Julie’s story
In January this year where I work was starting up a slimming club. Although I didn’t want to join it, I knew I needed to weigh myself, as I knew I was at my biggest and in denial. None of my clothes fitted me & I was just slobbing about in men’s XXL jogging bottoms & T-shirts.
When I weighed in I burst into tears, I was over 2.5 stone heavier that what I expected to be and the last weight I was (17st 8 & 3/4 lb). My doctor had advised me to lose weight at 15st citing that I was morbidly obese, borderline type 2 diabetes & my BMI was far too high along with my blood pressure.
I’d had problems with my weight since I was a teenager & had tried numerous diets, slimming pills, groups etc, but because the weight loss was slow I used to give up. I’d even been referred to a Get Active programme through my doctor to get me doing more exercise. However, through back & leg injuries from a car accident I found exercising painful and I didn’t have the willpower to eat healthy all of the time.
I posted on Facebook about how disgusted I was in myself and I was going to do something about it. I continued to log my progress, purely to stop me relapsing into my food’o’holic habits. I was looking online for quick loss diets & saw the 5:2 website. I thought “that’s one I hadn’t heard of”, so I read up all I could find, downloaded Michael Mosley’s book and after researching all I could find I thought I’d give it a go.
I wanted to be slim & not grade 3 obese. I just thought I should see what I could or might lose in a year. My weight fluctuates from a loss & gain of 4lbs a week, but seemed to level out at 1-2lb a week loss, but there have been weeks when I haven’t lost anything and that was usually down to me overindulging.
After a few false starts I finally found how to plan my fasts, I drink teas during the day and don’t eat until as late as I can. I only allow myself soup, salad, fruit & jelly or the occasional Low Low meal. I seem to be able to manage the fasts, but I struggle to control my eating the other 5 days.
I am now only classed as overweight and if I can I’d like to lose another 2 stone. I’ve lost 5 already!
Colleagues at work started to notice my loss when I was swamped in my uniform. Once I renewed my uniform customers also started to ask if I’d been losing weight, and how I had done it.
I class myself as a work in progress and 5:2 will be a lifelong commitment for me.
If I had to offer advice to a new faster, I’d tell them this:
Research – know what you are doing. Weigh your food – use an app like My Fitness Pal. Don’t give up – the weight loss might not show at first, but the loss in inches does!
I still can’t believe I’ve lost so much weight on 5:2, once you get your head around what to eat, plan & weigh your food it’s not difficult. You won’t melt into the floor or pass out with lack of food! 5:2 to me has rewired my mind in how and what to eat as well as only to eat when I’m genuinely hungry. I’ve become a bit of an expert in how many calories are in foods in having smaller portions, though I still call myself a recovering food’o’holic!