Hi, I'm new here and desperate for inspiration!
Slimming World Start Date: 19/12/2012
Starting Weight: **st 7lb
Being naturally slim all of my life, I was dismayed when I retained weight after my first child more than 25 years ago. From then on it's been a constant struggle and a losing battle. I have an excellent metabolism but make terrible choices when it comes to food. I seem to crave junk, and now I'm married with 2 more children, both with special needs, it's easier to snack on rubbish than to cook healthy meals, which means my children suffer, too.
I've tried every diet under the sun, and have yo-yo'd up and down for years, but never kept any weight off. My sister and I tried Slimming World years ago and lost weight, but stopped going and it piled on again, plus the usual extra!
My husband also struggles with his weight, so a few years ago we joined Slimming World yet again. This time I lost almost 3 stone, but once again stopped going and it piled back on again with interest! I tried again and again, but just kept giving up. Even when the doctor diagnosed high blood pressure and prescribed 3 different medications it failed to spur me on.
I find it hard to ask the doctor for help. Any other addiction is given unconditional help, but when you're just a disgusting fatty you're judged, and my doctor placed conditions on me before he would help. At the hospital I was told to 'just eat more healthily and take more exercise'....Hello! It's not that easy, and it's much easier said than done when you can buy a bag of frozen chips and a large pizza for £2, but a small bag of apples costs the same. Being on a low income makes it difficult to afford the 5 portions of fruit and veg we all are advised to eat daily. In our case, it would be 20 per day for all of us!
However, when you take into account the cost of the alcohol and 'junk' I was buying each week, we can just about afford more fruit and veg, but not much.
The final straw came just last week...I'd been suffering from what I thought were severe palpitations for years, and had had several ECG's, but they failed to show anything. One doctor even gave me a tongue-lashing for wasting his time, and like every other thing I've visited the doctor for over the past few years, the palpitations were just put down to my weight.
A few nights ago my heart started beating so quickly and I couldn't catch my breath, I literally thought I was having a heart attack! I was rushed into hospital where I was monitored closely overnight. My heartbeat was extremely erratic and was more than 3 times the normal rate!
I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and given beta blockers to slow down my heartbeat. However, these, combined with my blood pressure medication, made my BP drop so low I was rushed off to the resuscitation room in case I crashed!
All in all it was a terrifying experience, and after the research I did on the condition, it made me realise that this was probably self-inflicted. My weight led to my high blood pressure, which in turn probably caused the heart problem. I'm not proud of myself, but I'm treating this as a blessing in disguise. In other ways I'm perfectly healthy (apart from the usual back and knee pains that accompany obesity), and I know that if I take steps to change my diet and lifestyle my health will dramatically improve.
I don't smoke, and I never salt my cooking or food, but eat a lot of crisps and other junk, which obviously doesn't help! However, I'm determined that this time it's now or never! I feel as though I've been given the chance to put all of this right and am now back at Slimming World for good!
Before I wrote this, I was reading some of the success stories on their website, but I'm crying as I don't, even now, think I'll be one of them.
It would help if the medical profession were less judgmental when it comes to eating disorders. Drug addicts, alcoholics, smokers and others receive free, unlimited help and support to overcome their problems. Eating disorders are no different - we need help and support to understand why we have this problem and to overcome it, not to be regarded with disgust and intolerance.
Until then, however, we have the miraculous eating plan that is Slimming World! I've never eaten so many carbs and lost weight, it never ceases to amaze me, so why I keep stopping is beyond me! I re-joined again the week before Christmas (2012), and hope that this time I can stay the course. I would one day like to be a consultant so I can help others who are struggling in the same way, and I know that whatever any of my potential members are going through, I've been there, too!
If you are struggling like me, don't wait until it's too late, do something now! There's no better eating plan than Slimming World, and it's one that can be followed for life, and you still get to enjoy your favourite foods, either as 'syns' or created in a more healthy way, and for someone like me, being able to eat as much as you want is always good!
I'll try and update this post each week, and hopefully it will be of some help to others. I'm not going so post my starting weight just yet, I still feel ashamed of it, but I will at some point.
Thank you for reading!
Slimming World Start Date: 19/12/2012
Starting Weight: **st 7lb
Being naturally slim all of my life, I was dismayed when I retained weight after my first child more than 25 years ago. From then on it's been a constant struggle and a losing battle. I have an excellent metabolism but make terrible choices when it comes to food. I seem to crave junk, and now I'm married with 2 more children, both with special needs, it's easier to snack on rubbish than to cook healthy meals, which means my children suffer, too.
I've tried every diet under the sun, and have yo-yo'd up and down for years, but never kept any weight off. My sister and I tried Slimming World years ago and lost weight, but stopped going and it piled on again, plus the usual extra!
My husband also struggles with his weight, so a few years ago we joined Slimming World yet again. This time I lost almost 3 stone, but once again stopped going and it piled back on again with interest! I tried again and again, but just kept giving up. Even when the doctor diagnosed high blood pressure and prescribed 3 different medications it failed to spur me on.
I find it hard to ask the doctor for help. Any other addiction is given unconditional help, but when you're just a disgusting fatty you're judged, and my doctor placed conditions on me before he would help. At the hospital I was told to 'just eat more healthily and take more exercise'....Hello! It's not that easy, and it's much easier said than done when you can buy a bag of frozen chips and a large pizza for £2, but a small bag of apples costs the same. Being on a low income makes it difficult to afford the 5 portions of fruit and veg we all are advised to eat daily. In our case, it would be 20 per day for all of us!
However, when you take into account the cost of the alcohol and 'junk' I was buying each week, we can just about afford more fruit and veg, but not much.
The final straw came just last week...I'd been suffering from what I thought were severe palpitations for years, and had had several ECG's, but they failed to show anything. One doctor even gave me a tongue-lashing for wasting his time, and like every other thing I've visited the doctor for over the past few years, the palpitations were just put down to my weight.
A few nights ago my heart started beating so quickly and I couldn't catch my breath, I literally thought I was having a heart attack! I was rushed into hospital where I was monitored closely overnight. My heartbeat was extremely erratic and was more than 3 times the normal rate!
I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and given beta blockers to slow down my heartbeat. However, these, combined with my blood pressure medication, made my BP drop so low I was rushed off to the resuscitation room in case I crashed!
All in all it was a terrifying experience, and after the research I did on the condition, it made me realise that this was probably self-inflicted. My weight led to my high blood pressure, which in turn probably caused the heart problem. I'm not proud of myself, but I'm treating this as a blessing in disguise. In other ways I'm perfectly healthy (apart from the usual back and knee pains that accompany obesity), and I know that if I take steps to change my diet and lifestyle my health will dramatically improve.
I don't smoke, and I never salt my cooking or food, but eat a lot of crisps and other junk, which obviously doesn't help! However, I'm determined that this time it's now or never! I feel as though I've been given the chance to put all of this right and am now back at Slimming World for good!
Before I wrote this, I was reading some of the success stories on their website, but I'm crying as I don't, even now, think I'll be one of them.
It would help if the medical profession were less judgmental when it comes to eating disorders. Drug addicts, alcoholics, smokers and others receive free, unlimited help and support to overcome their problems. Eating disorders are no different - we need help and support to understand why we have this problem and to overcome it, not to be regarded with disgust and intolerance.
Until then, however, we have the miraculous eating plan that is Slimming World! I've never eaten so many carbs and lost weight, it never ceases to amaze me, so why I keep stopping is beyond me! I re-joined again the week before Christmas (2012), and hope that this time I can stay the course. I would one day like to be a consultant so I can help others who are struggling in the same way, and I know that whatever any of my potential members are going through, I've been there, too!
If you are struggling like me, don't wait until it's too late, do something now! There's no better eating plan than Slimming World, and it's one that can be followed for life, and you still get to enjoy your favourite foods, either as 'syns' or created in a more healthy way, and for someone like me, being able to eat as much as you want is always good!
I'll try and update this post each week, and hopefully it will be of some help to others. I'm not going so post my starting weight just yet, I still feel ashamed of it, but I will at some point.
Thank you for reading!
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