Hi!

I'm new, and this is the first online forum I have ever participated in! I'm usually a perpetual lurker!

I'm 5'3" and 141 lbs... and I loathe my body. I know 140+ is alot for my height, but I used to be super athletic (competive gymnast, dance, run... etc) and I have alot of muscle. At my lowest adult weight (118), people always told me I looked super skinny, and i wore a size 2. I only want to get down to about 120/125, I just don't think I'm built to weigh less than that!

Anyway, I can't stand looking in the mirror, all i see is grossness. I have struggled with body image my entire life-- I distinctly remember thinking I was overweight at age 8 and 50lbs... And it's all downhill from there... I OBSESS over my weight. This is my first year in law school, and I have been super busy and stressed and gained so much weight. I run 1-2 times a week now instead of 5-6, and I eat junk food all the time and drink way too much. I have classes and finals to worry about, but I spend more time worrying about how fat and unattractive I feel!

I'd really like to lose about 15-20lbs, and but I think the most important thing is for me to accept and be happy with my body! Last year I was about 20lbs skinner, but I obsessed about my weight all the time, always felt hungry, and really felt like my quality of life was diminished by my obsession with weight--it wasn't maintainable at all! (Since I did lose 15 of those 20 pounds in 1 month, I think I was pretty much starving myself...)

So--my goal is to lose some weight, but more importantly, to accept my body! Even when I was 20 lbs skinner, I hated my build. I know I could drop a ton of weight quickly like I did last year, but I literally wasn't eating and I never thought about anything but food--all the time!!!! It's not healthy, and I want to look in the mirror and like what I see!

Oh-- and I love food/cooking. Love, love, love! I think about food 24-7... I pretty much eat ALL DAY LONG. It makes weight loss hard! So, I am always on the lookout for healthy recipes and ideas!

Happy to meet all you guys!
Ciao!

EDIT: OH-- I really really need to learn how to actually diet!! I usually fluctuate between eating EVERYTHING I encounter or otherwise absolutely starving myself!

Hi!!! It's very nice to meet you! You've come to a great place for friendship and support!

Hi and welcome!

I'm glad to see that you are making your way around the forums. Stick with us and we'll help you get to your healthy goal.

Welcome! Surf around and settle in! We have subforums based on age, eating plan, exercise and more!

Hi and

140 doesn't sound like a lot for 5'3" if you're very muscular. I'm 5'1" and normally look my best at about 135. The scale is a good guideline, but it's just that....a guideline. It's also important to consider how we're built, how we look and how we feel

Rather than learn to "diet" it might be good to focus on learning how to eat healthily. Bouncing back and forth from one extreme to another is not healthy.

I wish you all the best!

Hello
When I first started obsessing about being fat, I probably wasn't. But because of my poor eating habits I was on the way to where I am now.

I am trying to learn NOT to diet, but rather to eat healthy and feel good about myself-and YES that means giving up some things along the way. Today that is ok. There was a discussion yesterday about cheddar cheese burgers that had over 1000 calories plus onion rings, and I just didn't want it. Today its not worth it to me.

I look forward to seeing you around.

P.S. I hate the word lurking, and prefer perusing. Glad you "perused" until you were ready to post.

Thanks everyone for being so supportive!! I'm looking forward to get more involved! I guess objectively I realize that I probably don't need to lose weight (yet), but I know I have a really bad diet. I'm trying to focus more on being healthy than skinny this time around...