Thinking it through

Thanks for your comments yesterday. CJ, I totally understand where you are coming from. I know that WW works - and it used to for me until the change. I am still 42 pounds lighter than I was, thanks to WW,  but since the new ProPoints, I just can't seem to get my head around it. I've lost and gained the same half a stone since the  end of last year which has meant I've become completely disillusioned. I guess I am my own worst enemy with this as I took my eye off the ball a bit, but my lifestyle hasn't really changed that much since I started WW, I've always eaten out and still managed to lose, but maybe it's been somewhat excessive of late! I don't want to change diets because I want to eat more, I just need something that works for me. Perhaps going it alone for a while is the answer while I sort my head out - maybe WW will be the ultimate answer. I just don't know at the moment, but I am definitely going to speak to a Dietician and see what they can add to the equation.

I've spoken to a couple of my thin friends who lead a similar lifestyle to me - the difference with them and me is, if they know they have a big meal planned, they cut back that day (perhaps even that week) on what they eat, do a bit of exercise to give themselves a buffer (like you said Gabby in your comment). Similar to the old WW plan I guess, in that you could save your points up. I guess I need to work on my mentality a bit. I know what I need to do, it's just doing it that is the problem.

Thanks also to Miss Spoon for your Slimming World post, very helpful. I know there is a  class near me, so it's definitely something I am going to look into. My mother swears by Slimming World and has never gotten on with WW, so maybe we're more similar than I thought :)

I signed up for Myfitness Pal yesterday while I sort myself out as I don't want to completely lose the plot - which I am taking as a positive. Usually when I am 'in between' diets, I use that as an excuse to stuff my face with Pasties and KFC!

According to my new profile, I can eat 1930 calories a day to lead to a 1lb a week weight loss and I need to aim for 3 x 30 min workouts per week. I tracked everything yesterday and although my calories were under goal - my fat intake was far too high:

Totals	1,736	154	93	89
Your Daily Goal	1,930	265	64	72
Remaining	194	111	-29	-17
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein

I had a couple of the girls round for dinner (the skinny ones I mentioned) and I cooked Parmesan and chilli coated chicken breasts with cherry tomato, red onion and avocado salad - totally delicious, but the olive oil and the avocado bumped up my fat intake a bit. Still, they are good fats, so I won't stress overly. It's good to keep an eye on these things however. I've gotten so used to counting the points in everything, that I'd dismissed things such as avocado in favour of a bag of crisps due to lesser points.... Somewhat a fooked up mentality I think.

Anyway, I'm going to stick with this for now while I get my head back in the game. Thank you everyone for your input, it definitely gives me 'food' for thought.

Am I doing ok??

The end of this week's food photos. I think the week has gone ok-ish, but having given up the ghost with WW, I definitely need to find some other way of tracking. I may try myfitness pal, as presently, I have absolutely no idea whether I am eating too much. I need to buy some new scales as my fancy WW ones have had me at 3 stone lighter for the past few months - whilst I like the numbers I see, it's not overly handy. 

Breakfast yesterday was grapes and strawberries with a big glass of water. Plus numerous teas and coffees throughout the morning. My intake of fluid is causing me sleepless nights as I seem to be getting up at least twice to use the loo! Perhaps I need to stop drinking after 6pm.

We had a team lunch yesterday at a local pub, so I opted for a Hot Roast Beef Sarnie with side salad (surely there should have been gravy - or is that the Northern in me??) I am trying to eat less bread - so this was a bit of a fail.

I made up for the lack of gravy with dinner last night. Lamb steak with a kind of bubble and squeak - courgettes, leeks, cabbage, carrot and mashed potato and an Aunt Bessies Yorkshire Pud - with loads of Bisto. Yum. This is definitely a good way for me to get loads of Veg in, as I tend to find a big plate of cabbage somewhat off-putting.

It'd be good to hear your thoughts on how you think this week has gone for me, as I really don't feel like I've eaten too much, but then I wouldn't since I am a right greedy cow :) I am not sure if I am still chuffing far too much down my neck or if the balance is ok. It's hard when you've spent the last 10 or so years of your life following one diet plan or another to suddenly try and go it alone.

I have to say, I feel liberated now that I am no longer following WW and definitely a bit more in control - most bizarre. I cancelled my Monthly Pass yesterday (well I say I did, they don't make that an easy process at all) so I still have access to the online stuff for a while, but I am looking into Slimming World as another option. I know I definitely need some sort plan to stop me from stuffing my face with crisps and cider. Perhaps my fitness pal will do for a while. Currently I have no clue what I weigh, so perhaps buying some scales should be my first stop.

I'd be interested to hear from any Slimming Worlders out there if you find the plan easy to follow... I was flummoxed when I read some of the online stuff!

More eats

Ah Monday, how did you reach me so quickly? After the drama of Friday and Saturday, yesterday was a fairly relaxed day. I was awake quite early even with the loss of that pesky hour, but felt fairly shattered still which was annoying.

We'd arranged to meet friends for lunch at 12, so I decided to skip breakfast so I could eat what I fancied at Heston's pub, The Hind's Head. (Look at me name dropping).

I had to start with an amazing Scotch Egg. These are awesome, I could have eaten more.


My main course was Rib Eye Steak with Bone Marrow Sauce....(with one of Matt's Roasties).


.... and a portion of triple cooked chips. Seriously amazing stuff.


For Dessert I had the Rhubarb Trifle. I heart rhubarb.


Since yesterday was a fairly lovely day we asked our friends to drop us off about a mile away from home so we could walk off all that food. Not exactly huge exercise, but better than nothing I guess.

For dinner last night I just had a load of veggies (cabbage, leeks, onions, carrots, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and courgette) dry fried with a bit of tomato purée and water and sprinkled with some reduced fat cheese. I was totally craving Veg which must be a first. Perhaps aliens have invaded me.


Matt has been advised to rest so he's off the next few days, obviously I had to work from home to keep an eye on him ;)

He didn't get up til 11am, lazy arse, so I made brunch. Bacon, egg, toast, bubble and squeak, beans and a bit of haggis. This kept me full for hours!


Once I finished 'work' we went for a walk. Almost 3 miles done, now suffering with my ankle, but I will survive.


Dinner was delicious. 2 types of curry (one chicken and one potato) bulked up with a shed load of veggies, served with paratha and a spoonful of rice.



I definitely feel like my eating is a bit more under control and the weather is making me want to get out walking. Let's hope it continues!

Tomorrow is my last photo diary and then normal service will resume and I'll be back to my usual blethering :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Stress!

Just a quick catch up on food consumed since Friday. Been a bit of a stressy end to the week as Matt ended up landing himself an overnight hospital stay.

Thankfully he's ok and back home today. Apparently I now need to take more notice of his ailments, which is worrying with him being a hypochondriac male. Joking aside however, he did an 'alf scare me which was a bit of a wake up call to us both!

Breakfast yesterday was a fruit salad. Very virtuous.





Lunch was a Brie and Parma ham panini. My attempt at eating less bread was a fail.





I grabbed a Sushi snack pack before heading to the hospital. Strangely, I lost my appetite after spending 5 hours there.






Today hasn't been the best but I've had other things on my mind.

Toasted bacon sandwich for breakfast.





Once the boy was given the all clear he wanted to go for lunch so we popped to a new Eastern restaurant called Tampopo. Delicious food!

Spicy crackers - had a handful of these.





A sharing platter. Chicken Satay, corn fritters, coconut prawns, seared beef and Vietnamese spring rolls.





Followed by Prawn Phad Thai.





I've not been hungry since, but mid afternoon I did snaffle a Starbucks skinny chai latte and skinny ginger muffin. Hopefully tomorrow will be better!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Dribbling...

Yesterday was not a bad day. I was up bright and early to walk. It's so much easier to get up and exercise when the sun is shining. My knee and ankle were strapped up to avoid further damage and off I set at 0625 to meet my friend for a jaunt. I much prefer to get exercise out of the way early so I can't spend all day talking myself out of it.

I love this app - it talks to you while you are en route, telling you your pace. Definitely made me speed up a few times when I was flagging - and it's free!

After that, I had a fairly hideous trip to the dentist, which left me lacking control of my mouth and in fact, most of my face, for the best part of the morning. Dribbling is a fairly dreadful look. When the dentist tells you to rinse your mouth out, I am sure they are just laughing at your inability to do so. The upside was I couldn't eat any rubbish as I was in danger of swallowing my tongue, so breakfast was skipped.

Lunch was leftover Sausage and Tomato bake with some pasta and lettuce thrown in for good measure. Delicious.

Mid afternoon I had a cuppa and a Naked Cashew Cookie bar. This was really nice - just Dates and Cashews, I've not tried these before, but will definitely buy them again.

Dinner last night with the girls was delicious. We were on a set menu so only had a few choices, but the food was awesome. Excuse the crappy photos from here on - my iPhone camera is not the best without bright sunlight. We were given a Vegetable Amuse-Bouche to start which was a nice touch.

Followed by - erm... half eaten Duck Parfait with chutney and toast.... Doesn't look overly the best does it?? I can assure you it was delicious and it didn't arrive like that.... Perhaps I should have spared you this photo. 

My Main course was Beef Bourguignon with Mash and Green beans. Quite a small portion but most satisfactory. The Mash was so creamy and delicious, I imagine there was a fair bit of butter in it, but it tasted bloody good. 

Dessert was Brie with Quince Jelly, Chutney and bread. A couple of small slivers of Brie which can't have done me too much damage.

Washed down with a small glass of wine - it came with the offer, so really it would have been rude not.

I don't have too many plans for the weekend. Hopefully the weather will stay nice so I can get out for another walk. Sunday, we are meeting friends for lunch at the Hind's Head so I shall be saving myself for that, but nothing else is arranged, so I can hopefully continue to crack on with eating well.

Have a great weekend everybody. Let's hope the sun continues to shine.

Thank you.... and baby steps

Thanks guys for your comments yesterday. I've said this before and I will say it again - you rock!

I think you are right. I've made the painful decision that WW and I need to take a break from each other. We've been fighting for a while now and not really getting on since WW decided to change, I think it's time we split. At least for a little while until I get my head back on track. Having made this decision, I already feel a bit more in control, a bit more like I can do this. We've had a tumultuous relationship over the years.

So, decision made,  I'm taking photo's this week to try and keep track of my eating while I decide the best course of action going forward. I know my choices aren't all going to be amazing this week, but having the photo's really helps me focus and will hopefully keep me on the straight and narrow. From here on in, I am focussing on being healthier and all thoughts of blasted points are banished.

Breakfast this morning was from my Graze box - Cheese and Onion Topped Focaccia, a cup of tea and water. This was fairly tasty, but far too small to suffice....



So mid morning, I had these fiery cashews.




Plus another cup of tea and a couple of those blasted M&S biscuits. An improvement from the 8 yesterday I guess.



Lunch was a Waitrose reduced fat Macaroni Cheese. I bought this yesterday because it was reduced (in price), I had no  fancy for it today, but am loathe to waste food, so I ate it and felt fairly dissatisfied afterwards. Lesson learnt. Don't eat something just because you don't want to waste it otherwise you will eat something else later. Look at that watery sauce... I can make so much better myself.




That something else you will eat due to lack of satisfaction, will be your Graze Strawberries and Cream - raisins, dried strawberries and 3 white chocolate coins. At least I didn't go for crisps, I guess.



Dinner was totally amazing.... I've not really done much cooking of late due to lack of kitchen (look at my lovely new worktop...) so I had forgotten how satisfying cooking from scratch can be.

This was based on a Jamie Oliver recipe but adapted to fit what I had in the fridge and the cupboards.



Tomato and Sausage bake (serves 3 or 2 quite hungry people)

• 6 Tesco Finest Pork and Caramelised Onion Sausages (these were brilliant with the tomatoey sauce)
• Handful of Cherry Tomatoes
• 6 or so full sized Tomatoes chopped
• Couple of Sundried Tomatoes in Olive Oil
• 1 Courgette chopped
• 2 cloves of Garlic, chopped
• Sprinkle of Rosemary, Thyme and a Bay Leaf (I used dried)
• Glug of Balsamic Vinegar
• Splash of Olive Oil or oil from the Sundried Tomatoes
• Salt and Pepper

Put the tomatoes, courgettes, herbs, garlic and sausages into a roasting tin. Drizzle with the oil and vinegar and season. Toss together and then make sure the sausages are on the top. Roast in the oven (190 degrees) for about 30 mins. Turn sausages and cook for another 15-20 mins. Remove from oven and if you like (I did) place on hob and reduce for a thicker sauce.
OMG - this was delicious. I am so having some tomorrow with a bit of pasta.... I just had mine with lettuce drizzled with more balsamic as I wasn't overly starving tonight. 
So, not the best day ever - too much snacking, but the snacks were at least a bit healthier than I would perhaps have gone for and it's quite possibly the best day I've had in a very long while. Long may it continue.

Tomorrow I am working from home as I have the pleasure of the Dentist in the morning (maybe that will stop me eating at least). I'm out with the girls tomorrow night for dinner, a 3 course meal courtesy of Groupon so I will just try my best not to go too mad. I am feel strangely confident that I can do this.

Somebody make me stop

Today was the day I was going to get back on track, I was going to be better, make healthier choices, reacquaint myself with fruit and veg. However, today was the day a colleague brought a massive tin of M&S biscuits into the office. So, having had my Wholemeal Toast with Marmite and some grapes mid morning, I have proceeded to polish off probably 8 biscuits (possibly more, I lost count). And then thinking, "well that's today ruined", I didn't argue when Burger King was muted as a lunch option. Honestly, what the Hell is the matter with me?

I can't go to the doctor about my knee as I know he'll just tell me to lose weight and as much as I am trying to convince myself it's not related, common sense tells me I wouldn't have so many ankle sprains and now a dodgy knee if was 6 stone lighter.

I feel sick - and fat.

I officially have no willpower. I am officially a greedy pig.

That's it for the self flagellation. I seriously need to have a long hard think about this - perhaps a different diet healthy eating plan is the way forward, because right now, WW is the last thing on my mind. 

Tomorrow, the photo diary resumes and I will be honest with myself. I don't want to be back up to 21 stone again, and if I am not bloody careful, that is exactly where I am going to be.