As you can imagine, dieting has been the last thing on my mind. But after a few days I decided to do a sponsored slim in my friends memory. I am going to donate the money to Epilepsy Aware (www.epilepsy.org.uk). A mutual friend is also doing it with me. We set up a Facebook group and the support has been phenomenal, so there is no backing out of this.

I have been doing this since Thursday and am very much in control. Its amazing the power of knowing that if I don’t do this then I am letting my friends memory down. I’ve lost a considerable initial amount already, but I will not talk figures until Thursday. A lot more than I did on SW, anyway.

If you would like to sponsor me, please leave a comment.

So I have decided not to do SW any more. I was still going to go to classes because I do need the support but its not cheap and I think I would be better off putting that money toward a gym workout or something.

I am still going to try to lose weight. I am going to eat sensibly and try to avoid binging. Have a treat once a week, a night out now and again, and work hard at the gym and in being active. It’s how I lost 75lbs before.

• Walk to the gym is 20 mins so that is my warm up.
• 10 minutes on the bike as an additional warm up.
• Stretches
• 20 mins on the treadmill, I like to run for the first ten minutes, or for as long as I can manage and then walk the remainder time out.
• Depending on how energetic I am feeling, I then do 10 mins on the rower.
• Leg press 20lbs x 3/12
• two other leg machines one where you bend legs down and one where you raise your legs (I forget their names) 15lb x3/12 reps each
• Fly 15lb x 3/12
• Chest press 15 x3/12
• Bicep pull down 8.5lb x 3/12
• Tricep raise (making up these names as I go along!) 6.5 x 3
• sit ups with the bar 12 x 4 legs straight, then 12×4 legs raised into my chest.
• Stretches
• 20 min walk home to cool down

This work out is a work out I have devised for myself, something that I find works well. It makes me work but is not too exhaustive. It’s taken from a workout that was given to me last year at my old gym but adapted to fit my needs now. I’m trying to raise the amount of time I can run for as my main objective in the gym, alongside weightloss, is increased fitness.

I have been going on a payg basis but its working out very expensive so I am going to join up because within the fee you can also do badminton and swimming for free too, and I’m going to partner up with my friend because they do deals if you do!

I got back into exercise because I get such a natural high from it. I can be naturally prone to the glass being half empty but this really helps me to cope much better. I find it very addictive. I love it.

I have noticed I am eating a lot less bread now. And no sweets or crisps! So that is amazing.

I’ve been weighing myself though and I haven’t lost much, so I am dreading my weigh in, esp as it’s the first weigh in!! Gah! The pressure!!!

It will be good because the group is a good source of support, which I need at the moment, so I am also looking forward to it.

One thing I have struggled with on SW is just how low in fat everything is. I eat fairly low fat anyway but have really noticed it this week and struggled at times. I do better on green days so that I can have my carbs but do like my meat too. I bought some lean bacon yesterday and had that with tomatoes, eggs, mushrooms and a piece of bread, which really helped. Tonight I was wondering what to eat so I made a spag bowl from free foods (Quorn mince) and that really filled me up.

I need to find some free or low syn puddings… might make some sugar free jelly!

Slimming World, for those not in the know, is a weightloss group (similar to ww) that meets weekly and acts as a support system. It has a unique healthy eating plan that I think is going to work for me, because you never go hungry! You have free foods, healthy extras and syns. Hence my name Loves Her Syns!

I’d wanted to join SW for some time but didn’t have the courage to do it on my own. Then a friend of mine was in the same predicament as me (newly single and wanting to improve their health) so we joined together. It’s working out well (at least, for me!) because I have someone to talk diet and exercise with, and the competitive edge in me is spurring me on… who is going to be Slimmer of the Week?!!

On SW you get red and green days. On red days you can eat meat and fish in abundance and on green days you can eat pasta, rice and potatoes in the same way (although habit indicates I still measure). So far (I am on day 3) I have been alternating days and am on my second red day. I just had lamb roast, with my potatoes as a healthy extra. Yum.

I used to work out regularly and when I was losing weight before I got quite fit. I have been doing a lot of walking lately but havent seen the inside of a gym for a year. The day I started SW I rejoined the gym. I did this mainly to run on the treadmill as I seem to cope much better with life when I’m running regularly. On my first run I managed to run 10 minutes without stopping, which I felt was a huge achievement. When I first started going to the gym before I lost any weight I could barely walk for two minutes, let alone run!

Anyway, whether you’re doing SW, WW or losing weight in some other way, why don’t you pop by and say hi…