I just like to eat (maybe some kind of addiction). Eating and not exercise is so much easier than diet and exercise. So the weight pack on and on. And before I know it, I already quite heavy.

I've always been a little large but when kids started calling me names in school and my parents got divorced, I started stress-eating. Then my parents would tell me I was gaining weight and would try and fix me but then I would sneak things and emotionally eat even more. Eventually I ballooned to a lovely 240 lbs at 5' 7" and now I'm trying to get all the weight off so I can finally feel better about myself at 22 years old. Hopefully, I will stay motivated and continue to lose. :)

1) I'm a foodie. Pasta, potatoes, and ice cream are my downfall.

2) Multiple injuries make exercise painful. I can swim, but my apartment's pool is only good for wading and is overrun by little kids all day and night. I'm in the process of buying a house and a pool is one of my gotta-haves.

SBG, your parents' pool may not be good for swimming laps, but water aerobics are a wonder low- to no-impact alternative, and excellent for nursing injuries while getting in shape.

I was always a chubby child - although looking back on photos, I was nowhere near as big as I thought I was! I always hung around with people who were smaller and slighter than me, so I always felt like a monster.

In the past 9years, I've put on probably 5 stone. I had a child and my partner left when I was pregnant. I think I wallowed in the sadness of being a single mam for far too long. My son (9) is the love of my life and I have focussed so much on him over the past 9yrs, that I completely ignored myself. There were days when he would eat fruit and veg in abundance and I would snack on the sandwiches, rather than sit down with him and eat the same healthy food myself. In fact, I rarely sat down with him to have a meal - I'd ensure he had a good healthy breakfast/dinner/tea and look on that time as a time when I could clean the house/iron/do some washing while he was occupied. How sad is that?

I also developed a liking for wine - and was definitely on a slippery slope! But getting home from work in the evenings and having that first glass to 'unwind' became something to really look forward to for me.

I might add that even though the past 9years have been difficult, I obviously found strength from somewhere as I bought my own home and got a new job in the past 4years.

So now, I am feeling great, not drinking and eating healthy and exercising. The transformation in my mood has astounded me - my son has even commented on me being very happy all the time:). We now sit down together for every meal and I am loving it:D