Pam's yo-yo dieting days are over!
Sarah McCannDietician
Pam’s yoyo dieting days are over! Tried every diet and slimming club going? Lost weight with these techniques only to put it back on as soon as you stop?
Then you’re just like Pam who has been on various diets since she was 16. “I just wish this had been around 40 years ago”, she says of our online dieting service.
The major turning point for Pam was that she was approaching a birthday milestone. “ I wanted to be fit to enjoy my grandchildren. I wanted to have the energy to keep up with them.”
Pam had successfully lost weight by herself but maintaining it proved difficult. “Someone had recommended the Gi diet and I had bought books on it and lost 2 stone. However, I was finding it hard on my own and the weight was creeping back on”. Then she found our service and joined the Totals plan, but integrated the Gi principles.
What was Pam’s diet like before she joined us? “I was eating all the wrong things or on a very strict calorie-counting diet when I would keep under 1000 calories but still eat things like cakes and chocolate which meant my diet was not good nutritionally and I was always hungry and tired. I also drank a lot of coffee, something I gave up with Gi.”
The Totals plan proved enjoyable as well as successful for Pam. “I have really enjoyed using the Totals plan as I could fit it around family meals, but the thing I have really found invaluable was all the challenges on the support boards especially the ones on 50+.”
Pam originally weighed in at 11 stone 13 lbs but is now a slender 10 stone 2lbs. She has also dropped several dresses from a size 18/20 to a size 12/14.
As well as the amazing weight loss, Pam has reaped other benefits from following the plan. “I am really pleased that my diet is now so healthy. I always drink 2 litres of water and really miss it if I don’t. Lots of people have told me how well I look and people are often surprised when I tell them my age. I think this is a result of having a balanced diet and drinking the water.”
“I just feel so healthy now and actually enjoy exercise, something I thought would never happen. I have also bought a step machine and exercise ball and use them regularly. I joined a group walking in the Brecon Beacons and later on in the Peak District. I would never have even considered trying this at my old weight and level of fitness. I also met up with some 50+ people when I went to Scotland and then I went to the Durham weekend on my own. I would never have had the confidence to do this on my own before I lost weight.”
“I am so much fitter. I am able to have fun with the grandchildren. I run a Guide company and losing the weight has made things like camping and walking with them a lot easier.”
Pam now has a very positive attitude towards her body image, and indeed her food intake. “I didn’t like buying clothes and when I went out I hated how I looked. I feel much more self-confident now. I had very few photos of myself because I have always hated having them taken. Now I don’t mind having my picture snapped.”
“I no longer want to eat loads of chocolate or cakes and even when I have a bad day I get back in control quickly. In the past I would think, oh well I’ve messed this week up I’ll start again next Monday and would carry on eating for the rest of the week. Now I have bad days not bad weeks.”
Has Pam any advice for fellow dieters?
“I would say to anyone just starting, follow the plan and swap it around if it doesn’t suit you. If you have a bad day, weekend or even week don’t beat yourself up, just put it behind you and get back to the plan and most of all post on the support boards and join in the challenges. You will make lots of friends and have fun as well as losing weight. If I am tempted to eat something I shouldn’t I have a drink of water and go on the boards for 20 minutes. By the time I have caught up with the threads the temptation is gone.”
Pam’s grandchildren should be very proud of their superb grandma!
