Hi there! My name is Natalie and I am 26 years old and I live with my husband, 3 dogs, and 2 cats in Colorado Springs. I was never overweight when I was younger but like any other teenager, I had issues with my body. I was active and participated in a lot of sports which I believe now was the reason why I was able to eat whatever I wanted and not be overweight. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism when I was 12 years old and throughout the years, I have had much trouble maintaining it even though I’ve been on medication. Around the time I turned 19, I started steadily gaining weight. From 2000-2007, I gained about 80 pounds.

I’ve tried a couple of times to lose weight here and there and like so many others, I failed because I got bored and gave in to temptation. Every time my husband and I took vacations, we came back with a lot of pictures and when I saw the pictures of myself on the beach, I felt horrible. I wanted to be able to capture memories of my husband and me, but I got to the point where I stopped taking pictures because I didn’t want to look at myself. I was also embarassed to see people from the past and wondered what they thought of the new fat me. I started to think, “This is not the way I’m supposed to look.”

Almost two months ago, my sister told me she had joined Weight Watchers Online. She told me about the foods she was eating and I thought, “Hey, I can totally eat that!” We seem to have some similar tastes in what we like to eat. She told me she was really happy and that she was starting to lose weight, so that was it. I wanted to join too and get my body back!

Time was also an issue for me. I work full time and although I do not have any children (of human origin), I am also in school. My schedule is pretty hectic sometimes; I rarely even get to enjoy my weekends. But, Weight Watchers Online has made things so easy with the online tools and not having to attend weekly meetings. I would definitely suggest having some sort of support system whether it be a family member, friend, co-worker, online blog (!), etc., because the help is really worth it. My sister and I share recipes and ideas and we’ve gotten to the point where we talk nearly every day (as opposed to every month or so). The benefits of losing weight for me include the satisfaction of accomplishing something huge, feeling good about myself, and treating my body better while making it healthy again.

We hope that this site can help serve as a support system for you. Good luck and happy eating!

Lil Sis

P.S. I still can satisfy my sweet tooth! HA!