Another week

... another lack of movement on the scales. I suppose in a way, it's a good thing as I've not gained, but I was hopeful that my foray into the world of exercise might do me a bit of good... actually perhaps it did and hence no gain.

On the exercise front, I did a 3 mile walk, 2 bouts of Zumba on the Wii (after which I couldn't move) and another 2 mile walk - nothing amazing, but definite progress. My dancing skills are suspect. I always thought I had rhythm but clearly I have been kidding myself.

The weekend was lovely. Reading Festival was really loud - we could hear everything from our flat, but managed to sleep thanks to ear plugs and wine. Friday night involved a SW friendly curry and a couple of drinks plus series 2 of The Inbetweeners. Nothing too earth shattering.

Saturday was a tad stressful with the wedding dress shopping. The shop was lovely and had a large selection of Plus size dresses - but they all looked the bloody same to me. The dress in my last post, that I was in love with, was actually a size 12. So I got in it, and I still loved it, but it was impossible to tell really if it looked nice or not since it was held up by the shop owner. I tried on a few horrors, one which I thought I'd hate but looked nice and I am still no further forward in deciding on the dress. 


We spent Sunday with friends and my sister at a Food Festival in Oxford. It was a lovely day, I ate a bit too much, although again nothing too SW unfriendly - Thai Chilli Beef noodles, 1 Churro, some parma ham and a couple of glasses of Champagne. I managed not to buy too much either - although we did come back with some delicious popcorn for future cinema visits. Seriously - this stuff is amazing (caramel and sea salt and goats cheese and black pepper - to die for).

Since then, nothing major to report. Monday we had a BBQ before taking my sister back to the airport. I was supposed to be out last night with friends in London, but all 4 of us managed to forget, so that saved me some syns. The rest of the week will be spent counting down the days until the weekend. We've a friend's wedding to attend on Saturday and then Sunday we are Vegas bound. I cannot wait.

My current plan of survival for 12 days in the US is:

• Walk every morning for at least 20 mins - well this is Matt's plan so I am going to attempt it.
• Swim every day.
• Eat two meals a day - 3 are not required when eating massive portions.
• Try and stick to the basics of SW when making meal choices.
• Don't drink booze every single day.
• Don't stuff your face just because you are on holiday. You don't need to eat 24 pancakes for breakfast, just because you can.
• Don't scream too much when you see Matt Goss. You are no longer a 14 year old Brossette... (Ok that's nothing to do with weight loss but I need to remember it).

I am joining a SW class when I come back - I clearly can't be trusted on my own.

Quick catch up

Thanks for your comments on my last post, trying on session of the dress tomorrow. Gulp.

I'm so glad it's Friday - work has been a shocker this week. I cannot wait to shut this laptop down and banish work from my mind til Tuesday. We've made ourselves housebound tonight as town is literally teaming with Festival goers and you cannot really get in anywhere, so a SW friendly curry, couple of glasses of wine and Series 2 of The Inbetweeners is on the cards.

Not much else to report really, I  walked 2.5 miles on Wednesday night (nothing too impressive, but it's a start), we needed to get supplies in prior to the Festival starting, so we walked the long way round instead of the 0.5 mile direct route. I had forgotten how hard it is to carry  shopping up the hill - note to self... don't buy 2kg of ice plus large bottles of drink when you are without car. That felt like a full on work out by the time we got home.

Carrying on with the exercise theme, I'm just about to stick Zumba on the Wii, baring in mind last time I attempted this, I needed medical treatment, this might not go so well.

Have fabulous weekends y'all. Hopefully my plot won't get too lost.

WI and wedding dress

The scales have me the same as last week. This is not bad, considering, but it's also a bit rubbish given last week I was a pound up. I need to sort this out. I am starting to lose patience with myself. If I believed in all that star sign stuff, I'd say I was displayed true Gemini qualities here - one half of me is thinking eff it, what's the point and my other, less evil half is thinking stop sodding well messing around young lady. I'm constantly battling with myself at the moment.

I'm also scared of how unfit I have become. I need to just bite the bullet and get on with some form of movement, my whole aim for weight loss is to be more healthy and that's just not going to happen unless I start to move my sorry arse. I'm suffering with my back again and I'm fairly sure it's because I am not doing anything that could help strengthen it.

I'm still eating fairly well  during the week so I just need to carry on in the same vein at the weekends. Love Cat really struck a chord with me in this post. Take control now and make the moment count. Well I shall bloody well try.

My sister is coming to stay on Saturday and we are going to try on a wedding dress (well just me obviously since she is already married). Gulp. If that doesn't spur me on to shift some poundage, I don't know what will. I am already fearing being bulldog clipped into it. They've only got a size 14 in the shop at the moment (but it is available up to a 24) - but the kind lady assures me that won't be a problem. Ahem. Anyway - this is the current dress of my dreams. I am sure I'll hate it on Saturday once I've tried to squeeze my large breasticles into it.

Sunday we are off to a Food Festival in Oxford (seriously, why do I do this to myself) so that is going to be a lesson in restraint, but the rest of the weekend is, as yet, unplanned.

I'm working from home the next 2 days as we have the joy of the Reading Festival taking place across the river from the flat. This means my usual 25 minute commute to work becomes a 2 hour horror story so I am not even going to attempt it. I am going to use this time to try and get back into the exercise malarkey. Please shout at me if I don't report any form of movement in the next few days.

Weekend 80's style

After a lovely weekend with friends, I am thoroughly miserable to be back at work, made especially more miserable by the dreary weather.

I forgot to WI on Friday so I guess I have to stick with the pound up that Wednesday showed... boo. To be honest, I don't overly expect amazing things after (yet another) weekend of excess.

I spent Saturday at the Rewind Festival in Henley with 6 of my girlie friends, the weather got off to a hideous start - pac-a-macs, wellies and umbrella's a plenty, but after a couple of hours we were met with glorious sunshine. I had such a lovely day singing along to the likes of Hue and Cry, Banarama and ABC. I drank a lot of G&T's and Cider (it was either that or Black Tower wine), I ate a hog roast bap with apple sauce for lunch and chips with curry sauce for dinner and I generally had a lovely day. I am not stressing overly about my calorie intake or my lack of SW focus, it hasn't forced me off the rails since.

Sunday was a bit of a write off to be honest. My friend and her hubby had stayed over, so while the boys headed off early to the Cricket, me and Deb lay around on the sofa mostly, watching crap telly and drinking copious amounts of tea. We eventually ventured into town around 6pm for dinner and to meet the boys - steak and salad for me and a small glass of wine. Nothing too earth shatteringly bad.

Yesterday was much better, no snacks, Toast for breakfast and fruit, lunch was a shop bought pasta dish for 2 syns (Tesco Healthy Living Creamy Mushroom Pasta - £1 and I love it) and dinner was a home made chicken curry with practically an entire veg box in it with boiled rice.

Today is following in a similar fashion, cheese on toast for breakfast (how decadent) and fruit, massive tuna salad for lunch and dinner is pasta and sauce - I am babysitting tonight for friends, so they are feeding me. I am hoping their daughter decides tonight is a good night to sleep.

I will WI tomorrow as usual and see how bad it is and if it's not looking too pleasant, I'll aim for a Friday WI too. It's less than 2 weeks til we go to Vegas, so I could do with a couple more pounds off before then.

Ouch

Exercise does not agree with me. I attempted Zumba on the Wii last night before I went out for dinner and now I am in agony. If only it was down to having had a good work out. I have clicked something in my neck/ spine and now cannot turn my head to the right and have pins and needles in my right arm and shoulder. Seriously not good. I'd have been better off having a post work lie down.

As luck would have it, I am off to the Osteopath tonight anyway, so fingers crossed she can crack something back into place otherwise I am going to get fairly sick of swivelling my whole body every time I need to look to the right.

Stuck to the plan last night to try and have a fairly SW friendly dinner..... not sure it was totally the best option. Bubble and Squeak with Asparagus, Poached Egg and Hollandaise Sauce. I've syned the sauce and some oil for frying, so it's perhaps not the end of the world.

A quick hop on the scales this morning had me a pound up from last week, but I'm ignoring that til Friday....

Alcohol induced hunger...

I survived a weekend of debauchery in Oxford, I'd love to say with my Slimming World halo in tact, but that would be a slight lie. We drank a lot and for most of Saturday. I didn't eat too horrifically, but I did drink a lot of Wine, Champagne, Gin and the odd Cocktail. Still, it was a lovely weekend with some of my best friends, so I won't stress overly.

Can I just say however, that punting, with a load of alcohol on board is a dangerous idea. We nearly capsized more than once, we lost the pole a few times and the Hen nearly went for a swim on more than one occasion. Hilarious, but bloody scary! I refused to have a go at punting, on the basis that I can't stay upright on dry land, so my attempts would more than likely capsize the boat - and with a pregnant lady on board.... well that would be bad.

We punted to a pub where we were able to have a picnic - I baked these items especially for the day. Never let it be said I am not classy! 

Post punting, we went for cocktails, then dinner and then onto a club - I felt incredibly old. You know you are getting on in years when you are looking at the rest of the clientele and working out if you are old enough to be their mother. I finally got to bed at 0330. Ouch.

Since Sunday, I have felt ravenous. I am presuming that's due to a very boozy Saturday. Most of what I have eaten has been in line with SW, but I've maybe eaten more than necessary. Sunday, I had a full English at the hotel (all SW friendly items of course) and then came home and made a massive lasagne, again SW friendly packed with tons of veg, but I ate a lot of it. Yesterday, I had egg on toast for breakfast, then left over lasagne, then a salad and then a home made lamb & rosemary burger last night with home made wedges and more salad followed by cherries and fat free yoghurt - and nothing is satisfying me.

Gah.

Today, I am downing water like it's running out in a bid to satiate myself. I've had more cherries and yoghurt for breakfast, Lunch is home made bacon and mushroom risotto with a spinach salad and then I am meeting friends tonight for dinner. I am going to stick to the plan of seeing it as a normal meal - not an excuse to treat myself... so I am thinking I'll either go for the bubble and squeak croquettes or maybe the lamb shoulder. Either way, I am going to track it all and not see a night out as an excuse to go mad.

I think this week, WI will move to Friday in an attempt to give me time to recover. I can't be doing with any setbacks. 

Wish me luck.

Success and Failures so far this week...

It's been a mixed bag really. My eye has been off the ball on a couple of occasions. I seem to only stay completely in control when I photograph everything! I may have to resort to this again.

Success 1 - buying snacks to take to the cinema on Wednesday so I could syn them more effectively.

Failure 1 - eating more than I needed/wanted just because (Percy Pigs, I am looking at you).

Success 2 - drinking diet coke in the pub last night.

Failure 2 - mindless eating of the Bombay Mix that was on the table. 

Success 3 - making a Lamb Rogan Josh so it was Syn free instead of grabbing a takeaway after the pub.

Failure 3 - drinking a couple of glasses of Prosecco on a non boozing night.

So a mixed bag really. Today has been ok as I brought breakfast and lunch with me and we are staying in tonight with films, Rib Eye Steak and loads of veggies. I shall be alcohol avoiding to make up for last night.

Tomorrow, I am iff to Oxford for a hen do, I have been in charge of 'gifts' there is a strong tacky theme running through my purchases. I have also made cupcakes which are quite special. I shall share a photo on Monday!

Have a great weekend y'all. 

And the scales say....

.... 2 pounds off. I'll take that considering yesterday I wasn't exactly exemplary (it was all going so well until I got home and it was sunny.... but we'll brush that under the carpet) Another week - onwards and downwards I hope. I'm thinking of moving WI to a Friday as of next week, but I will assess that on the basis of what the scales say next Weds.

This week is shaping up to be fairly quiet by my usual standards. I am off to the cinema to see Bridesmaids (again) tonight with a friend. She's not seen it yet and was desperate to go, so being the good Samaritan I am, I offered to accompany her. She's cooking me dinner beforehand, but I already know it is something Salad based and I will probably use a few Syns for some cinema style snackage.

Other than that, I've only a hen do on Saturday in Oxford to contend with and I am fairly confident I can make good food choices at least, booze might be a bit OTT, but I will try and reign it in a bit. We are punting during the day - lets hope the weather stays good.... if not I can always wear my new Wellies provided for me by my little sister (tedious link but I had to shoehorn the picture in somehow) She's just had a massive order from Minnie's Boutique of The Only Way is Essex fame. I am tearfully proud of her.

What's going on?

I'm totally shocked by the TV footage of the riots last night. I cannot even begin to comprehend why people are acting this way - I understand that the country is in a mess and unemployment is high, but I really cannot understand the actions of the mindless idiots setting fire to peoples home's and businesses. What is it they are trying to achieve? It makes me so sad to see.

I used to spend a lot of time in Ealing and Clapham, so the scenes last night all seemed a bit too close to home. I couldn't sleep last night for thinking about it all.

I really don't know what the answer is, but obviously something needs to be done before our country is completely destroyed. I just hope we don't see scenes like that again tonight, it makes me almost ashamed.

Moody Monday 2

Oh Monday, you really are miserable. Rain, road closures and a general lack of sleep meant I gave up trying to get to the office and worked from home. 

I got myself back into bed with my laptop (I am seriously cold) after I had cooked a couple of Scrambled Eggs with Wholemeal Toast (Healthy Extra B). 

For lunch I cooked up a shed load of Veggies - Courgettes, Mushrooms, Onions, Carrots, Runner beans and  Tomatoes with some lean chopped Bacon, a splash of Balsamic Vinegar and Salt and Pepper. I let this cook down for about 30 minutes and then served it with some pasta and  teaspoon of grated Parmesan (synful). Very tasty!

For some reason I then decided that this....

.....would be a good idea. Yip.... the entire contents of my wardrobe. I seem to have a lot of clothes!

After about 2 hours of sweating, swearing and general disbelief that a fatso can have so many clothes.. I ended up with some sense of order...

Believe it or not, I got rid of 3 bin liners of stuff for charity and I still have loads... I must stop buying clothes! I am the proud owner of 17 pairs of jeans (yes really) 11 maxi dresses and 18 short dresses (seriously..) and don't get met started on shoes or bags. I am ridiculous.

For dinner I made burgers (extra lean mince, onion, chilli powder, worcestershire sauce and an egg) topped with a dollop of dairlylea extra light and served them with Savoury Rice (free on SW) and some salad. Syns in the ketchup but I counted the dairylea as my healthy extra A so a fairly synless meal.

So, today is the last day of my SW week and it has been fairly good by my standards. Let's hope the scales agree.

Synless Sunday (almost)

Final day of my weekend in Brum. I promise to try and be a bit more interesting after this!

I hit the breakfast buffet again this morning and after much umming and ahhing, I decided I could perhaps have a fairly syn free cooked breakfast.

Egg, bacon and beans. Probably a syn or 2 for any oil.




This totally hit the spot. Thank god there was no black pudding or fried bread, I'd have struggled to resist those.

We then spent a few hours shopping (my mother can shop for Britain) and finished off with a skinny latte in Pret. I'm counting the milk as my a healthy extra. I had my walking app on whilst we wandered and we apparently clocked up 4.2 miles. My feet would lead me to believe this is true. Exercise done.

The train back home was pretty packed so we upgraded to first class for a tenner each, total bargain for a much more pleasant journey. However, this does mean free drinks and snacks. I stuck to diet coke and tea and politely refused the shortbread and I bloody love shortbread. Go me.

For dinner, I rustled up this little beauty. Roast chicken with dry roast spuds, runner beans, mashed carrots, cabbage dry fried with lean bacon and onions with stuffing and Bisto (synful)


This was amazing if I do say so myself.

For once, I've had a fairly decent crack at slimming world at the weekend. I'm almost proud of myself and have shown I can do it if I think things through. Those scales better be kind this week.

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Saturday food.

Another foody post in my attempt to prove to myself you can have a weekend away and still be fairly good.

We are staying bed and breakfast which is always a bit of a minefield, especially when it's a buffet!

1 slice of brown toast, no wholemeal option. I had a smidge of butter on this. Dry toast is not an option.


Followed by mixed fruit and a spoonful of yoghurt.



Lunch was tomato and vegetable soup. This came with 2 slices of White bread which I left.

Fortunately I wasn't massively hungry as the pub we were in had zero healthy options.


For dinner we went to an amazing steakhouse in the Mailbox in Birmingham. I opted for a ribeye steak with jacket potato (no butter!) and a salad with bacon and maple dressing.





This was bloody lovely! In fact I couldn't eat it all. Washed down with a few glasses of wine and a G&T.

All in all, not a total SW disaster. Plus there were no major disasters at the parental meet. Phew.

Back home this afternoon so just a few more hours of temptations.

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Friday food

Excuse the dull post, however I need to blog to retain a bit of control.

Started off the day with a 2.5 mike walk. My fitness is currently zero so I was a bit sweaty on the final hill. Need to get back into this exercise business.






Breakfast on my return was left over 'quiche'.






For lunch I cooked up some gorgeous organic pork and leek sausages (3 syns each) in the oven with tomatoes, onions, courgettes, garlic and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Served with a slice of wholemeal toast (healthy extra b)





Another 1 mile walk in the sun then followed as we headed to the train station to catch the train to Birmingham.

Met the parentals at the hotel and popped out for a couple of drinks. I stuck to diet coke at first and then we ended up in a Chinese restaurant. A banquet for 4 was ordered. Much self control required!

1 prawn toast, crispy seaweed, crispy chicken and sweet and sour sauce.





Followed by just one bowl of food! Unheard of for me. Boiled rice, spoonful of beef in black bean, spoonful of pork with cashew nuts and 2 pieces of lemon chicken plus a few glasses of wine.





Clearly not the best day, but at least I considered what I ate. That's progress.

We are now off to introduce my parents to Matts mom and step dad. Wish me luck!!

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A good food day

Day one in the Linzerello house (imagine a Geordie accent here) and I'm doing ok.

I've had an absolute stinker of a headache all day which has rendered me a bit useless, but at least it's taken my mind off stuffing my face. I had planned to do my Zumba game but o went for a little walk instead in the hope fresh air would clear my head.

Last night when I got into bed I listened to the weight loss hypnosis mp3, maybe I'm still in some sort of hypnotic state and that's why my head is banging, but I couldn't tell you a word of what was said. Apparently this is not a bad thing and my subconscious will be working to beat the lard. Every little helps as Tesco would say.

Anyway, food today has all been SW friendly and only 1 syn has been consumed. Gently does it.

Breakfast

Slimming world style quiche, i.e. Eggs and fat free cottage cheese with bacon, peppers, mushrooms, onions and broccoli. Tasty and filling.



Lunch
Pasta with bacon, broccoli, cabbage, mushrooms, spring onions and low low cheese spread (healthy extra A). Yum.


Strawberries and grapes.



Dinner

Mustard pork chop (syn for the mustard) with boulangere potatoes (pots, onions and stock baked in oven) with cabbage and broccoli with a teaspoon of the low low cheese stirred through to avoid blandness.



Clearly one good day is not overly anything to be proud of, but I'm going to keep on with the photos over the weekend to try and keep myself on the right track.

Right, I'm off to lie in a darkened room in an attempt to shake off this rubbish head.

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Thank you

Massive thanks to everyone for commenting yesterday, you have definitely given me food for thought (do you see what I did there??).

Surprisingly, the scales haven't moved since last week, I'm still the same weight. I'm not going to get massively complacent about this as I know these things have a habit of biting  you on the bum.

I've had a long hard think about what is going on with me and weight loss at the moment and have come up with the following brain dump, please excuse the randomness:

• I eat out too much - and every time I eat out, I have the mentality that I should treat myself. This is bad. Since eating out is almost normal these days (again bad) I should attempt to change my mentality and stop seeing every meal as an excuse to eat what I want.
• I drink too much. I like a lovely G&T or a glass of Prosecco. I need to drink less.
• I need to find other ways to socialise. When I think about socialising, I think eating and drinking with friends/ Matt. If I am going to eat out, I need to make better choices, not just choose what I fancy every time.
• I am lazy - I actively seek to avoid exercise at the moment, which is ridiculous given 18 months ago I was at the gym at least 3 times a week. This needs to change.
• I love food. It makes me happy. I don't want to give up eating out in nice restaurants, but I don't want to be back where I started either. I need to find a balance.
• Being thin is not massively important to me. Being healthier and slimmer is. I can't imagine myself as a size 10 - and to be honest, I am not sure that's even something I am aspiring for. I like curvy, I like boobs and a bum and Matt loves me as I am. I need to lose weight to be healthier and I don't want to be 21 stone again.
• Completely giving up my current lifestyle to be a lot thinner for my wedding would make me miserable, miserable is not good. Making some changes to lose a couple of stone is manageable.
• I actually quite like myself. Even though I struggle with my weight, I don't feel fat or ugly or unattractive. This is a good thing. 
• I need to focus.

So.... Although I can't categorically say that losing weight is the be all and end all for me, it is something that I still want to do. It's something that I need to do. The plan of action is as follows:

• Limit meals out. Currently I'd say I eat out maybe 4 times a week. I am going to restrict this to twice a week - obviously there will be times when I can't stick to this, but this is the aim. I realise this is still excessive, so I will actively try and suggest other options where possible.
• Don't see eating out as an excuse to be a pig. Make sensible choices.
• Suggest alternatives to eating out - cinema, coffee, walks (?), cook dinner for people.
• Drink less. From now on - drinks are allowed once at the weekend (i.e. Friday or Saturday) and once during the week. 
• Stick to Slimming World. It's a good plan, it's flexible, it works. Give it a bloody good go. If I am still getting nowhere by September, join a class.
• Exercise. I pay for gym membership, so I need to start using it. Do the Zumba game on the Wii when the gym is not possible.
• Listen to the motivational weight loss MP3 I've got on my iPhone at night whilst falling asleep.

I've been fannying around for too long. I can't go back to where I was - the thought upsets me, so I am going to take it one day at a time, one meal at a time if required.

I've fallen in love with a wedding dress and have found a shop near me that stocks it. I am going to try it on in a few weeks time (they only have a size 14, but they assure me I will be able to get an idea) so maybe this will be the final kick I need. I want this dress badly. It has to look nice!

Phew.

Stress and a rant

I've been a bit AWOL of late. Last week descended into a chaotic stress fest at work, which saw me take my eye off the ball somewhat with SW.

The weekend was predictably bad. I went away on Saturday with a couple of girlfriends to an overnight spa, which was very lovely, but we did manage to demolish lunch, nibbles, 5 bottles of wine, a 3 course meal and a full English breakfast the next day. So not clever. I can't begin to imagine the damage done.

Sunday, I was meant to go for lunch with Matt but I literally couldn't face food at all so we cancelled and just went for a walk in the Sunshine in Henley on Thames. At least I didn't proceed to stuff my face in the same manner as Saturday.

Since then, I've practically fallen out with my entire family over my wedding plans. It's not like I am giving everyone 13 months notice (the Save the date's went out yesterday) or anything - clearly that just gives them 13 months to moan. Apparently I should have thought of the logistics for them before I booked anything. How utterly selfish of me to get married where we want. Matt's Mom is also trying my patience, but I am biting my tongue with that one as best I can.

I have, however, failed to bit my tongue with my middle sister. She's been told if it's too much trouble for them (this sister is about to go on her 4th holiday this year with her hubby and 2 kids, but apparently taking time off for my wedding next year is a lot of trouble) that they don't need to bother themselves - so I may need to hire a couple of flower girls to replace my nieces. I'm at the stage now where I can't be bothered to try and please people. If you don't like it, don't come! And breathe......

Sorry for that rant!

So, yet again, I was back on track with SW yesterday. Almost saintly in fact. I just wish I could sort out my weekends. I fear this weekend will be trying. We are off to Birmingham for the weekend to introduce my parents to Matt's. Lord help us. I may need a tranquilliser of some description to stop me from losing the plot altogether.

Plans for this week - out for dinner tonight (another Groupon Voucher) I've salad and fruit to tide me over til then. Matt is away with work tomorrow and Thursday so I am visiting a friend tomorrow night and on Thursday I am going to make a concerted effort to exercise. Please chastise me if I don't report this!

I am once again dreading the scales tomorrow given my excess on Saturday and that time of the month that makes me emotional. Fingers crossed it's not hideous. I must do better, I've a bloody wedding dress to wear next year. Yikes.