Thank you Celtic Kelly for congratulating me on my weight loss on DDN.
As you can read in my other posts you will see that I was determined not to hit 50 years of age in Jan 2008 looking like I had for the last 20 yrs...well come on Annie, this is supposed to be an inspiring post so tell the truth!
Aah OK I have been a 'big girl' all my life, apart from my birth when I weighed in at a healthy 6lbs 7oz. I don't know what went awry from then, apart from the fact that parents in the 50's and 60's, because they went short in the War years, seemed to think that you had to clear your plate and eat everything in sight to stay healthy. It was therefore at the age of 15mths that I very gingerly managed to hall myself up onto my bandy legs and start walking! I'll add that this also happened to Rhiannon, however where we differ is that she had managed to inherit the slender legs of her father's and my mother's side of the family, while I had been inflicted by the heavy thighs and legs of the Wainwright Clan...i.e my Dad's family :o(
Anyway as a teenager it was hard to buy 'fashionable' clothes in my size so I resorted to teaching myself how to use a sewing machine, with the help of my older cousin, who used to make the most fabulous wedding dresses. So that explains how I got into sewing.
I tried many diets through the years but had most success with Weight Watchers when I was in my 20's. I lost weight, met my future husband, put weight on, lost it again for the wedding...you know the way it goes. Then started having my first child, Sara. Well to say I piled on the pounds is an understatement!!! I was off the scale, Sara weighed in at 8lbs 9.5oz and I was left with all the excess...I felt sure she was going to be at least 4 stone...what a disappointment! So, left with all that extra weight I was desolate, but used the excuse that it was baby weight, and while pushing the baby round in her pram I could hide behind it and thought that no-one would pass judgement. However, I think the excuse wore off by the time she was 2yrs old and I realised that I needed to do something about it.....then relief, I was expecting again.....no-one would expect me to lose weight now, they'd expect me to put it on.....I managed to keep it level this time and did at least lose some when Niall arrived. By the time he was 22mths I'd had Rhiannon. That was it, kids all done and dusted I knew my weight wasn't going to be able to hide behind pregnancies any more. I had to do something! I became the well know face at WW's for the next heaven only knows how many years, failing every time! :oS I was now approaching 50 rapidly and decided in 2006 that 2007 was going to be the year I changed my life....oh don't be fooled, I'd also said that in 2003/4/5 too!
Somehow though I felt different, more resolved. I'd seen a couple of girls on our local market, where my mum has a stall and I had had one for 10 yrs until 2000. They'd lost half their body weight and I was intrigued. One, Alex had been attending Lighter Life which was an expensive weekly weight loss programme, which I knew I couldn't afford. The other, Michelle was going to her local Pharmacist and following a programme called Lipotrim, similar to Lighter Life but half the price. Only available through GP's, Pharmacies or Hospitals I went to my local Pharmacy and enquired, thinking I'll give it a go and see how it works out.
Well here we are 12 weeks later and I've lost 56lbs and have to say am feeling very good. The diet is a meal replacement type and I have the choice of 3 shakes and a soup. I stick with the shakes as the soup isn't that great. I have 3 a day, 4 pints of water and black coffee with 2 tablet form sweeteners. It seems very extreme I know, but it works and I've never felt healthier in years. My skin is looking good, my hair is healthier...although never really had a problem with that it was always my 'crowning glory'.
A few weeks ago I was at the Cash and Carry with my Mum and it was raining. I looked at the bottom of my trousers and they were all wet...my Mum said 'Oh you'll have to take them up a bit' 'Sod that' I said 'this is the first time these trousers have ever hit the floor, and the fact that they're wet just proves that I've lost weight' They were on my ankle before I started...well actually they looked like they'd been cropped if I'm really truthful lol.
So that's it. I am 4 stone (56lbs) lighter. I still have some way to go before I'm not in the red part of the obesity chart, but my BMI is falling too and that can only be a good thing. As I said in my other posts I cannot believe my resolve and determination, but I'm not complaining at all. I can and will do this and will keep everyone updated as I progress. I will post some before and after pictures when I am reaching my final goal. Hmmm, now that's a problem....unfortunately we forgot to take pictures at the very beginning so it'll have to be from 10 weeks into the diet...you'll have to imagine how much bigger I was before that.
I would like to thank Margaret, my friend who has also been following this plan. She's looking great too and is now only 10lbs from her goal weight. If she hadn't been on it I doubt I'd have stuck to it. She'll be following the Maintenance Plan soon and learning to 're-feed' and finding out which foods are her no go areas. We've both in the last week ate some food, me my Easter roast lunch at my Mum's, which I really enjoyed and realised I was full with less than a third of what I would usually eat on such an occasion. Margaret had a party on Friday, and after helping prepare the food was very good and limited herself to some chicken and a small bowl of curry. My weight loss wasn't as big this week, but enough to get me to the 56lb mark and Margaret will probably have a smaller weight loss on Wednesday, but it just proved to us that we could eat and not go mad. So 're-feeding', when the time comes, is probably going to be less daunting than we were expecting
If anyone want s to e-mail me and ask anymore questions, please feel free.
Originally posted on www.feisanne.blogspot.com on 15-04-07
