I'm new, I thought that title would garner some attention.

I guess mine is a fairly average story.
My entire childhood I was that 'skinny girl' that boney little kid that everybody takes turns picking up and carrying around the neighborhood. Couldn't gain an ounce to save my life. My family marveled at my bottomless stomach, I usually ended up being the meals entertainment 4-6 servings of everything minimum. I wore a v-neck dress for my third grade photo you can see not only my collar bones and ribs but my sternum jutting out!

Then puberty hit, in the summer between 7th and 8th grade I went from a size 2 to an 8 without really noticing or caring much.

At age 16 I stopped leaving the house. I dropped out of school and just stopped leaving the house. Major depression, when I did finally decide to leave the house I found that nothing fit me but the pajamas I'd been wearing.

143 to 198 in 3 months. I was definitely surprised. The anorexia and then bulimia that followed I think did the most damage to my metabolism. (In 58 days I lost 48lbs.) Which put me at a size 9-10. I'm sure I could have gotten a lot worse but a friends mother saw how badly I was doing and had me move in with her.
I started eating again, gained 5lbs back but maintained 155 for well over a year.

When I got pregnant, I guess I just saw it as an excuse to eat everything. And as bad as my blood pressure got I was so happy to eat again! I gave birth at 222lbs. once I stopped breastfeeding the eating disorder reamerged and less than 2 months after he was weaned I was 155lbs again. Dizzy, but fitting in my jeans.. Then my marriage fell apart and by my son's first birthday I was 182 again.

I had just bought a scale again that week. It had been almost 3 years since I had owned one. When I left my husband 2 months later I was 156lbs, two months after that I was 142. Then I fainted at work.

No one saw thank God!

I can't do this anymore. About a month ago I started actually eating meals I gained 5lbs back and tried successfully not to freak out. I eat breakfast, lunch, dinner's usually just a can of soup. I need help! I don't know how to cook anything, or even what a balanced meal resembles. I've been carefull not to really ever even keep food in the house as I'm a binge eater. My mother didn't either as she was bulimic for the majority of my childhood (my earliest memory of her is her throwing up half a lasangna in the kitchen sink).

I need to set an example for my child.
I've got 14lbs left to lose, and so far I've been doing it the right way. I do a half hour every morning on my stationary bike before my son wakes up, and 4 and a half miles on the treadmill after he goes to bed. This weightloss has been centered on burned calories not starvation. I don't know how to maintain though.

What do you keep in your pantry? What do snack on? What do you make for dinner? What do healthy people eat?

I want to be healthy, I want my child to be healthy.

Oh and P.S. how do you cook veggies so that they're still kinda crunchy?
Haven't managed that yet

Your goal weight is a bit low. My weight chart shows a weight range of 138-173 for 5'10. Aim for a healthy weight and good luck.

My goal weight is more based on the fact that I always seem to immediatly gain back 5 pounds after reaching a goal.
I worry that upon reaching 135 within a month I'd be at 140 again whereas if I gained back and then plateaued at 135-137 I wouldn't let it bother me as much.

I suppose this is me continuing to be unhealthy.
My BMI is already healthy, but I'm not.

These days I'd like muscle mass and endurance -to actually look good in the clothes I already fit into.

I won't ever wear a bikini -even if I had a hollywood acceptable body! I would never -but I want to run marathons again, I want to be strong and fit.

Not the socially acceptable fainting woman I have been.

Thank you for your concern though, you are indeed quite right.

Your current wieght itself doesn't seem to be out of line with your height. Sounds to me that exercise and a healthy eating plan is what your seeking to get fit and strong to run those marathons!. I am really excited about the volumetrics eating plan...if you want to lose you can but it is about choosing & eating healthier. There is a review of the plan here on the site. You mentioned you were not sure what a healthy eating plan looked like..you might like to check out http://health.ivillage.com/. For
i villages total health plans-FREE- with personalized meals and exercise plans based on the information you enter-scroll down the ivillage page a bit and you'll see the little box that says your body, your way to sign up or take the tour.
Good luck!