But not literally.

Last June I decided to finally do something about my weight. It wasn’t causing health issues and tests in recent years had a shown low cholesterol and a strong heart. Never-the-less, I wasn’t happy.

So, just like that, I did.

I joined WW (what was Weight Watchers) and this week I celebrated losing over 50 lbs in total (53 lbs in total). That’s over 20% of my body weight. So, I’m four fifths of the man that I used to be, if we’re being rather more literal.

On top of that I became a WW Gold Member because I’ve now hit my target weight. However, I’ve not yet stopped – I’m going to continue my weight loss until Easter.

It’s as if my body knew I was coming to these specific goals as, in this last week, I lost 4lbs (a lot higher than usual) – like an athlete making a sprint at the end of a marathon!

I’ve not blogged about all of this until now but I thought the week’s achievements made it worth saying something. I’ve not been to many WordCamps or performed in any shows since I started, so many friends have not seen me since.

Why has WW been so successful? In the past I’ve tried loosing weight simply by cutting down but I just ended up hungry – and, for me, hunger is my weakness. If I’m hungry, I want to eat. The plans from WW aren’t about cutting down but eating differently – I’m never hungry as there’s always something I can have.

The way it works is that you have a set number of points to use per day, plus some more weekly points that you can dip into if you use up your daily amounts (I never do). All foods have points and there are some that are zero. There are 3 plans to choose from, and the free points will differ depending on which one you sign up for. The “traditional” blue plan, which I’m on, gives me fruit, veg, fish and eggs all as free. And I love fruit.

It also helps that I’m competitive. In this case I’m not competing about anybody else but the excellent phone app that WW give you to track all of this – having a day of eating well and not being hungry and remaining within my points is the challenge I need. When I’ve had a bad week (where I maybe didn’t lose any weight), that makes me go away and make changes to improve (which I always do).

It’s also taught me better behaviours. As a result, I can go away on work trips or holidays abroad and still eat sensibly. I even managed to lose weight over the Christmas holidays, despite still having blow-out Christmas and Boxing Day dinners.

As I said at the beginning, I wasn’t having health issues so I’m not going to lie and say it’s made a huge change to how I physically feel. I can run up stairs and not feel out of breath but, what’s most important is that I feel a lot better about myself. When overweight there’s a shame that you both feel but also that others make you feel as well. I feel good about myself and that has such a positive effect on mental health.

I’m already planning on going to at least twice as many WordCamps as last year so I’m finally making more of an appearance, like a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis (I hope I’m not pushing this imagery too far 😉). If you see me and want to know more about any of this, I’m always happy to talk. And if you are at a WordCamp with me this year, and you take photo of me, please send them along – I’m desperate for new profile photos! And swag… I need all the t-shirt based swag I can get now to replace all the clothes that I’ve had to get rid of. It’s an expensive business, this dieting…

• 

• 

• 

Sorry, I don’t have any photos of me, in profile, wearing an old pair of trousers, holding the waistline out to show my weight loss.

---

Update

The week after hitting my goal weight and gaining my Gold membership, I put on 2lbs. No, I hadn’t been celebrating – nothing had changed.

To put this into context, this was the first time in 17 weeks that I’d put on any weight.

Thankfully, I’ve since lost it again and, I’m happy to say that I’ve now lost 4 stone in total.

---

If this makes you interested in WW, then using the link below will get a month free (but check if there’s another, better offer available first, otherwise this will override it).