Like many women we had tried to lose weight over the years, with varying levels of success. You name it, we have probably tried it! So why was nothing working? This is a common question a lot of women ask themselves and we were no different. We would say "I just can't lose weight". Now we realise it has a lot to do with commitment, sticking with it and being disciplined. You don't achieve your goals by cutting corners! Everyone wants a quick fix but unfortunately there really isn't one!
We started off in January 2015; we decided to try Slimming World as we both knew people who had lost weight following their plan and it seemed pretty simple! At first we were both writing down our meals every day and counting 'Syns' exactly as the plan describes but we found after a few weeks we didn't need to as we became quite the experts on the plan! Once we got comfortable with the "diet" it just became normal life. To help with our meal planning we made a book of our favourite recipes from the Slimming World website and magazines that we rotate between and pretty much know what we can and can't have! Now we don't say to everyone 'I'm doing Slimming World' or 'I'm on a diet' because honestly, it just feels normal!
A few weeks after starting the Slimming World plan I joined the local gym, luckily I have a very close friend who is a gym junkie and trained as a personal trainer so in February 2015 he showed me the ropes. It's worth noting that I had been a gym member previously however I had no idea what I was doing! (walking on the treadmill??) So my friend made a work out plan which was basically a loose guide of what I should be trying to do in a week. I remember the first time I went, I was intimidated by all the people there, embarrassed in case I did anything wrong and bored. However what I realised is the more you go the more you want to go. You get more and more comfortable in the environment and with your routine that it just becomes a part of life. I was going 5 times a week which was my goal. I set it high so that if I only went 3 times one week I didn't feel too bad! I was going at the end of my day as late as possible, usually between 7-9pm as that is the only free time I have with my job! I think it's safe to say that seeing my progress and commitment made Elle want to join and in March 2015 she joined too! Once she joined I showed her the work out plan my friend had taught me and now I have someone to talk to on the exercise bike!
Now, we are by no means skilled in the gym! However we have found a routine that we enjoy and that seems to work for us. We both do 20 minutes interval training on the bike, 2000m rowing and then 20 minutes weights. I mainly focus on my legs and squats but Elle likes to do her arms too, so we kind of go our separate ways for weights! So around 45 - 50 minutes a day is all it takes to make a difference. If you include travel time that probably comes to an hour a day. Which is nothing in the grand scheme of things! I find it helps if I listen to my favourite podcast, Serial, as each episode is around 40 minutes long so I tend to use that as a guide. Some days I love the gym and I feel amazing when I walk out and other days I will do anything not to go but it's okay not to go sometimes! Although you need discipline don't let it run your life. If you want to stay in and watch Pretty Little Liars with a glass of wine just do it! Life is short!
The next step is one that shocks everyone! NO CARBS! Elle in particular was a big carb lover before 2015. Toast every morning and plenty of sandwiches, garlic bread etc, she loved it! Me, I wasn't so bothered. Yeah, I enjoy a nice slice of crusty bread with cheese but I have never eaten a lot of bread on a daily basis. Just before a relatives wedding we decided to cut out carbs and we both saw a big loss in just one week! Nowadays, there are so many great alternatives to pasta and rice that I don't even realise I'm not having them! We love to have courgette spaghetti with bolognaise instead of pasta cauliflower rice instead of normal rice. We really haven't missed carbs as much as we thought we might.
Over the Christmas period with all the festivities and the wedding happening we gave ourselves some time off the plan and needless to say all we did was eat! I LOVE food! I am a 'live to eat' person not an 'eat to live' which is why I love Slimming World I never feel like I'm missing out! Over the Christmas break I found myself lying in bed thinking 'this is how I used to eat' and I was shocked at how I felt. I felt tired, sluggish and drained; very different from the girl who was leaping out of bed at 6am in July! That made it very easy to slip back into our normal eating routine come January!
In total in 2015 Elle lost 30lbs in weight through healthy eating and exercise and I lost 14 lbs and toned up so much! Now we have a holiday booked in May so we are all systems go for then!!
Have you tried Slimming World? We'd love to hear your stories!
Love Elle and Mimi x
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