Ooooops

I am not sure oooops really sums it up. I've suffered a massive lack of self control since Friday night and am now feeling thoroughly stuffed and generally queasy from all of the crap I've consumed over the last 48 hours.

On Friday me and the girls set off on our secret journey - we were heading up to Liverpool to see one of our bestest friends Debbie. I met Nina, Caroline and Deb in my first year at Uni in 1994 and we shared flats together throughout our 4 years at Uni and beyond. I love them all to bits and given Debs lives in Liverpool we probably only spend time all 4 of us together 2 or 3 times a year.

Deb's other half had arranged for us to come up without her knowing - brave man! I am surprised she didn't kill him once she found out - she's not good with surprises. The journey is about 3.5 hours in the car. We stocked up on supplies for the journey - I did have some good intentions with carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes and reduced fat houmous, but I may have been seduced by the Quorn mini eggs and sausage rolls, Walkers Sensations crisps and the mini chocolate muffins. Ahem. When we arrived at Deb's we cracked open the sparkling stuff - she recently got engaged so it was a bit of a celebration. 6 bottles later and after much chin wagging, we got to bed around 0230. Typically I was awake at 8am - along with Caroline and Deb. Cue bacon and sausage sandwiches and a hangover from hell.

We spent yesterday afternoon at the Chesire Oaks outlet village. I should really have bought some Xmas presents, instead I got some completely ridiculous green sparkly shoes and a ridiculously expensive Mulberry handbag (I am completely obsessed with Mulberry to the point that I need help - and a much better paid job) I justified buying the bag as it had 65% off. That means it was only the equivalent of a months mortgage payment instead of 2... ok I jest, but I must never go shopping again with a hangover and a credit card. I seem to lose all sense. We had lunch at the food village and I opted for a giant yorkshire pudding filled with roast beef and gravy - not exactly the healthiest thing I could have gone for, but certainly not the worst.

The evening seemed to go in the same format. We decided to stay in - so that meant pizza, crisps, houmous and bread. Not to mention about 10 glasses of wine. That today has been washed down with another bacon sandwich and a totally healthy KFC. What was I thinking??? Well that's the problem - I actually wasn't.

I had a fab weekend with the girls though and I am just not going to stress over my excesses. I imagine I'll get a small gain this week, but its just not the end of the world. Spending time with my bestest friends means more to me than losing a pound this week. I know I will be back on track tomorrow. Life is going to get in the way sometimes, I just need to make sure it doesn't happen all of the time and we should be sorted.

Thank crunchie it's Friday.

I've never been so relieved to reach Friday in one piece. I hate stressy work days, the only saving grace being that I don't have much time to snack so I tend to stick to my points when I am busy. Despite working from home yesterday, I had phone calls pretty much all day. I worked 0730-1830 with only a 20 minute break for lunch. Not good. I had promised myself I would go to Yoga, but my boss called me just as I was getting ready to go and told me I needed to do a customer install and they had approved downtime for 6pm - the same time as Yoga starts. Gah!!!!!!!!

As a compromise I dusted down my Wii fit and did 30 minutes of Yoga poses on there once I'd done with work - not quite as good I grant you, but at least I did something. I also did a few of the balance games that my physio recommended for the fat ankle. We then went to the pub - but I insisted we walk (normally we'd drive) so that got me another 20 minutes of movement in and I stuck to soda water. Go me.

Today is not shaping up as well. I am starving already. Had breakfast at 7am, its only just 11am and I am practically chewing my arm off. Lunch may end up being a tad earlier than anticipated. I'm getting the train over to Twickenham after work to meet the girls and then we are driving off to a secret location (I can't divulge as it's a surprise and I can't remember which of my friends know about this blog!). I don't expect we'll ge there til around 11pm tonight so dinner will happen in the car - I'll have to buy a few healthy items to take with me. I'm going to relax a bit over the weekend but not go too mad. Fingers crossed I can be relatively restrained.

Another boring food photo to follow but I made this yesterday for lunch and it was good:

Boil 60g of pasta
Dry fry leeks, mushrooms and onions
Add a splash of while wine (optional) and some veg stock and a sprinkle of sage
Simmer until the stock starts to reduce
Add in some chopped parma ham and a tbsp of extra light creme fraiche (or ELF) and simmer until it all thickens.
Throw in the pasta, toss to coat add a spinkle of parmesan and voila! Mine worked out at 7 points and kept me going for ages :)


Hope you all have fantastic weekends x

Work - bah.

Yesterday at work was ridiculous, we are so busy at the moment I am struggling to stay on top of things. I've a list of things to do, which I keep looking at, panicing and then doing none of them. That coupled with one of the team being on holiday is just adding to the chaos.

I didn't have breakfast yesterday morning as it was WI day, but fortunately my Graze box arrived around 10am so I had some Grapefruit and Orange and some Goji Berries as a mid morning snack. Not overly satisfying, but blooming healthy I guess.

For lunch, I only had time to rush out to Greggs (nearest place to the office unfortunately) and grab a sandwich which cost me 10 flipping points. I should have had a pasty!! It always kills me walking in there - the smell is to die for.

Unfortunately I was still at work at 7pm which meant I didn't make the gym for Spinning class. I was so tired that I doubt it would have been a beneficial work out, but I still should have gone and done something, I just couldn't force myself to do it. Slap on the wrist Miss M. I did end up working when I got home and didn't finish up til 11pm so I suppose the gym had to go by the wayside. I am knackered today.

Anyway, being so busy meant no unnecessary snacking and me coming in on points. One result I guess.

I'm working from home today so it's a bit less manic, but I am still in headless chicken mode every time I look at my task list. Breathe woman!! I've booked in for Dynamic Yoga tonight so hopefully no disasters will stop me from going to that later on and that might help me relax a bit.

I'm away at the weekend with the girls so I anticipate a fairly boozy and possibly unhealthy weekend. Will have to do my best to focus - perhaps I'll take photos of the weekends consumption to try and keep me on track.

Also took my measurements at the weekend which I forgot to post:

6th May

Thighs = 33 inches
Chest = 47 inches
Waist = 39.5 inches
Hips = 50 inches
Arm = 14.5 inches

22nd November

Thigh = 30 inches
Chest = 43 inches
Waist = 38 inches
Hips = 47 inches
Arm = 12 inches

Pretty pleased with that :)

Wednesday WI

And a 2lb loss for me this week. Most happy with that - this food diary definitely helped me stay on track and I'd recommend it for anyone who needs a little kick!

So thats 46.5lbs now gone. 3.5lbs is the aim before the New Year!

Tuesday tennis and troffing

Had a lovely day yesterday. We had tickets for both the day and evening sessions of the ATP tennis finals so we drove over to the O2 (blimey its a long way). We left the house around 10am and were there just before 12. Grabbed a quick lunch from Starbucks and settled down to watch the first doubles game of the day. Pretty good stuff. We then saw Verdasco v Del Potro which was great. Our seats were great so we were sat fairly near to the front. The atmosphere was brilliant!

We had a few hours to kill between sessions so we went for food, Matt decided it would be nice if we went to a Brazillian BBQ - not exactly the easiest option when you are trying to be good, but bloody lovely. They had a buffet table of salads and hot dishes which you help yourself to and then come round with various different meats on massive skewers and serve you at your table. I was so restrained given I had WI today but it was bloody hard!

The evening session of the tennis was amazing, another doubles game and then Murray v Federer. It was unbelievable! I am no expert but I could see how talented these 2 players are, a totally different class. Shame Murray didn't win, but a great game and great atmosphere all the same. Finally got home around 1am this morning so you can imagine I am not feeling the perkiest today!


My final day of the food diary for this week.

Breakfast - 7 points
Pancake made with 1 Egg, 1.5 tbsps of flour, 100 ml skimmed milk and 1/2 tsp of oil
2 slices of grilled bacon


Lunch - 6.5 points
Starbucks Chicken and Red Pesto Pasta Salad and a small Skinny Latte



Dinner - erm no idea how many points!
The below plus 3 slices of beef and a slice of lamb


And then during the final tennis game I had some of these.... ooooops


So all in all, not the best day ever, but much more restrained that I could have been I guess. This food diary has definitely helped me and I think I will definitely do it more often, whenever I feel myself slipping off track.

Monday munching and sporting injuries

I've come to the conclusion that exercise just isn't good for me. After yesterday's fairly leisurely swim, I am now suffering a trapped nerve in my right shoulder which is making arm movement a tad tricky. It's not painful all of the time, but certain positions that I try to move to are bloody sore. I was screaming like a stuck pig in the office at lunchtime whilst trying to get my coat on and realising that I was in a position that I couldn't really get myself out of. Not overly professional I grant you but I notice none of the men I work with came to my rescue. Chivalry is most definitely dead in the world of IT! Anyway, I've had this before and while it's painful, I know it will work itself out in a few days so fingers crossed. I've taken Nurofen Plus and had a hot bath to try and loosen things up a bit. Should be fine by Wednesday night Spinning.

Another fairly decent day on the food front, although I am realising my fruit and veg intake is probably not enough on a daily basis. We're running low on supplies so I need to replenish. Spent tonight at a friends who cooked me dinner in return for me entertaining her 2 little girls for a few hours. That must have earnt my some Bonus Points, I had to do a ballet show for the duration of SCD - It Takes Two. I was flipping shattered!

I've got the day off tomorrow as I bought Matt tickets for Christmas to the ATP tennis finals at the O2 arena so we're off there for a day. Matt is tennis obsessed and fortunately tomorrow we get to see Murray v Federer, which is a bonus. Should be a fairly good day out, just need to try and make sensible choices on the food front. I'm sure the final day of the food diary will assist with that.

So today's food has gone like this:

Breakfast - 3 points
1 sachet of Oatso Simple - 1.5
2 packs of Sunmaid snack raisins (28g) - 1
60ml of semi-skimmed milk (mixed up with 120 ml of water as we had no skimmed milk at work) 0.5


Lunch - 7.5 points
1 pouch of Green Giant Mushroom Soup - 2.5
2 slices of white bread - 2.5
with 150g Tuna mixed with onion and 1 tbsp of Light Salad Cream - 2.5
Cucumber and Spinach - 0


Mid Afternoon - 1.5
1 packet of Frazzles


Dinner - approx 11.5
Pasta - 4
Tomato and Chilli Sauce - 1.5
Sainsburys Garlic Bread (1/3 of a baguette) - 4.5
Frankfurter Sausage - 1.5



That comes in at 23.5/26 but its possible dinner came in at more points so I'm happy with that. I am almost excited for WI on Wednesday as I feel like I've been almost saintly this week.

Pulled it back

I've had a pretty good day today. Did very little this morning, but sometimes you just need a bit of time to sit about, doing nowt. (Hey I'm a poet). We dropped Matt's Brother off at the station around 1pm and then headed to the gym. I did 35 minutes of swimming and 5 minutes of sitting on a float and kicking my legs furiously - which was fairly hard work. Fortunately I had the pool to myself so I didn't look too much of a nutter bobbing up and down in the pool, but not really getting anywhere. Finished off my 'workout' with a relax in the jacuzzi. Most pleasant.

After the gym Matt wanted to head to the cinema, so we grabbed a very quick lunch from M&S so as to avoid the perils of cinema food - hot dogs, nachos and chicken nuggets. Not the best ever. Matt has been half heartedly doing WW with me for the last couple of months and when we worked out his points for yesterday he came in at a staggering 94 (he's allowed 29!). So I guess my day yesterday could have been a hell of a lot worse. He's pulled a few points back today, so is now only facing a defecit of 97 for the week. Ahem.

We saw 2012 at the cinema - blimey, that has to be the longest film ever. 3 hours of my life gone. Not a bad film, but too much doom and gloom for my liking on a Sunday. I almost nodded off after 2 hours, I'm not so good at sitting still for that long. A lot of films these days seem to be telling us the end of the world is imminent... not the most cheerful sentiment.

So here is today's consumption. I'm pretty pleased that I've managed to pull back yesterday's defecit.

Breakfast - 5.5 points

2 slices of toast with Lurpak Lighter and 1 poached egg.


Lunch - 5.5 points

Grabbed from M&S before heading to the Cinema.
Count on Us Chicken Sandwich (drier than a dry thing on a dry day) - 4 points
Bag of Count on Us Baked Salt and Vinegar Crisps - 1 point
Ribena Extra Light - 0.5 points.


Dinner - 10 points

1 bowl of homemade Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup - 0.5 points


150g Tesco Thin Beef Steak - 4 points
Mushrooms, Leeks and Onions, dry fried - 0 points
3 McCain Smiley Faces - 2 points
6 oven chips - 1 point?
French Mustard - 0 points

Half a Double Decker and a Cuppa - 2.5 points


That makes 21/26 points, plus 3 Bonus Points fom Swimming. That'll do nicely thanks.

Shocking Saturday

Taking these photos has really made me more aware of what I shovel in my mouth normally on a weekend. I was fairly restrained with what I ate and drank compared to what I would consume on an all day session. We were in the pub for 1230pm and finished up back at ours with a Chinese. I didn't drink anything for the first 3 hours or when we got home, I ate much less than everyone else and I still end up massively over consuming points! Just goes to show where I have been going wrong most weekends.

Breakfast - Bacon Sandwich. 2 slices of grilled Bacon, 2 bread. 1 tsp Lurpak Lighter - 6 points.


Lunch in the pub whilst watching footy (a day of Sport on TV - yawn) Lamb and Mint baguette with Salad. 8.5 points. 3 Diet Cokes. Notice the chips on the place opposite - I didn't have ANY and no booze yet!


Large bag of Quavers between 3 of us whilst watching yet more sport.... 1 point for my share.


Dinner is where it kind of went downhill. After watching Matt and his Brother get more and more drunk, I could take no more diet coke. Once Nicola turned up, I hit the booze. 5 smirnoff Vodkas plus slimline tonic - 3.5 points. 2 glasses of Champagne - 4 points. No idea why the Champers came into play.... not entirely sure what we were celebrating!

Chinese Take Away at home between 4 of us.

Prawn Crackers - I had 1/4 of these 1.5 points.


1 Crispy Duck Pancake - 7.5 bloody points. Everyone else had at least 3. This was me being restrained!


1 Spoonful of Egg Fried Rice, 1 Spoonful of Boiled Rice, 1 Spoonful of Beef Curry, 1 Spoonful of Chicken and Cashew Nuts, 1 Spoonful of Duck in Honey and Black Pepper Sauce, 2 Sweet and Sour Chicken Balls - 11 points.

I wish I'd taken a photo of everyone else's plate because mine looked like it had nothing on compared to theirs - normally I would have my 'share' of everything and eat at least twice as much as on my plate there. Just goes to show where I have been going massively wrong!

So my day came in at 43 points. Good work Linz. I had 10 points banked and we walked into town (about 30 mins) so it's not such a massive trauma. I now have a defecit of 5 to make up. I'm off to the gym later on for a swim which should help. It's not easy this life change malarkey.

Friday food and the musings of Mick

Another ridiculously early start for me on a Saturday. I seem to have an inability to lie in unless I have consumed my body weight in wine. Oh well, at least I get to catch up with a few things before the brothers surface. Matt's Brother is down for the weekend so we ended up taking him out last night to our local, where we met my friends Alex and Rory and then off we went for Thai.

Now, Matt's brother - Mick, is a really nice guy. He is however, fairly stuck in his ways. He's 10 years older than Matt, doesn't undestand why people have relationships and his life revolves around work, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Beer with a Friday night Indian Curry thrown in.

Imagine the trauma of trying to persuade him to try Thai last night for the first time instead of Indian. He spent ages looking at the menu - I kept telling him it was the Wine Menu, but he persisted. Eventually he piped up "Does this place only sell booze?? There's no food on this bloody menu." Oh dear.

Once he did in fact have the correct menu, he was aghast. No chips on the menu, no Chicken Balti. He eventually decided to try Chicken Satay (just chicken in funny sauce apparently) and after much persuasion, Beef Massaman. He doesn't like a beef curry as beef should only be served with Yorkshire Puddings and gravy by all accounts. But he decided it wasn't bad, a bit like Beef Stew (potato in a curry??) but not enough spice. Not sure he'll be going for Thai again in a hurry.

Mick is also rather blunt after a few beers. Some of our conversations have gone like this:

Him: So are you and Matt getting wed then?
Me: No, you know he's not overly keen on the marriage idea given he tried it once and it didn't work.
Him: Well you're obviously not the one for him then.
Me: Thanks Mick.

Him: So, how do you and Mom get on?
Me: We get on quite well, I like her.
Him: Yes, but she only likes you because she thinks you like her.
Me: Thanks Mick.

Him: How do you and Nicola get on? (Nicola is one of Matt's friends who I get on really well with)
Me: Yes, really well, she's a nice girl.
Him: You know she wants him don't you, don't leave them alone together.
Me: Thanks Mick.

Him: How do you feel about Matt working long hours?
Me: Well I don't really like it, but I know its only temporary so it's not such a big trauma.
Him: I don't see why you bother, you should leave him.
Matt: Thanks Mick.

Fortunately I don't take too much notice of most of this anymore, I did the first time we met and Matt got a right ear bashing after a few of Mick's revelations. But now I've come to realise it's just the way he see's the world. He seems happy enough with it!

Yesterday I managed another fairly good day on the food front. Taking pictures of everything I consume is definitely keeping me in check.

Breakfast - 1 sachet of Oatso Simple with 180ml of Skimmed milk and 14g of raisins, cup of Red Bush Tea - 2.5 points


Lunch - 1 bread roll with 1 tsp of pesto, 1.5 slices of Parma Ham, Spinach, 15g of Les Kol and 1 tsp of extra low fat Mayo. Packet of Pickled Onion Monster Munch from a multipack. Bottle of Dr Pepper Zero - 5.5 points.

This is my new favourite sandwich - it is my attempt at the Pret Italian Proscuitto Artisan Baguette, which I love, but not for 10 points. Not quite the same, but fairly tasty for 4 points.


Mid Afternoon - 1 apple, 750ml of water - 0.5 points


Dinner - 5 Smirnoff Vodkas with Soda water and fresh lime (1 with tonic - thanks Matt!) - 4.5 points.



In the pub we had some Bombay Mix between 5 of us. I had 3 pinches of it (3 points?)

Thai Restaurant - Spicy prawn crackers, I had about 6 crackers with some sweet chilli sauce (1.5 points?)


Main course - Half a portion of Chicken stir fried with mushrooms and cashew nuts (5). 1/4 of a portion of Pad Thai (2) and one spoonful of rice (1) . You can see the rest of my dish on the plate behind, but I gave that away (even though I could have snaffled the lot).

1 chocolate toffee that came with the bill - inhaled by me before I even thought about it (I had to photograph another one once I realised it was in my gob!) - 1 point


So 18 points in total I reckon - fairly handy given that's how many I had left after Breakfast and Lunch. I really think this food diary is helping me stay on track. It's all too easy for me to forget what I eat after a night out or to stuff things in my mouth without giving it any extra thought.

So 26/26 points - leaving me 10 points still in the bank.

Not sure what the plan is for today. The aforementioned Nicola is coming over from London which will be nice. We'll meet her in Reading and see where that takes us. Better be careful not to leave Matt alone at any point - just in case :)

Food accountability

So far so good this week. I've managed Spinning class on Wednesday night and Dynamic Yoga last night which I think almost finished me off. We had a different teacher as ours is on holiday and he certainly didn't mess about. I am not overly good with my strength or balance, but am hoping that if I keep going to the class, I can only improve.

In a vain attempt to keep on track with food and having been spurred on by Karon (or Twinkle!) doing it last week, I've decided to photograph what I am eating. Then at least I'm a bit more accountable if I am posting it here every day - no more snaffling things without admitting it to myself. If I keep this up over the weekend - this might help me understand how completely off track I normally go!

So here is yesterday - a pretty good day for me:

Breakfast - 1 sachet of Oatso Simple with 180ml of Skimmed Milk, 14g of Raisins (SunMaid Snack Pack) and 1 small banana. Cup of Red Bush tea and 750 ml Water - 3.5 points

I actually found this kept me full until lunch time - normally I'm staring at the clock every 5 mins.

Lunch - Bowl of Home made Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Soup and a Tiger Roll. Can of Diet Cherry Coke, 750 ml of water - 4 points


Mid afternoon snack - Packet of Pickled Onion Space Raiders with 50% extra free. 2 points. I love these!
I also had a small skinny latte from Costa for 0.5 points.

Dinner - My version of Carbonara and Garlic Bread. I had a fairly hefty portion as I was very hungry after Yoga, normally I'd have less pasta with this.

80g Dried Pasta (4)
2 lean rashers of Bacon (3)
1 onion
Portion of Mushrooms
30g Les Kol Cheese grated (1.5)
1.5 Medium Eggs (2) - I cooked this for 2 of us, so I didn't half an egg for myself which might be quite tricky!

Cook pasta. Dry fry onions, mushrooms and chopped up bacon. When pasta is cooked add to the bacon mix. Mix the eggs with salt and pepper and the grated cheese. Take pan off the heat and stir in the egg mix to coat until egg is slightly set but not over cooked.

Also served with half a crusty roll spread with lurpak lighter and garlic and then grilled.

11.5 points in total

Total for the day 21.5 points leaving me 4 to save for the weekend.

Phew.

Work has been fairly busy this week which has kept me out of trouble - I am definitely a boredom eater so the fact I am flat out works pretty well for me.

Matt's brother is down for the weekend - this always involves a lot of drinking, so I am going to have to try and reign that in a little bit, the scales haven't budged (well apart from 0.5 up this week) for 2 weeks. I so want to see a new number on the scales on Weds!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend and this hideous weather isn't causing too much trauma for anyone.

Recipe

Recipe for the Fajita stack is here :)

Not to self - Don't get drunk the night before WI

Half a pound on - but I am pretty sure that's down to the copious amounts of alcohol I got through last night. Not at all clever. I am not even sure why we decided to have a drink on a school night. Popped to the pub after work and I had a couple of G&T's (slimline of course) and then we got home and it all went downhill from there. I'd cooked that Chicken Fajita stack that I was raving about a few weeks ago and I had mine with Spinach and oven roasted cherry tomatoes - bloody lovely:

So that was only 6 points worth of food. But then we opened a bottle of wine... and then another one. Doh. I went to bed feeling fairly squiffy to say the least. Ho hum, you live and learn.

Had my first physio session yesterday - not really sure what to make of it to be honest. I guess it was more of an assessment than anything else, but the physio was running late and therefore spent most of the time looking at the clock, which somewhat annoyed me. Anyway, she told me my balance is shot (I kind of knew that already) and that the ligaments are damaged and weakened from my repeated spraining of it. I've also got a collapsed arch and am over compensating for the sprain by walking more on the inside of my foot. Anyway, I've got a wobble cushion that I need to work with for the next 2 weeks to try and improve my balance. I have a feeling I am more likely to fall off the bloody thing and do even more damage, but we'll give it a go.

Made a slight faux pas with today's lunch - bought a couple of rolls yesterday so made myself some sandwiches with Parma ham, spinach and a bit of pesto. Trauma is each roll is 4 bloody points. Only leaves me with 8.5 points for dinner tonight so I'll have to go low pointed so I can save a couple in case required at the weekend. I've booked in for spinning so that should earn me a few as well.

I am going to do my best not to let the weekend blow it all for me, I really want to get my 50 pound loss and its within touching distance.

Physio and flashing

First of all, thank you everyone for your lovely comments on my last post regarding the dress. I may even wear one more often now that I have mastered the art of tottering in a heel.... well, thats perhaps a tad optimistic, I can stand in them for around 3 minutes at a time, that's progress.

Despite my best efforts the past 2 days, I am going to finish off my WW week -15 points. Not at all the end of the world and I am hoping it won't result in a gain given you are technically allowed 6 points a day for maintenance, but somewhat annoying that my lack of control at the weekend undoes most of my hard work. I've also not done any form of movement since painting on Sunday - I was in bloody agony all day yesterday from said painting which made any form of movement somewhat difficult. Anyway, tomorrow we shall see. I'll be digging out my lightest of clothes, removing all jewelry and possibly underwear in a vain attempt to see the scales move down. I'd get weighed naked if my fellow WW'ers didn't mind.

Working from home today as I've finally managed to arrange physio on fat ankle. Got my first session later so I am hoping it will be beneficial, my ankle is still large, but really hard so I am not overly sure what's going on there. I guess that's because I work in IT and didn't spend years studying medicine. Let's hope the physio can work out whats happening with it!

Unfortunately physio means I am going to have to miss Knitting Club tonight as I won't be able to make it over to Twickenham in time. Bit of a shame as I was looking forward to it and my knitting is not exactly coming along in leaps and bounds. I've had to resort to buying myself a scarf as the 2 inches I've so far managed just wasn't going to cut it in Winter.

I also made the unfortunate mistake of flashing at the Gardener today. We live in a ground floor flat and ours is at the back looking onto the garden - no one is ever in the garden so I've gotten into the rather bad habit of not closing the curtains when I am getting dressed. Imagine my horror (and definitely his) when I stepped out of the shower in the en suite with the door wide open to see the Gardener staring back at me through the bedroom window. Poor, poor man. I am really hoping he is short sighted. Hopefully he won't recognise me with my clothes on.

Ooooh and at lunchtime I bought a couple of bottles of wine as they were on offer in Morrisons - I was asked for ID!! I could have kissed the lady, I am a fairly haggard looking 33 today (I'm normally 33 obviously but not normally haggard - lack of sleep). I think losing a bit of weight off my face has made me look younger - I was also told that by my friend last night who I used to live in Prague with. I popped over to Windsor to see her last night for dinner and to see her 9 month old son - he's adorable, anyway, I digress..... She said I was looking really young at the moment. I presume she meant it in a good way and not that I was resembling mutton in my attempts to dress a bit trendier of late :)

Busy weekend

Once again I've really struggled to stick to points over the weekend - me + socialising = points disaster. We had a lovely meal out with friends on Friday, I made a vague attempt to be good with my first 2 courses (parsnip soup, although I am sure it was full of cream and then coq au vin) but dessert I opted for treacle tart with clotted cream. This plus a few vinos and then 3 cocktails, didn't really make for the healthiest of evenings!

We had a christening yesterday - for which I wore a dress and a pair of heels. I actually felt quite ladylike for once -I usually feel like a man in drag when I wear shoes higher than half an inch. I'm less of a boiled egg on stilts these days however. Not really the best picture but you can kind of get the idea. I can't wait til my calves are less humongous.

There was a buffet at the christening and I tried so hard to be good - but I probably went way over points again. It so hard to estimate when you're not in control of the food. Self control when I am hungry is something I struggle with.

Today hasn't been hideous points wise, I've spent most of the day painting the en suite, which I think is a proper work out - I've even got blisters on my hands! Popped out for a couple of hours with my friend to look around the shops and ended up £90 worse off! I had vowed not to spend any money so that was pretty useless. I've only had a baguette from Pret all day so I should be ok to have steak and chips later.

Back to proper planning tomorrow. I need a loss this week.

Dynamic Yoga - another name for torture

Oh my poorly aching body. I've only done the one dynamic yoga class - prior fat ankle, and I don't remember it being so painful. I've pains today in places I didn't know I had. I was always of the belief that for a larger lady, I was fairly supple, but Jesus Christ, some of the positions people get themselves into - not a chance. Have a look at this little puppy:

Honestly - how is that humanly possible? The teacher was heading off on holiday today for 3 weeks so I reckon she was making sure we didn't forget her by trying to cripple us before she went. It worked. It doesn't help that my friend is the supplest person known to man and she can bend herself into all sorts of knots while I am huffing, puffing, wincing and struggling to support my vast girth on one leg. I'll get there though. Maybe.

With last nights pizza, I went a couple of points over, but I'm not stressing too much given I'd done an hour of Yoga. With Dynamic Yoga you move really quickly between all of the poses, so you do tend to work up a bit of a sweat as well as hideous pain in every muscle in your body. Am I selling it??

Food today is sorted. Toast for breakfast. Have 1.5 point slow cooker chicken curry for lunch with 2 points of rice. Leaves me with 18.5 points for dinner tonight, plus the 11 I've banked so far. I won't be drinking loads as my friend is pregnant so I feel pretty bad for her if we all end up getting blotto, I'll maybe let the boys do most of the drinking and just have myself a couple of glasses of Vino so I can hopefully maintain some control. Food at the place we are off to is amazing so I am really looking forward to it.

I'm hoping I won't get flooded in before that, the weather is absolutely hideous at the moment, I was practically driving through lakes last night to get home from the gym. Not sure my poor little Clio is equipped for under water exploits.

Right then, lunch is calling. Have a great weekend everyone.

Bumbling along

I've managed a day and a half of being on track - so far so good. Let's hope it stays this way. Last night I did Spinning, even though it was the last thing in the world I felt like doing, I'm finding it hard to motivate myself to move more when its dark and miserable outside. Glad I went though, we had another new trainer and he was cool. This sounds a bit daft, but he has just been travelling for 6 months so has lost some of his fitness - I kinda liked the fact that he was sweating and as out of breath as the rest of us, it made a nice change from Robo Trainer who barely breaks a sweat.

Dinner last night was Low Fat Sausages with mashed Swede, Onions, Mushrooms and Leeks, Bisto and a couple of Yorkshire Puddings. Absolutely lovely for 5.5 points. Managed to save 2 points for the weekend as well, go me!

Today has been good foodwise as well. I've got 15 points left for dinner (after I have been to dynamic Yoga - ouch) so my mate is coming round with a pizza - should be able to have a couple of slices with some salad and still save points for tomorrow. I'm finding zero point butternut squash soup is my absolute saviour at the moment. I make it really thick so it feels really indulgent. Lovely at the moment with miserable weather.

Other than that, not much to report. We're out for dinner with friends tomorrow night so I won't be massively good then, Saturday we have a Christening and Sunday we've lunch with other friends. Why does my socialising always seem to revolve around food??! I guess my progress has been kind of slow this year as I have been determined that WW would become part of my life as opposed to it becoming my life. I still want to socialise and enjoy myself, so that means I'll go over points some times. I suppose I prefer it my way as I'm more likely to stick with this for the long haul.

Got away with it

Phew. I've never been more happy to see the scales refuse to budge. A STS which means I quite unfairly got away with the weekend excesses. So I'm saying it again, as I seem to quite often these days - I am now back at it, 100% focussed and determined to get my arse back into gear and get those 5 pounds off by New Year.

My fridge and freezer are full of healthy options, meals are planned for the next few days, Spinning is booked for tonight. I have no bloody excuses!

We've a fairly busy weekend planned which means I need to save some points over the next couple of days, shouldn't be a problem though as I am in tonight and tomorrow. I'm working tonight at 9pm for a few hours to upgrade a system, so I get tomorrow morning off. The plan is to get myself to the gym before work, so I can't talk myself out of it.

I've just ordered myself a few new bits from Marisota as I had a 25% off code. I've gone a size smaller in everything - I am hoping to take some of it to Tenerife at New Year so here's hoping stuff fits! I had a slightly odd feeling of disappointment at the weekend when I realised that my trusty going out jeans are now too big for me. They always made me feel quite good as they were fairly tight and structured and therefore kept everything in check. I know its good that I'm getting smaller, but the jeans I have the same in the next size down (I bought about 3 years ago - ever the optimist!) are still too small. Bugger. I'll get there though.

Dreadful weekend points wise...

Well the title says it all really, Friday was a write off due to copious amounts of alcohol, Saturday was not much better due to eating my way through the freezer in attempt to stave off the hangover. Yesterday I only had 2 meals, but one of them was a Sunday lunch at a gorgeous pub near us and I didn't exactly make the healthiest of choices (erm like cheese for dessert!!). That leaves me facing Monday with a defecit of something like 52 points on this week. Good work Linz. The fact I've not been to the gym in a week really hasn't helped. I'm going to have fairly low pointed days between now and Wednesday, but think there is a real danger of a gain this week. Ho hum.

On a brighter note, had a lovely day yesterday. Went to the Spa in Henley for my Signature Ritual (a present from Matt for my birthday back in June but this was the first date they could fit me in). It was lovely, a petal foot soak, 1 hour full body aromatherapy massage, half hour body scrub and then a soak in a rose petal bath with Champagne and chocolates (which I've forgotten to point... doh, more of a defecit!). I came out smelling like an old ladies handbag according to Matt (lavendar I believe) and with a right greasy mop thanks to the oil, but I felt amazing. We then went for a late lunch/ early dinner before heading home to watch the debacle that has become The X Factor. All in all, a good day.... despite the diet disaster.

The aim is to stick to 18 points today and tomorrow which should be doable if I plan properly, but I doubt that will make much of a difference this week, I think I am too far gone. I am praying I'll get a STS.

Not a lot planned this week really, another busy weekend is looming though so I really need to get to grips with dealing with my social life without runing all of my hard work. I seem to have become a bit blase about the weekends, which is bound to bite me on the sizeable backside at some point.

Hopefully the bathroom situation will be sorted today, am praying I'll get home tonight and have my flat back. After 7 weeks it's become a tad unbearable living in a dump.

Anyway, here's to a good week. Back on track with a vengeance.

Hangover

Oh my poor head. The older I get the longer my hangovers seem to last! Had a lovely night out with the girls, but I drank far too much red wine - hence the really bad head. We started off with cocktails, ordered a few nibbles to tide us over and proceeded to drink until 0130. I can't even begin to guess how many points I consumed, so I won't even try but I imagine it was in excess of 60. I ended the night with a tuna Subway, could have been a lot worse I guess!

Today has been a complete right off. I got up early as my friend was staying over and her OH had texted her at 0730!! They have 2 daughters and I guess he thought if he was up, she should be too. Matt made me a bacon sarnie and a cuppa before he headed off to the footy, then I stayed in bed until 3pm. What a waste of a day! Since then I have been famished. I've had some goats cheese and pesto pasta, chicken dippers and smiley faces with bisto curry sauce... odd combination and not overly healthy and I still feel hungry. Hangovers are the curse of the devil.

Our en-suite wasn't finished yesterday as promised so that meant that wasn't really any point in me cleaning the flat as there'll still be more work done. Good job really given I've been pretty useless all day.

Really looking forward to the spa tomorrow, think it's just what I need. I've had a bit of stressy week over the bathroom situation, plus Matt has been working really long hours and coming home in a right stinking mood. Am hoping a win for West Brom will see him in a happier frame of mind today.

Right, I'm going to watch Strictly and reattach myself to the sofa before I have to pick my drunkard (bit rich coming from me!!) boyfriend up from the station.

Uneventful

The last few days have been fairly uneventful. I've been spectacularly bad at getting to the gym as I have spent most evenings cleaning the flat of the 30 inches of dust we have gathered over the past 6 weeks of bathroom fitting. (Yes six bloody weeks!). I guess in a way, all that cleaning and moving furniture etc. is some form of exercise, but I am feeling a tad guilty about my complete disregard for all things gym related.

Food is going ok, I've been bang on points the last couple of days. Do have a bit of a heavy night out with the girls planned for tonight which I am really looking forward to, I'm going to try and be sensible but that usually goes out of the window once a few drinks have been consumed!

Tomorrow I imagine will be spent recovering from a hangover, Matt is off to Leicester for the footy so I have the day to myself. No doubt more cleaning will ensue. It's a glamourous life I lead! I might go for a swim if I'm not feeling too green. Sunday I am off to a lovely spa in Henley for a spot of pampering which should be lovely. Matt is also going to take me for dinner since we've barely seen each other of late, he's been working way past 10pm every night this week. Not good for him - or me!

One of my best friends is here at the moment for an interview and I am feeling very nervous for her. Fingers crossed it goes well, have told my boss to be nice. She's coming home with me later for drinks so we can celebrate or commiserate accordingly.

Right, I'll sign off now before I bore you any more. Have a good weekend everyone.

WI

Very pleased to announce a 3lb loss. I know that's over 2 weeks, but still very happy as that puts me a bit more firmly in the 17 stone bracket. Happy Days. My 50lb loss for the New Year is looking more doable as I just need another 5lbs off to reach that.

Last night was pretty uneventful, spent most of the night trying to get the flat into some sort of order. Painted the bathroom which must class as bonus points as I was knackered afterwards and my arms are aching today.

I cooked the Fajita Style Stack from the Winter Warmers cookbook which was bloody lovely. Matt said it was one of the best meals I'd ever cooked an given I am a total domestic goddess, that's pretty good going :)

Thought I'd share the joy so here's the recipe:

Serves 4

300g Chicken (or 350g quorn)
1 leek sliced thinly
1 red pepper diced
small portion mushrooms sliced
1 packet Fajita spice mix
2 tbsps Tomato Puree
4 soft flour tortillas
150g Low fat soft cheese with garlic and herbs
150ml Chicken stock (or veg)
30g Low Fat Cheddar (I use Les Kol which is 1.5 points)

Pre heat the oven to 170
Dry fry the mushrooms, leeks, pepper and chicken for around 6-7 minutes until the chicken is browned and the veggies softened.
Stir in the fajita spice and tomato puree and cook for about a minute
Add in the stock and stir until the sauce thickens and comes together - leave to simmer for 3-4 mins.
Spread one of the tortillas with the ELF and place in the bottom of a round cake tin (ELF facing up)
Layer on 1/3 of the chicken mix and repeat with the remaining tortillas, ELF and chicken. FInish with a tortilla spread with ELF.
Sprinkle the grated cheddar and bake in the oven for 15-20 mins until browned.

Cut into 4 portions and serve! Delicious. Should have taken a photo but we snaffled it pretty sharpish and the bit I have for my lunch today doesn't look so appealing in a tupperware container.

I'm not going to the gym tonight so I can try and get the flat back into some sort of order, I have a girls night out on Friday and they are staying over and currently we have 5 inches of dust and the contents of 2 bathrooms in every room in the flat. Not overly pleasant.

I am working early tomorrow (6am start - eeek) so my aim is to go to the gym at 2:30 when I finish, that's if I can keep my eyes open!

Didn't quite make the gym....

... but I do have a fairly good reason. I was on my way there last night when I witnessed a car crash - in fact I was very nearly part of it. I was in the fast lane on the dual carriage way and I saw a car just ahead of me in the slow lane suddenly swerve - not sure if he was trying to move across to my lane or what, but he totally lost control. He veered across into my lane in front of me, onto the central reservation, spun around and then travelled back across in front of me and the slow lane and hit the crash barrier at the side of the road. It well and truly shook me up - if I'd have been doing another 10 MPH I don't think I'd have been able to miss him. I think the poor guy was ok, but his car was fairly battered. I had to stop and wait for the police since I'd seen what happened so the gym was then the last thing on my mind!

I eventually got home around 8pm so I just had myself a jacket spud with Tuna and salad and half a Wispa so I came in under points which is a bonus. I couldn't stop thinking about the car crash though, it could have been so much worse and it made me realise that I probably drive too quickly and even though I see myself as a fairly good driver, it could very easily be the actions of someone else that could impact me as well. I am going to slow myself right down from now on!

Good news is that we finally have one bathroom finished, so I painted that last night - second coat tonight. I suppose that is exercise of sorts. Not so good is they started the ensuite yesterday and even though I'd covered everything over with dust sheets, the bedroom is just full of dust from them removing the tiles and replastering, I was bloody sneezing all night! They've told us they hope to finish by Friday so in theory, we could have a clean flat at the weekend for the first time in 6 weeks. Good times!

Other than that not much to report, slightly nervous about WI tomorrow as I just haven't been completely in control for weeks now. I really want a good loss to get me more firmly planted in this stone bracket. Fingers crossed!

November already??

Good God, where is this year going? How are we in November already? I am sure at the start of this year when I was toying with losing weight, I envisaged I'd be at goal by now. Completely unrealistic of course and at least I am facing this Xmas 3 stone lighter (hopefully 3 1/2).

Had a lovely weekend, but as predicted Saturday took me way over points. I survived on zero point soup before we headed over to my friends for dinner, but I guesstimate I consumed in excess of 55 points whilst we were there. Eeeeeeeeek. The perils of alcohol. Later on however we cranked up Spotify and did some rather inane dancing, I seem to recall 'Eye of the Tiger' being particularly energetic so I must've earned a couple of BPs.

Yesterday was a bit of a right off, not much sleep and too much booze doesn't generally make for the most productive of days. I did drag my arse to the gym, but it was very hard going so I only managed 20 mins of cardio and a bit of powerplate before collapsing in the jacuzzi! Stuck to points though and just need to try and make the next few days as good as possible.

Heading to the gym tonight so hopefully I'll be a bit more productive. Will probably stay to watch the second half of the Newcastle game so will have dinner there as well. I should have around 15 points to play with so all should be good. Fingers crossed for a loss still this week - despite the excess of Saturday!