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July 2013
Struggling.
31 Jul 2013, 09:52
Fighting the good fight
16 Jul 2013, 12:13
New beginning...again.
09 Jul 2013, 11:56
April 2013
1 comment
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Keep at it! It works for the long haul!
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And she's off!
by Scifichick on 04 Apr 2013, 14:51
Take my last jaunt into diet world. I'd hit my 12st weight alarm, that weight you get to when enough is enough, and knew that I needed to do something about it. But what to do? Rosemary Connelly utterly failed me in my teenage years. Weight Watchers had enabled me to lose the weight but hadn't helped me sustain the loss. Cambridge was a great quick fix... if I never wanted to eat solid food again (and really, what would be the point?). Atkins was a categorical disaster; you tell a cheese-aholic she can eat as much as she wants and see how that goes (constipation, an empty bank account and a 3lb weight gain in the first week that's how!). Paleo was an interesting concept but nigh on impossible to sustain when you're a busy mother of 2 who is the cook in the family. Calorie counting is just plain spiteful even with the help of MyFitnessPal.
So I decided to give Slimming World another shot and I didn't do too badly at first. I started at the beginning of December 2012, 5 weeks after the birth of my youngest son. It was damn hard, I struggled against physiology (my body really didn't want to give up the baby weight) as well as psychology but finally got down to within 6lb of target in time for my youngest sister's wedding in September 2012. And that's where it all went horribly wrong. Again. My immediate goal had been met - the dress I wore was a 12 and I looked good in it (even if I do say so myself). I had also started back at work as a nurse in a busy Emergency Dept, so my shifts were all over the place meaning that my exercise regime had gone out the window. My baby seemed under the impression that sleep was for wimps so I was tired and stressed, and no longer had the emotional reserves to ride herd on my appetite and food choices. I often work an 8 hour shift without a break, and those shifts often finish at midnight. That 2 hours of wind down time before I can sleep in a quiet house full of sleeping boys is lethal diet-wise, it's "Comfort Food Ahoy" with peanut butter sandwiches and biscuits featuring heavily in the menu. Then it's up again in the morning for the school run and oops-how-did-that-danish-fall-in-my-basket? moments at the supermarket on the way home, followed by grazing to get through the morning, lunch on the run, another crazy shift at work, rinse and repeat. You get the picture. I would go to group when I was able to make it but the weight crept back on, little by little, pound by pound. And I lost heart, and stopped trying all together because there was always a reason it was too hard to diet today.
But this has to stop because I'm almost back up to 12st again and I hate it. I hate that despite all my hard work I'm almost back to square one, and I just can't face a lifetime without cake or crisps in an attempt not to turn into a blimp. I take 2 hardcore exercise classes a week and chuck a 5k run in if I have the time so I'm happy I'm getting at least some of the exercise I should be getting and I also know I can't add anymore in as I just don't have the time or the energy at the mo. Maybe it'll get better when the youngest starts preschool, but that's a way off yet. So something else has to change. Imagine my delight when I read about the 5:2 diet. A guaranteed weightloss whilst still being able to eat what I want? Health benefits above and beyond those you expect from the weight loss itself? Yes please!
So here I am on my second fast day. I managed Tuesday with diet shakes because it was easy, but today I'm going to treat myself to some soup. I'm enjoying trying to find 100kcal snacks to have in bed (once I get there) and also the challenge of trying to optimise your nutrition under such restrictions. There have been epiphanies (I like straight black coffee, who knew?) and facepalm moments (Splenda is not calorie free so it's just as well I like the black coffee!) and it's only the very beginning. Who knows where this will end? Let's find out shall we?