Success Story: Sophie

AKA "Sophieaft" on Weight Loss Resources

Weight Loss History

I have tried the Weight Watchers plan, although I didn’t attend meetings, and also an unstructured general ‘healthy eating plan’ which was basically eating salads and fruit during the day with a ‘normal’ dinner. Neither gave me lasting results.

Have you lost weight before and regained the weight?

I’ve been steadily gaining weight since about the age of 15, and have been at least 10 ½ stone since I started university at 18. I’ve lost up to about a stone before and kind of hovered between 11 and 12 for about 4 years, although this is an estimate as I didn’t own a pair of scales until I started WLR.

How being overweight has affected you…

I always considered myself an overweight person, and was generally the biggest of my friends. To be honest I never thought I could lose this much weight.

It never really got me down until I was my biggest, at this point I hated looking at photos of myself. I felt ugly and unattractive; I disliked the way clothes looked on me, and the limitations this put on my wardrobe as I do enjoy fashion.

Motivation to Lose Weight

At first it was to improve my self esteem, I was quite low and felt this was one thing I could take control and responsibility for.

After receiving a few comments about ‘looking pregnant’ in certain clothes it really shook me. My nice clothes no longer fitted, and I started to feel out of control. I’ve always taken care of my appearance and health, and when I finally brought the scales was shocked at what they told me.

I have also been trying to save money and worked out I was spending vast amounts on food rather than clothes etc, as I could write this off as a necessity. I needed to find some control in this area too.

Discovering Weight Loss Resources

I had been trying to lose weight for a while with no real results, and my sister told me she had been calorie counting. I had never really thought about this and began looking for a calorie counter on line. WLR was one of the first ones I came too and I instantly got hooked on the diary and exercise journal on the free trial.

How Weight Loss Resources Helps

The diary and exercise journal really makes me think about what I am consuming, and has given me an understanding of the energy I’m expending each day.

I have learnt loads about balance, and portion control. The first few days were terrible, and I had no idea about the amounts I could and was eating on a daily basis. It soon became clear why the weight had been going on.

I now focus my attention on how my body feels. I try not to snack when I’m bored or frustrated. I don’t eat until I’m bursting. I drink water all day, and make sure I’m hydrated. When I do indulge I enjoy it!

I plan little bits of everything I love, and have learnt where I can cut out calories and not notice the difference. For example I only use butter or margarine when I know I’m going to taste it. I’ve changed to skimmed milk as I only really use it in tea/coffee.

I’m also consciously exercising, rather than assuming that the exercise I do is enough to balance out the cake/pasta/whatever I plan on eating. Little changes really do add up!

I love food and cooking and now really focus on the quality over everything else. I plan food a week a head, and always make sure my food is full of vegetables, and that there is plenty of fruit around. I know what I can’t resist (peanut butter kit kats, crisp and dip, etc) and do not keep them in the house. When I do give into cravings, they are now much, much healthier!

The Best of Weight Loss Resources

I use the food and exercise diary daily, and can update it all day even when I’m at work, so this does make me think about food choices.

The message boards are fantastic. I don’t contribute as much as others, but they let you know there are other people having the same thoughts, the same highs and lows, the same dilemmas, and the same problems, weight related and in general. It’s the human face of the site, and really encourages me when I’m lagging.

The amount of knowledge is astonishing, and the humour that comes with it puts a smile on my face almost everyday. The sense of community really cheers me up, I can highly recommend the ‘Weigh-in’ board, even if your result for the week is good or bad, the support always comes. ‘Food ideas’ are always interesting to me, and the search facilities on all boards are helpful from time to time.

Sophie's Tips for Losing Weight

Using the search facilities on the boards can answer the basic questions, but if you’re not sure ask! People are generally friendly and helpful, and almost every question has been asked before.

Be true to your diary! If you’ve had a binge, and we all do, put it all in as best as you can. The damage is not always as bad as you think, and you will then have a chance at doing something about.

I’ve got a lot of use of the ‘Oops’ category on the food diary. It’s taught me when I most regularly have the unplanned food that puts me over my calorie limit, so I can now plan snacks for these times. Finally, bodies are weird and weight will fluctuate daily, sometimes for no reason, don’t panic when it does!

This site works! Use it and stay motivated, the results will follow. Don’t give up at hurdles, they will come and sometimes many at once!

Sophie's Vital Statistics

	Before	Now
Weight	12st	9st 5lb