Say hello to a familiar face... guest post by Lauren.

Hi there – remember me? I can’t believe it’s been 18 months since I was last here!

For those of you who are new to Where Are My Knees, my name is Lauren and I was a member of the team for a few months back in 2012/2013. Unfortunately due to other commitments I wasn’t able to stick around longer, but I had some great experiences while part of the team and I was thrilled when Gemma got in touch to ask me if I wanted to do a guest post for the girls.

My story is one most people will have heard in some form or another – I lost 100lbs on Weight Watchers over the course of two and a half years while I was at university. After graduating and starting full time work the weight started to creep back on slowly…a year after I graduated I fell in love with a wonderful man and suddenly the weight wasn’t creeping on so much as piling on – a result of too many meals out and too many nights on the sofa with ice cream and sweets!

At my heaviest, I weighed 19st 11.5lbs – a number that will be ingrained in my memory for the rest of my life. At my lightest, I weighed 12st 9.5lbs. I was within the healthy weight bracket for my height (5’11) but still around 7-10lbs heavier than I wanted to be. As of this April, when I re-joined Weight Watchers and really re-committed myself to losing the weight again, I weighed 16st 5lbs. At first I was mortified that I had allowed myself to regain so much of the weight that I worked so hard to lose, but I’ve come to accept that this is just one stage in my journey. The truth is I will struggle with my weight for the rest of my life, and that is just something that I’m going to have to accept and learn to live with. What matters is that I re-dedicated myself to losing weight and living healthily, and in the last 14 weeks I’ve lost just over 15lbs. Not a miraculous weight loss by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s been consistent and I’m actually enjoying being back on track.

So, what changed? Well first of all I’m very lucky to have the support of my wonderful boyfriend. We recently made the decision to move in together, and we’re currently living in his lovely little house in a small town in Lincolnshire. It’s a far cry from the hustle and bustle of the busy commuter town in Essex I grew up in, but I’m loving being surrounded by gorgeous countryside and will soon be starting a brand new job about two miles from our home. Moving in with my boyfriend and out of the family home has had a huge impact on my weight loss because I have been able to take control of what food is in the house. Living with my mum, stepdad and brother was always problematic for me weight loss wise. Not only were the cupboards full of sweets, crisps and chocolate but my mum is an excellent cook and is not a fan of weighing or measuring – so while I knew that my meals were made from lovely fresh ingredients I never had any idea of how much was on my plate. Since moving in with Pete I have almost completely taken over shopping and cooking (even though he’s a better cook than I am!) and having this control has really helped keep me on track.

Probably the most important thing that happened was that I was finally honest with myself about how I felt about my body. Because I’m tall I can get away with carrying more weight, and even at just over 16st I was only wearing a size 16. I spent a long time trying to convince myself that my weight didn’t matter and I was happy with how I looked. I have a boyfriend that loves me no matter what size jeans I’m wearing, and it wasn’t like I’d regained all the weight after all…maybe this was just the size I was meant to be. I was wrong though, and I had to realise that and break the cycle of denial before I could really get re-focussed on losing weight. If I hadn’t, I have no doubt that I would have ended up back where I started in 2010.

As I said previously, mine is a story that most people will be familiar with. Almost everybody knows somebody who lost a significant amount of weight and then re-gained some or all of it. Gemma herself has spoken about her struggles with maintaining her weight loss and there are plenty more people out there in the same boat. If you’ve found yourself in this position, or even if you’re new to the weight loss game, I would advise you to above all else be honest with yourself. I spent two years pre-Weight Watchers telling myself that I didn’t care about being the fat friend, but it was a lie. It sounds shallow, but I was at my happiest in myself when I was at my slimmest. I was brimming with confidence, I smiled more, I laughed freely, I made friends easily. Over the past couple of years as the weight has crept back on I’ve found myself making excuses not to go out, shying away from the colourful and fun fashions I used to love, and generally withdrawing more and more. Being honest with myself about what the weight was doing to my happiness was the best thing I could have done, and I’m now looking forward to shedding even more pounds and re-embracing the slim, happy, confident girl I was a couple of years ago.

If you’d like to keep up with my weight loss journey and see a little more of what I’m up to now I’m living in the Lincs countryside then please stop by my new blog Life In Lincs, or say hello on Twitter or Instagram. I’d love to hear from you :)