Anne-Marie's Success Story

Anne-Marie, Age 47, Height 173cm

Start Weight	82kg
Current Weight	70kg
Goal Weight	70kg
Weight Lost	12kg
Working to Rate of Loss	250g a week

About Anne-Marie

I am married and have one grown up son who doesn’t live at home. 

I’ve been lucky enough to  have help from my husband as he cooks most things, If he had not helped I’m sure I would have struggled.

My shopping habits have changed too - loads of veg fruit and low cal options of everything from milk, bread, new potatoes have less cals than old.

I don’t work but my husband works shifts. I’ve always made sure I eat my three meals even while he was at work as before I would tend to miss meals. It’s something I never intend to do now. 

What diets (if any) have you tried in the past?

I’ve never tried any kind of diets before always thinking that my food choices were good but the last few years my weight has been going up gradually.

I believe the red wine was my worst habit. I was drinking way too often.

"Once I stopped and only drank in a social situations the weight started to fall off.  I never realised how many cals were in a glass of wine!"

I found WLR while looking for good food choices a few years ago. I used it once for a month and then stopped as I was much fitter the first time.

The weight came off much easier that time.

This time I remembered about this site and thought why not give it a go.

"Counting calories is the best thing I’ve ever done."

Please comment on your experiences of trying these diets:

As above really I don’t believe I’ve really been on a diet as such as.

It is more about eating properly, making good choices, drinking loads of water and getting my 5 a day of fruit and veg.

I’ve realised that eggs fill you up; there are less cals in new potatoes compared to old ones. I am learning about lower calorie alternatives all the time.

Tell us how your weight has affected you?

I knew I was getting bigger.

My clothing choices were to hide under long cardies and long line t-shirts which were fashionable.! 

That helped as no one seemed to notice the weight increase.

Now I’m back wearing normal length stuff as I don’t have the bulge over my jeans to hide.

I had clothes in my wardrobe which had not seen light of day for 4-5 years. I knew I’d get back into them, just wasn’t sure when.

What has been your main motivation to lose weight?

Knowing that my BMI was high and that I struggled with a back problem which was not helped by carrying extra weight round.

I will always have the pro lapsed disc in my lower back but now I  know I can handle the pain because I don’t have to worry so much about the unhealthy choices I was making before.

Which tools and resources do you use regularly on WLR? Which tools do you find invaluable?

I could not have managed without the food diary.

"Filling in my food choices everyday made me realise I should be eating proper meals regularly and not picking at crisps."

Adding my goals and checking how my weight was going down spurred me on.

Chatting to everyone on the site was great; seeing how well everyone else was doing only made me want it more

Why do you think WLR has helped you lose weight?

Because it does all the counting for you with realistic weight loss and all the information you need about nutrition and health.

Showing other people’s experiences and successes is motivating.

Have you struggled at points in your weight loss journey? Experienced a weight loss plateau? What has kept you motivated?

I think I had a moment about ¾ of the way through a plateau but when I seemed to go on to maintenance for a few days my body seemed to react and then I started to lose it again.

"The one thing that kept me going was that I wanted to wear those jeans I’d had in the cupboard for 4 years."

I was not a fat person, never have been and I was not going to be fat and fifty.

Since losing weight can you give some examples of how your life has changed?

I feel like the old me has returned -  not worrying about what to wear because I needed to hide but what to wear because I look good and know the clothes I wear now can only show that off. 

I’m sure I must be a lot healthier but truth be told I like what I see now

Exercise Routines Adopted

I can’t do much exercise due to a pro-lapsed disc in my lower back.

The calories I had (my daily calorie quota) were the only ones I had so I worked with those mostly.

If I ironed I could gain some and if I was having a good day I’d walk a little but not much really

What do you love about your body now?

I love the fact that my boobs are smaller; my stomach is flatter and that everyone can tell I’ve lost weight - best feeling ever!

	Start	Current
Body Fat	27.6%	23.1%
Cholesterol	6.8	4.6
Bust	108cm	97cm
Waist	83cm	76cm
Hips	108cm	97cm

Anne-Marie's Hints and Tips

Always remember it is a life change. Keep at it and it will all come good.

Food is there for a reason - to keep us fit and healthy not to make us feel bad because we had a little too much!