How Stephanie lost 3 Stone with wlr

Stephanie, Age 27, Height 5ft 6in

Start Weight	15st 8lb
Current Weight	12st 4lb
Goal Weight	12st 4lb
Weight Lost	3st 4lb
Working to Rate of Loss	2lbs per week

About Stephanie

My life is very sedentary. Apart from the mundane jobs of housework and collecting the children from school, I have little time for much else.

I'm a stay-at-home Mum. This is good in the respect that I can control what I eat and when I eat it. However, temptation is usually only an armstretch away.

I have found that my willpower has increased because of this though, and I'm now able to resist more things, and no longer get an urge to eat just for the sake of eating.

I've been married for 6 years and have 4 children. It was since having my children that I piled on all my weight.

The children are very good little eaters, much better than I am at times. It helps that they have a healthy eating regime at school, so are continually telling me when I'm eating something, whether it's healthy or not.

"Given a choice between biscuits and fruit, I can honestly say that I would now choose the fruit."

The children eat the same as I do, and so does the husband. He doesn't have much choice I'm afraid!

My husband has noticed that he's lost ½ stone, without really trying, through me telling him the calorie content of everything. He is also appreciating the benefit of wlr :-)

Weight Loss History

I've only ever joined one slimming club in the past and that was Rosemary Conley's slimming world.

Slim Fast diet

Cutting out most fattening foods such as cakes, chocolates etc.

I can't say Rosemary Conley's was any good, because I never had the motivation to continue going. A complete waste of money really.

I found that when I was on the Slim Fast plan, I was just starving all the time. It didn't take me long to give that fad up.

When I tried losing weight by myself, just by cutting out all fattening foods like cakes, chocolate, crisps etc, I found that I soon became disheartened by the whole thing.

Although I managed to lose the odd lb here or there, I soon piled it all back on plus more when I just binged on all the things that I was trying to avoid.

How being overweight has affected you…

I'm very self-conscious about my weight.

As a child I was always chubby. I was never really bothered until I hit my teens and since then I've always had the feeling that people are commenting about me.

You know the kind of comments I mean.

"I won't wear short skirts for fear that people are laughing at me, or shorts. It's a horrible feeling to have."

Since joining wlr and losing weight I have, my confidence is growing. I even go out swimming now and I'm not bothered if people are laughing at me, because at least I'm doing something about it.

I've even bought the odd short skirt, but I don't think I will wear them until I've lost another stone, although the intention to wear it is there now, where it never was before.

Motivation to Lose Weight

My children are now starting school. I never want my children to get bullied at school because their Mum is fat. How horrid must that be for a child?

"So I decided to do something about it and lose weight whilst they were all at a young age."

I can now run after them and play football, Frisbee etc with them. I don't want to have a heart attack just because I was obese.

I would always have to live with the fact that I could have done something about it, and now I am.

How Weight Loss Resources Helps

The site is helping me keep on track. Although I can sometimes derail from the track once in a while, I always come back to it.

"I have never stuck to a regime for weight loss for so long. It really isn't a diet. It's a whole new way of eating."

It's brilliant that you can eat what you want, just as long as you stay within your calorie allowance, or do more exercise to earn that little treat.

The Best of Weight Loss Resources

You can regularly find me on the message boards.

I update my food diary and exercise diary every day.

Lifestyle Changes

Well you won't find me in the McDonald's drive thru as much anymore. They really are a treat for special occasions.

"I would say that I used to go to McDonald's or some other equivalent selling high fat foods at least once a week."

I now realise that eating one of these meals uses up over a day’s calorie allowance for me.

I used to have them as a snack before and then go home and eat dinner... shocking really now I think about it.

Diet Changes

I eat a lot more fish and fresh fruit and vegetables than ever before. It's so simple really.

Would I have a Mars Bar or a whole bowl of juicy melon topped with a Mullerice for the same amount of calories? I know which one is going to make me feel fuller!

Exercise Changes

Before wlr I did no exercise apart from odd jobs around the house. Now I go out swimming and to aqua aerobics twice a week.

It's given me a new lease of life and I'm bursting with energy. When I'm not at the pool, I can often be seen in front of my TV working out with Davina.

Have your new eating habits etc affected your family lifestyle?

There are far more imaginative meals being made, which are being enjoyed by everyone.

"The children are now also very aware of healthy eating and would choose an apple over a bag of crisps every day."

I'm trying to give them as much information as I can at an early age about a healthy lifestyle as I believe it's at this young age that we learn our eating habits.

Why do you think wlr has helped you lose weight where other diets have failed?

wlr gave me the motivation to start swimming and aqua aerobics, all due to the fact that I needed to earn extra calories, so I could enjoy more food.

So now I can eat that bar of chocolate guilt free, knowing that I just earned 450 calories swimming in the pool. It does make the chocolate taste that much sweeter.

"Other diets don't encourage you to exercise to earn more calories, it's more about restricting your intake of calories rather than trying to expand the amount you have."

wlr is much better as you can get an idea of the amount of calories you can earn doing something before you do it. An extra incentive for me.

Stephanie's Weight Loss Tips

The main problem I had before wlr was portion sizes. Although I thought I was eating relatively ok, it was the amount of food I was eating that was making me pile on the weight.

"Make good use of the food diaries, and weigh everything. You will soon get to learn what correct portion sizes look like."

Most of all be honest to yourself. You are the only person that is in control of your eating.

That biscuit you just ate does matter!! Also some weeks you may find that your weight stays the same, don't get disheartened, if you measure your inches you will more than likely find that you have lost a few inches.