Age: 34
Height: 6' 2"
Start Weight: 17st 2lb
Current Weight: 13st 12lb
Goal Weight: 13st 12lb
Weight Lost: 4st 10lb
Working to Rate of Loss: 1lb per week (2lb until recently)
Weight Loss History
Other than a non-scientific “trying to eat well” attempt,
none. I did quite a lot of reading on the subject and took
advice from friends and family with sports coaching background
to get a basis for an exercise regime. I had just bought a Heart
Rate Monitor and I was just starting to use it when I discovered
the site.
Have you lost weight before and regained the weight?
No. I lost a small amount before my wedding a few years ago,
but it was only a couple of pounds. Hardly a crash loss and
gain!
How being overweight has affected you…
A general feeling of low self-opinion due to being so much
less fitter than I had been. It has been more interesting seeing
the reactions of people who haven't known me as a thinner
person.
Motivation to Lose Weight
A desire to get fitter, to fit into my clothes properly, to
be able to exercise better. Obviously the health benefits of not
being obese are welcomed as well!
Discovering Weight Loss Resources
I was trying to set up a spreadsheet to chart my calorie
intake and the calorie counter I had bought didn't have an entry
for raw aubergine (before cooking it!). A Google
search pointed me to WLR, and it was just the
resource I wanted! I signed up for a free trial and bought a 6
month subscription the same day.
How Weight Loss Resources Helps
On a simple level, weight loss is
just a question of making sure your calorie intake is less than
your calorie usage. WLR has everything I need to balance my
intake against my usage. It's then up to me to record everything
and to keep motivated to keep at it! I do like the fact that
most 'junk' foods are included in the database, so I can stay in
touch with the wagon even if I decide to eat something
'unhealthy' once in a while!
I find the Research area useful
for finding out about different 'diets' and exercise routines.
The Best of Weight Loss Resources
Exercise and Food databases,
mainly. The news, su-doku and other articles are a good read, too.
I don't use the message boards
much these days, but I did find it helpful to read about other
people's progress. Answering questions helped me to focus on
what I had to do to keep going, as well.
Matt's Tips for Losing Weight
There's a wealth of information on the site – read it!
For me, focus has been very
important. I tried 'losing weight and getting stronger' for a
year without any success. I've seen best results from ignoring
my running times and the weights I lift: as long as I burn the
calories I know it's doing me some good, and as a result I am
much happier just watching the pounds come off. Fitness and
running times can wait till I reach my target weight.
Exercise is very important to
'earn' the calories for each day. The worst thing is being
unable to exercise due to injury. I've found that doing a
variety of exercises from one day to the next helped to 'spread
the load' on my muscles and joints, so one group of muscles was
recovering while I was exercising another. At the moment I'm
doing free weights, rowing, running, walking and swimming.
If the weight doesn't come off:
check your portion sizes (weigh things religiously!), your
diary-keeping and your activity level. My activity level seems
to be midway between Moderately Active and Moderately Sedentary,
so I had to get used to eating within 1-200 Calories over
the allowance WLR gave me. Anything less made me very
light-headed and lethargic.
An update at the moment: I've finally hit my target weight,
and it's been the hardest part of the whole process. I've got a
reputation for not finishing what I start, and I was determined
to shift this last little bit! Next job is installing a kitchen,
and I expect I'll put a little bit back on while I'm living off
ready meals. Having got here though, I'm a lot more confident
about being able to knock a couple of pounds off once I can get
back to stir fries and balanced food!
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