Liz's story

Liz, 58 is an Office Manager from Surrey. She joined Nutracheck in September 2010 and has lost an incredible 6 stone over 15 months. Liz says "I had an original goal of 10 stone140lbs63.5g and reached that in July this year but after maintaining for the next 5 months my weight appears to have settled at 8 stone 13lbs125lbs56.6g".

What made you decide to join Nutracheck?

I had yo-yo dieted for years (and I mean years). I did not want to be fat at 30, then 40, then 50 and then... oh my goodness, I was getting too near to the 60 mark! (58 at the moment) So it just had to stop. But where to start - I trawled the internet over and over again looking at all sorts of weird and wonderful sites and suddenly I found Nutracheck. It was like a breath of fresh air, it just made such good sense to me.

Have you tried other diet plans / programmes before? What was your experience like?

Many years ago I trained as a Weight Watchers lecturer and had a couple of classes of my own. It was successful, however my youngest son was quite ill and I could not commit to the classes so I gave them up. However I did not wish to use Weight Watchers again. I do not like the pro points system and I was not happy with attending a weekly class - I needed to do something that was far more flexible for me and my lifestyle.

What has been the key to your dieting success?

The forums and the food diary without a doubt. I use the food diary religiously even though I am maintaining and I still spend time (far too much!) on the forums. I am so grateful for the support, advice, humour and general camaraderie that prevails with all the fab people on there.

I feel confident now, my self esteem is where it should be.

What are your top three pieces of advice for other dieters?

1. Don't set unrealistic goals.
2. Be patient.
3. Do it for Life.

How easy did you find fitting the diet into your lifestyle - has it made you adopt a healthier way of life?

No problems at all with fitting into my lifestyle - there is only me and hubbie and I trained him many years ago to eat what he is given! No on a serious note he is an extremely supportive chap. As for healthier, I don't think my diet has ever been so healthy. I always had a good understanding of what I should and should not be eating, but when you are faced every day with a food diary showing just what is going in your mouth, it has to make you think. Also I have found my love of running and all sorts of other gym classes - I just love exercise now!

Have there been any success milestones? (e.g. fitting into an old pair of jeans again/ looking great for a wedding or special occasion/ getting compliments)

I did this journey just for me, not for any specific success milestone. However going from a size 20/22 to a size 10 has been an extremely pleasing and enjoyable thing. I also have a two year medical with my company and at this year's medical the clinician and the doctor just could not believe I was the same person - everything was completely 'normal' and that included a heck of a lot of tests! That was a huge boost and felt extremely good.

How do you feel now compared to before you started?

Confident, my self esteem is just where it should be. I no longer feel that I have to wear a huge smile to cover my huge body. I have bags of energy and I am HAPPY!

How do you keep motivated?

I tend to ensure that I plan carefully for all eventualities, but as we all get down from time to time, I now find that either exercise (especially a brisk walk if I am a little low) or some daily meditation will keep my mind in its right place. I don't fret if I have a poor eating day because I know exactly what I have to do to get myself back on track. Nutracheck has taught me all the lifestyle skills I could possibly need to keep my weight steady and constant - Thanks Nutracheck!!