Hannah's Lighter Life: The RTM Edition!

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Hello everyone,

Have been meaning to post this for ageeees but time keeps escaping. It was my 21st birthday on the 17th of June, I had an absolutely amazing party and thoroughly enjoyed myself! Here is the dress I wore
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I reached my goal of being 10 stone something for my birthday, was 10st 10lbs. The night before my party I tried on the dress that I had bought in a size 10, and it was miles too big. Had to rush to Reiss in the morning and exchange it for a size 8. I never, ever, ever expected to be a size 8. (Think it was the style of the dress as it was quite loose)

I write this with a tinge of sadness though, this time last year I started lighter life. I was on lighter life for my 20th birthday and I remember looking forward to my 21st. Now it's all over and I had the best time, but i'm left with a weight struggle that i'll have to manage for the rest of my life. I know this sounds so dramatic but lately i've become so occupied with my weight and worrying about everything I eat. I am so grateful to lighter life and exante for helping me to lose the weight, but now I feel a bit lost about what to do next. I still feel insecure and part of me would happily lose another 1/2 stones. Weight loss really is addictive and since i've been on vlcd's for so long i've forgotten what it's like to eat 'normally'. I did RTM before on lighter life, but I still feel like I have issues I need to deal with. I went to see my doctor on Monday as I have been making myself sick again, and becoming really paranoid about eating. But she told me to come back in a few weeks. I'm in Florida at the moment for a 2 week holiday which i've been looking forward to for so long, and think the holiday will really help me get my head together as i've been quite stressed recently with work and personal problems, and think i've been adding to that with the stress of eating again and panicking about putting on weight. So will see how I get on this holiday.

On a brighter note I wore a bikini for the first time ever today. Something I never would have done this time last year.

I've just always wanted to be completely honest in this blog and incase anyone else finishing lighter life or another vlcd feels the same as I do now, I just want to let you know your not alone!

Loosing weight has been amazing, but it's the maintaining that really is the hard part, and I feel like this is the beginning of a new journey.

xxxx
 
Good on you for posting lovely girl. You are looking stunning by the way.

Many issues there for you to deal with. Glad you have been to see your GP and are looking to sort things out eating wise sooner rather than later. The post weight loss cycle is one of the hardest to manage. It is a life long comittment, but one that does not have to be an issue that terrorises us. I am sure the other girls will have more to add than I could on the subject as I am still in the loosing phase.

Brave post, but an important share. Keep fighting the good fight xx
 
Fantastic that you reached goal and wore the most stunning dress and in a size 8, amazing!

As for the issues you are now facing, I get it but bot something I have to deal with yet really as I too am still losing! I have had the conversation around the addiction switching from food to losing weight and dare I say it bulimia or anorexia! Not a great subject but none the less one that needs to be had I believe, there is no point brushing it under the carpet and you made the important decision to see your GP, well done!

Enjoy your holiday hun and remember we are all here to support you xxx
 
" a weight struggle that i'll have to manage for the rest of my life"

I know it can feel like that - but finding a healthy way of maintaining is key for all of us.

For me its regular exercise and a low carb style of eating. I adopt and 80/20 rule. Be strict 80% of the time and relax 20%. Then I can enjoy eating out, with friends and have occasional desserts etc. I have adopted a Lite style of eating most of the time, but am still really missing the convenience of packs.

One rule I like is to eat something in a restaurant I would not cook at home - it feels more special and I only eat out about twice a month.

If you really feel there is an underlying eating disorder going on for you - I would suggest you address it sooner rather than later. Go back to your GP and get some support.

If you havent already got a copy of the Beck book then do! One of the tasks I have found most usefull is to plan the next days food in advance. Then eating off plan is less likely to happen. Another is if I want something (usually sweet) then I set the timer on my phone for 20 mins - and see if I still want it. If it was just a craving it will have gone by then.


I also set myself regular exercise challenges and goals - yeah me!! The kid who always had a note to get out of PE at school and suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome for 5 years!!

Feeling food in your stomach and digestive system after a long time on packs; and the associated guilt from lapsing or having food thoughts is a big transition. 5 small frequent meals may be better for you. Rather than 3 main meals and feeling over full.

Good luck - try not to view maintaining as a negative.

You look beautiful in your party dress - and radiantly healthy.

Have a great holiday. xx
 
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Great post HannahNewton.

Hun you look so amazing in your pics and you look so happy. You should be wallowing in your success and and enjoying the moment. But I do appreciate the worries you have. Hannah has some great suggestions and I'm defo getting the Beck book.

Hoping your holiday will give you some breathing space and so glad you've been to see the doc. Like Hannah said if your still worried go back sooner rather than later.

You look beautiful xxxxxxxxx
 
Hello Hannah,
Congratulations on your 21st. birthday.You look lovely hun and I'm glad you had a great party. :553:Remember that feeling.
Enjoy your holiday.
I remember when you started LL. Well done you for being so focused and sticking with your weight loss, even when you had to switch to Exante. I think the fact you have done RTM will help you.
Our LLC always says that losing the weight is the "easy" bit, maintaining a healthy weight is the challenge.
Being obese is usually linked to an eating disorder and now you are finding you are at the other extreme. I do understand the food/panic/weight gain feelings. You did VLCD as a way to not only look good, but be healthy too.
So good for you for speaking to the GP. Please do go back for help. Don't let a different problem replace the original one,
You should be congratulating yourself Hannah and enjoying being a gorgeous healthy young woman.
The other life issues will still come and go, personal problems plague us all, but I know you have the strength to deal with them. Look what you've achieved already. Maybe your GP can refer you for some CBT? They are supposed to be able to make it easier for people to access physchological therapies nowadays . Good luck hun. Do come back a and let us know how you are getting on.
Bikini - amazing!
 
Hello everyone!

It feels like forever since I last wrote on here, and looking at my last post it feels like a lifetime ago, i've come so far since then and I am so much happier now. So thought i'd give you all a quick update on me and how i'm managing.

So as I wrote before my relationship with food went from one extreme to the other, from loving it far too much and bingeing all the time pre-lighter life, to being scared of food and weight gain post-lighter life!

I've now reached a happy medium, where I definitely enjoy my food! But understand that I can't go back to how I was before...I think this acceptance has helped me manage my weight whilst still living life to the full. I'm a student so of course there will be the occasional boozy night followed by a cheeky takeaway! But I find if I stick to the 80:20 rule my weight stays pretty constant. I tend to eat health monday-friday, lots of lovely salads, fish and veggies. Then at the weekends I relax a bit more (can't say no to a sunday roast!)

One of the biggest changes for me was getting rid of my scales. When I first finished lighter life I advocated the benefits of daily weigh ins. But now I see how obsessed I became with the numbers! And the truth is the weight on a scale can be affected by so much, water retention especially! So now I focus on how I feel in what i'm wearing, if my jeans feel a bit snugger I cut down on carbs and it always seems to balance itself back out.

I'm a complete gym bunny now! I run 4 times a week, yoga once or twice a week, TRX weight training and spinning/rpm whenever I can squeeze it in. I even starting taking ballet lessons! I'm so much more toned and happy and I think the effort I make in the gym has made me so much more body confident. Plus it's great for stress!

Here are a few pictures of recent nights out so you can see what I look like now :) It's been a while!

Hope everyone is doing well! If anybody has any questions about lighter life feel free to pm me, i'll answer them as best and as honestly as I can!

Love Hannah
xxxxx

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To see the photos better go to my blog Hannah's Lighter Life When I post them full size on here they end up huge!
 
Wow!! You look fabulous and really seem to have got your head around food/weight issues. Well done and thanks for posting, you've inspired me :)

Sent from my iPhone using MiniMins
 
hi hannah hope youre good, i have read through both of your diaries and you are an inspiration to all, well done on losing the weight and you look absolutely fab in your pics xxx
 
Thank you Mimz and Flying Unicorn! (Love your profile names by the way!)
 
Great to hear from you! You were a huge inspiration to me at the start of my LL journey. You sound so happy - and the new photos are fabulous!!! Xx
 
Hi Hannah
Great to see your update, photos and to hear that you are happy and healthy. I know your story will inspire others coming along now and help people realise that it is possible to keep the weight off after LL.
Congratulations on the exercise and ballet too.
I hope your studies are going well. xx
 
Realised today that this time last year I had completed the abstinence part of my LL journey and had started Route To Management...Can't believe how much has happened in the past year, it's crazy! It's also my 101st post!

So thought i'd post a quick update to let you know how I am at the moment. I'm still exercising 4-6 times a week. I know there's a whole load of newspaper articles out there, saying that exercise isn't actually that good for weight loss, but without it I don't think i'd be maintaining so i'm going to keep at it!

I've actually lost about 4 pounds in the last 2 weeks...I really don't know how as I haven't changed anything about my diet or exercise routine, but I guess it's proof that you can lose weight after lighter life.

Last weekend was my old workplace's End of Season party, so I went back to say goodbye to all my friends there. Have felt really emotional this week as readers of this blog will know the hard time I had at the company before I moved to this one, with the boss from hell! I was so apprehensive before moving to working at a kids adventure camp, as living with people 24/7 is a lot (everybody lives on site!) but I made so many friends and had an amazing time, I can't believe the seasons over! It did so much for my self confidence, and it really brought me out of my shell. As all my friends pre-LL tended to take advantage as I was a 'people pleaser', but I actually learned to stick up for myself and made proper friends who actually respected me as a person! Plus there were a lot of activities that I did (abseiling, rock climbing etc.) that I never would have managed at 16 stone!

So heres a picture of the dress I wore, I loved it :) Got so many compliments which is always nice!
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(Bigger picture here)

Hope everyone is doing well! If you have any questions about LL feel free to ask!
xxxx
 
glad to see youre doing well hun you are an inspiration to me and others, when i first visited the minimins site your diary was the first i read and i was sure then that LL was the way to go thankyou xxxx
 
Guess who's back...back again!

Well hello there everyone!


God it's been a while hasn't it, can't believe my last post was just under a year ago, so much has happened that I don't quite know where to begin. Finished my last year of uni, graduated, had an amazing job working on some top-sporting events, worked for LOCOG and was part of the Olympics and i've just come back from an amazing holiday in Mexico. So overall it's been a pretty jazzy year! There have been some lows as well, I didn't get the grade I was expecting for my degree, which after 4 hard years was (bit melodramatic), devastating. Also had my heartbroken (melodramatic again!) right in the middle of an event I was working on, so managed to keep busy and not think about it, but now i'm unemployed and back from holiday it's all catching up with me a bit.


So that leads me to why i'm here...again. I always knew that finishing Lighter Life wouldn't be the end of my weight issues, but merely the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. I was managing my weight really well until the final couple of months of Uni, with dissertation/exams and working full time, I really struggled to squeeze the gym in. Working 14/15 hours days meant the gym was the last thing on my mind, as well as healthy eating! But the pure stress meant I kept my weight down. However, once I started at the Olympics it was a completely different story! I went from a job where I was constantly rushing around on my feet, to working at a desk with unlimited trips to the canteen on offer, I went from being so busy I didn't have time to eat, to having too much time and for me boredom definitely leads to eating! (Especially the fact that desserts were on offer for lunch AND dinner!)


To celebrate the end of a stressful 6 months, I went to Mexico with family and friends and had an amazing time, but now that i'm back it's time to get serious and address the weight i've put on. I weighed myself this morning and i've put on 1st 3ibs from my lowest weight. Now, when I was at my lowest weight right before my 21st birthday I actually looked ill and a bit too skinny, so i'm not quite aiming to get back to that. So my target is to lose a stone. Also i've gone from being super toned to getting generally a bit flabby! So whilst searching for my next job i'm making the most of my free time to get back into shape and toned again.


It's strange as when I weighed myself I wasn't surprised i'd put weight on, but I don't feel like the weight it says on the scales, it seems a bit too 'heavy', all my clothes still fit so it was surprising, but not surprising at the same time...if that makes any sense!!


I still have some Exante packs left, so i'm doing Exante total for a week, then going to do Exante lite and have a meal in the evening. Ideally i'd love to lose a stone by the end of the month, but am trying to be realistic. Will see how this first week goes and take it from there! I'll definitely be off the packs by the end of the month and eating healthily as I know from experience that i'm prone to becoming a bit too comfortable on the packs and finding it hard to reintroduce food again.


I'm strangely happy to be back on the packs...i've been indulging so much lately that food has started to lose its flavour and I don't enjoy it, so think for me it's good to have a 'refresher' and start to appreciate food again.


So yep, here's to a 24 day health kick!


H xx
 
Well hello there everyone!


God it's been a while hasn't it, can't believe my last post was just under a year ago, so much has happened that I don't quite know where to begin. Finished my last year of uni, graduated, had an amazing job working on some top-sporting events, worked for LOCOG and was part of the Olympics and i've just come back from an amazing holiday in Mexico. So overall it's been a pretty jazzy year! There have been some lows as well, I didn't get the grade I was expecting for my degree, which after 4 hard years was (bit melodramatic), devastating. Also had my heartbroken (melodramatic again!) right in the middle of an event I was working on, so managed to keep busy and not think about it, but now i'm unemployed and back from holiday it's all catching up with me a bit.


So that leads me to why i'm here...again. I always knew that finishing Lighter Life wouldn't be the end of my weight issues, but merely the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. I was managing my weight really well until the final couple of months of Uni, with dissertation/exams and working full time, I really struggled to squeeze the gym in. Working 14/15 hours days meant the gym was the last thing on my mind, as well as healthy eating! But the pure stress meant I kept my weight down. However, once I started at the Olympics it was a completely different story! I went from a job where I was constantly rushing around on my feet, to working at a desk with unlimited trips to the canteen on offer, I went from being so busy I didn't have time to eat, to having too much time and for me boredom definitely leads to eating! (Especially the fact that desserts were on offer for lunch AND dinner!)


To celebrate the end of a stressful 6 months, I went to Mexico with family and friends and had an amazing time, but now that i'm back it's time to get serious and address the weight i've put on. I weighed myself this morning and i've put on 1st 3ibs from my lowest weight. Now, when I was at my lowest weight right before my 21st birthday I actually looked ill and a bit too skinny, so i'm not quite aiming to get back to that. So my target is to lose a stone. Also i've gone from being super toned to getting generally a bit flabby! So whilst searching for my next job i'm making the most of my free time to get back into shape and toned again.


It's strange as when I weighed myself I wasn't surprised i'd put weight on, but I don't feel like the weight it says on the scales, it seems a bit too 'heavy', all my clothes still fit so it was surprising, but not surprising at the same time...if that makes any sense!!


I still have some Exante packs left, so i'm doing Exante total for a week, then going to do Exante lite and have a meal in the evening. Ideally i'd love to lose a stone by the end of the month, but am trying to be realistic. Will see how this first week goes and take it from there! I'll definitely be off the packs by the end of the month and eating healthily as I know from experience that i'm prone to becoming a bit too comfortable on the packs and finding it hard to reintroduce food again.


I'm strangely happy to be back on the packs...i've been indulging so much lately that food has started to lose its flavour and I don't enjoy it, so think for me it's good to have a 'refresher' and start to appreciate food again.


So yep, here's to a 24 day health kick!


H xx

Hey Hannah I've been on ll for 4 weeks now last weigh in I'd lost 1stone 2lb and due to weigh on Monday so 1and a half stone would be great!! You are very slim and gorgeous you really shouldn't be on packs! Have you ever tried the Kellogg's Special K plan? I did that for 2and a bit months and lost 3 stone much better than packs! I've started lighterlife to guarantee the weight loss but when I finish ill never use packs again as I feel it's not healthy and takes over your life! I want a diet where you can take a break without fearing massive weight gain, something I wasn't told when starting ll xxx
 
Hello there...I know I've been a stranger to this forum for well over a year now. I've popped on every now and again but haven't felt ready to post until now.

Im not sure how to start this without getting upset but will give it a go...I would love to sit here and type that I'm still lovely and slim, running 5k a day etc. etc. but unfortunately that's not quite the way it's all panned out! Last time I was on here I'd just got back from holiday and was looking to lose a stone, it was a funny time in my life as I was out of Uni, unemployed and had just moved back home after 4 years of 'independence'. I was doing quite well, getting back into the gym etc. and then holy moly I got a job! Which has involved moving to Glasgow for 2 years. So I moved up before christmas - the combination of new city (new country even!), new people, new job and moving somewhere where I didn't know a soul was quite a big undertaking. It's been a hectic time - almost a year now but I have been loving it.

Sadly being mega busy at work and investing a bit too much time in socialising (blame it on the booze!) alongside ending one relationship, the having my heart broken again in quick succession has resulted in the inevitable. I've put on weight yet again. I wish I could say its just a stone, but it's much closer to 3...to get back to my happy weight I've got a good 40ibs to lose.

Im angry at myself for letting it get this bad - I keep wishing I'd noticed sooner. But found it easy to think 'oh I've put on another 2ibs I lose it at some point...' And this just kept racking up until jeez 40ibs later. Not good. I can barely face looking at myself in the mirror, my self confidence is rock bottom and i haven't had my photo taken in a few months as the last photo I saw I immediately deleted.

So I'm back once again! Plan is to do Exante until all the weight is gone (hopefully 2-3 months) to be slim and happy in time for Christmas & to start 2014 off on the right track. I hope you don't mind me posting in here now I've moved to exante? But this forum has been a huge help for me ever since I started, and I didn't want to start from scratch on another board (but fully understand if you'd like me to move :)

So here's to another weight loss adventure - fingers crossed!
looking forward to catching up on all your weight loss stories to give me a push :) xx
 
So tomorrow is the big day - treated myself to one last glass of wine.
Ready to wake up tomorrow, weigh myself & get cracking!

Hoping I haven't gained too much more (last weighed myself before my 2 week holiday - flight landed this morning so back to reality tomorrow) Hopefully jetlag will make me lose my appetite...*wishful thinking*
 
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