Success Story: Emma

Dieting History

I have tried most of the popular diets on the market over the past 14 years: Rosemary Conley; Weight Watchers; a version of the Atkins; blood group diet; anti-candida diet; Little Black Dress diet; cabbage soup diet; cucumber and cottage cheese diet; I am currently using the GI diet books in conjunction with WLR.

Have you Dieted Before and Regained the Weight?

YES!! Unfortunately this is the embarrassing story of my life. My friends (who are spread to the four corners of the globe) never know how to expect me when we meet, as my size changes so frequently!

My weight has yo-yo'd crazily over the past decade, going from 78kg to 63kg in the space of 4 months, then back up to 72kg, down again to mid-60s etc etc. The heaviest I have ever been was last Summer when I weighed in at 88kg (I think that's about 14 stone), and yet only 18 months ago I weighed 70kg.

Worryingly, the weight gain is getting greater each time I have an upward spiral.

How Being Overweight has Affected you…

My weight unfortunately is a great determiner in my life and can dictate whether I am happy or sad, sociable or reclusive, snappy or easy going and so on.

There is a direct link between my weight (and my perception of my weight) and those periods of my life where I did a lot and achieved a lot (when I was "thin") and those times where my relationships with family, friends and my boyfriend suffered and I did very little (when I was "fat").

I am naturally quite an outgoing and sociable person, but my weight can sometimes undermine this entirely. Although I do not think I have noticed peoples' perceptions of me changing according to my size, I would say that their attitudes change based upon mine, as who wants to talk to someone who obviously feels uncomfortable talking to them?

When I was at university there were occasions when I would get up and feel so terribly fat (even though at that time I was not), that I would walk the 25mins to campus and be so distraught about my size I would have to walk home again. I still have bad days but they do not affect me in the same way as they used to.

I would never avoid work because of it, but I do not feel comfortable going out at the weekend to pubs or bars where I have to stand up, as I feel conspicuously large in a sea of skinny girls, and I cannot wear short skirts or hipster jeans which might make me "blend in" because then I'd be the "fat girl in the tight clothes"... So we socialise with our friends at dinner parties and by going to restaurants mostly.  I have not been dancing (I love RnB music) for years, and that is something I really miss.

Motivation to Diet

My motivation to lose weight this time is that I am tired of feeling different to everyone else. I am 30 this year and do not want to let life pass me by. I want to get married to my lovely, understanding, and infinitely patient fiancé in May and be proud to be the centre of attention with him, to accept the compliments without negating them, to have my wedding pictures taken and to cherish the memories of a happy day - not look back on it with regrets.

Discovering Weight Loss Resources

My best friend's Mum came across an article in a health magazine about 3 years ago and passed on the web address to me.

I was a bit sceptical at first about an on-line dieting service, but quickly realised that it was and is the best tool for anybody who is serious about losing weight. Had I not been so caught up in fad dieting over the past 3 years, with the promise of immediate results, I probably would have lost weight and kept it off with WLR.

How Weight Loss Resources Helps

It is very easy to underestimate the amount of food you eat, and before coming back to using WLR regularly last September, my portion sizes had gotten very big!

I love cheese and pasta (and the accompanying red wine) and now realise that I was probably eating nearly a day's calories in one evening meal... every evening!

It is really helpful to be able to plan out my week's food and exercise using the food and exercise diaries. I now measure my food quantities and my portions are consequently much smaller.

I no longer feel bloated after eating, nor am I hungry during the day and forced to snack on rubbish, as my snacks are planned in! I can allow for occasional nights off with friends by upping my exercise and looking at the week's plan rather than the day's plan to see how many calories I have "banked".

I would say the other great advantage of using WLR, which you could not achieve by simple calorie counting, is the information and support you can get from it. The message boards are great.

If you are feeling that you are losing the plot, you just post a message asking for help and when you next log on, there are guaranteed to be many messages waiting for you to help get you through!

Family and friends can provide a lot of support but they are bound to get a bit bored of it (especially when it's been ongoing for years!) but with the number of people using WLR there is always someone there with fresh ideas and encouragement who's really keen to help - and keen to congratulate your losses too! I cannot recommend this aspect of WLR enough!

Although I am applying the principals of the GI Diet to my eating, I know it is the guidance of WLR which is helping me lose weight and encouraging me to exercise - when you can see a direct correlation between how much you work out and how much you can eat, believe me, you work out more!! I feel fit and motivated and very positive about achieving my interim goal and my long term wedding weight loss goal!  I am also positive that, this time, the way I view food, exercise and my health has changed for good. I have realised that this diet is not a flash in the pan thing, it represents the way I should eat and live for the rest of my life.

Emma's Dieting Tips

I have several tips for other dieters:

• Exercise as much as you can, in whatever form, as it's good for your heart, a morale booster, and helps shed the pounds - join a club if you don't think you'll keep going by yourself. I joined a running club last year and I'm still going, which for me is great!
   
• Drink lots of water, it keeps your body running properly and thirst can sometimes disguise itself as hunger.
   
• Drink less alcohol, it's not (always) worth the calories.
   
• Do use the message boards because as well as keeping you going, they make you feel good because you are able to help and encourage other WLR members in return