Hello, First I want to introduce myself. I am 24 year old female. I am about 5'9 and 255lbs and a size 24. At my highest I was 300lbs. That was a few years ago. I seperated from my fiancee and I was living with my grandfather and I got down to my current weight. My grandfather died and I moved a couple states over and I have been stuck ever since.

My mother died at 45 of obesity and I don't want the same to happen, but I am also a compulsive/binge eater. Right now I am working 75 hours a week to save for a cross country move that is happening at the end of september. Since every moment is either sleeping or working I have almost no time to prepare meals. I live off turkey sandwhiches. I really want to start now, with a weight loss plan. Time for exercise? Forget it. I might be able to fit in 2 or 3 sessions a week, would that be enough?

Lately I have been chewing ice/gum and drinking green tea, and this seems to help at least a bit. Anybody have any tips to help me during these busy/stressful times?

Well, first of all,

There are people on here with many different stresses and you should be able to get some advice that you need.

IMHO, I don't think 2-3 sessions a week is enough but it's better than nothing. But then again, why trying to make time for workout? You can do something while working..depending on what kind of work you do. If you work at an office environment, there are workouts you can do while sitting at the desk. Trying to fit in something here and there and that should help, too.

Would it be possible to give yourself some time on Sunday or so? Make something but in big batch and freeze them. Samething with veggies. Clean them up and freeze them. Fruits? Have you tried frozen grapes and banana? Frozen blackberries? They are all very yummy and can be very healthy snacks.

Rememember not to skip meals, no matter how busy you are. It's very important for your metabolism.

I also live a busy life..working full time (I leave home at 630 and come back home at 530), single mom, and a full time student. I don't have any family members or really have no friends to help me with my daughter, either. So I know how stressfull a busy life can be with eating healthy and exercise. But no matter how impossible it may seem, it can be done.

Good luck and be strong!

.

I also work 80+ hours a week between 2 jobs, and find it extremely hard to plan healthy meals, stay away from fast foods, and exercise....

I'm not off to a very good start, I seem to losing and gaining the same 5 pounds over and over... But its mostly my fault... I do good for a day or 2, then its off on another binge... But I'm really trying stick with it this time. Which is key. My life is so hectic that following a really strict plan just isn't an option... Also counting things is really hard for me... (like calories, carbs, points, etc...) So I've been just doing my own thing... Staying away from junk foods (pop, candy, fast food, pizza etc...), I've set a rule that I have to stop eating at least 4 hours before bedtime.. Also drinking LOTS of water and ice tea keeps me full... Chewing gum sometimes helps keep my mouth busy... I took up a hobbie of crocheting to busy my hands so I don't "boredum eat"... Filling up on fruits and veggies. And of course, trying to keep only healthy foods in my house.

Maybe some of these things would be easy for you to adapt?

And 2-3 sessions a week is a wonderful start!

Welcome! Im pretty new too. I think that 2-3 sessions is a good start, how long are the sessions? Perhaps in between those sessions you could fit in a 15min walk or something? It all adds up. For e.g. if you bus, you could try getting off one stop before yours and walking a bit further home (esp good in summer when its not dark early so its not too creepy!)

During busy and stressful times i have similar issues with eating. I try to think about why i want to eat, what is driving that behaviour. For me it is usually a feeling of a lack of control, or worry. So sometimes i find it good to make lists of what is bothering me and making a plan for how to resolve those issues. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt >.< but it might be helpful for you

Thanks all for your kind words! When I fit in the exercise it will be pretty soon before bed. It would be like, workout for about 30 mins, shower, and then get into bed. I never have a hard time falling asleep, but I hear so much about exercise in the morning is best, does it really make that much of a difference?

What I have been eating the past few days has been something like this:
after waking up I eat a banana and drink a small glass of skim milk.

when its time for lunch at my first job I eat a sandwhich and a low fat low sugar yogurt.

then its time for a quick nap.
upon waking up I normally drink a slimfast or something similar.

then its the same deal a sandwhich and a yogurt

the hotel I work for insists on feeding you breakfast so I usually have some lowfat oatmeal with some fresh strawberries and maybe an apple if I am really hungry.

I should mention that my sandwhiches are on whole wheat bread, and have one slice of low fat swiss, a few thin slices of turkey or chicken lunch meat, but I really pile on the veggies. Romaine, tomatoes, red onion, jalapenos, cucumber... w/e else I might feel like.

I drink 3 cups of hot green tea a day because I frequently crave something to drink other than water, and that is much better than soda or juice since it has no calories.

I dont know if this is good or not but compared to my previous habits of skipping meals and fast food it is a huge improvement!

P.S. Where do you guys make those tickers?

You are making a lot of good choices. I would try to eat more protein. Slim fast has a lot of sugar and will not help you stay full... try to stock up on high protein bars. For your bread, try to get a bread that has 4-5 slices of fiber PER slice. you want to eat every 2-3 hrs to keep your metabolism moving. A handfull of raw almonds is a good snack. I'd stay away from carrots (carb, lots of sugar) and just try to eliminate sugar and a lot of sodium. As far as exercising, try parking far and just getting up frequently (walk to the copy machine/fax). Start slow. Good luck!

WELCOME!!!

The tickers are (mostly) from tickerfactory.com

I have found that the biggest thing that has helped me has been tracking my food. I use DailyPlate.com, some people use other sites. It really helps me stay on track in terms of my balance of different groups (fat, protein, carbs) and it makes me view my food intake as more of a science than a burden. I was (am) a binger as well, and using DailyPlate has really made me accountable. For some reason, really SEEING what I've eaten during a binge has helped me to control it more. Also, being active has made me care more about what I'm putting into my body, so I don't want to put the crappy binge food I eat into what I've so hard for already (if that makes sense).

I also work, A LOT. I'm lucky that, as a waitress, I have a pretty active job, but it's definitely hard to get myself to work out some days. Just remember that workouts don't have to be going to the "gym" necessarily. Taking a walk around during lunch will not only get you outside and de-stress you a little, but can be 20-30 mins of exercise if you challenge yourself to walk quickly. Take the stairs, park far away from work, take public transport that you have to walk to, anything active counts!!

I would also recommend getting away from the Slimfast. There are so many chemicals in it and a ton of sugar. I know it's easy and convenient, but it's also expensive and not that great for you. Maybe you could try making meals once/twice a week that you can refrigerate/freeze and eat later? That way you won't get sick of eating yogurt/sandwiches all the time and you can switch things up a bit.

What you're doing is definitely HUGGGGGGGELY better than skipping meals/fast food. And it's great that you're joining 3FC -- I have found this site invaluable.

PS -- you might want to check out the "Chicks in Control" section of 3FC under..."Support" I think, or something like that. There will be folks there dealing with the same binging issue, and I found that really helped when I first started posting on 3FC

Thank you all for your words of encouragement, I'm sure I will be coming to this board quite a bit. I will defintely look into something better than slimfast.

Hi blanna! Thanks for the encouragement. Have you always been overweight your whole life as well?

thanks everybody!

Hi Forabetterlife, welcome

2-3 sessions / week isn't much, but it's better than nothing. I'm also not exercise as much as everyone else here. When I started, I only did some aerobics for 20 minutes everday (still do). But you know what, after 1 month, I lost 4 inches in total. So even with a small exercises everyday, they will help too. Don't get discourage just by you can't do 60 minutes workout/day. You can also workout 3 times/day for 15 minutes each. Find something you enjoy and have fun with it.

To prepare meal, I think you can start to switch few things first, like change milk to skim milk, choose water in vending machine rather than coke (etc..). And then, start to prepare one meal per day to get use to the time you need to prepare it (and the more you do, the faster you'll get). Once you know how much time you need to get things done, I think it will be so much easier to plan whether you can fit this and that into your plan. =^^= I'm sure you can do it. Good luck with your journey and I hope to hear your progress soon ^^

I work full time and I am also a single mom I had a boyfriend but not anymore and we didnt live together anyway so my life is very busy as well! What works for me is working out during my lunch brake. I started back in april. A co worker and I started walking for 45mins five days and week. We just recently started strenght training twice a week since we have a gym at work. THis week I started the jogging plan and I plan to also start walking early in the morning before work and before my two children wake up. Start with small changes as while at work think of something that you can do. For starters 2-3 sessions isn't bad and eventually you can work yourself up to more exersize! It may be hard but as some of the other posters said it can be done. Good Luck!!!!