It Was the Weekends That Got Us Into Trouble...

I’ve been having a sort out this week and I found this sign hiding in a draw. Maybe I'd put it there to try and hide the guilt it made me feel!

It struck me that where my Slinky mission is concerned, this has very much been the case. Monday to Friday I behave impeccably, planning my meals, trying to exercise as much as I can and accounting for everything I eat. Monday to Friday, I am the perfect Weight Watcher.

Then Saturday arrives, screeching in like Lewis Hamilton for a pit stop, when he knows Nico Rosberg could take the lead and blow his chances of winning!

Only my Lewis brings wine and takeaway! 

  One quick drink in the pub, whilst out walking the dog turns into a bottle (for us, not him) And Saturday night tele for some reason has become a special occasion that can only be celebrated by drinking more wine and ordering pizza. The pizza is normally ordered after we’ve had dinner and are awoken by a loud banging on the door, where we discover Pete (everyone’s favourite pizza delivery man) stood at the door with a large seafood and a portion of cheesy chips!

  Well not this time! This time, I decided that if I were going to give myself the best chance of being fabulously Slinky by the time I’m 40, next July, then I needed to bid Pete (everyone’s favourite pizza delivery man) farewell and enjoy my weekends without ENJOYING my weekends too much! Which in fairness, now my weigh day is a Sunday, I don't have the option of trying to rectify my wrongs the early part of the week!

  So I took charge! Friday night, Lucy and I went out for a meal and wine! However, we’d checked out the menu beforehand and knew what we were having. It was on my tracker before I even stepped into the restaurant. There was also wine, but again all within my points and there was lemonade!

  Saturday, involved a long dog walk with Cyril and Saturday night’s dinner was planned and prepared before the wine was open and again everything was pointed.

  On Sunday morning something weird happened, I got up early and went to zumba and then took Cyril for a walk! By the time lunchtime had arrived, I’d done over 12,000 steps and earned 10 bonus points! So a wander around town to see the Christmas lights being switched on, meant that I could indulge in this little beauty.

Only if you're from Mansfield, will you understand the true joy of cockles, mushy peas and mint sauce from the market place. (Don't judge it, until you've tried it!)

  So when I stepped on the scales and it showed that I’d lost 4 pounds, I was so proud of myself. I was proud for lots of reasons. I’d been in control of the weekend, it hadn't controlled me and I’d had a really good time, done all the things I enjoyed and still managed to lose weight!

  I know it’s just the first weekend and I’m sure at some point, there’ll be a late night knock from Pete (everyone's favourite pizza delivery man) with a large seafood, and a portion of cheesy chips, but not right now!

Better to be the One Who Smiled First

I love this quote and it’s something I always try to do. When you first do it, you feel a bit daft, but before you know it you’ve had half a dozen conversations with random people and the daftness has definitely faded. If I didn’t do this, how else would I know that Snoop Dogg (or is he Snoop Lion now?) has a member of his posse called Rat a Tat Tat? It’s amazing what you can learn from random men in pubs!

  At the train station a few weeks ago, I ordered a couple of coffees and the lady behind the counter treated me like she’d just found out I had been round to her house and chopped all the arms off of her jumpers. She was really rude! As she crashed and banged cardboard coffee cups around and sighed at the fact I wanted milk, I found myself chatting nonsense at her. I went for the obvious weather smalltalk (grunt) wasn’t it busy today? (Another grunt) she must see all sorts in her job (grunt grunt) I could see the woman look at me like I was completely mental. As she finished our coffees and I paid I said; “have a lovely day”, the look on her face was priceless and she grunted back “yes you too” and then she actually smiled!

  For the last week, I’ve kept a note of every time someone’s paid me a compliment, when I started this, I thought it might be a really short list, but actually it hasn’t been. I’m normally really rubbish at taking compliments, so when someone says;

“That’s a nice skirt”, I’ll normally reply with something like “oh thanks, it was only £10.00 from Sainsburys, I’ve had it ages” (other supermarket clothing ranges are available)

  The first compliment I received was from someone telling me that my nails looked nice. They do, Sam who does my nails is a genius.

  As I made a note of the compliment, I thought I bet that’s the only one I write down. Then as I posted a link to last week’s blog, my friend Steph left me this message;

  To be honest it snowballed from there. I noticed even the tiniest of compliments “nice handbag”, “I really enjoy reading what you write”, and “Isn’t your dog well behaved” (Believe me that’s probably the biggest compliment I’ve EVER received!)

  My friend Paula also left me a voice message, which really made me smile and was just what I needed to hear at that point.

  I noticed that gratefully receiving the compliments, meant that in turn I said nice things to people and tried to help people where I could. I also noticed that I started to treat myself better. I’ve made time to go to the gym, I’ve taken Cyril for a walk, really enjoying the peace and quiet and the chance to just wander with him, rather than worrying about having to get back for something. I’ve made loads of lovely fresh food from scratch and enjoyed being in the kitchen. I’ve spent time in the garden painting the furniture, that I’ve been meaning to do for ages, I didn’t even get stressed when Cyril decided to help me and got paint on his bum. I even found myself saying no to things I really didn't want to do, as well as having the confidence to say when I didn't think things were right.

  I’ve also lost another pound this week, so that also added to my general sense of well being, even though after a weekend away with my sister and friend Julie, which involved Fish & chips, ice cream and wine, I’m not wholly sure I deserved it, but I’ll take it.

  So if you didn’t join in last week, this week just try it, see how many compliments you do get throughout the week and make a note of it, I guarantee it will put a smile on your face!