Why I’ll never go back to Slimming World

A couple of years ago, I was Slimming World’s biggest fan, to the point that I even considered becoming a consultant. Now, I look back at those few months as a member with disgust, especially when they announce plan changes as ridiculous as their new ones, announced today.

My biggest problem with Slimming World, other than it triggering very unhealthy behaviour, has always been that it is shit for vegetarians, and bloody impossible for vegans. Meat eaters could eat their weight in steak, and yet I had to syn most of my protein sources. In their new plan, they have removed many of the vegetarian and vegan protein options, such as baked beans, peas and broad beans. These options are still free, just not a P food, which means that you can’t have them on SP. they have also decreased the healthy extra allowances of dairy free milks. You used to be able to have an entire litre of almond milk, but now, you can have 200ml of whole milk at 87 calories, but 400ml of almond milk at 52 calories. How can these two milks be considered equal? Sure you can now have two healthy A options a day, but these options have drastically different nutritional values. They seem to be linked only by calcium content, meaning that Slimming World is disregarding the the most basic rule of eating healthily - making sure you have a sensible split in macronutrients and don’t over consume calories.

There is just so much about this plan that doesn’t make sense to me. They recently announced that muller lights were no longer syn free. Fair enough, it never made sense to me anyway, but still, it’s a bit weird that such a staple of the plan is no longer free. My first instinct was that Slimming world were coming out with their own line of yogurts, but no sign just yet. They also decided that blueberries should be a speed food now. Other processed foods changing around a bit you can understand, recipe changes and what not, but blueberries, suddenly they’re healthier than they used to be? It’s ridiculous.

Yes, I lost a stone and a half on Slimming World. I also put on two stone at Slimming World, spent over £300 for the pleasure, developed a starve/binge/purge eating disorder and ruined all my bakeware.

Since I left Slimming World, I have a better knowledge of nutrition and a healthier relationship with food, and I don’t want to ever put that at risk again.

Three

A couple of days ago, I saw in the news about Onew’s enlistment date being set for next month. Initially, I was just sad that SHINee would be losing him for two years, but then I thought about seeing them promote with three members, and I’m not going to lie, it broke my heart a little. I cried when I saw Super Junior reduced to just four people on stage, but there is something so very much more heartbreaking about SHINee missing members.

Because that’s what it’s going to be like from now on. Assuming Taemin doesn’t enlist until he has to, it’ll be another 5 or 6 years until they can promote together again. It wouldn’t be ridiculous that at some point they’ll all be in the military except Taemin, or Onew after he’s back.

No doubt they’ll all keep busy in their personal careers. Hopefully Onew will go back to acting, and I’m sure Minho will before and after. Key has just launched his solo career so no doubt he’ll do more of that, and Taemin is already a well established solo artist. They all have back up plans.

To be honest, with the new laws in place, they have less time now, and less freedom. For Super Junior, they could defer until 30, and it didn’t really affect them before, but now, they’ve knocked two years off and added travel limitations. Onew may be cutting it fine enlisting 4 days before his 29th birthday, but Key only has 10 months until he is 28, and just over a year for Minho.

I’m assuming the 28 is in international age, because if it’s Korean age then they should all pretty much enlist right now. Except Taemin. Because he’s the baby.

They SHOULD all enlist together and then SHINee could just go on hiatus for as little as 21 months until they all come back ...

With SuJu, they could cope without pretty much everyone except Donghae and Eunhyuk - apparently - seeing as they didn’t do anything while they were away but revamped everything for their return. There were so many of them. With SHINee, its not so simple. I guess technically any combination of Onew or Taemin and Key or Minho would work, but that doesn’t mean I want to see it that way. I think I would rather wait for them to return together.

There’s already a massive empty space in SHINee, I don’t think I can handle another one.

Thirty but Seventeen

Normally, I try to write these posts immediately after completing the drama, but I finished Thirty but Seventeen a couple of days ago now, and have only just got around to actually putting together a post.

Normally, when choosing what series to watch next, I base my decision on ratings - the higher the rating, the more likely I am to watch it. This plan doesn’t necessarily always work out, but for the most part, it’s stood me in good stead. At the moment, I’m at the 9.6 sort of mark. However, I ignored  this method, and jumped into a 9.4 because I had seen Thirty but Seventeen advertised and really liked the look of it. Party because of the main lead being the guy from Degree of Love, but mostly because the premise intrigued me.

There is a huge accident that leaves a girl, Seo Ri, in a long term coma and a boy, Woo Jin, blaming himself because he thinks he killed her. 13 years later, she wakes up and as luck would have it, the man now living in her old house is Woo Jin, and he reluctantly agrees to let her live there while she tries to find her family, but doesn’t realise who she is. Obviously they grow close and fall in love and live happily ever after etc etc etc.

The Rui Effect was strong with this one. The second male lead was the main guy’s nephew, and a 17 year old athlete. Chan. He and Seo Ri clicked instantly, she felt comfortable with him and he was always just a little ray of sunshine in a very confusing world for the girl who is essentially a 17 year old stuck in a 30 year old’s body. They were so well suited in so many ways, and let’s be honest, Woo Jin was a bit of a dick at the beginning, leaving an already lonely person feeling even more abandoned, so I think she really needed Chan at that time. I get that a 17 year old hooking up with a 30 year old would have been oh so wrong, but still, mentally and emotionally, it was hard not to support him in his one sided love.

It was funny, in a very not obvious sort of way. Just little throw away lines here and there. Like one of Chan’s friends randomly having a bubble bath in their house when Chan wasn’t even there. I felt sorry for the SA guy on Chan’s team who was always left out when the other three (main cast) were so close, but it did amuse me when they called themselves out on it at the end. I much preferred the main guy in Degree of Love rather than in this - I didn’t sense much chemistry and he seemed kind of awkward, and I honestly can’t tell if that was a character choice or not. Seo Ri was really good at portraying a teenager, but I struggled to ever think of her as an adult to be honest. Chan was lovely. The supporting cast were good, but I’m surprised they didn’t make more of Seo Ri’s childhood friend turned doctor - he seemed a little forgotten about and then just randomly chucked in here and there. I get that they didn’t really need him with Chan providing that corner of the love triangle, but still. It was sad in places, and I definitely had a few tears in my eyes at one point, but for the most part while it was really predictable, and kind of slow, it was actually just a nice, fun story.

TLDR
Chan was the sweetest.
Watch it if you want ... or don’t ... I don’t feel that strongly about it to care.
I like Chan.