Gemma- My progress so far...

I started my Weight Watchers diet at the beginning of February and I’m so happy with all that I have achieved so far. I have lost 2 stone 10.5 lbs, at an average of 1.4 lbs a week, which is a nice steady weight loss. I have dropped two dress sizes (nearly three) and lost 10% of my body weight which means I have lowered my blood pressure and I am at less risk of getting type 2 diabetes. 

While I haven’t lost as much as I would have liked I feel like I am well on my way to my ultimate goal of being a size 16.
Why a size 16? I really miss being able to shop wherever I like! I really hate shopping at the moment, there are only a few shops I can go to and if I get down to a size 16 I will have so many more options. If I drop more dress sizes than that then it will be a bonus but I wanted a realistic goal.
When I reach a weight that I am happy with I will become a gold member of Weight Watchers which means I will still attend classes but try and maintain my weight. I think being on a controlled diet will be something I need to stick to for my whole life rather than just as a quick fix. I really don’t want to put the weight back on and lose all this new confidence I have gained!

The only downside to losing all the weight is that most of my clothes no longer fit me. I’ve got a few tips for maintaining a transitional diet wardrobe:

*Don’t buy new clothes every time you drop a few pounds, you will just be wasting your money! I have invested in a few plain dresses in block colours that I can cinch in at the waist with a belt when I lose more weight.

*If you want to update your wardrobe for the A/W season then I would get a trench coat that you can belt up and invest in nice shoes and bags in the new seasons colours. You will not need to get rid of these after only a few weeks and treating yourself to new things is a nice way to reward weight loss.

*Get measured for new bras regularly, your bra size will change a lot when you diet. Ill-fitting bras can lead to back pain, poor posture and also mean that your clothes do not sit nicely on top. I would buy a good t-shirt bra that you can wear with everything regularly throughout your weight loss rather than buying a few different styles each time you lose a significant amount of weight. Good bras can be pricey, so get an expert to fit it so you have the right one.  

How are all of you lovely pledgers doing with your health goals? I would love to know how you are all getting along!

Sunday Summary #21

Happy Sunday everyone!

Sarah V - After my birthday last weekend I was determined to get back on track. At my weigh in on Tuesday, I'd gained another 2lbs which I expected after all the birthday meals out I'd had - but from then onwards have really got back in the zone. I did an extra zumba class on Thursday, walked to work most days and have done my best to eat well. I've had a couple of slips - a BBQ on Friday night for instance where I forgot all of my tips! But overall, I'm feeling back in the zone, and hopeful for a good weightloss result on Tuesday.

Sarah - My motivation seems to have disappeared :( I have gained 2lbs this week and cannot stop craving and eating crap. An overnight work conference really didn't help especially the very limited choice of calorie laden food followed by beers, lots of cosmos and champagne... I really need to stop this and get back on track, someone please kick me up the ass.

Gemma -It was my birthday on Friday and I can honestly say I've not stopped eating and drinking since the wedding last weekend. I did manage to stay the same weight which was all down to making wise choices. I'm now a lot more aware of what foods and drinks should be avoided and I stuck to a lot of chicken and salad when eating out for my birthday and one or two gin and slimline tonics. If I hadn't been following the Weight Watchers plan since Feb I probably would have put about 5lbs on this week from eating loads of carbs and drinking lots of cocktails. I'm really happy with maintaining my weight this week.

Charlene - It was my birthday on Tuesday so I think it's safe to say that after 4 nights of drinking, eating at restaurants and a big chocolate birthday cake that I haven't lost anything! Ah well, your birthday only happens once a year! I keep getting cravings for going out a long run, however this only seems appealing when it's late at night and probably not safe. Although, cravings for exercise! YAY! Going to drag myself out of bed early tomorrow and run!

Lucy - This week I've been mostly living off macaroni cheese out of a packet, houmous wraps, grapes, pineapple, crisps and chocolate. And the occasional banana. It's difficult living in a flat and not having kitchen essentials - I have a bowl, a plate and a pan. That's pretty much it! I'm not sure if I'll have lost any weight but I'm definitely not eating as much as I usually do.

Sunday Summary #20

Happy Sunday all!

Sarah V - It was my birthday on Friday and as such, this week has been a bit of a write-off. I gained 2lbs on Tuesday and I'm not confident about this week's weigh-in! But I am a firm believer that dieting is about give and take, and if there's one occasion you should be able to do (and eat) what you want - it's your birthday! However, I'm feeling positive about getting back to it for good tomorrow, and after being back at Zumba for two weeks, am loving exercise again. This week, my mission is to eat healthily every day again, and try and walk to work every day too - instead of giving in to that extra 30 mins in bed!

Sarah - I've gained 1lb this week which I am actually okay with seeings as my little sister got married on Monday and we spent most of Sunday and Monday celebrating. I really did think it would be more especially seeings as it's also 'that' time of the month. My goals have now changed as I am now on the count down to my own wedding in less than 4 months and have been going walking for at least an hour every day. 25lbs in 16 weeks feels like such a challenge so I am counting on you guys to help me out!

Gemma - I lost 2lbs at my weigh in on Friday which I was very happy about. The wedding I attended yesterday was one of my main reasons for losing weight, I felt happy with the loss of 38.5 I have achieved and my next goal is a wedding in October and I want to be 50+ lbs in to my weight loss by then.
This weekend has been a total write off. I've had a cream tea, cooked breakfast, champagne and wedding buffet food. I haven't thought about my diet at all and it will be my birthday on Friday so I'm not sure that it will be a good week. I think one week off since February isn't bad at all!

Charlene -

Lucy - I've been quite good this week, as promised, although I'm still finding that I have a lack of motivation. I really do not know what's wrong with me. I'm headed to London today for three weeks for work experience and for the first fortnight I'll be living in student halls, there's an Asda just across the road and I'm planning on buying meals each night rather than stocking up with a load of stuff that'll probably just end up getting thrown away when I move out. I'm going to have to be ultra strict with myself and hopefully I will be...

How has your week been?

Guest Post- Hannah from Bow Dream Nation

This weeks guest post was written by Hannah from Bow Dream Nation.

I love running is not a phrase I would have associated with myself a few months ago but here I am today embracing the statement with arms wide open. Ok, well maybe with half open arms... I LIKE running is probably more accurate.

In school I hated running! During the summer we would play athletics and I’d go to any means to miss those lessons, I just wasn’t very good and let’s face it, lazy! However, in March of this year things started to change. I noticed a lot of bloggers were into running and when Helen wrote a guest post on this blog about the Couch to 5K plan I thought I would give it ago. Attempting to be on a constant diet was proving boring and hard for my weight loss and I knew I needed to introduce some exercise into my routine if I wanted to see results. However, I never had much luck with the gym so I decided to take up running because a. It was free and b. All I had to do was run out my front door.

That very first run I did was hard, harder than I thought to be honest but by my third run at the end of the week I could all ready feel results. I couldn’t believe how much my cardio vascular ability had improved after a short space of time! After a month or so I even started to enjoy and look forward to my runs. I followed the Couch to 5K plan all the way to the end, sometimes I was unable to run 3 times a week but I just kept going until I had completed it. Being able to run 30minutes without stopping after a couple of months was a huge achievement and once the plan was completed I downloaded the follow up app, Bridge to 10K.

To keep me motivated I signed up to a number of races including a 5K and a 10K Race for Life. If I had not entered these races I know it would have been hard to keep up with the training especially when I had to do after work runs (they’re the worse) but knowing people were sponsoring me made me work hard. I’m now in training for a half marathon at the end of September and my running plan is extreme. Just last weekend I had to run 8miles which is the longest I’ve ever gone for! I surprised myself by being able to do it without killing myself and it’s moments like this that have made me realise how much I enjoy this sport. Running has gone beyond being a weight loss tool and has become an exercise in pushing my body to its limits. After a run (no matter how shoddy it may have been) you get an enormous high which makes the blisters, sweat and tears worth it! Yes, I’ve lost weight and toned up as a result and feel phenomenally more fitter but it’s also a great tool for distressing, clearing your mind and increasing your self confidence.

For any of you thinking about getting into running I have a few tips. Buy the Couch to 5k app, it is seriously the best £1.50 I've ever spent. Invest in a decent pair of trainers and sports bra, they really do make a difference, trust me! Sign up to some races to keep you motivated, it helped loads with me. And finally, don’t attempt too much at once because if after your first run you can’t walk for days and feel like death it’s going to be really hard to make yourself go again.

I’ve even started a running blog called Feet on Fire to document my progress and tips I’ve learnt. So please feel free to ask me any questions whether they're about kit, training programmes or general advice because as a result of liking running (ok, so maybe I do love it after all) I also love to talk about it!