[Betsi]

Hello all! My name is Betsi, I live in Massachusetts, and I'm 25 years old. I've been struggling with my weight for five years and my fitness for my whole life. Here's my story.

When I was 20 I moved out of my parents' house and that winter I gained 50 lbs, going from about 145 to 195 lbs (I am 5'8" by the way). The reason I gained so much in only six months was the combination of being on my own eating what I wanted for the first time and a bad case of seasonal depression, which I still struggle with.

I've been trying to lose the weight ever since but I've come to realize I'm never going to lose if weight loss is my primary goal. I've never been an active person, I've always been the geeky and introverted type. So my base metabolic rate is very low and when I packed on the pounds they had no way to come off even though I stopped eating as poorly.

While I do want to eat more healthfully and watch my caloric intake it's difficult to do as in the past few years I've shed my introverted ways and developed a social life - watching what you eat when you are snacking on party food or going out to eat gets really tricky. If I felt that my eating habits were the problem, I'd put in the work and track every calorie. But in truth, my weight has a lot more to do with the fact that I get winded from a mile long walk, or just going up a couple flights of stairs.

I also have some health issues that contribute to my dieting difficulties. I'm on the autistic spectrum (self-diagnosed Asperger's) which means that a) I don't always feel hunger... my body just doesn't send or hear the normal "eat something" signals and b) I crave crunchy food as it is soothing to my mental state - which would be ok if carrot sticks were the right kind of crunchy but they aren't. Ruffles potato chips on the other hand, really help manage my symptoms. *sigh* Add to this the fact that I'm hypoglycemic and can get very depressed if I don't eat every four hours or so - which is really easy to do if I don't feel hungry! I need to find a watch that I can set to beep at me every few hours, but I haven't yet because I go through stages where I get the hunger signals just fine. Right now I haven't reliably felt hunger in a couple months and it's making me a bit nutty.

Anyways, that's pretty much my story. Right now my plan is not so much dieting but eating healthfully and getting more exercise. My guidelines are roughly this:

-Try to eat snacks or small meals every four hours.
-Eat more veggies and less carbs (by no means eliminating them, I just should cut back.)
-Drink LOTS of water.
-Get exercise 5+ days a week. I'm still trying to figure out a regular routine for that. I wish I could afford even a few sessions with a personal trainer but right now I'm trying to combine the muscle building exercises from one of Jorge Cruise's 8 Minutes books and my Playstation "game" Yourself Fitness, as well as some cardio.

[meowee]

Hi there BETSI . . . great going at finding 3FC and at recognizing that diets do not work . . . you definitely have to make a total life-style change. Hope to see you around . . .

[Bravissimo]

Good luck to you! Never give up until you've reached your goal

[ellis]

Welcome, Betsi!
Your story is very interesting. You've overcome some major hurdles in your life.
I've an 18 year old daughter who is naturally slim, but hates exercising. (I was very active at her age, so I don't "get it") I keep thinking that she's going to be one of those women who, later on in life, realizes that she has to exercise. Whether she likes it or not.
It's great that you're planning on getting active at 25 instead of waiting until you're 40. You don't have to like exercising... you just have to do it because it's good for you. I'll bet eventually you'll come to need it... possibly even enjoy it.
Best wishes to you!

[BlzMaxGnrCCJkMly]

[Betsi]

Thanks everyone! I really need this support, as I don't get enough of it from my friends. It's great that they think I look good how I am, but it's not enough for me. I want to be fit enough to keep up with them, including the ones into circus arts (no, really! they do juggling, unicycling, aerial silks...) and I'm no where near that. I can barely keep up with going for a walk in the park!

Ellis, you are 100% right that your daughter is likely to run into the same problems I'm facing - does she eat right? If she doesn't like exercise she'd better hope she likes veggies! Seriously though, once the pounds start to pile on - and they probably will as her metabolism slows over the next couple years - I'm sure she'll see that she needs to find something that is fun and active.