Emily's Story

Shit's about to get real...

As a child, I was underweight. As in: regularly checked for malnutrition. I cried every time I had blood drawn. I was active and bright and I wasn't delayed - I was just tiny. In about third grade, I started to catch up with my peers. By middle school, I was chubby. And I only got bigger from there.

Eight years ago, I got serious about weight loss. I quickly lost 30 pounds and plateaued. I was so motivated while I was losing, but I couldn't find my way past the block. I maintained that loss for about 6 months. At that time, my dad nearly died (more on that below), I had some relationship issues, and my job got really stressful. Something had to give, and unfortunately my healthy habits were the first thing on the chopping block. Over the course of the next year, I gained back all 30 pounds that I'd lost. And more. And some more after that. In fact, I ended up 60 pounds over my previous "heavy" weight.

I haven't dieted since. I've eliminated food groups from time to time, though. The first was dairy products. I did feel better, but nothing significant, so I didn't withhold cheese for long.

About 18 months ago, I started noticing an intolerance to gluten. I had all of the typical symptoms, so in June of 2013, I cut it out. And DANG! I felt better than I had in years! No more diarrhea, back pain, acne, or sensitive skin. My headaches were significantly reduced and my migraines were almost completely eliminated. I also lost 30 pounds without trying.

BTW, it was harder to give up cheese than it was to give up gluten!

Since I've never been a "normal" weight, I don't know what it's like to live in an attractive body. I absolutely do want to look better (and wear cuter clothes!), but my motivation is health.

My dad developed Type 2 diabetes in his early 20's. He lived in denial for many years. He eventually started losing his sight and started seeking help at that point. After some blood tests, his doctor called and told him to go to the hospital immediately. He'd been having small heart attacks and didn't realize it and his kidneys were failing. He had a quintuple bypass about a week later and then began dialysis. He received a donor kidney eight years ago and takes better care of himself now than he ever did before...

My dad is great, but I don't want to follow in his footsteps. I refuse to live in denial. I want more from life than I can reasonably expect if I continue as I am.

And so I begin! Glad to have Lesley here with me as we get healthy!