I remember watching Oprah one time and she was talking about how when a person is overweight, it is just an external manifestation of an internal problem.

Due to a number of circumstances in my personal life, I am doing a lot of re-evaluations of me. I think that I had completely let my life just slack off. Maybe it's just now that I am really coming into adulthood (24) that I am realizing there are huge parts of my life that only I am responsible for.

But there are other things that I have let slide, like relationships with family and friends. I don't consistently keep my house clean enough, either. And I still do stupid things like staying up till 4AM compulsively reading forums, or during the school year, studying super late after procrastinating. (grad student)

I realize that looking at too many things at once is too overwhelming. Just looking at the 55 pounds I want to lose is daunting.

So, I decided to take care of my weight and personal health first. Those are big things, and I think they will help me have a better outlook on life in general.

I guess I'm wondering if I'm alone in this. Does anyone else feel like her weight is only part of the problem? What other kinds of things do you struggle with?

Perhaps everything snowballs...

I know that for me -the more I weigh the less energy I have, the less I want to do, the worse I feel, the
more I withdraw from life etc. I have been procrastinating a lot lately on issues and it leaves me in a
constant state of panic and rushing to meet deadlines.

I cannot get ahead.

hey girlie, im a fellow hoosier! i am just now coming to grips with trying to regain some control over my life. the only thing i can control is what i put in my mouth. as for the rest of it i have in the past dealt with periods of depression and severe anxiety. and then hypothyroidism really threw me for a loop, gained 40 lbs in 5 months and felt like crap for 6 months and surgery. i feel i have been downsliding my whole life. and it just gets harder the older you get. i have never loved myself....slowly in the past month by eating good food and exercising and medication i have finally started to feel better. YOU have the power to help yourself. you can reach out for help, especially here. i think i would have given up already without these folks. I've weighed over 200 lbs since i was 13.

My first goal was to weigh under 200, now i really want to create a healthy life for myself. i've spent too many years thinking there was no relation between my weight and health and moods. i think everyone that has a weight problem is emotionally related in some way. we can reclaim our lives , we are stronger than the food. The journey is long and hard but the past is worse. i hope that makes sense... and i hope it brings some amount of comfort or empathy. we are here for ya.

I've noticed a big relationship between controlling my eating and controlling my spending. I used to be terrible with money, and was always buying stuff I didn't need or would never use, just 'cause I felt like buying something. Since I've started managing my eating, though, I've been spending far less, and am making much smarter choices about money.

For me, I think of out of control eating as being the one part of my life I wasn't having to think about (not a smart track). I was getting married, having a baby, moving all over the country, having more kids, being a stay at home mom, marriage, getting a degree, having to fix problems in my family and my inlaws realm, learning to deal with bipolar, getting a career, etc, etc, etc. There was an endless sea of adult things I had to control or manage. Some were within my realm of control, others were not. Each time I got pregnant I would crave food. Soon I was eating epic portions (under the guise of pregnancy) and afterwards I would never stop. I was dealing with new babys and that was something I didn't want to have to think about.

I will tell you the worst was when I learned (after my 3rd child) that I was bipolar. I was overwhelmed with everything. Nothing was within my control. Now that I feel better about that diagnosis, I can start to take control of my life (eating) a little more.

I will also say, the need to take control of weight loss comes abotu 2-3 years after each child is born. I have no idea why. Maybe they become a little independent at that stage and I can let my focus go somewhere else.

I have schizo-affective disorder and I gained weight because of the medication. I just started the South Beach Diet and the size 14 pants that I couldn't even get over my legs fits. It's a tight fit but hey a fit is a fit. I'm also a jobless college graduate which sucks. I am going back to school in January and plan to finish my Master's in a year so I can start working. I for one cannot wait till January when I complete my weight loss and get back to school. Good luck to each and everyone of us. May God help us.