An American in England on Slimming World

Hello everyone,

My name is Donna and I've been a member of this group for a while. I'm an American from Los Angeles and currently I am in England supporting my mother-in-law through chemotherapy for breast cancer. I have followed the Slimming World program online when I was home in California but decided that since I will be in the UK until January, I should give a SW group a try. I'm planning to join a group on Thursday.

I'm having a hell of a time trying to join a gym in the UK because I lack a UK-bank card but luckily I planned for the possibility and brought my laptop, fitness DVDs and an exercise band. I just need to purchase a yoga mat and I'll be ready to get started with exercise again.

My 12 week target is 1 stone. I would be very pleased with that and anything above it would make me ecstatic. My husband is concerned that I might give into my emotional eating and I'm well aware that could happen but since I'm cooking for both me and his mum and the USD isn't worth much compared to the GBP, I'm going to do just fine avoiding takeaways, Ribena, Prawn Cocktail Crisps and Cadbury Buttons.

Hello! Sounds like you are really motivated! Looking forward to following your story


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Wow sounds like you're so motivated. Instead of joining a gym you could go to classes at your local leisure centre.

Yesterday my MIL had a partial first chemo treatment. Because her ECG is not giving conclusive readings, she got the "lighter" of the two treatments. We were at the hospital from 8am to 4pm. The nurses told us that whole days at hospital on treatment days will be our norm. So I definitely need to pack food to take with us because the hospital canteen food is not as healthy as you'd expect....toasties, paninis, crisps and Starbucks. Yeah, packing food for next treatment.

Although I don't officially join until Thursday, I already started eating SW style. Today's meals were good but I need to buy more veg and fruit to round out my meals.

Breakfast - Pan roasted potatoes with sauteed onions and green peppers, two rashers of bacon (fat removed)
Snack - Mullerlight Strawberry and an orange and a Diet Pepsi
Dinner - Batchelor's Pilau Super Rice prepared with sauteed onions, peppers and chicken breast chunks.

Exercise: Turbo Fire 30 (Cardio Kickboxing)

Hi Jen and Michelle

Hi, I hope your MIL's treatment goes well. You are doing a great job being there for her. I find on slimming world planning is definitely the key to success. I joined last week. Lost 4.5 ibs in my first week.
Good luck for Thursday x

Hope your mother in law is not to ill as a result of the treatment. I agree planning is the key


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Scary day with MIL. She experienced severe dizziness and tingling from arm to fingers today and needed pain medication to help her rest. She has high BP on top of the cancer so we're concerned if the BP will interrupt her chemo treatment.

I didn't stress eat but I did panic a bit and joined SW Online b/c I'm concerned about having to leave her alone for extended periods of time to go to group. Told hubby and SIL that we need a contingency plan set up before I return home b/c MIL is not able to adequately care for herself and she hasn't even had the full treatment.

Eats were good today although I needed more water and didn't get to exercise.
1 - Bacon, baked beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, wholemeal toast (HEB)
2 - Orange, 2 small Dairylea Dunkers (11 syns), Mullerlight Vanilla with Dark Chocolate
3 - Leftover Pilau Rice with Chicken and Tomato Slices

Oh sorry to hear about MIL does sound like you have to think through what is going to happen when you go home.

Understand why you joined online you need to be comfortable at group and you can't if you are worrying about leaving het'r. Food looks good though I dint see a hea.


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Oh does sound a scary day, it's just as well you're there to realise MiL can't cope on her own.

Can dairylea be used as hexa?

Hi Jen and Michelle yesterday was both scary and sobering for both me and MIL.

Today didn't go to plan. Spent the morning on the phone with my MIL's doctor trying to sort out appointments and make transport arrangements. Then a steady stream of ppl showed up to see my MIL unannounced. My exercise plans for the morning were shot.

So I thought I would exercise in the evening. Prepared dinner for MIL and after I was finished had to lie down b/c I had a blinding headache. I slept for an hour and got back up to more pain. Took some pain tablets not long ago and waiting for them to kick in. I am going out tomorrow for a few hours b/c I am feeling cooped up which is contributing to my head pounding.

Meals were good though.
1. Sandwich with ham, light mature cheese (HEA), 1 tbsp Branston pickle (1 Syn), And Wharburton Wholemeal Bread (HEB); Salad greens, tomato and Mushrooms, 1 tbsp Newman's Italian Salad Dressing (3.5 syns)
2. Vanilla Mullerlight with Dark Chocolate, Small Banana
3. SW Cottage Pie (4 syns for grated light mature cheese)
Total syns 8.5
No exercise

Ah don't worry about the exercise hope you feel better soon.

Food looks good do you know that Kraft fat free Italian dressing is free?


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Forgot to post last night.....

Friday - I got out of the house and went shopping at the city centre for a few hours. That really helped me feel better plus I walked 3 miles. I also exercised when I got home doing some squats, jacks, and arm work with my exercise band.

Food was good as well:
1 - Omelet of green peppers, onions and mushrooms, 2 ASDA reduced fat sausages (2 syns)
2 - Tall Caramel Frappaccino Light (5 syns)
3 - Strawberries and Ham Slices
4 - Leftover Cottage Pie and Steamed Brussels Sprouts
5 - Ham Sandwich with Branston Pickle and Light Mature Cheese (HEA, HEB and 1 syn)

Total syns - 8
Exercise - 3 mile walk and strength training circuit

Jen - I will look for the Fat Free Italian Dressing. I am willing, however, to use some syns on good tasting dressing.

Hello AhmedMilton

Pretty uneventful day apart from a bit of leg soreness from yesterday's workout. I did work on research for a novel I'm trying to write as part of NaNoWriMo which is the National November Writing Month challenge held in the U.S. In 30 days, you have to write 50,000 words. My novel is a historical romance set in WW2 era Philippines (I'm part Filipino hence the interest). Today was extensive character sketching.

Food
1 - Weetabix (HEB), semi-skimmed milk (HEA), banana and strawberries
2 - Batchelor's Chicken Rice with peppers, onions and chicken breasts, mixed broccoli, cauliflower and carrots
3 - Weetabix (6.5 syns), Vanilla Mullerlight
Total Syns: 6.5

Sunday Meals
1- baked beans, scrambled eggs, 2 slices Wholemeal toast (HEB)
2 - Kettle Chips Cheddar and Onion Crisps (10.5 syns)
3 - Leftover Cottage Pie and Brussels Sprouts with 28g Light mature cheese (HEA)
4 - Mullerlight Toffee
Total Syns - 10.5
Exercise - 2 mile walk

Did you eat enough yesterday? there doesn't really seem much.

I bought some Goats Cheese & Caramalised Onion crisps from Lidl yesterday, they were so yummy.

Michelle - I always eat enough and usually have big portions for dinner esp. the vegetables. Those crisps sound delicious.

Yesterday was flat out horrible. NHS transport showed up 30 minutes after the appt. which made us over an hour late. My MIL got pricked at least 9 times by 3 different nurses trying to find a good vein :wave_cry: Then NHS transport left us waiting for 2 hours to go home before my cousin in law drove from Bury to take us home in Manchester. Imagine how worn out an 80 year old woman who just had a cancer treatment felt at the end of the day. We didn't get home until 10pm. The appointment for treatment was at 1pm

I packed lunches chess and we had a good breakfast but we both ended up having crisps from the machines and later McDonald's because we were starving and feeling light-headed.

We are headed to an ECG appointment today that will hopefully not last all day damn b/c of transport.

Apparently the NHS transport is abused, people who don't really need it will use it, grrrr. Could you hire a car for your stay, would that work out cost effective or getting a taxi, obviously taxi is costly but just thinking of alternatives than hanging round.

Oh yesterday sounds a nightmare. Hope today isn't as bad


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Much better day with NHS transport. We even arrived early for her ECG. Transport home was a bit slow but since it was so much earlier in the day, we could manage. I haven't exercised in two days and I'm getting anxious to move but not on my MIL's concrete floor (her carpeting is paper thin). I have found some Pay As You Go gym memberships which allows me to pre-pay for 30 or 90 day memberships. I'm going to check out a few tomorrow.

Food was just too much of EVERYTHING
1 - Baked beans, mushrooms, bacon and wholemeal toast (HEB) with 1 tbsp of Floralight (2 syn - never again....that crap is disgusting)
2 - Ham and Cheese Sandwich (HEA for the cheese, 6 syns for the bread)
3 - Bangers and Mash with Garden Peas and Gravy (6 syns for the bangers, 1 syn for the gravy - Knorr Gravy Pot...used about half of a prepared pot)
4 - Mullerlight Strawberry and 2 Weetabix Biscuits (6.5 syns for the Weetabix), Banana
5 - Ham Slices and 1 slice Cathedral City Light Mature Cheese Slice (3 syns)
Total Syns - 24.5:break_diet:
No exercise

Michelle - I am too scared to drive on the "right" so renting a car is out. Luckily, after this week, my MIL's appointments are only once a week and most of them are early morning ones. If it comes to it, we'll use transport to get to the hospital and we'll catch a cab home since it's only a once a week thing.

Jen - Thanks....Today was loads better.

ha, ha I never gave it a thought you'd be scared driving on the right, I always hire a car when we are on hols. I'm just thinking of our roads compared to America & they are a bit more manic, more roundabouts & road rage, we're not very 'accommodating' of peoples mistakes here!!