Okay, a brief introduction.
I'm twenty two and have been thin all my life. I'm pretty tall so being thin was natural, could eat pretty much anything I wanted.
Last year depression hit and weight gain followed. I've gained I think about twenty, maybe thirty pounds.
I've lost weight before. Back when I was thinner, I was dieting quite often trying to reach what looked thin to me then. Now I just want to lose fifteen or twenty pounds.
My problem is definitely emotional eating. Unfortunately, the depression hit shortly after getting married. My husband doesn't even THINK about eating (men lol) and so he's no influence on me.
When I lived at home, my mom and sister both were constantly dieting it seemed. Both were fit as well, and my whole family is pretty health conscious.
with the depression and no GOOD diet influence I have now gained this lovely weight.
I just need help with food, because I've started working out an hour every day. I've been doing so for a few weeks, maybe a month.
What I really need are people to be accountable to. I think if I told people what I ate, or had someone to turn to before I was going to eat each time, I'd realize just how much I eat and how ridiculous it is. I mean I literally eat myself sick sometimes.


So the introduction wasn't brief after all, sorry lol. Any help would be appreciated!

Def. come here - there are so many nice people who will just talk you down and encourage you when you want to eat something you shouldn't.

Good job on working out.. that's something I struggle a lot with. But stay strong - we CAN do this .

you are definitely in the right place. the girls here are so supportive. we are all struggling with this together, so we all know exactly how you feel!
huge welcome!

I feel like an infomercial, but there's a thread titled "Daily food and exercise confessions" in the support forum. I post on there daily. If you would like to just confess one and not the other, that's fine too. They're a really supportive group of chickies, and you're more than welcome to join us there!

Welcome to 3FC!

Hey! Have you found the Chicks in Control forum yet?

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/chicks-control-64/

It's for folks with possible food issues like eating disorders. You might want to check out some of the Sticky threads at the top of that forum.

Also, you don't say what happened that led to depression, but you could also check out the Dieting with Obstacles forum.

Good luck!
Jay

Everyone here struggles with weight issues, so we understand where you are coming from. Just start reading and asking questions, there is a wealth of knowledge and support. Another forum you might feel comfortable with is the 20+ Forum.

Good for you for taking the first step to conquering your issues. You might find that if you are suffering from depression you need to get help from your doctor, but you have taken a big first step in coming here. Once again, welcome and good luck on your journey.

I totally agree with this being a great accountability place. I also wanted to throw out a couple of other thoughts:

1. A lot of people do really well with just writing down what they ate each day. I personally have done a system where I make a plan the night before for the next day and then report the actuals the following evening and repeat. There is something about having to write down what you ate that might give you just that moment to stop and think that you obviously were able to do before. The other piece of that was the planning. I do not plan to the calorie but if I have a plan of what I'm going to do, no matter how loose, it seems to be enough to make me take that moment again to think about whether I'm going to veer from the plan and many, many times I won't but if I don't have a plan, I tend to get pretty carried away.

2. I have read studies about how friends and associates can influence things like weight so that is not a figment of your imagination. I really, really struggle in some social situations with certain friends BUT have found that many welcome my suggestions to do something a little healthier food wise or activity wise. Go ahead and make the suggestion and see what happens. Things like "How about if we go to Whole Foods for lunch?" allows you healthier choices that are easier to make if you can get her to buy into it. You aren't asking her to eat that way, just making it easier for yourself.

I'm really sorry about the depression. Been there, done that and HATE the t-shirt. I'm not sure from your post if you are in treatment but if you are, this might be something to discuss with the doctor also just so they know that you have noticed and it bothers you. There is some taboo stuff going on in the medical world around weight conversations so you might have to bring it up yourself so they know it is a safe topic for you (if indeed it is).

Peg

welcome here! I hope you'll be able to fulfill your goal

good luck! XD

Thanks so much for the replies and welcomes!! I really appreciate it. I'm ready to do good, to stop being just a "before" and start being an "after". LOL.
I'm used to eating so much food that my basic plan is to eat when I'm hungry (basically the six small meals) and only eat till when I feel just barely full. I'm never going to allow myself more than the alotted portion. Like if I want Oreos for instance, and the serving is two cookies, then I can only have two.
Oh, and I'm going to eat slowly, because that helps with overeating. I hope that over time, I won't feel hungry SO MUCH because my body is used to less food.
I'm also going to save a snack for after dinner because I have this habit of stuffing my face in the evening after doing well all day. I have no idea why

Thanks so much for your replies. You have no idea how much it means to me to have support that doesn't include having to bore my poor husband over and over with my new "plans" that will start "tomorrow" and never seem to happen.
I need this to happen this time!!