Two fantastic things happened today:
1) Joel has decided to join me! Not at group or anything, but just being careful what he eats, and asking how many Syns are in certain things, etc... He's being very supportive, and always has a congratulatory hug when I come back from group, weighing less! And he's taken to stroking my tummy (like he always does when we hug) but now he just goes; "Where's it gone? It's disappearing!" Bless him. But he's decided to lose some weight too - and seems to enjoy all the Free teas I make. So good news there!
PS: This is Joel:
2) Two colleagues came back to work from Glastonbury today. Halfway through the day, I was wandering back from the photocopier, when I noticed one of them, Swin (who sits opposite) staring at me. When I asked what was wrong, he asked; "Have you lost weight?" YES!!! Felt very chuffed with myself - didn't even think it was noticeable - and surely 5.5 pounds isn't that much? Anyway, he said it was mostly around the "hips and face" - can't see any change at ALL, myself, but then again, I see myself every day. Still, very very pleased!
Not much to report today - except I had my Syn-ful little glass of wine with "The Apprentice......" and it tasted SO GOOD. I mean seriously, like some sweet nectar of life. Am wondering slightly if this reaction makes me an alcoholic, but most likely I'm over-reacting as usual. Feels strange though - I'm usually out every weekend on massive benders..... not having alcohol for so long feels mad. In a good way, obviously. I'm stunned at how easy it's been not to drink as much as usual. In fact, given that there always used to be a bottle of wine in the fridge every single week (and usually gone by Thursday), I'm amazed I've not gone Cold Turkey or similar.
Slightly wondering though, what kind of stuff I can now drink next time I'm on a night out. Alcopops are obviously out, as are cocktails (with sugary fruit juice) - and wine too. A glass of Diet Coke and vodka/whiskey/bacardi seems a logical step, but...... on a DANCEFLOOR??! Kind of impractical. Maybe I should just do shots all night..... or stick to hard spirits! Hmmm..... never thought about it before, actually. Not that I've been out at all since I started SlimmingWorld - everyone's skint recently. Got invited out by a colleague for a few in our local the other week - and was actually relieved when he had to cancel. Maybe I can work out some kind of drinking/night out plan? Obviously I can't go on mad binge-tastic benders any more - boring as that sounds. Maybe I could just drink Diet Coke all night and pretend it contains spirits? Night out AND no Syns! And no hangover!! Worth thinking about.
Had an amazing daydream at work today, between calls. I was out in this classy nightclub (Lamar's) in the Northern Quarter with straight shiny hair, no glasses - and I was wearing this beautiful silky red strapless dress (one I'd seen my friend Sian out in) that ended mid-thigh - and a pair of knockout heels. I was thin, my legs went on forever - I looked stunning, and was getting positive attention from everyone (especially the men!). I was confident enough to try all these sexy dance moves I've never done before - and basically, I was an undisputed hottie.
It was the best dream I've ever had - and cheesy as it sounds, it feels like something I could actually achieve now. It'll take time, but it's do-able, I'm sure of it. Told Mum, and she's promised to buy me that exact same dress if I can lose 3 stone for my birthday (October 23rd)!
LOSS: 3 POUNDS
I DON'T BELIEVE IT!!! I've lost 3 pounds!! How has this happened??! Given yesterday's cranberry-antics, I thought I was pretty much out of the running. In fact, I was sure of it. I got on the scales, heard Joan say "3 pounds" - and my heart sank. I knew I'd eaten a lot yesterday because I felt so ill and terrible, but had no idea I'd gained THAT much. And then I saw Joan smiling, looked down at my book, and saw the number 16 where a 17 used to be..... I'd LOST 3 pounds!!! Not GAINED it!! I hadn't listened properly, worried as I was at Mum's reaction (she tends to hover when I get weighed), hence the misunderstanding.
So needless to say, I feel brilliantly happy. Mum's losing loads too, and every week she brings some food, ingredients and plenty of support for me. I'm not losing as much as her, nor as quickly - but to be fair, she runs around her shop a lot everyday - whereas my job (selling insurance) is pretty sedentry.
Image therapy this week was nothing different - found out how many Syns are in certain things and agreed to plan more meals (I usually tend to make it up as I go along - which gets very boring and samey)
Got a congratulatory text from Dad after I got home, saying "Well done kiddo, proud of you - now you motor. Jodie Kidd, watch out!!" Made me beam all over my face - although I'd much rather look like Shakira than Jodie Kidd. I don't particularly resemble any celebrities at the moment - but I'd be happy just ending up as a curvy brunette sex-bomb!
Oh, great. Out of nowhere, I've got cystitis. I've had it before - and all it takes is the consumption of cranberry juice and 2 days of medicine. All very well and good - except I foolishly thought that cranberry juice was Free. Imagine the horror at work today, when after drinking 2 litres of the stuff - it turned out that I'd had 64 Syns. IN A DAY. Who the hell knew Cranberry juice had so much sugar?! I'd just always assumed fruit juices were fine and healthy..... So now I've thrown off the diet and ruined all my hard work. Brilliant. Feel very angry - even though technically I didn't do anything wrong.
Had a slight slip-up today. Joel texted me asking if I wanted to meet at McDonald's on our lunch break (an old tradition) so I said yes, planning to take my pre-made chicken salad with me. But I cracked. Not totally, didn't get a burger, even though I was dying to - I've not had one in ages. I got a chicken and bacon wrap - and kidded myself into thinking it was healthy. I hate slipping up - but sometimes sticking to healthiness so rigidly is incredibly boring. Think I need to shake things up - or plan different things to eat. I don't know. I miss desserts.
I'll be damned if I'm losing my glass of Rose' with "The Apprentice," though. 6 Syns it may be, but that's one weekly pleasure I refuse to give up. On a side note, I want Jim or Tom to win - Jim because he's got that sexy Irish accent and knows how to turn on the charm - or Tom who is adorable, polite, has AMAZING glasses, and looks like David Tennant.....
Yeah.
I've been taking my green "Food Optimising" book into work every day - so I can fill in my Food Diary, check Syns and read the book on my lunch/break. It never gets boring, the recipe pictures look delicious, and it's kind of like a talisman - something to carry around and remind me of what I'm doing. I'm actually receiving a lot of support at work, to my delight and surprise. Brooksey (who sits opposite me) has had a gastric band fitted recently so he has a lot of food tips and weight-loss anecdotes to share. My manager saw the "Food Optimising" book and told me to "forget that bullsh*t," but Imran who sits next to me (something of a health-obsessed bodybuilder) is completely on my side - and has even bet me a tenner that I can lose a stone by next Payday (21st July), so that's another thing to aim for. Good times!!
LOSS: 2.5 POUNDS
Can't believe it!! I've already lost weight, and it's only been a WEEK!!! How has this HAPPENED?! Feel SO chuffed - it's not much, but it's still a start - one baby step at a time. My aim is to lose half a stone by our family friend Rebecca's wedding on the 9th of July - it's not much and it feels like a long shot, but I'm still going to try. Having all that healthy food in the fridge definately helped. Even had a fruit salad for breakfast last Friday! I'm doing exactly what I couldn't understand people did in the last entry.... and it was easier than I thought it would be. I've even started texting Mum everytime I've cooked/eaten something I'm proud of. And it clearly worked!
Louise, the head consultant, was back this week - so the meeting was slightly different. This week we did "Image therapy" which is something like an AA meeting - you go round the whole group, Louise announces how much each person has lost/gained and then they talk about what they can do this week to speed things along/stay on track, etc....
I spoke about how surprisingly easy I'd been finding it, and how pleased I am that it's not difficult, like other diets. My advice was simply to fill in the Food Diary every day - and plan meals more. So be it!
Have decided as well NOT to eat tea before I go to the meetings, but just have a yoghurt or something to keep me going. It may be cheating slightly, but..... you know, who DOESN'T brush their teeth before going to the dentist?
Hey, everyone. Welcome to my Slimming World blog. So, 3 things:
1) My name is Katie, I'm 24 and I live in Manchester
2) I hate my weight
3) This is how I look:
And I aim to change that.
Today was the day I joined SlimmingWorld. To be honest, I was dragged along by my mum, who's been citing the idea for ages. I wasn't too keen on the idea. Loads of women sitting around talking endlessly about their weight, or loads of fabulously skinny women who still smugly turned up at meetings sounded like my idea of Hell. But Mum and I seem to have been on a diet for about 10 years with no results, and I thought it would stop her nagging at me to lose weight if I showed up at a few meetings and pretended to take an interest.
So, I went along to my local rugby club. Mum went last week - and even though she said it wasn't her cup of tea, talking in front of people and applauding all the time, she still insisted on me trying it. It was a bit daunting at first - and the original consultant was away, so I was welcomed by Joan, who gave me a huge pack to look through. Bit scary to be honest, all full of buzzwords and phrases that made me roll my eyes. Spent most of the meeting flicking through it, trying to understand exactly how the whole "Food Optimising" thing worked. The whole thing sounded incredibly corny - the usual dietry cliche's of "Oh look, I used to be heavy but now I eat fresh fruit and handfuls of vegetables every day and I LOVE it!!!" I thought it all looked like total nonsense - no-one who's ever been fat and lived on a steady diet of junk food (like me) could suddenly enjoy eating "rabbit food," as I called it.
But then Joan stuck a DVD on and I was stunned. You see before and after photos in magazines all the time - thinking "Well OBVIOUSLY they're two different people" or "They've had a gastric band fitted - that doesn't count." But these were REAL men and women, and they'd all done SlimmingWorld. My jaw dropped, as beautiful person after beautiful person appeared on camera, following photos of their former enormous selves. I couldn't believe that people were capable of losing so many stones without any surgical help. Next thing I knew, images of myself in "after" poses were flashing through my head - and in them, I looked incredible. With every shocked gasp emmanating from other group members, my resolve strengthened more and more, and I realised that maybe this "Food Optimising" thing was just worth a go.
When we left the meeting, Mum took me straight to Tesco to stock up on healthy "Free" foods for the flat. So as I sit here buzzing, my fridge is stocked with loads of healthy food, the kind of stuff I didn't think I'd be able to eat on a diet, to be honest. Finished up my takeaway prawn curry from last night, and vowed it would be the last fattening thing to cross my lips.
Forgot to mention, I was weighed at the beginning of the session. Nearly had a heart attack - apparently I weigh 17 stone and 1.5lb. I'm only 24 years old, and wondering how the hell it came to this - had no idea I was that overweight. I've certainly never looked in the mirror and seen myself as "obese." I've never been HAPPY with my weight - but instead of giving the usual "fat people" excuses - my reason was the one that no-one ever says..... I'm just too lazy. Losing weight takes more effort that I could be bothered with. I'm fairly happy in my life at the moment, and Joel (my boyfriend) never had any problem with my weight - other than being slightly frustrated with me when I lagged on walks. Whilst I'd get annoyed with finding clothes-shopping difficult, I've still always been a chirpy person, and found no real reason to change. But I wasn't expecting that..... 17 stone. Felt utterly horrified when Joan wrote it in my book. Didn't feel any better when Mum told me she'd lost half a stone in one week. She was always a lot more motivated than me - especially when it came to walking and such. And the whole "I'm 24 years older than you, you should be finding this easier than me!" spiel never helped. Still, as Joan pointed out at the weighing - "You will never see this weight again." And that's what I'm going to keep telling myself.
