Wednesday, 18 February 2015

Getting Started

When I first started Slimming World I was not sure where to begin. We had our talk through with our consultant but there was a lot of information to take in.

We stayed at the group and listened to the IMAGE Therapy. The group were really positive and shared a lot of ideas, not that those ideas meant a huge amount at the time.

As someone who has felt a little clueless at the beginning, here are my top tips for a newbie.

To get started; remember the recipes you make all the time. Spaghetti bolognese, pie and chips, bangers and mash whatever your go to recipes are, find the SW way of making those things. They won't feel as scary to master and will become your new staples moving forward for those days when you really just want something easy to do.

Get a good wok and frying pan. My Tefal ones have been invaluable. Not only do you not need to use oil (very highly synful) or even fry light (syn free) but they clean very easily and are effortless to use. Lots of SW recipes mean you will use them so it is worth investing in a good set.

Scan through your book and find things you like now, you have plenty of time to experiment with new things.

Make sure you use your syns! They are there to be had. if you have 15 to use, use them you will still lose weight.

Find free things you can grab on the go or use for convenience, it is likely that you will drop these sooner or later. Although they are free items too much convenience food isn't great for you.

Enjoy it! Yes it is re-learning about food, but you will get there. Give yourself time. Remember it took the age you are now to get to the weight you are now, don't expect to get to target in 1 week.

Its the start of a new life. Live it!

Friday, 6 February 2015

Getting Slimmer

Please note that this is not a sponsored ad or post or anything like that. I am not a spokesperson nor am being paid for this. I have just noted that this is a plan that works for me so I thought I would share it with anyone who wants to read about it.

Getting Slimmer

Well this year has been devoted to getting slim.

I started November 2014 as a size 24 and 19st 13lbs. As at 2 February 2015 I am getting into a size 20 trouser and I weigh 18 st 4lbs - 23lbs off! How did I do that? Eating food. That's it. No gimmicks, no measuring, no mucking about, just following the plan that has existed for....ever. More fruit and veg, trim the fat off the meat, careful with the processed food and treat yourself. Yes that's right mandatory chocolate! WHAT! How is that possible?

I have tried a couple of diets before but nothing worked because they were not 'real' and sustainable for more than a couple of weeks. There is no way an average person is meant to eat 400 calories for two days per week then whatever they feel like for the rest of the time. Eating only reduced fat this and low calorie that, if its over 5% fat don't even think about it. Or drinking milkshakes most of the day or measuring everything they eat and feeling guilty if they so much as look at a piece of chocolate. Now I eat a full mixture of carbs, protein, fat and sugar.

I chose Slimming World to try and reduce my weight and fat content from looking online to see what it was all about.  I went onto their website to find my closest group and decided to take the plunge. My group is based within 10 minutes walk from my house so it is easy to get to and even with the recent temperatures of only 2 degrees there is really no excuse not to walk. When I first arrived I was nervous and didn't really know what to expect.

We were met by the group leader Alison who asked us to sit at the table so she could explain the basics of the plan. Admittedly I wasn't fully sure what the plan was all about. I sat with the group and heard their stories about how the week went and rounds of applause all round. When they had finished and the group section ended I got weighed by Alison to find out what i had been putting off finding out for a very long time. Yep 19st 13lbs. Well at least it didn't start with a 2 I thought. She asked me what I would like to lose as a first target. i chose 10% of my body weight as the ideal weight loss for me is ultimately over 8st which is too high a goal to begin with. Alison agreed and that was that. I was on the plan. I walked home not really certain of how I was going to tackle this. I was met with lots of reading when I got home to find out what this was all about.

After a couple of hours I got the gist but it wasn't really until a week later that I felt I knew what I was doing. The next time I went I was greeted by friendly people with smiles and a genuine feeling of interest in how I am, how my week has been and whether I have any tips from my first week.

I can honestly say that this is the welcome I have received ever since.

In future blogs I will describe my tips for a newbie to slimming world, add clips to some of my favourite recipes and keep you updated with how I'm getting on.  

Thanks

AskTheMrs