or more accurately perhaps, deluded, to have bought a dress which doesn't fit me?

[Georgimama]

OK, the dress itself is an absolutely beautiful classic black shift in heavy lined silk with little cap sleeves and heavy embellishment with sequins around the hem. It's lovely.

But I got it on ebay and of course, being sold by an individual she only had the size she had. A 14.

I am genuinely trying to lose weight. Actually, correction, I am genuinely losing weight. I have lost 11 pounds since 4th January. So it is going well, but to get to where I would like to be, the weight I used to be happy with, I need to lose about another 35 pounds (I prefer to think of it in pounds as the Americans do rather than in stones as then every pound "counts", whereas if you are constantly trying to break the next stone a loss of one pound rather than two can feel like a "failure". That part probably makes no sense).

The dress goes on, and if forced to cover my modesty in a fire, I could "wear" it as I currently am. There is no way I would wear it out at the mo though.

So am I just setting myself up for failure by having this dress hanging in the wardrobe?

No, you are doing brilliantly!! If you had said that you are planning on starting to lose weight then I might have been a bit but you have already started. 11lbs in less than a month is brilliant! How are you doing it? I did the stupid special K diet for 2 weeks and gained weight. Am now trying the Body Blitz diet and have lost 4lbs in a week. I know this will slow down but am really determined.

Your dress sounds gorgeous - would Easter be a realistic goal date to wear it? Set a date to go out looking super fabulous!

Thanks. I wouldn't need to get to my ultimate goal for the dress to look fine, although it would of course hang even better the more weight I lost. Clothes are pesky like that.

Thanks to dittany, who is my new best friend and personal Saviour, I am following the no S diet which has the cunning advantage for me of not actually being a diet. It is a system for eating sensibly for the rest of your life. And it works, as my loss proves.

The man who invented it is a genius. As soon as I read this:

"Most diets today can be divided into two categories:

1. Pseudoscientific forbidden foods diets that pretend that you can go on being a glutton as long as you confine your gluttony to a particular class of foods while completely excluding others (no agreement on what these particular kinds of foods are, of course).

2. Diets that require you to be a full time calorie accountant.

The forbidden foods diets are patent nonsense. They contradict one another, go in and out of fashion every ten years, and never seem to gather any serious scientific support. You won't stick with one of these because not being able to eat whole categories of food is a real drag. At the outset, it might seem worth it to trade pasta for unlimited steaks (or vice versa), but it gets old fast. And it might even make you sick.

It's funny that these diets masquerade as scientific, because psychologically they rely on the most primitive magicism: magic potion foods that are good for you and can be gorged on with impunity, and cursed poison foods that corrupt with a mouthful (carbohydrates and fat are the two biggies, alternating roles)."

I knew I had found the answer.

Anyway, getting back to goal, I am going to Las Vegas for a long weekend in March and I would really love to wear it then. I reckon if I had lost another 15 pounds the dress would look fine. Do you think I can do 15 pounds by then? It sounds a tall order doesn't it?

Time for phase 2 I fear: exercise.

That website is really very interesting - did you buy the book or just follow the rules? I am currently on; no wheat, sugar, dairy, alcohol or carbs (after 6pm) which is fine at the moment but not long term.
So it is literally no sugar, snacks or seconds?

Where is the thread? Is it specifically for the No S diet?

Georgi - I think that March is a reasonable goal but you will probably have to add in 30mins of exercise per day.

The Shiney thread is about healthy eating and cock. Some people like me want to lose lots of weight, some a little, and some are just trying to be healthier generally. Some are doing no S, some are doing WW, some SW, some South Beach.

No S works for me beacause it isn't a diet, it's a lifestyle.

Yes it really is that simple - no snacks, no sugar (you can eat stuff that has a little bit of sugar - he clarifies that by saying no foods whose main ingredient is basically sugar), no sweets, no seconds. Only 3 meals a day, but no gimmicks, any foods are fine. On days that start with S (ie weekends) you can have some snacks, some sweets, some sugar etc, but not too much. It's all about moderation.

Since I started I have eaten:

plenty of carbs
A McDonalds' chicken chilli deli sandwich (hungry and desperate as wouldn't usually eat there)
Several homemade pizzas
A very large Indian takeaway
And on my birthday last week (birthdays also count as S days) an entire box of Thorntons chocs.

Without counting a single calorie.

Firstly, congratulations on your loss - you're doing fantastic!!

Since I've been on my diet (WW - nearly 6st in 10 months ) I've bought loads of clothes that blatantly didn't fit so that I could wear them at a later date, it totally spurred me on to keep going so I could get into the next size down.
I started at a size 24/26 and am now a 14... although I never thought I'd ever be a 14 so I didn't buy any 14 clothes lol.
Putting on a size 14 mini skirt for the first time was a pretty emotional experience for me and I burst into tears in the changing room, the SA must have thought I was a looney!

Anyway, trust me, if you can sort of fit into it now, just think of how amazing it will look in a month or two when it fits perfectly, and let that spur you on to keep up the good work

Oh and I did successfully lose 4 stone with the inspiration of a dress Georgi.

It was a gorgeous little summer dress that I had worn before DC's and I hung it in my bedroom for 18 mnths while I lost the weight and got into. But on washing it (bearing in mind it was 12 yrs old), washed it too hot and would have had to had my bones shrunk to get into it

well done!
I have gone off dairy for a month (not to diet - just because I feel better when I don't have it), and I have lost about 5 lbs without trying.

I reckon we should have a thread to swap all those clothes in the wardrobe that we'll never wear...

Georgi - fab sounding dress. And of course if you keep on shrinking as you are you'll get into it. Not sure which bits of it are too tight but if you want to try and fit into it a bit quicker...dare I suggest Spanx? They sort of pull you in so that everything fits a bit better. You can get them in tons of different types of shapes. They are expensive...but they are good.

goegimama -well done you 11 pounds that is fantastic .The dress will be an incentive to carry on the brilliant work.You have inspired me to get crackin on the jelly belly.

Georgi, I think that's enough time to lose weight, especially the way you're going.

I second the spanx, they are great (I got mine on ebay for half price and it means I can squeeze into size 12's that I wouldn't otherwise be able to!)

(and if you don't lose the weight, can I buy the dress off you? It sounds gorgeous! )

Cor that sounds great Georgimama. I might try it - I don't have much of a sweet tooth.

A friend of mine years ago suffered dreadfully from thrush that would not go away whatever she tried. So she went on a sugar/yeast free diet. I think it worked re the thrush but she lost loads of weight (and she didn't need to) and once she decided to go back on a normal diet found she couldn't bear things she had once thought were savoury (tomato sauce/soup, baked beans etc) because of their revolting sweetness.

aw, don't be down on yourself. the dress sounds gorgeous and may give you a cool target to aim for.

Weight loss takes time, and I can imagine you'll have days filled with self-doubt. But you will do it.

Thanks everyone. And the dress is mine!

Are spanx that much better than the kind of Bridget Jones granny pants you get in M&S? I have some but they're a bit elderly and their restrictive powers are possibly waning.

Good motivation! Sounds like you are doing really well.

If I lose the stone I need to, I'm going to treat myself to something really expensive. That's my motivation

my spanx are like this and because it's all over and hooks up to your bra it creates a much smoother line than the M&S control pants (which just used to bulge all my wobble up out of the top of them!), and yes, they do give you a much perkier arse, however they are a pain in the said arse re. toilet visits... also I wouldn't pay that much for them, you can get them cheaper on ebay!

Blimey. That's quite a contraption. I am going to have to look on ebay, I have a wedding to go to next weekend and I need all the help I can get!

Ooh, thanks for the link to the No S non diet - might have a go at that.

don't want to interfere in your thread but i think it is a great idea to have a dream of a dress and I bet you will get into it. Did you pay a lot? if not, there is option B: customise it madly; chop up the sides and turn it into a tunic type thing, or up the front and wear it over something else plus trousers. sure it will look stunning.

Ooh, you're not intefering at all. That is a good fall back option if I don't manage it (I am quite handy with a needle) but it is such a lovely dress it would be a shame. It wasn't very much - I paid £40 because I just really wanted it, and it is Monsoon and brand new with tags, so would easily have been double that in the shop (at least originally, I know there are canny ebayers who snap up sale items then make a profit flogging them and why not). In any case even if the seller has made a good profit out of me, anything is worth what someone is prepared to pay and I was happy to pay that.