Blogging About Being The Token Fat Girl
Posted on Jan 5th 2010 10:00AM by Melissa JoulwanFiled Under: Motivation, America Takes It Off
Every week, we introduce you to bloggers who share their weight-loss journeys and hefty doses of inspiration with their readers. This week's featured blogger is Lorrie of The Token Fat Girl.
Name: Lorrie Fenn
Age: 26
Start weight: 320
Current weight: 265
Goal weight: 135
My weight loss approach: Over the past couple of years, I've done everything from Atkins and Weight Watchers to The Day off Diet and counting calories. With each one, I've lost weight, but I quickly became bored with counting or food restricting. I'm currently trying to find a balance between eating real and local foods moderately, which is very challenging without rules. Overall, exercise is the best way for my to keep weight off. I do kickboxing, walking and tai chi when I am motivated to exercise.
Why I wanted to blog about it: I had just moved to New York City when I started to blog, and I wanted to document the experience of being fat and living in New York. There are few fat women in New York, and I stood out. I knew that with all of the walking in my new city, I would naturally lose weight, and I quickly dropped 20 pounds. I joined a gym and started watching what I ate, and lost another 35 pounds. I am still struggling to get out of the 260- to 270-pound range, but I continue to blog about my struggles because I know I'm not alone.
The best part of blogging is: Accountability and feedback. Though I'm not a huge weight loss success, having my blog has been the one thing to keep me going. I turn to my blog when I need help, or when I am doing well and want to share. My blog has allowed me to see patterns and behaviors that keep me heavy. I can go back and re-read entries from a year ago and pinpoint exactly where and why I got off track. It's not easy to forget and just say "I don't know why I'm still here!" when my blog shows me exactly why.
Best comment I've received: I get so many positive comments and emails -- on a daily basis -- from people I've never met. I tend to be very hard on myself and having people there to say "I've been there, too; you can do this" really helps. I also get a lots of positive reinforcement from knowing that by sharing my struggles, I can touch someone else and inspire them.
I've received a few negative comments from anonymous posters, telling me why I am still fat or pointing out aspects I already know about myself, like an occasional lack of consistency. Sometimes people get annoyed when I don't post often enough and will leave a comment telling me that I am not blogging because I am stuffing my face. I just keep going and filter out the negativity.
What's next for my blog: Video postings! Recipes! Daily posts!
Visit Lorrie's blog The Token Fat Girl to learn more about her journey.
Read all about how Caroline, another New Yorker, lost 145 pounds.
Name: Lorrie Fenn
Age: 26
Start weight: 320
Current weight: 265
Goal weight: 135
My weight loss approach: Over the past couple of years, I've done everything from Atkins and Weight Watchers to The Day off Diet and counting calories. With each one, I've lost weight, but I quickly became bored with counting or food restricting. I'm currently trying to find a balance between eating real and local foods moderately, which is very challenging without rules. Overall, exercise is the best way for my to keep weight off. I do kickboxing, walking and tai chi when I am motivated to exercise.
Why I wanted to blog about it: I had just moved to New York City when I started to blog, and I wanted to document the experience of being fat and living in New York. There are few fat women in New York, and I stood out. I knew that with all of the walking in my new city, I would naturally lose weight, and I quickly dropped 20 pounds. I joined a gym and started watching what I ate, and lost another 35 pounds. I am still struggling to get out of the 260- to 270-pound range, but I continue to blog about my struggles because I know I'm not alone.
The best part of blogging is: Accountability and feedback. Though I'm not a huge weight loss success, having my blog has been the one thing to keep me going. I turn to my blog when I need help, or when I am doing well and want to share. My blog has allowed me to see patterns and behaviors that keep me heavy. I can go back and re-read entries from a year ago and pinpoint exactly where and why I got off track. It's not easy to forget and just say "I don't know why I'm still here!" when my blog shows me exactly why.Best comment I've received: I get so many positive comments and emails -- on a daily basis -- from people I've never met. I tend to be very hard on myself and having people there to say "I've been there, too; you can do this" really helps. I also get a lots of positive reinforcement from knowing that by sharing my struggles, I can touch someone else and inspire them.
I've received a few negative comments from anonymous posters, telling me why I am still fat or pointing out aspects I already know about myself, like an occasional lack of consistency. Sometimes people get annoyed when I don't post often enough and will leave a comment telling me that I am not blogging because I am stuffing my face. I just keep going and filter out the negativity.
What's next for my blog: Video postings! Recipes! Daily posts!
Visit Lorrie's blog The Token Fat Girl to learn more about her journey.
Read all about how Caroline, another New Yorker, lost 145 pounds.
