COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL OFFER!!

Well done to everyone who turned out on such a rainy and cold evening this week. I'm just so amazed that almost 90 of you gorgeous members came to your group this week - your commitment to losing weight really is praiseworthy indeed!!!! And a massive well done and welcome back to Debbie who was the Slimmer of the Month in the first session with an incredible weight loss of over 30lbs!! Even taking into consideration her new arrival, the gorgous Poppy, that's still an incredible weight loss!!!

I've had lots of texts and emails from excited members asking me to remind them about the offer I mentioned last week which starts from next week. So I promised to post it on here for everyone to see:

*** Buy a 12 week Countdown between 6th and 27th October ***
as well as receiving your 2 FREE weeks, you’ll receive a FREE copy of our brand new FABULOUS cookbook:“Christmas made Extra Easy”



From our years of experience, we know just what a challenging time the run up to Christmas can be – both socially AND financially!!! We’re just getting back into a routine when BAM!!! The party season starts and all that ‘good will’ leaves our weight loss intentions on the back burner…..until the New Year…. or later!!! So this year I want to make absolutely sure that YOUR Christmas wishes come true!!!

You’ll be losing weight beautifully ALL THE WAY – whilst saving £££££££!!

With 12 weeks between now and Christmas – that’s 12 weeks for us to support each other to achieve our Christmas dream.
Together we really can do it!!

Buying a Countdown course gives your motivation a boost and helps you commit more strongly to your slimming campaign – especially during difficult times such as the lead up to Christmas!

See your weight losses increase and success flourish! Not to mention those excellent financial savings too with free weeks!

Buy your Countdown on 6th October, and you won’t have to pay again until 29th December! And don't forget when you introduce a friend in October, you'll get a week ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!

Don't miss our fabulous party night next week and get ready to make those wishes - then together, we'll make your wishes come true! PLUS I'll be announcing in group on Wednesday a MASSIVE prize one lucky Cambourne member will win in December - whoop whoop!!!

Sandra

******OMIGOD!!! FAB NEW HI-FI BAR AND COOKBOOK******

Mr Postman has just delivered a sample of the new MYSTERY flavour Hi-Fi bar and a copy of the FABULOUS new cookbook. I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself - you just won't believe what the new Hi-fi tastes of!!! I unselfishly shared this with my lovely Clive who guessed the flavour straight away. It's just GENIUS!!!!! Will keep you guessing but suffice to say that we'll have plenty to sample during our PARTY NIGHT ON 4TH OCTOBER so make sure you keep that evening free.

And the cookbook is just the best cookbook ever!!!! You can either get a FREE copy when you purchase a 12 Week Countdown during October or there'll be copies to buy in group at just £4.95. Can't wait to share the most AMAZING recipes with you all in group. In fact I might just be looking for volunteers next week to experiment with!

WOO-HOO!!!!

Sandra X

GROUP UPDATE!!

What fantastic success stories you had in group this week. The gorgeous Karen achieving her revised target with almost a 7 stones weight loss, and the slinky Teresa losing almost 4 stones to reach her target!!!! Not to mention all the other fabulous members achieiving half stone, stone, 2 stones, 4 stones, Club 10's - we gave out 12 awards throughout the course of the evening and the weight losses totalled an AMAZING 88lbs. Not quite as high as last weeks 105lbs but with almost 14stones lost between you all in just two weeks, you really are setting the standards!!!

Huge praise to all of you who are embarking on the Body Magic and Scan Bran challenges and I can't wait to see your results next Wednesday! If you need Scan Bran inspiration, do check out the Slimming World website - there are TONS of recipes online or I always have copies in group! Failing that, just crumble them into any meal - breakfast, soups, caseroles - whatever!!!!

Don't miss next week's group to pick up your free chocolate sample (mmmmmmmm) and to hear all about our party night which takes place on the following week.

Amazing? Yes, you all certainly are!!!!!!

Sandra

WOW!!! LOW-SYN M&S WRAPS!!!

I’ve just enjoyed a FABULOUS lunch courtesy of Mr Marks & Mr Spencer’s “Eat Well” range. 3 Ginger Beef wraps and 3 Asian salad wrap with a sweet soy dip (which calculates just ½ syn for the WHOLE pack of 6 on original or extra easy/1 syn on green) AND (yes, I ate both packs!) 5 Thai Spiced & 5 Coconut & Lemongrass Chicken Wraps with a sweet soy dip (which works out at just 2 ½ syns for the whole pack). Low-syn wraps, I hear you ask? Well the ‘wrap’ is actually made from from a vegetable called Mooli which is a type of Japanese radish. It has a mild flavour and crunchy texture so it’s just perfect to make these delicious wraps. I’m sure we could easily make them ourselves if we can get hold of a mooli or two – they make fabulous finger buffet food so we could have some at our party night on 4th October! Any volunteers?

WHEN YOUR HEART IS IN YOUR DREAM, NO GOAL IS TOO EXTREME

I read this powerful quote this week and realised how significant it is to everyone on a weight-loss journey. Suffice to say, that dream is firmly in your sight as there were FANTASTIC group weight losses this week - 100.5lbs in total across the two sessions. Woo-hoo!!!!



For those of you who were unable to get to group this week, or didn't manage to pick up a copy of your Autumn newsletter, here's a note of what you have to look forward to in group this Autumn. With just 14 weeks until the unthinkable "you-know-what", having lifted that Christmas box last night, I know you are all thinking hard about putting plans in place now to see terrific weight losses by then!!! Really start to put your plans into action right now so that you're not disappointed when the time arrives.

***WHAT’S ON IN GROUP THIS AUTUMN***

22nd September – Body Magic and Scan Bran Weight Loss Challenge (come on, you know you love it!)
29th September – Chocolate Options Sampling (mmmmmmmmm!)
6th October - ***SPECIAL PARTY/TASTER NIGHT (including “guess the new flavour Hifi bar and launch of the new Christmas Cookbook!)** -
A NIGHT DEFINITELY NOT TO BE MISSED!!!
(Start of the next Bring a Friend/Get a free week promotion!!!)
13th October – All I want for Christmas is ……..???? (what's your Christmas wish???)
20th October – Team Fun Tech Special
27th October – Halloween Special

And finally……
Can I just say how proud I am of all my lovely members and how much I am enjoying supporting you and helping you amazing people achieve your dreams. We really are the best value slimming club in the world!!!! For £4.95 (or even £4.12 on a Countdown!) a week, you really get EVERYTHING you need to lose weight successfully from week one, including my 100% commitment – come rain, shine or snow!!! Staying to Image Therapy EVERY WEEK is the key to long-term success because you get ALL the help, support, fun and laughter, ideas and inspiration you need to stay motivated, and to stay on track. Wednesday nights really are all about you!!!

Whatever you decide you really want to achieve, you CAN achieve. It’s the work you do that determines whether or not you achieve it, and how quickly.

Stay fabulous and stay amazing

Sandra

FOOD OPTIMISING FOR LIFE!!!!

When you joined Slimming World we asked you to make some simple changes to the way you cook, shop and eat (any diet that promises weight loss without making any changes is lying to you!!!!). I was chatting to one of our top target chicks in Morrisons today, who has been away on holiday for the past two weeks. When I asked how she’d been doing, her reply was dead simple - she says that food optimising really is for life now so she doesn’t think twice about it!!!! She should know - she lost over 6 stones to reach target!!!! I told her that this really is the key to long-term successful weight loss - ie to make these changes become so ingrained that they become habits for life, just like brushing your teeth! Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned Slimming World member, learning those little Food Optimising swaps, healthy habits and clever conversions is the key to losing weight beautifully!

So - how do YOU Food Optimise? Could you boost your weight loss by making a few small – and easy changes – this week? How many Syns could you save? Check your healthy habits with some of my reminders below…

Mealtime swaps
· Save 6 Syns per tbsp by swapping oil for Free low calorie cooking spray (eg Fry Light)!

· Save 1 Syn per tsp by sprinkling artificial sweetener on your cereal, rather than sugar. Sugar in tea/coffee also amounts to lots of Syns – five hot drinks a day with a spoon of sugar means 5 Syns a day! Swapping to sweetener would save a whopping 35 Syns a week!

· Enjoy diet cola, lemonade and sugar-free squash completely for Free – a can of ordinary cola is a huge 7 Syns!

· Ready-made sauces add lots of unexpected Syns, eg a 500g jar of Dolmio sauce is a whopping 12½ Syns! Using canned tomatoes/passata, garlic and herbs as a basis for dishes means a tasty sauce without the Syns!

If you’re enjoying a meaty meal, meat and poultry is only Free when you trim all visible fat from meat, remove the skin from chicken and drain off excess fat when cooking extra lean mince.

THOSE DREADED "HIDDEN" Syns!!!

‘Dashes’ of milk in tea and coffee really add up! Watch out for takeaway hot drinks too (a skimmed milk latte can add up to 8 Syns or more!) Some members have found a great method for staying within their Healthy Extra ‘a’ measurement - pouring their day’s milk allowance into a measuring jug or plastic bottle, and using this every time they use milk – that way milk in tea and coffee doesn’t add extra Syns!

· Be Honest with yourself - Do you always count those sneaky Syns?! Eg, licking the cake bowl or spoon, a bite of your partner’s Mars bar, eating the children’s leftovers (‘shame to throw it away!’). It’s amazing how these little titbits can add up to lots of unaccounted-for Syns.

· Using heaped instead of level spoonfuls can also add hidden Syns. Believe it or not, flour is 3 ½ per level tablespoon - a rounded tablespoon is double, a heaped tablespoon triple!

· Are you supermarket savvy? Is your yogurt/cottage cheese really fat free rather than ‘low-fat’? It makes all the difference in Syns! A low fat fruit yogurt is 1½ Syns per pot – which really adds up if you have one daily. Swapping low fat for fat free yogurt saves 10½ Syns a week!

· Did you know that fruit that’s pureed, made into smoothies or canned isn’t Free? This is because pureed/liquidised fruit is easy to consume and add lots of extra energy (calories) and it doesn’t even fill you up! It takes 8 oranges to make a small glass of orange juice. We count juiced and cooked fruit as Syns to protect your weight losses - a small glass (142ml) of orange juice for breakfast is 2½ Syns.

GUESSTIMATING!!

· An extra 28g of Bran flakes each morning can add an extra 3 Syns each day! Do you weigh your Healthy Extras?

· Check whether your cereal is actually a Healthy Extra – some favourites like Special K, and Rice Krispies don’t contain enough fibre to count as a Healthy Extra.

· Don’t be tempted to class granary or white bread as a Healthy Extra. Just one thin slice can be 4½ Syns – and if you slice your own, that can increase to a whopping 8-10 Syns! A Healthy Extra is 57g wholemeal bread.

· Like your tipple? Are your home measures really as mean as a pub measure? Or are they more like a double? (That’s 5 Syns instead of 2½!)

· How about Syns – how often do you check after you’ve eaten them – or mentally reduce that portion so that it conveniently adds up to 10!

Food Optimising really is the most flexible, generous and healthy eating plan and by enjoying lots of delicious Free and Superfree foods, you WILL lose weight! Enjoy your meals packed with Free Foods and choose Free and Superfree foods first and between meals and you won’t need to worry about measuring/underestimating Syns as you’ll be superbly satisfied!

And finally, just remember that success really is a journey - not a destination!!!

Sandra :)