Weetabix For Winter Mornings

With the cold weather gripping us in its wintry chill, it is so important to start the day with a good healthy breakfast.  Both adults and children will benefit from enjoying a tasty bowl of Weetabix!

Served with hot milk for a warming breakfast it will be a perfect boost to see you through the chilly mornings.  If you or the children prefer a chocolatey cereal, Weetabix now do a Spoonsize Chocolate Weetabix which is crammed with chocolatey chunks.  The good news is that is only contains half of the sugar of other chocolate based cereals on the market...so both kids and mum are happy!

Weetabix is a great source of nutrition for all the family. But if you are watching your weight it can be a really useful asset!  Not only is it full of goodness (like high in fibre and fortified with iron and vitamins) but it is also a great way to keep you fuller for longer and will help you avoid snacking throughout the morning!  So any weight watchers can enjoy a guilt free breakfast that will keep them full up until lunchtime.

Some of the benefits of eating Weetabix for breakfast are:

·         Weetabix provides slow release energy that will keep you fuelled up for the day

·         Weetabix is a great source of fibre which helps keep tummies healthy as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle

·         Weetabix is low in sugar

·         2 Weetabix are only 134 calories (excluding milk)

·         2 Weetabix biscuits is the perfect portion so you’ll find it hard to pour too much into your bowl!

·         If you’re following a diet with the likes of Weight Watchers or Slimming World you get more for your points!

Weetabix also has a meal plan that you can view here: http://www.weetabix.co.uk/downloads/pdf/right-weight-fibre-diet.pdf. This gives you tips and advice on all your main meals to help achieve a balanced and healthy diet.  

Weetabix really is a cereal that everyone can enjoy, from little ones to diet conscious mums.  Find out everything you need to know about the brand at http://www.weetabix.co.uk/

Mumentum Update for October

I'm still thinking myself slim with my Slimpods!  I still marvel at the power of the 10 minute MP3 to quell my compulsion to eat all day long and stop me from yoyo-ing my weight like Renee Zellweger between Bridget Jones films.  I'll be forever grateful for accepting the offer to trial Thinking Slimmer, I'm not trying to be dramatic but it has turned my life around.  My size 12's are feeling more comfortable and I feel like I'm in control of the choices I make.

I have another photoshoot for a health and fitness magazine coming up, following on from the Sun article, which will be exciting!  This one is with Ian and it will be the first time we've had a professional photograph taken together.  We didn't even get professional pics taken when we got married.  So this will be fabulous for us!

I also started a trial of the Mutu System last week, to try and sort out my weak stomach muscles following pregnancy number 5.  I started with great vigour, taking my before shots, measuring myself and setting goals.  I printed out my How To guide and began the first phase of daily core exercises.  The gentle exercises included a "pelvic scoop".  Sadly for me...my spine did not take too kindly to being moved in this way and I put my back out! #fail

I contacted Wendy, the creator of the Mutu System, who chatted to me about the spinal injury my body has learned to live with over the years, since giving birth to Ella back in 1996!  My body has compensated for the weakness so I am generally pain free...until I roll my lower spine.  That is why pilates and yoga have never agreed with me.  All that pelvic tilting really upsets my back causing pain, stiffness and nerve pain down my leg.  And that was the result of me just doing the breathing exercises in phase one!  But Wendy was brilliant and helped me to work out a way of working around my problem whilst continuing with the Mutu System.  I think my stomach muscles feel better already just by contracting them and holding them tighter in everyday situations.  I will get a flat tummy yet!

I also decided to part company with all the size 16 and 18 clothes which are languishing in my wardrobe...I definitely won't be needing them again. I finally have the confidence to accept that.  I can't believe how huge they look.  It wasn't that long ago that these were my favourite pair of jeans!  It is nice to have something to gauge my weightloss against...it was very motivating!

I want to shift another stone and tone up my tummy, thighs and my arms...that is my goal for Christmas!

Check out thinkingslimmer.com and mutusystem.com for full details of these products.

My Moment of Fame in The Sun

Today was the day when my photos appeared in a national newspaper!  I had done the photoshoot in London a couple of weeks ago and had been simultaneously looking forward to / dreading the article on my weight loss appearing in The Sun.  You always wonder who might end up seeing it...ex-boyfriends for example. *shudders* But as soon as I saw the article I stopped worrying about those things.

I am really proud to be helping Sandra with promoting her product.  The Thinking Slimmer Slimpod has definitely changed my attitude towards eating.  Unlike other times when I have religiously and obsessively dieted, the Slimpod allows me to take days off  to enjoy special meals without slipping down the slope to gluttony and impending failure.  My appetite is more controlled and my old tendency to craving foods has disappeared.  My mind has definitely been retuned.  It makes it so much easier to eat well and not obsess about food 24/7.

I hope the article helps other people who have had a similar bad relationship to food to seek new methods to solving their problems.  So many people are resorting to extreme methods of weight loss such as diet pills or even gastric band surgery.  Everyone with a weight problem or an issue with food should at least try the Slimpod first.  There really is nothing to lose (except weight!!).  It's non-evasive, safe and so very easy.  It has helped me battle my demons. You have to want it and work with it...but you do it willingly without feeling deprived or miserable. My weight gain over the years has been completely self-inflicted...turning that on its head has resulted in sustained weight loss and increased confidence.

I am enjoying being a size 12 again!

If you want to read the whole article this is the link.

Mumentum...The Exercise Begins

I've been doing well with the weight loss, inspired (or terrified!) by the photoshoot for The Sun last week. The good eating continues to be easy (I love my Slimpod!!  I just don't spend all day craving food anymore...it has really liberated me.)  My story is up on the Thinking Slimmer website this week.  I only have to look at my 'fat pic' to know it is all worth the effort!

Exercise has been a real nemesis to me however.  Over the years I have struggled to find an exercise regime that didn't cripple me.  I have a spinal defect that just does not like exercise...even yoga and pilates caused me problems.  After one Pilates session I couldn't walk for three days!  So the exercise dwindled.  Running about with the kids and family walks have been my only exercise.  I've tried crunches to get my tummy flat, but struggled to lift my head off the floor (much to the amusement of the kids!)  I have zero strength in my stomach muscles...they are so weak after giving birth to Freddy it is laughable.  The two halves of my muscle did not knit back together like they are meant to, and despite mentioning it to my doctor at my six week check, no further investigations were done and I've learnt to ignore the fact that you can poke your fingers into my intestines through my tummy!  Having confirmation of my blown stomach muscles from fitness expert Nicki Waterman who interviewed me for the article in The Sun, was the incentive I needed to start working on my abs, before surgery becomes the only option to fix my core muscles.

She told me that doing a Plank was the best way to knit the two sides of my wayward muscles together.  From that night I've Planked several times a day!  At first I could barely hold my position for 10 seconds, but I'm now lasting just short of a full minute.  It is amazing to see a difference already.  I might not be doing it absolutely perfectly with my bum sticking in the air rather than having a perfectly aligned body, but the tone of my belly has improved noticeably so it's doing some good!  Fingers crossed this will help pull everything together and tone up my tum.

Here is an instructional video in case you want to have a go at flattening your tummy too.

Good luck to all you other Mumentum ladies!  Together we can do it!

Mumentum Update

I am keeping religiously to my diet aided by my Thinking Slimmer Slimpod this week.  In the three weeks that I have been focused on a return to being somewhat virtuous, I have lost a further 12 lbs.  In this time I have had a family party for the MIL and FIL's birthdays that involved a meal out and a cake buffet at my house.  I ate a leek and mushroom shepherd's pie with vegetables and that was it.  Not even a piece of cream cake or cheesecake passed my lips.  Seeing what was left of the puddings, I thought about how I would have finished it all off without even thinking before.  But I just did not want to eat it which is such a revelation.  I binned a load of cake that had been sat out all day...that is unheard of for me.  I would have had cake for breakfast rather than waste it...but the thought of consuming Morisson's BOGOF Frozen Cheesecakes just did not justify the calorie consumption involved.

12lbs lighter.

I do have an ulterior motive to my resolve however.  I have a photoshoot for a national newspaper in London on Wednesday, that has scared me into 100% commitment! (More on this to follow!)  I hope that when the pressure is off, I can still find the motivation to keep the weightloss going.  I want to ease off a bit so I can enjoy the occasional takeaway or quality dessert, but I don't want to plummet down the slippery slope to gluttony.

Balance is always the thing that has been difficult for me.  I'm either 100% resolve or I'm just plain greedy.  I was watching the documentary about Claire from Steps and I could relate to her issues with food completely. Like me, she could lose weight if there was a purpose behind it, otherwise the lure of the naughty but nice takes control.  I'm really hoping this time is different and I can find a happy balance that allows me to enjoy food but still maintain my weightloss.  I think this is where the Slimpods win, as long as I want them to work they will.  This is definitely my greatest long term challenge and possibly the greatest challenge I've ever faced in my life as a yo-yo dieter.

In the last 2 years my weight has tipped the scales over the 16 stone mark...I'm now 3 stone lighter, but my aim is to lose another half a stone and then maintain it, without the wild fluctuations I have experienced over and over again.

I have a terrible self-image of my body, but the whole hypnosis thing has really helped improve my confidence and self-belief.  I can see a change in myself and I want to keep working on that.  I'm not happy yet...but I hope I will be soon.

Mumentum...I'm In a Newsletter!

I'm in the Thinking Slimmer Newsletter!!  So I decided to share their article here as my Mumentum post. 

Binge-eater Wendy's new skinny jeans prove our latest Slimpod's a winner!

By Sandra Roycroft-Davis, Founder of Thinking Slimmer

WHEN we create new Slimpods they need to pass the toughest tests we can find before we make them available to our customers. So when we wanted to put our unique Drop Two Jeans Sizes Slimpod through its paces we couldn’t have picked a better person than binge-eater Wendy McDonald.

She confesses the worst thing she’s ever done is sneak upstairs and eat the three selection boxes she’d bought her kids for Christmas. “I wolfed down 10 choccie bars in one go and I wasn’t even hungry,” she says. “That was shameful.”

Today Wendy, 42, from Shropshire, (pictured below) has beaten her eating mania for good and gone from a size 16/18 to a neat size 12 with the combined help of Drop Two Jeans Sizes and our Chocoholic Cure.

I was a yo-yo dieter

“After my first child I put on five stone,” she says. “Since then I have been a yo-yo dieter and a binge eater. I had no stop button. I would keep stuffing my face without ever feeling full or sick. I used to overeat even though I wasn’t hungry.

“I was hugely sceptical about Thinking Slimmer but to my amazement I couldn’t believe the difference in my life. In the first two weeks I lost 11 lbs!

"That damaging binge eating I’d suffered with for years just went! No more three packets of biscuits for elevensies, no more pigging out on chocolate. My body breathed a sigh of relief that I had stopped abusing it at last.

“I used to eat a 200g bar of Cadbury's Wholenut in one sitting - now I have nothing.  I have breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I even have a little bowl of ice cream or a lolly for pudding, so I’m not being deprived of goodies.  I simply don’t want to eat more than that.  Result.

Confident again

 “If I want to confirm my Slimpod’s

a success I just look at the size 12 clothes hanging in my wardrobe. Today, I felt confident enough to brave the clothes shops again and have bought myself new skinny jeans, some tops, underwear and a dress.

"It was empowering to be able to do so without thinking that there wasn’t any point to me having new clothes. I’m going to bag up all my size 16 clothes and give them to a charity shop, so there is no going back.

The new Drop 2 Jean Size Slimpod is now available from Thinking Slimmer.  The visualisation is more specific to those of us who wear jeans rather than dresses!

Gaining Some Mumentum

Over the Summer, I've had lots of opportunities to over indulge with stays in hotels, all you can eat buffets and day trips with fast food.  Although I've not slipped back into my self-destructive binge eating (thanks to my Thinking Slimmer Slimpod which seems to have 'cured' that part of my pysche), I haven't had the best diet.  Some days, I did not eat my 5 a day *slaps wrist* and other days ended up with us having to eat out in McDonald's through sheer lack of choice when out and about.  So although I haven't undone the weightloss I achieved, I haven't lost any more weight.

Now the kids are going back to school and the non-stop activity of the holidays draws to a close, I've got the luxury of concentrating on myself again in terms of what I consume.  This should result in me feeling a lot better and hopefully begin the weightloss again.

For three days now I've returned to the religious listening to Trevor and my Slimpod.  For breakfast I'm having Special K with So Good soya milk.  Lunch is veggie soup and fruit.  Dinner is a Quorn Steak, rice and vegetables.  I also snack on fruit and raw carrots to top up my 5 a day quota.  I drink black decaff coffee and have one glass of fruit juice a day.  It's been really easy...no hunger pangs, no cravings...fingers crossed I'll be reporting back with some results soon!

As Helen pointed out, it's just 16 weeks until Christmas!  How lovely it will be to look exactly how we all want to look...good luck ladies!

What hides beneath!

I now wear size 12 jeans.  I'm doing OK with my eating and my relationship with food is healthier than it's ever been.  I felt confident during my trip to London guest editing on Real People.  I was professionally photographed and didn't feel at all self-conscious.  I enjoyed my meals out but didn't overdo it and get greedy.

However, I had to share this photo that my daughters took of me.  It keeps it all real!  I can't get complacent because this is what lurks up my jumper!  My squidgy belly is a source of amusement to my kids...here it has been turned into a face with a belly button frown!

So while I take real joy at being consistently a size 12, I will never forget the wobbly gut that is lying in wait to expand again to fill the size 16-18 clothing that I was wearing at the beginning of this year.

This is my Mumentum post for this week...thanks to Liska for continuing to host it :)

Mumentum Update

I didn't link up to Mumentum last week, because I didn't really have much to report.  I was also quite pre-occupied with Fred's birthday preparations.

I'm still listening to my Slimpods and am not experiencing any extreme greed related behaviour.  I'm not weighing myself at all and I'm not stressing about my weight loss.

I am however starting to see a real downturn in my mood.  I'm feeling really low.  I used to enjoy my weekly food shop, planning menus as I perused the aisles.  I used to love cooking and enjoyed making good wholesome veggie dinners for my family.  But it's like I just can't be bothered with food anymore.  Shopping and cooking have lost all their joy.  I didn't even bake a birthday cake for Freddy...thank goodness Nana brought round a jelly tot covered sponge cake for him as a surprise!

I feel really detached from the pleasure of eating.  As a real self-confessed foodie, this feels very wrong.  I just can't be bothered with it all.  Poor Ian is doing most of the cooking because I can't find the motivation.  I happily eat it...but the joy surrounding the preparation and the interest I have in food has waned.

Being a size 12-14 is nice and I feel slimmer, but my passion has been lost along with the pounds.  At first it was exciting to feel that my appetite was suppressed but the  knock on effect has deadened a part of my personality.  I don't want to go back to my disgusting old ways and I'm genuinely delighted that I am cured of my obsessive, self destructive gluttony.  But something isn't right with me.

I know I have a history of depression and this could just all be a part of life's great plan to periodically test my mental state...and whereas I'd usually drown out the negative thoughts with cake, I don't have the compulsion to comfort eat.  That in itself is a good thing, but also means I don't have the tools to soothe away the demons with calories and cream!

My favourite jeans are all too big and I'm down to the last hole on my belt.  Instead of embracing this and buying new clothes, I'm slobbing around in my baggy, old gear and feeling dowdy. The skin on my belly is not a pretty sight.  No longer padded by fat, its an unattractive apron and a reminder of my past problems.

I don't know why I'm not celebrating and striving for more dieting success.  I still could do with shedding another stone, but I feel like I'm sinking and losing a part of myself along with the fat.  Losing weight isn't a cure all for deeper issues, and obviously my self-esteem hangs in a fragile balance.  Maybe it's just a phase but I really wish my joie de vivre and my zest for life, food and fun would return.

I need a make-over...but wouldn't know where to start!

I'm hoping my three day adventure in London will resurrect something inside me that has quite frankly curled up and died.

I didn't intend for this to be a depressing post...sorry!!  It kind of wrote itself and who am I to deny a voice to my unconscious mind!!

I will cheer up, I will snap out of it and I will feel better about myself again soon.  Then I can take joy in my success and stop making everybody miserable with my whining!

Mumentum

My Mumentum posts are getting a bit dull...since using the Slimpods my attitudes have changed and I'm no longer battling my demons, binge eating or embarking on the next yo-yo diet.  The weight loss has slowed down but as I'm now in it for the long haul, I'm no longer stressing over the scales!

There are steps I can take to up the ante if I need to.  I still have a biggish evening meal which I insist on finishing.  I do feel full, but the part of me that has had it ingrained in me to 'clear my plate' can't quite bring myself to leave food.  But as my meals consist of healthy veggie fayre, I'm not too worried about it.  I just need to get the portion control sorted out using my Diet Plate.  I think that holds the key to my next step!

As for exercise, I know I should try and find something that I can do to get the blood pumping.  In the past I have done yoga, Pilates, holistic toning and attended the gym.  However every time I have done exercise, I have put my back out.  Even the back strengthening yoga poses have been known to do me damage.  It was after I had Ella 15 years ago that I damaged my spine.  X Rays showed I had slight scoliosis and her birth aggravated it to the extent that I found it hard to stand up and straighten my back.  It took a year to get better, but everytime I did any exercise it flared up giving me pain and a weakness in my legs.  It took me years to realise that my attempts to strengthen it were actually making my condition worse.  Any twisting, jolting or anything that put any undue pressure on my spine would set me back.

Since giving up the gym my back has been fine!  Oh the irony!!   But I'm not getting any real exercise.  Walking is the only thing left for me (I hate swimming and won't even consider that as an option!!).  So I hope this summer I will get off my arse and do a lot more walking with the kids...not just around the local shopping centre either!  I want to get out and about in the fresh air.  So that is my resolve...to try and improve my fitness...without crippling my back!! Plus it'll be tonnes of fun!

My Psychology of Slimming

"I am someone who has previously suffered from an eating disorder.  I have starved myself.  I have pretended to eat, hidden food and felt proud of my deceit.

Over the years, my eating disorder took on a new tact...that of binge eating.  I have no stop button.  I can keep going, stuffing my face with food without ever feeling sick or full.

Clearly the binge eating was not good for the waist line and eventually the whole consumption of hundreds of calories in one sitting took its toll.

The emotional aspect of comfort eating is an easy excuse to justify why I had just eaten a family sized 200g bar of Cadbury's Wholenut, followed by a family bag of Tortilla Chips (yes I really did that).  But to me that excuse wears thin, becoming a vicious circle of  "I'm depressed so I'll eat. Oh dear I'm fat so I'm depressed.  I'm miserable so I'll hit the biscuit barrel!"  There is no escape from the spiral of destruction that goes hand in hand with that train of thought.

I've eaten because my "mouth has been bored"!  Before the days of this blog, I was a non-stop eater.  Boredom can be a complete killer in terms of calorie consumption.  The very fact I now have this little corner of Cyberspace to keep me occupied means that I would sometimes not think about food for longer periods of time.  But eventually the knowledge of the fact that my cupboards contained treats bought for the kids would filter into my conscious and the binging would recommence.

Attempting to eat healthy alternatives is just not an option.  How can a small handful of sunflower seeds and a peeled carrot compensate for not having the cream cake that you know is in the fridge?  It can't...you just eat both the healthy snack and the cake!

Not having treats in the house is unrealistic.  I was not about to deny my kids a lunchbox treat just because I couldn't control myself.  But one December I had bought selection boxes for the kids and I hid myself away and literally gorged myself on ten full sized choccie bars because I was feeling a bit down.  Shameful!

Being so tall meant I could get away with carrying extra weight, and it wasn't until I went to the doctor's and was weighed that I realised that I had crept into the band of the BMI chart that screamed OBESE!!!!  To me, obese people were those bed bound giants that lay in the prison of their own bodies.  The ones who ordered in pizzas and fried chicken as they grew their rolls of undulating fat.  Not me!  I couldn't be obese...but there I was according to the new fangled calculations of shame.

I'd diet with sterling will power and lose weight quickly, but eventually I'd tire of the feeling of self-deprivation and hit the bakery department of Morrisons with the wild abandon of Augustus Gloop in Wonka's Chocolate Factory.  It wouldn't be pretty.  I'd convince myself it was a one off glitch, but the dieting spell was broken...it was easy to 'slip' again and again until I was all slip and no diet!

The blogging journey thankfully lead me into the open arms of Sandra from Thinking Slimmer.  I agreed to do a trial of a new Slimpod.  I didn't have any expectations and although it seemed to work at first, something just made me give up and sabotage my efforts after the 21 day trial.  I thought that would be the end of my relationship with Thinking Slimmer but they don't give up that easily.  With a few tweaks of my programme, some supportive phone calls and Tweets, I was ready to try again.  I had a few false starts but when the time was right I committed to it. This time things have changed dramatically.

It was being at Cybermummy that really brought the difference in me to the fore.  All those cupcakes and chocolate bars available to munch on all day long.  That used to be my idea of heaven.  A cornucopia of sugar laden treats going begging...and all for free!  It was the ultimate temptation...but someone forget to tell my unconscious mind to crave them.  It didn't even occur to me to want to eat them.  I popped a couple in my bag thinking that my girls would love them.  I didn't pop them in my mouth!  It wasn't until 3pm when I made a conscious decision to have one because I was feeling a bit flaky due to only having a tiny lunch.  I recognised a need to eat something to keep me going and I enjoyed trawling all the cupcake displays in the main hall, looking for my prize.  I settled on Johnson Baby's offering and it was a good choice. Light vanilla sponge and not too much frosting.  I savoured my treat and no floodgate of food cravings was opened.  That to me is a huge success.

I want to be able to eat something delicious from time to me, having factored in the calorie content.  I want to enjoy it, relishing the indulgence, but confident in the fact that one will be enough.  I want to live my life without feeling that I can't go out anywhere because I'm afraid of temptation.   This door has finally opened up to me...I am at last free."

This is my Mumentum post.  Thank you to the lovely ladies and the wonderful Liska for making me not feel alone with my issues and triumphs.  Thank you to Sandra and Trevor for the opportunity to try something that I would never have considered doing myself otherwise.  My life is truly changing.

Mumentum...Throwing the Scales Away

This week I'm taking advice from Sandra at Thinking Slimmer.  I am throwing out the scales.  I know from experience that weight loss is never linear.  The journey to being slimmer comes with sheer drops which are great but also plateaus where the weight does not shift.  Plateauing can be demoralising.  After a week of being virtuous to find that I've lost no weight can be enough to send me to the biscuit tin.  My efforts can be completely ruined after being taunted by the unwavering needle of the bathroom scales.  Being obsessed by the number of pounds lost can definitely cloud my focus.  Weight loss has to be seen as a long term effort, not a quick fix.  Weight can fluctuate from hour to hour depending on whether you have been to toilet, had a big drink or just eaten.  It can change from morning to night.  It definitely changes across the course of the month with water retention.  So relying so heavily on weighing in, can lead to demoralisation and wanting to just give up when the scales don't seem to reward your week's dieting.

I am the sort of dieter who jumps on the scales everyday searching for the elusive lost pound.  If I felt I had been particularly good I would be gutted if the scales stayed the same.  It would really put a cloud over my day.  I'd wonder why I was bothering if I wasn't getting the results.

I had brilliant weight loss for my first two weeks since joining in with mumentum.  This really showed me how my gluttony was responsible for a good stone of my excess weight.  Stopping the greed is a quick fix to shedding those pounds.  However there is no way I can sustain weight loss like that...it would be unhealthy anyway.  The weight loss has to slow down, but I know from experience that the slow, steady decrease in weight frustrates me.  That frustration can really scupper me!  I've done it so many times in the past.

So instead of falling prey to something that I know will knock me off my path to a slimmer me, I'm going to stay away from weighing myself every week.  So I can't tell you whether I've lost weight or not.  But I can report that my size 12 jeans do up without a struggle...so that's got to be good right?

I can say that I'm not snacking between meals and I haven't touched chocolate at all.  I am eating the same as the family, which means my meals are not very low calorie.  So if I notice no changes I can up the ante by making diet dinners for myself...so that is a weapon in my arsenal!  Fingers crossed though things will keep going in the right direction.

I hope everyone else is doing well this week and that you are all feeling good about yourselves!!  We will get there ladies!!

Mumentum...Weekly Update!!

Two weeks ago I was ready to change myself for the better.  At 6' tall I was carrying my excess weight all over, and although I'm not huge in any one dimension, I felt mannish, like an Olympic shotputter.  It didn't make me feel feminine or attractive being this shape. It was time for me to do something positive.

With the support of #Mumentum and the wonderful Sandra at Thinking Slimmer things have changed.  Last week I reported a 5 lb drop in weight.  Today I weighed myself and another 6lbs has gone from my frame...making an 11 lb weightloss in total!  It is quite drastic, but I haven't starved myself, I haven't gone without and I haven't suddenly started doing tonnes of exercise.  All I have done is listen to my Slimpods which have caused me to eat less and eat better. Simples!

Before this fortnight I'd constantly graze.  The word grazing always makes me think of a sheep nibbling at greenery...this however is not how I graze!  My grazing involved constantly snacking on chocolate, cheese, crisps, bread, cake, biscuits and generally anything I could find in my treat cupboard.  I used to justify it by saying that my mouth was bored!!  I used to think that one more wouldn't make a difference.  Then I'd eat a huge meal in the evening (then finish off the left overs from the kids' plates) and have four slices of toast and butter and jam for supper.  God, I feel ashamed actually writing this...but I feel that it is part of my healing to get these skeletons out of my closet once and for all.

Since using the 'Lose 2 Jean Sizes Slimpod' alongside the 'Chocoholic Cure' I have experienced massive changes in my eating habits.  I do not eat between meals and my portions have halved.  The strangest thing is that I have gone off chocolate bars which is unheard of.  I don't even spare them a thought anymore.  I used to eat a 200g bar of Cadbury's Wholenut in one sitting...now I have nothing.  I have breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I even have a little bowl of ice cream or a lolly for pudding, so I'm not being deprived of goodies.  I simply don't want to eat more than that.  Result.

Today, I felt confident enough to brave the clothes shops again and bought myself new skinny jeans, some tops, underwear and a dress.  It was empowering to be able to do so without thinking that there wasn't any point to me having new clothes.  I'm going to bag up all my size 16 clothes and give them to a charity shop so there is no going back. It will be so cathartic!!

I know this weight loss will slow down soon because it can't keep dropping off at this rate.  I may have to start exercising, heaven forbid!!  But the main reason for this is to get some control back, provide a positive role model to my three daughters and make them proud of me.  It's not about vanity or trying to aspire to some impossible media hyped image of a stick thin celebrity.  It isn't about me conforming to some stereotype of a self-hating woman trying to change through self-loathing and deprivation.  It is simply about doing what is right for me.  Showing my kids that gluttony is not acceptable, and is not healthy either physically or mentally.  It is about getting healthy and enjoying life.

I'll leave you with a photo of me taken today.  I'm well on my way to being the person I want to be both inside and out.  Thank you to everyone who is helping me to make it happen!

*Thought I'd better add that I am not on commission to Thinking Slimmer hehe!!  I just love it this much!!*

Thinking Slimmer Review

Anyone who reads my blog will probably know I have been trialling Slimpods since last November. My success has not always been long lasting because things have got in the way (like Christmas, illness and generally losing my Chi for dieting!)  However, Sandra the CEO of Thinking Slimmer has taken it upon herself to really help me. I've received personal phonecalls and direct messages on Twitter, and between us we have come up with my current programme.  She has been wonderful. Also I think the time is now right and the supportive #mumentum group has been the final piece of the puzzle, giving me the motivation to succeed once and for all!

I am using the Drop 2 Jean Sizes Slimpod at the moment.  Previously I had used one that referred to dress sizes, and although it is a subtle difference, I couldn't relate as well to the visualisation of myself in a frock!  So this one is tailored to suit me better.  There are lots of different options so you can find one that fits your own personal needs.

I've been listening for about a week now and it really is facilitating some amazing changes in the way I eat.  For example today I was in Starbuck's with my husband.  By habit, he bought me a Mocha and a Skinny Lemon Muffin.  I was thinking 'what the hell, I'll eat it anyway...it's skinny!' but I just couldn't.  I really didn't want it.  It just didn't appeal to me at all. I wrapped it in a napkin and brought it home for the kids!  I have said no to the offer of food using will power, but this was different.  I just did not want it and it was there on a plate in front of me.  It actually scared me a little bit!!  This was massive!

No thanks!!

I've lost 5lbs already and I'm not having to do anything apart from listen to my MP3 player at bedtime.

If you think hypnosis could help you, take a look at their website.  It's not just a place to purchase a downloadable Slimpod.  There is information, success stories that are really motivational, advice and support. It's a real community and after you become a customer you get access to the VIP area.

I love the soothing voice of Trevor Silvester who uses WordWeaving to gently talk to your unconscious mind, influencing you in a natural way.

I'd say give it a go...there is nothing to lose...except your excess weight!!!

Mumentum...My Journey to Being Slimmer

It's been just a week since I hooked up with Liska and the other #Mumentum girls.  I'm already 5 lbs lighter, more positive and my attitude to food has changed.

I've restarted my Thinking Slimmer Slimpods, listening to the 10 minute recordings at bedtime every night.  It has really helped me.  I am listening to the yet to be released "Lose Two Jean Sizes" slimpod, along with the "Chocoholic Cure".  They help by reprogramming the unconscious part of your mind to see food as a fuel that is there to be burned.  It makes you aware of the feeling of fullness and makes you open to change habits of a lifetime.  It encourages you to do 'anything more than nothing' to achieve your goal everyday and visualise the person you want to be.  The person you CAN be!

It really is incredible that after just a few days I am no longer craving treats or binging.  It's easy to say no to food or just have a little taste of things and then stop.  I genuinely don't feel like I'm being deprived of the things I used to want, because the desire for them has gone.

So far so good!!  But I do believe that the support of you #Mumentum ladies is really instrumental in the effectiveness of my ability to allow myself to succeed this time.  I feel that I'm not alone, that other people care and are rooting for me, like I'm rooting for them!  Motivational chats on Twitter and comments on blog posts have raised my spirits immensely and I'm so grateful for the support and friendships that are developing online.  Everyone has different motives for their weightloss or fitness goals.  Everyone is taking a different approach...but we all want the same thing.  To get back the control and be as healthy as we can be for our families.

I'll be thrilled to meet up with some of our group at Cybermummy.  And I really hope that we get the opportunity to attend an event together as the #Mumentum Ladies!  We could get T-Shirts and everything!!  Poster girls for fabulous Mummies working on reducing their tummies together!

Liska's group is snowballing as other people on Twitter see the hashtag and realise what a great group it is.  I'm so glad that I joined in and proud to play a part in it!  This is exactly what social media should be about...enabling like-minded people to link up and connect.

My one concern is that my lack of exercise will eventually call a halt to my weightloss.  I've done all kinds of things in the past. Yoga, pilates, holistic toning and going to the gym.  In every one of these attempts I've put my back out.  I couldn't walk for 3 days following one Pilates class!  I was diagnosed with scoliosis after the birth of baby number 3.  I had a year of restricted movement and pain following Ella's birth.  There is definitely something amiss in my spine.  Instead I will try to walk the school run more often and do activities with the family that gets my blood pumping. Fingers crossed it will be enough.

I start week 2 with a positive outlook and I can really see where I want to be.  Using Cybermummy as the first marker enables me to set a date for my first target.  I'm not entering into any mass hysteria regarding the Cybermummy event as some people have suggested to other people's attempts to lose weight etc.  But it is an event that is punctuating my year and therefore provides an opportunity to lose a bit of weight and is a focus for my efforts.  Feeling like I'm doing well is a huge confidence boost.  There is no harm in that whatsoever!!