Judgement Day!

So since last time I posted, I went to a carnival and resisted burgers, alcohol and all things naughty!
We didn't leave as early as I thought we would so I had a big lunch to keep me going until we got home.
I threw together another chicken/mushroom salad type thing which I'm pretty much living on at the moment!

I'm glad I was able to pull myself together and get back into my Slimming World mindset straight after the party on Friday night!
I would have been in big trouble otherwise.. I've been there before!

Yesterday I had quite a "hungry day" - more so than usual! I snacked on as much fruit as possible, I had some fat free yoghurt and a Chocolate & Fudge Alpen Light bar (love them but I try not to have them too often!) .

For dinner I fancied bangers & mash but didn't want the gravy.
I made mashed potatoes with a triangle of extra light dairylea and a few pinches of paprika
2 Sainsbury's Be Good To Yourself Cumberland Sausages (only 1/2 syn each - lifesaver!)
Chesnut mushrooms fried in Frylight and a big handful of salad and cucumber on the side.

I also got a bit sucked in by my boyfriend who was eating a whole pack of Sainsbury's milk chocolate chunk bakery cookies - unfair!
I'm fine unless I see him eating something I fancy but can't really have and then I go into syn-mode for some reason.
So, to stop myself being silly and binge-ing with him I decided to make myself a Cadbury's Highlights Hazelnut hot chocolate which I think comes to around 3 syns.

Today is Monday which means one thing ... JUDGEMENT DAY! I mean, er, weigh-in day..
I normally try not to eat before weigh in but it's not until 6pm and I just can't go all day on an empty stoumach otherwise i'll feel very sick. I had a small bowl of Fat Free Vanilla Onken and a load of raspberries. I'll take a Mugshot to have at group after being weighed!

It's always a weird feeling on a Monday because I never know what to expect. Weight can be so unpredictable!
I know I haven't been as good as last week so of course I'm not hoping for a big loss again but any loss would be great!
To be honest, after this week I'll be pretty happy if I stay the same.
However I do only need 2 and 1/2 lbs to get my one stone certificate (since I rejoined)

Fingers and toes crossed, eh!

Good luck to all of you who have weigh in today!
G
x

Weekends are so difficult! Stay focused!

Good morning!

Since my last post, everything's been pretty hectic! I was great with my food on Thursday and felt really proud of myself. I didn't eat much because I was working until 5pm and then went for a look around the shops and met a friend for a lovely pot of tea (how very English!)
I did get a bit peckish in town so I bought an Alpen Light bar which I had as my healthy extra B choice for the day and later on at home I made a sort of chicken salad type meal!

Most of the time I just seem to throw syn free foods together and hope for the best! I cooked the chicken, courgettes and mushrooms in Frylight spray, sprinkled with Chargrilled Chicken flavoured "Perfect Shake" seasoning from Schwartz which always makes everything taste amazing!

HOWEVER Friday was a tad destructive..

My boyfriend and I were invited to a 25th wedding anniversary party (on a boat!) which was amazing but I did give in to temptation a bit..
I had been really good with my food all day as I knew we were going out.
I even bought a dress in a boutique shop (in the sale!) which I ended up wearing. A year ago I went in there and got really disheartened because their clothes were all handmade and I didn't fit anything properly because they only do size "S/M" or "M/L"
But yesterday everything I tried on in there fitted me perfectly and I actually spent most of my time deciding what to get because I was spoiled for choice!
I have to say, I did feel really good about myself!



At the party I started off with a diet coke but as the evening progressed I found myself drinking vodka and diet coke.. and then a small glass of white wine.. and then there was champagne...
AND THEN as I'd spent all day shopping and getting ready I hadn't eaten a proper meal so when they bought out the food I pondered for a while but then I couldn't resist!
I had a wholemeal roll with ham in it (fine, not so bad.. maybe it had a bit of butter in it)
THEN I had some nibbles; 2 cocktail sausages, some grapes, a mini quiche...
AND THEN later on they had the most beautiful strawberry cheesecake and me being a little bit tipsy decided I'd somehow earned a slice. A very small slice, but a slice nonetheless.
I feel SO guilty!!!!

However I did enjoy myself and we had a really brilliant evening - it's not often you get to celebrate a friend's 25th wedding anniversary on a boat!
Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on myself but I know where I went wrong if the scales aren't kind to me on Monday evening.

I have today, tomorrow and all day Monday to be super strict and redeem myself so I'm drawing a line under last night and starting a fresh.

Today I've had some fat free vanilla Onken yoghurt with strawberries, raspberries and blueberries for breakfast.

I'm going to a carnival today so I'll pack a chicken salad to take with me for lunch and some fruit to snack on.

Trying to stay positive, motivated and determined - I've got this on the wall in my kitchen!

Hope you've all had a good week and that you're enjoying my blog if you happen to come across it.
Feel free to leave a comment or anything if you fancy it or have any questions!

G
x

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It's off to work I go!

Just a quick post before I head off!
I've just started volunteering twice a week at a really lovely charity shop.
Today I don't start until 1.30pm but I did go out last night (and only had diet coke!)
Woke up a little late this morning but I decided to throw together a really quick fruit salad for breakfast.



Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, grapes and a chopped up pear!
It was so filling I couldn't even finish it.
I can feel my stoumach capacity getting smaller I think ha ha!
With a bit of luck this will last me until I get home at 5pm but I'll take a few pieces of fruit in my bag and make sure I have a cup of tea or some water before I go and while I'm working!

x

Weigh in: SUCCESS!

I had weigh-in (a.k.a Judgement Day) on Monday evening which showed a surprisingly successful 6LB WEIGHT LOSS! I'm so pleased! I was feeling so low about my 2-week binge and the 6lbs that I gained. I think it really did give me the kick I needed to be strict with myself again. I can't believe I managed to get all 6lbs off that I gained! Luckily, I kept a food diary and also a plan so I wrote down all meals I had that week. I'll have to follow that again!

So with the massive confidence boost that's given me this week, as well as the faith I have in the extra easy plan, I'm back on track and more focused than ever! I'm now back to only having 14lbs left until target. ONE STONE TO GO! I'm hoping to get there in time for Christmas but I'm also thinking I'd really like to be at target for my boyfriend's 21st which is in the first week of November. A little bit more of a challenge but I think I could do it!

After club, I always stay at my mum's house and for dinner I had Sainsbury's Be Good To Yourself Cumberland Sausages (only 1/2 syn each!) with Smash mixed with Sage & Onion seasoning, red onions, mushrooms and a bit o' gravy (Can't have bangers & mash without it!) VERY yummy and filling.

The next day I had to go to a hospital appointment so I had a mullerlight yoghurt before I left. When I got home it was about 4pm so I was a bit peckish but didn't have time to make a big meal so snacked on 2 'Oaty Scan Bran' that I bought at the SW group to try out. I had them with a dairylea light cheese triangle, pickle and chicken tikka! I'd never had Scan Bran before so I was pleasantly surprised - and it filled the spot! You can have 5 x Scan Brans as your healthy extra B choice so I used mine for that and had an extra one later on before bed!

Last night my Dad and I went out to see a David Bowie film stream live from the V&A museum which was amazing but I didn't get home until quite late so I was really quite hungry by this point! I wasn't in the mood for cooking anything major but I decided to boil some pasta and quickly fry some mushrooms. I roughly diced a few slices of ham and added a bit of salad. Even though I didn't make a sauce or stir in anything, it was still really lovely! I love plain pasta!

So far today I've had a big bowl of fruit salad for breakfast and a few cups of tea (I'll use my milk as my H/E today) - planning to have either a tuna jacket potato with salad or defrost some SW cottage pie that I made last week!

DETERMINED to make this week just as good as the last one. Going to a 25th wedding anniversary party on a boat on Friday and there will be some people there who haven't seen me in a while. So, I want to feel confident! Going dress shopping tomorrow! Ahhhh!

x

Breakfast & Lunch!

Today's been a pretty good day so far! This morning I had my jar of overnight oats which were yummy as usual.
I do think I put too much fat free Vanilla Onken yoghurt in there but after a good stir I finally got to a good oaty bit in the middle! I topped it up with raspberries before I went to bed but I don't think I'll be using as many blueberries next time as it was a little bitter. Strawberries always taste great though!

I always try and have breakfast with a nice pot of tea! It keeps me going until lunchtime.

For lunch I had a tomato & herb pasta Mugshot with lots of salad, cucumber and tomatoes drizzled with some Hellmann's Fat Free Vinaigrette Dressing.
I mix in a tablespoon of Sainsbury's tomato & basil puree with the Mugshot to bulk it out a little and give it a thicker texture because they can turn out a bit watery.
I also try to never have a Mugshot on it's own because it's processed and I try and fill my plate with at least one 3rd salad or veg!

For dinner, I'm going over to my boyfriend's house and I'm taking skinless chicken breasts, new potatoes and asparagus to cook for us both. I need to plan when I go there because he's such a bad influence sometimes and I don't want to end up with a takeaway and chocolate!

G
x

Overnight Oats! (Magic Porridge)

I am absolutely in love with this 'Overnight Oats' thing at the moment!

You will need:

* 1 x pot any flavour mullerlight yoghurt. (My favourite ones to use are vanilla and strawberry)
(Or any fat free yoghurt - I used vanilla Onken in this one!)

* 1 handful of plain porridge oats.
(Try and use it as your Healthy Extra B choice daily allowance!)

* Slices of any fresh or frozen fruit.
I used fresh strawberries and blueberries today but I like to use frozen strawberries and raspberries because they defrost overnight and the oats soak up the juice!

I like to make mine in a Kilner jar because a) I like being able to see the layers! and b) It's so easy to just pick up and take it away with me if I'm going on a long journey, on a picnic or staying at a friend's house etc! Portable Porrige!
However a bowl with some clingfilm over it is just fine.

I take my handful of oats, layer the yoghurt on top and then I try to fill the rest of the jar up with as much fruit as possible. I used frozen summer fruits once but it's quite bitter so do choose some fruit you really like! Some work better than others I think.

Leave it in the fridge overnight and have it in the morning as a filling breakfast or snack on it throughout the day. I think you can probably stir it and pop it in the microwave too!

I love it. Absolute life-saver!

It's important to remember how far you've come already!

One thing I love about Slimming World is the certificates, stickers and the award system!
It really does make you feel great when you earn one, I feel so accomplished
I try not to panic about getting to my goal weight too much, but I work towards the next award I can get!
It's all little goals in between that keep you going I think.
Here are the awards I've earned so far!

I rejoined a couple of months ago so I had to start counting again (but I'm not!)
So I keep track with my official weight loss with my Slimming World online account.
My new certificates aren't really a true reading but they're still nice to get!

It's taken me a while to get back in to the swing of things recently but I have earned my 1/2 stone award so far since rejoining my group. I'm hoping to get my 1 stone certificate from them in the next couple of weeks!
I had a major setback the last 2 weeks and gained 6lbs (OH NO!)
Needless to say it gave me the kick up the backside that I really needed.
Feeling very focused this week and I'm being super strict - so hopefully I can lose what I've gained!

I honestly do think it's so important to remember how far you've come. Even if you've just started - think about how much closer you are to reaching your goal weight now you have made the conscious decision to start slimming! It's the best decision I've ever made.
Sometimes I do get disheartened if I have a tough couple of weeks or if my losses are slow and small but every little helps. The best thing is to draw a line under it and start a new week, fresh and focused!

Anyway, I decided to write this blog as I thought it might be nice to have somewhere I can post photos, recipe ideas and my food diary as well as talk about other things like how my weigh-in days go!
I hope anyone who comes across this page can find some sort of inspiration, guidance - or just a good read!

G
x