Hi Everyone :: waves frantically ::

I am a new to this wonderful forum. Let me give you a short and sweet introduction. I am overweight and I would like to get in shape, mainly because I am not comfortable with being overweight. I have really low self esteem which prevents me from going out, meeting new people, trying new things, and generally leaving the house because I get anxious and depressed. Given the fact that I am only 25, I feel that this is the time that I should be enjoying life and not hiding from the world. I hope that my new exercise and healthy eating regimen will improve my self esteem by building my confidence and inner strength. I have been faithly maintaining a food diary and at least 20 minutes of physical activity every day for a week and have lost 3.5 lbs. My weaknesses are as follows: poor portion control and emotional eating. To combat these vices I plan my meals a day ahead and do not allow myself to eat anything without setting a 5 min TIME OUT before I eat it. It works great to curtail any emotional binges (because before this I would pretty much eat anything I walked by .... to the point that my cats started fearing for their lives. I kid I kid ) To sum it up: I started at 166 lbs and I would like to maintain myself at 125.

Cheers,
H.

Hey and welcome! Glad you are here!

Thanks Catie!

You have a good sense of humour and you seem to have an excellent attitude towards weight loss and becoming healthier.

Your time out idea is so cool, it sounds like a really good idea that will work.

I was still young as well and felt a little like you describe - found it hard meeting people, embarrased to go out and have fun, and it's not a way to live. When I lost my weight I felt a million times better. I hope the good feeling you get from this small weight loss will encourage you to continue.

Wish you loads of luck and well done with your progress so far.

Mike.

Welcome Hilda!

So you are down to 162.5 lbs...good for you! Keep up the hard work and if you have any questions about diet and/or exercise just ask.

A point or two:

Anxiety about social situations can be stressing for many people, especially when those social situations involve meeting new people. A healthy eating and exercise regimen will help partially with self-esteem, but it isn't the entire answer.

You should pick an interim weight that you start going out and having fun again..and it should not be your final goal! For example, 150 lbs. That is a perfectly reasonable weight that you simply should not be embarrassed about going out as. You may not be perfect at that point, but who is? Confidence in yourself goes a long way.

Or alternatively, pick a "coming out" date. New Year's for example. And work your ass off to get there. Try not to be too anti-social in the meantime though, you can go stir crazy in two months!

Michael

Hi and welcome!

I know what you mean about being anxious and stressed. For the most part exercise does help me as well as putting my faith in a higher power (for me that's God.)

Good luck with your weight loss efforts, you seem like a fun gal.