Hi everyone!

My name is Sarah and i have decided to take control of my weight. I almost 27 from Devon in the UK.

I have almost always been overweight. 5 years ago i did meal replacement plan and got to 11 stone, but since i started eating again i have now put on 8 stone! Looking back i wish i had noticed the weight gain and stopped myself, but alas hindsight is a wondrous thing!

So here i am, ready for the hard work.

Thanks!

Hi Sarah and welcome.

By "meal replacement" do you mean those drinks/shakes like Slimfast, etc.? What specifically did you do to lose weight the last time? How many meals per day did you replace?

I ask because it is my belief that any sort of plan that involves something we are not likely going to be able to continue with forever......is not a good plan for keeping the weight off.
And also......that any plan that makes us feel deprived isn't going to help to keep us from re-gaining either.

And the re-gain rate is very high after losing weight and in fact, most of the time, we gain it all back....plus MORE. So we get deeper and deeper into the hole.

This is why I don't do strenuous exercise in the gym and walk instead. I don't love the gym enough to keep doing it forever....so I found an alternative.....and one I can continue with no problem.

And the same goes for whatever meal plans you choose. My advice would be to choose options for weight-loss that are sustainable for the long run...both diet and exercise-wise. This can be different for different people. There are women here who LOVE working out in the gym....so that choice works well for them....but not for those who have to force themselves to go every day.

And this is why I am skeptical of meal replacement plans. Can they be a plan you can maintain for the rest of your life?

In terms of weight....the worst thing, IMO, than being fat....is losing the weight and then gaining it all back. This is why I think it's critical to choose methods that will be sustainable....as much as possible. When we are desperate to lose weight...we don't care what method we have to endure....and figure that we will just figure out later how to maintain the loss. But facts prove that this is usually not a good plan. In fact, not gaining it back is usually much more difficult than losing it in the first place.

Read around here a great deal and check out all the various diets and eating plans.....and there are many here. And try to keep in mind the long-term implications. I think that is extremely critical to success.

deena

Hi and welcome to 3FC.

Good luck with your goals.

Hugs
Michelle

Hello and welcome to 3FC. Good luck to you in your journey and in reaching all your goals.

Hiya

Thank you for your welcomes

Deena Thank you for your informative post! I did lighterlife (similar to Cambridge) where all meals are replaced, so for 6 months i had no "real" food. Just the packs they supplied and once a week we had talks to help us re-learn your eating but it just didnt work for me... And you are exactly on the ball as to why i put it back on.. and some more, which is soo depressing. The only thing i really lost long term was my £££!

I am totally not a gym person.. i have tried but id much rather be out walking, which i am adding time on when i walk my dog, walk a bit longer etc. My partner does some weight training before he goes to bed, so i am joining in with him

Still need to find a diet and eating plan to suit me, this site is soo great! i wish i found it earlier! Here's hoping this will be the key to my short term and long term goals!

Its very exciting!

Hi All, yesterday when I posted, I incorrectly identified the diet I was going on as HMW, it's HMR - Health Management Resources. Sorry for the confusion. I'm looking forward to starting it.

I go to the first session tonight. Let you know more later.

Welcome Sarah to 3FC, we are glad you are here

Welcome. I suggest you look for a Support Group or Challenge to join; a small group of friends to help keep you motivated, find one that inspires you or fits your needs, and just post to join.

Good luck, you're going to do great!

Hi again, Sarah.

Hehe....I did the Cambridge diet back in the 80's after my first pregnancy....and oh yeah, I lost the weight all right...but then ran into massive problems trying to go back to eating regular food.

After the second pregnancy, I used Weight Watchers which worked fine initially....but then really stalled.

What has worked really great for me is low-carb/Atkins diet. And the combo of low-carb eating and daily walking with my ipod is totally sustainable for me.....both after the third pregnancy in the late 80's and again this time when I gained a lot of weight from a medication I was put on (which I eventually stopped taking). One of the reasons I know low-carbing is the best one for me is that I have NO problem using it more than once.....and would still prefer to use it over all the others. Usually, with the other diets, I would always be like "ugh, no...not this again".....if I attempted to use it a second time.

I can't even count the number of times I've heard women say, "if I could just lose this weight, I know I'd have no problem keeping it off". Because it looks that way from that vantage point....the getting it off part seems to be the daunting one and maintaining seems to be a piece of cake....until we get there. I think it's because when we are initially facing "running the gauntlet" by dieting, that appears to be by far, the most difficult part and we are dreading it and completely focusing on that part.....and then the keeping it off, we think, will be a breeze compared to the challenge we are facing.. We are sure we can do it once we lose the weight but it's usually a whole different story when we get there. Much better to have a sustainable plan and know before-hand HOW you plan to keep it off. MUCH higher chance of long-term success.

Plus, I'd much rather EAT my calories than drink them. It always floors me when I read posts where the person is taking in the huge majority of their calories from soda. I can't understand why they don't just drink diet soda instead. To me, the taste is not all that different....and I quickly adjusted to it and the diet now tastes better to me than the regular (on the rare occasions that I do drink soda).

deena

Welcome Sarah! I can be so disheartening to regain after being where we want. But all those attempts just end up being lessons for the final time when we figure it out and stay that way!

I think it's important to educate ourselves about nutrition and find out what works best for us. Find exercise you enjoy, just like you said! Best of luck, and feel free to lean on all the folks here for support when you need it.

Welcome and good luck!

Dhani