Weekend round up

Forgive me people, this is about to be a very photo heavy post - and ridiculously long. If you're short on time, I'd skip this one... :) I'm just back (somewhat exhausted) from a lovely weekend in Brighton. I must have been to Brighton about 20 times now and I still love it. I am sure I'll be back again at some point soon.
We got a deal on a hotel via Groupon (seriously, I am addicted to this site, I love a bargain) which meant we got a room for £29 instead of the usual £89 and who am I to argue with that? The hotel wasn't the best place I've ever stayed, but for the price, it was great and had a fab view.

I've done my best to point the weekend - but it's proving fairly difficult, so I've guessed most of it. The WW site doesn't seem to have restaurant points on with the new programme, which is a bit unhelpful - or maybe they are there and I just can't find them. I think we can safely say, my weekly points allowance has been used. Good job we walked for hours yesterday to give me a few Activity points....
So, back to Friday. I had planned breakfast and lunch - but then cleverly left my lunch at home (maybe a blessing given what was to follow).
Breakfast - 7PP 
Half a wrap with 2 slices of bacon and a teaspoon of ketchup, plus a babybel light.


Lunch (if you can call it that) - 3PP

A packet of Roast Beef Monster Munch - how very nutritional!




Matt picked me up from work at 4pm and we headaed to Brighton. Thankfully, the traffic wasn't too bad at all, so we made it there before 6pm, checked in, changed quickly and headed to the pub!

My first drink was a mistake - a pint of Cider, 7PP. Seriously, so not worth it. I could have had a lot of Vodka instead (which I did afterwards!).

Dinner (estimating 42 PP including all drinks) was Chinese, it was a fairly authentic restaurant, which had some very suspect items on the menu (Duck webs with fish lips, anyone??) so we stuck to the anglicised version.


A few prawn crackers and a glass of champers (7??)





Crispy duck pancake - 4 PP?



Kung Po prawns, Lemon Chicken, Fried Rice, Stir fried Veg and chilli beef (15PP??)




Followed by another glass of Champers (3) and 3 vodka with Soda (6). Phew.

Saturday morning we were up bright and early and went exploring. I really wanted to go to Bill's for breakfast, but once we eventually found the place, the queue was out of the door. We ended up in a little farm  cafe next door instead.

Breakfast - 11 PP

Eggs Benedict with Ham. I scraped off a lot of that Hollandaise, so I am once again guestimating the points. Delicious.





After breakfast, we walked some more around the North Laine area of Brighton. There are loads of little quirky shops and market stalls, so it was lovely to have a browse, however it was so unbelievably cold. My feet were numb all day. I think in all, we walked for about 3.5 hours. My legs certainly felt like they had done some exercise.

Lunch - 10PP

Around 2pm we stopped for refreshments and Matt ended up ordering Fish and Chips (well it's rude not to when you are by the sea) I had probably a third of the chips and maybe half the fish (which was fairly small, but greasy all the same)





After lunch we went to the Brighton Centre to see Holiday on Ice. An amazing show, I am totally in awe of anyone who can skate so skilfully. I was nervous every time they did a jump! Well worth seeing.

Dinner - 36 PP (??)

After that we had a few drinks (Vodka for me, 4PP) before heading to a Spanish restaurant for tapas.

We ordered prawns, Russian salad, Ham and Cheese, Potatoes with Salsa and a couple of meaty dishes which I didn't even try. We also managed to polish off 2 bottles of wine. In fairness, I needed to drink as there was a flamenco show on at the Restaurant and the female singer sounded like she was in pain.... I am sure she was amazing, but it sounded like caterwauling to me. I am clearly lacking culture!

Prawns Pil Pil and Russian Salad, plus bread.




Jamon, Manchego, Patatas Mojopicon (severe garlic attack - I can still taste it).




I felt fairly full after that little lot, so I concentrated my efforts on polishing off the wine. My head is telling me today, that wasn't the cleverest idea.

So, we are nearing the end of my food fest thankfully. Apologies if you've nodded off already.

This morning we headed to Bill's again, bright and early and managed to get a table. Full English breakfast for me.

Breakfast - 18 PP

Streaky bacon, Egg, Bubble and Squeak, Tomato, Toast, Mushrooms and Sausage. Totally lush and worth every last point.




Dinner later will be homemade Lasagne - I'm allowing myself around 15 PP to play with, so I'll make sure my portion is no more than that.

Not sure how much damage I have done really. According to my tracker, I am still ok (if I use activity points from walking). I guess we will find out on Tuesday!

Hope you've all had lovely weekends and been a bit more on track than me.

Procrastinating

Today has mostly seen me attempting to sell my worldly goods on eBay, practically blinding myself with eyelash dye, getting frustrated with prospective tenants and trying to convince Matt that the pub, 3 school night's in a row, is not overly sensible.

That aside, I've had a fairly good day on the food front. I've worked from home (which may explain my above proscrastinating) which has meant there have been lots of distractions in the kitchen. However, we are having a new kitchen installed at the end of Feb, so I'm currently undertaking 'Operation run down the cupboards and freezer'. I seem to have bought a job lot of tortilla's and fish, along with various assorted ice lollies and other unidentifiable meat based items. Could be interesting.

Anyway, I digreess. I was thinking yesterday, if you plan your meals, and stick to it, just how much food you can actually consume (you read my mind Sue!). God knows why it's taken me so long to realise it.

Breakfast - 8 PP

A tortilla wrap filled with 1 rasher of bacon and an egg and dry fried.




Mid Morning - 3 PP


A coffee made with half a cup of skimmed milk (1) . We have this fancy new coffee machine and I cannot for the life of me use it. I had water all over the floor, steam spurting everywhere, I'd have been better boiling the kettle.


2 mini babybel lights - I had scoffed one before I remembered to take a photo.



Lunch - 11 PP

Pasta with cheesy mushroom sauce. Philly extra light, mushrooms, stock cube, onions, mushroom ketchup and a bit of low fat cheese). Quite hefty on the points due to a large amount of pasta!


Mid Afternoon - 5 PP

I felt really hungry this afternoon - water wasn't doing the trick so I had a slice of sourdough toasted with whole earth peanut butter. I weighed and pointed the bread before I ate it this time - at least I sometime learn from my mistakes.




Dinner - 14 PP

More spicy parsnip soup (2)

Followed by - Tesco Lightly Duster River Cobbler (6), 1/2 can of mushy peas (3) and potato cooked in the Actifry (3).



41/41 - Job's a good 'un

Me and Matt are off to Brighton tomorrow for the weekend, so there will be less control over food, but I am intending to be as good as I can and I will keep on with the photos to shame me into it!

Diet Coke Chicken

Just for you Peridot :)


Diet Coke Chicken

SERVES 2 at 6 PP per serving (based on a medium chicken breast being 165g).

Ingredients 

• 2 Medium Chicken Breasts 
• 1 Medium Red Onion 
• 8 Tbsp Tomato Ketchup 
• 1 can of Diet Coke (Not Pepsi Max or Coke zero – too sweet) 
• Couple of dashes of Worcester Sauce (to taste) 

Instructions 

1. Dice chicken and slice onion and brown off in Frylight.
2. Add Ketchup, Diet Coke and Worcester sauce
3. Cook on high heat to reduce the sauce stirring to ensure it does not burn
4. Once it has gotten to a thick consistency (sticky) then serve. 

I also add mushrooms to mine and usually a bit of chilli to spice it up a bit - surprisingly tasty!

Day one on track - will wonders ever cease?

I bottled weigh in last night, I really couldn't face another gain. A little bit cowardly of me, but sometimes ignorance is bliss.

Today has been completely on track. I'd forgotten how good it feels to get a good day under my (ever expanding) belt. I planned and I stuck to it. Simples.

Excuse the photo heavy post, but I need to shame myself into sticking with it this week and this is the best way.

Breakfast - 11PP

2 slices of sourdough bread (note to self, weigh and then point immediately, not after you've eaten or you'll end up with 9 points worth of bread) with 2 teaspoons of Lurpak lighter.



Mid morning - 0 PP

An apple - free fruit. I like it.

Lunch - 9 PP in total

Huge salad with king prawns, cabbage, spinach, lambs lettuce, red onion, beetroot, pepper, tomatoes and cous cous. Splash of Balsamic Vinegar - 4 PP

Bit of left over homemade mushroom soup - 1pp

And I even managed to sneak a slice of Domino's garlic bread - 4PP (my colleague had this and pizza and I went with him to Domino's and ordered nothing - that was a bit of a test)

Dinner - 14 PP in total

Homemade spiced parsnip soup - 2PP. Soup is definitely the way forward for filling me up and a really good way of getting my veg in.


(Parnsip, carrot, onion, garlic, chicken stock and curry powder - I'm very much of a chuck it in and hope for the best school of cooking, so no clue on measurements!).

Sticky chilli chicken (aka diet coke chicken - chicken breast, mushrooms, onions, diet coke, tomato ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and chilli flakes) 4PP served with egg fried rice - 5PP and a couple of spoonfuls of Thai green curry - 3PP.

That takes me to 34 out of a possible 41. I feel a little sliver of cake with a cuppa could be in order. Go me.

I'm working from home tomorrow due to sheer laziness, I actually cannot face another morning of rubbish traffic jams. I've pretty much planned all of my meals, although a couple of bits may change. I strangely feel quite enthusiastic about WW once again. It's been a long time coming.

Reason number 225 why I am not getting weighed tonight

I cannot stop eating today. Someone please come at me with a stapler and make me stop. I am not even hungry, I fear I am hormonal, but I literally feel sick with left over buffet food.

Today I have consumed:

1. Left over bubble and squeak for breakfast (small amount of potato, lots of carrot, onion and cabbage) - PLANNED
2. A WW Lemon Meringue Mini bar... minging - NOT PLANNED
3. An apple - PLANNED
4. A packet of Roast Beef Monster Munch - NOT PLANNED
5. Some Mushroom Soup (homemade) - PLANNED
6. Half an egg mayonnaise and bacon sandwich - NOT PLANNED
7. An Onion Bhaji - NOT PLANNED
8. Half a roast beef salad sandwich - NOT PLANNED
9. A bite of some fishy pastry thing (binned) - NOT PLANNED

Seriously Linz, sort it out. 

Another excuse (like I need one after consuming that little lot) is that I am in my jeans - and Lord knows, you cannot get weighed in a jean. 

As of tomorrow, I am back to photographing everything I eat. That might shame me into being good.

Lovely Leeds

Happy Monday people (is that a contradiction in terms?). I am back - somewhat exhausted, from a lovely girlie weekend in Leeds. My eating has been suspect, in fact, it's been fairly mindless.

We arrived quite late on Friday night at the apartment we had rented. The other girls, who had arrived earlier, had bought a few nibbles from M&S along with wine. I honestly can't tell you exactly what I ate, but there was definitely falafel, tortilla chips, nuts and king prawns involved somewhere. We were too busy gossiping and drinking for me to be overly mindful of my consumption. Bad.

Saturday, another friend arrived early, so we had some breakfast, many cups of tea and then went exploring in Leeds. What a great place - have never been before, but I really liked it there, it's definitely a place I will visit again. We had lunch in the Corn Exchange (rare roast beef and blue cheese sandwich for me), did some shopping, had afternoon tea and then came back to the apartment to get ready for the night's festivities. We did a fair amount of walking, so at least there was some exercise (although that was most definitely negated by the cream scone I consumed).

We were staying very close to Brewery Wharf, so we ended up there for dinner at a Fine Dining Indian called Cafe Guru. I opted for Masaala Ki Dastie (seared lamb steak topped with bombay potatoes and minted masaala sauce) which was delicious. Much wine also was consumed. We then went for drinks and a bit of a boogie. I was chatted up by a 21 year old - I presume he was participating in some form of 'Grab a Granny' competition as the bar was full of young, scantily clad, gorgeous girls, but it was flattering all the same :) A few mojito's and G&T's later we headed back to the apartment for more gossiping. A couple of the girls have young children, so it was lovely for them to have a bit of 'me' time.

I think on both Friday and Saturday, we didn't get to bed til past 3am, I am not used to such late nights, I slept really well last night!

Yesterday was a bit of a rush. We went for lunch at Yates's (for fear of appearing a food snob, I am usually scared of places that do 2 main meals for £6, so I was somewhat sceptical) and I had possibly the worst Fish and Chips known to man (I needed a bit of grease for hangover beating purposes, so that's allowed). How you can over fry fish so badly, it disintegrates, I will fail to understand. Yuck.

Me and Alex then ran for our train for the first leg of the journey to Birmingham. After the minging Fish and Chips, I consoled myself with a Beef and Ale Pasty in Birmingham New Street station while we had 30 mins to kill- so a really healthy day for me.... We ended up back in Reading around 6pm, having left Leeds at 2pm, which wasn't too bad.

Last night I whizzed up some delicious Mushroom Soup (Mushrooms, Onions, tiny knob of butter, Garlic, Chicken Stock, splash of Sherry - voila) which I had for dinner - although I wasn't in the slightest bit hungry, I fail to understand why I still eat, just because it's a meal time. I really need to start listening to my body a bit more.

Today, I am feeling a bit more in control. I have a bit of a food hangover from the weekend and I feel fairly hungry - so am guzzling liquids in an attempt to fill me up. I've only one night out this week (plus another weekend away) so hopefully, I will be a bit more in control than I managed last week. I am not looking forward to WI tomorrow night, I can't see it being overly favourable.

I think I'll need to change the focus of this blog from Weight Loss, to a flipping Social Diary if I don't pull my finger out. Healthy eating will resume today. Honest.

Hanging on in there.... just

This week has been somewhat exhausting - and fairly difficult to stay on track, but I seem to be hanging on by the skin of my teeth. I've had a couple of unfortunate run-ins. One with a home made brownie (delicious)which I managed to ignore for about 3 hours before I succumbed  and the other with a macaroni cheese (I adore macaroni cheese and I find it almost impossible to resist when I see it on a menu - and as luck would not have it, it's been on every bloody menu I have looked at this week).

Brendan Cole on Tuesday was very entertaining, a complete and utter cheese fest, but I left the theatre with a smile on my face. Can't really argue with that. He is a bit of an idiot, but a very talented dancer and I love a bit of a boogie (he had the whole theatre up doing the salsa) so a good night was had by all.

My tracking has been somewhat sporadic, I'm a bit disappointed in myself for not focussing 100%, but I suppose 90% is better than nothing at all. I am itching to get back to doing some exercise to really give me a boost, but unfortunately I am still not allowed to do too much post operation (I'm still feeling some after effects it has to be said, so I'm probably better not signing up for a spinning class at the moment!). That hurts one's nether regions at the best of times... :)

Tonight,after work, I am catching the train (well 2 trains) to Leeds with my friend Alex to meet up with a few of our old school friends who are heading down from Durham. We've rented an Apartment in the city centre, so it will be lovely to catch up. I imagine there will be alcohol, snacks and a few meals out, but I'll do my best to stay in control. Hopefully there will be a fair bit of walking too. Next week see's a return to normality, thankfully. More cooking from scratch, less eating out and less drinking. I'll be in need of a few night's in by the end of this weekend!

Have a fantastic weekend everybody.

Too many plans.

Happy Monday everyone. Hope you have all had great weekends. I can't actually believe how quickly Monday has come around, my weekend went by so quickly. I was in a right old grump at the thought of coming into work today, Blue Monday indeed.

My parents came to stay on Friday night so it's been a really busy weekend. It's always lovely to see them, but fairly exhausting too :)

I've tried to stick to WW as best as I can, tried to make more sensible choices (Salad when I wanted Steak and Chips, Pasta when I wanted a Burger, Vodka with Soda and fresh Lime instead of Wine) so I don't seem to have gone too far off track. We went to the pub last night and I drove so I couldn't waste points on alcohol and I'd made up a big batch of carrot soup so I had some of that before we went so I wasn't tempted to order anything bad. Seems I can do this WW plan if I actually put my mind to it.

This week is possibly the most ridiculously busy ever. My parents are still here so we will probably head out for dinner tonight. I won't be at WI tomorrow as I am off to see Brendan Cole (cheese fest, I am sure) after work with the girls, Wednesday, I am off to see a friend after work, Thursday I have work drinks and then Friday, I am off to Leeds for a girlie weekend. Exhausted at the thought. I am going to have to be as good as I can with WW during this little lot. Wish me luck!

Ooh and thanks to Rejecting 300 for my award - will try and do my 7 things soon!

Flashing.

Thanks for all of your well wishes on Monday. I had a fairly lazy afternoon and actually managed to get Matt to wait on me - a rarity I can assure you! I'm feeling fine, back to work yesterday and just a few cramps to contend with, so all is good.

What is not so good, is my Christmas and New Year weight gain of 6.5 pounds. To be honest, I expected more. I felt completely bloated before WI last night and I've not exactly been tracking for the last 4 or 5 weeks. This does take me back up to 1.5 stone heavier than my lowest ever weight (in recent times anyway) and I am not overly impressed with that statistic.

As if to bring home my lardiness to me, I suffered a fairly unfortunate incident yesterday when getting into my car to go home from work. I try to wear light weight clothes on a Tuesday (one can't be getting weighed in a Jean) and I have a pair of ASOS Curve baby cord trousers which I really like, but they are incredibly thin - almost flimsy if you like. I've noticed my fat thighs had caused a bit of wear between the legs, so I have been trying not to wear them overly. Anyway, imagine my horror when I got into the car yesterday to hear a ripping sound - the whole back of the trouser had given way - from my knee to my rather large bottom. I am just fairly thankful it happened on my way home. Imagine if I'd not noticed and spent the day at work exposing myself.

I did however have to collect after work, so I had to try and fashion my cardigan in such a manner that it protected my modesty. I think the fashion world is missing my talents. 

Anyway, my enthusiasm for WW has now returned. I have pointed today, I have my iPhone back so I have downloaded the new app which will be very useful. I am hopeful of a good week and fairly convinced I can shed some of this extra poundage before long. I even managed to go to the pub last night (once I had changed my trousers of course) and stick to Lime and Soda. Wonders will never cease. Still not sure what exercise I can do for the next few weeks, but I am going to try and walk a bit more. Every little helps.

Not a flying start

Today, I have  mostly felt a little bit sorry for myself and eaten a KFC (3 pieces of chicken and some gravy - no fries, how restrained) and 2 chocolate biscuits.

In my defence, I went to the hospital this morning and ended up having a procedure to remove a part of my cervix (although why I still feel the need to medicate with food is something I will never understand) which I felt compelled to watch on a tv screen. Suffice to say, it was not the most pleasant thing to watch, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the screen! Thankfully my very squeamish boyfriend stayed in the waiting room so I was able to ask all sorts of questions without fear of him fainting. Big, brave boy that he is.  Hopefully, they have now removed all of the bad cells and I will be fine. I should know for definite in around 6 weeks time.

Obviously when the doctor told me to take it easy for the rest of the day, I took her at her word, so I've not really moved too far from the sofa since I got home. I don't need any encouragement to be a lazy cow!

So, the bad news is - no strenuous exercise or swimming for 4-6 weeks. I guess I can still go walking and do 'gentle' exercise, but I'll not be throwing myself back into spinning any time soon.

Dinner is planned (Shepherd's Pie with extra lean mince and lot of vegetables) and Salad is prepared for tomorrow. I can get my eating back on track, I'll just have to try and lose weight without flinging myself around a gym for the next month.

The dreaded WI takes place tomorrow, I've pinned my hopes on a bit less of a gain given part of me has been removed this morning.... am I pushing it do you think?? :) I'll let you know the hideous result tomorrow, once I've picked myself back up off the floor.

I'm back!

And what a shock to the system that is. From 25 degrees to 0 in the space of 5 hours. Ouch!

Anyway, had a lovely time in Tenerife, the weather  was amazing. I felt relaxed for the first time in about 3 months. I read 13 books (yes 13!) on my new Kindle, we drank a lot, we ate too much, we explored the Island. It was a lovely holiday with good friends. Just gutted to be back to reality now!

I am dreading WI on Tuesday, I imagine it will be a big gain. I am however relishing getting myself back on track. I am craving fruit and vegetables, I am looking forward to getting fit again and to planning meals and generally being back in control. My New Year's resolution is to stop messing around and get serious with losing weight. Last Year I achieved precisely zero on the weight loss front, it could have been worse in that I could have undone all of the hard work from 2009, but I also could have lost a hell of a lot more.

Anyway, no point dwelling on what I could have done and better to focus on getting myself to where I want to be. 

I'm at the hospital tomorrow, fingers crossed that goes ok, so not actually back at work until Tuesday, but at least I can sit down tomorrow and plan a few meals and get shopping for fruit and veg.

So, back to reality now and back to being in control of losing weight! Hope you all had amazing New Year's. I've a lot of catching up to do.