Is there really a cure for being a chocoholic?

I am feeling a little depressed at the moment if I am honest, I have lost something and I am not sure it is something I wanted to shed.  All my life it has been there to get me through the highs and lows and basically just to be enjoyed but something has changed.

They say be careful what you wish for because when you get your hearts desire you might not want it anymore and that is sort of the case here.  For today I am in mourning, mourning at the loss of my enjoyment of chocolate.

You have probably seen me mention Thinking Slimmer Slimpods before.  About last August I received the lose 2 dress sizes one and when I remember to listen to it consistently it helps me loads to make better decisions and I do believe it was the spur behind my exercise kick that has been started this year.  I was then offered the Chocoholic cure a while back and again I listened to it consistently for a good 6 weeks.

It was then Lent and I felt compelled to give something up that would really be a a hardship for me and I chose chocolate. I know God is on my side and he has been helping me with abstaining from chocolate but I also gave some credit to the slimpod.  I have to be honest and say that I have not really listened for the last couple of weeks, the kids and I have all been poorly and it has fallen down my list of priorities.

Monday #Mumentum - Stretching out my Hand



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Review of the Week

This last week has been an interesting one.  It is the first week since I started my journey towards the new healthy me that I have not been to Pilates.  The logic was that at £14 a lesson I should perhaps go fortnightly as it is a lot of money, but I have really missed it and what I have learnt is that my one Pilates lesson keeps my whole week focused.  So I won't be making the mistake of missing any more. I have been much better with my food this week, I did not manage to stick to my food plan exactly but my eating has been much better and I have been really aware of what I have put in my mouth, which is a good thing.

I weighed myself this morning and the scales told me 17st 4lb, putting me back on track. I have had a 5lb loss in January, nothing major but certainly heading in the right direction, and moving down one notch on my belt was confirmation of that and gave me a smile on my face.

I have done my exercise DVD a few times and I have been good at going to bed, even indulging in one 9pm night, which for me is nothing short of a miracle.

On Thursday I had  a super chat with Sandra from Thinking Slimmer and she reassured me that my eating habits were generally just learned behaviour rather than being linked to emotional trauma, so hopefully they should be fairly easy to break with the right programming.  I am awaiting the arrival of the chocoholics slimpod and am looking forward to listening to that and feeling the effect that many others have felt - that I just do not want to eat chocolate any longer.  Wow, how freeing that will be!

Short Term Goal
Sandra reminded me that goals are really important and to make sure they are short-term as the mind likes to focus on quick wins. So my goal for the next 2 weeks, which will take me up to 20th February is to drop another belt notch. I'll keep you posted...

Daily Motivational Email
A couple of weeks ago a new blogger, Keeley, read my Mumentum post and pointed me in the direction of Crosswalk, a Christian website that emails daily or weekly devotions on many areas of life.  One of those is dieting and as a Christian I have found it really useful to be reminded each day of the Christian perspective on my struggle with food. Let me share one of the emails I received this week that really spoke to me.

Psalm 46:1

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

My grandmother had a favourite picture that showed Jesus stretching out His hand to Peter while they were walking on the sea. It gave my grandmother great comfort to know that if she ever failed in her faith, Christ would stretch out His loving hand to lift her up. Whenever she dieted, she kept that picture close at hand. When the diet got too hard for her to cope with, she looked at her picture and felt God present with her. When we attempt to sacrifice anything, it is good for us to admit that we will have a hard time doing it on our own. When we stretch forth our hand to God, He will always reach back.

Today's thought: When my diet gets toughest, God will be closest.
 
How reassuring is that? I need to remember that each time things feel tough and yes that is at least once a day if not more.  This cutting down and being healthy lark is far from easy.
 
How has your week been? Do share how you are managing to stay on track, I'd love to hear any tips.
 

 
Don't forget to link up with Liska at New Mum Online for Mums losing their Mum tums!

Realising the Importance of my Other Man!

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For quite a while now, since early August I have been getting into bed at night with my other man.  There have been times when I have forgotten him and on those occasions we tend to have a foray in the morning.  I like him, what can I say? He has a silky voice and the things he speaks to me, oh boy! Without even directly saying the words he tells me I am beautiful, I am worth the effort, that I should believe in myself and I can make changes.

So why has she got another man you might wonder, what is wrong with the one she already has?  Well nothing but this new man does something completely different for me and he even improves my relationship with my husband. When you feel better about yourself you also feel better about your intimate relationships, have you noticed that?

If I am honest you could perhaps get a bit bored of him as he does say the same thing over and over again but it makes me smile when during the day some of his phrases just pop into my head. Phrases like 'from the inside you are changing the outside', 'you are gaining a sense of control over what you can achieve', 'becoming someone who can say no because it is what you want' and 'inevitable that you will look how you dream'.

Don't worry though as Dh is fully aware of my 'other man' and even named him so. In fact one night he got into bed with him too but he decided it was not for him and that's OK, I like to keep my men separate and in their own little compartments. Trevor is mine, well I say mine.  Really his voice is heard by thousands of people every day, both male and female, anyone really who wants to try to change their thinking and ultimately their eating. You may have gathered by now that I have been talking about my Thinking Slimmer Drop 2 Dress Sizes slimpod.  This is just 10 minutes of the silky voiced Trevor giving me suggestions of what I might like to do in my day to change myself for the better, ie: eat less, move more and make better choices.

One of the things that the slimpod talks about is learning why you really want to lose wight.  What is the thing that comes to mind that will keep you on track? What will keep you motivated to achieve your goals? This has been a fabulous thinking and discovery process for me. I would have said that I want to lose weight for health reasons and to be a good role model to the children but actually I have realised just the other day that they are not the primary reasons.  That is not the full truth. I have discovered through listening to this slimpod and thinking things through that the main reason I want to lose weight is to feel better about my body and to feel desirable and improve my relationship with my husband.  I know that both our weight issues hold us back from being as happy together as we could be.

So I have to keep motivated and keep moving forward as the outcome will be so worth it.....

When I spend any length of time listening to my slimpod I do find myself making far better choices.  One of the phrases that rings true for me is 'Enough is enough and is so much less than it used to be'.  I had cheesecake the other night and left just under half of it as I was full.  Then today I found a packet of minstrels in my desk drawer and choose to stick to my plan and abstain instead of scoffing them within minutes, which would be my normal response.  In fact I have so many examples of being sensible with my choices that I am spoilt for choice of which to share with you and that is wonderful.

If you are interested in purchasing a slimpod they cost just £29.99 and there are a range of titles to suit all sorts of needs.  There are also slimpod plus programes which retail at £44.99 and contain 4 separate titles making them great value.

I know there are lots of us using the slimpods.  Are you one of them, how have they worked for you?

I am linking this post up to my Reasons to be Cheerful linky this week, as my weight loss and positive change in the choices I have been making are making me very happy and grateful indeed.  #R2BC is not here this week though, it is over at Kate on Thin Ice, so go over and visit, link up and show Kate some comment love.  Cheers Mich x



<center> <a href="http://mdplife.blogspot.com/search/label/reasons%20to%20be%20cheerful"><img width="150" alt="Reasons to be Cheerful at Mummy from the Heart" src="http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac230/RebaMc/reasonstobecheerfulv2-1.jpg" height="150" /></a></center>


Disclaimer:  I have received my slimpod free of charge.  I have not been instructed to write this blog post.  I felt compelled to share my success with this product and I happily endorse it.

Doing #Mumentum the @Slimavite Way!

I expect you all know by now that I have an real issue with food and have been seeking to try and sort this out for years now.  26 years to be precise!  That's a long time isn't it?  I recall going on my first diet aged 12 years old and it has never stopped since then.  One word - exhausting!  The mental exhaustion of carrying this weighty burden (ha ha see what I did there) is massive.

Nearly 2 weeks back I started to use @Slimavite shakes for 2 meals a day and to be honest for the first week or so I had good days but then I also had bad days.  I always find you have to be in the right place mentally to diet and to have enough mental energy to try and sort your food out.  Otherwise I can just get busy and find myself eating something before I even realise it is in my mouth. Planning is key for me.

Last week was much better, I felt motivated to stick with my shakes and for the whole week (bar 1 day) I used the meal replacement shakes for 1 or 2 meals a day. Normally breakfast and lunch.  I have to say it has been a good week. I do not find it particularly hard to have a shake instead of a meal.  I make sure I have a big glass of water first to line my stomach and slightly fill me up and then I drink my shake.  As I mentioned before they are nice and frothy and filling.  After a shake I do not feel the need to reach out for any food due to hunger, of course wanting to eat on my emotions is quite another thing.

Not content with just using the shakes to help me lose weight I am trying to adopt a holistic approach to 'Operation New Michelle' and I am also following the 12 step approach which I have learnt in my eating disorders group over the last couple of years and listening to my Thinking Slimmer slimpod each night. I think all these things combined have meant a good week for me.

So I won't leave you hanging any longer, how have I done?

Weight 1 Sept 2011                                  17st 13lb
Weight at start of Slimavite diet                  17st 10lb (yes the weight I lost in Sept went back on again!)
Weight Sunday 6th November                   17st 5lb

5lb loss, which I am pleased about as my food was anything but perfect.  Much better but not perfect and yesterday I had a lovely event and to be honest the chocolate cake there was very good!

As well as my 5lb loss the really exciting news was that since the beginning of September I have lost 1.5" off my waist and 3.5" off my hips, 1" off my bust and 0.5" off each thigh.  So the exercise that I have restarted must be paying off.

Something I have also done in the last week if define some goal for myself in terms of what I wish to achieve with this weight loss and those will help to keep me focused -

1. Wear a lovely Wallis top I got in August 2010 and have only ever worn once.  It would be fab for all the Christmas do's I have coming up. Only 4 weeks to shift a good stone to be able to do this!
2. Be able to wear my engagement ring again (currently it is too tight)
3. Feel really comfortable when I speak at Brit Mums Live in June 2012. That is 7 months away and how amazing would it be if I can be down to a size 16/18 by then.  I am currently pushing a 24.

So that is where I am right now.  I'll post again next week with my weekly Operation new Michelle update!

I'll leave you with some gruesome pics of me at my starting point.

So fellow weight loss pals, how are you all doing right now?

Making Sensible Choices...

So I bet that post title made you want to come on over and read didn't it?  Super sexy hey, but I am pleased to say that in the last week or so I have been making some sensible choices and the honesty is that they are not super sexy but they are so necessary for my sanity.

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Let me give you just a couple of examples of the kind of good choices I have made recently -

• I needed to buy bread, milk and fruit, nothing else and normally I would pop into Asda as I drive home (I can go right past it) but I realised that if I went in there with the girls I would want to look at (and buy) clothes that we do not need and the girls may well con me into buying them a comic or something. So we went to Morrisons where I find nothing interesting and just bought the three needed items.
• I was buying myself a new book the other day, just a nice easy read and the deal was £3.99 for one of £10 for three.  Well my bargain hunters brain clicked in and said 'yes good saving, do it!' but thankfully the more sensible part of me recalled all the books I have at home that have not yet been read and just bought the one I needed for that day.

These are small things but they are small things that I have noticed happening and they have pleased me. They are minor miracles for a spendthrift like me. I believe that everything in life is a choice, we do not get where we are by chance.  Every action has a consequence, this was one of the reasons I started the Reasons to be Cheerful linky, I wanted to give myself a better than average chance of happiness by choosing to be grateful and delighting in the things I had.

Love the life you live they say! 

The secret is to want what you already have and then cherish it. So 2011 is all about that for me and I really think some of it is sinking in now.  I do not know if perhaps my listening to my Thinking Slimmer slimpod each night is also helping with my change in thinking and choices too. What I am hoping is that by starting to make sane choices generally in my life I can carry this over to my eating habits.  Then in the future when faced with the choice to eat unnecessarily or not, I can choose not to.  What bliss that freedom from food obsession will be!

Thank you Lord that I have again connected with you in the last week, reading my bible each day, praying and going to Church makes a massive difference in my ability to rely on you and hand over the tough stuff.  I am eternally grateful.

Linking up with Liska for the Monday #Mumentum linky.