WI - Wednesday 18th May 2011

Well this last week I seem to have done my fair amount of comfort eating which is not good.  Work is stressing me out big time and I think I may need to start looking for something else because I don't need these feeling following me around, not healthy for me physically or mentally.

Despite the comfort food I actually managed to loose half a pound at WI this week, this brings me down to 11st 10.5lbs so at least its going in the right direction :o)

Still sticking to the simply filling method as it seems to fit with my life at the moment and I must admit I have more energy (most of the time at least) which is great.  

Lets see what this week brings!

WI - Wednesday 4th May 2011

Surprisingly I managed a half pound loss :o)  Was very happy considering I was only on track for Tuesday and Wednesday, clearly wasn't as bad as I thought!

Been on track all this week so hoping for another loss this coming Wednesday, fingers crossed :D

WI – Wednesday 27th April 2011

In a word – disaster!  Scales showed a gain of 3lbs which takes me back up to 11st 11.5lbs which just sucks.

I walked out of WI and I was really p*ssed off, and I realised how much of a control freak I am with my food.  Let me break it down:

• If I had gained due to my own decision to not stick to the plan then I would have been slightly annoyed with myself but would have picked it back up from today (Thursday) – this is mainly due to it being my decision to eat the wrong foods, so no one else to blame apart from myself.
• As the mother-in-law has been with us since last Saturday (and not leaving us till this Saturday morning) I have basically been kicked out of my kitchen and we have had 4 meals out as well (including a mega Chinese meal, a café breakfast and an Indian meal).  I appreciate the reasons why she likes to indulge in these meals as she cannot get the same out in Cyprus (where she lives) and it is nice that she wants to do the cooking while me and Stew are at work – I don’t want to sound like a spoilt brat however I have not had much of a say in what we eat since Saturday and although I like the food I have eaten I now feel extremely blotted, I haven’t been to the loo properly for the last few days (sorry to share that!) and my skin is starting to suffer as I seem to be having a mini outbreak of spots.  I think the thing which has bugged me the most is that the meals we have had at home have not been in anyway WW friendly – yesterday for example was sheppard’s pie with the most mash potato and cheese on top I have ever seen, and I was presented with a huge plateful – I admit I didn’t help myself as I ate the whole thing but this was mainly down to me feeling ‘what’s the point’ and also not wanting her to feel that I didn’t like it and therefore throwing questions at me or trying to feed me up with chocolate or cake or something.  Tonight we have beef stroganoff made with lashings of cream and a huge mound of rice to go with it – potentially a pudding as well if Tesco’s was ventured to today, woop!
• Another thing I realised after WI was that I only really trust a few people to cook for me and actually take my considerations into account – these are Stew, my mum and my best friend Nikki – no one else seems to really take it seriously that I’m trying to make a permanent life-style change. 

To be honest, after WI I wasn’t surprised or shocked by my result, I hadn’t had the opportunity to stick to the plan and gave up writing down my food by Sunday night.

I know I will get back on track on Saturday and already have a mental list of food to get in the shopping, etc.  Even a BBQ at my mum’s on Sunday won’t put me off track as I’m going to be following the SF method and therefore can work my way round it :o)  I’m more concerned about Stew – he has been tracking his calories for the last 2 months and was close to his 1 stone loss mark!  The sad thing is he told his mum all about it and she didn’t seem interested (which upset me as I’m so proud of him!) and every meal he has been told ‘well its only a one off, don’t worry about it’ – helpful!  Safe to say this week has thrown him off completely, I just hope he can get back on track on Saturday as well (fingers and toes crossed!)  

Anyway, rant over (hopefully it is out of my system now!) – roll on Saturday (Zumba class in the morning to get me even more motivated!)

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 16th March 2011

Just a quick update on how WI went, managed to loose 2lbs which is good and means I’m back on track :o)  Been really busy for the past week or so hence the lack of posts and this short one but hoping to have some time to myself this weekend to chill, relax and take some time to contemplate how things are going :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.

Self Sabotage...

Even though as I typed my last post I was sure I would leave my binge eating to one side but it didn't work out this way – and I think this morning I have worked out why.......

I knew I wasn't getting weighed this week so I lost all focus

So simple and straight forward but also slightly pathetic I feel. If I can't keep control for one week without getting weighed how am I going to cope when I finally get to goal and start maintenance?! Guess that's a bridge I need to cross when I get there (to be honest focusing on getting to goal is hard enough!).

So, last week I get an email from some of the girls I worked with at my old job and the only night we could all make was Wednesday (last night). At the time I thought “I'll be fine, I usually have a treat after WI anyway so this will just be the same just without the WW meeting first”. Then work stress lead me to have chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate and I just lost it (and my skin is showing me why I cannot eat like this long term, an outbreak of spots is not nice and can snap a girl out of it!) Turns out our meal out last night was very mellow and between the 4 of us we only had 2 jugs of sangria and loads of food left over (We had a set menu, forgot it came with paella as it turned up 15 mins after the other food so I even took most of the paella home with me for Stew to have for his lunch today as it seemed such a waste to leave it!).

All in all today is my first day back on plan. I feel focused, I feel motivated and I also have today and tomorrow off work (new bed and exercise bike being delivered today – woop) which means I will not be tempted to have any sweets, cakes or biscuits which may appear in the office kitchen over the next few days!

As well as the exercise bike (which is actually Stew's but I'm going to try and steal it a few times a week!) my copy of '30 day shred' turned up yesterday – I have seen so many people rave about this on the WW message boards that I just have to give it a go. Usually I'm not a fitness DVD kind of girl but I do love Jillian on The Biggest Loser USA and 20 mins a day can't be that difficult..... watch this space! 

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.