Message Replying To

From Meg, Age 17

Ht. 5'8", Start: 260 lb, Today: 255 lb, Goal: 170 lb - Ever since I was in fifth grade, I've always had problems with my weight. It wasn't so bad back then, though. I was tall, and just a bit thick. However, as the years went by, I just seemed to gain more and more weight. Now, at the age of seventeen, I am a horrifying weight of 260lbs. More than anything, I want to be healthy and fit. I'm too young to be as big as I am. I'm too young to be having chest and back pain, too young to be out of breath after walking three flights of stairs, too young to start sweating bullets after jogging a block to reach the bus. I want to be confident. I want to not have to worry about whether or not a shirt will show my love handles, or if jeans will fit too tight. I want to be able to shop with my friends in the same clothes store, without having to stand there and watch them try on size 5 and 7 and 9 pants, all the while knowing that the store definitely wouldn't have the same jeans in a 16. I want to look in a mirror and not hate my body. I want to eat an ice cream cone on occasion, and NOT feel like I'm a whale for eating it. I don't want to worry about my health, and fear going to the doctor because he will reprimand me again for gaining weight, instead of loosing it. I want to feel good about myself. I want to LOOK good. I want to loose weight, and for once in my life, not be the "fat girl in class b", or "that big girl that hangs out with Erica". I want to be fit, healthy, and slim-- more than anything.