I started my weight loss journey at 246 pounds. I plateaued immediately within the first week. I injured my left knee the second week. I had so many reasons to keep going, that giving up didn’t seem like an option, even if I should’ve.

Those reasons to keep going are as follows:

Image – I was tired of looking in the mirror and seeing someone who looked normal to me, yet, whom others regarded as a “big girl.” I never thought I looked big or “fat” so I figured if I made my body match my mind, then maybe others would see the girl whom I’ve always seen, in the mirror.

Dating – I was told by one guy that if I “gave it time,” he might eventually be attracted me. Another guy told me that my face was pretty but that my body “mmm…not so much.” While hanging out with a close female friend of mine, a guy I was dating told us a fat joke about myself, comparing my friend’s skinnier body to mine. To me, I thought that if I lost the weight that those types of conversations would stop happening. Now, the smaller I get, the less justifiable the insults feel.

I didn’t know that shrinking my body would not shrink the expectations
of men.