Welsh-Weigh works - read our success stories
Just a year and a half ago, petite 60 year old Janet weighed 14 stone, smoked 20
cigarettes a day, and was so unfit that walking up the slightest hill was
difficult. Not surprisingly she was also suffering from low self-esteem and
depression.
Pressure from her 15 year old grandson made her decide to give up smoking last
September, which she achieved with the enormous support of the practise nurse
from her local Doctors surgery.
As soon as she stopped smoking Janet felt better - cleaner and healthier, and she wanted to carry this a step further. The practise nurse encouraged her to participate in the 12 week Exercise For Life programme by asking her Doctor to refer her.
At the end of this period Janet was assessed and pronounced fit, and now felt that the only thing left to tackle was her weight - she wanted to look as good as she felt.
Having tried many diets in the past without success, Janet joined the Welsh-Weigh meeting in Aberaeron in April 2005, realising that the only way to lose weight and keep it off was through sensible eating for life, not faddy diets. She found that calorie counting enabled her to eat in the way that suited her, and by the end of August she had lost over 2 stone. Janet now walks everyday, feels fit, energetic and confident, and really has turned her life around at 60!
January 2004 and my New Years resolution was, as usual, to lose weight especially as the following January would be my 40th Birthday. I didn't want to be fat and forty! I thought I could tackle my weight loss on my own and it took until the end of April to admit defeat, after only losing a grand total of 4lbs, and go to my first Welsh-Weigh meeting in Abercych. That first meeting took some courage, but I did it! The scales registered at 15 ½ stone, I knew I had a big task ahead.
Luckily I knew Sharon, and with her help, advice and support I knew I could and would lose weight. She encouraged me to aim for small goals, so off I went and lost 4 ½ lb in the first week, and ½ stone by three weeks, and it felt good!
The calorie counting was fairly easy and I soon learnt which were the best foods with the lower calories - I like a big plateful! Fruit and vegetables were my life savers - homemade soups, stews, curries and stir-fries, large salads and plenty of fresh fruit made a big difference, not just to me but also to my whole family.
I spent more time planning the meals for the week, and I shopped more carefully, reading the calorie content on food labels. I do slip up sometimes (no one is perfect!) but I work out the calories, write it down and think carefully about what I eat next. One hiccup is not the end of the world. By the summer I had lost 2 ½ stone and was feeling good about myself and other people had started to notice; compliments are the best form of encouragement!
Sharon advocates exercise along with diet, and as I'm not one for the gym, I started walking and exploring the foot paths around the village. The family joined in and even the dog lost weight!
Other differences I noticed were my increased energy levels, my legs didn't rub together any more, my hair and skin were in better condition, and I no longer created a 'dam' in the bath as my bulk decreased! I lost weight steadily, and by January 2005 I had lost 5 stone. In February 2005 I reached my goal weight of 10 stone 3lbs, and attended a friends wedding in a size 12 outfit - it felt great! I am learning how to maintain my goal weight, and will continue to go to a weekly weigh-in as I'm sure that the accountability of being weighed each week keeps you on the slim path.
I'd like to thank Sharon and all the other slimming ladies in Abercych for their continuous support and encouragement, as without them I'd still be trying to lose weight and believe me;
Nothing tastes as good as being slim!
I had been a yo-yo dieter for years trying one diet after another, and each time putting all the weight back on and more. Things came to a head however in May 2004 when I was diagnosed with cancer. After a successful operation, and during convalescence I put on yet another stone. I then saw an article in the local newspaper about Welsh-Weigh, and was interested by the fact that they did a Body Stat Test to monitor body fat percentage, muscle mass, hydration levels and metabolic rate, as well as weight.
After much thought I made a phone call to Welsh-Weigh Consultant Kerry, and
joined my local meeting in Aberaeron the following day.
I found the diet was about healthy eating with the aid of calorie counting, and
at first I was not sure if I could manage to count calories. However, I told
myself that if I could beat cancer, I could do anything.
15 months later I have lost 60 lbs in weight, and have found counting calories
no problem at all. In fact, I do not consider myself to be on a diet, more a
healthy way of eating which will stay with me for life and which has enabled me
to go from a size 20 to a size 14 with a steady controlled weight loss.
My weight had always been about 9
stone until I stopped smoking 14 years ago. As my taste buds returned and
everything tasted so much better, I began to eat more. Unfortunately the type of
food I ate was full of fat and sugar, chocolates and biscuits, and I ballooned
to 11 ½ stone. An ecptopic pregnancy caused even more weight to go on and I
was told this may affect my chances of another pregnancy unless I did something
about it.
I initially lost a stone, but then seemed to get stuck. So I joined Welsh-Weigh in November 2003 and got to my goal weight of 9 stone 10 lbs in October 2004.
By eating healthily and sensibly I have now maintained my goal weight for 15 months, which I have never achieved before. I am able to eat normally with the family and do not feel that I am on a diet at all. Sensible eating is enjoyable, and because I do not feel deprived I know I will be able to maintain my weight loss by eating like this for life.
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After I gave up smoking the weight piled on and it really got me down. I couldn't get into any of my clothes and I
did not feel good at all. I tried many different diets but found I couldn't stick to any of them so nothing helped.
I joined Welsh-Weigh in February 2005 and found their principles really worked for me. I found counting calories easy. I kept a diary of everything I ate each week and the weight started to come off.
I found after a few months I had completely changed my way of eating - I would choose to eat healthily rather than snacking on crisps and cakes. Drinking plenty of water also helped
I feel great now after losing 2 stone and have confidence where I didn't have before. I couldn't have done it without the support of Kerry and the rest of my Welsh-Weigh group. A year later I still keep a food diary and am still enjoying going to the weekly Welsh-Weigh meeting
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My new years resolution in 2004 was to try and get fit after
my redundancy and possibly lose some weight. I went to the gym for two months
but was horrified to find I was gaining weight! It was this that drove me to
join Welsh-Weigh and get some professional advice from Kerry. It seems that
exercise builds muscle and that's what caused the weight gain. Kerry persuaded
me to try her sensible eating plan, although I assured her that I couldn't lose
weight as I'd tried unsuccessfully all my adult life. When asked how much weight
I wanted to lose I remember saying that 1lb would be nice.
One week later I'd lost 2 ½ lbs and it just went on from there, with a steady loss of 1lb a week until I reached my goal on December 14th. I lost over 2 stone in 8 ½ months. The best part was going to a buffet lunch the day I got to goal and apologising for being late as I'd been to my slimming club. The hostess looked me up and down and remarked haughtily "you don't need to slim" Brilliant!
It's good to be able to wear clothes with waists again and not bulge over all my waistbands. I feel I am much fitter and I can now climb very steep hills with no effort and hardly get out of breath.
Welsh-Weigh proved to be such a learning curve; my ideal
weight is at least a stone heavier that I had always believed it to be
following weight charts in magazines. I have found it easy to carry on with the
plan and 14 months later I am still more or less at goal. This is because I like
what I eat and have got used to substituting low-cal foods for what I used to
eat without really noticing - except on the scales.
Kerry is a committed and inspirational teacher and I still go to meetings (free of charge now so long as I stay within 5lbs of goal). I met some really nice people and we all support one another and have a laugh.
Losing weight has been the best thing I have ever done!
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In October 2005 I went to a family wedding weighing over 24 stone and unable to
find a suit to wear that fitted me. In spite of this, I still carried on with my
normal intake of about ten thousand calories a day, consisting of McDonalds for
breakfast, a huge bowl of chips every evening, 10 slices of bread and butter
with cheese, and 8 packets of crisps to keep me going between meals!
In January 2006 however I decided that enough was enough and resolved to lose weight as my new years resolution.
My daughter Angharad was sceptical, telling me I did not have
the will-power to give up junk food, and so we placed a bet on who could lose
the most weight. She took me to join the local Welsh-Weigh weight-loss meeting
in Aberaeron, and from
then on I was on a mission to lose
weight. My lifestyle
and diet changed overnight, as I swapped junk food and chips for healthy eating
and drinking lots of water. The weight dropped off me, and within 8 months I had
lost over 6 stone.
I am now far more active and physically fit, able to fit into clothes easily, and I have won my bet!
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I’d
struggled with my weight for most of my adult life.
I’d go on all sorts of strange weight-loss regimes, lose weight, then put
it all back on when I came off the diets.
My weight gradually increased to over 12 stones, and I felt fat, unhealthy and unfit. My self-esteem reached rock bottom, I was sometimes ashamed to go out as I felt so awful. I always dreaded summer when my weight was up, as I didn’t want to go out in summer dresses or shorts
In March 2006, my life started to change. I walked away from an unhappy marriage and moved to a flat of my own. I vowed that I would do two things – find a job and lose at least 2 stones in weight. At the time these goals seemed unrealistic, even impossible!
Then one day, back in July 2006, I saw a poster advertising Welsh-Weigh sessions, and I decided to give it a go. I had no real expectations that I’d lose any weight, having failed on so many previous occasions – but after just one visit to Welsh-Weigh, I started to have faith. When I went back the next week, I’d lost a few pounds, which was so encouraging.
Anyway, to cut a long story short – I lost 34 and a half pounds in 8 months! When people ask how I did it, I say it’s all down to the four Ws:
Welsh-Weigh – for advice and support
Water – drinking 3 to 5 pints a day
Walking – the only exercise I can really do
Writing – down everything I eat and drink and making a note of the calories
Thanks to the four Ws, I’m now slimmer, fitter and more confident.
Sometimes I still have to pinch myself for
reassurance that I’m not dreaming, I really did lose all that weight.
I would urge anyone who wants to lose weight but feels it’s impossible, to go along to Welsh-Weigh. After years of trying to lose weight, Welsh-Weigh worked for me.
I achieved my
weight loss target, (and I also have a full time job now.)
At
nearly thirteen stone and over 60, I felt like a beached whale and my stomach
got in the way of donning my tights. I like clothes but felt miserable looking
in the size 18 to 20 range. Most of all I was worried about inheriting the
family heart problems.
I had tried several diets with only temporary success, so when I saw the Welsh-Weigh advert I went along with no real faith. I was given an induction pack but was sceptical at being told that so long as I counted it, I could eat what I liked.
I found the water drinking daunting to start with, but with a few drops of lemon juice and my newly purchased quaffing glasses it was an easy habit to form.
The suggested shopping list contained many foods that liked, and together with my little weighing machine, putting a meal together was child’s play, and the food diary (now routine) helped to organise each meal as it occurred.
I am inclined to appease my taste buds at night, even after
a big meal, so I arrange my calories to accommodate my habits. I eat chocolate
in small portions; I still cook with butter, carefully weighed and counted, and
even have a sliver of pork pie occasionally as a treat. I insist to everyone
that I am not on a diet and that there are
no foods that I am forbidden, so
eating at social gatherings is easy for me, and simple for my host to cater for.
I have now lost nearly 3 stone; previously an insomniac, I sleep better and wake refreshed. I now shop for size 14 clothes and the compliments keep coming, but best of all – I feel great! I have now trained to become a Consultant for Welsh-Weigh and enjoy running my own meeting in Crymych.