Hi my name is Maggy and I'm an overeater.

Phew glad that's over with.... anyway enough of trying to be funny. My weight problem isn't funny anymore in fact, if I'm totally honest, it's bugged me alot more than I've ever let on. I've always had a weight problem even when I was thin (size 6 - god hard to believe when you look at me now), it's fluctuated in my teens from a chubby 12 year old to a painfully thin 16 year old and then into my early 20's I struggled with size 10, then 12 then 14 and by the time I was 32 I was a hefty size 22 and nearly 15 stone. I'm now 39 and though I managed to lose weight about 5 years ago to become a lovely size 12/14 - I'm right back upto size 22 and 14 stone 8 today.

Of course I've had plenty of excuses to comfort eat from losing my parents prematurely and other traumas too tedious to mention - my lifestyle has been a rollercoaster and my weight has followed the course. My complete downfall is no specific food - it's the fact that I am an emotional eater and have eaten my way through one trauma to another.

I need to change my weight because I have worked on stabilizing my lifestyle. I have taken charge of the manic depression that has dogged my life and now it is time to take charge of my weight problem. Admitting it is a problem is a big thing for me - I've been happy to hide behind for many years but I am finally ready to make the changes necessary to reduce my weight, dramatically improve my health and energy levels and get to a point where I actually like what I see in the mirror.

So that's me - I don't know how long it's going to take - but this is the starting point and I WILL become the Maggy that I deserve to be.