I've been at an uncomfortable level of weight for about 2 1/2 years now. Prior to that I'd been at 175 (I'm a 5'5" woman) for 5 years, which I was actually okay with because I'm hourglass shaped and all the extra weight went to my bum, hips, upper thighs and breasts. But when I went through some pretty serious health issues I ballooned to 245 lbs. I've been trying off and on to lose it ever since.

Let me say up front that I hate logging calories. Hate it. So for those 2 1/2 years I tried to get my weight down in ways that worked in the past as this isn't my first weight loss rodeo. Intuitive eating, OMAD, vegetarianism. I couldn't stick with any of them. I went on a camping trip with my family this August, and looking through the pictures of myself from that trip, I couldn't stand any of them. I decided I was going to have to bite the bullet and submit to calorie counting.

After a shaky and non-commital start, as of today I've logged for 30 straight days. I haven't weighed myself in that time (I personally find it discouraging to only see small decreases in the scale) or taken measurements, but I feel like I can see a difference already, particularly in my waist and hips. In that time I've gone over my calorie budget 3 times by 100-300 kcal and plenty of days I've gone under. I'm still learning which meals/snacks work best for my goals, but overall I'm feeling pretty good about the future. I'm supposed to get married August 1st, and more than anything I want to feel beautiful and confident on that day.