Hi! I'm Alex.. I'm 23 and from New Zealand. Thought I'd introduce myself in this part of the forum as my weight issues are very much to do with depression and anxiety disorders. (sorry if you want to move this into the actual introductions thread) This is a bit of a rant so feel free not to read but it's great to get things off of you're chest especially if you think someone else is listening! Where to start...

My current weight is 99kgs (218lbs) at the moment although it varies from about 97-99kgs frequently weather i'm trying to eat/exercise better or not. Not sure what my ultimate goal would be.. for now I want to loose 20kgs (44lbs) if i can do that I may go for more. My short term goal to get the ball rolling is to get to 94kgs (207lbs)!

the heaviest I have been is 104kgs (229lbs) and the lightest would have been about 60kgs (132lbs)

I have major depressive disorder and social phobia and these things majorly contribute to having gained so much weight. I eat when i'm depressed. I can't work because of my social phobia ( I have been confined to the house for up to 6 months at times) going out to exercise hasn't been an option for me up until now. I'm working on going out for short walks from my house with my therapist at the moment (starting tomorrow actually!) So you can see how the weight has piled on..and being overweight has made me less likely to leave the house than before so it's been that much more difficult.

I'm finally ready to face my inner demons therapy wise and one of my other demons (which contributes to my mental health) is my weight. I have set a goal for myself to travel overseas next year with my family. We're planning on Singapore and Malaysia which is very hot and humid and we'll have to do alot of walking so this means also that in order to complete that goal i'll have to complete another goal of getting fit & loosing weight.

not looking on reaching my target necessarily its more about being fit enough to tolerate the heat and the exercise it will entail (of course not being overweight will help)

I'm here looking for women to chat with who know what it's like to be a female and overweight! My next stop is the calorie counting section as i'm terrible at it

ps. what are those things in youre posts that show youre current and goal weight? where do I get one? thanks!

Hi Xela and welcome. I also suffer from depression and anxiety, actually severe anxiety and because of that I'm on disability. I know where you're coming from. I can't say that depression has caused me to eat more because it doesn't, nor does the anxiety. Though I've had a couple of jobs where I was in training and so stressed out that it did cause me to overeat a little bit.

I agree, yes, you will need to lose some weight when you go on vacation to those hot and humid countries, you will feel a lot better and heat makes the body expand. I'm glad you are going with your social phobia and have a great time!

So I've only lost about 10 pounds so far because I only started about 3.5 weeks ago. I hate that it takes so long to lose weight, I've always been a slow loser. But you will find plenty of support on these boards.

Hi Xela!

I'm new here too, this is my first post. Also from NZ. Where abouts are you? I could've written your post I swear! Depression, anxiety, fear of leaving the house etc. I have such a fear of exercise and 56kg to lose. Not a good combo. You defo have a friend here

Welcome Xela! You have come to the right place for support I have been overweight since I was a kid. It's great that you have set a weight loss goal for yourself. Setting a goal motivates you to accomplish it. First, find an exercise that you enjoy doing. Burning calories doing something you like will help you lose weight faster and you won't lose interest in it. Personally, I LOVE cycling. Since you are shy, why don't you try something like Zumba? You can do it in the privacy of your own home. I downloaded some videos off the net and got addicted. You don't feel the time pass by. There are lots of Zumba vids on YouTube. Work out to some that have songs that you like.

I know its easy for me to say this, but don't let what other people think of you discourage you from going out and having fun. I used to be so shy when I was younger and used to cry my eyes out when people used to comment about my weight. Now, I don't let them get to me. A trick I use is putting on my earphones when I walk out the door and listen to some music while I walk on the street. This way, even if someone says something nasty, I don't hear it Don't turn up the volume too high though. That's not safe as you wont hear oncoming traffic and stuff. If someone does say something hurtful and you feel bad about it, talk to your therapist. He/she will definitely help you through it

Good luck and keep talking to us xx