Friday 30 April 2010

I'm an inspiration! me? surely not!

so i had to post about this, coz i want treasure what just happened to me at the shops, and i wanted to capture the huge smile on my face right now, so figured - go ahead an blog, it'ss capture the moment!

i went to the shops just now, and this woman "nicola", she used to come to slimming world last year when i was piddling along and putting on/loosing/sts and wasnt getting anywhere, she stopped me in the street, and said "hey i saw you yesterday on your way home from work and grabbed my husband and said oh wow look at Rowena, she looks amazing, you were wearing a lovely shirt outfit and you just look positively great! your a real inspiration (yes someone actually called me an inspiration!), u rushed home last nyt and foned my friend Arlene (also used to come to slimming world when i struggled), and said man you ought to see Rowena, she looks brilliant, has lost loads of weight, we HAVE to go back to class, if it works for her it can work for us" so she says "me and Arlene are coming back next week and thats all coz of you!"

i walked away from her grinning from ear to ear, no one, i mean no one has ever called me an inspiration before, i've been called all sorts, pretty, beautiful and skinny (when i used to be), to "carry your weight well" (when i wasnt so skinny haha), to bad things like "are you pregnant", "whens it due", "i thought it was your sister that was pregnant", to name just a few, i've been called all sorts, some things made me smile and some things made me cry, but to be called an INSPIRATION is something i think i'll truly treasure, that means so much more than any compliment!

anyway, i then went into the shop and bumped into 2 further women separately who go to class, who both stopped me and told me how amazing i look and how well i'm doing!

so i just about skipped home like i was following the yellow brick road! i think if i'd have got away with it id have skipped whilst singing "the hills are alive with the sound of music!" haha! what a brill morning, i fricking LOVE that woman who told me i'm an INSPIRATION! (sorry just had to write it one last time)

so when i'm next bummed out or struggling to keep on the straight and narrow, please point me in the direction of this post!!

2lb! please and thank you very much!

ahhhh.................huge sigh of relief its Friday, and i took today off tagging onto the holiday monday giving me a nice long wknd!

I didnt waste my morning, i got out of bed and made Ben brekkie, sent him off to work, and got myself together and went out for a run, session 1 of week 2, was definately alot harder than week 1 sessions, the 90second runs were tough, (god that sounds pathetic - i'll get there though, we all have to start somewhere eh!) and i was PURPLE when i got home! stretched out and just about fell into the shower! feels good though, i am definately a hero!!

so it was weigh in last nyt and i lost another 2lb. so happy with that, i'm regularly looking good amounts of weight now, my mind has finally caught up with my body and the weight is just dropping off! helped by the running and also helped by my aunt coming to weigh ins now too, she can be competative, and is turning it into a bit of a competition, whatever i set my target to loose for the coming week she sets it the same, its a bit of a joke at class now, i'm not normally into that, but with it being my aunt and if i did fall short of target one week i know she'd give me support so its all good and its on my mind during the week too, thinking to myself "cant let her beat me!" so its doing me good!

plan for today isnt all that exciting, but it'll set me n ben up for a good wknd, i'm gonna blitz the house, plough through all the ironing, and do the weeks shopping, then we're off to my mums for dinner, and then maybe out for a couple of friday nyter drinks with the usual suspects. it really will just be a couple though. maybe i might even try a soft drink!

Food for yesterday went like this:
Green Day:
Bfast: Podge (HEB + HEA), 11g cranberries (1s), banana
snack: melon and mango
Lunch: 57g salmon (HEB)cooked in lime, chilli and chives, with rocket salad, mixed sprouting pules and some lime and corriander cous cous, i couldnt even eat half of it, it was only a small box of it, but i just couldnt get through it, dont think i needed the couscous.
Dinner: "the city kitchen" 6 mushroom stroganoff (hmmm hmmm) (10s)

total syns: 11
total water: 2.5l

Thursday 29 April 2010

sess 3 week 1 done and dusted!!

well today is weigh in day, i've been pretty darn good this week, food has been good not a drop of alcermahol, and 3 x runs, so's i'm hoping for a good result! fingys crossed.


i did session 3 of week 1 last nyt, and i really enjoyed it still, feeling pretty pleased with myself that i've got the end of week 1! so i start week 2 tomorow, i wonder how i'll fare with that!


my "just a lil bit expensive" bosch washing machine crashed last nyt, but ben the superstar that he is spent an hour fixing it! and he revived it, turned out it had 1/3 of a bra wire (where the other 2/3's?? and why havent i noticed it missing!!??), 2 curby grips (guilty!) a mighty rusty 5pence piece (not sure!!?) and 2 x nails (NOT guilty) in it! oh dear! i really must try and take better care of my precious washing machine! yesterday didnt start too well anyway, coz i dropped a bottle of tabasco sauce outthe cupboard whilst making breakfast, the top smashed and it went all over my very nice outfit! then i dropped a raw egg on the floor! all before 7.30am - lets face it, it was never going to be a good day after that! i went to the dentist after work and she put a temp filling in for me and got a big blob of it stuck to the back of my tooth, its tres tres annoying i cant stop playing with it! however i didnt let it affect my mood, so all's good!


on the plus side i sat my exam yesterday and i think it went ok, but we'll see soon enough.


i got a gift voucher ages ago for the gallery/shoppy type thing we have here, its a really nice shop, and is right next to the dentist. so i went in and got these two mugs and two bowls (these are now the breakfast set! :-) ) aren't they cute! i guess i really should have got 2 plates to go with them seens how Ben never has stuff out a bowl for breakfast! hmmm maybe another trip at the wknd!


Awww my cousin/bridesmaid is currently organising my hen doo for me, she was so not interested when she started out, but as its getting closer she's right into it, she's pulling out all the stops, she works in the music industry so is quite in on the entertainment scene in glasgow and is pulling strings etc, and its looking like its shaping up to be pretyy fantastic! i think we're gonna hit a mexican place for food, then on to Arta http://www.socialanimal.co.uk/arta for cocktails! ahhhh i'm mega excited. shes a little star - twinkle twinkle! she's also cut me out the loop officially now, she's told everyone not to talk to me about the Hen, coz i'm a bit of a control freak and have issues with other people organising things for me (me? no!....well maybe just a little!!) aw i'm so pleased with her, its all shaping up to be everything i had hoped for, i had horrors of arranging it myself, and ending up somwhere rubbish with hardly anyone there! I've never had a party all for me before (not in my adult life anyway) i never had a 21st etc, so this is soooo exciting!


so food yesterday went like this:

green day


Bfast: fitnessista bfast cookie (HEB + 5.5s)

snack: brownie (2.5s)

lunch: salad, salmon (HEB) baked in chilli, lime and chives, mixed sprouting pulses, 3 x rakuskens crackers (3s) tangerine

snack: apple, banana

pre run: 5 x apricots (2.5s)

post run: handful of sprouting pulses

dinner: eggs, beans and SW chips, yoghurt


total syns 13.5

water prob around 3.5l


am going to make a conscious effort to keep this to 3l today including allowing 0.5l for whats in my food! god i've gone from one extreme to the other!!!





Wednesday 28 April 2010

Running is addictive FACT

well today is session 3 of week 1 C25K - i've been looking forward to it all week. it was absolutely throwing it down last night, but its cleared up today, cloudy and dry, perfect! so i'm pretty excited about tonights run, Red's not coming with me, i've piled my running gear into a little neat pile on my bed, including my new water bottle, and my slypod, so i'm kitted and ready to go.





I'm hopping on the 3pm bus home (grrr am not a fan of public transport! but needs must), have the dentist at 4.15pm then i'll be hitting the road.





its so addictive this running malarky





i hit up the local health food shop again today, i've spent quite a bit of time there lately, i got a huge bag of dried apricots, some more agave for the black bean brownie stocks and these little crackers, their 1 syn each and are really nice and lil bit moreish too! check them out if you see them.





i think i need to review the food from the day before each day instead of putting down here what i'm gonna eat today, coz i find i have other bits n bobs and dont want to update laters about food so it gets missed off.





so yesterday went like this:


Red Day:


Bfast: Podge (B) + (A), banana


Snack: brownie (2s), apple


lunch: Roast beef and rocket salad, 2 x tangerines


Snack: Yoghurt and a penguin wafer (4.5s)


Dinner: Mustard and mushroom beef, baby asparagus, purple broccoli, cauliflower, small BP (B) butter (1s), brownie (2s)





total syns 9.5 + 4l water (hmm maybe over drinking here!)

Tuesday 27 April 2010

must keep on smiling

so i'm not feeling so positive today, i went to bed early with a stonking migraine last night and feeling really sick, i was pretty bummed out coz i had eaten all the right stuff, been exercising, and drank my 3l of water, so why was my body complaining! i have my suspicions it was the chorizo (which i really enjoyed on Sunday - but by Monday it had gotten too strong and i couldnt eat all my soup at lunch), i know it was the chorizo that messed up my tummy, so maybe it was this that gave me the migraine, i've never eaten it before so it might well be. will avoid it in future anyway! so i didnt get much studying done last night, and i woke up this morning from a pretty terrifying nightmare, so that shook me up, followed a bit of family drama thats pissed me off - so not a good start to the day!

ANYWAY - i will not let this affect my resolve! i'm going to tesco at lunch time to check out thier salmon supplies, i was so impressed with last nights dinner i want to experiment more!

today's food looks like this:
Red Day:

Bfast: podge and banana (Heb + 180ml Hea)
snack: brownie (2syns), apple
lunch: rocket and roast beef salad, 2 x tangerines
Snack: yoghurt
dinner: mushroom and mustard beef with steamed veg and new potatoes (heb)

3litres of water.

Monday 26 April 2010

chilli and corriander salmon

so i know it wasnt the plan for today, but it changed hey ho, and it was so fabulous i just had to tell you guys!

i got home from work and by the time i picked up Red and yacked to my mum, then went to drop my uncles birthday bottle of wine off, it was getting too late to make the beef casserole i had planned. My aunt was telling me about what she was having for dinner (salmon) and it sounded lovely, i've never tried salmon before, and after having told her this, she insisted i take a packet of salmon to try, so off i went home and made this, tilda oriental stirfry rice, topped with steamed purple sprouting broccoli, sugar snap peas and baby asparagus topped with a chilli and corriander salmon fillet, and a small handful of sprouting pulses thrown over the top with a little soy sauce, and well what can i say, i think it was a little piece of heaven! it was sooo nice, what have i been missing all these years! i think we can safely say salmon will be a regular in our house from now on.

it added more syns to my day, giving me an extra 6 syns but its not too bad, good healthy food, and i could afford the syns so its all good!

needless to say Ben was still hungry afterwards so had a tin of heinz macaroni! completely defeating the object of the food i've given him today, i'm on a mission to make his diet more healthy - its fairly healthy as it is, but theres too much stodge in there! i think he could be healthier, and as someone who is very into his weight lifting programme and fitness i think its important for him to make inside just as healthy! its a bit of a battle at times, dont get me wrong he looks amazing and is really fit i just worry, we're both on the wrong side of 25 now, and he's fast approaching 30, i want a long and healthy life for us, and i know the key to his diet becoming more healthy lies with me as i do all the shopping and cooking. i'm getting there though! oops i digressed!

anyway how good does this look!!



keeping on top of goals

So inspired by a couple of fellow bloggers, i realised i set myself some goals last monday for the week ahead, so if i'm going to set goals i MUST review them and set more, and going on Nic's example Monday would be a good day i think!

here's last weeks:
1. Drink more water, i used to drink loads but i feel it slipping lately. - i've been managing 3l every day except sat and sun
2. Eat less syns - i want to try keeping these to a minimum and see how it affects things. - think i've been doing quite well on this, though if i put my mind to i reckon i could do better
3. Eat a little less fruit, i feel my fruit intake creeping back up slowly, so i need to keep an eye on that, as i learnt the hard way if i eat too much fruit my weight loss suffers4. get out and walk the dog at least twice this week (my swimming pool membership has run out and i cant justify renewing it until pay day - Tuesday!) - this has been going well, my fruit levels have been steady and i've not found myself bigning on fruit too much
4. get out and walk the dog at least twice this week (my swimming pool membership has run out and i cant justify renewing it until pay day - Tuesday!) - Well i more than achieved this didnt i, i had a complete turn around in just one week, i got out with the dog once on a 3.6miles walk and then out on 2 sessions of my c25k programme that i've started!


Well - now i'm pretty pleased with myself! i achieved my goals last week - i guess reviewing goals is a good idea!

ok lets set some more then!

1. drink 3l of water EVERY day, especially with me being off on Friday and Monday this week thats 4 days off so i must keep an eye on water intake over this time
2. eat less syns - i'm going to try and keep syns to under 10 EVERY day! allowing 2 days over my 4 day wknd to go to 15 syns.
3. Run on Wednesday after work, Friday 8am, Sunday 8am
4. stay positive all week, keep this mood going
5. start my wedding invites on Tuesday
6. Sit my marketing exam (and pass it!) on Wednesday

ok i added a few extra goals in there that aren't about food and fitness, because i want to this to become health, fitness and wellbeing, and achieving other goals will fulfill the wellbeing bit!

ok here goes for another week!
well hell its monday, how did that happen! i woke up this morning and couldn't decide if it was sunday or monday! gutted when i figured out it was monday! cant wait till next wknd, i have friday/monday off! yay for long wknds!

on a good note i slipped on my size 16 river island trousers for work this morning, i bought these last year hoping i'd "get into them soon" but as i wasnt too focussed i didnt get into them, anyway i did this morning for the first time, thier lovely, really heavy fabric, so sit lovely and all tailored round the bum and waist. very pleased with them, but i put them on with one of my favourite shirts and i'm sitting at work and realised the shirt is FAR to big, it hanging really low at the neck and gaping so you can see all!! must go in search of a safety pin to hold the top closed! dont really want to give my boss an eyefull! and needless to say i wont be wearing this shirt again!

not got much else to report today, i lost a filling yesterday and that hurts like hell, i hope the dentist can fit me in soon!

so today's food is looking like this:
Red Day:

Bfast: podge (HEB + 180ml HEA), banana, grapes
snack: 71g Semi Dried Apricots (HEB)
Lunch: roasted red pepper and chorizo soup (1 syn - had this for lunch yesterday both me and ben love it thanks Nic!), 2 x tangering, brownie (2syns)
snack: Apple, yoghurt
Dinner: Beef casserole, steamed veg

things are going well, i'm not finding any day a struggle just now, i dont seem to be battling with my weightloss at the moment, it makes a nice change not to fight with cravings! AND i have my time of the month, i've not had cravings, stomach cramps or mood swings! long may this continue!!

happy Monday peeps x

Sunday 25 April 2010

green fingers


Awww looky what my dad made for me!! isnt it cute! its my new herb box, i've got chives, mint, parsley and basil in there, he made it from the lid of an old wine box, either french or spanish, spanish i think! my dads a real gem he can really make something out of nothing, and he's very creative too!
I love having fresh herbs to cook with but hate having those little plastic pots around the place, i dont have any garden at all either, i've been moaning about not having a garden lately, and we went to mum and dads for dinner tonight and he surprised me with this! I LOVE IT!
anyways just had to show ya! nyt! x

check me out!

So i did the first session of couch to 5K on Friday night after work, it was ok, it wasnt too difficult i'd say the 2nd last and final 60 second runs were obviously the hardest, the last one being a push, but never too much, i did it on a flat route, which comes to a dead end, i went all the way to the dead end then turned back and had finished the podcast about 5/10mins from home. i was so excited about doing it and i enjoyed it so much. i took Red with me which was ok but a bit of a pain at time as she like to pee lots and lots, and is a bit dopey and nosey so regularly runs into lamp posts etc, and what to do with a poo bag once i've used it is a real issue that neither i nor any of my fellow bloggers nor Ben can think of a solution to as bins are few and far between and man i do not want to run with a full poo bag! maybe a walk round the block first will work to get her ready before we go. i need a water bottle that i can more easily hold, (i orderd one on friday so should be here soon) and i need an armband for my ipod, otherwise its all good, the running gear i bought on friday is great, 3/4 length nike dri-fit leggingy things and an adidas climacool tshirt, i certainly look and feel the part, which in my opinion is half the battle (shallow? me? maybe!).

On saturday i had a "doing day" i cooked up a storm in the kitchen with amazing burgers for lunch and the most delishious meetballs in the world (FACT) for dinner, followed by 2 squares of avocado and black bean brownies, heated up in the oven topped with custard! OMG heaven in a bowl!

food for friday went like this:
Bfast: Podge (heb + 180ml Hea), banana
Lunch: 2 x burgers and 1 wm roll (6syns) with cheese to use the last of my HEA, and rocket
Dinner: the worlds best meetballs, (i'll allow maybe 3 syns for this as there were a couple of rogue ingredients went in), followed by 2 x brownies (4syns), custard, i actually dont know but a guestimate from the syns books allows approx 5 syns for this

so total of 18 syns for saturday, i'm not too fussed about this, slightly over but its not an issue and MAN was my food on saturday nice!

so onto Sunday, i was up at 7am, and out pounding the streets for session 2 of week 1 by 8am, so so very proud of myself, for doing this on a friday after work and a sunday morning, a year ago this would have been UNHEARD of! session 2 was a bit better, as i didnt have Red with me, Ben took her up the hill freeing me up for my run, it was much better. although i forgot my bottle of water, i found i can do it without water, but i dont like it without water, my mouth gets so dry i almost gag trying to swallow towards the end! (note to self always remember water), despite this i really enjoyed it, my enthusiasm has never been so great for something like this. i was home by 8.35am, straight in the shower, then i made breakfast cleaned the kitchen and made soup for lunch and was done by 10am. how good is that, i think i'll try, wherever possible to make early morning runs part of my routine at wknds.

food for today is looking like this:
Pre run: 5 x apricots (2.5syns) 7am
Bfast: podge (heb + 180ml Hea), banana, apple 9am
snack: brownie (2syns) yoghurt
Lunch: roasted red pepper and chorizo soup (courtesy of Nic! - will report back on if i like it - i think approx 1 syn per serving)
dinner: roast lamb, lots of steamed veg, new potatoes, gravy (2.5syns)

so thats my wknd. i'm feeling pretty dam pleased with myself, before the accident i was fat and unhealthy, unmotivated and if i'm honest a lil bit lazy! i was messing about trying to do Slimming world, but not wholeheartedly interested, and not getting very far, i was swimming, and doing approx 40 - 60 - 100 lengths depending on time, but looking back now i'm disgusted that that was even me! then we had the accident in March last year and it threw my life upside down, i was in lots of pain for quite a long time, off work for 3 - 4 months, taking super strong painkillers, going to the doctors regularly, and eventually being told i was a chronic pain sufferer and i should start alterning my lifestyle and mindframe to accept that i will be a chronic pain sufferer for the rest of my life and surgery wont help, my god i was at an all time low, i stopped caring about my appearance, my health everything, i really felt the crash had finished me! i kept on at slimming world in the dim hope of loosing weight for the wedding (had it not been for the wedding i would have quite slimming world for sure!) but i wasnt getting anywhere due a mixture of heavy duty painkiller messing up my insides and having a huge effect on my weight loss and some weeks being so lost that i was even lacking motivation to eat healthy, i cried at sw class on more than one occassion! then i got back to work, physio started working out for me, my friends and family rallied round and really dragged me out of that sucky place, i was still in pain and wasnt allowed to do any exercise, but i was feeling alot better in myself, and i started partying hard, almost every wknd we went out drinking mid evening till 4am or 6am and then i'd spend the rest of the wknd throwing up, i really went for it, and of course this really suckered my weightloss, but i didnt care i was feeling better and i wanted to party! i hadnt even been like this before the accident!

then i slowly started to come round to the place i'm in just now! i'm steadily loosing weight almost every week, i'm eating healthy, i dont drink very often and when i do i'm pretty sensible about it, i dont drink to excess and i'm not throwing up the next day, i'm pretty tuned into my body now, i know what i'm doing if that makes sense, i find myself making the right decisions regarding food more often than not. i've lost 2 stone now and cant wait to say 4 stone, i'm so motivated i cant get enough if that makes sense. i've been given the all clear by the physio (who i'm so so grateful towards, without her my life would not be what it is now - she is absolutely a miracle worker), the crash claim is underway, and i'm A.O.K to exercise, which 18 months ago would not have put me up nor down, but now, well its pretty exciting, i rarely suffer back pain now, i get twinges here and there but my work have spent nearly £2k kitting me out with equitment/furniture to make me comfortable at work, so its all good, not an ounce of chronic pain in sight UP YOURS GP WHO TOLD ME TO LIVE WITH IT!!

and now i've started training to run doing the c25k, i feel amazing, i'm so pleased with myself, i'm like the cat that got the cream. 18 months and 2 stone ago even pre crash i'd never ever have considered doing this i was neither interested now motivated to do it, running? who'd want to do that? crazy ass people! 2 stone ago i wouldnt/couldnt have work the running gear and i doubt very much i'd have even got through session 1 without curling up in a bush half way home!

add into that, i'm now studying and HND in business management in the hope of becoming a project manager or department manager at the end of it, i'm getting married in just over 6 months, debt is almost all gone and money is alot easier, we're starting to build up a social life for ourselves here and make friends, life is good! i can truly say for the first time in year I am Happy! my life is fulfilling and happy!

sorry for the immensly long blog, if you got to the end of it, thanks for reading, just really felt i had to get all that down somewhere, and here is good coz i can easily refer back to it when i'm having a sucky day or at the end of the 9wk c25k programme!

Friday 23 April 2010

ohhhh sigh of relief its Friday!

well i'm late updating the blog today coz i've been too busy yacking at WI!

i made the decision this week, its been coming for a while i think, to take up running, i'm starting the Couch to 5K programme tonight, week 1, session 1. i've been and bought a sports bra and bought the bottoms and tshirt, i've downloaded the podcast, i think i'm ready to rock and roll baby! quite excited really, i'm realistic though i know its not gonna be easy, i know i might be dissapointed when i get home and be sore or have tripped and hurt my ankle (i'm a bit clumsy like that!, or have run past the pub and all my friends will laugh at me! but itc cool i'm still excited! so watch this space! i'll report back on how i get on!

its nearly time to go home and i really cant wait, this week has flown but each day at work has really dragged does that make sense!

we've got decorating and wedding planning to do this wknd so that should keep us out of mischief, along with my running plan for the wknd, all that should keep us out the pub too! :-)

short blog today i think i've exhausted myself on WI!

food for today looks like this:

Bfast: Podge (HEB + 180ml HEA), banana, apple
Snack: grapes, brownie (2syns)
lunch: quorn chilli with sprouting pulses through it with pasta hmmmm (2syns), banana
Snack: Brownie (i know i know 2 in one day! but thats them finished now, and no i did not eat em all to myself i've been forcing them on everyone!) (2syns)
pre run: 4 partially dried apricots (2syns)
dinner: quorn chilli (2syns), with pulses again, topped with cheese (rest of HEA) and rice

so this leaves me with an HEB, meaning i can have some toast laters if i'm peckish, nice friday night treat!

Thursday 22 April 2010

Crippled today!

well today I am crippled, i think i've broken my hips! i went out last night with the dog, i did 3.69miles, at a good pace that got my heart rate going, i jogged 3 times, small bursts, just to see if i liked it, and guess what, i did! now i need to have a think, and research how to start as a beginner for running, and give it a realistic go to see if i really do like it, it would be a hell of a lot cheaper than swim membership. i'm not making any promises, i'm just going to explore it a bit and see how i feel. anyway pathetic that i am my hips are crippled today! in my defence my hips were badly damaged in the car crash last March, and took heavy heavy physio to get them back where they should be, as a result exercise over the last year has been slim to none, with just some swimming over the last month or so. so that amount of exercise using my hips last night i guess i was bound to pay the price for it! however hopefully one day in the future i'll look back at this post and laugh! small steps and all that!

the quorn chilli last night was a success, it tasted just like beef mince chilli, i was really pleased with the result. will definately be making it again. Ben liked it till i told him what it was then he wasnt too impressed! ho hum you cant win them all!

i made Avocado and Black Bean brownies last night, courtesy of http://carascravings.blogspot.com/2010/02/treat-for-your-sweet.html
they were AMAZING! and at only 2 syns a square i'm well impressed, i hope they freeze well. though i dont think this batch will make it as far as freezing as i seem to be forcing them upon everyone to try them. some peopel really like them others are not too enamoured! strangely no body seems as excited as me, although no body i know has been on a mission to find cakey perfection at such low syns!

today is weigh in day, i'm not feeling as apprehensive as i usually do about it, i've had a pretty good week this week, i hope the scales are kind to me and reflect my effort, we'll see though.

i'm going to have a mooch around the Deli/Health food store at lunch time today, i feel myself being drawn into more creative healthy foods, and wanting to concentrate on nutrition, whats good for my body along with keeping in line with my slimming world plan, so i'm going for a mooch for some inspiration and also to pick up more ingredients to make more avocado brownies over the wknd.

i've been doing alot of thinking lately, and i realise that what started out as a bid to be beautiful on my wedding day is now becoming so much more than that, i didnt care about health and fitness or my body at all when i began this journey, i just wanted simply be in a great dress on the day. now i want to look and feel great, not just my figure, but my shape, my health, my skin, hair, nails, the whole shabang! i've concentrating really hard on getting my skin hair and nails in good condition lately and the results are really showing, my skin is almost flawless apart from a couple of stubborn scars that are definately fading with the use of bio oil, my nails are amazing, they are very long and strong and perfectly manicured all the time, and my hair is slowly following suit, after years of bleaching, straightening and drying etc, i've changed hair dressers, we're not bleaching it to within in an inch of its life any more, and i'm using much better products, and embracing my natural curls more often to avoid more heat damage, and do you know what its working. so i've got my superficial things in check, i've got my eating and diet in check now its time to start concentrating on my health, nutrition and general fitness, i want to live a long and full life and the key to that is a healthy life style. My gran used to be an olympic swimming coach, she's now 78, and swims 60 lengths 6 days a week at 7am, she line dances 2 evenings a week, plays bowls 3 afternoons a week, and is an avon rep for a very large area! she looks AMAZING! now thats inspiration, if she can do it i can definately do it! she is a model person in my opinion and if i can be half as healthy/fit at half her age i'll be doing well!!

so enough musings, on with todays food diary:

EE Day
Bfast: podge, papaya, mango, strawb's (HEB 180ml HEA) i left the podge soaking in the fridge over night and man it sure did make it creamier, it was lovely, (thanks alex)
Snack: avocado brownie (2syns), apple
lunch: 3 ryvita (1 to finish of my HEB and 4syns for the other 2), 3 x LC extra light cheese (rest of HEA), veg box, orange
Snack: Banana, mango and papaya
dinner: steak, lots of veg and new potatoes

Wednesday 21 April 2010

Tricking my H2B

morning! i feel great again today, the sun is out again, i could get used to this!


yesterday went really well, i had an alpen light bar in the afternoon for 3 syns but i could afford it so its ok i guess. i managed 6 large glasses of water, so thats one more than the day before, i'm aiming for another 6 today. i didnt eat any extra fruit than planned so that a plus too. We went for a walk after work with the dog (30 mins hilly walk), so that one of my two outings ticked off for the week, feeling a little like an exercise cop out after reading all my online friends blogs, you guys all work so hard, and i dont feel like i'm doing anything at all, i struggle for time to get out after work, and without my swimming membership i'm lost! never mind i can renew my membership on Tuesday so i'll be hitting out the lengths soon enough.


i made the mushroom stroganoff last night that i'd been so excited about all week, it was a schwartz packet, i used button mushrooms, closed cap mushrooms and portobello mushrooms, it was really nice, but too peppery for my taste, Ben liked it, and i guess if you like pepper it would be lovely, but i never really have pepper on anything! so i was a bit dissapointed, think i'll attempt my own sauce next time!


last night i also made dinner for tonight, i like doing that, it meant last night was busy and i didnt get sat down till gone 9.30pm, but my kitchen is spotless and my dinner is in a glass container in the fridge ready to heat through, so tonight we'll be eating 20 mins after we get in, and thats great! gives me the evening to study, hmmph not so great!


dinner for tonight is quorn chilli, its the first time i've ever tried this, its in a bid to be able to eat chilli etc on green days so i can have chilli AND rice without having an EE day. I haven't told Ben its quorn, i've just said its a new recipe i'm trying out, i'm going to see if he likes it before i tell him what it is, coz if i tell him first he'll be biased towards it and get it in his head that he doesnt like it before ever he starts! so i'll report back with results later! devious? me? oh yes!


My chilli consists of:

Onion, garlic, red pepper, 3 x sun dried tomatoes, 4 x cream cheese stuffed peppadew peppers, kidney beans, passata, a whole fresh red chilli, mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, mixed herbs and oregano and beef stock, i hope i like it, i tried it last night and it was yum it just tasted like very tender mince, but then sometimes you can try something in the pan and it tastes great and then get it on the plate and eat a whole meal of it and its not as nice! i'm quite excited about it!


Todays food diary looks like this:

Green Day:


Bfast: podge (HEB + 180ml of HEA) papaya, mango and strawb's, tea (50ml HEA)

Snack: banana, apple

Lunch: 3 x ryvita (1 = part of the HEB from this morning and 2 = half of my other HEB), 4 x laughing cow extra light (HEA), veg box, 2 x tangerines

Snack: Banana, alpen light bar (other half of final HEB)

Dinner: quorn chilli, rice, grated cheese (HEA), yoghurt


i aim to drink 6 large glasses of water and walk the dog again tonight (30 mins - hilly walk)

Tuesday 20 April 2010

life on the coast


We're really luck to live where we live, its easy to forget that through the winter, but i took this pic just outside our house, you literally take like 5 steps and you see this! isn't it pretty! we drive along side this pretty much all the way to work too. Its so much nicer in summer and really makes you appreciate it.


The sun is shining again today, it really perks me up, i've been in a brilliant mood for pretty much a week now, and i know its purely down to the weather, living up here in Scotland, the rain and cold really gets you down over the winter! i hope it keeps up.


The wedding hotel is stressing me out a bit this morning we're trying to arrange to get down there and see the hotel, the registrar, the florist and the photographer, but every saturday in May the hotel has a wedding on (how rude!) so we're struggling to pull it all together, and i really dont want to go twice. grrrr


yesterday went to plan, it was 100% as i wanted it to be, i need to aim towards getting every day like this (including weekends!) I made a consious effort to drink more water yesterday and drank 5 large glasses of water, today i'm going to aim for 6. The only thing that didnt go to plan yesterday was i had an extra banana and some grapes, i really want to try and not let fruit creep back in to becoming a staple of my diet again so i need to get this in check, will try harder today! oh and the pork that we had last nyt was deeelish! i got pork chops, topped them with fresh parsley, garlic, lemon zest, juice and salt and pepper and baked them, and the taste was hmmmmm hmmmm!


well here's todays plan:

Green Day (thought i'd put a couple of these in for a bit of a change i've been living off Red Days lately)


Bfast: 2 x fried eggs (frylight), 1 x wm roll (HEB), Butter (1syn)


Snack: Orange and almond cake (3syns), banana


Lunch: 4 x ryvita (HEB), 4 x laughing cow extra light cheese (4/6 HEA), veg box, tangerine


Snack: pineapple, apple


Dinner: Mushroom Stroganoff (2.5syns + 150ml skimmed milk from HEA), Rice, activia yoghurt

I'm going to cheat with the mushroom stroganoff, i was sorting my cupboard out at the wknd and found a schwartz packet of mushroom strog mix, for 5syns for the whole pack i figure i'll give this a go tonight.

Monday 19 April 2010

my first ever post!!

so i'm new to all of this! i've never known much about blogging until recently, but after following a few of my WI friends blogs lately, i think i might have the bug for it. i'll try to keep it up to date, and hopefully wont loose interest. i wanted to do this for much the same reasons my friends do, to keep me on the straight and narrow, writing a paper diary, feels somewhat outdated now, but this i think i could get used to. we'll see!

I'm a member of Slimming World and i've already lost 1 stone 13 pounds, but gained 1.5lb last week after my holidays, i want to loose another 2 stone for the wedding and there after keep pushing on till i find myself getting closer to a weight/size that i'm more comfortable with, at the moment i think that will be another 3 or 4 stone, but i'll take it as it comes when i get closer.

i started out as a size 18, some of my size 18 clothes were really tight. now i'm in 16 tops, 16 dresses, i fluctuate between 16 and 18 trousers depending on the shop, i really would like to be a size 14 dress for my sisters wedding in July, thats my first stop goal.

So the sun is shining, its really warm and I only have 1 hour 45 mins of work left.
So as its Monday i figure i should make a plan to try to follow for the week ahead, i think this may help keep me focussed!

1. Drink more water, i used to drink loads but i feel it slipping lately.
2. Eat less syns - i want to try keeping these to a minimum and see how it affects things.
3. Eat a little less fruit, i feel my fruit intake creeping back up slowly, so i need to keep an eye on that, as i learnt the hard way if i eat too much fruit my weight loss suffers
4. get out and walk the dog at least twice this week (my swimming pool membership has run out and i cant justify renewing it until pay day - Tuesday!)

my food diary for today is:
Red Day:

Bfast: 2 x fried eggs (frylight), 1 x wholemeal roll (HEB), 1 syn for butter and 1 syn for tomato sauce

snack: orange and almond cake (3syns), banana

Lunch: 4 x ryvita (HEB) tuna pate (2syns), veg box, ruby orange, banana

Snack: apple, pineapple

Dinner: Pork chop, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, sugar snap peas

so there it is, my first ever blog post!