A Slimming World Day...

A few people have asked me how I'm actually losing the weight 'so fast' (I don't think I'm losing it fast at all but there you go) so I thought I'd write a little 'A Day in the Life of' type post.

I do mainly red days with a couple of green days thrown in here and there. I started off doing extra easy but I feel like I have better losses doing red and green (plus sometimes I just really don't want to eat fruit or vegetables as a third of my meal!) and I fear I eat too much and not in the right proportions when I do extra easy.

Breakfast:

Generally I eat breakfast at my desk at work. I can't usually stomach food very early in the morning (unless it's a McDonald's breakfast and, sadly, they're forbidden!), plus I'd rather have a few more minutes in bed and then run out of the door in a mad panic because I've fallen back to sleep. I just like the risk element. Haha.

I usually have a Muller Light with chopped up fruit or frozen berries. I tend to have strawberries and apple if I'm using fresh fruit and the frozen berries are just Sainbury's basics. They're nothing fancy but they're tasty and only cost about £1. I find that, because the fruit is frozen, it takes me absolutely ages to eat the whole bowl. Therefore I'm usually absolutely stuffed by the time I manage it and it generally sees me through to lunch time.

Mid Morning Snack:

If I'm a bit peckish around 11am then I'll have some more fruit. Generally I have a whole grapefruit or another apple. Or, if I've been organised and nipped to the supermarket then I'll have some pomegranate or melon. If I'm having two Alpen Light bars as one of my Healthy Bs then I'll have one (or both) of these now too. If I'm feeling like a glutten for punishment then I'll have 5 scan bran (HEB), topped with 5 light Laughing Cow triangles (HEA). Or, if I just want cheese then I'll have 3 mini light Baybel (HEA).

Lunch:

Completely depending, once again, on how organised I've been. If I've made chilli or meatballs the night before then I'll have that with some vegetables (Marks & Spencer do these awesome little packages of veg that you can steam in the microwave... they're two for £1 at the moment too, bargain!). I also really like M&S chunky steak (it comes in a can and looks a bit disconcerting when it's cold but I can assure you it tastes lush when hot!) so I'll have that with vegetables if I've not been organised enough to bring something from home. As it's getting a bit warmer I've started having salads more, either tuna or chicken normally, with plenty of cucumber, peppers and cabbage. I'll generally have some melon or grapes to follow, and possibly some nuts (synned, of course). My new favourite thing to have after lunch is a Kelloggs Fibre Plus bar (HEB). I particularly like the dark chocolate one and it actually tastes like a treat, rather than just a Healthy B.

If I'm on a green day then I tend to favour Batchelor's savoury rice, MugShots, barbecue beans or spaghetti hoops on toast (2 slices of Nimble wholemeal bread for a HEB). Plus fruit to follow.

Dinner:

Steak and salad is a massive favourite in my house. I love feta cheese so if I haven't already used my Healthy As for the day then I'll make a Greek salad to accompany the steak (8 olives are one syn). If I've had a big lunch then quite often I don't want to eat a massive dinner so I'll just have scrambled eggs or an omelette (again, using cheese as HEA if I've not already used them), sometimes accompanied by smoked salmon. If I've not had any fruit or veg as part of my main meal then I'll either have some pineapple or I'll make some veg crudities and munch them in front of the TV.

If I'm on a green day then I'll either have some Slimming World chips (AMAZING) with eggs, savoury rice (if I've not had it for lunch) or a jacket potato with a HEB portion of tuna. Plus salad and/or fruit.

Syns:

I do tend to try and have between 5 and 15 syns a day but I have to admit to 'tweaking' the plan from time to time and saving the majority of them for the weekend (I do like a good night out after all). Currently I tend to use my syns for things like peanut butter (4.5 syns per tbsp), Cadbury's chocolate mousse (3 syns for the low fat one, 5 syns for the regular one), nuts, alcohol (I tend to stick to gin and slimline tonic... 2 syns for a 25ml measure!) and whatever sweets or biscuits are lying around the office. Krispy Kreme doughnuts are 11.5 syns (for a glazed original) so those are kept for VERY special treats.


So there you go. That's a typical day for me. In addition I drink at least 2 litres of water a day, plus 4 or 5 cups of either green, fennel or peppermint tea. I try and have at least 5 portions of fruit and veg a day and I generally end up having about 7. I also try to make sure that I have at least 2 superspeed foods a day (strawberries, broccoli, melon).

Writing it all down I realise that I'm actually quite disciplined about what I eat! Who'd have thunk it?!

Weigh In #14

After loads of disappointing weeks I finally seem to be back on the 'big loser' bandwagon. Three pounds off this week! 

I thought I'd had a good week so am pretty chuffed. I actually thought I might have lost four, judging by my own scales this morning, but I'm not complaining! I've actually eaten far more in the last week than I normally do. By far more, I mean far more free and superfree food. I think maybe I wasn't eating quite enough before, hence the smaller losses. Bizarrely Slimming World seems to work better for me when I eat a lot. No complaints here!

I want to get two pounds off next week because that means... dun dun dun.... I'll get my two and a half stone award. Awesome!


Starting Weight: 227 pounds
Current Weight: 194 pounds
Weight Loss This Week: 3 pounds
Total Weight Loss: 33 pounds
Target Weight: 140 pounds

54 pounds to go!

Longevity

A truly momentous occasion occurred this morning.

I managed to fit into a leather jacket that I bought 18 months ago. For the first time. It fits! It fits! IT FITS! I can zip it up and it fits round my (not as) gigantic arms and everything. I may never take it off. If this weather carries on then I won't have to.

Another momentous occasion occurred on Friday. I weighed myself in the morning (yes, yes I know that Slimming World discourage such weighing mania but I know the difference between my scales and theirs so there's no problem) and I was under 14 stone. 13 stone 11 pounds to be precise.

That, my friends, is the lightest I've been for about five years. GET IN.

I realised today that I've been doing Slimming World for almost four months now. I think that's probably the longest I've ever stuck to any diet or eating plan. I think I did SlimFast (halfheartedly) for about three weeks, until I couldn't stand any more of the terrible milkshakes. I did Atkins for about a week. Again, that was halfhearted as I just love fruit too much. Five years ago I lost three stone in three months. How? I ate 3 spoonfuls of bran flakes for breakfast, two ryvitas with cucumber and tiny slivers of cheese for lunch and a quarter portion of whatever my boyfriend at the time was having for dinner. Et volia! Three stone gone and utter misery. And of course, once I started eating normally again, I gained all the weight back and then some.

Slimming World is the only diet I've ever managed to stick to and the only one I've ever managed to stick out for any length of time. I think it's partly down to the fact that I never feel deprived. If I want some chocolate, I have it. But I count the syns. Likewise with crisps, peanut butter and biscuits. It's completely changed the way I think about food. I don't constantly think about when I can next have a Burger King or a pizza. I don't buy huge amounts of food and eat until I feel ill. I don't use food as a reward, or as a punishment. I make healthy choices, without even thinking about it most of the time. So yes, it's partly down to the fact that the eating plans aren't restrictive.

But, more than that, it's because my mindset has changed. For the first time in my life I want to be slim and healthy more than I want to eat chocolate eclairs or cheese and biscuits. I want to fit into the clothes I like, without worrying that I'll look like a big fat whale. I want to feel attractive and, dare I say it, have boys look at me and think I look nice. I've never had that, not that I've been aware of anyway.

I'm actually going to do it this time. Finally.

Weigh In #13

13.

Unlucky for some. But not for me. Four pounds off!

That takes me under the 200 pound mark, which I'm absolutely delighted about. I also got my two stone award. Hurrah!

I thought I'd lost two or three pounds but really wasn't expecting four, particularly after my London shenanigans. Oh well, I'm not complaining! I'm back on plan 100% as from today and I want to be under 14 stone next week. I haven't weighed less than 14 stone since I met C, two and a half years ago. Eek.

Bring it.

Starting Weight: 227 pounds
Current Weight: 197 pounds
Weight Loss This Week: 4 pounds
Total Weight Loss: 30 pounds
Target Weight: 140 pounds

57 pounds to go!

Bad blogger

Oh I have been a neglectful old thing, haven't I!

I didn't weigh in last week as I was in London eating too much cake. And Greek food. And gorgeous risotto. I feel a little bit like I've fallen off the Slimming World wagon recently and it displeases me. I haven't gained any weight, but I haven't really lost any either. This is going to change as of now. I need to hit my target this year, I just have to! So I'm going to start writing a food diary again, I'm going to start running again and I'm going to start counting my syns again.

It's on.