277: Sprinting To Success

Introduction

0:00Hello, welcome to the World Podcast. How are you? I hope that you are wonderful. Thank you for joining us. Anna, we're continuing this theme, aren't we, of Challenge 100 and meeting amazing, inspirational people. I'm still slightly recoiling at the thought that

0:34I did last episode, ask someone if they like to wear clothes. I'm not going to lie, we've got a lot of comments about that. I mean, Claire, we've covered everything in the podcast, I thought, but never being a nudist, that was a new one on me. So today's episode could just keep going, couldn't it? Where could we end up? Maybe that's why we don't do video podcast people. Exactly. Yes. Right. Today, we're taking a look at Summer World from a different

Summer World Activity Program

1:01angle. You may know that Summer World has an activity programme, and that can include all different types of things. But also this idea about what togetherness is, this is a theme that we've rolled through the podcast, this idea about community and support. And this idea about not having to lose weight on your own, not having to figure out everything on your own, that there's a whole bunch of people, wonderful, supportive people who've been in your shoes that are willing to support you. And we're really excited today, because we

1:32have not one, but two guests. They happen to be related to each other. We have a brother and a sister on the podcast. I'm not sure we've ever had that before. I think we've had sisters. Never brother and sister. Brother and sister, no.

Meet Kevin and Sam

1:45Right, you're breaking records. Kevin and Sam, welcome to the podcast. Hiya. Hello. Hi. Now, Sam, are you able to like recap for us? Where are you guys in the world? We are in Leighton Buzzard. Well, Kevin is. I'm in Dunstable. I saw Kevin after three months of not seeing him. And I honestly was floored by how amazing he looked. So yeah, that

2:16made me walk through the doors. Oh, so 2024 was your year of change for both of you then. August, December, that was what did it. And so you said that, you know, about seeing your brother and being like, whoa, what is this? What's the secret? I mean, how did you respond

Kevin's Weight Loss Journey

2:34to that, Kevin? So it certainly wasn't our first single radio, as with many people. So I'd let family know, but I just hadn't just hadn't seen Sam for three months. And then, yeah, it was it was the Christmas time. And by that point, other people had started giving me compliments. I was four and a half stone down from the August five stone down by that point. So I'd been getting a lot of compliments. And Sam's first thing was after Christmas, I'm coming back. And I said, don't wait. Why wait? Come back now. And I actually said, even if it means you

3:10lose a bit, and then Christmas happens, and you start January the same as you are now, that's better than starting with the attitude of, oh, I'm going to be going back to Simworld in a few weeks and maybe putting on some more weight. So she and she came the following Monday.

3:24Wow, I mean, that that is on it, isn't it? And so you have both been members of Simworld

Sam's Weight Loss Journey

3:31before. What was different this time around for you, Sam? For me, I think that I wanted to give it 100%. Every time I've joined Simworld in the past, I would have like the way in night off and not. Yeah, not do it 100%, I would say. And this time I was like, I saw how amazing Kevin had done in such a short space of time. And I was like, I'm going to do it. I'm going to this I need to for myself and for my family. And I did it. I've done it.

4:03I mean, and you've not just done it. You've lost nine stone, eight pounds. I know. Yeah, it blows my mind. Very close to the Magic 50 award that is coming up. So Club 50, when you've lost about 50% of your starting body weight. I mean, you must feel like a totally different person. Completely different. Yeah, the confidence from me, everyone notices. I notice it in myself. Like, I like photos now when I would never, ever get a photo of myself full body, ever. And

4:34even when I would get just my face in a photo, I would edit it or try and like angle myself and cut half my face off. Now, every time I get an opportunity to take a photo, I'm taking that photo. Oh, tell us about some of the photos you've taken that you're proud of recently. Who are you with? What are you doing? So I go on nights out now with my friends. We go dancing. When before, I was just too embarrassed. I just wouldn't. I would, like at Christmas time, I took family photos and I made sure

5:09it was like of our full bodies rather than, like I say, half my head in one. Just like when I'm just with my friends, I make sure that there's photo memories. When before, when someone pulled a camera out because it definitely wasn't me, I would hide.

5:25Do you think you're living life more? A hundred percent. So recently I got a really big promotion at work and I just think that I wouldn't have gone for it if I hadn't lost this weight. It's just, it's changed my life. I'm a completely different human, I would say.

Confidence and Weight Loss

5:41Wowza. When we get to talk to people who have achieved such incredible things with their weight loss, they often talk about that confidence that it's given them in the rest of their life. Do you think you ever believed that would be possible nine stone eight ago that you'd achieve these things? I didn't think that I would ever lose nine stone eight pound. Ever, ever, ever. When I come in, I set my target at three stone. I'd done three stone with Slimming World in the past. And so I felt like I could get there, but I never thought that I would. And I did. And I got there

6:13quite quickly and I felt amazing and everyone was noticing. And yeah, so I just carried on going. I didn't want to set my full target at the beginning because I felt like I needed to set myself littler targets because I felt like they were achievable. So when I made it to three stone, I then did another three stone. And again, I just felt like, even though I was doing amazing, I just felt like I'd never get there. And I did. And then I just carried on going. And now,

6:43yeah, it's completely changed my life. I can't, I think back to the day that I walked through the doors and I love Monday night groups. I've been to a Monday night group before and I knew it would be an amazing group to rejoin. That's why I go there. I travel 20 minutes to go there every week. Um, but I never, ever thought that the support and just amazingness of the group would have got me here because without that support of Kevin outside of group and Sasha outside of group,

7:16and then like Monday night groups, I just wouldn't have done it. I don't think. I'm a completely different person. If you would have met me back before I started, you wouldn't believe it. Well, that's quite handy, isn't it? That we happen to have someone who knows you before you lost the weight. So, I mean, Kevin, from your point of view, maybe you've never even had this conversation before. You know, what, what, what, what did you see in Sam before she lost the weight? So for me, it's all, she's always been, uh, she's opinionated, always been, but she ultimately,

7:50she's just never had the confidence to follow anything through. And the job thing was the real big shock with me because just, I just can't ever imagine, I would never imagine the old Sam doing anything like that. And even things like about for her journey, when she started going, uh, like for the activity lifestyle program, doing things like Zumba and that, there's no way you would have got Sam in a room like that ever before. Um, she would have had an opinion on somebody else that might have done or, or that she should have done, but she wouldn't have done it. She just wouldn't have

8:21had the confidence. It's the confidence. I, I, I find it remarkable in myself and other people that I see. It's, it's, it's so, it's life changing. I think anybody who struggles along their journey, if you could give them one day of what it feels like once you're really getting it underway or once you finish it, it really is the energy that you need. I find it incredible.

Kevin's Running Journey

8:46That's such a valid point. If you could bottle that feeling once you, you know, you're in a good space and you could just be like, promise you, if you give it a go, you're going to feel like this. It'd be such an inspiration. I mean, you lost over six stone in 26 weeks. I mean, that is phenomenal going. Yeah. I, when I came, I, I came back in, I was, um, recently made single and I, um, had, I was responsible for my five children and I initially was being the good dad or thinking

9:17like I was dominoes and, and other takeaways and stuff like that. It was, it makes them temporarily happy and, and it, and it took a load off of me. I'm, I work and I work for myself. I'm busy. And then I just thought I'm, I'm not doing them any favors. And I was down about my weight and my size, which was going back up due to being unhappy as well. And I thought, and I wanted to come back, give it a hundred percent, not make future members, which was a big thing for me. I wanted for my

9:50children, I wanted to bring it home because my previous times, uh, I'd lost three or four stone as well, but it was me doing it. I would be in separate. I didn't bring it home in the right way. It didn't, it wasn't my lifestyle. It was much more, I was treating it like a diet, you know, and we talk about it shouldn't be, and it isn't, and it definitely isn't for me now. And I wanted to come give it everything. And I found it amazing that second week losses,

10:20especially can happen pretty much every week. I think very often, and I've said it a few times in my group, I think very often what changes is we give it less than a hundred percent, the longer we've been there. And I really thrived on, wow, look, look at what I did. And I just got to do that again. It's easy. You just got to do that week again or another, or a week very similar to it again. And my average weight loss was four and a half pounds every week. Uh, and I just think it,

10:53because I'm talking for myself, like I was the same as Sam. Monday night was off. I got into the really bad habit of eating as little as possible on a Monday, weighing, leaving group late, and then bad decisions are made. Um, and a lot of the cravings and everything just went when I gave it all a hundred percent, all of the stuff that I felt like just didn't ever feel like I'm missing out. Don't ever feel like I'm missing out. You just said something that blew my mind. I don't even know if you just said it, but as a parent, it's just had a huge impact on me. Like I don't want to create

11:26future members. Like, you know, allowing your children to see this brilliant way of eating that's, you know, not restrictive. It's a normal eating plan, watching them enjoy their food that, you know, must be so good for them and giving them really healthy bodies that must inspire you to keep going as well. It's actually, so like I said, my kids love it now and all of my kids are healthier and better off for it. And it's because the way I look is it's only literally the way we cooked a few generations ago. It's not very dissimilar at all. So there's nothing, there's no fads or there's

12:02nothing unusual about it. In fact, most of it's good quality home cooked food that a lot of us grew up on just cooked differently. And I really didn't want them to have the same struggles for the length of time that I had it. And because it, it's been a controlling factor in nearly all of my life, in all of my life. I've always been big. We, you know, me and Sam both came from unhealthy childhood. We, you know, we, we didn't have any food education, be that at school or at home, really. So for us, our food education has been slimming world, but before we saw it like a diet

12:37rather than actually taking it on like a lifestyle. Gosh, that's like something to really sit with, isn't it really? What habits have we all picked up from childhood or along the way as adults? And, and how many times do we all fall for these clever marketing ploys of fads and that convenience? It's so easy, isn't it? I want to pick up on something that you said about like doing it a hundred percent. Well, both of you said that. And, um, we introduced to our members only

13:08podcast last week, this concept of challenge 100, which is running through groups at the moment for the next few weeks, actually. Um, and Anna, is it worth us recapping what challenge 100 is for,

13:22people who aren't aware of this? Yeah, it's really simple. Basically we're encouraging members to plan to food optimize a hundred percent every day or as close as you possibly can, um, for this three week period, because we know if you food optimize a hundred percent as per the book, that is when you are going to get those incredible consistent weight losses that are then going to motivate you to keep going. And like you said so eloquently before, Kevin, like you literally don't, you were kind of buzzing off the fact that you were getting these brilliant weight losses

13:53consistently. And we know if you plunge yourself into this and you utilize all the tools around you and follow it a hundred percent, that's when you're going to get inspired to keep going and get to that dream target weight. So challenge 100 is going on in all groups. It's on the community online and it's just raising everyone's excitement and motivation. And us as consultants are really behind it to make sure that every member gets inspired to look at their lifestyle and what needs to possibly be tweaked or changed to allow them to food optimize a hundred percent consistently. See, I mean, I love that.

14:24The title, if you missed last week's episode was how to lose weight every week, no matter what, does what it says on the tin. That's what we're all joining up to do, right? Um, so I'm intrigued then. So you've lost the weight, Kevin, you've talked about this confidence, but, um, the reason we titled this podcast sprinting to success, I guess is a little play on words really, because this year you are now part of the Slim and World marathon team. So you will be running London marathon. I mean, I just looked at the team's, uh, page and you're on about 14 and a half grand that you guys

14:59have raised already. What, tell us about this because activity now is a massive part of your lifestyle, but not only that, you've got your kids training with you as well. So the, the app was, once was body magic, now activity, lifestyle program. For me, that was the really big change in, it replaced emotionally in, for me in a big way, like exercise. I, and it replaced a lot of

15:30the dopamine. I absolutely love it. And for anyone, this, you know, anyone who thinks, well, I, you know, that's not my thing. It wasn't my thing. I, I long walks were a no, I'd park as close to the supermarket as I could. You know, I, I've never been active my entire life. I avoided PE. I've never been active. Um, but I understood from group that it is quite important, especially at the maintenance end of people's journey. And the sooner you can build it into your daily lifestyle, um, or, or the choices

16:06you make, I think it makes a huge difference. I lost most of my weight before I started moving. I was four, five stone down before I really started going for the awards because the, my award slowed down. So I wanted something else. So that's where the body magic came in, you know, 40 years old and love a sticker, but yeah. So for me, that was where it really started. And then the numbers reflected that again, mainly because it kept me in a really good mindset. It kept me, you know, I

16:39didn't feel that I didn't want to reward myself with food. I'd, I'd got out of that. I'd done that. So there wasn't, you know, go for a run and, and, and reward it. I'm happy on plan. I was happy with the food. So I got even better numbers from, from moving more. And I download, I started long walks. So, you know, that's what I mean. I wasn't active. I started long walks, downloaded couch to 5k, got up to 5k, ran a bit more. And I felt honoured when I got offered the marathon place. It's like,

17:10it's, it's, it's, I can't wait. I can't wait. And I'm lucky I'm running it with three people, you know, from Bedfordshire as well. So I'm from the groups. So I'm, I can't wait. Yeah. I mean, you've said, I can't wait three times in the same sentence as running a marathon. I mean, for a girl that will only run for a chocolate bar, that is weird. That's a girl, 45. That is so inspiring. Like another thing. But I think what, what I heard you kind of say is that because you built it through the, the framework of not just starting at a hundred miles an hour, you built it up.

17:44It was something that you could almost build into your lifestyle without recognising. Is that how you kind of feel about it now? Yeah. Because I realised very early on, it was important to do something you enjoy because I'm, I'm not very good at doing anything I don't enjoy, which is, you know, same with the food optimising, why I love finding new recipes and cooking new. I can't have the same things over and over again. I have to enjoy it. So I was the same with the, with the movement. Obviously nobody particularly enjoys their first time they try and run. It's hard. But I, I did love getting out. And so, yeah, I really did build it in. And the, and the,

18:20the awards are a really good way of doing it because it starts off very achievable. And so for me, that really worked. And that, you know, the, as for me looking forward to the marathon, I do the gym sessions as well. And I look forward to all, you know, I've just finished a serious challenge down at my gym of completing all 22 sessions the HIIT gym offers in one week. And that's to spark fundraising for the marathon. And I, I hit a thousand, well, I've just under a thousand pound, a few pounds under a thousand pound as of today. And I just finished that now,

18:54like as in three hours ago. I mean, that is mad. I've heard of, you know, people doing like two sessions in one day or something like back-to-back classes, but 22 classes in a week is just wild. And you said that included two PT sessions, which no PT, at least in a group, you can just maybe like pretend to like wipe the sweat away or grab a drink of water with a PT session. You don't get away with that. Yeah. In fact, that the comment I got was that I'm not just attending. I looked like I didn't come to the last three, which, which is what I wanted to do. I wanted to, I wanted to give it

19:28all out, but yeah, it's 22 hours of training in the week. And I did marathon. I did two training runs, sorry, in that as well. So I've, I've run 20 kilometers this week as well. I just love it. I absolutely, I just feed off of it. I love it. Which charity are you representing? Because I know the Seminole marathon team have a variety of charities. That's how they get the spaces. Which charity are you representing and does it have a personal connection with you? Yeah. So I'm, I'm, I'm running for Alzheimer's research and yeah,

19:59it does. So I've got family members and I've just seen it destroy. Like, it's so hard to start off with. It's hard for the person diagnosed and then once a level is reached and it's hard for everyone around them. Really impossible, I think. And that was sort of their thinking behind the gym thing is, okay, yeah, I've got a difficult week, but some people have difficult, you know, five, 10 years or, or even longer. It's such a slow, horrible thing for a lot of families to live with, I think. Yeah.

20:29Or no. So Sam, I hear that you're into Zumba. Tell us about this. I mean, do you have like glow sticks and like furry sock things? Are you like in neon lights? What's, what's your kind of Zumba vibe? I'm not that glamorous. I wear some black leggings and a black t-shirt, but you have inspired me. I know. I've just, I mean, I've done some Zumba classes with some of my friends and what we realised was I need to be far away from everybody because when they go left, I go right. I'm left-handed.

21:02I always go the opposite the way. I can't deal with the mirror thing. I have to look to the person in front of me rather than the instructor. Like it just blows my head. And I'm a musician and I cannot do coordinated dance. But in terms of like, you know, building that up and getting your heart rate, I imagine like, say, going to that first class, you're like, what am I doing? Who is everyone? Oh my God, I don't know any of the songs or any of the moves. And then where you're at now, what's that progression been like? Because people talk about Zumbas. Yeah, it's great fun. But actually, I burnt more calories in a Zumba class than I did running a 5k park run. I was like,

21:38flipping heck, it's hard work sometimes. Yeah, what I do it for literally flies by. And when I first walked through the doors, I think I was about a stone and a half, maybe two stone down. So quite early on in my journey, I'd say. And I felt like I wanted to move more. I was feeling better. I felt good about myself that I've done so well.

22:02So I walked in, I hid in the corner away from the mirror. And it was a mess. I was a shambles, tripping over my own feet. But I honestly was the most fun that I had ever exercising. And I was like, I'm coming back. So yeah, I've been going weekly since I sometimes do more than one a week, depending on busy lifestyle and stuff with the kids and how much I've managed to walk to school

22:33and things like that. I enjoy moving now, similar to Kevin. I'm not a marathon runner, but I love moving. We send each other sweaty pictures all the time, like backwards and forwards, keeping each other accountable. I don't want to take you guys on the three legged race. I'm just gonna say, I think you both be quite competitive. Do you think that competitive nature though, like you both strike me like you are determined people, but maybe haven't always been able to use

23:04that, that kind of in your weight loss journey. Has that helped you in this part of your journey to be like, yep, come on, I'm nearly there and being competitive with yourself? Sort of. But I also think there is definitely that, but I think some of it is actually, and a lot of it is if she can or he can, I can. And I think that was the thing when Sam had seen me after like nine or 10 weeks of attending. And, and like when she holds me accountable as well in the same way, it's like, well, you know, like if they can, I can. And, and, and for me, that, that's something

23:40I try and remind people of often, because especially like, because we look at the consultants and that, but it's sometimes easy to forget their members and they did it as well. You know, my consultant six and a half stone down, it's the same, but it's, but it's nice when you meet somebody and you think, well, if they can, I can in a nice way, that's not putting anyone down. But I think it's easy to think, oh, well, wow, I could never lose that. But with me and Sam, I think that was the real drive. Well, if you know, we can both do it because the other one can. And, and yeah,

24:10and, and it's really nice just to do it together. I think whether it's a friend or anyone, I think it's good to do together. Hmm. So the thing that really strikes me is just on the four of us, how different our journeys really are. I mean, Kevin, if we compare it to like driving in a car, you're like the toll road, cruise control, gear five, don't even have to touch the accelerator the whole way. You just went, you just were like A to B sorted. And, but however, I would say, you know, that idea about

24:41maybe this is like, when you rejoin, that gives you a different, I don't know, a different view of like what, okay, let's get really into the why we want to do this. You know, and Sam, again with you, it's like being motorway. It seems like that way anyway, that you've kind of found this, like, I'm going to get to this destination and nothing's going to stop me. I'm just going to break it down, you know, junction by junction on this motorway and tick this journey off. I've definitely done the B road. I'm not going to lie. There's no toll roads. I broke down behind a tractor, babe. Do you know what I mean? I'm in a clapped out mini.

25:14Do you know what I mean? But we all got there. Yeah. Yeah. And I suppose that's why we've kind of managed to keep going on the podcast. I think though, if you look at the, if you look at the 26 weeks, I would agree with that. But I say it takes me, it took me nine years. Interesting. It took me nine years. It took me nine years to be in the right headspace. It took me nine years to realize I had to bring it home. It took me nine years to realize, yeah, the whole household had to be on it or eating very similar. It took me nine years to realize the movement has to be involved.

25:48So, you know, my similar stats say 26 weeks, but it took me nine years, you know, at 24 years old, I was 24 stone. So that's even, that's double my body weight, more than double my body weight now. And it took me all that time to really get in the mindset and of the realization that I could do it in 26 weeks. And if anything, my regret is staying away from group for the best part eight years, seven, eight years in the middle.

Lessons Learned and Future Goals

26:14We say that all the time, right? Yeah. Our regret is that we didn't do it or carry on with it. If it got a bit difficult, find the support, seek that out in group. It was there. We chose not to do 100% and chose not to access it. So it took that long bouncing around. And we both have said it would have taken half a quarter that time if we just would have carried on and attended. No, I don't think no one's ever going to be pleased they came away. That's for sure. Well, you have to get in that right head space. That's what I've seen, you know,

26:47you know, the person that joined, you know, over 26 times, I couldn't do it until my head was in the right space. The moment my head was in the right space, it felt much more simple. And I think we give ourselves a hard time about the things we should or shouldn't have done. But I always believe that was the learning that allowed me to get to target. So if I had done it differently, I wouldn't be able to be where I am today. And that kindness to yourself, isn't it? So as Margaret, bless her, our founder used to say, get fascinated. And that's how I always think about things that have brought me to where we are now. Like I got fascinated about what I had to learn

27:20about myself to be the person I am today. So be proud of that guy nine years ago, because he is, he's running a marathon now. Yeah, exactly. Well, he hasn't yet, but he's gonna. But the self, the self discovery is the largest part. I think you have to really be open to that. You have to learn, you know, when your triggers are when when you're gonna struggle, you know, mine is tiredness, or well, my new one's tiredness, I think you have to. And so I've learned a lot of those lessons from the other end of target. That's, that's a key bit, isn't it? Because

27:51food optimising, you follow food optimising 100%. And this works, right? It will work. The thing is, we have to be willing to change in some way. And quite often, some of us have that resistance. And we're not saying, you know, you got to take out the chips, or you can never go out with your friends, there's a way to do that. But you have to be willing at looking at it from maybe a different angle, or different perspective, or with a plan in place. And for me, in my previous journeys, I wasn't willing to change. And that's where I fell down. This time, you know, especially when you

28:23look at this challenge 100, I said to myself, I will go to group, I will go to group every week and stay. I will go to group even on the weeks I really don't want to. And I know I've possibly put a gain on, but I'll go anyway. And that was the difference. Exactly what I said when I went, I was only going to give it, give the plan a chance 100% and stayed a group. That was the only two things I wanted. I didn't even have a number in mind. That was the two things that I was going to do. Because other times, if I thought I'd had a bad

28:54week, I didn't go or didn't stay, which is actually the week you should stay the most. Right. And that idea as well, I think about, you know, a long distance journey, or, you know, be it in the car, you know, we're joking about motorways and B roads, but it can be like that. I said that to someone at weigh-in the other day. She's like, I've maintained for the last four weeks. And I'm like, are you in a lay-by? Are you putting your feet up? She's like, I'm in the service station ordering coffee and cinnamon roll. I'm like, maybe we need to get back in the car and pull off. And I was like, what will it take you to go on the next point in your

29:26journey? We were having a little joke about the idea that sometimes it's okay if you're in a lay-by, you know, you're just resting, you're protecting your weight loss so far, but then when is it time to get going again? And I think about like the idea with a marathon. Anna, you said it a couple of weeks ago on the podcast, like people wouldn't run a marathon off the bat, right? That would be, I mean, I suppose you can. There was a Simon Pegg film many years ago where we did it because he had to like rescue a relationship that was failed or something, but you have to train for it. And I think

29:57you made a really good point, Anna. I hope I've got this right. It's something about this idea that we need to train and quite often when we're changing behaviours or habits, that takes practice. And it's not just giving up after the first hurdle's gone down. Have I got that right? Yeah, I think I was using the analogy the other day of that, when you're watching a child learn to walk, you don't sit there and go, Daisy, you're destined to crawl for the rest of your life. You've messed up because you've fallen over. But we do that so often to ourselves, don't we? We expect just because we've walked through the Dora Slimming world that we're going to get to target

30:30without having to put in the things in terms of change, but also thinking it's going to be such a linear journey and it's not. We have to keep practising these new behaviours because they don't come naturally, do they? The subconscious likes to go back to old habits. So yeah, practice does make, that old saying, practice makes perfect. Don't like perfection, but the practicing gets you really close to where you want to be, doesn't it? I always say it's not the membership fee that gets you to lose weight, is it? So true. It's like joining a gym and not attending. You're going to tell my husband about that. Yeah, my direct debit goes out each month.

31:04I think I've joined a gym most Januaries forever. But yeah, it's not the membership fee that makes the weight come off. It's accessing the stuff that that allows you to get to. But I've done that many times with the gym and with Summer World, just thinking attendance is enough. And you expect, well, you expect changes, but without changing everything, nothing, you're rewarded for every change you make. And I don't think it's particularly large ones. I think it's lots of little, little changes. I really think that. And what you were saying about, like, getting used to things,

31:40things. And it's the same, like, with saying no or making the changes or, you know, with social situations. It's all just learnt behaviour that you just have to repeat over and over again. And then it becomes normal, like it has for both of us too, for sure. Sam, what did you have to change along the way this time? I think it was more of the routine. So I would have, in the evenings, I would make a cup of tea and grab a biscuit. And it wasn't really because I wanted the biscuit. I was just eating it out of

32:15habit, I suppose. So I think it's just making those sort of swaps. And now I make a cup of tea and grab myself an apple. So I think it's just, yeah, just, just changing those normal life habits that I had picked up from being big my whole entire life. And just making better choices. And by making those better choices, I've changed my whole life in a year.

32:47That's so inspiring. There are going to be people sat there listening to this who think, gosh, I need to do that. And just hearing you say, it doesn't have to be enormous changes. You're not going to have to be hungry. You're not going to feel sad, but you can feel joy. And you can still do the things you love. You just got to slightly change how you approach them, haven't you? Yeah. And like, I've still gone out for meals with my friends. I have a little drink in the evening. Sometimes I've really lived my life as following plan, but it's giving plan 100% all the time.

33:23It's choosing, I don't know, rather than the burger at the restaurant, I would choose chicken. And I was just as satisfied with the chicken skewers. My friends laugh at me because I always order the chicken skewers. I love them. Or not being ashamed to say, can I have the salad rather than chips, please? Because I would have normally just ordered the chips and felt like I needed to eat them. But I'm just as satisfied with the salad that I'm getting.

33:54We had the conversation the other day that the plan's lovely because it's got such flexibility built in it. But if you have two days a week, not on plan and then use the flexibility for the other five, you're not going to get the results you want. But if you just use the flexibility that's built in the plan for the seven days, and one, it becomes your new lifestyle because it becomes the new normal because you're not always battling. And second, there's no reason for anything to stop. I'm the same. I go out, I was going out weekly, my whole loss. And it's just,

34:25it's never, never ever stopped me doing anything I want. So Sam, you have like the Club 50 certificate on the tip of your fingers. Is that something that your, that motivates you? Is it a Brucey bonus? What, what do you think about it? I, I can't wait. I can't believe I'd never, I just didn't think I'd ever get there. So I can't believe that it's literally at the tip of my fingers. Like, yeah, makes me so excited.

34:53Wow. Would we like to ask how far away you are? Three pound, I think.

35:00And after listening to your podcast that we've, I think it was the two together that there's no sticker. We've got to get some stickers on the go, I think. I think this is something that needs to be a sticker. There needs to be like a glitter ball that explodes. Like, you know, when people do gender reveals, I feel like that needs to happen. But you know, just putting it out there to the people in the know. Although as somebody who went, you don't need that at the awards. There is glitter everywhere. You're picking it out of your teeth, everything, aren't you? Yeah. People don't know the two together, um, award winners this year were two sisters.

35:31Uh, and they made their own versions of, um, stickers and things, didn't they? So you get, you get a certificate, don't you? But not a sticker. Yeah. You get a beautiful letter in the post and a certificate. Like it's, you know, it's no shiny sticker, but it's better. Yeah. Oh, I mean, the very best of luck with that, Sam. We're cheering you on. Thank you. Really good. And Kevin, obviously training continues for you and the rest of the team. Do you want to kind of give a bit of a motivational message? Imagine if any of your fellow

36:02marathon team members are currently on a long run listening to this podcast. What do you think they need to hear in their ears right now? I think anybody can do anything. First of all, imagine, imagine a tiger's chasing you. That always works. But I, I, I do think you just got to break it down. Uh, when I'm trying it difficult on a run, it's very similar to food optimizing. I think you, you break it down, next lamp posts, the next corner, the next mile, whatever it is, whatever, however you need to do it at that point.

36:35I just think, break it down. That's what works for me for running and enjoy it. Enjoy it. If that means pulling back a little bit on the speed or doing something different, just find the fun in it. I think if, if it's painful, as in, if you're not enjoying it, that's, that's the worst. For me, I, I have to enjoy it. And, and it's surprising, you know, whether it's the podcast or, or you write music, I think find, find what, what makes it enjoyable for you, because none of us want to do anything, food optimizing or running, if it's not enjoyable, but there's enjoyment in it

37:07all for sure. Yeah. Break it down, enjoy it. And, uh, see, I will be on the sidelines watching London Marathon in person because my husband is running it. But anytime I see anyone with Slim World on their T-shirt, I will go crazy. So if there's a crazy woman in the crowd, it might be me, just so you know. Okay. Most runners have got a smile on their face. Most people, once they get used to stuff, if you look, they got a smile on their face. But I think it's a mental state you need to get into, or you wouldn't be doing it. Yes. Yes. And the rain

37:38doesn't help that, but, and the cold mornings, but you know, do what you can. And then think of the end goal. But then the heat isn't good either. You need a nice spring day, don't you? It'll probably be raining now. Yeah. Yeah. It's been great to meet both of you. Thank you so much. We would love to share some photos of what you're up to on our Instagram. Would that be possible? Of course. We need to like get, uh, some neon lights and some bright leggings for Sam, for Zumba. Anyone in the Dunstable area who can provide such material, that would be excellent. Um, right,

38:13next week, we're going to continue this theme about, uh, getting the support you deserve. We're following that theme of Challenge 100. Uh, whether you're a group member or an online member, tune into that to make sure that you don't miss it. But until then, have a great week. Thanks, Sam. Thanks, Kevin. Thank you. Bye for now.