Hi everyone! My name is Heidi.

I have found it very helpful and inspiring to read other people's stories and decided to post mine.

I have been overweight my entire life. I was constantly teased and tormented in school. I remember running to the counselor in Middle School because one of the mean girls (who I was actually good friends with in Elementary school) was saying mean things about my weight. The Counselor's response was that I had to learn to ignore them. Not ...

Hi everyone! My name is Heidi.

I have found it very helpful and inspiring to read other people's stories and decided to post mine.

I have been overweight my entire life. I was constantly teased and tormented in school. I remember running to the counselor in Middle School because one of the mean girls (who I was actually good friends with in Elementary school) was saying mean things about my weight. The Counselor's response was that I had to learn to ignore them. Not exactly what a 12 year old girl with severe self esteem issues needed to hear! I would go home and scarf down an entire FAMILY SIZE bag of Lays Potato Chips. This continued throughout High School. When I graduated I was in the lower to mid 200's.

Fast forward to adult life. I met my Husband while working at Mc Donald's, we moved in together shortly after we started dating and married less than a year later when I was 21. We continued eating McDonald's and other fast food and started moving up in life starting our careers. Eventually I landed a desk job at a mortgage company paying double what I had been making!

I reached my highest weight after I took on that desk job. Next thing you know at a doctor's appointment I saw those numbers TWO-NINE-SIX.....4 lbs from 300 and I was only 23! After that I would always complain to my Husband that I was so fat. One day he looked me straight in the eyes and said either do something about it or stop whining. Somehow that lit a fire under my rear. I re-joined my gym and started walking on the treadmill. I couldn't do much at first, but I kept at it and before I knew it I was doing 60 - 90 min on the Treadmill on the hills setting.

Around this time I found spark people while researching how to lose weight. I started diligently tracking my food and not allowing myself to go over calories. I remember times of frustration when my Husband would tell me to keep pushing it would happen. Eventually group classes sparked my interest. I started doing boot camp and water aerobics. Next thing I knew I was down to 250!

Then life changed. My Husband and I ended up going separate ways. I was immature, I did not give him a second chance. After 4 years I saw excitement in something new. Shortly after we separated I was with a new person. Our relationship moved FAST. We moved in together after only dating for a month. I stopped being so active on Spark, I dropped my gym membership (I truly couldn't afford it after the split).

I managed to keep the weight down and only ended up gaining 10 lbs. My new relationship was abusive - physically and emotionally. Yet I stayed. July of 09 was the last time he laid a hand on me. I called the cops on him that night, he went to jail and reached a plea deal with the district attorney that required him to complete a batterer's course. He successfully completed this course in March of 2010. In September 2010 I moved out and haven't looked back since!

One of the best things to happen to me thus far is adopting my dogs. They push me to be active every day and when I have a bad day they are always there for me!

Once again my life changed, this time for the better......my Husband entered my life. We had been friends through my abusive ex, and we saw each other at various parties/get-togethers along the way. The very first night I met him I thought he was good boyfriend material, but I was "happy" with my current relationship and not really looking. Fast forward to October 2010, I just moved out of the house I had with my ex in September and I was invited to this friend's Halloween Party. I almost chickened out and didn't go, but pushed myself to go (at least for a couple hours I told myself). Well, those couple hours turned into about 8 hours! Ever since that day my Husband and I have been inseparable. We tied the knot on May 19th, 2012!

Unfortunately with that new and exciting relationship I lost focus of my great diet/exercise habits and gained back every last pound...right back to 260 :( I have been struggling for the past year trying desperately to get back on track to no avail. I am now starting from scratch once more, this time for good!

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