Dropped 2 Dress Sizes!

So I had a skirt I bought when I was a size 18, the skirt itself was a size 20, but I bought it cos it was loose and sat nicely, however as the year went on, I found the skirt beginning to fit me tightly, and at one point the material started to fold over onto itsself cos of my belly bulge! It was at that point I said I had enough!

So at the Deaf Slimming World Party last Saturday, I showed everyone the skirt and how much progress I made. Here it is!!!

Skirt was a size 20, I now can fit into a size 16 but it's still tight on me!

Day 240

Well after a maintain last week this week I lost 0.5lbs which means I'm still yet to reach the 13.5 stone barrier! I was meant to lose an average of 2lbs a week, since I lost 2lbs, then 3lbs, then nothing, then 0.5lbs, it means I'm 2.5lbs under target, so I have re-changed my thinking and aim to lose 7lbs in September. This means I have 6.5lbs left to lose in 3 weigh ins. So if I get 2.5lbs next week, then 2lbs for each week after that I can do it. It will also mean I will get my 3.5stone sticker :)

So mini targets are;

Wk 2: 2.5lbs
Wk 3: 2lbs
Wk 3: 2lb

This weekend I have to go to a gig, I was hoping to be drinking but I think with money and wanting to lose weight, I will be driving in and only having a couple of drinks which means less syns for me. On Saturday I will be going camping, so I will bring my own salad plus a wholegrain bap instead of using the whitebread bap. I will bring some fruit too and opt for some popcorn as they would lighter in syns than normal.

Syn Diary

Day 1: 16
Day 2: 9
Day 3: 15
Day 4: 35
Day 5: 10
Day 6: 10
Day 7: 5

Day 225

So last Tuesday I went to WI, wasn't really sure if I'd be up or down, I wanted to be down by at least 1.5lbs, if 2lbs then great but I was down 3lbs! WHOO HOO!!! I am now 13 stone 8.5lbs so my next week target is to get 1.5lbs so I can say I am 13 and a half stone.

Foodwise, I had a binge last night on chocolate, well I had 2 chocolate bars with tea. It was lush! Today I have been doing good. This morning I had egg and soldiers, then lunch an omelette and a can of tuna with an orange. Went to visit Mum in the hospice, had 2 shortbread biccies plus a marshmallow and a Roses sweet. Think that was all under 15 syns. Went to Tescos then to buy some supllies and came back home and had St.David's Chicken (chicken, leeks, onion, mushroom, chicken stock, garlic and potatoes).

I wish I could keep this up everyday! Currently I'm dying for a bar of chocolate but I've got to fast for a blood test tomorrow morning at 10.30am. So won't be having my breakfast until AFTER that! :-/ Might just have a massive sandwich instead. Got meetings ALL day tomorrow from 3pm to 9pm. Hoping to get home and make cheesy brocolli bake that I got in the SW magazine. It looks gorgeous!!!

Oh and forgot to mention, I got Slimmer Of The Week! :)

Day 220

Well I weighed in last Tuesday and lost 2lbs which meant I had an exact 3 stone loss and it meant I got my first sticker since May! Glad to be back on the SW wagon!

Haven't been too good with eating this week though! :( Trying to do Success Express for the next few days to get 2lbs off. I want to get my next stone off in 2 months which means I need to lose at least 1.5lbs a week. Preferably 2lbs a week.

When I started SW and lost a lot of weight in the first few weeks I was doing good, my predicted progress was that I would reach my interim target of 12stone (just under 5 stone loss) in July. Then my weight loss slowed down so it said the 9th September. I'm still 25lbs off that interim target so now I want to achieve the loss by the 12th November.

Reasons being is that I've got a dinner dance on the 12th November and I will be on stage giving a speech so I want to look good for it. It will also mean I will weigh the same as a lot "thin" people. After that I want get down to 10stone 11.5lbs which mean I will have achieved a 6 stone loss. I am hoping to do this on time for the first year anniversary of me joining Slimming World but I know with Christmas and all that, it will be very difficult.

I think I need to focus on just small goals first and stop thinking long term. I'm still a size 16 on top, size 16-18 on bottom but size 16 doesn't quite fit me comfortably yet.

Day 215

Well I haven't posted here in a while. I've been away in South Africa for most of July and then went to the UK for 2 weeks at the start of August. After I got back from South Africa for 3 weeks, I only put on 0.5lbs! Was delighted with that cos I thought it would have been way more! When I went to the UK for a festival, I put on another 0.5lbs and then the week after I maintained. So this means I'm now at the same weight I was back in May and I've still not achieved my 3stone award!

It's getting very frustrating but I know it's cos I haven't been able to make my own dinners and control the food I eat. This week hasn't gone too bad, I've stuck to SW mostly this week. Didn't have many syns on Thursday, only 6, on Friday I had about 18, then yesterday I had too many due to alcohol. I didn't eat all day yesterday apart from my breakfast of eggs and toast.

Today I've had toast and some chocolate to cheer me up. I really want a Dominos pizza but I'm trying to resist cos I've got loads of food in the fridge and a stir fry is calling out my name but I want greasy disgusting food. Have to try and resist temptation.

Hopefully I will get a loss this Tues. I don't care if it's 0.5lb, I just want a loss. I haven't had one since June :(

Day 154

So after last week big high of losing unexpectedly, I have now put on 1.5lbs. I am really disappointed cos I was good with meals this week however I was a bit naughty but no more than usual to be honest. I'm now 2.5lbs away from my 3 stone. Every week it seems like I lose a lot i.e. more than 2lbs, then put on 2lbs, then lose it, then put on etc... I haven't had a consistent loss for a while now. Always up and down.

Here is my diagram of what my losses have been like in the past month.

So in effect, I have basically only lost 2.5lbs in 1 month. It has really set me back. It's not good for my body to be up and down like that. I honestly thought I was going to lose.

I'm wondering if being on your period affects it? I got my period a few hours before weigh in, my period was a few days late, so I'm wondering if all that bulk is affecting the scales?

I must aim to get 2.5lbs off next week. I will not gain or maintain. I have to get it. I will make it my mission to do more exercise this week plus swimming. Hopefully the ball I'm going to on Sat doesn't offer me too much temptation. I shall have to resist.

Day 148

Massive massive shock in WI class tonight. I lose 3.5lbs somehow which now means I am in the 13 stone bracket and 1lb away from my 3 stone award! I can't believe it. I honestly was really naughty all week. But I hope it doesn't show up next week so I am going to stick to plan and aim for that 1lb so I can get my shiny new sticker award!!!

I am thrilled with my weight loss. Got loads of comments over the weekend saying that I look really well and two people have actually said I am thin! I have never been called that in my life!!! I am now 13stone 12lbs on the 7th June. I need another 1st 12lbs to reach my interim of 12 stone before I go any further. If I average 1.5lbs a week, I can be 12 stone by 4th September.

My first goal date is 11th November so I won't be disheartened cos I know I'm bound to gain or not lose 1.5lbs every week til then. Some weeks could be 4lbs, some could be 1lbs or STS. I just have to keep it up.

I WILL BE THIN!!!

Day 143

FOOOO!!!

I have gone way overboard on my syns in the past 2 days. Had 30 odd yesterday and today, well probably about 40! :( I'm not doing well this week at all. I need my mojo back :(

Going to make Lemon and Garlic Chicken with a Warm Potato Salad tomorrow to see if that gets me going again. In fact I think I'll have some toast and egg right now instead of crisps!!! Will try have an orange or so now!

Day 141

Well big fat meh! It's June 1st and I wanted to lose 3 stone by then but unfortunately I have failed! Instead of losing the 2.5lbs I needed, I put on 2lbs! Which brings me 4.5lbs away from my 3 stone award! In all fairness, I knew where it came from. Here is the dinners I've had this week!

Wed 25th -  Potato Waffles & Sausage Rolls
Thurs 26th - Veg Stir Fry (free)
Fri 27th - Mexican Fajitas & wine
Sat 28th - Large bag of chips and fajitas and some Vodkas
Sun 29th - Roast Dinner (almost free)
Mon 30th - 2 slices of Dominos Pizza with Garlic Bread (full portion)
Tues 31st - Wine & loads of crisps and double helpings of HEX A and B.

I've hardly cooked dinner in ages, so I just have to face the truth and get stuck into it this week. This weekend is a bank holiday though, so hoping to try and eat in as much as possible and not get caught out. I will definitely have time to make dinner for myself on Thurs, Fri, Sat, Mon and Tues. Sunday I'm out all day from 4pm or so, and there's a BBQ on offer, so I'll be enjoying myself on Sunday having a burger and a few beers. Will try and stick to non-alcoholic drinks i.e. water and Diet 7up or something,

So I've to rethink my goals....

Mini Goals

• 14th June: Achieve 3 stone award (4.5lbs to go; 2.5lbs average a week)
• 4th July: Be 13.5 stone (9lbs to go; average 1.5lbs a week)

Day 136

So happy last night! I tried on a dress which I bought 2 years ago for a wedding in Italy that was a Size 16 from Miss Selfridges however it wouldn't close up at the back (it was a zip up) so I brought it to a dressmaker who extended the back to fit me about an inch or so on either side of the new zip. Probably would have been a Size 18, maybe 18-20 then. The last time I wore the dress was in September 2009 or so. I tried it on last year around March 2010 and it was really tight.

So I decided to try it on last night to see if it still fitted and was a bit looser but low and behold, the dress was far too big! So big at the back that it now has to be taken in again to be brought back to the original size of the dress! I'm so happy! I'm a  size 16 again! No more Size 18 for me!!!

I am more happy about wearing a size 16 than I am about achieving a nearly 3 stone loss! I also tried on a dress which I bought in a sale last November (size 16) thinking it would fit but it wouldn't even go over me it was that tight. Tried it on last night and it fits!!! It's still a bit short though, so I may have to lose a bit more weight for it to fit better!

Next goal! Size 14!!!!

Day 134

So I lost another 2.5lbs at SW tonight meaning my total loss is 2stone 11.5lbs. Not bad for 19 weeks! Can't believe I've lost that much already! I've been reading inspirational stories and see people who have lost less than me but they look loads thinner, I suppose cos I'm bigger it will not be as noticeable. However, I'm now 14 stone, so if I lose another 2st 11.5lbs, that will mean I'll be a bit bigger than 11st which has a BMI of 25.9 so it will mean I'll be in the healthy range for once in my life!

If it takes me the same amount of time to lose that weight, or even twice the amount of time, it will mean I've nearly a 6 stone loss! 6 stone in 1 year? Can it be done???

I dunno if I want to be 6 stone lighter (10st 11.5lbs)? I may look too thin? I see a pic of a girl who was 15stone gone down to 11st 5lbs and she looks fab! So maybe I'll wait til I hit my interim target of 12stone and then decide.

2 more stone to go til my Interim Target, which means if I lose half a stone a month, I can reach it by the end of September. :)

Oh and I got Slimmer of The Week :)

Mini Goals

• 31st May: 3 stone award (13st 11.5lbs) (2.5lbs to go!)
• 14th June: Be 13.5 stone (7.5lbs to go)
• 4th July: Be 13 stone (14lbs to go)

Day 120

My hard work paid off! I got my 2.5 stone award tonight at Weigh In. I was very good and did Success Express three times before WI. I am delighted. I had aimed for 1lb loss a day since Friday which would have meant 5lbs but I got 4.5lbs. Close enough I guess! :)

So now I got my new shiny sticker!!!

My next aim is to get my 3 stone award by the 31st May. I need 6.5lbs to get that which is an average of 2lbs per week. So if I aim for 3lbs next week, I should be on track for that loss. I will be definitely eating more veg and fruit as much as I can and walking more. 

Mini Goals

• 31st May: 3 stone award (13st 11.5lbs)
• 14th June: Be 13.5 stone (11lbs to go)
• 4th July: Be 13 stone (18lbs to go)

Day 114

Well just back from Weigh In on a Thursday which is different from normal! I was away in the UK for 5 days and missed my regular class in Blanchardstown on the Tuesday and cos I didn't wanna miss anything, I searched online for another class which I could weigh in to make sure I stayed on track and faced up to my gain!

I gained 2.5lbs. :(

Biggest and second gain since I joined. The first one was a measly 0.5lbs after a 5.5lbs loss, so I wasn't too fussed about that. This one was massive as I lost 4lbs the previous week but I was very naughty, eating muffins, chocolates, crisps, popcorn, oil, everything bad! So now I've only got 5 full days to go for Weigh In on Tuesday, and my aim is ambitious! It's a whopping 5lbs! I figure, if I stick to the plan 100%, then I can do that, it's only 1lb per day! So have been rigid and absolutely honest with myself and did a food diary and in two days it comes to a total of 53.5syns!

I have been getting lots of compliments on my weight loss which has given me a boost but at the same time, I'm not sure if I like getting loads of compliments! Prefer to surprise them all when I'm thin! Anyways,  here is my weight loss in graph formats cos I love it! :)

Weight Loss Journey to date; 05-05-2011

Day 80

Well I had a little bit of a holiday last week and missed my weigh in last Tuesday which should have been my 11th weigh in. However, I'm entitled to 6 weeks holiday so am counting last week as one of them.

Here is my progress so far.

I'm going back on 100% on plan to my 2.5stone award after Easter weekend! I just need another 8lbs to lose which averages at 2lbs per week which is do-able! Right, loads of curries and speed foods this weekend so!

Day 65

So it was Paddy's Day yesterday and with me being Irish, I celebrated it. I overdid it though! I walked in the parade which must have lost me about 5lbs but I probably put it all back afterwards when I had 1 glass of champagne, brownies, muffins, 2 pints of Guinness, 6 Malibus, Orange and some crisps!

Went overboard on my Syns allowance and somehow have managed to be on 126 syns on my second day of the week. Whatsmore, today I'm being bold with racking 20 syns!

Bold Caroline!

Day 63

Well well well.... Haven't posted here in ages... Guess I should start to as it will be a nice memoir for me to look back on. A lot has changed since my last post. I'll start with a diary of my weight loss to date...

So as you can see, I've been doing pretty well! Lost 1stone and 11.5lbs to date. Can't believe it myself to be honest as I've never lost weight before and I'm still having my packet of crisps, my chocolate but yet, still losing weight. 

I hope to lose 2.5lbs next week to get my 2 stone award! Got another 2.5 stone and some after that to go though before I reach my interim target. Hopefully I should hit my interim target before the 11/11/11 as I joined in 01/01/2011 so thought it would be fitting. I mean, if I get there, a 5 stone loss in 10 months is amazing! 

The Slimming World plan is great, you get to eat all your stuff but you gotta cut out the fat, oil etc... Recommend it to everyone!

Day 2

So I've been on this thing for 2 days now and to be honest it's not too bad. I haven't done a major shop yet so I don't have any proper food in. Been living off potatoes, eggs and bacon and beans for the past 2 days. I need to get some fresh fruit and veg into me so will be doing a shop in the local supermarket to buy a couple of bits and bobs and also stock up on the free foods.

Think I should sit down and plan my meals for the weekend cos I know that's probably gonna be the hardest part.

I have been filling up on my Syns though, I'm allowed 5 - 15 syns a day and I've been reaching the 15 syns limit. So I think I may have to only have 5 syns for the next couple of days.

Day Zero

Right, so now I've got the reasons, why and wherefores out of the way, I can get started on my target.

My target is to lose 1 stone by St.Patrick's Day which is the 17th March. 

Tonight after the class I had one last gorge on junk food at Eddie Rockets. It was beauitful! Right, off to bed now, tomorrow is Day 1 and the start of my new life!

Here we go....

I've decided, I'm gonna start a diary/blog of my experience losing weight with Slimming World. I will try and post at least 2 times a week about my weight loss and how I really feel about it. 

I have been wanting to lose weight for ages but I can't ever seem to get motivated so I thought, you know what, start a blog, see how much I eat, then come to the shock of the amount of it and then maybe I'll actually start to realise it's time for me to shift this weight.

Now I've got quite a nice curvaceous figure but I'm big. I take a size 18, sometimes I try and kid myself that I'm a 16 but the reality of it is, if there's an 18 available I go straight for it. I get told I have a pretty face, and I know myself that I do and I would have a stunning face if I had the body too. I don't mean a supermodel's body but a nice size 10-12 figure. I wouldn't have a double chin and my jawline would be more defined.

I suppose I have to ask myself what are the reasons why I'm doing this....

• For myself. I want to be able to go into a shop and not worry about if they have my size or go into a shop and be able to pick the size for me and know I can get a bigger size if it doesn't fit properly. Me as a size 16-18 it's not possible for me to go up the next size cos usually it is the biggest size in the store!
• I have a gorgeous boyfriend who loves my figure but sometimes I want to feel like I can be totally comfortable and not have those doubts in my mind about how I look when I'm with him.  
• To be healthier I suppose. I have a form of arthritis in my hips so weight pressure on it is not doing it any good. The less weight on my top half the better!

So how am I going to do this????

• Well I've just joined Slimming World. Hopefully this will be better than Weight Watchers and they will offer me a more flexible plan and support!
• Start Aqua Aerobics. 
• Join the gym
• Get the bus and walk to work instead of driving at least 2 days a week. 

So yeah, that;s my plan, it will change over the course of time. 

Talk soon :) 

C.