My Slimming World Story - The best thing I ever did

This is a post I originally wrote in 2010 on my old blog,  I'm re-sharing here as it's important back story to FitnFab4Fifty  and nice to remind myself that I did it before so I can do it again. 

I still say it was the best thing I ever did (other than getting married to my hubby and having our boys - but that's kinda obvious)  and it was.   Although I'm not anywhere close to the weight I got down to,  If I'd have never have done that I think I'd be a very different person now.  It was more than just the weight and how I looked, hard to explain but it did genuinely change my life. 

Let me take you back to early 2006.....

My Dad said to me one day "Guess what I'm doing tomorrow night? I looked at him blankly, he replied "Going to Slimming World"  Well to say I was surprised is an understatement, 

1.My Dad is (and I'm sure he won't mind we saying so, although to be fair he is getting better!) the fussiest person with food I know and I assumed that "going on a diet" would mean eating things that he would want to. 

2. At the risk of sounding completely sexist, he's a man and men generally don't do slimming clubs (so I thought)

3. I didn't think he really needed to lose much weight, ok maybe a pound or two if he wanted to but not the amount I would have expected someone to join a club for. 

It had come about  whilst talking to his neighbour who had decided to go along at the start of January, in a moment of madness Dad agreed to go with him.  He told me roughly how it works and what you can and can't eat (that's nothing by the way, EVERYTHING is fine in moderation) and I was quite surprised. 

I went away thinking about all this and felt a bit panicked to be honest, what if it actually worked and he lost weight,  when it was me who needed to more than anyone. I had thought in passing over the years about going on a diet but "I wasn't fat, I was big boned"  yes dear readers it is true - if you say something often enough you do believe it.

I was fat, there is no point faffing about, I had always been bigger than most of my friends and it was slowly but surely getting worse. I had been 12 stone at the age of 12, and by the age of 28 I was usually buying size 20 clothes.  I genuinely thought though that I couldn't do a lot about it. 

You know the BMI charts, the ones that you plot your height and weight and it tells you that you are about to die, I looked at one of those and it said I needed to lose 4 stone....4 STONE, how stupid I thought there's no way I could lose that much without cutting off a leg or something equally drastic. My BMI was 32 by the way, recommended is between 20 and 25.

But despite the fact I thought I would never be a perfect size I thought I'd give it a go, maybe I could actually lose a couple of pounds or something and perhaps even drop a dress size.

Me in 2004 pre Slimming World

So in January 2006, I went to join my local Slimming World, more for something to do than anything else, I thought at least if I go and it doesn't work then I've tried and can continue being overweight in the knowledge that it is not my fault.

On my first weigh in I was 15st 1.5lb and stunned! I didn't used to weigh myself, always saying things like "It's just  number, it's what you look/feel like that matters" and various rubbish like that. So it did come as a bit of a surprise to say the least, I had been expecting 13st something.

Oh well, I thought let's just give it a shot and see what happens......
I listened to the group and picked up the literature and off I went. It took a while to understand it, lots of people due struggle with the concept as there really are no "banned" foods. Not only that but the list of "free foods" (things you can eat as much as you want too) is very long, and depending on what 'day' of the plan you are following includes either pasta, potatoes and rice or lean meat and bacon!

I really didn't expect amazing results but was pleased to lose 3lb in my first week, so the next week I did it again, and again and again. I plodded along quite merrily week after week and in just over a year I lost 4st.... (sorry for the bold and italics, it's just that it's four years later now and I'm still amazed!)

It was not as easy as sitting on my (large) backside and eating cake, but it was nowhere near as hard as I would have imagined. I did a bit of exercise along the way but pretty much just followed the plan. I had the odd day or weekend off here and there, and went on an all-inclusive holiday and went mad for 2 weeks in the time I was there but pretty much I just got right back on track.

Martyn, my consultant was a star and I don't think I could have done it without him. I loved going to the group, they were such a friendly bunch and we really helped each other along the way. My Dad lost 2.5st and reached his target weight as well.

I'm very passionate about Slimming world and have been often known to go off on one when it comes up in conversation, people who say it doesn't work, or they can't lose weight.........OH MY GOD, if I can  ANYONE can.

On Honeymoon in 2004

My Birthday - 2007