Before I begin telling my story, I understand what you're probably feeling right now. You may have gone through a time when you lost weight and you finally felt good about yourself.

Months or years went by and you notice you've gained your weight back. You understand that you haven't been working out like you used to, or you started eating more and moving less. The thought of having to "start over" at the gym scares you because you knew the amount of time it took to get that body you once had.

But you have to understand that everyone starts somewhere, right? It may not be easy, but it is possible to feel like your old self again. Trust me, I'm also currently in this situation. But I am prepared to start over.

Towards the end of 2016, I was the heaviest I've ever weighed, which was the lowest point in my life. I just finished my first semester of college. You could say that I'd gained the "freshman 15," but I couldn't help it because I was eating everything in sight and I didn't have my parents to monitor me all the time. After coming home from college, I went to my yearly physical and when I tell you I was in denial, girl.

When I stood on that scale and heard the nurse call the number, I was shocked. I even started taking off extra items of clothing to make sure she was wrong, but the number was still the same. I was so scared that I was eligible for diabetes or something, and I was just nervous. My doctor was telling me about diabetes, but luckily, I didn't have it. I knew I gained weight, but I didn't know that was MY NUMBER.

I could complain all I wanted. But that obviously wasn't going to solve my problems at all. After that day, I immediately started going to the gym. I've always worked out, but not that often. In fact, I actually ate more calories than burning them. My campus also provides shuttles for students, so I was always taking them rather than walking to class. That's why I gained all the weight.

But after that doctor's visit, I was in the gym pretty much every day. If not every day, it was 3-5 days a week. I started this in late December of 2016 and kept it up all 2017.

Working out was actually easier for me. It was my diet that needed work.

To be realistic, I knew damn well I wasn't going to have a kale-spinach-organic-vegan-alkaline water-infused smoothie over a greasy pizza. I actually ate whatever I wanted.

But I had to eat things in moderation.

I would eat my salads here and there, but I was still eating the same foods I always loved. I have been using an app called MyFitnessPal, which counts your calories, documents everything you eat, and the amount of exercise you do. So yeah, basically like a food diary.

But this little app really helped me lose weight. I've actually been using the app since June 2013. But in January 2017, I was actually following the rules and took it seriously. I would only eat a certain number of calories a day and I also stopped eating after 8 p.m.

Over the course of the year, I lost about 40 pounds. I could have lost even more if I was on a stricter diet, but I didn't care because at that point I was so happy. I dropped a few pants sizes and I haven't weighed that low since the very beginning of high school (or maybe the summer of eighth grade).

And then I got too comfortable and gained my weight back.

After taking a break from the gym and going back to my "usual" unhealthy diet, I started to gain back my weight. I was still going to the gym, but way less than usual. I knew I gained a few pounds, but I didn't even bother. I also moved into an apartment my junior year and I was cooking heavy meals, since I was excited about cooking.

When I came back home for winter break in 2018-2019, I got weighed again and realized I gained my weight back. I wasn't happy, but I definitely wasn't surprised. I actually thought I weighed more and I was glad it wasn't terrible. I also knew that I can do the same routine again as I did in 2017.

I am determined to lose this weight for good and stop getting too comfortable. I now learned that I shouldn't eat everything on sight and it's okay to save food as leftovers, in terms of my cooking. Now that I know what to do and what not to do, I can start my journey.

It's going to be a long road, but I will definitely lose this weight.