Starting slimming world today, anyone else starting to lose weight today want to join me for some moral support?

[ElizabethWakefield]

So today is D day! Diet starts today, I have my first slimming world class tonight and i am feeling quite motivated. I think I probably have around 3 stones to lose, but i would be happy to even lose 2. I just feel fat and unhealthy and have never been this big before!

So today is day 1 of sorting myself out! Just wondered if anyone else was starting today too, not just slimming world, but any thing, and wanted to have somewhere to chat, swap ideas, or get some moral support?

well done Melty

I have been pretty bad when i've actually been eating, but i like the thread so you're stuck with me. Am doing good so far today - decorating the boys room so no time to eat anything but fruit, and am having that leek and bacon pasta for tea if it kills me! and will try not to spend syns on wine, the lovely painted walls should be enough reward for my efforts

have a great day.

am glad you liked my little open hearted post

i have got weigh in tonight , so will see if this week has been kinder to me than last

although just bought the wrong bloody yoghurts again !! did not get the fat free actvia !so it's 3 syns a pot might give them to the children and go back to the shop

didn't do as well with my dinner out last night as on friday.. had deep fried calamari, but it was a small portion.. but had linguine with tomatoes & seafood, which i reckon was syn free.. and a white wine & soda.

but had a lovely night with friends which is also important

just making some leek& Potato soup for lunch

synfreecrisps*

slice a jacket spud v thinly, no need to peel, spray a baking sheet with frylight, put the potatoes on in a single layer, then more fryight and garlic/rock salt if oyu like

hot oven for 30 mins until brown and crispy

et voila !!

lulu, they sound lovely. for some reason I had missed your post, but been back and read it now, twas lovely, I think we are all doing fantastically. I have spent the whole morning cleaning stuff so not had timne for any naughty eating which is good. got some chicken thighs and drumsticks that I need to cook tonight, going to strip them and stir fry then chuck in a tiun of toms and serve with rice, does that sound nice?? I am sure dd's won't think so.

Dita.
Try this:

Waitrose Roast Chicken Thighs

Very simple, and all you need is some Rosemary. Use stock instead of Wine.From the comments though, you need to parboil the potatoes. Flavours are excellent though so should be very tasty.

Lulu, thanks for the recipe. I'll try these with wine at the weekend.

Melty, well done on the loss.

Got DS2 at home sick today so the illness in our house never seems to end! I made that butternut squash and red onion soup that was featured on MN last week. I didn't use olive oil though, just spray oil and roasted some garlic at the same time as the onions and squash, and added some mild chilli powder at the end, delicious and free on EE

great !

i usually marinade chicken in soy sauce, lemon, garlic, rice vinegar .. you can add some honey/ketchup/brown sugar if you syn it

then griddle/stir fry it.

or you can slow cook / casserole it with stock, chunky veg and potatoes

Ladies, a question: When you started SW were all the options explained to you? Our group leader basically just slung the books at us and explained EE, she skimmed the bits about red and green days saying we shouldn't bother with them but we could look it up if we wanted. My DP is doing it with me and has been stuck for weeks after losing 2 stone (he doesn't come to group). He doesn't eat much during the day apart from loads of fruit and I have told him he should eat more but I wondered if he should try a couple of red days just to see if this stirs things up a bit?

ours talked us through them but probably put more emphasis on EE as it is different especially if you've done slimming world previously.

some group members swear by changing to red / green/ ee if their weight loss stalls

The consultant at the most recent shortlived group didnt go into detail about the red or green days, and said as I'd done it before I could do what I like. I did try EE but I think my head wasnt in the right place as I felt hungry all the time.

Kungfu, i think your DP probably doesnt eat enough. If hes only eating fruit, hes not getting enough protein either.
If he tries a couple of red or green days to see how he likes it he will soon find out if it helps.
And the thing with Red or Green, is you can have a sandwich without synning-extra HEB (if you do it yourself), so it makes it easier to be out and about. (Grate 42g of half fat cheese and add a few tomatoes. Low fat spread or lite mayo (minimal syns)Bobs your uncle.
Or quorn slices on bread spread with laughing cow, or if on a red day ham/chicken/egg - the opportunities are endless.
My favourite is a toasted weight Watchers malted danish with poached or roasted chicken, tomatoes and rocket with a squirt of hellmans light. (cant be doing with the extra light stuff.)Or Laughing cow light with ham and tomatoes.

You can also do great pasta dishes which stay tasty when cold.
I am lucky in that I have access to a microwave, so I frequently reheat last nights dinner. I have to have variety otherwise I get bored and want to eat bad bad things!

Thanks, I keep telling him he isn't eating enough. I just went through the book to see if I could work out red days, but its taking me a while to get my head around. He has a fridge in his office and access to a microwave so he could eat much better than he does. I'm also thinking of changing to a lunchtime group as it would suit me better, and hopefully has a more experienced consultant.

hold onto your food optimising books, I have lost

5 lbs

oh my effing god.

16 lbs off in 5 weeks

i cannot beleive it ! wooooooooooooooo

WOW lulu!!!!! Thats absolutely fantastic! well done!
Melty i just made that pasta dish and oh my god its gorgeous!! I used chicken in it as well. I think its the nicest thing i ever cooked!

thank you

now, what's this pasta dish you're all raving about?

Red:
2 HEA 2HEB, syn any pasta/rice/potatoes unless using potato as HEB or 100g cooked wholwheat pasta.

Green: 2 HEA 2 HEB, syn any meat/fish protein unless using as HEB.

Loads free veg and speed fruit.

My typical day.

I dont often decide what sort of a day Im going to have straight off. (Ie red/green/ee)

Start off each day with long glass of water. Convinced we dont drink enough!
28g porridge measured, made with water, cooked in microwave. I use Flahavans from waitrose. (Thats the one my mum has always used-old habits die hard!)
Serve with milk from allowance.
Often have a poached or boiled egg afterwards. Sometimes will cook Quorn sausages in oven before I go to bed, and reheat in the morning. Eat after porridge.
Protein better for filling you up.
If still hungry, will have a small banana or fruit and fromage frais & Splenda. Have started to use quark recently on fruit though as is high in protein.

Bring a couple of gala apples and some clemintines or other easy to eat fruit for mid morning snacking.

Lunch may well be poached chicken (I do the breasts slowly with stock, carrot, onion and garlic and dried thyme)or slow braised beef with stirfry veg. Except my veg are actually microwaved for a few minutes with a drizzle of a packet stirfry sauce. (Tescos or waitrose -depends on the sauce, but most of the 120g sachets are around 4-5 syns, and I have used max half a sachet at a time)

Snack may be a cherry mullerlight.

Dinner could be a full EE dinner (lunch was EE but could be classed as red.)
Pasta/meat/synfree sauce or noodles/meat/synfree sauce. But I am religious about making sure I have a big bowl of superfree veg on the side, which I make sure I eat.

I love cooking anyway, but I have fun trying to adapt normal recipes to Syn free (or as near as I can get it)
Ive got a couple of SW recipe books, but to be honest, the best tasting recipes are the curry ones.
And I use olive oil spray to cook with, not the nasty Fry Light.
I prefer to spend my syns on sauces and oil rather than crips and chocolate. If I do need chocolate, and lets face it sometimes we really do need it , I am conscious of adapting my day so as not to overdo the syns.
I dont drink tea or coffee, as I dont like it, so drink loads of water during the day and if I am frozen, a highlights hot chocolate or hot Robinsons!
I make soups from scratch and if I do a veggie one, I often add orzo pasta (tiny rice sized pasta) to it for a very filling EE dish.
If I go out, I just do flexible syns. Most days I still have only had 5 syns by dinner. so room for a glass of wine!!

Any of the recipes I have posted, I have tried and use often becaue they are very tasty.
I tend not to go overboard on the pasta/rice with my dishes, because one of the big things about SW is everything in moderation. I stop when I feel full and because I am never hungry, I dont grab junk on the way home from work.

I dont really count my losses as 1 stone in a month, because the first week is fluid loss I think. so I'm more inclined to think of it as 8 lbs in 3 weeks. I am aiming for 2 lbs a week, and will see what happens.

Lulu, thats Fantastic
Must be slimmer of the week??
I always want to know what delights are in the basket. So dish up.
I used to recycle the pasta'n sauce and beans that I got given whenever I had a week like that. There was always something vile in it, but mostly was fairly nice.

That pasta dish was pages/a few days ago. I read mine in one big page so couldnt tell you what page it is on.
Its a Gordon Ramsey adapted one:
Here it is again.

Pasta with pancetta, leek and mushrooms

300g Pasta. (Recipe calls for shells but any will do)
3-4 tbsp Olive oil (I just used a couple of sprays)
2 medium leeks finely sliced.
125g pancetta or lean bacon sliced.
250g chesnut mushrooms sliced.
2-3 tbsp creme fraiche (I used fat free fromage frais)
Salt and Pepper.
Bunch Flat Leaf Parsley chopped.
Parmesan shavings to serve.

1 Put pasta on and cook until al dente.
2 Meawhile fry off pancetta until golden.
3 Add mushrooms and leeks, and stir over a high heat for 6-8 minutes until leeks are tender.
4 Drain Pasta and immediately toss with pancetta leeks and mushrooms. Stir in Fromage Frais.
5 Season with salt and pepper to taste
6 Scatter over chopped parsley to serve.

Grate a little parmesan over the top.

Almost syn free on EE. (Parmesan should synned but I didnt use much so I estimated 1/2 syn for me)
Huge pile of veggies in the dish, and it took me about a half hour including chopping.
Had it for dinner last night and brought it into work for lunch.

OMG Lulu that is fantastic. I really am so impressed with the losses going on here.

Melty that is very helpful. I don't get on with red days but I think I might try a few more green mixed in with EE. Moderation is possibly an issue, I do try but wonder how successful I am with it. I guess though I have to take the view that I've not been hungry, eaten Chinese, cake and chocolate and lost 21lbs in 12 weeks. It seems slow but is bang on the 1-2lbs a week that SW say you'll do if you follow it and if I try to go faster I am probably at risk of my gallstones getting worse. Logically I totally accept I have a huge amount of weight to lose and it isn't going to happen overnight but the irrational child in me would love a few weeks of shifting 3lbs a week.

fab lulu, well done you

have been really busy with the boys room today (just sat down for a minute now, then have some more stuff to do) am hoping it's body magic. Also haven't walked the school run that fast in a while! Forgot my purse though, so no lovely butternut squash soup for me. The boys had the carvery DH brings them sometimes, and I am about to have an ASDA diet-range pasta'n'sauce, it's just made up with water so am assuming hoping it is very low syn. Seem to be having a green day (I pinched a piece of the boys turkey and had it with a bag of salad and a fruit salad for lunch), though I could kill for a chinese and a bottle of wine! Am gutted I aren't having the pasta dish, but I haven't had time to cook for me. Will have it tomorrow as it is the boys night for baked beans and scrambled eggs.

I agree, very helpful post Melty. Will have to save it to refer to - you made it all seem straightforward and "do-able"! I need to concentrate more on lunches that are microwaveable leftovers, and extra veg

I am going to have pasta tomorrow after reading that Melty.

Rial I have been painting woodwork in the hall and had a Batchelors Pasta n sauce thing for tea!

Where is Elizabeth, is she on holiday?

thanks all!
I didn't get slimmer of the week although i'd lost the most as i got my stone award.. i also won the raffle how hilarious !

pasta dish sounds lovely...

thre are two ladies in group who've lost 5 - 6 stone each, so that is really inspirational

Well Done lulu, thats brilliant

I'm definitely going to try the pasta recipe, thanks Melty.

lulu woo hoo. thats fantastic,
I have maintained today, which I am actually quite pleased with tbh considering the week I have had. did really well yesterday b ut then bought a packet of sanacka jacks, ate 3 as I meant to, then came back and hoovered the whole packet. made a lovely roast in the end with the chicken. got a mega busy day today so must remember to have breakfast now rather than waiting till after dd1 at school like I usually do.
A couple of peiople have commenbted that I look like I have lost weight so that always keeps me going.

half term next week, so going to have to be carful, I think the trick is to keep really busy.

thanks girlies ! going to try the pasta, but substitue turkey rashers ( don't eat pork), other than taht is sounds gorgeous and filling, think i've really neglected pasta lately

i am trying to think of my weightloss as being 2 weeks worth as i don't want to be disappointed next week if i lose a pound or two.

having broken the 1 stone barrier, i feel really encouraged and losing the weight does not feel like an insurmountable obstacle.. that i've got too much too lose and what's the point as it will take so long blah blah blah

maintaining is fine especially if you've over indulged !

ive started the day with scan bran , quark and smoked salmon as it really fills me up

off out to do some errnds, so catch up later xx

Wow Lulu, that is an amazing loss

I have my first weighin tomorrow, am hoping it'll be good, have stuck to plan and syns (mainly consumed in alcohol over the weekend ) and exercised a lot.

I like the sound of that pasta dish Melty, will have a go.

I also made a SW roulade thingy at the weekend, only 1/2 syn for whole thing, will post recipe if anyone would like? It is not as good as "real" cake, but sweet enough to feel naughty whilst being good iyswim [hconfused]