Slimming World: And so it begins

So today I joined a local Slimming World group. 

You know me, I like to try everything on my endless journey to weight loss. I've tried the Forever Living Clean 9, 5:2 fast dieting, Slimfast, gluten free, mono-dieting and probably a load more that I can't think of right now. At school, half the staff seem to be on Slimming World and they all speak very highly of it, so I thought why not give it a go. So I dragged a trusty friend with me and now we both have 6 weeks prepaid and shiny new membership cards. 

Ok, so I admit to having borrowed an old version of the plan's guidebook and putting it semi in to use over the past couple of weeks, but from now, I'm going to follow it to the letter. I don't really see how eating as much fruit, vegetables, and pasta as I want can help me lose weight, but we'll see. 

My first impression of the group was a massive eye roll to be honest. We spent 10 mins being talked through the plan while everyone else was weighed. Then we all sat in a semi circle and clapped for 30 mins. This is not an exaggeration. We clapped for bloody everyone no matter whether they had lost weight, put it on or stayed the same. I was expecting some hints or tips, but to be honest, the most I got from it was that one of the members missed drinking copious amounts of alcohol and everyone else was fine, thank you very much, now move on to the next person. I'm not sure I want to sit in these groups but for £5 a week I'm intending to get my bloody money's worth. 

That's another thing, the price. I had scrounged around to find 5 pound coins to pay the £4.95 fee advertised on the website. Nowhere did I see that it cost you an extra £5 to join, nor did the group leader inform me when I contacted her for details on how to join. So it was a bit of a surprise when the money guy turned around demanding £9.95 and I had no extra money with which to pay him. So my friend and I had no choice but to desperately try to find a cash point. We decided to prepay for 6 weeks to avoid similar occurrences in the future. 

Lastly, I want to touch on a more delicate subject. I don't want to judge anyone on their size, but I must admit that it doesn't leave you with much hope for the success of the plan when the people running the meetings are all somewhat on the larger side. It just doesn't seems a very effective advert for the product they are trying to sell. Don't get me wrong, I realise I know nothing of their journeys to get to where they are now, but still, maybe it would be more helpful to introduce the plan with your own success story just to prove that you're doing for that reason as opposed to achieving an extra income. The books claim that the group leaders are highly trained, but I can't help but wonder if they would spot the warning signs of eating disorders and the like.

Anyway, we'll see how week one goes. I intend to do a weekly summary for the 6 weeks, so I shall keep you posted on my progress as well as explaining a bit more about the program. 

The True Side Affects of Chia Seeds

Chia seeds. A superfood, packed full of protein, fibre and omega-3. The nutritional benefits of this little seed are supposedly huge, so naturally, when my well-meaning aunt saw some on sale, she brought me some thinking of the benefits it would hold for my somewhat restrictive diet. 

I've heard of chia seeds before. I've seen videos of how they swell up when put in water, so I knew already that they take on a jelly like consistency. My aunt had never heard of them before, and so I decided to demonstrate to her, with one 'shot' in half a glass of water and another in a pot of yoghurt. We ooh-ed and ahh-ed as they turned into frogspawn and then I ate them both. They tasted like nothing and I thought to myself this could work for me. 

Fast forward about 24 hours and I was in agony, my stomach cramping so bad that I was screaming out, I couldn't keep down water and let's just say neither end was unaffected. 12 hours on from that, and I'm still cramping but it is getting better. 

Nowhere on the packaging did it tell me that chia seeds can take on up to 12 times the amount of liquid to seed. At no point was there a warning about making sure to drink plenty as if the seeds don't find enough liquid to absorb in your stomach, it'll start drawing it from your tissue. These little seeds expand so much that of course your body is going to struggle to move them along if they continue to swell as you are trying to digest them. 

I'd like to point out that I didn't overdose on these little seeds, I had ONE serving. In retrospect, I should have worked my way up to that seemingly insignificant 20g, and drunk literally a fuck tonne of water even after soaking them in a bath overnight to ensure they had taken on as much liquid as they could. 

So where does this leave me now? The nutritional benefits still stand, and I have to admit, I didn't feel hungry at all the day after I ate them, so they obviously help you to feel fuller for longer. Maybe I'll try them again, in a significantly smaller quantity, much more carefully, with plenty of water, and pre-hydrated. 

Tl;dr version - chia seeds lead to severe abdominal cramping, vomiting and other stuff that makes the 42 hours after eating them pretty unpleasant. But they are good for you, so you know ....