[#1]

I have been invited to this board by x_sam_x, so I look forward to getting to know everyone! :-)

I have been struggling with my weight for most of my adult life (I'm now 34) but right now it has really become an obsession - I feel like I can't move on in life without losing weight!

My main goal at the moment is to drop 3 dress sizes by January 2013, as that is when I go on holiday. That's from a 22 to a 16. If I can do that, which I think I can, next year will be more about improving fitness and any further weight loss will be a bonus :-)

From experience, I reckon to be a size 16 I will need to lose about 4 stone from my current weight. 4 stone in 5 months is a big ask, but with complete focus, I think I can do this!

I hope I can succeed with support from you guys!

E_F x

[#2]

I have been invited to this board by x_sam_x, so I look forward to getting to know everyone! :-)

I have been struggling with my weight for most of my adult life (I'm now 34) but right now it has really become an obsession - I feel like I can't move on in life without losing weight!

My main goal at the moment is to drop 3 dress sizes by January 2013, as that is when I go on holiday. That's from a 22 to a 16. If I can do that, which I think I can, next year will be more about improving fitness and any further weight loss will be a bonus :-)

From experience, I reckon to be a size 16 I will need to lose about 4 stone from my current weight. 4 stone in 5 months is a big ask, but with complete focus, I think I can do this!

I hope I can succeed with support from you guys!

E_F x

[#3]

Hi EF, 

Glad you made your way over. It's a familiar story so you're not alone with it, I know a lot of people will relate. My advice for losing weight is the same advice I give for getting your house sorted - it's all about baby steps and the dozens of decisions you make every day, it might be slow, it might be painful at times but it can also be fun and make you feel amazing so stick with us and I'm sure you'll be grand!

[#4]

thanks Sam - yes, pretty much anything you want to achieve has to be done one step at a time Exercise is my big problem, i.e. I need to do some!! I'm going to start with walking and then when we get settled in our new home I hope to start using the Wii as well - I actually can't wait!

[#5]

*apologies to Juliet and Von for repeating myself for the millionth time*

Walking is how I got started. When I was fat I was really lazy. So every day I set the timer on my phone for 5 minutes and walked away from the house, when the timer went off I turned round and went back. Carried on doing that and when it got easier I either walked faster or increased the time, first to 7 minutes then 10 then 15. Pretty soon I was doing and hour a day. Walking is not to be underestimated as a form of exercise - it's low impact so won't be too hard on your joint, load bearing so good for bone density, it's always good to get outside when you can, it's aerobic which is good for your health and losing weight and it's easy, if you have suitable footwear and a few minutes you can just get going, no equipment needed!

The wii is also great for exercise/activity. I did a bit of an experiement a little while ago where I tried out the wii fit. Although it's not for me as I have the attention span of a rabbit it does work, I lost weight and was smaller after only a short while. The dance games and any other games where you're up and moving are really good exercise - it doesn't just have to be the specific exercise ones, anything that gets you moving and a little out of breath is good. Guitar Hero is another good one.

Don't get too hung up about it being "proper" exercise, all activity is good, if you can do nothing more than march on the spot or do step ups on your stairs it counts!

eta here's a link for exercises to do from your couch!

[#6]

Thanks again Sam - I really like your timer idea. It sounds stupid but I never thought about a 10 minute walk actually being 5 minutes each way! That makes it seem so feasible. I'm definitely going to try that technique

I don't know if it is just me, but I find watching the olympics very inspiring! I wouldn't want to be an expert at any event, but to be a millionth as good at a few things would be pretty cool! 

I don't have a great attention span either but I used to play Wii Sports, mainly the tennis game, so I think I will go back to that. I would love to have a dancing game eventually, but I need to get my stamina up first.

It is great to hear a success story - do you mind me asking how much weight you have lost?

E_F

[#7]

I have lost 3 stone something and DH has lost 5. I put a stone back on during our house move and new house joy because I stopped exercising and we were socialising a lot but it's dropped off gradually.

Watching sport is motovating to me. My family love watching and going cycling and I think to myself if the guys on the Tour de France can cycle for 5 hours a day and cover 2000 in 3 weeks I can do 30 minutes of something a few times a week!

[#8]

Oh that's good going, well done! I'll have to watch out for the "new house joy", because I definitely don't want to gain any more!

[#9]

My thing was over a long timescale really. I'd never been overweight until 2002 when a big lifestyle change helped me to gain a lot of weight.

We started dealing with everything - money, the hoarding, weight in 2004. Took us about 18 months - 2 years to lose the weight and sort the other stuff. Maintained until mid 2009 when all our efforts went to the house and I've never quite got back into exercise the same. But the house is nearly decorated now so I hope to develop a sustainable routine in August.

(apologies for typos tonight I'm on my phone and very clumsy!)

[#10]

Oh I see.... it's still good that you took control of things, however long it took. My weight has gradually risen since I started dating aged 19, but it accelerated since I moved in with DH in 2002. His weight has risen too, so we both need to get in shape, but he is more adamant about not changing his eating habits!

[#11]

Hi and welcome to the board. Sorry not replied earlier but I've been on hols.

Sam has as usual given her sound advice so can't really add too much. My story is slightly different ive always managed to control my weight and keep reasonable fit until I hit forty.  Then I decided I wanted to lose half a stone so through myself into different diets and diet clubs and lived in the gym everyday doing back to back classes,gym routines and swimming.  The results were food obsession, gym obession and over two stone gain!!!  I quit the gym almost a year ago after constant illness but I'm back at one of the diets clubs.

I have only skimmed posts so sorry if I repeat any advice. Have you tried doing a food diary. Just write everything done in a notebook when you've eaten it if you want you could try scaling your hunger from 0-10 to give you an idea if you've eaten in response to real hunger or emotion (my main problem). When you have a picture of what and why you're eating maybe then you can change things.  Also I try not to think about what I'm taking away from my diet like chocolate, biscuits, crisps etc but what I'm adding like different fruits and veg, healthier meals etc.

Walking is a great start and the say short bursts of fitness through the day are just as good if not better than one longer workout. Another thing you could add when feeling more confident is resistance exercises. Muscle burns more than fat not bulky muscle just lean and toned. You can use canned beans or small water bottles there's loads of exercises on YouTube or the internet even the fitness channel like I say doesn't have to be long. Well best go I can feel the gym bunny emerging . Good luck and keep posting.