Hello From a UK er

[blondie1981]

Hi I am 26 and live in the North of England, I am a student studying Nutrition and Dietetics and hope to be a state registered Dietician at the end of my course (I am a mature student but loving every minute of it)

I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis around 14 months ago and since that time haven't really taken any regular exercise as I was very ill at the time of diagnosis and then was recovering, and due to the amount of laying about ill I have lost all fitness and tone

I have also been comfort eating over the last few months which has led to me gaining weight.

I am 5'3 and was 154lbs at my heaviest (just before my diagnosis) I then went down to 119lbs through stress/illness during and after diagnosis, but with the fat lost I also lost a heck of a lot of muscle through no exercise etc.

I am fairly well at the moment but have gone back up to 128lbs through comfort eating and feeling miserable about my size/lack of body tone/lack of fitness or strength etc.

I have done atkins before a few times on and off but never really fully committed to it.

I am wanting to improve my health, and also get my fitness levels to where they were. I have also decided that I want to take up running, I have never really run before and am a bit daunted but have printed out the couch to 5k thingy off runners world and am aiming to start the 9 week plan on Monday.


I am on day one of this WOE and everything is going well so far.

The only thing is due to my medical condition I am not going to eat as much saturate fat as listed in the diet, I will not be having any sweeteners either, its all natural and good fats for me or I cant do it. I know a lot of people will say Im not doing it right if I do that but if I have too many saturated fats it worsens my MS and can even trigger relapses and also the sweeteners thing, well they're just plain bad for you if you ask me, but that's just my opinion


I also have a great boyfriend who is very into his fitness (a little bit of exercise to him is popping out to do 12K on a rainy sunday afternoon without barely breaking a sweat -I feel so unfit compared to him haha) and watching his diet, so he is very supportive of me getting fit and eating healthier.

He has told me he wouldnt want me to lose or gain any weight as he thinks I am great as I am but I have told him how unhappy I am at this size and as long as I am doing it sensibly he is happy for me to do it.

I am aiming to reach around 105lbs which may sound a bit low but I am very petite and have been as small as 98lbs before which I didnt look too thin at.

People might look at my height and weight and think I am a good weight, I do have a healthy BMI yes but I recently had my body fat % done and it came out at 33%, thats obese, and to be honest I can see it cos I have a very small frame but a lot of excess flab covering it, and have lost so much muscle.

Anyway I will stop rambling. My goals are to reach 105lbs and 18% body fat, to have high levels of fitness and health again and to take up running.

Im going to give myself 12-18 months to reach those goals

[*Emma*]

Hi Blondie, Welcome to ADBB!

I'm a fellow UKer too, from Manchester! whereabouts are you?

Natural and good fats is fine, you can still hit your quota needed doing it that way, for some its the only way it works!! and sweetners wont be a bad thing either, i rarely have mine

[blondie1981]

Originally Posted by *Emma*

Hi Blondie, Welcome to ADBB!

I'm a fellow UKer too, from Manchester! whereabouts are you?

Natural and good fats is fine, you can still hit your quota needed doing it that way, for some its the only way it works!! and sweetners wont be a bad thing either, i rarely have mine

I just edited my post a little haha cos I forgot to say some things. But thanks for your response to it.

I am from Huddersfield, but at uni in Middlesbrough, I go home every weekend though.

[Richt]

Always good to see fellow Brits sign up! Yep I am one too! But from the South.

Welcome to the wonderful world of ADBB

Rich

[Bluebelt2007]

Hi and welcome to the board, thanks for sharing your story and good luck.

[blondie1981]

Thank you Rich and Bluebelt

[*Emma*]

Originally Posted by blondie1981

I just edited my post a little haha cos I forgot to say some things. But thanks for your response to it.

I am from Huddersfield, but at uni in Middlesbrough, I go home every weekend though.

I'm in Ashton Under Lyne, not that far away!

[sallyseachange]

Hiya! Another Brit here... but I don't live in the UK. Nice to have you with us and thank you for telling us your story.

Kudos to you for your ambitions to start running and get into great shape. I'm sure you'll manage this easily... and you have your ultra fit boyfriend to help. That's great!

You'll be fine with steering clear of sat fats if you wish... you can have lots of lovely extra virgin olive oil over your food! Ditching the sweetners won't be a bad thing either as by doing that you'll kill the sweet tooth monster quicker!

Post lots and keep us abreast of your progress. We're looking forward to cheering you along the path!

[Inkylady]

Yay!! I'm in the U.K too. Newcastle on Tyne to be specific. Nice to have you on board.