Slimming World Secrets

I lost weight during Christmas Week – for the first time

I can’t quite believe I’m writing this after Christmas week – seven days in which I’ve historically gained up to a monster 13lbs – but I’ve come away from group this morning with a loss!

My week

• Average Syns per day: 30.1
• Average Speed foods per day: 10.6
• SP days: 3
• Body Magic days: 6
• Result: -½lb
• Total loss: -5st 8lbs

I wrote last week about how Christmas week has always been my Slimming World nemesis. Dating right back to my first year in 2014, I’ve always had massive gains.

Even the smallest one, in 2015, was +5lbs. The past four years got even worse as I adopted a “F*ck it – I’ll take a break and start again in the new year!” approach.

But, this year, because I had a plan in place, I got a loss! OK, it was only ½lb, but it was a loss nonetheless and got me to the end of the year 1lb BELOW Target. I’m so happy!

Apart from one week off plan which involved alcohol and a takeaway pizza that could have fed half the town for a week, I’ve been ahead of the game all year.

Christmases Week gains (and one loss): 2014 to 2021

• 2014: +6½lbs
• 2015: +5lbs
• 2016: +6½lbs
• 2017: +13lbs (group record gain)
• 2018: +11lbs
• 2019: +12½lbs (albeit over three weeks)
• 2020: +12½lbs
• 2021: -½lb

I’m going to keep this post short because today is New Year’s Eve, but suffice to say I wasn’t expecting a loss.

I’d planned for a gain – not the monster gains of years past, but 2lbs or 3lbs would have been fine, and I’d have stayed in my Target bubble, albeit at the top end.

But the scales, bless them, had other ideas.

How to lose weight during Christmas Week

So, here’s what I did. As you can see above, I went way over my Syns, averaging 30.1 per day over the week.

Most of that came from wine and beers – on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Bank Holiday Monday. I enjoyed myself!

But I was angelic with my food. I cooked a Syn-free turkey dinner (more on that later), along with various Syn-free pâtés, a Syn-free Turkey Curry, a low-Syn Creamy Parmigiano Paprika Chicken and a low-Syn Christmas gammon joint.

Once Bank Holiday Monday was out of the way, I did three SP days, consuming only two Syns across all of them, and I did six days of Body Magic.

It all goes to show that, as I’ve said many times before, you can go off the tracks with a boozy weekend – and then pull it back.

So long as your weigh days isn’t Monday, I guess. You just need to be angelic with your Syns once the weekend is over, do all the Body Magic and do all the SP days.

I’ve done it before and I use Flexible Syns every single week, to one degree or another.

New pack and a free vegan book

Group was just a quick weigh-and-dash affair, but it was lovely to see my consultant Tracy again, and to meet one of her pals who’s now joined the group.

I also got a free copy of the new Va Va Vegan book because it arrived with Tracy water-damaged. Winner! I do eat meat again these days, but I used to be a vegan and, even now, I try to eat some meat-free meals (though probably not as many as I should).

I also got my copy of the new 2022 pack – along with lots of new shiny stickers to stick on the books within. I’m looking forward to the challenge of the year ahead and hopefully becoming a Diamond member.

Christmas week done, now for New Year

Now I just need to keep my head in the game ahead of New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day and another Bank Holiday Monday.

As Tracy put it, I have a “four-Syn alcohol buffer” before I get to the top of my Target range. I expect a gain next week – I can’t be this lucky over a bank holiday weekend twice.

I just need to try not to overdo it too much this weekend and undo all the hard work of Christmas week.

Finally, to all my readers, have a happy new year. And if you weren’t so lucky as me on the scales this week, don’t fret, just draw that famous line and start again in the new year.

In January 2019, I rejoined my group, which gave me the opportunity to re-earn all my old weight loss awards – and the Body Magic ones.

It was just the mental reboot I needed. Two years later, I’m happily at Target.