Hi everyone! My name is Aubrey, I am a 34 yo female from South Louisiana. South Louisiana is known for delectable Cajun cuisine. It is delicious but NOT healthy. Lots of fried, salty, rich foods...and a lot of it. The Cajun culture is centered around food, it's a religion. Add that to my love of fast food, pizza and anything processed, and it's a recipe for disaster.

I was always slim until college. I got the freshman 15 and started having panic attacks about my grades and horrible anxiety. Food became my comfort, and it still is. I can plan my day around food. Even when I'm eating I'll still be planning what I will eat later. Sometimes I binge, sometimes not, it is very tied to my emotions for me. The weight just kept climbing.

I don't know if I am addicted to food per se? I have lost 50 lbs or more about 3 times in the last 10 years. Never did any crazy diets, just clean eating and exercise. It wasn't really THAT hard to lose the weight when I got into the swing of it. I always felt so good about myself, so proud, I thought I'll never go back. But somewhere, sometime I always did. Then before I know it I've gained it all back then some. I don't know what happens in my mind at that point I just give up. I am trying to figure it out.

Well, here I am again, 259 lbs, the highest weight I've ever been. I'm not really surprised, but the number still shocked me. Curiously, that number would have sent me into an emotional tailspin once upon a time. Now, it just feels like a sign, enough is enough. I'm getting older, my blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar are elevated. My hormones are out of whack. I'm always tired. I just feel so UNHEALTHY now, compared to before where I was young and just felt FAT. I don't want to worry about my health so much at my age. I want to enjoy life.

Hopefully this site will give me some accountability (to myself most of all) and help me keep the weight off this time. Sorry so long, thanks to anyone who actually read all of this!

Hi Aubrey! I thought your post was very nice and took courage to write it all down. A lot of us are in the same boat.

Like you I was slim and active through college and started gaining as I got older.

Little by little it creeps up on you until you just get so sick of it you feel motivated to actually do something about it.

Well this is a good place to come to for support and advice. I am glad you are here!

Aubrey! I too was slim in college and yo-yo-dieted my way up into the 200's. I've come to realize that if I want to KEEP the weight off, I'm going to have to give up my former way of eating and follow a healthy plan from now on. There's is no going back to eating "normal." Fortunately, this is a wonderful place for support before, during, and after weight loss, so jump right in!

Hi Aubrey! Another yo-yo dieter here. I just joined this forum yesterday so welcome to the crowd. I have realized that I had to change my mindset about how to eat, when to eat, when not to eat, how much, and when I've had enough.

There are so many diets out there it makes my head swim and I have tried a few of them and they worked! But then like you said somewhere along the way we give up doing what we know we should do and not do.

I think we all know what to do mostly, but having that bulldog determination to stick to it is the hardest part.

The key for me is to stay focused and not worry about anything except losing that next pound!

I am glad I joined this forum for inspiration and hopefully can inspire others as time goes by.

Welcome to a future new you, you're gonna love yourself for it.

Thanks you guys! Feeling pretty motivated right now (always am in the beginning of course :-P). Cleaned all junk food and processed crap from my fridge and pantry last night, eating pretty good today. Almost ended up in the McDonald's drive thru for lunch - was a knee jerk reaction I think, luckily I remembered I'm not supposed to eat that lol. Just goes to show how our habits are hard to change.

I'll be posting soon in the forum, hope to hear from you guys there. Gonna look into the Slow Carb Diet Jacqui is doing. I think this is similar in a way to what I have done in the past, clean eating with an emphasis on lowering carbs/gi and good carbs. I am not diabetic but I have impaired glucose tolerance and lowering my carbs (not full on atkins) has helped me lose weight in the past, and increasing my protein keeps me full, along with LOTS of veggies. I would like to invest in a good juicer cause its hard to eat all those veggies sometimes.

Hi Aubrey,

I'm new too. I just wanted to say your post really resonated with me, especially when you said "I think about food all the time. Even when I'm eating I can be thinking about what I'm going to eat later." That's me too!!

Anyway, I just wanted to say hi, and we're in this together! Xxx

Hi Aubrey!

We have similar stats, and your post was all to familiar! Good luck with your journey!