Anyone fancy a six-week challenge?

[DreamingOfADifferentMe]

I’ve been doing Slimming World for a couple of months now and am currently 12lbs down. I’m sticking to the plan most of the time and rarely want to waver however the weight seems to be coming off quite slowly which is a little frustrating thought I recognise my regular wine drinking may play a role

I have a big, BIG event in May which is a five-day work event where I play quite a prominent role. The past couple of years I’ve felt pretty awful because of my weight. I want to feel as confident as I have to pretend to be, and it’s far from easy and I hate feeling the way I do when I'm there. Every year I’m determined to look and feel different but this year I’ve actually started to do something about it and I'm actually now feeling more positive that this year, I WILL feel better about myself.

So, I have six and a half weeks until I go, so any thoughts on what i can do to really drive this weight loss? In my head, I’d love to lose between a stone and a stone and a half in that time - what do you reckon my chances are? What works for you to really shift the pounds?

Anyone fancy a six-week challenge to really make a difference?

[RedRideMeGood]

I'm in. I've really gone off plan the last few weeks and need pulling back in. I have christenings and weddings to go to in May, July and August so I really want to get back on track.

Have you been sticking to the plan fully? Do you always syn your drinks? I don't really drink but I always make sure to count it if I do.

Well done on your weight loss so far and good luck for the next 6 weeks!

[emmaluvseeyore]

May I join you? I've been doing SW for a year now, lost 3.5 stones, but haven't really lost anything since November. I've managed to maintain since then though, so haven't put any on :)

Today I've decided to get back on with it and do it properly. I'm still a size 20, so got a long way to go. I'm going to South Korea at the end of July for 3 weeks, so really want to get more shifted before then.

[Hopefullyoneday1]

If your at a plateau you might need to shake your body up a bit with something different. Obviously keep your diet clean, but what is your exercise routine? Have you tried lifting weights, and i mean push outside of your boundaries and lift a bit heavier than normal. Trust me you wont bulk, not in that short space of time.

What about HIIT training, got example quick bursts like 15 seconds of sprinting followed by 15-30 secs of walking for 10 minutes?

Our bodies are a funny machine, they do need a shake up from time to time

[Hopefullyoneday1]

Forgot to add, to lose a stone in 6 weeks is 2.3lb a week is do-able. Our bodies can achieve that in just diet alone, but i don't follow Slimming World so not sure if that would apply to the SW plans

[SWSister]

Can I join you too, please?

I started SW at the beginning of February. I've lost a grand total of 7.5lbs in two months because I've been faffing about - dipping in and out.

I'm starting in earnest, today. I've got two important events in July amd want to feel lovely and slim by then.

[HappyHippyChick]

I will join you too, I have been doing SW for a year and have lost 3 stone but have yoyoed since November and just gained 7lb over the two week Easter break . I am determined to get back on it.

[DreamingOfADifferentMe]

Awwww, hello lovely folks, and yes, absolutely, let's kick the hell out of this bloody weight!

Red, welcome and yes, having events looming on the horizon are a great way to stay focussed though for me, it often makes me rebel under the pressure - how stupid is that? As for your question - hmmm, no, I tend not to syn my drinks which is why the weight loss is slowing down. I've decided to try and stay off the lovely stuff for the next few weeks and see how that goes. It's got to be worth a try, I reckon. Thanks for coming to join in - let's really make this work!

Emma, wow, what a trip that will be, you lucky thing. And the best thing is that between now and July you can make a huge difference to how you look and feel. Huge well done for losing so much already - that's just amazing. I know what you mean about just faffing about and while it's great you've not gained, it's also frustrating when you look back and you've not lost. Put it behind you, focus on July and we'll support you to get back onto plan.

Hopefully, thank you so much for the fab advice. I don't do much exercise, though I bloody love getting on the treadmill with headphones and power walking. I have super dodgy knees and back (not helped by my weight) and just lately they've been pretty awful so I've not been able to do much. My plan this week is to head back to the gym and start again gently and you've spurred me on - thank you!

SWSister, so loving your name! Just like with Emma, July is close enough to add some pressure but still far enough away that you can make a real difference. Well done for starting again in earnest - this is it - you're going to do it!

So, what do we want to do on here? Share our daily food choices and plans, or just generally add some support? What will help you all best?

For me, I think I'd like to check in every day (or in my case, umpteen times a day) and see how everyone's doing. How about we aim to share a plan each for the day or the week and we can see if it helps?

This week I want to get back to the gym, even if it's only just once, and I want to drink more water. I'm sticking to the plan, I'm staying within my syns so ditching the booze and drinking more water are the ways to go I think.

How about you?

[DreamingOfADifferentMe]

Awwww, Happy, sorry - missed you out!

It's all too easy to lose your way I think sometimes and it's fab that you're getting back into it. Also seriously easy to gain at Easter bloody hot cross buns so don't worry, you can shift that really quick. I went away with the kids last week, gained three, but am already down by two, so hoping this week at weigh in (I weigh in Sat am), I'll be down even more. Bloody hope so, I just resisted Wotsits. Bloody love Wotsits.

[ClimbedEveryMountain]

Yes me! I haven't joined SW yet though so will do it later this evening and start it tomorrow! My summer events kick off on 29 July 😎 I have no idea how much I weigh at the moment but ultimately I'd like to lose 2 stones, though I have no idea how long that will take me. Probably until after 29 July!!

[madamlala]

Yes please! Me too! Have done SW before but failed to get beyond 10lbs off (I have 2.5 stone to lose) because I start to cheat and not eat proper meals.
Yet many of my friends tell me that it's the best diet they've ever done and they feel full ALL the time blah! blah! So I'd love to give it another go.

[DreamingOfADifferentMe]

Climbed, welcome on board. Good luck with tonight's weigh in, and here's to a fab first week"

Mad, yep, this is where I go wrong. In my head, skipping meals and feeling hungry is doing it 'right' and my weight loss dries up. Stupid but I do it too easily. I'm now focussing on eating healthy meals and not skipping stuff and eating crisps instead, let's hope it does the trick. We can share some great ideas on here, fingers crossed, so let's inspire you!

[Billyrube]

Can I join too, please! Just re-started today and am going on holiday in June so am desperate to lose a bit of weight by then. Could do with a challenge!

[SWSister]

Thank you Dreaming

Well, today has gone well:

B: porridge (HEXB), quark, raspberries

S: 2 hard boiled eggs

L: duck, brown rice, broccoli

D: Bolognese, courgette, Parmesan (HEXA)

Drank lots of water amd did two minutes of Pilates this morning.

Hope everyone else has had a great day xxx

[SWSister]

TEN minutes of Pilates - not two!

[sammy77]

im new to this and need ideas, support i need to confident .... im in if you will let me ..

sammy xx

[DreamingOfADifferentMe]

Hey Sammy, welcome! Absolutely you can come and join in.

SWSister, impressive day yesterday - your meals sound yummy, did you have any syns as it looks like you didn't eat very much?

My day was good yesterday and am set for another good one today, all being well. At the moment, it's looking like this:

B: yoghurt, rasberrries and strawberries
Snack, if needed: blueberries and banana
Lunch: salad and smoked salmon
Snack, if needed: HiFi bars (healthy B)
Dinner: SW Nacho Feast - I have been so looking forward to making this! It sounds beyond awesome, and the cheese is my healthy A.
Syns: milk for tea and anything else that may accidentally fall into my mouth...

No time for the gym today, but will aim to drink more water/no-sugar squash rather than always tea.

How about everyone else?

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

I have been doing SW since November and am only 6.5lbs down so far. I feel really, really incredibly down about it. I need something more drastic, the SW plan is very gentle. I've started going to the gym as of last week (couldn't before due to injuries from labour). I weigh in tomorrow but just had a sneaky weigh and have maintained my 2.5lb gain from last week.

I need a 6 week challenge like this, but I really don't know if I'm up for it, failing at SW has really fucked up my mental health and motivation it seems.

Woe is me. Ugh I sound so annoying and negative!

[DreamingOfADifferentMe]

Oh Bendy, I so, so hear you. My first three weeks were 100% on plan and the weight refused to sodding well budge, and I left group each time on the verge of tears, came home and properly cried about it. It's so damaging to your mental wellbeing when you want something so much, try so damned hard, and for whatever reason you're just not getting the results you so badly need.

Don't make this challenge an added pressure. Noone expects anything from you, but it might help just having a daily (or four times daily, or twice weekly, or whatever suits you) check in, to offload, to moan, to celebrate? I know that when I really really stick to the plan, the weight will come off. It might not show that week, it might be the week after, but it'll come off. It's just frustrating that where some folks can shift 2lbs a week, I'm lucky if I get 2.

I know if I don't stick with it, I'll get bigger. I might only be a few pounds down, but it's sure as hell better than being several pounds up.

Huge well done for going back to the gym. Take it easy and don't go hell for leather and do yourself a damage. It sounds like your little one is still very little, so it may take your body a while to adjust.

Just keep talking to us - we all know what you're going through, and we'll help you through it.

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

So true, it's a good point that I often forget - if I hadn't started SW I'd still be wearing the 6.5lBs I've lost, and probably would have put on more.

DS is 10.5 months old but yeah it's been a hard 10.5 months physically!

He is currently getting up at 5am so my days are loooooooong, and that's another thing that's difficult! Snacks from hunger but also tiredness and stress!

Look at me wallowing though, my life is pretty sweet. Weight is my biggest problem at the moment so I've got a pretty good deal.

Going to have a coffee and a banana (was meant to be having an SP day but I'm hungry :( ) and get on with some work to perk me up.

Thanks for the sympathy and pep talk, sometimes I need that as opposed to a kick up the bum :)

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

Another thing is I lost 8lbs from when I started SW mid-Nov until Xmas, so I'm actually up 1.5lbs since Xmas!

[SWSister]

Hello everyone.

Bendy don't beat yourself up. We can all relate.. I've been a member of SW for two months. I lost 8lbs in the first month and put on 1/2 a pound in the second month. No-one's fault but my own - faffing about having as many "bad" days as "good" days and making no progress at all. Cheating myself out of losses.

So.. What's done is done - I've just drawn a line and started afresh yesterday.

Dreaming no syns yesterday. I tend to think of my syns in terms of 105 per week and save them up a bit for the weekend. This is not official/ recommended but it's the best way for me because I want to have wine at the weekend - and wine is now 10 syns for a large glass. Horror...

I did ten minutes of Pilates this morning then went for a half an hour brisk walk and am on track with my food.

Hope everyone else is having a great second day xxx

[SWSister]

PS - that nacho feast is great... The squeeze Primula cheese works really well xx

[emmaluvseeyore]

Had a good day yesterday, and so far today is going well. I managed to avoid buying chocolate at the petrol station when I stopped on my way home from work. I was really hungry, but only takes 10 minutes to get home from there so I made myself wait.

Yesterday's food diary:
B: bran flakes (HE), milk (1/2 HE), apple, lemon squash
L: M&S cajun chicken ready meal (7.5), babybel (1/2 HE), cherry tomatoes, diet coke
S: banana, yoghurt (5.5), ham, water
D: Risotto (1), water

Probably need some more speed food in there, but it's the first day in a while I haven't gone over my syns!

[randomer]

easy does it bendy...nature plonked that baby weight on you for good reason. If you hadn't been trying you could easily be up one stone...so i real terms you have lost the half and the virtual stone!!

[SWSister]

Good Day Two here:

Half hour brisk walk
Ten minutes Pilates

B - overnight oats (HEXB) with toffee ML, Apple and banana

S - hard boiled egg and satsuma

L - salmon, brown rice, courgette, broccoli, edamames, soy sauce
Melon and grapes

D - bolognese on cauliflower rice with Parmesan (HEXA)

Drank loads of water.

Feeling stuffed now but may have a go at making an options mug cake later on this evening if I fancy it.

Hope everyone's had a good day xx