Hello Slimming World members!

[Arabica]

I'm starting a new thread here as nobody has been posting on our old one(s) for a couple of days. Just wondering how everyone is doing (and if there are any new MNers out there who are also SW members--welcome!)
I've been a member since 15 June and am now just one teensy weensy pound away from my very first stone award. But at times it has been an uphill struggle so it's been great to share my journey with everyone here. Would love to hear from everyone else.

No, that's a bit of a myth I think. I did lose a lot in my first 2 weeks, but that was because I ate so badly previously and I had a lot of weigh to lose. You need to have reasonable expectations, and 1lb a week every week for few months, with some meals out and treats, is much better than a iron clad regim for 4 weeks that crash loses you weight but then you just pile it all back on again after!

I lost NOTHING for my first 3 weeks. It really does vary from person to person--everyone's metabolism is different. But it all evens out in the end. This year's woman of the year lost about 9st in a year but then took 6 months to lose her final stone.

Pesky, are you going to re-join?

hmm. Run out of time really and that's the problem for me. I did join again briefly last January, but I just didn't get on with it so well. I think I had such motivation first time round as I was 16.9 and on the far side of a size 32.

I too lost about 5 stone really swiftly and easily, but the last stone was a beggar. Half of that stone has slipped back on over the last year. But I had some lifestyle changes over that year which are also fairly mitigating!

Wow 5 stone .. that's impressive

I'm so impresseed with everyone's endeavours here .. seems you're doing really well ..

Do you happen to know whether if you make something out of free foods it stays free (like smoked salmon and low fat cottage cheese pureed to a pate for instance which I just tried) .. I seem to remember that fruit isn't free if cooked .. is pate?

I think it is free. Tuna / salmon pate made with quark, lemon juice, pepper. Chickpea hummus - kind of with fat free fromage free and a ton of garlic and coriander. Smoked salmon rolled up with quark which you've flavoured with herbs is mega. Palma ham with melon... ooh, if only I had the time to shop and cook...

I think the issue with pureeing fruit is that it is far less satisfying / filling when you break all the fibres down by mashing or pureeing. Also the sugars hit your blood stream at a rate of knots without the fibre to slow it down. But it doesn't apply to everything with SW - mashed potato for example.. or sweet potato - or celeriac...

I also have, somewhere, a fantastic recipe for lemon and raspberry cous cous cake. Sounds foul, but as I remember (off the top of my head) you mix eggs, lemon rind & juice, sweetener, quark or muller light or similar, together and add to cous cous that's been made with lemon juice and water. Layer that in a bowl with frozen raspberries in between and bung in oven. Eat warm, or cold.

As I remember, it was about 4 sins or so for the entire cake that could have served 8, but did me over 2 nights! Actually, I am a mine of recipes -I just don't have time to cook as much now I've gto a toddler and a schooly to deal with...

That cous cous cake sounds lovely, if you could dig out the recipe I would really like to try and make it for our class Xmas party.

parma ham has syns in it peskykids.....
My fave at the mo is 'quiche' made without the pastry - eggs, cottage cheese etc. Very yummy to nibble on... if it lasts that long!

oo yes please on the cake recipe if you can be bothered PK

OK - will dig recipe out..

Why does parma ham have sins in do you know Yorkie? It's only like bacon, so I just cut off the outer fat and assumed it was free? Boo hiss!

Hope everyone has a good weekend. I HAVE to be good because I really, really, really want that club 10 award for Xmas. Am going out for dinner tomorrow with 2 v slim girlfriends, but am going to cycle there and back to burn off some of the excess (it'll also stop me from having too much wine)!

Still trying to lay my hands on the cous cous cake recipe, but did stumble across this which I used to make all the time because it meant I could eat almost an entire batch of cakes! I have also made this recipe in 2 7" round tins then iced and filled - it looked great. Hope you like it - you may want to check my syn calcs are still ok as this is from 2 yrs ago...

12 Passion Cakes = 14 sins

Cakes
3 medium eggs (free)
6 tbsp sweetener make sure cooking version (free)
85g wholemeal self raising flour
(4 sins per 28g) = 12 sins
(can also use plain wholemeal plus 3 tsp baking powder)
2 tsp ground mixed spice free
170g grated carrot free

Frosting
Half a tub quark free
4 tsp honey 0.5 sins per tsp (2 sins)
sweetener free
2 tsp vanilla essence free?

Whisk eggs and sweetener together until doubled in volume. (About 5 mins)
Sieve in flour & spices. Fold in carrot.
Put into cake cases and bake at gas 4 / 180 / fan 150 for 15 – 20 mins.
Beat all frosting ingredients together and ice cakes when cold.

never bought sweetener .. are there any brands that are better than others for cooking with??

there was one advertised but don't remember what it was now

Thanks for the recipe PKids! I don't know much about sweeteners but from looking at recipes in the mag Canderel seems to be OK.

Weighed in tonight. 2lbs on. Whoops. Have had a very munchy crunchy week and don't think I'm gonna get much better this week either. My motivation has switched itself off until Jan 1st I think. I was hoping to have lost 2 stone by xmas but it hasn't happened. All my own fault.

Hey, it's only 2lbs, it could be worse! I was hoping for 5lbs off by Xmas but I think I have stayed the same or even put a couple back on. Not had loads but been doing lots of picking which all adds up. Weigh in is in 2 hrs.

good luck!

Put on a pound, so now I have 3 to lose by next Tuesday! Looking at my record though, I do tend to lose for 3 weeks and then put on a pound or so or stay the same for the next 2. So, although I am disappointed, I'm not over-concerned. It'll be off next Tues.

good on you Arabica .. can't believe you only have 3lbs to go

I lost 1.5lbs this week

well done Arabica - a pound is nothing. You have such willpower please pass some my way. I remember having 3lbs left to lose my 2 stone and now I'm 5lbs away from it. I don't know what's happened I'm eating so much rubbish at the moment and don't feel a tiny bit guilty. I know I will feel annoyed with myself though when the weight piles back on. I don't want to give up on SW though as I know it works for me.

Holly you are doing so well too. Keep it up. You have lost nearly as much as I put on this week

I've only 3lbs to go to get to my club 10 but after that I still have over 1st to get off. And everyone says the last stone is harder to get off than the first one. Although I refuse to entertain thoughts of failure!

what about the middle stone (or two) then?

I thought it was the last few pounds anyway

The last few pounds is certainly hard for me. Mind you even when i lose the 2 stone I'd like to shift more weight. Maybe another 2 stone afterwards. OMG.

Let's not think about how far we have to go or how long it might take. Let's just concentrate on making our targets happen this week. Says she who just sank a very large bowl of Vietnamese noodle soup made with a suspiciously tasty stock that probably wasn't as fat-free as it appeared. . But, I did resist the free Quality Street offered in my local book-shop. Last year I had 4!