Last time I updated you I was very, very close to my target. Well guess what? I only went and bloody done it!
Yes, I reached my new target of 9stone with the fabulous help of Slimming world. I have taken to this plan like a duck to water when I joined back in August last year. As I have mentioned before ( or maybe not!) I do not have the busiest of social life thanks to my ME and Fibromyalgia. It means I am not out surrounded by temptation every weekend, which has obviously been a good thing for me, however, it has also meant my weight loss has been a slow but steady journey due to the fact i cannot conventionally exercise.
But it’s true that slow and steady wins the race in my case.
I have just today got all my summer clothes out ( wishful thinking on my part maybe!) and while sorting out my wardrobe I realise that actually not a lot fits me anymore. Now don’t get me wrong, I am in no way complaining, it’s a great problem to have.
First of all, yes I am still following Slimming World although I haven’t updated for a while as you can tell.
Just to remind you my weight loss is kinda slow, not because I find it difficult to stick to the plan ( I am one of those sad people that actually ‘enjoy’ being on it!) but because I am unable to help my weight loss with exercise due to my M.E and Fibromyalgia. I do what I can when I can activity wise, this could be a little ironing one day, a short walk another day or even taking things up and down the stairs can be like a marathon for me. The down side is that I do have days where it’s physically impossible for me to do anything other than try and hold myself upright on the sofa!
Anyway, it’s been 1/2lb here and there with the odd 1lb or more thrown in on a very good week. I have never had those big losses that others get along the way but in all fairness it has all gone in the right direction however small the loss and they have all added up to the grand total of 2 stone………………YES………….2 BLOODY LOVELY STONE! Ok putting it in perspective it has taken me since last August to do it but never mind I have gotten there nonetheless and it shows that all those little losses, however disappointing, all add up to a big amount.
Over the years whenever I have started a diet or healthy eating plan I find myself extremely determined and aggressive at the beginning, meal prep and enthusiastic organisation takes over when the determination is strong. Inevitably along the way, like most of us, life catches up and we find ourselves at the office without lunch as the kids were running late for school and there just wasn’t enough time, or getting home late from work with no dinner planned. This is usually the part where we give in to ordering takeaway, allowing the cravings for pizza and carbs to consume us. If we look at eating out in a different light, perhaps those crazy days of no meal planning won’t result in diet ruin.
On week 13 I had to miss my weigh in due to going into hospital for a day procedure. I still stuck to plan though before and after the day ( excluding a treat of my first mince pie of the season- which was well earned as I couldn’t eat from 9am the day before my procedure and having sedation that didn’t sedate making the day kind of traumatic all round!). However, it was onwards and upwards from there and I had nothing planned that was going to throw me off plan completely.
So weigh in for week 14, I was hopeful that I had lost and thankfully I was rewarded with a 2 lb loss, bringing me tantalisingly close to getting my weight down under the 10 stone mark! Having looked back after a chat in group after my previous 1/2lb gain about the amount of fruit that I eat, I decided to take the advice of another member to try adding more speed veg than fruit and maybe cutting the fruit down to about 3 pieces a day. In all honesty I didn’t think this would matter much to me but it really seems to have made a difference with my weight loss. As you know I am unable to exercise in the normal way due to my illness so I knew over all when I joined any weight loss would be slow. I have also factored in a few EESP days throughout each week now which I also think may be helping and I have managed to up my fluid intake loads after picking up my £5 bargain bottle, that you can add fruit to, from Matalan.
I thought I would catch you up on my last few weeks of my slimming world journey.
As you may know I weigh in on a Monday morning (which can be an absolute killer for food mishaps over the weekend). Last week I knew I had been really good on the lead up to my weigh in, but strangely I was still nervous ( what is it with my bloody nerves on a Monday morning!) Anyway, very happily I lost 2 1/2lbs which I was overjoyed about. I think anyone on the plan will openly love anything over a 2lb loss any week. I had also had a very busy week where I had something going on everyday which kept me moving ( although that pushes me to my limit illness-wise).
I have learned from staying at the class each week for the ‘chat’ that when going out to eat etc, it is better to be prepared by knowing what’s on the menu and plan what you are going to have before you go. I think this has worked for me in some respects as with another trip with friends to one of those dastardly ice cream places……..however, I looked up the menu and decided I would opt for the fresh strawberries but have Nutella with it but separately on the side so I could be in control of how much of it I ate. I also wanted a couple of G+T’s afterwards so knew if I was careful with the pudding I could still stay within my syns for that day.
After my +1lb gain the previous week after my cousins wedding blow out I got straight back on track. It’s amazing how just that single gain can totally focus you back to the plan!
I decided in my head that I really wanted to get past the 1/2 stone mark this week and had planned to stick rigidly to the plan and even cut down on the ‘free’ pasta/ potatoes and rice with meals and substitute them with things like carrot chips, cauliflower rice ( which is my new favourite thing by the way) and more speedy free veg.
I was also able to keep my syns to a bare minimum by filling up on free food instead. The strictness paid off and I had a fabulous 3lb loss! I will be honest and say it gives you a massive boost when you have a loss like that and it definitely spurs you on for the next week. This loss also took me over my 1/2 stone mark and made my weight loss ( for me anyway) something that I can definitely do, if that makes sense.
I was away last week and so didn’t have a weigh in.
My previous week I had a gain of 1/2 lb which was disappointing as I had stayed on plan ( apart from an ice cream!) But although I was away with the family I was able to easily stay on plan as I was still preparing all my meals.
The only treat that I wanted when I went was proper seaside fish and chips, which is something we always get at a fabulous fish shop on Herne Bay sea front. I planned this meticulously thinking it was best to have this on the Monday I was missing my weigh in. That way I was on plan all week, had my fish and chips and then went straight back on plan for the next week.
In all honesty, and I can’t believe I am saying this, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would……….totally weird!
Anyway, along came the next weigh in and low and behold I lost an amazing 3 1/2 lbs over the two weeks!! I was absolutely chuffed as this got me within a 1lb of my half a stone before my cousins wedding target. My dress felt more comfortable and less ‘strained’ when I wore it.
Parents reveal the top tricks they still use to get their kids to eat their greens
Hiding veggies, bribing with dessert, and creating pictures still used by modern day parents
It’s an age old struggle for parents around the world. How do you get your kids to eat their vegetables instead of pushing them around their plates, hoping you’ll give up?
Well, according to a new poll out today, classic tricks and old fashioned subterfuge are still being used by parents, with number one on the list the simple camouflaging of veg within other foods and sauces.
Second on the list is the threat of no dessert if veggies aren’t eaten first, while third was telling children that vegetables would give them special powers such as the old ‘carrots will help you see in the dark’, or ‘spinach will give you muscles as big as Popeye’.
Further down the list were rewarding children for polishing off their greens with toys and stickers, making it into a competition between siblings and friends as to who can eat their veggies first, and telling their children their favourite superheroes or characters loves their vegetables.
And it’s no surprise parents are going to such lengths still to get vegetables into their children in any way they can, with only half of all children eating veggies willingly and one in ten actively avoiding them, according to the survey of more than 1,000 parents by Green Giant.
Four out of five parents admitted their children don’t get their advised five portions of fruit and veg a day, while one in five parents will allow their children to leave their veggies – sometimes just to avoid the stress that goes hand in hand with meal times when vegetables are involved. A number of parents stated that their children eat vegetables so rarely that they feel elated if they even eat a mouthful. In turn, parents can spend on average up to two hours on top of mealtimes each week trying to prompt their children to eat their vegetables.
So how difficult is it for you to get your kids to eat what they should and what tactics do you use to get them into your children? Colin Jackson always ate his vegetables when he was a youngster and was told by his mum that if he did, he would grow up to be a World Champion athlete and Olympic Medalist…..and we know how that story ends!
Colin has joined with Green Giant to help parents come up with ways to educate their kids on healthy eating and even get them to grow to love their veggies.
I managed to get some questions put to Colin Jackson about getting involved with Green Giant’s initiative to help encourage parents to make sure their children are getting their 5 a day!!
How did you become involved with the Green Giant 5 a day initiative?
‘I’m heavily into my dieting so when they explained the whole concept it was an obvious choice for me- I felt I could be an ambassador’
So as a world class athlete, do you follow a healthy diet yourself?
‘Reasonably, your needs are different now. Now I’m not so exclusive and happy to have a little more pasta and a little more treats. But a lifetime of healthy eating has stayed with me.’
What do you think of mums and dads who disguise fruit and vegetables to encourage kids to get their 5 a day?
‘I think it’s a great idea-if it works-wonderful’.
What fruit and vegetables, do you now as an adult, still refuse to eat?
There’s no real fruit I don’t like and even vegetables……I even eat brussel sprouts! I’m not fearful of any fruit or veg’.
How did your mum encourage you to eat more fruit and vegetables as a child?
‘Putting me in front of the TV and saying- Look what Popeye is eating!! Also I’ve always wanted to visit the land of the Jolly Green Giant!’
One of my tricks is to blend fruit I know they would generally refuse to eat, raspberries being one of them, and mixing them into natural yogurt!! It works too and especially if I allow them to sprinkle on a little sugar!
So what tricks do you use on your children to get them to have their 5 a day?
After the kids have been off soooo long now and there has been many a day out, nights away, festivals etc etc and that can mean only one thing………………lots of food, unhealthy food, yummy picnics with cakes and biscuits, lots of over sized ice creams (it is supposed to be summer you know!).
However, that’s so not good for my already established muffin tops that seemed to have expanded into fully grown over sized family sponges!!!! No longer can they be squeezed into already snug fitting jeans and the tops have begun to get longer and more spacious.
So after our great overnight stay in Dover at the weekend to go to the castle for a birthday trip for the OH, which came with a very yummy dinner and pudding and an all you can eat continental and cooked breakfast!!! That just about pushed me over the edge. The dreaded ‘D’ word was mentioned which pretty much throws me into a panic as the mere mention of the word tends to make me think of food……………………………………..all the time, more than I normally would and leaves me literally wanting to eat everything in sight!!
So it has been collectively decided ( that means generally I have decided and my OH has no choice but to join in as I am the main cook!) that we should be on a ‘healthy eating’ regime. Not a restrictive diet but more of portion control with a few healthy choices thrown in and an odd treat here and there (instead of everyday).
That started yesterday and for me it has gone OK so far as my OH have been at work over the bank Holiday working very extended days. However tomorrow is his birthday, and a chocolate cake has already been acquired so this could go rapidly downhill from here!
I have also been approached by Think Slimmer to try their ‘Drop a jean size’ Slimpod that should be coming soon. So with that and the fact I have started to use my Slendertone again I’m hopeful that I should shift a few pounds. However, I’m restricted with exercise due to having M.E so trying to be active around the house is exercise enough for me so hoping that will help a little.
So my motto is going to be ‘Everything in moderation’!!!!
That way I wont get over obsessed by the food I’m trying not to eat so much of. I have been good for 2 days and tomorrow will go downhill but hopefully I will be back on track Wednesday.