Over the years, Terri has lost five stone twice and has done every diet imaginable. She has finally found her fighting weight and has developed a lifestyle routine to maintain her level of fitness and well being. I asked if she would share her regime with us and she said she would be delighted, however, please note that is always advisable to seek your doctor’s advice before changing your diet or exercise plan as Terri is not a qualified dietician.
In Terri’s own words:
“In my experience it’s all about finding the diet and exercise plan that suits your body shape and your life style. Just because it worked for your mate doesn’t mean you’re going to squeeze you and your life into that fit. There’s also no quick fix. Sorry ladies, all the diets that promise you a quick weight loss may work in the short term, but long term you’ll find the weight creeping back on. Slow and steady is the only way it stays off. It’s also important you make realistic changes to your diet and exercise plan that you know is doable.”
Change all white to brown-bread, rice and pasta.
Have your main meal at lunch time. If this is my main meal I find I don’t usually want too much in the evening because I’ve filled my boots at lunch. It means I normally only need a snack in the evening. Eating like this at lunch time means you’ve got the whole afternoon for your body to start processes it, rather than going to bed on a full stomach.
I realise our busy lives don’t always allow for this but if I am having my main meal in the evening, I usually go without Carbs. You must make sure you’ve had plenty at breakfast and lunch because you need them. If I don’t have enough in the day and try and cut them out in the evening I don’t feel satisfied and end up grazing all afternoon and evening.
I always need something sweet after a meal and have found things like the ‘Go ‘ahead’ range a life saver. I know some schools of thought think they’re terrible because the fat is replaced by sugar, but I need something and this does the trick for me.
It goes without saying I try and leave sweets, chocolate, cakes and pastry alone that said once in a while if I fancy it, I have it. I just try and make sure I counter balance it by eating well around it.
The first time I lost 5 stone I counted calories and it took me 10 months. I was breast feeding as well so I’m sure that helped the weight come off.
The second time I counted saturated fats and it came off much quicker. When you look at the fat content of something for a snack it needs to be around 1g of saturated fat and for a main meal 3g. DO NOT LOOK AT THE FAT CONTENT, it is the saturated fat that’s important.
Example of my daily food
Breakfast – Weetabix or cereal like it.
Midmorning – snack-fruit, tea cake (low in saturated fats) Go ahead bar.
Lunch – pasta or rice dish. Watch what kind of sauce you have with it.
Midafternoon – another snack along the lines of earlier one.
Evening meal – meat or fish with veg or salad
I also drink Green tea which I think has speeded up my metabolism, must find out if that’s possible!
Exercise
The key with exercise is finding something you enjoy. I’d rather stick pins in my eyes than go to the gym and do the boring weights and cardio machines. I love classes, but you do have to experiment to find the ones you like. If you need to build your confidence and fitness level a great way to do this is start doing some of the exercise video at home. You’ll learn to control your two left feet and not feel so self conscious when you then try a class. As I’ve said I hate weights, but you do need that kind of exercise for toning so I invest in a personal trainer once a week. It’s his job to take care of the toning and more often than not I won’t let him do traditional weights with me. We do things like boxing and viper work. I like things a bit different but still getting the same results.
I wish you all well on your own path to weight loss and fitness, but if you have any questions or I can help in any way, please contact me at [email protected] (all messages will be passed directly to me)”.
