MissNJ
Full Member
hiya Everyone,
My Name is Natalie and i've been lurking & reading for about 2/3 weeks now!
I'm absolutely loving all of your Weight-loss successes and diaries..
also, the amount of info on this forum is immense! I don't think I would have started on my journey without reading all I have so far!
Anyways.... to introduce myself..
Im Natalie..
31 Yrs old and Single mum to 4 Wonderful kids!
I run my own business and have NO time off! hahaha!
personal weight history:
never a skinny Gal, but upto my late teens was always curvy and in proportion. roughly a 10-12 size.
at 16 years old I met my (EX) husband and he wasnt happy with my size, he used to "feed" me up. (he was a "feeder") It was a very abusive realationship and i had no family support as he moved me away from my hometown. at 18yrs old, i got married to him and was a size 24! after we got married, we lost our job (running a public house) and had to move in with my mum. THIS was my life saver. I had my support network back & eventually when I was 19yrs old I kicked him out! that week I lost a stone! just from the relief of him not being near me..
I managed to lose weight and find a decent job nearby and got down to a size 12/14.
I was completely happy at this size.
FAST FORWARD a few yrs... had 3 sons.. fluctuated my weight but never got bigger than a 16.
then when my youngest son was 2 yrs old I decided to start Weight Training, Boxing and MMA.
I got myself extremely fit and the skinniest i've ever been, but at a healthy weight of 11st 3lbs (with HUGE muscles!!) and felt the best i ever had.
then I got pregnant with my daughter (4th baby!) and got very poorly. was in premature labour from 22 weeks and was bedbound due to extreme Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction and unable to walk (even tho, if i did, i went straight back into labour) the weight just piled on and i was given so many steroid injections to help things and at term i weighed about 17 stone.
after birth, i was still poorly and didnt move about much and my weight went up to about 18stone
now, since then (daughter is 3yrs old now) I have managed to get my weight down to about 16stone. which was about 6mths ago.
My doctor prescribed the xenicxal but i didnt want to use them..
he then told me to read the book called Skinny B*tch (sorry if swearing isnt permitted)
i read this book with interest.. I have always had extreme phobias of food.. I cant east Meat, Fish, Eggs or milk. but reading this book showed me that becoming a Vegan would be a good option.. only thing i gave up dairy wise was cheese and yoghurts! i also then gave up products containing egg, milk, cheese etc.. which before i wasnt bothered about as I didnt have to physically "see" them!
I also gave up Coffee, diet coke and any other form of fizzy drink. started to only drink water and green/fruit teas!
doing this for the last 6mths has helped me not only lower my weight from 16stone to 14stone but has made me SO much more healthier.. i've never had so much energy.
BUT.. i stopped losing weight. I think i hit a plateau at where my body was maintaining my current weight and was happy, but im not!
I'm still unable to do strenuous exercises, but walk EVERYWHERE! but i need to get myself to 150lbs (roughly) so my body isnt carrying too much weight and then my bones might stop hurting so much.
(i have a few other medical complications from boxing injuries and also have the early onset of osteoarthritis in my knees due to my weight.)
SO I wanted to start Lighterlife as i have seen many friends join and lose enormous amounts of weight and keep it off.. and i so want to follow suit, but after going to an introductory session, i was completely put off.. not from the diet, but from the group and the travelling hassle. the nearest class to me took an hour on the bus to get to (i dont drive!) and was only available in the evenings.. (i cant get a babysitter, EVER!!) So many people turned up.. i thought there was a max of 12 per class, but at least 20+ people turned up and i was left hanging about for 2 hours.. just to have a 5 min conversation.
I'm not very good at groups anyway.. never could take my kids to playgroups.. (very low self esteeem issues)
also, another factor was the price.. as i run my own business, i'm constantly struggling to make ends meet and I couldnt justify spending £260+ every 4 weeks on the foodpacks
I know i knew about the pricing, but i thought, if i could buy weekly for the £66 i might JUST be able to afford it, but not in 4 week blocks.. :-(
so i went away feeling despondent about it, but Desp still wanting to try a VLCD.
I thought long and hard about it, and did a lot of research.. looking at the cheaper options of exante, but again, i dont have £100 upfront to pay for the packs, and then CD was the last to hit my radar.. this i THINK could possibly be the way forward for me.. as there are a few counsellors near me (i think!) and the cheapest option of £30+ roughly a week
BUT.. i thought i would try getting myself into ketosis a different way.. I know on here quite a few people have tried making a "food" version of getting/staying/maintaining Ketosis through diet and eating and this is something i like the idea of. BUT as i cant eat meat or fish.. huge walls come up!
So.. after all that, i came up with a plan. i'm not going to say what exactly im doing, as i dont want anyone else to follow what im doing, as i've tailored exactly to my body and needs.. and it may be dangerous for others to copy me.
Anyways.. after 3 days.. im proud to say i hit ketosis yesterday (tested with ketostix this am!) and have so far lost 6lbs! making my weight go from 200lbs on the 13th to 194lbs today the 15th!
im also drinking about 6 litres of water a day.. and VERY Sensibly.. i've always drunk about 3/4 litres, but finding now, im more thirsty than ever!!
anyways... what a LONG winded "hello" (sorry if i sent you to sleep!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
i hope i will find using this forum friendly, i've never been into online things, but i feel as im doing this all on my own and have no one at home to talk to, I need to "talk" to someone... so i Hope you'll be pleased to have me and i very much look forward to talking to you all more!
Natalie
My Name is Natalie and i've been lurking & reading for about 2/3 weeks now!
I'm absolutely loving all of your Weight-loss successes and diaries..
also, the amount of info on this forum is immense! I don't think I would have started on my journey without reading all I have so far!
Anyways.... to introduce myself..
Im Natalie..
31 Yrs old and Single mum to 4 Wonderful kids!
I run my own business and have NO time off! hahaha!
personal weight history:
never a skinny Gal, but upto my late teens was always curvy and in proportion. roughly a 10-12 size.
at 16 years old I met my (EX) husband and he wasnt happy with my size, he used to "feed" me up. (he was a "feeder") It was a very abusive realationship and i had no family support as he moved me away from my hometown. at 18yrs old, i got married to him and was a size 24! after we got married, we lost our job (running a public house) and had to move in with my mum. THIS was my life saver. I had my support network back & eventually when I was 19yrs old I kicked him out! that week I lost a stone! just from the relief of him not being near me..
I managed to lose weight and find a decent job nearby and got down to a size 12/14.
I was completely happy at this size.
FAST FORWARD a few yrs... had 3 sons.. fluctuated my weight but never got bigger than a 16.
then when my youngest son was 2 yrs old I decided to start Weight Training, Boxing and MMA.
I got myself extremely fit and the skinniest i've ever been, but at a healthy weight of 11st 3lbs (with HUGE muscles!!) and felt the best i ever had.
then I got pregnant with my daughter (4th baby!) and got very poorly. was in premature labour from 22 weeks and was bedbound due to extreme Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction and unable to walk (even tho, if i did, i went straight back into labour) the weight just piled on and i was given so many steroid injections to help things and at term i weighed about 17 stone.
after birth, i was still poorly and didnt move about much and my weight went up to about 18stone
now, since then (daughter is 3yrs old now) I have managed to get my weight down to about 16stone. which was about 6mths ago.
My doctor prescribed the xenicxal but i didnt want to use them..
he then told me to read the book called Skinny B*tch (sorry if swearing isnt permitted)
i read this book with interest.. I have always had extreme phobias of food.. I cant east Meat, Fish, Eggs or milk. but reading this book showed me that becoming a Vegan would be a good option.. only thing i gave up dairy wise was cheese and yoghurts! i also then gave up products containing egg, milk, cheese etc.. which before i wasnt bothered about as I didnt have to physically "see" them!
I also gave up Coffee, diet coke and any other form of fizzy drink. started to only drink water and green/fruit teas!
doing this for the last 6mths has helped me not only lower my weight from 16stone to 14stone but has made me SO much more healthier.. i've never had so much energy.
BUT.. i stopped losing weight. I think i hit a plateau at where my body was maintaining my current weight and was happy, but im not!
I'm still unable to do strenuous exercises, but walk EVERYWHERE! but i need to get myself to 150lbs (roughly) so my body isnt carrying too much weight and then my bones might stop hurting so much.
(i have a few other medical complications from boxing injuries and also have the early onset of osteoarthritis in my knees due to my weight.)
SO I wanted to start Lighterlife as i have seen many friends join and lose enormous amounts of weight and keep it off.. and i so want to follow suit, but after going to an introductory session, i was completely put off.. not from the diet, but from the group and the travelling hassle. the nearest class to me took an hour on the bus to get to (i dont drive!) and was only available in the evenings.. (i cant get a babysitter, EVER!!) So many people turned up.. i thought there was a max of 12 per class, but at least 20+ people turned up and i was left hanging about for 2 hours.. just to have a 5 min conversation.
I'm not very good at groups anyway.. never could take my kids to playgroups.. (very low self esteeem issues)
also, another factor was the price.. as i run my own business, i'm constantly struggling to make ends meet and I couldnt justify spending £260+ every 4 weeks on the foodpacks
I know i knew about the pricing, but i thought, if i could buy weekly for the £66 i might JUST be able to afford it, but not in 4 week blocks.. :-(
so i went away feeling despondent about it, but Desp still wanting to try a VLCD.
I thought long and hard about it, and did a lot of research.. looking at the cheaper options of exante, but again, i dont have £100 upfront to pay for the packs, and then CD was the last to hit my radar.. this i THINK could possibly be the way forward for me.. as there are a few counsellors near me (i think!) and the cheapest option of £30+ roughly a week
BUT.. i thought i would try getting myself into ketosis a different way.. I know on here quite a few people have tried making a "food" version of getting/staying/maintaining Ketosis through diet and eating and this is something i like the idea of. BUT as i cant eat meat or fish.. huge walls come up!
So.. after all that, i came up with a plan. i'm not going to say what exactly im doing, as i dont want anyone else to follow what im doing, as i've tailored exactly to my body and needs.. and it may be dangerous for others to copy me.
Anyways.. after 3 days.. im proud to say i hit ketosis yesterday (tested with ketostix this am!) and have so far lost 6lbs! making my weight go from 200lbs on the 13th to 194lbs today the 15th!
im also drinking about 6 litres of water a day.. and VERY Sensibly.. i've always drunk about 3/4 litres, but finding now, im more thirsty than ever!!
anyways... what a LONG winded "hello" (sorry if i sent you to sleep!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
i hope i will find using this forum friendly, i've never been into online things, but i feel as im doing this all on my own and have no one at home to talk to, I need to "talk" to someone... so i Hope you'll be pleased to have me and i very much look forward to talking to you all more!
Natalie
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