I was delighted to discover that I’d lost 2.5 lbs on the second week of my diet, which means that I’ve lost 7 lbs in two weeks – that’s half a stone!

My class was absolutely mobbed on Thursday night!  It was queued out the door when I arrived sharply at 7pm for my weigh-in.  I asked a few of my fellow dieters in the queue, whether this was especially busy or not.  It was certainly the busiest I’ve seen it out of my three visits.  Everyone agreed that it was an exceptionally busy night. 

The fact that it is now less than 100 days to Christmas is no coincidence.  This is the time of year when many women start making preparations for Christmas, and part of those preparations include planning what to wear at the round of Christmas parties and celebrations.  Many women, myself included, would love to fit into an outfit in a smaller dress size for the party season.  Some women might simply want to ensure that they fit comfortably into their favourite LBD. If you start your diet and exercise regime just now, there should be plenty of time to achieve that.

One of my goals, when joining my slimming class, was to lose a stone (14lbs) by the Christmas party season.  Just two weeks into the diet and I’m half way there already!  I’m now confident that I’ll surpass my original goal, and I am thrilled at the prospect.

I attend my local Slimming World class, and I’m following their new Extra Easy diet.  To find out more visit the Slimming World website here.

I gingerly mounted the scales last night and held my breath…

“You’ve lost four and a half pounds.  Well done!”

I’m so pleased.  It’s a good start on my diet and I am still full of enthusiasm for the weeks and months ahead.

“I will reach my target weight!”

One real advantage of attending a slimming class, rather than just doing a diet on your own, is that you really do feel part of a team.  All the other slimmers in the class are going through similar ups and downs in their quest to lose weight.  Their stories and achievements are awe-inspiring.  It really gave me a boost to hear how much weight some of the ladies had already lost (some in a short space of time!).

When I told Hubby I was joining a slimming club, his response was:
“You just need to cut down a bit and exercise more!”

Easier said than done. In truth, I need to attend a slimming class, not only to advise me on what to eat (and what not to eat!), but also as an incentive to actually just carry on with the diet.  If I were simply “cutting down”, I would be more easily swayed by tasty treats, than I am following a particular diet, paying my class fees, and then being weighed every week.

The diet has been pretty easy to follow.  However, I was alarmed to see some foods that I had been eating previously, and considered to be healthy, had quite a high syn value (i.e. should not be eaten liberally!)

• Wholemeal pitta bread – 7.5 syns
• Tortilla wraps – 7 syns
• Malt loaf – 3 syns
• Fruit & Fibre cereal – 5 syns
• Porridge Oats – 5 syns
• Grape juice – 3.5 syns

The diet advises one to eat betwee five and 15 syns per day.  I can now see why I’ve been piling on the pounds, even when I thought I had an “okay”diet!

I think, at first,  Hubby was worried that my diet would affect him negatively, and that he would be served up salads and bland food every night.  I think he thought it would put an end to us eating out or enjoying a takeaway meal.

Well, his fears have been unfounded, as we still ate out with our daughters at the weekend.  I had a delicious grilled salmon and pine nut salad (just 8.5 syns, due to the dressing and the nuts).  I also shared a delicious Lamb Rogan Josh takeaway with Hubby (just 7.5 syns!).   He had a Garlic Nan with his meal, while I had boiled rice and salad.

Therefore, as you can see, I’ve not been depriving myself too much at all!  I’ve actually been eating quite substantially.

So it will be with great trepidation that I return to the slimming class tonight for the Moment of Truth - my weigh-in.  I do feel like I’ve lost a little weight, so I hope the scales reflect that! *fingers crossed*  *biscuit tin locked*