Dawn’s Story
A bit of background
As a child I didn’t have a weight problem. I was very active, always into sport and was a competitive swimmer. After leaving school at 16 I weighed around 9½ stone, I continued to be interested in sport and took a qualification in Aerobics.
By the time I had my daughter at 24 I had put on a little weight and had settled at 10-10 ½ stone and my weight pretty much stayed the same. I wasn’t entirely happy with the way I looked and worked out hard in the gym putting myself through punishing weight and cardio sessions but I couldn’t get under 10 stone no matter how hard I tried.
Changes in circumstances
At the age of 32 there were a few changes in my circumstances, I changed careers and went to work in an office, met my husband and settled down to married life.
Slowly but surely over the next 3 years I began to put on weight and at the age of 35 had reached my heaviest which was around 13 stone (probably heavier but I wouldn’t get on the scales!).
I was horrified by what I had becomeI threw away any photos taken of me, I stopped going out and didn’t like getting dressed up because I felt so fat, I was convinced that everyone was looking at me. This affected my confidence making me feel very low. This picture was taken before I got to my heaviest. |
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Time for a change
I decided to make some changes in my life and started going to the gym before work putting in at least 6 hours a week, I was careful what I ate and reduced my alcohol intake.
After 10 months I had got down to 12½ stone, but I was still really fed up with my weight. Then a friend of mine went on the Cambridge Diet and lost over 3 stone, so I decided to give it a go. I did the diet for 4 weeks and lost another stone.
I was still unhappy with my size and decided to have another go at the Cambridge Diet early 2008, I lost a further stone and got back down to 10½ stone. Outwardly I looked much better but on the inside I was still desperately unhappy with the way I looked and was still struggling with confidence, not wanting to go out or buy new clothes. I was always waiting for the day that the weight just piled back on.
During this time I decided to become a Cambridge Counsellor and help other people on their weight loss journey and hopefully help me too! For the next 12 months I yo-yoed between 10½ and 11½ stone.
A new direction
In May 2009 I decided to further my qualifications and took a Weight Management Coaching course. This was when I met Stephen Bates and learned how he had studied success slimmers and maintainers which is the philosophy behind How Many Calories?
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The course was a real eye opener, a little uncomfortable at times as I became aware of all the destructive and negative behaviours I had picked up. The difference was that I was now beginning to understand why I was doing things such as sabotaging my success, yo-yoing and overeating when I knew I shouldn’t. After the course I continued on the Cambridge Diet and got back down to my previous target weight of 10½ stone. I was impressed with the work Stephen was doing and wanted to study further, so I took a further qualification and it was during this training I realised that I was still overeating (and drinking) which was why I couldn’t get below 10½ stone no matter how hard I tried to diet. This is me graduating from the course on 10th July |
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Hey presto …
I sorted some things out in my head and hey presto I dropped a stone in less than a month and the interesting part was that I didn’t even realise I had done it!
It took a friend to point out that my trousers were hanging off me to pluck up the courage to go and try on a size 10. No one was more surprised than me that they fitted. I was thrilled and have emptied my wardrobe of all my old clothes and have thoroughly enjoyed shopping for a new size 10 wardrobe.
Where I’m up to now
My new weight feels fantastic, I now love shopping and go out whenever I can – I’ve even started dancing….. The truth is, I now feel like the real me, and I’m happy with who I am and how I look. I still enjoy food, but I don’t obsess about it, and it doesn’t have a hold on me anymore. I have maintained this weight and not yo-yoed for over 3 months.
Update 9.9.09
I’m actually even slimmer and much fitter than I have ever been since being a swimmer back in my teens! And no I have not been on a diet at all and apart from working with my clients I hardly think about food except when I’m hungry.
I’ll keep you posted but I think I’m finally done with dieting!
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Take a look at me now
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Get the tools Dawn used
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