I Received no support on my weight loss journey. How about You?

I remember the day I stood on the scales in my GP surgery, and I was nearly 22 stone like it was yesterday.

I was given a very stern talking to and sent along my way after being told in no uncertain terms that I needed to change my ways, or I would not see age 40.

Now I am an intelligent woman, and I just did not understand why I could not control what I ate? I had so many questions that needed answering and I felt so much shame around my secret binge eating that I isolated myself.

I never told anyone about the conversation that I had with my doctor.  And on that day my lonely journey began.

I knew that all my previous attempts at dieting and losing weight had failed and always ended up with me being heavier than I was when I started. The restriction nature of a diet and calorie counting always lead me to bingeing on food.

This time was different I wasn’t losing weight to “look” a certain way it was purely for my health.

That night my partner went off to work at 9pm and once he left, I put my trainers on and went out walking, I waited for it to be dark so that nobody could see me and I would not be ridiculed, I was used to people shouting out names and laughing at me and did not want to be deterred.

So, it was as simple as that I started with my nightly walks, after about 10 days I was pleasantly surprised that it was getting slightly easier. With this new habit making me feel better it encouraged me to introduce the next change. I introduced 2 litres of water per day and just by introducing these two basic steps I was amazed at how much better I felt. My joints ached less; my permanent brain fog lifted, by taking these small steps it motivated me to change the next thing, then the next.

Nowadays when I am working with clients, they often say to me “I lack motivation” I make it very clear to them that motivation is not something that comes knocking on our door, motivation for me, and many others comes from taking action, not great big overwhelming changes all at once, but small sustainable changes, one at a time so each one becomes embedded.

It is also important on a weight loss journey to celebrate the small wins along the way, for example when I was able to walk up the stairs to bed without getting out of breath! By celebrating those small wins, it helped me stay focused, especially during the times when my weight loss plateaued.

Along my journey I noticed that my urge to binge on food heightened when uncomfortable emotions came up, I was in an abusive relationship for many years and lived with a high level of anxiety, that anxiety would give me the overwhelming urge to binge on food to supress and stuff those uncomfortable feelings down, rather than facing them.

I remember during once counselling session I told my counsellor that I thought I was addicted to food, only to be told “I couldn’t possibly be addicted to food as there are no addictive substances in it”. I felt stupid and never went back but I knew deep down I was the same as any other addict, I used food to escape painful emotions and the feeling of never being “enough”.

I have used all my experience and knowledge to start my support group “Step by step with Sarah-Jane” 3 years go now, and have created a safe space for people to be part of a supportive community of like-minded people who want to improve their physical and mental health.

If any of my story resonates with you, then please know that you are not alone and when you are ready reach out.