Sarahs Weightloss Blog

Hi Everyone,

OK, it’s official, I’ve been talking on and off about my training for the half marathon, knowing that I could back out if I wanted to, but no more – I’ve paid the entry fee which I can’t get back no matter what, and so now officially HAVE to do the race!  It’s silly, but I feel really nervous now.  Actually perhaps not so silly, but rather smart considering the length of the course, here’s the map . . . 

Excuse me for a moment . . . AAAAGGGHHHH!!!!!

I’ve mostly been training on the treadmill, so you don’t realise the distance you cover, but basically from this map you a running all over nottingham . . . and back again.  The course is 13.1 miles.  If I manage to maintain my pace (6 miles/hr) through the whole thing I’ll finish in 2 hrs 11 minutes, but I have entered as expecting to finish in 2 1/2 hrs, considering that I won’t be on a treadmill :S and, er, there are some hills involved *eeeek*.

So, I’ve got 6 weeks till the race and thus 5 weeks of training left.  The longest I have so far run is 9 miles on the treadmill at 6 miles per hour all the way with a 10% incline.  That was over a week ago and I haven’t been able to do it again – it really finished me off.  Now I really need someone to kick me up the bum to get me to do a long run outdoors – maybe half the course to start with.

Wish me luck :S

Till next time

Hi Everyone,

I realised that I haven’t posted any pics for a while now.  But I recently had to go clothes shopping, as when I put my keys in the smallest pair of trousers I owned, they literally were falling down!  So I hit the sales – I went into bravissimo and got a dress and top in a UK size 8, and a pair of jane norman jeans in a UK size 12 (which I will need to get a belt for). The photo on the front page of this blog was taken only a few months into my lifestyle changes, when I was still a UK size 16-18, over 6 months ago in fact!  So I thought – ‘about time for some new ‘after’ pics perhaps!’  

So the before pics (even before the out of date picture covering this blog), UK size 22, 108kgs, BMI 40.2 (morbidly obese):

This was taken at my husbands birthday party two years ago. I actually put on more weight after this photo was taken - see photo below. . .

My weight literally ballooning out of control

I literally could hardly turn over in bed I was so heavy, and walking from the sofa to the fridge broke a sweat! I did NO exercise and ate WHATEVER I wanted, when I wanted it in MASSIVE PORTIONS. I mean MASSIVE!

And here are the ‘after’ pics (from a few weeks ago), UK size 8-12 (depends on where I shop – how confusing!), 66.5kgs, BMI 25.3:

Me a few weeks ago. Top is a UK size 10 and the jeans a UK size 12, for which I will need to get a belt to keep up!

Me a few weeks ago in a UK size 10 - I bought it a few months ago and didn't wear it since it was too tight, I tried it on a few weeks ago and it has a little too much room, but still fits nicely I haven't got any of the pics in the new size 8 stuff to hand from the same store - you'll have to take my word for it

So to sum up: in little over a year I have lost 41.5kgs/6 stone 7.5 pounds/91.5 pounds and reduced my BMI from ‘morbidly obese’ to just a little over what is considered a healthy or ideal weight (I would need to lose another 1.5 kgs to bring it into the top of the healthy range).  With my training for the half marathon in September of this year my weight is slowly falling at a much slower pace, as I am happy with my weight and body now.

I have no patience with fad or crash diets.  I don’t like milkshakes, and I like to have a few takeaways every now and again thank you very much!  I haven’t followed any particular diet or plan other than some good old fashioned common sense – i.e. eating less, eating more healthily and exercising.  want to know the secret weight loss secret no ones talking about? Well here it is . . . 

MORE ENERGY BURNT THAN CONSUMED = WEIGHTLOSS

If you follow the above formula sensibly, eating enough to sustain you and exercising enough to feel exertion but not hurt you, then you will get steady, achievable, quick and sustainable weightloss.

It really is that simple.  If I, the couch potato can do it, seriously, really anyone can.

Good luck fellow losers

Till next time

Hi Everyone!

You know what they say that maintaining your weight is sometimes harder than losing it? Well, they’re not wrong!  I feel like I’m trying to balancing on a really small point, sometimes my balance shifts and its easy to fall off, but I’m trying desperately to keep my balance.  Here are some tips I have found have helped me with maintaining my weight:

1. Be Realistic! How many celebs do we hear have managed to go down to a (UK) size 8 or 4 (US size 0), who 6 months later are even larger than when they started? A LOT is the answer. Why? Because they haven’t found a weight they can maintain. As soon as they are off the fad diet and stressful exercise regime then completely lose their balance and fall straight back into their old habits and their old trousers.  You need to get down to a size were you can maintain your eating plan and exercise, even when you encounter stress or obstacles in your personal or work life.  So rule 1 – be realistic with you eating, exercise and weightloss goals.  The more realistic these are, the more in control you will be, and the less likely you will lose your balance and fall off the wagon.

2. Don’t Panic! Weight fluctuates.  You won’t be able to stay exactly the same weight, all the time.  You need to choose a weight to try and not go over, but you will end up hovering around this weight.  For example I have been trying to stay around 68.5kgs.  I have fluctuated between 67kgs and 71 kgs.  As time has gone on, I am staying closer to 67-68.5kgs, so I’m getting better.  The trick is to nip any gain in the bud.  If you rise to 1kg about your target, be stricter with eating and exercise for the next week to bring it back down to target.  It’s easier to do this and stay in control, than put it all back on and have the lose the whole lot again. Just don’t be disheartened and give up if you put on a few pounds in the first week of your maintenance program.  

3. ‘I’m in Control’: Keep weighing and measuring.  Check your calories against exercise.  As time goes on, you won’t have to do this as much.  Now I check my calories against exercise a few times a week to make sure I am not eating too little or too much, but I always weigh and measure weekly.  I find this helps me be in control and keep an eye on my weight, without being too strict now I’m off the stricter diet, which is more convenient for me to keep up.

4. Common Sense:  The idea isn’t to follow a set of rules for a time and then ditch those rules and revert back to old ways as soon as you’re done.  The idea is to make lasting changes and lasting changes take time.  Even when you decide to maintain rather than lose, you must know that your journey isn’t over.  You learnt what to do to lose weight, now you must learn what to do to maintain it.  Eventually you will train yourself about the amount and types of foods you can and can’t eat and how active you must stay in order to keep to your chosen weight.  This takes time – be patient.

Hope this helps all you fellow losers out there

Good Luck!

Till next time

Hi Everyone!

I’m out of running training as I have been getting pain in my knees.  Instead I’m cycling, going on the cross trainer and doing weight and abs training in replacement of running most of the time.  This change in routine is actually doing me a lot of good, I feel like I’m getting leaner and more toned (and my trousers are getting baggier y the day) but the scales are steady.  

Hopefully in a few weeks time I’ll be able to start running again, and will be able to start where I left off, and be ready in time for September.

Fingers crossed!

Till next time

Hi Everyone!

So a while back – over a month now! – I decided that I was pretty happy where I was at 68.5kgs, UK size 10-12 and thought I would try to keep it at that for a while, maybe forever.  I’ve been told by others that the hardest thing to do is to maintain your weight after you have lost it.  I think this may be because a lot of people go onto fad diets which are not sustainable in the long term (at least I hope it is!), whereas I have just lowered how much I ate and changed what I ate to be more healthy and exercised.  Surely I can keep this up in the long term and not revert back to super sized Sarah . . . right?

After over a year of strict healthy eating and exercise, you would have thought it would be easy to take off the training wheels and attempt to balance calories in with calories burned, but actually it isn’t all that easy to balance it perfectly.  When you’re losing you just eat less than you burn = losing weight.  But it’s less of a bummer to eat a little less than you thought and lose a little more than eat a bit too much and undo some of your hard work.

Overall I haven’t done that bad so far.  After the first week I was appalled that I went up to 69.2kgs – almost a kg back on!  But the week after I was back to 68.5kgs and have stayed around there for the past month.  My waist however has gone down by another 0.5cm’s – bonus!  I now use the shapeup club app to check every now and then that I am not either in excess or deficit in calories, but I’m trying to wean this out and rely on myself to know what to eat.  However I think I will always use the app to track my weight, measurements and body fat – if they go up at all I can start counting again to bring it down – I’ll never let myself get super size again with the handy app in my pocket

The best thing about this part is that I can have more treats and food as I’m balancing my food intake with my exercise, rather than creating a deficit – cheeky I know, but true.  What this really means is that I have more choice in food than I did before, rather than just reverting back to ‘normal’ i.e. my super sized super unhealthy eating before my lifestyle change. 

Luckily I’ve found that it’s impossible to revert back to that style of eating high fat high sugar foods all the time, since I have been off them so long, I can no longer stand them! Wahey!  I was terrified that I would just think ‘oh, now the diets over – back to the couch with coke, chocolates, ice-cream, buttercream and junk! Come to think of it I don’t feel like the gym anymore’, I had no idea that I would genuinely not like sweet things at all, particularly cheap chocolate, icing or cakes – Bonus again! I now prefer natural cheeky things like full fat greek bio-live yoghurt with muesli and honey, nuts, seeds and dried and fresh fruit, which in a balanced diet, are totally allowed! 

So much has changed.  I hope I keep this up forever and ever . . . .

Till next time! :)

Hey Everyone!

I LURVE BBQS in the summer!  Now the world cup has started we have been enjoying quite a few.  The great thing is BBQ’s can be really healthy, even with burgers and sausages in a bun!  Here are some things I do to try and keep fat and calories low while still having all my favourite things:

Healthy Burgers? Rule one to making sure your burgers are healthy is NOT EVER to buy them ready made from a store – EVER! They have loads of preserves, fat, salt, flavour enhancers – you name it, its got it.  Especially avoid the cheap BBQ deals they have in store – those will be some nasty concoctions.   The best thing to do is make your own and its real easy peasy.

for 4-5 people, get 500gs of extra lean ground pork and 500gs of extra lean ground beef.  Thinly shop 1 large onion.  Get a load of fresh thyme and sage, salt and pepper (as much as you want – season to taste, but take it easy on the salt, you can leave it out altogether if you want).  Get it all in a bowl and just knead it all together with your hands, divide into equal sized ball and shape into burgers – DONE.  Low fat simple burgers.  We don’t have it in the UK much, but you can put minced chicken with the pork, or make ostrich burgers (which is low fat), or even make minced lamb and mint (but minced lamb is quite fatty here – and I can’t find a lean minced lamb anywhere).  Experiment, you can use any meat, any herb, add wine or spirits, whatever you like

For sausages, there are loads of reduced fat alternatives on the market which are around 90-100 kcal per sausage, rather than the going rate of around 200 kcal for a regular one.

Another really low calorie winner are chicken kebabs.  Again DON’T get the glazed processed store bought stuff, cut up some lean chicken breast and make your own skewers alternating between meat and an assortment of veg or your choice.  It doesn’t need any seasoning at all – it tastes great after being smoked on the BBQ and is very low calorie.  Serve in a pitta with salad. YUM!

For other vegetables, get assorted roots vegetables – beetroot, squash, potatoes, carrots etc.  Leave the skins on and whole (except for the squash, unless you have a BBQ big enough!), wrap in tin foil, stick it right in with the charcoal for about 1 hr, unwrap, let it all cool a little before peeling them and eating it – YUM YUM!

If you’re on a serious diet you can eat a selection of these things and not go off the wagon.  If you want to splurge you will still be eating healthy things and so the damage is controlled.  

I ate an awful lot this weekend, but it was good.  The worst thing that happened was the alcohol . . . and our goal keeper letting in the equaliser.  I also ate so much I had more than enough energy to run 6 miles under my target of 1hr Weight is still stable cause I’m still exercising hard and eating healthy things, with a few ‘cheats’ every now and then, but not regularly.

Till next time

Hey Everyone!

I was doing really well up to a point in dealing with my stress: trying to fit in exercise and healthy eating around work.  But then it all got on top of me, I didn’t have the chance to (or rather make time to) eat at regular intervals.  So I got really hungry and ate rather a lot more than I have done for a while, and all the wrong things . . . much cake, chocolate and biscuits were involved.  I still exercised, and it was for only 4 days, but the difference is very noticable – to me anyway.

So now I am trying to get back into eating smaller portions and more healthy food.  I feel like an addict that’s been clean for a long time and fell off the wagon, and is trying to wean off the drugs for the second time.  I think after this stressful time is over, it will be easier.  I really do comfort eat to ease stress.  I don’t eat just for the sake of it anymroe though, I have been genuinely feeling starving, but for sweet things, and instead of using my coping strategies, have just been giving in, since I just don’t have any fight left in me from dealing with other problems.

The stress is starting to disappate though – light is at the end of the tunnel, and I have gotten through the worst I think, with little damage.

On a brighter note I ran 4.8kms in the running club in 25 minutes.  I haven’t really been out for a while, but my speed has improved dramatically.  Today I will try and run 6 miles on the treadmill, as this week is my 6 mile running week.  Next week I need to up it to 7 miles, then back down to 5 miles for my rest week.

Till next time

Hi Everyone,

I’ve been trying for over a month now to find a ‘good day’ example! I suppose there is just no ‘perfect’ anything, including a perfect eating day.  I suppose what’s important is just getting everything OK most more of the time.

Now I’ve decided, after a year of work, to take off the training wheels and see if I can keep my weight stable with the new healthy eating routine I’ve learned, without writing down every morsel of food which crosses my lips.  I though this was really risky and I felt nervous eating using common sense without typing in everything into the shapeup app, but actually its been two weeks and I have lost another 1/2 inch off my waist and am now down to 69.2kgs.  My weight has fluctuated more than usual – around the 68 – 69kg mark, but waist measurement still went down.  I’ve been abroad and been real busy at school with writing reports and doing research and so have not been able to weigh myself on the same scales each time, which I think makes a difference.

Anyway, lately I have been STRESSED as anything – so much to do, not enough hours in the day, everything hanging in the balance.  It stops me from being hungry at all – not as good as it sounds as it also makes me more tired and less like exercising.  However I find exercise so important when I am stressed, it makes you feel happier I find, no matter how bad everything is and perks you up afterward and makes you hungry so you don’t skip meals.  The trouble is finding time to do it.  I haven’t been doing to badly – going to the gym in the evening as a reward for doing a good days work (I know I am such a gym addict ).

I’ve also definitely decided that I am doing the robin hood marathon this September – 13.1 miles.  A trainer at the gym has given me a training program to follow.  I’ll keep you updated on what it involves and how I’m getting on in the following months.  Basically he told me to start running 3 times a week, in the first week at my baseline, which is 5 miles for 3 jogs the first week. Then I need to  increase by 1 mile in distance the following week for 3 runs and another mile the following week to 7 for 3 runs, then back down to 5 miles for 3 runs the following week.  Then the next month I start at 6 miles for the 1st week, 7 for the second, 8 for the 3rd, then back to 6.  Then start at 7 the next month and so on, until I reach 13 miles before the race.

He told me something interesting I didn’t know – running doesn’t make you fitter, recovery does.  You have to stop training to get fitter and feel the benefits of training.  Common sense really, but I my instinct is always to train train train if I want to reach a goal.

Till next time

Hi Everyone!

Exercise makes all the difference – FACT! As this example will demonstrate.  During the week I can get away with a few ‘OK’ days, like the one I outlined in my last blog, as I get to exercise off the unwanted calories by cycling to uni, and walking round campus at least.  However on the weekends it is much harder, particularly when I don’t get to be active at all.

On the day of this ‘bad’ day example, it was a beautiful sunny saturday.  A really good day in every other sense apart from what I ate and how I structured my eating.  I broke a number of golden diet rules – OOPS! and was 981 calories over my recommended daily intake at a whopping 2470 for the day.  And what’s more, I was still really hungry! What a bummer!

It was an open day at my university, where members of the community are free to try out various sciency experiments and equipment provided by the various departments of the university.  I had been really busy during the week and hadn’t had a lot of time to get my demonstration of our eye tracking equipment ready and was quite stressed and rushed.  So I broke the first golden rule of the diet – I MISSED BREAKFAST, and went straight to the uni in a big rush to get my demonstration ready.

The community day was a real success we had a constant stream of loads of people to have a go at our eye tracking equipment and talk about how it worked and what we were using it for.  However this meant I had no time to go anywhere.  So I broke the second golden rule of the diet – I DIDN’T SNACK.  

This meant I was really tired and hungry by the end of the day.  I managed to wolf down a sandwich and a smoothy, but only had this at about 3pm, when I had been up since 8am.  I was starving by the time I left at 5pm.

I was too tired to walk anywhere or do anything, although I had done no exercise (my husband had driven me to and from the uni).  All I knew was that I needed FOOD and I wanted it badly.  So we stopped off at a pub and I had a very large meal – fillet of smoked haddock on a bed of lentil daal – healthy enough.  If I had left it at that it would have been fine.  But I was so hungry I didn’t give it time to settle to see if I WAS REALLY STILL HUNGRY – third violation of my diet rules.  So I dug into a large side of chips, and had ice cream for pudding.  Afterwards I felt really bloated, full, uncomfortable and tired – BOO!

We drove to rent a few DVDs, went home and watched them.  We then polished off a bottle of wine each, which was nice, but had loads of empty calories.  It also made me rather hungry, so I snacked on some crackers with peanut butter and jam.

I woke up the next morning with a big hangover, feeling really ill and bloated and regretting all I had done wrong the previous day.  This was capped off when I realised how far over my calories I had gone.  Thankfully this only happened one day out of the week – usually I follow the rules.  But it still skewed my weekly total such that I only lost 0.1 of a kg that week.  Just goes to show how a really big slip up can harm your diet success.

So the moral of the story? Follow these ‘rules’:

1) EAT BREAKFAST! This will get your metabolism going so you burn calories throughout the whole day.  You will have more energy so you can do more stuff to burn more calories throughout the day.  You’re also less likely to over eat because you are not starving hungry by lunch time.

2) SNACK! This does sound rather counter intuitive.  Surely if you are on a diet, you should hold off on snacking right? I don’t mean never stop eating and have loads of unhealthy snacks on top of meals.  What I mean is have small portions of healthy food which will give you long lasting energy to hand, so you don’t get crazy hungry and eat a massive portion of unhealthy food you don’t need.  Examples of healthy snacks to keep hunger at bay are: a banana, small handful of nuts and dried fruit mix, small (250ml) smoothie, snack size sushi, nut and fruit bar, small portion of cereal with low fat milk etc.  

A common mistake is that people over do the healthy snacks – fruit and nuts are good for you, but they have a lot of calories if you eat loads of them and you can blow your daily allowance if you are not careful.  Aim to have one snack between breakfast and lunch, and one between lunch and dinner.  If you do a lot of exercise, I tend to snack in between exercise classes too, so I have a banana straight after the class so I have enough energy to cycle back home or do the next class.  By doing this I am much less likely to binge when I get back as I am not so hungry.

3) EAT SLOW, WAIT FOR FOOD TO ‘SETTLE’: It takes time for your body to recognise whether you are full or not.  Eat your food slowly, chew, relax.  Wait at least 15 minutes after you have eaten a portion of your meal before ordering another course.  Drink plenty of water.  By doing this, you give yourself time to see whether you do in fact need any more food or if you are just thirsty.  If then you are still hungry, order another small thing.

4) BE TREAT WISE: Treats are fine in moderation.  Plan for them and try to only have one.  E.g. if you want to go out drinking, try to be healthy in all other domains, rather than let everything slide.

I broke every single one of these rules that day, and that is the precise reason it was a ‘bad diet day’.  

Next week I will take you through a ‘good diet day’ and show you how these rules can really help you stay on a really good healthy eating and exercise plan to help you lose weight.

Till next time

Hi Everyone,

Said I would bare ALL in telling you about my ‘diet’ so here goes.  I’ve been dieting for a while, nearly a year now, and couldn’t remember a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ day in particular, so thought I would concentrate on more current examples which were more fresh in my memory, so I could also tell you things about situations I found myself in and my thoughts and feelings at the time which led to eating or abstaining from things I shouldn’t have and ways I coped (or didn’t) in these situations.

So yesterday started out well.  I had been super organised and packed a lunch consisting of a salad (mixed lettuce, cucumber, grated carrot, a couple of tomatoes, a small amount (30 g’s) of full fat feta cheese and 5 large green olives), 2 whole meal pittas with a small (90g) tub of reduced pat houmous, and 40 g’s of mixed dried fruit and nuts.

I had cereal for breakfast (40 g’s of bran flakes with dried fruit and nuts with 130 mls of semi-skimmed milk) and then walked (instead of cycled into uni) for about 1hr, since it was a really sunny day.

So it was starting out a good day – I had healthy food which I would eat since I packed it and would be less likely to get really hungry and go grab a muffin as I had snacks ready to munch on at my desk (the pittas houmous and fruit/nut mix).

However for us girls there are certain times of month when some of us (particularly myself) can get really REALLY HUNGRY.  I try to eat little and often and fill up on large salads to try and combat this, but it only helps a little.  My theory is that my body must be craving specific things it needs.  I try everything else then give in a little, depending on how I feel.  First I craved a coffee – fine, so I had a skinny cap – not problem there.  Then I craved a muffin – a chocolate one.  ’Can’t have that’ I told myself and spaced out my snacks like a good girl and drank plenty of water to fill me.  STILL fantasising about that muffin though.  So I call my husband to meet after work at the coffee shop – OH DEAR! I walk the 40 minutes to the starbucks and order another skinny cap, am really temped by the full fat, icing encrusted banoffee cake, but resist and replace that with a skinny peach and rasperry muffin – an acceptable compromise with my monthly craving I think and I am not too disappointed with myself.  I also manage to only stick my finger into my husbands choc cake twice, maybe three times, just to taste the chocolate a little.

However I am STILL hungry – not usually like me at all.  But I wait for a while and drink more water to be sure.  But yeah I am hungry still and crave a burger of all things – don’t usually like those at all.  I’m starting to feel a bit off colour too – time of month is such a great gift from nature girls isn’t? (sorry guys – don’t mean to give you too much info, avert your ears/eyes) So we go to mac donalds and I make another compromise – I have a kids portion of burger and fries.  I put all the cheater calories into my shapeup app and include the fast food kids meal as ‘dinner’ and the cake as ‘other’ as I already had my alloted snacks.  The overall fat % for the day is higher than I would like – fast food burgers are NOT good, but the overall calories are below my daily intake because I stayed active.  I then feel good enough with a few pain killers to go to aikido and feel great after doing that.

I think we avoid this topic sometimes, but I think its worth discussing if you have the same problem as me with cravings before a period.  Some months are fine and I only crave healthy stuff, other times I HAVE to have chocolate NOW.  I also find that if I abstain too much from stuff I crave if it’s bad – I feel really ill over the next few days as compared to when I did have it.  I also completely lose my appetite due to feeling unwell over the next few days anyway.  My theory is that your body craves in this situation for a reason – it needs stuff, and you should give it what it needs.  It’s different to a craving something because I can’t have it anymore and am used to having it, which you get with cutting out food you previously didn’t really limit yourself.  However we can minimise the damage this may cause by compromising – skinny muffin, dark chocolate (less milk so less fat and sugar), kids portion of fast food take out.

This advice also applies to guys and anyone who has a craving for whatever reason – if you must have it and you’re at breaking point, have it, or something like it but compromise in order to minimse the damage.  This also gives you some control back and makes me feel less guilty, because in that situation you didn’t completely lose control, you made a tactical decision to keep you the straight and narrow of the diet in the long run.

I also only lost 0.2 of a kg due to obvious reasons this week (damn water belly ) but hopefully my weight will take a nose dive next week when its all over (again sorry about the too much info people).  So girls please don’t freak when your weight fluctuates, it probably wasn’t the choc brownies you so badly craved, its the water your body is soaking up and storing for no one knows why (really I looked it up no one seems to know why this happens – mother nature fools the scientists).

By the way, although I posted a few pics of my progress previously I never added anything up really so here is the ‘official’ penultimate summary of what I have lost so far.  I post it here to show everyone that you can lose a significant amount of weight, feel good for it and enjoy doing it immensely! NO MORE no joy ‘diets’, come on say it with me . . .

BEFORE – May 1st 2009: 107kgs/16 stone 11.9 lbs/235.4 pounds/BMI 40.7/UK size 22

‘AFTER’ (Today, not quite finished yet but nearly there ) April 19th 2010: 70 kgs/11.02 stone/154 pounds/BMI 26.6/UK size 12

Total loss: 37kgs/5 stone 11.6 lbs/81.4 pounds/5 dress sizes

Now I have lost most of the weight I want to lose (5.2 kg’s to go) I don’t worry too much anymore about ‘OK’ days – now the metabolism is up, I can slip up more without as much of a set back.  Remember Maik said that the more you lose, the more often you are allowed a cheat meal – so, even more reason to lose weight!  I worry more about the ‘bad’ days.  However I don’t really have so much of them anymore, as I can actually stop eating now after a point and feel full, whereas before I would literally keep on and on eating, even when people said I should stop.  I also tend to fill up on more wholesome foods than junk.  For example we had a barbeque at home when the weather turned sunny and I had a small lean sausage, 2 plain chicken breasts, an absolute heap of grilled veg, some cous cous with assorted veg and a little feta cheese and 1 small home made low fat pork burger – it was a lot of food for me and I felt really really full, uncomfortably so, but the calories weren’t that bad and I still lost weight that week.  Before it would have been marinated with mayo, bread, been full fat and much much more plentiful in supply.

What I hope this all shows you is that small changes made over a long period of time make real long lasting changes without you even noticing it, and not requiring a mammoth amount of strength or effort – providing you make reasonable changes set at your own pace for your own reasons.  Take it slow, if you lose 1/2 a pound a week you will get there and it is worth the effort.  It will take me a minimum of 10 weeks to shift this 5.2 kgs, but I don’t think about the time ahead or the length of the hill in front left to climb – I look behind me to see how much I have climbed so far and how much larger that is that what I have left to go.  At the beginning I didn’t look ahead at all, I looked in the now and focused on the successes no matter how small, which took me half a step up the mountain.

Good luck to you all

Till next time