SW Inspiration

Although I've not been posting much recently, I have been following a few Sw-ers on Instagram and YT. It sounds a bit silly, but just seeing the occasional snap of someone's lovely salad, or hearing that they have lost another lb really keeps me motivated to carry on.

A few of the people I've been following are:

Sw Junky - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzDpN_gf1pJN2SH8IR1VFQQ

Sarah Fagan - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQqjOA8pf9CcPAUJRJ1zcwA

Hope you like!

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I'm back!

Number one tip to remember when starting a blog...post regularly! Oops.

In my defence, I had a driving test last week (PASS!) and life has been quite busy in the run up to that. I've been practising my driving most evenings after work and, once my dinner is cooked, that was me done in for the day!

But, now I'm starting to get my life back a bit, I have time to blog. Hurrah!

So - what has happened in the past few weeks? I've continued to follow SW (with a few extra allowances for post-driving wine and chocolate) and, more or less, I've continued to lose. SW is really working, and so long as I stay on plan, then I can reliably shift 1-2lbs per week.

But I am getting a little bored of the same old recipes. Time to shake things up a bit!

Tonight I have a bit of left-over roast beef and think I might embark on an Italian style ragu with some pasta. Watch this space :)

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Breakfast ideas

From browsing Pinterest and Instagram, I think a lot of SWers start the day with Muller Lights, fresh fruit and Alpen Lights. I can completely understand why - it's a great combination of sugar and convenience, and something you can pretty much eat anywhere.

I leave for work at about 7.45, and between feeding the cats, showering, scrabbling around in the dark trying to find clothes, I really don't have time or any desire to eat. For me, breakfast is at about 9, during the week at my desk, while I read my emails; or in my pyjamas in the kitchen at the weekend.

Weekends are easy: I LOVE boiled eggs and will often have a couple, with a slice of toast (HEB), chopped into soldiers. Yes, I am a child. I wash it down with coffee and maybe an apple or some banana, and I'm good to go. Occasionally, I'll add some bacon to the mix, but usually the eggs are plenty.

For desk-fasts, though, I need to be a bit more organised. I'm not particularly sweet-toothed, and I find that too much sugar leaves me feeling hungry, so I err more towards the savoury options. I love Krisprolls (3 are a HEB) and often have them with ham (free) and a Laughing Cow triangle (usually the Light ones, which I take as my HEA). I try to make myself have an apple every morning...not just to keep the doctor away, but because I find it fills me up until lunchtime.

There are plenty of interesting ideas on Pinterest for clean breakfasts, and I've been trying to find some new options. A lot involve eggs - which would be fine for the weekends, but would need to be things like cold frittate for the week. I think I might try to rustle up some breakfast muffins tonight or maybe tomorrow - so far I'm thinking ham, spinach, maybe some parmesan? Will report back in due course!

Today's question then, is this: what are your SW breakfast staples?

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An easy dinner

I feel a little guilty posting this as 'easy' since I didn't actually have to cook any of this (thanks to my lovely boy) but nevertheless, this is easy! Steak, SW chips sprayed with BBQ FryLight, and lots of veg. Syn free if you cut off the fat, which I did, so I washed this down with a cheeky little glass of Madiran. 

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Slimming World in France

I regularly spend time in France (about three trips, so roughly six weeks of the year) and having just got back from ten days in the Vendee, I thought it might be useful to sum up my experiences following SW across the Channel.

The Pros.
- French meat and veg/fruit are good and no more expensive than in the UK. If you can rev up a BBQ, you can have a delicious dinner every night with minimal syns. I ate tons of apples and enjoyed lots of steak, chicken and fish on the barbie.
- Yoghurt. The French LOVE yoghurt. Of course, you need to be careful with your syns, but you really shouldn't struggle to find something you can eat. Muller isn't big in France, but there are alternatives. I easily found Liberte yoghurts (re-branded as Yoplait).
- Krisprolls and crackers make up an entire aisle in lots of supermarkets.

The Cons.
- FryLight does not exist in France. If you plan to use it, bring it from home. There simply is no equivalent and I was really surprised how many syns I ended up using because I had to use olive oil.
- In spite of practically inventing the BabyBel and Laughing Cow, you will only find BB in the original or other full-fat varieties. LC is available in Light, but not Extra Light or any of the flavours.
- Bread. Every supermarket smells delicious. You have been warned.
- Cheese.
- Wine.
- Chocolate.

We have a second home in France, so when I'm there, it's cooking as usual. That said, we have always had a bit of a pig-out when on holiday! So it all rather balances out. In the end, I stuck to plan for 5 days - counted all my syns, focussed on the nice meat and veg. Then, for the final 5 days, I forgot about SW, ate ALL the cheese, chocolate, bread and wine and made sure I enjoyed myself.

A bit of context is useful. I've never had a problem with binging, and I only have a few kilos to lose, so I'm happy to have the odd week where I don't lose anything. I know for some people, veering off-plan so absolutely might be disastrous, but for me it was fine. It was interesting to 'make myself' eat naughty food - and I was surprised by how little I actually wanted. Indeed, I weighed myself this morning and I have actually lost another lb.

It's interesting though - this morning I started back on plan and I was really looking forward to it!

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Some starting stats

I guess most of the people who will stumble across this blog will be embarking on, or following Slimming World, and so quite a few will be interested in my weight loss.  

I'm very happy to share how things are going - so let's start off with some stats:

I'm 32, 5'6, and my starting weight, from about 5 weeks ago, was 165lbs. My BMI was 26, and I'm about a size 14. 

I've never really dieted before, and generally eat pretty healthily. But I do eat a bit too much (read: total foodie!)... and I like wine. A lot.

Over the past few years, I've gradually put on a few kilos, and I decided that it was time to see if I could shift it for good and get myself in shape. 

I'm aiming to lose just over 10%, to get down to 143lbs, and a BMI of mid-range healthy. 

So far, on EE, I have lost 7lbs.

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Eating on the go: Part 1

I spend a day or two each week on meetings in London, which means a bit of planning and preparation is required. Many an accidental pretzel has occurred at the station (who knew they were 400 calories?!) so I now know to be organised in advance.

On the train, my go-to brekkie is an americano (with a splash of milk), a Babybel Light, a Liberte yoghurt and an apple. All items are small enough to fit in my bag and, although it's a challenge not to squish the yoghurt, I really appreciate not then having to lug a lunchbox around with me all day. Apart from the spoon, everything gets dumped in the bin!

For lunch, I can't recommend Itsu enough. Rice and fish are free on EE, so you have lots of options. Do bear in mind that sushi rice is sweetened a little, so it's best to factor in a few syns to make sure you keep on plan. Yesterday I had the Teriyaki Salmon with Rice and Edamame, and it was delicious.

(Picture borrowed from the Itsu site)

I don't use the extra sauce provided - it's very tasty already.

The main thing is to keep well hydrated. When I'm at a desk I regularly have tea, coffee and lots of water; but when dashing between meetings its easy to forget.

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