'My Husband Loves It When I Attract Male Attention Now': Mother-Of-Four Mortified By Sight Of Her 'Fat Legs' At Ascot loses 6st

• Melody Feldsted, 33, from Slough, weighed 16st 3lb and wore size 20 
• Mortified at Facebook photo of her at Ascot with 'fat legs' and a 'wide face'
• She slashed her calorie intake by 25% and hit the gym
• Also quit smoking, and she now weighs 10st 11lb and fits into size 10

A mother-of-four was so ashamed by a picture taken of her during a day at the Ascot races that she embarked on a health kick and shed more than 5st in weight.

Melody Feldsted, 33, from Slough, saw her weight creep up after the birth of her first child when she was 18. At her heaviest she weighed 16st 3lb and wore size 20 clothes. 

Today, after slashing her calorie intake by 25 per cent, hitting the gym and quitting cigarettes, her weight is a healthy 10st 11lb and she can fit into size 10 outfits.

The picture of Melody at 16st 3lb the Ascot races in August 2012 which encouraged her to lose weight (l) and Melody pictured recently, weighing 10st 11lb (r)

She said a photo of her in her Sunday best taken at Ascot in the summer of 2012 shocked her into taking decisive action.

Mrs Felstead, a former shop assistant, said: 'I looked at the photo and thought, "oh my God, that can't be me".

'I looked overweight and unhealthy. I wondered how I'd allowed myself to get like that, and why anyone had allowed me to go out looking so large.

'I hated the way my legs looked fat, and my face appeared very wide. It was a nice dress and I didn't do it justice at all. I couldn't stand the thought that it had been shared with other people - I asked my friend to take it down.'

Mrs Felstead, who is 5ft 6in tall, saw her body shape change after the birth of her sons Jordan, now 15, Bradley, 11, Brendan eight, and Mikey, three.

Her weight topped 13st following the birth of her youngest son, and Mrs Felstead saw the pounds pile on rapidly following her decision to quit her 20-a-day smoking habit in January 2011.

Melody on a family holiday to Turkey in April 2012 before she lost weight

She says she only wore a swimsuit because she was overseas and knew no-one I knew would see her in it

She said: 'I wasn't consciously aware of eating more, but I was gaining weight. I expect my metabolism slowed down and I was subconsciously substituting cigarettes for snacks.

'I enjoyed biscuits - custard creams, shortbread and Jammie Dodgers. I took me a long time to realise that eating biscuits adds a lot to your daily intake.'

As her weight crept up, Melody became more and more self-conscious.

'I was really embarrassed about the way I looked in a swimsuit - I looked far too large and unhealthy. I only wore it because I was overseas and knew no-one I knew would see me in it. If I'm around people I know, I never wear swimsuits. 

'I tried not to care what people thought, but inside I was very unhappy.'

Melody pictured with her husband Jamie before she lost weight. Now, he has to contain his jealousy

But it was the Ascot photograph was the final straw.

She said: 'One of my friends put the picture on Facebook, which was mortifying. They told me they didn't think I was particularly large, but I thought I looked huge.'

Mrs Felstead decided to join a local gym where she and her husband Jamie, 34, an electrician, both took advantage of a special offer which granted them annual membership at a discounted rate.

'I was really embarrassed about the way I looked in a swimsuit... I only wore it because I was overseas and knew no-one I knew would see me in it'
 

She said: 'We had an induction where I was weighed for the first time in as long as I could remember. When the scales reached 16st 3lb I was shocked.'

She began going to the gym three times a week, tackling a wide variety of cardiovascular exercises including running and cross training.

She also began counting calories, slashing her intake. Within a year she'd lost five stone. 

She said 'I didn't change the food I was eating - I just made sure I ate sensible portions. I didn't want to make too many drastic changes because I wanted the changes to be sustainable.'

Today she typically eats porridge with blueberries or raspberries for breakfast, followed by soup with sliced bread for lunch, and a portion-controlled square meal with her children, such as spaghetti
bolognese or lasagne.

Melody's diet before

Breakfast: Nothing

Lunch: Chicken wrap with chocolate and crisps

Dinner: Lasagne with garlic bread

Snacks: Biscuits, shortbread and Jammie Dodgers

Melody's diet after

Breakfast: Porridge with blueberries or raspberries 

Lunch: Soup with some sliced bread 

Dinner: Portion-controlled square meal

Snacks: Fruit

A glamorous picture of Melody part-way through her weightloss journey, as her confidence grows

Her combination calorie-counting and regular exercise has paid off, as today she tips the scales at 10st 11lb and can fit into size 10 clothes. 

She said her husband Jamie, her partner of 16 years, has had to learn to deal with the attention she now gets on a night out.

She said: 'Not long ago a big group of us went out as wives and husbands. At one point the wives were in one part of the bar, and the guys were in another. Another group of lads approached and started looking me and my friends up and down.

'One of the other husbands was a bit put out that they seemed interested in us, but Jamie's response that he was proud I was so good-looking.

+8

Melody pictured at Christmas (left) and more recently, weighing 10st 11lb

When she looks at the Ascot photo now, she says it doesn't look anything like her.

'I look and feel like a completely different person. I hate looking at it, although it does make me appreciate how far I've come and what I've achieved in losing the weight.'

This weekend Mrs Felstead is taking part in her first ever half marathon at Silverstone. She hopes to complete the 13-mile course in under two hours. 

She said: 'I'd signed up for the run ages ago in the hope I'd be fit and healthy enough to do it. The fact that I feel confident enough to take part and achieve a good time is a huge milestone for me.

'I'm proud of what I've achieved. It's so much easier to keep up with the children and I'm even more confident.

'I'm so happy I can fit into the clothes I love, instead of the frumpy old clothes that I used to have to wear.'

Source:- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2570114/My-husband-loves-I-male-attention-Mother-four-mortified-sight-fat-legs-Ascot-loses-6st.html

How Can I Speed Up My Metabolism?

It’s not unusual to hear people blame their weight gain on a slow metabolism.

They’ve cut down on calories and take regular exercise yet they’re still not losing weight. The only other possible diagnosis, they expertly conclude, is a slow metabolism.

What is a slow metabolism? How does it affect your weight and can you do anything to speed it up?

Professor James Timmons, a metabolism expert from Loughborough University, gives your metabolism a closer examination.

What is metabolism?

Metabolism describes all the chemical processes that go on continuously inside the body to keep you alive and your organs functioning normally, such as breathing, repairing cells and digesting food.

These chemical processes require energy. The minimum amount of energy your body requires to carry out these chemical processes is called the basal metabolic rate (BMR).

Your BMR accounts for anything between 40% and 70% of your body’s daily energy requirements depending on your age and lifestyle. A ‘slow metabolism’ is more accurately described as a low BMR.

There are many calculators that work out your daily energy needs available online. Look out for calculators using the Harris-Benedict equation.

Do some people have a faster metabolism than others?

Body size, age, gender and genes all play a role in determining your metabolic rate.

Muscle cells require more energy to maintain than fat cells, so people with a higher muscle to fat ratio tend to have a higher BMR.

As we get older, we tend to gain fat and lose muscle. This explains why the BMR tends to decrease with age.

In general, men tend to have a faster metabolism as they have more muscle mass, heavier bones and less body fat than women, which is why their daily calorie allowance is higher.

Calorie allowances

An average man needs around 2,500kcal a day. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal a day. These values can vary depending on age and levels of physical activity, as well as other factors.

Your metabolism may be partly determined by your genes, although this is not yet fully understood. Genes definitely play a role in muscle size and your ability to grow muscles, both of which affect your metabolism.

Am I fat because of a slow metabolism?

People who struggle to lose weight often blame a slow metabolism. However, numerous studies involving thousands of people worldwide have failed to find evidence to support the widely held belief that overweight people must have slower metabolic rates.

In fact, the opposite appears true: overweight people may actually have a higher metabolism than their leaner counterparts,reflecting the energy requirements of maintaining a larger body size. When you account for differences in body size and composition, there is a remarkable similarity in energy expenditure between individuals.

Research has also shown that people tend to eat more than they think they do. When asked to write down everything they've consumed in a day, many people tend to report eating far less than they actually do.

More often than not, the reason you’re putting on weight is not because of a slow metabolism, it’s because you’re eating and drinking more calories than you're burning. It may be hard to accept, but staying on top of the number of calories you eat is key to losing weight and keeping it off. Our 12-week weight loss plan will help you lose weight by tracking your calories.

Can losing weight too fast slow my metabolism?

Crash diets and other calorie-restricted diets can reduce your BMR. With some diets, your body is forced to break down muscle to use for energy. The lower your muscle mass, the slower your metabolism. With less muscle and a slower metabolism, it then becomes a lot easier to put body fat back on after coming off the diet.

What can I do to speed up my metabolism?

It is claimed that certain foods and drinks can boost your metabolism, including green tea, black coffee, spices and energy drinks. The evidence behind these claims is flimsy, the effect on your metabolism is marginal at best and each person will respond differently to each product.

While you don't have much control over the speed of your metabolism, you can control how many calories you burn through your level of physical activity. The more active you are, the more calories you burn. In fact, some people who are said to have a fast metabolism are probably just more active — and maybe more fidgety — than others.

Here are the three most effective ways of burning calories:

Aerobic activity
Aerobic exercise is the most efficient way to burn calories. You should aim to do 150 minutes of aerobic activity, such as walking, cycling and swimming, a week. You can achieve this target by doing 30 minutes five days a week and breaking down your activity sessions in chunks of 10 minutes. To lose weight, you are likely to need to do more than 150 minutes a week and make changes to your diet. Physical activity guidelines for adults.

Strength trainingMuscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue, so increasing your muscle mass will help you lose weight. Don't worry, you don't need to turn into Arnold Schwarzenegger! Aim to do muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms). Examples of muscle-strengthening activities include lifting weights and high intensity bouts of exercise. Heavy gardening may also do the job.

Be active
Being constantly on the move and reducing time spent sitting down will help you burn more calories. Any extra movement helps burn calories. Look for ways to walk and move around a few minutes more each day than the day before. The more you move, the more calories you burn. Get ideas on fitting more activity into your day. 

Can certain medical conditions cause a slow metabolism?

Some diseases and conditions can slow a person’s metabolism, such as Cushing’s syndrome and hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid), but more often than not, people’s weight is a matter of consuming more calories than they burn. However, if you feel that you may have a problem that’s not responding to lifestyle changes, seek medical advice.

This article is from the NHS site and you can read it here:-  

http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/loseweight/pages/how-can-i-speed-up-my-metabolism.aspx

      

3 Fitness Terms To Drop From Your Fitness Vocabulary   

There's a lot of great fitness information around today, in magazines, books and especially online. But there is also a lot of misleading fitness information out there, including these three terms you should stop using yourself...

No Such Thing As Toning Muscles 

Many articles and ads talk about 'toning muscles'. Often you see it in regards to women's fitness, implying that this is somehow different from other types of workouts. There are workouts for strength, power, size, cardio, aerobics, flexibility and sport-specific workouts, and beginner, intermediate and expert workouts for each of those. There is NOT some other type of workout that achieves some undefined notion called 'toned'.

Forget 'Workouts For Women' Too 

Your second fitness term to drop is workouts for women. Muscles on men and muscles on women have the same composition and the same purposes. A man's workout is a woman's workout is a man's workout - plain and simple. The difference in muscle size is chemical - men's testosterone levels are much higher than those found in a woman's body, and that's what makes the biggest difference.

Writers and marketers use the term 'women's workouts' to play on the irrational fears some ladies have that lifting weights will make them big and bulky. Don't let them put that same fear into you - hit the gym and lift weights all you like. You'll be healthier, stronger, have more energy and most likely look lot better, even though your weight may increase since muscle is denser (heavier) than fat. If you are even a bit concerned that you may bulk up from lifting weights, stick to powerlifting workouts - heavier weights with fewer reps per set. That style of workout focuses more on building muscle strength and less on building muscle size, for either men or women.

The Goal Is NOT Weight Loss! 

Probably the most destructive fitness term you should drop is weight loss, yet it's the number one term searched for at Google some years. If you have a higher percentage of body fat than you should for your body type and height, what you want is FAT LOSS, not weight loss...

If all you're concerned with is losing weight, and you measure it using the common bathroom scale, you're setting yourself up to fall victim to every weight loss scam that comes along and a lifetime of yo-yo dieting. Remember that muscles weigh more than fat, and your body is programmed to get rid of all unnecessary muscle and store energy in the form of fat. As such, any rapid weight loss will mean you've lost more muscle than fat, which isn't your goal - in fact, it makes you even less healthy.

Further, your body has a goodly amount of water in it, and water weighs about 62.5 pounds per cubic foot. Ridding your body of some of that water will also drop your weight - and your health right along with it. In fact, not only is that water needed by your circulatory system and organs, but as little as 3% dehydration starts to affect your mental prowess as well...

When you think in terms of fat loss, you'll focus on healthy nutrition and regular exercise - both of which can lead you to lose bodyfat, gain muscle, have more energy and generally be much healthier. Keep that focus and lose the term 'weight loss' starting today - you'll be that much closer to living your ideal fitness lifestyle!

D. Champigny is well known in the fitness world - he's a published fitness photographer, certified personal trainer, fitness author and publisher of the popular Flirting With Fitness website. For more help from Champigny, add him to your circles on Google+ today!

This article is by D Champigny and you can read it here:- http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=D._Champigny