Slimming World's Woman Of The Year 2010 Ball

Today was Slimming World's Woman Of The Year 2010 ball. And, as I was one of the ten finalists, I got to go to the ball. :)

Sharon Painter, my Slimming World consultant, and her husband Quentin picked up Robert and me and drove us to Birmingham's ICC Centre which is where the ball was being held. We were staying in the Hyatt hotel across from it. Robert's and my room was on the 11th floor. We arrived at around 10:30am. I thought my hair and make-up appointment was at 11:00am, but when Sharon and I went to the 23rd floor for the appointment, I found out I was listed as having my appointment at noon. So Sharon, Sharon's husband and I got on the lift (known in the US as an elevator) and headed back down to my floor to pick up Robert, so we could all go out to get some lunch. There were a lot of people on the lift with us.

When we got off of the lift, Sharon's husband asked, "Did you know who that was?" I had no idea who any of the people on the lift with us were, but apparently one of them was Rio Ferdinand. For those of you in the US who are scratching your heads and wondering who Rio Ferdinand is, he is a "football" (i.e. soccer) player here who plays for Manchester United. Did I mention that people in the UK are football/soccer mad?

We went and got Robert and then got back onto the lift to head downstairs. There was a woman on the lift wearing large dark sunglasses who looked vaguely familiar. Sharon leaned towards her and said, "Your disguise is fabulous!" with a cheeky grin. She smiled and removed her sunglasses and chatted with us. It was Slimming World's founder Margaret Miles-Bramwell!

We walked outside and found a grocery store where we I bought two fruit salads and Robert bought some pasta and an egg and lettuce salad. Robert and I went back to our room to eat. I had brought some Slimming World HiFi bars with us as well as a couple cans of Sprite Zero.

Once we had eaten, it was time for my hair and make-up appointment. I went back up to the 23rd floor of the hotel. This time I did not meet any celebrities. *sigh*

The girls who did everyone's hair and make-up were very good at their jobs and everyone looked fabulous! When I got there, Julie was just finished having her hair and make-up done, while Harriet was getting her hair done and had already had her make-up done. Soon after, Jan Coupe arrived (one half of the two who won Couple Of The Year this year), and others I knew started arriving.

I had my make-up done, and then my hair done. The hairstylist decided, after my hair was curled, to sweep it up and to the side. She did a wonderful job with it. When she was finished she asked if I wanted her to spray some sparkle in my hair. She needn't have asked! Of course, I did! I'd already decided that this would be my night to shine!

Once done, I asked the artists who had styled us all if I could take their photo, and they agreed. I'd like to take this moment to thank them again for all of their hard work.



I went back to my room to change into my little black dress for the photos with Justin Lee Collins and Margaret Miles-Bramwell. Robert was not in our room. (I found out later he had gone to see "Despicable Me.")

I met up with Sharon. I had made sure to bring my camera along and took some photos while we waited. I took photos of Harriet Jenkins, Julie Cummings and Susan Melville. Harriet's consultant Joanna Mortimore was with her, and Julie was accompanied by her consultant Donna Shore.







Sharon, using my camera, took some photos of me.





And Julie took a photo with her own camera of Susan with me and one of me on my own.





Next we had the rehearsals. When we walked into the room it was already ready with the lights and the table settings.





We practiced the line-up of how we were going to walk onto the stage. We were told what songs would be playing when we walked out. (For me, the song chosen was "California Girls."And we were told the question that Juston Lee Collins would ask us (a different question for each of us). (I am laughing as I type this part, and you'll find out why later.) My question was about how Slimming World fits in with family life.

Then we were allowed some time to rest, so I went back to my room. Robert was there and he took some photos of me at the window to both show the view that we had and to show my hairstyle.







Then the fun part of the night began; I got to dress up in the dress I'd bought for the occasion! (I bought my dress at /Rosella's Bridal Gowns in Cirencester.) Robert wore a suit with dicky and bow tie. We went into a room where backdrops were set up for us to have professional photos taken. I may buy the ones we had taken at a later date and share them here, but as we knew those photos would have to wait, we took some of our own out in the hallway.













In the room where the photos were taken, this was the "bartender:"


(photo courtesy of Julie Cummings)

The fun thing about having my own blog is that, although I will be sharing photos of all of the final ten contestants and other Slimming World winners, I get to be the star here. I get to share as many pictures of myself as I want to. The irony about the fact that I want to share these photos of myself is that two years ago I would have been horrified at the thought of people all over the world seeing photos of me. I felt big and unattractive, and I preferred to be behind the camera rather than in front of it. But tonight, I suffered from none of that self-consciousness. I loved getting to dress like a princess. I loved how tiny my waist looked in the dress, and I loved showing myself off a bit for once! After all, how often does a 38 year old get to feel like a princess?

Next we all went into the ballroom and the night began in earnest. First, Margaret Miles-Bramwell came out and spoke to the audience.





Then our celebrity presenter, Justin Lee Collins, came out.





First out was Charmaine Coates. She is 33, 5'4" tall and has lost an amazin 9 stone 13 pounds (139 pounds). She is from Minehead, Somerset and her Slimming World consultant is Laraine Smith.





Next on stage was Julie Cummings. Julie is 36 years old, 5'5" tall and has lost an incredible 11 stone (154 pounds)! She is from St. Georges, Shropshire and her consultant is Donna Shore.





After Julie, it was Eileen Curoe's turn on stage. Eileen is 51 years old, 5'6" tall, and has lost a whopping 11 stone 3 pounds (157 pounds)! She is from Mayfield, Northern Ireland and her consultant is Dawn Richardson.





I was the fourth one to get to take the stage. Sharon and I had decided that, when we took the required pause as we passed through the heart-shaped entrance to the stage, she would hold up her hands up as if presenting me and I would twirl. Fortunately, I managed to do the maneuver without falling over. (Robert tried to video our entrance. It was taken with his phone and the quality is very poor. He says to listen to all of the shouts and cheers though. He says I had the largest cheering he heard that night, but our theory is that it was from the Bristol and Wiltshire district Slimming World ladies.)



For those of you who don't know, I am 38 years old, 5'3" tall (sometimes 5'2" tall depending on who is doing the measuring) and have now lost 10 stone 5 pounds (145 pounds). I am from Swindon, Wiltshire, and my consultant is Sharon Painter.











Just before we walked in, some of our story would show on the big tv screens against the wall. And the tv screens continued to show us once we were on the stage.


(photo courtesy of Clive Morgan)


(photo courtesy of Clive Morgan)

My question didn't really go as planned. I mentioned my seven children, which was pertinent to the fact that Slimming World fits in with family life, and Justin Lee Collins asked me to name them all. Normally, this would not be a problem, but, as I was on stage, I couldnt' believe it but I actually had to think about the names to bring them to mind! What a nightmare if I had actually forgotten my kids names! ;) I got a round of applause when I finished naming my children, and Justin pointed out that all I did was remember my own kids' names which was hardly a reason for applause. Hah!

Also having to do with family life and Slimming World, I mentioned that my husband had also lost a lot of weight (nearly 7 stone). Justin had me point Robert out in the audience, and when he saw him, he commented, "Oh, he's gorgeous!" Of course, I agree with him because Robert really is incredibly handsome. Then Justin asked him to come up onto the stage! Robert is definitely not shy, so he came right up.

One thing Justin could not have been aware of from way up on the stage looking down at Robert in the audience, is the fact that Robert is very tall. He's 6'8" tall. When Robert got up on the stage, Justin grabbed my hand and backed us both up as if fearful of Robert. (He wasn't really afraid, just surprised and working with it.) He commented that he felt like Frodo and Robert was Gandolph! I honestly was having trouble; my sides were starting to hurt because I couldnt' stop laughing.


(photo courtesy of Clive Morgan)

Of course, the fun wasn't yet over. Justin decided that, as gorgeous as Robert was, he needed to snog him!


(photo courtesy of Clive Morgan)

I am still hoping that someone in the audience caught all of that on video and will post it to YouTube sometime soon!

Then Justin asked me, "So what's next?" I could have said something about the children's novels I have written and am hoping to get published. I could have mentioned the two novels I am working on. I could have mentioned my blogs. I could have said something about one of the projects I am working on with my children. I could have soken about the magazines I have been writing health articles for. I could have mentioned my on-line businesses. There are a lot of things I could have spoken about to answer this question.

Before I tell you how I answered, let me explain something. I already knew that I was not going to win the title of Woman Of The Year 2010. Robert and I had already figured out who was going to win it. No, nobody at Slimming World let the name of the winner slip out. Robert and I both just happen to be really good at reading people and we made an educated guess that happened to be very accurate.

So I decided to be a bit cheeky with my answer to Justin's question. He asked, "So what's next?" and I answered, "Well, we were thinking of trying to win next year's Couple Of The Year title." Justin went along with it and presented us to the audience, saying, "What do you think? Couple Of the Year 2011!" I just might have a slightly devious streak in me!

Unfortunately, he forgot to ask Sharon her question about me, despite the fact that she had spent a few minutes figuring out how she was going to answer it. She was a good sport about it though.

After me, it was Gayle Gallagher's turn on the stage. Gayle is 35 years old, 5'2" tall and has lost an astounding 9 stone 5 pounds (131 pounds)! She is from Chester-le-Street, County Durham and her consultant is Suzanne Jones. Her husband got called up onto the stage too. He was so sweet. It looked as if he was a bit teary-eyed when he spoke of how proud he was of his wife.







Next up was Harriet Jenkins. Harriet is the youngest of us at only 25 years old. She is 5'9" tall and has lost an awesome 14 stone 12 1/2 pounds (208 1/2 pounds)! She is from Freemantle, Hampshire and her consultant is Joanna Mortimore.





Justin Lee Collins had been moaning about the fact that all of us who had come up on the stage thus far were all married. Harriet is single. And Justin was pleased.



Then it was Susan Melville's turn to come on stage. Susan is 43 years old, 5'5 1/2" tall and has lost a fantastic 10 stone 1 1/2 pounds (141 1/2 pounds)! She is from Dalkieth, Lothian (Scotland) and has a lovely sounding accent as a result. Her consultant is Fiona Neill.





Next up was Alison Murphy. Alison is 34 years old, 5'7" tall, and has lost an impressive 8 stone 5 1/2 pounds (117 1/2 pounds)! She is from Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, and her consultant is Kim Osborn. These ladies are both great fun!





During Alison's interview that was being shown on the tv screen before she came out, she mentioned that she was a big eater. She innocently stated that she could eat her husband under the table. Justin picked up on that comment and had everybody laughing. I don't think he was prepared for the fact that both Alison and Kim could not only take his ribbing, but dish it back in just as funny a way!

The next finalist was Dawn Old. Dawn is 51 years old, a petite 5'1" tall, and had lost a wonderful 9 stone 11 pounds (137 pounds)! She is from Truro, Cornwall, and her consultant is Cherylyn Howard.





(The second picture of her up above is not the clearest, but I wanted to show you the assistance we got in walking down the stairs. I hoped to get a photograph taken with these bare-chested gentlemen, but for some unknown reason, they seemed eager to get away from the room (full several hundred woman) and they left promptly after the show ended.)

Next on stage was Jane Parry. Jane is 47 years old, 5'3" tall, and has lost an incredible 11 stone 3 pounds (157 pounds)! She is from Sedgley, West Midlands, and her consultant is Sue Rollason.





Once we had all done our stage bit and were seated again, it was time for the other Slimming World contest winners to make an appearance and be given their trophies.

First up was the Consultant Slimmer Of The Year, Sue Wright. Sue is 30 years old, 5'10" tall, and has lost 7 stone 7 1/2 pounds (105 1/2 pounds)! she is from Swadincote, Derbyshire and her consultant is Leigh Wright.

(I do not have a photo of Sue on the stage, so if anyone was at the ball and has one they could share with me so I could put it in here, it would be appreciated.)

Next up was the Top Target Consultant, Sylvia Rubery. Sylvia is 38 years old, 5'7" tall, and has lost 5 stone 1 pound (71 pounds)! She has kept the weight off for 6 years. She is from Worle, Somerset.



The it was Miss Slinky's turn on stage. Noelle Wilkinson is 51 years old, 5'7" tall and has lost 4 stone 3 pounds (59 pounds)! She is from Middlewich, Cheshire and her consultant is Sonia Nurse. Noelle absolutely looks decades younger than her age. She's gorgeous!





The next couple was a couple Robert and I had already met before when we competed in the Couple Of The Year competition and got through to the finals. Couple of The Year 2010 Jan and Alan Coupe looked wonderful tonight! Alan is 56 years old, 5'7" tall and has lost 8 stone 2 pounds (114 pounds)! Jan is 51 years old, 5'6" tall and has lost 8 stone (112 pounds)! Together, they have lost a combined total of 16 stone 2 pounds (226 pounds)! They are from Stubbington, Hampshire and their consultant is Christine Micallef.







Then it was time for the Greatest Loser Mike Smith to take the stage. Mike is 57 years old, 5'10" tall and has lost the astonishing total of 17 stone 1 1/2 pounds (239 1/2 pounds)! He is from Eckington, Derbyshire and his consultant is Lynne Riley.



Our next man up was Man Of The Year Stuart Howells. Stuart is 43 years old, 5'8" tall and has lost an incredible 12 stone 6 pounds (174 pounds)! He is from Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, and his consultant is Diane Williams. When Justin spoke with him , he mentioned that he runs a marathin every weekend. Justin didn't believe him and went into the audience to ask Stuart's wife Lisa about it. She confirmed that, yes, Stuart did run that much. When she spoke about all that her husband had achieved, she was so proud of him and she got really teary about it. She was very sweet and it was obvious how much she loved her husband.


(I did not have a photo of Stuart on the stage, so I grabbed this photo off of their Facebook page of he and his wife.)

Next up was Top Target Memeber Tracy Heighway. Tracy is 40 years old, 5'8" tall and has lost 6 stone 8 pounds (92 pounds)! She is from Chadwell St. Mary, Essex, and her consultant is Susan Simpson.

(I do not have a photo of Tracy on the stage, so if anyone was at the ball and has one they could share with me so I could put it in here, it would be appreciated.)

Last up was Young Slimmer Of The Year Kelly Meager. Kelly is 21 years old, 6 feet tall and has lost an impressive 10 stone 10 pounds (150 pounds)! She is from Canterbury, Kent, and her consultant is Sally de-Vere.

(I do not have a photo of Kelly on the stage, so if anyone was at the ball and has one they could share with me so I could put it in here, it would be appreciated.)

The it was time for the ten finalists to go back up on the stage with our consultants and wait for the winner of the title of Woman Of The Year 2010 to be announced.









Rebecca Wheatley, Slimming World's Woman Of The Year 2009, joined us on the stage with Justin Lee Collins.



Slimming World's Woman Of The Year 2010 is Harriet Jenkins!



Rebecca Wheatley crowned Harriet.





And then all of the 2010 winners joined us on the stage again.




(photo courtesy of Julie Ower)

I had a fabulous night. It was fun and memorable and absolutely delightful! If anyone from Slimming World headquarters is reading this, just let me say a really big THANK YOU!!!!


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Running

Robert and I recently took up running. We chose to start running because we already do a lot of exercise and consider ourselves fairly fit, and also because we needed a new challenge.

We spent four weeks running. For the first two weeks, we ran a mile every evening when Robert came home from work. It took us about 10 minutes, occasionally just under ten minutes.

For the next two weeks, we ran two miles every evening when Robert came home from work. It took us about 20 minutes, give or take a half second, to run two miles.

Even our eight year old daughter Gabriella started joining in. She'd run about a mile with us before it became too difficult for her, but she loved being a part of our running. And even though she dressed in crazy, bright colors and in patterns that clashed, we enjoyed having her company for the runs.

Running outdoors is very different from running on the elliptical crosstrainer. I can run 12 miles and spend an hour and ten minutes on the crosstrainer without getting overly tired and without any residual muscle pains.

When we started running those first one-mile runs, for the first week, my muscles screamed agony at me. In the second week, the muscle aches started to dissipate, but I still found it exhausting to do the running and ended my runs gasping for air every time.

And I found out something; I am not a lover of running. It's great to know that I can do it. And I even think I can handle running a 5K run without too much trouble. But I do not LIKE running. And if I don't like doing something, then it is not an exercise form I will be using for the long-term.

I didn't run last week. I'm going to start running again, only because I want to run the three miles and prove to myself that I can run a 5K and in a decent time. But then I doubt I will run much more after that.

Robert has gone on to run almost three miles now. He even runs sometimes on days when I don't. He started running because I wanted to try running, and it was something we did together. But now, he runs because, well actually, I'm not sure why. Maybe he likes it. Maybe he just thinks it's good for him. Maybe it's just a convenient and inexpensive extra form of exercise for him. And maybe he runs because he prefers it over using the elliptical crosstrainer. (He's never been a fan of that machine.)

The reason I am writing about this here is to point out that it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what form my exercise takes, as long as I am getting some exercise. It doesn't matter if I continue running, because I do a lot of other exercise each day. And it's important to do the things we love. Our daily exercise doesn't always have to be a chore. Isn't it better to look at it as something fun and invigorating? You are more likely to stick with it if you like it than if you hate it and look at it as a chore.

So what exercise do you enjoy? Swimming? Bicycling? Inline skating? Horseback riding? Running? Walking? Weight lifting? Tennis? Gardening? There are so many ways to get some exercise. What's your favorite? Ever thought of trying out something new?


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Writing, Going To The Ball & Other Stuff

I've been busy writing for National Novel Writing Month again, as I did last year. What that means for this blog is that my posts will be bit further between, but I will try and post here at least once a week.

This coming weekend, I will be attending Slimming World's Woman Of The Year 2010 ball with my husband. I tried on many dresses and finally chose one I found in a shop in Cirencester. I don't have it with me as it needed to be shortened for me (as dresses always do need in order to fit my short stature). It was supposed to be ready already, but I have had no call from the shop, so I will have to call them today and find out if my dress is ready yet. I am rapidly running out of time to have everything ready!

I will find out at the ball whether or not I have won the title. The competition is stiff, so I'll have to let you all know when I get home. I will, of course, share photos from the event and of me in my dress here when I return. I'll even tell you where I found my dress, and I cannot wait for you to see how amazing Robert looks in his suit.

We have recently received word that we may be moving, at long last, into a house that will fit our large family. We have been renting our current house for over eight years now, and it has not been large enough for our family ever since my 5th daughter was born. If things go as planned, we will be moving into a newly-built house by this January. We will still be renting, but the rent will be a lot less than the rent we are paying. The house has under-floor heating, so I won't have to worry about the room taken up by radiators, and it also has solar panels. We have been told that the solar panels actually will provide about 90% of our energy needs, so out utility bills should go down as well.

The one draback to the place, and it's a big one, is that it is in another part of town than we currently live in. We will be moving away from our children's schools and from our friends. We will be moving away from our neighbors, and we actually like our current neighbors. We will also be a lot further from our Slimming World meetings, so it will be a challenge to make it to the same one, and I don't want to change meetings. My Slimming World group members are like family!

I am currently attending two Slimming World meetings a week. I go to one for my weigh-in and another one just for the company. One of my good friends changed which meeting she goes to, and I won't get to see much of her if I don't go along. Besides, I usually walk in that direction in the morning anyway as part of my daily exercise, so I am not doing any more than I normally would. And maybe, by attending this much-larger group meeting, I can be of some help to others who are still trying to lose weight.

I think that is one of the most rewarding aspects of having lost so much wieght - being able to inspire and help others to do the same. I was inspired to try and lose the weight by two people I knew who had lost huge amounts of weight. Seeing them do it let me know that maybe I could do it too. It is a great feeling to know that my own weight loss might inspire someone else to lose their excess weight as well.



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Slimming World's Woman Of The Year 2010 Semi-finals

Today was the day of Slimming World's Woman Of The Year 2010 finals. It was a busy day and I might get the order of things slightly out of place, but I'll try and give a general idea here of what happened throughout the day.

The night before, I tried on the two dresses I brought with me. The blue one was lighter and would weigh less when I stood on the scale, but the black one was even more flattering to my figure because of its cut, so I wore the black one.

I got hardly any sleep the night before. I kept waking up every hour or so. I think I was subconciously worried about not waking early enough. My Slimming World consultant Sharon Painter (who drove me to the hotel and Slimming World headquarters) came over early in the morning to help me straighten my hair again. Then we left for Slimming World headquarters.

We had our photos taken with Ricky Whittle from the show "Hollyoaks." I have never watched Hollyoaks, but Ricky seemed like a really nice guy. He gave a little speech to us all. We took individual pictures with him, a picture with him and our consultants, and then a picture of all of us with him in the middle. (Slimming World will send us copies.)

Here are a couple of pictures I took while he was talking to us all.



Then we all were measured and weighed. I have lost ten stone (140 lbs), but when I weighed, it showed me as having lost 9 stone 13 1/2 lbs (1/2 pound up). I was actually really upset about that because I know I have lost 10 stone and I'm very proud of that 10 stone. It wasn't until after I had a cup of coffee and some fruit that I realized that I had forgotten to take off my jewelery before being weighed, and my bracelet-watch always adds half a pound to my weight all by itself. I wanted the scale to say I'd lost 10 stone, but I know that, at my official weigh-in tomorrow night in group, I will either be back at ten stone down or will be even lower in weight.

There were 42 of us there. We were divided into groups of nine to tell our stories. Then we got to have lunch. Lunch was provided by Slimming World's chef Jeff and his staff and all of the food was Slimming World friendly with the syn-values listed beside it. The food was delicious!

Then we went into the main room where we were all given our framed certificates. We waited while the ten finalists were announced. My name wasn't announced until around the seventh person, right as I was beginning to believe I wasn't in the final ten.

It was very exciting to be chosen for the final ten! We each got a check for £500. We will have to buy ball gowns to wear to the ball on November 13th.

Rebecca Wheatley (from the tv show "Casualty") was last year's winner and she was there to present us with our checks. Sharon took some photos with my camera of the ten of us being called to the front.





Then we had a short break and the ten of us returned to sit in a circle and tell our stories again. I feel as if I told two completely different parts of my story each time I told it. Five minutes is not enough time to tell the whole story. The second time around, I had to stop and take a breath and collect my thoughts for a moment part-way through telling my story. I always feel as if I have blown it by the time my time is up.

Sharon took a photo of us in the circle.



We had some profesional photos taken of the ten of us, and again, Sharon grabbed my camera and snapped a few photos for me.





Then we had quick make-overs with our make-up. That's when the long wait for my turn to be videoed began. Slimming World was making a quick video of each of us telling a small part of our stories, and they had to make the video clips one at a time. I don't think I even got in to make my video until around 7:30pm. In the meantime, we, the ten finalists and our consultants, all sat around chatting with one another and getting to know each other.

Sharon took a close-up of me after my make-up had been done.



Some great things that happened during the day:
1 - I got to see a lot of the people I remember from the Couple of the Year competition like Caroline and others and it was good to see them again. Some of them even remembered me.
2 - Our district manager (regional?) Tracey Hill sat at the lunch table with us and she is a very likeable person. It was nice getting to know her.
3 - I got to meet Julie Cummings in person who, until today, I had only known on-line. The irony is that we were put into the first group together and I hated the idea of being in competition with her (especially since she has lost more weight than me). The good news is that she was the other person in my group to make it through to the final ten! And she is absolutely lovely!
4 - I got to meet up with Jackie Ferguson who is someone else I knew from on-line. She works for Slimming World and she is an absolute sweetheart!
5 - I got to see Megan, Nicala and others from Slimming world headquearters who I usually just speak to on the phone.
6 - I got to hear some incredible stories from some amazing women who have lost a huge amount of weight and changed their own lives for the better.

Apparently, the winner has already been chosen. I really hope it is me, despite the fact that I met and liked every woman there and every woman there deserves to win!

We were told it is not decided on weight loss alone, but I think the amount of weight each of us has lost will play a big factor in the choice regardless, and there were about four women there who had lost more weight than me. I lost half of my weight while pregnant, but I still only lost 10 stone. (I can't believe I just used the word "only" in connection with a weight loss of that much!)

But don't get me wrong. I am happy right now and will be happy no matter what the result is. Everyone there deserves to win this and I do not envy the judges the choice they had to make.

None of us will know the decision until November 13th. The waiting will be fun because I will be finding and buying myself a ball gown, preferably something in princess (because I feel like one).

And I can't wait to share with you all about the ball when it happens!

(I just know I am going to post this and then realize a bunch of stuff I have forgotten to mention!)





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Interview With BBC Wiltshire & New Hairstyle

Today has been a busy one for me. It started with Robert and I getting up early to walk to Old Town where I was interviewed about my weight loss by Graham Rogers on BBC Wiltshire radio at 7:45am. It was a short interview, and afterward Robert took a couple of pictures of me with Graham in the studio.




One thing that caught my attention was that, when he was announcing that he would soon be speaking with me, he asked his audience if they would be getting in a little exercise today or relaxing with a full English fry-up of eggs, bacon and sausages. It caught my attention because it really isn't an either or question. People always seem to make the mistaken assumption that, in order to be healthy, they have to give up eating the things they love. Robert and I have a full English breakfast every weekend though. We grill our low-fat sausages and extra lean thick-cut bacon, and we "dry fry" our eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes. ("Dry fry" meaning that we use Fry Light instead of oil.) It's a delicious meal and we have never had to give it up in order to lose weight and be healthy.

Shortly after we had walked home from the interview, Paula came over. Paula is a Slimming World consultant. Her group meets in Abbey Meads (at the Abbey Meads school) on Tuesdays. She's also a hairstylist, so Sharon (my group's consultant) asked her if she would come and do my hair, preparing me for tomorrow's competition, and she kindly agreed.

I don't think I will be able to keep my hair looking as nice as she got it to look, so I made sure that my daughter Kayla took a picture of Paula and me once my hair was finished. She cut, styled and straightened it. I'm sure it will be completely frizzy by morning though. Paula is lovely and I am really thankful to her for coming over and cutting my hair. (I'll be sending the hair that was cut off to Little Princess Trust.)



Looking at my hair in the photo, I actually think I wouldn't have minded letting it get cut a little shorter, but I am happy with the results. I just wish I could take Paula with me to the competition to style my hair tomorrow morning! (I am so very NOT good at styling my own hair.)

Sharon will be coming by at 4:30pm to take me to the hotel near Slimming World headquarters in Derbyshire, so I can be ready for the finals in the morning.


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Ten Ways To Exercise With Your Child

This is an article I wrote for Beverly Hills Child Magazine in their September 2010 issue.

As parents, we can be full of excuses for why we aren’t getting enough exercise. One of those excuses, often enough, is our children. We say that we don’t have enough time to exercise because our children take up so much of our time. We complain that we don’t get enough time to spend with our children as it is so how are we supposed to give some of that time up in order to go to a gym?

But we aren’t the only ones for whom getting enough exercise is important. Obesity is becoming a growing epidemic in many first world countries, and it is up to us as parents, to make sure that our children don’t become one of those statistics.

So how do we give up the excuses and make sure that we, and our children, get enough exercise? Here are ten suggestions.

1. Take your child on a picnic at the park. Bring along healthy snacks. Picnics at the park are the perfect environment for playing, running and being active.

2. Take nature walks with your child. Children love to go for walks and try to spot different animals and birds along the way. It’s also a great way to spend some real quality time with your child while she talks to you.

3. Dance with your child. Turn on the radio or find a music channel on the television and let yourself be silly. It will get your child moving and also create a wonderful memory for your child in the process.

4. Plant a garden with your child. Digging in the soil, watering the plants, pulling weeds and pruning the plants is all physical activity that helps to raise the heart rate and makes a great way to exercise while helping the environment and, if growing your own fruit and vegetables, saving money too.

5. Play ball with your child. Something as simple as throwing a ball back and forth with your child is a great way to get him exercising without him even realizing that he is doing any.

6. Sign you and your child up to learn something new such as dance or karate. These clubs are great ways to exercise while learning a new skill and spending time with your child.

7. Have your child join a sports team such as soccer or baseball. Team sports are a great way for kids to get some exercise. Many team sports allow parents to volunteer as coaches, team moms or just to help out during practices, and going to your child’s games will show your child you support her. Don’t just sit and watch her play though. Follow your child up and down the field from the sidelines and cheer for her!

8. Walk your child to and from school each day. Walking your child to school each morning is a great way to spend some time with your child before the school and workday begins, and you will also get to hear about your child’s day while walking home. Not only that, but by not driving, you will be cutting down on pollution and creating less traffic congestion near the school.

9. Take your child swimming. Not everyone has a pool in their backyard, but there are many public places where you and your child can go swimming. If neither of you know how, then you can take lessons together. Swimming is a fun way to get some exercise that works out the whole body.

10. Just play. Kids love it when a parent is willing to run around and play games with them. Play a game of tag or “Duck, Duck, Goose.” There are so many children’s games that will get both of you active. Just get out there and PLAY!



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Think You Suck At Weight Loss? Think Again!

I recently had someone tell me that they "suck" at weight loss. It got me thinking.

I can relate to what they are saying, because, honestly, that used to be me. I used to suck at weight loss too. Until I didn't.

Finding Slimming World was an awesome moment for me, because it changed my life. Maybe I was just "ready" to change my life, so I found Slimming World at the right time, or maybe I wouldn't have done it without the lessons about healthy eating that I learned through my Slimming World meetings. Either way, Slimming World saved my life.

My health was going downhill very quickly, and making the changes I made, I believe, has prevented me from going to an early grave. And an early grave is exactly where I was headed if I hadn't made changes. I don't know why I didn't make those changes earlier. I don't know exactly what it was that finally made me stop and say, "I have got to make changes. I can't go on like this."

The health problems had been building for a long time, and yet, I hadn't made any changes earlier due to them. I had gone through two previous pregnancies with high blood pressure difficulties arising due to my weight, and yet, I hadn't made changes during either of them. I had lacked energy and had been tired for a very long time, but I still hadn't made changes.

I think it was the day that I walked through the doors at Slimming World that I really started to make real changes, changes that would save my life. The support I found there and the friendships I made there made it easy to stay on the plan. Each week, as I saw the weight dropping away, despite my being pregnant, I felt my resolve to complete this journey strengthening.

I guess the thing that really set me firmly on this journey was taking the first steps on it. With each new goal reached, each milestone achieved, the motivation to keep going got stronger and stronger.

So what is my advice to someone who thinks they "suck" at weight loss? Take the first step. And then take the second. And little by little, you might find out that you don't suck at it after all!


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I'm On BBC Radio Wiltshire!

I got called and asked to be an "expert" on BBC Radio Wiltshire about a scheme proposed to give money to people to get them to lose weight. (I said I was skeptical that it would work as those people wouldn't stick to it once they got the money and weren't learning anything about losing weight the right way; they were more likely to go on a fad diet and lose weight the wrong way just to get the money.)

You can find it here now (for 12 days). Just click on last today's date (27/09/2010) and fast-forward it 43 minutes.

I'm still giggling about being introduced as "Slimming World's super-duper weight loss person."



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I'm In Today's Paper!

The article about me and my weight loss was in today's paper! It was funny because I had forgotten to ask when it would run in the paper and only foound out it was in the paper today when people kept coming up to me (while I was taking the kids to school) and telling me they had seen me in today's paper.

I found where the paper kept the photos on-line.

This is the one they used (without the background) for the article.

Here are some of the others.

Getting Photographed For The Local Paper

Today a photographer for our local paper came over to photograph me. I wore the same dress that I wore for the Woman Of The Year District Finals.

It was so strange and awkward being on that side of the camera. Usually, I am the one taking the pictures. Back when I was really overweight, I hated having my picture taken. I hated seeing what I looked like in photos, and I hated the idea that a photo of me would be a constant reminder of how big I was.

I don't mind having my photo taken anymore, especially now that the bit of loose skin I had on my arms has started to disappear and firm up, but I still felt awkward standing there posing for a picture. And to make matters worse, as I stood there in my dress and high heels, the photographer asked me to JUMP! Yes, I stood in the park, with curious dog-walkers all around and had to take several leaps into the air with my feet kicked up behind me and my arms stretched up high.

To make matters worse, I am FAR from graceful. In fact, the first jump I did, I fell when I landed. Yep, real graceful. The photographer also had to pause and wait every now and then as people out walking their dogs were stopping in the background to have a curious look at what was going on. We had to wait until they moved on.

The photographer also took some photos of me with my baby boy Cameron. (The other kids were all at school.) Cameron is great at being in photos. He just smiles his biggest smile, because he is truly happy when he knows he is the center of attention.

He was a very nice photographer and we chatted about California for a while. For some reason, people always ask me where I am from as soon as they hear me speak. And the ones who don't ask me where I am from, ask me if I am from Canada.

After all of the embarrassing photo-taking, I forgot to ask when the article is supposed to actually run in the local paper. So now I will have to check the paper until it turns up.

140 POUNDS LOST!!!!

Tonight was a weigh-in night. I went to my Slimming World meeting already in a good mood because of winning the district finals of Woman Of the Year, but more good news happened while I was there!

I lost 1 1/2 pounds this week, which means I have now lost 140 pounds (10 stone)!!! To top that good news off, I also won Slimmer Of The Week this week and got to bring the bowl of fruit home with me.

Before going to the meeting, I had even more good news. I got a phone call from our local paper and I was interviewed over the phone about my weight loss. The reporter arranged to have the paper's photographer come out tomorrow to take a picture of me for the paper. I really hope that, if I do get written about in the paper, I can help inspire someone else who needs to lose weight. I hope they can see my before and after pictures and realize that they CAN lose the weight, that it is not an impossible task. As I keep saying, if I can do this, anyone can!

Slimming World's Woman Of The Year 2010 District Finals

A little while ago in my Slimming World group, I won the Woman Of The Year title for our group. Today, I got to go to Bristol for the district semi-finals.

First off, my day began and, knowing they were going to be weighing me again when I got there, I debated spending some time on the elliptical crosstrainer in the morning, but, after being awakened twice during the night because of my children, I was way too tired, so I decided not to bother.

Last night, I had tried on a dress of mine. I had never worn this dress before. The last time I had tried it on, at the same weight I am now, it had been too tight to zip up. Now, even though I am still the same weight, I was able to zip it up, which shows me that all of my fitness and exercise is paying off in inches even when it's not paying off in pounds-off anymore.

The dress' pattern was not one that goes well with my coloring. I am very freckled and this dress was a leopard print. Fortune was with me in that my 16 year old daughter had the exact same style of dress in a different color. It had black and white stripes going down it. She was willing to trade with me, and the dress was flattering enough, so I decided to wear it today.

My Slimming World consultant came and picked my husband Robert and me up to take us to the competition. Once we got there, we weighed in and then were split into groups. There were 21 of us there, and we were split up into groups of 7 to tell our stories. We were given pieces of paper with numbers on them to determine what order we would speak in.

I drew number 4, so my turn to tell my story came fourth. I was nervous, and with only five minutes to tell my story, I felt like I had left a lot out. I tried so hard not to get weepy, but when I started to tell these new people my story for the first time and detail how poor my health was before losing the weight and how hard it was to be a good mother when I had no energy and was in pain with every step I took, I couldn't help getting a bit weepy thinking about it as I told it.

After telling our stories, we were sent out of the room to have some coffee or tea while the judges picked nine of us, three from each group, for the district finals. Then we all went back into the room where we were given plaques stating that we had made it to the district semi-finals. Then the nine finalists were called out. My name was the first one called out.

This meant that I went to sit in a circle in the middle of the room with the eight other finalists and we all had to tell our stories again, this time with everyone in the room listening. This time, the paper I drew said 2 on it, so I went second.

Some of these women's stories were so touching and really moving! Some of them had been through so much, and it was incredible to hear their stories of hope and how they overcame obstacles in their lives. It was an honor to be in the room with these other inspirational women.

I couldn't help being nerovus. Both times I spoke, it felt as though I had goofed and not done very well, but Sharon (my consultant) told me I had done fine.

Then we had to leave the room again and wait for the judges to make their decision. Only two would go through to the next round.

We were called back in and we all sat and waited. The first name was called, and she was a very pretty woman who had told a great story about her experience losing weight through Slimming World. The second name was called and it was me! I was so pleased and honored!

I got another engraved pen and paperweight, a framed certificate stating that I had won and an absolutely beautiful bouquet of red roses.

I had a fun day, made some new friends and now, I get to go to Slimming World headquarters in Derby for the Woman Of The Year finals. I am really looking forward to it. Some of you may remember that Robert and I got to go there for the Couple Of The Year 2010 semi-finals, got through the final round and then lost out to another deserving couple. We really enjoyed that and so I have a bit of an idea of what to expect this time.

Two things I want to remember about today:

1 - One of the women who got to come from one of Sharon's other groups was really wonderful and said that being shown my before and after photos and told about how much I exercise inspired her and is what really got her to start to exercise. That meant so much to hear! She said she will come to our later-at-night group soon and I hope she does!

2 - One of the members of my Slimming World group has recently joined to become a Slimming World consultant. Today I was informed that, during her interview, when asked what inspired her, she mentioned me and the weight loss I have achieved. That was so awesome to hear, and I will be sure to give her a hug when I see her tomorrow at our group meeting! (Everyone in our group are friends with one another. It's hard not to be friends with them all when they are all so terrific!)

(I am really so pleased and happy about winning this stage that I am over the moon and dancing around inside right now, but I'm still able (I hope) to maintain my outward composure, so you wouldn't know it to look at me.

Some photos from the day:

Receiving my award:





All of the semi-finalists:



All of the finalists (with the district manager):



The winners with their consultants:



The other finalist and me:



The judges and the "counters" (the ones who kept track of the time we had to do our speaking):



There were three of us there from three of my consultant Sharon's groups, and this is a photo of all of us with Sharon:



The important thing to keep in mind is that everyone there today, whether winning the competition or not, are winners for having lost weight and become healthier.

Ten Things Children Can Teach Us About Staying Active

1. You don't need music or a dance floor to dance.



2. Skirts are meant for twirling.



3. Climbing trees and building treehouses is a great form of exercise.



4. You don't need a car to go places, all you need is your own two legs.



5. If you need to get somewhere fast, ride a bike.



6. Running is not just for exercise; it's also for fun things like playing tag.



7. Any hill, no matter how small, is great for jumping off of.



8. Water was meant for splashing in.



9. There is never a suitable reason not to climb on the climbing frames at playgrounds.



10. Never give up your sense of playfulness.

My Article In Beverly Hills Child Magazine -September Issue

My article, "Ten Ways To Exercise with Your Child" is on page 34 of Beverly Hills Child magazine. (Just click on the magazine in the link and go to page 34.) This is the September 2010 issue.

Children's Voices

In this post from MizFit, many of us were challenged to video our children while they answered what they thought the meanings of three words were. Those words were exercise, strong and support. I was supposed to post the results here on the 13th of August, but of course, I am rarely organized enough to do things on time, so I am now posting the video results 6 days late.

First, I interviewed my 7 year old daughter.



Then I interviewed my 5 year old daughter. She decided once the camera was on her that she really didn't want to do the video and had a bit of a tantrum, so I never did get her to tell us her thoughts.



Last, I interviewed my son who will be turning 4 years old in 11 days from now. I don't think he really knew how to explain the meaning of words, and he didn't really know what the word "support" meant, but at least he tried to give his answers.

Walking & Picking Fruit

Robert and I went for a walk on a wildlife trail near our house. We had seen some fruit on the walk in the past, so we brought some plastic containers and bags with us and used our walk to look for fruit to bring home with us. I would have loved to have found some apple trees, but we didn't find any. We did, however, find plums and blackberries.





The plums were very small, just a little bit bigger than cherries. Despite their size, they were incredibly juicy and very sweet. We picked a huge bowl's worth of them.



It took us a while to find the blackberries. The first blackberries we found were not very plentiful, but we kept walking and took some paths that we don't normally take. Eventually, we came across loads of ripe blackberries. We ended up bringing home enough to fill two big bowls.



I would have to say that it was one of our most productive walks!

Obesity & Children - No More Excuses!

This is a topic that is on my mind a lot as record numbers of children are becoming classed as obese in both America and in the United Kingdom. How can this happen? Aren't parents supposed to be in control of what food is in their home and how much a child is allowed to eat? Aren't parents the ones who prepare their children's meals? As parents, don't we love our kids enough to feed them properly with good nutritious food? Because that's what is comes down to. If you love your child, you will make sure that most of what she eats is nutritious and healthy, full of all of the nutrients and vitamins that she needs and lacking in things like sugar.

I know that, for some, it is not as cut-and-dried as that. I do know that it can be more expensive to buy healthy, fresh food. I know that our kids plead with us on numerous occasions to buy them sugar-laden food, and I know that for some parents, the time it takes to prepare a meal from scratch is a luxury they don't often have.

But I also know that some things in life are more important than all of the excuses that we rely on to keep us from feeling bad for not doing something. The health of our children should be a huge priority in our lives. And that means feeding them healthy meals and limiting the junk food they are allowed to eat. So here are some tips to help us make sure that we do everything we can for our children's health and that we keep those excuses at bay.

Excuse #1 - Healthy, fresh food is too expensive.

Solutions:

- Grow your own fruit and vegetables. You don't even need a yard of your own in order to do this. Some properly sized planting pots and hanging baskets can be enough to help you grow fruit, vegetable and herbs of your own.

- Re-use left-overs to create numerous meals from the same ingredients.

- Buy generic brands. Sometimes they are just as good as the more expensive brand name products, and the nutrition, in many instances, is just as good.

- Buy in bulk. Certain fresh ingredients can be bought in bulk and frozen in order to use later, and buying in bulk often costs less per item bought.

Excuse 2 - My child likes junk food, and they beg and plead for it all of the time.

Solutions:

- Be a parent. Part of being a parent is telling your children "no" when it is in their best interests. You don't have to eliminate junk food from your child's diet, but you should definitely limit it.

- Don't use sweets as a "treat." You don't want your child to be associating sugar-laden, non-nutitrious food as a reward or a special occasion, and giving it to him as a treat or a reward will just enforce the idea in his mind that good times equal sugar (or fast food or whatever unhealthy food you are using).

- Make sure your child can have nutritious fresh food on hand to take the place of the junk food they are craving. Fresh fruit is naturally sweet and filling at the same time. I know very few children who will turn down something as sweet and delicious as strawberries, for example, and strawberries are GOOD for your child to eat.

Excuse #3 - I don't have time to prepare healthy meals or to cook from scratch.

Solutions:

- Batch cook ahead of time. Take one day, maybe Saturday or Sunday (or whatever day you have the most free time) and cook the whole week's meals and then freeze it all, ready to be microwaved or reheated in the oven when you need it.

- Chop and freeze your fresh vegetables needed for cooking ahead of time. For example, if you will be making a lot of dishes that required diced onions during the week, then chop and dice some onion ahead of time and freeze it in freezer bags in the serving sizes that you will need for the meals.

- Measure out and portion your ingredients ahead of time. For example, you can do this with grated cheese. To keep yourself from using more cheese than a recipe calls for, measure out the portions you need into individual bags and store it in the fridge (or freezer) ready to use.

- Use your crockpot (slow cooker). If you wake up early enough in the morning, you can prepare the entire meal and start it cooking before you even leave the house for work in the morning, and by evening, a hot, healthy meal will be ready for you and your children. (Also, by then, the house will smell delicous!)

These are just a few solutions. I hope they are helpful. I'll tackle ways to help your kids be more physically active in a later post.

And Life Goes On

I think this is the longest I have gone without posting to this blog since I started it. Part of the reason is that my laptop, which is my main computer, was away for a while getting itself repaired , and before that, it sat waiting for the manufacturer to come and pick it up while its screen remained completely dark no matter how much I tried to get it to work. Now, I still could write on my blog (and any of my other blogs) from one of the many other computers in the house, but I just didn't feel right sitting at a different computer. It was as if the words wouldn't come because I was in unfamiliar territory. I think I still managed to write a bit on my blogs during that time, despite how foreign it all felt.

So here's where I tell you the obligatory list of all of the things that have been going on while I've been quiet.

I've been working on some recipes for my Skinny Dreaming Recipe blog. It wasn't easy because our oven wasn't working properly and the fuse kept blowing out on it at random times. But I believe I have come up with some recipes that you will enjoy, and now that my computer is back, I will start adding them to the healthy recipes on my recipe blog. I plan on adding some recipe cards for you to buy here as well. Just check back in a few days' time!

I have fallen behind on adding some interviews from inspirational people who've lost weight to my Super Slimmer's blog. This has happened for various reasons. One person is having trouble finding some before pictures to add to her interview. (I hope she finds them soon, because her story is an amazing one!) One person sent me before and after photos but has not returned the interview questions yet. And one person just let me know that the interview questions never reached her, so I will be resending them today. The good news is that those three people are lined up to share their interviews about their success, and you are going to love their stories!

I've started trying to learn to draw and sharing my attempts in a new blog called Designing Doodles. I have never had a natural talent for drawing or art, but I believe that if I practice a lot and read up on techniques and keep at it, I may eventually develop some sort of style of my own that will be worthy of using to illustrate the children's books I have written.

My children's stories are for young children and have themes with lessons in them, such as appreciating the family we are given, finding out we love the life we have now, and learning to live a healthy lifestyle, and they are all magical tales with fairies or mermaids or other fantasy beings.

My 3 year old son told me his first two stories ever, and I am very proud of him! His stories can be viewed at Imaginative Minds: Writing By Children. He told a story about a boy who walked a long way and wanted some toys that he couldn't afford, and he also told a story about a boy who loved dogs, especially his own dog.

My 7 year old daughter and 3 year old daughter had their Sports Day at school and yesterday had their Summer Concert at school. The Summer Concert had a Disney theme. Isabella's class performed to a Pinnocchio song and all of the girls dressed up as fairies while the boys dressed up as Pinnocchio. Gabriella's class sang a song from Mary Poppins and they all dressed up as chimney sweeps. It was fun to watch, and I could tell that the children all enjoyed performing. I'll be adding photos from both Sports Day and the Summer Concert to my personal blog later this week.

As has happened for many people in the past few years, finances have become an issue for me lately, so I have been brainstorming money-making ideas. I have decided on several products for kids that I will be adding to offerings at Your Kids' Creations' in the next few weeks. Feel free to check in their next week and see what gifts have been added.

I've also been debating buying a domain to keep all of my shops and blogs in one place. I have 18 blogs and even more on-line shops. A part of me thinks it might be easier to maintain them all and for my readers and friends to access all of it if I can keep it under one umbrella domain. I just haven't been able to come up with the name for it yet. Making it more difficult to think of a name is the fact that my blogs and gift designs range from writing, dieting, princesses, fairies, families, cats, photography, recipes, reviews, writing by children, art by children, drawing, self-improvement, comics, fairy photography, dream journaling and more. If anyone has any name suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

My 17 year old daughter spent a week in France on a trip with her biology class. While she was away, Robert and I missed one of our Slimming World meetings. I hate missing meetings. It's weird, but the weigh-ins at the meetings really help keep me focused and on-track with my eating and exercise, and I look forward to the meetings as a social outing. I consider most of the people at my meetings friends, so I look forward to seeing them each week.

I am writing for the Examiner as the Saratoga Fitness Walking Examiner. It's a bit of a struggle though, because my articles there are supposed to be regional for the area of Saratoga, California, and I no longer live there. So if you or anyone you know live in the Saratoga area and do a bit of walking, I'd love to interview you for a future Examiner post.

I am still maintaining my target weight, and I am still exercising regularly. Our elliptical is starting to have problems. We were offered an exchange because this one is falling apart so soon, but the one the company wants to change it for is not as good as the one we have, and we thought about changing it for a rowing machine, but, at 6'8" tall, Robert's legs are too long for the rowing machine that would be in the right price range. We are currently trying to get the company to send someone out to repair the elliptical crosstrainer instead of exchanging it for something else.

So please tell me in the comments what you have been up to during these past couple of weeks.

Walk Your Daughter To Work Day

Today is Walk Your Daughter To Work Day. I can't help but wonder how many people will actually take part in this today. I thought it might be a good idea to help parents make the choice to walk their daughters to work with them today by listing some reasons why it is a good thing to take part in.

Walking is healthy for both you and your daughter. The effort of walking helps with circulation and benefits the heart.

Walking with your daughter is a great way to bond with her. It gives you extra time with your child and allows your child to talk with you. It's a great way to learn more about what your child likes, and, in my experience, children tend to open up and talk quite a lot when out walking with a parent.

Walking with your daughter is a great way to show your child, through your actions, that health and fitness are important to you. Children learn best through the examples that we show them.

Taking your daughter to work with you helps her get to know you better. It's a way for your child to learn a little bit more about what your day away from them is like.

Did you participate in Walk Your Daughter To Work Day?