Sisters doin' it for themselves
Andrea knows all about the life of a modern woman. Her hands are full trying to juggle the demands of a high pressured career with her family. You would think that she should be an expert in dealing with stress due to her role as a police officer but like every mammy knows, running around after a young toddler zaps all your energy. After giving birth Andrea had very little time and even less determination to contemplate regaining her previous slender physique.
“I had almost given up on getting my figure back. I never had the motivation to do anything about it. Sure I hated the sight of my body and was less than happy about not being able to do anything about it. My clothes continued to get tighter after I gave birth and I felt like there was nothing I could do to reverse it.”
With her confidence spiralling downhill, it seemed as though nothing less than a miracle could help Andrea to get her life back on track. But as she came to realise you should never underestimate the support and ‘persuasive powers’ of a concerned family member.
“My sister Antonia was my inspiration to join the site. Like me she wanted to lose the ‘baby blubber’. She registered with the online weight loss programme and mentioned it to me a week later, I was shocked by the progress she had made even at that early stage. Antonia had nothing but praise for the website, recipes, online support and community areas. Needless to say she suggested I give it a go. Still not sure I could ever change I said I’d think about it.”
Her decision was not difficult once she saw the exact resources the site had to offer. Just hours after first hearing about the site Andrea bit the bullet and registered for the online Gi plan.
“I realised the only thing I would lose by joining was weight and I could gain so much more from it. My diet began a few days later!”
Andrea’s starting weight of 15 stone 7 lbs gave her a very unhealthy BMI of 30; a BMI of this level can put you at an increased risk of many health problems including Diabetes type II. This scary prospect did not evade her!
Just 5 months later and Andrea is wondering how she ever doubted her ability to get her diet on track. She has shed an amazing 4 stone 8 lbs and dropped from a size 18-20 to a size 12.
Andrea hails the Gi plan as the best diet she has ever tried. She explains why this diet plan worked for her.
“I didn’t want a diet where I was allowed junk food so the Gi diet really appealed to me. The plan was structured; the focus was on healthy eating and portion control. There is a fantastic range of foods and delicious menus available; the hard bit is deciding what to eat. I loved the flexibility the meal plans offered. The favourites list was a godsend; it made finding all the recipes that I enjoyed a breeze.”
The improvements that have been made to her diet are limitless; she is treating her body with the respect it deserves instead of subjecting it to the ‘food baddies’.
“I have broken my addiction to chocolate, sweets crisps and caffeine, replacing them with healthy, nutritious foods, water as well as lots of decaffeinated tea and coffee.”
The meal plans are not the only aspect of the programme that Andrea has words of praise for.
“The support I received from the staff in response to the weekly weigh ins, the online communities and any questions I had has been tremendous. I have also joined in a couple of the challenges on the Gi board and the 40’s board which have definitely been contributing factors to my success.”
Andrea could be a mentor for the online weight loss programme with the amount of nutritional knowledge she has picked up during her diet.
Here are her top tips!
• Be Positive-always remember you joined the site because you WANT to lose weight. Do it for yourself not anyone else.
• Stay determined-If you trip up remember the only person you are cheating is yourself, so pick yourself up and start again.
• Eat everything-Don’t leave things out of your plan. You might be tempted to make up for it later on by overeating!
• Celebrate-Don’t be afraid to talk to family and friends about your diet.
• Fluids-Drink at least 2 litres of water per day.
• Exercise-Get regular exercise often and vary the types of activities you do.
• Targets-Set yourself mini-targets and reward yourself when you reach them.
• Use the challenges and support groups to motivate you.
In one short sentence Andrea sums up the difference the online diet made to her.
“I feel like a million dollars!”“
