Weight has always been a struggle for me. Even as a child, I had problems it. Among my so-called grade school "friends," this generated cruel nicknames and loads of teasing and mocking, which only led me to eat more, to drown my sorrows, so-to-speak. Oh, sure I had a few friends throughout those years, but they were few and far between. Upon my graduation from high school, I was just over 300 pounds.
College brought change. My freshman apartment was made up of five girls who became my absolute bosom buddies, and there were even a few dates throughout the year. I moved off campus, joined a gym, and started feeling better about myself, but I still was never able to get to a normal weight range. I don't know how many nights I cried about it, feeling as if I would never find love if I couldn't even get guys to look past my larger-than-normal exterior.
I then served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Brazil. Walking miles every day, sweating in the intense heat and humidity, rarely eating much past 2 or 3 in the afternoon, and an abundance of fresh fruits and other foods helped me lose over 60 pounds. It was a great feeling, and I returned home in April 2005, feeling confident and fresh and ready to tackle the world.
I think that confidence and my new, smaller (though by no means "small") figure helped attract a number of men during the following months, and I finally fell in love with and married my husband, Cody. Even though I gained quite a bit of weight back while we were dating and first married (gotta love what eating out does to you), he always assured me that he found me attractive and beautiful. That meant so much to me and still does today.
College brought change. My freshman apartment was made up of five girls who became my absolute bosom buddies, and there were even a few dates throughout the year. I moved off campus, joined a gym, and started feeling better about myself, but I still was never able to get to a normal weight range. I don't know how many nights I cried about it, feeling as if I would never find love if I couldn't even get guys to look past my larger-than-normal exterior.
I then served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Brazil. Walking miles every day, sweating in the intense heat and humidity, rarely eating much past 2 or 3 in the afternoon, and an abundance of fresh fruits and other foods helped me lose over 60 pounds. It was a great feeling, and I returned home in April 2005, feeling confident and fresh and ready to tackle the world.
I think that confidence and my new, smaller (though by no means "small") figure helped attract a number of men during the following months, and I finally fell in love with and married my husband, Cody. Even though I gained quite a bit of weight back while we were dating and first married (gotta love what eating out does to you), he always assured me that he found me attractive and beautiful. That meant so much to me and still does today.
1 comment:
I completely relate to this post. I so know what you mean!
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