Hey everyone! My name is Daesha and I'm 25 years old living in Georgia.

I've been on and off here over the years but never consistently. I lost about 60 pounds a few years ago, and while not quite getting to where I was supposed to be I did it. But then life happened and I never got to the root of my eating disorder and gained it all back plus more topping me out at 256 pounds today. I'm 5'4. For the first time in my life, I've begun to have high blood pressure and I can't say how scary it is. I've had all type of health-related problems due to my weight - rashes, PCOS, fatigue, anxiety (severe), depression, heart palpitations - you name it but just didn't do it. Now it's taking a toll on my marriage as well. I know there is this person hiding underneath and I'm ready to find her and learn about myself along the way.

I start day one tomorrow, Lord willing, and I'm nervous about how it's going to go since I have a food addiction. I'm not "prepared" and I have no food here t the house but no matter what it takes, I will NOT eat what I've always eaten. I HATE vegetables. I've never been forced to eat them at all so this is going to be a real struggle. Just asking for good vibes this way and any encouragement from you guy's first day of your journey if you suffered from food addiction and binge eating, also.

I'm so happy I'm here and among such inspiring and amazing guys and gals. Happy Holidays.

SW: 256
GW: 145

Hello and welcome!

Some people don't need to completely change what they eat, but just how much. I have a friend who was obese and now is a normal weight and she lost it eating things she always had, but with some minor tweaks. She basically used portion control. She hates vegetables and can go whole weeks without eating any, but she still lost weight.

You may be the kind of person who wants/needs to change everything you eat, but you also may not be. I'm in between, and depending on how I'm doing, I eat anywhere from mostly junk to completely clean. Experiment a bit and see what works for you. You can always gradually introduce vegetables in forms that you like (maybe roasting them will work better than eating them raw, for example).

You can absolutely do this. If you can find a way to eat that you enjoy, it makes the whole thing easier and more fun, and even the challenging parts (of which there are many) aren't quite so bad. One more thing: 85% or more of weight loss is eating. Exercise is fantastic for your health, but won't do much for weight loss (unless you're a professional athlete or something). Focus on what you eat. There's a lot of good info on this site, too.

You are welcome Daesha

Thanks so much you all.

I definitely want to be well rounded. I don’t like vegetables but I want to eat them because they’re good for me. For me, the journey isn’t just weight loss but being a better and healthier person all around. While I don’t like vegetables, it’s mandatory I eat them because I know all they can do for me and I have to do something I’ve never done to be the person I’ve never been. It’s just SOOOOO hard, goodness it’s hard. But I’m definitely not going to overwhelm myself. I think I’ll start small with adding a veggie (literally like a spoon full) and getting used to the taste and then whenever I’m ok with it increasing it over time.

As far as working out, it helps my mood more than I can say. It’s jjsy STARTING that it’s painful 😣 I’ve lost 65 pounds and gained it all back plus more because I didn’t deal with my issues the first go round , so I know what needs to be done. This time just seems impossible.

It always helps knowing I’m not the only one who has to make these hard decisions.

Thank you for the advice! I really appreciate it - we’re all in his together