Why I quit my slimming world group

can I quit slimming world?
Today's post is, I suppose, a brutally honest look at Slimming World, and why the group approach to weight loss isn't always an amazing thing.

Designed to give support, encouragement and friendship, Slimming World asks members to stay to group once a week for 'Image Therapy'.
If you've never been to a group before, you basically all sit around in a circle and discuss how you're doing, what's been going well and what you've achieved. Although your weight is never read out, your loss is.

So what if you haven't had a loss?
Well, you're reminded of your fantastic achievement so far and asked how things have gone and what you're going to do next week to get a loss instead of a gain/maintain. This all seems relatively standard, encouraging and friendly right?

Now I know that this is perhaps a reflection on my self-esteem and willpower rather than the effectiveness of group, but actually I disagree - since joining slimming world in October 2015, I haven't found group remotely encouraging or supportive. Don't get me wrong, the group leader and her team were amazing, I can't fault anything she has done at all; texts, phone calls, Facebook messages of support and a friendly face in the group, she has been amazing. But for me, the group itself has never been a nice experience.

The sheer panic of a Thursday since joining Slimming World has been hell, to the point of starving all day and obsessively weighing myself up until the point of going to group. That followed by walking into a room full of cliques and friendship groups I just wasn't part of, meaning I sat by myself chatting to the little old ladies and glancing at my phone waiting for the session to end! The worst thing had to be the comparisons in my own head, everyone in the room appeared to be doing better than me, that was hard to hear and far from encouraging.

When asked what I could do differently on the occasions when I had lost only half a pound, maintained or gained, I couldn't answer. I didn't struggle because I had a problem with the idea of Slimming World, I 100% get the plan, I didn't struggle because I couldn't be bothered or because I aren't determined; believe me, I want this. I think I struggled because all I focussed on was Slimming World and how awful that meeting was going to be if I turned up and hadn't lost weight. If I went over my syns, or didn't eat enough free food, I would torture myself with how much of a failure I was, I'd punish myself and end up binging. That turned into even more dread for the group and so I'd fast for a day and end up so hungry I'd eat anything in sight. The cycle was unhealthy, unhelpful and simply a nightmare. It had to stop.

So, I'm doing it on my own.
Since stopping going to group I haven't lost any weight. That said, I've enjoyed life, celebrated birthdays and special occasions, eaten out and drank copious amounts of wine without a single pound gained. I've felt more confident and in control than I ever did with group looming over me. I haven't binged once, panicked about my weight, and I haven't beaten myself up over my mistakes. I'm now at the point where I'm going to refocus my goals; I'm pleased to have enjoyed the past 4 weeks or so with a steady maintain, but now it's time to start losing again, with only myself to answer to.

I'd like to think it is possible to succeed without group, and maybe I'm not the only one who has felt this way? What do you think? Can group be a bad thing and can you make it on your own? Let me know!x

Fitbit; helpful or hype

exercise
Hi everyone, how are you all? 
Today I wanted to talk about my fitness-best-friend, Fitbit. If you're interested in increasing your activity and tracking your progress, no doubt you will have heard of Fitbit. The range of activity trackers allows users to monitor their activity throughout the day and link up to an app which helps counts calories in vs out; but is the Fitbit any more than a fancy looking pedometer?

Yes, the main focus of the Fitbit is to track steps, but many of the models also monitor sleep, calories burned, floors climbed and 'active minutes' throughout the day. Many users also say they're surprised with how few steps they take, and the tracker acts as perfect motivation to get moving. Advanced models monitor heart rate, which is perfect for those of us who want to see what they're really burning at the gym, rather than the estimate given on the Fitbit app.

Essentially, the point of Fitbit is less about the product you're wearing, and more about you. If you want a reliable pedometer with a few extras thrown in, such as a motivational message to start your day and a nice looking app to log in to, the budget range is perfect. Same again if you're already using apps to monitor your activity and want a little more accuracy. If you're serious about fitness, Fitbit can help you monitor your heart rate and calculate accurate calorie burn, although it is likely nothing will replace a heart monitor strap in terms of accuracy. 

The main selling point for me is the push, if you need a reminder that you've not hit your target, Fitbit will tell you, and reward you when you make it. Personally, I don't go a day without wearing my Fitbit One. It's towards the budget end of the range, but works perfectly for me as I want to track my steps and see how active I am during the day. Having a sedentary office job means I know I aren't active enough, a couple of trips to the gym just doesn't make up for hours and hours sat at a desk - I know I need to get up and move everyday. Currently I aim to hit 7500 steps a day, which doesn't seem a lot, but on a day full of meetings and when I work through lunch I can easily only take about 2000 steps! I found it quite shocking actually because I had always presumed that I was active and walking loads, which I quickly found wasn't the case! Now I use my Fitbit to track and monitor my activity levels throughout the day. I make time to head out on my lunch break, or walk around the block when I get home to get those extra steps and hit my goal. 

 They say it's the little things that make the biggest difference, and I'm hoping gradually increasing my goal will help me shift the extra lbs over the coming months; teamed with healthy eating and regular work-outs too, of course. 
Find out more about the Fitbit range, and features online here.

Hello world!

about me
Hi Internet! Welcome to Skinny Timmins; a blog with a particularly aspirational name to help me keep on track with my weight loss journey.
I ought to introduce myself really; I'm Melissa, I'm 26 and I live in the UK. I'm currently following Slimming World and aim to lose 3stone 7lbs. I am by no means skinny, nowhere near actually, and I never have been, but I have been skinnier, healthier and more comfortable in my skin and it's time to get that feeling back. 

I started my weight loss journey in October 2015, but progress has been slow, and I've only managed to shift 9lbs in 3 months which is disheartening, but I know I only have me to blame! On the plus side, a loss of 9lbs is better than a gain of 9lbs, especially over Christmas, so I'm not completely negative!

 Anyway, so why start a blog? 
I'll be honest, I was expecting this whole 'weight loss' thing to be easy - turns out it isn't! And what's more, I look around the internet and Instagram for inspiration but get even more disheartened because everyone else seems to find it so easy. So I've decided to be my own motivation, keep myself accountable by blogging and be brutally honest too.

If you're reading this I guess your maybe in the same boat as me, wanting to make a change, but not sure how. You know, kind of fumbling around trying to eat avocado, asking yourself 'what even is a squat?' and find a sports bra that doesn't stop you from breathing!

Anyway leave me a comment if you're at the beginning of your weight loss journey too; operation skinny is officially on! 

Melissa x