Wow, well done. Looking really good, and so different.

yeah it gets a lot easier from here on in

fruits good ...what fruit are you snacking on ? some can be very high in sugar (better than the processed stuff though ) keep it up

thank you peach ..hoping I can show the progress from here on in a couple of months

satsumas mainly! An apple with lunch, but satsumas in the morning and afternoon...thank you, I'm really hoping to stick with it!

Really well done.

The key is in the mind isn't it. I exercise from Jan-March last year, felt really great. Went on holiday for a week (in UK, nowhere exotic) and then never resumed exercising. Because I stopped exercising I stopped healthy eating. We need to get it into our heads that is has to be a way of life. So if you can't exercise, it is not an excuse to go all out and eat and drink everything in sight. (Not picking on you by saying that, it is just the way minds seem to work. It is all or nothing, when really it should be do what you can at any given time to be healthy.)

Huge well done on the transformation! Absolutely amazing!

I think exercise and healthy eating IS sustainable, and about the only thing that is. getting yourself into the habit is the hard thing. once you're there and at weight loss/muscle gain target, you've just got to maintain it. You won't need 6 days of boot camp for the rest of your life.

A friend lost 10 stone through exercise and healthy eating (and eventually surgery to remove saggy skin), but she maintains now with just the little activity changes she introduced, rather than the workouts she hammered to lose the weight. She walks the kids to school, bought a dog and walks that a few times a day, and if she's eaten more than normal or something she wouldn't normally eat, she'll add an extra up and down every time she uses the stairs.

She does still swim and does the odd class here and there, but nothing drastic.

Thank you poppy

no you're exactly right if I'm not working out I see it as an excuse not to eat right its what happened when I did my back that's the mindset I need to break and trust me I will

You must have been enjoying your food a lot recently lol.

My weight yo-yo'd for all of 2015 but I did lose a tiny bit. I've got 12 stone to lose now which I know is going to take longer than a year. But I've got 2 big aims this year. I'm going on a family holiday to the lake district in July and I need to be fit enough to climb Dodd with the rest of the family. And my best friend is getting married in September and I refuse to be this size as her bridesmaid.

I'm a Weight Watchers member and while I wasn't successful last year I really like the new system they've brought in and I'm quite excited about it. It's my first weigh in of the year tomorrow.

It's nice to hear a success story. I think I get so frustrated with myself that I stop believing that permanent weight loss is possible without some fundamental changes. I know it is, just hard to work it out.

I've lost considerable weight so many times and swore to myself that i'd never go back, and then eventually failed. One time I went to the gym solidly for about 18 months straight and maintained a reasonable diet that whole time. Eventually I got sick of spending so much time exercising that I quit the gym but wrote a contract with myself about how I was going to maintain my weight. It was an actual physical document containing reasons why I didn't want to put weight back on and a list of rules that I had to stick to: including how I had to weigh myself every day and if ever i went above a certain level I'd go back to the gym.

Literally a couple of weeks after writing the document I had fallen back into my old ways and had ripped it up . . . .

I think the document is one of the reasons we are unsuccessful in maintaining. We put these unrealistic goals and limits on ourselves, and as soon as you fail it's incredibly disheartening and it all goes to pot.

My weight has gradually creeped up since I had son 4 years ago. The month after him I was desperate to lose the baby weight, and started a really restrictive diet. I did alright for 3 weeks, then had a meal I shouldn't have, thought I'd screwed everything up and gave up.
The birth itself set off a progressively worsening illness, which I didn't seek medical advice for until 6 months ago. Meanwhile I got into the habit of eating nothing for days sometimes, and then binging on chocolate and crap when I could no longer function.

This time around I've had a huge drastic change to my diet in the sense that I'm actually eating now, but I'm not restricting what I eat as such. I'm still eating white bread, still using butter, pretty much still eating everything aye and enjoyed back when I actually did eat.
I've just tweaked portions and cooking techniques. Frying in 1 cal spray rather than oil, having my veggie pile bigger than my mash pile, switching to lows/lights/no fat instead of full fat. And I half boil then fry my chips in a frying pan with 1 cal rather than the deep fat fryer (and I actually prefer them!)

I'm losing weight. A stone in 5 weeks. It's going to take longer than it would if I really restricted and forced myself to go to the gym, but I don't feel deprived or rebellious or like I'm doing anything that I couldn't do forever.

and there it is folks

that's why so many dies fail because they are restrictive by design and that's the wrong way about it (glad you lost the stone in the five weeks)

the key is don't restrict the amount you eat (within reason of course too much of anything is and will always be bad for you ) but what you eat is the real killer

fill half your plate with veg/salad a quarter with you protein and a quarter with good carbs (sweet potato/wholemeal rice ) and youre half way there

It's how I lost 2.5 stone last year.
Stuck to 3 meals a day and ate sensibly with just the odd treat or snack.
Was more active with walking and light exercise.
I didn't diet or restrict myself other than eating sensibly.

My immediate target is to get below 16st however the big milestone will be getting under 15st as that will move me from being classed as obese to just overweight.

How was Slimming World? I'm thinking about joining but am just not sure if the group thing is for me.

I need to try something different though, it's only been 3 days and I'm losing motivation already so I need to find something to help me make this year more successful than 2015!

It sounds silly but do you have any photos of when you were slimer ? Whenever I feel like I'm losing motivation I look at my progress shots to remind me of where I want to get too again

Even if you don't go the whole hog and join Slimming World, it's worth picking up some of their recipe books for some "normal meal" alternatives that are low fat.

We have their "Family Feasts On A Budget" and "Fakeaways" books.

The friend I mentioned earlier lost all her weight on slimming world. She's a consultant now, and is doing fantastic. I go to her group for my weigh ins, but don't actually join in with the group stuff or anything like that. I robbed some of her recipe books however, and the book that lists the food optimising thing they do. They are both really helpful, but I'm not a fan of 'sins' or whatever they call them, so don't follow the plan properly.

Of course I have the benefit of being friends with a consultant so even though I don't follow the plan or go to the group, I still have a consultant She's full of awesome hints and tips and a kick up the arse of I'm having a wobble.

I've never been in Slimming World. I just saw the books round a friends house and liked the recipes so got my own copies. I ignore all the stuff in there about syns and just pick recipes I like.
I was surprised about the portion size in them but I think it's because a lot of recipes are packed with vegetables.
A lot of recipes are for 4 people so we always have extra portions that are frozen and used in the future.

Whups sorry, quoted the wrong post! I saw your bit about the books and thought it was excellent advice. Meant to quote the actual slimming world question though.

But yes, I totally agree. The portion sizes seem huge when it's plated up, even when you cook for 4. I tend to use mine for inspiration when I fancy something different, or when I fancy something but I'm not sure how to make it healthier. They are good general books even if you ignore the syn part.

Thanks, these are great ideas to boost my flagging willpower. I'm going to dig out some photos from 5 years ago when I was at my slimmest and put them in the kitchen near the fridge and snack drawer to help stop any temptation.

The Slimming World books sound worth a try too, I might see if they have any in the library so I can try them out before buying. I'm glad to hear about the big portion sizes too, when I try and eat smaller portions I end up getting hungry and wanting to snack later on, so if I can fill up on something healthier that will help.

I am doing slimming world and I'm having stomach pains after every meal

I find this really weird as I didn't have stomach pains this time last week when I was living off prosecco, Chinese food and quality street

I had stomach pains during my first week of healthy eating. Realised I was stuffing myself with too much fruit and giving myself horrendous heartburn. Avoiding acidic food and sticking to veg has got rid of it.

Is there anything you're eating that you normally don't?

I am guessing I am probably the biggest hopeful weight loss person here. I was 33 stone in November, only lost 1 stone but down to 31.13. Will weigh myself again near the end of the month, hope to be down to 31 stone, my target is 1 stone a month. I don't want to lose it too fast (someone my size could lose a lot very quickly if tried) as the loose skin will be even worse. I don't have any surgery, just trying it with will power.

Yeah fruit and veg! Lol.

I will try less fruit and see if that helps, thank you

Fab, you can do it!! Rome wasn't built in a day, and lots of us here have a lot to lose are you doing any particular eating plan?