The unexpected Slimming World journey of a Me who wants to fit in her size 12 pants!

Hello, You don't know me, not entirely sure if I do either, but that's a whole other thread of conversation!.

I am doing Slimming World again and actually it's working ok so far. I will tell you ALL about it as I go… and as long as I remember to post (memory like sieve, brain like swiss cheese (why do all my descriptions relate to the kitchen or food??? Hmmm…Food!! )

I did SW about 10 years ago and lost LOADS of pounds… then I got pregnant … and found them again!

This time I am now 40 and joined the day after my birthday to prove a point or several to myself…. after all Life IS supposed to start then no??

I am a mum to my own BoyGenius (9), I gave up smoking in January (been at it since I was 13 on and off so it was about time!) I ride horses, not my own I borrow my friends, I used to be a chef, an IT Manager and because I am nosey, curious, and a trained Life Coach (I'm not all hippy dippy and flowers in my hair, I do personal development and therapy on a corporate level. I can do the private clients but the corporate is more straight forward! )

Since my last WI (weigh in) on wednesday last, I put on 1.5 lbs, was reasonably grumpy more at myself than anything. Cause was due to me not following EE plan religiously AND having a kidney infection AND Piloxing Class on the monday which was mega and I loved it, but seems exercise and me have this water retention thing post extreme exercise thing going on… normally I stick to the horses and Callanetics every week, the Piloxing will become regular after the school holidays I have been reliably informed!
This week I have been GREEN al week, I used to be a vegetarian so it's no biggy and actually I am enjoying it, but only getting away with it as my (YO is on holiday with his Dad… he is a carnivore!

I want to see how I get on this wednesday at WI… I want to get shot of that 1.5lbs and some more! Fingers crossed

SO then folks… How's the SW journey going for you? Do you Like it, is it easy, do you need help, what do you MISS most in Food World?

Good Morning… and here's the rain! hey ho!
Green Day:
Brekki: Grapes and Coffee

Dinner: Melon, Batchelors Deli Box Chow mein Noodles, Juice (sugar free cordial stuff)…. May swap this for tea yet!

Tea:Syn Free Chips, Mushy peas with mint sauce and Sauteed Mushrooms, garlic and Onions in Fry light - might even make a spanish tortilla style thing with them, but I don;t like eggs that much just feel I should try an omelette every couple of months!

"activity" : Piloxing… it's a cross between Pilates and Boxing.. very frenetic, claims are made it can burn up to 900 cals in the hour, but seeing as SW isn;t about the calories I will just go for the purple shade my face goes instead!

In reference to "Activity" or exercise… does anyone else find that if you start something new, like a new class or you start doing something you haven't done before, that the weight loss can either not exist, weight goes on or it's a lot less than you expected?

Reason I ask is that normally I do general busy-ness, gardening (heavy stuff as I am landscaping it at the moment), walking the dog, and structured Callanetics and Riding lessons each week and my weight loss was a steady 1-3 pounds per week. Then I did this Piloxing last week and I put on a pound and a half. Now I know my food was generally ok, borderline on the syns a couple of days (maybe 16 not the 10 I try to stick to), I had a kidney infection brewing, maybe this retains additional water weight and/or slows metabolism, but at the least I was expecting to STS. I read up on post exercise muscle fatigue DOMS is a name they call it and there is a school of thought that suggests 'new' exercise can cause the body to hold on to water weight as the muscles 'heal' or stop aching after the class and as a result the body holds onto the weight or can even add to it. I've seen a couple of folk on minmins who have said exercise seems to add to their weight woes at times, just wondered if there is a way to prevent/cure it before weigh in day! :sign0163:

Have a nice day anyways.. will try and get back on this after I have Pilox'd myself into a virtual coma!

ok well scrap the lunch … I had a change of heart.
Lunch was : 2 x Linda McCartney Italian Sausages(½ syn each), syn free sweet potato chips, mushy peas and mint sauce…
Tea will be those noodles or the syn free veggie chilli I have made…

Time to steam n clean… god I love Housework on a Bank Holiday

Good luck with the rest of your weight loss journey Hun, you have done really well already I hate housework I did most of ours yeaterday.

xxx

Ha…I was supposed to do it yesterday too…. but was too busy playing in the garden

You'll do well too…. that first goal will come round before you know it x

Thanks hun I hope so The only good thing about housework is it must burn cals xxx

ABsolutely does… especially if you leave it as long between bouts as I do Lol. Exercise is one of those things where I was such an active bod and danced 6 days a week until I was 20, but the knee injury floored me and then I got married, got comfy blah blah… then did SW lost about 5 stones… then… got pregnant! Since then I have been supermum, but only for everyone else and not for me, high powered job in IT, so long hours, crap food (IT Nerds eat crap and drink crap but they all need managing and I always had to share their food! ) … Last year I finally had enough, I came off my horse and nearly broke my neck and realised that if I wasn't so unfit and overweight I would've stayed on and managed the jump, but I was totally off balance!
So although I am back on weekly riding lessons and an hour of Callanetics every week and I do feel like I should do more… I dont really like gyms, although I do work out when I go, I like swimming but in all honesty its just utter laziness as to why I don't jump in the car and go!
I'm waiting for the eureka moment where it all becomes clear that I like to exercise and can get back to 6 days a week (not 4 hours a day tho ) with some effort.

In all fairness I lost the 5 stones without a single step of exercise, but I ain't gettin any younger and I don't want to be an old croc even if I AM a skinny one

Are you looking forward to shedding the pounds you want to wave goodbye to? It;s a good way to lose weight I think, you can eat loads, and it's one of those diets if you fall off the wagon with a massive thud from time to time it's dead easy to get back on again xx

You are doing well hun, my cousin works in IT_he reckons he lives out of vending machines at work, but he cycles everywhere and is slim. I imagine horse riding is great exercise, sorry you had a fall though, that must have been mega scary

i am rubbish at exercise am just walking at the mo, but hope to join a gym in a couple of months.

You have lost the weight before so you will sooooooon do it again hun, you are already well on your way.

I cant wait to shed the lbs mainly to be healthy so I can run round after my constantly on the go almost 16 month old hehe but for selfish reasons too, so i can feel better and look good in clothes rather than the blob I am now. I think it will make me feel sooooo much better about myself.

Yep If i have a blip for a few days I can pick it ( hopefully ill not have to many!) but can just pick it up again.

Have a good eve.

xxx

Fall wasn't so much scary as a bit humiliating I'm very self critical I always 'know' it was my fault!
Yes I have had a couple of developers work for me who are into this exercise and staying slim thing, but mainly because they binge on crap at work then ride a perfectly good bicycle down a very steep hill for some reason all weekend??? Freaks! lol

You say 'only walking' but Walking IS exercise tho… ANY activity is activity and if you have a munchkin to keep up with then that's alot of activity! DO you have room to do an exercise dvd? Yoga is really good as is pilates… not ones that require too much overt exertion, but exercise the core of your body and also helps keep the mind and body all calm and nice… and little one can join in with you

You're not a blob… I always say I am a perfectly honed and tone individual on the inside I just have a big safety suit on at the moment! which it is..

I know I have comfort eaten, lazy eaten, can't be arsed eaten my way to this size and its only to hide away from facing my own facts. I choose to get rid of the suit now because I can face the fact that actually I am worth being the slimmer, fitter happier person I keep telling all my friends that they are… follow the mantra "Think of yourself as you think of all your friends" Mainly because we always say nice things to our friends and we all think our friends are lovely and happy… even when we know they might not be and just need a boost!
I know more than anything that for various reasons I grew to hate myself, my appearance, the person I was and over the past 4 years I have learned to like myself more and I am not as self destructive..

So I gave up the Massive job with the mega commute, took a sabbatical, gave up smoking, cut down the daily drinking, and went to SW… all so I can spend more time with my 9 YO, renovate my cottage, learn how to LIVE again really.. I was doing nothing but Work, commute and part time parenting which sucked seeing as I share his most valuable time with his Dad since we got divorced 8 years ago. SO now I am more myself and liking me more a little every day… there is always room for improvement tho! lol

THis eve I did this Piloxing… Killer but all worth it! feels good to get the endorphins going they don't half cheer you up!
Didn't have any tea as such only had two alpen light bars as a HexB… I cant do any exercise on a full stomach and after exercise I am not hungry! SO 2 cups of tea and now a shower and I will see which of my muscles don't ache tomorrow!

We can do all this together … last time I did SW I made a friend at class and she lost over 10 stone and in 9 years she has only ever put a stone back on and she looks awesome! and she had a 'moment' where she got up one day and went for a 2 hour walk with her baby in the stroller and enjoyed it so much that she did it the next day and the next… now the Baby and her walk up Scafell Pike in the lakes and other ridiculously high but beautiful mountains.. I'm not saying you go that far, but with a little more of a walk every day and following the plan we'll have us both at Target xx

Morning… or afternoon really(just)
Am glad to say I have zero aches this am… last week after piloxing my foot and knee were shot, old dancing injuries but this week they have not flared up … ordered myself some new dance shoes for class tho as the room gets soooooo sweaty that the floor condensates and gets a bit slippy!

Enough babblings Food for today:

Green Day
Breakfast

2 x eggs (I hate eggs but if there is enough in them to mask egg texture then I'm ok and they are quite filling which is good)
2 small potatoes microwaved until cooked then chopped up
4 mushrooms chopped
2 Linda Mccartney sausages (regular ones 2 syns each, but they do taste nice for a veggie.. the Rosemary and Onion ones are Free it has to be said!)
Fry the mushrooms and potatoes in fry lite and grill the sausages then chope sausages up and put them in the pan with the mushrooms and spuds and then add the egg to make an omelette…
I had this with Baked beans as I fancied some beans… I like beans… beans are good ( stop babbling about beans!!)

Lunch
Syn free chilli - made with quorn mince and loads of veg like aubergine, carrot, peppers, mushrooms, fresh and dried/smoked peppers, tomatoes, stock and kidney beans in chilli ( oh no not beans again!!!)
Rice steamed

Dinner
Maybe some pasta or cous cous with veggies… will see how i feel.

Have a fab day folks.. off to paint a rocking chair! x

yep cant say I would want to cycle all weekend, but then they are thin.....

Yep you are right about walking, its going in the right direction, i like the safety suit comment hehe

I can sympathise i am definatly a comfort eater, or emotional eater... but we are changing our ways.

Aw sounds like you made a massive discission... but the right one and bet your 9 year old loves you are home more. Cottage sound lovely.

that sounds like a massive workout hun hope you are not aching to much, i remember when i was at college started kick boxing, I got in the bath after the lesson and couldn't get myself back out I ached so much! EDIT_just seen you don't feel to bad-that's fab hun.


Have just goggled Scafell Pike wow it look lovely. Yes doing a little more each day, sounds like you friend has done amazingly well and its so good to hear stories like hers.

Your meals sound yummy, hope the painting went well.

xxx

Painting would have been better had I not gone to the loo and returned to find a very suspicious cat like paw print on there… cat is denying everything in a Bart SImpson kind of way and the dog is looking like he hopes I don't think it's him!

9 YO ( or Ogg as he is known) is glad I am home more, before I would drop him at my mum's at 645am and then not see him again until about 730-8pm on the days I do have him. Hes a funny one he just likes to know I'm in the house and he is fine, if I am not he tends to get a bit clingy .. he says I am cool and fun mum whereas he thinks Dad is a bit stiff!! Bless… his dad is ok, just has an old fashioned view on parent style… I'm free styling parenthood.. seems to be working out ok so far, but then he hasn't passed his driving test or had the hormones kick in yet so I may be in for a surprise!

Walking in this weather today would take some determination, even the dog looked a bit fed up when I said he had to go out… poor hound!

I saw an article today about a guy who was 30 stones and was told by his Dr that he wouldn't live for very long, (he was in poor health and mobility too this guy not just big) and because of what the Doc told him he joined SW and lost 17 stone in 12-13 months! I know blokes lose more (or seem to) quicker than us girls but still! He looked so different!
What prompted your Goal date? it;s very specific… I just said Christmas.. didn't say which year!!! but really I want it this year x

Just a thought for you too… have you seen MinkyDinks food diary… she's done amazingly well she's funny too! xx

Erm not sure will go and take a peak

Haha, we had our garden done at the weekend and I noticed a paw print on the concrete near the water butt, cute really-But no so on a chairs, these animals

Aw, your son sounds like he is on the right track, think its all we can do with our babies...I cant imagine when our little one will be 9!

Sure you will get there this Christmas hun We were supposed to be in Greece now seeing one of my best friends getting married (SOB ) all booked and paid for, but I have really bad PND ( was in hospital in a mother and baby unit Oct to Dec last year) came out of hospital and had a total blip put one night feb time wandered out of the house in the middle of the night only to be brought home by the police in a "very vulnerable and confused state" or so hubby and mental health services tell me, i don't really remember- all part of psychosis ) we or hubby then said about our holiday ( it being around 3 months away by then) the psychiatrist told us not to go, and because of that wouldn't then have been covered by holiday insurance. So we didn't go. Luckily my friends sister couldn't (they moved in march) afford to go so we gave them the holiday ( they paid for the flight). I was devastated felt i had let my friend down-was bridesmaid. Sooooo dad knowing how upset I was said we could go back to Malta, as part of hubby s 30th and my parents 40 th wedding anniversary in 2014, we have been in sep before when its not boiling, so that we settled on ( with the psychiatrist not sure if I will be stable enough next year) seemed like a plan so sep 2014 it is.( We have a couple of cottage hols this year one in Kent july and one in Derbyshire in sep-but can get home within 2-3 hours if need be). Plus I have so much to loose its a realistic goal which allows for mistakes So thats how my goal was set

xxx

Ahhh PND I remember it only too well…. it's a big kick in the ass I seriously dodn't know who what where why I was when I had mine… it will be the making of you tho when it eventually passes, because it does. You have a fab hubby by the sounds of it who supports you and Mental Health services are there for you too. I have worked with various Mental health professionals over the years in a professional capacity as a people manager and a therapist too. I know from experience, take things at your own pace, do your very best for yourself and those around you who you care about and if something doesn't go right then let it go, it will pass and you can move on to the next day. Be kind to yourself and my own personal experience I learnt to not to over analyse everything… It's a journey you have to go on and you will learn an awful lot about yourself along the way. Be honest with those you trust, like hubby and Psych and anyone else you trust but most of all be honest with yoursefl… if you feel unwell tell yourself it's OK to feel unwell and that you just need to ask for help to get well again. You will come out the other side of it I promise… I have seen similar cases to yours and they have all come right.

September is a good time to go… like a new school year time too. It's a good thing to look forward to and have as a goal for getting better and thinner and healthier and fitter, because by then your little one will be running rings around you with bikes trykes and scooters! lol

Think happy thoughts and happy things will happen.. my gran always said that and when you think about it if you have a positive outlook on life then you tend to see the positive things more too!
so BE happy! lol
xxxx

Dinner/tea ended up being pasta and some of the syn free chili I made with some gated cheese HexA on it. Alpen Light as HexB and Sugar free juice.

Weigh in tomorrow… Sooooo need to drop that 1.5 lbs that found it's way ON last week and some more. Got a friendly competition with my bestie who I go to club with… currently she is in the lead. Which is just not cricket!! ;P

but now to watch The Fall then crawl into my bed x

Thanks for your kind words hun, its nice to know there are success stories, it seems a long road. Sorry you suffered to, yep if i could be honest with my psychologist maybe we would make some head way, only seen her once, so we will see. hopefull by sep 2014 my head and body will be in a better place.

Will try to remember your grans words, she sounds like a wise lady.

Fingers crossed for your weigh in hun xxxx

If you think you need to see the professionals more often then you make a choice and bug them for help! I know I don't know you from Adam, but if it helps you can whine, moan and be happy about stuff to me on here sometimes just saying/writing down what it is that's bugging you or getting you down helps you deal with it yourself better

So then when do you weigh in and how well will you have done?

Thank you i was moaning about changing meds in my diary earlier-So I am normally moaning about something! haha! I thinking writing it down helps in a way, it puts it in some sort of order rather than having bits going round and round in my head!

Fri I weigh in, got on the scales sun and was down a few lbs, so hoping for a ok loss-I must not sabotage it!

xxxx