I need to change my lifestyle.

Hello everyone!

I am a 20 y.o. female. I am steadily gaining weight, little by little, over the years. I know that if I do not change my lifestyle now, I will be one of those people that I have always wondered "How do they get that big?" Well, now I kind of understand. I am 5'3" and currently weigh 157-160. It isn't extremely horrible, but it is bad enough, especially for my height. I have a thicker and stronger build than most girls. I have wider hips, broader shoulders, thicker legs. I am not masculine or anything, just not built as frail as most girls. I think I am made to be very muscular.

My lifestyle is as follows: I live alone and work full time for the State of Ohio. I work in an office, which doesn't help. All they do is sit at a desk and eat constantly!! The only time I ever overeat is at work. At home, I really don't eat at all. It is really weird. I guess I am overeating and then undereating at the same time. If I get upset enough, I have completely stopped eating for a couple days, usually five or six, before I give in to temptation and start to eat again. I think this might be called binge eating, but I am not sure. My eating patterns are extremely erratic and random. I also attend school at Ohio State University full time as well. I have a full load, so I rarely have time to exercise. When I do exercise, I try to do 40 mins. of straight cardio, but that isn't really working out. For some reason, after only a few minutes, it is extremely hard to breathe. I feel strain in my throat area to get air in. It feels really tight and sometimes, it even burns. I thought "Oh well I must be really out of shape." I don't think this is the case because that feeling lingers for HOURS afterward, possibly the rest of the day. I do not have asthma or anything, but my doctor thought that I might have exercise-induced asthma and gave me an inhaler to try. I tried using it once and it did absolutely nothing. I have no time to work out and when I force myself to take 40 minutes out of my sleeptime or studying, I can't breathe when I exercise! I am so aggravated and depressed at the same time. I don't really know what to do from here.

All of this on top of a breakup is really pushing me over the edge...People say "you look fine" or "you are pretty, what are you talking about?" but I know that they are saying it to be nice. I am pretty emotionally exhausted from everything and I just don't know how to deal anymore.
 
Don't be so hard on yourself. Remember the most important thing is that you are trying.

--Check with your doctor if the inhaler didn't work, it might be that you need a different med, or that it is an entirely different condition, either way, you must get that taken care of.


Changing your eating habits can do more than help you lose weight. If you eat better, you will feel better in general, and that helps in all sorts of ways. I highly recommend you register on (it's free) and start logging your food intake. That will help give you a baseline to work with. From there, you can have a better idea of what specifically to adjust, etc.

I'm not going to tell you how easy it is to completely change your lifestyle. It's not easy, it's damn hard work and takes a lot of determination. But, if you set yourself to it, and make small gradual changes, you can do it, and after a while, it all becomes second nature.

Welcome, and feel free to ask questions and look around.
 
Def. see your doctor. It might be your thyroid.

If you can afford it, work with a nutritionist and possibly someoneto help you with an active lifestyle (like a trainer).

Good luck! Keep us posted!
 
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