Hello, I'm.........

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  • ..... Sarah. What to put.... I am 46 (47 in June). I am 5ft 7ins, 13st 11lbs as at last Monday, and blonde (out of a bottle and I don't want to know whats underneath!!). I am married to Kevin and its the second time around for each of us. I have got a daughter, Vicki, age 23 who drives me nuts, but I love her dearly and I am very proud her. I divorced her father when she was one and brought her up on my own. I think of that time as a very positive and mostly enjoyable experience.

    I was raised in London and have lived all my life in the south until these last few years when we moved to Yorkshire (big mistake). I stopped working in my mid 30s to pursue a dream which was to return to full time education and I managed to get a fairly decent degree in Law. I specialised in Criminal Law (specifically working with young offenders), but I don't work now and to be totally honest I don't miss it at all. I think it was the challenge of the degree that interested me most. Kevin and I are hoping to become foster carers soon and we have had our initial application approved - we will start training this month - our final appraisal will take place in June and (fingers crossed) we might get our first foster child in July.

    I am not one of those people that wear their weight well - I look very definitely BIG. I am a yo yo dieter - and (I think) this is my ninth downward trip on my yo yo - and I am really hoping that it is the last because I have been told by my doctor that yo yo dieting is the worst thing I can do for my health, I would be better off staying large.

    I had a hysterectomy in October 2000 which was a bit of a disaster and left me bed bound for about 3 months and housebound for a further 4 months. By the time I was finally fit enough to leave the house I found I had developed almost a phobia about being outdoors on my own and had trouble with that for quite a while until we bought a dog (George) and I had to walk him every day. The internet was my life line during that time and I made many good and supportive friends who I am still in touch with.

    As a result of the hysterectomy and the subsquent illness I am left with high blood pressure and I have a family history of osteoporosis so I try and deal with them both by walking, walking, walking. I live on the edge of one of the Yorkshire Moors and, while I don't particularly like Yorkshire, I do like the actual location of where I live.

    I have chosen to follow an American devised eating programme specifically designed to reduce blood pressure, except that I have also restricted the calories as well. The diet is VERY high in fruit and vegetables and complex carbs, but fairly low in animal proteins, fats and sugars. Basically I have 1,000 cals a day plus all the fruit and vegetables I can eat and this diet is working quite well for me at the moment.

    I know what to expect from being at my goal weight - for me the challenge isn't so much getting there as staying there.

    P.S. I noticed that other people have mentioned hobbies - mine are cooking, cooking, cooking and cooking - I also really enjoy reading and listening to music (currently totally in love with Robbie Williams' Swing When You're Winning CD) - I also do a bit of tapestry, DIY and, of course, I browse the Net a lot.
  • Thanks for starting the thread Sarah

    I am Phoebe and I am 33 years old. I live in Barnstaple, North Devon and work in the Examinations department of a further education college. I am divorced and currently in a serious relationship although unfortunately my partner lives in London. The relationship is currently going through a little rough patch as he was intending to move down here to live with me but that move is (temporarily hopefully) off the table as he works for the Post Office and has been told that if he moves now he will lose all his seniority (not a good idea when the Post Office intends to make 30,000 job cuts). Being in a long distance relationship gives me plenty of reason to comfort eat as we only see each other at the most every other weekend. The upside is that when we do meet, we make the effort to do nice things and since we met (July 2000), we have been to Amsterdam, Bournemouth, Bath, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cork and just recently Brussels. A trip to Las Vegas is planned for the Summer!

    When I was married, I suffered greatly from depression and at my heaviest (Summer 1998), I weighted 18 st 7. I did get right down to 11st 10 a couple of years ago but am now 14st 10. I would be devastated to put all the weight back on so I try to encourage myself that this gain is a result of a divorce and all the hassle that goes with it. I count calories as an eating plan and try to have no more than 1500 to 1600 a day. I also drink 2 litres of water a day at work and walk reasonably regularly. I get disheartened though if I don't see results quickly enough and get upset that weekends away with bf tend to sabotage my efforts to be good in the week.

    I would love to get to my target weight of 10st 7 for loads of reasons but most of all to boost my self esteem and self image and to show that I can do it.

    Just a few other things, I have a cat called Gizzy (substitute baby ), am vegetarian, enjoy drinking wine and gossiping with friends, collect ceramic Piglets, could eat crisps for England and love any music by David Gray.

    Phoebe
  • Hi, I’m Carol. I’m 35 (36 in May). I’m married to Ray and we have two adorable but very cheeky boys, Sean aged 6 & Steven aged 4. We have a mad cat, Scruffy who is 15 years old, but still thinks she is a kitten, and a stray cat, Pinky who visits when she feels like it, we also have goldfish.

    I live in Falkirk in Scotland, halfway between Edinburgh & Glasgow, and work full time in IT Support / Training / Project role with a local ecomonic development company. I enjoy my job, but am ready for a change, I joined the company 3 years ago and as I liked it decided I would stay until Steven started school as they are very flexible about working times. Steve starts school this & I have started to look, not very hard so far.

    I enjoy walking but would say that swimming is my favourite exercise. I also do aerobics and love to go for bike rides. During the winter though I am stuck inside on my exercise bike. I need to lose weight so the tyres on my bike do not look like they are constantly flat. When I have reached a stage where I am happy & confident at my weight I am going to try some ‘different’ sports. I really fancy trampolining , which I haven’t done since I used to go to youth club & water skiing which I have never done.

    I want to lose weight to please me. When I met Ray I was very slim, probably about 8 stone 10lbs. I was only 17 & lived on an apple at lunchtime and would only ever eat half of whatever mum made for dinner. Looking back I realise I had a problem with eating them, luckily for me it was only temporary and by the time I reached my twenties I was a healthy 10 stones. After that my weight started to balloon. I have tried serveral times to lose weight, my most common approach was to count calories. I recently decided this involved too many sums and have moved over to WW points. It is much easier to count to 24 than it is to 1750. I do not want to get to stage where I need to starve myself to keep to a weight ever again, I am aiming to get down to 10 stone 5lbs. Sounds like a nice number, but I will be gauged by how I feel when I get closer to it.

    I don’t have much spare time, but when I do I enjoy decorating. I am not very good, but I like doing it. I have decorated half of my house, all of it green for some reason – we didn’t set out to do that it just seems to have become a common theme. I also like to read. I will read just about anything, although I mainly enjoy historical novels. I also like to relax in the bath with a large glass of diet Pepsi, used to be a large glass of wine, but that has gone by the way side in my attempt to become more healthy.

    Carol
  • great idea sarah
    hi im kim im 29 married with 4 kids 1 boy hes the eldest and 3 girls. i live in glasgow but im origanlly from smaller town in scotland bit of a shock moving to such a big city.i dont go out to work but hopefully as the weight goes my confidence will come back and ill feel able to face an employer
    i started of this diet at 222 im now 216 i hope to get down to 175 by sept and then down to about 116 im a comfort eater big time.food has been my best friends at times and others its been my worst enemy although its not the foods fault its mine ive tried all the diets going ,ive been doing this since i was about 14 and now im coming up to 30 i want to finally grow up and take responsibility for my own weight .
    we dont have any pets although id love a dog but DH just doesnt seem to take the hint!! maybe some pedigree chum on his plate would make him grasp the fact
    i dont have much spare time to myself and i dont exercise although once i get down to 210 i am going to make a start on it,its finding something to target my problem areas and something that keeps me interested i have a very low boredom threshold i get bored to easily i think thats why dieats havent worked before for me.i do love DIY too i think somehwhere should tell you how many calories you burn of scraping paint and wallpaper i listen to all kinds of music but i have to admit im a sad 80's person i love music from then
  • Hello everyone! I am 41 years old , and live in London. I am originally from Yorkshire but moved to london as I married a Londoner and he was unable to find work in my part of the country. I work as a teaching assistant in a primary school and have a son aged 6.
    I miss my home town, family and friends and have found it hard to build up a circle of friends here, but I feel as if it has finally started to happen!!
    I have always had problems with my weight, my fathers family were all obese. I lost weight as a teenager by living on very little food but of course I couldn't keep that up.
    I lost weight again and reached target in 1987, I managed to stay at target until 1993 when I got married/moved to London/lost my father/had a baby it crept on and from 10stone 7lb target when I married I had hit 15 stone in August 95 after the birth of my son, I then gained a stone a year until in Jan 2001 I decided I really had to do something and change my life once and for all. I was over 20 stones and was facing a major operation last year so thought it was 'now or never'.
    I lost 3 1/2 stone last year had the op, gained 15 lb recuperating, decided in Nov last year I had to get back to my slimming club as I was in danger of putting it all back. I lost quite a few pounds before christmas arrived but after a choc filled xmas went back 12 1/2 lb heavier in Jan this year. It has taken me until this week to lose my xmas excess!!
    I found this site last month and have found it a great help, it is good to know you are not alone, we will all have our strengths and weaknesses but we can get each other through this.
    My hobbies are really my family and the internet. I try to swim at least once a week and walk for 30 minutes twice a day (to school and back!) . I like to go on family bike rides but havent been out this year yet...I am blaming the weather......will try harder when it doesn't get dark so early!!
    I love food, all of it, my weaknesses are choc, alcohol, takeaways, pizza and pasta! The biggest problem being large portions, I am an all or nowt sort of girl!!
    My original target of 10 stone 7lb is but a dream at the moment, I am 5ft 11" and am going for 11st 13lb to start with I will be thrilled to reach that!!
    I love to read, watch films, good drama on tv etc. I love a girls night out with my mates and can yak for the UK!! It has been more of a girls night in recently and I know my weight is the reason for that, I do love to cook for people though!!
    I love to get messages from people on here too so please feel free to drop me a line if you ever need to let off any steam!!
    Well that is all I can think of so tara for now......
  • BUMP!

    Come on whos next to add theres?
  • How about you, Veggie????
  • Well Veggie's obviously shy so I'll go next...

    I'm Melissa and I'm 30 (31 soon boo hoo) I live in south Leicestershire but originally from Nottingham where all my friends and family are. I'm married to Dave and have 2 daughters, Laura who is an absolute angel aged 6 and Olivia who is 2 and who we call Suburban Guerilla.

    I have PCOS and began piling on the weight with my first child. Up until then I had been around the 12/13 stones mark and was totally happy. Fell pregnant with Laura and gained 6 stones and have struggled to get it off since. I've been on every diet going;
    Slimming World - 3 times, Weight Watchers - 4 times, Scottish Slimmers - 1 - never again!! Then I joined Rosermary Conely 2 years ago and lost 2 stones - dropped out, put the weight back on and now I'm back since January 2nd.

    Although I go to the club to get weighed I don't really follow the plan. I need the threat of getting weighed publically but for the first time in my life I have changed my eating habbits. I no longer think about food all day and keep myself busy - I am determined that this is it - failure is not an option!!! I aim to lose 1lb per week I know that seems very slow but I want it to stay off.

    My mother has had eating disorders all her life and I've grown up with my father being repulsed by fat women....

    My hobbies are chatting to you guys (for my motivation and inspiration, thank you) I love shopping, reading trashy bodice ripping historical romance, low impact aerobics, going on holiday (I'm very lucky my parents have a villa which I go to several times a year) and gardening (I know that sounds sad but don't hold it against me).

    That's all I can think of for now - doesn't look like much does it??
  • I have kept away until now as I am very boring, but I suppose it's my turn

    I am 47 (just) and I live in The Black Country, not too far from Birmingham or The Merry Hill Centre which is a shopping complex to which people come from far and wide to shop in the same shops as they have in their own towns

    I have been maried a loooong time, 25years+ and have 2 sons 19 and 22 coming who are sometimes more trouble now than they were when young, at least I knew where they were then

    I am a School Secretary and have been in my present job for 10 years, this keeps me very busy as it is hectic. The school is a senior school and has about 950 pupils all 11 -16 years.

    I have 3 cats, whom I love to death and a sunflower yellow sports car which I love now that it is feeling better DH bought me my own number plate 6 months ago, so with a reg. with Jans on it, everyone knows where I am and wherere I've been

    I like to visit here and go out with friends to concerts or to eat. I love to cook, when I have time and I love wine. I love to travel and usually go away about 3 times a year, mostly abroad. My DH is self-employed and if I don't book to go away he would never take time off.

    I have been overweight for ever. I was 11stone when I was 11 although I try to contol it. If I didn't I just know I would get bigger and bigger. My father and his family were big and my youngest son is exactly the same. At the moment he says he doesn't care... but I hope there will come a time when he will do something about it. So. I am sorry to all of those of you who don't belive that it's in the Genes, but I do. I just think that we have to take more care and accept that we have to exericse more and eat less. There are times when I feel hopelessly out of control, and that is usually the time I start to get myself into check a little.

    I also like gardening and I love to sit in the sun with a nice drink and a magazine. I like to sit out on hot nights with friends or alone and contemplate the dayand relax. ( yawn yawn)

    I have done WW and am doing SW at the moment. I think I have done them all in my time, some with success and others not. If I have to be honest, I don't think I will ever be slim or stay slim, although I tell myself that next time I'll keep it off. I don't see any way of life for me any different to now. I think I will yoyo for ever. So many times I have thought that I am "cured", but of course, we never are!


    Well, that's about it from me, I told you I was boring
  • Jano you're not boring don't be daft
  • Hello
    Hello all,
    I had a read of this page earlier during my lunch break and thought I had better introduce myself to you all. I did post a bit last week on another page, but didn't really say much about myself.
    My name is Chris and I am 35, very soon to be 36...this Friday in fact. As luck would have it I have the day off from work so that has made me a real happy camper.
    I currently live in New Jersey USA. I am originally from England and grew up in Suffolk. I married a USAF service man, his name is Dave, hence now living in NJ. We have two great kids, J, he will be 15 in a few weeks time and Hannah who just turned 12 a few weeks ago...we have an expensive time of life this time of year
    We have lived in NJ for just over a year. I have to say, it's not my most favourite residence. The previous five years before moving here were spent in Arizona. I hated the first two, although I did manage to convince myself that I would shed pounds by pure sweat, just breathing in and out when the temperature reached 115 degrees. However, that didn't actually happen. I have gained about 30 pounds since moving to Nj and I blame the change of climate, cos it was blooming cold here when we arrived...never seen so much snow in all my life! I do realise tho that it wasn't the weather, it was me opening mouth and inserting yummy fattening food into it that helped.
    I just joined WW last week, with a friend, and they gave us this web page addy to browse, so that's what I have been doing since last week and reading all your fabulous comments of support toward one another. The fact that the title was Fat chicks in the UK immediately caught my eye. I felt I should sign up and post comments cos you all sound so nice and make me feel less homesick, which I do have moments of.
    Well I think I have waffled on enough for now. I would just like to say that I shall spend time and read more of your comments, and hope that you enjoy my imput every now and then. Thanks for being there.
  • Short Bio
    Hi All,

    I feel like grandma Moses seeing all your ages. I am 65 years old and trying to lose weight but it is very difficult being disabled and having thyroid problem.
    I have had 4 children but they are all gone now good knows where and dont contact me any more. I am not worried about them as they have never done anything for me.
    My hobbies are painting writing, car rallying and groweing old disgracefully.
    I live by the sea in Poole Dorset on the back of the harbour so get sea breezes most of the time which ruin my garden with the salt. It is a very pretty County. I also have a Sppringer Spaniel called Sam and he is a gentleman such a beautiful dog to own.
    I have a lot of weight to lose so dont count lbs but go by dress sizes for now.
    Vivienne
  • Growing old disgracefully, I love it..........
  • So Im the baby of the group by a long way then!

    Ive just turned 18 (yesterday!!!)!

    When I was little I wasnt overweight at all, I think I started putting on weight at the very, very beginning of puberty at about 8 or 9 years old, I managed to get down to about 9 and a half stone when I was 15, but I didnt even realise I had lost weight and also didnt realise when I'd put it all back on again! Doh!
    So now Im 12st 9lbs (I wighed myself again yesterday & I'd lost pound, YAY!) When I started dieting I was 13st 2lbs so Ive lost half a stone but cant see any difference, when do you think I'll notice a difference?!

    I live in Sussex and at the moment I am studying Travel & Tourism AVCE, Ive got another year and a half of that before I go to university & I am extremely determied to not be overweight at all by the time I start uni!!

    Not much else to say as Im only 18 so obviously no husband, no kids, no job etc! Well I do have a part time cleaning job which I suppose is a good thing coz most of my mates who have part time jobs are just sitting at checkouts but at least doing housework means Im continously moving, carrying heavy industrial hoovers between 3 floors etc!
  • HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR YESTERDAY SORRY I MISSED IT

    I'm sure you'll soon start to notice that weight loss, keep at it

    Janet