Hi hi hi!
It’s feels like ages since we last spoke! How’ve you been?? I’ve been good, thanks. Having a holiday was absolutely needed and it gave me so much, including time to do jack! Which, as the mother of a 2 year old boy, I never get to do! Part of my holiday also included the decision to take a weeks break from Slimming World. When I say I took a holiday from Slimming World, I don’t mean I ditched everything I’ve become and went back to all my old ways. No, it was more a case of not counting syns and eating things with a bit less thought than I usually do. It was nice not to have to use brain power on food for a while, but it didn’t come without it’s lessons.
If you read my last post, you’ll know that last week we went away for a couple of nights, staying and eating in a hotel. This was really interesting from a SW perspective as some of the choices available were clearly better than others. The first night I chose Scallops, followed by Salt Cod and a Yoghurt based dessert. None of it syn free, but definitely the ‘better’ choices on the menu. Second night I went completely the other way, choosing duck liver pate, followed by pork belly and a peanut and chocolate parfait! I enjoyed both menus equally (and have discovered that I love salt cod having never had it before!), but it was interesting to me how optimised the first menu was, compared the second one. And all done without thinking 🙂 . Of course the scones we had on the first day were not optimised at all, and neither were the handmade chocolate chip cookies they delivered with every coffee, but less said about those the better hey 😉
Anywho, I spent the rest of the week occasionally having bits and bobs I generally avoid. One of my biggest weaknesses in the past used to be bread, particularly white crusty bread or baguettes. As such, I’ve stopped having it all together. I just don’t eat it any more. It was hard to get my head around this choice to start with and I would get cravings for it now and then, but slowly it got easier and I rarely think about it now. I’ve not had a baguette since I started SW, but last Friday I decided that’s what I wanted for lunch, bought from a local farm shop. I had it with syn free roast beef and yeah it was nice, but I didn’t feel the rapture with every mouthful I thought I would. And actually afterwards it made me so gassy! I just couldn’t stop belching (haha sorry! You know me, I just love to share!) I guess having cut out much of the wheat (not on purpose I just have) from my every day diet, my system was a bit perplexed at what to do with it all. In fact several times in the last week or so I’ve had episodes where I’ve eaten stuff I wouldn’t usually and its been nice at the time, but has quickly made me feel properly ill. The sugar in the peanut and chocolate parfait I had at Moonfleet gave me serious palpitations and I’ve had stomach cramps so bad I’ve had to sit down more than once this past week. I think I would be a fool to ignore my body’s very clear signals that it really doesn’t enjoy these things any more, regardless of what my head says it likes 😉 !
The hardest thing I think I found about having a SW holiday was the snacking. When I wasn’t counting my syns, I didn’t have to think about having the odd biccie here or the odd bag of Twiglets there. Getting my head around noticing things like that again was really difficult and it made me realise how easily the control can slip when you’re not mindful of what you eat. I mean meals wise I was straight back to SW fare, with delicious first attempts at a Thai Yellow Vegetable Curry (from the Fakeaways book) and a Moroccan Vegetable Tagine (from the Family Feasts book). But I really wrestled with the desire to snack! I guess it was a bit mean to give my body all that sugar and then just take it away again again overnight. Several times in the past week I’ve found myself raiding the huge bag of sultanas I have for Oscar. Dried fruit isn’t free, but it was better than gorging on chocolate I suppose.
So when it came to weigh in this week, I was fully expecting a gain. You just can’t spend a week and a half eating cake and drinking wine and expect anything else. But I was astounded when I found out that gain was only 1.5lb. Tiny in the grand scheme of things, and much smaller than I’m sure I deserve (not that I’m going to question it 😉 ) It’s taken me to just (and I mean just) back under the 6 stone mark to 5 Stone 13.5lb. It would obviously have been nicer if it was going in the other direction, but I can live with that.
So where are we now? Well, it was pointed out to us last night that we have 17 more weigh ins before Christmas. It sounds like a lot but actually at rate of 1lb loss per week, that’s only just over a stone. Which is what I’ve decided to aim for. I have 14.5lbs to lose to get to my 7 stone award and I plan to do that in time for Christmas. It will mean being consistent, which I’ve really struggled with lately, but I believe I can do it. It also reflects that my journey is likely to be a slower one this far down the road, so I feel it’s a realistic target. I’d like to start this week by losing the 1.5lb I gained on holiday, setting me back on an even keel. I’m not saying it’ll be easy this week, but I believe it’ll be easier. I’ve bought lots of fruit and I’m treating myself tonight to a 6 syn bag of cinnamon popcorn. I’ve not tried it before but it sounds lush!
If it applies to you, have a great Bank Holiday Weekend. If it doesn’t, Happy Friday y’all. Have a great week
xxx