The Comeback

Nathalie was sexually abused as a child and, as an adult, found that her pain and shame were still holding her back. Now she's starting to face her issues and has lost 33 pounds. Nathalie says the most difficult part of her progress has been addressing the abuse head on.

One painful experience during her comeback has actually contributed to her progress, Nathalie says. Her family threw a party and invited the person who sexually abused her. At first Nathalie couldn't get past her feelings of hurt and betrayal—but she turned the incident into a growing experience. "Since then I have decided that I am the one looking out for me," she says. "I'm almost 40. I can do that for myself now."

Nathalie says another difficult part of the process has been committing to take time for herself. She's proud to say she's managed to set aside one to three hours every day for fulfilling activities such as exercising, cooking healthy meals or seeing a therapist.