Say hi to the new guy! (from the UK)

Hi everyone, I just thought I’d introduce myself to all of you lovely people.

My weight loss journey started in 2008, a few months after my baby girl was born. When I looked at all the photos taken of me and the baby I just hated the way I looked. I got some scales and worked out that I had a BMI of 34… obese!

I’ve always been a chunky lad ever since high school, but because of my height and stocky build it never seemed like a big deal. I drifted through my twenties not worrying about it at all. To learn I was now obese was a real wake up call.

I wasn’t sure how to begin losing weight, but a friend told me his dad had lost loads of weight on the Atkins. I got a book and followed the induction plan to the letter. Within about 4 months, I lost a whopping 3 stones (19kg).

By this time I got absolutely sick of Atkins, to me the nature of the diet is so repetitive. I got sick of the sight of eggs and meat! So after that I just started eating sensibly and steadily lost some more weight.

Since then I have gone up and down on the scales like a yo-yo. I’ve managed to keep most of the weight off, but on a recent holiday I let myself go a bit so I have decided to take things more seriously this time and count my calories.

I’m following a GI plan this time and aiming to stay below 2000 calories a day. If I only lose 1 or 2 pounds a week, that will suit me fine. The most important thing for me is to find a plan I can stick to for the long term.

I’m pleased to have found the MyFitnessPal iPhone app. It looks like just what I need. As a bit of a geek I find scanning barcodes great fun, keeping track of my daily food intake and exercise really couldn’t be any easier.

Anyway, enough of my jibber jabber. I’d love to hear if any of my journey sounds similar to yours.

Feel free to add me as a friend BTW. I’m especially looking for some weight-loss buddies in the UK, of course anyone is welcome