Where to start, and then to figure out if it's relevant or not.

Was a skinny kid until about 8. Then got HEAVY, and my Mom called me names and bribed me to lose weight, but I was a KID! I didn't know how to lose weight on my own!- And like someone else here said, my mom too, kept buying crap for us to eat.

I lost weight again at about 14, boys and alcohol got into my system and I was running around wild and never eating! I stayed pretty thin until I was about 24. (I was in an affair relationship, I was stupid and on pins and needles waiting for him to leave her. He told me I'd be a knock out if I'd just lose a little weight! HA!- I was about 165, as you can see my goal is 160! At 5'7", 165 isn't bad!)

Anyway, at 24 I went on the road as a truck driver! YES!- "NINETY NINE CENT HEART ATTACK" as one country song puts it! Cheap and greasy food mixed with inactivity helped me to gain about 25 pounds.

When I was 27 I got married and got pregnant and I soared to 246 pounds before baby was born. Afterwards, I started gettting sugar cravings I just couldn't control. I started swamping myself in sugar. Then, that mixed with moving to Idaho after being raised in Florida (where you can go outside all year round for exercise)- helped me to climb back to 230 pounds.

WHEW! Then I saw an Atkins infomercial! Of all things! As you can see, it's been building up for me. Slowly each year. I've always had a terrible self image though, and I do relate that to my Mom calling me fat names and I knew she wanted a thin daughter. (She wanted a sober husband too, but that's a whole other post!)

I just think the most important people in my life at a very crucial part of a young female's developmental stage, programmed some really crummy things into me. It stuck. For me, this is a tricky question, because I think there are so many factors. But as I aged, it boiled down to me not having the information on what I should be eating. I too pigged out on pasta for many years thinking it was healthy! Now I know.

Carianne