My week on Extra Easy SP

Well it's been a while since I posted on here, i've been so busy and just not in the right frame of mind to write but I'm back with a fresh batch of post ideas so look out for some new stuff on here over the next couple of days/weeks!

You may or not be aware that the Slimming World plan has changed a teeny tiny little bit in the new year meaning that we all now have brand new books regardless of when you started. I will address the regular plan in another post but this post is going to be all about Extra Easy SP which is the 'booster' plan to be followed when you want to give your weight loss a kick up the backside!

The basics of EESP is that you cut out any food in your book which doesn't have an 'S' or a 'P' next to it. On each plate you have 50% 'S' foods and 50% 'P' foods, you still have your Syns (5-15 per day) and you still have your healthy extras but you can have 2 Healthy B choices on EESP as opposed to just 1 on normal extra easy (you do still only get 1 Healthy A choice).

I've done a full week of EESP this week, admittedly it hasn't been without a slip up because it took a couple of days to get to grips with it properly but here's some of the meals I've enjoyed this week:

Turkey steaks (P), Boiled Eggs (P), Cottage Cheese (P), Lettuce (S), Pickled Onions (S), Beetroot (S), Cucumber (S), Tomatoes (S), Red Pepper (S) 1/2 Tbsp 70% less fat Salad Cream (1 syn)

Prawns (P), Lettuce (S), Cucumber (S), Red Pepper (S) Beetroot (S) 60g Bread Roll (HEXB) 2 Tbsp Colman's Seafood Sauce (4)

Salmon (P), Cottage Cheese (P), Beetroot (S), Lettuce (S), Pickled Onions (S), Yellow Pepper (S), Cucumber (S), Tomatoes (S)

30g Cheese (HEXA) & Onion (S) Toastie (HEXB) with Beetroot (S) and Pickled Onions (S)

Speed Food Packed Chilli (recipe to follow) with Cottage Cheese (P), Lettuce (S), Cucumber (S), Red Pepper (S)

Steak (P) Carrots (S), Broccoli (S), Onion (S), Peas (P), Gravy (1.5 syns)

Small slip up:

- I went to Nando's with every intention of being 100% on EESP but thought I was clever enough not to read my book before I went. I ordered Butterfly Chicken (3.5 syns) with corn on the cob (free) and spicy rice (2.5 syns) only to discover that corn on the cob did NOT have an S or P next to it meaning that it wasn't 'allowed' on EESP, I didn't end up having any S on my plate at all (should have gone for the side salad!) and to be totally honest I shouldn't have had the rice because although it's synned and you are allowed syns, it's obviously rice which is one of the prohibited foods.

Fear not though, a small slip up like this doesn't ruin your week, I can vouch for that because I lost 4.5lb this week! Like I said earlier though, the idea behind EESP is that it boosts your weight loss if you feel as if you're stuck or lacking inspiration. Doing it this week I found that I really enjoyed having 2 Healthy B's and I actually found a renewed interest in eating Slimming World friendly foods.

Have you tried EESP yet? Please feel free to ask any questions below and I'll answer if I can. (although please remember I'm not an SW consultant; nobody can replace their knowledge and expertise)

A Week of Food Diaries: Day 4

Yep, another 2am blog post. I've just literally finished work, had a quick bath and sat down to blog about todays food. To be honest it's been so hectic at work that I've had very little time to eat. I literally woke up at 9, got up at half past then forced some breakfast down me because I knew it was going to be a long day and I didn't know when I would have opportunity to eat.

DINNER

errrm...? I didn't have any. Well I lie I had a piece of jam roly poly and custard, one roast potato and half a small yorkshire. Not healthy in the slightest, I know but to be honest I was more concerned about just grabbing something and they were almost within my daily syns so I can deal with that.

TEA

We did a carvery style meal for the wedding we had on so I took advantage of the left overs and did myself a proper dinner with Broccoli (SF + S), Cauliflower (SF + S), Carrots (SF + S), Peas (F + SS), Turkey (F) & gravy (1 syn). I didn't eat everything on my plate because I was so full and it saw me right through the night which I was pleased about.

Syns & Snacks

Apple (SF + S)

Gammon (F)

Jam Roly Poly & Custard (13)

1 Roast Potato (1)

1/2 Small Yorkshire Pudding (1.5)

Gravy (1)

Total Syns: 16.5

Healthy Extras

A: 250ml Semi Skimmed Milk

B: 2 x Weetabix

P.S. Skipping meals is not a good idea. It's just that I literally sometimes don't have time to eat, I'm that busy I just forget about food. I still eat plenty so please don't think I'm depriving myself.

A Week of Food Diaries: Day 3

Another weird day to be honest... I've had the same meal for both meals today, not that it's a bad thing because I really enjoyed it but still. 

DINNER & TEA

Slimming World Easy Chicken Korma, Savoury Rice & Spinach (SF & S)

Syns & Snacks

Nectarine x 2 (SF & S)

Muller Light Vanilla (FREE)

Morrisons Egg Custard Tart (13)

Total Syns: 13

Healthy Extras 

none.

A Week of Food Diaries: Day 2

Today's been a bit weird food wise, I didn't sleep properly last night which meant I didn't get up while 11am and then I didn't eat anything until 2pm so it kind of threw my meal times out and I've not snacked but hey ho still on plan...

DINNER

Sunday Dinner on a Thursday

Broccoli (SF)

Cauliflower (SF)

Carrots (SF)

Peas (FREE)

Sweetcorn (FREE)

Gammon (FREE)

Large Yorkshire Pudding (only ended up eating half 2.5 syns)

Mash (2 syns)

Gravy (1.5 syns)

TEA

Yep Salmon again, simple and easy

2 x thin salmon fillets (FREE)

Half pack Bachelors chicken savoury rice (FREE)

Cucumber (SF)

Pepper (SF)

Tesco Light Choices Sweet Chilli Cottage Cheese (FREE)

SYNS & SNACKS

Large Yorkshire Pudding (only ended up eating half 2.5 syns)

Mash (2 syns)

Gravy (1.5 syns)

250ml Glass Red Wine (9 Syns)

Apple (SF)

HEALTHY EXTRAS

A. 250ml Semi Skimmed Milk

B. 2xWeetabix

A Week of Food Diaries - Day 1

So I put on a pound this week after spending weeks just messing about; you know how it is, half off, half on etc. etc. so this week I'm taking action to get 3 pounds off (would love 3.5 for my 5 stone award but we shall see). Obviously the first part in my action plan is to actually be 100% on plan 100% of the time... the second is to increase my intake of speed and super speed foods (to up my weight loss) and the third is to do these food diaries. These will hopefully not only encourage me to be on plan but they might also give you some meal inspiration. 

(You might wonder why I only have two proper meals per day, that's because I very rarely eat breakfast... and I also say dinner and tea not lunch and dinner because I'm common).

DINNER

Leftover Slimming World cowboy pie with swede mash and gravy (1 syn)

TEA

Baked Salmon Fillets with cucumber (S), pepper (S), spinach (S), potatoes and Tesco Healthy Living sweet chilli cottage cheese (FREE). 

SNACKS & SYNS

- Pineapple (S)

- Apple (S)

- Muller Light Vanilla (FREE)

- 50ml Bisto Gravy (1 SYN)

- 2 x Caramel Freddo (10 SYNS)

Todays Syn Total: 11

HEALTHY EXTRAS

A: 250ml Skimmed Milk

B: 2 x Weetabix

Weekly Weigh in #31 - Yep you can lose this in 1 week

So another week, another weigh in and it's getting very close to my holiday (next week, in fact), last week I said I wanted to lose 2lb over these next 2 weeks so I could get my 4 stone award for when I go to Florida. Well I kinda blew that completely out of the water because I lost 7lb this week giving my 4 stone award plus 3 more to put my nicely into it.

I've never lost this much in one week at Slimming World, even my first week was a 6lb weight loss so I have no idea how I've managed it this week other than being 100% on plan and also running around like a mad woman at work over the weekend. So I'm well and truly in the 4 stone mark and I'm definitely going to have a bit to play with when I go away.

Also in my 'news' this week is that today I went out, tried on and bought a pair of size 12 jeans from Next; honestly I think it was about 7 years ago the last time I could do that. It felt so nice today to be able to go into any shop of my choice and know that I will be able to pick my size of the hanger is such a good feeling. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the clothes in places like Evans but when you're totally restricted to certain shops, shopping for holiday clothes can be pretty soul destroying especially if you hate looking at yourself in the mirror. What I did realise today though, is that I need to tone up on my stomach and probably on my legs but that will come in time and I'll do that when I feel good and ready!

I'm hoping for another 1 or 2 pounds this week just to keep it going right up until the last minute but I've already exceeded where I wanted to be for my holiday so I'm feeling totally chuffed with myself to be honest!

Weekly Weigh in #29 - How to get a good weight loss

After last weeks 0.5lb gain there was absolutely no way I was doing it again. My little short term goal of 4 stone before Florida wasn't going to happen if I didn't do something pretty drastic this week. So after a 100% week with lots of Super Speed food I have lost 4lb! I'm now sort of comfortably in the 13 stone figures but obviously no time to rest on my laurels because I've got another 3.5lb to come off to get my 4 stone award for Florida. 

 

I think lots of people think that you can't get big losses once you've been doing Slimming World for a while, if you think like that then you'd be wrong. Obviously we all know our limited where weight loss is concerned and I do think that losing weight seems a little easier when you have more to lose but with a few tweaks in your weekly plan you can help yourself lose more than the average 1.5lb. I've seen some bits and bobs online about success express, I personally haven't ever tried it but the basics behind it are that you fill 2/3 of your plate with super free as opposed to 1/3 and you take the highest syn value in the book whenever you enjoy your syns (in the books there are 3 syn values, red, green and extra easy... always take whichever is highest no matter what). I generally have quite a lot of super free on my plate anyway and I will not eat a meal without super free (it DOES make a difference to your weight loss and I am sick of seeing people on Instagram moaning about their losses, but if you look back at their photos they have no or very little super free on their plates).

Anyway, back to what I do... if I want a good loss I look in my Slimming World book and I find all the foods with an SS by the side of them. This means 'Super Speed' which are foods which are 'extra low in energy density... so they have extra slimming power', I try and include these in my plan every single day if not more than once a day. I have Melon as a snack (honeydew is really nice and sweet!) and I'll try and have baked beans on my plate if the meal goes with them. Here's a quick list of just some of the super speed foods:

Strawberries, raspberries, cod, haddock, butter beans, mushy peas, baked beans, garden peas/petits pois...

There are lots more but I find these easiest to include in my plan, I don't do this every week obviously but when I feel I need a kick up the bum this is my usual plan of action and it usually works!!

Next week I'm hoping for at least 1lb, I'm not going to push myself because I don't want to be disappointed but my mini goal is well within my sights thanks to a good loss this week!

Weekly Weigh in #28

For the first time since starting Slimming World in September, I'm feeling really demotivated this week; not quite to the point of packing in but enough to make me feel really rubbish. After having a good week food wise (apart from one meal at Fazenda in Leeds which is meat and salad) I've gained. So, so mad.

After feeling so positive last week about getting my 3.5 stone award I've put 0.5lb on this week, taking me back into the 14's again which I did NOT want to see ever again. I know people will say 'it's only half a pound' and my husband says 'well you can't lose every week'... in answer to those it IS only half a pound but half a pound more than I wanted to weigh this week and YES YOU CAN LOSE WEIGHT EVERY WEEK!!!!!!!!!!! ....and breathe. I could sit here for hours on end and speculate as to what has caused it but I'm not going to, as our leader always says: 'draw a line under what has happened and move on to a new week'. 

Plan of Action

Probably TMI but I've not been for 5 days, that can't be good and although I'm not blaming that it sure won't be helping my weight loss so this weeks plan of action is going to be to add more foods which are high in fibre into my diet (the ones with F and FF next to them in the SW books) and lots of water to go with it. 

I also know I need to vary what I eat, it's all getting a little bit too samey for my liking so I'm going to do a proper shop tonight at Tesco and tomorrow at Lidl and Farmfoods (because I refuse to pay Tesco prices for everything) and plan exactly what I'm going to eat and I'll do a food diary every day. Even considering putting a daily food diary on here just to force me to do it.

So new week, new mind set... I'll let myself be mad tonight but I'll get that 0.5lb off next week and then some!

Weekly Weigh in #27

If you read last weeks Weekly Weigh in post you'll know that I needed 1.5lb off to get my 3.5 stone award, well I only went and did it didn't I!!!

I got on the scales this morning and I saw '13' as the first number, this is the first time I've seen this since around 2009 which is a lonnnng time, so you can imagine how happy that made me! It's little things like seeing the next number on the scales or getting an award that make all the difference in your levels of motivation. For me, keeping to smaller more achievable goals is what keeps me focused, if I only had my eye on the ultimate goal I daresay I might have lost motivation by now. 

Next week I want 3lb off so I know I'm going to have to do some good planning and I need to stick to the plan 100%, here's some of what I'm going to be enjoying this week:

- Toby Carvery (one of the best places to eat out while healthy eating)

- Salmon

- Chilli

- Burgers

- Diet Coke chicken

- Bachelors Pasta n' Sauce 

I've definitely got my eye on the prize now, I bought another 6 week count down tonight which takes me to the week I go to Florida and I want my 4 stone award that week (if not before) so if I have a couple of good weight losses in the coming weeks it puts me in good stead for what I want!

Why I Chose Slimming World

There are so many weight loss plans out there it can be quite daunting when you decide that you want to lose weight. Structure is what lots of us thrive on so having a plan to follow can result in better success than if we were to just 'eat healthy'. I have tried lots of different diets including shakes and 3 day 'chemical reaction' diets... most of them have all had that magic little word in them which makes us go 'ahhhhh I can't do it', that little word is 'diet'. As soon as you mention diet lots of people imagine hours of hunger and treat deprivation, that's where Slimming World is different.

Slimming World is a way of life, you must be willing to change your attitude towards eating if you are going to succeed with this plan. The thing with Slimming World is that you can eat lots of filling food, you can eat until you feel full and you can still have the treats that you love. I will openly admit that I am a pig where food is concerned, I don't like child size portions, I like a decent plate full of food and Slimming World allows for this. As long as you fill at least 1/3 of your plate with non-starchy veg/fruit you can eat until you are full. All lean meats, seafood, meat replacement pieces, potatoes, eggs, fat free cottage cheese, fat free natural yoghurt and fromage frais, beans and pulses are free which means you can have as much as you like without having to weigh or count anything. You see it's the weighing I cannot stand, when I did Weight Watchers you literally had to weigh and count 95% of what went in your mouth (it might have changed since I went) and I cannot stand this. I love being able to snack on veg and fruit without worrying about weighing or counting.

Then there's arguably the most important bit... treats. Syns are what you use for the little luxuries that you love, I tend to use mine for a splodge of mayonnaise or a bit of chocolate but it's ultimately up to you what you use yours on. Women can have up to 15 syns per day and men are allowed up to 20 (lucky sods); as long as you stay within this every day you won't go far wrong.You also get one choice of Slimming World approved high calcium foods (HEXA) and one choice of high fibre foods (HEXB) to help maintain a balanced diet.

Another thing I love is that because of the nature of the plan, you can still go out for meals. Admittedly some places are more Slimming World friendly than others but a plan friendly meal is possible in most places (I will exclude Pizza Hut from this now, that place is a very Synful place!). 

Ultimately, Slimming World has taught me that losing weight does not have to mean that you no longer have a life, you can do the things you love and find a way to eat the things you want and still lose weight. I love the support that the group brings every week and I won't lie the competitive fairy inside my head forces me to try and lose weight every single week because I HATE feeling like I've failed.

Common questions about the Slimming World plan (I follow the Extra Easy plan so I am answering this assuming you are following the same):

Why do I have to have the 1/3 Superfree on every plate?
The extra easy (EE) plan enables us to put more calorific, filling foods on our plate at the same time, when I say calorific I mean potatoes/rice/starchy veg as well as meats and fish. If we were allowed to fill our plates full of potatoes, meat and rice without adding any veg/salad/fruit we would not get the weight losses we want. The original Slimming world plans (red & green) would not allow meat and potatoes on the same plate without weighing and counting syns for one of them which meant that there was a degree of control over how many calories you were taking in per meal. Extra easy gives us more freedom to have different foods on the same plate but we must have the 1/3 super free to control and reduce the calorie intake.

How many Healthy Extras can I have?
1 healthy A and 1 healthy B.
Healthy A's are for your calcium intake and can range from 250ml semi skimmed milk to 30g cheddar cheese (there are lots of other choices!)
Healthy B's are for your fibre intake and you can choose one from a selection of wholemeal breads, to cereal and cereal bars (again, there are lots of other choices).
You MUST measure/weigh these as these to get good weight losses, do not estimate because 9 times out of 10 you will find that you are having far more than you are actually allowed! A full list of Healthy Extras can be found on the Slimming World members website.

Can I really eat as much as I want?
Yes, you can. Every meal you can have a good plateful of food. You can eat as much as you want until you are full, however once you are eating beyond feeling full you are eating too much. When you feel full it is your body telling you that you do not need to eat any more, if you are eating when you are full just for the sake of it (through boredom or otherwise) is like eating syns. Lots of people snack on oodles of fruit in between meals without thinking about it, just because it's super free BUT if they are not actually hungry they are ploughing more calories into their body than needed which can reflect on the scales. So the key to eating lots on Slimming World is knowing when you are full!

I hope this little post has introduced the Slimming World plan quite nicely and I hope the short Q&A has helped anyone with any questions. If you have anymore questions please don't hesitate to ask me on Twitter, you're probably asking something which someone else is also dying to know!

Weekly Weigh in #26

To call this weigh in week one would be a bit daft really because I've been slimming since September of last year so this week is in fact weigh in number 26. Every single week I wear the exact same clothes so I know that my weigh in is totally accurate because let's face it wearing jeans one week and leggings another would add at least another pound onto your weight. So this week I've had a good week...

This weeks weightloss: 2lb

Pounds to next award (3.5 stone): 1.5

I love being so close to an award but I also hate it at the same time, I feel like I could have pushed myself more to get that extra 1.5lb but if I get it next week (which I WILL) it'll mean that it's taking me around a month to lose half a stone. I don't think that's bad going and it'd put me in good stead to get my 4 stone award in time for going to Florida. 

This weeks news: The new magazine is out!!! It's £1.95 to Slimming World group members but you can pick it up in shops as a non member for £2.75. I haven't had time to read it just yet but I'm sure it's full of slimspiration and meal ideas

They've brought out some new Peanut luxury hi-fi bars (HEXB or 6 syns each), they're quite significantly smaller than the old luxury bars which is a bit disappointing but they are still really tasty. I often don't have bread or cereal so hi-fi bars are great for getting my healthy B choice in. These are £1.95 for a pack of 4 but they're only available at groups.

We got a sneaky peak at the brand new Fakeaways recipe book!! Consultants aren't allowed to sell them until 7th April but I had a quick look tonight and it looks soooo good. I've not had a takeaway for 6 months so I'm really looking forward to being able to prepare stuff that tastes just like the real thing but for less syns!

On the menu for tea tonight is a double Quorn burger from the frozen section (0.5 syns each) in a small wholemeal roll (HEXB) and some cheese (HEXA) with peppers and cucumber.

Hopefully next week I'll be showing you a photograph of my 3.5 stone award!

The Story So Far

I've actually been slimming since September 2013, but I've just been doing periodic weight loss posts on my beauty blog, but it's become increasingly difficult to incoporate those kinds of posts into my normal stuff so I decided that the way to go would be to do a dedicated weight loss blog. I'm going to address this first post using a Q&A format because that's easiest for me, and easy for you to follow...

Which weight loss plan do you follow?

Slimming World

Have you tried any other weight loss plans?

Yes, lots... Weight Watchers, Slim Fast, Herbalife, Military Diet, Alli.

What will be posted on this blog?

Everything to do with losing weight and my weight loss journey. Obviously it will be primarily based on following the Slimming World plan but you could easily incorporate my recipes and ideas into your own plan. 

Starting Weight: 17st 6.5lb

Current Weight: 14st 3lb

Goal Weight: TBC

Starting Clothes Size: 18/20
Current Clothes Size: 14/16
Goal Clothes Size: 12

To be totally honest, I'm more concerned about clothes size than I am about my actual weight. I've always weighed quite heavy; even at my slimmest when I was like 15 and a size 10/12 I was still 11.5st so I personally don't think it's realistic for me to be under 11 stone without pushing myself too far.

Progress photo so far:

Left: June 2013 Right: March 2014

The main difference I notice in these two is how I'm stood, on the left I'm slouched in a 'please don't notice me' stance whereas on the right I'm stood tall and confident; not worried by the fact that I'm having a photo. The more I look at the photo on the left the more I feel like it's not even me, I often wonder why I let myself get to that size... everything was an effort for me: buying clothes that didn't make me feel like a whale, walking around, standing for long periods behind the bar... I just wasn't myself at all.

So if you're ready to read about my weight loss journey, collecting some hints and tips along the way please subscribe via Blog Lovin and follow me on twitter!

Also if you have any questions please leave them in the comments below!