Weigh in update

I have started back on my weight loss journey, again! I have gained back 1 1/2 stone which means my loss from January 2011 is back to 3 1/2 stone. I have been back on plan for a week and lost 2lbs, so officially 3 stone 9lbs down.

I was hoping it was going to be more and I'm not sure why it wasn't more than that. I ate really well all week, snacks were kept to a minimum and I had one cheat meal of Fish and Chips at the seaside, this in itself is not much to do any damage, just like one good meal a week would not see me lose any weight.

If you are a long time reader of my blog you will know that I do night shifts which can sometimes impact on my eating and weigh in results. Before having Charlotte I would turn my days upside down so breakfast was around 8pm, dinner time at 2am-3am and tea time was at 8am, however, I am unable to do this now. I have to be up a lot earlier in the day to look after Charlotte when Jonathan is in work, therefore, being up many more hours than I would be normally. I am currently on night 2 of 7 of trying to work out a new routine, I'm not completely sure of what I am going to do yet. However, on my desk a bag of fruit and a tub of salad are waiting to be eaten.

Pork with jacket potato, philidelphia and roasted cherry tomatoes

Wanted to share one of my favourite meals to have, this is a really filling evening meal and you get plenty of your veggies included.

For the jacket potato I place in microwave for 5 minutes before transferring to the oven to finish cooking. I topped this with Sweet Chilli Philedelphia

I fried some pork steaks with mushrooms in some frylight.

Boiled some mixed veg.

Roasted some cherry tomatoes in the oven.

Delicious!

Back on the wagon

My baby is now 5 weeks and 1 day old and I have failed miserably at getting back on the dieting wagon. For those of you that don't know I gained 15lbs throughout my pregnancy and then lost 20lbs, however, I have gained 2 of those back. I am still below my pre pregnancy weight but I still have a lot more to lose. My current weightloss is 74lbs (5 stone 4 pounds)

Today is day one of being back on my diet which is loosely based on Slimming World as I don't go to class so have to rely on a lot of the older information that I have but this works for me.

I would like to lose a stone (14lbs) for Christmas which gives me 6 weeks. I am hoping that eating well and getting plenty of walking in with Charlotte will help me get to this target.

A New Direction

After having my consultants appointment and booking in for my Glucose Tolerance Test (test for gestational diabetes) and being told by the nurse she would be surprised if I didn't get it due to having three risk factors I have decided I have to do something to try and prevent it happening or at least be in control of my eating before my test and possible meetings with dietician.

I have been doing a bit of research and have decided that I don't think Slimming World is the best plan for me to follow for managing my sugar levels. Reasons for this are:

• I eat a lot of carbohydrates as I love my green days, now, I am not aiming for low carb or no carb just more sensible choices when choosing what I eat. 
• Portion control is not really part of Slimming World apart from healthy extras and syns
• A lot of foods contain sweeteners i.e. yoghurts

Don't get me wrong I love the Slimming World plan but at this moment in my life I feel it is not going to serve me well. 

I am still at the early stages of my research and a lot of things I have found have been American and I don't know how much 1/2 a cup is and I don't even think I've ever tasted peanut butter! Also, a lot of information I have doesn't give any ideas of portions, just suggestions of what to eat. 

So my new direction is to try and follow a diet suitable for balancing my sugar levels, a plan where I eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, choose my carbs wisely (wholemeal mainly). I am also going to have to seriously limit my chocolate and cakes which have kept me good company for the last few weeks! So all in all I have a lot more to think about before I can put a shopping list together. 

Lastly, I am sorry if you follow this blog for Slimming World, whenever I do meals I will inform of what parts are Slimming World friendly and I am sure most of them will be more or less Slimming World I just need to approach things differently for a while. 

Lamb and Colcannon Pie

I made this last week and it was so good I am definitely going to be eating more colcannon from now on!

Ingredients 
#
Lamb
Onion
Peppers
Garlic
Chopped Tomatoes
1 tbsp Chicken Bovril
Mint
Sat and Pepper
Instant mash
Cabbage
Spring Onion

Method

1. Fry lamb with onions and garlic until brown.
2. Add chopped tomatoes, mint, salt and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Place mixture in oven proof dish and bake on 180 for an hour. I found the mixture when really thick so may be worth adding some water when adding the tomatoes.
4. Make instant mash as directed and add cooked cabbage and chopped spring onion. I also added black pepper and some more mint.
5. Place mash on top of lamb and bake in oven until crispy on the top.

I would have preferred to have real mash but had no potatoes in, if using real mash I suggest adding a egg when mashing to give it a creamy texture. You could always add different vegetables to the sauce, carrots would work well.

Tuna toastie

I made this the other day, I was due a shop so only had a few bits in.

You will need
Wholemeal bread
Tin of tuna
Extra light mayonnaise
Pinch of mustard powder
Chives
Salt and Pepper
Splash of balsamic vinegar
Tomatoes
Pickle
Mixed peppers
Laughing Cow Light triangles

1. Mix tuna with mayonnaise, mustard, chives, salt and pepper and balsamic.
2. Slice the tomato into thick slices and grill or fry in frylight.
3. Toast the bread
4. Spread toast with Laughing Cow Light add layer of peppers, followed by a layer of pickles.
5. Add tuna on top and finish off with grilled tomatoes.

I used two slices of wholemeal bread from a 800g loaf as my two healthy extras on a red day. Usually it's two slices from a 400g loaf but thought one slice from a 800g slice would be the same as two from the 400g.

Weigh in 26/01/2012

I maintained this week which was really unexpected as I had been good with food and upped my water intake (1.5 litres a day) I had also done plenty of walking (at least 21 miles) so I am not sure what has gone wrong.

So the plan for this week is to continue with the good food intake and also continue to drink plenty of water and to continue with my walking. From Thursday I have nine days off work and I plan to get on my bike unless we have ice or snow, if the bike is not possible then the Just Dance workouts will resume.

I had been toying with the idea of joining a gym but it seems a lot of money to spend when I have a bike, my legs and the outdoors.

I am also going to give this local initiative a call to see if they can help me with the exercise part of losing weight. I do struggle with motivation for this as I really hate doing it and am also concerned of people pointing and laughing, which I know shouldn't bother me because really most of the time this is an insecurity in my own mind and no one else even notices me, I ain't that special!!! I did sign up to the initiative before but what they offered me a lot of psychological work which I felt didn't benefit me so hopefully this time I will be able to get something more suited to me, plus I am more motivated to reach my goals this time. Does you locla area have any initiatives? If so have you tried them? What did you think?

Weigh in 19/01/2012

Today's weigh in was good one I lost 2lbs :-) Which takes my total to 67lbs (4 stone 11lbs) which means I am 3lbs away from 5 stone (70lbs) loss, which I think is the first time the stones and lbs reach a milestone together.

This week has definitely been easier with tracking even if it was a little boring having to write everything down I also had moments of panic where I remembered I hadn't written down what I'd just had and made a mad dash for my little skanky playboy notepad!

I am now on my nights until next Wednesday morning at 7 am, i am currently just about to finish my 2nd night so five more to go :-( I usually have a good loss when I do nights as I struggle on my days off. I would really love 3lbs off but would be happy with 2lbs. My plan for the week is lots of walking around the sites that I look after and I am also going to make the Speed soup with some variation, it will probably end up with leek, carrot, onion, spring onion, baked beans, green lentils, tomatoes and mixed beans. This should keep me going until the end of my nights and means that I don't have to faff around before going to work making my breakfast and dinner at the same time.

Hope you are all doing well, as always anything you would like to see or suggest please leave me a comment :-)

Food Diary: 12/01/2011

I have decided to track more after speaking to a friend a couple of nights ago it made me realise I usually just mentally track and I am sure that this is what has slowed some of my weightloss down. So for the next week I am going to put up all of what I eat. As always check the values yourself as I do not go to a Slimming World group.

Breakfast

Shredded wheat with semi skimmed milk

Dinner

Scrambled egg with 6 wholegrain ryvita crackerbread with low fat spread

Snack

Grapes and Weight Watchers Raspberry Tart yoghurt 

Tea


Savoury rice with chopped salad and 1 tablespoon of kraft light garlic and herb dressing


Snack

Cadbury's Fudge


Review of the day


I used 9 syns today

I had only one of my healthy extra A's and both of my B's.

My goals 2012

I know I have already mentioned a few of my New Year's resolutions in my Happy New Year post but last night when I couldn't sleep (thanks Miss Monthly!) I started to think of making goals which in part was inspired by my friend Bert who blogged about his 2012 goals. It got me thinking of the SMART objectives which I'm sure most people have done on some training course, if not it stands for Specific, Measureable, Achieveable, Realistic and Time so with this in mind I wrote down my goals which I will share with you.

1. To lose at least another 4 stone
2. Ride my bike regularly - I am aiming for twice a week
3. Get down to a size 16-18
4. Try new recipes and food

I feel that all these goals fit in with the SMART objective as I can measure each one, they are achieveable, realistic and have the time scale of 2012. The only one I am worried about is the size 16-18 as I am not sure how far away in weight I am from that size as I found that my dress size dropped quickly in the first couple of stones but in the last 2 1/2 it has hardly changed particularly on my bottom half where I carry most of my weight.

For my goals to work I really need to look at where I have been going right and where I have been going wrong. For a start I know my food is good I more often than not stick to plan and always have a range of healthy and filling foods in my kitchen cupboard. I have been going very wrong on the exercise front I took part in the Lifestyle Change Challenge last summer/autumn which is when most of my weight came off and actually I have lost much since I stopped regular exercise.

I think key to making goals work is not making them too unrealistic, I did this often in 2011 which left me not achieving many of the goals that I set myself which in turn leaves me feeling like I haven't achieved anything, which of course isn't true! So what are your goals? How do you plan on achieving them?

Lasagne

Ingredients

Extra lean mince beef
Assorted vegetables, I used peppers, mushrooms and onions
Chopped tomatoes
Spag Bol Oxo Cube
Salt and Pepper
Herbs
Lasagne sheets
1 tin of Heinz Macaroni cheese

1. Fry mince and vegetables until cooked.
2. Add chopped tomatoes, oxo cube, seasoning and herbs and leave to simmer. I also add half a tin of water to stop the sauce drying out too much, this way you can use the left over bits of tomato sauce left in the tin!
3.Begin to layer the bolognese sauce and lasagne sheets.
4. Top with Heinz macaroni cheese.
5. Oven bake until lasagne sheets are cooked.

Just out of the oven

Up close yum!

I served mine with SW chips and salad

This can also be made using quorn if you are on a green day. 

To my knowledge Heinz Macaroni cheese is 1 1/2 syns per 100g, I used a 400g tin meaning for this recipe it was 6 syns and would easily server 2 people. Please always check your own syns as I am no expert! I use this as many moons ago when I first tried Slimming World macaroni cheese was free and I've not found a low syn cheese sauce that's any good, feel free to give me cheese sauce recipes below :-)

Smoked Salmon and Scrambled Eggs

When I went to Lincoln before Christmas I had a lovely meal in the restaurant and my starter was devilled eggs (scrambled) with smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce. It was so gorgeous that I had to make it myself, it wasn't as good obviously but it makes a nice change to have a 'posh' breakfast.

Ingredients
Eggs
Milk
Salt and pepper
Smoked Salmon
Hollandaise Sauce
Spring Onion

1. Whisk together eggs, milk and seasonings. Place in a pan and begin to scramble

2. Place smoked salmon the plate

3. Add scrambled egg, a teaspoon of hollandaise and sprinkle spring onion over the top.

Weigh in 05/01/2012

Weigh in this week was good because I have managed to lose 5lbs which means all Christmas weight is gone and I only have to lose another lb until I  am where I was in the middle of December. I expected the weight to come off quickly as I didn't believe I'd gained much fat (apart from round my face!) I have eaten really well, although not completely on the Slimming World plan as I have been having two healthy extra B's on extra easy instead of one I have eaten plenty of super free foods and drank a lot more water.

Next weeks plans are to finally get onto my bike, I have no idea how far or for how long I can ride but I am hoping that it will start to make the fat fall off quicker.

Hope you are all doing well, I have quite a few blog posts I want to write and I am off until Thursday so expect lots of good stuff!

I gained 2lbs :-( but it's nearly Christmas :-)

The title says it all I gained 2lbs which if I'm not mistaken is the biggest gain I've had since I started so this takes me to 4 stone 7lbs (63lbs) loss since January. There is one weigh in left for the year so I am going to call my 4 1/2 stone loss my total for 2011. I am a little disappointed that it hasn't been more as I do have a huge amount to lose but on the other hand I am proud that I have stuck to this for so long and lost as much as I have. It has definitely made a difference to how I feel and look. I am hoping to have around the same amount off in 2012, ideally I'd like another 6 stone off (84lbs)

I will be doing a post in the next week to sum up my year of weight loss and my year on blogger I cannot wait to have a look through all my weigh ins, recipes and random posts to compile my 'best bits'.

I just want to say thank-you to everyone that reads and comments on my blog it really means a lot to me as it is my main support away from YouTube and my family and friends. Hope you all continue to read during 2012 as I have a feeling it's going to be an amazing year.


Hope you all have a fabulous Christmas and Father Christmas brings you all you want.

Weigh in update 08/12/11 and 15/12/11

So I haven't updated my weigh in for a couple of weeks, sorry!! I  maintained last week and lost 1lb this week, it takes my total loss to 4 stone 9lbs (65lbs) I haven't really been sticking to Slimming World just trying to eat 3 meals a day and do less snacking. My heart is still not completely in it at the moment but I am glad that I am not putting on weight.

I have had a couple of non scale victories (NSV) in the past two weeks! Number one is that I went to see Whitesnake and was standing, now usually during a gig my back, legs and knees hurt this time they didn't I had loads of energy to dance and was able to stay out late and walk back to the hotel. I compared this to the last time I saw Whitesnake in June and I remember that I was very uncomfortable then and I was also 2 stone 4lbs (32lbs) heavier. I always enjoy gigs but this will be the one I remember that I wasn't uncomfortable and that it was a big milestone in my weightloss. Some pictures from the gig are below, I am now entering another phase of being obsessed with David Coverdale!!

My second NSV is that I bought a new winter coat in four sizes smaller than last winter and not only that that it only cost me a tenner from Tesco!

Even though I haven't lost a lot of weight recently I have some really great NSV! 

Weigh in 30/11/11

Weigh in was yesterday and I lost 1lb! I am fine with this as I have not been on plan fully. I am struggling to stay focussed at the moment, for those of you that follow me on Youtube will have already heard what I am about to write!

I think my illness the other week has really taken it out of me and I haven't really had time to really take time out to just chill out and relax, looking ahead it's going to be Christmas Day before I have chance to relax (thanks Mum!)

I am getting fed up with the whole weight loss thing I am not a person that usually sticks with things as I get bored easily so spending a year losing weight is a massive achievement for me, in fact doing anything for any length of time is a good thing for me. I think some of my fedupness (yes it is a word!) has come from the fact I have lost a lot of weight and I am still FAT! This then leads me to get annoyed with myself for putting on such a huge amount of weight in the first place and then I begin to pick the year apart and get annoyed with not being further along in my journey. The rational, sane me knows that this wasn't ever going to be an easy and quick thing but the person inside me who is impatient and prone to tantrums is definitely fed up!

Anyways, enough of the depressive stuff I am off to Lincoln Christmas Market tomorrow which I am very excited about as it will definitely start off the Christmas season with a bang. Is anyone else off to any Christmas Markets?

Weigh in 24/11/2011

I weighed in after skipping last weeks through illness and I lost a lb to be honest I was a bit disappointed I have been really sick and not eaten that much although what I have eaten hasn't been Slimming World friendly due to my appetite not being too great I just ate what I fancied and usually only eating two meals a day. I  have now lost 4 1/2 stone (63lbs) and I am more than annoyed with myself for it not being a lot more! We are edging closer to Christmas and I am probably not going to get to my Christmas target which was 5 stone 5lbs (75lbs) by Christmas which would leave me 12lbs to lose in 4 weeks.

I am going away for the weekend with my Mum to Lincoln for the Food and Drink festival, we go every year and I am so excited I love spending time with my Mum, being in Lincoln and spending my day watching cookery demonstrations. We are also staying and eating in a posh hotel so that will be fun. I am not setting any targets for next week I am just hoping that my appetite returns to normal so I can get on and lose the rest of my blubber!

Update: skipping weigh in, being ill, new foods

So, this week I cancelled weigh in I have been poorly with a virus so I knew the scales were going to be weigh me as losing quite a bit due to the virus. It has now been 5 days and I feel OK but am not eating much, I am hoping my appetite returns soon I feel so weak!

Before the virus struck me, my week with food was going well with my favourite meal being egg fried rice, Thai salmon fishcake with sweet chilli sauce and a dollop of fat free Greek yoghurt.

Egg fried rice was made by stir frying spring onions, garlic, ginger and peppers. Adding rice and soy sauce until warmed through, finally cracking an egg into it and stirring until cooked. The fishcake is 1 syn and you can get them from Aldi. It is probably my favourite meal.

I have bought some new things to try which I haven't got round to yet. I bought a celeriac which I think I will make into a topping for a cottage pie and some figs which I have only ever eaten in a biscuit. Any suggestions of what to do with the figs or how to tell if they are ripe are gratefully received. I was thinking of stirring into some Greek yoghurt with a bit of honey. 

Mushy Pea Curry

So I'm sure if you are on slimming world you know all about the infamous mushy pea curry but for those of you that don't here is the simple, yet satisfying recipe.

Ingredients

2 cans of Mushy Peas
1 can of chopped tomatoes
Onions
Curry spices (I use 2 Oxo Indian cubes)

1. Fry the onions in some frylight until soft
2. Add the mushy peas, tomatoes and curry spices and simmer for 10 minutes
3. Blend until smooth.


I like this served with a chicken breast and rice. You can also add veggies if you are on extra easy to make up your 1/3 super free.

Weigh in update 03/11/11

I stayed the same this week so it's still a total of 4 stone 5lbs (61lbs) loss. I am OK with this as I have struggled this week with cravings and have only done minimal exercise. Thinking about what I have done in the last couple of weeks, a big gain then a big loss a maintain is probably a good thing to give my body a bit of a rest.

It was Jonathan's birthday yesterday so we went out for a meal, I think I chose wisely I had lamb rump, roasted sweet potatoes, vegetables and mint gravy. Tonight I am out for a fireworks display and a curry for one of my best friends birthday. After this I am on an eating out ban until the end of the month!

I still haven't been out on my bike, I am going to see if I can get in my car otherwise I am going to need a thingymebob for my car!

I have also looked into my numbers for October and here they are:

Lbs lost: 2
Inches lost: 3

It's pretty pathetic but roll on this month when it will be more awesome. Below are my total inch loss so far this year in the areas I measure.

Hips: 12
Waist: 7.5
2nd Belly (area between boobs and belly!): 7
Under bust: 6.5
Bust: 8
Neck: 1.5

I am happy overall but wish that I had got more off my waist and a bit more of my hips as this is where I carry most of my weight.