hi, I'm a 38 yr old wife and mother who has been putting on weight for the last few years. it has now reached the point where my health, job, marriage and self esteem are suffering and i am in a vicious cycle of dieting and then binge eating and feeling worthless. this needs to stop and i hope that the support from this group will give me much needed encouragement to actually stick at this and begin to live my life again.

Hi Tamara,

I know what you are going through. I have gained 30 pounds over the last three years. I finally decided to put a stop to it. I have tried and failed many times. Usually only lasting 1/2 a day, sometimes a few days. The thought of being denied yummy treats makes me want to eat twice as many of them. I usually break down and give into this urge. I am in the frame of mind now that I want to be thin more than I want the treats. It's a decision I make everyday, every meal. They will still be there next week, next month, next year. I used to eat like it would be my last meal .ever and I would never be able to taste this delicious food again. I am not focusing on food anymore, choosing to engross myself in hobbies like knitting, blogging, reading etc. I am still just getting around to planning an exercise routine. I am doing the Slimfast plan, snacking on melons and drinking lots of water in between. There is some great 5 calorie drink mix by Nestea if you don't like plain water. Good luck, I know it's tough to get started but you'll be excited when you see the weight dropping. Keep your goal in mind!

Thanks for replying and especially for the advice which i hope will help me to get started. It is re-assuring to know that other people have struggled with this problem and that I am not as strange as I sometimes feel. My binging has always been done secretly and the guilt and self loathing have only exacerbated the problem. hopefully being more open and talking to people with similar struggles will help me to make this year much happier than previous years. Again thank you

Hello Tamara

Welcome to the group, I have always struggled with my weight, about six years ago I was over fifteen stone I'm only five feet tall and don't have your height so you can imagine what I looked like. Anyway to cut a long story short over the next two years I got down to nine stone four, I was delighted, maintained that weight for about two years when two years ago my father died, I was absolutely heartbroken I adored him and ate my way back up to about 12 stone, so here I am again trying to get this weight off. I sometimes wonder if my off switch for eating has been turned off, I've just been managing to get a grip these past couple of weeks, I feel positive, my eating is way better and I have been exercising. Small steps Tamara and you can do this, we all can.

It is always good to hear from people who experience the same kind of problems and recognise the feelings we sometimes have, when I first returned here I felt such a failure but I feel much better now that I am doing something about it and you will too

Take good care

thank you michele for your post. just reading your story and identifying with your weight struggles makes me feel like i have finally found the right place to come for support after feeling so alone and disgusted with myself for so long. I am sorry to hear about your dad and know from personal experience how this can send you on a downward spiral with food, eating uncontrollably to try and mask the pain that you feel. I am happy that you are again on the right path and sure that you will succeed once more. I hope that I can achieve a similar weight loss and overcome any obstacles along the way with support and advice from people who actually understand why i do what i do and exactly how i am feeling. Good luck to us both

Hope you had a good day Tamara, I could have eaten better today but went a bit mad, but I don't feel guilty I just think ahhh well tomorrow will be fine and it will be. A good mindset for me as you know how easy it is to carry on if you give in to a bit of a food fest.

Wishing you a lovely healthy day tomorrow

hi michele, had good 6 days without binging which is really good for me. will be a bit easier over the next 4 days as i am on 12 hr days giving me less time and opportunity to reach for the chocolate. just need to be careful not to reach for the wine when i get home if i have had a stressful shift!! It is good that you can say tomorrow is a new day as i know how difficult it is after binging not just to throw the towel in and think well its too late now and become depressed about it. Fish and chip day at work today so i need to resist and order a salad. Wish me luck!

ahhh I can do at the moment, just hoping it carries on Tamara, hope you enjoyed your salad, but if you had the fish and chips don't fret.

Your doing great, before you know you will be in the 14's it's always lovely when you go down a number.

Take good care
Michele

did have the fish and chips, but only half a portion, no bread and butter and salad for tea so dont feel too bad. its a week tomorrow that i started the diet so hopefully there will be a few less pounds. like you say cant wait to move down a number or a dress size think it will be such a boost to see proof that something is happening.
will let you know my numbers tomorrow, whether good or not so good! tamara

7 days of no binging and loss of 6 pounds cant believe I stuck to it for a full week. really do think that this site has helped knowing that other people out there do the same things that I do and struggle with controlling their eating. But the main thing is to try and not beat yourself up if you fail every now and then. feel quite positive going into my second week

Well done you, delighted you feel so positive, I do too, it's all good Tamara

I've just slunk back here after gaining most of the weight I lost a couple of years ago. Had a conversation with a friend on New Year's Eve that brought home to me what I was doing to myself so am making the effort to lose at least some of my excess. I've been bingeing for years, it's a hard habit to break so I know exactly where you're coming from.

Hi Dawnie89 congrats on coming back I know how disheartening it is to lose the weight and then put it back on. I have been in that cycle for years and the binging has become worse each time. I am now on day 10 with no binging and feel that just visiting this site reminds me why I am doing this and helps me have a little more willpower in choosing what I eat. 13 pounds loss is a brilliant start and good luck for the rest.

Welcome back Dawnie, as Tamara says it is so disheartening losing then regaining, I've regained about two and a half stone of what i'd lost, fortunately I've managed to keep the other two and a half off but I was on a very slipperly slope hence my return to this site and well done for the weight you've lost so far.

Thanks to you both. It helps that everyone at work is dieting so there are no snacks around. I've found that keeping a food diary has helped me identify the times when I'm most likely to snack or binge, seems to help