That's probably why I don't have friends, because the problems with anxiety I have make it hard to commit to anything. Anger also, I'll blow up in my head and then seem to revert back to a teenager and its to hell with everything.
They don't offer cooking classes as such, but it is a support group for those who want/need to lose weight. I really cannot praise them enough, such lovely people. The first group I attended years back, I had such fun there. I could just be me, I found I didn't have to put up a front after going a few times. I already knew the consultant as she was a family friend so that was helpful.
Basically, it's like Weight Watchers but a completely different eating plan and (so I hear from ex WW members) much more supportive. I've never been to WW before so I can't really comment on their support, but I've seen many unhappy with how that plan went and heard a few horror stories of some being given a telling off if they hasn't done particularly well that week. I'm sure they're not all like that though. It's too complicated for me to explain their plan, but in a nutshell they tell you the foods you can have as much as you like, then the foods that you should use for calcium and fibre that should be measured like cheese for example. Then there are your 'syns' which you have a certain amount of every day and you could use them for chocolate, crisps, sweets etc or for extra 'healthy extras' so cheese, milk, bread and so on. They encourage you to use up all your syn allowance daily so you don't feel you're depriving yourself of the 'naughty' treats you love. The 'free' foods are endless. I found it absolutely amazing that I could make a huge bowl of pasta and a homemade tomato based sauce and eat as much as I liked. In my first week ever, I lost loads, but I'd eaten more than ever and was shocked. I'd not only eaten more than I would have done before, but I'd eaten very healthily, not gone hungry for even a millisecond and my jeans actually fitted! The members there were absolute stars, so friendly and such wicked sense of humour. I really miss that group. Sadly, the consultant at the time was under a lot of stress, then working full time in a job that was very challenging and stressful, then running those groups on top, it was too much so she left
I feel a bit uncomfortable in this current group. Like I don't belong. I started there with my husband because even though he doesn't need to lose an ounce, he wanted the encouragement to eat healthily as he's always lived off fast food. His normal diet would consist of nothing all day then eating a microwave burger or something similar in the evening, he just didn't have an appetite until we joined there. He then gained a healthy appetite, ate more and even though we weren't strict with ourselves still managed to lose a little. Don't know why he worries so much, I think he looks totally hot, but he's worried he's getting a flabby belly!
I think the reason I don't feel comfortable there is because those groups usually consist of people who are overweight, so us going there I feel like I'm taking the biscuit. Pun not intended. It didn't help that our first day we had the groups target member come up to us and question why we had joined. She kept saying why are you here, but making a point of saying "I don't understand why you've joined, your husband doesn't need to lose weight he's already skinny". I did try to explain to her that it was for him the aspect of learning to eat healthily and for me it was re adopting those healthy habits plus I did want to lose a small amount so I felt comfortable. In that nice place where you don't have to worry if you gain or lose a few pounds without going over or under a healthy weight. That's what I want to achieve. I've never felt comfortable in my own skin, even as a small child I always felt I was a little chubby, then in my teens I was way too small. It's always to one extreme. I hate that. I just want a healthy relationship with food. My panic I think, is that I'll enjoy eating so much that I'll end up making the wrong choices thinking I can get away with it, then ending up very overweight again. That was an awful struggle. It's literally taken me a decade to shed that. I need to rewire the way I think of food and regain the confidence I used to have around it.