{"id":4108,"date":"2023-11-24T07:26:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-24T07:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/slimmingworld.wpenginepowered.com\/blog\/?p=4108"},"modified":"2023-11-29T16:40:04","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T16:40:04","slug":"inspire-festive-fairytale-in-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.co.uk\/blog\/inspire-festive-fairytale-in-london\/","title":{"rendered":"Our festive fairytale in London"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sparkling lights, fabulous festive food and the thrill of a West End theatre show… London is a winter wonderland at Christmastime. And yet, two years ago was the first year that I felt fully able to enjoy our annual December trip with friends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blue Christmas <\/h2>\n\n\n
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\"Kirsty<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Looking back to Christmases past, my weight always seemed to put a dampener on the festivities. At 18st 2lbs, sightseeing and Christmas shopping caused my ankles to swell up painfully. I didn\u2019t feel that I could dress up for our lovely lunches in Covent Garden, because even if I could physically walk in heels, I just didn\u2019t have the confidence to wear them. And while I loved going to the theatre, those fold-down seats aren\u2019t made for bigger bodies, so I\u2019d sit there feeling squashed and uncomfortable, which was such a shame. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a disappointing Christmas in 2019, I decided that enough was enough and joined my local Slimming World group. At 15st 5\u00bdlbs, my husband, Roger, 53, wanted to lose weight too, so we went along together.  <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Together<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

I was actually quite worried about going to group. I\u2019d lost weight with Slimming World in the past, but as soon as I hit my target, I stopped attending, went back to my unhealthy eating habits and the weight went back on. I didn\u2019t need to feel embarrassed, though. We both got such a warm welcome from our Consultant, Mandy, and the other members. No one judged me for needing to come back and I quickly felt so comfortable in the group. We’ve made some really great friends and I\u2019m so happy that I made that decision. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wonderful Christmastime <\/h2>\n\n\n
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\"Kirsty<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

By Christmas 2020, Roger had hit his target weight of 11st 4lbs and I was well on my way. Despite lockdown putting the stoppers on our London trip, we enjoyed a lovely family Christmas at home in our \u2018bubble\u2019, with our two grown-up children, Hannah and Harri, and Hannah\u2019s partner, James. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I absolutely love food, so there was no way that I was ever going to compromise on the quality and enjoyment of my meals \u2013 and especially not at Christmas. With Slimming World, I didn\u2019t have to. In fact, I really enjoyed trying the different Christmas recipes on the app, instead of just filling my shopping basket with pre-prepared dishes. I had a fantastic time cooking up a storm \u2013 and you\u2019d better believe that we had the full works!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kirsty\u2019s Christmas dinner <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Roast turkey with stuffing<\/a>  
Slimming World roast potatoes <\/a>
Maple-glazed carrots 
Chestnut sprouts 
Braised red cabbage 
Cranberry sauce 
Best-ever turkey gravy <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MORE FOR MEMBERS: You\u2019ll find all the recipes for Kirsty\u2019s full festive menu here \u2013 plus Boxing Day lunch, pudding and snack ideas <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step into Christmas <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On 22nd February 2021, I hit my target weight and the transformation was almost unbelievable. In fact, Roger and I met a friend who\u2019d been living abroad for dinner and, when we arrived at the restaurant, he looked straight through us as though we were strangers!  <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Slimming<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Of course, the difference goes much deeper than our appearance. Roger was a keen runner before, but he struggled with knee pain and he didn\u2019t lose even a single pound in weight. Now, there\u2019s no stopping him! I\u2019ll admit that I took a little bit more persuasion to get active \u2013 but working my way through the Body Magic awards in Slimming World\u2019s activity programme really helps to motivate me. I love to walk, which used to cause my ankles to flare up before I lost the weight. We\u2019re both happy to go out rain or shine, we just put our waterproofs on and off we go!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MORE FOR MEMBERS: Discover Roger\u2019s foot-out-of-the-door activity strategy here <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Santa Claus is coming to town! <\/h2>\n\n\n
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\"Kirsty<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

By Christmas 2021, I weighed 10st 7lbs and bought a beautiful fitted red dress in a size 10. My previous dress size was 22-24 and losing weight opened up a whole new world of gorgeous clothes that make me feel amazing. The London trip was back on the cards and I wore a very special outfit \u2013 a tan leather pencil skirt and a pair of the highest heels I could find! <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Slimming
In my new red dress with our fabulous Consultant Mandy<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

MORE FOR MEMBERS: Read Kirsty\u2019s tried-and-tested weight loss tips here  <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Together<\/a><\/figure><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s going to be a magical Christmas for Kirsty and Roger Cound. Kirsty shares their delicious dinner menu and reveals just how different this December will be <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":5941,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[35,25,23,19,26],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4108"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}