Me, too!
Awful, isn ... I am 26. I was slim when I was younger, but always thought i was fat, even though I was a size 10  I never appreciated it or enjoyed it, as a result. Now I look at old photos and can't believe I used to look so nice.
Having a baby caused me to gain weight (as it does) - I was about 8 stone 10 lbs when I got pregnant (give or take a pound or two) and when I was 8 and a half months pregnant I weighed 10 stone 11lbs, so I gained two stone during pregnancy, which is quite a lot. After giving birth I assumed that I'd slim down fairly quickly but I didn't. I just kept gaining, gaining, gaining. By the summer (I gave birth in February!) I was 13 stone. After Christmas 2007, I weighed 13 and a half stone. I managed to lose two and a half stone, although it wasn't easy, after I started the Cambridge diet in March. I floated around various diets before that: Weight Watchers and Atkins, but neither worked. Being "intellectually challenged" I found it very difficult to work out the points in food for WW, and as a non-cheese fan, Atkins was pointless. I found cambridge after reading about it on a website.
Cambridge involves completely eliminating food from your diet: you have three soups, shakes, or bars a day. I hate the soups: I think they taste like water with powder in it, but some people love 'em! The shakes are really quite nice (again, it depends on flavour) and the bars are yummy - they just taste like normal chocolate.
According to cambridge lit, you go into "ketosis" and you lose weight - I'm not 100% convinced that is all there is to it. I think the fact you're on less than 500 cals a day is what makes it come off quickly! I went from 13 and a half stone to 11 stone 2 - then we moved house! I have now put some (not all thank God!) back on ... starting again TODAY!!! so watch this space.
Cambridge might not be for you, though - I am not "promoting" it per se, it's just one option. The key to any diet has just gotta be real grit and determination. Don't let any patronising idiot tell you, "It is just a case of calories in < calories out" - ... not to put too fine a point on it! It's your age, gender, height, it's your past, present, future, lifestyle, nightmares, dreams ... dieting is one of the most difficult things in the world. I wish people realised that *calms self down* anyway GOOD LUCK to all you fellow dieters!
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