So I'm 23, 5ft and weighing in at 12 stone and growing.
In early 2016 I was in my final year of uni when I saw myself in the mirror and though… what is this?! I have always thought I was big, until I actually got fat and could see it everywhere, especially on the scales. I tipped the scales at just over 13 stone at this point and decided to do something about it. I joined slimming world which I won slimmer of the week my first real week – great huh?! – Until that group shut down and I didn’t know what to do because I just didn’t trust or believe in myself. Skip forward 2 months. I decided to try again as my best friend was losing weight and she looked amazing, so I did what she did. Started exercising in my flat, eating well, talking with her about what to have for breakfast lunch and dinner and it started! I lost a stone just in time for my graduation and I thought I'd be over the moon with the way I looked until I saw the pictures from my graduation. I still looked the same.. and so I thought all the effort I had put it was all for nothing and went back to eating until family and friends began to reassure me that I was changing and that nothing will be instant. I went on to lose 30 pounds and headed to Australia for a year. Skip forward to January 2018. Still the same weight as when I left, give or take 5 pounds. I've now been in my office Job since mid January and no routine in place, eating like I'm going to die of starvation. And back up to 12 stone… I keep thinking 'I've done it once, I'll do it again' but I cannot seem to motivate myself, every time I look at myself it makes me upset which makes me eat even more! Baffling. It's absolutely gutting knowing you did so well and then that effort ending you back to square one. I've also realised how easy weight can creep up on you.
So this is where you come in. I'm sure everyone has their own story, whether your story be similar to mine or if you've lost weight, I'd love to know what kept you going and what you did when you had a hiccup, because everyone makes mistakes right?
Thank you all in advanced
Cheers to living long healthy lives!
C x
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Chlocub
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Hello Chlocub and welcome to our friendly forum, it's lovely to have you with us.
23 and so sensible already - you have a head start on a lot of us. How I wish I had paid more attention back then!
Very well done for not letting it get totally out of hand and managing to loose that stone. You won't die of starvation and you don't even need to feel hungry.
What you do need to do is to take yourself off the NHS BMI calculator and put in your details. This will then tell you what your own personal calorie range is - yours is in the region of 1500 to 1900. When you find the correct figures, start toward the top of the range. You will have to drop the calories as you loose weight. Please do not be tempted to start to low down.
Next you could take a look at the NHS 12 week plan - I would just add a word of caution though, they still suggest eating low fat diet food. There is a lot of research about now that doesn't agree with this. We would suggest you avoid low fat, sugar laden foods and have some healthy fats in your eating plans. These will fill you up and stop you feeling hungry and in time will stop you wanting to snack. So buy full fat Greek yoghurt, butter, olive oil, fatty cuts of meat, eat avocado, cheese, cream and nuts. Plan your meals in advance, write it all down with the calories calculated - if your not sure of what you are doing, take a look at the Daily Diary to see what others are eating and even enter your own menu there. You will get lots of ideas and support.
We all have hiccups, this is a bumpy road we are on with a lot of twists and turns. Most of us come running here and write a 'help' post or join in with the What's Happening thread and have a chat about our challenges and get loads of support and advice. Join in here as much as you can, read other people's posts and comment and offer support and I promise you will get loads back in return.
This is a peer to peer run group.
Why not start right now and take your self of to today's weigh in - here is the link
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Thank you so much for taking the time to read and reply in such details. It’s extremely helpful. I found you from actually looking at the NHS 12 week plan!
I feel for you, I was overweight at 12 stone when I was about 19-21 years old. Lost 2 stone and swore I’d never get myself to that weight again. Here I am at 26 years and 14 stone. A lot of it was to do with emotional eating and poor mental health. But now I’ve decided enough is enough and to try and lose a stone by Christmas. It’s much harder trying to get weight off but by changing our behaviours we will see a difference. Also what you feel inside counts more than anything!
No tips to offer as yet I'm afraid as I'm fairly new to this too, but wanted to offer some solidarity, I'm going into my 4th year of uni, and having started uni at 10 stone, I'm now over 12 and I'm sure I've been closer to 13 and ignorant of it. Determined to try and lose it, or at least some of it before graduation, but motivation can be tricky, been in an office job all summer making finding time for activity difficult and time to eat at my desk is plentiful!! Everyone here is really supportive though and I'm sure it can offer lots of help to you
I know what it’s like trying to lose weight before graduation. It’s like a race against time! I work in an office job and I resort to eating out of boredom 🤦🏽♀️ I wish you luck! Keep in touch - id love to know how you get on
It’s the same in my office - always treats! I managed to not pick up anything from the sweet section of the office yesterday by telling myself that that slice of angel cake will satisfy me for 30 seconds before I regret it for the rest of the day!
Hi Chlocub I have been where you are I started my journey here three weeks ago at my heaviest I was 73 kgs and grossly unhappy as I did my BMI on NHS website and to my horror it read 32.03 or more I had a tee shirt which looked more like a bra as it stopped at the top of my non baby bump I have at the moment lost 4.5 kgs and that same tee shirt I tried on this morning,I still look fat in it but know with a lot of hard work In the next few weeks I will be able to wear it again. I also took a photo of my bare body I did it to shock myself into losing weight I made the decision to post it in WW website and on my profile here so that each time I saw it , it would remind me that I never want to go back to the way I looked in that picture . Good luck with your weight loss maybe I can be your weight loss buddy and we can loose together Gail
I think I need some shock tactics too. I was thinking of taking photos each week but the thought of someone else seeing those photos stopped me doing it... I think a weight loss buddy is just what I need!!
Please message me after each weigh in you have and I will let you know how I am doing as well knowing someone else is waiting for my result will hopefully keep me on track too Gail
Don't do that! You are trying to achieve a good cause. Do not punish yourself, even if you only lose one pound you have won. Keep a scorecard on your fridge and add your weight loss and number of weeks. Just one pound is a victory, but you will only see it after a while. I told someone else this. I don't know you, but your post makes believe you can manage one pound. Celebrate small victories, don't treat them like failures. Good luck.
Hello Chlocub. I see you struggling the way I did back in January 2018. I’ve been body shamed and fat shamed for so long so i finally decided to make a change. I joined gym at 68.4 kgs and did a week without taking breakfast... weight actually creeped up and it got to 70.9.. thankfully i realised my mistake soon and started going to gym after taking boiled egg and green tea in breakfast.. i could see the change.. i started losing weight.. there were times when i got despressed since I couldn’t cut off a kg in two weeks or so sometimes but it’s all about Patience
I started gym in last week of January and had to quit by mid-May bcz of some reasons and by mid-May i weighed 64.2kgs!!
Even after quitting I maintained a low calorie intake and kept doing exercises at home 30 minutes 6 days a week and dat got me to 60.4 kgs as I’m now
My BMI still reads “at risk pf overweight” lol but sometimes you have to act like you don’t give a shyte just to keep yourself motivated. I check my weight everyday and I’ve to take my weight down to 52kgs or something but trust me you have to only believe in yourself. No matter what ppl say just do your thing girl <3
And remember, the key to achieve any goal is determination. You can fail or lose or get depressed many times but you’re bravest if you just sigh over it and get up and go for it!! In the end, I’d say that everyone is beautiful in their own way but making oneself better is a sign of a strong mindset
You’re amazing and strong and I believe you can summit any mountain... weight loss is just a hill for you
lucigret has given you really good advice, and I absolutely agree with her that you are being very sensible to start now. I say this as an "old" lady who all through her young life and into her 30s weighed a very respectable 8st. But at 5ft1 I was always given the impression that I was fat because, when you are short (as you know) nothing fits -- literally. From clothes to your attitudes, it can be tough.
It sounds to me like you know what to do. You desperately need a routine! This will allow you to look after yourself by eating well and exercising sensibly. But don't forget that losing weight isn't a one-off thing. It's actually a chance to change the way you live; your choice to make your life fun. Once you get your head around that, keep in mind that losing weight can't be allowed to suck all the joy out of life (believe me, there are "weight loss" folk out there who are worse than dementors). Get out there in the world with friends you already have made and also new people you share interests with. Find a couple of distractions that will occupy your brain and hands so that you don't eat out of boredom. Make sure you get enough sleep (really, that's a thing).
And come here! Find a weigh-in day that suits you. Everyone is so kind and supportive, and there are so many useful threads to help you build the routine you will feel comfortable maintaining. You have your youth on your side -- this is the best time for you to get to grips with your weight and the whys of the bad habits. We will all have gold stars and pom poms at the ready to cheer you on!
Thank you for taking the time to read and reply with your story, tips and tricks! Glad to know I’m not alone in the height region with nothing ever fitting right. I’ve only been on here a day and I already feel more motivated and ready to sort myself out for good 💁🏻♀️ I wish you luck!
I hear that, i have been yoyoing for years, as I have had an emotional response to foods which can lead to some horrific eating habits, best thing I have done recently is to set some goals, make sure i'm exercising everyday, and having a good idea of what i want to look like. i found that keto and intermittent fasting have given me the most balanced weight loss so far, without feeling like i could eat my co-workers because i'm so hungry. I would advise based on the foods you like find a eating plan, (they generally all work as long as we aren't looking for quick fixes) get into the habit of working out.. if you make it a habit so it's just part of your daily routing, you'll find it easier to stick to it as its not tied to motivation (which can ebb and flow due to emotions) driven not motivated!! good luck, you can definitely do it
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