Advice on doing it from home

Ironically the name of the blog 'slimming world from home', this is the way it works for me. I've actually never been to a group (although I'd like to), I've learnt the ropes from mostly Instagram and reading online and have found it a really helpful environment.

Initially, I didn't have a clue. I knew it worked because I'd seen the results with my very own eyes on other people, but to try and get my head around the programme of red days, green days, EE (whatever that was) and healthy extra's galore... it was overwhelming. I started with what was the Extra Easy plan, it seemed the easiest. One healthy extra option of each A & B and all normal foods were free and anything that was synned was synned. Simple. I began to follow each and every Instagram account that stated the syn values in their posts so I could build up a log of syn values for different foods (seems ridiculous) but I didn't have the access to the app or the books. I worked out the 1syn = 20cals for any foods that didn't contain 'free' food and the rest I either asked about or 'googled'. Slowly but surely things began piecing themselves together and I managed to gain a good insight into the plan.

I continued with EE for a long time, and didn't really make much progress to be honest. It was about this time when I read from a fellow "instagrammer" the words "If I ate carbs at both lunch and dinner then I would never lose any weight". I panicked. I was doing this most days! Pasta for lunch or bread and then potatoes at dinner then the same the next day and so on. I then began looking in to red days. I never thought my body would cope without the carbs but I had to try it. I sought some advice from the girls on Instagram and began doing a few red days a week. I now do about 5 red days a week and the weight is slowly dropping. Obviously everyone's body is different, but this seemed to work for me.

 

So my advice for following slimming world from home, well definitely use Instagram to your advantage. Screen shot is your best friend, any meals that you like the look of or syn values - take them and keep them in a file on your phone. 'Syns allowed' on Facebook was an amazing discovery and lists all syn values of practically any food you could think of. Also, if you're not sure on something then just ask! There are so many people out there including myself that love helping you and finding things out to ensure you're on the right track. Mostly, you must be motivated. If you need somebody each week to weigh you and keep you on top form then going it alone at home will be difficult. You need a supportive family and people around you that understand what it is you're trying to achieve. You'll be mocked, there will be people that don't understand why you can't have that extra slice of bread or why you want more vegetables but do it for you. It's your bloody body not theirs, if you have a bad day - well then pick yourself back up again. Finally, keep going and don't look back.

The weekly food shop

 I'll just put it out there... I don't like food shopping. For me, it's a pain in the ass. Effort and a life necessity unless you get it delivered but I'm too picky. So it's that time of week again where your fridge is looking like a sorry mess and the veg is limp, the fruit is not much better and you're eating beans on toast for your dinner. *Must go food shopping tomorrow*

Food shopping normally happens on Friday or Saturday for me and it's always Aldi. It used to be Asda but the difference in cost was just ridiculous. So I'm a loyal Aldi shopper. Once a week we meet, I take stuff from the shelves and in return it feeds me and my partner happily for a week.
I'm going to do a short post just on what I buy and what I use the products for (I get asked this quite regularly). I sometimes write a list, but the supermarket is so small that I rarely forget anything and tend to buy the same things each week with just small variations. All the food below lasts 5-6 dinners and 6-7 breakfast and lunches.

Here goes...

The 'naughty cupboard' and other dried food

 

Tomato Puree and Passata is a must for me. Adds instant flavour to anything, adds moisture to dry food and thickens sauces and syn free providing it contains no extra oil.  The biscuits and chocolate are mainly for the other half but I do have one now and then - none of them are higher than 3.5syns per biscuit. Bran flakes are my cereal of choice as you're allowed 40g for a hexb (bonus!). Benefit light bars allow you to have two for a hexb choice also. I buy pasta to have as a back up, I do mostly red days but if I'm craving carbs I love a bit of pasta. The teddy faces are basically a rip off of pom bears and they actually taste nicer! (They're 4.5 syns per bag.) Sweet chill sauce and light salad cream (yum). I've also bought some wholemeal sandwich thins this week to make a 'steak bake' (hello!) and fat free yoghurt to have with fruit in the evening. Mature cheddar (35g for hexa). You still with me?

 Tins glorious tins

 

Pretty straight forward, chopped tomatoes for making ratatouille, curry, chili, bolognese (basically everything). Corned beef because I love it (3.5syns per 100g). Stewed steak to make my steak bake is 4syns for the whole tin. New potatoes in the tin are a life saver - I pop them in the oven coated in herbs and they crisp up (thank me later). Strawberry conserve, to pop on my toast in the mornings. Tuna tins - free if in brine or water. I like to treat myself to one in sunflower oil every now and then, the taste is much much nicer and perfect for a salad.

 Meat, Fish and Meal Foods

 

Bacon, for the weekends or for wrapping round chicken (always cut the fat off). 5% fat mince - syn free. Perfect for batch cooking, makes good stuffed lettuce wraps, chilli and bolognese. I like to buy a whole chicken, nice and easy and perfect for sandwiches or salad the next day! Venison burgers are 5syns each but absolutely delicious (save a hexb for these so you can have a proper burger) I also love the spicy bean burgers (they're amazing)  5.5syns each (on an EE day)

The Holy Grail

 

If you're going to give slimming world a good go you have to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables. Before slimming world I didn't really eat fruit or much veg to be honest but now I eat it like it's going out of fashion and actually enjoy it. I buy a lot because I mostly do red days. So mixed within this lot is a few bags of salad for lunches at work. Kale - because I love it. So quick and easy and great accompaniment to any meal. The large flat mushrooms are great stuffed with cheese for your hexa. Fruit - lots of apples, peaches, kiwi and banana's. Butternut squash for a potato alternative, messy but delicious. Bag of peppers - very versatile. Dammit, just remembered I forgot to buy courgettes (sad face). Beetroot and celery are perfect salad additions, easy to prepare and full of flavour. 

So that's about it. Besides diet coke, paracetemol and a bottle of squash this is my weekly shop. Same time next week? - Blergh, don't mention it.

Body confidence

This is something I've been reading so much about lately, literally tons of women campaigning for people to feel comfortable in their own skin. But it's so hard - yes you can say 'you should feel body confident' or 'you should feel liberated' etc etc, but to actually feel that way I find quite impossible to be honest.

So here's my input. I'm not body confident, maybe 75% of me is, but there is that pesky 25% of my confidence that is hiding away and doesn't want to rear it's head. This is something I've always felt since I reached puberty, maybe even younger than that. Unfortunately I've inherited what my family refers to as the 'Shirley Legs'. Basically, chunky legs. They've been with me for as long as I can remember, and have always remained bigger in proportion to the rest of my body. Growing up I always remember disliking my legs and still do to this day. I danced for many years and was always 'bigger' than the skinnier girls, I always the 'boy' in the any dance that involved partners and when it came to skimpy costumes and hot pants ... I hated it. Throughout school my best friend was much thinner than me and I always felt like that 'fat friend' even though I knew I wasn't fat. Mum assured me that I was just 'big built' - that made me feel even worse.

I've never gotten upset about my weight, or cried over it at night. But it's just something that's made me feel very uncomfortable and wary of what I wear or how I stand or even sometimes walk. When I was about 15 I noticed I started to get stretch marks on the insides of my legs and cellulite. It's only recently that I've actually tried to lose some weight but the weight seems to drop off everywhere but my bloody legs. For the past few years I've hated my knee's also and have tried to cover them up whenever I'm going out (besides holiday). Which makes me question... why is it okay on holiday. My answer - well because I won't see the people on holiday again so I don't care. Which is stupid. Why do I care what people in the UK think to my wobbly legs if I go out in a pair of shorts?

It's hard to not care. It's hard to think that you look fine when in your head you don't and it's hard to see other girls looking fabulous in their shorts and skimpy skirts and you're just stuck in jeans. I actually posted a picture to Instagram last night of me showing my 'problem areas' aka - my Kim K butt. I tried a dress on and snapped photo's from the angles I don't like to see how it looked. Probably something we all do, I look okay from the front, but side on behind is not so nice for me.

The responses were really surprising and I guess I wanted to show people that I'm not happy with my all of my body and it's normal to show imperfections rather than taking every photo from my best angle all the time. People told me that they 'wish they had a body like that' and 'wow you look great'. I'm shocked, because that is NOT how I see myself. But maybe we should, maybe when you look in the mirror next - ask yourself is it really that bad? There is somebody out there wishing they looked like you and I think that's the best compliment ever considering I spend my life wishing I looked like somebody else. Well I don't, I look like me and maybe we should be thankful for what we've got.

Amen.

A day in Portsmouth

So on Wednesday this week me and the other half spent the day in Portsmouth. We've been once before and managed to tie a day out in with a work trip (result.) I love being near the sea, something very British and calming about it. Naturally, we had to look round the shops. Being so close to the Gunwharf Quays outlet shops was perfect. The words shop and outlet are like a match made in heaven. We had a mooch round and made a few purchases (obviously).

French Connection had an amazing sale on, lots of samples but sadly so many of the items weren't priced so you had to either risk falling in love with a dress that turns out to be £60 or just browse through the items that actually had the price on. I chose the latter. I only ended up buying one item, the dress pictured on the left - it's a little short but I think it'll be great later on in the year with some tights or leggings. It was also a heavenly £10!

I also tried this orange dress on the right - but it was a little tight round the arms so ended up leaving it. But I loved the length, it was perfect for summer! (Any excuse for another dress) This one was only £15. It was from Great Plains so not sure why it was in the French Connection shop. But definitely worth heading in if you live locally or are visiting.

I also went in Cath Kidston, I'm not a massive fan girl like a lot of people. I'm not really into the whole 'shabby chic' thing but appreciate the designs. I always look at the clothes they have because they have some really quirky and unique designs. I spotted a lovely dress with a London Bus print on but questioned whether I'd actually wear it ... hence it didn't come home with me.

Last stop after a delicious lunch at Loch Fyne (yum) was the Nike shop. I never ever go in to sports shops - just putting it out there. However, I was keen to invest in a pair of trainers to wear for work rather than wearing flimsy sandals on a concrete floor all day (not good). So dragged my arse over to the footwear and spotted these pink beauties. Yes I'm a trainer convert!! I feel like I've been walking on air bubbles for the past few days and for a mere £26 they were an absolute bargain if I may say so myself.


I was also looking at the gym clothing (obviously not to actually buy, because me and exercise are not friends). But the stuff looks amazing, like seriously pretty and comfortable. I stood there staring at it like I knew what I was looking at (clearly not). Ten different types of trousers - slim, flared, capri, low rise, mid rise, stretch fit - seriously. You know when you feel like the shopping assistants are watching you thinking 'this girl has clearly never worked out in her life', haha. One day I'll exercise and wear pretty work out gear - all the gear but no idea. But not today, not tomorrow or this year in fact.


So, overall we a had a lovely day. Grabbed a few bargains and headed back home in the same day. Very tiresome when it's a near five hour round trip! I think I'm still catching up on sleep.

Until next time... :)

Courgette 10 ways

Looks like a cucumber but most certainly isn't. The courgette is fast becoming a weekly regular in my shopping trolley. It's so versatile, tasty and importantly for me doesn't go soft and moldy after two days in the fridge (result). I'm going to make a bit of a series out of this, ways to use different speed foods in different ways, focusing on the speed foods rather than the free foods.

So this week, it's the courgette. Long, lean and bright green. Pretty cheap (expect to pay about £1 for three). They can be eaten raw in salads but are much tastier grilled and are super quick to cook.

So here's my top 10 slimming world friendly ways to prepare a courgette...

Source : Pinterest

1. Courgetti - really simple if you have a spiralizer. Perfect spaghetti alternative for EESP and Red
days.

2. Courgette soldiers - Cut into chip shapes and grill (perfect for dippy eggs) add some cheese to melt if you have a healthy extra a choice left.

3. Courgette pizza's - Really simple, cut in half and grill - add your toppings and return under the grill with a sprinkle of cheese. Perfect with tomatoes/mushrooms and red onion.

4. Courgette rolls - Using a peeler, make ribbons from the courgette. Pop under the grill laid flat, then roll up with some philadelphia and extra fillings of your choice. Perfect finger food.

5. Courgette crisps - Using a peeler or cut very finely. Lots of salt and pepper - fry light and pop in the oven till cripsy.

6. Ratatouille - We all know this one. Tin of tomatoes, chilli, mushroom and red onion (delicious)

7. Courgette salad - Lovely raw. Crunchy and tasty - mix with salad as a cucumber alternative or along side?

8. Courgette lasagne - Great alternative to pasta sheets. Peel into ribbons and layer up your lasagne (easy peasy)

9. Courgette frittata - Finely slice, add in to a chunky omelette or frittata and finish under the grill.

10. Courgette boats - Cut in half down the middle, scoop out the inside and stuff with anything you wish. Lovely with cripsy mince and chillies.

The beginning of blogging

So after following Slimming World (on and off) for a over a year now I thought I'd dip my toe in to the blogging world. I've written a fashion blog before but never had the time to keep it going, I feel like a food related one might be more my thing. After all... food is my biggest love. 

Most of you will be brought here via my Instagram page 'slimmingworldfromhome.' This is where my journey began really, a simple post of a muller yoghurt and suddenly I was addicted. My primary source for all knowledge on anything Slimming World based. I slowly began to gain followers and although that wasn't my main intention - it was a fantastic feeling. Now 3,500 followers later I feel like I've found my feet within the community that shines there. I honestly can't believe how nice people are, and yes you get the odd troll. But genuinely it's full of very lovely people who are encouraging, helpful and understanding. It's my happy place - it's contagious and I've made a couple of good friends amongst the thousands that share snippets of their lives with us. 

Slimming World for me was founded through a friend, I didn't understand how she was able to eat a whole 'SW friendly' black forest gateaux and still remain within her 'syn allowance' whatever the hell that was. I slowly began to research about it and with her help started following the extra easy plan. Except I wasn't really doing it properly. I wouldn't count the biscuits that I'd pinch out the cupboard (doesn't count if nobody's looking right?) well it does. I wasn't losing weight and kind of gave up with my efforts (albeit minimal). I carried on with it, half on plan and just enjoyed eating on and off healthily and learning more about the do's and dont's. It wasn't until January this year that I really decided to give it a proper go. By properly, I mean counting syns for those biscuits, weighing my cereal for my healthy extra B choice and eating on plan as much as I could. I bought my first pair of scales and 'officially' weighed myself in at 11stone 7lbs. 

So 6 months later and I've nearly lost half a stone. Yes it's taken me that long to lose that weight. Do I mind? - No. I go out, I eat off plan and enjoy myself and eat those chips like my life depends on it. But when I'm at home I do make good choices (most of the time) and stick to the plan because it does work. I've accepted that my journey is going to be snail paced, but I'm much healthier and if I can lose some weight in the process then that's fantastic. 

So this will be the start of my blog. I'll post at least once a week hopefully, a mixture of recipes, food diaries, weigh in's, general musings and more. 

Thanks for reading 

Heather