Hi. my name is ashley. i'm 23 and a single mom of 2. samantha will be 2 on march 9th, and tyler will be 1 on march 10th. i am also a full time student working on an associates degree. i found out about this place in Oprah's magizine.and i figure i'll try about anything at this point. talking about my weight and my eating habits is NOT something i like to do. but maybe it will help. i can't tell you how much i weigh at the moment....i don't even know.

deep breath.....


the scale in my doctors office only goes up to 350lbs. at my last appointment, i was somewhere beyond that. you guys are the very first people i've told that, and i have to admit i am a bit emotional right now. not sure if i really want to post this and open myself up like this. but here it goes.


haven't chosen a plan yet, but i did order an exercise bike online, it should be here in about a week. i did find out recently that i needed medicine for an underactive thyroid, which i have started taking also. i think my 2 biggest problems are that i eat when i am emotional, and that i don't exercise. i was rewarded with food as a child, as well as comforted. so no matter how i feel, i want to eat. and on top of that, my mother never let me run around, she "didn't want my face getting red" is what i remember her saying. so i never got into any sort of exercise habit either.

Congratulations on taking the first step.You can do this and should for those two precious children.

Good for you. Taking the first step is always really really hard. You did awesome, pushing yourself to post even if you weren't sure if you want. Sometimes what you need to do means pushing your boundaries, just a bit.

I hope you enjoy it here. I've only been here a little while, but already it seems like a really nice place, and the people are mostly friendly.

Do you have a plan yet?

Hi ashley, I just started not too long ago and am getting support from other newbies. I tend to stray here in the newbie area. I post under nicvics thread if you want to come say hi.
Congratulations on wanting to lose the weight. Do you have a diet plan? I am doing weight watchers and I really like it. I'm sure its tough for u being a single mom and all and finding the time! Good Luck and yay for you!

Ashley, I was I raised with "Have a cookie you'll feel better"along with " You must clean up your plate" These are both lies. Our mothers just didn't know better.I have only recently given myself permission to NOT clean up my plate.I am also an emotional eater, the reason I am having to start over is because I had done a lot of stress eating, you know , comfort food, candy, cookies, ice cream.You are making a good start , keep it up and you will see results.

Hi Ashley,

I have been around a while, but mainly a lurker until I got "serious" about 2 weeks ago. Something about your post struck me - maybe because I am also a single mom to two wonderful kids so I know how hard that can be. It is so hard to take than first step. You have done just that and you should be proud of yourself. Something that helped me when I first started was to remember that I will never be bigger than I am today. I will only get smaller and lighter and healthier. I wish you the best of luck.

Welcome Ashley , I think you will find this site very helpful, just comming here and reading a little everyday realy helps me stay focused on getting healthier. There are so many helpfull people here, and I love to read the succes storys for inspiration. Hope to hear more from you

Ashley - I also remember that day when I first stepped on the scale at the doctor's and was too heavy to be weighed. It was such a mortifying experience. Even so, it still wasn’t enough to get me moving at the time. Please feel free to check out the 300+ section, where you will find plenty of people who understand how it feels to be 300+.

It sounds like you have lots of time on your hands – NOT! With school and your children it might feel impossible to find the time and energy sometimes. Especially in the beginning, small changes can make huge differences. I think one of the biggest things is figuring out what you can do and then doing it, while not beating yourself up for not doing more. This isn’t all or nothing. Congratulations of taking the step to order an exercise bike!

Hi Ashley,

I'm new to all this 2 and I also have a HUGE problem with food. Let me know if you ever want to chat about it!! My next favorite thing to do besides eat food is to talk about it!!