A year ago today....

I made a decision that changed my life forever. I decided to rejoin Weightwatchers yet again.

I stood outside the hall and smoked a cigarette before going in to join and I was shaking so much as I filled in the forms, paid my money and got weighed. Fiona, the leader was lovely and put me at ease straightaway. Despite having done Weightwatchers countless times before I stayed for the new member talk at the end and when I got home I threw away all the unhealthy food. I was however very surprised to lose 13lbs in the first week but it just goes to show how much rubbish I was eating before.

Fiona left after I had been going for a few weeks and Diane, the next leader did not stay very long.

I reached my 10% milestone in December (36lbs) and in January not only did I give up smoking but I also received my 50lb certificate from Elaine, who stood in as leader for a couple of weeks. Then at the beginning of February Marie took over the meetings and my weightloss continued at a steady speed. I achieved my 75lb target in March and shortly after that I did something I have not done since late 1998, I weighed less than 20 stone. In March I also joined the gym and not only that, I enjoyed it.

In May I became a helper at my meeting and also achieved my 100lb certificate. In June I went on holiday and managed to maintain. I've never not put on weight on holiday before.

Marie gave up our Sholing meeting in August but I moved to another meeting run by her. It was at this meeting that I recorded my 10 stone loss. However, I only attended this class for 2 weeks before transferring to a busier meeting, also run by Marie.

Since then I've achieved my 150lb certificate and got to know Marie fairly well. I've helped at other meetings too. I've lost 162.5lbs in total to date and am finally feeling that I've cracked this and will not only get to goal, but stay there.

My life is completely different to how it used to be. I first walked into Weightwatchers with my head down and did not speak to anyone. On Wednesday of this week I stood up in front of a Weightwatcher meeting and told my story. I could never have done that before. This time last year I could barely walk but now I walk as much as possible. I'm feeling fit and I am able to buy clothes from "normal" shops for the first time in many years.

Weightwatchers has become a way of life for me now and I hope that the next 12 months will see me get to goal. I certainly won't ever get back to the weight I was this time last year that is for sure.

Vicky xxx