Tracey's Diet Success With WLR

About Tracey

I work early and late shifts in a civilian role at the police station.  The job means that I am unable to have set meal times, nor do I have access to a fully stocked kitchen when at work (how many of us do?!)   I used to have a lot of ready meals and pre-packed sandwiches at work, but now I will mostly take in my own meals cooked at home by my lovely man who does most of the cooking! 

I also work 10-hour shifts which can impact on my life outside of work on the days that I do work. 

Exercising can be tricky. I am very lucky and have the use of a gym at work.  I often go into work now at the crack of dawn to do an hour in the gym before my shift.

I live with a fantastic man who has been an absolute star throughout my weight loss journey.  He does most of the cooking at home and will, without even being asked, always weigh my food for me to ensure I can put it all into my diary accurately.  He often says that my eating healthily helps keep his weight in check as we always try to eat the same things.

I do have two grown up children who have flown the nest, but when they were younger it was so much harder to try to lose weight with them around.  I just didn’t seem to have the knack of throwing their left over food into the bin, it nearly always went into my mouth.  And from there……… onto my hips.

Dieting History

• My mother took me to the GP at age 11 and I was prescribed appetite suppressants. 
• Limmits biscuits meal replacements (remember them?!)
• Slender liquid meal replacement (made me very ill as I was on it for 6 months).
• Cambridge diet
• Egg and grapefruit diet
• 1000 calories a day diet
• Weight Watchers
• Slimming World
• Rosemary Conley (successfully lost 4 stones in 6 months but put it all back on and more in even less time).

I found that anything with the word ‘diet’ at the end of it should be avoided. 

I lost a lot of weight after my second baby was born as I used liquid meal replacements. However I developed a lazy bowel and was in agony as the weight fell off me.  As soon as I started being able to eat again, guess what?  The weight came back!

None of these so-called ‘diets’ taught me what I really needed to understand – that I needed to change my lifestyle forever.

How Did Your Weight Affect You?

I’m so very sad when I think of how much my weight has affected me in the past.  One of my oldest, bestest friends got married some years ago and I didn’t go to her wedding as I felt so awful about myself.  I felt so self conscious and frumpy and downright miserable that I didn’t think it was fair to her for me to go and spoil the day. 

I would regularly turn down invitations to go out. Firstly, I didn’t have anything to wear that I felt comfortable or attractive in, and secondly, I just didn’t want people looking at and feeling sorry for me.

I have been in some very dark places as I have suffered with depression for almost as long as I can remember but, thinking back, it did seem to mirror my ups and downs with my weight.  I know that the depression isn’t all down to my being overweight, but it certainly did play its part.  As I got depressed, I would eat more, and so I put on even more weight, and so I became even more depressed.  A desperate, vicious cycle that, fingers crossed, I seem to have finally broken out of.  I still have my moments, but I feel so much more in control of the depression, rather than the depression being in control of me.

Motivation to Diet

• I wanted to feel better about myself.
• I wanted to finally be able to wear nice clothes.
• I wanted to be healthy both in body and in mind.

How WLR Helps

Having access to a support network when I want and need it is invaluable. When I went to ‘slimming classes’ in the past the only support was 1 hour a week, if I was lucky.  With WLR I can dip in and out whenever I want.  It helps keep me much more focused. 

The Best of Weight Loss Resources

I use the Food diary without fail.  I can’t emphasise enough how it’s kept me on track.

The F&V counter helped me become much more aware of my intake along with the nutrition charts.  I still struggle to get the balance right between the proteins and the fats, but I do seem to have sussed the carbohydrates!

The boards in Members Forum…. I have made some wonderful virtual friends on WLR who have since become ‘real life’ friends.   WLR Members have seen me through the ups and downs of my weight loss journey, giving me a pat on the back and celebrating with me when I lose a couple of pounds, or giving me that much needed encouragement when the going got tough. 

Why do you think WLR has helped you lose weight where other diets have failed?

WLR has helped educate me to understand that I didn’t need to be on a diet anymore – I needed to change my lifestyle.

Tracey's Dieting Tips

1. Exercise – start gently and build up gradually.  I soon discovered that by exercising I could earn extra calories to add to my daily allowance.  I soon got addicted.  Not only does it earn you the extra calories, it also gets those endorphins flowing, a natural chemical necessary in the battle against depression.  Exercising also got me out into the open air more often, and soaking up some much needed natural daylight.  Another necessary ingredient in the fight against depression.
2. Invest in a set of kitchen scales and make them your best friend.  You will be amazed at what 2 ounces of breakfast cereal actually looks like!  Weigh everything and put it all into your food diary. 
3. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different types of food.  There are so many lovely tastes and textures out there. I’ve tried many new recipes from the food database here on WLR.  All calorie counted for you.
4. Set realistic goals but try not to aim for a specific event. In my experience when I wanted to lose weight for that particular event I then lost my way once the event has happened. 
5. Water!  I never used to drink plain water, but following the advice on here I aimed for 2 litres a day.  I now drink water automatically. Even on a night out if I’m having soft drinks I will have bottled mineral water.
6. Be patient. It has taken a lifetime to reach this point in your life.  Changes can happen, but they do take time.
7. Don’t give up.  What does it matter if you take the scenic route on this weight loss journey?  It means the weight is all the more likely to stay off!
8. Make use of the boards. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience out there, and sharing experiences with people in the same boat can be very comforting at times.  You really aren’t alone in your quest to lose weight.

Dig deep into your heart and ask yourself this: ‘How much do I want to lose weight and how much effort am I prepared to put in?’

Only one person can lose this weight and that’s you.  WLR and the people here will provide a huge amount of support, advice and knowledge, but only one person can actually do it!  Once you make that decision to go for it, just do it!  Never put off to tomorrow what can be done today!  I’m sure that, like me, you will wish you’d done it years ago. 

What is a few months, or even a couple of years, to get to where you REALLY want to be compared to how long it’s taken you to get to this point in your life.  It may have taken you 20, 30, 40, even 50 years so far, so what’s a little longer to turn it all around?
 
I may sound dramatic when I say this, but having lost a third of my bodyweight has really changed my life completely.   I actually quite like the look of the person I see every day now in the mirror (and that’s a change from the past, when I would avoid all mirrors!)

Lifestyle Changes

Clothes – I’m becoming a bit of a clothes horse, but I love it!  Never again will I wear an elasticated waist skirt or a man’s shirt as I couldn’t bear the thought of buying a size 20. 

Exercise – from puffing and wheezing just walking up a flight of stairs, I can now run for an hour without stopping.  I’ve run the last 2 Races For Life, and I’m aiming to do a 10k later this year.    I cycle to and from the gym where I do a workout with weights or a cardio session. 

Energy levels – again, this is linked to the depression, but in the ‘old days’ I would lay in bed for hours of a morning not wanting to get up.   These days I’m up with the lark, sometimes even going into work early to use the gym before my shift starts at 7am!

Attention – just recently I was walking along the street when I was wolf whistled!  That hasn’t happened in… oh…. Actually, it has never happened before!

Foods that you eat now and didn’t before or do not eat anymore.

Before I would eat a lot of processed foods, burgers in breadcrumbs as an example.  Or readymade lasagnes.   Now we make our own homemade burgers with extra lean mince. 

I now eat a lot of fish – salmon, mackerel, trout.  Before, the only fish I would eat was from the chip shop, and whilst I would love to have it now, it’s just too heavy and greasy for me and I know I wouldn’t enjoy it.

I eat a lot more fruit, taking note of seasonal fruits.  Melons and strawberries are far and away my favourite summer fruits!

Typical Dinner Before:
Fish and chips with bread and thickly spread butter to make chip butties, or shop bought pies with mashed potato soaked in butter.  Followed by a huge bar of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, washed down with a bottle of wine.

Typical Dinner Now:
Grilled salmon with roasted veggies or home made spaghetti Bolognese, followed by a low fat ice cream (my weakness!)

Exercise routines

RUNNING – I still can’t believe that I go out running.  Ok, it may be more of a trot than a run, but it’s more than I have ever done in my entire life, even when I was at school.
Cycling to and from the gym – not only is it environmentally friendly and saves me fuel, but it earns me around another 250 calories per trip!

Any Major Changes?

I think the biggest major change to my life is that I'm now happily settled into a relationship and that, in part, is due to my state of mind.

I have a zest for life that wasn't there before and that reflects into every aspect of my life.