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.