Speaker A. I’m trying to get back on track again with healthy food. I’ve been really bad this couple of months, resulting in a horrible weight gain. I still go to the gym 3–4 times a week, but I eat a lot of unhealthy snacks between meals. I somehow thought it’s my reward for going to the gym, but it certainly made me gain more weight rather than lose it. I figure if I can replace my dinner with fruits, I will achieve weight loss easily and in a healthy way. But the problem is, after the gym when I feel really hungry the first thing I look for is something savoury.

Speaker В. My name is Jenna and I’m 17 years old. I’d never had weight issues until last year. I had some problems that made me very depressed, so I ate all the time and watched TV because I didn’t want to leave the house. I know that’s not an excuse for eating so unhealthily, but I was in my own little world, you could say. I’m a very athletic person and I still have all my muscle, but I’ve just gained weight. I’ve decided to start my diet on Wednesday and work out Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with one of my friends.

Speaker С. I am utterly frustrated at the moment. My weight is not moving in the right direction. Which is not surprising since I just can’t resist food, especially unhealthy food. Like yesterday, I went to the supermarket and bought strawberries and grapes and apples only to go back 20 minutes later to get a marble cake. I only ate two slices of it and it was all I had for dinner but still it makes me angry. Sometimes I feel it has to be either all or nothing. I just know that eating nothing is not the right thing to do and that it won’t help in the long run.

Speaker D. I’m doing really well. I thought that when I came home from school I would balloon up, because my mom is an awesome cook and when I’m home I work two jobs and I am always too tired to exercise. Plus, at school the gym is free and at home it most certainly is not. However, I’ve managed to stay at the same weight, and am at my lowest weight on my mom’s scale! I eat around 1200–1400 calories a day so that my parents don’t suspect anything, but I know they’re impressed with my weight loss. I am too!

Speaker E. My name is Bobbi. I’m a sophomore in college and live in the dorm. This is the first time I’ve experienced living on my own. So I can go to any grocery shop and get whatever I want or go out to eat whenever I want. I stopped being active after the swim season was over in my senior year of high school. My weight has steadily increased since then because of my eating and exercise habits alone, I think. So I have asked my doctor recently to work out a special combination of diet and sport activities. I hope it will help.

Speaker F. I wish I could just kick the pounds away but alas, no way. I cannot starve myself, and also, I don’t want to. Still, I want to lose weight, as fast as possible, of course. I thought I’d try to eat healthy food and exercise a lot but it’s just so hard to come home and not plunder the fridge. It's so difficult to change one's lifestyle. I need some support and encouragement from somebody who understands how difficult it is to solve my problem.