I Lost 4 Stone 10lbs and Found My Real Self Again: Rosalind’s Story
Rosalind, from Surrey, has lost 4 stone 10lbs with LighterLife. But while the weight loss has brought some big physical changes, including going from an XXL or XXXL to a medium, she says the biggest transformation has been learning to trust herself and feel comfortable being seen again.
At 51, Rosalind wanted to find her freedom, both physically and mentally. She had spent much of her life trying different diets and “harsh self-deprivation”, but this time she wanted to understand her relationship with food and find something that felt right for her.
From XXL to a medium
For Rosalind, one of the most noticeable changes has been her clothes.
“Not going to lie, there’s a bit of a thrill slipping into a medium over wriggling in a sweaty mess into a XXL if not XXXL.”
She now finds it easier to get dressed and can fit into clothes she had kept but never really believed she would wear again.
“I actually buy fewer clothes, as I can fit into old ones I never really believed I’d get to wear again, but hoped.”
She says she is no longer desperately looking for something she can stand to wear.
“Now I like getting dressed.”
And she is enjoying colour again.
“Yes, I wear colour joyfully, or black when I’m feeling the rise of my teenage goth!”
“I wanted to lose weight in order to find my freedom”
Rosalind has always been active, but her weight had reached a point where her joints and back were in pain.
“I wanted to lose weight in order to find my freedom, both physically but more importantly, mentally.”
She enjoys being “curvy and muscular”, so her goal was never to become “fashionably thin”. Instead, she wanted to uncover something that felt right for her.
As an actor, her work can be physical and involve long hours, so being in the best place possible for that was important. She also wanted to live a healthy life with her partner.
“Nothing has worked for me like Lighter Life”
Rosalind says she has tried every diet and “harsh self-deprivation” throughout her life, starting from the age of eight.
“I am in a very good position to say, nothing has worked for me like LighterLife.”
What made LighterLife different was the support and the opportunity to understand the relationship she had developed with food.
“I chose LighterLife above all because of the support, and to uncover and unpick the destructive relationship I’ve had with food.”
For Rosalind, the mental side of the journey was just as important as the weight loss.
“What’s between the ears is the most important thing of all.”
“I was just so ready”
Surprisingly, Rosalind didn’t find her first week too challenging.
“I think I was just so ready, my excitement and relief got me through.”
She also found ways to have fun with the Foodpacks, experimenting with different ways to enjoy them. She turned shakes into mousse, made soup into muffins and even bought a mini waffle maker.
“There are lots of ways to have a little fun.”
Her favourite was the Spaghetti Bolognese, loaded with pepper until it was “so spicy, I had to eat it slooooowly, with a teeny spoon!”
“The support from every aspect of the community kept me going”
Support became a big part of Rosalind’s journey.
“The support from every aspect of the community kept me going.”
She found the Facebook group particularly helpful, with Victoria Guildford becoming “a constant source of inspiration”.
Her Mentor, Sharon, also played an important role.
“I cannot emphasise enough how incredible my mentor Sharon has been, sending daily inspiration.”
Rosalind attended both her three-month closed group and an open group, finding the group work particularly helpful.
“I had a lot to unravel!”
Her partner was also going through his own transformation in the gym.
“We both look like different people now!”
“I’m no longer hiding”
The changes have also made a difference to how Rosalind approaches everyday life.
“I’m no longer hiding.”
She now says yes to invitations and walks into a room “without apology”. She is also taking more risks with her career, her writing and “everything in life really”.
Physically, her back and hips no longer hurt. She swam throughout her weight loss journey and is now back in the gym.
She has always gardened, but says it is now “easy and joyful”.
“I got into the management stage just as the vegetables I had been growing came to maturity, so I have health at my fingertips.”
“I feel so young and free again”
Some of Rosalind’s biggest victories are the small, everyday things she had stopped noticing.
“The most important thing I can do now is cross my legs…I didn’t realise how much I’d missed that.”
Before losing weight, putting on her socks could leave her out of breath.
“I had got to the point where putting on my socks made me puff.”
Now, she says:
“Now I feel so young and free again, at 51.”
There have been plenty of other non-scale victories too, from fetching the dogs’ ball from under the couch to getting easily out of her car when she has parked too close to a wall.
But perhaps the biggest change has been how she feels about herself.
“Feeling hope that I could trust myself, letting myself become visible in my life and in my work…and so many, many more things.”
“Food doesn’t solve or resolve…it blocks”
The CBT Mindfulness work has helped Rosalind understand her behaviour and recognise the thoughts that can lead to impulsive or compulsive actions.
“The group taught me so many things, and brought to the fore what I already knew.”
For her, this isn’t a journey that simply ends when the weight comes off.
“It will be a journey for life. I will never stop exploring it.”
She has learned to pause before acting impulsively and to catch her thoughts.
“Food doesn’t solve or resolve…it blocks.”
