You are not alone in this, please read...

LusciniaNightingale

The last 2 years have been really rough on me. I used to be happy, look forward to the next day and strive to take care of myself. When I look back at my photos I see a person who enjoyed life.
Fast forward to the present, and I can pass old friends from school in a store and they dont even recognize me. Some of my family cant believe what's happened to my body. I dont look like the same person anymore, I dont look like ME.
After a hard divorce, and many bad relationships following that divorce, I transformed into this shell of a person. I'm hoping to overcome my depression and my eating disorder to get back to who I believe I really am.
I dont ever show people what I look like anymore and I reuse old photos of myself to post on social media because I feel like that's the only acceptable version of myself that doesn't embarrass me. I know none of you know me personally, and you may not even care. Lol but I'm hoping all of you wonderful people can be my cheerleaders, even when I'm hard on myself. I just want to say thank you to all of my new friends on here and hopefully you all get to witness the transformation of a lifetime. I love you all...

For the first time ever... I'm going to make myself vulnerable and add photos of a reverse then and now (so we can witness the extent of what poor mindset and mental health can do to you and why is so important for self care, and self love.) It wont be your typical "look how great I am now!" Its going to be a hard look at the reality I am living with my present vs my past state of mind. I need to confront it head on and stop hiding behind a computer screen using "fake" photos of myself, or filters that distort my face into some acceptable version of me...
I need to get it out there that I have problems, and hiding isn't helping me overcome them. So I'm not hiding anymore... I'm going to start documenting my journey back to discovering myself. I know that I'm not the only one struggling and hiding. I feel that if I tell my story, others who are struggling can join me and rediscover the happiness they hold inside themselves.
I'm not going to show you before and after pictures (when I've already lost the weight) and tell you HOW I got better, I'm going to journey WITH you, in real time. If you feel like you need a friend, I'll be there to encourage and motivate you every step of the way. You are not alone in this, I understand you, even though we are strangers.
Today (8-20-19) I start to discover myself again. I'm inviting everyone to join along with me so I can witness your transformations too.

TheMrWobbly

Welcome on board! Every day is about the now, the change you make now, don't forget yesterday but know it is in the past and cannot be changed. What went before many have been through. If you are overweight and you genuinely want to lose weight you will. The key is honesty, honesty about what motivates us, honesty about about what de-rails us and how to avoid it, honest in our food diaries - there are no 'free' foods people!!!!! (Please have an open diary). Honesty about who we are and who we realistically want to be.

Many people disappear after a few weeks, "it's too difficult", "I haven't got the time", "oh just one 30" pizza won't hurt".

There are many great people here on MFP, there are fit people looking to get fitter, there are thin people looking to bulk up, and there are those, like me, clinically obese, wanting that change of lifestyle to be healthy. Join us and it really could change your life.