BridgeGirlAdministrator

Good morning and welcome, Rose256

I'm not a big social media user, either, and this is the first forum I ever joined. What benefits does it have? Well, the weigh in is not just about posting your weight weekly as we can all do that in our diaries: it's about being part of a team, giving and receiving encouragement through the high and low points. There's a Daily Diary where members post their meal plans and I've picked up several ideas there that are now regular favourites. There's a place to post your exercise/activity, one for people managing their alcohol intake, a daily chat post and a book club. And there's a new challenge - Cut Down, Cut out, Increase - starting today, for members to make small changes each week. Everywhere, every thread is about encouraging each other, rather than "posting and running", so that might appeal to you.

You'll find all of those by following this link healthunlocked.com/weight-l... to Pinned Posts. Have a look at them all and see if you'd like to join us and if any could help you on your journey.

All the best

BG

focused1Maintainer

As many are isolated it is a place to sit with a coffee , read and share common interests , post what helps us and if some are worried it's a bit a reassurance that most feel the same . I am a people person so I am interested in learning even if I don't always agree . I love the age range and the diversity . I find some sites are focused too heavily on one subject. I enjoy seeing the paintings , animals - as I haven't got one and the places people walk . Initially I joined the weight loss group but that was personally too much for me . I cut down on what everyone knows isn't good for them , increased my exercise and lost 18kg which I keep off by the same method . For me faddy foods and complex macros puddled my brain .

Manchegaenlondres13kg

Hi Rose256 , I very much agree with focused1 I’m just sharing here what I have edited in my profile. It might give you a sense of wether this is for you or not.

I am not a great social media person though I use Fb, but not that often and with a different purpose. I just found this forum encouraging and not judgemental. It keeps me accountable but I don’t have to put a face on and I can share both my victories and my struggles without anyone judging me. There is lots of advice, I pick up what I find helpful and feel free to disagree with what I don’t.

I was never particularly into diets but had put on a lot of weight over the years and COVID set me thinking how losing weight would benefit my health, as I am diabetic and was classed as vulnerable.

I downloaded the 12 weeks program lNHS program and printed the Food and Activity chart. It helped me to keep an account of what I was eating and how many calories that was, as well as the exercise I was doing. Half way through it I found the link to this forum and it gave me new ideas and encouragement which enabled me to continue getting fit and losing weight. I adapted my plan to reduce carbohydrates in my meals. In total I have gone from 88.9 to 75.9kg, but it is not all plain sailing and it has taken over a year and a half. Sometimes I lost only a few hundred grams each week, and sometimes I put weight on, but I keep going. I feel so much better, and have come off blood pressure and one of my diabetes meds.

Good luck, hope to see you around.🙋🏻‍♀️

Carer53Maintainer

I joined this forum after I had lost my weight and wish I had joined earlier. I had got down to my ideal weight but didn't know how to keep the weight off. I was made to feel very welcome and shown to the maintainers thread. I am able to share with other friends who understand what it is like to maintain. We don't judge each other if we have a bad week but encourage each other to stay on track. I have never joined any other form of social media but this forum is amazing. There is always someone to chat to who knows what you are going through. We share meal ideas and although we all have weight loss in common you can chat about anything. I hope you will look around the forum and join in where you feel comfortable. Good luck. X

Tank_EG8st 7lbs

Hi Rose256 and welcome,

I found this forum by chance after seeing an advert for the NHS 12 week weight loss plan and thought I would take a look. I was struggling with my weight before lockdown, during it it ballooned to over 21 and a half stone.

I'm not sure what I was expecting and but what I found was a good number of virtual friends, great advice, some amazing recipes (for a novice cook) and fantastic support and encouragement. This has led to a sense of belonging and accountability: don't get me wrong, if I have a bad week no-one is having a go and in fact quite the opposite. This sense of belonging and being amongst friends and having others here cheer me on even when things aren't going well has spurred me on to me lowest weight in over 30 years 😀

You can come here, browse other's posts and maybe record your weight each week but I don't think that helps to get the most out of this forum. It really is a case of you get out of it what you put in, the more you engage then more you will benefit. And another great thing about this forum is everyone is welcome and I strongly believe it gets better and better then more people join in.

This may all sound implausible but look at today's daily diary and then look at the weight loss badges of those posting there, I think you may be surprised 👍

All the best for your weight loss journey and I hope to see you here again

Hopewhispers1 stone

I can see what you're saying but ultimately what you get out of this site is up to you, how often u log in, read others experiences and suggestions log your weight are the basics. Looking at challenges, taking part in daily diary etc exploring the videos and site are a step up from that. This is an amazing site, I found it in January and haven't looked back. What I get out of it is dependent on how much I'm prepared to invest in it and myself. Its about mindset, being open to change and others views. If I didn't have that focus outside the forum as well as on it I wouldn't have gotten as much as I.do from it.

The forum won't do the weight loss for you but it is a great tool when u work with it to help u achieve your weight loss goal.

Ginge43135kg

Hi Rose 256,

Welcome to the site and well done for pushing forwards with this.

I, like you, am not one for Social Media; I have an email account and Health Unlocked; I have not embarked on anything similar in the past. I was skeptical before starting but knew my chances of success would not be made any worse by joining so I gave it a go. However, I have found the site really useful on my journey so far; this is why and how I use it:

There are many and various reasons why I ended up where I was at the beginning of this journey; I had made many successful attempts before to lose weight but could not keep the weight off. I knew I needed to try again and when the time was right for me (can't tell you how I arrived there or why), I set off.

Whilst I am guilty of "chasing numbers" and setting weight-loss goals for myself, they are just a means to an end; I needed to lose weight for a number of reasons:

1. Health - lose weight or die younger than I would otherwise.

2. Self-respect - I hate the way I look and I know others judge me for being overweight.

3. Confidence - my being overweight destroys my confidence in many walks of life.

4. Physical ability - I'm adventurous and practical; being overweight(made worse from getting old) was restricting what I could do.

So, I devised a plan, wrote down motivational stuff, and reasons why, this time, I should never give up and I set off. I can't remember exactly how I ended up on this site but I did and I took the leap of faith.

Routinely, I only post on my weigh-in group. There are masses of opportunities to get fully immersed on the site but I decided to keep things simple. I have found the mutual support inspirational, even when I have “blown it” and gained weight. Accordingly, after just a week or 2 it was clear that I was amongst people who understood all the psychological influences and pressures that many overweight people have to carry around and contend with; in short, I felt that I was among friends. I get support that helps but it is hearing others' successes and struggles and providing them with encouragement that helps me most; all of us have complex lives and hearing how people move forwards whilst dealing with the plethora of life’s challenges helps to motivate me. I look forward to my Friday weigh-in and as Friday approaches I try extra hard not to blow the diet so as to maintain a reasonable set of results.

I am committed to my group of Friday fellows and will remain so for some time yet. I hope you are able to realize a positive experience and to take something from and add something to the lives of other like-minded and like-bodied people. Kind regards.

Professor-Yaffle7lbs in reply to Ginge431

Lovely response Ginge.

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Ginge43135kg in reply to Professor-Yaffle

Thanks Professor-Yaffle.

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GizmocatMaintainer

You have has some great replies about how helpful this forum is for all of us. If you would like to a weigh in the Saturday superstars is open now. Just pop over and say hello and post your start weight. You will meet some people who achieved a lot by being members and will get lots of support. It is much than trying to lose weight on your own. Hope to see you there.

PandQsMaintainer

Hi Rose 256, I don’t do social media other than this website. The main points for me have been help and support for losing weight, especially for looking at the idea off reducing carbs and starting to eat fats again which was an approach I’d not heard of. There is support here for whatever method of losing weight that you choose to suit you personally. The other point I would make is that support and encouragement is two way. The weighin days are convenient because you can choose a time and day when you regularly have some time to spare to interact with others, responding to them even if it is just a like or thumbs up