Helen's Weight Loss Success Story

Helen, Age 28, Height 5ft 4in

Start Weight	10st 7lbs
Current Weight	7st 9.2lbs
Goal Weight	8st 4lbs
Weight Lost	2st 11.8lbs
Working to Rate of Loss	½lb per week
Time Taken	1 year

About Helen

I’ve always loved my food, especially chocolate and anything sweet!

"I’ve been chubby since I was a child. I got bigger when I started university because I was eating out a lot and drinking more."

If I cooked for myself I would make ready meals, or I’d have massive portions of rice and think I was being healthy.

I now live with my boyfriend who does most of the cooking for us. I was eating the same size portions as him, but he’s 6’2” and what worked for him was far too much for me!

"We also used to eat a lot of takeaways. Chinese was my favourite. I’d eat my way through a family sized bag of Doritios most weekends."

I was slowly putting on weight, about half a stone over the year before I joined WLR. I knew if I didn’t do something now it would just keep getting worse.

My boyfriend has been very supportive. He has learnt how to cook healthy meals, and weighs everything for me.

He’s joined me in eating healthy, whole foods and has lost weight himself!

"We now make our own Chinese food, and it tastes so much better than the takeouts ever did."

I’ve also cut out the bags of crisps at the weekend. I still love chocolate though, but I plan for it now and don’t go overboard. I no longer have 2 KitKats a day!

When I started WLR  I had a job that was quite active. I was on my feet a lot which helped with loosing the weight.

"I’ve recently started a new job though. It’s desk based and in a large office where people are always bringing in cakes and biscuits."

It’s hard to say no, but I know how to cut down elsewhere, or just do some extra exercise to earn the calories.

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

None. I don’t like the idea of cutting out whole groups of food, and I never saw a diet that seemed sensible.

I didn’t really know how to go about losing weight.

I started exercising, but after 3 months I’d only lost 3 lbs, that’s when I realised that I needed to do something about my eating.

I’d found WLR when I was looking for a BMI chart, and I decided to give the free trial a go.

I like the way the site promotes a healthy lifestyle, and the food diary takes away all the guess work.

Tell us how your weight has affected you?

I couldn’t wear the clothes I wanted to and I hated looking at photos of myself. I had a double chin in every picture.

"I always felt like the fat, frumpy girl in the corner."

I didn’t have much self confidence, I thought that I wasn’t capable of achieving the things I wanted in my life.

I ended up in a job that wasn’t what I wanted to do, but I didn’t have the confidence to go for anything else. I thought I wouldn’t be good enough.

What has been your main motivation to lose weight?

Appearance. I wanted to feel attractive for my boyfriend, and I wanted to look nice in photographs.

I wanted to wear the clothes I wanted to, rather than the ones that hid all the bits I didn’t like.

Which tools and resources on WLR do you find most valuable?

The food diary! It does all the work for me, I can see exactly what I’m eating, and what the nutritional value of my food actually is.

"I never knew how many calories were in any sort of food before. I’d only every looked at the fat content."

I love the graphs on the Goals and Results page - watching the line work its way down was extremely motivation for me.

Being able to set mini goals also helped keep me motivated. I set my goals monthly - it seems much more attainable than aiming for something a year away.

Try WLR's tools for yourself

Calorie counting for weight loss is easy with the tools in WLR. You can use the information on Weight Loss Resources to count how many calories you need to consume each day and how many you are actually eating. Try it free for 24 hours.

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

Yes! The weight loss got slower the closer I got to my goal, and I was stuck at 8 stone 11 for almost a month.

"I posted on the members forum for advice, and found that many, many people have the same problem, it wasn’t just me!"

I took the advice of eating to maintenance calories for 2 weeks, and when I started working on the reduced calorie quota the weight started falling off again.

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

I’m just happier and more confident in general.

"I feel proud of myself, I’ve done something I always thought impossible."

If I can do this I can do anything! In fact, a few months ago I applied for, and got, my dream job, something I never felt like I would be good enough to do before I lost the weight!

I feel like a different person now. I have so much more energy and motivation.

I’m shocked when I see the old photos of myself. I was never hugely overweight, but I didn’t look after myself and my health.

Exercise routines adopted

I don’t have the money for a gym membership, and have never found a sport I enjoy, so I started doing exercises DVDs in my living room.

"I do a mix of strength training and cardio 4 times a week. I love it! I feel so much fitter now."

I can run for a train without getting breathless and sweaty! I have a large collection so I don’t get bored, and just choose whatever I’m in the mood for when I get home from work.

What do you love about your body now?

Am I allowed to say everything! My body shape hasn’t changed, but I’m slim and toned, and I have thighs that look amazing - thanks to all the lunges and squats!

I felt like they looked like tree trunks before.

I also really like my upper arms, strength training has made the muscles look quite defined.

	Before	After
Body Fat	35%	18.4%
Chest	39in	33in
Waist	30in	23in
Hips	39in	33in

Helen's tips and hints for weight loss:

 

"An easy way to cut calories is to cut down on portion sizes - get a smaller plate!"

I think that was one of the things that helped me the most. It didn’t look like I was eating less, even though I was.

Think of this more as a lifestyle change than a diet. It needs to be a lifelong commitment to losing weight and staying healthy.

If you go back to eating like you did before you will go back to the size you were before!

"Set small goals that take a month or 2 to achieve, focus on them and it will keep you motivated."

And just don’t give up! One bad day (or week, or month) is not a reason to give up, but a reason to put even more effort into it.