There are some people out there who will tell you constantly that “diets don’t work”. Even when they see the weight coming off, they are waiting and watching for you to ‘fall’. They want you to eat junk food with them and overindulge in the ol’ alcohol – all in the name of a good night out. They are even quite happy to see you putting on a few inches around the middle and digging your ‘fat clothes’ out from the back of the wardrobe. They will convince you that love handles are ‘cute’ and that a found face is ‘angelic’.

“Social Sabotagers” is what they are and they’re up to no good I tell you, no good.

What is a Social Sabotager?

Do you have someone in your life (maybe in your house!) who – whenever a ‘social’ situation crops up is guaranteed to say:

“Go on, one won’t hurt” ... or

“I feel like MacDonalds for lunch. Why don’t you just have some fries?” ... or

“Well if you’re allowed 15 Syns a day, why not have 45 today and then none for 2 days?” ... or

“What’s the point in coming out if you’re not going to drink with us??” ... or

“You only live once!”

They just don’t seem to appreciate the delicate line between success and failure when you have a bad relationship with food and are battling to fix it.

The problem with “One won’t hurt” is that they’re right – one won’t hurt at all. But when does one ever stay as one? I can’t eat one cube of chocolate from a Dairy Milk bar. Can you?

The “fast food” trap – Again, I can’t walk into McDonalds and order a small fries after smelling the rest of their menu cooking or seeing everyone else in a state of Burger Munchin’ Bliss. Give me a Quarter Pounder ... now!!

And the danger of Pre-Spending your Syns (having a few days worth in one go) is two-fold. 1) You will feel like pooh once that junk food hits your system all in one go. You’re not used to it anymore so you will immediately feel sluggish and bloated. Yuk. This can then lead to yet more ‘comfort eating’ to cheer yourself up. And you will then have the added fear factor of “But what if I want a glass of wine tomorrow, or a Galaxy Ripple during my fave tv programme?”. Nope. Can’t. You had them all two days ago remember? You could use your 15 Syns for tomorrow and start afresh the next day ... but will you remember? And here begins a vicious circle, see.

One of my biggest irritations is when I’m told that I’m not going to be fun if I’m not drinking. And it’s a trap I always fall into. And – shamefully – sometimes push onto others. “Oh okay then, I’ll drink with you guys”. And I don’t know about you, but once I get that taste of vodka, it’s a very slippery slope until my head hits my pillow anywhere between 2am-5am.

And finally – “You only live once!”. Very true – however, I’d rather live it in clothes I choose to wear and not clothes which ‘will do’ because they hide my ‘fat bits’.

Do you recognise any of this? Please feel free to add your own!! :-)

So anyway, today I’m going to Name & Shame the biggest Social Sabotager I know. And you know what? I bet you know them too!!!

It’s ME!

I am my own Social Sabotager. I am always saying stupid things to myself, such as the things listed above and more. I am the first one to find an ‘excuse’ to eat whatever I want. Someone is upset? Here, let’s some chocolate to cheer you up. Oooh, it’s a Bank Holiday and the sun is out – drinkies!! Oh lovely, here comes friggin' Star Week (SW ladies know what this is lol) – well blow it, I’m pigging out now for sure.

Once I get into a mindset of “I can’t be bothered”, everything spirals. The more I tell myself I can’t do it, the more true it becomes.

Case in point: The last 3-4 weeks have involved Bank Holiday weekends, lots of social occasions, a few upsets and Star Week. I have practised ‘Flexi Syns’ for a few days, been On Plan for a few days, and then gone totally off the rails for a few days. Every week. And each time it happens, I count down the days to Weigh In and think “Well, you’ve definitely put on this week – might as well write it off and start afresh on Thursday”. And every week, it’s Treat Night after Weigh In which involves large amounts of grease, and then Friday I haven’t bothered to go shopping so it’s “grab whatever is to hand” and run out the door to work, and then the weekends have been full of visiting friends or having people over or necessary housework or SOMETHING and then BOOM it’s Monday and I STILL haven’t been shopping for my precious lifesaving Muller Lights etc.

SORT IT OUT NEFFY!

The last two Weigh Ins at Group have resulted in two gains for me. Bad times. The Boy hasn’t gone at all because he’s been Off Plan since his birthday. I’m going to nag nag nag until he comes back, don’t you worry. My mom on the other hand has been keeping her head down and ignoring the crazy eating habits of the “dwellers in the roof” (yup, that’s me and The Boy) and has actually had a loss two weeks running and is very close to her 1 stone award. And I cannot tell you how wonderful that is. My mom used to be the BIGGEST Social Sabotager of all – if there was any excuse to eat sweets or platefuls of toast, she was there with bells on. But now, she is doing incredibly well!! I don’t know where her amazing willpower has come from but I can’t see it going any time soon. Things have changed around here for good it seems.

So ... what am I going to do? I’ll be honest. Not much. I still have quite a few social engagements to get through in the next few weeks and I know that if I try to go back On Plan 100% right now, then I will be lining myself up for a fall. I know my own mind and I know I just won’t be able to do it. And that will make me rebel against it (because I’m stubborn like that) and that will lead to an even bigger weight gain. Stupid yes, but true nonetheless.

I have decided that for the next 3-4 weeks until all my socialising has calmed down a bit, I’m going to stick to Plan 100% during the weekdays but be Off Plan with no pressure at weekends. It might sound totally scary and alien to those of you on here who are fellow SW devotees but right now it’s what I need to do. And I don't adovate it and I certainly don't suggest you do this with me! I don't want to get blamed for your gain!! lol

On a positive note though, last night (in a moment of clarity) I got all my old back catalogue of SW magazines out and I ripped out about 30 odd pages of recipes that I want to try in the next month. I really NEED to get back in the kitchen – I haven’t really cooked anything for at least two weeks in all honesty. Apart from a bit of pasta. That’s quite shocking considering what the Plan is all about! And honestly, I’m excited about some of the lovely recipes I found. It did give me a little boost :-) I will try them out and report back (with pics of course) so that hopefully some of you can also get some new inspiration.

Happy June people! You only live once – live it healthy!