[thewalrus0]

and it's time I said hello! I have been struggling for a long time with weight loss. I actually put a detailed story on my blog but it's pretty boring.

Basically bad eating habits in childhood caused me to be fat. I lost weight the unhealthy way in my teens, gained it all back and now for the first time in my life I'm closer to 300lbs than 200lbs.

Maybe that was the last thing I could hold onto, knowing I was closer to 199 than 300. I was steadily weighing in at 230lbs for a while. I guess I just took a break from watching what I was eating and I didn't exercise much. Suddenly I was 260lbs! Wowza. Scared the **** out of me. I cried for a bit but eventually got up, wiped my tears and laid out a plan with the knowledge I have about my eating habits.

See, I eat healthy foods. I really do. I just eat too much of them. A black bean burrito with avocado, lettuce and no cheese isn't unhealthy, until you have four of them and then some other stuff!

I can eat a lot. Over the past year, before I took a break, I was really learning about food and how to read labels. I've learned to cook a lot more and have relied less and less on prepackaged foods.

So, in a nutshell, my issues with weight are mental. I crave and then I binge and then I feel bad. It's just time to stop that. I know how to eat healthy food and I know what I need to do to lose weight. I'm just battling the binge and learning to listen to my body's signals.

I hope to make some friends here and hopefully in a few months I'll be saying hello to my 'original' weight of 230lbs! I'm generally optimistic but it will get difficult sooner or later so I'm trying to prepare myself for that day. I'm actually putting together a recipe book/diet book with a binge 911 page to refer to when I'm feeling like raiding the kitchen. Everything I know flies out the window in those few minutes where my brain is screaming at me to eat whatever I can get my hands on.

I'd love tips, tricks or just friendly conversation from other people in the same boat as me. Weight loss can be very rewarding but it can also suck really bad so I'm getting ready for the ups and downs. My goal is to just stick to my plan until it's habit. Fight the binge until, hopefully, I feel like overeating less and less. I also have to remember the be patient. Patience really is a virtue.

[FirstLove]

Hey there! Welcome from another newbie/lurker.

I, too, love good, healthy food and can eat lots of it. But unfortunately, I'm just as happy with the junk food and eat that, too.

I love your idea of the personal recipe/diet book! What a fantastic idea. Will you be following a specific weight loss plan, or just counting calories?

I look forward to chatting more with you and cheering on your weight loss.

Good luck to us both!
Dana

[Borgie]

Good luck on your journey!!!! It can be done!!

[thewalrus0]

Thanks you guys!

@firstlove I am just counting calories but also eating better foods in general. Going the extra mile to add veggies and also trying watch my carb intake. I generally eat complex carbs but if I am not careful I catch myself eating pasta, bread and tortilla shells with every meal! I am just trying to add some healthy variety to get lots of nutrients. I am just battling the urge to eat more than my body needs.

But it has gone well so far!