Would-be loser from London

P

Popcorn

New member
Hello
What a great place this is!
I have, quite literally, been on a diet for as long as I can remember. A chunky girl, born in the 1960s in England to a slim, blonde Julie Christie-alike who wanted her daughter to be a mirror-image of her. I've been being told I weigh too much since I was four years old - the age at which I first discovered I hated grapefruit.
As you can probably guess, this has not resulted in terribly high self esteem (or even small dress sizes) and I'm now in my forties with a long career of failed diets, unsuccessful psychotherapy sessions and huuuge clothes behind me. Astonishingly, however, I have managed to find a wonderful husband and have two lovely sons, and it's for them that I desperately want to try and deal with all this self-destructive stuff before it's too late. As you can see from my ticker, I've masses of weight to lose, so I should hopefully be around a while. All advice gratefully received! :)
 
Well, I've not got any advice, because I am new to this myself. However, this seems like a great forum to be part of and talk about the good and the bad on your journey. I hope you reach your goals and celebrate each step. And that 5lbs you've lost...that's like 5 bags of sugar! How cool is that for a start!
 
Hey Popcorn!

What method are you using to begin your new journey?

For me, it was very difficult at first (or so my beautiful girlfriend tells me). She says I always said I was hungry... and in retrospect, I think it is psychological meeting physiological. I was getting enough nutrients for my body to function but not enough my stomach was used to getting. So physically I knew I should be piling more into my mouth at "feeding" time but I wasn't. I would go to bed miserable (or so she claims) and if I needed something to drink I would send her downstairs to get it because I was REALLY tempted to eat... so my advice to you is sit your family down and really use them to your advantage. Tell them they need to be your constant reminder of your goal... its ok for you to let them be stern with you. Give them permission to be the "voice of reason". It is also very helpful that you have a partner in the house who is doing the same as you... who can say "we did great this week!". It's a wonderful thing to experience and will only bring you closer to that person.

Good luck there!
 
Thanks for your support, Curly and Darth! Curly - when I think about the number of extra bags of sugar I'm currently carrying around with me, it makes me feel utterly exhausted!
Darth - I'm so impressed by how much weight you've lost, well done! I'm not following any particular regime yet. As I have so much weight to lose, I want to start off by reducing portion sizes and increasing my exercise (Who am I kidding? Any exercise would be an increase!). I tend to get cross and rebel against diets, so I want to try and lose weight in a way that makes me feel in control - the fewer rules the better. So far it's working.
 
Hi Popcorn and welcome to the forum a lot of experience shows over many years that diets in the long run don't work.

Although you could say that's my biased opinion all I can say is it's more about how you have programmed your mind in relation to food as what you like don't like etc how those foods make you feel when you eat them.

All I did was take a good look at what I was eating my biggest problem was sugar not so much saturated fat but the big S since I cut that out things have been great.

I do eat some foods with sugar in but only in moderation is all.

And for exercisew just bought a stepper one of those that goes side to side did 20 mins per day 4 times a week.

Ate more fruit and vegetables thats it really learnt as much as I could about food for me that was a real eye opener.

Wish you the best of luck :hat:
 
Thanks Mark. I think I need to work out a way of introducing exercise into my daily life. Steps seem like a good idea, though I might start off with just walking round the block each day to begin with and then do something more organised. I think for me, portion control will be the key!
 
Hi

We have much in common.

I am in my forties too - and was 21 stone this time last year. I am now under 12 stone.

I started with walking round the block. If you havent seen it already - I find the weight loss of Charlie Walduck (via the This Morning tv program) to be very motivational.

He went from 44 stone to 14 stone in 2 years - a UK record!

I wear a pedometer all day long and have built things up bit by bit. You will be stunned as to how much walking you can do - even from a zero start like I was. Before I started - my stepcount was as near to zero as I could get.

Read the sticky threads that you will find everywhere and try to make your diet better. Counting calories works well for many people.

Good luck

Take care
Best wishes
Margaret
 
Hello popcorn,
I am a fellow Londoner! I think Omega is giving you great advice! I have only just started and I am not looking to lose so much (it is sort of a different category I think, the ones that want to lose between 10 and dunno 40-50 pounds and the ones who want to lose more, because the underlying problems are often different etc...) however the making little changs thing works for everybody.
I read (but didn't follow) the natural weight program, and there they say that making little changes in your every day life can result in a big difference over time and I have sort of incorporated this. I now get off the bus 1 stop earlier than I used to and I always take the steps to ou 3rd floor lecture theatre even though I always took the lift. I also walk home from work (only about 500-750 m) at night when I finish, I used to take the bus (2 bus stops) because it was easy and I have a bus pass anyway...

There are some wonderful examples on this board of people who have lost what you want to lose (I think maleficient has lost around 190 pounds or so), so read around and get your motivation and then start a diary for support. It is really great!
xxx, Camy
 
Hi Popcorn (my fav snak btw!):lurk5:

It is so awesome that you have decided to take back control of your life. At the end of the day it has be be a lifestyle change. I am 32 pounds into my journey and the only advice I can give up to this point is to really focus on what you consumed before versus what you are consuming now. Fitday.com has a great food counter which really has helped me understand what I am eating.
One other positive I have found is drinking lots of water a day. I try to drink 4 liters of water a day (most of the time 3 but 4 is my goal).

I have also found starting a diary on here has also helped me stay focused.

One last thing,as many people say this is not a race of speed, you must have the mindset that you are going for endurance versus sprints so you might get on the scales sometimes and not lose much or any. Just remember our bodies are going through lots of changes when we start this journey and sometimes they do not like to cooporate with us.

Congrats on making this decision and the best of great luck to you!
 
Thanks so much for all your encouragement, Margaret, Camy and Scott.
Margaret - I can't believe you've lost over nine stone in just a year! I went to the link you supplied and printed out Chris Steele's diet. In fact, it's not dissimilar to what I had planned for myself in my 'no diet' regime: basically, common-sense healthy eating and more exercise. I walked for half an hour this morning wired up to my iPod, thanks to you (and Chris). Thanks for suggesting it.
 
Just want to say welcome from the admin! Everyone is here to help you with anything you need, so I hope you enjoy your time here in WL forum! Check out the Body Transformation Contest if you are wanting a bit of motivation! It is in the Club section forum!

Good luck with your goal!

Jaclyn

PS>>> Camy I like your ticker! Very creative!
 
Hi Popcorn

There are other people on this forum who have lost more weight than me - but I must admit that I am pretty pleased with my weight loss since last February. It really was all done with a healthy balanced diet and exercise. I actually do quite a lot of walking now - but that is partly because I encounter extra problems in getting weight loss in that I have a hormonal condition which works against me. Dont look at my diary and think that you would need to walk as far as I do in order to lose weight. I built mine up from the smallest of starts - a year ago I only left the house when we went by car to Tescos to get groceries. My stepcount was limited to going between rooms.

Well done on going out walking. As a big person I found that it was impossible to "walk quickly or jog" like some people seemed to tell me was needed for weight loss. It took me enough effort to get from A to B. I gradually built up my distance and speed as my stamina improved - and going at my own pace was certainly enough to aid my weight loss from eating sensibly.

Jaclyn's suggestion to join a challenge is good. I always enjoy the challenges. I must admit - I was a little reticent at first about joining the challenge that is just starting up now because having been very big I am wary of too many people seeing my photographs (I hide mine deep in my diary!). As luck would have it they have recently changed the rules so that you can email Jaclyn the photos instead of putting them on the forum for all to see - so dont let the idea of photos put you off.

Why not start a diary.

I actually do not live a million miles away from you - in the suburbs to the west of London.

Best wishes
Margaret
 
Thanks Jaclyn and Margaret!
I've been looking at the challenges and I think I'll work my way up to one of those (let's face it, I've got lots of time!). To start off with, I'm going to keep the pressure off. That's not to say that I'm not going to commit, because I have already done so - it's a bit complicated, but at this stage I just want to keep any pressure as light as possible. My first weigh in since I joined the form is on Wednesday, so I think I'll start my diary then: I'll have something to write about!
Margaret: I suspect we're at opposite ends of the District Line - I'm in Upminster.
:lurk5:
 
Hi Popcorn! Hows the weather in London?

looks like we are in the 5th of February club together!
 
Oh wow Popcorn..reading what you wrote about yourself-your relationship to your Mother..and food really hit the 'spot' with me. I was the only child at prep school that took skinless chicken & bottled water to school for lunch..eaten sitting on my own in the cloakroom whilst the other kids ate their canteen meals!! I also wore NHS round specs with a patch over one eye..so you can guess how much teasing I got & how quickly I learnt to stand up for myself. I actually spent my teens to 20's at an ideal weight of 9st 7lbs but my Mum thought I was still too 'big' (I'm quite broad shouldered) and every day was spent counting calories..eventually I left home & gave up. My weight then has fluctuated for years as I have become the typecast YOYO dieter. This time I will lose for keeps...why..because I suddenly realised that MY HEALTH is whats important..not my or anyone else body image...so like you I'm eating healthily..not dieting..but walking & swimming & reducing portions (I'm a trained Cook/Nutritionist & work in Health care so know the ropes!!) These changes have to be for life..not just the span of a diet..so go girl..you can do it!! Sorry WE can do it...
Jill from Cornwall...
 
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