Nearly 12 weeks ago now I started on my journey with Thinking Slimmer after I was chosen to test out their fitpods in conjunction with some Jenni Falconer workout gear from Debenhams. To apply to be part of this had been a massive decision for me. I’ve struggled with my weight all my life. Never quite feeling like I was as pretty or slim as my friends as a teenager, desperately trying hard to keep slim through my early twenties and then yo-you dieting continuously from 2001 right up until today.
Then I met Daddy E with a whirlwind romance we did the typical couple thing and got contented and slackened off on the old health regime. During my pregnancy I put on nearly 3 stone and became so disgusted with my body that there were times where I couldn’t even bear for anyone to see me without clothes and I would hide in jumpers, baggy clothes and anything black. I hated the way my body looked, the scars of a painful operation I couldn’t cover up and I considered myself hideously obese. No matter what I ate I couldn’t lose weight and I lost all interest in any form of exercise as every time I went to a class I felt like the world was laughing at me.
When I saw the Thinking Slimmer blogger request for Cybher2012 it sparked something in me. I’d been on the Slimpod’s before but didn’t listen to them religiously or at the right time, trying to listen whilst doing the hoovering is not going to get the desired effect and I think I found every excuse not to follow the instructions.
Stupid really as I knew so many people these had worked for. I decided that this was a good time to try again and so applied.
You can read about my early journey by searching for the posts Thinking Slimmer in my search bar. I won’t lie the last 12 weeks haven’t been without hiccups. There were times when I wanted to hop off the wagon and resort to my comfort foods of chocolate and wine. There were nights with the weather that I could quite have easily sat on the sofa rather than going out for a run. I have however stuck to my goals and religiously listened to my fitpod daily and my slimpod twice a week if I can feel myself slacking off.
To work alongside this I sought the advice of my GP about exercise. I have to be careful about what I do as I have very damaged knees and he referred me for a 12 week fitness programme with a personal trainer. Despite his reservations the personal trainer allowed me to try running, as long as I promised to ease myself in gently using the Couch to 5k running app.
I agreed to this and I began running 3 – 4 times a week for up to 35 minutes.
This was bloody hard. Running when you’re overweight is not easy. My stamina was totally shot and it had been years since I had run properly. However, my fitpod energised me. It shifted my mindset into being able to do short bursts of running and it made me believe that the only thing stopping me from getting this to work was myself – no one else, just me.
I cut back on my chocolate, we pretty much binned crisps and biscuits from the house. By using the meal planner board I’ve been able to control my cravings for take away food and have slept better thanks to my increased levels of activity. This has helped keep me on track when listening to my Slimpod on those days when I’ve felt like my willpower has been down or I’ve been tempted to cut corners.
Using a combination of the Slimpod and the Fitpod I began to feel better about myself and getting the confidence to exercise again. I’d got all the gear thanks to the Jenni Falconer running shorts and top that I had won and after a few weeks of listening I noticed a shift in my mindset and I began to get a real buzz about going out for a run, actually looking forward to it as part of my day. Unlike other exercise I actually found something I could stick to and the Fitpod made me keep up with the self belief that I could do this and the only person who was stopping myself from progressing was me.
So twelve weeks in, and despite a holiday for two weeks in the USA I trotted off last Monday for my weigh in with my personal trainer. I already knew I’d lost inches during this time. Nearly 5 inches off my waist and 4 inches off my hips but as I have a phobia of weighing scales I had no idea what weight I had lost if any.
I stepped on with some trepidation and slowly opened my shut eyes. The needle was hovering around the 80kg mark….I looked to double check, and yes it was still 80kg. I was gobsmacked as when I weighed in I was a hideous 95kg. My personal trainer was really pleased with me. I was really pleased with me. My determination and perseverance and routine with listening to the Fitpod and Slimpod had paid dividends. I had retrained my brain to get rid of my traditional food crutches and I had re-discovered my motivation for exercise.
For the first time in ages I could actually see my toes and wasn’t staring at my wobbly mummy tummy, yes it’s still there but I am working on getting rid of that too. For the first time in 10 years I actually wore a bikini on holiday. I would never have done this. Plus, I now get tooted at when I go running of an evening which makes me chuckle inwardly like a naughty schoolgirl and is just more proof that I am doing the right thing.
But the best thing of all to come out of the new lease of life I have got from doing the Thinking Slimmer programme is that I have more energy. More energy to play with Roo and be active with her. Now I can run round the garden with her and mess about without getting out of breath and she loves the fact that mummy is keeping fit.
Well Done! You’ve given me the inspiration to apply myself better to doing my slimpods.