Overwhelmed and chocoholic

[pumperspumpkin]

Hello.

This is my first time on this board let alone my first post on it. I'm a bit overwhelmed with all these many-hundred post threads - where do I start? What do I do? Please take me by the hand and be nice.

I've never joined Weightwatchers or ever done any proper serious dieting before. However, I got weighed at the doctors yesterday and came in at a rather shocking to me 82kg. Three years ago I was 75kg so I've never been exactly sylphlike. I'm about 5ft 8-9 (yes, I know I'm mixing my weights and measures) - 14ish on the top half, 16-18ish (depending on shop) on the bottom, with big thighs and hips but a fairly flat tummy. My problem is comfort eating and particularly, chocolate - in fact, almost exclusively chocolate. The rest of the time I try to be pretty healthy - I'm almost justifying it in my mind as giving me the opportunity for more chocolate. Trouble is, I think I am reaching the point where unless I give up non-chocolate food entirely in favour of a large family sized bar a day, I can't do the balancing any more. At night I feel fairly repulsed with myself and vow to do better, but then the next morning I start again. I have a bag of Maltesers hidden in the wardrobe, for heaven's sake. And a bar of Dairy Milk in the drawers by my bed.

Reading this back I sound deranged. This is however the first time I've ever put it down in black and white, so that has to be a start. Please can I have encouragement to sort myself out? My dream - and it's a pretty pathetic dream - is in the short term, to fit my arse into a size 16 in any shop, and in the long term - well, a 14 would be amazing, but to be honest I'd be happy with a regular 16.

well the September Challenge is fairly new, and very welcoming. like you I've always found joining a long-standing thread a bit overwhelming, but there's only around 200 posts on the September one. come on over! we're very nice :o

BTW this is the first thread I've joined and stuck with - it's really helping motivate me. like you, I am an 18 (hence my nickname!). I need to lose 5st and adore chocolate, so I've decided to only allow it on weekends.

Welcome pumpkin LOL at the name! Iam relatively new and I would recommend the Paul Mckenna Can make You Thin thread and the diet which is more a life change than a diet and does work.

Or you can come and join the LBD challenge thread. We're all v lovely there. Can't promise that we're any less deranged than you but we won't bite!

pumperspumpkin just wanted to encourage you. I too am over weight and I too love chocolate. I have just started the Rosemary Conley diet and fitness class for exercise and diet. I get weighed this week. I found it quite helpful to have a diet to stick to and a point to look forward to (being weighed!).

All the best.