I was once the kind of person that would endorse whatever
faddy diet I was on, even if I had been on it only a few days. I was convinced
this was ‘the one’ the answer to all my prayers I was finally going to be the
weight of my dreams and it was all down to some other lotion or potion. I do
consider myself fairly intelligent if so then why did it take me nearly twenty
years to realise those kind of fads just don’t work in the long term. Ok you
might lose a bit to begin with but i can guarantee without fail eventually you
will end up putting the weight back on.

The other day I got given sachets of ‘slimming coffee’ to
try. I haven’t tried it yet, I doubt I will. As you know I love my fully
caffeinated espresso first thing in the morning. I was even discussing with
hubby last night how I look forward to getting up, checking my weight and then
having a nice strong coffee whilst surfing the web.

It got me thinking though… How that was once me, I would
be the one at a party/family gathering spewing on about how good my latest
dieting fad was. Or even a specific diet club. I’d have a good initial weight
loss from it and I wouldn’t stop going on about the benefits etc. In reality I
had probably only been ultra-good because said party/gathering was coming up.
And I wanted to at least try and make an effort. The times I would work out
exactly how long it was until something, and how much I could lose in that
time. I never lost any, once at the party it never took much for me to start
stuffing my face with all the goodies that were on offer. Whilst still singing
the fad’s praises of course.

I remember there was a period a year or so ago I decided to
try everything at once…. I had slimming tea (from the Internet), actislim
(appetite suppressant), le whif (chocolate craving thingy). Oh and I was doing
the Kellogg’s two bowls of cereal instead of meals. Yes the diet worked I lost
about a stone… Financially and emotionally I couldn’t sustain it and put all
the weight plus some back on. As I said before the only thing that gets lighter
is my bank balance.

Another time when I was absolutely desperate I joined
lighter life… I was convinced I would stick to it and in only a few months I
would be able to ride NAS etc. There is a reason why they don’t let you sample
the shakes (I actually think it’s an insult to call them a shake to all the
other real shakes in the world) seriously uht skimmed milk is tastier. At the
time of handing over my cash all I could think about was the end result not the
fact I was giving up food for the next 6 months.

I remember the first morning I woke up all motivated
thinking this is it this is the beginning of the rest of my life… I came
downstairs picked out my first shake…. Shook it up, tried it bleugh… Shook
it up some more… Tried it again. Still bleugh. It was the most disgusting
thing I had ever tasted -even worse than a McDonalds coffee- I must have spent
half an hour trying to get this shake into me without gagging. I then had to
pop out for the morning, I realised that I was avoiding going home so I didn’t
have to have another shake. Hmm when I would rather go hungry I know it’s the
wrong diet for me lol.

Luckily I have an understanding hubby and it all went into
the bin. -that is after eBay wouldn’t let me sell it, so some other poor
unsuspecting person could try it before spending hundreds of pounds-  that really was the last straw for me. I had
tried following a basic 3 meals a day plan before. If I’m honest though I never
really gave it much of a chance, I’m from The school of thought that wants weight
loss to be quick and if you’re giving up something then the results should be
even quicker.

Life isn’t like that. In fact even our bodies don’t work
like that; I know I check the scales every day. But it’s a bit like your tax
returns you’re not looking at the figures for that day it’s the one or even two
days before. It’s true what they say about slow gradual weight loss… It is
more likely to stay off. There were no massive losses in the beginning for me.
I feel like I’ve had to work for every pound. But when I do have a blow-out
even for more than a few days… My weight hasn’t gone up over 5lbs in fact I
would say that is rare it’s been more like 2-3lb gains. And I’ve quickly lost
them once I’ve started being good again.

Even hubby has managed to lose half a stone recently… Just
by giving up drink. It’s taken nearly four months and initially his weight
stayed the same, but gradually it is going down. He was getting a little
disheartened with the lack of weight loss. But then I pointed out we were more
energetic as a family and generally he is in a better mood.