Or, as it turns out, just not very good at directions - I'm in the Salvation Army Church on Oxford Street (who knew?) and I seem to have walked into the wrong meeting. There were a few choices - weightwatchers upstairs, choir practise in the main hall, and Slimming World is "through the gift shop". I love shopping on Oxford Street at lunch time, but luckily Christian parephernalia doesn't hold much temptation, and I make it through the gift shop purse intact.
It's all gone a bit wrong over the last few weeks. The incessant dieting is dull dull dull, and even trying to mix it up by changing my diet every week, instead of making it interesting, is turning it into a chore - trying to find a new diet every week - and finding the time to swot up on it, shop for the right sort of food and write about it all, on top of all the other *boring* little details that get in the way (children, husband, job, social life, house, etc etc).
So, a slightly new tack - instead of switching from diet to diet, can sticking with one for a few weeks help me to shift the weight? Slimming World seem to think so, and to prove it, they've given me six whole weeks membership!
Slimming World involves attending meetings, weekly weigh-ins, and sharing your experiences with other members of the group. Dyanne, the incredibly upbeat lady who runs the group, bears only a very passing resemblence to Marjory Dawes. She knows every member by name, and greets them all as long-lost friends, insisting (somewhat uncomfortably in my opinion) that they share their weightloss as they try to slink out unnoticed (slinking comes more easily to some members than others). She has a host of well worn phrases designed to motivate and inspire: "if it's grown on a plant it's free, if it's made in a plant its not", and my personal favourite, a sign which she waves at members as they leave:
Her mantra seems to be how "easy it all is". You can choose between 'Extra Easy Days', 'Red Days' and 'Green Days'. On 'Extra Easy Days' you can eat unlimited 'free' foods from the orange list (fruit and veg), red list (meat/fish/eggs) and green list (starchy veg/rice/pasta/eggs) but only one 'A' (milk/cheese) and one 'B'(cereal/bread), plus around 5-15 syns. On 'Green Days', you can choose unlimited 'free' foods from the orange and green lists, and then two 'A's (milk/cheese) and 2 'B's (meat/fish/dairy) and on 'Red Days', you can have unlimited 'free' foods from the orange list plus two 'A's (milk/cheese again) and 2 'B's (this time starchy veg & pasta), but it's really easy, honest...
Yesterday, I'd already had cereal & milk (one A, one B), and a handful of cashews (7 syns) by the time I got to the meeting, so I thought that the 'Extra Easy' option would be best for today. The whole thing was so complicated, I had no idea what to have for lunch, so I grabbed a roast vegetable and couscous salad from M&S on my way back to the office - which the genius online tool tells me is another 8 syns, and a fat free yoghurt (free). Asparagus (free) followed by pasta (free) with tomato sauce (no idea) and mozzarella (another 'B' on green) at Zizzi means that I've decided, at the very last minute, to switch to a green day (can I do that??). And now I've realised that on 'Green Days', cashew nuts are a 'B' choice, so I'm going to change my mozzarella to a syn (as it's only 3.5 syns), and have the cashews as the B. But it's really easy - honest!!
Seriously, I've read the book three times. There must be something wrong with me! It's supposed to be EASY (sorry, EXTRA-easy), and it's giving me a headache!!
However, just as I have noticed a regular pattern in the diet books that I read, you may have noticed another pattern here on my blog - I start each week annoyed at the ridiculousness of each diet, and end the week converted to the wonderousness that is each new thing that I try. Will the same be true of Slimming World? Check back next week to find out...
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