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Age: 51
Start Weight: 83.2kg (13st)
Current Weight: 59.4 kg (9st 5lb)
Goal Weight: 52.5kg (8st 4.5lb) - but I'd be happy with between
8.5 and 8.75st
Weight Lost: 23.8kg (3st 10.5lb)
Working to Rate of Loss: 1kg per week, but I haven't maintained
that
Dieting History
What haven’t I tried! Grapefruit;
Weight Watchers; various
diets from magazines;
Atkins – 2 weeks only: couldn’t give up
fruit and veg; Mars Bar diet - from doctor; Not strictly a diet
but I did try hypnotism and followed a self-hypnotism regime for
about 6 months - don’t think I lost weight! & Lots of books and
things promising easy solutions.
Have you lost weight before
and regained the weight?
YES!! – I’ve been trying to lose weight since I was 10, when
the school medical service told my mother I was overweight.
Childhood obesity is not a new thing. Actually that made me very
conscious of my weight and was probably counter-productive.
First big weight loss in 1975. I was down to 8 and a half
stone and lost a little more in ’76. The initial weight loss in
75 wasn’t due to conscious dieting but more because of things
that were happening in my emotional life.
I was still 8 and half stone when I got married in 78 but
then it crept up. I must have been about 10 stone by late 81 and
lost a lot of weight then by dieting – back down to 8 and a half
stone but by the time I was 9 months pregnant with my first
child in 82 I was over 12 stone.
I lost weight after that – I was down to under 8 and a half
stone- that was the Mars Bar diet! But I’ve really yo-yo’d.
There are only 15 months between my second and third sons so I
didn’t lose much weight after number 2. But I did after number 3
– with the help of the midwives at our cottage hospital. That
was in 87/88. By early 91 I’d put weight back on again and I did
Weightwatchers and came back down to about 8 and a half stone. I
got to goal just before I went on holiday and never managed to
take off what I put on.
In late 95 I had difficulties at work and home and I started
to really binge eat and my weight just soared. My doctor
referred me to the Eating Disorders Service and I went for about
a year. By that time I was over 12 stone. I got comfortable with
that weight. I wasn’t over-eating but nothing I seemed to do
made me lose weight.
At the beginning of last year my husband was working away
from home and my weight started to go up again and that is when
I found WLR.
On Being Overweight…
It has been the main thing that I think about. It has only
occasionally stopped me doing things – couple of times I
remember not going out because I felt too fat. But it’s stopped
me enjoying being me. I am a confident successful person but I
used to think I would be a completely different person, a real
person, if I was thin. That feeling stopped when I went to Eating
Disorders and I became more accepting of me but I hate not being
able to buy clothes and look good. I am only 5 foot and little
and fat is not a good combination.
I don’t how my weight has affected people’s perceptions of me
when I’ve been fat. They probably think I’m happy but I’ve never
been happy fat – there is definitely always a thin person
screaming to get out. My husband doesn’t nag if I’m fat.
People’s perceptions are interesting. I have only lost about
half a stone since the start of the year but it is only
relatively recently since I got a new wardrobe and out of winter
clothes that people have noticed. Their reaction is that I look
good – but in many ways I felt OK before. You are definitely
judged on how you look especially if you are a woman and I don’t
like that.
I don’t get depressed going shopping now. I used to avoid it
like the plague and I used to get really stressed if I had to
shop for particular occasions – like weddings – in fact I’ve
become a bit of a clothes shopaholic.
Motivation to Lose Weight
Health really and also ability to be part of ‘normal’ society
when it comes to things like buying clothes. I had got used to
being 12+ stone but I was beginning to find it was affecting my
health. Some days I was struggling to walk up the slight hill
from the bottom of our road. Then one day my husband said I was
breathless when I was bending down gardening. I really knew then
I had to do something about it. The other motivation was booking
to go on an activity holiday with my teenage son last year; I
knew I’d have to lose weight if I wanted to participate fully
and enjoy myself.
Then the excitement of being able to lose weight was a great
motivator and to see the weight coming off. It’s more difficult
now and I’ve really plateau'd since the beginning of the year.
It hasn’t been helped by people noticing I’ve lost weight and
saying things like ‘you don’t need to lose anymore’ when I know
I still have to lose just to be a recommended weight for my
height – 9.5 stone was maximum when I had a health screen at
work.
I have bought a bikini (first time since 82!) for hols in
July and I had hoped I would be at least 8 st something to wear
it. I don’t think I’m going to reach that but I do want to keep
going until I am below 9 stone.
My husband was working away from home last year so it was
relatively easy to keep on plan when he was away at week-ends.
Now he’s away during the week and home at week-ends so I find it
difficult to stick to my programme when he’s home and to be
honest it’s becoming a bit of a chore. I should have got to goal
by now.
Discovering Weight Loss Resources
The Open Doors section in Sunday Times – which I don’t
normally read. I do normally read the diet advice in Style but
had missed the previous write up in that. I read about it just
at the right time.
How Weight Loss Resources Helps
I think the graphs and charts are great – I really like that
immediate feedback. I’m in education so I know that feedback is
important for effective learning. Unfortunately our PC is
playing up at present so accessing them isn’t easy just now.
Seeing calories mount up (mayonnaise!) and decrease with
exercise.
I like how you can see that different eating patterns affect
your weight. I am much more aware of the effect bread etc has on
me and also eating later at night.
I’m much more conscious about how little I need to eat to stay
within my allowance and also about making positive, informed
choices – I will have a glass of wine but knowing how many
calories that is.
I haven’t used the message boards a lot but I have had support
messages which is great and I like the new facility to see
members and find out more about them – make’s it more personal.
The help from WLR is good too – the helpteam are real people.
The Best of Weight Loss Resources
Food diary – I try to use every day but lately I’ve been
slipping and using it less often which isn’t good. I use the
charts and graphs all the time, when I can. I use the exercise
diary too. That is really good – seeing how many calories you
use and really linking exercise to eating.
I enter my measurements too and wish I’d taken them when I
started – it is great seeing the centimetres come off too!
Ann's Tips for Losing Weight
I have recommended WLR to loads of folk – I don’t know if
they use it. My husband has signed up but he doesn’t use it
unfortunately. I always tell folk that it is great because you
are in control – and you can see you are in control – it’s not
someone external telling you what to eat or not to eat – it is
between you and the PC.
I suppose my advice is use it, be honest, and stick with it.
I’d also recommend people be realistic about goals. At Christmas
I just didn’t record what I ate and because of that just stopped
really being in control. I would have been better changing my
goal to maintenance over that time and sticking more to the
limit. The facility to change goals even for a short time does
mean you can be realistic at times when you know you can’t stick
to your normal limit. However, it was good after Christmas
knowing that if I just went back to calorie balance I would lose
weight – and I did albeit slowly!
Exercise is another tip. I went back swimming with a
vengeance when I started last year and still go about 4 times a
week. That has really toned me up and as well as feeling a lot
healthier I look a lot better.
Keep lots of healthy snacks on hand - I'm eating loads of
strawberries at present - easy to pick at and I have porridge
every morning for breakfast with our locally milled oatmeal! A
low GI food.
I am really looking forward to getting to a goal I am happy
with and going on maintenance – I have NEVER managed to get to
that stage with any diet I’ve been on before - I'm sure I will
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