My Story

Hi! My name is Arriel :)

I was born and raised in  Buffalo, New York. When I was 16, I up and left to the lovely, but very country town of Madison, North Carolina where I grew up. I spent 9 years in the great state of NC before returning home to Buffalo, NY.

I am currently on a journey of regaining my BODY, and my LIFE back.

pleasantly plump

As a child I grew up on the heavier side- that my dad always referred to as pleasantly plump. Throughout high school, I was always told I was not fat, because the fat was always "in the right places" though I beg to disagree.  Weight has been one of my biggest struggles in life.

Around the time of 2006-2007, I was at my skinniest Weighing in around 164, and wearing about a size 6 depending on the brand of clothing- sometimes an 8 or a 10, but 6 being my greatest success. However, I won't say it was my healthiest time because I was a complete binge drinker- living it up during those young 20's-- COLLEGE DAYS..... those were the days :::sigh:::

164 lbs- pants were a size 8

Best Friends

Then life happened. My best friend of 22 years passed at 23 years old July 20th, 2008, and my life changed forever. He was my favorite cousin and of course the closest to my age, as we were only 7 months apart. He understood me. He was my support system, and the one putting reason into my bad decisions because "WHO CARES WHAT EVERYONE ELSE THINKS"... and of course "YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE" lol, I could count on him.

1985-2008

After a horrible break up with my boyfriend in 2007, I became depressed knowing that the man I supposedly thought I loved MARRIED another woman while continuing a relationship with me, after the fact, as his wife lived in another state- so it was easy for him to keep the 2 going. That was one of the last situations I ever went through with my cousin. He helped me through that, even though the depression lead me to the kitchen, and take out of comfort food! He later passed, and I completely lost all self control and gave up. My depression had gotten so bad, that I was put on anti-depressants, and needless to say, one of the biggest side effects of anti-depressants is weight gain. After a year I decided to come off the meds.

In 2010, I had decided to move back home to Buffalo because I felt like "home" was the place to be. This same year, my older cousin that I was close with also passed away at 30 years old, on March 14th, 2010. She had been sick for quite some time though.  I didn't do so well with this situation either, no matter how much time you have to prepare, you're never prepared for losing those you love and care for. I only found myself eating to cope with the pain. Back on anti-depressants I went.

1980-2010

October 27th, 2010- I met a man that I thought I would be with forever. We made things official November 17, 2010-- and that was a relationship that I won't discuss at this point... I don't know where we stand. Throughout my issues with myself, the loss of my cousins, the mistakes I made in my relationship with him, and a number of other issues, including non-viable pregnancies, I found myself back on anti-depressants, and gaining more weight than I have ever gained in my life. 80 pounds later... HERE I AM.

Graduating from Nursing School May 2013

 I've been through a LOT in the last7 years, and I am trying to get back to who I am. I will never be the same person I was. Many aspects of my life have changed, and all I can do is embrace those changes and live my life to the best of my ability.

I am now completely off all medications detoxing my body, with the exception of tylenol or motrin here and there. I chose to go low-carb because of all the things I've done, and tried in life-- low carb actually seems the healthiest to me. I've researched it enough to know that this is what is going to suit my life, and allow me to lose the greatest amount of weight. However, the downside is I love sweets- but once the first week of induction is over, those sugar cravings subside! I've tried Weight Watchers, and I am one of the exceptions-- IT DOES NOT WORK FOR ME. It's a complete waste of money.

Working my way back to the 10 I was here!!

Skinny Girl Dream 2009

So this is my story. Follow me on this journey, and see where it goes from here!