[TummyMummy]

Hi All

Im Sam. Im 29 and will be 30 this July 17th.

Something needs to change. I am now 13st, I did lose weight successfully a few years back and got myself down to 12st 2 lbs but it has slowly crept back up.
Before I had my children I was 10st and a size 10-12.......now Im a comfortable size 16.

I was diagnosed August last year with Labyrinthitis, and the nausea and vertigo meant I couldn't eat. At Christmas I was down to 11st 7lbs......and slowly since my eating has recovered I have gained weight again.

I've been learning to re-eat for the last few months and have been given medication which seems to be helping greatly.

Id like to get back to a size 12 again. Also I got engaged last September so this is all helping towards the wedding and feeling good in my photos.

I hope to make lots of new friends here, also penpals to share my journey with.
I look forward to talking to you all soon

Sam
x

[closetauthor]

Hi Sam. I am new here as well. Perhaps we can both find inspiration here and inspire each other.

Congrats on your upcoming wedding!! Yay!!

[Pattience]

Hi congratulations on your engagement.

I think perhaps the main thing about losing weight and keeping it off is finding a system of eating that is healthy and sustainable and which you are seriously committed to and are willing to follow forever more, though some people find the idea of forever too daunting to contemplate. I admit it was daunting for me too but as time has gone on i have got more committed and the idea is less daunting.

It can take a little while to work out the eating style that will suit you but the fact is you can't really go on eating as you have been to get where you are now. Something has to give and if you want permanent results you have to make permanent changes. It may not be giving up foods you love but you will certainly have to be willing to give up the frequency of eating them.

Me - i've decided to quit all refined sugar foods and drinks. Its been six months now and i have found it easy. I am not tempted because i have lost my taste for them and am not constantly having to practice restraint. I worked a lot on my mental attitude towards them and everything else i need to do for my diet.

Sweets are not ruled out of my life forever but i can have them on clearly specified occasions when the risk of letting them becoming ruinous is highly limited. So far this year i've had sweets twice.

Eg you are going to have a wedding soon and go on a honeymoon. Does that mean you will eat what you want. If you have that view, chances are it will throw you right off your plan.

If i was in your shoes, i would plan to predetermine what sweets (if they are a weak point for you) you can have in advance and be 100% willing and determined to follow your plan. I know you would have a great deal to work on for your wedding so you should think about that and other such occasions e.g. holidays well before those situations arrive.

For me christmas is going to be my riskiest time. I have been thinking about it already. I cannot afford for it to be a free for all because i think it will bring me completely unstuck. I might have one or two desserts maximum but but maybe i will decide to have none and just try to enjoy plenty of other savoury foods that don't threaten my good eating habits. I really don't miss sweets but only find it an issue if they are all around me. IN that situation i would find it difficult to avoid them completely. Most of the time i try to keep them out of sight and mind. If i were to sit around fantasising about cakes and yummy foods like that i would soon want them. If i were to look at them in the supermarket or cake shops i would find it hard to resist. So i don't do any of that. I focus all my food attention on healthy foods - fruit and vegetables.

Sorry for all the wordage. I"ve always got a lot to say but hopefully some of it is useful.

Good luck on your journey. Enjoy the forum.

[TummyMummy]

Originally Posted by Pattience

Hi congratulations on your engagement.

It can take a little while to work out the eating style that will suit you but the fact is you can't really go on eating as you have been to get where you are now. Something has to give and if you want permanent results you have to make permanent changes. It may not be giving up foods you love but you will certainly have to be willing to give up the frequency of eating them.

This is my current problem. You pretty much hit the nail on the head.

Due to being ill my eating really suffered and I went down to the same maybe 8/9 different foods and just alternated them - as a result my weight plummeted from 12st to 10 in about 4 months but this is no healthy way to go on eating.

My diet has since improved since Ive been medicated and I challenge myself to try new things - sometimes once a month, sometimes once a week but everything I eat or try is healthy items not rubbish sugar packed food.

That said for me sugar is my main issue. I have a very sweet tooth and it often leads me astray. This is the main culprit and target I have to focus on.

As far as the wedding/honeymoon are concerned one thing I have in my corner is I am not a drinker - I went a bit wild in my younger days with a mum who was a bit um.... wayward - so as a result I hit 18 years old and never touched the stuff again. Its just sugar like I said previously.

Im also one of those people who can take it or leave it. Like Christmas - I may bake a cake to have for our christmas dessert but I dont go mad buying all the rubbish and sugar products. Also if ever we go out for a meal I am happiest at the salad bar or the carvery section where Id likely eat turkey and a load of vegetables - although mashed potato is also a weakness but again as far as gravys and sauces go - I have to be in the mood for them - they are compulsory to me.

Thank you also for the welcome too . Im looking forward to making lots of friends here and enjoying the site.