Leanne breaks the Yo Yo diet cycle
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Laura McLoughlin
Leanne was a chronic yo-yo dieter! For months at a time she would under-eat and lose weight rapidly. As a result her metabolism slowed down to a snails pace and it wasn’t long before the weight returned and more. When Leanne reached nearly 14 stone with a BMI of 31 she couldn’t fit into a size 16 and joined up with our online dieting site in desperation. She has since lost 2 stone 11lbs and has made some long term lifestyle changes!
What Diet plan did you follow?
I started on the Low Gi plan as I wanted to regulate my blood sugar level. However, I have recently changed to the Healthy eating plan to kick start my weight loss again which seems to have worked!
How much weight have you lost?
When I started I was 13 stone 12lb and a size 16-18. I’m currently 11 stone 2lb and a size 12. I’ve lost about 6 inches from my chest, waist, and hips; and about 4 inches from my thighs.
What part has exercise played in helping you to lose weight?
My motivation for exercise has been sporadic. I have made low impact changes like walking to work from the “park and ride”, rather than getting the bus in, which is about 2.5 miles each way, and that has helped quite a lot. I have also invested in several DVD’s which I am now starting to follow again with slightly more enthusiasm than before now that winter is over! I have found moving back to Devon has helped – lots of long walks on Dartmoor which is only a stone’s throw away!
Was your weight causing you any problems?
I hated the way I looked when I was at my largest! I did find it quite difficult to find clothes I liked, and ended up wearing shapeless tops just to cover everything, though in reality they probably made me look about 10 times worse!
What difference to your life has losing weight made to you?
I’ve got a lot more energy and my blood sugar levels have become much more balanced since being on the GI diet .
Have you enjoyed our online dieting site ?
I found the meal plans really helpful, as it means I have everything sorted and in the cupboard at the start of the week and I don’t have to think about it again until the next meal plan. I also found the support boards really useful until I’d found my dieting feet. I was able to pick up tips and advice and there is a great sense of motivation – it’s great the way members cheer each other on and always have a sympathetic ear for those having a bad week.
Tell us about your diet before you joined us, and how has your diet changed?
I put on about 5 stone in the space of two years due to moving with my partner to an area that involved more driving and my dinner portions increasing by about 3 times. We didn’t eat unhealthily, most of our meals were freshly cooked and we rarely had takeaways or ready meals, but we were getting through a large block of cheese a week! I think the biggest help with the diet has been weighing things out whilst cooking. It’s so easy to tip in ‘just a bit’ more without the scales. I am also eating a lot more fruit, which has had the added bonus of keeping the office colds at bay!
Finally, Leanne has a few words of inspiration for those needing to lose a few pound or more………
The three things that have helped me most are drinking lots of water (though it does take a while for the bladder to adjust!), weighing food out, and hot chocolate. I find when its’ grey and cold outside my body craves sweet carbs like chocolate and the hot chocolate helps to take the edge off the cravings. I only take healthy snacks to work with me as well.
I would also strongly advocate the weekly weigh-ins and sticking to weighing yourself only once a week – it’s so easy to become obsessed and start weighing yourself everyday to analyse every change, which in reality is really unhelpful.
Finally, I think making small changes in exercise can also have a surprising impact – starting to use the stairs, getting off the bus a stop earlier really does add up without you really noticing extra effort.