Weight Loss: 1 Stone 2 lbs, Inches Lost: 14
Ever since I can remember- weight has been at the forefront of my mind. I get up and I think about my weight, I go about my day and my weight is all I can think about. I get into bed and- you’ve guessed it- my weight is the last thought I have before I go to sleep.
Health on Female First
I started gaining weight when I entered high school and the tuck shop was too tempting to resist. Instead of just one chocolate bar, I bought as many as my money would allow which was sometimes up to four in a day. This is where my battle with my weight began and it’s been ongoing ever since.
I have fluctuated throughout the years and have been anything from a size 12 to a size 20. I’ve tried the Cambridge Weight Plan before when I was slimming for my wedding and it helped me lose three and a half stone for the big day. After a year of wedding prep- I was ready to come off the diet, which meant I reverted back to my previous eating habits (big mistake!). As a result, I lost my focus as I wasn't regularly reviewing my weight and it kept creeping on after that.
Then pregnancy. Once my little girl came into the world- my time was all about her and I forgot about myself. I ate whatever I could in the time I had- which wasn’t a lot- because sleep was my priority when she napped. This meant fast food was all I was putting into my body. I would go the shops after play group and stock up on crisps and chocolate and stuff them in my mouth before she woke up. I would rely on convenience foods at mealtimes as I was too exhausted to cook dinner and so was my partner after a day at work.
This resulted in me reaching the biggest I have ever been. I told myself that by the time I went back to work I would lose the weight and people would comment on how well I looked after having a baby, but that never happened. I returned to work almost the same weight as I was when I was pregnant.
I have been very careful with what I give my daughter now she is weaning. I don’t want her to suffer the way I have. I want her to be able to go about her day and her weight not be an issue. Through all my efforts to make her as healthy as I could- the phrase- ‘do as I say and not as I do’ kept ringing in my ears. I am trying to establish good eating habits for her while not doing the same for myself. As she grows, she will copy what I do so I want to cure myself of this addiction before she follows in my footsteps.
When I received the email through at work about the new 1:1 diet by Cambridge Weight Plan, I knew it way my chance to do something positive for myself. When my diet consultant Sarah Cash called me for the first time- I knew we would make a good team. She put me at ease right away and we made an appointment to start. I couldn’t wait. Finally- something had clicked.
When she arrived, we discussed my reasons for losing weight and as a mother herself, she understood where I was coming from.
I have a sensitivity to milk products which meant that I needed to have the lactose free products from the range. These include chocolate, chocolate orange and vanilla in the sweet shakes and mushroom and leek and potato in the soups as well as spaghetti Bolognese and the step up meals.
This may sound restrictive, but I am hopeless at making decisions (it’s a running joke in my family!)- so knowing what I can and can’t have has helped me enormously. Choice is my nemesis! It may sound silly- but the meals appeal to my minimalist nature too. They don’t take up a lot of space and they look uniform in my cupboard. I can keep them neat and tidy, which makes my OCD sing!
Sarah suggested that I go on Step 2 so I could have three products and one 200 calorie meal each day- this meant that I could diet, while still eating with my family on an evening. This step has fit in really well in my house as I can still eat with my husband after our daughter has gone to bed and I don’t feel deprived.
The packets might not look the most appealing at first glance- however once you open the sweet shakes and the smell reaches your nostrils- you can’t wait to make them up. The shakes and soups are perfect for throwing together quickly at breakfast and lunch time to eat at my desk- which is ideal for me as a writer or for when I am travelling for work.
Even in the first week, I started to feel better- I was sleeping more soundly and felt perkier in the mornings, which I’ve always found difficult. I guess I was missing out on many of the nutrients the sachets provide, so my body was finally getting what it had been crying out for.
After week one I lost 9 lbs which I was delighted with as I had been on holiday at my parent’s house and we ate out every day. I just made the best choices I could at each eatery and it proves that you can still have a life on this diet.
Sarah sends motivational messages out over Wattsapp every day so if you are feeling a little wobbly- they help you to stay focused. Every time she weighs me, she gives me not only the pounds I’ve lost but the inches too- so if I had a week where I didn’t lose a huge amount- the inches still showed. She also added me to various groups on social media where people share there before and after pictures which is hugely inspiring for me.
One month in and I know this was the right decision for me. I think I’ve found my magic fairy dust!
The 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan
Since its launch in the UK 35 years ago, The 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan has become one of the most respected brands in the industry, from being awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade in 2013, to becoming a company fully owned by its employees in 2014. The last 12 months has seen the business not just achieve substantial growth but also receive endorsement from a number of high quality medical studies that have proven its success in helping people not just to lose weight, but also maintain it.
Tagged in Weight loss