doing. Especially since us upperclassmen would drive out before rehearsals and eat together everyday. After our productions we'd all meet and go out to eat. On weekends we'd go out to brunch, or order Jimmy John's at every Saturday rehearsal. Without realizing I was over eating myself into obesity.

No, matter what number I saw on the scale, I never felt out of place with my friends. I never felt as large as I was. I was always loved, and fit right in, and I'm so thankful for friends who made me feel that way. But I was aware of how much I weighed. It always bothered me, and I did so much to try and help myself. I got a personal trainer, pushed myself a little more in gym, danced extra hard at rehearsals, but even so the eating got the best of me. At the end of my senior year it got to the point where I'd kind of given up. I accepted I'd never be skinny, and I was ready to take on the rest of my life like that. But as soon as I got to college something changed.

Time flies when you're in college. It's like you wake up, go to class, see some friends, do homework, and BAM, it's 10 pm. Then you fall asleep and do it the next day. That's how it worked for me anyways. I wasn't incredibly busy like I was in high school, yet I lost the time to over eat. I also stopped drinking soda and started eating pretty healthy when I did eat! Oh... and don't forget the two hour walks I tend to go on at the most random times of the day... So in combination of not eating as much, eating healthier, and walking for hours in a day, I lost about 15 pounds in two months. I remember checking the scale in the gym, and seeing the lowest number I've seen in a while. It may not seem like I did a lot, and I didn't think so either! But it was enough to get my body on the right track. Ever since then I've been on a healthy track to lose weight.

After those two months I started to actually go to the gym. I made a weekly workout routine, and actually really enjoy the time to myself while working out. Diet wise I made a few drastic changes... I'm a vegetarian now! It really helped me not go out to eat. I can't eat any fast food anymore, and with that I stopped enjoying unhealthy food. I don't like desserts, fries, shakes... the stuff I used to binge was completely out of my diet. I only drink water, eat healthy and workout everyday. So with all of that, from August 2016 to April 2016, I have lost 75 pounds. It may seem easy just reading that sentence, like "oh wow you ate well and exercised and you lost weight". But it was a lot harder than you think. I went from 264 to 190. I no longer eat anything I used to, and find time to work out and hour a day. It's not easy.

Obviously I'm not where I want to be; it'll take some more time and efforts to make it. I'm hoping for the end of this summer to be where I want to be! I want to thank all of my friends for still accepting and loving me regardless of my size. Your constant support motivates me everyday! And to my family, thank you for adjusting to my diet and giving me constant support. I love you and will continue to make you proud. I can't wait to report back when I'm at my final goal! If you're on a weightloss journey, you can do it! Start small and you'll see big changes.