289: This Time I've Done It!

Introduction

0:00oh good day good morning good afternoon good evening whatever time of the day it is we hope that you're well welcome to slim more podcast i'm claire and with me is hello i'm anna hello i'm anna that sounded very posh didn't it it's anna they all know who co-hosts with you hopefully by

0:33now it's anna of the mangan anna of the mangan claire of the savary uh we're delighted for you to join us and we know in summer it feels like your attention is being pulled from here to there there's that many social calendars and holidays and i don't know small people screaming in the garden that you have to tame now and again that we appreciate your time and your commitment to

Episode Preview

0:58dial in and keep on top of uh the podcast now today an episode that you may want to bookmark share to a friend send to maybe a fellow member that you know hasn't been to group in a while because this one is going to make you think how many times anna have we been in that situation where we've lapsed we've had to rejoin then we come back maybe with guilt we have that heaviness of maybe feeling like we've let people down or we've let ourself down i mean man we've both been there

1:32haven't we we could write a book about it couldn't we we've been there got the t-shirt i mean we've made a podcast out of it we've been there really really have that was our life for a long time wasn't it and now we've trudged through that and we're through the other side but yeah definitely identify with everything you just said yeah and we know we're not alone i mean one of the main reasons that we started this podcast i mean certainly from my point of view is partly to hold myself accountable although i didn't quite realize that's what it would be later yeah but also to meet and chat with people who have been through this and have the opportunity those really

2:09intimate vulnerable conversations about how did you do it how did you get through this um and we're

Guest Introduction

2:17really delighted to have a very special guest today one who we've been following from afar for a very long time joe diamond of skeg nestland slimming world consultant award winner extraordinaire how are you joe i'm really good thank you and thank you so much for inviting me today this is such an honor it really is oh we're so excited to have you um you know i think we should maybe recap like

2:47just present day and then maybe we'll kind of like roll the clock back if that's okay i think we need to set up that some exciting news uh turned up for the books for you that you were named slimming world group of the year tell us about this oh my goodness it's just i still cannot believe it because my members are just truly incredible and when i received the phone call from my manager sarah who's amazing by the

3:18way that we were in the top five for group of the year it just blew my mind because i never thought it would be possible if that makes sense um but my members they're just incredible so i was told us in the top five and then we got to go to florence on the grand accumulator holiday where i got to meet the other four and they're just purely beautiful and they're now like my best friends like a comfort blanket

3:50family and we just got on so so well so for me i was just so proud to be in the top five um and then of course on the nights we got to go on the stage we were huddled together and then to hear that skegness had won my incredible members it was just yeah i'm lost for words blown away completely because i just didn't expect it there's the most amazing photo of you isn't there when you're announced and the look on your face

4:24is like you've won the lottery and there's been an explosion all at the same time you just saw your utter disbelief it's such a beautiful photograph even now i really can't believe it i did actually say to my husband ian that was the best moment of my life ever you know best moment ever just just for members to achieve that oh i mean what does it mean as a consultant to be recognized how long have you been a consultant for by the way and how many groups do

4:56you have i've been a consultant now for nine years and i just run group as trained you know your sessions can be so so different depending on your members needs but i love that i really do you know it's such a friendly place it's like a home from home isn't it really group members can just be themselves and yeah just incredible so nine years it's the award as a consultant we're all like i would love that but i don't know i've got what it takes and we all kind of really secretly or

5:33openly want it but the work joe is being very modest but the work the courage the tenacity the the hours that it takes to get your group to be that excellent that you become group of the year it has it is astounding it is something i see so far off but you must put your heart and soul into it every single day i do i really do because when we relaunched in skegness and opened those doors following covid um i think had about 22 lovely members come through and i was so so proud of

6:09them because it can take so much courage to walk through those doors and just to see them coming to my group it's like wow um and then over the years being able to build up and just help and support those members it's just incredible it really is i mean every consultant has their own story as well which is how i guess you've led you know taking that journey from member to consultant and the inspiration of your own story must have a great um influence on your members uh to do so well and to

Joe's Journey

6:47to be a part of your community i mean you um are very open on your social media about your journey um the ups the downs that every part about being a member and being a consultant um and that's something that i know so many people follow uh from afar as included you you put a post um i can't remember when it was maybe it was a few weeks ago or a couple of months ago i've forgotten the exact time but you put some photos about where you were at a couple of years ago and there was a big moment of

7:24clarity for you wasn't there i don't want to kind of spoil the story but can you kind of do you know which post i mean and what story i mean by me giving that i do yes because originally before i become a consultant i'd lost 12 and a half 13 stone and i managed to remain in my bubble for a few years but then things happen and over time i started to gain weight um and then it was only about two years ago 18 months two years ago i i was in such a bad place um i'd stopped being a member hence i'd

8:02spiraled so much but i was still a consultant and i'd actually gained five stone five and a half stone back of my original 12 and a half stone loss so and i was in such a bad place um i'd gone on training which was absolutely incredible and lynn the trainer she made me realize it wasn't my fault i was human and sometimes this can happen but i knew i had to bring in changes because

8:34as a consultant i was beginning to struggle to stand up in front of my members giving them all the help support and love and understanding when i'd spiraled so far myself so after being on training i realized what what what kind of works for me is to return as a member um so i went back as a member and i'm so glad i did because i was able to surround myself with people that understood

9:05people that get it and just yeah just completely get it so i went back as a member and then took me a year to lose that five and a half stone and then i reached my target but it changed me immensely as a consultant it made me fall back in love with the role it made me understand what all my members went through every single week like the journey is never ever easy but it made me realize what my members went through those weeks they didn't want to attend those weeks they were scared of gaining

9:39and of course there's never any shame and again it is all part of the journey but going back as a member it just made me fall back in love with slimming world food optimizing but more importantly i feel like i've got my life back i've gone home and it's just you know the best feeling ever i just feel like i'm me again oh it takes so much courage there you know i was in a similar position where i gained all my weight back and had to lose it again and i remember that feeling of shame and guilt of

10:13embarrassment walking in through the door and then you get there and you go oh i i don't need to feel that way like it's okay like that acceptance i remember my shoulders being up like that and then just relaxing down and being like these people get it they get that i used to eat 16 bars of chocolate a day they're not going to judge me do you think lifting that burden allowed you to just then kind of take back control as well once you lost that definitely definitely you know it just took away all the guilt um and just surround yourself with people that actually understood you know there is

10:48going to be times on our journey we do struggle and that is okay but with the group support we can get through this you know there is going to be times we need to draw that line and that is okay but we've come into group each week we can do that and move forward into a fresh new week so that even that phrase about you're just human it feels so topical especially in the social media world at the moment you know there's been some pushback hasn't there on um certain kind of influences uh talking about how

11:24everything needs to be efficient and we need to do more be more calculate everything you know log all of our fitness minutes log all of our calories and then perfectly balance everything so we're the absolutely most efficient that we can be to be the best in the world and it's really interesting how so many people have just pushed back on that and that we're not machines we are human we have emotions and these go up and down sometimes you can feel sadness and happiness at the same time

11:55like that that's not how like robots operate and that idea about being human i think is really um a core part of like that community that you get with slimming world um in just that simple as you tell your truth as the kids say um and just have someone across the group nodding their head it feels like okay i feel safe i feel understood and i feel i belong and they're like really core human

12:26things aren't they i mean that sense of community within your groups and also the group that you went to in your member joe what what does community mean for you when you think about it from a member point of view i think it's the understanding isn't it and you're not on your own that other people are going through the same for example if i want chocolate then yes you can have chocolate and you haven't got anyone in the room going oh my goodness me she's eating chocolate because people get it they

12:59understand it's that lack of judgment isn't it because when you are struggling with your weight you feel i felt and i know a lot of people do felt judged at every turn but then you can walk into a slimming world group and someone totally goes right we're here we get it we've all done these things let's help you move past it i think you know you know what you're saying about the chocolate it's also that idea of you can do different things and you said you had to make some real big life changes didn't you it's like the people around you the consultant and the members help you to understand

13:30yourself about the changes you have to make so it's a real journey of discovery and learning don't you think it is isn't it and isn't it crazy because if you say to yourself oh i really want chocolate and as soon as you say you can't have that chocolate you'll eat the biggest bar going but we know we can bring those swips in and we can enjoy chocolate and we remain in control and most of the time because you don't tell yourself you can have something you then don't want it yeah it's bizarre it's like i say

14:00i'm like a rebellious 14 year old so i have to give myself permission so that naughty crazy 14 year old anna doesn't wear her ugly head because it is that you know that understanding yourself that group gives you doesn't it and understanding how you're liable to behave so you can protect yourself to have gone back into a group as a member though being a consultant can be a really difficult hat to switch can't it i know i'm a member of the the amazing virtual um groups that we have for consultants and just going in and just putting my armor down and being like i'm anna mangan today i'm

14:33not anna slimming world consultant podcast host all of those things how did you find that transition and allowing that acceptance into your journey again i made sure i found a group where they didn't know me as a consultant so i was able to go back as a member and it was really bizarre walking through those doors even though i'd been a consultant what seven and a half years at the time seven years uh walking through those doors i felt so nervous but as soon as i walked through those doors and sat down and others started coming over saying hello you'll be okay the kitchen's through there i absolutely felt

15:09at home i really did and it was just so good to just peel back those layers and just return as a member as well yeah really important what what were the changes you said that you needed you realized you needed to make some changes in your life what were those changes just to to perhaps give us an insight really as to what it what it took i had to remove all the pressure from myself i had to stop saying to myself you're a failure you're stupid you're an idiot what are you doing that for i had to remove

15:42all that negativity and realize that it's not going to be a quick journey on average we lose one one one to two pounds per week you know it's not going to happen overnight but i've got to make it exciting you know instead of having takeaways we've got to try new ideas uh brand new recipe ideas and just keep it exciting and actually you can follow food optimizing wherever you are seven days a week even on holidays so i was that person who'd go away for the weekend but as you lose the weight you start to

16:17feel more confident about yourself and that gives you the motivation to carry on as well and also the thought of losing five five and a half stone again that was scary but by breaking it down and focusing on that half stone award and then when you get the half stone award focus on the stone or time goes so quickly but it really does is you said something there that actually i think is a real springboard you can food optimize anywhere and seven days a week and it's just that

16:47choice of do you want to i'll never forget we went to florida and i took my fry light and my husband looked at me like are you all right and i was like no no this is me making the marked stand that i am going to do my very best to keep in control and having that fry light in my suitcase really really helped me but it's knowing that food optimizing gives you that ability doesn't it you don't have to stop living to lose weight because so many people and i've done it before my life stopped i got very slim but then i couldn't have a life and be slim and eat the way i wanted to so it's all about creating those

17:21habits that are lasting aren't they imagine if that fry light leaked in your suitcase oh man it would stink double bagged it and then gaffer taped it because there was no way it was getting over me nice flip-flops claire oh that the lid would fall off and something lean on it and then it'd be moist you'd have a slightly moist pant my worry was more like an explosion on the plane and then having to stop the plane and being like mrs mangan in b34 exploding fry light in your case so i was just glad when i

17:53got there i wasn't searched at customs and the plane didn't explode but it was my mark of food optimizing in florida so what did you do with it so i would literally we did self-catering so i just cooked my breakfast with it you know if we wanted something and we were at the apartment it gave me the opportunity but it was also like a signal of you are still a slimming world member sister just because everything comes in kilo like servings does not mean you need to eat your body weight and sugar and fat you are a slimming world member it really helped me i came back with maintain from florida two weeks in florida

18:26maintain and i wouldn't have done that if that and i brought the fry light back i wasn't leaving it by the way it came back in the suitcase i mean can i just say that the low calorie sprays are available we are not sponsored by fry light but it'd be nice if we were yeah send us a bottle love the garlic one but anyway but it's those no garlic one in the suitcase wouldn't go down well at all can you imagine if that got on your thonged flip-flops oh you'd have a sweaty garlic toe wouldn't you that's definitely going on instagram that whole section anna's face you need to go

19:02onto instagram and watch anna's face now but no what i'm trying to say is what joe said you can

Food Optimizing

19:08food optimize through anything when you choose to and that was a very elaborate way of me agreeing with joe okay now you've got visions without the garlic sweaty toe i like yeah do you have any of this nonsense in skegness joe are people a bit more behaved in skegness as slimming world members they're just themselves and i love it because every single session is entirely different and i just love it because they can just be themselves they can just say what they want it's wonderful

19:40and just the way they help and support each other yeah i mean this idea about making it fun you know we have it here having a giggle and i think so many people uh maybe people even listen to this thinking about joining slimming world or thinking about starting a process of losing weight it gets very serious gets very insular it's all in your head you're scared to kind of say out loud what you're thinking and here we are just trying to find a way to just lean into this and be ourselves and relax and

20:11just take one step at a time you don't have to know all the steps to begin just know where you where you start that's often the best bit isn't it it's knowing you don't have to have the answers as well isn't it like you said claire you don't have to know the steps you don't have to have the answers yourself knowing that there are other people there to help and support you find your answers is really important too but that that knowing that you don't have to be perfect along the journey yeah i mean this we've called the episode this time i've done it because something feels like it's

20:42shifted for you i get the feeling joe that this time feels different have i got that right yeah it does um entirely different and when i reached my target it was just the best feeling ever i remember going into my group as a member and i said to the consultant i think i reached my target those birds just into tears and then it was my turn to get weighed and i was like crying i was like oh really

21:13just crying away and a few members come and said jed watch whatever the game is you can you'll be fine i mean i reached my target and it was just the most incredible experience ever and then straight afterwards i did it live into my facebook group my members private page to let them know and it was just the most incredible experience ever it really was because the journey is never ever easy but oh my goodness if you've got the help and the support it is totally worth it it really is what did me what

21:48did getting to target mean for you because claire and i have often discussed like is there a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow like what does life look like when you get to target because a lot of us have had an expectation that getting to target means um i'm going i'm going back to eating and drinking like and then you have to accept no no i'm still staying in this place what's it meant for you joe for me it meant my health had improved um for me it meant i could continue doing what i love most as a consultant um because i got my love back and for me it really felt like i'd just come home

22:27it's like you've been away from home for i'm gonna get emotional in a minute it's like you've been away from home for so so long and you walk through that door and it's like i'm now home

22:41it's just the most incredible feeling ever to walk i don't know to walk down the road full of confidence without having to walk sideways or not leaving the house because you don't want anybody to see you to schedule you out in public um there's so many positives there really really is even like taking the dogs out walking further and you know you don't mind who you bump into summer months wearing

23:11summer dresses going shopping without feeling like you have to be the one covered up all the time because you don't want anybody to see you when i walked into group as a member in like a summer top it was like wow look and it just felt so good but it really is just like coming home best feeling ever and i think because this is the second time around i've done this it's meant more to me the first time around um i don't think i actually understood what target was about

23:45but to get back there oh my goodness me incredible feeling i mean next week actually we're doing a special members episode which is going to be talking about uh slim for life and what target looks like for similar members because once you reach target the support doesn't end there that target members are still welcome in group um they are still able to be an online member um and there are different routes

24:16in how that that kind of works maybe there are some uh slight different changes to the plan i'm not sure if i'm wording that right anna but i think it's still the plan yeah the plan doesn't change you just get a bit more flexibility so that you can live your your life in your beautiful um target bubble and it's all about creating those long lasting habits because that's what we know target needs for you to be there stay there and enjoy it is sustainable habits so yeah the the um the party doesn't stop once the target bus pulls in we are there aren't we joe we are celebrating them we are there to help and support

24:50them and keep them in that beautiful bubble whether it's a target moment that comes every week or once every year they are still part of the slim world family and and i'm sure joe like for me they are the backbone of my groups like without my target members i love my target members in group because they are the face of inspiration the face of ideas they are always the ones that come out with those pearls of wisdom when you are struggling that are like i was in that place but look what i've done do you find that joe in group i do they're such experts they really really are in my cheese i have 35 target members

25:26a majority of them do say and i love it because they've done the journey of losing weight and now they're maintaining beautifully um and quite a few of them been quite a few years um and they've got so much experience so much knowledge top tips they really are our experts in group and just the way the help of us as well is just like just fantastic i also think as a new member what really helped me when i walked it in was to see the longevity so to look at a room that had people who had lost weight and kept

26:00it off rather than like this cycle of new members constantly being there seeing people that had done it and wanted to stay and wanted to be there to me was so inspiring because it's like oh this works and they like it do you know what i mean that that really gave me confidence in in the plan and in slimming world as a whole definitely oh well i mean this has given us lots to think about and um i

What's Next for Joe

26:26mean what what's next for you joe have you got like the big goals that you're working to uh are you gonna everyone seems to want to i don't know become a marathon runner these days um but i mean you could give us an alternative what what are you are you working on anything or are you just happy being with where you're at in life to be honest with you i'm just really really happy with what i've got in life i've got a really really good balance because of course i've got my consultant role i get to see my members every week and i get to help and support them as well and just seeing the

27:02changes they make as well every single time you give out that award um just the way the members change their lives around to me that's just everything so incredible and i've got good balance i've got family time as well holidays so i think i'm just quite happy just to carry on doing what i'm doing she's at the top of the tree right now she is just swinging like um you know in those beautiful leaves like group of the year is just i really can't say it's just absolutely you should

27:36be so proud of yourself because the work and determination that takes is really incredible it really is thank you i'm still in shock because it's only been what two weeks and yeah i'm still in shock because it's just absolutely incredible it is it's amazing enjoy what um what the 2026 it's turned out to be and hey joe it's not even over yet it could be who knows how do they say it

28:07comes in threes what's your third one gonna be win the lottery who knows lucky dip go on get a lucky dip on on on on the weekend and by the time you know we next hear from you should be like i won 14 million as well joe it could oh my goodness that'll be a good holiday but i just really really cannot believe how much my life has changed ever since going on that training 18 months it's you know how much has actually changed if somebody told me then because we've got so many

28:42awards us consultants can achieve um and i remember going on the training and then three months later my manager phoned me up sarah said joe did you know you've actually achieved gold i'm like oh have i that's wonderful i didn't know so to get gold is really hard work i won't go into the inner workings but the fact that you knew you didn't know means that's how good a consultant you are no no no honestly i just didn't know and then gold again and then when i stood on the stage to receive gold last year

29:16i saw people achieving diamond i'm thinking oh what's diamond i need to go back and research this and i made i made a dream that my dream would be to return to the stage at target to achieve my members diamond award and then to return to the stage get the diamond target and then of course yeah well i think you're gonna need a bigger mantelpiece that's what we've learned today yes and smaller clothes by the sound of things smaller clothes all that wardrobe space you can clear and just put all

29:49your rewards in my members awards just beautiful yeah well look it's been so lovely to speak to you joe um we'd love to share can we share that photo of you when you get told uh we'll put that on our instagram at summer world podcast because that's a great moment to capture this raw emotion which is what this is about this is about what being human is isn't it it's the surprises it is the ups it is the downs it's all of this but that makes us kind of be who we are and it sounds like

30:20you're just on fire joe thank you for being an inspiration not only to your members you know whether that be as a as a member yourself or as a consultant but also for our listeners we really appreciate it thank you so so much and thank you for inviting me on here as well big yeah well anna yeah next week we're talking about um slim for life aren't we which will be really fascinating it's going to be a members only episode so it will be available at next friday uh our members episodes are available on

30:53friday that is one two saturday sunday monday three days before public get it i was like is it four days or is it three days no it just made me laugh because i do that all the time and daisy's nine she's like mommy you don't need your fingers you can do it in your head we clearly need our fingers to count i'm 45 and i'll be using them to the day i'm no longer here anyway so that is coming out and i know me and anna are really keen to kind of really find out more

31:25resources for target members because we know it's one of the big things that people ask a what to expect when you finally reach your target weight and for people who are at target who are shifting into that slightly different mindset what support is there for symbol world members uh some really exciting news about that yes now then off you pop have a jolly good uh summer holiday break we'll be back uh like we say next week stay cool stay safe safe say what else stay food optimizing people think

32:02free food and take your fry light with you wherever you go seriously wherever you can get it don't put your hand luggage because it's over 100 mils but definitely in the suitcase double bagged you won't regret it you heard it here first goodbye bye for now