Hello all,

I'm new here. I decided to join this community because I've been trying to lose 10 pounds for a year now without much luck, and thought that perhaps posting my efforts publicly would help.

I know 10 pounds probably doesn't sound like much, but for a petite person like me- 5'3", 109 pounds, now up to 119 pounds-- it's a pretty good percentage of my body weight. Plus, I'm getting married in July, and would like to look as hot as I used to

I started putting on weight during a stressful period of my life last year, and somehow let my eating habits get so out of whack that I've had a hard time getting back to normal. I exercise a lot, 45 minutes of jogging or eliptical machine about 5 times a week, but can't seem to master the diet side of things. I got into a habit of overeating last year that I've been struggling to get out of. I eat healthy, but have issues with portion control. I'll read the serving size of something and then take seconds of it, even when I'm not hungry anymore. Part of the problem is that my fiance's eating habits have rubbed off on me. He eats way more than I do and snacks all the time, but is extremely active so it's not an issue for him. But when I see him taking seconds or reaching for a snack, it sort of encourages me to (lame excuse, I know). Plus, he's a really fast eater, and I'm a slow eater by nature, but I find myself eating more quickly than I normally would to keep up. Then the next thing I know, I've eaten twice as much as I should have. He also is away quite often in the evenings for work, and I find myself with an urge to snack on things like chips whenever he's not around. I've tried chewing gum instead of snacking, which helps, but I still give in sometimes and eat like half a bag of tortilla chips.

On top of all this, I've been diagnosed with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) for about 4 years now. Fortunately, I have a fairly mild case which I can control by carefully watching how much I eat, and I do quite well when I eat slowly and in small portions. But, my overeating over the past year has caused my symptoms to return with a vengeance. I know it's not good for me to eat so much, but I can't seem to kick the habit.

One other thing- it may sound weird, but sometimes I'm not even sure whether I'm hungry or not.

I'm planning to log my progress in here fairly often, and hopefully that will motivate me. Any suggestions on any of this would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!