Hey everyone, my name's Ashley & I'm from MA. I obviously have some issues with my weight & that's why I'm here. At 5'6" & 228 lbs, I'm the smallest in my family, but that's not healthy. I have hypothroidism rheumatoid arthritis & fatigue. I'm 22 now & at 16 was having a lot of life problems & only ate 1 meal 3 days a week to have some control. I dropped down to 150 & that's the lowest I've ever been. I went from not eating to overeating, so I clearly stil have an eating disorder, just went to an oppite side of spectrum. I'm now the heaviest I've ever been & am having a hard time with it. I don't really have any support. My mom doesn't want to accept that when I was thin I had a problem & just tells me how pretty I was when I was like that. Doesn't really help me. I'm a collection agent, so I sit at a desk all day. I just got health insurance, so am now back on thyroid meds, having been off them for over a year. Haven't quite caught up so I'm still always exhausted & having arthritis really doesn't help with trying to exercise. On top of that, I'm busy & don't have a lot of time & motivation to exercise. I need food to stop being a comfort thing. Hoping that this place will help out & maybe help me find an exercise buddy.

You've found hundreds of buddies! Sounds like you've had a lot of struggles up until now, but this is doable and the support here really helps. I know firsthand about misusing food as a source of comfort. All I can say is you have to find a replacement that's healthier than food. Not easy I know, but it's so crucial to not falling back on bad habits when things get rough.

Post often and let us get to know you.