No matter what plan or diet you are following to lose some chubs, we have all thought of quitting at some point. Before losing weight this time round I had tried so many different ones, shakes, pills, calorie counting, all they have in common is making you miserable & that “quick fix” bullshit advertising. If these were seriously that good wouldn’t we all be doing it? Wouldn’t it be recommended or referred by doctors & nurses?
Most of us want to lose 2st & we want it gone yesterday. We are a nation of impatience, you could order a kidney online & it can be delivered in 24 hours. But our bodies are different, it takes time to shed the pounds & get this God-like body in shape.
So what makes us quit?
That first week of starting a new plan, or going back after a break. If we don’t get that amazing first weeks loss, then we doubt ourselves & most importantly we doubt the plan. Obviously I am talking from the perspective of a Slimming World group, but you can apply all this to anything.
That first week is so crucial, not necessarily for a weight loss, but going away & reading the books, getting to know the plan that you’ll be following for the rest of your life because in order to lose weight & keep it off, this needs to not feel like a diet or a short term quick fix. My first week was awful, I had to go & read my books because I couldn’t remember a thing the Consultant had told me in the new member talk, I had to then plan my meals, how I was going to change up what meals I was cooking to a more healthier way, I had to get to know what I could have freely, what I couldn’t. My second week on the plan was so much better because that first week of preparing paid off. If you don’t lose or you maintain or even gain in your first week, it doesn’t make you a failure. It doesn’t even mean you’ve done it wrong. It just means you need to keep trying, keep reading the books, keep putting one foot in front of the other.
So if you’ve had a cracking first 4 weeks, you’ll be feeling over the moon, loving it, absolutely buzzing when you’ve been awarded that half stone award in group & got that big round of applause & shiney sticker for your book. But then life happens, you get a cold, the kids are on half term, you go on holiday or your Aunt’s cat needs a rabies shot…. the healthy eating habits you tried so hard to put in place the last 4 weeks drifts away slowly, you keep telling yourself you’ll draw the line at the next weigh in, that you just need this chocolate bar big enough to feed a family because you’ve had a shit day & this is the only way you’ll get through it.
So you had one bad meal or day. Welcome to the club. There’s millions of us.
Sound familiar?
Let me be frank, life will ALWAYS happen, things will ALWAYS try to get in the way of you getting that loss you aimed for, there will always be shit days where losing weight takes a back seat & somehow it just doesn’t seem important. But it is. Because after a week of ferrying the cat back & forth to vets & eating shite, you miss group. Your Consultant sends you a lovely text, the guilt is creeping in, you want to hide, fight or flight? “I’ll get back on track before going back to group” you tell yourself, how’s that worked out for you? Losing weight is not easy to do on our own & going to group to face those scales, to get help & support from your fellow slimmers who know EXACTLY how you’re feeling, is the single best way to break the habit of guilt tripping yourself, to draw the line, to start a fresh week & learn new ways of dealing with those shit days when you don’t want to get out of bed let alone face a limp salad. It took me so long to learn to forgive myself when I went over my Syns, it took me even longer to learn that I am only human & that actually I don’t need to ruin an entire week because of one meal or day. Remember folks, this is a lifestyle, before you were trying to lose weight, did you feel guilty for eating a whole pizza, or stuffing your face with cheese at 3am by fridge light? Most often than not, no we didn’t. We just carried on doing what we always do.
Your magic wand to weight loss has to come from you, it has to come from investing time in yourself, making it important. Having a conversation with family & friends & asking for their support as so often we are made to feel bad, or guilty for making good choices. It’s never selfish to say “no thank you” or to put yourself first. Your books you’re given on that first day you join Slimming World have all the tools you need to lose weight successfully, are you utilising those tools to give you the best results possible?
If your first, fifth or hundredth week didn’t go to plan because something popped up, embrace it. Deep down we know why we’ve gained weight, it will always come down to the Syns going high. So why hide from it? It’s never going to do you any good, so pull up those positive pants till you make that camel jealous, deal with it & make a promise to yourself that next time will be different, this is just a blip in the road, it’s a little detour off the beaten track, it’s a learning experience. And with that experience you can change how you deal with it next time it comes up.
You take that & you own it & make it yours.
Slimming World With Mel - Budgeting, Planning & Losing Weight 