So a bit of a different sort of post for me to be writing!
I joined slimming world in January of this year and just wanted to do a post on it. I know there are tons of fantastic blogs out there that are solely dedicated to slimming world, but everyone's weight loss journey is different so I thought it'd be worth writing about how i'm finding things, it might be of interest to a few people - especially anyone who's thinking of starting the slimming world programme.
So as of Tuesday just gone I've lost a total of 2 stone 1 pounds. To even begin to describe how delighted and how proud of myself i am for getting this far - i cant even describe it!
I have to admit i was really sceptical about SW and how the hell it works when you're allowed to eat everything but it does work. Since starting in January my whole approach to eating has changed. I follow the plan to the letter, eating mainly the free foods for main meals, one healthy extra a and b choice and then 15 syns a day, which i use for things like chocolate and for adding sauces and nice things into my main meals.
The main change for me is that all the guilt i used to have for eating anything remotely bad is gone. I dont deny myself anything anymore. If I want to have a bar of chocolate i'll have it. If I want a takeaway ill have it. So long as i'm on plan and being fully honest with myself about how many syns i've had throughout the week the little treats don't do any damage as long as i'm being honest with myself about how im doing syn wise - if you're not being honest with yourself about how many syns you've used up and go over them thinking "ah its grand sure its only a few over!" you can get in the habit of doing it and it'll slow your losses or cause a gain and you're only cheating yourself really and slowing down your progress.
While i will let myself have the odd takeaway as a treat maybe once a month or so now (it used to be once a week!) i like to make my own versions at home and i actually prefer the taste of my home made versions of takeaways over the real thing! My favourite fake aways that i've done have to be salt and chili chicken, a big mac and my fake away pizza!
Before I joined SW i thought that i ate a lot of veg, i was really wrong! i wasn't eating half enough of the stuff! I now eat 3 times the amount that i used to eat. I was never great with fruit and i'm still not but i'm much better with it! Before SW, i only really liked bananas and was fussy with most fruits but now i love fruit that i used to hate and now i love melon, apples, oranges and strawberries when i used to hate them! I'm still getting to grips with raspberries but i think they're just one of those things that i'll never like!
The bottom line of the SW plan is this, yes its a bit confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it its just about making better, healthier choices and not denying yourself treats but having them sensibly. It is a really straight forward plan and it really works, so long as you're really honest about what you're putting into your body.
I still have 3 stone to loose before i'm at my target weight of 10 and a half stone - a weight that i can't remember ever being! When i reach my target i'll have lost a little over 5 stone. Which will put my BMI in the healthy range at 25.
For me loosing the weight is not about being skinny, it's about being healthier, which is different as in the past when i've wanted to loose weight its always been about the way i looked, now it's because i want to make sure i'm treating my body well. And while im looking forward to being slimmer its only an added bonus to being as healthy as i can be.
I've found a ton of great Instagram accounts to help me come up with ideas for meals and to just keep me motivated! I've been posting my own meals on my own account too, i find it keeps me motivated and if i'm stuck in a rut i just flick back through it and get ideas for dinner if i cant think of anything!
I don't know how often i'll do SW posts but if it's something you would like to see me talking about more let me know. I think it'd keep me motivated to write posts about it, but I don't want to clog your feeds with something people aren't overly interested in either.
If you're thinking about joining SW do it! I promise you wont regret it, if you've just started it does seem overwhelming but you'll get the hang of it and it will become second nature and a way of life like it has for me.
