I started this blog in 2014 when I took a sabbatical from work and was heading off on a trip in my camper van around Europe and Scandinavia, since then I’ve  been on loads of trips and had an amazing time, but my performance as a blogger has been pretty rubbish! But I’m going to start again, with good intentions at the start of hopefully a new and exciting journey. This time the journey is not going to see me travel miles, it is instead, hopefully, it will see me loose inches.

On several occasions in the past I have lost a lot of weight,  around 5 stone, three if not four times, but each time I’ve put it back on again.  The last time I lost weight was about ten years ago – and yep I’ve done it again, it is all back on.  I really thought the last time I’d got it sussed – I had hypnosis and NPL and was convicted that I wouldn’t go back to my old habits but I did.

Part of the problem is that I ignore the issue until it gets too big – the issue and my arse!  I don’t like talking about it – and will give my lovely Mum a look that says it all, if she dares to mention it.  Well, to be honest Mum doesn’t really dare to mention it – but she does comment on me eating yet another slice of cheese from her fridge.  And whilst I kid myself it doesn’t count if you eat straight from the fridge, especially if it isn’t even my fridge – but of course it does.

Anyway I’ve been thinking for a while now that I need to do something about it – again.  And whilst people say – well you’ve done it before, you can do it again.  That doesn’t really help – in fact it just reinforces my desire not to bother – yes I’ve done it before – but each time I’ve put it back on – so why bother.

But enough is enough, I do need to bother and I’m going to, well at least today I’m going to bother and hopefully tomorrow I will too.  The fact that I’ve had problems recently with arthritis in my knees will hopefully help spur me on.

So this Monday I took the first step and went to Slimming World.  I  have lost weight with them before.  It starts with the host taking you through the plan, it was going OK, well kind of – I didn’t really want to be there – but I was trying to be optimistic.  Then she turned to the page about lentils, peas and beans and said this is where the real fun fun fun starts.   Really, REALLY, I’ve eaten lentils, peas and beans and seriously they are not fun fun fun.  As you might have guess I don’t do well with people patronising me – I’m sure it wasn’t intended but it certainly felt like it.  We then sat for an hour (though it felt like about 10) in a circle with each person talking about how they’d done that week and what they’d up to, how they’d been to the local restaurant and been naughty.  I honestly felt like I was in a terrible comedy show and wanted to leave.  There was a raffle – you to win a whole load of sugar free drinks.  The host got extremely excited about some new frozen meals in Iceland.  If the over the top, what felt like forced, Fun Fun Fun attitude wasn’t enough to annoy me, the fact that you were encouraged to eat unhealthy processed food did.  If I am to change my eating habits I want to change it to eating healthily.  The whole session finished with a weight in – which was depressing – but actually not as depressing as the last hour or so had been.

So as you may have guessed I won’t be going back to slimming world, (if you go and it helps you – great – it just isn’t for me this time).  In fact I went home and had a cider and cheese – yes it was a totally childish way of sticking my fingers up – and no, of course, it didn’t hurt anyone but me – but it did taste nice!

But if I’m going to do this I do know that the public weigh helps – it keeps you on track.  So that is one of the reasons why I’m writing this blog – this is going to be my public weigh in. 

I also don’t like to speak about my weight or my eating habits, so my other reason for writing this is to perhaps work through some of the reasons I over eat – kind of force myself to talk about it and perhaps deal with it at the same time.

I’m pleased to say that so far this week, apart from the cider and cheese, I’ve been pretty good. I’ve been using My Fitness Pal to track what I eat, another thing I don’t like doing – but it will help so I’m trying to persevere. In the last few years with the help of the app my Dad lost at least 7 stone  – so I know it works.

On Monday I start a new work contract which will mean that I won’t be taking any big trips for at least the next five months – so I’m going use this time – to take a journey on improving myself – trying inch by inch to get healthier. I’m not sure if I’ll write a post every week – but I’m going to aim to write at least every two weeks.   And I am writing this blog selfishly for me and not you.  Please don’t feel any obligation to read or comment – after all I found the slimming class boring so I  totally and utterly understand if you don’t want to read this, so please feel free to stop following this blog, but if you do want to keep following me – thank you.

Finally, I can’t promise I’m going to be better at writing this blog than I have been in the past,  but I’m going to try. I don’t know what this journey is going to be like, but every trip is an adventure and whilst this one won’t see me travel miles, it will hopefully see me loose inches, gain energy and see my feet again!