Unassociated Press

During my senior year of high school and freshman year of college, I managed to pack on about 50 pounds. Lack of exercise and poor diet–very poor diet actually, one really shouldn’t have queso and chips with every meal–caused my gut to expand like it was on a mission to take over the world. I knew I needed to do something about it when I couldn’t fit into the largest size at my favorite store (Express only carries pants up to size 12, and my thighs were not cooperating with a size 12 anymore), but sticking to an exercise and diet regimine is truly a complete lifestyle change that doesn’t happen overnight. It took years for me to develop the horrid eating habits that led me to a whopping 191 pounds on my medium 5′8” frame. I was a mere four pounds away from having a BMI of 30 and being clinically obese, so to turn my life around was going to take continued effort and sustained motivation. (more…)