Hi! I'm obviously a newbie. A little about me...

I am 38 and have had disordered eating since I was about 11. Up until I was 21 I was super thin. Then I started treatment for several female issues (endometriosis, PCOS) . Over the next 9 years I had 11 surgeries for endometriosis and the last one was a total hysterectomy at age 30.

Just before my hysterectomy I went in to have the lap band placed. When my doctor lifted my liver it cracked and bled too much for him to continue surgery. I was too unhealthy for lap band surgery. My liver was way to fatty. Needless to say this didn't help me ANY in the self esteem area.

So life continued and my weight fluctuated. Then i was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer at 35 years old. I am given a 40% chance of being alive on my 40th birthday. I went through 1.5 years of treatment and lost and gained weight during that time. I ended up weighing 242 about a year ago.

Today I am in remission and have been watching what I eat (to a fault...disordered eating has shown up again in the form of starvation) and have had a much more active life style. I live a block from the beach now...how can I not walk my dogs there?!?! Why drive when I can ride my bike and not have to fight for parking? It is a great motivator...plus seeing tiny woman in their bathing suits has made me want to wear a fashionable suit next summer.

I'm wearing a size 12 now. My largest purchased size was a 22... It should have been a 26 but I squeezed into shirts and just wore stretchy skirts.

Anyhow...that is me! Any questions...feel free to ask. I am an open book!

Congratulations on the loss. How did you do it ? Calorie counting, carb counting, WW , portion control. NutriSystem, what ?

For the most part it was changing my lifestyle.

I cut out snacking first.
Then sweets.
Then started really drinking water.
Cut out soda
Cut out all meat

Now I only eat from the outside isles of the grocery store. I try my best to avoid prepackaged anything. I tried WW, South Beach, Atkins, etc. I finally just realized that it was really about my choices and moderation. However, for the past 4 months or so it has become starvation. I drink water. Will take in less than 500 calories a day. Sometimes 0 in a day. Not what I recommend and certainly not healthy. I have lost some during this time but it has set me back in other important areas like depression and body image. Back to counseling I go!

What you are doing is very dangerous. You are getting very little if any nutrition. If you keep this up your health will suffer. The other side of the coin is this, you won't be able to sustain such a rigid plan and will eventually gain it all back plus some.

I am so happy for you, keep up the good work. I am also sorry that all these things are happening to you. I am sure you heard this before; but I hope everything gets better for you. As women we go through so much!

I am in counseling for disordered eating. Most of the weight loss came before the starvation started. I know it isn't healthy and I work on it each day.