Feeling frustrated...

I am a bit down in the dumps at the moment. Tomorrow will be my fourth weigh in and only just half a stone mark (according to my home scales, not the SW ones, so probably wrong!!) . I weighed in originally at 11st, which was very overweight for me (I am only 5ft 3 and with a small frame). I did 3.5lb in my first week, then 2, then 0.5!

The 0.5 week coincided with me having a very naughty wedding weekend full of wine and food, so I have tried to be super good this week...but it was my birthday Saturday just gone, so again I went to town on the wine and gin!

So frustrated that I am not losing at the rate of other members. One lady at group joined the same day as me and hit her 1/2 stone award in week two!

What can I do to speed things up? I want to hit target (9st) by Christmas... :S
 
I am a bit down in the dumps at the moment. Tomorrow will be my fourth weigh in and only just half a stone mark (according to my home scales, not the SW ones, so probably wrong!!) . I weighed in originally at 11st, which was very overweight for me (I am only 5ft 3 and with a small frame). I did 3.5lb in my first week, then 2, then 0.5!

The 0.5 week coincided with me having a very naughty wedding weekend full of wine and food, so I have tried to be super good this week...but it was my birthday Saturday just gone, so again I went to town on the wine and gin!

So frustrated that I am not losing at the rate of other members. One lady at group joined the same day as me and hit her 1/2 stone award in week two!

What can I do to speed things up? I want to hit target (9st) by Christmas... :S

Hi Waterloosunset
Sorry to hear you're a bit down in the dumps, never a nice feeling! I remember when I first started sw and I would wish the weeks away to jump on the scales again and see the next loss. I think when we start losing weight it's so exciting that we want to hit target NOW!
I think half a stone in 4 weeks is pretty darn good to be honest so try not to be so hard on yourself :)
Regarding speeding things up, I think you've answered your own question. You were losing when you stuck to plan, but at the wedding and your birthday you didn't, therefore didn't lose (as much). I'm the guiltiest for being angry with the plan 'not working' or slowing down, but realistically its because I didn't stick to it properly!
Also, however tempting, try not to compare yourself to others. We're all so different and lose at different rates :) you could join one of the challenges in 'off topic' to spur you on, or start a food diary on here to keep you on track.
Good luck! X
 
I think you're right... It's just that it's very hard to stick 100% to plan and have a normal social life at the same time!

What does everyone else do? Do you just put things on hold until you have hit target? How do you manage your syns so that you can still go out and have a good time without having a STS or gain that week?

It is really hard, especially at first. If your target is something specific too I don't think the added pressure helps!
If there's an event or something eg wedding/big night out I just enjoy myself without going overboard- it's important to exercise some control even when you're 'off plan'. Ill still be high syns-wise but less than i would be if i just thought screw it. Then afterwards you've got to get straight back on it- not the next day but the next meal.
You can also limit your syns up to and after the event.
I go out quite a lot too but if its not a particular occasion I do try to stick to syns so that I can still go out guilt free.
Making sensible choices where possible helps, switching to lower syn drinks ( I have martini now instead of wine most of the time) and not eating for the sake of it makes you appreciate and enjoy it more. You might still have a small gain or a sts but you're doing better than you were before sw!
I think everyone learns what works for them really. Some weeks I get away with a Saturday booze up, other weeks I don't. So many things are at play (exercise, metabolism, other food) but I think it's important not to get too hung up on numbers. Have you measured yourself? You'll be amazed at the changing shape of your body, even if the scales aren't going down. X
 
I think you're right... It's just that it's very hard to stick 100% to plan and have a normal social life at the same time!

What does everyone else do? Do you just put things on hold until you have hit target? How do you manage your syns so that you can still go out and have a good time without having a STS or gain that week?

You can't just put things on hold until you hit target, what then, gain weight so you are back to where you started.

I try & fit my syns around nights out, social events, I do go over syns of course, but I always try & stay in control.

When you have a social event were you're likely to have more than 15 syns & lets face it 15syns don't go so far, you could have syns weekly and if you go over be prepared for a gain or STS.

For me the main thing is not to let one social event of over synning lead to a full week of over synning ;)

BTW You're half a stone lighter than what you were a few weeks ago & that's something to be proud off especially as you've done some celebrating.
 
I think you're right... It's just that it's very hard to stick 100% to plan and have a normal social life at the same time!

What does everyone else do? Do you just put things on hold until you have hit target? How do you manage your syns so that you can still go out and have a good time without having a STS or gain that week?

The trick is to try to rethink what you mean by a "good time". Not thinking about it as meaning food and drink, but meaning friends and music and laughing and talking, etc. Try thinking of the food and drink as incidental to all that.
 
Waterloo sunset I think you e done brilliantly. I have lost 10lbs since mid July with 4 to go to target. Like you I have a busy social life. My loss is slow but I feel sooo much better being on SW . Enjoy the journey you'll get there!! Xx
 
I have a hectic social life as well. I think managing your syns weekly might help in addition to accepting that your losses will be slower if you're not sticking exactly to plan.

Forget everyone else, your losses are your own triumph not to be eclipsed by anyone else's
 
I often feel like that. I have been a SW member from January and my most lost was 1st. I piled it back on over the summer due to bereavment and other things. Im back where I started and determined but I seem to lose it so slow its soul destroying.
 
The trick is to try to rethink what you mean by a "good time". Not thinking about it as meaning food and drink, but meaning friends and music and laughing and talking, etc. Try thinking of the food and drink as incidental to all that.

I want to second this. Very heartily! I have always revolved my social life around food/drink - I am one of those who demonstrates love with food. I have had to massively change that, and it is hard. In my first week on slimming world I went to a music festival, camped thursday-monday and was with my partner and friends, who were drinking lots and eating all the yum festival fast food. I had one drink while my favourite musician was on, brought in sachets of options when it was cold in the evening and had a nice hot chocolate (amusingly it was nicer than the supposedly posh hot chocolates they were buying to put booze in), and reminded myself that I was there to see bands and be with my loved ones. I did have one strop when the only food available that fit into SW was some raw cabbage and carrot... But I ate it, sulked and then got over myself.

We do a 'come dine with me' style evening, too - my partner is in a band and they take it in turns to cook for everyone else, and have completely included me in it all too since I moved into the area a couple of months ago. I explained before I came that I was doing SW and offered to bring something for myself so I wasn't being difficult, and they've all gone out of their way to make me something that fits in with slimming world. I still have a couple of drinks that night - possibly more than my syn allowance (definitely more than my syn allowance! But only a little and I'd allowed for it the day before and after) but otherwise stay on track.

It is really hard and sometimes you have to choose between whether staying on plan and having the losses you want is more important to you, or if having a night out and eating what you want is more important to you. So far, for me, I want to stay on plan. I fell off massively once and gained back all I'd lost, and I was so disappointed in myself that I have to do it all again that this time I am so bloody motivated to be on plan as to be ridiculous! That said I do know there will be days when the day overall will be more important - on those days I'll either do damage limitation and try not to gorge myself stupid while its "allowed" (which is what I am liable to do given half the chance - I'm a dreadful self-saboteur), or just write the day off in terms of diet and have what I like. But on those days you just have to acknowledge that they will affect your losses, so you need to be prepared for it, and not beat yourself up over it. If you have a day off for a wedding or celebration, have a day off. Just don't have a week off or a fortnight off...

The whole point of slimming world is that you are reprogramming your unhealthy and unhelpful eating habits and replacing them with healthier ones. A treat is fine, you just need to keep it as that. Everyone has them! Slim people have them and people who've been overweight their whole life have them, athletes have them, everyone. Its how you respond to it afterwards that makes the difference. :)
 
Good god that was a wall of text! Sorry. I just was trying (probably unsuccessfully) to say that you just need to be a bit philosophical about it, and where your priorities are at that time. I don't mean that passive-aggressively either, I mean it quite literally. I had a time when my weight loss was secondary to my emotional well-being, so I made a conscious choice to stop beating myself up over my non-sw-friendly food choices, and just concentrate on getting better/happier (I was extremely depressed). I gained back almost 4 stone that I'd lost, and now I need to do it all again, but I'm here and I'm alive. It's your whole life that you're talking about really, and sometimes it will get in the way of being on a diet.
 
Thanks SO much all. These responses are so sensible and made me think.

I am also someone who shows love with food Wirik - though I am still cooking for people, I am cooking SW friendly meals that we can all enjoy together, so that's a bonus.

As for re-evaluating what I feel like a good time is, I think there's a lot of truth in that too. I still associate a good time with food and alcohol in the company of friends - I think I just need to cut back a little and make sure I'm more balanced. Long term, that's a positive thing too.

The good news is that weigh in today was great, and despite having had Saturday off (my birthday, so much cake, wine) I dropped 2.5lb and made it to 8.5lb lost so far, and first ever SOTW! Cheered me right up, as have your lovely posts. Xx
 
That's so excellent! Well done you! In all honesty, tonight I have had a bottle and a half of wine and I have gone over my syns by miles! But like I said, tonight my priorities are having a normal evening with my loved ones. It can happen, you just need to acknowledge it as a part of your life and put stuff into perspective :)
You have done amazingly well, and maybe you need to hear that more often :) congratulations on sotw!!! That's so awesome!!! And happy birthday! I hope you had a great day.
I think SW is great for meals that you can share with people that don't feel "diety" - it is great that you can share a meal with people.

I really didn't mean to come across as aggro as I did, I completely empathise with where you were coming from and I was trying to say that you can fit these nights out in, without ballsing up your whole week.

Congratulations on a great week xxx
 
Well done on the loss and you've gotten great advice thus far. I will say that in learning how to reframe your thinking about what counts as a good time, the first few times you are out socializing will be challenging to resist the temptation to eat and drink with reckless abandon. But the more you stay in control the easier it will become to say "no thank you" because you have planned ahead by having a syn-free meal before you head out. It simply takes time to put new good habits into practice. One way I had to start thinking about nights out on the town was to picture myself at the end of the year heavier than the year before because I thought I'd be missing out on something if I didn't refuse a drink or a piece of cake. For some reason, going into the New Year heavier always seems to help me get my focus back. Good luck to you!
 
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