25 stone to 19 stone in 8 months.

Welcome back Helena

I haven't 'met' you previously but I've read your diary and find it inspirational and very real. A stone in six weeks is a great loss

Yep! banish those pizza's to the bf's :p

Tracy x
 
Welcome back Helena

I haven't 'met' you previously but I've read your diary and find it inspirational and very real. A stone in six weeks is a great loss

Yep! banish those pizza's to the bf's :p

Tracy x

Cheers Tracy. He weighed in at 138lbs last week, he NEEDS pizza!
 
Oh hun I'm so glad you're feeling better, chest infections are nasty and you sound like you had a bad one! But you're on the mend now, yaye! :)

Pizzas are bad for me too - I can't have them in the house or like you, I can snaffle the lot. Just draw a line under it and get back to cc when you feel all better xxx
 
hi helena
glad you are feeling alot better
 
You ladies on here are so kind, forgiving and understanding.

Over in the atkins site they favour the "tough love" approach and roundly berate anyone who goes even a little off plan. Because of that one tends not to "fess up" or share the difficulties, miseries or pain. When I went badly off plan I was so ashamed, and so scared of what everyone would say, that I just stopped posting and disappeared into carb oblivion, and regained what little I'd lost, + 10%.

I am angry with myself for allowing the illness, anxiety and unhappiness to fling me off track. I must learn to get through all this without over eating or I will never lose any substantial amount of weight, won't reach my goal by April, and will have another miserable, painful and embarrassing holiday ~ IF I go at all, that is!

I was interviewed on the radio at 4pm, over the telephone, by DJ Mike Read. In the summer, I was invited to appear on TV with Michael Portillo but I turned it down because I felt so self conscious about my weight. When I received a second invitation, from a different programme, I accepted, but I was very insistent that they not film me waddling, and I hoped they'd only film me from the waist up (I am pear shaped) particularly as the interviewer (Ruth Goodman) is so thin! I think it's actually really rather sad that, when invited to do anything, my FIRST thought is always "how hugely obese I will look?", and my second is "how much walking or standing will they expect me to do?" Slim people never have to worry about these things, they have no idea how it dominates everything we do. So today was luxury, as it was radio I did not have to think about how I looked and could concentrate on what I wanted to say. Later someone sent me a link to the Portillo programme. He managed to find someone to take my place, and she appears on screen full length, walking along, and is stick-thin. It made me realise just how enormous and ridiculous I would have looked, waddling along like a weeble. With so much fat hatred in this country, I am NOT up for being made a laughing stock.

I will phone my friend in the morning and tell him to come and take these damned pizzas away. Then I will make myself a smoked salmon sandwich and a pint of tea and get back on track.

Not 338 anymore ... gained another 2lb, up to 340. That is 8lb gained in the past 2 weeks. Terrible :-(

Thanks again for all the friendship xxx
 
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Awww Helena, sounds like a tough time.

I can totally relate to the it dominates everything. Just been to work and we had some newbies in. I'm sat there thinking how fat do I look? Are they looking at how fat I am? How can I sit so I don't look so fat ect. X


Start weight 19st 9.8

Goal 1 lose half a stone - done
Goal 2 lose 1 stone - done
Goal 3 lose 1 stone 7 - done
Goal 4 lose 2 stone
Goal 5 lose 2 stone 7
Goal 6 lose 3 stone
Goal 7 lose 3 stone 7
Goal 8 lose 4 stone

Current weight - 17st 13.8
 
Awww Helena, sounds like a tough time.

I can totally relate to the it dominates everything. Just been to work and we had some newbies in. I'm sat there thinking how fat do I look? Are they looking at how fat I am? How can I sit so I don't look so fat ect. X

Then I am sure you can imagine how it feels at 25 or 26 stone and only 5ft 3!

Well, I had better go up to bed now.

Goodnight, friends. It's a new day tomorrow, a chance for a new start. Yet again!
 
it takes several false starts - but the important thing is to keep coming back and to keep ploughing on. It's a life change - and life isn't all one way! :)
 
Sorry to hear you've been having such a difficult time Helena. We're all here rooting for you and wishing you the very best! (((Hugs)))
 
Really glad to see you posting again Helena. I can empathise with weight and appearance being at the forefront of your mind when asked to do anything or go anywhere. Our damn bodies can make life so restrictive.

Every day is a new day, so hoping tomorrow is a good one for you x
 
THANK YOU ladies for your messages of support.


Weighed in yesterday at 336 and today at 339, but I am wearing slightly warmer clothes and a necklace. Should I take them all off?

I feel as though I "lost my way" a bit, due to a host of small reasons, not one big reason. It was a combination, I think, of feeling ill and wanting to comfort myself, of my friend staying (which made me happy) and then leaving (which left me feeling a bit lonely, because of the contrast) and having a total PC breakdown, causing me to have to research, choose, buy, set up and fight with the new PC. I have had it five days now and I am STILL trying to get it set up (my programs won't load!) I find this incredibly stressful!

Also some things that are going to sound really very silly, like ordering 10 Slimfast Caramels three times from Tesco and Asda over a three week period, and having them subbed every time, and told they had "sold out". (Yes I warned you it was a STUPID reason but it contributed in its tiny weeny way to a feeling of frustration. I'd got used to treating myself with a SF caramel and when I could not have one I went out and bought 600 calories worth of Galaxy. Yes I know it's stupid and illogical but that's human psychology for you. We are all so very complex. The trick is to find out as much as you can about what your individual psychology is, and use it to go with the flow.

Anyway, I just ordered a box of 24 from Amazon for £7.68 so UP YOURS Asda and Tesco.

Another way I am getting back on track is to get back into soup making. I got lazy and stopped, in favour of (home made) fast food. I think that soup is the key to slimming. And, actually, you get far more bang for your buck, calorie wise, by drinking a mug of soup than having a cup of tea.

So I have just placed a Tesco order for LOADS AND LOADS of veggies and other things I need to make VATS of veggie soup, which I will liquidize. Some I will freeze in those little Chinese takeaway boxes, turning it into a microwaveable "ready meal". I'll keep two or three pints on the hob to drink at will over a couple of days. I'm also baking some chicken breasts in yoghurt, which I will place in a Tupperware box and have a few slices "on the side" of my mug of veggie soup, to give myself some low calorie protein. Other times I can toast a bit of Warburton's for 58 calories, dice it and float it as croutons!

I believe I can devise a perfect diet for the morbidly obese. But of course the problem isn't knowing WHAT to eat, but sticking with it!

In bed today I was reading the "comments" beneath a news story about Christina Briggs, a woman of 25stone who says she cannot afford to lose weight unless the Govt raises her benefits.

It's not easy being overweight and on benefits, says 25 stone mother-of-two who wants MORE money from the government to help her diet | Daily Mail Online

Usually I side WITH the obese person AGAINST the haters and fattists, but what she is saying is total nonsense. For example you can buy a KILO of mixed, diced frozen veggies in Tesco for £1.80. Boiled up with (free) tapwater and a pinch of salt that makes about ten portions of soup @ 18p a portion! If she just wants to stay fat, then that is her choice and I would support her right to do so, but to pretend that low calorie food is expensive is claptrap!

Also she says she cannot take any exercise, since a gym costs £22 a month. More claptrap. You don't need to take any exercise to lose weight. It's better to go for a walk, in any case, out in the fresh air.

Image1.jpg



I was interested to see that she can afford to have her hair dyed, tattoos, piercings, but not healthy food. Also, why has she got multiple bottles of Lyle's Golden Syrup (as well as all that sugary junk) in her larder? I am not surprised her child has ADHD, being fed a diet of refined sugars the whole time! Get that kid off sugar and she'll be right as rain!
 
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THANK YOU ladies for your messages of support.


Weighed in yesterday at 336 and today at 339, but I am wearing slightly warmer clothes and a necklace. Should I take them all off?

I feel as though I "lost my way" a bit, due to a host of small reasons, not one big reason. It was a combination, I think, of feeling ill and wanting to comfort myself, of my friend staying (which made me happy) and then leaving (which left me feeling a bit lonely, because of the contrast) and having a total PC breakdown, causing me to have to research, choose, buy, set up and fight with the new PC. I have had it five days now and I am STILL trying to get it set up (my programs won't load!) I find this incredibly stressful!

Also some things that are going to sound really very silly, like ordering 10 Slimfast Caramels three times from Tesco and Asda over a three week period, and having them subbed every time, and told they had "sold out". (Yes I warned you it was a STUPID reason but it contributed in its tiny weeny way to a feeling of frustration. I'd got used to treating myself with a SF caramel and when I could not have one I went out and bought 600 calories worth of Galaxy. Yes I know it's stupid and illogical but that's human psychology for you. We are all so very complex. The trick is to find out as much as you can about what your individual psychology is, and use it to go with the flow.

Anyway, I just ordered a box of 24 from Amazon for £7.68 so UP YOURS Asda and Tesco.

Another way I am getting back on track is to get back into soup making. I got lazy and stopped, in favour of (home made) fast food. I think that soup is the key to slimming. And, actually, you get far more bang for your buck, calorie wise, by drinking a mug of soup than having a cup of tea.

So I have just placed a Tesco order for LOADS AND LOADS of veggies and other things I need to make VATS of veggie soup, which I will liquidize. Some I will freeze in those little Chinese takeaway boxes, turning it into a microwaveable "ready meal". I'll keep two or three pints on the hob to drink at will over a couple of days. I'm also baking some chicken breasts in yoghurt, which I will place in a Tupperware box and have a few slices "on the side" of my mug of veggie soup, to give myself some low calorie protein. Other times I can toast a bit of Warburton's for 58 calories, dice it and float it as croutons!

I believe I can devise a perfect diet for the morbidly obese. But of course the problem isn't knowing WHAT to eat, but sticking with it!

In bed today I was reading the "comments" beneath a news story about Christina Briggs, a woman of 25stone who says she cannot afford to lose weight unless the Govt raises her benefits.

It's not easy being overweight and on benefits, says 25 stone mother-of-two who wants MORE money from the government to help her diet | Daily Mail Online

Usually I side WITH the obese person AGAINST the haters and fattists, but what she is saying is total nonsense. For example you can buy a KILO of mixed, diced frozen veggies in Tesco for £1.80. Boiled up with (free) tapwater and a pinch of salt that makes about ten portions of soup @ 18p a portion! If she just wants to stay fat, then that is her choice and I would support her right to do so, but to pretend that low calorie food is expensive is claptrap!

Also she says she cannot take any exercise, since a gym costs £22 a month. More claptrap. You don't need to take any exercise to lose weight. It's better to go for a walk, in any case, out in the fresh air.

View attachment 154596



I was interested to see that she can afford to have her hair dyed, tattoos, piercings, but not healthy food. Also, why has she got multiple bottles of Lyle's Golden Syrup (as well as all that sugary junk) in her larder? I am not surprised her child has ADHD, being fed a diet of refined sugars the whole time! Get that kid off sugar and she'll be right as rain!

Good to hear you're getting back on track.
With reference to the girl in the paper, you always find the media makes things seem worse. Maybe look on you tube and see if you csn find her interview from This Morning from Thursday. You might see her in a different light if you watch it. Plus alot of overweight people will dye their hair(not overly expensive for a bottle of dye these days) and get tattoos in a bid to detract people from making comments about their weight. It's difficult to judge a person from a newspaper article, especially when it is one that has been printed by the Daily Fail :(
 
I wouldn't believe a word that's written in the Daily Mail by the way.

I also don't subscribe to your opinion that sugar causes ADHD. My 7 year old has it and I'm not pink haired , tattooed , overweight or benefit claiming. I also have never bought a bottle of Golden Syrup in my life : )

I believe that when people are extremely overweight - like the woman in this article - no diet will work long term without counselling of some description to get to the bottom of exactly what is causing the addiction. A life time of obesity can't be solved by another go at Weight Watchers or Slimming World - unless it goes hand in hand with CBT or some such.

There are exceptions to this though , of course. Hopefully you'll be one of them
 
She kept going on in the interview on this morning about how she wanted to lose weight for her kids. It did bug me a little bit in that she was blaming everyone else but herself for it and coming up with walls against it but saying she would if she had a bit of incentive to actually do it but hiding behind sometimes helping out her brother as a carer and having a child that has behavioural issues.

Surely your children are your incentive especially when you keep saying that they're your world and you want to do it for them? Surely you don't want to die sooner than you should? Not to let them go on the same path as you? To see that mummy can make things better for herself - and in turn her children by pounding the streets or a park and gradually losing weight and playing more with the children and having more energy for them? Especially as she was visibly and audibly struggling to breathe on the programme as it was.

I do feel for her - like I do everyone else who is struggling to lose weight. But she has infuriated me in the same way as she's not taking responsibility for herself or her own weight loss but thrusting that responsibility to other people. She's already lacking self confidence and self esteem to the point where she says she wants to go out for a run and has gotten to the door in her trainers only to turn round because she thinks people be staring at her... but she's thrown herself open to ridicule because of a view point of 'I need more benefits to lose weight!' Which is ridiculous!

I've been in the exact same place as her. At the height of my weight I was pushing almost 3 stone heavier than her and I had twat to look after too as well as mum getting increasingly disabled too. I would be there from at least 8am through to 7pm at night then we'd get called back most nights too - sometimes several times. I would be sabotaging myself by eating comfort food, 'treating' myself with sweets and sink fizzy drinks and energy drinks by the tonne for energy and the sugar to keep going. The stress that man caused(and still causes) was beyond belief so I can sympathise with occasionally being a carer for her brother and also having a child with behavioural issues. I also have tattoos and red/purple hair too (though I just like mine :D )

Noone deserves the hatred that she got in reaction (keyboard warriors everywhere wouldn't dare say it to their faces!) but she does need to start reflecting on her own responsibilities too.
 
Good to see you back Helena. It is the stupid things like your Slimfast being out of stock that usually tip us over the edge back into comfort eating. I think one of the hardest things about weight loss is to get your brain to finally accept that "yes this is what I want/need/intend to do" once you can get it into that mode it does become slightly easier.

When you go off plan Helena you're not failing you're just delaying the end result a little.

With regards to the lady in the media this week well there are always two sides to a story. I think a lot of younger people out there would have no idea what to do with a bag of vegetables if they bought them at the shop. Sometimes there's also a fear attached to cooking as if you try a recipe and it tastes horrible then you're less likely to have another go. There are also a lot of people out there who have been brainwashed by the media into the thinking that only joining a gym will get you fit.
 
I DO hope that you ladies did not misunderstand me! I fear that one or two of you may have! Let me be absolutely clear:

I have no problem with her being fat ~ it's not my business, anyway
I have no problem with her having orange hair, tattoos and piercings ~ it's not my business, anyway
I have no problem with her eating any amount of junk ~ it's not my business, anyway
I also have no problem with her being on benefits

All I am calling her out on is her claim that she cannot lose weight without a lot of money and a gym membership. Nothing else!

I do of course understand the way the media twists things, and how trivial and inaccurate the Daily Mail is, BUT it wasn't journos that put all that junk in her cupboards, and it was her who said you cannot lose weight without a lot of money.

Helena
 
Soooo good to see you back and posting Helena!

I agree with you on the soup front and I got a fabulous kindle book which I use with my soup maker, but they could just as easily be done in a saucepan - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Skinny-Soup-Maker-Recipe-Book-ebook/dp/B00EAV3LUQ

I've only made the first one, the summer salad soup - but OMG it was beautiful - and has got me hooked on fennel mmmm :D

Let me know if you fancy any of the recipes and I'll type them up here :)
 
Soooo good to see you back and posting Helena!

I agree with you on the soup front and I got a fabulous kindle book which I use with my soup maker, but they could just as easily be done in a saucepan - The Skinny Soup Maker Recipe Book: Delicious Low Calorie, Healthy and Simple Soup Machine Recipes Under 100, 200 and 300 Calories. Perfect For Any Diet and Weight Loss Plan. eBook: CookNation: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

I've only made the first one, the summer salad soup - but OMG it was beautiful - and has got me hooked on fennel mmmm :D

Let me know if you fancy any of the recipes and I'll type them up here :)

Thank you Susie for the welcome and the link. I would not dream of putting you to the trouble of typing recipes for me, the Kindle book is only £1.99. I see it has some great book reviews, too!

I've ordered loads of veggies from Tesco and will be making my first vat of soup tomorrow!
 
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