Could it be magic?

So.  I'd had a pretty good week last week (so I thought).  I followed the plan, kept checking back in the book that I was doing it right.  But it felt too easy, you know?  So despite the fact I'd had a good week, there was a little doubt in the back of my mind that just kept niggling, "It's been way too easy, there's no way you'll have lost weight".  Despite all of that, I was excited (I know, my life must be lacking for me to be excited) about going to my first proper weigh in at Slimming World on Monday night.

I paid my class fees, and stood in line waiting to be weighed, with a growing sense of both anticipation and dread - in equal volumes!  I took my cardigan off (every little helps!), put my bag down, and stepped onto the scales. Last week, I was xx stones and 13 pounds (I'm not ready to share my weight with you just yet).  The display steadied and showed xx stones 2 pounds. 

I was gutted.  I'd put 3lb on.  It really was too good to be true.

I looked again, and it dawned on me, the first number was the same as last week.  That meant I'd lost weight.  Not only that, a lot of weight.

I'd lost 11 lb.

ELEVEN POUNDS.

E.L.E.V.E.N. P.O.U.N.D.S

The girls asked me to stand still a bit longer. Ha! You try standing still when you've just realised you've lost 11lb in a week.  I felt like that joke Peter Kay used to do "I'm on a new diet, I've lost 13 stone in a day" (whilst sucking his cheeks in & pouting his lips).  I thought for a minute they were going to say the scales were wrong.  But they didn't....it went in my book that my weight difference was -11!

OH MY GOD! Never in my life have I been so truly and utterly flabbergasted.  I was so many emotions at once: happy, excited, thrilled, eager, giddy, ecstatic and annoyed (that I hadn't done this sooner).  I wanted to go running around the room with my arms waving and me screaming incoherently.  But I didn't!  I just got very, very giddy indeed.

So it was a good first week.  I got my first half a stone (& a shiny sticker to go with it), lost an extra 4 on top of that, am only 3lb off my first interim target (a stone by Christmas) and I stuck to the eating plan as well as achieved my activity target (use the stairs at work and do not use the lift - I didn't use it once).

Our SW class was quite inspirational.  Our class leader had just been to the SW Woman of the Year competition, where the winning lady had lost 19 stone (no mean feat)....in just 2 years (incredible).  If I'm honest, I've got at least 15 stone to lose (if not more) so hearing stories like that are a great example of what is possible with motivation, dedication and most importantly support.

I've shared this blog with more people now.  The response I've had from family, friends and colleagues in addition to the new people I have met at our SW group has been incredible.  Everyone has been so supportive, and the reactions when I passed on news of what I'd lost were incredible.  Knowing that I've got that support there is a brilliant feeling, not only because I know that you're all happy to help me on my way, or put me back on the straight and narrow if I should stray but most importantly, the fact that the reaction has been so very positive proves to me that I really, really needed to do this.  So, I thank you, each and every one of you for this support, for your kind words and your encouragement.  It really does mean the world to me and you can never appreciate just how much it helps.

Thank you,
Hippy xxx

P.S.

Targets for this week:

• Lose at least 3lb to achieve my first interim target of 1 stone loss
• Maintain using the stairs at work and go for a 5 minute walk every day.

P.P.S.

I almost forgot.  Today, I braved poached eggs (again) for dinner (that's lunch to Southerners). I used the aforementioned silicone pouches - the trick is to have the water deep enough for them to float but the water simmering so as not to tip over the pouches!  They were perfect and hopefully there should be a picture here as proof!