Weigh In .. Final One of 2012 ..

The after Christmas weigh was upon me and I was prepared for anything. The scales could do their worst, but as it turns out I wasn't quite prepared for what I was looking at when I looked at the screen.

 

For the week over Christmas I had only put on 1 and a half pounds on, I was delighted, I hadn't really done any damage at all. This is manageable, well it's more than manageable, it's amazing.

I am at the moment  13 stone 7 lbs, so I am still maintaining that 3 stone weight loss!

 

I couldn't be more back on it if I tried, ready to battle onto my 3 1/2 stone award! It's salad tonight and tomorrow it's Iceland's Lamb Shanks in mint gravy, served with lots of superfree veg. I get the frozen lamb shanks, 450g each, 3 syns each.

 

So as this year is closing I wanted to say a big thank you to Slimming World because they have made my life drastically change, I can honestly say I would of never got this far without it. Never have a found a diet more easy and more productive than the Slimming World one. I have amazing meals, things I wouldn't even tried, and yet still I get results. I have pushed myself in the gym more than I ever thought possible, I mean I have never run on a treadmill before now and now it's the first thing I do when I enter a gym.

 

More importantly though I would like to say thank you to my consultant Mandy and the rest of the group because they are inspiration, support and friends. Would never have kept this up as good as I have without them. I now look forward to going and can't wait to spend time there, chatting, supporting and learning!

 

I am loving going into a new year a healthier, happier me. So I will see you next year, I hope its a good New Years Eve for everyone!

Christmas Break ..

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and you're going to have a great New Year.

I've just had a Christmas break from the blog and from Slimming World, but now I am back on it. Blog and Slimming World!

I gave myself the break because I knew I had so many things in the house I wanted to eat, from Pringles and chocolate, to my favourite slices of pie. I wanted to completely indulge and enjoy my Christmas so I gave myself a deadline, and the deadline is today. It ends now, I'm back on it!

It's 100% that I have gained, haha, but I am okay with this, I have come to terms with it. It was Christmas, it's going to be hard to lose any weight at Christmas. I think sometimes you just need a break from dieting sometimes, sometimes it can be a bit monotonous. So Christmas is a great opportunity for this.

We are back at group this Sunday evening and whatever the scales say I'll be happy, I have now drawn a line under it and I am starting a fresh. I've set a new goal in sight. At the start of June next year some friends and I are going on a week away to Bulgaria so for then I would like a whole new wardrobe of summer clothes preferably in a size smaller than I am now and also I would like to be 11.5 stone! Right now I have to lose 2 stone to get that but I haven't had my after Christmas weigh in yet.

So to sum up I have had an amazing Christmas and I'm prepared for weigh in, in two days time.

If you're in Slimming World and have had a bad Christmas get back to group and stay for the meeting, you'll get the boost you're needing to get back on it.

Alternatively if you have put on some weight on over Christmas that you are not happy about or you want to start 2012 a new person, why not get down to your local slimming group?

If you don't know where that is you can go on the website www.slimmingworld.com and search by your postcode or even easier use the iphone and Android app!

I guarantee you will get a warm welcome and ton's of support, you will get the help you need and an easy way to do it. I can honestly say that this is the easiest diet I have ever been on and the most successful by far!

So come on and take that first step to the new you! I'll see you there!!

 

 

I also would like to take a second to thank people who read this, you give me inspiration to write more and to help others, knowing someone is reading his keeps me going and keeps me motivated so have a great New Year and all the best for 2013!

 

 

Weigh In .. Expected ..

First off let me mention that I have one more weigh in before Christmas and I need to lose 3 and a half pounds, oh my god I can do this. This week is a complete low syn week of salads and pasta. I have to reach my Christmas target, I'd be so ecstatic!

 

So I told you about my horrendous week of meals out, I was going to try and be good the other days. That didn't really work out for me, from pasties at 2 in the morning (motorway services), hot chocolates and a take away. It has not been good, not to mention I had no exercise like I planned, it seemed everything was in my way last week. On Wednesday I had a poorly child, on Friday I caught his illness and couldn't even get up never mind go to the gym, and on our usual Monday swim night they closed the sport centre.

 

So all in all I had a bad week, and the scales showed that, I was pretty much hoping for less than 5lbs so I was pleased when the scale said I'd put on 2 and a half, I can cope with that.

 

After weigh in it was our Christmas raffle and I was delighted when I won a hand blender and a soup recipe book, I now have new recipes to try in the new year. Also I was really pleased the friends that we sit with all won something, including Gareth winning an actifry!

 

So on it this week for 3 and a half pound loss, wish me luck!

Weigh In .. Meal Out ..

Yesterday was weigh in day, feeling optimistic I was hoping for a 2lb loss. I got onto the weighing scales and came away with a 3lb loss. I'm really pleased with that, that's 6 1/2lbs in two weeks, I can definitely say my head is in it. I now need 1 more pound for my Christmas target of 3.5 stone loss.

 

After the weigh in it was time for our Christmas meal out. What a great night it was, full of laughter, great company and lovely food. Set at The Viking in Goole, I started with the Tomato and Basil soup with a crusty baguette which I savoured since it will be the only piece of bread I'll have this week. Next came the Traditional Turkey with all the trimmings, this including Yorkshire pud, stuffing ball, pigs in blankets and veg. It was absolutely delicious, for desert I had the Raspberry Blondie which was packed full of flavour and I even took a sneaky peek. It was a synful but gorgeous meal.

 

So today is the start of a difficult week, a high in syn meal last night, and now today is an in between day where I'll have salad, and it's gym tonight to really push myself. I really hope I can try and keep a maintain next week at least but we'll see. Also here's a pic of me and Gareth enjoying last night.

Busy and Hard Week ..

So just come back from last minute workout before weigh in. Me and Gareth did 40 lengths in the pool. Feel quite good about it as well today. Before that I had a simple ham and cheese salad getting my Healthy A in there. I am now just munching on an after body workout snack of a Hi-Fi bar, getting my Healthy B in.

 

This week is a busy Christmas week for Gareth and I, we have 3 meals out so it's going to be hard to get a loss in next week. We're going to try really hard all the other days and get lots of body magic in to try and make up for it, we now have something going on every day up to Thursday next week. Not to mention I'm going to see him everyday until Thursday next week, that's a lot of Gareth. Haha.

 

Today was Swimming getting our body magic in.

Tomorrow, I'll be at my son's Christmas play in the morning, then in the evening is weigh in. But tomorrow is a special weigh in, because straight after is our SW Christmas meal. I am very excited to have a great meal with great people. I think there is about 30 of us out of our group going. I've already chosen my meal of Tomato and Basil soup, Traditional Turkey dinner and for desert Raspberry Blondie.

On Wednesday we will be shopping then off to the gym, that day will be a food good day, of pasta or salad!

Thursday is London day, we're going down to London for a spot of shopping, meal out and into Winter Wonderland (if you want to know about Winter Wonderland, it's on Gareths blog here). This will be a hard day of hot chocolates, Harrod's cake's and a Mexican meal at Chiquito's. I'm going to try and choose good in the restaurant and restrain myself from the delicious cakes, but I'm not that strong!

On Friday it's gym day, trying to burn off what I ate in London.

Saturday is another day out. This one in York, where there will be a lot of walking around which I hope will help but will consist of a meal at Lendall Cellars which is a gorgeous restaurant in the centre of York.

Sunday is damage control once again by going to the gym, I'm going to really push myself to try for if anything a maintain!

Monday is back to Swimming, a last chance body magic session, and then we come round to Tuesday once again and weigh in, where we will learn our fate of the week.

Wednesday will be gym, depending on the results of the night before weigh in, it could be just a normal work out or pushing it to lose the gain!

 

So you see a hectic week of up and down food, I am actually optimistic that I can control this and not get that much of  gain. I use the in between days of meals as body magic days and eat syn free or very low syn foods such at pasta, salads or jacket potatoes. Also trying always to get my fruit and veg in (superfree foods). One things for sure is there is no bad snacking and no bread. I am cutting them out this week. I am in the zone!

Paella

Today I made one of my fave's, Paella. Really simple and so tasty.

 

Ingredients:

2 onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1pt chicken stock made with Bovril

227g/8oz tomatoes, skinned and chopped

340g/12oz long grain rice, dried

A few strands of saffron

113g/4oz raw tiger prawns

57g/2oz thin green beans, trimmed and halved

113g/4oz cooked chicken, skinned and diced

170g/6oz live mussels

1 red pepper

seasoning

2 tbsp chopped parsley

 

1. Put the onion, garlic and 1/2 pt of the stock in a heavy, deep frying pan. Cover, bring to the boil and boil for 5 mins. Simmer, uncovered, for 20-30 mins, until the onions are tender and golden. Stir in the tomatoes and rice and cook gently for 2-3 mins.

2. Bring the remaining stock to the boil and add to the pan with the saffron. Simmer gently for about 20 mins, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is fluffy and tender. Ten mins before the end of cooking time, add the prawns, cooked chicken and green beans.

3. Meanwhile, scrub the mussels under running water, discarding any that are cracked or open, Pop them into a pan with a little boiling water, cover with a lid and cook over a high heat, shaking occasionally, until the mussels open. Throw away any that fail to open.

4. Grill the red pepper under a pre-heated grill until charred, the remove the skin and seeds. Cut the flesh into thin strips. Season the paella to taste and serve garnished with the mussels and red pepper strips, sprinkled with parsley. 

 

Meal serves 4 and is completely syn free, I don't personally like mussels or pepper so I left them out and it tasted just fine without them.

 

Now after a great meal I am going to go get my body magic in and do a work out in the gym with Gareth.



Chicken Goujons ..

Just come back from an hours workout at the gym, getting ready for another great week. Didn't majorly push myself this evening, it was just a good workout. And I feel great for it.

 

Before that I had an easy meal of chicken goujons, SW chips and peas.

 

Ingredients:

4 portions of mini chicken fillets (about 16 pieces)

1 egg, beaten

25g golden breadcrumbs

A few potatoes, cut into chips

Fry Light

 

1. Preheat oven to 190c.

2. Spray a baking tray with Fry Light, place chips on baking tray and lightly spray again over the top.

3. Dip each mini fillet in the beaten egg and lightly coat with the breadcrumbs, place on another baking tray sprayed with Fry Light and pop both in oven for 30 mins turning once halfway through.

4. Serve with veg or a crisp salad.

 

This recipe serves 4, and is 1.5 syns each serving.

I have worked out that 25g of golden breadcrumbs is 4.5, so this dived by for and rounded up would be 1.5. If you want it syn free you can use wholemeal bread blitz in a food processor to make breadcrumbs and use this as your Healthy B choice.



Weigh In .. On It ..

After having a brilliant week where I really concentrated and tried so hard everyday, except one for Saturday where I was lured out to an Italian meal I am pleased to say that I lost 3 and a half pounds! I'm now down to 13 stone 4 1/2 pounds, and I only need 4 pounds off for my Christmas target. I'm pretty sure I can do this 3 weeks.

 

My head is seriously in it now, after this great loss I feel great and I'm ready for next goal. There will be no meals out this week so there is nothing stopping me. It is next week that will be a problem, 3 meals out. The first one will be our SW Christmas meal out, a 3 course meal after weigh in. Then onto Thursday where I'm going to London for the day and finally Saturday where I'm heading to York. This week has to be amazingly good to make up for next week.