Remember when you were in high school and you used to think you were “fat" and now you would do anything to look half as good as you did back then?

You've put on a few pounds since high school and you know that.

College came around and you got lazy, you ate crappy food from the dining hall or from Whataburger at 3 a.m. in the morning, which didn't help, but who didn't?! Then, one day, you tried on your favorite pair of jeans that used to fit you like a glove and they no longer fit so you decided it was time to make a change. You've tried all the “trendy" diets (which never work) and you go to the gym on a regular basis.

You don't have the time to be a complete nutrition junkie and gym rat because let's face it, it's time-consuming and expensive.

Despite all that you've done, you feel like nothing is working and that you're never going to feel good about the way you look and how much you weigh. You do all the “right" things that you think are supposed to help you shed that freshman 15... or 20... but you feel like every time you look in the mirror, try on clothes, or step on a scale there is barely a change and you get so frustrated!

Well, I'm here to fill you in on a little secret: YOU'RE NOT ALONE.

I myself have struggled with body image for a while. In high school, I wasn't the skinniest girl, but I wasn't “fat," either. I was fit and had curves and I was OK with that but still always wished I could lose that 5 extra pounds. Well, now I have a lot more than 5 lbs that I need to lose.

I've tried all sorts of diets, and counting calories, and workouts, and routines and I felt like I was getting nowhere and because of that, I was in a really bad place with how I looked at myself and how self-conscious I was with my weight. I would only wear pants or loose shirts and shorts to try to hide as much as possible and not let anyone see how much weight I really had gained.

Then, one day, I said enough is enough.

I starting eating better, eating better portions (even though going back for seconds for my mom's awesome cooking wasn't easy) and working out more because I was so unhappy with how I felt and how I looked. I was tired of being sick to my stomach every time I looked at myself in the mirror.

At the beginning, I shed the first few pounds fairly quickly — but all of a sudden, they didn't start coming off so easily. Then, one day in the midst of everything I was putting myself through, a couple of things hit me that I wish I had told myself a year ago and that I want YOU to remember.

First, losing weight is a SLOW process. It didn't take you a week to gain all that weight, so it's not going to go away that fast either. It takes work and patience and time. So don't beat yourself up if you're not where you want to be right away.

Secondly, it could be worse, so be thankful. You have to remember that although you're not where you want to be personally, someone else's “body goals" is to look the way you do now. Now, I am not saying that is an excuse to not be healthy.

As long as you are truly trying to be healthy by eating healthier in the right portions and staying active, that is what matters.

Being healthy matters.

You matter and you are beautiful regardless of what that scale or what society says. Losing weight isn't going to happen overnight so keep doing what you're doing because I promise you'll get there.

YOU GOT THIS!