After my father's death when I was 13, I lived with my mother and two brothers in South Florida. All along, I wanted to go back to Peru, but now my mother was hesitant because we were in a good school in Florida and coming into important years as teenagers. My mom hoped to return after we finished school. I remember distinctly how much I weighed at each age and stage of my teen years.

4th grade 9 years 115 pounds - went on diet

5th grade 10 years 105 pounds - lost weight

6th grade 11 years 133 pounds - gained 30 pounds in three months after moving to USA

7th grade 12 years 140 pounds

8th grade 13 years 144 pounds - dad dies

9th grade 14 years 150 pounds

10th grade 15 years 160 pounds

11th grade 16 years 170 pounds - went to a diet support group for almost 1 year and started aerobics

12 grade 17 years 155 pounds

My brothers were very involved in sports and my older brother who eventually became super morbidly obese was then very lean. My younger brother was a bit overweight until about 8th grade when he began playing sports. My younger brother also always struggled with weight as an adult but never became morbidly obese. They both were encouraged to play sports. While I was athletic, I was relegated to taking care of the house and cooking for the family. This may not seem at all fair, but I think I probably preferred this to sports because I was self-conscious of my body and my weight and had no confidence in my athletic ability. It was later that I realized I was a really strong person and really a fast runner with great hand-eye coordination. Back then I had no clue, so I played piano and did family chores from age 11 on.

Every day, I thought about my weight. There was one moment I remember when I thought that if I could see in the future and knew I would be an overweight adult, I would rather not live. I was very desperate over it because I stood out like a sore thumb in South Florida where I was very white with large hips. None of my school friends were like me. They all were tan and thin (I went to a private school and one of the "poor" kids).

While I had a great time in many ways in those years, I was tormented by my weight issues. My peers never teased me, but my older brother, my uncles, aunts and a male teacher all told me to lose weight. One aunt offered me money for every pound lost.

My mom herself was overweight so she struggled as well. She never weighed more that 180, but was also tormented by it. She and I started attending a wonderful weightloss support group and we started taking an aerobics class together. This is when things started clicking. I lost very slowly compared to the others, but over the next year (during my senior year of highschool), I lost about 15 pounds. I became very health conscious and started my habit of exercising regularly which is key to my success even today.

Now looking back, I know that I likely had problems with thyroid function (hashimoto's hypothyroidism). I had a time where I was very sleepy, had trouble functioning and I gained weight and my skin was very dry, etc. The physician tested everything but thyroid function. Now looking back I wonder if my weight would have been less with less struggles if I had been properly diagnosed at that time. I also had PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) which was manifesting then too, but no one really understood that disorder and how it was related to insulin resistance and weight gain. As I reflect, I can see how God has helped me through. In my struggle I started praying, meditating, journaling and reading scripture daily. It was a phenomenal time of spiritual growth and has a lot to do with my personal faith and love in action today. Without the weight struggles I may not have reached out to know God. My weight struggles have also humbled me and helped me to look past the surface in other people. It has shaped me in so many ways, so I can't regret, but move forward and embrace the new me and be thankful for what I have learned along the way!