Katie Lack
New member
I've always struggled with my weight, especially at school. Things did get worse when I left home and started university though, I just seemed to eat and eat. Looking at a picture taken at a halloween party was the turning point for me, I was horrified to the point where I didn't even recognise the person in the picture.
My sister told me about these nutritional shakes she used when she was in the Army. I said I wasn't interested, I'd heard about Slim Fast and how they are basically empty calories with loads of sweetener added. I was overweight but I had read a lot about nutrition over the years and I knew better than to simply starve myself, I needed to start focusing on nutrition, focusing on how great I felt when I ate good foods and how crap I felt when I ate junk food. Having read into them though, it was clear that they weren't like I feared, they were very nutritious and didn’t contain any artificial ingredients. I decided to give it a go, my sis had a tub of these shakes in her cupboard from when she was last on exercise.
The first couple of weeks were quite strange. I was used to eating 3 or 4 (quite large) meals a day, and now I was getting used to replacing my breakfast and lunch with a shake and having a healthy dinner. I have to admit, having one 'proper' meal a day was actually easier, I was usually really busy around breakfast and lunch time, and it gave me the opportunity to really think about what I wanted to have for my dinner, something to look forward to and more importantly, something I could plan. I started to experiment with foods I'd never even tried before, who'd have known back then that Spinach is now my favourite food! I have it with everything, smoothies, salads, bagels and it's super healthy!
Anyway, after 6 weeks I felt great and I was ready to move onto the second stage of the plan - I could now incorporate 2 healthy meals into my daily routine with one meal replacement. The weird thing was I really felt like I'd earned this extra meal - I started to have a high fibre bagel or chicken salad for my lunch at work and kept to my shake for breakfast (mainly because the shake was convenient to just make and take with me). I realise looking back now that these 6 weeks were in effect preparing me for stage 3 – “the maintenance stage” which was basically 3 healthy meals a day. Sounds simple I suppose but had I attempted this from day 1 I wouldn’t have had a clue! When I got to the 13th week, healthy food choices had become a second nature to me and I was at this point keen to try new recipes. It sounds weird but I actually felt as though I had made a fresh start with my food and gone back to basics. I felt grateful that I could make the food choices for myself and proud that I had made the right ones.
I’m now 2 years on from starting the plan and I’ve lost 3 stone in total. I would say I’ve fluctuated by about 4 lbs depending on the time of the year etc, but have managed to keep it off. I did feel that I’d lost out a little when coming off the shakes, mainly because they were crammed with nutrients and I just felt great when taking them. I did a bit of research though and managed to source some nutritional supplements made by the same company. They are pretty much a super boost multivitamin and I just take them daily as part of my healthy diet. They cost more than your average multivitamin but I do justify the cost considering I used to spend a lot more on junk food every week.
I suppose I always had the capability to make the right decisions and I always had a basic interest in nutrition, I just needed a kick start really.
I do have a little way to go though, my boyfriend recently proposed to me and my mind is turning to wedding dresses. I would like to lose another stone or two (I am still considered overweight according to my BMI) and tone up. Although I am eating healthy I’ve hit a bit of a plateau… I suspect some regular gym action and may a week or two at stage 1 or stage 2 will give me the boost I need. I’ve always been a fan of doing things slowly but surely and I think that a healthy weight loss of 2lb per week has helped me keep the weight off. More importantly though I FEEL better. When you start feeling the benefits of eating healthy, the weight loss actually becomes an added bonus rather than a target.
This experience has encouraged me to study nutritional therapy and I hope to qualify in the near future. I’ve started a facebook page where I’m going to record my progress up until the wedding, mainly as a motivational tool but if I can help anyone else with advice / meal plans etc. then even better.
My sister told me about these nutritional shakes she used when she was in the Army. I said I wasn't interested, I'd heard about Slim Fast and how they are basically empty calories with loads of sweetener added. I was overweight but I had read a lot about nutrition over the years and I knew better than to simply starve myself, I needed to start focusing on nutrition, focusing on how great I felt when I ate good foods and how crap I felt when I ate junk food. Having read into them though, it was clear that they weren't like I feared, they were very nutritious and didn’t contain any artificial ingredients. I decided to give it a go, my sis had a tub of these shakes in her cupboard from when she was last on exercise.
The first couple of weeks were quite strange. I was used to eating 3 or 4 (quite large) meals a day, and now I was getting used to replacing my breakfast and lunch with a shake and having a healthy dinner. I have to admit, having one 'proper' meal a day was actually easier, I was usually really busy around breakfast and lunch time, and it gave me the opportunity to really think about what I wanted to have for my dinner, something to look forward to and more importantly, something I could plan. I started to experiment with foods I'd never even tried before, who'd have known back then that Spinach is now my favourite food! I have it with everything, smoothies, salads, bagels and it's super healthy!
Anyway, after 6 weeks I felt great and I was ready to move onto the second stage of the plan - I could now incorporate 2 healthy meals into my daily routine with one meal replacement. The weird thing was I really felt like I'd earned this extra meal - I started to have a high fibre bagel or chicken salad for my lunch at work and kept to my shake for breakfast (mainly because the shake was convenient to just make and take with me). I realise looking back now that these 6 weeks were in effect preparing me for stage 3 – “the maintenance stage” which was basically 3 healthy meals a day. Sounds simple I suppose but had I attempted this from day 1 I wouldn’t have had a clue! When I got to the 13th week, healthy food choices had become a second nature to me and I was at this point keen to try new recipes. It sounds weird but I actually felt as though I had made a fresh start with my food and gone back to basics. I felt grateful that I could make the food choices for myself and proud that I had made the right ones.
I’m now 2 years on from starting the plan and I’ve lost 3 stone in total. I would say I’ve fluctuated by about 4 lbs depending on the time of the year etc, but have managed to keep it off. I did feel that I’d lost out a little when coming off the shakes, mainly because they were crammed with nutrients and I just felt great when taking them. I did a bit of research though and managed to source some nutritional supplements made by the same company. They are pretty much a super boost multivitamin and I just take them daily as part of my healthy diet. They cost more than your average multivitamin but I do justify the cost considering I used to spend a lot more on junk food every week.
I suppose I always had the capability to make the right decisions and I always had a basic interest in nutrition, I just needed a kick start really.
I do have a little way to go though, my boyfriend recently proposed to me and my mind is turning to wedding dresses. I would like to lose another stone or two (I am still considered overweight according to my BMI) and tone up. Although I am eating healthy I’ve hit a bit of a plateau… I suspect some regular gym action and may a week or two at stage 1 or stage 2 will give me the boost I need. I’ve always been a fan of doing things slowly but surely and I think that a healthy weight loss of 2lb per week has helped me keep the weight off. More importantly though I FEEL better. When you start feeling the benefits of eating healthy, the weight loss actually becomes an added bonus rather than a target.
This experience has encouraged me to study nutritional therapy and I hope to qualify in the near future. I’ve started a facebook page where I’m going to record my progress up until the wedding, mainly as a motivational tool but if I can help anyone else with advice / meal plans etc. then even better.