Slimming World

So, as I mentioned in my last post, I’ve finally taken the plunge and signed up to the dreaded Slimming World. It is a relief to be honest to have finally taken some concrete action. I’ve been thinking about dieting, “mulling” and not really getting stuck in for too long so now I’m really feeling ready for a structured regime. I’m not beating myself up that it’s taken me a while to get going – I think there is always a right time and sometimes you have to work up to that right time.



I went to a different class to the one I used to go to years ago. Although that class is more local, the leader is the glummest, most dreary woman you can imagine. She never smiles and she is pretty unimaginative in her “Image Therapy” section. While she is pleasant and certainly seems to do a good job, she just isn’t inspiring in any way and you feel the life being sapped from you as you sit there week after week; I just couldn’t face her again!



So, I’ve found another class in a village a few miles away. It should work out well as it’s earlier than the Hope class at 5.30-6pm so I can go straight there from work and it won’t eat into my evening. I’ve paid for the first 6 classes up front so I’m committed to give it at least 6 weeks! But I’m hopeful that I’ll do a lot better than that. I have that “new diet” zeal. (Which is not particularly impressive given that it’s only been a couple of days!)



But, before I wax lyrical about my hopes and dreams for SW, I first have to confess to the absolute balls-up I made of the very first night!! I was not organised foodwise for a meal straight after the class. Rich was out, first at golf and then going straight to his last darts match of the summer season (a crunch match which they needed to win at least 7-1 to win the league!). I’d arranged to have a few drinks locally with my neighbour. We’ve chatted outside the house and hit it off but not been out socially. So I thought it’d be good to go to the pub Rich was playing darts in – hopefully there’d be a decent atmosphere for me and H to get to know each other a bit.



But I digress. Food in the fridge was not helpful – I was tired and lazy and not in the mood. I decided that I’d done the hard bit, ie. actually going to SW and enrolling, so I’d forget about that night and start afresh in the morning. Supper was, therefore, a mishmash of toast and bits and bobs. I did NOT intend to drink a great deal with H as it was to be just a midweek chat. She agreed – she was on medication so only wanted a couple. Perfect.



It didn’t quite work out like that – after 2, I asked if she wanted to go home and she said, nah, let’s have another, then another….and then another. I was, by this time pressing to leave and she chose that moment to share with me a personal confidence. As she is very private, this was huge (it was huge) and she and Rich (who had joined us shortly after the confidence) then talked me into one more drink. It was a good night, I think I’ve made a friend which is never bad, but it was far too boozy and late for a Tuesday, especially when I was due to be playing golf at 7.45am the next day!! I didn’t get to bed until 2.15am for heaven’s sake!



Suffice to say that golf in the morning was a pretty tired and hungover affair and my score reflected that. Which is a shame as it was the first part of a 36 hole competition for Lady Captain’s Day….another opportunity to shine missed.



But, on the plus side, despite my hangover, I had absolutely NO inclination to slide and not get going on SW yesterday morning. Despite the hangover, I cooked (without oil of course) bacon, eggs, mushrooms and tomato for breakfast to fuel my round and keep me from snacking. Lunch was an exemplary jacket spud with beans, cheese (from my allowance) and salad. And supper was steak and mash with masses of veggies including a ratatouille from a big batch for the fridge. So, 3 delicious, nutritious, tasty meals all cooked without fat. None of them felt remotely like “diet” food. Most heartening.



I’m excited about the new regime which allows you to eat both protein and carbohydrates in the same meal provided that at least a third of your meal is comprised of veggies or salad. This allows for much more “normal” meals than in the past when you had to pick a red day or a green day and then were stuck for the rest of each day eating off one particular palette. Thinking ahead, I anticipate that the limit on cheese will be frustrating and suspect I will start to crave sweet stuff so will need to plan for that.



I was touched by Rich’s reaction to my telling him that I’d started the diet. “Why’re you doing that then?” Interested in how it works, jokingly worried that he’d be on “rabbit food” but otherwise he treated it totally as something I was doing for me because I want to do it. Which is exactly how I feel. In the past I remember going to SW as an emergency measure following the latest vicious row; to stave off the next round of criticisms and even to save my marriage, ie. having been given an ultimatum. Of course, under those circumstances, I usually lost a bit but soon gave up. I was simply not in the right frame of mind to care enough for myself to lose weight. I have had success with SW in the past – I lost 2 stone plus a couple of times but, at that time, the mountain was just too high and the SW path too slow. I needed to lose 7 or 8 stone and didn’t have the confidence in myself to achieve that through SW.



Lighter Life was what I needed at the time (back in 2007!) – a quick fix and a life saver. But now I think SW will fit the bill. For starters, I only want to lose a couple of stone. I want to do it while living life to the full and enjoying myself. Every lb off will be a bonus not “needed”. I’m taking the long view that as long as I’m heading in the right direction and enjoying the journey, I don’t care how long it takes me to get there. My emphasis will be on getting fitter and healthier as well as slimmer and on establishing a way of staying fit, healthy and slim which will work for me longterm. And, in the meantime, I have a bloke who loves and fancies me as much now as he did when I was 20 lbs lighter and as he will once I’m back there. It is simply irrelevant to him. Bliss.



PS. They didn’t win the darts league – they only won Tuesday night’s match 6-2 so tied for points but came second on the number of games won overall – he is gutted!