I am going to lose this 2 stone, for good!!

[FlossyMcgrew]

I will be taking "after" pictures on July 1st.

I took before pictures yesterday and they are awful. I have at least 2 stone to lose. I have joined other threads here before, with some success. Then quit after getting halfway to my goal and gaining everything back in half the time it took me to lose it.

I am 5 foot 6, have been wavering around the 12 stone mark since having my 2 dc within 13 months. Youngest is now 2.

In my "before" pictures (which I won't post until I get to post them with my afters!). It is painfully obvious that nearly all of my weight is around my middle. This is particularly worrying as my family history is full of diabetes, heart problems, cancer, strokes- you name it.

My plan is this:

MFP to track my calories

30 day shred or alternate 30 min workout 5 times a week

More conscious eating. Re-reading Paul McKenna, "I Can Make You Thin."

Easy on the carbs. My current 2 slices of toast breakfast, 2 slice of bread sandwich and crisps lunch, and insert random carb heavy dinner here, is doing me and my middle no favours.

Drink more water. At least 4 pint glasses per day.

Chew gum instead of mindless snacking.

No baking. I can think up any excuse to bake, and then of course I have to test my product--no more!

And that is basically it.....

I am hoping that I can make all of these things my new way of life, rather than a diet.

I am tired of hating myself in every picture.

I am tired of refusing to buy new clothes in this size, and looking like a slob as all of my clothes are old and don't fit properly.

I want to be healthy and I want to be here for my kids for as long as possible.

I want to be a good example for my kids.

I would like to feel attractive again.

I am going to check in here at least once a week. Monday morning weigh in to keep me honest over the weekends. Please feel free to join me, or cheer me on.

I don't want to be a diet bore in real life so I am going to use this thread for my rambling instead.

So here goes......

Week 1
12 Stone 7

I had a 2 stone to lose and now I have 1 and a half (or a little bit over) so I would love to do this with you. It is so hard to get motivated on my own (and stay motivated).

I really want me old clothes to fit but it is so hard.

I am 5ft 2 and now just over 10 and a half stone. I would like to get back to 9 stone and fit and healthy.

Let's do it Toowit! I am just going to dust off my weights and yoga mat so I can do the 30 day shred, wish me luck :)

well done - same weight same issues - are you me - not sure how many times have tried to lose the same 2 stones, currently googling therapists to see if I can get support along the way this time as clearly can not do it alone !

But I will join in here as well .. I will do it .. again!

I have 2 stone to lose! I'm 5'3" and 10st 12 today after losing 2lbs last week. I desperately want to get back to 9st and into my favourite jeans. This is the third year I have said this and have lost some, gained some, lost some, gained some, lost some, gained more.

I don't eat unhealthily most of the time but I do love my bread and cheese. oh and

Are you me!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
What you described is exactly me! Same height, weight, youngest 2 etc. I've lost a stone already through Paul.McKenna, but have 2 more to lose!

I'm also on the five stone thread and have been dieting and exercising more since December.
I've weighed today and lost another 3lb this last week. Worked out this afternoon that if I lose exactly two stone my bmi will change from overweight to normal. I would ideally like to lose three stone but two will be a good start. I've almost lost two since December. My bmi is now 29 it was 32.5 in December.
I've totally changed my diet. I used to drink 1-2 litres of cola a day. I now drink water, green tea, peppermint tea and Redbush. I eat loads more veg, salad and fruit. I've stopped binging on cakes, biscuits etc.. When DS is in bed. I'm a single mum so boredom and depression were a factor.
I feel so much healthier and energetic. I'm loving the salads and begs and have realised that it was binge eating and not hunger.
Good luck to everyone. I'm setting my next target to weigh 14 stone. I currently weigh 14.9 stone. I'm 5ft 10.5 so very tall.

I think you're me too! Except my youngest is only 16m.

I've been blaming sleep deprivation for the last year but now DC2 is starting to sleep better, I'm going to either have to find another excuse or get off my backside and do something about it.
I'm 5.6 and currently 12.12.5 having lost 1lb last week on my first MFP week.
Does anyone want to be friends on MFP? Not sure if that's "the done thing" or not!!

Random question - did you do before photos in the mirror?

Hello-Well I have lost 12lbs since Jan-but am determined to lose another 2 stone for July for a holiday so happy to join in. I am the same height as you but a bit heavier! Another 2 stone though is a good focus for summer for now though for me!

I am magentastardust on MFP if anyone wants to add me.

Just got a Fitbit at the weekend -think I will make my 10000 steps today-it looks like it will be a good motivational tool and push me to get more physical activity in.

Hello magna I'm AnnaDoreta on MFP so I'll NC here so that's easier to follow.

I've been on a couple of threads before nod the have made a difference to my motivation. I seem to lose and find the same stone and a half every year. I'm not quite sure why I lose motivation.

My reasons for wanting to be a healthy weight are much the same as yours FlossyM. And we're coming out of a period of quite tight finances this summer. I haven't had many new clothes in about 5 years and so would love to be able to buy some new ones in a size 12 rather than a 16/18.

My plan to keep it sustainable is only to aim for 1lb a week so I don't feel like I'm restricting myself too much.

Feeling pretty motivated now!

Thank you!

I too have two stone to lose, and a tad more if I'm really honest. 5'2" and 11st 11lb last time I weighed in. I have before pictures, but as I look exactly the same in them as I do now, they are definitely not for public viewing till I can see a difference.

Currently doing weightwatchers and hoping it'll work!

Good luck

Oophs, sorry Magneta I'd completely misremembered your user name!
I'm psyching myself up for some before photos. Will need to email them to myself then delete as I don't want them to end up on my photo stream for all to see!!

Wow!! I didn't expect so many replies. This is great, we can keep each other motivated. Congratulations to everyone on your losses so far.

I did low carb for around 5 weeks at the beginning of the year and lost 10 pounds. Then had some friends in from out of town, a few nights out, and basically just lost the plot and started eating like it was my job and gained it all back in 3 weeks.
Which has lead me to here! I also want to do something more sustainable, I want to be able to have nights out, bread and wine and carbs. But I need to make a big change in mindset first.
Today, every time I thought of mindless snacking, I chewed gum or drank water instead. Seemed like that is all that I did today-- that and pee from all the water :)
Makes me realize just how out of control I have let myself be.

I am on MFP with the same name and welcome any friends. Although, I have only ever used that for calorie counting, but any extra motivator is a good thing.

And now AnnaDoreta I think you are me!! That is EXACTLY how I took my before pictures!! In the mirror at a weird angle, so DH wouldn't come upstairs and see what I was doing. Emailed them to myself and then deleted them from my photo stream, ha!

Really pleased to have so many new buddies, we can do this, if we stay with it we will be the success stories.

I read a quote that said something like "if you are tired of starting over, you have to stop quitting!" I think it was a bit more eloquent than that, but that's the gist. This needs to be me this time, I seem to have a little success and then reward myself back to my original size. Not this time.

Good luck everyone, let's do it!

I like you gum and water tip. I will try that today.

I do so much mindless eating. As soon as I feel a vague rumble, I eat. Without giving any thought to whether it's actually hunger or what else I might need.

I'm going to try and have a low cal day as we're doing pancakes tonight and so I would like a couple of those. Will look up calories beforehand so I'm prepared.

Good luck today everyone.

I still can't get Magenta's username right - third time lucky!
Somewhat worryingly I consider myself to be a good attention to detail person! Oophs!

You found me though! Horrible weather here today, trying to work out how to get 10k steps in today!

Just saying hello. I also need to lose weight - not quite sure what approach to use yet.

Another one for the "that could be me" club.
Have at least 1.5 stone, preferably 2, to get back to preferred weight. Have wedding to go to in May where I'd like to at least be able to wear one of my more generous old dresses!
No excuses any more, my boy's 18months old!

Hello everyone, hope today went well.

I did have 2 small pancakes, but planned ahead and had light salads for lunch and dinner to balance it out. Hoping that will become my new second nature, balance!

LMW01 I like that, "could be me club" except I think we should go with, WILL be me club, power of positive thinking and all that :)

I did the shred yesterday and today, I am definitely more wobbley than the last time I did it, sometime before Christmas I think? Honestly, for me with the shred, the hardest part is hitting play. Once I get going it goes quickly, and I feel proud afterwards.

I forgot, another part of my plan has got to be seriously reevaluating my portion sizes, turns out I shouldn't eat the same amount as my 6'2" dh!

Hopefully we can all figure out whatever the best plan or combination of plans works best for each of us!

I made it to 11000 steps today , did an old exercise dvd-claire from steps -haha. Least it got me moving!
Chained to my work desk all day tomorrow though so a less active day but I have Zumba on Thurs night so that should balance things out.

I had 2 pancakes too but in my calorie allowance so fingers crossed not too much damage!

Hi all!
There seems to be lots of 5ft 2'rs here. I'm also 5ft 2in and currently 9st 11lb, I'd like to get down to 8st 7lb, which is where I felt best at. Going to weigh every Monday.
I've done Pilates today, and will do Pilates and a run tomorrow.
I usually do the Harcombe diet when I need to lose weight, as it seems to come off fast, ive lost 2 1/2 stone in 2.5 months before after having DD1 , and I enjoy cooking from scratch, loads of curries, soups, and one pot recipes.
I don't really touch any bread, pasta or potatoes when I'm on a diet, as I end up scoffing half a packet of bread, and potatoes smothered in butter

Morning!
I had a total fail last night. Got hit by the evening munchies. But I'm putting I behind me and starting again today.

I do find the evening the hardest. My DP rarely gets home til 9 or 10 so after the kids go to bed at 7 I'm on my own. But have the tidying up, packed lunches etc to do and often have a bit of work to do too so it's boring stuff that tends to send me raiding the kitchen.

I need to really steel myself to not eat in the evenings.

I've been trying to looks at lots of lovely clothes to keep the motivation up.

Good luck today everyone. I'm at work today. I've just had breakfast. Got a lentil based soup for lunch but haven't though about supper. Perhaps I'll get something from Marks it maybe eggs on toast.

Me too, I am 5'2" and would like to get back to my pre pregnancy weight of 9 st 4lb. Unfortunately that was 32 years ago and I have been trying to get rid of 1 stone 10lb since son 3 was born 22 years ago. I have 2 weddings in July and do not want to look fat and frumpy at 57.
It has definitely got harder to lose weight as I passed 45, it settles around the middle more. I have tried every diet going but the only way for me is strictly counting calories. I am aiming for no more 1000 a day. Drinking lots of water and giving up bread. I think it is yeast that bloats me more than carbs. I am not making any cakes for at least 3 months!
My problem is after 6pm especially when my OH is on night shift. I dont have children living at home anymore and could easily consume 1000 calories when home alone!
Im going to do more walking, cycling and knitting in the evening to keep my mind off chocolate and crisps, my downfall.
Good luck everybody.

Ps I did read somewhere that if you have a mad craving for sugar, it is better to suck one teaspoon of sugar than eat a bar of chocolate or a load of biscuits. Someone also told me once to imagine a mars bar as a solid lump of greasy lard! It works sometimes.....

Hello everyone,
storynanny I am going to use that Mars bar visual, ewww!

And I think you are right JillyC it's probably best for me to avoid or at least drastically reduce my bread, potato and pasta intake.

Magenta I am intrigued by the fitbit, doesn't it also track your sleep patterns? Mine are a mess, and I am confident that I am well short of the 10,000 steps per day. Went out for a nice walk with kids today and little play around the park, but on average I am sure I am nowhere near what I should be. Maybe I'll start with a cheap-ey little pedometer.

Anna well done on starting again today, I saw a quote today, "one bad meal won't make you fat, just like one good meal won't make you healthy". I am a sucker for a motivational quite lately :)

I am also aiming for a wedding in July as one of my motivators, I am not even sure if we can afford to go yet, but would love to look and feel great for it. I have spent too many years now, wearing clothes because they are the least unflattering. I can't wait to go shopping for clothes because I actually like them!

Good luck everyone :)