Maria's Challenge - A week on slimming world

Breakfast - a good start to the week

I've mentioned before that I am trying to lose weight and get fitter. I know, me and everyone else right?

I've been slow and steady which is probably the best way. After all the weight didn't appear overnight so it's not going to go in a flash either.

I lost 1 stone 8 lbs by following the Body Coach's 90 day plan about 2 years ago, but didn't quite complete it and then around a stone of that weight crept back on. I didn't want to go right back to where I started, so in May 2016 I decided to go back to Slimming World. It had helped me lose weight for my wedding and when I was trying to conceive and it was a good idea as I managed to get  to a weight loss of 2 stone 13.5 lbs about a month ago.

The benefits of losing the weight are amazing. I can go off-the-peg shopping for the first time in years. For the most part my boobs stick out further than my belly, lol! When travelling on a plane recently not only didn't I need a seat belt extender but I had so much more leg room and overall space. However, that little bit of euphoria about my achievement has also led to that other phenomena suffered by dieters - complacency. So I've been stuck in a yo-yo rut for a few weeks, a little gain, a little loss, a maintain, but not really going anywhere. It didn't help that I had my 50th birthday which involved several meals out, the demon alcohol, a spa day and many other reasons to "not be on plan".

So I thought if I shared my week with you, it will show you what being on Slimming World is like - in case you ever wondered! But more importantly it will hold me accountable for what I do - do I want a 3 lb loss and to finally get my elusive 3 stone award? Or do I want 4 lbs and to not only get my award but also go down a stone bracket - a psychological mile stone and a stone bracket I've not lived in for around 13 years.

So I will try to blog daily and share my progress and food through the week. To set you up Slimming World is a healthy eating plan where you can eat as much free food as you like, free food is low fat food with a high satiation value, in other words it keeps you full like meat, rice, pasta, eggs. You can also eat as much speed food as you like and make sure that at least a third of your plate when eating meals is comprised of speed food, these are mostly raw and cooked salad and vegetables and/or raw fruit. Most other food has a syn value and you should aim for 5-15 syns per day. Finally you should enjoy one measured portion of a dairy product - a healthy A choice and one of fibre laden food - a Healthy B choice.

Day One - Saturday 5 August 2017

8am Saturday is Group Day and I maintained, not as bad as a gainbut not great. In group I had an apple (speed), banana (free) and a satsuma (speed) for my breakfast and a cup of black coffee (free) when I got home.

1Syn lunch

11am Did a HIIT exercise session, 5 minute warm up then 15 reps of 30 seconds of boxing and 30 seconds of jogging on the spot, followed by a cool down and stretch. Went quite well to say it's been at least a year since I last did one what with my calcified shoulders and dodgy hip! Drank a pint of water and a can of Pepsi Max Ginger (free).

12:30pm Waited an hour after my exercise and then had 2 Simply Turkey burgers (0.5 syns each), a big handful of spinach (speed), some chopped cucumber (speed), a small baked potato (free), 40 g Cathedral Lighter cheddar cheese (Healthy A) and a pack of Co-op microwave steam veg comprising of carrots (speed), cauliflower (speed) and peas (free).  Followed by another pint of water.

Evening Went to a friends house for an Indian takeaway. I had a tandoori mixed grill (15 syns),  mushroom rice (3 syns), a poppadom (4 syns) and a medium glass of prosecco (7 syns). As you can see I have exceeded my 15 syn allowance for the day, this is allowed and you can do one of two things adjust the rest of the week to absorb the additional syns e.g. only have 10 for the next 3 days; or just make sure you stick to plan for the rest of the week but expect a lesser result at weigh in. I will do my best to have fewer syns for the next couple of days.

18 syn takeaway

And that's day one complete.

Healthy A - 40 g cheese
Healthy B - none
Syns - 30