My name is Hannah. I'm a 37 year old nurse, married and mother to one five year old boy. I've been overweight my entire life...not morbidly obese, I was just always the chubby friend even as a child. I can remember as a child my grandma giving second portions of dessert to my cousin's, but never to me because I always had a "weight problem." I played sports in high school and even at that time I would not have called myself slim or athletic. I really struggled with this through my teenage years and into my twenties. I had a few boyfriends, but I was never the girl boys wanted to date. My grandma always said I was more of a breeding mare than a racing horse. Lol!

I used various coping mechanisms to deal with this. Primarily alcohol. I found that it was a very effective social lubricant. I could be the super fun party girl and mask all the pain I was carrying about my self hatred and frustration with not being able to lose the weight. I tried my best to be what other people thought I needed to be, without working on myself or what I needed. As a teenager, I remember doing weight watchers with my momma but never really lost more than 10lbs. I had some brief success in my early 20s where I worked out nonstop and made it down to 170, but I hate working out and it just wasn't sustainable so I gained everything and then some back.

I had an entire career in banking. I worked my way up to teller manager and personal banker in the industry, but I still struggled with alcohol and there were many days where I went to work still intoxicated from the night before. I woke up one morning and realized I had to make a change. This wasn't all that life had in store for me and it was up to me to change it. I moved back home and enrolled in college to become a nurse. I was 25 at the time. Those four years of college, I was an incredibly dedicated student and spent my days studying from dusk until dawn in the library. I wasn't thinking at all about what I was eating or physically working on my body. I was singularly focused on my goal so I put on a significant amount of weight. I was using food as a reward system. If I did good on a test, I would go through the drive through and buy myself a meal as a treat. Your book really resonated with me because I've always been a closet eater. No one ever knew about these extra treats I would buy myself. I'd eat small portions in front of my mom and go finish eating in private where no one could see.

Starting Weight: 247lbs /112kgs/17.6 stone, size 20W US Current Weight: 167lbs/75.7kg/11.9 stone, size 10 US Goal Weight: 150lbs/68 kgs/10.7 stone

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My book about my own story The Fasting Highway is available on Amazon in both paperback and kindle. For Australian and New Zealand residents, you can buy the book direct from me at www.thefastinghighway.com. For the rest of the world Amazon is your best option. You can follow me on Instagram at graemecurrie_63 or join The Fasting Highway Facebook Group. Thank you for listening to the podcast and for getting the book.

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Graeme.