Whoops - without glasses I am hpeless - I meant another London Lady here!! doh!!

Hi Sarah Ann (such a festive welcome!) and peacock_2

I've been nosing through some old threads and this definately looks a happy, supportive place to be!

The GI eating is probably one of the easiest food plans I've done so far. I have a very sedentary job (working on a helpline) and have done the whole eat something sugary, get the sugar crash, eat something sugary etc etc thing for ages. Cutting out white bread and pasta and various other carby stuff hasn't been as hard as I thought in terms of cravings as simply finding something to eat at lunchtime. It's brought the whole sugar cycle to an end though and I've noticed a couple of other things - that my indigestion has stopped and for years, I'd found it impossible to walk more than a few hundred feet without my calves seizing up - this has stopped too.

How's it been going for you ? Has it been hard or have you noticed any changes ?

peacock_2 - I'm in the EC1 area of London, so quite central. Great to see another Londoner here. I joined Weight Watchers a couple of years ago but found forking out a fiver to be weighed in public a bit much! It had a nice supportive atmosphere though

Hello everyone. This is actually quite scary. My name is Rachel. I'm 21 years old and currently living in the Leeds area. I have three stone to lose and have spent the last two years pursuading my I was still on track after a very successful summer losing two stone. Having put a stone back on in a matter of weeks. I have realised I cannot do it alone. I have been battling my demons of late and have decided it is time to find some support. I'm still quite scared of a slimming ckub so hopefully talking on here with you is a step in the right direction.

Don't be scared we don't bite!

No , we are all friendly here! Don't let clubs worry you either, I met a really good friend at a club. I need a kick up the a*se on a weekly basis which is why I attend one. Everyone attending a class and everyone on this page has a weight problem of some sort even if it is only a mere few pounds to go (if only!!). We have the same jubilant feeling when we have done well, the same feeling of shame/anger when we let ourselves down by guzzling what we shouldn't . We share the happy times and help you through the bad!

Stay with us!

thank you for your kind words i will try to come here as often as i can which is difficult when i only get the internet once a week

well i'm spider. i'm 27 and a teacher.

i first started putting on weight when i went on the pill at 18. within 2 years i'd put on 3 stone, despite swimming 5 hours a week, walking 2-4 miles a day and eating fewer than 1500 cals a day. the doctor refused to believe it could be the pill and accused me of being a lazy, over-eating liar.

i lived abroad for a while, and lost a lot of weight through stopping eating. i became paranoid about my weight and at one point lost 2.5stone in 2 months. when i returned to britain i was put on anti-d's, which did nothing but cause me to gain 4 stone.

i decided to do something about my weight in 2002, and over 2 years i lost 3 and a half stone. i did it sensibly and slowly through diet and exercise. during this time i was diagnosed with several serious food intolerances, which greatly impacted on what i could and couldn't eat, as well as upsetting my relationship with food again!

in 2005 i was put on anti-d's again. 2 months later i was 3 stone heavier, and the doctor said i had never needed the anti-ds in the first place, as i wasn't depressed, i just suffered from severely low self esteem. thanks to regaining the 3 stone, my self-esteem plummeted even further. i started binge-eating and in a period of 8 months i put on another stone.

it didn't help that i was on a very tight budget, and couldn't afford to buy myself any decent new clothes, despite not being able to fit into any of my old ones. i have been dressing like a granny for a year now as i could only afford to buy cheap XXL work clothes and not spend money on casual stuff. i still dont own any "going out" clothes!

so here i am. i've lost half a stone since jan 6th, so i'm back to the same weight i was in 2002 when i started dieting. it's going to be a long hard slog, but i'm not happy the way i am. i'm going to the gym twice a week, and once it gets warmer and lighter in april i'll start going at least 3 times a week, if not four.

et voila. my fat life story!

My body doesn't like anti depressants either. I've been on them three times and gained weight each time. I'm not sure whether it's the anti depressants to blame, or the fact I was co medicating with food at the time I am not on birth control for the same reason. Partner has had the snip so it isn't necessary anyway.

I think the big thing I found joining 3FC is that you're not alone. Everyone here has the same demons, the might look a bit different, and you might need different methods of coping with them, but we're all here, and we're all fat (or were) to some extent or another, and we're all here to help.

I was the only seriously fat person I knew, and I joined here out of sheer desperation. The biggest thing I learnt was that you don't need to go to weight watchers, or slimmers world or whatever (though you can if you want) it's perfectly possible to learn to regain control of you eating and movement on your own, which is what I needed.

My self confidence and esteem has really improved, and everyone has noticed that, as much as the 5 dress sizes I have lost

well done you!! i read somewhere that slimming clubs didn't encourage independence, but fostered an atmosphere of co-dependence which mean women felt they couldn't do it on their own.

with my food intolerances, i really have to do it on my own as my dietry requirements dont really fit into any of their schemes!

you're a couple of lbs off my target weight! i've worked out that at 196lbs i should be 30% body fat - at the top of the acceptable range but a great target to aim at!

I'm getting my body fat measured this week, but last measurement was still at 41.7%!!! I started at 53%!!! My trainer thinks the impedence machine doesn't read me right, but then he hasn't seen me naked! LOL

I had never heard of that study, but from my experience, especially my mum yo yoing to weight watchers over the years, I am not suprised at the findings. I went to weight watchers as a kid and found it hideous, and I certainly didn't learn life long strategies to control my weight. I thought a diet was something you went on and then went off!!!!

I'm really nervous about my measurement session on Wednesday, it's quite confronting having someone measure all your bits! But I do like reading back on the years efforts!!

you're over half way there! i've started around the 54% mark..... but it's slowly coming down. and i will make it to 30% one day!

Welcome Mary!!! I started at 19 stone, and am getting there, slowly but surely.

Any friend of Homersmummy is a friend of ours!!!

Welcome Mary 20 4 thats what I joined sw at then lost 3 stone...then stopped going and put it back on.

welcome mary!! i'm presently 19st 5 - i started at 20 stone on jan 6th!! there's a lot of us who need to lose loads!!

Spider - I've had the same problem with synthetic hormones and anti-d's - why don't doctors listen to us???

Mary - I'm near your age and I'm walking for exercise as well.