My first goal: completed

[Boltbrain]

Long-time reader, first-time poster.

I have always been big and over the years I have gone up and down in weight but the last weight gain crept up on me . I was slowly buying bigger and bigger clothes to feel comfortable. I realised at the beginning of the year I was in 5xl, just under 25 stone with a BMI of 49!

I started being more aware of the calories I was eating and started losing some weight. I started by focusing on one meal at a time, initially getting a regular healthy breakfast routine, then lunches and eventually dinners.

Unfortunately, when the pandemic took hold, I was made redundant and I had a bit of a weight-loss blip. I’m certainly a boredom and depression eater.

The reports that the virus was more dangerous for those with a BMI of over 40 gave me extra motivation. My first goal was a big one and it was to get my BMI under 40. The thought of a 4 ½ stone weight loss was daunting but I knew it was needed and that I was in this for the long haul, I always had smaller incremental goals in my head but I knew I needed to stay focused on that BMI of under 40.

I do like technology and utilised a number of apps to help me along the way to record steps, food intake, etc. After trying a few different measuring routines, I personally found I liked weighing daily, I’m lucky that I can “switch off” from those natural daily ups and downs and learned to understand how trends built up over time.

I was hoping to hit my BMI goal last week, but I just missed it. On the plus side, I also had a flu jab and as my BMI was still over 40 it was free, so silver lining.

Today was the first day my BMI has recorded under 40 and I’m super pleased with myself. I always liked baggy clothes as I hated tight tops around my stomach. I’m now out of those 5xl’s. I had been putting off trying my old clothes as I still thought I’d feel uncomfortable in them but today I was brave and I’m sitting here in a 3xl and it feels a bit baggy.

I know my journey isn’t over as I’m still around 20 ½ stone, a weight most people are under before they even start. My next goal will be a little smaller, to hit a 5 stone total loss. It’s a nice round number and will put me out of the 20's.

I thought I would make up for the lack of regular smaller posts with one big long post, sorry 😊

[kjkla85]

Well done for posting and congratulations on reaching such a milestone! You will get to your 5 stone mark soon enough. If you keep posting on here too you will get that support and encouragement too which helps me in the more tricky times

[moreless Administrator 7 stone]

Hi and welcome, Boltbrain

It's nice to meet you at last and congratulations for your impressive stats.

I hope we'll be seeing you around more now and to help you, all of the information you need about the forum can be found in Pinned Posts

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh... and I hope you'll be joining all the Events, Challenges and Clubs that we run, especially a weigh-in and the daily diary.

We've found active participation to be key to successful weight loss and, of course, it's a good way to get to know people, find inspiration and share support and encouragement.

Wishing you all the best

[Sewnknit]

Brilliant chart!

Well done, you seem to have got it sorted!

Don't be a stranger, we're all here for the same reason and know how it feels.

X

[Sheperdess Maintainer]

It wonderful to hear your story. Thank you for sharing 👏 and congratulations on reducing your BMI 🥳 It doesn’t matter how much you want to lose or what was your starting weight. The important things are that you made the decision to do something positive for yourself and reaching and engaging with this supportive on-line community will really help you to achieve your next goal 😊 good luck and I hope to see you post your future achievements 😁

[Snubby]

Wow that’s brilliant ,,it’s just get on with it isn’t it ,,you must feel really proud of yourself 🌹

[N-o-r-d-i Maintainer 64kg]

It's sooo nice to see!

I'm a bit like you in terms of liking apps and I'm tracking various data. It makes me feel as if it's almost a game. I particularly enjoy using body analysing scales and checking the data on there to track changes

When I started, my BMI was over 47, approaching 48. Reaching healthy weight seemed like something completely impossible to happen, ever. But I thought if I can reduce a bit, maybe it will give me some momentum. And it did It seems now possible for me to reach the healthy BMI range within a few months - I have never thought I would be able to say this.

Seeing your graph makes me very happy. It's steady, consistent and I'm sure you will be able to keep it going like that for as long as you need, until you decide 'that's it, I'm happy with this and I'm going to maintain now'.

All the very best and thanks for sharing!

[Boltbrain in reply to N-o-r-d-i]

Treating things like a game is one of the ways I tackle most tasks in life. Break it down into component activities and the practise and get better on each part. I enjoy the challenge of doing better than I have previously.

I must admit while lockdown was a challenging experience it did help me break many bad eating habits. At the moment I'm also working from home which has helped stopped those lunch time takeaways and no work cakes to tempt me etc

I certainly still have a long journey ahead but it now feels normal and not that Im on a diet.

[Sullom100]

Well done you⭐️I work on small goals and thinking I’ve done well if I lose 2lb in a week you must be over the moon with your amazing weight loss⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Lopey]

Well done, you seem like you have a fantastic attitude and with that you will make it! There will be ups and downs but you have faced them before and you can again.

[Dave1000 Restart Dec 2024]

Hi Boltbrain, yours is an example I absolutely want to follow. Super weight loss and long term determination mate, thanks for sharing the journey graph with us. I like you cane very close to 25 stone and although I started on my commitment to reduce my size recently at a little under 23 stone have also a long way to go. It sounds like I’m a bit older than you as my prescription and Flu jab are now always free😂. I will follow your ongoing journey with real interest and stay in touch along the way. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I like the one meal at a time approach. I am currently on LCHF style of eating which seems to suit me, although I’m far from perfect. I’m also trying to get myself motivated and back into cycling just when the weather has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Once again brilliant work on the BMI achievement and you deserve all the plaudits you will undoubtedly get from the great people here with us. 👏

[Boltbrain in reply to Dave1000]

Good luck on your weight loss journey.

What worked for me was utilising some of the apps that are out there. I personally like MyFitnessPal, it logs my food and exercise and I can keep track of my progress. I like tech stuff so when I get on my scales it auto updates my weight on the app etc.

The biggest thing I did though was be brave and tell a few trusted family members my starting weight and what my goal was and commiting to giving them regular updates on my progress.

I feel lucky that my upbringing and experience over the years has helped me develop a fairly relaxed mindset. While by no means perfect I understand where I can struggle mentally and understanding is the best way of dealing. In particular I focus on is what can be called the "feedback loop from hell". For example, you have a bad week and don't get the result you wanted on the scale, that can lead to feeling bad about yourself, which can lead to eating to feel better, you then feel bad at yourself for overeating, then start feeling bad because your feeling bad and before you know it the original issues is forgotten about and you in a feeling bad cycle. For me when I have had a bad week I think did I do anything different? Do I want to change anything? and then focus on the next week. Slightly over simplified for example, its generally a mindset of I don't care what happened yesterday, I just care about today, and I look forward to what tomorrow brings. Its certainly not easy to do but I keep trying to pull myself back to that way of thinking, its been challenging coping with the virus, redundancy, weight loss etc but I try as best I can.

[Barbalari]

Oh my goodness, that is amazing! Incredible focus and determination on your part. Congratulations to you ❤️ Keep us posted on your success 👍👍👍👍

[Singsongsue 10 kg]

Wow...you have done amazingly hun. Keep at it. You know you can do it as you have come so far. So I say ...very well done 👏🏽❤️