Success Story: Gordon

WLR Member Littlejohn, Age 61, Height 5ft 10in

	Start	Current
Weight	15st 6lbs	12st 10lbs

Dieting History

Diagnosed as diabetic 18 years ago and for 2 years was worried if I ate anything that included sugar.

I lost a lot of weight but was totally miserable about it. In the end I got over my fear and started eating as normal again and though I put all the weight back on I was at least a happier bunny.

My main trouble was that I stopped eating out of fear.

This time I am doing things properly with the help of WLR and all of its members.

Have you lost weight before and regained the weight?

As I have already said I did lose a lot of weight about 18 years ago but I was not using a diet plan or anything.

I became quite miserable about the whole thing so that in the end I gave up and hey presto all the weight came back again.

How being overweight has affected you…

I have never really worried too much about being overweight. It was just the way I was.

I sometimes would look in the mirror and when I turned sideways I would realise how big I was around the middle.

It didn't show too much if I looked straight on so I avoided the side view if possible. I was not depressed at all about it.

Motivation to Diet

In March this year, I had a replacement valve fitted to my heart.

After a period of recovery from the operation I had to attend a series of physiotherapy sessions and the cardiac nurse pointed out that my BMI (I thought that was an airline) was well over 30 and it should be between 20 and 25.

Well I thought about what she had said and just thought about it.

Discovering Weight Loss Resources

My daughter Sally (alias Psychoprincess) came to visit me. Well I was amazed she looked stunning and so sleek.

I asked her how she did it. She told me all about WLR so I agreed to do the free trial period.

I had nothing to lose except some weight. I, of course, was hooked and signed up to full membership.

How Weight Loss Resources Helps

When I started using WLR, I set my goal to lose 1lb/wk. It was an easy target, not too ambitious.

Within 2 days I had purchased a good digital scales for my food and another one to check my weight on.

I think my first surprise was how big the portion sizes were that I had got used to . It was not too difficult to reduce them.

Another surprise was the vastly different costs in calories different foods were. I think that raw mushrooms are a dieters best friend. I bulk up most of my meals with them.

Another thing I soon realised was that I could eat anything I liked (nothing barred).

The only condition was that if I wanted to eat more than my daily calorie quota, I had to burn some calories doing exercise.

I started walking and then I came across an advert for Nordic Walking (also known as Power walking) equipment. It didn't cost an arm or a leg so off I went and kitted myself up.

The great advantage of this type of walking is that it not only earns you extra calories (I really mean extra food) it is also very good for strengthening the heart which is what I needed.

I regularly walk between 6 to 10 miles two or three times a week and the extras I earn let me eat some quite sinful food and not go over my allowances.

The Best of Weight Loss Resources

I enjoy the menu section and have got some great ideas from there.

I have posted once on the message boards after my daughter had mentioned me on there.

I read quite a lot of the boards and especially like the Food Ideas Board and the ideas you all come up with. I also use the My Recipe section to work out the calories etc. for dishes I make. I find that so useful.

Gordon's Calorie Counting Tips

I find it essential to keep up the daily recording of what you eat. I print out the daily reports and all the weekly reports and save them in a ring binder.

It is really interesting to look back and see how things have changed in my eating habits.

It also reminds me of some of the treats I have tried and whether they were high or low in calories. I weigh myself at the same time each week and do my measurements each fortnight.

I find it hard to believe that I have lost 7ins from my waist.

I believe that the support you get on this site and especially from other members is so important. There are times when your friends will knock you back saying that you are wrong to lose weight, that they like you as you are.

This is fine for them.

They think that they are being kind saying that you do not need to do it. But if for any reason you feel the need to drop a few lbs or more then it would be nicer of them if they supported you.

There are all sorts of reasons to want to or need to lose weight and I believe that the support available on WLR is invaluable.

I would just like to say a huge thank you to my daughter Sally for introducing me to this site and for all her wonderful support especially through my operation and recovery. Thank you Sally!

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