Slimming World Update – Week 71

Hi you!

Despite being able to say ‘bye bye, see you soon’ for a while now Oscar has only just started to say Hello, and this is how he says it. It’s the cutest thing!

So how’s your week been? Mine been good, properly cold, but good none the less. I explained last week that I was making a gamey take on Chilli, using (free and speed food) Venison for dinner with friends on Friday. And I did. Only I think the Venison was off! It was fresh when purchased, but I froze it. I then think I defrosted it (i.e. left it out of the fridge) for too long. It smelt really odd raw, and smelt worse as it cooked! It also tasted of kidneys – you know, slightly pissy! I was gutted. I mean I’d definitely try it again, only I think I’d buy the meat closer to making the dish. Anyway, rather than poison our guests we wrote the whole thing off and because we had neither the time or the ingredients to prepare anything else, got take out. It wasn’t how I planned the evening to go, but as I’d been being careful with my syns (with the wine I knew would be drunk on Friday in mind) I decided not to worry about it too much. So Friday was one of those nights where suddenly everything is ‘off plan’. Food, wine, even a few chocolates. And boy did we all enjoy it. Nearly as much as Sarah and I enjoyed beating the boys at Cranium. Games Nights are so the way ahead for a fun night in! I highly recommend it.

So any who I wasn’t hopeful in ANY way for last night’s weigh in, but was bowled sideways to see I’d lost 0.5lb taking me back to 6 Stone 7lb. Who knew!

I spoke last week about the jeans situation and after writing about it decided to take the plunge and order the next size down. I got the size 14 (eek!) in the Next Relaxed Skinny Jeans that I’ve been wearing since the 18 started to fit me last year. I love these jeans and have had both the 18 and the 16. They suit my shape so well and despite having some stretch retain their jeansyness (real word) Or they did. Because I received them last Friday and immediately realised Next have changed the material. A quick check on the composition shows the new pair had less cotton in them and felt more like jeggings. And they looked awful! Way too big. Now you think I’d be pleased that a 14 was too big, but I wasn’t. I was gutted. I don’t know about you ladies (you may feel this too chaps!) but it takes me a good while to find a pair of jeans I like and when I do I wear them forever! It’s so good to be able to pick up a new pair whenever you need them, knowing they’ll fit. So yeah I was gutted. Anyway I took them back to Next and while we were there I tried on several different pairs. All in a 14. And do you know, all but one pair fitted! Size 14 jeans fitted me! Sorry, can I just take a moment here:

SIZE 14 JEANS FIT ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ridiculous turn-ups, but bloody hell, the size 14 fit!

My thighs! Seriously? Yes seriously?

Right. So yeah several pairs fitted, but none were perfect. One had enormous turn-ups I didn’t like and one had no pockets (not practical I keep all sorts in my pockets at all times including my phone). Ahh well it would seem the search goes on. With the changes that have taken place to my shape recently, I think I need a day in town, sans child, to try some on. Hmm.

And as I mentioned last week, those changes have recently been thanks to the Core Stability classes I’m doing with Fit for Life Mums. And look what I got last night:

Body Magic Silver Award

Proving to myself that the relatively small changes I’m seeing on the scales, sometimes mean nothing to a change in shape. And outlook. I love my classes and it’s giving me the nudge to think about doing more exercise. Yeah I know. Me! I’ll let you know!

So for the coming week, we have no parties or such challenges. So I’m going to give a real serious push towards 7 Stone (Tish – can I borrow the food diary for the week you lost 8.5lb please? 😉 ). I have 4 more weigh ins (last one being on 23rd, not 17th as I originally thought) before Christmas. Come on Mrs S. You can DO this.

Have a great week entering the Christmas month with head held high and resolve held firm.

xxxxx

 

 

Slimming World Update – Week 69

Hiya!

Have you’ve had a good week? Despite it only being midway through November, mine’s been full of Christmas. Be it weeping at supermarket adverts (seriously Waitrose and Sainsburys, this needs to stop, it’s getting embarrassing) or visiting the mother of all Christmas Fair’s with my great buddy Helen, this week has truly marked the start of the festive season for me.

Now, I don’t know about you, but for me Christmas always, always means food. Any celebration in my family was usually marked with food, but Christmas is traditionally when things go a bit bonkers. It’s not just the main meal, although I have eaten Christmas dinners that have literally been the biggest meal I’ve eaten all year. It’s everything that goes with it. Its the party food, it’s the nibbley bits, it’s the crisps, the snacks, the nuts, the chocolate, the cakes, the biscuits. You get the picture. It’s almost as if the season cannot take place unless everyone has at least one high fat snack screwed into their hand at all times. And in previous years I’ve gleefully joined in this ‘tradition’. It wasn’t until last year that I took time to stop and look at what I expected of the food of Christmas and had to ask myself why? I understand Christmas is a time of generosity, of giving, of plenty and I don’t disagree with these sentiments at all. I just don’t want to push my body into a near diabetic coma in order to prove I’m feeling the Christmas spirit. Surely the fact that I’ve already got “Oscar’s” (yeah right! hahaha) advent calender up should give you a clue as to how much I enjoy Christmas 😉

But the thing is, it isn’t Christmas yet. We have 6 weeks to go. And I know the next 6 weeks aren’t going to be easy. I know that from last year. This time of year can be hellish for those with any kind of food issues and I know I count myself in that group. And it’s not helped that the enormous marketing machine behind Christmas is already in full swing. You think this is full on, you just wait. Every week between now and Christmas will see supermarkets pile on the pressure, with offers and deals and selling you things you need in order to make your Christmas complete, most of which will be food or drink. So OK it’s their busiest time of year and competition for your hard earned buck is fierce. I get that. But I also understand that what is being sold at me, will not make my Christmas. Gorging, will not make my Christmas. And gaining huge amounts of weight, weight I’ve fought every day for months to lose, will not make my Christmas.

So I guess the question is what will make my Christmas? Our plans for this year are pretty much the same as last. Christmas isn’t going to be syn free by any means. But it will be more considered. We’re going out for dinner. This will have the joint benefits of average sized portions and no left overs. We will be drinking Baileys in our coffee and Veuve in our pyjamas. We’ll be getting small pieces of our favourite cheeses and one box of our favourite chocolates. Every indulgence will be planned and anticipated. And every mouthful will taste all the better for it. That and spending time with the people I love the most in all the world. Yeah that’ll make my Christmas 🙂

Right, all talk of Christmas. Enough!

So this week’s weigh in was one I approached with some trepidation. Helen and I had such a great weekend and while I worked really hard to abstain from tasters of cheese etc, I did have a glass of wine here and a bag of popcorn I couldn’t syn there. So all in all I was hoping for no less than a maintain. Which I why I was thrilled with a loss. 1.5lb off. Get in! But more to the point that 1.5lb took me, rather neatly, to my 6.5 Stone Award! That’s right I have now lost 6 Stone and 7lb (91lb).

Yay! AT LAST!

Added to the collection

It’s been something of a long time coming, this one. Five months to be precise. I haven’t gained or lost a lot in that time. Had I been trying to maintain I’d have been doing a bang up job, but that wasn’t ever my intention. Don’t get me wrong, I know the results I’ve seen over the last five months have been entirely down to me and If I’d really wanted to have been regularly losing I could have been. But I’m not sad about it. I don’t feel I’ve lost the last five months. I am at peace with the fact that this journey will take as long as it takes 🙂

So I have 7lb to lose before the last Christmas weigh in. There are 5 weigh ins to go. 7lb in five weeks. Totally doable. I’m going for another good loss this week to send me flying towards my 7 Stone Award. I’m concerntrating on SuperFree foods and particularly those that Slimming World class as Super Speed (foods that will speed up your weight loss). I have also decided to have another crack at eating a better breakfast, than a coffee and a banana. This morning I had 35g porridge oats (as my Healthy Extra B) mixed into a Vanilla Muller Light with half a punnet of raspberries (first Speed food right there!). It was delicious! It didn’t taste like eating yogurt for breakfast (which I personally have struggled with in the past) but neither did it just taste like porridge. It was great. Thanks for the tip Sara!

Hope you have a super week, not letting the marketing departments of big supermarkets dictate the food you eat 😉

xxxxxxxx

 

Slimming World Update – Week 67

Hi there buddy – how are you?

I’m not too bad thanks. Bit of an up and down week, as per. Some great days, spent with great friends and playing with my boy, some stressful days and even some days feeling a bit pants (probably as a result of the stressful days – did you know high levels of stress raise the levels of hormones in your body and after extended periods of stress, if everything goes back to normal, it can take up to 6 months for your body to recover? No neither did I!) Had a couple of situations where I ate things I wouldn’t normally for reasons that really weren’t reasons at all. It’s been a while since I’ve felt obliged to eat anything so it was a bit of a weird one actually, but c’est la vie. Anyway meh, what’s done is done. 0.5lb on. Disappointing but still 6 stone 4lb off.

Despite that, last nights group was wonderful for several reasons. Firstly it was Halloween themed with spooky decorations and a spooktacular SW quiz. Who doesn’t love a quiz? Here’s my team busily checking out the syn value answers in their books! And all that diligence paid off, as we won! Go us!

Sara our consultant had an awesome witches hat on. I loved it so much I asked to borrow it – and she let me keep it. I’m going to two Halloween parties this weekend and had nothing to wear so this’ll come in very handy! Thank you Sara. As requested here is a pic, just for you!

Last night was also the nomination evening for Miss Slinky and Mr Sleek Award. Every year Slimming World run an in group award for those you think have embraced food optimising and made significant changes to their life because of it. I was nominated, along with several others in the group. It was so flattering to be nominated, but to be honest there isn’t one member who couldn’t have been. We have such a dedicated group and everyone deserves recognition for what they’ve overcome to reach the point where they decided to take the bull by the horns and, with SW’s help, change their lives. Everyone’s got their story and last night we were privileged enough to hear some of those. I was humbled time and again. So thank you. Everyone.

So looking forward, the coming week does actually pose a couple of challenges. Firstly I have the children’s Halloween party at my NCT buddy Kat’s house tomorrow. We had one for the children at ours in the first yerar of their lives, but didn’t bother last year. This year however we’re going have another crack at it. I’ve already made some chocolate pretzel pumpkins to take! I couldn’t even begin to syn them so I shan’t be having any (I’ll take some fruit for myself – had I thought about it more carefully I’d have made some actual pumpkin to take – but I got so swept up in the Pintrest of it all, you know how it goes!!)

Then I’ve got a Halloween themed fireworks party next door on Saturday. I’ve got a bit more time before that though, so I think I’ll go shopping on Saturday for a few bits to make some syn free, warming nibbles. So yeah not easy, but nothing I can’t come through smiling.

And I really want to be smiling next Wednesday, because you see I’ve set myself a sneaky little challenge. My good friend Helen is coming to visit next weekend. I haven’t seen her in nearly a year and she’s coming up for a proper girly weekend. We’re both massive Christmas fans, so I’ve got us tickets to the Spirit of Christmas Fair at Olympia. It’s going to be brilliant. But you see Helen’s one of my oldest friends, she’s known me since I was a teenager.

And I spent so long looking like this

I just want my oldest friends to replace the picture of me in their heads.

So what I really want for this week is  to reach my 6.5 stone award by next week. Its 3lb away but I really, really want to reach it in time for her visit. It’s a big ask, in a week with two parties, but I just really want her to be proud of me. What do you reckon Hels? Can I do it?

I’ll let you know.

Have a super, spooky week people

Mmmwwaaahahahaaha