Diet & Exercise Report

Tuesday 27th August 2002 - 16 st 9 lb.

Down 1lb since last week. On Tuesday at the swimming pool, two different women congratulated me on how much weight I've lost. Several people at work have also mentioned it recently. It is very encouraging when other people notice the difference, as although I know my weight is going down, I don't really see a difference in myself from day to day.

Diet & Exercise: Support Groups

I have never wanted to join a slimming club. I always thought of them as being based on criticism and humiliation (I may be wrong as I have never actually been to one) and the calorie-counting type of diet isn't for me. I can't be bothered with all that calorie counting and weighing all my food, probably because I don't do much cooking. I daresay it is easier if you make your own meals based on the slimming club's recipes.

However, I am currently a member of two weight loss support groups, one virtual (run from the Weight Training & General Fitness bulletin board on the Motley Fool UK web-site), and one at work. The work one started with a group of friends who have lunch together, overlapping with some people who sit at neighbouring desks to them. It may be a bit embarrassing having your weight charted on a spreadsheet for all the members to see, but everyone is very supportive.

Both support groups have a weigh-in once a week. I think that is enough, as your weight will tend to fluctuate slightly, and weighing yourself too frequently makes you paranoid. One of the Tub Club members said one day "Before I went for my run I weighed X, and when I got back from my run I weighed Y, and the next morning I weighed Z", which is rather too obsessive to my mind.