Secret Slimming in Paris

Oooh I agree a minis meet would be great! As long as Clevins is invited too :D. We need to think of a centralish location. Even if I don't get this job we have lots of trips planned, we'll be coming over for a month mid-april to mid-may, all being well with Clevins' arm and then again for the first two week of August, then again for my Dad's 60th in October and I would definitely like to be involved!

It definitely would be a big step for Fabien but I think he's just as ready for it as I am, if not more. He's been in Paris for ages now and I think he misses the countryside. I don't know how he'll cope with the miserable weather up North though but I'm sure he'll pick up the language fairly quickly. Yes, we did a bit of research and there is a good team in Durham. Eventually he'd like to start his own basketball club, I think there is scope for it too as basketball isn't yet a major sport in the UK but there is potential.

Michelle, you don't sound mean and I'm actually quite glad you suggested it as it's exactly what I was thinking about doing but I wasn't sure if it was verging on neglect! Ha, but seriously I think I will make sure he is fed & changed and then pop him in his cot for half an hour with the door shut. At least nothing can hurt him if he's in there and I can (try to) concentrate.

Daisy UK - welcome! No, I do red & green days. I once tried to do extra easy for a week and didn't lose anything so it put me off, it felt like I'd wasted a week. It's probably because when I was introduced to the plan at group extra easy hadn't come about yet.

Today Clevins and I have been shopping. I should have been preparing for my interview really but I had a bit of cabin fever so decided to go out. The plan was to buy some post-baby clothes for me as I hate all my clothes at the moment and end up wearing jogging bottoms most of the time which isn't good for my self esteem but in the end I came out laden with stuff for Clevins haha. I'm hoping I'll find some nice stuff when we're back in England. I won't go crazy as I'm hoping I'll continue to lose weight but I do need a couple of outfits that I feel good about myself in.

Today is a red day:

Breakfast: 2x weetabix (HEB) with 250ml ss milk (HEA)
Lunch: steak & salad with 2 cheese strings (HEA2) and a yoghurt
Snacks: banana, yoghurt, mango & raspberries
Dinner: beef stirfry


Right now I really must go and prepare my interview! Thanks for all the luck!xx
 
Hahaha of course Clevins could come to a mini-meet!! I think a lot of us seem to be Northerners anyway, so shouldn't be too much of a hassle to find somewhere to meet.

Did you not get anything for yourself on your shopping trip?!! I had to bite the bullet and buy some jeans a size up earlier this year. Trying to squeeze myself in to my 12's was so depressing and I just had to do it. I never thought I'd have to buy bigger clothes again, but it was very much needed. I'd started just wearing the baggiest things I had too to hide away. it's gotten a bit better, but I can't wait to get back in to my favourites and feel more comfortable and confident. Oh how I desperately miss being 11 stone!!! *blush*
 
I think I was 11 the last time I weighed 11 stone! There is nothing worse than not feeling right in your clothes though. No, to be honest it was too hard to concentrate on my clothes and I couldn't figure out the logistics of trying stuff on when I was alone with him. I will definitely get some new stuff when I'm in England though. Towards the end of my stay probably as I hope I can lose a few more kilos while I'm over and maybe get down into size 18 jeans again...maybe! It'd be nice to get back into my beloved RI jeans again but I think that's a while off!

So I had the skype interview and luckily Clevins had a little nap in the bedroom and only started wailing 2 minutes after it finished! I think I screwed it up though, I was really nervous and bumbled my words but hey ho, it's all good experience as they say. I snacked loads this morning out of stress. I managed to stick to free food (slices of ham, yoghurts etc) but I definitely wasn't hungry. I wish I could sort my relationship with food out. I don't know if that'll ever happen but I have a feeling if I don't I'll be yoyoing my whole life which is no good.

Today is a red day. I bought a few varieties of fish at the supermarket this weekend to vary my food a bit but to be honest I prefer meat or salmon!

Breakfast: 2xweetabix (HEB1) and 250ml ss milk (HEA1)
Snacks: banana, yoghurts, slices of ham
Lunch: broccoli and pollock
Dinner: not sure yet...

xx
 
Oh yes, you have to bring Clevins with you! (Just for the record, I could only do the first weekend in May which is a BH weekend because the following Friday I'm off to France).

It's impossible to shop for clothes for yourself with a baby unless you have someone with you or are willing to buy stuff to take home to try on and then put up with the hassle of returning it. Besides, baby clothes are so gorgeous and relatively cheap that it's hard to resist buying them!

What a shame about the interview - which might not have been as bad as you think. I shouldn't think a Skype one is easy at the best of times and as it was a first with a baby in tow I'm sure that had some effect. You've done well to even get an application in whilst Clevins is so young.

I think we all have our issues with food - I certainly dive into the naughties when I'm stressed or upset - and for many of us it is these issues which are the cause of our weight problems, a fact that many articles or initiatives to do with obesity overlook. You stuck to free foods so give yourself a pat on the back for that.
 
That would work for me, although it'd have to be the Saturday as the Sunday is my Grandma's 80th birthday!

Baby clothes really are gorgeous! My Mum keeps saying that I should stop buying stuff as he only has them on for 5 minutes, which is true but I can't resist! He was in 3-6 month sizes at 5 weeks old! And I bought him a little pair of trousers the other day which he has on today and aren't really long enough...I think he'll be in the 6-9s before I know it!

There is definitely a psychological aspect to obesity which needs to be tackled for the problem to be solved. I only hope Clevins inherits his Daddy's love of sport!

I'm having a green day today as I really fancy some chips, which I'll have for tea. I don't know why but I always feel guilty when doing a green day. This will be the second this week. We'll see if the scales have anything to say about it on Sunday!

Breakfast, banana, yoghurt, beans & 'fried' egg
Lunch: pasta with an egg sauce, mushrooms & salad
Snacks: chewy d (HEB1), 2 cheesestrings (HEA1) oranges
Dinner: actifry chips (oil=HEB2) broccoli & salad

xx
 
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So potentially 2 May - wonder if Kelly can make that. If so, we'll try to sort out a venue. Would you want to drive or travel by train?

Nooo- don't feel guilty about having Green days! I think you're more likely to struggle to stay on plan if you constantly deny yourself carbs and two days out of seven should be well within what your body will lose weight on.
 
I know how you feel about green day guilt, because the carbs are drilled into our brain as naughty... Just be careful with quantities! If you look at the guidelines for a standard quantitiy of pasta on the packet it is so small! But Cheekychinchilla does really great on mainly green :) she packs in loads of veg and makes it work!

Baby clothes would break my bank hahaha especially if I had a girl, I always wish they made such gorgeous outfits in my size LOL but I'd look a right twit.
 
Baby clothes would break my bank hahaha especially if I had a girl, I always wish they made such gorgeous outfits in my size LOL but I'd look a right twit.

I tried on a lovely dress not so long ago and I looked an idiot - too short, sleeves too puffy and the fullness around the waist did me no favours. Put a wig and make-up on and I could have gone to a fancy-dress party as Grayson Perry's alter ego!
 
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As always, I am working that weekend in May :'( But you guys should meet and we'll try and do something next time? Or when you move??

Hope you hear back about your interview soon. And I'm sure you didn't do as bad as you think!

I don't think we ever get rid of our food demons! I did alright on Green only, but EE is definitely helping me out now. I still love my green days though and usually have about 2 a week. I could never go without green ;)
I know my portions are still too big, esp carbs, but I don't seem to be able to do anything about it. I'm a big eater and I love my man sized portions ;)

Can't believe Clevins is in such big sized clothes already!! His Dad is very tall isn't he?!! Although, my sister was a tiny little wimpy thing as a kid and she's now 6ft tall!x
 
Well we can wait until we're all free!

My downfall is definitely portions too. Meat is expensive so I do fill up on veg on a red day but it's sooo tempting to just have a big plate of carbs on green! I wasn't too bad with the pasta at lunch time but I did have a big pile of chips for dinner! I left the skin on though so maybe that counts as a bit of fibre.... This is why I don't do EE - I'm not disciplined enough!

Girls clothes are super cute and I find there is always more choice than for boys which is frustrating! Patty, you made me giggle with that image!

Yes, F is tall, as is his whole family, I call them the giants! I look so funny on the photos we took last week, not only am I the only white person but I'm also 2 heads shorter than everyone else and twice as large! They're all like beanpoles! xx
 
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We can't meet without you Kelly - it would seem all wrong. Better for us all to meet for the first time as strangers than for one to be the odd one out at a future meeting. I'm sure we'll manage it sometime, maybe in August although places will be super busy then.

I'm lucky in that I don't particularly like pasta and rice I can take or leave, but I love potatoes! Portion control is hard and it's the weakest part of the SW plan.
 
Yep, Patty is definitely right!

I'm feeling a bit strange, down and demotivated today in regards to slimming world today. I don't know why... I think I'm lacking inspiration for meals, something I didn't struggle with really last time. Don't get me wrong, I'm still stubborn and dead set on staying on plan but I feel like I'm not enjoying it as much this time around for some reason.

Anyway I'm having a red day today.

Breakfast: bacon & mushroom omelette
Snack: banana & yoghurt
Lunch: 5% fat burger with leeks

After lunch I'm going to take Clevins for a walk, so long as it doesn't rain as it is looking a bit overcast. Perhaps some fresh air will brighten my spirits!

xx
 
I think we all have days like that and we just have to struggle through them. Perhaps a few of the recipe threads could give you the inspiration you need or have you tried looking back at your own thread for ideas?

Fingers crossed for the weather - a bit of fresh air and a walk is hard to beat as mood lifters.
 
Aww you guys are lovely :) Yup, we will find a date that suits us all! I generally work 1 in 3 weekends, yet you can guarantee I will do bugger all on my weekends off but the times people want me I am working!!

I am a carb monster, but I love my veg and salad, so you can guarantee that at the very least a 1/3 of my plate will be superfree, but it's usually half :) Could you slowly start adding in more superfree?

See I think boys clothes are much cooler. But then I've always liked my dinosaurs and animals lol! I loved buying stuff for my friends little boy when he was younger! I'm rubbish with girls. xx
 
Forgive me minis for I have synned!
We've had such a stressful weekend and I've been rubbish foodwise and was very lucky to pull off a STS today!
Friday night we got a call from F's sister saying their Dad was at the airport and the person she'd asked to pick him up hadn't shown so asked if we could go and get him and take him to her house. We're about 45 minutes away from the airport but with the traffic it took us about an hour and it was already 8:30pm when we got there, it took us ages with a howling sleepy baby in a crowded airport to find F's Dad. When we eventually did find him I entered his sister's address into the GPS and it turns out she lives in Normandy (she recently moved and hadn't specified where to exactly). It would have taken us 1:45 to get there and the same to get back so we suggested F's Dad just stay with us, which he was fine with. It was stressful for me though as I hadn't been expecting company and although the house wasn't dirty it wasn't as tidy as I'd have liked, plus I'd done a wash that morning and my knickers were drying in full evidence in the living room - not exactly what you want your father-in-law to see! Anyway we were all hungry but, once again, as I'd been taken by surprise, I hadn't defrosted enough meat for 3 of us so instead of having meat & veg I had rice & veg (giving my meat to F's Dad) and I was silly and put the oil into the rice before serving myself. Doh! Then on Saturday morning we all went out for brunch and yes, I could have just had a coffee, but I was starving and had a full on brunch with patisseries and everything. Doh! F's Dad spent the rest of the day and Saturday night with other members of the family and F's sister ended up calling and was really upset, saying felt like we'd stolen him from her (totally not our fault!) and so we said we'd take him to her house today. It was quite a long drive and we had to do quite a quick turnaround as F had a bball match to referee and we ended up getting MacDonalds from a drive through when we got hungry and yes, I could have got a salad, but I didn't. Doh!

So voilà, I've been very naughty but I'm drawing a line. Tomorrow is a new day and I will be better!

xx
 
Oh, and since I'd been so naughty I decided a couple of spoons of PB would go practically unnoticed....

It's safely tucked away in the freeze now though!
 
What a stressful few days!
That's a bit dramatic for F's sister to say that you stole their Dad from her! Even if you take away the fact that you have a very new baby, that amount of driving and faff short notice would be too much to ask anyway. Surely made more sense for him to stay with you guys?! Just one of those things wasn't it? Couldn't be helped and you made the best of a bad situation. I'm sorry it's upset F's sister, but what really could you do?!
I can totally see why you went off plan tho, that amount of stress and unexpected things like brunch out being thrown at you would have made it incredibly difficult! So don't be too hard on yourself.
In fact I think you should be congratulating yourself for surviving that weekend ;) xx
 
Hi Kelly, yes it was very stressful! I mean it was fine in the end but I would have liked to have a bit more notice, I'm a bit of a planner and I get stressed out when impromptu things pop up. F's sister is a major diva and drama queen which means that Fabien often gets pushed out and is too proud to make a fuss so I'm glad they got to spend some time together. F's sis seems to have got over it now which is good!

So this morning we had a meeting with a specialist re. Clevins' arm and he is really happy with the progress he's made so there's no need for surgery! Yeyyy! We just have to keep helping him move his arm and stuff and then go for another check up when he's 1 to see how he's coming along.

After getting the good news I took Clevins shopping to pick up some stuff for Fabien's Mum & Dad that they can't get in Africa. I was really hungry and contemplated getting a snack in the shopping centre but I resisted and came home and made lunch instead. I think I'm back on track!

I have my last appointment with the midwife at 3:30 pm and it's a nice day so I'm going to walk. Then we need to try and figure out when we can see Fabien's Dad again so we can get the stuff to him so I'm mentally preparing myself for another last minute plan to crop up!

I also need to stop by the supermarket on my way back and stock up on fruit & veg as there's almost none left. I need to have lots of superfree at hand or I may be tempted to sway again!

Here's food for today (Red):

Breakfast: 0% activia
Lunch: 5% fat burger with spinach & cherry tomatoes followed by raspberries & blueberries
Dinner: skin-free chicken casserole with carrots, onion & celery
 
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Well done on putting things behind you and getting back on track. It was a stressful situation and not very considerate of SiL given that you've got a newborn baby, so I'm not surprised you gave in to temptation.

That's fantastic news about Clevins! What a relief for you and here's hoping he makes further progress.

I didn't know you can freeze PB. That's an inspired idea! Do you put spoonfuls onto trays and open freeze before packing them into boxes/bags? Thinking this would be a good thing for those times when I could just fancy a little PB on toast.
 
Brilliant news about Clevins :D

I'm a planner too and I like to know what's going on. I really don't do last minute plans ;) I like to organise and know what's going on, so I'd have bene completely thrown by that situation too. I'm glad F's sister has calmed down now!

I hope your last appointment went well and you got plenty of superfree at the shops! I'm running a bit low now too.

And excellent about avoiding temptation earlier and going home for lunch.xx
 
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