talkhealth Blog

I have a little amusing confession to share…that had Mr WLB in stitches of laughter!

Now, I am sure that I am not the only one who does this…but when I am in different places – Scotland for example – and when I read road signs to myself, my head reads them in a Scottish accent. Yet if I tried to read the sign out loud in a Scottish accent, I would fail miserably.

I confessed this little delight to Mr WLB and since my confession, he has been reading every bloody signpost in a Scottish accent…we are now back over the boarder – – so he will have to give this little game up until we head back in May!

Book-reading does this to me as well. Ian Rankin and his Rebus books has me reading away in my head in the best accent, a la Ken Stott! I am curious to see if I do this when I travel further afield…I am sure that I do, but now that I have realised what I do I might be more conscious and my mind might switch that funny accent thing off!

Another reason that I am strange – a chap in my Slimming World group told me so – is that I stuck to Slimming World throughout the festive period! An article that I read in Zest magazine today…

…kind of made me smile, as it really resonated with me.

In a nutshell, the writer was going to the gym during the festivities and people thought that she was crazy. However, her argument is that the gym is ‘her’ time…it helps keep her sane, clears her head, and gives her energy to enjoy the partying over Christmas!

Whilst I was not partying over Christmas, I understand where she is coming from. Her life involves the gym and she likes it that way. My life involves Slimming World – hell, my life IS Slimming World – and Slimming World saved my life…so why the heck would I not want to stay on track? I have to admit to missing the gym whilst I was on holiday…so maybe this time next year I will be gymming throughout the festive period too!

This isn’t a case of me polishing my halo. I genuinely enjoyed myself over Christmas and New Year. I ate well, too well at times. It just happened to be on plan. And this is the difference now…there really is no ‘on plan’ and ‘off plan’ for me at the moment…the plan is the way I eat now, and I hope to continue this.

I was asked again recently about whether or not I have ‘treat’ days…and I will trot out the line that only my dog and horses get food related treats…and I am neither equine nor canine – despite the ‘bitch’ moniker!

When I first started Slimming World again, I had treat days. I went mental on them. I would get weighed in on a Tuesday morning and I would then head to McDonalds for two meals. I would then go to Asda and stock up on ‘treats’ and would probably have a takeaway too. It sounds crazy to go that far off-plan, but compared to my old ‘diet’ it was positively saintly. And I would be right back ‘on plan’ on Wednesday…as if Tuesday and the post weigh in hours didn’t count somehow!

This is why I try and encourage people not to go from sinner to saint overnight. Telling yourself that you aren’t going to have treat days, or are never going to go off plan, or are going to give up all sweetener-containing products, is kind of like setting your mind up to fail. I never entered into my current Slimming World campaign with that mindset…I knew I wouldn’t be able to stick to it, as my mind would always be thinking about those treats.

Yet months into my journey, the treat days became less and less of a spectacle. The Asda food diminished, the McDonalds dropped to one meal instead of two, and I had my last Chinese takeaway on the 16th January last year which made me feel so sick that I have not touched one since – and it was a perfectly nice plate of food. My current treat involves crisps on a Tuesday. Due to my weight I get extra syns, but rarely use them…on a Tuesday however I will do…and I have my multipack of crisps. But even these are getting a bit ‘meh’ now…yet the prospect of my life without crisps scares me a little! So my concession to being off-plan involves crisps.

So whilst, to some, it might seem strange that I don’t have ‘off plan’ days, I personally don’t see the need for them. If I think back to where I was – 43st 5.5lbs, in pain, scared to sleep at night for fear of dying, having given myself a medical condition with cancerous cells, along with diabetes and PCOS – then is it all that strange that I stay on track?

Maybe it is because I was at rock-bottom. Maybe my situation was so dire for me that I have to stay on track. Maybe it is just because I feel so bloody amazing and fantastic…I have my life back…maybe it is just worth taking things seriously if you want to achieve something.

Not that you have to go from sinner to saint…but investing the time and energy, and realising that treat days aren’t all that fabulous…make 2014 the year that you get the results you want. More importantly, the results you deserve…if you don’t put in the effort, then you don’t bloody deserve it!

I cannot hand on heart say that I will never have off days. But it isn’t something that I am planning on…as I just don’t need them anymore. If you need them, have them. A balance is good…and that is what I am aiming for – being able to have a nice meal out very occasionally with Mr WLB – but in the meantime, I am happy to continue being strange for now!

So today has been a bit dull really. Just along drive from Kilmalieu down to Kendal…a long and rainy drive…

I am now well and truly back in England. The traffic seems crazy compared to the odd car I was seeing on the roads. My running commentary on others people’s crazy driving has returned. The weather has been awful and the rain created so much spray…yet so many drivers were pottering along with no lights on! It drives me mad. I will get over it one day…it’s just another tick in the box for moving to the Highlands. I am currently tucked up in bed in the hotel waiting for the heating to kick in properly…freezing my bits off – a downside to weight loss is feeling the cold more! I will be heading to bed after Silent Witness and looking forward to seeing my niece and nephew tomorrow.

Breakfast: Mushrooms, tomatoes and eggs on toast (2 x HEB).

Lunch: Peppered salmon flakes, roast sweet potato and salad.

Dinner: Moroccan couscous, chicken and salad (1.5 syns for the couscous).

Snacks: Fruit, Babybel lights (HEA) and mini Green & Blacks bars (12.5 syns).

A nice food day! Brekkie was gorgeous…I bloody love mushrooms! My lunch had been prepared before travelling – chunks of roasted sweet potato, with salad and some hot smoked salmon. I like to not have to rely on service station offerings and so try and prepare as much as I can…which leads me into dinner…the couscous was cooked in my hotel room – the Ainsley stuff with boiling water. I had taken a pack of chicken and some salad with me, so that I didn’t need a RoadChef dinner! And the snacks kept me going throughout the day.

Exercise: Nothing today…car bound apart from a service station leg stretch!

Thank you for reading,

Weight Loss Bitch xxx

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WeightLossBitch

On a health and fitness driven journey to lose over 32st / 448lbs / 203kgs – yes, it is a considerable amount – I am committed to losing my excess weight without the aid of weight loss surgery, diet pills, or quick fixes…as there aren’t any! Changing my eating habits and building up my fitness levels, along with addressing the ‘head issues’ will be crucial in order for me to achieve my goal. Living in England as a 31 year old super morbidly obese woman can be challenging to say the least. I have been shouted at in the street and verbally abused far too many times to mention; hence the name ‘Weight Loss Bitch’…the day I am just called a ‘bitch’ instead of a ‘fat bitch’ will be the day that I know I have cracked my weight loss! With many reasons to lose this weight I am documenting my journey for a number of reasons. Firstly, I would like to keep a record of the ups and downs, the highs and lows, and the challenges I face with such an enormous task to tackle. Secondly, I would also like to inspire and encourage other people who are in a similar situation and to show them that significant amounts of weight can be lost naturally…with a bit of motivation, hard work, dedication and will power. Thirdly, all of the blogging, Facebook-ing, Tweet-ing, Pinterest-ing and YouTube-ing keeps me occupied and keeps my fingers out of the fridge!