Hi everyone,

My name is Anna and I'm very happy to have found this board. I have posted on other bulletin boards at other sites about these kinds of issues and this is the most upbeat board I've ever seen, and I feel motivated already! I am 22 and I have been getting more and more depressed about my weight recently and I decided that it's time to change! I exercise regularly, I'm in pretty good shape (in terms of strength and endurance--but you would never be able to tell by my body), but my problem is with food--i just can't seem to stop eating. Buying healthy food with my entry-level salary is hard, and I work far from home so a) i'm usually too tired to make a lunch and b) it's the kind of area where most of the stores don't even sell skim milk, let alone salads or healthy snacks. Not to mention the fact that when I do bring my lunch, I end up eating it by 10 AM. My roommate is thin and loves to eat and in addition she is driving me crazy (I love her to death but I think that living with her has contributed to my recent significant weight gain).

Sorry for pouring my heart out before you even get to know me. Thanks for listening, and I look forward to returning the favor! Have a great day!

PS. Starting weight: 158
Goal: 125

Welcome Anna! I hope you find this site helpful to you.

Making your own lunch seems like the best option. Buying food from stores next to your work is expensive and not very healthy. Try making your lunch and bringing healthy snacks to work so you won't dive into your lunch before its actually that time. Yogurt or fruit is always a good snack. If you really find that making your lunch takes up too much time then buy lean cuisines or healthy choice frozen dinners and bring those. Make sure you stock up on them while they are on sale because they can be kind of expensive.

I look forward to seeing you around the site.

Good luck

Thanks for replying Jess, it's terrible to say but no matter what, I can't bring myself to control my eating when I'm at work. I try to bring lean cuisines, soups, salads. But the only thing that works for me is to not eat ANYTHING while I'm at work--and that always backfires later. I think the problem is with work, not with food! if i wasn't procrastinating, or stressed about work, I probably wouldn't turn to food so often. Hopefully I'm going to get a new office-mate soon, so having someone see me bingeing will hopefully put a stop to things. I don't know though.
BUt your advice about bringing a snack--that's a really good idea! I hate the idea of snacking, but when you compare it with overeating, snacking really isn't that bad. I think it's that I'm an all-or-nothing person, so if I plan snacks, I feel guilty. But I should just remember that planned and controlled snacks are way more healthy than a binge!
Thanks again!

anna
158/158/125

Welcome, Anna! It is great to have you here! I've only been around for 2 weeks, but I can tell you that this place and the wonderful people who post here have been a real inspiration!

My snacking savior has been lean protein. I made some low-fat veggie mini-quiches that I zap in the microwave when I'm having a major hunger attack. It does a lovely job disguising the veggies and satisfies my hunger. Also, low fat string cheese is great when I'm on the run. If you can keep your portions limited, nuts are also good - but if you can't control portions they can be dangerous! I can't imagine any store not having skim milk?!?! It has to be difficult to shop for "healthy" food where you are!

My sisters are both thin and they both eat like they should weigh three times what they do. I love them both dearly, but I wish like heck they didn't have the "gift".

I'm headed out the door right now, but i wanted to welcome you! Hope you post often!

Welcome to the Board....
Mini rice cakes are great. Maybe u should try those; they sell them in snack areas now. How do u do with exercise?Maybe you could walk while u r on lunch break?

*hugs*
lynnie

Hi Anna, just wanted to say welcome! I know that I am also an all or nothing kinda of gal, so I really limit what I bring into the house. I am starting school again on Monday so I will be making lunches the night before with plenty of snacks. I have started by weighing and measuring all of my food so that I can get an idea about what healthy portions sizes look like- time consuming but it works for me. Also, I have been logging on to fitday.com its a great site (alittle time consuming) if you want to see what your calorie/fat/protien/carb intake for the day is plus it has all kinds of cool tools to track your progress and stuff. But anyways, glad your here and hope to see you around often!

Welcome, Anna! I'm really glad you're here. Like the others said, I think planning out snacks is very important. It's a lot easier to give into temptations if you're starving. Hopefully, you can find some healthy snacks that will work for you. Looking forward to seeing you around here!

Take care,
Jina

Thank you everyone for the feedback. It's so nice to hear from everyone! I have already learned some tips just in the few hours since I registered here, I'm so excited. The quiche sounds like a great idea, I think that trying new foods would be a good way to both incorporate healthier foods and improve my eating habits--usually what I bring for lunch is soup, a sandwich, or last night's ziti. I enjoy them all, but they don't do it for me, you know? I'm going to make it my mini-goal for the week to cook and eat new dishes and types of foods so I can be excited, and not guilty, about food. I think that when I eat my tried-and-true favorites it triggers something in me that just wants more and more, whereas I'm more likely to be satisfied with tasty new items!
Yes, there is very little skim milk around here. You can find it at the big supermarkets, but not the more convenient corner stores. As a food safety fanatic I do not feel like carting dairy products for an hour on the subway, so it's whole milk for me, I guess.
Also, like I said before, I am really good about exercising. Unfortunately, I actually tend to binge more on the days I exercise--it's like, well, I burned this many calories on the elliptical, so I can eat this extra lean pocket. But then my all-or-nothingness kicks in and I'm like, well, the exercise doesn't count anymore because I ate all the calories I burned, so I might as well eat a lot more. I just need to get in control of my eating--i feel like once I curb my appetite, everything else will fall into place. But that's easier said than done!

Anna, that is a great mini-goal!!!! There are some super recipes on this board, as well. I tend to pick the very easiest ones

sunseeker - I just went to fitday.com and WOW is that an awesome site! I had seen people post about "fitday" but I never knew what it was. Needless to say, I registered immediately and within minutes set up my goals and foods. I wish I had known about that siite a long time ago! I am too lazy to journal longhand, so this is a God-send!!!!!!

Anna,
Welcome to the board! I can see you're already loving it, and that's great!
I understand the all-or-nothing mentality, because I really used to be that way (for years). In recent months I've been able to change that pattern (with God's help). I am a different person now! I truly am able to enjoy a couple desserts/treats a week, without going off the deep end! I used to binge on sweets A LOT. It's all different now. You are going to find success & change your ways, and you'll feel so good because of it!
Please don't be afraid to have good, healthy snacks. Snacks will save you from setting yourself up for disaster later.
Personally, even though I eat a healthy breakfast (cereal w/ fruit and skim milk) at about 8 am, I'm STILL hungry again by around 10:30! I have a container of yogurt (Dannon Lite n' Fit is really good) and usually a piece of fruit. That holds me 'till lunchtime....though I'm still really hungry AGAIN by 12:30! But, I take that as a sign that my metabolism is really working.
Hope that helps--looking forward to seeing you around here more!

Jen

Anna, just a quick note before I have to go to work. I work at a coffee shop, and when we run out of skim.... sharing our secret but it's ok we mix 1 c. whole milk with 1 c. water and its cuts it perfectly. Seriously, you can not tell the difference, if you want 1% just use less water. Just a suggestion since skim milk cuts so many calorie/ fat grams. Hope this help!

Thats a great tip and has been used many of times in my mom's house especially by me.