August 27 2005

Amanda Jane

Country: Noord Brabant, The Netherlands
Age: 29
Weight before diet: more than 150 kilograms
Weight now: 132 kilograms
Target weight: 72 kilograms

When Amanda Jane's weight increased, she sought and received the help she needed from Weight Watchers. From using food as an emotional crutch she has progressed to having more self-confidence and feeling more positive about herself. Her sweet tooth tempts her occasionally, but the inspiration she gets from others helps her deal with it successfully.

-What finally made you decide to start with a weight loss program?
I gained a lot of weight over a four-year period. I had moved to The Netherlands to live with my boyfriend in November 2001; I weighed 82 kilograms then. Four years later I weighed more than 150 kilograms, I am not sure how much I weighed because the scales we have only went up to 150kg and my weight would not register at all on them.

After I arrived in The Netherlands I started to get homesick and depressed. I had no family, no friends, no job, I couldn't speak the language and I felt lost and alone. I turned to chocolate and candy for comfort and I ate it whenever I could. My weight started to go up and I realized I should do something about it.

I tried hard to lose the weight and had no success. I went to see my doctor because I didn't understand why I wasn't losing weight. After some blood tests I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid, the reason why the weight loss was almost impossible to achieve. I am now on lifelong medication for my thyroid. I felt relieved when I knew what was wrong and I tried again very hard to lose the weight. I lost a little weight after joining Weight Watchers and exercising regularly, and then I found out I was seven weeks pregnant. I weighed 143 kilograms when I found out I was pregnant, and after I gave birth to my son I weighed more than 150 kilograms.

I was happy and filled with joy when my son was born, but after a while I began feeling depressed and I felt I wasn't coping as well as I should be. Once again, I turned to chocolate and candy. I would sneak bags of mini chocolate bars into the house and eat them when I was alone. I thought it would make me feel better but I only ended up feeling worse. Nine months later I had had enough; I was so depressed and angry with myself for letting myself get so overweight. Late one night after crying about how depressed and fat I was, I decided it was enough. I sat down and wrote out a list of why I needed to lose weight and what I was going to do about it. The next week I joined Weight Watchers and I am glad I did because I now feel I have control of my life again.

-What type of weight loss program are you following?
I follow the Weight Watchers program. I attend a weekly meeting and get weighed and receive support and encouragement from other members and my Weight Watcher leader Marijke. Weight Watchers is the only weight loss program I have ever tried in my whole life; it works every time as long as you stick to the program and you continue with the healthy changes you have made in your life.
If you slip back into old habits as I have done, the weight will always come back on over time.

-Why did you choose this weight loss program?
My sister lost 80 kilograms with the help of Weight Watchers. In 2002 she won the title Slimmer of The Year. When my sister was following the program I would always eat what she ate and I never felt deprived or hungry, you can eat whatever you want to as long as you watch your portion sizes and stay within your daily points limit. I have written about my sister's weight loss success here: My inspirational sister lost 80 kilograms!

-How long have you been on your weight loss program?
I joined on Monday 15th May 2006, just a little over three months now. I have lost 12.2 kilograms so far.

-What kinds of physical activities do you like doing to help you lose weight and stay fit?
I am lucky to live in such a beautiful quiet village, where I have a walking route that I try to go on everyday. The route takes me one hour to complete and it is so peaceful and scenic. I take my son with me and he also loves it, especially when the cows MOO at him. I also go cycling now and then, and I also do step aerobics, which makes me feel really energized. When I lose a bit more weight I will introduce weight training into my regime. This is my walking route: Let's go for a walk…

-What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome or are still overcoming?
The most difficult thing for me was cutting out the chocolate and candy, I gave it up completely. I do have the occasional gummi bear or lolly pop, but I don't crave or eat chocolate anymore like I used to. I also gave up soft drinks and honey, which I used to have in my cup of tea. I now get my sugars from fruit instead.

-How do you keep yourself motivated?
My sister gives me the most motivation, I've seen how hard she worked to lose all of that weight and she got to her goal weight. I always think to myself, "If she can do it, I can do it too." I also get a lot of motivation from myself; I try to encourage myself for the hard work I have done and I have to remind myself how I was feeling before compared to how I feel now, I don't ever want to feel depressed about the way I look again, not when I have the power to change myself.

-Do you have any weight loss tips for our readers?
You have to want to lose weight for yourself, not for anyone else. A healthy, well-balanced diet and daily exercise is the key. Having support around you from friends and family will always help you along your journey; you will always have someone to turn to when you need help or a little push. Don't try to do everything perfectly because if you fail you will feel bad and you might end up quitting. Allow for slip-ups and make sure you get back on track straight away.