WI - Wednesday 20th April 2011

So I stuck to the Simply Filling method of the Pro Points Plan and it seems to work well for me :o)  Most of the food on the SF list is food I really like and I have just been having my 3 meals a day and not felt hungry in between - this in itself is a huge thing for me!  I'm guessing it is due to me not always thinking in the back of my mind about how many points I have left, or have eaten, or need to eat, etc..... it was really great!

So I went to WI last night slightly concerned that it wouldn't make any difference on the scales and was shocked to find I had lost 2 and a half pounds!  That's right, 2.5lbs!!!  Blimey!  So I am now down to 11st 8.5lbs :o)  I walked out of WI with a huge smile on my face, that's not happened for a while.  So I'm going to stick with SF for another week and see what happens - the only thing which is concerning me slightly is the mother-in-law is staying for a week with us from Saturday, and she usually insists on having dinner out most nights (especially as she lives in Cyprus and therefore wants to indulge in the meals she can't get back home such as Chinese and Indian... all the stuff which hits my weak spot!).  It is going to be challenging but I'm hoping it won't be too bad, at least I should be able to limit the damage to some extent..... fingers crossed!  

WI - Wednesday 13th April 2011

Well managed to loose 2lbs which brings me back to 11st 11lbs - was glad about this :o)  Had a quick chat to my leader and decided to give the simply filling method a go to see if this will help me get past this blip of loosing and then putting it back on.  Good thing is I'm off work from Friday until just after Easter so I can focus on the SF way of eating without having to worry about work as well.

Wish me luck!

WI - Wednesday 6th April 2011

 

How slack have I been?!  This last week has just flown by and this is the first time I have managed to sit in front on my laptop for a fair amount of time.

Why are you so yummy!!

Well WI this week was bad but it was expected - went away at the weekend and didn't track the whole week, plus vast amounts of wine, chocolate and girly chats over the weekend meant a gain was inevitable!  I gained 1.5lbs this week which combined with my 0.5lb loss last week takes me back to 11st 13lbs - and I'm pretty happy with that (I did consume a huge amount of giant chocolate buttons over the week!!) 

But a new week is ahead of me and back to tracking which should is the main thing I need to do to stop me grazing.  Not got anything major planned this week apart from Saturday so I should able to stick to my points without any issues :o)

WI - Wednesday 23rd March 2011

Back from WI and glad to say I stayed the same this week, not bad really!  Back on track now, bring on next week :o)

Sickness :(

Spent the last two days off work due to having some flu type illness, and as I'm a comfort eater this meant I grazed at home and as my head was all cloggy it meant I didn't write my food down so I'm pretty sure I went over my points (especially as I used most of my weeklies on Thursday and Friday on another chocolate binge, wasn't sure why at the time but it all made sense when I was feeling crappy Saturday night!) - not too hopeful for WI today but at least going back to work today means I can get back on track and start fresh :o)

WI – Wednesday 9th March 2011

Well this is not a good result – 3lbs back on (over the course of 2 weeks) which brings me back to 12st – blergh!  I guess the good thing is I know why this has happened, a combination of overeating due to stress at work, eating more than usual during the day before WI and being due on this week which almost always leads me to retain water *sigh*

But the main factor – stress – is something I’m going to work on.  I had a long talk with Stew and my mum yesterday (not at the same time) about work and what was stressing me out and that really helped.  Plus I have made a decision that if things don’t improve over the next few months then I shall start looking for something else as to be honest this isn’t what I was lead to believe it would be.  Just making that decision has helped me and last night I actually slept better which means today I’m not as tired and therefore was able to resist the huge amount of cakes which were in the kitchen at work :o)

I’m off to a taster session of Tai Chi tonight with Stew, he has been going to the classes for just over a month and I really like the look of it.  Plus the taster session is free so that makes it even better!  In addition to this (if I decide to carry on after tonight) I think my Zumba, C25K and a few sessions of 30 Day Shred will be a nice combination of exercise and should hopefully mean I do not get bored! 

Speaking of 30 Day Shred – Oh My God!!  It is so tough, and to be honest I’m useless at push-ups and ab crunches, never been able to do them properly.  The rest of the level one workout though is good but difficult, I was really sweating at the end!  However I have not been able to do the continuous day after day which the DVD suggests you should do, I just can’t fit it in!  So I’m going to try and do it at least once a week at the weekends and try and build myself up to a second one during the week if I feel up to it :o) 

So in a nutshell, I’m feeling good about this week.  Only major event this week is my sisters birthday, we are heading out for Greek/Turkish type food – restaurant is called Mekan and the menu looks lush!  (Mekan Restaurant - Menu).  Still trying to decide what to have as my main course (we will be having mixed meze for starters), but I’m planning to have fruit and muesli for breakfast and stir fry for lunch so I should have plenty of points left for food, a few glasses of wine and possibly birthday cake – yummy!!

And just to share my moto for the week – ‘I hope to see less of you next week’ as said to me by my WW leader Karen – I have it on a post-it note on my desk at work to keep me going.

Stressful week at work = chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate!

Lets just say I am glad it is the weekend.  When I checked my Euro Millions ticket this morning I was thinking about how great it would be not to have to work again!  But alas I did not win (and by the looks of it nobody did) so I shall be heading back to the office on Monday morning.  To be honest I'm not too sure why it was stressful this week, I think it could just be a mixture of headstrong people running the company, not having a plan and each with their own ideas along with the expectation that the staff should know what is required of them without being told directly (I think next year one of my targets should be to learn the art of mind reading!).

Well whatever the reason for the stress, it has lead to me indulging in chocolate (all tracked and within my points) - Thursday and Friday menus looked like this:

Thursday:

Breakfast:

• 40g muesli - 4pp
• 1/4 pint ss milk - 2pp

Lunch:

• 1/2 packet couscous - 5pp
• 15g sultanas - 1pp
• Fruit salad (homemade consisting of strawberries, grapes and blueberries) - 0pp

Dinner:

• Oven cooked chicken breast - 4pp
• 80g (dried weight) pasta - 8pp
• 1/6 jar red pesto - 3pp

Snacks:

• 1 apple - 0pp
• Malteaser bunny - 4pp
• Packet of Snack a Jack Crunchy Curls - 2pp
• 1 sunrice crunchy square - 2pp
• 35g white chocolate buttons - 5pp
• 2 chocolate and hazelnut wafers - 5pp

TOTAL - 45pp out of 29pp - 16 weekly points used

Friday:

Breakfast:

• 40g muesli - 4pp
• 1/4 pint ss milk - 2pp

Lunch:

• Jacket potato with tuna & sweetcorn - 14pp

Dinner:

• Sweet & sour king prawns with noodles - 14pp

Snacks:

• Strawberries - 0pp
• Packet of Velvet Crunch - 2pp
• 46g bar of Galaxy - 7pp
• 2 sunrice crunchy square - 5pp
• 2 chocolate and hazelnut wafers - 5pp

TOTAL - 53pp out of 29pp - 24 weekly points used

This leaves me with 9 weekly points for the rest of the week, which isn't too bad as I'm still trying to use my weeklies by the end of the weekend so I have Monday and Tuesday just on my 29pp per day.  

Off to Zumba this morning and as long as its not raining tomorrow morning I shall be back on track with my C25K (up to session W2D2, missed last weeks as I was very VERY achy from moving furniture around all day on the Friday).  

Oh and not sure if you guys have seen these but I found them in Superdrug this week:

Only 2pp per pack and very tasty (I prefer them to the usual Snack a Jacks to be honest, loads more flavour).  Enjoy :o)

WI - Wednesday 23rd February 2011

Managed to loose another 2lbs!  Go me :o)  This brings me down to 11st 11lbs which is great.  Was looking through my card with my leader at class and we worked out that the lowest I have weighed in at is 11st 8lbs which was last summer, since then my weight has bounced around but I think with ProPoints I may actually be able to break out of this cycle which excites me!  

Butternut Squash Lunch for only 2PP!

I saw on the WW message boards a couple of weeks ago that someone had done a stuffed butternut squash and the only thing you need to point is the cheese on top!  So as I have been off work today I thought I would give it a go - here is how it went:

Cut the butternut squash in half length ways, scoop out the seeds, spray a couple of sprays of frylight (not necessary - I only used 1 spray, from a height!), put on a baking tray and roast for about 30-40 mins (until soft):

Before you take the butternut squash out of the oven chop up some 0pp veg (I opted for some onion, garlic, red pepper and mushrooms) and heated through on the hob (I didn't use any oil, just kept stirring):

Take the squash out of the oven, scoop out the flesh and mash it together with the veg and then place it all back into shell of the squash:

I then added some cheese - mine worked out as 2pp as it was a pre-sliced packet from Aldi (gouda cheese):

Put the tray back in the oven for 20 mins, remove, plate up and enjoy!

I have to say it was lush!  And filling which is great :o) 

WI - Wednesday 16th February 2011

Another pound off :o)  Down to 11st 13lbs, 1lb away from getting back to my 2st loss which is great.  I worked out earlier that to get to my goal of 10 and a half stone I have 20lbs left to loose - not too bad I guess!!

Just watching the 'The Big Fat Truth about Low Fat Foods' on catch-up and it is shocking how bad those processed foods are for you!  I mean I knew that they had higher levels of salt in them but the way they made the woman feel was shocking!  Glad I enjoy cooking, spurs me on a bit more to make sure I'm eating decent fresh food.  To be honest I must say I'm not snacking as much since I have been on ProPoints and I think it is because I'm eating healthier.

Anyway, lets hope this week goes well and I manage another loss at WI next week :o)

Week so far...

... has been a mixed bag I guess.  Had a major sweet tooth on Thursday so ended up using 16 of my weekly points!  I'm putting it down to TOTM and it seems to be under control now (although I could happily munch my way through a huge bar of milky bar right now!).  Menu's for last couple of days have been:

Thursday:

Breakfast:

• 40g Swiss style muesli - 4pp
• 1/4 pint ss milk - 2pp

Lunch:

• Jacket potato with tuna, sweetcorn and red onion - 14pp

Dinner:

• Fish pie (Aldi) - 9pp
• Veg - 0pp

Snacks:

• Mullerlight - vanilla with chocolate sprinkles - 2pp
• 2 curly wurlys - 6pp
• 1 apple - 0pp
• 1 sunrice crunchy square - 2pp

TOTAL - 45pp out of 29pp - 16 weekly points used

Friday:

Breakfast:

• 40g Swiss style muesli - 4pp
• 1/4 pint ss milk - 2pp

Lunch:

• 1/2 packet couscous - 5pp
• 15g sultanas - 1pp

Dinner: 

• 2 sausages - 7pp
• Swede mash - 0pp
• Veg - 0pp
• Gravy - 1pp

Snacks:

• 2 apples - 0pp
• 1 M&S banana & honey cake - 3pp
• Strawberries and raspberries - 0pp
• Mullerlight - vanilla & chocolate sprinkles - 2pp
• 1 curly wurly - 3pp
• Options hot chocolate - 1pp

TOTAL - 29pp out of 29pp

Saturday:

Breakfast:

• 3 crumpets - 6pp
• 10g chocolate spread - 2pp

Lunch:

• 2 slices of toast and marmalade - 7pp
• 100g fat free Greek yogurt - 1pp
• 20g Swiss style muesli - 2pp
• Strawberries and raspberries - 0pp

Dinner:

• Homemade beef & veg stew - 5pp
• 1 bread roll - 4pp

Snacks:

• 1 square of M&S banana and honey cake - 3pp

TOTAL - 30pp out of 29pp - 1 weekly point used

So not too bad really, have 32 of my weekly points left which is great as heading to Pizza Express tomorrow with Stew for an early valentines dinner - already decided to have my favourites, bruschetta to start, Padana pizza for mains and cheesecake with ice cream for dessert - yummy!  These add up to 49 points which leaves me with 12 points for the rest of the day, totally doable :o)  

On the exercise front I did my zumba class this morning and plan on doing my W2D1 session of the C25K programme in the morning.  May also try and squeeze some boxing in on Monday night with Stew as last week this seemed to do me some good. 

WI - Wednesday 9th February 2011

Well it appears that eating every single one of my daily and weekly points helps me loose weight!  When I weighed in this evening I had lost 1.5lbs!  Which means I am down to 12st exactly which is in the right direction :o)  I am glad I had a loss this week, think I may have cried if I had another gain!

On another subject, I have found a fab item of food in M&S this week:

Banana & Honey Cakes - You get 4 individually wrapped squares of cake in the box and each square is 3pp each (as you can see on the photo I have a habit writing the PP's on everything!) - and the cake is yummy!  Nice as a yummy little sweet snack :o)

Well, I must go and have some dinner as very hungry, hope you have all had a good week!!

Saturday is done and dusted

Really pushed myself at Zumba yesterday and this morning have woken up with a couple of aches, not that I'm complaining but I guess that means I did go 'the extra mile' so to speak :o)  Gonna head out soon and do my C25K W1D3 jog, still impressed that I'm carrying on with it (the old me - well last year me - would have given up on this by now!  Especially as its still a bit chili outside and I usually only head out in the cold with numerous layers of clothes, coats, scarfs and gloves!) 

Food for yesterday was as follows:

Breakfast:

• 3 crumpets - 6pp
• 10g chocolate spread - 2pp

Lunch:

• Mixed veg noodles - 6pp

Dinner:

• 2 haddock and broccoli fishbakes (Aldi) - 10pp
• 1/2 packet couscous - 5pp

Snacks:

• 1 apple - 0pp
• Packet ready salted crisps (Aldi multi-pack) - 3pp
• 2 chocolate and hazelnut wafers (Aldi) - 5pp

TOTAL - 37pp out of 29pp - 8 weekly points used

This leaves me with 8 weekly points left which I plan to eat today leaving me with the rest of the week on 29pp per day.  

I'm also planning to make some soup today - when my monthly pass turned up last week the recipe actually took my fancy - Butternut Squash, Red Pepper and Soft Cheese Soup - I'll post the recipe and my verdict later today :o) 

The weekend has landed

Think I have almost snapped out of my WW funk, yesterday I have an inner dialogue going for most of the day where I told myself I just need to stick to the plan, eat all of my points for the week and see what happens at WI on Wednesday - I have therefore planned to have all of my weekly points eaten by the end of Sunday so I have 2 days of 29 points on Monday and Tuesday to help settle everything down (and if it doesn't work at least I can't be told that I'm not eating enough!).  

Menu for Friday looked like this:

Breakfast:

• 2 slices of brown toast with jam - 7pp
• 1 apple - 0pp

Lunch:

• 1/3 of a large tub of reduced fat hummus (M&S) - 6pp
• 2 M&S pitta bread - 8pp

Dinner:

• Homemade chili - 7pp
• 70g (dried weight) rice - 7pp

Snacks:

• 3 clementines - 0pp
• 2 chocolate & hazelnut wafers (Aldi) - 5pp

TOTAL - 40pp out of 29pp - 11 weekly points used

This leaves me with 16 weekly points left for the weekend, more than enough :o)  

Off to Zumba soon, really looking forward to it, I have noticed that now I have more of an idea with the routines that I can put more effort in - last week my leg muscles did ache a bit on Sunday from the higher intensity!

WI - Wednesday 2nd February 2011

WI did not go well again this week - even after I tracked everything and gained a few exercise points I still managed to gain another half pound which puts me up to 12st 1.5lbs :o(  I wasn't weighed by my leader Karen this week but was weighed by another lady who was helping out (as our group is still swamped with the post-Christmas weight loss rush) and she saw the disappointment on my face (couldn't hide it this week!) - she tried to make me feel better by saying I might not be eating enough, am I sure I'm weighing my portions, etc, etc, the only way she managed to move me on was to say I should fill in an extra tracker during the week and if I gain again next WI they can go through it with me to make sure I'm not missing anything - it is safe to say I'm still feeling low about it, have managed to demolish 100g of Dairy Milk with Caramel this evening (still pointed and written on my tracker), hoping I'll snap out of it tomorrow!

Anyway, on my way into work this morning I popped into Tesco as I needed something for breakfast (ran out of weetabix at home) and I saw this:

It appears Oat So Simple have released a non-microwave version which is fab for people like me who do not have a microwave at work (our kitchen is tiny!) - I got the golden syrup version and it worked out as 6pp for the pot.  All you need to do is add boiling water, stir, leave for a minute, stir again and then eat - it was ok, not as nice as when I have made it with the usual packets and semi-skimmed milk (the pot has skimmed milk powder as part of the dry mixture within the pot) but it did the job.  Rest of my food for today was:

Breakfast:

• Oat so Simple pot - golden syrup flavour - 6pp

Lunch:

• 2 M&S pita bread - 8pp
• 1/3 of a large tub of reduced fat hummus from M&S - 6pp

Dinner:

• M&S Simply Fuller Longer Paella - 12pp

Snacks:

• 1 apple - 0pp
• 1 chocolate mini bite - 3pp
• 1 chocolate and hazelnut wafer (Aldi) - 3pp
• 100g Dairy Milk with Caramel - 13pp

TOTAL - 51pp out of 29pp - 22 weekly points used

The night before WI....

... and I don't feel like I have lost anything this week!  Its times like this that I am glad I do not have a set of scales in the house because I would be OCD about keep checking my weight!  I know I have stuck to the plan this week, I have 16 of my weekly points remaining so I should have lost at least a little.  Menus for last two days looked like this:

Monday:

Breakfast:

• 2 weetabix - 3pp
• 1/4 pint ss milk - 2pp

Lunch:

• 1/2 packet of couscous - 5pp
• 15g sultanas - 1pp
• Packet of bacon fries (Aldi) - 2pp

Dinner:

• Pork steaks - 5pp
• 200g new potatoes - 4pp
• Veg - 0pp
• Gravy - 1pp

Snacks:

• 2 bananas - 0pp
• 3 clementines - 0pp
• Mullerlight - Vanilla with chocolate sprinkles - 2pp
• 2 chocolate and hazelnut wafers (Aldi) - 5pp

TOTAL - 30pp out of 29pp -  1 weekly point used

Tuesday:

Breakfast:

• 2 weetabix - 3pp
• 1/4 pint ss milk - 2pp

Lunch:

• 1/2 packet couscous - 5pp
• 15g sultanas - 1pp
• Packet of salt & vinegar sticks (Aldi) - 2pp

Dinner:

• Haddock fillet - 4pp
• 50g (dried) rice - 5pp
• Butternut squash - 0pp
• Veg - 0pp

Snacks:

• 2 bananas - 0pp
• 3 clementines - 0pp
• Mullerlight - vanilla with chocolate sprinkles - 2pp
• 2 chocolate and hazelnut wafers (Aldi) - 5pp

TOTAL - 29pp out of 29pp

Fingers crossed for tomorrow evening - will let you know how I get on :o)

C25K - Week 1, Day 2

Went out this morning in the cold (had to wear my gloves and about 4 layers of clothes!) and did my second session - and I must say it was easier than last week!  I found that I wasn't as tired and my breathing was better :o)  As long as it keeps going this way I will be a happy bunny - looking forward to the mornings/evenings getting lighter so I can do the three sessions a week that the plan suggests, just not comfortable running in the dark with my headphones in...

On track for today, just had my weetabix and currently munching my way through some clementines before we head off for the weekly food shop.  Planning to make a chili for tonight's dinner and will pick something up for lunch (not too sure what to have though, will find inspiration in Aldi's hopefully!).

Week so far...

... has gone well (I think!) - I'm still tracking everything that passes my lips and I went to my Zumba class this morning so earned 5 activity points.  Menus for Friday and today are as follows:

Friday:

Breakfast:

• 2 weetabix - 3pp
• 1/4 pint ss milk - 2pp

Lunch:

• Jacket potato with tuna, sweetcorn and mayo - 14pp

Dinner:

• Haddock fillet - 4pp
• 1/2 packet of couscous - 5pp
• Butternut squash - 0pp
• Broccoli - 0pp

Snacks:

• 2 bananas - 0pp
• 3 clementines - 0pp
• 1 digestive biscuit - 2pp
• 1 onion ring - 1pp
• Homemade chocolate and banana bread pudding - 5pp

TOTAL - 36pp out of 29pp -  7 weekly points used

Saturday:

Breakfast:

• 3 clementines - 0pp
• 2 toast and marmalade - 6pp

Lunch:

• Chicken shish - 10pp

Dinner:

• 225g chicken breast - 6pp
• Homemade sauce with onion, garlic, mushroom and 150mls reduced fat creme fraiche - 7pp
• 70g (dried weight) pasta - 7pp

TOTAL - 36pp out of 29pp -  5 activity points and 2 weekly points used

Planning to do W1D2 of the C25K programme tomorrow morning (as long as its not raining).  With 21 of my weekly points remaining I should stay on track until WI on Wednesday evening :o)

I did it!! W1D1 of C25K - Woop!

I actually did it! I managed W1D1 of the C25K programme! This is a big achievement for me for 2 reasons

1. I'm not a runner, never have been and always assumed I never would be; and
2. I didn't give up after my first attempt! I went back out there and pushed myself!

When I finished the last of the jogging segments I had the biggest smile on my face – anyone who saw me probably thought I was a bit crazy but I really don't care!

While I was walking home from the park this morning I was thinking about why I have started to push myself more – to be honest I'm really not too sure what it is. I think it could be a combination of the following things:

• Age – now I know I'm not old, 27 is a good age and I still feel like I did when I was 20. But a lot of people I know have been settling down and having kids and since my best friend had her little girl (18 months ago) I feel like I'm getting to that point where I would like to have kids soon. Due to this I guess I want to make sure my body is ready and it is widely known that if you are an overweight woman it can potentially cause issues if you become pregnant (I think at my current weight I would be ok but I wouldn't really want to wait and see – I should point out that I can be slightly neurotic and once an idea is in my head it is very difficult to shift it!)
  
  

• 

  L-R - Me, Kelly and Claire at Kelly's Wedding  (Nov. 2010)

  Image – this probably happens to most women but the image of myself I see in the mirror always seems different in photos. When I get ready for a night out I usually think I look good (unless I'm having a 'fat' day in which case it doesn't matter what I wear I just won't be happy with it!) - but once the evening is done and I'm home and look at photo's that have been taken (the joy of camera phones and facebook!) I always think 'oh my god, what the hell happened!'. The main issue is being the 'bigger' friend in the group which I go out with most often – I always seem to look huge in comparison, probably because they are both in the 9 stone bracket and I'm around the 12 stone mark. 
   
• Health and fitness – my fitness levels are not great, and this was proven to me towards the end of last year when the lift at work was broken for over a week, having to walk up to the 6^th floor really got my heart rate up and made me out of breath, not good at all! 
   
• Goal – over the years I have done numerous diets and eating plans but I have never gotten to a goal weight (for one reason or another I have abandoned which ever plan I have been on and never got back into it). This really bugs me and I want to prove to myself that I can actually get to within my healthy weight range and stay there.

There probably are other reasons which I didn't have chance to think about on the 10 minute walk home but these are the main ones for now. So I have decided this year I will get to goal and I will increase my fitness levels so I am at a reasonable level for my age.

I think I'm doing quite well so far for 2011 (I know we are not even at the end of January yet!) - in addition to my triumph this morning I also did my Zumba class yesterday morning. I currently have 18 of my weekly points left (Stew and I went to Wagamama's on Friday, chicken katsu curry and duck gyoza are my downfall! Plus the Mojito I had added 6 extra points to my meal – totally worth it) and I have planned most of this weeks dinners so I should only have my 29 daily points until weigh-in on Wednesday evening.

Hope you are all having a good week

WI - Wednesday 19th January 2011

So had WI this evening and managed to loose 1lb - YAY!  Down to 12st 0.5lbs which is great - especially as I'm pretty sure I went over my weekly allowance last Thursday night and it was my TOTM last week (on the old plan I either gained or STS around my TOTM).  All in all I'm very pleased with myself :o)  

Hope you all do well this week, I'm off to have a couple of celebratory squares of chocolate :o)