Target Member

This was a very debatable subject for me.
As you know I have struggled the last few months. Having many ups and downs... I got my 6 stone award and was only 4lb away from my own target. The consultant did want me to keep the weight at my award as my target, but noooo I wanted more. You know how it is you get a nice round figure in your head and that's what you want.

Ohhh boy. Then I gained, maintained and only had small losses and I was not happy. I had to go sit down and really think about target weight. I had far surpassed my original goal and set new goals, as we all do with things like this.

This was my conclusion...
My first goal was Club 10 (this obviously is one that they give you.)
My goal when starting SW was to fit in a Size 14... Did that.

Then I changed, the more I lost the more I wanted it. I started to look at my BMI and what they say it should be. I decided that I wanted to push for more. I set my personal goal (I am not there yet) and tried and tried. I got to 3lb away. After having a stressful time with not getting to my target I decided to take my 6 stone award weight as target. That would give me a breather, it would be close enough to my target and if I lost more I would change it when I got to the weight I really wanted. Besides if I stayed in my 3lb either side allowance I would be at my own target at the bottom end.

You might ask what my point is. I am no longer outside of  a healthy BMI so I am happy. It is all so nearing Xmas and I want to enjoy it as I have family visiting this year but I will keep trying to get to my personal goal (an extra 3lb) I am just not gonna try so hard.

This is my way of life I will not go back to old habits, but I feel free to have a few treats. If you are struggling keep thinking of your end goal. I look and feel a different person and I happier for it. I persevered and it payed off.

Good luck to you in your journey.

Weight Loss Update.

And what a good week this was.!!!

I have not shared any updates in a while as been really busy but I still go to group every week. Since I last updated I had family visit from SA so we took a bit of holiday with them. It was a little like a yo yo as dropped nicely then picked it up with the next lot of family that arrived.
Last week I got back to my mid holiday weight and was happy with that. On Sunday I attended the Merseyside District finals for Women of the Year, as my consultant had entered me due to my weight loss so far.
I had to weigh in there (I did not expect that and had a nice cooked breakfast lol) and gained ½lb...oops so this week I decided I wanted to shake things up a little. I then decided to have 2 red day's Monday and Tuesday. Only because I wanted 2 HEA's and weighed my HEB potatoes, and result. On Wednesday when I went for WI I had lost 3½lb, whoop whoop, and got my 6 stone award .

On top of that we held our Women of the Year for the group and my fellow SW group buddies all voted for me.

Julie my consultant and me

Ahhh thanks guys...

After all this good news it had to get even better and I was slimmer of the week.

I am not at target yet but really close, I only have 4lb to go and a wonderful 6 stone and ½lb lighter. Thanks to Slimming World I feel like a new person and look like a new one as well.

Holiday

I am backkkkk... Yes I know I have been gone for a bit but I am back. I have had a lovely 2 weeks off from SW while having visitors from South Africa. I have not taken much time off from SW since I started so I felt no regret in having a very flexi two weeks. It is not every day that you have family from abroad.

Most days we ate SW meals. I don't cook differently. If you visit you eat what I eat. I just had more syns than normal. Well you can't exactly not eat your fav chocolate from SA, it would just be wrong lol. We walked to the shops instead of driving, and even the family enjoyed it. They shopped up a storm. and then we had to carry it all home again. So that was my BM for the week, lol. (I did not have time to do my normal exercise routine.)

However, the day after they left all went back to normal. I went straight back on plan and had about 3 days before WI. Yesterday was WI day and I was so pleased with myself coming back from "holiday" and I had lost 3lbs. Yeah me.

Moral of the story is. When you go on holiday take the time off from SW. Make the correct choices when choosing food, in other words, instead of taking the high fat content meal pick the low fat choice. Have loads of fruit and salad and do a lot of activities.  If you want the Cornetto cone have it, don't think twice. If you want the blueberry muffin, have it. Hell if you eat the bag of peanuts so be it. It is holiday. My advice is go rock climbing, swimming, snorkeling, bike riding or even fast pace walks. every day. Then have some fun.

On your return, go back on plan the very next day. That way you will get your frame of mind right again.

I enjoyed my holiday. I did a lot of activity and chose low fat options. I flexied my syns and went back on plan after they left. I went to my very next WI and lost 3lbs. It goes to show it can be done. Even if I had gained I would still have made the same choices. It was worth it.

Have fun on your next holiday...

Update on my weight loss.

I have recently done some new pictures. Mostly to get of my kids but ofcourse can not help my self these days. I feel good about myself and like to compare what I use to look like to what I do now.

After doing Slimming world for a year I am around ½ Stone away from target. I have gone from a size 22 Jean to a 12. You would not believe how much healthier I feel. It has been such a change in our family life. We go for long walks I can jump on the trampoline with the kids. I don't have pain in my feet anymore and I am not out of breath after a few stairs. Not only as it helped me but my family too. My children eat more fruit, and my hubby has lost some weight. The change it has made for him with all his disabilties is so great I don't even  know were to start.

Looking at the old vs the new is shocking to me now. I never thought I was that big and frankly just kept hiding it away under clothes. It was honestly depressing. I can look in a mirror now and not just do what needs to be done. I want to go clothes shopping and I not only find nice things but I fit in it to.

I am so much happier with the new me....

The man in my life...

You love to hate them but can't live with out them. What you gonna do? My hubby and I disagree on loads of things and food is near the top subjects. When I started this journey a year ago my husband just had major surgery and was at his heaviest weight. After his surgery he started to loose weight but it was not until I started to make SW food that he really slimmed down. He feels great (and looks it too) and the health benefits have been greatly to his advantage. You see my husband not only had the big accident and all the injuries to deal with he had to deal with DVT's and arthritis too.

At the time of his pre-opp, wearing size 38

At the time of his pre-opp he was wearing a size 38, and as I now call it, had a pelican neck...lol. (I can share that I have been compared to a potato vs a McDonald's chip,size wise that is)

June 2nd the week I joined SW

I can't say that he follows the plan 100%, but I don't make different meals all the time. He still has a lot more syn's than I do but just by eating healthy meals at dinner time, has already done him wonders.

April 2011, now fitting in a
size 34 and M Shirt.

After just one year and with no real effort from him self he has lost over 3 stone already. He is now wearing a size 34 and M Shirts and he himself has had a complete wardrobe change. As for his health since he is lighter. His back aches and sore feet is dealing better with his current weight. It is less to carry in a sense and has helped him somewhat with his arthritis too.

He looks good and feels great about him self. This is something that the family can do together. My kids love SW chips they enjoy diet coke chicken and even love salad, the oldest even prefers water.

We don't get hungry and we still have treats. It's just a healthier lifestyle.
My point, you ask, is that this is not just a plan that you alone should follow. Make meals for the whole family and know that you are teaching your children a healthier way of living.

The ups and downs of Weight Loss

I am no saint or angel when it comes to Slimming World and following the plan, but I can share that we have a SW family online and in group that can help you.

We have all had our good day and our bad. I certainly have had many bad days too. When I started this journey I was doing so great that I was getting awards weekly. I got slimmer of the month slimmer of the week even got awards like Miss Skinny and Greatest Loser. Ever other week I was getting Stone and Half Stone awards and I was averaging a weight loss of 2½lbs a week. It made me feel on top of the world.  On the bad weeks I followed with a really good week and over Xmas and New Year I still had weight losses. That's when I started having many down days. The first 5 stone seemed to go really fast and this last Stone I have to target seems to be taking forever. I have maintains, followed by gains, followed by very small losses and it seems so unfair since I am so annul about it the plan. I have many times thought of giving it up or taking long absences from group. So far I have not taken many days off, as I feel that guilty to my self. 

To me I have come so far to go and ruin it would just hurt my self. When the new year started and I was 5 stone lighter, I think I got a little greedy or something. I started to walk loads and then have a bad week and give it up for a week then try again. I cut syn's drastically and then was still not happy with that weeks loss and then have every last single syn the next week. I would be that depressed about the days WI and go binge and have not 1 but 2 danishes after group, then feel guilty and count the syn's for the next 3 days.
I have been finding hard the last few weeks as I am so close to target yet so far.

I am persevering and in doing so took up Zumba. I went from twice a week to 5 days a week, I enjoy it that much. I have to add in the last 2 weeks I have had gains and not been happy but done some of my own research and feel better about it. I have kept going and this week been doing my consultants challenge as well.  I can feel my waist is toning up and feels very good. I even can say that my current clothes are now a little baggy on me.

There is other ways to boost your loss as well, I have not tried this as it seems a little harsh to me. It is called Success Express. It is in a nut shell: 3 meals per day. Each meal fill 2/3 of your plate with Super free foods (food that is free on BOTH green and red days)
Fill the remaining 1/3 of your plate with foods free on either day, for example a jacket potato with Tuna fish.
Also have your 3 or 4 healthy extras each day and any syn's you have must be counted at the higher value.
.....

I must share that this week I got my 5½ Stone award, and must say that it was a really good day for me. I am proud of myself and hope that I have gotten past my bad patch. And happy days, result, the Zumba I have persevered with paid off. Please go read the post on group discussions it will explain some things as well and it might just help you get your "be hind" into gear, lol. I know it did me.

All I can say to you all is keep going, you will make it in the end with this plan.

9th June 2009 to date

Just a bit of a run down:

9th June Starting Weight: 17.4.5 St (110kg)
7th July 1 month later: 13lbs lost
4th August 2 months later: 1.9 st lost
8th September 3 months later: 2.2.5 st lost
6th October 4months later: 2.13 st lost






10th November 5 month later: 3.9.5 st lost


8th December 6 months later: 4.1.5 st lost
5th January 7 months later: 4.6.5 st lost










9th February 8 months later: 4.9 st lost
9th March 9 months later: 4.13 st lost





6th April 10 months later: 5.2 st lost
4th May 11 months later: 5.3.5 st lost



On last weigh in I was at 5.5 st lost