Cupcakes and Muffin Tops: Time for a Change

First post, here we go! I've decided that it's time to make a change in my life, and a big one at that. My New Year's resolution is to lose 142 pounds, and I need to have something to keep me motivated, on track, and someone/something to hold me accountable. So, here it goes:

My name is Lauren. I am 23-years-old. I'm an elementary school teacher in a small town in Missouri. I am 6 feet tall and (as of 1-6-14) I weighed 322 pounds. Yikes. Today (1-29-14), I weigh 311 pounds. 11 pounds down! Yay!

History Lesson:

Let me just give you a quick run-down of my life and battle with my weight.

I was never a skinny kid. I've always been tall and large for my age. All through elementary school, I was the biggest kid in my class, and I think that's when my self-esteem issues started. (Don't worry, I'll try not to get all emotional and whiny on here.) Anyway, I never felt like I fit in. I could never buy clothes at the same stores my friends shopped at or borrow cute things from their closets. As I got older, my weight continued to skyrocket. Middle and high school were the same. I got teased a bit, but I had a great group of friends who didn't care what I looked like, so it really wasn't too rough. Throughout high school, I weighed around 280 pounds and never, ever thought I'd go into the 300s in my life. I actually did Weight Watchers© for a while and lost around 50 pounds, but eventually, I got off track and lost my motivation. College was fun, but I would've had more fun if I hadn't been so overweight. I was self-conscious and didn't like going to the parties knowing that my skinny friends would probably end up having a better time than I did, but my sorority was full of girls who were average-sized to a bit overweight, so I felt a little more like I belonged. I dieted every now and then when I was motivated and even did Insanity® for a while with my roommates. I didn't get into the 300s in college until after I came back from a study abroad semester in Spain. I actually lost weight there, since I ate only meals and no snacks and walked literally everywhere, but when I got back, I just went crazy. I had missed American food, so I pigged out on all my favorites (Chinese food, pizza, desserts, etc.). I got a teaching job and thought my life would turn around now that I was on my own and could buy all of my own groceries and cook whatever I wanted. However, that turned into, "Hey! I pinned this delicious-looking thing on Pinterest I want to try that's worth about 1,000 calories a bite!" So, that's when my weight got out of control. I cried the first time the scale said 300 pounds (I'm very rarely a crier) and decided I had to make a change. But, that hopelessness made me feel like eating even more to cope with my issues and I just kept adding on the pounds. Finally, I decided enough was enough and I needed to take control or I would have serious health issues (like my mom) in the future. She was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple of years ago and they told her that weight is a big part of it. I'm already on medicine for hormone issues my body has, and hormones are a huge cause of breast cancer. My doctor told me that losing weight would help tremendously, but I guess I never really took her seriously until now.

Okay, history lesson over. Whining over. Excuses over. This is it, here and now. I'm going to turn my life around. I don't expect any followers on here, really, but just updating a blog every day (which is my current plan) will help me stay on track and make me feel accountable for my progress. I began the year using the Lose It©! app and I switched to Weight Watchers© yesterday because I wasn't doing as well as I should on the app, and I know for a fact that WW has worked for me in the past. Below are my "before" pictures and I hope that I will have the will power to make it to 180 pounds and get to post "after" pictures.

11 pounds annihilated, 131 to obliterate!

Let the journey begin!