So today is the day I have decided to change my life...... the BMI calculator has told me I need to lose 9 stone to be a healthy weight. So it looks like I have a long journey ahead of me.
I have recently separated from my husband of 12 years. I became complacent and lost myself along the way. My Daughter is 7 and an amazing gymnast who inspires me so much, so I am doing this for my children as much as I am myself.
So let the journey begin and what a better place to find support than this place. Any words of encouragement would be very much appreciated.
Lets do this...............
Written by
Startingagain150
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Ohh realising you want to change is half of the battle. Well done! I found developing a habit and sticking to it helps me. Also calling it 'my weight loss journey' as apposed to 'going on a diet' helps. As it promotes lifestyle changes and longevity.
Sometimes….. our biggest barriers to doing something we really need to do (but perhaps aren’t keen to do) are the excuses we find as to why we can’t do them, rather than finding the solutions to overcoming those barriers so that we can succeed.
Because of my disability, this is something I’ve had to do all my life – attending mainstream school, training as a secretary, working, getting married, living on my own, having a baby, etc, etc. So you would have thought that I would have this skill mastered by now!!
But on this particular issue (reducing the amount I ate and increasing my exercise) the barrier was somehow bigger than anything else I had had to deal with before. It had developed over many, many years to become the size of a small skyscraper.
As determined as I am to achieve things in life, I can also be as determined to IGNORE things that I don’t want to do or tackle…. or face. Fear of the unknown perhaps, and a real belief that I might fail.
You have to know from those of us who have lost weight successfully that it works. It really does. But you have to want it to work and you have to make it work. For this journey to succeed, you have to give it your all. Give it your all and you will be rewarded.
My weight loss journey has so far lasted five years and nine months. I started by logging and weighing food religiously. Just as the site prescribes. Slowly and surely I realised that I had been eating way too many calories and that my portion sizes were far too large for a small person of 4ft 9 inches who doesn’t move much at all.
Once this realisation had dawned on me and the weight started to drop, I was determined to complete this journey.
I lost 2 stone in a year. I then started (slowly and begrudgingly) to exercise. First swimming for an hour a week, and then kitting out my garage with some cheap bits of equipment and using them.
When I was interviewed for a Podcast on weightloss / exercise and disability I was describing my journey and the various tools I have used to make it a successful journey (this website, logging food, portion control, calorie counting, 5:2 fasting, exercising, support from other people, recipe database, forum). These tools combine to help me along the way. But it is only myself who can make them work for me and there is a little more to add into the mix.
But I realised that my best tool by far has been commitment and modifying how I behave around food. I stopped finding excuses as to why I was overweight and why I couldn’t lose weight. I’m disabled aren’t I? I can’t exercise can I? I’m in too much pain, I haven’t the time, getting washed and dressed is exhausting enough (etc!)
ENOUGH!!! Enough of those excuses, enough of the pain. I have broken through the barrier of allowing these excuses from stopping me. Because they were just that. They were excuses.
It is harder for some of us for whatever reason. We’re busy, old, in pain, unable to exercise, have children, too short, have an illness, work too many hours……. BUT in fact if we have additional barriers, we just have to work at it harder than most.
It’s not impossible. I have proved that to myself. People who have known me for years have no choice but to believe it too. They’ve seen me go from 14 stone to under 10 stone. Reduce from a size 24 to a size 16.
It works.
BUT you have to work too. You just have to keep on working, keep on plodding along, not let one bad day, one calorific meal - one piece of crackling..... stop you in your tracks. Pick yourself up and just keep on plodding along.
You will get there. It will take months, it may take years. You may fall off the wagon completely for a time. And you will realise one day that this is a never ending journey. You will need to do what you learn to do on here FOREVER.
It will get easier. You will experience changes in the way you think about food, the way you deal with food. Food is a temptation and it will always be EVERYWHERE. You will need to learn a different way to act around food and a different way to think about the food you eat. You need to learn about mindful eating.
Welcome and enjoy the forum... Sounds like you have great reasons to motivate your future..
I'd like to invite you to join our Newbie Club, which we trust will be a good place for you to connect with other members, who like you are also just starting out on this forum. Please post a few words to introduce yourself and respond to others there, you'll soon realise the encouragement and support this forum offers.
Hi! Well done for starting this side of Christmas as you have time to make better choices now and be in healthier habits to ward off some of the temptation.
I would set small goals - say half a stone each and reward yourself.
If you stick to it you will need a whole new wardrobe, I bought some bits in sale a size down last January, wouldn’t spend a lot on that though as when your body changes it doesn’t mean the next size down looks right. Good luck and keep posting!
Hi Startingagain150 you are taking the first step in your journey. I know 9st seems a long way to go but if you do it in small chunks it will not seem so daunting. Your daughter sounds like a wonderful inspiration. Have you had a look into the Newbie club, it has all the information to get started on the forum.
I too started my weight loss after coming out of a 15 year marriage. My daughter was 9.
The good news is... that you will find yourself again, and hopefully it will be a happier, healthier and more fulfilled version I know that I haven't felt this good in about 15 years!
I have a disability that I was born with (shortening of all four limbs as a result of the drug Thalidomide my mum took when pregnant with me). As a result my mobility is minimal - and was further reduced following a serious head on car crash in 2002 when I broke my ankle. I went on to have my ankle joint fused and am still in constant pain with it.
I started my weight loss journey at 14 stone - 5 and a half years ago. I am just 4ft 9" tall and so was classed clinically obese.
I was 49 years old and had been trying to lose weight all of my life since the age of 9. My disability makes exercise difficult (I am very sedentary and use a wheelchair outside of the house).
The one thing that I realised very early on in my journey was that I was just eating FAR TOO MUCH! I was a short, middle aged, sedentary female and I was eating the same as 5ft 9" active man (my now husband!). No wonder I was piling on the weight!
I started my journey at the end of February 2012, and managed to lose 4.5 stone in 2 and a half years through calorie counting and logging/weighing all of my food.
I cannot stress enough how important this part of the weight loss journey is - being able to recognise just how much we are eating and address that. It is not about cutting out any foods but about being able to make informed choices about the foods we eat Also about learning how to behave differently around food. Just because food is in front of us does not mean to say that we have to eat it! Being able to exercise control and moderate intake is paramount.
I re-gained some of the weight I lost, then lost it again and have now managed to more or less maintain for the past 6 months at around 10 stone. Still considered "over weight".
Ideally I would love to drop another stone to 9 stone and maintain there.
My weight loss journey has been long, but I am still learning new tips and tricks to help me along the way and what's more, still enjoying the challenge! I would say that my behaviour around food has changed massively - I have learned to respect food, to "break" it's control over me, and to be able to modify how I behave with food. Just because food is within sight doesn't mean I have to eat it! I don't see eating the way I do as meaning that I am missing out any more - in fact I am now able to enjoy my life and have regained the ability to do things that I struggled to do or even found impossible to do!
Here are a few of my past posts which I hope you will find helpful and inspiring. I won't try and tell you that my journey was easy - and you'll see that there were many blips along the way, but 5 years down the line, I feel about 20 years younger than I did when I was lugging around 4 stone more.
Please do pop back to the forums and share your journey with us - we are here for you, day and night and happy to share your success or support you when you need it.
Good to have you joining us, Startingagain150! You know what you want and you know why. There's plenty of information to help you, and I bet you know plenty already - it's just that business of getting down to it.
Have a look at the NHS 12 week plan, as others have said. Start recording every morsel you eat (I think that's an eye opener for many of us ) join the Newbie Club and weekly weigh-in and do some measurements - that will be another indication of your progress. And, as others have said, set yourself achievable targets as you go along. Start heading for that first half stone, it won't be long before you're there and you'll be on your way.
Good luck with it Startingagain150! You can do it! There are plenty of people here that have achieved similar, it is perfectly possible. It won't be a quick process but set yourself little targets and the big target will come in time.
Hi, Just to wish you success on your journey, I'm 3 half stone loss into it, without the support of this wonderful site and the lovely folk who belong to it, you like me will do it, just one step at a time, little setbacks. Best of luck to you x
Welcome! I hope your daughter will provide plenty of encouragement - you know you have a good reason (or two) to lose weight. Just don't expect too much too soon, little wins are more sustainable than big ones in the long run.
What do you like doing when not looking after your daughter?
Hi Startingagain150 , 9 stone sounds like a daunting target doesn't it? I have the same amount to lose, but I'm concentrating on smaller half stone targets and each one is a victory in itself. You'll find everyone here is really friendly and supportive and we all help each other.
Well done on taking the first step - recognising things need to change can be a difficult thing to admit, it took me a good couple years to fully realise I was getting more overweight. But, having help and people who understand is really nice - so welcome and good luck!
Well done Startingagain150 you have taken the first step to becoming lighter and healthier. You need to take care of yourself for yourself and for your children. I think when we become parents we often take a back seat as they are so important to us and then things slide. But no beating yourself up that's life and now you are ready to take control just think how good you are going to feel. I have found coming on here often even if I don't post really helps to keep me focused and makes it much more enjoyable, I don't feel like I am on a diet here I feel like I am on a journey of discovery about health and the food connection. I tend to think of food as fuel for my body now and really consider what I am putting in my mouth - I don't always manage to get it right but if at the end of each day I can add up my calories and find they are within my range I am happy with that. I know that I am making most of my decisions based on good healthy fuel not the junk over processed foods I used to eat and gradually it is becoming a habit and I want the other stuff less and less. I'm sure you can do this too and with all the support here you will get there. Good luck with week 1 look forward to seeing your posts and how you are getting on
A big warm welcome to you Startingagain150 good for you to begin the journey. Don't worry about starting again. ... it's all part of the journey. .. just never give up on yourself 😊
That's it you have to really want to do it for you or there's no point in doing it if it's just to please someone else.
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I know that I haven't felt this good in about 15 years!
) join the Newbie Club and weekly weigh-in and do some measurements - that will be another indication of your progress. And, as others have said, set yourself achievable targets as you go along. Start heading for that first half stone, it won't be long before you're there and you'll be on your way.
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