New Aspirations...

It's been six weeks since I last posted anything really - as life has taken over! But today I wanted to share what I have been up to with Slimming World. It has been ups and downs - I had my lovely big loss following my SP week and then gained and then lost and then maintained... can you see a pattern! I can't lie, I am gutted with how the past few weeks have been, especially as I am still chasing my first stone award, with so many more to go! But I probably haven't been 100%, I haven't had my head in the right place but I haven't binged on high calorie food either, which has shown in the yo-yoing, I am sure it would have been a lot worse had I not been 80% on plan!  Then in the last week or so, my motivation returned. In recent weeks I discovered some lovely SW Instagrammers who have been really inspirational (links below) and then with Lent I decided that for 40 days, I would give up both bread and coffee. My decision was made by the fact that these were two ...

Whoop! Having had a gain of a 1 1/2 lb over Christmas last week I got back on track following Slimming World's Extra East SP plan... A temporary plan introduced this month as a way of restarting your weight loss following a gain/stagnation or if you have an event coming up like a wedding to attend and want a significant loss... It has been trialed previous to launch by the Slimming World consultants, with my Consultant stating that some had lost as much a 8lb in a week... BUT it isn't for everyone! IF you are pregnant, have a health condition like diabetes, or are young then it isn't recommended as the difference between normal Extra Easy and Extra Easy SP is that you have NO PASTA, NO RICE, NO POTATOES, & NO 'FREE FOODS' like Muller yoghurt - BUT you are allowed all 'FREE FOODS' listed with a S (Speed food) and a P (Protein)... Having previously done the Dukan, I thought to myself you know what I can do this, no problem! But boy was it a struggle.....

It's been a few months - life's been hectic travelling to the wilds of East London (or South Essex depending on who you talk to) for work and to be  honest I haven't had the energy or inclination to write.  But it hasn't been all doom, gloom  and traffic jams! As for the last two months, my work life has (temporarily) had  a pattern to it as my secondment slowly came to an  end (this will soon change - life will be busy again but that is how I like it!).  So I seized the moment and joined Slimming World properly.  As those have read my previous post will know, since my initial success and then  plateau on the Dukan, three years ago(!), I have struggled to find the focus and  found that the Dukan whilst good was not a long term fit - whilst I still only  eat low fat dairy and proteins but I love carbs and am a picker! So I put back on the weight I had originally lost (but not anything extra - I'm  learning it's about t...

Three weeks ago I took on the challenge of no. 4 on my list...  I tried to start looking after myself by restarting the Dukan diet, but to be honest this time around I have found it a struggle to give up fruit and vegetables, so as I have heard so many good things from other bloggers and twitter users such as @tiasmum12 about Slimming World that I have decided revisit it and see if this time around it would work for me.  Almost four weeks in and whilst I haven't stuck to it 100%, I have still lost 4lb! Meeting one of myself imposed targets of 2%  I never realised before how much cheese I consumed daily. I always said it was a sweet tooth and love of bread that was my downfall, when in reality it appears to be my love of combining cheese, meat and sauces. Oh the amount of syns I have discovered I use to eat!  But with SW if I am clever and use my healthy extras and syns wisely then nothing is really forbidden and I am truly enjoying it.  In fact I have found...

Yes, you read that title correctly, today to the amusement of myself and my colleagues I almost suffocated Resus Annie with my boobs! It has made me more determined to stick to my new Slimming World diet and wear a sports bra to next years mandatory training update! It's been a week and a half but so far I have lost 3lb... and in all honesty I feel that if I stuck to it 100% it would have been more. So as of next week when I join group I hope that the initial weight loss will be a bit more and I am determined that this time I will do it! Next year, I will not be feeling uncomfortable at training and will be able to position myself where the boobs don't get in the way or stage the risk of giving me black eyes!! Obviously, in a real BLS situation I would not be concerning myself with this and I would get on with performing resus to the best of my abilities but if I can make this easier on myself and ensure that I can carry out the rescue breathes and chest compressions cor...

Well over the past couple of weeks I have been working through and adding to my list. I have tried to start looking after myself by restarting the Dukan diet, but to be honest this time around I have found it a struggle to give up fruit and vegetables, so as I have heard so many good things from other bloggers and twitter users such as @tiasmum12  about Slimming World that I am going to give it a go. So whilst no. 4 is still waiting in the stalls, I have begun on some of my other 30 for 30th goals. Today I took time out to treat myself and start No. 23 - having a beauty treatment a month, this is an extension of no. 3 and linked to no. 22 as the lovely Paige and Elenor at Ultraviolet salon in Clacton donated their time and fees today to support fundraising for local families who's homes and lives have been devastated by a gas explosion. L and I had gone along to show our support as my Mum and sister have been heavily involved in helping, and I jumped at the chance to take ad...