Slimming in to Spring - Slimming World Support Thr

Thank you all for sharing your stories.

Deep breath and here goes mine.....

I was a chubby teenager, and I've just kept on getting fatter ... and fatter.... and fatter.

Going to university I developed a social life which mainly centred itself around drinking, and this continued when I started work - there were always a few people who'd go over the pub after work, and some of us ended staying for most of the evening. Then it would be a case of either going for a sit down curry or grabbing a takeaway on the way home.

Needless to say, all that beer and fast food meant I was piling the pounds on - and the fact that my work was quite stressful, often with long hours and at times through the night, but largely sedentary didn't help. Although I had to look reasonably smart for work, I've never been interested in fashion so I didn't really take much notice of the fact that I was getting bigger and bigger.

Roll on to my forties, where I moved job and location. This con-incided with me cutting back almost completely on the drink - so far so good, but then I decided to give up smoking as well and re-discovered my tastebuds! A long daily commute to work all too often meant ready meals or takeaways and the pounds kept piling on - not that I really noticed, as I never weighed myself and only bought new clothes when absolutely necessary.

Eighteen months ago, at the age of 56, I was effectively made redundant, and at my age and weight I just couldn't face looking for another job in my area, which is pretty much a young persons field.

Gradually I realised how restrictive my weight was becoming, as a short walk left me out of breath and with aching knees. Luckily, having now been saving all the money I used to spend on cigarettes and alcohol, I was financially in a position where I could retire.

Finally last October I had my lightbulb moment, that I needed to do something and fast if I was to enjoy my retirement in good health.

I'd heard that a friend of a friend had lost seven stone on Slimming World, but I know I'd struggle to get to a group regularly, so I just bought the books from e-bay, read them and started on changing my eating habits. I'm ashamed to say when I got on the scales (for the first time in many years) I weighed 23 stones.

And then I found you lot - my virtual group! Since then I've lost 3 stone 8lb. Getting under 20 stones was a real buzz - I've no idea when I was last that. I'm enjoying cooking healthy meals (as is my OH) and only have the occasional craving for buttered toast, a sausage roll or a takeaway korma with onion bhajis. My personal target is to halve my weight and my dress size - from 23 stone to 11.5 stone and size 28 to 14.

When (not IF) I manage to get there, my BMI will still have me as 'overweight', as I'm only short, so I'll probably need to go a bit further.... but that's a later journey, and I hope that this group will be with me along the way as you're all a great help and inspiration to me. Thank you all.

Today's menu:
B Frylight fried egg on toast, apple
L JP with tuna, mixed with onion pepper and cucumber, LTL mayo, large salad, vanilla yoghurt (free) with banana - like banana and custard!
D Just me tonight so will have Aldi's Slimwell Chicken saag with rice and extra spinach, yoghurt mint dressing

Interesting article about impact of prolonged stress (raised cortisol) on obesity:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-stress-cortisol-obesity/more-evidence-linking-stress-to-obesity-idUSKBN17130P
and there are lots of others if you Google it. It seems a familiar theme in many of the stories here.

Bubbs good luck with weigh in today!

Been reading the stories and here's mine:

I was always a chunky child and had a father who told me as much. My mother was bi polar and everything was a bit out of control for a long time and I comfort ate and, when she was in hospital, I 'cooked' for myself, my brother and my dad. A lot of convenience and frozen food, given that I was only at the end of primary school myself.

My dad left and my brother and I were taken into care at 12 and 11(I'm older). Various foster homes later, I had continued my comfort eating, up to getting to sixth form, whereupon I began an even unhealthier relationship with food. Whilst I wasn't ever fully anorexic and bulimic, I flirted with both a lot, ending up a size 8, which looked dreadful on me as I have a big build. I then developed an unhealthy relationship with alcohol, which, as 'luck' would have it, disguised the food issues as that kept the weight on.

It wasn't until I fell pregnant at 22 that I stopped drinking and started eating properly. I weighed less when I gave birth to Top Boy than I did when I fell pregnant. However, the convenience foods and booze crept back in, the booze to a much lesser extent, but I was drinking fruit ciders and lagers most weekends (and eating, and not throwing up) which led my weight to creep up again and the unhappy relationship exacerbated both that and the comfort eating. When I broke up with Top Boy's dad, I reined in the junk and booze again and the weight fell back off, but then the pressures of family bereavements, single motherhood, university, work and life in general meant I yoyo-ed for a few years.

When Top Bloke moved down, I reached my highest ever weight and give or take a few pounds, stayed there. Weekly takeaways when he was on late shifts and weekends without work or Top Boy often meant another takeaway and sharing a few beers, then a few more, then a fatty fry up the morning after. Top Bloke is forever telling me that I'm beautiful (and making me believe it) and somehow my weight felt less of an issue.

I then fell pregnant with Top Baby and lost weight again due to enforced abstinence and increased fruit and vegetables and now I'm going to try and lose the rest and keep it off!

Stoke wrote: »

I had somewhat successfully lost a small amount of weight (a stone ish) using the 5:2 diet before joining SW. I couldn't maintain 5:2. SW is maintainable and that is what makes it perfect, for pretty much anyone.

I tried 5:2 and found that I was obsessed with food -all the time. It was miserable. When I was fasting I fantasised about food I could eat when I wasn't. When I wasn't fasting, I dreaded the next fasting day.

Poohsticks and TopGirl- thank you for sharing

Well done Bubbs. :j:j

Amazing achievement. :T:T