Over the years I have joined, moved and rejoined various Slimming World groups - depending on finances and shift patterns.
Aside from the social side, I quite enjoy the routine this brings; problems parking, long queues to pay followed by long queues to get weighed, listening (or trying to listen over the murmers of other's conversations) to everyone's achievements (or not) each followed with a smattering of applause, a raffle and slimmer of the week.
I know this doesn't all sound positive but nestled comfortably amongst this list are the gems. The actions of others which keep me returning, story fodder (fodder - food - tenuous?), and tales which Victoria Wood would have been proud to draw upon.
In one group I was behind a lady who had brought with her her grandson in his scout outfit. He was obviously a very good scout judging by the number of badges sewn down his sleeves. His Grandmother did not have quite the same amount of achievement on her book cover and so she decided to up her odds of weight loss. She did that remove-the-bra-without-taking-off-her-top thing that we girls can do and handed her bra to her red faced grandson to hold whilst she stood on the scales. It worked. She had lost weight and from then on went through the bra ritual weekly. Her grandson eventually stopped coming with her. Perhaps he outgrew scouts.
In another group I was sat waiting. Wise to the queues and parking now, I had managed to get in and got weighed early. A man got to the front of the queue and asked the lady manning the scales to wait a moment. He took off his jeans, folded them up and put them on the chair, he took of his socks which joined the jeans on the chair, then he took of his shirt and stood on the scales in nothing more than his underpants. Apparently this was his weekly routine!
And so I wonder what other people do to up their odds of weight loss - I have my own rituals - take off glasses and jewelry - don't we all?
Slimming world is a bit like school in the way we fall into catagories. I was never popular in school, and i'm not in Slimming World either - you know who is popular... they are the ones holding the change pot and raffle tickets wondering around at the start increasing the club's revenue. They are destined to become fee takers and scale organisers. They have done well.
I was never truly unpopular at school either and this has continued through to slimming world. Those less favoured are the ones who can eat a bag of bananas a day or eat out three times a week and still lose weight whilst exclaiming "I love this diet, I can eat what I want and it's still falling off me, look!" Followed by a twirl!
I was more the funny one - escaping trouble and social awkwardness through hard work and humour. Consequently I seem to attract like minded people. My group buddy announced rather loudly in class last week that a 500g bar of chocolate would be no bother to her so she has no chocolate in the house now and consequently her underwear is less pinchy!
We are all asked to set our targets for the following week. One lady I saw set her target as "I will not eat a whole cake this week." (did you know a marks and sparks slice of carrot cake is somewhere in the region of 40 syns per slice!!! Even with carrot being a speed food!)
mmm
Carrot cake!
As school has a variety of teachers, so slimming world also has a variety of consultants. I have seen many - the quiet ones who can't be heard over the hubbub of members, the loud ones shouting "Squirt Till It Hurts!" (we are talking about frylight here), the more scatalogically minded ones "what goes in must come out ladies and gentleman and we all want it to come out before group now, don't we?!"
And so to the main subject. Food. Those who weigh in the evening generally have very light meals in the day. I weigh in the morning. None of us eat before hand. The meeting itself therefore is one big picnic. Post weigh in, all the tupperware boxes come out - mountains (ok, not quite mountains) of fruit, quark, yoghurts, pasta, couscous etc are consumed in a one hour period. For some, weigh in day is a day off as small groups leave to dine at the local pub.
Whatever our quirks and foibles are our goals are the same - become a healthier, slimmer, more confident version of ourselves.
I wish each and every one of you the best of luck on this journey and would really love to hear any stories you may have from groups you have been in.