Single dad... Completely overwhelmed

rushmermh

Hi, my name is Michael. I'm 44, and live in the Greater Binghamton area of Upstate NY. I've been married for 20 years, and separated for the last 3 and a half. I have custody of my 3 boys (17, 14, and 12 years old).

I live an incredibly stressful life. My wife is emotionally (and sometimes physically) abusive to our sons and me, and has been ever since we got married. Our boys are all on the autism spectrum and have other special needs ranging from moderate to severe.

I've been overweight since I was a boy, particularly following a history of sexual abuse. I am an emotional eater, often binging when depressed or anxious.

I realize that my introduction has been terribly negative to this point, but I want you to know that inside, I consider myself to be a positive and hopeful person. I want to gain control over my bad habits and improve my health, both for me and especially for my boys.

I look forward to hearing from some of you and possibly making some new friends. Thank you for reading!

Michael

colormeJamie

Never give up! I kept falling off the bandwagon but with my recent prediabeties and hashimotos diagnosis I've committed to seeing how I feel wheat and sugar free. I've cleaned out and reorganized my cabinents. Today I started introducing more healthy foods to my son. He is autistic but has had almost 2000 hours of ABA therapy. Unfortunately we didn't tackle his eating habits but catered to them. It might be the biggest battle we've had yet.
I'm basically allowing myself paleo food. But the other day I came home and made him ravioli and I had some because I couldn't wait for my dinner. Other than that the first day I had 3 pieces of pita with my hummus, but next time I'll ask them to keep the pita. The other day I made beer butt chicken but with apple juice and roasted potato carrots and asparagus with it. I split that into 4 ready made meals for myself. I'm less than a week in...but I know I won't eat like I used to again. I can't. Good luck

BabyGrl726

HI Michael and Lynn,

Thank you both for sharing and great to meet you. Both of your stories are inspiring and hope we can all find support to stick to our goals. IT is poSainte to achI've them!! I will add you to my friends list and please accept if you'd like. I have several friends on this app that continue to be an inspiration to me and we certainly push each other to do more than we did the day before. (Active). I hope to keep chatting with you both.

My motto: Lifestyle changes....no diets necessary!

malissa41

Hi I'm overwhelmed and stressed also single mom to my 17 year old son who is autistic his dad has never been involved I need to lose 40lbs. I live in Ohio

liz1531

Hey Michael,

I think all of us as parents get completely overwhelmed sometimes. I've been feeling run down and my fat pants are suddenly skinny pants so had to say okay it's time to put me first for a minute. My kiddos will be fine and I'll teach them (hopefully) that caring for themselves will make them better friends, parents, partners. Also, she's an ex for a reason... Take no crap from her. She'll respect you more if you put your foot down and hopefully back off.