Welcome to my 290 adventure! I’m Amy, a 31 year old aspiring illustrator and general doodler. All my adult life, I have been fat and getting fatter! I was a very active child who ran around and played all the time, I was into sports and biked everywhere! I went straight from school into a little job and that is when the lbs started piling on. I had money, I carried on eating the way I did but now I had a lot less exercise.

I have been quite camera shy during these past 15-20 years, always offering to take the photos because I was always ashamed of being in the photographs myself.

At the height of my weight I hit 290lbs. That’s nearly 21 stone! I was wearing size 26 trousers and 22+ top. I couldn’t find clothes to fit me and I ended up looking horrid!

I was always trying to diet. Slimming world, Slimfast, protein world, weight watchers, fasting. Nothing worked because I have no self control when it comes to food.

When I went to Japan for the first time I started to realise how ridiculously fat I was. In Japan, seats are smaller, Isles were smaller, People would stare. I mean I was unhealthy and in Japan, they are not into that.

The second time I went to Japan, we didn’t have business class. That was a treat the first time using air miles. This time, I experienced the most humiliating moment of my life. I was so squashed in the seat, when I slept, I dreamed I was trapped. It was a very uncomfortable flight, I found it hard to sleep and I was dreaming of being tortured, being trapped and my thighs were in pain for a 13 hour flight. It was hell.

Now I come to the most humiliating moment of my life. When food came. oh my gosh. We were sitting in the bulkhead seats so our dinner tables came over our laps from the seat. Mine didn’t fit over my legs properly. When I was about to be given food the air hostess, tried to push down my table repeatedly. It obviously wouldn’t go down.

The thirds time I went to Japan, I refused the food because I was so embarrassed this would happen again. That was a hungry flight.

Obviously I knew something needed to be done. This is where I tried slim fast, protein world, Slimming world etc. Nothing worked for me because I just couldn’t control myself. This is when I hit my heaviest.

Jumping forward to today. I am currently 275lbs. I have lost around 18lbs so far this year and it is a slow hard work in progress but I am happy with what I have been doing. I have cut my food back to 1200-1600 depending on the day. I have just picked up swimming. I have had to stop Aikido for a while due to a knee injury but I hope to pick that back up at some point. Welcome to my blog, my 290 adventure.