Lealing's diary

Lealing

Lealing

New member
Hi everyone!

I used to be slim all during my childhood, teenage years and in my twenties. In my twenties I used to weight around 120lbs. I am 5ft tall. It was when I hit my thirties that I started putting on weight. When I was about 30 I put on about 34lbs and I remained at 154 lbs for about 5 years. I was in a steady relationship and happy. When my 8 year relationship ended I started putting on even more weight and in the last 4 years I have piled on another 42lbs. At the beginning of April 2010 I was 39 years old and weighed 196lbs.

I've not been happy with my weight for the last 10 years and can't believe that I have put on over 70lbs in weight. I was having a grumble about this with someone on the internet and about how unhappy I was about being fat and not confident about meeting people. He suggested that I go to the gym. I have always been intimidated about going to the gym but this guy really encouraged me to go for it.

So at the beginning of April I joined the gym and went regularly, about 6 days a week, doing about an hours cardio each time. In the first week I didn't lose any weight. So I then started a diet by cutting out bad snacking, eating 3 smaller meals a day with snacks of fruit or yogurt in between. I lost about 7 to 8 lbs in the month of April.

In the month of May, I'm afraid to report that I have not lost any weight. I keep putting on and then losing a couple of pounds. I still go to the gym about 6 times a week. 2 sessions are dance classes. 1 session of yoga. 3 sessions work out at the gym including 40 mins cardio and 10 mins resistance training.

Anyway today I have just discovered Fitday calorie counter and as a result discovered that I am consuming too many calories.

For lunch today I had a jacket potato with ham and cottage cheese thinking that it would not contain that many calories. Little did I know that it would come to more than 500 calories just for that meal!!! Yikes. So I now know that I need to cut down on the calories and aim to consume about 1400 calories a day. (I think that I have been eating about 2000 calories previously!!!)

Tonight I go to my weekly strictly fit class. :hurray: It's a one hour low impact dance class based on ballroom and latin plus fitness.
 
Hi Lealing! Great start to your diary!

And great to hear you have your calories in view. Amazing, what we thought was ok, turns out to be worse than some of the bad stuff we've been staying away from.

And good for you for hitting the gym!

Keep up the great work!
 
Welcome to the board, Lealing!

It sounds like you are really motivated and have started doing some good research.
I know just what you are going through. In 2007, I started losing weight through just exercise, but then learned that I had to really cut the calories as well to keep losing. At that point, I decided that I couldn't handle doing both. So, I kept up with the work-outs but kept my eating the same. I didn't lose any more weight, but I felt fit and toned and healthy. Not thin, but good anyway.

But, obviously, the best is to be fit and also at an ideal weight. A big job!
I feel confident you'll succeed, though, as you seem hard-working and ready to learn.

Hope to see you around the forum! Best of luck!
 
Thanks Flumes and Rox!

Yes, it is difficult to judge how many calories you are eating if you don't use a proper calorie counter. At first I just cut out all the bad snacking and eating smaller portions but it's no use if a meal is small in portion but high in calories.

Rox, I see that you are in France. Which part of France are you from. Between 2002 and 2006 I lived and worked in Paris. Or rather I lived in the suburbs of Paris, Conflans Ste Honorine to be precise and worked near St Lazare. Loved it there.

Thanks for all the encouragement. I think it really helps to have other people in the same situation as you and to be able to discuss ideas.

Lealing
 
I agree that this board is great! It's a very supportive atmosphere.

I don't live in Paris, though I love it and visit when I can. I live in the Haute Savoie in a small village. We're pretty close to the Swiss border and only an hour away from Chamonix/Mont Blanc. So, it's awfully pretty!
 
I used to go to a place called Bessans to go skiing. Is that in Haute Savoie? It might just be Savoie. Lovely place. It is near to the Italian border of Modane.

I used to feel really enormous when I was in France even though I was 42lbs lighter than I am now. You very rarely meet a fat French woman. They are so self disciplined. When I ate at the work canteen, the girls would eat about half of what was on their plate and then leave the rest.
 
Lealing said:
I used to go to a place called Bessans to go skiing. Is that in Haute Savoie? It might just be Savoie. Lovely place. It is near to the Italian border of Modane.

I used to feel really enormous when I was in France even though I was 42lbs lighter than I am now. You very rarely meet a fat French woman. They are so self disciplined. When I ate at the work canteen, the girls would eat about half of what was on their plate and then leave the rest.
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We are about a two and a half hour drive north of Bessans- above Mont Blanc and below Geneva.

ITA about all the skinny French people. The whole place is like southern California: if you're above a size ten (that's a 44 european), you can't even find clothes in the shops! It's a big deal to find a 12 or 14. Since I gained weight, I've had to order clothes because a 16 or 18 is unheard of.
The worst thing is, even when I'm "skinny" I'll be about a 10 or 12...so, I'll still have a hard time finding clothes. Sigh.
 
Hello Rox,

Yes I had the same problems buying clothes in France. I used to buy my clothes when I came back to the UK! I hate shopping for clothes at the best of times as I always feel I look fat in everything but going into a shop in France you just feel even worse.
 
Well after being stuck at 189lbs for a few weeks I have finally started losing weight again. Have lost another 2lbs. Now down to 187lbs. Total weight loss since 2nd April is 9lbs. Woo hoo! Haven't lost so much weight in a long time but then again I've never weighed so much in my life previously. Only losing the weight which I gained last year. Still have the previous years weight gain to lose.

Today will be going out to eat at lunch and then for dinner with colleagues. Will try to be good and opt for a salad.
 
Lealing said:
Well after being stuck at 189lbs for a few weeks I have finally started losing weight again. Have lost another 2lbs. Now down to 187lbs. Total weight loss since 2nd April is 9lbs. Woo hoo! Haven't lost so much weight in a long time but then again I've never weighed so much in my life previously. Only losing the weight which I gained last year. Still have the previous years weight gain to lose.

Today will be going out to eat at lunch and then for dinner with colleagues. Will try to be good and opt for a salad.
Click to expand...

That is great! Congrats on a really nice loss!
 
Last night went out to dinner with colleagues and was very good as I chose the healthier fish meal.

This afternoon will be flying to Madrid to spend a long weekend there visiting a friend. This means no gym for the next 5 days and also lots of tempting Spanish food. I do hope that I will not succumb to too much patatas bravas or jamon!

Anyway, weight down again by another 1lb. Total weight loss since beginning of April is now 10lbs.
 
Good job choosing a healthy meal in the restaurant! That can be so hard.

Madrid sounds like fun! I hope you really enjoy yourself! Just remember, even if you make one or two (or three or more!) less than ideal choices when you're there, it's not the end. You'll just come home and get right back into the good habits you've been building.

And keep in mind the amazing loss you've managed. 10 pounds is really great! And your rate of loss is very sensible, so I'm sure you'll keep it off.

Have a fabulous time in Spain with your friend!
 
Hello Rox,

Thanks for dropping by and for all the encouragement.

Last month when I went on a break to Biarritz for a week and a half I managed not to gain any weight during that period by choosing healthy meals at restaurants. I will try to do the same this time although I think that Spanish food is probably more fattening than French food.

I will pop by into your diary to see how you are doing. However by looking at your ticker thingy you look like you've done really well so far by losing 7kgs so far.
 
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