I joined today

[Lindseyc]

Hi iv just joined today. My name is Lindsey and i work full time as a special need teaching assistant. I want to realistically lose a stone in the 3 months more would be lovely. At the moment I do walk everyday. Has anyone got any tips that have helped them.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone]

Hi and welcome, Lindseyc

The best tip I can give you, is to log on frequently, read all of the information, join in the group activities and be a supportive member, as the rewards are tenfold.

Follow this link to our chat thread and a list of all the activities we run. We've found active participation to be key to success, especially with our weigh-ins and Daily Diary healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

To make navigating the forum easier, we've put all the information you'll need in a newbie pack and here's the link

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

Please take the time to read it carefully, so that you're able to enjoy everything that we have on offer.

We ask that you also read this important information about internet privacy and security.

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

Wishing you all the best for 2019

[Lytham 3 stone]

Hi you could always join our Easter challenge to lose half a stone by Easter just post your weight on the Easter Countdown challenge post underneath pinned posts hope to see you there! I will see if I can attach a direct link for you

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

[Shotglass Maintainer]

Hi Lindsey! It´s hard to say what might help someone without knowing them. Do you generally eat healthily? Cook from scratch? Graze? Binge? Eat high-calorie foods when you´re stressed or frustrated? Drink soda?

[fattybygaslight]

Hi Lindsey

Nice to have you here, Moreless has given you all the information, now all you need is to keep tuning in to the forum for all the support you need. Here is wishing you all the best, we all have a common goal!!

[Pineapple27]

Hi Lindseyc and welcome! You will find this a great supportive environment to lose that weight.

When I started my weight loss (7 years ago next month), I had 4.5 stone to lose. I lost most of my weigh using a website: weightlossresources.co.uk (which I still use to this day!) but I enjoy the support and posts on here alongside using the other site.

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 8” tall and so was classed clinically obese.

I 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!

In 2 and a half years through calorie counting and logging/weighing all of my food I had lost 4.5 stone. That works out at 130 weeks, so on average my weight loss was less than half a pound a week - of course some weeks I lost more, others I gained... but I am trying to help you to understand the importance of just keeping on going, even though the weight may not come off as quickly as you would like it to.

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.

Once you get to "goal" the journey isn't over and in some respects have only just begun. Maintenance isn't straight forward.

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.

The other great news is that it is entirely possible to lose weight without moving. Of course though, there are lots of advantages to moving a bit more - but it doesn't have to be as formal as going to a gym or out for a five mile run. A good session of house work, mowing the lawn (when the weather permits!) or even a cooking session will all burn calories and have the advantage of making you feel much better emotionally too! It's good to find something that you LIKE doing, that is enjoyable and that you are likely to sustain on a regular basis.

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. There are so many things that have changed in my life with losing that additional weight. Many of them I never envisaged. Together, all these tiny things have made me a strong, more determined individual who feels that nothing is impossible.

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 6 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.

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

[fattybygaslight in reply to Pineapple27]

If that post doesn’t inspire people don’t know what will! Well done Pineapple27 quite a journey 👍👍😀