Hi Leigh and welcome
Im Soraya from London, and I was just under 18 stone at my highest weight a couple of years ago.
I managed to get down to 12st 13lb - a total of 5 stone, but its now started to creep back up again. I have weighed myself today and Im 13st 5
As a few people on this group know, Im going through a really rough patch at the moment - my long term parner was diagnosed with advanced cancer 2 months ago, and because of this Im taking anti depressants
The only good thing to come out of this is that I got him to make an honest woman of me after 14 years - we got married in hospital on 2nd September
Good luck with your weight loss, and well done on losing that first pound. What plan are you following?

Almost forgot - I am an OU student too, I am studying history and languages, I stopped for a year because I had too much work, but now I have stopped work to look after my hubby and Im going to start again.

calorie counting including asda measure up twice a day (alternative to slim fast). Am slowly building up my exercise after starting off with just 5mins. Am attempting to exercise every other day at present.

Make sure you allow yourself enough calories though - cos some of those drinks can be a bit too low. Your gp should be able to advise you how many calories you need for your build. I went to mine when I started and she was excellent

Measure up choc falvour is 200 cals and strawberry one 202. plus i have a main meal and a sandwich (home made) and a couple of chewy bars.

Do you ever eat the Count on Us foods from Marks and Spencer? Those are so heavenly, and make me wish I could come back to England, lol! But I'm sure they are much better than the Measure Up, and will be more satisfying and better nutritionally. It's important not to cut your calorie consumption down too low, or you will lower your metabolism. I've found in the past that my weight loss was more consistent when I ate 1600 calories per day.

Good luck with the bike, sounds like fun

I am on 1800 calories a day. It is working so far. But I will bear in mind what you said about Marks & Spencer. Always open to suggestions.

I'm with Suzanne on that one... M&S 'count on us' is how I'm doing this diet - tonight it's sweet & sour chicken and rice and a delicious chocolate mousse Mmmmmmm (and for all a lovely 7 weight watchers points) DH loves it too and has lost just under 2 stones without even trying!! Good luck Leigh we're with you all the way

As we have a few new members I thought I would highlight this one. we are a nosey lot so tell us a bit about yourselves on here!! You can also find out about the rest of us on here, though I have no idea what I put !!Will have to have a read.

Hello - Ive been away for a while

Hi, my name is Fiona, though mostly I'm called Fi. I'm in my early 30's and live in Lincoln, although I'm originally from London, and moved up here last year.

My weight has gone up and down dramatically over the last few years, down after my marriage separation, up when I lost my father, back down again on a diet, and once again back up again when I moved up to lincoln at the end of last year. I have clothes in my wardrobe from size 14 to size 18-20, and I'm SICK OF IT!

So, this will be the time when I get back down to the 14's and maybe even some 12's!

I work in an office in a hospital, so am not too energetic at work, so I need to get walking and swimming more, as I know both help me.

Anyway, I'll be trying the WW diet again, it has been successful for me in the past, so here's hoping!

Nice to meet you all!

Fi x

I'm Anna, Swedish to begin with but living in London with my boyfriend. I work as a shop manager and am going to university in September.

I'm not following any particular diet plan, just trying to eat and move healthily and stand clear of all those nasty high-fat and high-sugar processed products - we'll see what happens

Hi everyone: I'm Janet and somewhere in the age range of Grandma Moses and the baby of the group. I'm 47 and am doing Weight Watchers. I am divorced with one son, age 24 and a 5 year old granddaughter who I spoil rotten. I have been overweight for some time but have been fairly successful at losing 20 lbs. so far. I have a long way to go but I set mini goals for myself. My hobbies are reading, writing, music, and swimming mostly. I work at home part time taking sweepstakes entries and selling magazines. It's boring but it's a job. I just recently discovered this site because I need support and someone to walk with me on my long journey of weight loss. I hope to make many friends here. Janet L.

Hi. I'm Anne. 31 years old, single, no children, born and raised in the US but moving to southern Wales and marrying my Welsh fiance. I have lived there for about a year and a half previously so have an idea of what I am getting into. Anyway, I am 5'1" and weigh 155 lbs (about 11 stone), UK size 14 (US12). I want to lose around 25-30 pounds (about 2 stone) and get down to a UK size 8 or 10 (US 6 or 8). I seem to have an extremely slow metabolism. To lose weight and get fit I am reducing my calorie/fat intake to about 1150 calories/day (though it wasn't that high before) and more importantly, doing daily aerobic and or muscle toning exercises. Would love to meet some people on here for mutual support. And if anyone here lives in the Swansea area, please write to me. Thanks.

Wow, look at all these new hellos. Hi ladies and welcome to the group, hope to hear more from you soon, can't think how I've missed not seeing this page, it's right bang smack in front of my eyes, maybe I need to wear my glasses more often?