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.

Another week, another weigh in...

.... another disappointment. The half pound I was down last week is back on, so I am still in a state of limbo. My weight hasn't really moved for a few weeks now - but obviously I know why. I need to take better control of my weekends. It's not good enough being good most of the time. I also need to stop avoiding exercise, I've built up some massive mental block and I've no idea why.

I'm finding this week somewhat stressful, my boss is on holiday and has landed me with a load of work at the last minute - most of which involves upgrading customer Production sites, stressful at the best of times, but when you've got a load of other crap to deal with too... well, let's just say I've become very liberal with swear words this week.

So, back to the drawing board with SW. I am giving myself another month to get results, then I may have to bit the bullet and join a class.

Last night I really couldn't be bothered to cook - we'd been to the pub for a couple of lime and soda's and I was hankering after a dirty McD's Quarter Pounder with Cheese and Fries. Thankfully, we've a freezer full of meat and we've always an abundance of veg thanks to Abel & Cole,  so I rustled up these bad boys.

Burgers made from 500g extra lean mince, chopped onion, a dash of Worcester Sauce and a tiny dollop of mustard with lettuce leaves instead of a bun and low fat cheddar. Served with home made wedges (potato, spray oil and salt and pepper) and a salad of broad beans, onions, tomatoes and peppers with lemon juice and balsamic. The only syns here came from the tomato sauce - a much better option (and tastier, I have to say) than McDonalds.

So... I know I have it in me to do this, I just need to get Friday, Saturday and Sunday right too and I might make progress.

We've a free Groupon Voucher to use tonight (a friend bought it and is now away and it runs out this week) at a local restaurant - we went on their Groupon menu a few weeks ago and I know the portions are tiny and have some SW friendly options, so I am not too concerned. Then I've no plans until Saturday when I am away with a couple of friends for an over night spa stay.

I shall do my utmost to report a loss next week!