Hello :)

[K1972]

So I am 43 with a yo-yo dieting history and signed up to this site as it is NHS at it's root. I am just shy of 5ft 6 and throughout my teens and twenties was around 10 to 11 stone. Late twenties saw me pregnant and balloon to almost 15 stone. That was a shock! Throughout my thirties I pulled it back, at my slightest point I was 9.5 stone; only ever for a whisker, my body is at it's best at around 10st.

So January 2015 saw me at almost 13st! De ja vu but no baby. Just me. Various reasons including work related stress, health issues and not even a minute of cardio exercise a week. Emotional eating and drinking too much. Sound familiar at all?!

My New Year's Resolution was to ditch the flab; I did slim fast for three weeks. Fell off. Got fatter. Did 5:2 for about 5:2. Fell off. Got fatter. During March I became increasingly aware of close friends of mine who were really making a life change and they have been my inspiration. One girl is doing it through Slimming World, another is doing it by herself, cutting out the rubbish and using her Nike App to get motivated and sweaty.

Today I am on day 60 of my own life change. I started this latest journey on April 6th when I couldn't even run to the end of my road without gasping. I don't know what my start weight was because I felt too afraid of how it would de-motivate me, so I don't know what I was. I do know I try to keep the calories to around 1500 a day and I exercise two to three times a week. Mine are the slowest 5 & 10k runs imaginable and a chap in his 80s swims faster then me! but it is happening...

My weight when I trod on the scales on Monday of this week was 11st 8lbs. I was glad, but have to work at keeping positive; can be tricky when I am still over a stone heavier than I should be according to the charts.

So that is me

What has helped? Keeping a mood and food diary. Lecturing myself on paper when I feel like giving up, forgiving myself when I have had a slip. The forgiveness is the tough one. Not so good at that, but I need to, otherwise I stand chance of falling off and punishing myself with a loaf of toast.

[Dollyfrog]

I'm liking everything you say. I thi k the mood food diary is great.

Today I. Had to figure out my real mood before I entered the house after work and that really helped

[K1972 in reply to Dollyfrog]

It actually does doesn't it! Just to take that extra moment to assess the recess!

I also find making and savouring a cup of tea helps dividends. That and the odd taster of meridian peanut butter!

[linggirl]

Well done. An inspiring post. I think that our moods really play a key part in our eating behaviour. I too eat when I'm feeling low, today I have a stinking cold and I've been desperate to eat some junk food. Luckily (?) I've also got a really sore throat so that's put me off actually eating too much. I have resorted to the sugar free ice pops, telling myself that they are practically mediicine

[Airbornepara]

Well done! Keep it up😀