Will lose weight this time once and for all!

[izzibear]

I'm 45 and have been trying to lose weight for 30 years. I've had brief periods of being relatively slim but most of the time I've been a lot bigger than I would like to be. At the moment I'm 14 st 13 (got weighed on my next-door-neighbour's scales yesterday cos I don't own any!) and I'm 5ft 6 so around 5 stone overweight. I'd settle for 4.5 stone weight loss though! I have been around 10st 3 in living memory (aged 28 as I recall) so I don't think that's unrealistic.

I have a goal in mind - next Easter, I'm determined somehow to afford a family holiday abroad before the children are too old to want to go with us any more (they're girls, aged 11 and 14). For the last few years we've been really struggling financially but my husband has a good job prospect now so it might be possible to save up. That gives me about 10 months to lose the weight.

The last thing I want is to scrimp and save for a fabulous holiday, only to have it ruined by being fat! That would be unthinkable. I want to wear swimsuits (one-piece will be fine, I draw the line at a bikini!) and gorgeous little strappy dresses instead of covering up in huge tent dresses.

So, here I go! I'll need to lose half a stone a month or thereabouts to achieve my goal. I don't believe in "diets" for permanent weight loss (I've been on them all) so I'm reducing portion sizes, eating loads of veg and salad, lean protein and small amounts of wholegrain carbs, combined with lots of exercise. Oh, and knocking my 3 or 4 glasses-of-wine-a-night habit on the head...

 

[TracyGWill]

I could have written this myself, lol, except mine is somewhat worse. I found myself with 10 stone to lose at age 49, last summer. So far I've lost 5 stone of it and feel so much better, so your goal of 5 stone in 10 months should be comfortably achievable (it took me 9 months to lose that much, and I don't exercise at all due to health problems, so if you're able to do even a bit of exercise it'll be even easier). You're absolutely right not to think of it as a diet, as we all know diets don't work for most people in the long run. All the best. xx

 

[izzibear]

Wow Tracy, you've really inspired me! Your weight loss is fantastic and really makes me believe I can do it too. Are you doing the "healthy eating" route as well then? I'd love to know what changes you've made to the way you used to eat and what aspects of it you've found the most challenging.

 

[TracyGWill]

Wow Tracy, you've really inspired me! Your weight loss is fantastic and really makes me believe I can do it too. Are you doing the "healthy eating" route as well then? I'd love to know what changes you've made to the way you used to eat and what aspects of it you've found the most challenging.

Thank you! I've been doing calorie counting, trying to gradually change the way I eat to incorporate healthier stuff. I started by making sure I eat veg with every main meal - I find those individual portions of veg that you steam in the microwave really useful, as they're pre-portioned and calorie counted. At first I was eating a lot of low calorie snacks like cereal bars, instead of chocolate, but now I'm replacing some of those with fruit, and likewise am replacing low fat crisps with a handful of almonds. Slowly but surely I'm trying to make permanent, healthy changes! I use My Fitness Pal to plan all my food, and it's invaluable.

I did go to my doctor's at the start, as well, and she put me on Orlistat, which helps to block some of the fat you eat, so I think that's helped a bit too - it's not a magic fix, as it reportedly only leads to a little extra weight loss over time, but it does help keep you on the straight and narrow, so I can recommend it. This is the first time I've ever asked for medical help with weight loss, and I think it was an important step.

I think the most challenging thing, as with any "diet", is the psychological aspect, dealing with that addictive relationship with food! I've read a book that I think is really helpful, called Eating Less by Gillian Riley - don't know if you've come across it, but I can recommend it if you want to get try to get your head around what causes overeating and how to combat it. One thing she recommends, which I had already been doing before I read the book, is to not weigh yourself. I know a lot of people find this hard, but I've found it really good not to have that obsessive relationship with the scales, which I've had in the past. I only get weighed every month or so, at the doctor's.

I look forward to hearing how you get on! xx

 

[izzibear]

Thanks. I've decided only to weigh myself once a month as well, at my neighbour's house. She's keeping a record of my weight for me. I agree that it's easy to get obsessive about the scales and the danger is that you can become discouraged if you've fluctuated one week for whatever reason and gained a bit. I have tried Orlistat before but I couldn't stay on it because I've had bowel surgery (most of my colon removed) so the effects were too drastic. I'll look out for that book you recommended too. I know that if I can only get my head round it for a few weeks, long enough to get out of the bad habits I'm in and establish new ones, then it will become my "normal" way of eating. I've been there before and done that, but it's so easy once you've been an overeater to let things knock you off your path and slide back into bad habits again.

Like you, I've had a lot of health problems (both breast and bowel cancer) but fortunately my mobility is not affected so I can exercise. I'm also still going through breast reconstruction which has turned into a very long drawn-out process because of problems with implants so I've had a lot of operations and various drugs which certainly haven't helped with my weight.

Somehow I know I can do it this time though! You mentioned your Fitness Pal - what's that?

 

[TracyGWill]

Hiya! Sorry to hear about the serious health problems you've had - much worse than mine, obviously - but it's good that you can still exercise. "My Fitness Pal" is a website and app that you can use to plan out and record both food and exercise, it has a huge database of foods with their calorie and nutritional contents, and you can add your own as well. A lot of people on here, myself included, swear by it. I use it on my iPod Touch, but you can use it on a PC or any smart phone. Also, if you do have a smart phone or tablet PC/Kindle, that book I mentioned is available on Kindle.

All the best, keep posting on here so we can encourage one another! xx

 

[CrazyCatLady]

Wow tracy and izzi both of you are so inspiring in your healthy outlooks and hurdles youve overcome to lose weight. I wish you all the best. Ive got 3-4 stone to lose. Like you im not on any eating plan, just making healthy changes to my food. Im getting my thyroid tested for the first time to see if thats a factor with my struggle to lose weight and other health problems. Youve both really motivated me to work harder with my eating and exercise!

 

[TracyGWill]

Wow tracy and izzi both of you are so inspiring in your healthy outlooks and hurdles youve overcome to lose weight. I wish you all the best. Ive got 3-4 stone to lose. Like you im not on any eating plan, just making healthy changes to my food. Im getting my thyroid tested for the first time to see if thats a factor with my struggle to lose weight and other health problems. Youve both really motivated me to work harder with my eating and exercise!

Thank you! It's nice to get support and encouragement on here, and I hope you'll soon be a long way towards your goal, and also get some answers on your health problems. Please keep us updated on how you get on. xx