(Copied from intro post):
I've been overweight for most of my adult life apart from about ten months between 2009 and 2010 when I miraculously reached my "recommended BMI" by eating mostly vegetables and using the Wii regularly. Then Winter 2010 brought big changes - pregnancy! A slightly problematic pregnancy where I was signed off work sick and under doctors orders to take it easy. I didn't put much weight on whilst being pregnant. After the birth I sat back and waited for the weight to fall off, which I had heard happens easily if you are breastfeeding. But before long I found that I could not even fit into my maternity jeans and I was soon heavier than I had ever been (around 108kg and ordering size 20 jeans)! Stress and depression had resulted in comfort-eating and little desire to exercise. At the start of 2012 I missed wearing my old clothes and decided to try the Dukan diet and stepped up my exercise and managed to lose two dress sizes.
Summer 2012, we bought a house that required several months of refurbishing and having to move in with my mum. Trying to stick to Dukan or Keto when I didn't have my own kitchen was too much of a challenge and the weight started to creep back on. I've tried to keep it at a maintenance level since then. Once moved in to our finished house I managed to get a grip, cut the carbs and fit back into my old size 14 jeans. But I definitely feel that I am in that yo-yo dieting territory that is actually less healthy than simply being overweight (there's no way I can cut out carbs over Christmas!) So I feel I've gone as far as I can with low carb dieting, because when I fall off the wagon, I fall hard. Then when I'm not off the wagon, it feels like I'm spending nearly every waking moment trying to perfect low-carb bread, biscuits and cakes.
That said, I'm now looking into Slimming World as I like the idea of not having to turn my back on chocolate and bread for good. I need simplicity. Joining a group does not work for me at the moment due to timings, so I'm going to give it a try on my own using the books and tips from these forums.
I've been overweight for most of my adult life apart from about ten months between 2009 and 2010 when I miraculously reached my "recommended BMI" by eating mostly vegetables and using the Wii regularly. Then Winter 2010 brought big changes - pregnancy! A slightly problematic pregnancy where I was signed off work sick and under doctors orders to take it easy. I didn't put much weight on whilst being pregnant. After the birth I sat back and waited for the weight to fall off, which I had heard happens easily if you are breastfeeding. But before long I found that I could not even fit into my maternity jeans and I was soon heavier than I had ever been (around 108kg and ordering size 20 jeans)! Stress and depression had resulted in comfort-eating and little desire to exercise. At the start of 2012 I missed wearing my old clothes and decided to try the Dukan diet and stepped up my exercise and managed to lose two dress sizes.
Summer 2012, we bought a house that required several months of refurbishing and having to move in with my mum. Trying to stick to Dukan or Keto when I didn't have my own kitchen was too much of a challenge and the weight started to creep back on. I've tried to keep it at a maintenance level since then. Once moved in to our finished house I managed to get a grip, cut the carbs and fit back into my old size 14 jeans. But I definitely feel that I am in that yo-yo dieting territory that is actually less healthy than simply being overweight (there's no way I can cut out carbs over Christmas!) So I feel I've gone as far as I can with low carb dieting, because when I fall off the wagon, I fall hard. Then when I'm not off the wagon, it feels like I'm spending nearly every waking moment trying to perfect low-carb bread, biscuits and cakes.
That said, I'm now looking into Slimming World as I like the idea of not having to turn my back on chocolate and bread for good. I need simplicity. Joining a group does not work for me at the moment due to timings, so I'm going to give it a try on my own using the books and tips from these forums.
It's a good job I resisted because when I sat down and read the books later, I was surprised to see how many syns were in foods I had misunderstood to be free or low-syn 
