A Bit About Me

Hello. Thankyou for nevigating to this page about me.

Currently as I write this article I am 40 years old. As a child and teenager I was often told how lucky I was that I could eat like a horse and never put on weight! I was always very fussy over 'healthy' food and lived off of fizzy drinks, chocolate and chips! (And pretty much still do!) At 19 I settled down and had 12 years with my husband. Many of those years we spent travelling and I would easily put half a stone of weight on after a week abroad. At home we had take aways several times a week.

During my first pregnancy I truly believed I could 'eat for two" and I went up to a size 20 from a size 10. I didn't think much of it as I figured it was normal to be big in pregnancy! I also believed that the weight would easily disperse with the birth! How wrong I was! My daughter was born premature at 5lbs 5oz ... a tiny baby! All that weight was me!! Of course with a new baby to care for I didn't really give my weight much consideration. I spent hours sitting around, sometimes upto 8 hours on my laptop talking with my online friends! My baby was very clingy and fed and slept on me. She always knew if I tried to put her in her moses basket and would wake up and cry! My husband worked nights which made it even more difficult. I later had a miscarriage and didn't feel my husband was very supportive. Eventually we seperated.

Without my husband and the complications of his work/sleep patterns I began to dance! My four year old and I loved to put music on and jump around the living room! Thrilled at being able to be noisy during the day as we lived in an apartment and had had to tiptoe around Daddy sleeping! I lost weight although I wasn't keeping track on the scales. But everyone said I looked so much brighter and fitter! But mentally I was a little lost and craved a relationship which led me to make some bad choices! I got pregnant again but this time would be on my own as the father didn't want to know. The birth was difficult and I had to have an emergency caesarian. 3 months later I broke my ankle! The combination of the two mean't I was laid up in bed for weeks! I was not thinking about my diet OR exercise! Trying to manage a baby and a four year old in a third floor apartment with crutches was difficult enough!

Unfortunately things went from bad to worse. I met a man who became abusive and got me into a lot of debt! He didn't physically hurt me but emotionally and financially he did. My stress levels were over the roof and I ate those big BIG bars of chocolate everyday to cope! To switch off from the stress I would watch TV and eat! I had terrible sleepless nights and dreamn't of somehow running away with my children to live in the woods somewhere! It was a terrible time after the first year, where pride kept me from wanting to let him off the money he owed me, it took me bankcruptcy and two more years before I finally got him to leave! I was putting my youngest into pre-school and had gotten a part-time job. Being away from the toxic environment helped me think clearly for the first time in three years! And my boss at my new job was a very strong, supportive woman who I admired deeply! She said she would even come with me to help kick my bad boyfriend out!

Yes! That picture really is a picture of me! And I had lost a stone in weight on the 5:2 diet.

However when I first went to get suitable interview clothes to start looking for a job I was horrified and shocked to find I had to go upto a size 22 in trousers! I had been living in leggings at a size 16. But we all know how stretchy leggings are! So I had no idea just how badly my weight had gotten out of control! As I hadn't worked for almost 5 years I found my job quite exhausting to start with and lost one stone in weight just from being more active! Without my ex I felt more happy and in control of my life than ever before!

Eventually I got to a good point where I was ready to look at my weight. I was now a size 18/20 and 15 stone 6lbs. I tried Slimfast again which had worked briefly when I was in my twenties. But I tired of the milkshakes very quickly. I looked at other options but they all had recipes for salads and 'healthy' foods. I decided I would rather be fat and happy than slim and miserable! Food was the only thing I really enjoyed or looked forward to in a day and I just couldn't.. wouldn't... do a diet that mean't I couldn't live the lifestyle I wanted to. Then a lady at work told me about the 5:2 diet! Just eat 500 calories two days a week but whatever I wanted on the other five days! It sounded too good to be true! There is more about the 5:2 diet from my main page or follow this link here. One big change I chose to make was my drinks. On 500 calories you can't afford to waste half of them just on drinks! I was drinking about 1.5 litres of Pepsi a day. Thats 630 calories wasted in just a day! I don't know the figures for Tea, Coffee or Juices but I bet its more than you realise! Of course WATER is the best free-from-calories option and if you can make the switch I recommend it but I have never enjoyed 'water' and do not drink Tea, Coffee etc. I also didn't like the taste of Zero Sugar colas. But I found one I liked! Dr Pepper Zero. It doesn't have that nasty aspartame after-taste. And it is 5 calories a day for 1.5 litres! So a HUGE saving! And now I find the original versions of Dr Pepper, Cola and Pepsi far too sweet! But you have to find what works for you! So the 5:2 worked well for me and I will talk more about that again in my main pages. I eventully switched to daily calorie counting because I was still eating far too much on my non-5:2 days. It really works whilst allowing even an unhealthy eater like me to enjoy my foods! You can see my daily food plans right here. I was then introduced to the Couch 2 5k program and really took to it! It gave me such a buzz for exercise and I am now SO active compared to how I used to be! My weight dropped very quickly. I lost 5 stone within 8 mths and only have 1 stone left to reach my healthy BMI range. I am well on my way and I am loving my foods (yes lots of chocolate included!) and am feeling younger and fitter than ever before! So much so that I really want to tell other people - people who do not want to give up sweet treats and foods they love - that you CAN still do it! There is a way! And its not all that hard! Really!

And so here is my article and hopefully it will inspire and motivate you to follow my footsteps. And even better... enjoy the journey!