Slow and Steady

So, how do I start this off? I'm sat here at 4:45 am, unable to sleep due to this bloomin' cold. Browsing through Minimins I find a diary section. Hmmm, should I do that? Or will I just disappoint myself again when I give up? No, let's do it!

I do a lot of that... talking to myself. The 'in-my-head' conversations I have with myself can sometimes be quite amusing. I guess I have to worry if it's not my own mind that's answering me back in there, yeah?

Anyway, enough of that, down to business. I'm suffering with a cold and drugged up with enough decongestants and painkillers to stop a herd of elephants so apologies for the rambling!

I joined SW on 8th May 2013 at the grand weight of 23 stone 2 lbs. Wow, how did I get that big? Well, mainly by calorie counting for the last 35 years or so! Every time I tried a new episode of weight loss I'd start saving my calories during the day for a massive blow out of junk food in the evening. Very unhealthy. It would usually last about three days, then I'd abandon my calorie counting book again and go back to stuffing my face, usually in secret. My husband can't understand why I'm this size when I hardly eat anything.... yeah, right.

Three of my brothers have had brilliant weight losses with SW, losing about 10 stone between them. Inspiring. It's taken me a while to succumb to the SW thing as I thought I'm clever enough to do this myself, I don't need to give anyone a fiver a week to get weighed. I've found out that it's a lot more than that...

The last week or so has been a revelation. So much good food, so many ways to prepare it, so many recipes to try! I seem to have discovered a love of cooking that I hadn't realised I had. The plan seems so simple, really. Good food, prepared in a healthy way. Sensible portions, but the ability to eat enough calorie-light foods as you need to keep even the most raging apetite at bay. And syns, up to 15 a day for those things you just can't live with out (currently orange hi-fi bars for me!).

I lost 9 lbs at my first weigh in! Woo-hoo! Amazing considering I'd managed to lose half a stone in the previous four weeks by calorie counting too.

So it's been... *counts on fingers* ... nine days so far. Not a slip-up or back-track in sight. On plan completely for nine days. Unheard of! I don't feel the need to cheat, I'm having so much lovely food that I don't need to. Is this the thing I've needed all these years?

So, anyone want to catch the SW weight loss bus with me? I can't promise it's always going to be a smooth journey but I'm sure it'll be fun along the way....
 
Thanks Siggy, I'm hoping for another 2 or 3 this week. You're doing really well too! x
 
So, it's been a good week. I've stuck to the plan all week, I've had about 15 syns every day and thoroughly enjoyed the food I've eaten. I don't feel any lighter but I guess we'll find out tomorrow! I've changed my group day (same consultant though) as it's more convenient at the moment to go on a Thursday.

I will be very surprised if I lose any weight with the amount of food I've eaten this week!

Over the years my portion sizes have become very skewed, I no longer realised what a 'normal' portion looks like. So, this week, for the pasta and rice I've been cooking up the recommended amount on the packet. I've found that with the 'rule of thirds' this is plenty and very satisfying.

Anyway, I'm going to try to not panic if the scales aren't in my favour tomorrow! Fingers crossed!
 
Well, I lost 3.5 pounds, really pleased with that. Have had a couple of very bad days what with alcohol on Friday and a day at the seaside yesterday. Then to top it all I had to cook a birthday meal for my mother-in-law. Mostly SW friendly but I did succumb to a stuffing ball, a bacon-wrapped sausage and a yorkshire pudding. Yummy, but too many syns!

Am straight back on the wagon, lots of superfree food this week for me!
 
Hi there,
just wanted to say that it really can be done.
A lovely lady in my weigh in group has lost 12 stone, and she's now at her target.
Your new way of thinking about food will get you there, it's definitely steps in the right direction.
Well done for joining Slimming World, it'll be the best thing you've ever done! xx
 
Thanks, littlemissslim, it's good to know that there are other people out there who have managed to do the immense weight loss I need. You are also doing brilliantly - look at your three and a half stone weight loss - well done!

Anyway, the big news is I lost 3 pounds this week, even after managing 152 syns over two days at the weekend! How on earth did that happen? I got my first stone sticker, and Slimmer of the Week for May, so excited! That means a total loss of 15.5 pounds over the last three weeks. I'm totally gobsmacked!

So, what's changed about my life in the last three weeks? As I told the group tonight at the weigh in, food is no longer my enemy. I can eat without guilt and enjoy the food I'm eating. It really has revolutionised the way I think about food. If I want to eat grapes, I eat them - no more panicking about them being high in calories, they're a superfree food! I can eat the pasta, rice and potatoes - and I have discovered that it's self limiting, because you know you can eat more free and superfree food, you don't feel like you have to stuff yourself full every snack and meal time.

Exercise has become a habit. I get up at 5.30 each day to do a 20-minute walk. Sometimes I do it outside with my darling husband, sometimes it's a walk in my living room with a lovely lady called Leslie Sansone (worth googling, she does some great living room workouts that aren't difficult to follow, I am not the most co-ordinated person!). It's good to know I can march around my living room and do a mile! I usually go for a lunchtime walk too, and some of my colleagues who are trying to lose weight are joining me. I think they see my success and want to follow it. The more people that join my weight loss journey the better!

I am tired of wearing big-girls-clothes, camouflage instead of clothes. I'm tired of having to shop in the big-girls shop. I want to walk into Marks and Spencers and pick up something that I know will fit. Can't wait!

So, it's a positive TauntonLady that's going to go back to bed and try and get some more sleep! Long may my dedication and devotion to Food Optimising continue. Keep on keeping on! x
 
22.5 pounds lost so far,but I'm away next week so will be off plan for a fair amount of the time. Hope everyone is doing well! x
 
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