hi i am new here

[heavensdj]

I have been a lurker here for a while now, reading some of the great info you guys have all posted and gaining inspiration from some of your amazing stories!
First off I must say Blitz you are amazing! I have been inspired by plenty others on here but seeing your before and after pics was nothing short of astonishing. Congrats to you and all others on here that have hit goal weight and are now maintaining.
A bit about me, I am a 32 yr old mother of 3 who is self employed. My younger 2 kids are mildly autistic and I am very time poor. I am 167cms tall and started on the lite n easy 1200 calorie diet on October 4th this year. At the time I weighed 88.8kg, I have struggled off and on for around 6 yrs now to lose my "baby weight" with no luck.
I am proud to say that I am down to 77.8kg today but I seem to have hit a plateau. I originally wanted to get back to pre baby weight of 58kg however I think that this is probably no longer a realistic idea so have decided my goal weight is 65kg.
Besides my lite n easy diet I am exercising 3-4 days a week doing either 30-45 mins of walking or zumba. I have completely cut out everything else besides lite n easy, including the 2 litres of coke per day that I used to drink. I now drink one cup of tea a day and minimum 2 litres of water. I have one treat per week usually on a Saturday night when I have a roast with my family. I try to maintain the small portion sizes that I have noticed lite n easy uses.
If anyone else can point out something to aid me in my journey it would be greatly appreciated!

[Blitz]

Welcome to the forum. Glad that you have moved out of the lurker shadows.

Your goal is sensible and realistic. It puts you just above the average in the healthy range which is a great place to be. You have done well to lose 11kg in just over 9 weeks.

It is more than likely this plateau that you are hitting is just your body getting a well deserved breather before allowing you to lose more weight. It is hard for us to accept slow down periods but they are just an essential part of the process. Your body is making important adjustments. This spells out nothing but good things for you in the future. Think of it like running up a hill. Once you get to the peak you'll be flying down the other side with little effort!

Your food plan sounds good to me. You are learning about portion control. Curbed your fizzy drink intake. Giving yourself treats in a controlled real world way. The good thing about lite n easy is that it teaches you what "normal" looks like on a plate.

You might want to start thinking about turning your walk into a jog (just a fancy way of saying a faster walk with a shuffle). As you develop your fitness always try it push the boundaries of what you can do a little further. Being comfortable is not where you want to be (but do no harm!).

My daughter has a touch of autism. We put her in a small private school which is very caring on the advice of her public school kindie teacher, who thought that the rough and tumble of public school may put her to disadvantage. She was right. Our daughter is doing very well now. Her socialization is steadily improving through the efforts of some excellent teachers over the years. Autism can be frustrating but at other times it is very interesting. My daughter knows the car rego numbers of most of our friends. We hit a shopping centre she is able to spot their number plate and lets us know who is at the shopping centre! Tonight on our walk she was able to recite the list of songs on her One Direction, Abba and Simon & Garfunkel CD's...in order.

Use this forum. Ask questions, get encouragement and use it as a tool for success.
Wishing the best for your future.
Kim

[heavensdj]

Thanks for the welcome.
My big problem that I am having with stepping up the exercise is a fear of seeing the numbers on the scale go up due to muscle, I know it isn't logical. I just can't get myself to accept the increase when I have been working so hard to have it decrease.

[Blitz]

Don't worry about muscle stealing weight back. Unless you are doing some very serious weight training it won't happen. The effort to get any muscle will burn more than enough calories to give you a weight loss unless you increase your food intake.

A fat person's body is working harder than the average person because of the extra weight they have. As you get slimmer the extra load that you carry decreases so your body's metabolism slows. That is why weight loss is so dramatic in the first months and then slows right down. This is where muscle is importance. Your body will burn calories faster the more muscle it has. Your body's metabolism rate steps up because it requires more fuel because of the muscle demand. This means you will be able to maintain weight loss. It balances out the natural slow down of a slimmer body. Without muscle you will regain weight quickly. That is why most people who successfully keep weight off commonly still exercise a lot. They are maintaining muscle.

Now don't fret too much about muscle. In the natural scheme of things as you increase your fitness and lose weight you will feel the desire to increase your exercise rate because your experience will tell you this is the best way to go. You won't notice the muscle you have and are getting until down the track. They are actually occurring now...just that a layer of fat is hiding them. One day you will suddenly notice them (and be proud of them).

Do what you need to do now. When I started all I needed was a ten minute walk and halving my then food intake (causing my body to draw from its fat reserves). I lost good amounts of weight. Today my aim is to stay within a small range of weight. My body wants to crash down my metabolism even though I eat moderate so I need about 90 minutes of exercise per day to keep my metabolism (by maintaining muscle) ticking over. Listen to your body. Let it tell you what you have to do and when.

Regards
Kim