Thinking Slimmer Slimpod review : week 4

You know how you sometimes have a "fat week" ? Maybe you're tired or stressed or it could be due to the colder weather but you just fancy eating loads of comfort foods - hearty stews and soups, casseroles, stodgy puddings with lashings of steaming custard ... Well, that was me this week. Added to that, it's been a manic week at work, with marking coming out of my ears and the extra pressure of having to get everything put online in time for the parent-teacher evenings next week. I haven't had time to think about food or exercise at all, so I've just been eating whatever was quick to throw together rather than healthy. Due to all this rushing around, I've even had a couple of nights when I haven't had time to listen to the Slimpod at all - eeeek !

I was therefore feeling quite - guilty isn't the word, I guess resigned would be the right term - to the fact that this week, like last week, I wouldn't have lost any weight and it was even quite likely that I might have put some back on. I wasn't beating myself up about this, telling myself that even if the figures go up and down a bit, as long as they're on a downward slope overall, everything's hunkydory. So it totally blew my mind when I jumped on the scales, watched the figures flash up and realised I'd lost 1/2 a kilo ! I even got off and got back on again because I thought the batteries must have been running out but no, I lost 1lb - 500g - this week. Hats off to Trevor (who really needs a fan club with all the lovely things people are constantly saying about him !) - his voice seems to work wonders even when you haven't had time to listen to him faithfully every single day.

So, on to this week's summary of positives :

1) It was St Martin this week in Dunkrk. The tradition says that St Martin went out to the tavern, got a little bit drunk and lost his donkey in the dunes ! The local kids went out looking for him with lanterns and when they found him, St Martin turned the trail of donkey poo into bread for them to eat ! These days, the kids make lanterns (out of paper or carved sugar beet, provided for free by the local council), go on a lantern-lit procession with St Martin and his donkey and get sweets and volaaren, donkey-poo shaped bread with chocolate chips or raisins in it.We've had so many to get through before they went stale that I've been eating quite a few. Not good news. Then I realised that I've been eating them for breakfast - a meal I quite often skip - so that's actually a positive change. It's quite unbelievable to think that you can eat more (but better) and still lose weight but it seems to be working for me !

2) Yes, I've been eating rubbish several times this week but I didn't finish my plate on any of those occasions. When we went to McDonalds, I had a salad and when I finished it, I was totally stuffed - after eating salad !!

3) I've been walking past the kids' Halloween sweetie stash several times a day and have only eaten one tiny sweet in all that time. And only then because it was my absolute favourite kind of sweet. But I only ate one and didn't fancy any more after that. In the past, thinking back, it would have been a handful.

4) I've gone back to drinking fizzy diet drinks, but I have one glass maximum in the evening as a special treat every now and then. It's not something I reach for now when I'm thirsty. Thirsty = water, sweet treat = fizzy drink. It used to be diet Coke for both.

5) On Friday afternoon (which was a bank holiday), we wrapped up warm and went out for a 2 & 1/2 hour walk exploring. The kids had a great time and we found a fab new park with a huge pirate ship climbing frame structure ! I had sore feet and we'd all worked up a sweat by the time we got home, despite the cold ! On Thursday night, instead of getting on a crowded bus, we decided to walk the 1/2 hour into town for the St Martin procession, followed by 1/2 hour walking with the procession. So much for not doing any sport at all then !

6) I've switched from 2 slices to 1 slice of bread at the canteen and automatically take a yoghurt instead of cheese. I even picked a slice of melon over a Cornetto because it was what I fancied, not as a conscious healthy choice ! Half-eaten plates now frequently get left.

7) I lost 1/2 kilo this week, which makes a grand total of 2.6kg lost. That's 5.7 pounds ! Nearly six bags of sugar ! I still find this incredibly hard to believe but have to admit that the Slimpod is definitely working. Another sceptic bites the dust ! Now I don't wonder if it will work, I wonder how much it will work. How far can this actually go ? Come back next week to find out ! :)

for more information : http://www.thinkingslimmer.co.uk/

Other reviews you may be interested in :

SlimPod - 10 minute daily mp3 for permanent weightloss

Slimpod review : Week Two of my Thinking Slimmer adventure

Slimpod review : The Third Week of my Thinking Slimmer adventure