Secret Slimming in Paris

[La Parisienne]

It must be pretty bizarre having conversations switching between languages. Bet it keeps you on your toes tho?!

That's amazing about your loss and definitely a victory that they can weigh you properly now! I don't have scales at home because I know I'd be on them all the time lol. But yeah, electronic ones would prob be better for weighing in kg's. The scales I use in work are digital kg ones so I can see exactly the the 0.1 what weight I am

I bet it wont be long before you're below 110kg How tall is Fabien btw?

Well done for today xx

It's actually so normal now (I've been here for 5 years) that I wonder how I'll ever manage if I have to go back to a one language country! Perhaps I'm destined to live in Canada...

Yeah, it would be asking quite a lot to lose at least 2.2lbs every week! And I still want to see I'm going down, if I could see I'd lost 0.5lbs a week that would be fine but on my current scales it'd look as though I'd stayed the same for over 4 weeks! Which would be very dis-heartening. OK, they're def going on my pay day shopping list, along with a slow cooker!

Fabien is 6ft5 (a real basketball player!) He doesn't technically have a healthy BMI but he is all muscle (with a few squidgy bits to make him human!) I'm still a while off 110 but I'll get there! When I get to 105kg it'll be my pre-Paris weight...I can't wait for that day to come either! Looking back at pictures I looked soooo much better than I do now and I hardly had to delete any horrible ones!

My day WILL come and until then I'm going to enjoy the 'journey'.
​x

 

[La Parisienne]

Wow, thats so impressive. I am in awe of your language skills - its a bit Franglish!

I too think you should invest in come scales for home. And so what if you weigh everyday? As long as you don't take too much from the figures and can "handle" it. I have never worried about weighing in between weigh-ins, to me, it can only help. I used to weigh everyday, but now I have a slightly different outlook on what I want and how I will achieve it that I don't anymore. My official day is Friday, then I might weigh on Monday to look at "weekend damage"! If I am up on Friday then I will work really hard to make a difference to the official upcoming weigh in. Sometimes I do a Wednesday weigh, just to see what's going on, but more often than not I forget to.

I think that you are right, your losses may start to slow down a little soon, so the small victories may go unnoticed if you stick to kilos.

I am similar to you in that I weigh more than Mick. It really bugs me and I hate it because Mick is loads taller than me and big built himself! One day!

I def will get some electronic scales. I'll probs have to stick to kgs though as they don't do stones over here! I tend to have a sneaky peak on Thursday (I'm a Monday weigh-er) but try not to do it any more than that!

I feel so sh*t knowing I'm so much heavier than Fabien, not that he has a clue! I really don't feel comfortable telling him just yet. Maybe when I'm at target I'll tell him where I started!

x

 

[La Parisienne]

So, had quite a nice day today, quite quiet at work so I had chance to catch up and get back in the swing of things.

I had a red day

Breakfast: bacon and dry-fried egg sandwich 2xwmb(HEB1)
Snack: Apple, rasberry and mango salad with a free cherry yoghurt
Lunch: Ham & cheese salad (lettuce, cherry toms, cucumber, red onion, pepper, lean ham + 3dairylea HEA)
Snack: Wasa cracker (1.5 syns) with garlic cheese (1syn) a slice of lean ham & lettuce
Dinner: Steamed salmon with cabbage and cauliflower followed by a free vanilla yoghurt

Fabien is watching the football this evening yukso I think I'll catch up with mini diaries then watch a film and sleeeeeeep!

x

 

[cheekychinchilla]

Wow Fabien is TALL!! Lol! Most athletic people with muscle don't have healthy bmi's anyway do they? It seems like a pointless measure for them lol. Good to hear he has some squidgy bits tho

Aye I think new scales is a good idea. It would be awful if it looked like you'd not lost anything when you had! I do like the digital scales in work

You'll tell people about your weight or diet when you're ready too.xx

 

[Tetris]

Another 2kgs off WOAH! Two great losses in a row amazing!!
Ahh I am still.heavier than my boyfriend even though I am healtby now- so annoying I WILL overtake him one day haha! He was my weight last summer but lost some- sw has been great for him too he doesnt follow it at all, just eats frigging pizza and drinks cola and loses weight because the portion is less than I used to give him LOL. He is about 5lbs lighter than me now amd we are the same height (6'1")

Really cool that you can swap between languages in a convo- overheard a greek family doing.that recently and was totally in awe I SUCK at languages!
X

 

[La Parisienne]

Red Day

Breakfast: 2xwmb (HEB) bacon & egg
Lunch: ham salad with cottage cheese (3syns) & a fruit salad
Dinner: Chicken thighs cooked without skin in actifry (1tbsp olive oil HEB2) with a big salad & SW free BBQ sauce
Snack: Pink lady apple

 

[La Parisienne]

Cheeky - I got my new scales today! Only 10€ for electric ones AND the battery was included - what a bargain! Hopped on when I got in and I was 117kg :cry: that could be because I normally weigh in first thing on a morning (before eating or drinking anything) or the change in scales. I'll try again in the morning and see if it's any different (I hope so!!)

Also ordered a slow cooker off Amazon. Spent my lunch break trying to explain to people in the electrical shop what a slow cooker was but they just didn't get it! They're very rare in France, apparently. I did manage to find one on the Galerie Lafayette website but it was 190€ ! I'd much rather pay the Amazon shipping fees!

Soph, you've really reassured me! Fabien has also lost 1kg over the last few weeks will I ever catch up?

Really enjoyed my food today and I'm reeeaaally looking foward to getting my slow cooker despite it being almost Spring - ooops!

 

[La Parisienne]

Guys, does anyone have any advice? I'm starting to get worried about my trip to Barcelona... I'm going to be eating out all weekend (we have no food preparation area in our hotel) and I'm really worried I'm going to have a really synful weekend! I will try and go for healthy options (eg salad) but I'm still wary about what'll be in the salad! I feel like there will be hidden syns everywhere (am I getting paranoid?)

I thought I might try and do Success Express at the beginning of the week and hopefully that'll balance things out? Or maybe I should do a couple of fast days?

I just really don't want to get off track so early on!

x

 

[cheekychinchilla]

My Sister is heavier than he boyfriend too. He eats crap but manages to stay skinny! He does have an active job though. He's about 2 inches taller than she is, but she's 6ft!
I think it's probably a common thing and I wouldn't worry about it. I'm pretty sure the guys I've dated in recent years have been lighter than me!
AND Fabien married you and he loves you, no matter how much you weigh

Shame about the scales! WI in the morning and see what they say. Scales are so different from each other though, it's very frustrating.

For your weekend away you could do some success express days or very low syn and *save* for the weekend. Then do the same for a couple of days after. But, most importantly, enjoy it!! SW can't rule your life and I know it's difficult at the beginning because you want to be super good and stay on plan 100%, but life isn't like that and you can't worry about food and syns every day for the rest of your life. And now you know how to do SW if you do get a bit of a gain you'll know how to handle it and get back on plan xx

 

[systema]

Guys, does anyone have any advice? I'm starting to get worried about my trip to Barcelona... I'm going to be eating out all weekend (we have no food preparation area in our hotel) and I'm really worried I'm going to have a really synful weekend! I will try and go for healthy options (eg salad) but I'm still wary about what'll be in the salad! I feel like there will be hidden syns everywhere (am I getting paranoid?)

I thought I might try and do Success Express at the beginning of the week and hopefully that'll balance things out? Or maybe I should do a couple of fast days?

I just really don't want to get off track so early on!

x

Yes you will find hidden syns everywhere in Barcelons . Egg salads are not much of an option when eating out here in Spain - when they make tortilla it is loaded with oil - the Spanish do love their Olive Oil. Fish is a good option as they usually grill it as they do their pork steaks but the rest of the food is so tempting. Aioli is a no no on SW but is a moreish garlic mayo served with lots of food. Tapas are the worst as you just sit there eating more and more of them - small portions which soon add up to a large one.

Enjoy your time in Barcelona it is a great city. CheekyC gave you some good advice - enjoy the food and don't worry too much about it but make good choices - sometimes.

Not to put any kind of damper on your time there please be very aware of pick pockets etc - they have a bad reputation in Barcelona especially on public transport.

 

[La Parisienne]

Egg salads are not much of an option when eating out here in Spain

Sorry, Systema, I meant 'eg'as in for example. That made me chuckle though, you must have thought I was being very specific!

Thanks to both of you for the great advice. I think I will do some low syn success express days before I go and then try my hardest to pick sensibile options when I'm there. I was thinking I might pick some fruit up from a supermarket when we get there and have some in my bag so I'll be less likely to snack on all the lovely Catalan specialities!

Thanks for the tip on the pickpockets, I had heard that so I got myself a new across the body bag which is really complicated to open (lots of zips and folds and buckles and poppers!) so hopefully they won't be able to get in quite as discreetly. As my OH said, if people are out to steal then they'll find a way to do it but I can take some precautions.

Got on the scales this morning and was down to 115.4 which is probably about right mid-week. Would love to get down to 115 by Monday though so won't have any slip-ups this weekend (hopefully!)

Hope you all have a great day xx

 

[Charleybarley]

Hey Miss Soph.

Well done on finding some electronic scales, sorry they aren't saying what you want them too. I was thinking, if you ordered your slow cooker from amazon, would it be a good idea to order some scales from the UK too? Unless you are planning a little UK visit soon, you can pick some decent ones up.

Try not to panic so much about food whilst in Barcelona - just concentrate on enjoying yourself, remember you will be doing lots of walking around, as long as you don't go crazy, you should be fine - think about this, when you are in Barcelona, you should try all it has to offer, you won't ordinarily have tapas and paella and wonderful tasting food like that, just try it but don't go over board, we have to live a little. Do you have a goal or a time frame within which to get to your ideal weight? If not, then give yourself a break. You have been doing so well and you will continue to do well when you return. Don't do what I used to do and fret about failing at SW, I ended up putting way too much pressure on myself and failing miserably. Its all about balance and living life to the full. My new mantra is "be good when you have no plans, but if you go away/go out for the night, don't worry - you can make up for it later" - its a long mantra, but its mine all the same!!!!!

xxx

 

[La Parisienne]

Hey Miss Soph.

Well done on finding some electronic scales, sorry they aren't saying what you want them too. I was thinking, if you ordered your slow cooker from amazon, would it be a good idea to order some scales from the UK too? Unless you are planning a little UK visit soon, you can pick some decent ones up.

Try not to panic so much about food whilst in Barcelona - just concentrate on enjoying yourself, remember you will be doing lots of walking around, as long as you don't go crazy, you should be fine - think about this, when you are in Barcelona, you should try all it has to offer, you won't ordinarily have tapas and paella and wonderful tasting food like that, just try it but don't go over board, we have to live a little. Do you have a goal or a time frame within which to get to your ideal weight? If not, then give yourself a break. You have been doing so well and you will continue to do well when you return. Don't do what I used to do and fret about failing at SW, I ended up putting way too much pressure on myself and failing miserably. Its all about balance and living life to the full. My new mantra is "be good when you have no plans, but if you go away/go out for the night, don't worry - you can make up for it later" - its a long mantra, but its mine all the same!!!!!

xxx

To be honest Charley, I'm ok with the scales being in kilos now that they're more precise (it weighs per 100g). It quite useful here following my weight in kilos as it's the common measurement and will make sure I know what I'm talking about when I'm at the doctors (I once had to be put under anaesthetic quite urgently and hadn't a clue how much I weighed in kilos - dangerous!).

I'll tryyyyy . Well, to be honest, I don't have a choice really! I am going to have to let my hair down a bit and try and do some damage control when I get back. I'm just worried that the first time I see an increase it'll freak me out/discourage me. But hey, it's all part of the "journey" and I'll have to face my fears sometime or another!

Just at work now, it's soooo quiet and I'm feeling really peckish. (Hence me logging on to minimins to keep me away from temptation - although I do have a yoghurt in the fridge...)

Will update with food later on. Hope everyone has had a nice day.

x

 

[La Parisienne]

Red Day

Breakfast: 2xwmb, egg & bacon
Lunch: Ham salad with cottage cheese (3syns)
Snack: Fruit salad
Dinner: Chicken breast marinated in korma paste (2syns) and fat free yoghurt with looooaaaaads of cabbage

x

 

[cheekychinchilla]

Pickpockets and the like are awful in touristy places aren't they?! I had a camera stolen in Mexico while I was on a bus. I got it back though. You DO NOT steal from a Scouser! Even if she is only 16

Just enjoy your trip and be good when you get back. Stop worrying and have some fun.xx

 

[Tetris]

I always kinda obsessed on trips last year trying to be on plan and now I look back and wonder why so what if it puts you back a week or two to get maximum enjoyment out of a trip you are paying for?! It is just key not to let that lead to more bad habbits once home!

My tips though are to bring instant porridge pots, most of the plain ones are a hexB (oats so simple for example) and just need a kettle to make them- if there isnt one in the room ask and they should be able to send one up! Pick up some basic fruit and bananas for the room and avoid the breakfast buffet- have your porridge (I bring mini pots of honey like you get at breakfst buffets!) with a banana chopped in- yum! Then you have probably saved yourself 600 cal on all the buffet crap and at least have one good meal under your belt then I'd have whatever I wanted but make a thing of avoiding bread/bready things, bread is bad news for dieting! Barcelona should mean yummy rice dishes, paella and stuff? Mmm... Full of oil probably but still healthier than bread and fast food. Just enjoy it! Keep sw in the back of your mind (diet sodas rather than full sugar, etc) but try the local food and dont stress over the odd icecream etc!

Loads of people have skinnier boyfriends- my friend is small but her bf is still slimmer! I half dated a guy who was so skinny when I was at my largest- he was pribably LITERALLY half my size since I was 20st :|
Women are supposed to hold more fat than men on hips/breasts for child bearing so naturally are curvier anyway but yeah, I know that feeling of wanting to be lighter than the OH! One day...! X

 

[Charleybarley]

I agree with Sophie, Sophie!

Breaks and Holidays are supposed to be enjoyed to the fullest. Spanish food, yes it can be oily, but it is also full of fresh ingredients - so what may not necessarily be SW friendly, it won't be bad for you. Just forget about the diet and guesstimating syns on things, just enjoy yourself, say "that was a great break" and then get back on it. You spent years not worrying about food and what we stuff in our mouths, we all did, one trip away isn't going to kill you - you know what you need to do now. Back on the wagon as soon as you get back, so what you are a couple of 2kgs up (you may not even gain weight!) you can get them back off easy.....Slow and Steady Wins The Race.


p.s. take lots of pics please, I have never been to Barcalona, and have always wanted to go.
x

 

[La Parisienne]

Haha Cheeky, that made me giggle so much!

Thanks for the support, ladies! I will really really try! Well, actually, I won't really have a choice! But at the end of the day, I'm only there for 4 days - how much damage could that do? I'll do as you suggest, Soph, and get some porridge in (that calls for a trip to M&S!)

I am really looking forward to it and I don't think I could deprive myself of a bit of Paella and a glass of Cava...mmmmmm!

So food for yesterday wasn't brilliant but it wasn't too bad either. A colleague cooked lunch for the team and there was loooaaads of stuff (roast potatoes roasted in goose fat, samosas, spring rolls, turkey escalopes in a creamy sauce with mushrooms, etc etc) I tried to be good without it being obvious I'm doing SW! I had the escalope and tried to not get any of the sauce (some clung on though) and helped myself to 2 servings of the Waldorf salad (which wasn't pre-dressed thank goodness!)

Red day

Breakfast: Apple (woke up an hour late so had to grab something to eat on the train!)
Lunch: Turkey escalope with salad (oil turkey was probs cooked in: HEB1, raisins in salad: HEB2) I have no idea how many syns were in the sauce but I had so little it can't have been more that 15!
Snack: Fruit salad (mango & raspberry)
Dinner: chicken breast wrapped in lean bacon with BBQ sauce accompanied by a big salad with 42g mozzarella (HEA1)

All in all not a bad day! Here's hoping today will be just as good!

I also noticed this morning that my scales do have a st lbs function!

x

 

[La Parisienne]

Managed to get hold of the new SW magazine so went through that last night and made a shopping list. I find I'm eating quite same-y things lately so wanted to shake things up a bit!

So went to the supermarket this morning then stopped by the butchers. Fridge, freezer & fruit bowl are all stocked up now!

Breakfast: -
Snack: Banana
Lunch: Jacket potato with 1/2 tin of beans & garlic cheese (1syn), accompanied by a big salad
Dinner: Home-made SW Leek & Potato soup
Snack: Fruit salad & 2xbabybel (HEA)
Snack: Other 1/2 tin of beans

x

 

[La Parisienne]

Had a lovely morning! F and & decided to go to the cinema, when we got there the film we wanted to see didn't start for another hour so we went and got a Starbucks and decided to kill time strolling around outside. It was such a lovely morning that in the end we decided to forget the cinema and carry on walking! Ended up walking for just over 3 hours, at quite a slow pace but I was still ready for a sit-down at the end!

Also managed to end up near M&S and I got loads of stuff but forgot the porridge :sign0007:

Food wise, decided to 'treat' myself to another green day. I find green days much more enjoyable when I'm off work... Guess I like my carbs hot!

I also did a revolutionary thing - I weighed my pasta before cooking it Turns out 70g is really NOT a lot! I have been seeeeriously over-serving pasta for 23 years! Have to admit, it left me feeling a bit peckish (hence the cup of soup that followed...) but it was a real eye opener!

Haven't decided what to have for dinner yet but F has just gone out to buy a kebab...I think I might have to actifry some new potatoes or else I risk to wolf his kebab down as soon as he looks the other way!

Breakfast: Fruit salad (apple, banana & kiwi)
Snack: Tall Skimmed cappuccino with sugar free vanilla syrup (64cal=3 syns)
Lunch: pasta & veggie sauce (passata, garlic, red onion, pepper, courgette & mushrooms) with 3 cheeses (20g mozzarella, 12g red Leicester & 3 parmesan flakes = HEA1)
Snack: cup of leek & potato soup (leftover from yesterday)
Dinner: Actifried new potatoes in 1tbsp olive oil (HEB1) free yoghurt + wasa cracker with dairylea triangle (HEB2)

x