h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Kelli

49 lbs eh?! I am so delighted for you - and so envious! I have been watching your progress ever since you came back from your hols and announced your plans to lose weight. I thought that was very brave of you for a start but when I saw how you were doing I realised that you were very proud of yourself - and rightly so!

I have put that I need your help in the title line up there so I guess I should explain what that means. I am at the stage I guess you were at when you realised that the weight had to go. I don't know how much you were to start with but I know I have to lose at least twice what you have lost so far. I stopped smoking a year and a bit ago which hasn't helped one little bit! I have been big - no, FAT - all my life but have peaked now I think. I buy size 24 clothes and even they are getting a bit tight now. I actually lay awake last night and seriously thought that now is the right time to DO IT! I just don't know how. I tried weight-watchers and found them an expensive rip off - always trying to sell you things etc and never actually helping much.

How did you start? Did you have a clear out of all the bad food? Did you join a gym straight away? (I would be too embarrassed to go to a gym and I am far too unfit to even contemplate *real* excercise.) I just need to know how I begin? I knew what to do about the smoking - I just stopped. But this is different.

I am not a big eater by the way. I just eat the wrong things in the wrong amounts. In fact, whenever I go to a restaurant I can never usually finish my food! I get so jealous of the people that stuff their faces and never put on an ounce!

I'm sorry to unload on you like this and you can tell me to leave you alone and get on with it if you like, but as I said earlier - you have inspired me and I admire what you have achieved.

Well done again

Hi Lady in a tree!
First of all:

Right, now we have got that out of the way (it is always a good place to start don't you think?) I can answer some of your questions!

It sounds as though you are almost exactly where I was at the beginning of the year. I weighed 18st 7lb and was a size 24 tending to a 26 and had given up smoking a couple of years before (I am also on depo as a contraceptive and that really helps to pile it on). I have also been to weight watchers and it didn't work for me, I felt that the only pounds I was losing were the ones they took off of me at the door and didn't want to be sold their products. Everyone is different of course, it works well for some.

For years and years I had been saying to myself that I would start going to the gym once I was thin enough, and was really put off by the gym adverts. You know, the ones with all those thin people in tight lycra running without even breaking a sweat. If I ran a gym I would put real-looking people in the adverts because believe me, all those model-types looking radiant is a long way from the reality of any gym I have been in! I also thought I was too out-of-shape to do any real exercise.

My holiday was the spur to get me started. I felt humiliated on the plane when I barely fitted into the seats and when I couldn't really put my tray table down over my belly. When I got back from holiday and looked at the photos I was horrified. I had such a wonderful trip but was so ashamed of the me in the pictures that I knew I had to do something about it. I had a hard time picking the photos for my album so that the sights weren't 'ruined' by having me in them.

I knew I had to diet, but I know my body well enough to know that i wouldn't get very far unless I exercised too. I also know I am a lazy bugger and thought that putting my progress in my username (just the number of gym visits at first) would shame me into keeping it up - I thought that if everyone knew what I was up to then I couldn't wriggle out of it. It is easy to make excuses to yourself but not so easy to everyone else Also, I have had great encouragement from the researchers here, and inspiration too - go and visit Conceited Little Megapuppy U187819 - she is another six months or so further on than me and has written a great article Diet is a Four Letter Word.

Ok, now down to specifics:
1. Weigh yourself and measure yourself with a tape measure.
Measure all your dimensions: round your thighs, round your arms, round your belly, bust, etc etc etc. I wish I had done this right away, somebody suggested it after I had been at this for a while. DON'T weigh yourself every day, no more than once a week, and keep measuring all those dimensions - they keep changing even when your weight stays the same.

2.Appoint a designated support person.
We all need people to whinge to about this. Yes. Sometimes dieting sucks! So tell people! Your boyfriend will have to help you. Mine really helps me and encourages me without nagging - he knows that we can't have crisps and icecreams and biscuits in the house because I'll just eat them on the quiet, feel bad about it, replace them, then eat them again. He is enthusiastic about the good things I should eat (he has been helping me experiment with fish dishes) and when he remembers to he tells me I look better now. recruit everyone you can though!

3. Join a gym.
Go and visit some local ones to see what they are like - the easier to get to the better. If you walk past one on the way home from work join that one. I felt exactly the same as you about gyms, so I joined and went to the exercise classes at first - I didn't go near all those scary machines for ages, until I felt more confident. The first few classes I went to I spoke to the leader beforehand and said I was horribly unfit and probably could do any high impact stuff and might struggle to keep up. Every single one responded in the same way - they showed the low-impact versions of everything as they went through the class and congratulated me afterwards. They also remembered me the next time and told me I was improving (even if I wasn't ). If there is some other reason you can't join a gym let me know, I have lots of alternatives! Start going and then keep going. I can't believe how much better I feel, how much fitter! It is a real motivation to keep going, I wish everyone in your position (where I used to be) could know what a difference it makes

4. Food
This is the hard part because everyone is different and what works for me might not work for you. Go and see your doctor though, they might put you on to a dietician who should help with it (I finally get to see mine for the first time a week on friday). If nothing else it is good to get weighed independently of your bathroom scales. The important thing here is to aim at balance (heard all this before right?) and avoid all those faddy diets. Experiment and find what works. I did clear out all of the treat food, but mainly by eating it before I started this .

You have to let yourself have treats or you'll never keep it up. I try and be very strict in the week and relax at weekends so I can still go out and drink, and have that curry or meal in a restaurant or whatever. If I didn't have weekend treats to look forward to I would never have stuck at this. The actual food I eat varies, i went through a low carb with lots of protein phase where I ate lots of fish and not much else other than vegetables. At the moment I am using sainsburys be good to yourself meals or M&S count on us meals because they are quick in the microwave and taste good. You are going to feel hungry. I can't lie about that. i eat lots of fruit though, and always have nibbly fruit and veg (like sugarsnap peas or baby corn) around so if I really have to eat something I can.

Phew, this is a bit of an essay, sorry!

for now,
k

Oooh, another couple of starting out tips:
keep a record of your weight and dimensions

keep a food diary, write down everything that passes your lips, and when. Are you a snacker or an evening binger?

set yourself an initial milestone, say 7lbs lost by this time next month and decide now what reward you will give yourself when you get there - a new lippy, or a manicure, or an afternoon spent pampering yourself, or a trip somewhere - anything but a food reward. In a month, see how you have done and set another milestone

Thanks for replying Kelli!

I didn't realise that it was only the beginning of the year that you started! I thought you'd been going for at least a year! Even more hats off to you!

I've read what you have said about 5 times now! I am amazed at how similar my situation is to yours ('cept you're 7 months ahead of where I am now!)...

I have just visited Conceited Little Megapuppy's page and read her "four letter word" article. It is good enough to be an entry I reckon! I also read some of her messages of congratulations - rather like ones you are getting now! I then read your message to her and noticed how similar my post to you was (apart from the plea for help!) She has done fantastically well! 8 stone!! That is a whole person! I think that is what freaks me out about what I am about to take on.

My boyfriend will be very supportive I think - and will possibly even come to a gym with me! He is half my weight and we look like Laurel & Hardy when we go out (even went to a fancy dress as them once!)

I liked CLM's comment about the front seat in cars!! I automatically bagsie that seat as I know it would be unfair for someone to have to squash in next to me in the back!

I am going to set a date to begin the biggest challenge I have ever set myself in my whole life (even bigger than quitting the smoking) I am going to make an appointment with the doctor and get some advice from a dietician. There are not many gyms around here that I know of but I will suss out the ones that exist. I will eat all the "naughty" foods I have until then and prepare myself mentally for sacrifices that I know I will have to make. I agree that treats are necessary, I think I might go mad if I couldn't have my Beef Fried Rice once in a while!

I don't know if I am going to "go public" just yet - I might do what you did and lose a bit first then hopefully feel proud about it and "come out" for the support!

Thanks again for your encouraging reply

I'll keep you informed!

Lady (aka Debs)

If there is a lot of it, I wouldn't eat *all* of your treat food in one go, it just never stays in our house very long so I didn't have to have a beginning binge!

If you have got lots of biscuits and stuff, get your bloke to take them into work or something. I have thought of another thing - never go into the supermarket alone, always take your chap so he can make sure you aren't sneaking in anything you shouldn't, and never go hungry - too much temptation!

Oh yes, and I am always here if you fancy a moan or a bit of encouragement

Good luck, you can do it!
k

Hey there Debs,
Just a quick hello to see if you have got started yet...



k

Hi Kelli

I haven't got an appointment with my doctor yet - there is at least a 3 week wait

I am going to do it properly - the last thing I want to do is rush into it with great gusto and then get totally sick of it within a few weeks. I have had a chat with Bryan (bf) who says he will support me 100%

I think about it every day and what it will be like if/when I get to even half way there. I have slimmed down before (from about 15st to about 11.5 st) and love looking at the photos of myself then.

My biggest fear is knowing how easy it is to put it all back on and more. I think the way I will get through that is to liken it to my quitting smoking. My fear then was about starting smoking again. If I compare the weight loss to the smoking ie. I haven't started smoking again so I won't put the weight back on again, then it might be OK.

It is the fear of change that's held me back so long. I am happy doing and eating the things I want to. The thing I cannot get out of my head is WHY should I have to eat salads, vegetables, fish and chicken breasts to lose weight when some people can stuff a whole Cadburys Dairy Milk (500g) in one go gaining not an ounce. I often look at people like that and hope (this sounds horrid) that they have bad teeth or spots! There must be some justice surely!!

I shall let you know when I get an appointment at my docs and what they advise.

Thanks for thinking of me

Keep up the good work

Debs

Good morning!

It sounds like you are taking a sensible approach to this diet lark, well done Good to hear that Bryan is helping - does he know what he is letting himself in for?!

What a shame you have to wait such a long time to see your doctor! Where are you based (if you don't mind me asking)? I got to see my GP fairly quickly, although I didn't try and see them until I hit a bit of a sticky patch. They referred me to a dietician but it took nearly two months to get an appointment with them I am past that particular sticky patch now but I will keep the appointment anyway - it is on friday so I will let you know what they say

I am struck again by the similarity in our situations - like you I have done this before so I know it is possible (went from 15.5 stone to 12 stone in about 3 months) but I also know how easy it is to put it on again twice over. I hope that this time I will succeed in keeping it off once it is gone, mainly because I am trying to do this sensibly and not crash diet. I have mde changes to my lifestyle (ie doing lots of exercise) that should make it easier for me to lose it and easier to keep it off, plus I am not likely to suffer the same whammys as giving up smoking, living in hotels, and starting depo this time.

It is great that you have the long-term aim and photos to look at to encourage you on, but it can be a bit overwhelming thinking about the whole task at once - your doctor/dietician should be able to help you set regular milestones to achieve so that you aren't trying to lose 7 stone, you are trying to lose 1 stone in two months (or whatever). My next milestone is at 63 pounds lost which will put me at 14 stone. My target to achieve this is 30th September so I have about 7 weeks to shed 12 lbs. I think this is just about do-able, but it will be a close-run thing - I'll be happy if I make it to 14st 3lb (or 60 lbs lost) at which point I'll be changing my h2g2 nickname. Can't wait! Another thing - last time I weighed 14st 12lb (todays weight) I was miserable and hated it. This time when I am approaching it from the other direction it is marvellous! I love my body now because it is so much better than it was. I appreciate myself more. I hope you feel the same way as you progress.

I know the 'why me' feeling only too well - I don't understand why I have to work that bit harder to lose weight and that bit harder to keep it off compared to other people. Sadly, them's the breaks but it is worth bearing in mind that the person scoffing the huge slab of chocolate doesn't do so every day, and they might gain a pound or two and then lose it another week when they eat a bit more healthily. That is what we are going to do when we hit our target, eat what we like sometimes and balance that with being more careful at other times.

We will be more aware of our bodies and what we do with them/put into them in future so that we *can* have that bacon butty, or fish and chips without putting it all back on again. It sucks that we have to be so vigilant, but in the grand scheme of things people cope with far worse. In my dark diet days this is the thing that causes me the most trouble, and the only cure is to have a good whinge and keep going - things might look different when I am a size 14-16

Good luck for now - I suppose you can have a hunt for a good gym while you are waiting to start so that everything is ready when you kick it all off properly



k

Good afternoon!!

I have been looking on the web for gyms in my area (Hatfield) but so far they haven't looked all that promising. I have however come across an article about a woman from Hatfield that won the 2002 Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Slimmer of the Year! http://www.conley.co.uk/awards/slimmeroftheyear.asp

It prompted me to have a look through the website and I discovered that there is a class nearby on a Wednesday night. Again it is a case of throwing money at it but they seem to be quite thorough and you get an excercise class as well. It might be enough to start me off. I had a look at some of the recipes etc on the site and also the bit about the daily treat (or save up the treats for a bigger weekend treat!) Very tempting!

As I said it may be enough of a start and I might get to meet some other people there that can recommend a good gym. You never know I could possibly meet someone who wants a gym partner!!!

My biggest problem is my work. I am a computer graphics operator (conference speaker support slide design) and I am often away from home - similarity time again - stuck with hotel food and conference venue food etc. I don't know if I can find the time *every* week to go to a club. But that's being negative. I WILL BE POSITIVE

I'll let you know if I go.

Debs xxx

Hi Kelli

Well I didn't go to the class. Not because I didn't want to though. Unfortunately my cat Jake had an abscess on his leg (from anoter cat bite we think) and we had to take him to the vet on Tuesday evening. They kept him in overnight and operated on him yesterday morning. When we bought him home in the afternoon he was in a right old state as he had had a very heavy sedative. The whole lot cost over £120! We are insured but I won't get the money back for a couple of weeks. Meantime that was all my money for the week gone so I didn't have the 15 or so quid to spend at the class. I'm still thinking about next week though.

The dietician is tomorrow isn't it? Hope it all goes well and he/she thinks you are doing all the right things! I'm sure you are otherwise you wouldn't have lost all that weight!!

One more question...When you started, did you tell the people closest to you (apart from your b/f) what you were about to embark upon? The reason I ask is because I am not sure whether to tell my parents or not. I know they will be delighted but at the same time I know that every phone call will begin with "how's it going? how much weight have you lost?" etc and I think it will be a bit pressurising. I almost want to do this with as few people knowing as poss. I know they will notice eventually - at least I hope they will!!

Take care

Debs

Sorry to hear about the moggy hope he will be okay.

£15 for a class! That is at least £60 a month! Because of my work i have joined two gyms and the grand total is only £55 a month! I would keep searching if I were you - that sounds horribly expensive. Then again, I suppose you get the support group meeting included in that so it is up to you. There is bound to be a fitness centre somwhere in hatfield - there is a college there isn't there, maybe they do evening exercise classes?

Looking forward to the dietician now. I go through phases where I think they won't be able to help me and then others where I really hope they can help me so that I don't feel hungry all the time. I'll get the answer tomorrow I suppose

As to your question about who to tell and what to tell them. Hmmmm... I suppose it depends. I did tell mum straight away, but didn't make a big deal of it - just said I was going to do a bit of a diet and a bit more exercise but didn't say that I was doing some big change-of-life campaign. I did tell her what I had lost each week, and talked about my exercise classes and gym visits. i get on really well with my mother so I wasn't really bothered by questions like 'have you been to the gym this week?' and 'how is the diet going?' but then I respond quite well to pressure (hence putting it in my nickname).

If you don't really want to answer anyone elses questions then don't tell them, wait and see if they comment on it! It might be useful to have one person other than your boyf that knows about it (that can be me if you like!) so that you can spread out the support and not whinge to the same person all the time, for their sanity as much as yours!

I think I am basically saying that you should do what makes you comfortable, there aren't any rules for success but some things (like having support and encouragement) do help. If you want to just get on with it without telling everyone then do, although I seem to tell everyone these days!

One last thing, try to see it in small steps - you aren't setting out to lose 7 stone, just one. And when you get rid of that one then you set out to lose the next. This will really help in terms of motivation - honest!



k
x

Ooops - I didn't make that very clear! It is £6.99 to join and £4.35 per class. (plus the inevitable cookbook that you always end up buying!) which is quite reasonable *when* you have the money!

Jury is still out on the telling parents thing. I never actually told them I used to smoke (although they probably guessed it) so when I gave that up I didn't tell them! Also I learnt to drive without them knowing - but failed my test and never re-took it! That was fun because I only lived 4 miles away from them then and often wondered whether I would ever pull up next to my dad at some traffic lights! Imagining his face was always a bright start to my horrible lessons. It sounds like I don't talk to my parents doesn't it! I do - honest. I just keep things back until I am comfortable with it myself because I know they would dwell on it. My mum will say things like "Tell me to mind my own business, but..." and "*Things* going well are they?" but my dad will just ask me straight out "are you thinner?" or "do you think you can drive yet?!" So I tell them when the time is right which is usually when it's all over! I live a bit further away from them now and only see them once every 4 or 5 months.

Ahoy-hoy Kelli!

Was the dietician an enlightening experience? Any useful tips to pass on?

My resolve to do this thing hasn't waivered since last week. The more I think about it though the scarier it gets and I just want to get on with it. I WILL do it.

How do you cope in this hot weather? I am dark haired (very very thick and long), fair skinned with freckles and get terrible prickly heat. How on earth do you motivate yourself to exercise in this heat?

ttfn

Debs

Just a quick Hola from me! How you doin? Going to that class tomorrow night - as long as there are no more expensive cat emergencies!

Keep well

Debs

Oh! Where did my reply go? I wrote something here yesterday and now it has gone I must have lost it in a flurry of brunel-induced confusion - sorry!

I went to the dietician on friday, but I have to say that I think it would have been far more useful to have gone at the beginning of all this rather than now. She didn't really listen to me properly, I asked how i could feel less hungry all the time but she started to look for ways to cut calories from my diet. I don't need to cut any more!

I think she saw a fat person and because I hadn't been before she assumed I hadn't been doing anything - it took quite a while to get it through to her that I was quite happy with what I was doing but wanted a bit of support and any handy pointers. She wasn't expecting the fact that I have done a lot of research into this and have a pretty balanced (but restricted) diet. I think she is used to seeing somebody like me and finding out they eat lots of unhealthy food so she wasn't geared up for my situation. I think I will go back, but I might try and see the other dietician at the practice next time, this one also annoyed me because she was european and didn't understand stones and pounds, only kilos.

I don't want to put you off going though, I think it would have been a useful thing to do at the start of my diet! I am glad to hear you are still feeling very motivated, and good luck for your class. I have got my mum going to an exercise class every week now and she says she is starting to feel much better for it - am doing my best to inspire people!

The weather is good and bad news for exercise - I work in an airconditioned building so it isn't too bad, I don't feel as drained by the heat as at the weekend. But then it is so lovely out I have been doing more walking, just to get out in the fresh air and get some sun to my body. I try not to look for reasons not to exercise these days - it is so much a part of my routine that it is getting to be a real habit (finally, a healthy one!).

Having said all that, I fell off of the wagon bigstyle this weekend! I had friends from uni to visit and I cooked proper food for dinner, and finished with a real dessert (lemon meraingue and real icecream) and between us we drank a hideous amount (5 people, 7 bottles of wine, 2 bottles of port, an unmeasured amount of gin, brandy, baileys, and probably some other stuff as well) and had after-dinner chocs. They went home at 6am! Needless to say I was pretty on sunday and did not go to the gym.

Oh well, it is a new week. I doubt I will lose any weight this week overall, just counter the bad behaviour from the weekend, but we shall see - one wild weekend doesn't mean the diet is over

Let me know how your class goes,



k

Hi Debs,
How was the class?

Have a slice of virtual and tell me all about it...

k

Hi-de-ho Kelli!

Well yes...the class...they told me to come back after my holiday!!

*Takes slice of virtual , puts kettle on for a and setles down to tell the story...*

I went along and had a chat with one of the organisers before the class began and told her what I wanted to do. She was very supportive and said that they would love me to join whenever I wanted to. We had a chat about lifestyle and I mentioned the fact that I hadn't had a holiday at all this year so far but I am going up to Scotland for a week in September with my parents to see Bryan's Mum and Dad (1st meeting *ever* and we've been together 6 years!) She asked if we were doing anything special and I told her that as it was my Dads birthday while we were up there we were going out for a proper traditional Scottish feast! At this point she raised one eyebrow and said "How are you going to manage with the diet?" I hadn't thought about that at all and asked whether it would matter for that week. She set me straight by saying that I wouldn't have got into the regime of sensible eating and exercise at that stage and that I would be better off starting the class in the week after I got back. We worked out that I would have had a good 3 months before the next great temptation ie Xmas, by which time I will be disciplined enough to cope! I was disappointed at first as I was itching to get started but I saw the logic in what she said.

So here I am, getting nowhere fast! I won't go mad in the next few weeks just because I haven't begun *dieting* yet, I shall eat sensibly and cut out (or at least down on) a few of the extremely bad things - like and especially (why did they make so many naughty food smileys??)

I went swimming last weekend for the first time since September last year! I did 3 lengths of the pool (about 100m in all) and was shattered! I felt quite good afterwards though - if a little achey for a week!

I hope you are not too disappointed that I haven't started yet but you can join in with my countdown to the day I do start! (Wed 25th Sep)

32 days and counting....

How's it looking for the change of nickname now after that fall off the wagon? I'm sure that it didn't do too much harm Mind you - that was an awful lot of booze you all put away!!!

I'm looking forward to seeing the new k! Good luck!

Debs x

Hi Debs,
I keep writing a reply to this and then somehow losing it! Well done for your efforts in the pool It sounds like you are getting yourself properly prepared for this, and of course I am not disappointed that you haven't started yet - it is good to see that you are getting lots of good advice and are being sensible about it. Remember that I am here to cheer you on - not send you on guilt trips!

The wagon-falling doesn't seem to have upset my system too much - I lost 2lb this week! Maybe I should get roaring more often I will probably miss my end-of-september target by a couple of weeks now, but am not too upset about - things are going in the right direction even if they are going slowly. k doesn't get to come out until I get right to the end of this - probably sometime next february (a year after beginning, which is nice really)but I will have a name change when I do eventually hit my end of september milestone (63lbs lost - that's 4 and a half stone ). It is funny to think how far I have come now, when back at the beginning I couldn't really imagine getting this far. I hoped for it but couldn't really see it. Now it is real!

Anyway, have to get back to work - it is a really rough week and I am surreptitiously hunting for a new job at the same time - makes life rather difficult...

(got to these new smilies)

k - soon to be plump kelli

Hi Kelli

Job hunting . How horrid. I am freelance and therefore have left all that nastiness behind me. Good luck anyway.

Well done on the 2lb! What a nice surprise!

I have been checking out gyms in the area again and think I have found one that may be just right. It is not in walking distance - will be the only way - but I think that maybe, just maybe, my neighbour two doors down goes there! She might want some company. The other good thing is that I can try it for a week for free thanks to Diet Coke! They have this promotion thing going at the moment where one of the prizes is a 1 week free trial at a Cannons Gym and 50% off full membership! If you find the word GYM on the inside of the lid then you've won - and only yesterday I got it! Is that an omen or what? OK, there are 1.5 million prizes so it's not exactly the top prize but it's better than nowt! I have until 1st Jan 2003 to take up the offer so it will fit into my plans quite nicely I think. The one I will be going to is in St Albans - it looks quite good on the website - it has 2 swimming pools, sauna, gym and lots more!

Cheery-pip for now and take care

Debs (no other healthy smilies )

Hey Debs,
I have really been shockingly bad at replying to people this week, sorry! It has been really stressful and busy at work so I've only been jumping in when I've had something quick to say. All the added stress has been quite challenging in terms of my diet, it is times like this that I want to snack and eat the wrong things. I've been fairly strong but have fallen off of the wagon in small ways (stopped having slimfast soups for lunch and went back to solids for lunch for a few days and eaten more than previously in the evenings) but I think I have got it back on track again. I am still losing but it was only a pound this week and I am not going to hit my target at a pound a week! I am resolved to have a really good week this week and lose at least 2lb - think full thoughts for me!

Not long until your holiday now, are you getting excited? My holidays have just been postponed for another month because my contract has unexpectedly been extended by another month so I'm due to finish here at the end of October now rather than september. I will keep up the jobhunting anyway because I am desperate to get out of here but it means that I can't really plan a holiday until early november - where on earth am I going to find some sunshine in November?

Anyway, I had better get to work, the sooner I get things done the earlier I can get to the gym... have you been to check out that gym yet? It sounds like you have got a good deal to get you started when you come back from holiday.


k