Tags
belfast, diet, family, food, health, motherhood, parenting, recipe, slimming world
Everyone who knows me knows I’m constantly trying to slim down and get healthy. It’s become almost automatic for people to enquire as to the status of my weight loss almost like it’s my third child. How are the kids? They say. Quickly followed by; still at the ‘aul Slimming World malarkey?
And I answer that the kids are great and yes. Yes I am still dieting. And I’m not offended at all. Maybe I should be, some people might be but I don’t think it’s a shameful thing to say that you’re following a healthy eating regime and it isn’t shameful to admit that you sometimes…occasionally..(alright!) quite often fall off the wagon.
When you’re a teacher, the summer often feels like a free-for-all. Like you’ve been given an invisible licence to eat, drink and be merry. Rather like Christmas, but more with barbecues and less with turkey and gravy. Although boozing does seem to feature heavily in both!
All teachers know the secret joy of a Sunday night tipple when there’s no school to get up for. It’s a small but important thrill.
This summer, unlike previous years, I HAVEN’T jumped off the wagon the moment school ended and sprinted straight into KFC. (Although to be fair that’s probably the only time you’d see me run anywhere.) I’ll admit, my weight loss has somewhat stalled but I’ve kind of done it on purpose. *Cue the gasps*
But its okay. Because I know I will kick back into gear in September and I’ve managed to get to grips with the right way to eat and the right way to treat. See what I did there…? Well, at least I make myself laugh.
I’m enjoying the summer. I’m enjoying eating out with the family but choosing the better option in the menu. I’m cooking slimming world friendly meals from scratch but not at the weekends.
I made a lovely Jamie Oliver recipe recently that I adapted to make into a slimming world one and it was gorgeous. I will share it soon. I’m eating healthily but having treats when I really really want one. I’m not losing weight but I’m not gaining it either. Once I get to my target weight this kind of set up will do me nicely, thank you very much.
Because I will let you in on a little secret. I get it now. I finally get it. ‘Not following the plan’ or ‘being off the wagon’ doesn’t actually mean ‘go ahead and eat a whole pizza followed by dessert then a family size bag of crisps‘. Plus the slice of bread and peanut butter. And the leftover curry. And the cheese. And four chocolate digestives. (That’s an edited version.)
It means eat fresh, sensible food. It means don’t lie to yourself that you’re going to lose weight this way, but if you want to enjoy a holiday or a break from work or a family event then it’s okay. Just don’t go overboard.
I’ve two weeks left of the summer. I’m going to enjoy them. So I’m going to keep babysitting my weight loss. After all, 1st 5lbs isn’t a bad bit of progress – I’m almost halfway there!
Over and out. 🙂