PigPog

Week four in my new Thursday night group, and I’m already feeling the benefits of Katrina’s full-tilt, gung-ho, I’m gonna get you to target if it kills me, you and wipes out half of Tiverton spirit. Some Consultants take the comforting, gentle approach which works well with nervous newbies (me, last year). Katrina however, bless her heart, gives it so much passion and welly that you can’t help but run out of her group screaming…

> Grrrrarrrr! I’m gonna take over the world!

And it’s that all-guns-blazing spirit that’s going to take me to my target weight of… er… um… haven’t quite decided that one yet.

Anyway, on Thursday night I was fired up once more by a 3 and a half pound weight loss, taking my total weight loss back over 10 stone and seeing off almost all of the amount I gained around my birthday. So when Katrina asked who was up for a challenge, my response was…

> Grrrrarrrr! Bring it ON!

She passed around a bag, containing stars with numbers on them. Each number represented a challenge on Katrina’s Challenge Board – because all good Consultants are part coach, part counsellor and part game show host. As Image Therapy kicked off, she revealed the challenges on the board. They were:

1. Eat at least 5 pieces of fruit or veg every day before any syns.

2. Drink at least 4 glasses of water each day.

3. Use a food diary, honestly, for 7 days.

4. Have at least 10 different Healthy Extra B’s this week.

5. Speed food – each day have at least 5 ‘S’ or ‘SS’ foods

6. No more than 10 syns each day for the next 7 days.

7. Cook a new Slimming World recipe this week. (can be a simple one!)

8. Do at least two Success Express days.

9. Donate £1 to charity for each pound gained.

And finally…

1. Katrina will give you £1 for each pound you lose!

Not surprisingly, there was only one star in the bag with number 10 on it. I drew number 7. But, as I was fired up and ready for action, cooking a new recipe just didn’t feel like enough, I felt the need to up the ante. So I threw down the gauntlet and offered a challenge of my own… If I manage challenges 1 through 8, then I qualify for challenge 10. She accepted my challenge and I ran away from the group screaming…

> Grrrrarrrr! Guess that buggers up my plans for going to the chippy tonight!

I’m now on day four of this insane mega slimming challenge and I have to say that for the most part it’s going rather well. It just requires a great deal more thought than usual, especially now I’m working on challenge 8 and trying to get my head around Success Express (that’s when you divide your plate up into thirds and have Original and Green in the same meal). So far, so good, so get your chequebook out, chief! Or pay me in HiFi Bars, either’s good.

So yeah, fired up and ready to rock. The only thing I need is some backing music. And when I think about pushing up the ante, only one song springs to mind. When you’re ready, Mr Kilminster:

…hubster and myself took a long, long drive up to Manchester. It was a hot, sticky day and I think Michael would much rather have stayed home and shaved his head with a cheese grater. But because he’s my husband, and my best friend and has the patience of several saints, he drove me the 200+ miles up the M5 and M6 for one very special reason. To see this man do what he does best:

This was the show that pushed me through the doors of Slimming World back in April. All I wanted to do back then was lose as much weight as I could in the two months I had between then and the show. I managed two stone and felt good, but sadly not good enough to make it through the wait, the support act and then have enough energy left to cope with the sheer assault on the senses that was VR live.

I did, however, thanks to the persistence of my good friend Tania, manage to get to the front for a little while and found myself mere feet away from the legendary celestial being known as Slash. I stood there like a rabbit caught in the headlights while this fabulous creature widdled away on his Les Paul.

I made it 20 minutes through the set, and we left the heaving Manchester Apollo to the opening bars of this tune:

Which has stayed with me ever since. This fight will by my last fight. I’m going to nail this thing. And if you’re on a Food Optimising journey yourself, so will you. This is the best plan, the best group and they have the best support. As they like to say over there… together we can do it.

Greetings Sports Racers. Sorry, hubster and I are currently working our way through one year of the show with zefrank and it’s kind of rubbing off. We’ve been spending the weekend discovering each other’s power moves, which was just as much fun as it it sounds.

Anyway, yes, that diet thing. As you may have guessed from the Take-That-Covered-By-Lolcats title, my enthusiasm for Food Optimising is back with bells on. Really hit my stride last week, but sadly not soon enough to avoid a 3lb weight gain. Bugger. Having decided to take the gain as the ass-kicking I desperately needed, I’ve been able to stay on plan ever since.

So, armed with a 5lb weight loss target for the week I’ve been Optimising like a good ‘un, and walking further than I have ever walked in my entire lazy life. A total of 10 miles over three days probably doesn’t sound like much to real sports racers, but it’s a major achievement for me.

Anyway, as I aim to make the last two days before my next weigh-in count as much as possible. I’ll be doing Original (free lean meat and fish) days with loads of speed foods (like ordinary free foods but with go-faster stripes), plenty of water and exercise. Don’t know whether I’ll make that 5lb target, but I’m back into the swing of it, and that’s worth a vid or two. Oh YouTube..? Show me what you’ve got by way of Ashes to Ashes clips and classic 80s rock…

Ashes to Ashes – the clip from Episode 6 that made Philip Glenister the Coolest Man on Earth. Amazing scene.

And for your 80s rock course, a song that really neatly sums up how I feel about this whole malarkey.

I’m hoping to post more often this week, and also hope at some point to start doing video posts. Eek.

Till then, this is pigpog_s dieting so you don’t have to. Or something.

Well here I go again with yet another attempt at a full week on plan. Fell waist deep in a bucket of wine and chinese food on Thursday night after group and didn’t manage to winch myself out and back onto plan until yesterday. But I’m back in business now, yesterday was a green day and contained my favourites – potato wedges for lunch, and noodles and mushy peas for dinner. All free on green, and all lovely and comfort food-y.

Today, then, is original (or red). I find I get the best results when I stick to a red/green cycle throughout the week. Mixing it up sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t. And as Katrina, my new consultant, said at group last week:

Don’t play with the Plan, because the Plan will play with you.

Don’t I know it… there’s no point in “cheating”, tweaking things to squeeze in that extra biscuit or glass of wine… but it is possible to fit these things into your Syn allowance. 15 Syns a day is plenty for a normal day, and on those odd occasions when more Syns are needed you just do the flex thing. What you don’t do at any point is stop counting or stop thinking about what you’re doing.

Hm. I think it’s time for a much needed Note To Self:

*Guv Voice* – “there’s no bloody excuse! *slaps self* Just bloody well get on with it!”

Yes Inner Guv. Sorry Inner Guv. My Inner Glutton considers itself well and truly kicked.

Back tomorrow and if I’m good I might treat myself to a vid or two.

Kicking off another week where I intend to stay on plan 100% no matter what. Now, nobody die, dump me, fire me or do anything else to me that’s likely to take me off course, ‘k? Ta.

Sunday and Monday saw me backsliding again. Although Monday was really just a Green day with an assload more syns. Today’s excuse was that I was considering how Slimming World fits into my life and what I could do to shake things up a bit.

Firstly, I decided to join another group. Katrina runs a class on a Thursday evening that I can get to straight from work, it’s a nice walk, and it’s over and done with in enough time for me and the fella to still have an evening together. Also, believing strongly that variety is key to the success of this thing, I think the change would do me good. We shall see.

I’d like to quickly take this opportunity to give my thanks to Frankie and everyone else in the Monday 6.30 group. I wouldn’t have come this far without your encouragement and support. I’ll be back, some time or another… well, me or “The Guv” .

Getting back to business today has been a doddle, I have to say. At the moment I’m focusing on putting together a plan and sticking to it which I’ve done quite well today. Here’s today’s food diary:

BREAKFAST: 2 weetabix (B), milk (A), banana, 250ml pineapple juice (5 syns)

LUNCH: Smoked salmon, 2 nimble toast (B), salad, tomato, cucumber, celery

DINNER: Cheezburgers made with extra lean beef mince, 84g low fat cheddar (A + 6 syns), with onion, mushroom, tomato and salad leaves. Served with a dressing made from virtually fat free fromage frais, garlic, tabasco and chives.

SNACKS: Shape yogurt, 1 finn crisp for testing the dressing (1 syn)

TOTAL SYNS for the day = 12

Now, I thought it was going to come out less than that since I thought that 250ml of pineapple juice was 3 syns. Always worth double checking these things. I should have remembered (and I will do tomorrow morning) that I need to use my smaller glass for my morning juice, or count extra syns. The only thing I didn’t do was measure the milk on the cereal, but I know that enough to cover my weetabix is less than the allowed 250ml of semi skimmed milk… or do I? Next time I have cereals, I’ll check.

Anyway. It’s been a good, on-plan day. So that means it’s time for a bit of video squee. Woo! Guv! Shake your moneymaker!

And to those who ask if Gene Hunt could be any more of a Nazi, here’s your answer:

…and on the seventh day, I rested.

Not the spectacular excursion off-plan as done in previous weeks, but off enough for me to enjoy a drink at the aforementioned ditty, a panini at teapots, and a pasty at home.

This week has been an interesting experiment, and one I will continue. It’s kept me thinking about my weight-loss mission, food and my lifestyle and for the most part I’m happy with how things are going, but I think it’s time for one or two things to change. So for this coming week I’m going to be working on those changes and making the most of what I already know works a treat.

More adventures to be had next week then. But for now, it’s time for a break. We’ll be right back.

If it wasn’t for the heroics of my husband, putting his foot down with a firm “You cannot has takeaway”, I would now be wallowing in guilt and prawn crackers. But he pulled me through a particularly murky moment and again I managed to stay on plan all day.

It’s how it goes every time. I’m tired, feeling a bit grumpy, and there’s a huge great yak in the kitchen demanding some Gillette action before we can get to any food*. There have been many, many times in the past where we would have left the hairy bugger to entertain himself and headed out to the chinese chippy pizza kebab shop.

But Michael stepped in and saved the day. Here’s my food diary:

BRUNCH – The legendary Mad Hatter’s Brunch which consisted of – eggs, bacon, mushroom, tomatoes, beans (B) and 2 slices of white toast (8 syns).

The brunch saw us through the morning and our 3 mile walk around town. I didn’t feel a single hunger pang until about 5ish when I had…

SNACK – The hi-fi bar that tastes like a cherry bakewell. Cherry and almond, that’s the one. (B)

And finally, slightly late but never mind…

DINNER – Rrrrrrrump steak with roast aubergine, tomato, shallot, onion, courgette, carrot and pepper. Followed by a yogurt and a banana.

Yep, pigpogm saved the day, so by way of thanks, here’s some footage of hairy noisy buggers:

Till tomorrow, when gosh-darned it, I might have a biscuit.

*Why was there a hairy old yak in our kitchen? Go ask Merlin

Well here we are. Friday night. The mother of all ‘let your hair down and be excessive’ times. Work’s done for the week and there’s a lot of winding down to be done. In the flat right now there is beer, cider, wine and whisky, and I’m kicking back with a refreshing pint or two of…

…sugar free appleade.

Yep. I’m sticking to my plan this time. No booze. Only used 8 and a half syns today. The only thing left to consume on my menu is tea. Here’s my food diary for today’s delicious green day:

BREAKFAST: 2 nimble toast (B), beans, tomatoes, salad leaves (yes, salad for breakfast. Why not?), banana.

LUNCH: Cous Cous and Noodles. I needed a carb boost so I made the most of the foods available on the Free list.

DINNER: Fishcake (4 and a half syns), veggie crispbake (4 syns), potato wedges, mushy peas, salad, cucumber, tomato, celery.

SNACKS: Peaches and 2 Alpen Light bars (B)

So what’s finally back on track? A few things. I’m very lucky to be working with some great people at the moment, and a couple of them have provided motivation in their own way:

• A manager has told me she’ll stay off the booze as long as I do.
• My excellent job share partner has made a bet with me. If I lose more than 2lbs, she pays for my book order. If I lose less, I pay for hers.

Going along to Katrina’s group last night was an extra boost too. I was there to show off. To be honest, the last thing I felt like doing was showing off, but that extra bit of group support really helped refocus my thinking, realise what’s truly important to me and that’s why I can sit here with my apple pop while Michael quaffs the beer.

So, don’t you think I’ve been good? Don’t you think I deserve a double-bubble squeefest? You bet your arse I do. Let’s first visit our old top hatted friend, The Lovely Mr Hudson:

And now his new partner in squee. The Equally Lovely Mr Glenister. As, of course, The Utterly Inexplicably But Quite Deliciously Lovely DCI Gene Hunt:

And, what the heck, let’s show some love for Raymondo too:

So, now we have a weekend. And I’m looking forward to the next couple of days having time to relax, go out walking, and most importantly have our weekly brunch at Mad Hatters. There’s not a better use for 8 syns and a healthy B. So on I go, motivated and with my target in sight. Bring it on. The journey continues!

Looking back on the week so far it’s not surprising the home scales weren’t offering any encouraging news this morning. So I hit the books again today, over a coffee in M&S (where the hard sell tactics of the staff is really starting to get on my nerves), and planned a good, back to basics Food Optimising day. Choosing to do the Original plan, here’s how my food diary panned out for the day:

Breakfast: Tomatoes, 4 slices Nimble toast (taken as 1 Healthy Extra B choice and 5 syns), marmite. Followed by a banana with my coffee.

Morning Snack: A pear and some strawberries

Lunch: Sardines with salad, followed by a yogurt

Afternoon Snack: More strawberries, a hi-fi bar (another healthy extra B choice), grapes

“Just in from work and I need something quick while dinner’s cooking”: cooked chicken pieces (half a syn)

Dinner: Coley fillets with ham, asparagus, tomato, sugar snap peas, salad leaves, cucumber and celery. Followed by a yogurt.

So another day is over, I’m about to wander into the kitchen for the last drink of the night. And only one thing will do. So that’s exactly what I’m going to have.

Yep.

Tea.

I’ve done it! I’ve done a full 100% Food Optimising day and used less than 10 syns! If I can do that today, I can do it tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that…

And if I can do it, anyone can.

OK, what shall we have to play us out today? … Hmm… It’s going to have to be another moment of squee:

You know what? I’ve been good today. I deserve Gene Hunt in Swimming Trunks!

There’s no badge down here, Sammy Boy!

Buggered if I can find a YouTube clip of the Bacon Butty moment. Girls? Any thoughts?

Till tomorrow!

Well here we are. Mid-week. And I just knew it was going to be one of those days. My plans to stay on the wagon were scuppered once some bastard nicked the seat and replaced it with a bottle of Beaujolais. I did my best to limit the damage, but the call of the wine and the chocolate was too strong. But sensible choices with the food meant a flexible syns day made it possible for me to enjoy a few glasses of wine and a few bits of chocolate and keep my syns to a sensible level.

So today I started with the intention of doing Mix2Max again but soon realised this day would be better as Green, so I could lunch happily on sushi from M&S. Evening meal was veg crispbake, and a fishcake with couscous and salad, and my glorious slide into the world of Flexible Syns began once hubby pulled the cork on a fine red that my boss bought me a couple of weeks ago (thanks, Carol!).

This is the relaxed approach I wanted. This is the way I’m going to get to the end of my journey.

Let’s have some more words from my favourite motivational speaker:

Unbreakable, Tasha. Unbreakable. Let’s do this thing.

TTFN