Weigh In Result ... & Man Of The Year!!

Time to celebrate!

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Tonight a very successful Weigh In for the family (I lost 2 lbs; the Boy also lost 2 lbs; & my mom - who swore blind last night that she had put on this week - lost 1 lb). And it was also a yummy "taster evening" jam packed with inspirational dishes. And ...... drum roll ...... we had our Man Of The Year 2010 award. Excitement!

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For the "tasters", I took the SW quiche (that I posted the recipe for on here the other week), and mom took her homemade tuna sushi. Lots of requests for the sushi so I will post full details in the week so people at home can try it out. The food from everyone on offer tonight was sooooo good - I was very impressed by our Group. My friend Christine made a humous which I'm definitely going to post the recipe for here when I have it. We dipped carrot sticks & raw peppers in it and oh-my-god - delish! There were a few desserty type dishes which I will also definitely post here as they were SO YUMMY (finally!!). So far I've never had any luck with SW desserts so I'm eager to try the ones out that I tried tonight. One, for instance, was a Spiced Apple Cake. I can barely allow myself to think about it now that I'm home with none here to snack on - it was that good *drooool* And at 6.5 Syns for two small pieces, it is less than a Galaxy Ripple & waaaaay more satisfying. Will post the recipe as soon as I get it from the member who made it.

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Clare invited a successful SW Consultant to speak to us tonight. She has been in the local & national papers (and on GMTV) for her 9 stone weight loss & she looks great. I think it really helped a lot of our members to hear that her weight loss had at times been a struggle & - yes - there were some weeks where she didn't succeed. But she confirmed that the key is to just keep going & you WILL get there if you want to. By the way, it only took her 23 months to lose that weight. And - as I often repeat on here - it was simply down to a change in her eating habits & then some exercise when she reached a point she was comfortable with. No tricks, no crash/fad diets. Just dedication, commitment & faith in herself that she could do it. And she did. Wonderful to see & very inspiring for our Group. Thank you Clare for arranging this!!!
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Next up was the Man Of The Year 2010 award.
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We have two guys in our Group ('the Boy' and another chappy, Scott, who is one half of a lovely couple). The guys were asked to come up to the front with Clare & say a few words about their weight loss. In typical 'bloke' fashion, they both clammed up & the whole process took about 5 minutes, ha. Bless them. They both looked fab though (& proud of themselves - rightly so) & it was cool to see some before/after photos & clothing that Scott had brought in.
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The Boy

(with our wonderful Consultant, Clare)

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Scott

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“Cut to the chase Neffy”. Okay, the nominations were counted and I am SUPER PROUD to announce that my darling bouncing baby boy WON !! :-) There was only 1 lb in it between his & Scott's weight loss so they were both very deserving but I must admit that I was chuffed to bits for the Boy. I am still in awe of his dedication to the Plan & the support he gives me at home. When I am having a bad evening & I desperately want an extra glass of wine or some chocolate, he'll be right on hand to tell me "Don't give up mum". We have a chalkboard in our kitchen & he wrote an a very supportive message for my mom & I this week, awwwww. And let's not forget - he turns 17 next Friday & yet he turns up to Group each week, sacrificing his Thursday nights with his friends & then he sticks to the Plan 95% throughout the week. It must be very tough for him (even tougher than last time we did SW a couple of years ago) & I'm so glad that he got recognition for his hard work tonight.

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WELL DONE !!!

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The Boy receiving a SW mug, pen & certificate

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BEFORE: February 2010

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AFTER - 1 stone 6 lbs healthier!

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The Boy said to me when we got home ..... "I'm buzzing" :-) That about sums up the vibe in our house this evening. Hoorah!

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Feeling very positive about the week ahead. I do have a 'danger zone' over the weekend as I'm going away to visit extended family but I will plan for that as much as I can (within reason - I plan on enjoying myself!) & hopefully I can do some 'damage control' when I get back :-)

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Have a beautiful, inspirational & successful week everyone! Be gorgeous!!

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P.S. Look what these two were up to while Clare was trying to conduct Group tonight. In their own little world enjoying their SW taster desserts ...... hehehe

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We can still seeeeee youuuuu!

Weigh In Result - 06/05/10

Sorry for the one week break - I didn't go anywhere ... I was just being incredibly lazy & unmotivated.

Confession time: Last week at Weigh In it became obvious that I had lost my 'mojo' & gone a bit 'off tangent'. I can't really pinpoint where I went wrong - it was just all a bit wrong. The whole week. And I paid for it - it cost me a 1.5 lbs gain.

I was very sulky about that initially because I thought I had done okay. I hadn't been a complete angel but I had stuck to the plan. Or had I? A bit too much alcohol, a few sneaky choccie bars when no one's looking (because they don't weigh anything if no one sees you eating them right??), 'guestimating' how much cheese I had with my morning omelette, too much Spag Bol and not enough fruit & veg etc ...... you get the picture.

So my fury at the scales turned to embarassment as I sat there silently evaluating my week. I was so cross with myself that when Clare came to me during our Image Therapy I blamed her 10 Speed Food Soup for my gain. Luckily, a couple of others chipped in and blamed it too as they hadn't got the weight loss they'd wanted that week either. But - surprise surprise - turns out they had been a bit 'flexible' with their Syns too. You know who you are! :-p

So I folded my arms, huffed & puffed to myself and promised to do better next week.

Next up was The Boy. Well ........... ready for this??

** Drumroll please **

He received his One Stone Award! Very very proud.

Then Clare announced that he was also the Slimmer of The Week. Still very proud but also slightly miffed considering the amount of extra Syns he sneaks in.

And THEN Clare announced (very quickly I might add - I think she could see the steam coming out of my ears) that he had also won Slimmer of the Month!!! Well, I don't think I've ever seen The Boy look quite so smug.

Okay okay, I'm bitter because he cheats & loses, but I cheat & the scales turn against me. But really honestly & truly, he does absolutely deserve his Awards because it is tough hard for him. He is going to be 17 this month, he has discovered the odd unsupervised tipple and has a fairly packed social life. For him to stick to the Plan even 75% is pretty amazing and so - yes - I'm very very very VERY proud of him. And I am confident that he's going to keep it up.

BIG WHOOPING CHEER FOR THE BOY !!!! Wooooooop !!!!


So we've worked out that little things add up to ........ ummm - a lot. On the scales. Let my week be a big lesson to you: No sneaking, cheating or bending the rules. No one else will be affected by your slack approach to the Plan but you. So no one else is going to feel bad but you. And making yourself feel bad? That's a sad state of affairs ...

On the flip side, little changes bring big results. Remember that! :-)

So onto this week - - All three of us were feeling a bit 'blah' about our week. My 'mojo' had returned for all of about 3 hours at some point and then slipped away again. I think this past week has been one of my worst on Slimming World ever. I just couldn't get into it. I would start the day well, even lunch was okay ... but my evenings were a bit of a 'free for all'. I noticed mom was a little less enthusiastic this week also. And The Boy ..... well he was out until 6:00am on Bank Holiday Sunday so you tell me whether he stayed within his 15 Syns over the weekend. Hmmm?

We decided we would go and get weighed this evening but wouldn't stay for Image Therapy. This is not a decision I ever take lightly. I know that - for me - if I miss IT, then the rest of my week will be rubbish. I need to hear my Consultant doing her thing and I sometimes need telling off. Yes it's okay to have a gain - you're not going to get kicked out of SW. But I respond better to people telling me to "sort it out" rather than the 'softly softly' approach.

So as soon as Clare found out that the three of us were sloping off and not staying, she went into 'Hardass Consultant' mode and - one guilt trip later - our bums were firmly on the seats instead of on the bus home. Go Clare!! :-)

Weight loss this week for me was 1.5 lbs (so back to where I was 2 weeks ago, phew) and The Boy lost a lovely 2 lb. He is being put forward for Man of the Year next week with another guy at our Group. Wish them both luck!

And as a result of deciding to stay after Weigh In this week, we probably enjoyed one of the best Group nights to date. Clare focused on going through the Extra Easy Plan - step by step, page by page. My mom said it was like she was saying "Come on you lot, you can bloody do this so why aren't you?!". And we sooooo love her for it.

She discussed at length the Symbol Sense in the front of the books and even I - an old hand at this SW malarky - sat up and took notice, taking mental note of what foods I was going to make a beeline for this week.

Then she went on to discuss 4 options for the week ahead. They were:

1. Opt to follow the Plan ... but without the weighing & measuring. Pressure off. If it has to be weighed or measured, don't eat it. Just stick to Free and Superfree foods.

2. Back to Basics - Get those Food Diaries filled in & make sure you keep your eating in check. Are you following all the rules to the 'T'?

3. SAS Log (Slimmers Against Sabotage) - I won't explain this because unless you are a Group memeber, it really won't make sense.

4. "Poke it Clare!" - Which means you aren't doing any of the above & you are going to confidently carry on with what you're doing.

Mom chose Option 1 - - I chose Option 2 - - and The Boy (cheekily) chose Option 4. So let's see how we all do this week!

One thing is for sure - we're never eating that 10 Speed Food Soup again. Okay, so it doesn't make you gain weight (even though I wish I could blame my previous week's gain on that) but it does make your insides die & rot, and then the gas is expelled from your bottom. Often. And deadly. Seriously kids - word on the street is ..... just say no!

Can I just say at this point that we really do have a wonderful Consultant :-) She does really care about us and it's not fake or forced. Every week she comes armed with brand new helpful information, funny stories, positive encouragement, tips & tricks, and - most importantly - patience and a smile. She has lost over 7 stone you know. She knows how hard it is to lose weight, to change your eating habits and then keep at your 'target'. My mom was almost ready to pack it in tonight - and I have been left wondering where my 'mojo' went & whether it would ever come back. Dark times for me because you all know how much I love this Plan and I know it works - I have proof. I AM proof :-) But sometimes - life just gives you a smack & you think "Oh fudge it, I'll just lay here on the floor for a while". But after a good talking to by Clare, and lots of positive advice from both her and our lovely Group members, I know mom & I are feeling a lot better about the week ahead and my 'mojo' is restored. That's the kind of genuine support and care that you get at Slimming World. Worth every penny of the membership in my opinion :-)

If anyone is interested in joining the BEST Slimming World Group in the Plymouth area, feel free to get in touch with me. I go on Thursday nights at 6:30pm and I promise if you come, you will never look back!

Things to remember this week:-

- Little changes bring big results!

- Superfree food = low in calorie, high on filling power!

- Drink 6 to 8 glasses of water per day.

- Don't "guestimate" your weights & measures - get the food scales out.

- Plan ahead. Don't get caught out.

- If you have a bad day, move on. Don't dwell on it. Better one bad day than a bad week.

- If you 'flexi Syn' one day, make up for it with heaps of Superfree food the following day.

Have a really positive week everyone!