get in shape, and stay there

So…I weighed myself just yesterday. I was a little surprised to find that I am the heaviest weight I’ve ever been. My freshmen year of college, I definitely gained weight, but I went on a diet the summer after and lost more then 10 pounds and I was ok again. I gained some back during my sophomore year, but still was doing alright. Now that I’m well into my junior year, though, I realize I’ve picked up a few too many bad eating habits. 1) I end up having dinner after 9pm at least twice a week. 2) I eat pretty quickly. I’ve heard that’s bad for digestion plus you just don’t get “full” as much. 3) The portions I eat are too big and I go back for seconds more than I should. 4) I treat myself to desserts too often. Now, honestly, I’m not like a total mess when it comes to food, but when I really sat down and thought about all these weaknesses, I concluded “well, no wonder I’m at my heaviest right now” becuase I haven’t always had these habits. I’ve had a tendency to make excuses for myself. For example, junior year is by far the busiest I’ve ever been which partly explains my habits for eating fast and eating late. I always seem to be on the go. I think my excuses are somewhat justified, but having excuses get me nowhere. So, now that I’ve listed all my habits, I am determined to turn them around into good habits!!

I really want to lose 15 pounds. I wouldn’t be thin at that weight, but I’d definitely be in shape. I find exercise enjoyable and I do it on a semi-regular basis, but eating healthily is not as easy for me. I am an emotional eater. When I am depressed, I eat almost nonstop. It’s a very bad habit. When I’m happy, I’m pretty good about avoiding junk food. So maybe I also need to find more things that make me happy then…