It appears I've been slacking on the Slimming World blog side of things. Fortunately this isn't true in real life as I have now called target :)
I reached a point where I was 2lbs above target, and had been maintaining it for a number of weeks. During these weeks I had enjoyed the odd treat, but kept it balanced with my usual Slimming World meals (which are now a part of my life anyway!). I decided that if I could enjoy my treats and still maintain that weight, then maybe that was the weight I was destined to be. So I called it. I felt bad on the night, feeling like I'd cheated, but I now feel a lot more comfortable with it. When I got home, I got all my tins out of my cupboard that added up to my weight loss, then held them in carrier bags. I was AMAZED, and really proud of myself. My BMI is perfect, I feel great, and I've started buying new clothes (which is a whole other story....).
I've also now joined the gym. My new found confidence means that I'm happy to go and work out with other people (although I may be thinner I'm still extremely unfit), as now I need to focus in on shaping my body to be how I'd like it (hint of a six pack, no bingo wings, dreaming big!). I've also tried treadmill for the first time EVER. I don't run, never have and probably never will, but I love walking. So I walk on the treadmill. I vary speed and gradient so that it is a good workout (otherwise why don't I just walk round the block loads of times?!) I've heard people say it before but never really understood it, but I now get 'in the zone'. As long as theres something decent on TV or on my iPod, I can literally walk on the treadmill for half an hour and not feel like I'm exercising. My heart rate is up, but I just don't notice. I love it! My OH has also joined with me, so we now have date night at the gym!
In terms of easter and Slimming World, thats not been so good. I need to get back on track, and will be writing my syns down. I've also been making excuses about going to get weighed, so haven't been for nearly 2 weeks, and don't plan to go this week. I will have a sneaky weigh in at the gym to see how much hard work I do need to do, and will resume normal service from next week.
No new recipes tried recently, but I am planning to do at least one a week (I already love the recipes I've tried and tend to stick with them, but do need to be more adventurous I know), so will post when I've tried :)
Monday, 9 April 2012
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
A New Week...A New Set of Syns!
Tuesday nights = weigh in. Last nights result = 3lbs off :)
However, I am fully aware that it may be a 'red herring' so to speak, as I didn't eat before getting weighed (following my theory in my earlier post) and all my water retention had to have gone. So I'm treating it as more of a fresh start.
This week will be tough....I have 'hungry' weeks where for the whole week I could eat and eat and eat. Even if I've eaten the same things as the week before they just don't fill me up at all, so I really struggle. I've decided that on these weeks I'll have a superspeed week; so double the veg and the healthy extras, which seems to be working so far.
Group was way way too busy to stay last night (plus I was starving from not being used to not eating beforehand) but it occurred to me people new to the plan may need some tips...
However, I am fully aware that it may be a 'red herring' so to speak, as I didn't eat before getting weighed (following my theory in my earlier post) and all my water retention had to have gone. So I'm treating it as more of a fresh start.
This week will be tough....I have 'hungry' weeks where for the whole week I could eat and eat and eat. Even if I've eaten the same things as the week before they just don't fill me up at all, so I really struggle. I've decided that on these weeks I'll have a superspeed week; so double the veg and the healthy extras, which seems to be working so far.
Group was way way too busy to stay last night (plus I was starving from not being used to not eating beforehand) but it occurred to me people new to the plan may need some tips...
- If you are a sweet person, sugar free jelly may well be the way to go. It's 2 syns per pint, from which I get 6 portions, so I deem the syn value to be bare minimum so don't count. What I've also been doing (which my mum thinks is disgusting and I don't know why) is getting Onken Fat Free Strawberry Yoghurt, extra light Philadelphia (2nd healthy extra) and whipping that together (to taste and within limits), then putting that with the jelly. It becomes a cheesecake/trifle combination so you do feel like you're having a proper dessert.
- Tinned tomatoes are amazing. FACT. Have them on a cooked breakfast, as the base of a pasta sauce, as a base of a curry, etc etc etc.
- If you can't give up the chocolate, get the fun size varieties. You may feel short changed, particularly if you're used to the full size bars, BUT ultimately you want to lose weight and can't do it if you carry on the way you have been. Your body will learn that the smaller sizes are enough to curb those cravings.
- SPARKLING FLAVOURED WATER!!! If you can't give up the fizzy drinks/can't abide diet varieties, this is the way to go. Supermarket own work out at fantastic value, usually with buy 4 for £1 (or something equally fab), and the lemon and lime varieties can be used as a lemonade replacement for those sneaky alcohol drinks, so in my case Pimms & Lemonade! And most, if not all, are syn free!
- Storage tubs & containers. You can never have too many! Whether its making batches of soup or for leftovers, make sure you have plenty in! Just don't do what me and my mum do and fill too many, put in freezer, then forget what they are! Freezer surprise anyone?
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
First Weigh In of 2012
As I was away for Christmas, my weigh in days got a little bit messed up, which meant today was my first weigh in of 2012.
At my weigh in after Christmas, I'd lost 0.5lbs, which I was amazed with, but did attribute to time of day as I do usually get weighed on a Tuesday after a full day of food, including tea before I go.
Before today I'd said to the OH that I felt lighter and that I had lost this week. However, the monthly visitor appeared, and I'm starting to notice a pattern with it.
I gained 2lbs at weigh in. Grr. BUT, I feel lighter (when I'm not quite so bloated) and in the weeks that follow I do lose. I'm also not craving sweets or snacks as I still feel like I'm getting over being away and feeling generally rubbish from all the crap I'm eating, so going for a nice 3lbs this week and the week after, which WILL get me to target.
It does just leave me with a couple of questions though....are other people affected in the same way I am?
And.. do other people get weighed after eating tea? My theory was that if I do it every week, it won't make any difference. However, tonight I had tata hash, and rounded it off with brocolli, cauliflower, sprouts, peas and slimming world chips (just a bit of everything I fancied that was free or superfree really). It occurred to me that the weight of my food on my stomach (eaten about half an hour before I get weighed) could vary somewhat; as there have been some weeks where I've had something like gammon, mushroms and beans. I'm now thinking about not eating my tea beforehand so that it can't vary quite so much. Hmm.
Recipe for tata hash (serves around 4 depending on portion size)
Place beef and onions into a pan, cover in water and bring to the boil.
Whilst meat and onions are coming to boil, prepare carrots, mushrooms, swede/potato and any other veg that will go into your dish.
Then throw (not literally, obviously) all your prepared veg into the pan along with the meat and onion. Ensure there is water covering it all, bring it to the boil again. Add in stock cubes and seasoning.
It is then really up to you how you continue to cook it ; it needs to be kept on a low heat all day. My mum keeps it on the hob, I put it in the slow cooker and it can be put in the oven. Entirely up to you which you prefer.
I have found that as my tastebuds are waking up now, when I sneak a taste before its finished cooking, it does need a bit of something extra. My suggested would be brown sauce (OH prefers to throw it in whilst still cooking; I quite like it on my plate), bovril, gravy granules, etc. Just make sure you syn in whatever you use in it (no matter how 'small' it may be when divided into portions!).
I had a mad craving for some greens tonight (I am weird, yes) so thats why I added in the broccoli, peas, sprouts and cauliflower (I know its not green but you get my drift), but you don't have to; the dish will fill you up.
I also always always always have to have beetroot with it, which is superfree so that's great for me! You can add red cabbage if you prefer that.
Et voila!
Tomorrow is leftover curry, partly due to me needing to free up some of my plastic tubs for some new recipes I want to try, and because theres nothing else in until payday!
At my weigh in after Christmas, I'd lost 0.5lbs, which I was amazed with, but did attribute to time of day as I do usually get weighed on a Tuesday after a full day of food, including tea before I go.
Before today I'd said to the OH that I felt lighter and that I had lost this week. However, the monthly visitor appeared, and I'm starting to notice a pattern with it.
I gained 2lbs at weigh in. Grr. BUT, I feel lighter (when I'm not quite so bloated) and in the weeks that follow I do lose. I'm also not craving sweets or snacks as I still feel like I'm getting over being away and feeling generally rubbish from all the crap I'm eating, so going for a nice 3lbs this week and the week after, which WILL get me to target.
It does just leave me with a couple of questions though....are other people affected in the same way I am?
And.. do other people get weighed after eating tea? My theory was that if I do it every week, it won't make any difference. However, tonight I had tata hash, and rounded it off with brocolli, cauliflower, sprouts, peas and slimming world chips (just a bit of everything I fancied that was free or superfree really). It occurred to me that the weight of my food on my stomach (eaten about half an hour before I get weighed) could vary somewhat; as there have been some weeks where I've had something like gammon, mushroms and beans. I'm now thinking about not eating my tea beforehand so that it can't vary quite so much. Hmm.
Recipe for tata hash (serves around 4 depending on portion size)
- 250g lean beef mince or diced beef (I prefer diced in it but only had mince in!)
- 1 onion or 5 shallots
- 3 large carrots
- Mushrooms as desired
- Potatoes as desired (depending on how free vs superfree you want it to be!)
- Swede (which can replace the potatoes - I find it's just as good and keeps it superfree-er!)
- Another other veg - e.g. parsnip, turnip
- Stock cube
Place beef and onions into a pan, cover in water and bring to the boil.
Whilst meat and onions are coming to boil, prepare carrots, mushrooms, swede/potato and any other veg that will go into your dish.
Then throw (not literally, obviously) all your prepared veg into the pan along with the meat and onion. Ensure there is water covering it all, bring it to the boil again. Add in stock cubes and seasoning.
It is then really up to you how you continue to cook it ; it needs to be kept on a low heat all day. My mum keeps it on the hob, I put it in the slow cooker and it can be put in the oven. Entirely up to you which you prefer.
I have found that as my tastebuds are waking up now, when I sneak a taste before its finished cooking, it does need a bit of something extra. My suggested would be brown sauce (OH prefers to throw it in whilst still cooking; I quite like it on my plate), bovril, gravy granules, etc. Just make sure you syn in whatever you use in it (no matter how 'small' it may be when divided into portions!).
I had a mad craving for some greens tonight (I am weird, yes) so thats why I added in the broccoli, peas, sprouts and cauliflower (I know its not green but you get my drift), but you don't have to; the dish will fill you up.
I also always always always have to have beetroot with it, which is superfree so that's great for me! You can add red cabbage if you prefer that.
Et voila!
Tomorrow is leftover curry, partly due to me needing to free up some of my plastic tubs for some new recipes I want to try, and because theres nothing else in until payday!
Monday, 9 January 2012
Day 2 of blog ( I will get more creative, I promise!)
Some people say that being in work makes it really difficult for them to stay on plan. I can see why people would say that, but I am extremely fortunate that I work with a load of blokes, so as soon as any chocolate/cakes/biscuits etc come out, they disappear very quickly.
I do have a confession to make though. I have been really naughty and I am not proud of myself (well I am a bit). Just before Christmas, I bought a tub of Celebrations, with a view of giving them to some of my work colleagues. For whatever reason I never got round to it. So I had them in my house. All over Christmas. Just sat looking at me. I then also got given a tub of Heroes. Again. Sat there. Staring. I also got a big gingerbread man. Having extraordinary willpower, of which I have shocked and amazed myself with, I left nearly all alone (apart from the Galaxy's from the Celebrations - it was Christmas after all) and proceeded to take them in to work one at a time. We finally said goodbye to the gingerbread man today :) Whilst I am extremely proud of myself on the one hand, I know that inflicting my chocolate and gingerbread man onto other people is extremely seflish and shouldn't be condoned.
Weigh day tomorrow, I hope it's worth it! I'm over on my Syns for the week now, but for some bizarre reason I tend to not use syns on Monday or Tuesdays. It's not a conscious thing, I just tend not to. Maybe its because I tend to finish them off and just have enough...who knows?
Anyway...today has been a good day...although I need to work on my A & Bs more. I don't eat much in the way of cheese, and don't drink tea or coffee (or milk straight from a glass) so that leaves me to have it with breakfast. However, I'm one of those people who stays in bed until the last possible minute, get up and straight out. I've been having a hifi bar for my breakfast (in keeping with the kitkat) over the last few days...every now and again I do have my weetabix and milk, which I do enjoy...but it's just dragging myself out of my pit! I even set 3 seperate alarms this morning and no joke, there was one going off every minute after all the snoozes I did!!
For lunch I had a portion of slimming world curry and basmati rice, then for tea I've had a pork steak thing with stir fry (fry light style) veg including mushroom, carrot, pepper, cabbage and bean sprouts. My only issue with stir fry is that I never feel really full from it, but luckily I have leftovers that I can have later if I get peckish.
Another day done :)
I'm going to start putting pictures up of my meals along with recipes. I've already done tomorrow's tea; potato hash - Slimming World style.
See you tomorrow !
I do have a confession to make though. I have been really naughty and I am not proud of myself (well I am a bit). Just before Christmas, I bought a tub of Celebrations, with a view of giving them to some of my work colleagues. For whatever reason I never got round to it. So I had them in my house. All over Christmas. Just sat looking at me. I then also got given a tub of Heroes. Again. Sat there. Staring. I also got a big gingerbread man. Having extraordinary willpower, of which I have shocked and amazed myself with, I left nearly all alone (apart from the Galaxy's from the Celebrations - it was Christmas after all) and proceeded to take them in to work one at a time. We finally said goodbye to the gingerbread man today :) Whilst I am extremely proud of myself on the one hand, I know that inflicting my chocolate and gingerbread man onto other people is extremely seflish and shouldn't be condoned.
Weigh day tomorrow, I hope it's worth it! I'm over on my Syns for the week now, but for some bizarre reason I tend to not use syns on Monday or Tuesdays. It's not a conscious thing, I just tend not to. Maybe its because I tend to finish them off and just have enough...who knows?
Anyway...today has been a good day...although I need to work on my A & Bs more. I don't eat much in the way of cheese, and don't drink tea or coffee (or milk straight from a glass) so that leaves me to have it with breakfast. However, I'm one of those people who stays in bed until the last possible minute, get up and straight out. I've been having a hifi bar for my breakfast (in keeping with the kitkat) over the last few days...every now and again I do have my weetabix and milk, which I do enjoy...but it's just dragging myself out of my pit! I even set 3 seperate alarms this morning and no joke, there was one going off every minute after all the snoozes I did!!
For lunch I had a portion of slimming world curry and basmati rice, then for tea I've had a pork steak thing with stir fry (fry light style) veg including mushroom, carrot, pepper, cabbage and bean sprouts. My only issue with stir fry is that I never feel really full from it, but luckily I have leftovers that I can have later if I get peckish.
Another day done :)
I'm going to start putting pictures up of my meals along with recipes. I've already done tomorrow's tea; potato hash - Slimming World style.
See you tomorrow !
Sunday, 8 January 2012
Day One of Blog
So...this is blogging!
Well, thank you for dropping by. I'm Anne, I'm 23 and currently following Slimming World's extra easy plan. To look at me, you'd probably wonder why. I'm around 5ft2, and very petite, with a relatively large chest thrown into the mix.
I'm not going to pretend I've got it half as hard as those people who have got multiple stones to lose. Nowhere close. However, because I am so petite, I literally feel every pound gained on my body. I suppose its like the way women look at hair...if you have fine, straight hair, you want full, wavy hair or vice versa (for the record I have full wavy hair). I wish I wasn't petite, I just wish I was normal (whatever that is!). I have never EVER bought a pair of pants that fitted me perfectly without adjustment.
I'm also an eater when I'm happy. At one point my partner and I were having a takeout pizza every 10 days or so as a 'treat', whilst having take out at the weekend anyway, just because.
I've always been quite good when I gain weight; I recognise and acknowledge it quite quickly. It's the 'doing something about it' bit I've struggled with. When I first started working, it became the norm to have a kitkat and Irn Bru for breakfast, then fast food for lunch.
I started Weight Watchers 18 months after starting work, after slowly piling the pounds on. I think I did well to make it to 18 months really. A colleague and I joined together in January, as did about 100 other people. We got the books and were really excited. However, it soon became clear that it was point watching and to me, a different way of calorie counting. I then got quite poorly and that was the end of that. I'd got to half a stone by that point and felt really good about it, but it took me ages to get eating normally again. I half heartedly went back to it when I recovered but never really got there. I then convinced myself that as I was within my BMI limits (albeit in the top end just before crossover) I was fine.
I tried again this year, but just online, before I went away and again it was only half heartedly.
Then, in September 2011, I discovered Slimming World and changed my life :) Loads of girls at work were raving about it. I was hmming about it until my mum talked about it. So we joined together. It was strange really to think about it....when I was little on of the drawers in the fridge was dedicated to chocolate, and there were always fizzy drinks available, and yet we never got fat. But the lifestyle itself wasn't good and completely unsustainable.
So far I've done well; losing 10.5lbs, with the odd gain here and there. I have worked hard but also been very lucky on weeks where I was expecting a gain, but found a maintain or a loss. Our bodies work in mysterious ways. However, now I'm on the home straight its getting so much harder. That's why I've written this blog. Knowing there are people (potentially) watching me, looking to me for encouragement, I know will force me into getting there.
Well, thank you for dropping by. I'm Anne, I'm 23 and currently following Slimming World's extra easy plan. To look at me, you'd probably wonder why. I'm around 5ft2, and very petite, with a relatively large chest thrown into the mix.
I'm not going to pretend I've got it half as hard as those people who have got multiple stones to lose. Nowhere close. However, because I am so petite, I literally feel every pound gained on my body. I suppose its like the way women look at hair...if you have fine, straight hair, you want full, wavy hair or vice versa (for the record I have full wavy hair). I wish I wasn't petite, I just wish I was normal (whatever that is!). I have never EVER bought a pair of pants that fitted me perfectly without adjustment.
I'm also an eater when I'm happy. At one point my partner and I were having a takeout pizza every 10 days or so as a 'treat', whilst having take out at the weekend anyway, just because.
I've always been quite good when I gain weight; I recognise and acknowledge it quite quickly. It's the 'doing something about it' bit I've struggled with. When I first started working, it became the norm to have a kitkat and Irn Bru for breakfast, then fast food for lunch.
I started Weight Watchers 18 months after starting work, after slowly piling the pounds on. I think I did well to make it to 18 months really. A colleague and I joined together in January, as did about 100 other people. We got the books and were really excited. However, it soon became clear that it was point watching and to me, a different way of calorie counting. I then got quite poorly and that was the end of that. I'd got to half a stone by that point and felt really good about it, but it took me ages to get eating normally again. I half heartedly went back to it when I recovered but never really got there. I then convinced myself that as I was within my BMI limits (albeit in the top end just before crossover) I was fine.
I tried again this year, but just online, before I went away and again it was only half heartedly.
Then, in September 2011, I discovered Slimming World and changed my life :) Loads of girls at work were raving about it. I was hmming about it until my mum talked about it. So we joined together. It was strange really to think about it....when I was little on of the drawers in the fridge was dedicated to chocolate, and there were always fizzy drinks available, and yet we never got fat. But the lifestyle itself wasn't good and completely unsustainable.
So far I've done well; losing 10.5lbs, with the odd gain here and there. I have worked hard but also been very lucky on weeks where I was expecting a gain, but found a maintain or a loss. Our bodies work in mysterious ways. However, now I'm on the home straight its getting so much harder. That's why I've written this blog. Knowing there are people (potentially) watching me, looking to me for encouragement, I know will force me into getting there.
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