A Weigh of Life

[gl12282]

Hi Zoe,

I don't think that a pattern of 3 weeks can give you an idea of what your losses will be like in the long term. I had a couple of slow weeks at the beginning and then it sped up again (obviously I had much more to lose then). And now I still have the occasional week of great losses and others where I don't. Who knows why ! You're doing great though.

I have plenty of meals out so I understand the challenges. If they are good meals out (or nights out) I tend to flexi syn them. I am not good at having a whole week of low syns, so it's better for me to just accept what happens those nights and then continue on the plan otherwise I will stray wildly off plan. I have had a few really lovely weekends of food in the past (all in Feb !) where I ate lots of michelin stars (eeek !) and as expected had a few gains, but actually considering I had 3 huge foodie weekends (2 of those with wine) in Feb, I still lost 3lbs overall. But that was only because I did my best the rest of Feb and enjoyed those weekends. I have another one coming up at Easter (several more michelin stars yum/eeeek !) so I will do my best up until then, accept that I will gain that weekend and then get straight back on plan. SW has got to fit in with life and life involves eating out and having fun so that's what I do.

I hope that you manage to find a good balance for you. It's fun

Gail x

 

[Shigby]

I agree with that last comment,you have to have a life and going out should be a part of it as you can incorporate sw into your lifestyle if you plan ahead. i have just got my book out to check my weekly losses so far : wk1 -3,wk2 -2,wk3 - 2,wk4 -1. so my losses are also slowing down, but this happened last time i did sw and it seems to randomly go up and down, so i always think that as long as you are following the plan as best you can well it can only be doing good. i think its great that you both are still going out as i have totally hid myself at home for years if i'm honest. any night out fills me with dread and i inevitably cancel with a rubbish excuse. even tonight my friends wanted to meet for a drink but i couldn't face tham have have got them to come round to my house instead!! i keep thinking when i am slim i will have a fab social life!!! xxx

 

[LittleSausage]

Agree with Gail and Shigby. But having a 'normal' life when you're just starting the SW plan is, I have found, an epic task. For so long I have been ruled by food - hence having to join to lose a helluva lot of weight - that I love the feeling of control that I now have. To give that control up is, for me, incredibly difficult. I'm hoping that once I'm stuck in to the plan more and don't have to think quite so hard, that I can loosen the reins a little. I've lost 23lb so far, but am petrified of putting any of that back on. I have such a lot to lose, and such a mammoth task ahead that the thought of any backward steps fills me with dread.
x

 

[Shigby]

yes you are right the feeling on control is great and even if you only have a small loss or sts if you have stuck to it you know you will get there is the end. You have done really well btw xxx

 

[Minus3.5]

Thanks Girlies.

Cutting back on syns I'm not finding too hard. I struggled yesterday to have any at all. Ended up having some mini eggs.

I definitely wouldnt stick to this if I had to cut out what little social life I do have. I'd quit it all.

My theory this week is I'll put on taking me back over 14. I always get stuck at the stones and will end up going up and down for a bit.

Been superspeeding like mad and have THE most terrible wind. Happy to share that gem with you

Zxx

Sent from my iPhone

 

[LittleSausage]

Haha! Excellent! When are you weighing in? I bet that, even with a blowout on Saturday, you'll have a loss, what with all the speed food!
I'm yet to have a 'fishy week' that some people swear by. Sounds like too much planning for me.
X

 

[Minus3.5]

Day 23 - Nailing It

As I contorted myself on the bed this evening in an attempt to reach my little toe nail and put some varnish on I decided I can't wait to be thin when hopefully my arm will reach around my thighs with ease.

So I made a mental list of all the things I'm looking forward to as a slimmer Me:

• Not having to be a yoga master to paint my toenails.
• Wearing a skirt in summer without having to carry talcum powder for when my thighs stick together.
• Wearing a skirt ever. Without worrying that my calves are the size of most girls thighs.
• Not having to stand up most of the time when I'm out because I'm embarrassed about sitting down with my spare tyre
• No longer buying jeans in shops in 2 sizes so I can try on at home and take back the ones that don't fit
• Going on holiday with a selection of amazing bikinis instead of one swimsuit and loads of sarongs
• Buying trousers with a pattern, or in any colour other than black.
• Only needing one razor to shave my legs, instead of one for each leg as they're so big
• Being proud of my fancy knickers if I bend over and they show a bit instead of wondering what kind of weirdo looks at a fat girls bum
• Being able to raise my chair high enough at work to see over the top of the computer. At the minute I have it low down so my belly fits under the desk
• Not being asked "Another diet?" when I turn down a biscuit at work and people just acknowledging that perhaps I don't want a biscuit.
• My bum not knocking things of shelves in shops because I forget how much it sticks out
• Not looking in the mirror and wondering if I've grown a beard only to realise it's the shadow of my double chin
• Being able to buy short sleeve shirts with buttons on the arms and not having to undo the buttons because they cut off my circulation
• Getting into all the "slim into" clothes I have. There's lots. And then some
• Not having to check in shops I'm not familiar with if they go over a size 14

That's it so far. I'm sure they'll be more. I will expand on this and make them my happy thoughts. Little things to make Me smile when I'm yearning for a biscuit.

Zxx

 

[LittleSausage]

I <3 this list.
X

 

[herewego]

Brilliant list!!

 

[Pommette]

Oh Zoe, just found your diary and I don't know whether to laugh or cry as I can identify with so much of what you've posted on here.

There is so much I can identify with:
Banana shaped - I must be too 'cos when I started back on SW at the beginning of Jan I was 44/40/48 and like you always thought that with great boobs and a "slim" waist I looked okay.
Bread - yes never realised how much it bloated me too and although I still miss fabulous Spanish baguettes I'm leaving them out.

. . . I could go on, but I won't as in fact you may have inspired me to have a go at doing a diary myself and see if the cathartic effect works for me too.

Keep writing - PLEASE! As I want to keep reading. You style is so easy to read - must be the journalist in you rearing it's head.

 

[Minus3.5]

Day 23 - I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it

Well. The girlie day out was yesterday and all my mental preparation meant I did it. I got through, I synned everything, no-one peer pressured me into drinking or eating more than I wanted (I had asked my closest friends to try not to before).

We did lunch and the only thing I had without planning was two roasties as I really couldn't do a carvery without them. But I was honest with myself and synned them.

I counted every drink although I didn't need much 4x vodka, 1x tequila shot.

The tequila I suspected would be my downfall. It happened just before everyone went to the chippy for dinner but I stuck with my packet of Uncle Ben's. I ate more strawberries than any human should possibly be able to manage. I gave half my glass of champagne away but still managed to join in our half time toast to absent friends. I synned it.

In fact the only thing I had all day that I didn't plan for was a bacon roll when I got home at midnight. The Mother was still up making SW puddings to take to dinner today and she made me one. I will admit it was lovely but I didn't allow it to break me and opt for a life of bacon sarnies and going to bed with some 2 packets of crisps to sober me up (old Me would have).

I even had a bit of a confidence boost. Well lots of little ones actually throughout the day. BUT one of my football boys spent the night msging me on facebook wanting to "get to know me better". I don't think it's mutual (boys normally grow on me though so that could change) but as he's 13 years younger than me I'm pretty chuffed that I'm still in the running for a booty call.

Downside - my alcohol induced pervy dream was about his mate so I guess I don't fancy him that much. Yet.

I've woken up without a hangover. Actually, I'm the annoying person that urban myths are made of and I've never had a hangover in my life. Which in itself is a tiny miracle because I had a wild youth and I used to drink like a rugby player. I didn't even have a hangover the day after I got so drunk I got taken to hospital and put on a drip after drinking a bar dry of aftershock.

I keep getting told that will change with age but I'm rapidly approaching my 40s and it's still not happening.

So, I now feel a million times more confident about my various other special days that are coming up. I pre-synned and I never went over my allocation. I know I have the strength to do this properly.
I'm not abandoning this as a lost week and cheating until I can start a new one - I'm straight back on track.

I suppose the real proof will be Weigh In on Wednesday. If I put on or sts I know I have to rethink my going out strategy. I won't stop going out I'll just establish a new approach.

It's a beautiful sunny Mother's Day. I have a great Mum, supportive friends and I know if I can carry on doing this the future can only get better and brighter.

Zxx

For reference, this is what I spent the day sat next to:

 

[Maverick]

Wow well done, ur determination really paid off and I see no reason why u shouldn't still lose this week.

As for the 13 yr younger man growing on u, I can think of worse

xx

 

[MissyLisa]

Hi Zoe

I have just came across your posts and they are brilliant. LOVE the lists.

I have just started slimming world and was good until last night, a million litres of vodka and a SUBWAY woops lol. I sympathise with you because of your monster munch cravings, I am addicted to Wotsits, its all i ate for 2 weeks once and I lost 8 pounds, in cash and weight ha. All that piled back on though, suppose its not the healthiest of diets.

I hope you keep posting these insperational threads.

Lisa

xx

 

[Pommette]

Zoe - well done girl for sticking to your plan.

Now about hangovers - Can't say I've never had one but I used to be able to drink loads before it hit me. People used to say exactly the same to me and I was just over 45 when I realised that I was getting more. This year I'll be nearer 60 than 50 (grrrrrr) and I can now only manage about 3 glasses of wine and after that I have a stonker the next day.

Good luck for WI - I'm sure you'll be fine.

 

[LittleSausage]

Excellent that you managed to stay on plan and syn everything! That just shows how you can have fun and stay on it - just slightly differently! Glad your weekend was great xx

 

[Minus3.5]

The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind


I'm not sure what I've managed to do but I have possibly the worst trapped wind ever. I was doubled in pain at work earlier and I actually broke into a clammy sweat as it was happening.

I don't have a clue what's bought it on. I haven't had my hot lemon for the past two mornings which is very good for giving things a little shift on. But I never used to drink lemon and I've never had this before.

I know it's trapped wind but I can't think what I've eaten that's done it. I currently look like I'm smuggling a bowling ball in my pyjamas. At least I'm now home in bed so have the privacy to let it out a little if needed. Evening at work has been terrible for knowing it needs to come out but not being quite prepared to sit at my desk letting rip all night.

I'm quite excited for WI again. I confessed to The Mother that I really fancied a quick hop on the scales this morning so she very wisely took them to work with her. I've had a look for them since I came home but she has them hidden very very well.

Today's good news is that my size 16 jeans (I've mentioned them before: muffin tops, great arse, big squeeze) are now big enough to get on and off without undoing them. Now I know this it's just plain laziness to not even bothe rto undo the button and the flies - but as I've explained my day I hope you can all appreciate that sometimes getting things off quickly can be very important.

Had a lovely Mothers Day yesterday with all my family. My coping strategy worked again ad I only had one roastie I'd not accounted for. I also had SW bannoffee pie. It's amazeballs. It's quite high in syns compared to some other pudding but it's so worth it. 4.5 syns of pure heaven. AND we managed to bring half of it home so there's still 4 portions left for treating myself this week.

I don't think I have anything else to share that you probably don't want to read (apologies to anyone that got to this at brekfast time :/).

Ooooh - I'm having my teeth whitened today. As a little reward for almost 4 weeks of actually doing a diet and because i"m sick of being to told to cheer up because I'm not a smiler. My teeth are too yellow so I rarely open my mouth. This time tomorrow they'll be glowing.

Zxx

 

[Pommette]

Zoe
This is something I suffer from occasionally. With me it's a combination of not enough water, too much stress and (believe it or not) not enough veggies! Also usually too much white bread is a big factor for me.
Hope it goes away soon - its a nightmare!

 

[LittleSausage]

Oh no! I tend to get trapped wind quite often for some reason. I think it's when I've had a lot of fibre and not enough water. Peppermint tea is a good one, and then it's just a case of letting it happen! The pain can be excruciating, so I'm sorry you're suffering

On a brighter note - yay for not undoing your jeans! Before long you'll be in a 14!
xx

 

[Minus3.5]

28 Days Later

Well, I've done it: I've lasted a whole month sticking to a diet and not cheating myself over it. Even on my 2 days off I've counted everything I've had and not allowed that to become and excuse for giving up.

I had to cheat on weigh in this week as I was up at 5am for work today and the last thing I wanted to do at that time is drag my backside upstairs to teh scales. SO I weighed in yesterday and it's another 1.5lb off. Yay, Go ME. Even a diet sprinkled with vodka and tequila can be a success.

So now the big question is can I keep it up?
It's taken 28 days to shift 6 lb. If I can keep it up I've another 29 weeks until target. That's the end of October. That's a pretty long way off. Allowing myself a few weeks of staying the same or even putting on I'm probably looking at nearer Christmas.

How I'd love to be a total hotty by Christmas.

My head is still in the right place to stick with this all for at least the next week - but who knows beyond that? I've had a pretty easy ride so far. Other than work there's been nothing particularly stressful to get through. Can I be sure that when a major worry comes along I don't cope with it in the company of a chocolate bar or a multi-pack of crisps?

I want to say yes. 100% YES. But then I know from experience there is a weakness in me that at times overtakes my strengths. Right now being determined enough to stick to plan is my strength. My weakness of preferring to spend my morning in bed instead of swimming is a weakness. I need to pinpoint the weak bits and work on them so that when they all hit me in one go I can fight back with a stronger will and desir eto be the person I've wanted to be my whole life. A thinner, happier, more confident version of Me.

This diary entry should probably a bit happier than this. I'm on target. I did it all by myself (with a little cooking help from my mum and lots of support from all of you). I lost weight (YAY). My clothes are getting looser. My portion sizes are getting smaller. I rarely think about chocolate. I haven't eaten crisps in I don't know how long. I actually crave my mid-morning melon now. And the summer fruits I have for the drive home from work. The diet is working. So YES. I am deliriously happy. Oh, and Summer briefly arrived today. By the time it's here in full I expect to be wearing nice little vests and summer skirts. Whoop whoop.

Zoe xx

 

[Shigby]

That's fab well done you!!! X