Low confidence from feelings about our weight can affect us all. And it can quickly spill into other areas, making it much more difficult to do the things we want to do.
Sarah (@SlimmingWorld_sarahjean on Instagram) says that the support of her Slimming World group led to one of the best experiences of her life. Read all about her holiday high point…
Looking out to where the bright blue sea merged with the equally blue sky, my stomach started to churn. Enjoying the stunning view was difficult when I was gearing up to face my biggest fear – heights – by paragliding down from the top of a Turkish mountain. Still, the fact I’d made it to the top of the mountain at all was a major achievement!
Rewind to the previous summer and there would have been absolutely no chance of me even thinking about strapping myself into a harness and paragliding down from 7,000ft. Not only would I have felt uncomfortable about my weight, but my confidence was, ironically, on the floor. My weight had yo-yoed over the years as I’d followed one fad diet after another – so I knew that I needed something I could stick to. In October 2018, I finally found what I was looking for.
My three favourite things about Slimming World
Joining Slimming World was a massive turning point for me. The first revelation was not having to worry about weighing Free Food – you can eat as much of it as you want on the Slimming World plan. The second was the variety of food that I could eat. Nothing is off the menu, as long as I count anything that isn’t Free within my daily Healthy Extras or Syns.
I definitely never feel hungry or deprived and I love cooking and baking using Slimming World-friendly recipes (healthy kebabs and baked oat muffins are two of my faves!). Slimming World is definitely a lifestyle change, but it’s one that’s really easy and enjoyable to stick to. Within a month, I’d smashed a 1st weight loss!
The third thing I love about Slimming World is the support you get. Going to group every week really helped to keep me motivated all the way to my target 3st weight loss – and I still go every single week to help keep myself on track. There really is no substitute for the Slimming World family and that incredible feeling in group.
A massive leap of faith
In May 2019, I hit my target – just in time for a holiday to Turkey with my husband, Nigel. We’d booked to go to Olüdeniz on the beautiful Turquoise Coast, and I knew that one of the most popular things to do is to paraglide off the mountain that sits behind the resort’s famous Blue Lagoon. Even from the brochure, the views looked incredible – the only thing stopping me from making the leap was fear.
Thanks to Slimming World, though, my confidence has reached new heights – and that really helped me push through the fear to do something really scary but also really thrilling. After all, if I could completely change my mindset around food, lose 3st in less than a year and go from feeling really low to absolutely fantastic, I knew I could do anything!
Looking over the gorgeous Blue Lagoon and the strip of soft white sand that lay a looooong way below me, there was no turning back. And despite being the most scared I’ve ever been in my life, once I was flying high over the incredible coastline, the feeling of freedom and exhilaration was unbelievable. It was definitely one of the best experiences of my life – and one that I wouldn’t have had if it wasn’t for Slimming World.
After that, there was no stopping me, and that holiday was one adventure after another! From zip-wiring above the forest canopy to white-water rafting on a rushing river, that holiday was packed full of once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Posing by the pool in a little dotty bikini was a doddle compared to all that!
It’s amazing to see how far (and how high!) a confidence boost took Sarah. And joining her local Slimming World group was the action that sparked it all off. If there was nothing holding you back, what would you do?
Whether it’s parachuting out of a plane or something less extreme, we’d love you to share your ‘check me out’ moments with the blog or on social (#theslimmingworldblog).