Assumptions

It doesn’t matter how well I do during the week when it gets to weigh day and standing in the queue to get a weighed, a black mist descends on me and I go from REALLY REALLY confident to convinced that I’ve done REALLY REALLY badly! This week it was the former and it was a case of another pound gone! It’s going slowly, but it’s going!

  I’m still sticking to my DNA fit way of eating, but sticking to my Weight Watchers pro-points. I’ve cut down on my carb intake massively, which this week has been easier said than done. I’ve had a few meetings and been on the road a bit and it’s quite hard to get a salad on the road that either isn’t soaked in high fat salad dressing or contains eggs… I hate eggs! So there have been a couple more sandwich options than normal, but at least I’ve been able to work out the points and most nights I’ve cut the carbs out my evening meal. Most days…sometimes you just really need potatoes!

  I went to get my nails done this morning and I was chatting to the girl who was doing them and she mentioned that she’d missed going to Slimming World this week, because on weigh day she’d gone mental and gone to McDonalds and had a kebab! Now this girl is someone who has a really lovely figure and is very pretty and I found myself uttering the immortal words “well you don’t need to go to Slimming World” and she said “well I’ve lost 2 stone with them, so I go just to make sure that I don’t put it back on again”

pretty nails

  It occurred to me that because I hadn’t known her very long I had assumed she had always been slim and had never had a weight problem. Just like I reckon people who meet me now assume I’ve always been fat!

  When I first went to University, I did what every Uni student does and put weight on. Chips at lunchtime, cakes in the canteen, beer in the evening (sometime afternoon) and I put a couple of stone on. During my third year, my Mum and me joined Weight Watchers for the first time and I got to goal weight  by losing 2 and a half stone. So by the time I started my Post-Grad I was really slinky, so everyone I met there, only ever knew me as Slinky Katie.

Me, Mum and Lucy just after we joined Weight Watchers the first time!

Me (on the left) at goal weight, the first time!

  A few years after I’d left Uni and started work, I met up with an old friend. I hadn’t put a lot of weight on by any stretch of the imagination, but working early mornings (whatever people tell you, getting up at 3.30am every morning is unnatural!) so my eating pattern was a little erratic and I’d probably put a stone back on.

Me & my "belly" (on the right)

  I remember sitting on a sofa with my friend having a coffee and she reached over, prodded me in the tummy and said well you’re clearly content with life! I haven’t seen her recently, because I’m scared she’ll grab my tummy and tell me “never mind content, you must be over the f*****g moon”

  I know that sometimes I put off seeing people who knew me when I was thinner, because weirdly I think they’ll think badly of me for putting lots of weight on and assume I’ve just decided to let myself go, which really isn’t the case. My weight is purely down to comfort eating, I wish I was one of those people who found comfort in exercise or something that was good for me, but I’m not. I’ve worked really hard at re-educating myself and having met up with some friends I hadn’t seen in about 10 years recently, what I learnt is that they were just really pleased to see me!

  My aim for next week is to try and lose 2 pounds, before Christmas I want to be at least half a stone lighter, although if it's more I won't complain!

PS - if you could spare me the time to vote for me in the UK Blog Awards, that would be very lovely of you!

"What Have you Done to Your Hair?"

So week one of adjusting what I’ve been eating, I’ve heard friends of mine who are REALLY into fitness and healthy eating refer to it as “eating clean”. Not sure I’ve eaten totally clean, but it’s been less dirty than normal! And when I stepped on the scales this week, I’d lost a pound, so I was happy with that!

  It’s not been as hard as I thought to adjust, because to be honest there’s not been that much adjusting to do. Since I got my DNA fit results, the hardest thing for me is not just having toast every morning for breakfast, because it’s an easy option, or toast for my tea after a long day and I can’t be bothered to cook. I’ve actually been organised! 

Breakfast of yogurt, blueberries & nuts

Lucnh - Prawn Salad, Chopped stuff & Hummus 

I’ve only had carbs with one meal a day (normally my evening meal) I’ve eaten more fish and have been taking Vitamin D and Omega 3 supplements. I’ve also dragged my tired (yet fabulous) ass out of bed in the mornings to go to the gym before work. I may have only lost a pound, but I’m feeling loads better and the other day someone said “I think you’ve lost weight, you don’t look as fat round the middle” My friends say the sweetest things.

  I’ve still been counting my Weight Watchers points, so that I don’t go mental with portion sizes and attending meetings. It all appears to be working and I’m actually feeling pretty good about myself, or at least I was!

  Dad and I had to attend a funeral, as a long-term family friend had passed away. It was the first funeral either of us had been to since Mum died 4 years ago and it was in the church where Mum had sung in the choir as she was growing up, Mum and Dad had got married and Lucy and I were christened. So even despite it being the funeral of someone we really liked and admired, I think Dad and I were even more emotional. I spent a lot of time biting my lip and digging my nails into palm so I didn’t cry.

  As we sat down, we realised that the place was full of lots of our old neighbours and people we hadn’t seen for ages, so there was a lot of catching up to do. Dad was busily chatting to someone who used to live near us and she prodded the lady next to her and said, “Do you remember Ken, he used to live round the corner. The old bag looked Dad up and down and said “I didn’t recognise you because you’ve got so fat!”

  I stifled a giggle as Dad turned around muttering something about her being a rude old bag. Dad’s lost 4 stone and is looking great! However pride does indeed come before a fall, because as we were leaving, another old neighbour stopped us and had a chat with us. She hugged Dad, told him how well he looked and then just as I was about to hug her and say how nice it was to see her, she took a piece of my hair between her fingers, twirled it around between her finger and thumb and uttered

“What have you done to your hair????”

“Gone brunette” was my reply and I retracted my “I was going to hug you pose” and walked off.

Me, with my offensive brown hair

   Dad and I ended up having a real laugh about it all, which took our mind off the fact we’d just been to a funeral.

  There would have been a time when a comment like that would really have bothered me, I’d have made an appointment at the hairdressers to go back to being blonde, it would have played on my mind as I tried to work out why someone would say that to me and then ultimately I’d have turned to a pack of Oreos to make me feel better.

  

  Not now, I don’t care, even if that woman didn’t like my hair, I love my hair and I’m generally feeling better about myself and as I’ve already been told this week “I’m a bit less fat around the middle”

PS - If you've got an extra minute, please vote for me in the UK Blog Awards, thank you!!

UK Blog Awards 2015 - Slinky By Tuesday Needs Your Votes

Earlier this year, Slinky By Tuesday was a finalist in the first ever UK Blog Awards, I didn't win, but I was thrilled to even be recognised and it meant a night out in London with Dad and Lucy.

This time round Slinky By Tuesday is featuring in two categories Lifestyle with Debenhams.

And Health

If you could possibly spare me the time to vote that would be great and I'd really appreciate it! Voting closes 1st December 2014.

Thank you!!