Here's an exercise:
Divide your weight in pounds by your height in inches squared (quick cheat: 5 feet is 60 inches… and don't forget the squared part). Multiply that by 704.5.
If you're less than 18.5, then you're underweight. 18.5-24.9 means you're normal. 25-29.9 means you're overweight; 30 to 39.9 is obese; 40 or more is severely obese.
The first time I did this, I put in the wrong height and it told me I was almost severely obese.
I'm 24.77 and I'm kind of proud of this. It's probably the first time in my life I've been in the normal category rather than overweight.
It's still really hard and I'm not where I'd like to be. I've started this new salad habit that will hopefully help.
It's only in very recent times that I've begun to shed some of my fat-kid baggage. Until recently, I didn't realize that clothes, especially t-shirts, had to actually fit. Until I realized that, I had been getting larges and even extra larges by default, because I knew that they wouldn't be too small.
Now, the only time I get XLs is when my grandma sends me some ugly shirt from whatever trip she takes — and those usually go straight to the donation pile.
I've been pretty stagnant in my exercise lately. I haven't been running in nearly a month due to my foot pain. I saw the podiatrist recently and she told me I have plantar faciitis in my right foot. It is due to the fact that I have been running in sneakers that are incredibly old (I started wearing them in Boston) and the fact that I have remarkably high arches. (She also said that I have a muscle near my ankle that was huge — it bulges on my foot while it's not visible on most people. I told her that's why I'm so popular.) To solve the problem, I have to massage my foot and do a lot of stretches. I also got arch support insoles for my shoes. I'm wearing them now and I can already tell a difference.
PS: In completely unrelated news, people who smoke are disgusting pigs.