Uncovering my true self

[Alderica]

Hi everyone,

I joined Slimming World last Thursday, motivated by a friend who lost 38 lbs in 8 weeks and other friends who have also given positive feedback, and so far I'm loving it! I am doing the online program, as I live in Germany and there are no SW groups near me.

Things are turning around in my life in a big way right now: I am finally getting out of an unhealthy marriage and training for a new career as an alternative health practitioner. I put on about 90 lbs over the 11 years of my marriage (and I was overweight before), the fat seemed to be an emotionally protective and comforting mechanism (a bit like wrapping yourself in a quilt ), but now somehow I feel "safe" enough to get rid of it.

This isn't my first attempt at losing weight. 20 years ago, I lost 28 lbs in 3 months with food combining, but got fed up of not being able to eat things like cheese sandwiches and cottage pie which combined starch and protein. Weight Watchers was OK, but counting points drove me up the wall. I tried the Atkins diet but felt absolutely terrible - I only stuck it out for 2 weeks but it took months for me to recover from the side effects of ketosis etc. Then I tried the insulin resistance diet, which was excellent but is not really meant as a weight loss diet, rather to stabilise blood sugar in people with pre-diabetes.

My downfall is bread, I absolutely adore it, but I find that being able to eat plenty of pasta, potatoes, rice etc. eases the cravings somewhat. And I love being able to eat as much fresh fruit as I want!

Reading through this forum is also a daily inspiration, and I feel keeping a public weight loss diary will be an additional spur. Goodness knows I need all the support I can get, especially considering my family think this new attempt to lose weight is a joke (they've seen me fail too often). So let's see where this goes.........

 

[foreverforalways]

Sounds like you are starting out on a really positive note. I'm sure you've realised that SW is all about eating loads of the right kind of foods and just a little of naughty things. I love that there's no counting and nothing off limits!

Good luck for your first WI!

 

[Alderica]

Today's breakfast: bran flakes with milk (both healthy extras), apples and figs.
Snack during break at college: tub of fresh fruit salad (pineapple, apple, melon).
Lunch: scrambled eggs, baked beans in tomato sauce and lean bacon.
Supper: my Syns for the day... a big piece of "Vitaminbrot", this is wholemeal bread made with finely grated carrots, lovely and sticky and healthy at the same time! Topped with low-fat cottage cheese, it adds up to 8 Syns. Accompanied by salad and a bunch of grapes.

And they call this dieting?!

 

[lisajade]

Hi Alderica, welcome

You are off to a cracking start, and that vitaminbrot sound amazing! I am trying to eat less bread this week, last week i used all my hexb's and syns for bread! And I put on 1 lb. Oops!

Have a great week, I weigh on thursdays too.

 

[Alderica]

Hi Alderica, welcome

You are off to a cracking start, and that vitaminbrot sound amazing! I am trying to eat less bread this week, last week i used all my hexb's and syns for bread! And I put on 1 lb. Oops!

Have a great week, I weigh on thursdays too.

Ooh I do sympathize, I LOVE bread! I've had no problem at all cutting out things like chocolate, but from childhood up I was used to sandwiches for tea and it turned into a comfort food. One big advantage about Germany is that they have these delicious heavy wholemeal breads which fill you right up (not least because you have to spend such a long time chewing them ). I only discovered Vitaminbrot last week, but even my son has taken to it, which is a relief because trying to get him to eat enough veg and vitamins is like trying to force a vegetarian to eat meat (not that I would, mind you, but you know what I mean......)

 

[lisajade]

Do you buy the bread or do you bake it? Would love to try it if you have a recipe!

 

[Alderica]

Do you buy the bread or do you bake it? Would love to try it if you have a recipe!

I buy it.... but I wonder if I could work out how to bake it.... you could be onto something there!

 

[Alderica]

Breakfast: Kellogg's All-Bran with apples and figs, semi-skimmed milk from my allowance (same as yesterday, I'm finding this mixture truly addictive).
Snack at college: tub of pineapple. I love pineapple but find mixed fruit salad keeps you fuller for longer. I was starving when the time came to go home and had to keep looking away from people wandering around with slices of pizza and Bratwurst and what not at the railway station....
Lunch: wholemeal pasta with bolognese sauce made of extra-lean beef mince and tinned tomatoes seasoned with lots of herbs. Think I might have overdone the herbs, as it tasted a bit strange. Still, it definitely filled up a yawning cavern in my interior.
Tea: Potato and spinach tortilla and a bunch of grapes. Tortilla was 7 Syns but absolutely delicious!

5 days into the diet and I have lost so much retained fluid it beggars belief (even though I was already taking water tablets for high blood pressure!) I can see the difference in my face (less swollen) and can climb the stairs to the third floor where our classroom is without feeling like I'm about to take my last gasp. This diet is also helping me identify food intolerances... I find I can't eat milk products unless they're lactose-free because otherwise my mouth tastes horrible and I get a white coating on my tongue. Before I was feeling so rubbish in general that it was hard to identify what things were causing it. Go me!

 

[AndiKnott]

Hi Alderica

Welcome to SW/Minimins... Good luck on your journey to "self discovery". I agree with the Quilt Theory.... I also covered up and quite liked it, it just got a bit heavy for me and was starting to look rather "worn"... SHEDDING THE QUILT!!! Like the Idea very much.

Keep us posted with all your new developments, especially if you start baking your own bread!! :character00255:

I'm doing the SW at home, don't even do it online... just trusting my gut and TRACKING my food and syns and it's working. I did do SW online and joined class for 6 weeks but am confident I can do it on my own now.

Look forward to reading your posts!

 

[Alderica]

Breakfast same as the last few days. The only thing I hate about bran flakes and other cereals is when you get near the bottom of the box and they're all broken up into crumbs...
Snack at college: a tub of melon chunks with grapes, strawberries and kiwi. Favourite fruit salad so far.
Lunch: curried prawns and veg with rice. It was a ready-made sauce, OK I suppose when you're in a hurry but I doubt I'd buy it again.
Supper: Ham omelette with a plate full of cocktail tomatoes, cucumber slices and cherry tomatoes, mmm.....

And... a supreme indulgence this evening: 1 "Prinzenrolle" biscuit (two plain biscuits sandwiched together with choc-flavoured cream) for 5 Syns. Looking forward to weigh-in tomorrow... actually I was sneaky and got on the scales last night, but I won't post the (most gratifying) results here until tomorrow night!

 

[lisajade]

Breakfast same as the last few days. The only thing I hate about bran flakes and other cereals is when you get near the bottom of the box and they're all broken up into crumbs...
Snack at college: a tub of melon chunks with grapes, strawberries and kiwi. Favourite fruit salad so far.
Lunch: curried prawns and veg with rice. It was a ready-made sauce, OK I suppose when you're in a hurry but I doubt I'd buy it again.
Supper: Ham omelette with a plate full of cocktail tomatoes, cucumber slices and cherry tomatoes, mmm.....

And... a supreme indulgence this evening: 1 "Prinzenrolle" biscuit (two plain biscuits sandwiched together with choc-flavoured cream) for 5 Syns. Looking forward to weigh-in tomorrow... actually I was sneaky and got on the scales last night, but I won't post the (most gratifying) results here until tomorrow night!

I hate broken up cereal too, as I have mine with yoghurt and it goes all mushy! What I do is every time I have cereal, I hold the bag opening closed, and slowly and gently turn it upside down, It disperses the smaller pieces throughout the rest so you don't notice them as much

You eating this week sounds really nice, and really on track. I hope you have a fantastic result at weigh in! I have mine tomorrow night, I have been good so expecting good things...

 

[Alderica]

Good tip, thanks hon! You never know what they do to these things when they are being delivered to the shop, do you... sometimes I wonder if they jump up and down on the boxes in hobnailed boots to get more in
Good luck with your weigh-in tomorrow!

 

[Kath1990]

Good Luck with your weigh in tomorrow

I also have weigh in tomorrow... i put on 6lb last week (Lost my Nanna and went on holiday no club for 4 weeks eating whatever i wanted) so have vowed to lose it this week... though not sure that i have

Its great to find this forum and talk to others slimming that are not only my friends at group!!

 

[Alderica]

Good Luck with your weigh in tomorrow

I also have weigh in tomorrow... i put on 6lb last week (Lost my Nanna and went on holiday no club for 4 weeks eating whatever i wanted) so have vowed to lose it this week... though not sure that i have

Its great to find this forum and talk to others slimming that are not only my friends at group!!

Oh bless I am sorry to hear about your Nanna hon atback: and I totally agree, this forum is really inspirational. SW doesn't seem to exist in Germany, so I'm all the happier to have found it. Good luck for tomorrow xoxox

 

[Kath1990]

Maybe you should start your own group over there ... bring SW into Germany

 

[Alderica]

Maybe you should start your own group over there ... bring SW into Germany

Actually I think that's an excellent idea.... trouble is though, they'd have to get all their info translated into German AND draw up new food lists. Even so, there is quite a gap here for slimming groups... we have Weight Watchers and that's about it. Considering the number of beer and wurst bellies you see wobbling around the place though, it makes you wonder if people are even all that bothered...

 

[Kath1990]

Hmmm maybe it would be worth looking into see if its worth all the hassle and if not then you always have us UK people to support you on your journey

 

[lisajade]

Final countdown to weigh-in I'm scared (as always!)

Hope you are having a great day!

 

[Kath1990]

Weigh in complete 6 and 1/2 off which puts me back to where I got to before my massive gainxx hope you have a good loss xxx

 

[Alderica]

Weigh in complete 6 and 1/2 off which puts me back to where I got to before my massive gainxx hope you have a good loss xxx

Wow brilliant, congratulations!!! :superwoman: I'm weighing in this evening after supper....