Wednesday 6 January 2016

The time has come.

I am fifty six years old, and for the last twenty five years have weighed pretty much the same a pound or two up or down but always settle back to the same weight. Ok I have always been aware that that weight is obese but it has never really bothered me. But in the last three months I have put on over half a stone, and so the time has come to do something about it. I have no idea why this change should suddenly occur, I can only put it down to one of two things, either hormones now the menopause has well and truly arrived or more likely better control of my food allergy issues.

Up until a few months back when I attended the anaphylaxis clinic and had some tests done that gave some results I expected and some results I did not suspect, I have always had food issues, some foods bother my skin, others bother my breathing, others still make the inside of my mouth itch and my tongue swell up. But in the main foods bother my stomach. I have seen me  ( sorry for tmi here but it is part of the story) running to go to the toilet six, eight, ten times a day with painful cramps and not always sure what was causing it. Due to the testing and cutting out ANYTHING that grows on a tree then this pain and discomfort has stopped.I have known for a long time I could not eat raw fruit or veg but did not realise I had such a major issue  Maybe my body is now absorbing more goodness out of the food cos it is stopping in my body long enough. . But this makes eating healthily quite difficult, I cannot snack on a piece of fruit or a handful of nuts, cannot munch a carrot while I am preparing the tea, things I really do miss being able to do.

Anyway no matter what the reason for the weight gain, and yes I have been to see my GP and have an appointment booked for the end of the month to have fasting blood tests done to have a good look what is going on, it needs to stop. Being the weight I am never really stops me from doing much. I have a very active job, on my feet the whole shift, walking, pushing trolleys, hoovering and mopping floors, and can walk upwards of fifteen miles a day in a shift. I happily walk most days, I will take the stairs in preference to a lift or an escalator. I use to swim over thirty lengths of the swimming pool five mornings a week when I was in university thirteen years ago - this had to stop due to an allergy to the chemicals in the water, I use to cycle ten miles a day or more before I moved house, and none of this made any impact on my weight.

But now it is creeping up I need to do something,  So I have decided to tackle this with a three pronged attack. Firstly I have started with Slimpod Gold from Thinking Slimmer , I will start listening to this in an evening when I go to bed.
Our clinically-proven Slimpod is a nine-minute podcast which transforms the way you feel about food and yourself - and it breaks the perpetual diet-fail cycle. Day by day it retrains your brain so you instinctively make healthier choices, want to eat less and move more – perfect for lasting weight loss.  


the log book


So this is not an instant fix, but if used right a long term fix. It recommends you forget about the scales and work on your measurements, so with this in mind I measured myself this morning. The figures are not pretty, but maybe they will be come the Summer and I will share with you my before and after. I have downloaded and printed out the personal success log that comes as part of the package and intend to fill the booklet in every day. I have also joined the Facebook support group and hope to talk to other like minded people.













Secondly I am going to watch what I eat. I am not particularly an unhealthy eater. I have never done dairy as I have an issue with that. I can get away with little bits and pieces of cheese and chocolate but not butter, milk or cream. So I eat dry toast and dry crackers and things already so hard to cut down there.  I make my own lactose free yoghurt and eat that in a morning with a high fibre low
roasted veg for tea
sugar cereal. My other breakfast option is fridge porridge made with soya milk. I am aware my biggest downfall is eating at lunchtimes when I am out of the house. I work in a hospital but more than half the days I am there the only allergy free option open to me is chips. Portion size is my problem, but then more than half of my meal is usually made up from vegetables. If I eat mashed potato it is only potato no butter or anything added to make it creamy. There are no creamy sauces in this house, most meals are plain and simple

Thirdly I am going to up the exercise. On top of the walking I already do, have this week started back to logging it on mapmywalk, I started last night with a beginners aerobic session that I found on
my first keep fit workout of the year
youtube. I am not built to be going straight into a heavy going one, but I have found various less intense ones to start me off, and will work my way up to harder ones. I am getting up every hour and moving, two or three times up the stairs, it all adds up in a year. Who know by the Summer I might even attempt a couch to 5k if all this works for me.






So there you have it, determination has kicked in, have never really been interested before but seriously cannot afford to get any heavier. Wish me luck.

34 comments:

  1. Good luck - look forward to your uodates. It sounds like you're going into this with the right mindset, taking babysteps and looking for long-term changes rather than a quick fix. xxx

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    1. babysteps for me are more effective than starving myself which lasts for 2 days max

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  2. Good luck with your weight journey you seem to have it all planned and under control. I watch with interest as I'm 56 this year and my New Year's Resolution is, as always, to loose more weight this year!! I've always been overweight and I'm a yo-yo dieter, I can loose 3 stone but I then promptly putting 4 back on, my biggest problem is I never exercise. X

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    1. no have never lost huge amounts of weight in my adult life, maybe now is the time to start!!

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  3. Ah good luck! You should be proud of yourself for taking these steps! Wishing you the best of luck x

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  4. I'm also doing the Slimpod challenge, and already feeling motivated. We can do this!! Good luck Elaine ! X

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  5. Good luck with your journey, sounds like you have a great plan. I have lost weight by cutting out sugar. My skin and all other ailments feel so much better and I have much more energy, unfortunately cutting out the things I loved but I don't really crave them much any more and never thought I would not be fussed about chocolate!

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    1. the joy of lactose intolerance, not a huge chocolate eater anyway.

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  6. Good luck on your weight loss journey. My mummy hasn't the willpower or the strength at the moment so is destined to fail. PMA is such a good tool. Slimpod sounds interesting x

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    1. No it is not about failing, it is about being in the right frame of mind mentally and when she has you to look after that fame of mind is hard to find.

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  7. Ive heard so many good things about Slim Pod I'm going to have to look into it!! :)

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    1. Yes so have I and I am so hoping it works for me.

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  8. Good luck. I've always struggled with my weight but it sound like you are determined and I'm sure you will be successful x

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    1. I cannot say as I feel I have struggles with my weight, I was happy where I was, just not happy at getting bigger

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  9. Best of luck with it - you sound like younhave a good plan in place and you definitely have the determination.

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  10. Wishing you the best of luck, it sounds like you have the perfect plan in place. I am currenlty trying to lose weight, with the right determination it can be done. X

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    1. I am hoping so, do not want to get any bigger

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  11. The food intolerances, or whatever they turn out to be, must be so difficult. I get IBS and that can be challenging, but I know what triggers it and can avoid such food. Hope you get some answers. And good luck with your weight loss plan x

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    1. I know what triggers most of mine, but feel I am missing out on necessary food groups

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  12. The slimpod is really effective if you use it regularly - I lost over a stone with it but then got complacent and its gradually crept back on so this year I have vowed its coming off and staying off. Food intolerance just makes it harder so good luck xx

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    1. Well done Kara, if you have done it once you can do it again.

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  13. Good luck on your weight loss journey - It sounds like you have a great plan in place. I am currently trying to find a type of exercise I actually enjoy which I hope would make it easier for me to do and then lose weight - fingers crossed!

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    1. yes exercise has to be enjoyable for you to stick at it. Swimming is my favourite form of exercise but not allowed to do it for allergy reasons - they are messing up my life.....lol

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  14. Wishing you the very best of luck. With your plan in place, I have no doubt you will be able to achieve this. I am also looking to lose some weight this year. This has encouraged me to go put a plan in place to make mine happen too.

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    1. Glad it has =helped to spur you on, good luck with the plan

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  15. Wishing you lots of luck and you should be proud of yourself for taking these steps x

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  16. Replies
    1. Nice to see more people on board, looking forward to seeing the out come for us all.

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  17. Some great ways in which you are tackling this. I wish you lots of luck and you should feel proud of yourself. It sound like you are motivated which is half the battle. Good luck. :)

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