Calorie Counting Success
Mandy was sceptical about calorie counting for weight loss,
now she feels 'amazingly empowered'
Age: 40
Height: 5' 4"
Start Weight: 12st
Current Weight: 9st 8lb
Goal Weight: 9½st
Weight Lost: 2st 6lb
Working to Rate of Loss: 1lb per week
Dieting History
Starving Myself. Not for long though as I hate being hungry!
Slimming World
Weight Watchers. Not for long though – see ‘Starving Myself.’
Rosemary Conley
Mars Bars & Crisps. Very successful when I was 18 yrs old.
Have you lost weight before and regained the weight?
My weight has fluctuated since having my only child when I
was 20. I gained 3½ stone (started at 9st) and never managed
again to get back under 10st. In my early 30’s, I stuck to
strict healthy eating and exercise and stayed within 10st – 10½
st weight range and was fairly happy.
I started a job where I had to commute and work long hours. I
couldn’t find time to go to the gym and my busy life meant I was
eating convenience foods. Rose to 12 stone! I joined Slimming
World and got down to 11 st but it was tough with too many rules
to follow. I went back up to 12st pretty quickly.
How being overweight has affected you…
When I carried excess weight people always told me that I
wasn’t fat and that I was meant to be like that. It was my
natural frame and I looked good. I know I wasn’t obese but I
never felt good about myself. I was convinced that it was ‘my
age’ and that it was for me. Now I feel supremely confident
about the way I look and moreover in control, not only of my
weight but also of my life. Bizarre isn’t it? I feel I can
achieve anything I want to!
I know in the grand scheme of things it is not a great
achievement. However, for many of us it is the one thing that
eludes us even when we had overcome bigger challenges. I am also
an IBS sufferer and my weight loss and better eating patterns
have improved this.
Motivation to Diet
Positive self-image.
Health, particularly getting into good eating habits before I
start to do damage.
Control my IBS.
Role model for my family and friends.
Nice clothes that fit well.
Increased energy.
Discovering Weight Loss Resources
My Mum was reading an article in a women’s magazine of
different types of successful diets that people had lost weight
with. Knowing that I hated following restrictions and used the
Internet she pointed out WLR. I was sceptical as I related
calorie counting and going hungry so didn’t try it immediately.
However, I logged on at a really low moment and thus began.
How WLR's Calorie Counting Tools Help
Initially I tried the free trial and just logged everything
I ate normally into the food diary without restriction. Although
I ate fairly healthily (no sweets/chocolate/pop etc) my
calorie
intake was over 2,000 per day. I was astonished. I never ate
breakfast as it made me feel nauseous but would snack on dried
fruit, nuts & seeds until lunch. I was getting through around
500kcals worth before even starting to eat!
Signing up immediately I forced myself to eat breakfast to
get over my snacking. A great plus for digestive health - sounds
like an advert now!
I was previously convinced that as I gained weight easily
that I couldn’t eat 3 meals per day and lose weight. I have
since blown that perception away. Now I am in control of what I
eat, what combination I eat and when I eat and tend to stick to
1 large meal with 2 smaller meals during a day.
The Best of Weight Loss Resources
Food diary mainly as it’s my lifeline!
Exercise diary as I can’t eat what I need to without these
kcals.
Progress Charts, which motivate me when I can see how far
I’ve come, particularly when I am only maintaining.
Nutrition Balance Pie Charts are great and seeing that I get
enough fruit and vegetables is important to me.
Targets. I review and alter these depending on other
challenges in my life.
Mandy's Calorie Counting Tips
I hate measuring food. It makes me feel like I am restricting
myself. Buying portion-sized food therefore helps me. Although
it can be more expensive it is worthwhile. For example, I buy
porridge in individual sachets for breakfast, fresh soup in
cartons, small pieces of meat packaged with weight. I obviously
needed to weigh initially but I tend to know now how much space
my pasta/rice/potatoes need to take up on my plate. I do still
check occasionally when I am not losing just in case!
For meals that I cook myself regularly I always use the
recipe section in the food diary. This is great as you don’t
have to keep repeating the collation of all of the ingredients.
As mentioned before, it has helped me to regulate my eating
i.e. three meals per day. The recommended calorie intake is
great along with the breakdown of calories per meal. It helps to
‘manage’ mistakes.
My favourite report is the Calories History report. If I have
gone over my quota for the day I can check back over a few weeks
to see if I am doing it regularly and if there’s a pattern i.e.
pre-menstrual and this helps me to understand my eating habits.
It also helps me not to panic as I know I can catch up over a
couple of weeks. For example, on Mondays I always go over my
quota – I still don’t know why!
I have read umpteen articles that tell you weight loss is simple
science – calorie intake versus calorie expenditure. Although I
knew it to be true I convinced myself that I was the exception.
I didn’t eat enough! Having a calorie counting tool that told me different and
helped me to progressively lose weight at a rate of 1 – 2lbs per
week has helped me to understand my body.
Setting achievable targets helped. Getting under 11st was my
first target and I thought that was all I wanted but now I have
realised I can keep going and I feel amazingly empowered!
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