21 year old trying to get healthy

Hi all!

My name's Alex, and I'm a 21 year old premed student from Massachusetts, USA. I've been slowly gaining weight since I graduated high school a few years ago. I was always a little chubby, but now it's gotten a bit out of hand and I can see myself heading down a dangerous path of weight gain and unhealthy habits if I don't nip this now.

My highest was 209lbs, and I've been working on and off to lose weight for about two years now. I'm starting again at 204lbs and hoping that this is the final time I'll have to fall off the wagon!

I've struggled a lot with food throughout my life. When I was in high school I went through periods where I would starve myself until I couldn't take it anymore and then I would binge eat. I've mostly stopped starving myself, but the binge eating has gotten out of control. I need to work on healthy eating habits!

I'm trying a low carb, low calorie diet with exercise at least 5 days a week. It's hard to fit in exercise with my crazy schedule, and I'm trying to maintain a routine of packing my lunch the night before or in the morning so I don't get tempted by quick food on the go.

My goal weight is around 140-130. At least until I'm comfortable and healthy. I'd also like to build muscle once I get some of this fat off.

I could really use people to talk to, to motivate each other and keep one another on track! MyFitnessPal seems like a great tool to see how much I'm eating and make sure I'm taking in just the right amount of everything I need. I'd love to become more involved with it on every level, including becoming an active member of the community.