Weight Loss Success Story: Ejemhen Esangbedo

CYT Member ID: Ejemhen32

Eje is 32 and has lost over a stone and a half with Cook Yourself Thin. Here, in her own words, she tells how she did it and how the weight loss has affected her life.

Weight Ups and Downs Before Cook Yourself Thin

From the time I hit puberty, I have always struggled with my weight. I have never been what would be called thin and that’s fine with me but I hated being fat. Funnily enough, I never had a problem with self-esteem due to my weight. I have never been short of friends/boyfriends or a social life.

When I was with my first husband, I felt under pressure to lose weight so I joined a gym, found that I actually enjoyed it and lost a lot of weight. I don’t know what I weighed then but I was a size 14/16 and it did give more confidence and made my self- esteem grow.

While I was going through my divorce 4 years ago, I lost even more weight but deep down I knew it wouldn’t last because I was hardly eating due to the trauma I was going through.

Anyway, met my current husband (and love of my life) very soon afterwards, got happy again and started eating, and ever so slowly the weight crept up. We both love food and cooking so we spent a lot of time experimenting with different recipes, end result, I put on lots of weight and he, bless him, is such a slim build that he could eat for England and put on nothing!

I wish I could say that there was some disaster in my life that made me put on weight but the truth is, I put on weight because I ate the wrong things in large portions. Don’t get me wrong, I was never one for cakes, chocolates etc but when it came to meals, I would just eat huge portions of good food, oh and of course my passion for wine didn’t help.

We got married in March this year and I thought I would lose weight for the wedding, by this stage I was about a size 16 really, even though I kidded myself I was still a 14! Of course, I just never did anything about it because I was basically lazy and I just couldn’t think of what weight loss plan to follow. I needed something that would allow me to eat what I wanted and would not force me to eat salads all the time – yuck!

Eje Before Cook Yourself Thin

Motivation to Lose Weight

I decided that I needed to lose weight properly because of the fear of developing diabetes, the fact that we would want to have a baby in the next couple of years and being slimmer would help with conception.

I also had all these amazing clothes in my wardrobe that I couldn’t fit into. Every morning when I got up for work, I had to make a conscious decision on what I would be able to get away with wearing to the office that day.

How Cook Yourself Thin Helps

In the past I had tried quite a few diets including Weight Watchers, Slimming World, Atkins and just plain not eating very much. They all worked for a while but nothing lasted.

All I can say is CYT is a God send. I like the fact that there is a count that tells me how many calories I am allowed in the day in order to lose weight and the fact that there is a database of almost every food known to man so I can select what I am eating.

The community on CYT has also been brilliant and I have been in hysterics at some of the posts – there are some really funny ladies out there. Also the Helpteam have been fantastic and always respond to any queries I have had in a very swift manner.

Changes I Have Made

In all fairness I haven’t made huge differences to the cooking and shopping habits for my husband and I. We still have all the food we enjoyed in the past with only minor differences. E.g, if we are having Bolognese for dinner, I would make sure I bought extra lean mince and I would cook the meal without oil and serve it without cheese on top. It is amazing how many calories you can save by doing this and it is still a delicious meal!

For my part, I invested in some accurate digital scales for the kitchen and I weigh all my food. This is not a problem at all and only adds seconds to my food preparation time. The scales are quite compact so I can fit them in my bag and if we are out to friends for dinner, I take them with me!!

The changes I have made have been so small in that they haven’t made an impact on my life. I feel quite cross with myself for not discovering this earlier.

I still eat all the same things I ate in the past but with minor changes to the recipes and I just make sure that I buy low fat options from the supermarkets these days.

Nothing is Forbidden

If I had to say the best thing about CYT, I would say that it is the fact that nothing is forbidden. I feel like I can eat anything at all in moderation.

I often get comments from people saying ‘are you allowed to eat that on your diet?’ and the answer is always, yes I am!! I have a calorie allowance for the day and I can eat anything I want.

Obviously, the emphasis is on a balanced diet and because I know that nothing is forbidden, I am very relaxed about things and find that I don’t crave anything. If anything I struggle to use up my daily allowance of calories.

The Difference Losing Weight Has Made

Losing weight has given me a renewed confidence I didn’t know I was lacking.

I can wear all the clothes in my wardrobe now as they all fit and obviously, I have bought a lot more. I get comments from people all the time about how good I am looking. Its nice to see friends who haven’t seen me for a while and immediately notice the difference in me.

The main benefits for me are that I look and feel better. When I get dressed to go out for an evening or to come into work, I know I look good and that does wonders for the ego.

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