Today I made the jump, I made the decision to get back on the wagon and try to shift some of this baby weight that is being oh so stubborn and doesn’t want to leave me. I’ve done Slimming World a few times before and I was a member when I found out I was pregnant.
During the start of my pregnancy I continued to attend my group to keep an eye on my weight changes and not let things get out of hand. Then I started to think I was paying just to be told I had gained weight which was to be expected.
I decided to go it alone and keep a track of my weight change at home for the rest of my pregnancy. I’m not sure in hindsight whether this was a good idea or not, yes I could see the scales creeping up and I knew exactly how many pounds I had added by the end but it didn’t really make me feel accountable for it. Weighing myself at home didn’t encourage me to make better choices it simply made me aware that I was getting bigger, and bigger.
When Amelia was born I was so full of optimism about weight loss, I was convinced that the extra weight would drop off me in the weeks straight after and breast feeding would help me shift any more weight I wanted to lose. This was so not the situation for me! Yes I lost weight, 12lbs the first week, 9lbs the second week and then boom! Nothing! Not a single pound. Well actually that’s not true, there has been this 1lb, it comes, it goes, it comes again it goes again. Back and forth, back and forth. It’s now February and I’m four months down the line with no further progress.
Oh yeah and whoever said breast feeding helps with weight loss and can stick it up their arse!
So anyway, I’ve made the decision that enough is enough, I don’t feel great about my post baby body (who does) and I really want to start shifting some pounds before I blink and my maternity leave is over and I’m still sitting here looking like a potato. I got myself all ready to get started, I bought a meal planning white board, a food diary note book, kitchen scales…all the gear and no idea springs to mind a little here. I’d even found a group, 11am on a Thursday at a Church within walking distance. Brilliant!
So this morning I got up at 7am to get us ready (yes it still takes me that long in the morning) and we set off into Storm Doris’ winds to walk that 15mins to the Church, great body magic right! Except when I got there the car park was empty, odd! The church was closed, odd! The hall next door was all set up for blood donations and where was my Slimming World group? Relocated for one week of the year to another location across town, bollocks!
If I had driven it wouldn’t have mattered so much, I would have just gotten back in the car but I didn’t drive, I walked it because I thought the exercise would do me good. Off home I went so wound up I could have cried!
Here’s the new me though, instead of giving up and just going home I dashed back, transferred Amelia to her car seat and jumped in the car. We were 30 mins late, missed the new member chat and caused quite a scene getting ourselves up the steps with the pram but hey, I went! I signed up! I hopped on those scales and recorded my new start weight! The consultant asked me why I put myself through the extra stress of getting to the group today and didn’t just wait for it to be at the Church next week – I’ll tell you why, I wouldn’t have gone. I know myself, today I was in the right frame of mind to get started, I feel motivated and ready to make a positive change. There’s no guarantee I will feel like that next week and I probably wouldn’t have bothered signing up at all.
I have lost 23lbs since Amelia was born (in those first two weeks) but I am wiping the slate clean and starting new from today’s number on the scale. I’ve set myself an interim target of getting back to my last recorded weight at my previous group before finding out I was pregnant and once I’ve hit this I’m going to set my full life long target.
To reach my interim target I need to lose 22lbs and to reach my overall target I need to lose 77lbs. To me, 77lbs sounds so unachievable that I have to break it down into smaller more manageable targets otherwise there is no way I will be able to stick to it.
So here we go folks, please be supportive, don’t be upset if you see a few more food pictures on my Instagram feed, it helps to keep me focused and reminds me of what I did well if I am lacking in inspiration. Also please share your experiences, your favourite dishes and pass on the motivation. Sometimes we need a virtual slimming world hug!
Rachel xx
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