A Sizeable Rump! Thoughts from a Slimmer's World.

Let's Beat This Together

2009-02-21T02:12:00.000-08:00

Thousands of people all over the UK are taking to the streets this Saturday, 21st February, to support the first ever ‘Let’s Beat Obesity Together’ campaign, launched by Slimming World, the UK’s largest weight loss organisation. The campaign aims to get whole communities together to help tackle the UK’s spiralling obesity crisis.

It’s estimated that around 10,000 Slimming World members will join forces to help raise awareness of the growing obesity epidemic and its effect on individuals and their families. Members who are already feeling the benefits of the help available at Slimming World groups in communities all over the UK are encouraging friends and neighbours to join them, and take advantage of the support they need to lose weight and live healthier lives.

Read the rest of the story over at Slimming World News.

This week I came to the plan with a renewed enthusiasm... haven't felt this up for it for a long time. And I'm hoping this will put an end to the messing around I've been doing for the last however many months and put me back on track to finally getting to a healthy weight.

There are many, many different plans and methods to successfully manage your weight. Food Optimising is the one for me. And I pledge right now my renewed commitment to the plan and to continuing the journey that's going to change my life forever. And I'll get there because I have the support of not just one group, and not just one consultant, but all my SW friends and consultants I've met in other groups and online.

We can nail this thing! Who's with me?

Another week, another FAIL

2009-02-12T00:22:00.000-08:00

Weigh in approacheth once again and once again I know I'm going to be staring at the numbers going the wrong way. Having said that, though, I do feel like I'm getting somewhere. It's finding that centre point, where I'm doing the plan but getting enough of everything to avoid those feelings of deprivation and the inevitable binges that follow. It's also about finding what works and what doesn't.

This week I've realised that I find sticking to the plan really easy when I have the time, energy and ingredients in to make loads of Free Food based recipes. It's a joy to do, cooking is fun, and enjoying the results knowing it's all "on plan" and will help me lose weight. I've also realised that it all goes to pot if I haven't got the time or energy. If I have those, I'll get the ingredients, but if I want something quick or easy, I'm stuck.

And that's what's caught me this week. One day when I was out for the day and I used that as rather nifty excuse to eat pasties, sandwiches and takeaways. And last night sheer laziness got in the way of cooking anything decent.

So now I'm looking at solutions for those times... I'll keep you posted on whatever solutions I find along the way.

Quickie #2 - Photos and video from the latest Luigi's meet

2009-02-04T01:36:00.000-08:00

The girls from the web's friendliest virtual trattoria got together for a late Christmas party a couple of weeks ago, which gave those of us with a fondness for such activities a fine excuse to raid the dressing-up box and play the fool...

A2A Players Present... RWF! from Sam Randall on Vimeo.

A2A Players present... Showdown Outside Luigi's from Sam Randall on Vimeo.

A2A Players present... un-bloody-breakable! from Sam Randall on Vimeo.

Would I have had the confidence to make such a huge ninny of myself before I started Food Optimising? Probably not. Thank you, Slimming World, for helping me to get in touch with my suit-wearing, shouting, cross-dressing, cosplaying monster. No doubt a gift that will come in handy when I become a consultant..!

Quickie #1 - Random Bletherings from Facebook

2009-02-04T01:29:00.000-08:00

I have been seriously neglecting this poor little blog. Might give you some indication of how much attention the weight-loss effort has had recently *cough*. As I'm back in the swing of Food Optimising and all of that now, I'm intending to give this more of my time. Full rambling posts will resume shortly, but in the meantime here's something I knocked up on Facebook as part of the highly addictive '25 Things' meme...

1. I thought I'd do a new list/note/thing to warm my brain up this morning.

2. Still on my first coffee and I haven't finished my breakfast yet, so this could get a bit muddled.

3. I'm chatting with Stef at the moment, who I really enjoy talking to and I hope to meet one day.

4. After what feels like months of dithering, I am finally back on the Food Optimising plan again. And it feels great.

5. Thursday night, however, will remain treat night for as long as I feel I can get away with it.

6. Getting involved with my group's activities and helping my consultant out is really helping me keep on track.

7. So I'm really looking forward to bringing some fun and games to all of Katrina's groups on Red Nose Day week.

8. I'm not going to give much away about what's going to happen that week, but those who know me well could take an educated guess.

9. Yesterday I was given a chance to make a web site for an old friend.

10. This pleases me in several ways, it's a chance to learn some new skills, and it puts me back in touch with a dear friend who I have missed a great deal.

11. She is as mad as the proverbial box of frogs, but aren't we all?

12. I've often wondered if anyone has studied a box of frogs in order to obtain comparative data.

13. Ditto badger's arse/roughness. How does anyone *know*?

14. Fandoms are wonderful places.

15. My name is Sam Randall, and I am a cosplayer.

16. I'm really enjoying being part of the Twitterverse again.

17. That probably has a lot to do with the presence of the mighty @Schofe.

18. @Schofe is TV Royalty.

19. This was supposed to be an unedited stream of consciousness thing, until I started editing it. Never mind.

20. I'm aware this note isn't exactly random because some points link into others.

21. My breakfast - 6 Ryvita wholegrain crackerbreads, 2 laughing cow extra light triangles, 2 babybel minis, marmite, yogurt, and fruit. That's 2 syns and a HEA and HEB to all you Food Optimising Fans out there!

22. I'm going to the gym later for the first time in months. Funny how signing up for a monthly direct debit does that.

23. The web site project I've been asked to do is also connected with fandom.

24. I hope I can do it justice.

25. This concludes this morning's random ramblings. This isn't a meme or anything, you don't have to pass it on, but if you feel inclined to share 25 portions of your randomness, let me know 'cos I'm nosey and I'd like to read them.

Tis the season to get healthy...

2009-01-05T05:19:00.000-08:00

Ah, the first Monday of January. The day people grudgingly traipse back to work or school, and return to whatever passes for normal in their everyday lives. And, of course, thoughts turn to health, fitness and dealing with the inevitable festive weight gains.

This time of year used to really get me down. The bombardment of ads in magazines, newspapers and on TV nagging away about *my* increasing girth (I always took this sort of thing personally), offering a seemingly endless array of possible solutions to give me the body I always dreamed of. And how would I react in the face of such bombardment? I'd head straight for the fridge and make my problem even worse.

It's different these days. Since I made my choice from the array in April 2007 and joined Slimming World, I know I have all the tools I need to get healthy and lose weight. I know because in my first 32 weeks with SW I lost 100lb. During 2008 I slipped back into some bad old habits, and my weight losses slowed down, then I began a cycle of gaining and losing the same couple of stones. This is entirely my fault. It proves that you can have the best information and resources and support to hand but if you're not switched on mentally, it is not going to happen.

Yesterday I made an effort to flip that switch, to get back into the right frame of mind and to remind myself how easy and enjoyable Food Optimising is. Especially now, with the launch of Extra Easy - flipping that switch has never been easier.

So, I feel confident to make a few resolutions... and here they are:

To keep that mental switch firmly held down

That means remembering the benefits of making the right choices. To ask myself at least three times if I really want whatever I'm contemplating eating. To remember that if I am hungry, when doing the plan properly there is always something available to eat.

To "enjoy responsibly"

I have been drinking far too much alcohol recently, and as much fun as it seems at the time, it never feels that great the next day... especially on those mornings when I couldn't recall what happened the night before. It is possible to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine on an evening without it developing into a couple of bottles, I'm sure.

To stop worrying so much

If I've asked myself three times if I want that bar of chocolate or glass of wine, then I'm to enjoy it, and not to feel guilty about it. This isn't a short-term, faddy, crash diet. This is a plan for life, and so the occasional indulgence is perfectly fine. Occasional being the operative word there.

To keep counting!

One of my major stumbling points during 2008 was having 'off days', where I would allow myself to eat whatever I wanted, without counting syns. This year I'm going to do my damndest to keep count, as best I can, even in a few weeks when I'm at a party in London with the girls from Luigi's. But that's when I'll use flexible syns.

To go to group every week, without fail

Every week. Even if I've screwed up, gained weight, and feel like a big old repugnant sack o'shite, I will go to group every week, and I'll stay for IMAGE Therapy, because the support of Slimming World is as valuable as the plan itself.

So there we are, I'm all fired up and ready to go for another year. How about you?

Willpower 1 - Food 0

2008-11-24T12:50:00.000-08:00

Everybody has their weaknesses, those personal favourites that have potential to bring any decent weight loss campaigns to a crashing halt at the merest hint of their presence. I used to love rotisserie chicken, bought from the Oven Fresh counter at Morrisons. The chicken always played second fiddle to the real star of the show... the succulent, crisp, tasty skin.

I've been avoiding the Oven Fresh counter for that very reason. But tonight I decided it was time to give my willpower a bit of a challenge, and to see how my tastes have changed since starting this journey back in April 2007. I was hoping I'd get this chicken home and realise that the skin was just a layer of fat, and of no appeal whatsoever. I got the thing home and took it out of the bag. The skin looked just as succulent and tasty as I remembered and the smell was unbelievable. I told myself that it's the meat that smells so lovely, not the skin, took a deep breath and removed every last bit of skin, and put it on one side for the cat. Our cat loves me right now. I took the chicken apart, and plated up my portion - nothing but lean meat. I faced a challenge and I won.

All I did was think about what I wanted more, and finally the answer was to start losing weight again. I hope the black box o'doom has good things to tell me come Thursday night.

The journey, as ever, continues.....

Miss Slinky 2008

2008-11-21T01:45:00.001-08:00

Slimming World - Miss Slinky - Nominees
Originally uploaded by pigpogm

Me and my buddy Marie at this year's Miss Slinky competition. Neither of us won, but we had a bloody good laugh. That's the best and most beneficial thing about going to meetings and staying for group, having fun with friends who are in the same boat.

Previously...

2008-11-20T02:43:00.001-08:00

It's Thursday again! Later on I'll be making my merry way over to St John's School to hop on the black box o'doom. I gained 2 and half pounds last week, inevitable really after the bug I had the previous week. I wasn't feeling great about it though, and was in a really lousy mood. The arrival of "the decorators" the following day provided some explanation as to why I couldn't bear the thought of staying for the group meeting last week. I was in a proper Garbo mood, I wanted to be alone.

Well, alone with Michael, a very large pizza, and a case of beer. Very nice at the time but the feeling of guilt that followed wasn't so much fun. It took me a few days to get myself back into the swing of doing the plan properly. A couple of long conversations with a friend helped me realise why these lapses happen, why I can only be disciplined for so long these days. She helped me to look at the bigger picture, look at where I've been and to generally be kinder to myself. This doesn't mean giving up the "bad stuff" and focusing purely on weight loss, nor does it mean thinking "sod it" and scoffing down another pizza, it's about living in the middle, staying in control and keeping it all balanced.

I've also been spending a lot of time at the gym. Our local leisure centre has an offer on of unlimited use of the facilities for 24 days for £20. It seemed like a good time to look again into what's available there and what suits me. Part of the offer included a fitness assessment, which I had last Friday. The results were mixed.

My blood pressure is fine, spot on, "textbook" according to the instructor. My heart, however, is not in as good a shape as it should be for someone of my age. This isn't really surprising news, but it did hit home rather hard when the instructor explained that my family history means I have to be careful. My dad died of heart failure at the age of 57. If I didn't carry on working to turn things around, the same thing could happen to me.

So I have a choice. Work hard and get healthy, or give up, eat pies for the next 10 or 15 years and check out early. I know which option I want to take, and as tasty as they are, it ain't the pies.

I doubt I'll ever see the massive weightlosses I once had again, but the return to healthier eating and more activity is already showing more benefits than a number on the box o'doom. I'll try to keep that in mind when I weigh in tonight.

Until then, the journey continues...

Getting back to business and going back to group

2008-11-09T10:13:00.000-08:00

Once I got back from London I was keen to get back into the Food Optimising plan, and try to turn my run of binges and subsequent gains back into controlled planned eating and consistent losses. On the Friday morning I hopped on our home scales to discover that I had managed to gain 7lbs, which only served to make me extra determined to get back on track. So I started my first proper Food Optimising week at a rather unpleasant weight of 20st 7lbs.

I wanted to be sure that I had plenty of good, healthy food to hand so shopped for the week using the 7-day menu from the very magazine Mr & Mrs Glenister signed for me the previous week. I guess I was hoping that some of the magic of the Gene Genie would rub off. Went to Tesco and piled the trolley high with fruit, veg and lean meat.

As the week went on I was pleased with how things were going, until Tuesday night when I became ill. I picked up a stomach bug from somewhere which pretty much knocked me out of action for the whole of Wednesday. I could barely eat, and I felt really, really ill. I was determined to get to group on Thursday, knowing from my daily weigh-ins that things were going pretty well, and althought it was unpleasant, the stomach bug could only help the weight loss a bit more.

So Thursday night I dragged myself down to St John's School and threw myself at the mercy of the black box. I weighed 19st 8lb - I had managed to lose 13lbs in a week, and managed to be 5lbs down on my last official weigh in at group. At the meeting I shared my squee story with the group, cracked a few jokes and I realised that these people have yet to see me when I'm truly in full weight loss mode. Well, it's a treat they're about to experience, because I'm back, I'm not going anywhere, and I'm un-bloody-breakable!

So, how's this week going? It's taken me a few days to get over the bug, but today I'm fully recovered, and have had my first full day of eating properly. I have control of the plan again, have no interest in bending any rules or going beyond my syn allowance, so I'm feeling hopeful for the coming week. I know the bug will have caused some weight-loss that could very easily come back once I start eating properly, but if I stick to the plan, I'll have nothing to worry about.

To find out more about Food Optimising, click here to visit the official Slimming World Site.

The journey continues...

Motivational Wall Art

2008-11-08T09:19:00.001-08:00

Motivational Wall Art
Originally uploaded by pigpog s

I'm all for surrounding myself with postive imagery to keep me on track. I think it works better than those hi-lar-i-ous "fridge pickers wear bigger knickers" magnets you can get, and it's so much more personal.

This shot is of the area where I spend most of my time. If you click through and look at the photo on flickr, then you'll see explanatory notes for everything up there. Squee is a major feature in this little collage, with shots of both Slash and Philip Glenister, as well as a photo of Katrina, my consultant. Well you can't be naughty when teacher's watching, now can you??

Note to my Consultant

2008-11-06T14:35:00.000-08:00

Just one piddly pound to a certificate and sticker? Can we do it? I'll let Mr President answer that:

This week has proved anything can be possible with hard work and self-belief. Yes we can. See you next week, Katrina.

Edit to admit ... yes ... I *am* squeeing over the President-Elect of the United States. Yes it *does* feel weird.

What a Week! Part Three – The Event

2008-11-02T13:34:00.000-08:00

First of all, let me take you back to June 2007. Manchester. The Manchester Apollo to be precise. I was there with a gang of girls from a fan forum. Lots of hanging around, standing around, waiting for the sighting of one man. Slash. A four hour wait yielded a five minute gawp and twenty minutes of rocking out to Velvet Revolver's set before my knees threatened to crumble and my huge, sweaty frame threatened to conk out completely. I was disappointed and swore that when the time came to do anything like that again, I would be fit and healthy enough to enjoy every moment.

This has been one of the things to motivate me through my journey so far. When I had the chance to do it again, I hoped that in spite of my slight hiccup over the last few months, I had made enough of a change to get through it with enough energy to have fun, be fun, and squee for bloody England.

After lunch IHC, Heidi and myself made our way towards the rest of the red balloon gang at the barrier at the Albert Hall. Having looked at the photos since I realised that I was the biggest person in our little group, but probably not the biggest woman there. At the time, though, I didn't give my size a second thought. Nor, however, did I give much thought to the way I was dressed.

A blissful lack of self-awareness... for a while, anyway. I soon ditched the tie and driving gloves, in preparation for the sighting of one man. Not Slash this time, but the man responsible for bringing Gene Hunt to life... the utterly gorgeous Philip Glenister.

When I saw Velvet Revolver at the Manchester Apollo, the closest I got to Slash was being dragged into the mosh pit. I stood like a rabbit caught in headlights. I think I cried. And as I saw Philip make his way onto the red carpet, I felt that rush of squee again. It's a bizarre but delightful feeling. It's a rush. A real childlike euphoria brought on by the simple pleasure of being in the presence of someone off the telly who I really, really like. I had that “rabbit... headlights” feeling, I muttered “Oh my god” over and over, but by the time he came over and was just the other side of the barrier, I was okay. Hey, it's Phil. He's a friendly bloke. He knows the other girls well. He knows my buddy genesgeni* pretty damn well too:

He spent a decent amount of time with us, signing books, gratefully receiving Kimi's gift of sausage and tomato crisps, but sadly the clipboard-wielding runner girl dragged him away before I could get anything signed. I was relieved, mainly out of concern for saying or doing something that would make me look a complete and utter idiot, since I wanted to save that particular behaviour for the half-time shenanagins with the Bollinger.

By the time the celebs had started filing back out in the direction of the after-show party I was cold, and slightly tipsy. I had decided that I was going to try to get the Slimming World magazine I had in my bag signed. I had bought it to show the girls the article about me going to the Man of the Year bash dressed as Gene Hunt, and thought it would be nice if I could get it signed. I didn't think it would happen, but I stood at the barrier holding it and a pen (a blue Pentel Sign Pen, pen fans!) on the off chance he would pass my way.

Pass my way he did, straight into the building where the aftershow party was being held. Slightly disappointed but not at all surprised, I was just about to put the mag away when Philip's wife – the lovely actress Beth Goddard – was spotted. I managed to call her over. Pointing at the article, I explained what it was about – a party at my Slimming World group, I went as Gene, would really like her to autograph it. Which she very kindly did. Then she looked for her husband.

'ave you got my wife?

Ah. There was that rush again. He was right in front of me again, and this time he was here signing an autograph for me. This is a level of squee I have never experienced before. I have to admit I can't remember what was actually said, but it was something along the lines of Beth telling him that I went to this thing dressed as Gene, and he needs to sign. Which he did. Then he signed some more autographs as we all told him that he was robbed, the Best Drama award should have been his, and furthermore, it was nowt but a load of bum conkers. He then went off into the aftershow party and I was left wondering if he knew what all that was about and pictured him, after a few malt whiskies, asking Beth... “Whaawastha' magazine thing about?”

I have been on my squee cloud ever since. And funnily enough, back on track with the diet. Food Optimising 100% from this point on for as long as I can. Behold the power of squee!

Wonder when Velvet Revolver will be touring again?

What A Week Part 2 - The Journey There

2008-11-02T09:21:00.000-08:00

The last time I travelled to London by train I weighed about 27 stone and could barely fit down the aisles, let alone into a seat. This time around was a good deal easier, but I did the typically female thing of packing for an overnight stay as if it was a 4-week expedition to Outer Mongolia. As a result, I had to drag around 12lbs of luggage with me. A fraction of what excess I used to carry without having any bags at all!

The journey across to London was okay, would have been better if a) I had been facing the right way, I hate travelling backwards and b) I hadn't spent the first 10 minutes of the trip traipsing up and down the carriages trying to find my seat. With only four stops between Tiverton Parkway and London Paddington, it seemed to be a relatively quick journey and after a couple of hours I arrived at station.

Blimey. I thought Exeter St David's was pretty big, but Paddington was huge. I felt a bit out of my depth at first but soon got comfortable, especially when I found the branch of Costa Coffee - source of espresso and meeting place for me and two more of the Luigi Ladies. The funny thing was at that point I didn't feel remotely out of place, or self-conscious about my weight. I'm far from the point where I could go running through the city yelling "I'm slim! I'm slim!", but the days where my weight stopped me from doing thing I enjoy have long gone. Good timing too.

Coming up in Part 3, being at the event and coming face to face with The Guv.

What a week! Part 1 - The Video

2008-11-02T02:20:00.000-08:00

Nobody likes seeing themselves on video. There's always something not quite right. We see ourselves under a magnifying glass, pointing out blemishes and imperfections that pass most people by. Those who don't have either been blessed with post-production work or were made by Disney.

When I spotted my own mush on this YouTube, the following thoughts occurred...

"Well, that's not so bad."

"But I do still look like the long-lost sibling of Johnny Vegas."

Never mind, it was all in good fun. The full story can be found over at PigPog, but more weight, mood and general blethering about how this completely revitalised my commitment to getting the rest of this weight off will be coming to this very spot soon.

Jean Hunt...

2008-10-28T03:24:00.000-07:00

*groan*

Sorry, had to be done.

I'm a happy little camper today, having shoehorned my way into a pair of size 24 jeans from Marks & Spencer. It makes me think back fondly to the time I was pleased to have shoehorned my way into a pair of size 32 jeans from Oxendales, and then my size 26 jeans from Evans. I may be still sized in the 20s, but to be able to pick up clothes from the store that's not just clothes but hand-picked, guatemalan, organically dyed, stone washed and delivered to the store by Twiggy and her army of beautiful people... that's quite nice.

It's nice too to find jeans that sit on the waist. I look ruddy ridiculous in hipsters, at least with waisters the ol' muffin top is easier to hide.

Moments like these need to be remembered for when the number on that soddin' box isn't as friendly as I'd like. I had been feeling recently that I was heading towards what's known in certain circles as Epic Fail, having had a spell of more ups than downs, but sporting a fine pair of denims and having enough room to put stuff in my pockets has made me feel brighter. Now if I could just do something about that muffin top!

*EDIT* - Quick additional note after clocking my reflection. Oh dear. When you can't tell the back from the front you know you've got problems. I think they'll going back in the wardrobe for just a few weeks. Along side all the other jeans I bought and subsequently abandoned. Back in my comfy baggies for now. At least my comfy baggies are only a size 22 these days. It has, in the past, been a great deal worse and in the future it'll just keep getting better. The journey continues!

Attention Budleigh Salterton!

2008-10-27T03:17:00.000-07:00

For those of you lucky enough to live in the gorgeous East Devon town of Budleigh Salterton, you're about to get luckier as a new Slimming World group starts on Thursday. It's run by my friend (and fellow Katrina gal) Kate. If you're in the area and you've been wondering what the flippin' 'eck all this Original, Green and Syn business is all about, pay Kate a visit. It could change your life and rock your world!

Slimming World - Slim with Kate

Today's Food, Sunday 26th October

2008-10-26T11:18:00.000-07:00

My efforts to be good in preparation for my Big Trip on Wednesday continue today with a good old fashioned Green day. On Green days I'm pretty much vegetarian, any meat I have is very limited and measured as a healthy extra. It's a small price to pay to be able to fill up on some really satisfying food.

We've had the day at home today, so I've been tinkering in the kitchen. Here are my meals for the day:

Breakfast: Baked beans, fresh tomatoes, 3 Laughing Cow Light Triangles, Marmite and 2 slices of wholemeal toast.

Lunch: Bowl of potato chunks, roasted in Fry Light with smoked paprika, garlic salt and barbecue seasoning.

Dinner: Rice with potatoes, aubergine, baked beans, red onion, red pepper, butternut squash, garlic, chilli and beans.

Another thing about Green days... you don't need to worry about keeping your bed warm at night as long as you don't mind the smell! *parp* 'scuse me.

The Morning After...

2008-10-25T03:52:00.000-07:00

Last night Michael and I threw a party aboard our favourite floating watering hole, The Ducks Ditty, and were joined by many of our new Tiverton friends. It was a successful party.

*hops on scale*

Eep. A very successful party.

Got my work cut out for me over the next few days then. Fortunately there are quite a few vegetable sticks and wholemeal sandwiches left over from the buffet, so that'll do for a late breakfast.

Thanks to everyone who came along last night. Thanks to Jacquie and Phil for being such great hosts. Now to deal with the aftermath...!

Meet my Slimming World Consultant

2008-10-24T01:42:00.000-07:00

I'm a member of Katrina Barker's Slimming World group in Tiverton. This woman is a powerhouse. She runs five groups a week, is always at the end of a phone, email or Facebook message, her groups are always fun and full of life and she is a great role model for all us lardy buggers keen to follow in her footsteps. Here's a bit of video of her in action at this year's Woman of the Year competition:

On top of all this, Katrina also finds time to play flugelhorn in the rock legend that is Tiverton Town Band, and is also a Mum, to a lovely little fella by the name of Eddie.

I've spent a couple of days helping Katrina out with her groups, and I've seen how much energy and dedication she puts in to providing a top notch service to her members. She's an absolute star, and I hope she knows how much she's appreciated.

Managing The Inner Power...

2008-10-24T01:32:00.001-07:00

I believe that deep within each and every one of us lies an unlimited amount of power, strength and will. It's a resource we can call on whenever we need it to fire ourselves up, to kick in any negative or useless thoughts and to enable us to take full control of our lives with confidence.

The problem is, if you let this genie out of the bottle, you could end up going around dressed like this:

Hm. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. But the gloves brought me out in a rash.

So, fellow Slimmers, don't be afraid to unleash that inner power, just don't unleash it in the direction of your wardrobe.

O HAI

2008-10-24T00:51:00.000-07:00

The story so far...

I joined Slimming World in April 2007, weighing in at a staggering 28 stone. I hoped for some positive changes to my health, my life and of course, my weight. Here's a snippet from my blog celebrating that first day:

Last Monday, I joined our local Slimming World group. After years of swearing I’d never do another diet ever, ever, again (and, I’m sure, putting on a pound in weight every time I said it), I decided to give Slimming World another go. I think I’ve been motivated by a number of things - like the cold, hard slap of reality brought on by seeing myself on video; feeling energised by the beautiful surroundings we live in and wanting to be fit enough to make the most of it; and being able to buy clothes somewhere other than Evans; but most of all, I just had the feeling that enough was enough, and it was time to do something about it.

Visit my blog at PigPog to read more.

In a year I had achieved more than I ever thought possible. I lost a whopping 10 stone, and went down several dress sizes. I went from looking like this:

to looking like this:

I felt good, but after a year or so I started to spend more time off the wagon than on it, and for the last six months or so I've been doing what I've taken to calling The Slimming World Two-Step. Two steps forwards, three steps back. The results haven't been catastrophic, but they haven't been entirely useful either.

So this is why I've set up camp here on Blogger. I always did better when sharing my adventures with an audience, so this is a space just for news, updates, thoughts and general blather to do with my continuing attempts to make this sizeable rump of mine somewhat less sizeable.

I'll sign off for now, and leave you with a YouTube clip explaining how this blog got its name, and send out love and hugs for my fellow rrrrrumpettes over at Luigi's.