D Day -Beginning Of The Unislim Journey!

Well, today is D day!

No. It's not 'decision' day as in the original meaning of the D in the phrase.  The decision is already made.  It's not 'diet' day.  I am eliminating that word from this blog as it conjures up another d word, 'deprivation'! The D in my D day means 'DO'.  So it's 'Do' day for me!

When I woke up this morning, my negative 'monkey mind' started to chatter.  It started to give me all the reasons why I shouldn't bother to join Unislim.  It reminded me how I had started a weight loss programme before and given up when my friends did, only to pile on even more pounds.  It told me that I didn't need to lose weight.  After all there are people much larger than me out there. It told me that it would be dangerous to drive to the meeting as there is a gale and storm alert. It told me that it would be awful to join on my own.  The negative part of my mind kept on and on and the positive part tried to get a word in. What about your low mood, low energy and high cholesterol, it whispered.

So what did I do?  How did I quell the negative voice and feed the positive one so that it could come forward to motivate me? I went onto the Unislim Facebook chat page and 'spoke' to some of the amazing people there. I looked back on a post that I made the other day asking others if they had joined with someone else or alone?  Some had joined with others but most had gone alone.  Either way, everyone agreed they must do it for themselves and that only they themselves could do it. It is the responsibiltiy of each person alone, as Emma Dunne mentions in her last Unislim Blog Post. Emma asked me what advice I would give to a friend who was making excuses.  I said that I would tell my friend that if she was feeling that bad, had low energy and mood, she had a duty of care to herself to change things.  I said that I would tell her that if she was really sick and tired  of being sick and tired, then she owed it to herself to take action.  Emma suggested I tell that to MYSELF!

I was starting to feel quite excited until I spoke to my mother on the phone.  I know that she loves me a lot but she has a tendency to always give a negative answer to things first.  She never really thinks about what she is saying before she says it, although she often backtracks at a later time.  Sometimes the damage is done but trying to be a caring and enlightened person, I try to let it pass without argument. When I mentioned to her that I was joining Unislim this evening, she pah pahed the idea, pointing out that I had failed before.  She said it is a waste of time and money and I won't stick to it.  She also mentioned the storm warning today and said it would be too dangerous to drive.  All things that I have heard before from the negative voice in my own head with the excuses I had this morning why I shouldn't go. Instead of rowing with her, I took a deep breath and told her I am doing it anyway and there is no time like the present!

So that's what I am going to do.  Come rain or shine, storm or gale, I will be at my first Unislim meeting tonight!

Feel free to comment, join as a reader and offer words of advice.  All motivation gratefully received!

Time for Unislim!

Did you ever catch sight of your reflection in a mirror or shop window and wonder who that person was?

That was me a few weeks ago while on holiday in France.  I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror as I was raising an ice lolly to my lips. Suffice to say that I was horrified because it was not the reflection I felt I saw looking back at me in my own mirror at home. It struck me then that I was probably fooling myself about that. I probably should have realised when my holiday clothes, size 16s no longer fitted me comfortably.

I am forty six and up until recently always felt I looked reasonably good for my age, even if I was pleasantly plump. 'Pleasantly Plump', that is actually how I saw myself, until that fateful day recently, when I saw my reflection from side view. I have a large bust anyway, but seeing that my tummy was almost as large, in that position, really brought it home to me.  Even the fact that my husband mentioned that I am the biggest he has ever seen me didn't register. But, seeing is definitely believing!

I mentioned to a few people about my size and they made no comment about it.  This signifies even more that I need to do something about it.  If I wasn't getting bigger, they would definitely say it, but nobody wants to offend!

I am now fourteen stone.  To those who are bigger than that, it may not seem a lot. However, being five foot six inches, the fortysomething first time mother of a four year old energetic toddler and having no energy and recent bouts of low mood and general ill health, it's all relative to each person's own situation.

Catching sight of myself in that mirror in France, receiving no positive feedback on my weight complaints, low energy, low moods and seeing a photo of myself looking frumpy and fat, I think it is definitely time to take Action!!!

I have done it before and I can do it again but I feel that I need guidance on the food part. I need ideas and guidance to eat more nutritiously rather than just eating less calories. I also find that when I am practicing yoga, it helps me to be more mindful of what I eat and improves my flexibility.  I lost 15lbs before through using this method but sadly my classes ended in June for the summer and don't resume until end of September.  I lacked the discipline to practice much at home and I have piled on the pounds in a matter of months! I haven't put up any recent pictures of myself on my blog or facebook pages, mainly because of this.

I have been searching the weight loss groups and decided to opt for the Unislim plan.  I like their website and being a technology fan, I love the way various groups use their facebook pages to interact.  I also like reading the blog of Emma Dunne over at the site!  She has lost a whopping seven stone and her posts are so full of enthusiasm, they are really motivating.  I love the Eumom.ie website and through Emma's blog on Unislim, I came across the weight loss journey of Claire (same name as me) on her Unislimmer blog/diary.

I toyed with the idea of joining the Unislim group in the Donaghmede area and I love following Nancy's facebook page.  However, I have finally settled on joining up with the Drumcondra area.  It is local to me, the times suit and when I contacted Linda, the leader, I got a good vibe.

I hope that, in conjunction with yoga, walks and a little bit of skipping, Unislim will remind me to eat nutritiously, help me to lose weight and up my energy levels.  In fact, I more than hope.  I know this will work if I can motivate myself and do all these self caring things I am promising myself to do. This blog is part of my strategy of accountability!

I have called this blog UniSlimSometime(s) because I have been slim in the past and I intend to be slim again sometime! Also it has been in my mind to join a slimming group for sometime now!

So, wish me luck on my new weight loss journey.  I won't be starting officially until Wednesday 15th August.  I am nervous about joining a class on my own but the only one who can do it is me.  I can't blame anyone else if they are not going along one week and I don't go either.  I want to prove to myself that I can do it and I can!