Sarahs Weightloss Blog

Hi All!

Thought I would let you know what I’ve been up to . . . 

On the plus side I went to bravissimo and debenhams, tried on and successfully fitted into a size 14 dress!  I also went into a designer store and fitted into a size 16!  This is BIG for me – the girl who 6 months ago couldn’t buy clothes from anywhere, because nothing fitted the large frame.  I have no pics unfortunately as I have not bought the dresses (yet).

However due to being incredibly stiff after some new pilates exercises our instructor taught us (my sides HURT, but they feel like rocks so its totally worth it ) I took a day off the gym to recover, as I should.  The day started off well – big salad, veg juice, fresh pasta, veg and salmon for dinner.  However then I went out with friends had 4 cocktails, a glass of red and a sarnie when I came home – 2300 Kcal total for the day – EEEK!

Don’t know about anyone else’s experience but I normally feel guilty after that.  But then sanity clicks back in and I think – ‘actually, I’ve been working really hard at the gym, I’m really sore and very hungry, maybe my bodies just crying out for energy and rest’.  And actually I do feel no stiffness today – I’m rockin’ it again at the gym today.  And guess what, I haven’t turned back into a balloon overnight!

Take home message – don’t freak out if you go off the rails a few times.  Most of us are on a long road to our ideal weight and there’ll be bumps in the road and hills to traverse on the way. Cut yourself some slack once in a while, and don’t get obsessed with the ‘diet’.

Till next time

Want to know the ’secret’ to losing weight, getting better body composition and increasing your fitness quickly? Well the answer is a better diet and exercise – no secrets there – but out of all the exercises I’ve done, I’ve found jogging 1 – 2 times a week alongside other low impact exercises (biking and cross training), is what has changed my body shape and improved my fitness the most in the shortest space of time.  However there are some things to consider when you are quite large and thinking of taking up jogging, but there are a number of benefits which for me outweigh any negatives of doing it.  Here are some things to consider before you take it up, and some ways to get started.

1. Heavy Impact

The main thing to consider before taking up jogging isn’t really your fitness, since if you push yourself hard you will be able to go further next time and will improve rapidly, but jogging is high impact for small light people and for a heavy person this impact is infinitely higher.  Thus many people recomend that heavy people shouldn’t jog.  However the way I see it is, that perhaps the benefit of jogging (losing weight, getting healthy and improving cardiovascular fitness) and the long term health benefits it brings outweighs the potential risk of say shin splints.  In reply to that however the experts say that there are plenty of non-impact alternatives – cross training for instance or biking which provide the same benefit.  However it is up to you – if you find you’re not getting all you want from these exercises, or you want to try something new, then by all means try jogging.  From my experience, I started jogging when I was about 30kgs overweight, and did get some aches and pains, but these subsided with rest.  What I would recommend however is to be VERY CAREFUL when jogging outside on hard surfaces – OUCH is all I can say! Try and jog on grass or gravel if outside – less impact.  But the treadmill at the gym is very soft and takes some impact and I’ve found no joint or shin pain when jogging this way, up to 6 kms at a steady pace.

Oh, almost forgot, you will need a good pair of running shoes, not some old pair that aren’t for running – PROPER RUNNING SHOES – OK? Otherwise you could really do yourself some damage. Jogging in a good soft supportive pair of running shoes is a whole different world. In UK, everyone uses ASICS – they’re great and you don’t have a to break the bank to get a good pair, like £40 – £75.  Also if you want you can go to a specialist jogging shop, where they can analyse your gait while jogging and fit you with a pair of decent running shoes which suit your style of jogging.

2. Getting Started

Now the disclaimer is out the way, if you want to give it a go, I would just get on the treadmill and just try to slowly take your speed up to where you have to go faster than just walking to keep up – this is your slowest jogging pace. I started at 7kms/hr.  Just try and keep it up for as long as you possibly can and record how far you get (try for 1km).  Then a week later, do it again and see if you get further.  If it gets too easy, put up the speed.  Once in a while, try and really push yourself to get the best results. My PT in response to my interest in starting jogging put me on the treadmill to do 3kms starting at 7km/hr, then steadily increasing it to 8.5km/hr – it was the first time I had ever jogged for longer than 3 minutes and that was HARD! but it really worked! Next time I was on there for 3kms at 8.5km/hr all the way, now I’m doing it at 9.5km/hr and plan to run it next time at 10.5km/hr.  Also I intersperse sprints in the mix – running 1km as fast as I can, have a break for as long as I want, then run another km, until I’ve done 3-4kms in total.  I started these sprints at 7-8km/hr, now I running them at 10-12km/hr; I’m working up do doing all 4km sprints at 12km/hr.

Remember that jogging is HARD when you first start out, but you feel really alive and are buzzing when you finish, thinking ’so what’s next? – BRING IT ON BABY!’, not that you want a lie down and something to eat.  Be warned, jogging can be quite addictive

3. Running Club – me?

When you have some experience and little confidence that you can jog a few km’s, then join a beginners running club.  We requested a beginners running club at the gym and got it, since many of us couldn’t jog for a whole hour at 12km/hr without breaking a sweat! We go out for 30mins and do a combination of things.  Like jog really slowly to the lake, then do a few short sprints at our own pace a few times (with walking breaks in between), then slowly jog, yesterday we did a few hills (eeek! – managed it though, just!), then a few sprints, then a short slow jog back.  Its really fun, relaxing yet exhilirating, the time just flys by and you burn around 400 Kcals maybe more!

4. Self Conscious?

A lot people, not only those who are overweight (yes true, size 8 to 20 – everyone) are terrified of jogging, since they are afraid that other people are looking at them and will think or say nasty things about how they look.  The truth is that no one looks great when they jog, and no one cares. I’m large and have never had any problems, if I did, I would just run past them a bit faster. Also I’ve found that on a weekend there are loads of joggers out, of all shapes and sizes, and you just blend in.  If you are still self conscious, then in a group (like a running club) you have more support if you encounter any trouble (which you won’t).

5. My Goal.

About a week ago I said I would try and get my running time to 30mins or below for 5kms in 2 weeks.  I haven’t done a new time yet as I have been trying to take my speed up with the running club, which I started recently (3 weeks ago).  Its working, as jogging outside is harder than inside on the treadmill and I tend to have to go faster than usual to keep up.  I will see if this has helped me improve my time on Friday. Fingers crossed I can run the 5km at mostly 10km/hr! Wish me luck guys!

Till next time . . .

One of the things that makes losing weight really hard, particularly if like me you’re in it for the long haul, are what I call ‘blips’.  These ‘blips’ refer to the times when for a week or two you either stop losing weight, or even put a little on.  These blips can be a bit soul destroying, but I’ve found that although they do happen, over time you do still keep losing weight.  I’ve also found for us girls that rate of weight loss/gain can change over the course of a month.  Anyway here are some tips for staying strong when you encounter a ‘blip’ and some really ridiculous rumours I’ve heard about these ‘blips’.

1. The ‘Weight Loss Plateau’ myth

I heard about this before I started dieting, (from an NHS information booklet no less!) and it really worried me.  Apparently if you are aiming to lose weight – particularly a large amount of weight – you will eventually reach a point where, despite your diet and exercise, you cannot lose any more weight!  Thus when I encountered my first ‘blip’ I thought ‘thats it! I’m not losing anymore! *sob* I’m going to be obese forever!’.  What a load of rubbish though – I asked my personal trainer and he said not to worry since 1. it could be due to my increase in strength and thus muscle mass offsetting the loss in body fat 2. it could be the time of month since in women weight varies anyway in this way and 3. even if I did reach the ‘plateau’ it just means I need to take the regime to the next level – a little less food or a bit more exercise – as your body is adapting to the food and exercise you give it, by getting fitter.  You are also lighter, and thus burn less calories since you are carrying less weight. 

So an alternative read into these blips is that you are getting lighter, fitter and healthier, and thus able to do more – so instead of despairing take it as a good sign of progress and step up to the new plate!  To keep the weightloss up I replaced walking with jogging and starting exercising 4-5, rather than 2-3 times a week and hey presto! I was losing 0.5-1kg/wk again – PHEW!

2. Don’t Panic!

This should be on the front cover of every weight loss manual I think But yes, the important thing to remember when encountering a ‘blip’ is not to panic. People do all sorts of things when they encounter these, like not eating at all for a day, purging or not drinking water to get the weight back down.  Don’t bother doing any of that, it’s pointless.  The fact is I’ve found that sometimes I have put on a few pounds, but then the next week my weight would be what I expected it to be for that week before the ‘blip’ – sometimes weight just fluctuates.

3. Motivators

If you’re fighting the demotivation of encountering a ‘blip’ that won’t shift after a few weeks, then you need something or someone to help you through it – my personal trainer has always been a great pillar for this, but you can also do something else. Like keep a picture of what you used to look like as a reminder of how far you’ve come and to help keep you going.  Also the graphs in shapeup club are great for this since you can see for yourself that the ‘blips’ become just that, but overall you have still lost weight.  Also the more you lose, the smaller these ‘blips’ seem on the graphs.

4. Weight isn’t everything

The first thing my mum told me when I started dieting was – ‘don’t become obsessed with the scales, sometimes the scales won’t shift, even if you haven’t cheated once that week and you did loads of exercise and ran faster than you ever did.  A much better indicator of your progress is your fitness, how healthy you feel and your dress size’ – great advice mum!  Sometimes weight doesn’t change but your body does – measure everything: arms, chest, legs, bum, waist and compare this over time. My PT measures all those things before and after the 7 week block of training sessions and hearing the results is a really great motivational booster.  Use dress size as a goal rather than weight perhaps.  Also record your achievements at the gym – if I reduced my 5km running time at the gym by 2 minutes, but didn’t lose weight – so what! I am still fitter and healthier than I have ever been, even when I was a healthy weight! 

5. My Motivators

Thought I would share these with you, (although I am still embarrassed and ashamed at how large I was, and to a certain extent still am ) and I would recommend you do the same.  Take some head on shots (which I haven’t done unfortunately) so you can see the change a bit more.  But I hope you get the general idea.

Me Summer 2008 - size 20-22 before the new regime began

Me June 28th 2009 - size 18, 1 month after the start of my new lifestyle

Me 31st August 2009 - size 16-18

Me 12th Sep 2009 - size 16

Me 11th October 2009 - size 16 trousers getting baggy!

I’m down now to 85kgs – 10 more kgs till next target! However it does feel like it is taking FOREVER to get down to a size 14.  The size 16s are baggy, but the size 14 trousers are still way too small! Its like – hey I’m losing weight, but I’m not getting any smaller – *sobs* – but then I look at these photos and I think, actually I am a lot smaller than I was, I actually have a figure for one!  So eventually I will be a size 14, then a size 12, it is achievable, it will just take some time and some hard work, but I’m having fun so its not that bad really

Till next time folks . . .

Hi Everyone!

Losing weight is really hard work, and sometimes it can seem like it’s going to go on forever and you lose your motivation and feel really low.  As Airy was saying in her blog – this is where goals help and keeping realistic ones is important. Also having the right support when times are tough – you’re making really big changes when you pledge to lose weight, and other people as well as yourself can resist that.

Here’s my story, hope it shows that although it’s tough, it can be done and how goals can help you succeed against the odds!

When I first started (May 19th 2009) I was 107kgs, morbidly obese and 45kgs over a healthy weight.  When I first calculated it my heart fell – how on earth was I going to lose that! I had never suceeded in dieting before, not even to lose 1 single solitary pound! I had even put on weight with some diets (remember the 6 pack of slim fasts?). But I was determined this time, as at a size 20 (UK) I could no longer get any dress to fit me (even from the plus size store!) and really really wanted a pretty dress to wear to my friends wedding in a months time. So I accepted that there was no way I would lose all that weight in time, and instead decided that in a little over a month I would be small enough to buy a dress off the peg for the wedding, i.e. a size 18 (UK).

I knew I couldn’t do it alone or just by dieting (it  had never worked before). So I joined the gym – quite terrified at the time, but I really did want that dress sooooo badly! I also employed a personal trainer who wrote me a diet plan and an exercise regime and once a week he would make sure that I burnt at least 800-1000 calories with him! and I promised him that I would come a do a program at least twice week in addition to that (which he checked up on – so I did it!).  The exercise was really tough and uncomfortable at first but every time I did a PT I felt as if I had achieved something really worthwhile.

I also found that the PT and people at the gym helped me a lot and kept me strong.  I don’t have a lot of will power, so saying no to foods that my friends and family offered me was really hard at first, especially when I had the reputation of finishing all the left overs.  People actually cooked larger portions especially for me and to refuse the extra food they had specially prepared was hard and even awkward at times, as sometimes people took it as me not enjoying the meal or insulting their cooking in some way. But with the help of the gym community, and perked by my exercise I managed to start to say NO! I’m morbidly obese, and really unhealthy and I need to lose weight – unless you’re trying to finish me off – lay off it please! It was hard,but I managed (with great great difficulty) to mostly stay off the junk and super-size portions.

To my great surprise I actually managed to reach an 18 in time for the wedding!  Even though I was still large, it felt so fantastic that I could just pick up and dress and wear it, and it look nice on me. I even had a figure to show off! First hurdle was successfully jumped – PHEW!

I still have PT sessions, as I don’t like to work out alone – I’m not really all that good at motivating myself and don’t have iron-clad will power.  I also do a lot of classes as I like the social atmosphere and I know I will finish that class and get the exercise done, which I don’t always do on my own! However I am getting better at self motivating – I enjoy jogging on the treadmill now (it took a while mind you!) and try to beat my previous time by jogging faster for longer the next time.

Now I’m 86kgs and my size 16 trousers are quite baggy.  The weight’s also a bit of a side line now, as I am more interested in looking and feeling healthy.  If I get down to 65kgs, which is healthy for my height then great.  But if I get to a size 12 and am still a bit over that weight then I’ll be happy, as long as I can run 10kms by then, I think I can consider myself healthy. I’ve also found that now my close friends and family have seen the dramatic weight loss that they accept my new regime and support me in it now. My husband even cooks me a seperate ’sarah diet friendly’ meal on occasion and people ask what I can eat before I come round!

Next goals:

1. To be a size 12 by christmas so I can go shopping and get a really beautiful party dress!

2. To reduce my 5km total running time by 4 minutes to under 30 minutes in the next two weeks.

If I can do it, you can do it too, it does get easier guys, just hang in there!

Wish me luck!  I’ll let you know how I’m getting on with these goals over the next few weeks for the first goal and over the coming months for the second goal

Sarah.

Hi Everyone!

Don’t know about everyone else but I found changing my eating habits even harder than changing my exercise habits!  Here are some things that have helped me . . .

1. Start Slow:

Don’t go from eating super size portions to eating a few tiny salads a day – we’ve all been there – it just doesn’t work! Firstly you’re ravenously hungry and thus even more likely to fall off the wagon and overeat, secondly it slows down your metabolism, making your body more likely to store than burn fat which you need to lose weight, thirdly it makes you feel tired, ill and overall very rubbish.  You actually increase your metabolism by eating little and often – you don’t have to feel rubbish or hungry to lose weight!

Start by trying to replace bits of your favourite meals with more healthy options.  For example I love cauliflower cheese, but was really upset by how many calories and fat was in my usual shop bought stuff.  So I started making it myself, with skimmed milk and low-fat cheese.  I know exactly how many calories it is and weigh everything – its loads healthier and lower cal than the shop stuff, and tastes even better!

2. Allow yourself the odd flump!

Again I’ve been there – you reach for one chocolate bar and then feel like you’ve failed and give it all up.  But actually there are plenty of healthy skinny people who have the odd burger or chocolate bar – note ‘odd’ – but they adjust for it, by laying of the junk the next week and picking up the exercise.  You can lose weight and have the odd treat – just stay in control and plan them.

3. Simple Simple:

Healthy eating isn’t rocket science. There is so much advice out there and no one agrees, plus you seem to need a maths degree to calculate the nutritional values of your meals sometimes! (unless you have shapeup club of course ) I’ve found however that if the food is simple, balanced nutrition just kind of happens naturally.  For example my fave meal is 1 skinless chicken breast cooked in the oven plain (or a lean steak), assorted fresh veg roasted in the oven in a tomatoe sauce, and a fist size portion of rice of pasta – very filling, very healthy and very yummy. 

4. Don’t get hungry!

I tried the slim fast diet once – ‘one shake for breakfast, one for  lunch and a sensible dinner’ – simple right? At lunch I was so hungry I drank a whole six pack of the things! and was horrified that they were like 500 calories each!  (sound familiar anyone?)

Take home message – don’t wait until your stomach is empty and aching with hunger before you eat, because you will be way more likely to overeat.  Keep your metabolism high by eating regular, portion controlled, healthy, simple meals.

I’ve actually found that the weeks were I’ve snacked on fruit and had 3 small healthy meals, I’ve lost more weight than when I’ve skipped breakfast or abstained a lot from food, even though it was healthy food and I ate less calories overall.

Also, believe it or not, exercise helps control your hunger too.  I always feel more hungry if I haven’t done much that day.

5. Adaptation:

Your body will adapt to your new routine. If you do it gradually you will hardly notice its happening.  I’ve noticed a few things, for example if I eat a chocolate it tastes so unbearably sweet now, whereas before I would finish off a whole tray to myself.  Also I went to the carvery (an all you can eat roast dinner restaurant), I filled up one plate half as full as I did 4 months ago, and could only finish 3/4’s of it – too full!

Now more times than not (but not all the time mind!) before reaching for the junk I think – ‘I don’t want that’, rather than ‘I shouldn’t have that’ 

Now if I felt that way all the time I’d have this diet thing in the bag . . . 

See ya!