PLEASE inspire me! Has anyone ever lost weight and kept it off?

[estuardo]

I am attempting to lose 2 stone for the umpteenth time.
I have trawled the threads on here for inspiration but they are full of people who have NOT managed to lose weight.

Can you please post any successes? ( as opposed to ongoing struggles!)

I have also tried Paul McKenna and it does work so long as you keep practising - my problem is I eat when I'm not hungry and I keep on eating when I am full - I don't partic like low carb stuff so I don't tend to binge which is why it happens to work for me.

I also have started excercising and again it does work so long as I do it rather than making excusses not to

Post-pregnancies, I followed a low-fat calorie counted diet that varied from 1500 kcal to 1250 kcal daily, and did 3-4 gym sessions a week. It took me 4 months to go from size 18 to size 10 - I can't remember what the actual weightloss was, but since it was how I looked and what clothes I could wear that was bothering me, the size thing seems more relevant.

I am now a size 8-10 and my youngest is 11, so I have kept the weight off, though sometimes I have to cut out wine and follow a low fat diet during the week if I find my tummy's getting a bit rotund. I now weigh 9 stone 7. I do a quite a lot of exercise though, running and weight training, and am currently ploughing through the 30-Day Shred. basically I go by how my clothes feel and if they start to get a bit tight, I eat a bit less and exercise more. I always have treats at the weekend though!

from size 18 to size 10 in 4 months! Wow!

you wonderful women. You are all inspirational.
More please!

Hi estuardo.

I was 11st 7lb January 2009, an at just 5ft 2in, that's pretty big for a small frame. I started cutting down on fatty extras first, like having 2 choc biscuits with my breakfast, an 2 slices of bread an butter with everymeal. But still ate takeways every wknd, had a tub of icecream everynight etc. When I was 10st 8lb at the start of this yr, I did the zoe harcombe diet, and lost 17lb quickly. I've kept that off for around 2 months maybe. Am now around 9 stone mark an trying to lose the last 4/5lb with the dukan diet, as I end up taking the mick on the phase 2 of harcombe as it gives a lot of choice.

I lost 4 stone last year using Food Focus. No foods are 'banned'. You can eat whatever you like (just not quite as much as you would like )

I am keeping it off with continuing exercise (although not the 4* gym sessions i was doing) and being very good in the week and relaxing a bit at the weekend. For me it was down to portion control as i ate pretty healthily, just too much

Hope you find something which works for you

HI

I've lost it & gained about 4 times since 1994. However, I've never quite gone back to my heaviest which was 14stone 10 lbs. (I'm 5 foot 5 inches) In 1994 it took me 9 months to lose approx 4 1/2 stone (that was with Slimming World). When I've put the weight back on it's always because I've not been following the plan.

This last time Jan 2009 I weighed 13 stone 8 - I loosely followed SW but what I really did change was my exercise. Started of with Wii Fit, then EA Sports Personal Traineer & More Workouts, Biggest Loser for the Wii, and finally Jillian Micheals 30 Day Shred DVD (the best DVD for exercising at home in my opinion). Through doing this I discovered I actually like to exercise so now have joined a gym. I do boxfit, body pump & spinning classes.

I now weigh 11 stone 5 lbs - this may sound heavy for my height to some but I can fit in size 10 clothes & everyone comments on how slim & toned I am & they think I weigh at least a stone less than I do - so all good.

In short - the best way to lose wieght & keep it off is a mix of healthy eating & a concerted effort to exercise more.

Sadly, no. I lost just over 9 stone about 20years ago....unfortunately a lot of that has gone back on.

Hi Estuardo,

It's possible that anyone who has successfully lost weight and kept it off wouldn't be looking here.

I've yo yo'd all my life and am starting a new plan that combines all I've learnt over the years! I can recommend 'Lighten Up' be Pete Cohen. He has many brilliant ideas and written exercises that you set aside some time each day to do. He looks at food and exercise but more importantly at what goes on in your head ie. motivation, eliminating bad habits and visualisation so you actually start thinking like a slim person. (see thread on 9th May).

I also recommend 'Slim for Life' by Jason Vale - you don't have to juice - he is very good at turning you off processed foods and onto natural foods - he has recently released a 2nd edition but I think the 1st edition is better.

'Eating Less' by Gillian Riley is very good at tackling overeating from an addiction point of view. I have a sugar addiction and find it very hard not to give in when my blood sugar falls but she has some good techniques. One of the reasons I overeat is because I live in chaos - don't know where to start so I'd better have a snack! With the help of a free housekeeping website by Flylady I'm setting up some routines. Finally, I'm taking the time to make this programme a priority and to plan.

Sorry this is so long but I hope there will be something here that will help. Good luck!

I lost 1st 10lb last year and have kept it off for 8 months now. I did weightwatchers and have incorporated the healthy meals I made into my weekly eating. It's simply the way I eat now. So no ready meals,no processed food, no biscuits or cakes, no cheese,lots of veggies, lots of fish and so on. I have cut out alcohol almost entirely -if I do have a week when I drink a bit socially it shows on the scales. Sometimes I think it is a bit grim to live like this but then when I do go out for a meal and have what I want and share a bottle of wine it does not seem so hard. And when I go shopping and size 10 fits it's just great!!I lighten up at the weekend and have fish & chips every Saturday but then only a healthy chicken roast & veggies with fruit salad for pud on Sunday. For me it is all about what does taste better than skinny feels and I have to say for me it isn't a lot!
Basically many of us are eating far too much these days and a lot of us really need to get a grip on things. Greed is not attractive! There are success stories out there but like a lot of things in life it is hard work - bit like marriage, difficult to get right but rewarding in the end! You do have to pay attention to you diet and eating and confront you own issues head on. It is just another thing in life that you need to be in control of - not the other way round. This is probably an extreme view but it works for me. I come on here from time to time if only to remind myself where I don't want to be vis a vis my weight.

I was 11.4st (I was just under 10 stone for years and years) in august 2007 and by january 2008 I was 10.4 and last summer dropped to 9.10.

i didn't diet, havn't dieted and will not diet.

I eat sensible food, lots of vegtables and lots of fruit, I eat home made food and my own bread, never eat shop bread or ready food.

i do pump (great way to keep weight down] and spin and regularly cycle to work and cycle for pleasure.

my bmi is 20.9

A year after I had dd I got married and then started piling on weight, I reached nearly 14 stone at my peak. After having ds I decided to take myself in hand and started with weight watchers. I managed to loose about 4 stone within about a year and have been maintaining every since which is about 4.5 years.

I agree that once you start you can't stop! I make sure I am good Mon - Fri and usualy allow myself weekends and holidays off. I will never let myself go above 10.5 stone - if I hit that I know I have to get all my books out again and get myself back on track.

I have also found Paul McKenna to be a useful aid to weight watchers. I am an emotional eater and it teaches you about feeding your body when it needs it.

I now also go to the gym 4-5 times a week which I never did before. It's not a chore, I really enjoy my "me time" at the gym. I also got involved with a netball team after my son was born and now play league netball with them which I love.

I was thirteen stone after ds was born (he is now nearly 4). I lost 3 and a half stone using tesco diets (similar in principle to Weight Watchers but cheaper) and have kept it off.

Main differences to diet now and when I was larger is that I have much smaller portions and I only eat when I am hungry whereas before I snacked a lot when I was tired, bored etc.

I also do a lot of running these days but I didn't even think about exercising until I had reached my goal weight.

Have you tried Paul McKenna?

Trying to lose the post pregnancy weight has been a bit of a struggle. I read Paul McKenna four weeks ago and have lost nearly 6 pounds. I'm not dieting. I have anything I want to eat. I just now only eat when I'm hungry. It's pretty easy and I think should be sustainable in the long term.

do you really need Paul McKenna (multi millionaire) to tell you to eat only
when you are hungry?

Can I tell you and charge you £20?