I don't think I remember a time when I was happy with my weight. In sixth grade a friend of my mom's was taking me shopping for jeans and pointed out that I had quite the belly. I was not actually overweight at this point but this may just be the start of my body unhappiness. Though I never turned to crash diets or pills to try and lose weight I was always unhappy with my body and wishing it was something different.

Spuriously in high school and permanently in college I started ...

I don't think I remember a time when I was happy with my weight. In sixth grade a friend of my mom's was taking me shopping for jeans and pointed out that I had quite the belly. I was not actually overweight at this point but this may just be the start of my body unhappiness. Though I never turned to crash diets or pills to try and lose weight I was always unhappy with my body and wishing it was something different.

Spuriously in high school and permanently in college I started incorporating exercise into my life and found just how integral it became. I became officially addicted in college and haven't stopped exercising since. I attempted time and again to lose the weight I wanted to lose without taking diet into consideration, with exercise alone. I would lose a little bit and then gain it all right back, and some as soon as my schedule became too busy to do all the exercise I wanted.

The last 4 years before starting Spark I was slowly spiraling higher and higher in weight. Every summer I would lose 5 pounds and then every winter I'd gain ten or 15. If you do the math you can see that my overall weight was going slowly but steadily up. As my weight went up my lethargy also increased along with my displeasure about my body. It was harder to do enough exercise and have the energy to cook healthful meals to combat the increasing weight!

After starting Spark something shifted in my mentality. I truly decided to make a lifestyle change, no more excuses! Exercise and healthful eating aren't just for the summer when I have "time" to incorporate them into my life. They finally became priorities! I think the most important component for my success was finally getting my eating under control. By charting my nutrition here on Spark I was able to understand just HOW MUCH I was normally eating. Not that I was necessarily eating unhealthful things, but I was eating way too much.

After making this realization and making changes to eat more healthfully while maintaining (and increasing my exercise as necessary) I was finally able to meet my weight loss goals! I currently weigh less than I ever have as an adult and I can officially say that this is the first time I've ever been happy with my body. It's not "perfect" by comparison to the models in the magazine but I'm really happy with my imperfect body.

Now my plan is all about maintaining the weight loss I've accomplished. It hasn't been easy but I've been maintaining for over a year and plan to continue maintaining for the rest of my life.

Read More About LMDIENER (Updated January 16)