Welcome, the new ME

I wasn't sure if I wanted to join a support group like this initially. I've had some limited success with weight loss before (20lbs here, 15lbs there), but it always came back, like a bad disease. Shaking the monster has been one of the hardest challenges of my life. 
I've always been heavy, and even heavier than my peers. I've never had that moment when someone looked at me and said "gosh, you look so thin." Painful emotional scars are evident of a childhood filled with ridicule and sadness. But, as we all know, kids can be cruel. 
So why now? What was the catalyst? Well, it's pretty simple. I am SICK to DEATH of being fat. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. I'm sitting uncomfortably in the twilight of my twenties, and there is so much in life I want, but have been afraid to pursue because of my weight or my health. Well, I'm tired of my body holding me back. So I'm taking my body back. I'm taking it back from addiction to food, I'm taking it back from not wanting to exercise in public from fear of ridicule, I'm taking it back from the brink of horrible diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol. I'm taking my body back for ME. 
So let's do this, body. Let's do something for us. Let's change together, for the better. I'm ready, are you?