Hello guys, how has your week been?
Gemma- I have stayed the same this week, not sure how that happened as I have done pretty well. I hope the loss shows on the scales next week. I am currently in Torquay and I am going to have a cream tea and fish and chips because this is my only holiday of the year. Going to make up for it when I get home by being super strict and doing the shred. Hope you aren't struggling too much over the bank holiday weekend!
Sarah - I've been really struggling recently, gaining and losing the same couple of pounds so I have stepped up my game and challenged 3 of my twitter friends to a little competition to see if it can motivate us all. Me, Liz, Simonne & Nicola are all trying to lose 2lbs by next Thursday, I will update you to our progress next week!
Charlene - I completely fell off the wagon this week. It all started when I made some mini cheesecakes (which in all fairness I did most of them away!) and escalated into lots of free cake and pizza from work and not much exercise at all. I've just had a mammoth untagging session on Facebook to banish all photos of my double chin and chubby features from the weekend being linked to me so I'm not feeling too confident right now. Here's to a better week this week!
Sarah V - I only lost half a pound this week, but with the bank holiday, there have been various food-related events coming up! But I did an extra zumba class this week and have an extra one this week too so at least I'm exercising to counteract any naughtiness. And at the party I went to yesterday, although there was lots of yummy BBQ food, there was also a bouncy castle, so I'm hoping I jumped the calories away!
Lucy - Quite proud of myself this week, not sure if I've lost any weight but it's my first week back at work and thus far have resisted to eat McDonald's on my break and haven't actually wanted to eat it! Australia is getting scarily close and I think my main aim now is just to try and be sensible before I go and perhaps try and lose a couple of pounds.
Slimming World Syn Free Quiche
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
I really wouldn't have made this quiche if I hadn't have tried it first. It contains pasta. Not just any pasta but a packet of pasta n sauce!! I normally hate the stuff but at my last class we had a tasting night and I decided to live dangerously and give it a try. And boy am I glad I did, it is seriously amazing!! I have made a few amendments to the original recipe and made a massive quiche for my dinner tonight and the next few lunches. I don't have a flan tin so I just lined an 8" cake tin with grease proof paper and it worked just as well.
Ingredients
One packet of pasta n sauce ( I used a cheesy one)
One onion roughly chopped
Four eggs
A tub of very low fat cottage cheese (I chose the chive variety)
Make up the pasta n sauce as directed but replace the milk with water. Add the onions at this stage. Once cooked whisk in the eggs and add the cottage cheese. Pour into your dish and cook at 200° until set. Mine was in the oven for about 30 minutes.
The basic syn free quiche is really versatile, incredibly yummy and just as simple to make. You can add any veggies you fancy or even ham or salmon depending on which plan you are following.
Basic syn free quiche recipe
One large tub of very low fat cottage cheese
Four eggs
Whisk the ingredients together and cook as above. You can line the dish with spinach leaves, add peppers, leeks, onions or even top with tomatoes slices. The choices are endless!
One packet of pasta n sauce ( I used a cheesy one)
One onion roughly chopped
Four eggs
A tub of very low fat cottage cheese (I chose the chive variety)
Make up the pasta n sauce as directed but replace the milk with water. Add the onions at this stage. Once cooked whisk in the eggs and add the cottage cheese. Pour into your dish and cook at 200° until set. Mine was in the oven for about 30 minutes.
The basic syn free quiche is really versatile, incredibly yummy and just as simple to make. You can add any veggies you fancy or even ham or salmon depending on which plan you are following.
Basic syn free quiche recipe
One large tub of very low fat cottage cheese
Four eggs
Whisk the ingredients together and cook as above. You can line the dish with spinach leaves, add peppers, leeks, onions or even top with tomatoes slices. The choices are endless!
Sunday Summary #23
Monday, 22 August 2011
Happy Sunday! How's your week been?
Sarah V - I lost 3lbs this week, which I'm really pleased with! Slowly but surely I'm returning to my pre-summer weight. I'm determined to lose again in my next weigh-in, so have been walking to work and trying not to be too bad. Although a summer of bad habits has meant my resolve has slipped somewhat, but I'm getting there.
Gemma - I lost 2.5 lbs this week, much better! After two weeks of staying the same because of various birthdays and weddings I was really happy with my good loss. This week I have been trying some new recipes too keep me interested and motivated and I'm hoping for another 2-3 lb loss this week. I'm going to Torquay next weekend which I'm little worried about but if I have two bad days I will just try and be extra good the rest of the week. I am now -41 lbs and I want to be -50lbs by the 5th of October for a friends wedding.
Sarah - I've spent this weekend in Brixham visiting some of the boyfs family so no Sunday weigh in for me this week. After putting on 1lb at my class weigh in two Thursdays ago I am happy to report that I had lost 2lbs this Thursday... let's hope I haven't spoilt it all in one little weekend!
Lucy - Sorry for my lack of Sunday Summary last week, I had a traumatic day - I got stuck in a lift for two hours and then had to get a taxi to York instead of the train because I was going to see Olly Murs. I then had the Monday off work and traveled back down to London and yeah, I'm sure you get the issue! Anyway. I go to Australia in exactly 42 days and I'm still at square one. We've been doing this blog for twenty three weeks now and I am pretty much in the same place I started. I have no idea what my issue is. It's never too late to start again, is it...?
Charlene - No weight loss this week but I might have indulged in all the free cakes and doughnuts at work a little bit too much. And err, a chinese takeaway. Not good! Lots of fruit in the kitchen though for healthy snacking and I'm going to go at least 3 runs this week aswell as doing some arm weights and crunches.
Sarah V - I lost 3lbs this week, which I'm really pleased with! Slowly but surely I'm returning to my pre-summer weight. I'm determined to lose again in my next weigh-in, so have been walking to work and trying not to be too bad. Although a summer of bad habits has meant my resolve has slipped somewhat, but I'm getting there.
Gemma - I lost 2.5 lbs this week, much better! After two weeks of staying the same because of various birthdays and weddings I was really happy with my good loss. This week I have been trying some new recipes too keep me interested and motivated and I'm hoping for another 2-3 lb loss this week. I'm going to Torquay next weekend which I'm little worried about but if I have two bad days I will just try and be extra good the rest of the week. I am now -41 lbs and I want to be -50lbs by the 5th of October for a friends wedding.
Sarah - I've spent this weekend in Brixham visiting some of the boyfs family so no Sunday weigh in for me this week. After putting on 1lb at my class weigh in two Thursdays ago I am happy to report that I had lost 2lbs this Thursday... let's hope I haven't spoilt it all in one little weekend!
Lucy - Sorry for my lack of Sunday Summary last week, I had a traumatic day - I got stuck in a lift for two hours and then had to get a taxi to York instead of the train because I was going to see Olly Murs. I then had the Monday off work and traveled back down to London and yeah, I'm sure you get the issue! Anyway. I go to Australia in exactly 42 days and I'm still at square one. We've been doing this blog for twenty three weeks now and I am pretty much in the same place I started. I have no idea what my issue is. It's never too late to start again, is it...?
Charlene - No weight loss this week but I might have indulged in all the free cakes and doughnuts at work a little bit too much. And err, a chinese takeaway. Not good! Lots of fruit in the kitchen though for healthy snacking and I'm going to go at least 3 runs this week aswell as doing some arm weights and crunches.
Weight Watchers Simply Enjoy - Honey Soy Salmon and Vegetable Stir Fry
Saturday, 20 August 2011
The lovely people at Weight Watchers sent me a copy of their new book called Simply Enjoy, I was really interested to see what types of recipes it contained and if they would be quick meal ideas as well as something more elaborate. I will be trying a lot of the 'Working Lunch' recipes and I can't wait for Christmas party season so I can try out the Poppadum Crab Bites and the Red Currant and Cranberry Glazed Turkey.
I have really enjoyed trying to cook a few new dishes and it has given me a bit of a boost this week. Eating the same old dull dishes can really get you down and when you have been on a diet for a few months you really start to lose motivation.
Simply Enjoy is divided into chapters including: lunches; vegetarian ; quick and easy; picnics and BBQ’s; cooking for friends; Christmas; side dishes; snacks and sweet treats. There is something to suit all tastes and cooking abilities. I really like the index at the back of the book which arranges the dishes in to ProPoints values so if you can easily plan what to eat according to how many points you have left.The book also lets you know if the recipe is suitable to freeze which is very handy.
You can get hold of a copy of Simply Enjoy at your local Weight Watchers class or you can buy it online here (there are three free recipes if you follow that link)
Honey Soy Salmon and Vegetable Stir Fry
I decided to try the honey soy salmon and vegetable stir fry first because I already had some of the ingredients which you need to make it and at only 8 ProPoints it seemed like a filling but low point lunch option. I put way more veg in that it said in the recipe because I was pretty hungry and veg is 0 points. The recipe suggests that you can make this more filling by adding 50g of dried brown basmati rice per person for an addition 5 pro points.
This recipe has a ProPoints value of 8 per person and serves 4 people.
You will need:
4 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons clear honey
4 x 125g skinless salmon fillets
Calorie controlled cooking spray
For the stir fry:
2 large garlic cloves, chopped finely
30g of grated ginger
350g pack of mixed vegetable stir fry
1. Mix together half of the soy sauce, all of the balsamic vinegar and honey in a shallow dish. Add the salmon and spoon over the marinade until coated. Cover and leave in the fridge to marinate for 30 minutes.
2. Heat a large non stick frying pan, spray both sides of the salmon with the cooking spray and cook for 3 minutes until golden. Spoon over more marinade, spray with the cooking spray, turn over the salmon and cook the salmon for another 3 minutes. Keep the salmon warm while stir frying the vegetables.
3. Heat a large wok or pan, spray with the cooking spray and stir fry the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds, toss in the vegetables and cook until tender. Add the remaining soy sauce and toss until combined. Serve the salmon on top of the vegetables.
I have now lost over 40 lbs since joining Weight Watchers and I'm hoping that the recipes in this book will help to keep me motivated to lose an extra 40lbs. Dieting really doesn't have to be boring or restricting and great recipe books like this really do help.
Do you have any of the Weight Watcher cookbooks? This is my first one and I'm tempted to invest in a few more. What are your favourite healthy cookbooks?
I have really enjoyed trying to cook a few new dishes and it has given me a bit of a boost this week. Eating the same old dull dishes can really get you down and when you have been on a diet for a few months you really start to lose motivation.
Simply Enjoy is divided into chapters including: lunches; vegetarian ; quick and easy; picnics and BBQ’s; cooking for friends; Christmas; side dishes; snacks and sweet treats. There is something to suit all tastes and cooking abilities. I really like the index at the back of the book which arranges the dishes in to ProPoints values so if you can easily plan what to eat according to how many points you have left.The book also lets you know if the recipe is suitable to freeze which is very handy.
You can get hold of a copy of Simply Enjoy at your local Weight Watchers class or you can buy it online here (there are three free recipes if you follow that link)
Honey Soy Salmon and Vegetable Stir Fry
I decided to try the honey soy salmon and vegetable stir fry first because I already had some of the ingredients which you need to make it and at only 8 ProPoints it seemed like a filling but low point lunch option. I put way more veg in that it said in the recipe because I was pretty hungry and veg is 0 points. The recipe suggests that you can make this more filling by adding 50g of dried brown basmati rice per person for an addition 5 pro points.
This recipe has a ProPoints value of 8 per person and serves 4 people.
You will need:
4 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons clear honey
4 x 125g skinless salmon fillets
Calorie controlled cooking spray
For the stir fry:
2 large garlic cloves, chopped finely
30g of grated ginger
350g pack of mixed vegetable stir fry
1. Mix together half of the soy sauce, all of the balsamic vinegar and honey in a shallow dish. Add the salmon and spoon over the marinade until coated. Cover and leave in the fridge to marinate for 30 minutes.
2. Heat a large non stick frying pan, spray both sides of the salmon with the cooking spray and cook for 3 minutes until golden. Spoon over more marinade, spray with the cooking spray, turn over the salmon and cook the salmon for another 3 minutes. Keep the salmon warm while stir frying the vegetables.
3. Heat a large wok or pan, spray with the cooking spray and stir fry the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds, toss in the vegetables and cook until tender. Add the remaining soy sauce and toss until combined. Serve the salmon on top of the vegetables.
It tasted so good and I think mine looks a lot like the photo in the book, what do you think?
I have now lost over 40 lbs since joining Weight Watchers and I'm hoping that the recipes in this book will help to keep me motivated to lose an extra 40lbs. Dieting really doesn't have to be boring or restricting and great recipe books like this really do help.
Do you have any of the Weight Watcher cookbooks? This is my first one and I'm tempted to invest in a few more. What are your favourite healthy cookbooks?
Sunday Summary #22
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Happy Sunday everyone! Eeek, it's 20 past midnight - technically still Sunday right?!
Sarah V - I've been a bit poorly this week so missed my slimming class and didn't do any exercise. I haven't really lost my appetite, but I also haven't really felt like snacking, either. So I've been eating pretty well, and as of this weekend, the scales were looking pretty positive. I'll know for sure next Tuesday though - I am away visiting friends this weekend which always tests my dieting resolve!
Sarah - I've had a chat with my Slimming World consultant to try and find my missing motivation. I had gained 1lb by the time I went to class on Thursday so I need to turn things around pretty quickly. I still weigh the same as I did last Sunday so I have managed to undo this already and am now determined to get a good loss this week! I know what I need to do its just finding the willpower to stick to it oh and I need to find the inclination to start the 30 day shred again and to stop just talking about doing it!
Gemma - I didn't weigh in last week because it was my birthday but I did go this week and I stayed the same (boohoo). I have eaten out loads over the week because of my birthday and on Friday when I went to the South West blogger meet up but I take my Weight Watchers 'Eating Out Guide' with me everywhere so I always knew what the low point options are. I haven't had any alcohol this week so I'm hoping for a good loss next Friday. I have a wedding in 8 weeks and my dress fits but it is very tight so my next mission is for that dress to fit and look fabulous at the wedding!
Charlene - I've had quite a good week! I went running for the first time in a long while and managed to run 3.6k at what I think was a record time for myself! It was raining and getting dark which is why I think I pushed myself harder - I just wanted to be home. I've done quite well dietwise too. I've got a sweet tooth so I've realised that I'll never be able to cut out things like chocolate or cake but I feel a bit more in control of how much I eat when I do have a craving. Hoping to do more running this week and some arm exercises. Does anyone know any specific exercises that are good for the dreaded bingo wings?
Lucy -
Guest Post - Rhiannon from Vintage Extraordinaire
Saturday, 13 August 2011
This weeks guest post is by Rhiannon from Vintage Extraordinaire.
Exercise is horrible, isn’t it? Ugh - all the sweating, all that moving about, and if you’re a lucky gal like me, your face turns a special shade of maroon - just to make sure that everyone around you knows that you haven’t done it in a while. Not since PE at school anyway, and you didn’t even do it at GCSE’s - why would you? It wasn’t mandatory. Plus the sweet shop was open, and in the middle of the day there was hardly any queue. See where I’m coming from? EXERCISE SUX.
This has been my stance towards it since about two or three months ago. I’ll bring it back to the whole ‘P.E at school’ issue. They don’t really make it an appealing prospect, do they?
“RIGHT! Run seven laps around the field”
Of course you didn’t want to run seven laps, you’ve just had five hours of lessons and are pretty sure that you just failed your physics test. Still, there were no attempts to spice it up. It just seems as though it was a constant slog of effort and not much reward. I really thought all there was to exercise was running around in your shorts in a frosted field, feeling like your lung’s collapsed and dry heaving, whilst someone in a toasty warm tracksuit blows a whistle at you and repeatedly shouts “Oh come ooon, it’s not that cold!”
It wasn’t until I started going for walks with my best friend, Amber that I realized that it was possible to get fit, have a laugh and have a decent excuse to over-indulge later that evening - “well I did climb a mountain this morning, I’m morally allowed that third slice of carrot cake.”
Let me be clear here - we don’t actually climb mountains. The most we’ve done is go up a path that was “a bit hilly”, but I’ve come to realize that the simplest, easiest form of exercise still counts as “working out”.
Walking isn’t that strenuous, it’s free, and it’s a great way of chattering away with your bestie without wasting your money in various branches of Starbucks. You don’t even have to wear shorts! Luckily for me, Amber is of the same “let’s not over-stretch ourselves” attitude. We treat our walks as some sort of FBI project - they’re held in secret locations, we don’t go anywhere we might be spotted and we go make-up free in order to shield our identities. Our routes are in the hills on the outskirts of town, because our stance is very much “ugh gawd, but there are people in the park, they might see us.”
My advice is to chose a walking buddy on the same level as you - in fitness, attitude and sense of humour. It will come in handy when you’re lying on the floor in the middle of a pedestrian path, wailing “my legs! MY LEGS!”. At that point of the two-hour walk you’re going to need someone who’s going to lie down with you, saying “I know, I know”, and who will say encouraging things like “THINK OF THE BACON SARNIE AT HOME” and “Your arse will thank you for this.”
Then we go home, have cake, and watch Desperate housewives on catch up tv and feel like better humans than everyone else for the remainder of the day, because as the law states, “she who does some exercise, is allowed to be smug and eat cake.”
(and if you like, you can even call it ‘hiking’, that’s what Americans do.)
Gemma- My progress so far...
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
I started my Weight Watchers diet at the beginning of February and I’m so happy with all that I have achieved so far. I have lost 2 stone 10.5 lbs, at an average of 1.4 lbs a week, which is a nice steady weight loss. I have dropped two dress sizes (nearly three) and lost 10% of my body weight which means I have lowered my blood pressure and I am at less risk of getting type 2 diabetes.
While I haven’t lost as much as I would have liked I feel like I am well on my way to my ultimate goal of being a size 16.
Why a size 16? I really miss being able to shop wherever I like! I really hate shopping at the moment, there are only a few shops I can go to and if I get down to a size 16 I will have so many more options. If I drop more dress sizes than that then it will be a bonus but I wanted a realistic goal.
When I reach a weight that I am happy with I will become a gold member of Weight Watchers which means I will still attend classes but try and maintain my weight. I think being on a controlled diet will be something I need to stick to for my whole life rather than just as a quick fix. I really don’t want to put the weight back on and lose all this new confidence I have gained!
The only downside to losing all the weight is that most of my clothes no longer fit me. I’ve got a few tips for maintaining a transitional diet wardrobe:
*Don’t buy new clothes every time you drop a few pounds, you will just be wasting your money! I have invested in a few plain dresses in block colours that I can cinch in at the waist with a belt when I lose more weight.
*If you want to update your wardrobe for the A/W season then I would get a trench coat that you can belt up and invest in nice shoes and bags in the new seasons colours. You will not need to get rid of these after only a few weeks and treating yourself to new things is a nice way to reward weight loss.
*Get measured for new bras regularly, your bra size will change a lot when you diet. Ill-fitting bras can lead to back pain, poor posture and also mean that your clothes do not sit nicely on top. I would buy a good t-shirt bra that you can wear with everything regularly throughout your weight loss rather than buying a few different styles each time you lose a significant amount of weight. Good bras can be pricey, so get an expert to fit it so you have the right one.
How are all of you lovely pledgers doing with your health goals? I would love to know how you are all getting along!
Sunday Summary #21
Sunday, 7 August 2011
Happy Sunday everyone!
Sarah V - After my birthday last weekend I was determined to get back on track. At my weigh in on Tuesday, I'd gained another 2lbs which I expected after all the birthday meals out I'd had - but from then onwards have really got back in the zone. I did an extra zumba class on Thursday, walked to work most days and have done my best to eat well. I've had a couple of slips - a BBQ on Friday night for instance where I forgot all of my tips! But overall, I'm feeling back in the zone, and hopeful for a good weightloss result on Tuesday.
Sarah - My motivation seems to have disappeared :( I have gained 2lbs this week and cannot stop craving and eating crap. An overnight work conference really didn't help especially the very limited choice of calorie laden food followed by beers, lots of cosmos and champagne... I really need to stop this and get back on track, someone please kick me up the ass.
Gemma -It was my birthday on Friday and I can honestly say I've not stopped eating and drinking since the wedding last weekend. I did manage to stay the same weight which was all down to making wise choices. I'm now a lot more aware of what foods and drinks should be avoided and I stuck to a lot of chicken and salad when eating out for my birthday and one or two gin and slimline tonics. If I hadn't been following the Weight Watchers plan since Feb I probably would have put about 5lbs on this week from eating loads of carbs and drinking lots of cocktails. I'm really happy with maintaining my weight this week.
Charlene - It was my birthday on Tuesday so I think it's safe to say that after 4 nights of drinking, eating at restaurants and a big chocolate birthday cake that I haven't lost anything! Ah well, your birthday only happens once a year! I keep getting cravings for going out a long run, however this only seems appealing when it's late at night and probably not safe. Although, cravings for exercise! YAY! Going to drag myself out of bed early tomorrow and run!
Lucy - This week I've been mostly living off macaroni cheese out of a packet, houmous wraps, grapes, pineapple, crisps and chocolate. And the occasional banana. It's difficult living in a flat and not having kitchen essentials - I have a bowl, a plate and a pan. That's pretty much it! I'm not sure if I'll have lost any weight but I'm definitely not eating as much as I usually do.
Sarah V - After my birthday last weekend I was determined to get back on track. At my weigh in on Tuesday, I'd gained another 2lbs which I expected after all the birthday meals out I'd had - but from then onwards have really got back in the zone. I did an extra zumba class on Thursday, walked to work most days and have done my best to eat well. I've had a couple of slips - a BBQ on Friday night for instance where I forgot all of my tips! But overall, I'm feeling back in the zone, and hopeful for a good weightloss result on Tuesday.
Sarah - My motivation seems to have disappeared :( I have gained 2lbs this week and cannot stop craving and eating crap. An overnight work conference really didn't help especially the very limited choice of calorie laden food followed by beers, lots of cosmos and champagne... I really need to stop this and get back on track, someone please kick me up the ass.
Gemma -It was my birthday on Friday and I can honestly say I've not stopped eating and drinking since the wedding last weekend. I did manage to stay the same weight which was all down to making wise choices. I'm now a lot more aware of what foods and drinks should be avoided and I stuck to a lot of chicken and salad when eating out for my birthday and one or two gin and slimline tonics. If I hadn't been following the Weight Watchers plan since Feb I probably would have put about 5lbs on this week from eating loads of carbs and drinking lots of cocktails. I'm really happy with maintaining my weight this week.
Charlene - It was my birthday on Tuesday so I think it's safe to say that after 4 nights of drinking, eating at restaurants and a big chocolate birthday cake that I haven't lost anything! Ah well, your birthday only happens once a year! I keep getting cravings for going out a long run, however this only seems appealing when it's late at night and probably not safe. Although, cravings for exercise! YAY! Going to drag myself out of bed early tomorrow and run!
Lucy - This week I've been mostly living off macaroni cheese out of a packet, houmous wraps, grapes, pineapple, crisps and chocolate. And the occasional banana. It's difficult living in a flat and not having kitchen essentials - I have a bowl, a plate and a pan. That's pretty much it! I'm not sure if I'll have lost any weight but I'm definitely not eating as much as I usually do.
Sunday Summary #20
Happy Sunday all!
Sarah V - It was my birthday on Friday and as such, this week has been a bit of a write-off. I gained 2lbs on Tuesday and I'm not confident about this week's weigh-in! But I am a firm believer that dieting is about give and take, and if there's one occasion you should be able to do (and eat) what you want - it's your birthday! However, I'm feeling positive about getting back to it for good tomorrow, and after being back at Zumba for two weeks, am loving exercise again. This week, my mission is to eat healthily every day again, and try and walk to work every day too - instead of giving in to that extra 30 mins in bed!
Sarah - I've gained 1lb this week which I am actually okay with seeings as my little sister got married on Monday and we spent most of Sunday and Monday celebrating. I really did think it would be more especially seeings as it's also 'that' time of the month. My goals have now changed as I am now on the count down to my own wedding in less than 4 months and have been going walking for at least an hour every day. 25lbs in 16 weeks feels like such a challenge so I am counting on you guys to help me out!
Gemma - I lost 2lbs at my weigh in on Friday which I was very happy about. The wedding I attended yesterday was one of my main reasons for losing weight, I felt happy with the loss of 38.5 I have achieved and my next goal is a wedding in October and I want to be 50+ lbs in to my weight loss by then.
This weekend has been a total write off. I've had a cream tea, cooked breakfast, champagne and wedding buffet food. I haven't thought about my diet at all and it will be my birthday on Friday so I'm not sure that it will be a good week. I think one week off since February isn't bad at all!
Charlene -
Lucy - I've been quite good this week, as promised, although I'm still finding that I have a lack of motivation. I really do not know what's wrong with me. I'm headed to London today for three weeks for work experience and for the first fortnight I'll be living in student halls, there's an Asda just across the road and I'm planning on buying meals each night rather than stocking up with a load of stuff that'll probably just end up getting thrown away when I move out. I'm going to have to be ultra strict with myself and hopefully I will be...
How has your week been?
Sarah V - It was my birthday on Friday and as such, this week has been a bit of a write-off. I gained 2lbs on Tuesday and I'm not confident about this week's weigh-in! But I am a firm believer that dieting is about give and take, and if there's one occasion you should be able to do (and eat) what you want - it's your birthday! However, I'm feeling positive about getting back to it for good tomorrow, and after being back at Zumba for two weeks, am loving exercise again. This week, my mission is to eat healthily every day again, and try and walk to work every day too - instead of giving in to that extra 30 mins in bed!
Sarah - I've gained 1lb this week which I am actually okay with seeings as my little sister got married on Monday and we spent most of Sunday and Monday celebrating. I really did think it would be more especially seeings as it's also 'that' time of the month. My goals have now changed as I am now on the count down to my own wedding in less than 4 months and have been going walking for at least an hour every day. 25lbs in 16 weeks feels like such a challenge so I am counting on you guys to help me out!
Gemma - I lost 2lbs at my weigh in on Friday which I was very happy about. The wedding I attended yesterday was one of my main reasons for losing weight, I felt happy with the loss of 38.5 I have achieved and my next goal is a wedding in October and I want to be 50+ lbs in to my weight loss by then.
This weekend has been a total write off. I've had a cream tea, cooked breakfast, champagne and wedding buffet food. I haven't thought about my diet at all and it will be my birthday on Friday so I'm not sure that it will be a good week. I think one week off since February isn't bad at all!
Charlene -
Lucy - I've been quite good this week, as promised, although I'm still finding that I have a lack of motivation. I really do not know what's wrong with me. I'm headed to London today for three weeks for work experience and for the first fortnight I'll be living in student halls, there's an Asda just across the road and I'm planning on buying meals each night rather than stocking up with a load of stuff that'll probably just end up getting thrown away when I move out. I'm going to have to be ultra strict with myself and hopefully I will be...
How has your week been?
Guest Post- Hannah from Bow Dream Nation
Saturday, 6 August 2011
I love running is not a phrase I would have associated with myself a few months ago but here I am today embracing the statement with arms wide open. Ok, well maybe with half open arms... I LIKE running is probably more accurate.
In school I hated running! During the summer we would play athletics and I’d go to any means to miss those lessons, I just wasn’t very good and let’s face it, lazy! However, in March of this year things started to change. I noticed a lot of bloggers were into running and when Helen wrote a guest post on this blog about the Couch to 5K plan I thought I would give it ago. Attempting to be on a constant diet was proving boring and hard for my weight loss and I knew I needed to introduce some exercise into my routine if I wanted to see results. However, I never had much luck with the gym so I decided to take up running because a. It was free and b. All I had to do was run out my front door.
That very first run I did was hard, harder than I thought to be honest but by my third run at the end of the week I could all ready feel results. I couldn’t believe how much my cardio vascular ability had improved after a short space of time! After a month or so I even started to enjoy and look forward to my runs. I followed the Couch to 5K plan all the way to the end, sometimes I was unable to run 3 times a week but I just kept going until I had completed it. Being able to run 30minutes without stopping after a couple of months was a huge achievement and once the plan was completed I downloaded the follow up app, Bridge to 10K.
To keep me motivated I signed up to a number of races including a 5K and a 10K Race for Life. If I had not entered these races I know it would have been hard to keep up with the training especially when I had to do after work runs (they’re the worse) but knowing people were sponsoring me made me work hard. I’m now in training for a half marathon at the end of September and my running plan is extreme. Just last weekend I had to run 8miles which is the longest I’ve ever gone for! I surprised myself by being able to do it without killing myself and it’s moments like this that have made me realise how much I enjoy this sport. Running has gone beyond being a weight loss tool and has become an exercise in pushing my body to its limits. After a run (no matter how shoddy it may have been) you get an enormous high which makes the blisters, sweat and tears worth it! Yes, I’ve lost weight and toned up as a result and feel phenomenally more fitter but it’s also a great tool for distressing, clearing your mind and increasing your self confidence.
For any of you thinking about getting into running I have a few tips. Buy the Couch to 5k app, it is seriously the best £1.50 I've ever spent. Invest in a decent pair of trainers and sports bra, they really do make a difference, trust me! Sign up to some races to keep you motivated, it helped loads with me. And finally, don’t attempt too much at once because if after your first run you can’t walk for days and feel like death it’s going to be really hard to make yourself go again.
I’ve even started a running blog called Feet on Fire to document my progress and tips I’ve learnt. So please feel free to ask me any questions whether they're about kit, training programmes or general advice because as a result of liking running (ok, so maybe I do love it after all) I also love to talk about it!
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