Along the way I hit a few plateaux. I gained weight over both Christmas and Easter, but lost it again quite easily afterwards.
I was intrigued by where I lost the weight from. Initially the weight came off my belly, which was unsurprising, as that's where I was carrying most of it. But then I started to lose weight off my hips, making me more straight up and down and less curvy than I am used to. But then, after a while, I started losing weight off my waist, most visible at my sides when viewed from the back. I got my curves back!
At some point I also started losing weight off my breasts, which is very strange for me, as before now they've only ever gotten bigger. It was also great news, as it means I no longer need to go to speciality shops for my bras. This was particularly useful as the particular speciality shop I tended to go to shut down around the same time.
Overall I'm very happy with my new shape. It's different to the one I had the last time I was a size ten, as I am much fitter now than I was then.
My body is the size I want it to be, on average. My belly is still bigger than I'd like and a little saggy, my face is maybe a tiny bit pointy, and my ribs stick out from certain angles. It is my body, and I choose to love it, but it is not perfect. I don't believe that anyone's body really can be.
I found the Weight Watchers diet generally easy to stick to. I was almost always tracking on a Monday, rarely tracking on a Sunday, and varied in between. But I got a general feel for what eating the right number of points felt like. So even if I hadn't been tracking well, I knew if I'd had a good week or a bad one. I mind being a bit hungry less than I did a year ago, and being over full more.
Since starting this journey I have discovered the Nationals Weight Control Registry. This is a long term research study of people who have lost weight and kept it off. Their threshold is losing 30 pounds and keeping it off for a year. I lost 34 pounds (15 kilos, 2 stone 6 pounds). So, hopefully this time next year I'll be signing up to join. I'm hoping this will help to motivate me, as I know that motivation for weight control is harder than for weight loss.
This is what me losing 34 pounds in 10 and a half months looks like.
