For the past 10 years or so, I've been on and off Weight Watchers a million times. I join, I lose some weight, I get tired of salad, I quit, I gain a bunch of weight, I join again... you know the cycle. So when I was accepted to college four years ago, I joined again in an attempt to get healthy. But... college food. I gained 30 pounds freshman year. I weighed in regularly, but I just kept gaining weight, and I gave up on the program pretty quickly. My go-to meal was chicken tenders and french fries. I was clogging my arteries, and putting myself in danger of high blood pressure, but I didn't care. Chocolate fudge Poptarts seemed worth it to me.

Then a little over a year ago, something clicked in my head. Maybe it was the fact that I had to order clothes online because I couldn't find any in my size in any stores. Maybe it was my eighth meal of chicken tenders in one week. But I think more it was that one day I looked in the mirror, saw myself - -I mean really saw myself -- and hated myself. How did it get this out of control? At 150 pounds over a healthy weight for someone my height and age, I could hardly stand to look at my reflection. Nothing was worth this.

So I recommitted. I've never had such drive for something in my life than last summer when I decided I was going to be healthy, no matter what it took. I started working the program at Weight Watchers again. I went to a meeting every week (still do), started to participate and share in them, celebrated even the smallest of victories (showing up at the gym for 15 minutes a week was quite a victory for me back then), changed the foods I ate and started to really try. At home we changed our meal habits completely, adding fresh vegetables to our meals, cutting out butter as much as possible and switching to skim milk. Soda stopped showing up in abundance on the bar fridge. For a time cookies were basically banned. Fruit populated our fridge instead of junk food.

I had one goal in my head -- by the time I graduated college, I wanted to be 50 pounds lighter. Most of the time it was just a fantasy. I'd hit 25 pounds before, and that was usually when I would quit. This time was different, though. This time I was changing my lifestyle for real, and I had friends supporting me every moment of every day (my accountability partner in particular -- she has been a lifesaver these past few years).

A few weeks ago I got so close to 50 pounds, but I was in denial. No way. I couldn't do it. But my leaders (I was blessed with multiple since I traveled between locations) always encouraged me, and the people in all of my meetings were so excited for me to get there.

In the end, I made it. I just made it, but I made it all the same. Five days before graduation, I made it to 50 pounds lost.

So what does it feel like to be 50 pounds lighter? I can walk up a flight of stairs without losing my breath now. I can go on the elliptical for 20 minutes without dying (a pretty big increase from the three minutes I could do a year ago). I can fit in the seat at the movie theaters. I never have to worry, getting into the passenger seat of a car, that the seat belt won't fit around me. I only have to go to the doctor's once a year, instead of every three months (which I had to do because of my blood pressure and cholesterol levels).

Being 50 pounds lighter is like being a new person. Have you ever picked up two 25 pound dumbbells? My leader encouraged me to. I can hardly walk with them in my hands. How on earth did I live with that much weight on me?

If you're thinking about whether or not it's worth putting down the Poptarts, if a healthy lifestyle really is worth the price you pay... it is. Trust me, it is. And on Weight Watchers, I've never given up a single food. Every once in awhile, I still eat Poptarts for breakfast, chips with lunch, cheesecake for dessert. Life without cheesecake... man, that is not a life I want to live. Life without chicken wings? No thank you. But I made the decision a year ago that it was worth picking fruit for dessert sometimes or eating pretzels instead of grease-filled chips with lunch if it meant I could look in the mirror and not hate the person looking back. I've never regretted it. And honestly, I don't feel like I've really missed out, either.

So if you want to live healthier, do it. Nothing is stopping you (except maybe yourself). The journey won't be easy -- it's going to have a lot of ups and downs -- but it's the best decision you'll ever make. I promise you that.

I have a long way to go still, but I do it all one day at a time. One day I'll be at goal weight. For now, I'm content at 50 pounds.