Hey there chicks!

After months of on-and-off lurking I decided to join in more actively in this excellent community that has given me so much motivation and input already.

I'm 31 years old and fighting various degrees of chunkiness ever since I can remember. Over the past 10 years, my size has oscillated between around 210 (I never weighed myself during those times, so it's an informed guess - and the first time I'm even writing that number down) and 155 lbs, though for the past two years my range has narrowed to about 190-170lbs.

I can't count the times I've gained and lost these same 20 pounds - over and over again. Whatever approach I tried (plain old [over]restriction, WW, low carb, some home-made variety of intuitive eating... even cabbage soup, oh man, that really didn't work so well for me) I started out jazzed and energized, kept on plan religiously, exercised like a champ, logged everything, obsessed about and analyzed the roots of the problem and possible solutions. And for a few months or weeks I lost perfectly fast and easy - only to fall off the wagon and living in complete denial until I had eaten myself back to square one.

There are several reasons for this, I guess: I'm an emotional eater, so hard restriction inevitably led to hard binging every time. I also have no patience with myself whatsoever. However much I lost, it wasn't good enough, fast enough, satisfying enough. And finally, whenever I was in weight-loss mode, I couldn't think of anything else all day, every day. That's exhausting, not to mention more than a little insane.

I'm trying a different route this time. I'm trying to be patient and understanding with my body and my emotions. I want to focus on becoming as strong and healthy as I can be. I'm counting calories, but mostly to make sure there are enough of them every day to make me satisfied and sated.

I'm taking the loss slowly, and more importantly, I won't obsess over numbers on the scale anymore. When my digital scale died, I bought an analog one that will only show me the general vicinity of my actual weight - I've found that helps me quite a bit. I will focus on improving my fitness levels instead. For the last two months, the gym has become my home away from home again - I'd completely forgotten how much fun it can be to work out!

Phew, this post is starting to get kinda longish, huh? I'll better hit "send" before second thoughts set in...

I know just what you mean about not being able to think of anything else. I was just like that the first month and a half!

I'm calorie counting, too. Perhaps I'll see you over at the calorie counters forum. Some of us have an Easter challenge going, if you want to set a goal to help you over the next 3 weeks, whether it's a few pounds, or just staying on plan with diet/exercise.



Cheryl

Thanks a lot Cheryl, I'll be sure to stop by the forum and check out that Easter challenge!

So what changed for you after the first month and a half? Did it just become normal? I really need to push through to that phase eventually - where it just becomes a normal part of my day.

Good Job on taking the first step!! Welcome and Good Luck!

i am a emotional eater too! I have this posted on my fridge! it has stopped me from eating many times due to emotions i force myself to take the time to read it when i need to http://www.utexas.edu/student/cmhc/o...h/8traits.html

Thanks a lot for the warm welcome, Rayelle and Kim!

BlzMaxGnrCCJkMly, that link is fantastic! I've saved it and will read through it several times. Thanks a lot!

I think it's perfectly normal for any major change like this to take over your world for the first few weeks or months. For me, I just was doing a lot of reading/research, trying to figure what to eat, how to mesh what I needed to eat with what my 11 y.o. son would eat (without too much suffering, lol), what to do for exercise, and when to fit in those extra workouts. The schedule needed some tweaking, and I definitely let the housework and some other things slip in those first few weeks.

After that initial learning curve, though, I just had to put it in its place. What's helped this time is that I'm making just one or two small changes at any given time. Instead of jumping in with both feet, trying to go from caffeine addicted, sugar addicted, fatty food addicted obese girl, to super dieter girl who only ever eats perfectly and works out 2 hours a day , I just tried to take one very small step in the right direction with my eating, water intake, and exercise. It seems to be working, and definitely feels more doable than trying to change my whole lifestyle overnight!

Cheryl

Heffalump you are welcome! glad it helped! I know its helped me out NUMEROUS times!! and still does!

Welcome! I'm pretty new to this too-and the ladies here have all had good advice and great at keeping me motivated! Hope your experience starts off as positive as mine has!

Hello &

I'm sure you've come to know the areas well around 3FC, but I sure hope you check out the 30-somethings, and the Chicks In Control area. There are so many of us who struggle with emotional eating.

In either case, please find some areas that you're comfortable & keep on posting!!!

Best of success!

Thank you so much, @Indianagirl and @Justpeachy! It's so great to get such a warm welcome here - I'm glad that my lurking days are over!

@BlzMaxGnrCCJkMly: I've printed it out and it's in my diary now - it's great pondering material, and I've been feeling mighty ponderous lately!

@jamsk8ter: This time around I've been at it for two months now - so I'm looking forward to making this a normal but still important part of my life. Small changes is what I'm trying to do this time, too - I'm trying not to overwhelm and sabotage my progress with my own perfectionism.

@Faerie: Hi! Chicks in Control has been a frequent hangout for me before, so definitely count on me making a more visible appearance there soon. The emotional aspect of my overeating is still an area I have to explore some more. And I'll check out the 30something forum, too! Hadn't thought of that before, so thanks!