Starting Again
 

Hey everyone, I figured I'd make an intro post before joining in with the rest of the forum since it seems the proper thing to do.

I'm 23 years old and I live in Florida. When I was a lot younger I was around 200lbs, at 15 I decided to become vegetarian (and then vegan 6 months later) and started educating myself about food and weight loss. I got down to 175lbs from quitting soda, exercising more and making less processed foods. By that time I was becoming more and more disordered in my thoughts and eating habits and ended up dropping to 138lbs pretty quickly from excessive calorie restriction. Nobody in my family really knew about it. Eventually I got better on my own and for the most part it's not a big problem for me anymore. After that I climbed back up to 175 before readjusting my diet again. I ultimately settled in the 155-165 range and that's where I've been the last couple years. I'm not super bothered by my current weight although I would like to lose a little. My real goal is to stop being a jiggly couch potato. You know, gain some muscle, eat better and start enjoying my life a little more.

Sounds simple enough but I've gone through this what feels like 100 times and have yet to succeed. It can be difficult when you have mental health problems to continue caring about yourself. I have severe social anxiety and barely ever leave the house. It's easy to get depressed and feel like nothing I do really matters in the long run and so I eventually give up. I'm hoping that joining a forum will keep me going through the hard parts as well as get me used to interacting with people again, even if it's just on the internet. I feel a little self-conscious posting that to be honest but maybe somebody can relate.

Anyway, thanks for reading. :D

Hi TropicalKitten!
Isn't it strange how food that seems so insignificant makes a big change? When I cut out sodas and processed foods, I already felt a lot healthier and less sluggish during the day.
It's easy to slip into either extreme, but I'm glad you recognize that now! Once you recognize you've fallen into that mindset, it can be easier to recognize when you're slipping into it again.
Your goals sound pretty similar to mine, so I hope we can support each other through this! And yeah, I know how you feel. It's the reason I slip up so often but once you realize how good these changes are for you in practice, it can really make a difference! (:
Good luck to both of us!

:welcome: TropicalKitten! If you don't go out of the house much, this website will be ideal for you. You'll find lots of support here. A couple of forums that might interest you are Depression and Weight Issues: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/depr...ght-issues-76/ (as you may know depression and anxiety go hand-in-hand), and Fitness: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/fitness-177/. There are lots of fitness videos you may find you like on youtube, which you can do right at home. I wish you the best!

Definitely! I think small changes to our diets can have a big impact.
I'm glad too, it can still be difficult when disordered thinking arises but I am a lot better at saying "no" to those types of thoughts and avoiding the things that lead me down the wrong path diet/health wise.
I would be happy to support you and anyone else who needs it! Thanks so much for the warm welcome. :hug:

Thanks! This site seems like a good positive place to be. :goodvibes I will check out those forums now.