About Me, and Why I Need Support for Motivation

Hi everyone,

My name is Erin, and I am a 33-year-old mother of one (a 5-year-old named Kaylee). I work full-time, and I am a student (part time this semester until I get in the nursing program hopefully in January, at which time I will be taking 13-15 credits again).

I have been up and down the same 5 pounds the last 6 months, which is very frustrating but I know there are a lot of factors that contributed to this. Basically, I am a stress eater...the more stressed out I am, the more I eat. Then there of course is a vicious cycle. I feel bad, I eat more. I feel bad, I stop working out. I feel bad.

Background: I have been overweight since I hit puberty. I remember the first time I weighed myself was at the age of 16, at 170 pounds (I'm 5'6"). I slowly gained weight over the years, and for a long time I hung around 240 pounds. Then, in October 2008 I got pregnant. Over that pregnancy, I gained and gained until I reached 306 the day before she was born. Two months after giving birth, I was plateaued at 286 pounds. SO, I joined Weight Watchers. With them, and with SparkPeople, I reached my goal weight of 160 pounds. I started running at 196 pounds...more accurately, I ran a 5K with someone without training at that point, and I was miserable, but when I crossed the finish line, I was hooked. Within months, I had trained to run not only a 5K, but now at the 10K level. Five months after that first 5K, I ran a half marathon. In October 2012, I ran a full marathon.

But, the weight started coming back 8 months after I reached my goal weight. I was chasing a number, I was trying so hard to get below 160, to get into a size 6-8 rather than a size 8-10. I wasn't realizing that my body just was happy where it was at. That my body is not a petite body, it is a strong solid body with curves that just...they won't leave I wish I was happy with that then.

Not only this, but in December 2012, I had a hysterectomy, which sidelined my running. Then I had my tonsils taken out that following July. I stopped running.

The weight crept up, and up and up. Then I went back to college last fall. Working 40-45 hours a week, taking 12 credits in the fall and 15 credits in the spring, and working out fell to the wayside, bad eating habits jumped in to replace it.

Long story short, I reached 240 pounds, and have been near this number since about January. I have been working hard, but then sabotage myself after so many days of success. I have been down to 230, but not below that during the last 6 months.

Anyway, I joined this site in July but have found the same thing happening. I have a wonderfully supportive husband, but I think I need to reach out to others who are also working on being healthy.

I have in the last week been on track with my eating and working out, and 4 days ago I started running again, using the Couch to 5K app on my phone.

SO, this nice long story ends with me saying: I would love to have friends to help support and motivate me during the journey. To keep me accountable for tracking...