Tag Archives: Weight loss

The Results Are In – Week 10

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Filed under My Progress

I realise that I’ve seemingly jumped straight from week 8 to week 10.  Unfortunately, this is not because I’ve invented time travel.  I was late posting my week 8 results and was unable to attend my weigh in last week.  Anyway, here’s how I’m doing at the moment…

Weight loss:    2.5lb

Image courtesy of stockimages / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of stockimages / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Current weight:    11st 13lb

Weight loss since start:    7lb

Lbs to go to reach next target:    0lb

What’s gone well?

After feeling pretty unmotivated and rubbish for the past couple of weeks, I was glad to get back on track this week.  I was even more pleased with my result as I’ve now into the next stone bracket and need to set my next mini-goal.

What I think has really helped me this week is getting back to my blog and social media and listening to the support from people on the same journey as I am.  It has also helped to not beat myself up about having set myself back on my weight loss journey and instead free myself to concentrate on moving forwards.

What’s been difficult?

I still haven’t had time to have a look at my new app yet! I will definitely explore and make use of it this week.

The week ahead

I’m going to make more time for writing my blog and reading other people’s.  I also need to think about what to how to reward myself for reaching my mini-goal of getting into the next stone bracket.  I’m also going to have a think about how to reward myself for reaching my next target which will take me to my 5% goal.

As part of looking at my blog, I’m going to review my targets as they’ve already become a bit out of sync with reality – but hey, as someone wise once said, life’s what happens when you’re busy making other plans!

Thanks for reading.

PS If anyone’s got any ideas for cheap-as-chips rewards, please share as I’m trying to tighten my belt money-wise as well as waist-wise at the moment.

Planning To Succeed

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Filed under All Things Weight Loss

Mr FFF (who is ex-military) is always telling me, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail”.  So in the spirit of that, and due to my recent lack of motivation  and focus as evidenced here and here, I’ve decided that the best way to ensure that I have a success at the scales this week is by planning on how I’m going to achieve that success.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The teacher in me likes to be ordered and logical so I’ve decided to frame this as an action plan.  I’ve thought about the week a day at a time and decided what positive steps I’m going to take that day to achieve my goal.  I’ve also added in a risk assessment for the things I think might challenge me.  This has allowed me to factor in strategies for minimising said risks.  And yes, I am a geek though I don’t yet have the t-shirt to prove it I do have a ‘Geek’ onesie.

 

What I’m going to do food-wise

What I’m  going to do exercise-wise

Risks

Ways to reduce risks

Thu

Porridge

Tuna & ham   Warburton’s Thins (make on Wednesday evening)

Chickpea Curry

Take stairs to 4th floor instead of lift at   college

Cake/chocolate at college

Take only enough   money for a cup of tea and car park

Take a low-pointed graze snack with me

Question whether I’m hungry or just want to eat out of   habit
Fri

Porridge

Ham-topped crumpets (make at work)

Tomato & Bacon   Arrabiata

45min spin class

Can’t be bothered to cook after exercise class

Temptation to pig out on wine/chocolates to celebrate the   arrival of the weekend

Quick, easy, tasty recipe chosen

Plan in one glass of chocolate Bailey’s to satisfy both alcohol   and chocolate craving

Plan to complete   parkrun on Saturday morning to reduce desire for alcohol
Sat

Porridge

Spicy Bean Soup

Chicken &   Vegetable Biryani

5km parkrun

Temptation to pig out on wine/chocolates/cakes to   celebrate ‘being good’ for the last few days

 

Distract myself by: reading book, writing a block post,   creative writing, working on photography project, drinking herbal tea, tidying   an area of the house

Plan in 2 treats: Glass of Bailey’s & new recipe for   vegan/Weight Watchers friendly chocolate bites
Sun

Banana oatmeal pancakes

Banana & Peanut Butter on Toast

Roast Dinner

60min boxfit class

Temptation to pig out on chocolates/cakes/biscuits to mourn   being back to work tomorrow

Distract myself by: reading book, writing a block post,   creative writing, working on photography project, drinking herbal tea, tidying   an area of the house

Plan in 2 treats: Caramel   Latte, chocolate oaty bites made yesterday
Mon

Porridge

Ham Warburton’s Thins

Pitta Pizzas

No exercise – Weigh in

Temptation to pig out on chocolates/cakes/biscuits to mourn   being back at work/mark it being the ‘no-man’s land’ that follows my weekly   weigh in

Plan in to have one standard-sized bar of chocolate –   enjoy in bed while reading book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Going through that process has left me feeling very motivated and determined to stick to my plan.

I’m also going to be trying to make more use of a weight loss/dieting app that I bought a couple of weeks ago. So far the only influence it has had on my weight loss journey is that I’ve had £2.99 less to spend on chocolate but it has some features that look as though they could be really helpful so I’ll let you know how I get on with it.

5 Steps Forward. How Many Steps Back?

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Filed under My Progress

Hi everyone.  I am still here but I haven’t had the best couple of weeks.  There have been a number of factors involved which I’ll explore/vent about in this post but as you can see from my last week’s weigh in (posted late due to my lacklustre mental attitude), this has had a negative effect on my weight loss journey.

So what’s gone wrong?

Firstly, I had a couple of weeks of feeling pretty rotten: headachy, feverish, sore throat, bad chest, achy and fatigued.  I felt like I was going to come down with a really rotten cold.  But I never did despite feeling like one was going to come for a good 10 days.  This lead to me not going running or going to my boxfit classes.  Feeling crappy also meant that at the weekends, I couldn’t be bothered to plan and cook healthy foods so I pretty much relied on takeaways and convenience foods.

The next factor is that I ended up going to the theatre 3 Friday’s in a row meaning I had to miss my spinning class 3 weeks in a row.  For two of these I wasn’t feeling great anyway but I probably would have gone and took things a bit easier that normal.

Finally, work continues to be extremely challenging and, true to form, I’ve been comforting myself with chocolate, biscuits and cakes in the evenings.  When will I learn that, in the long term, this does not make me feel better about myself?!

As I’ve been having little conversations with my conscience about these issues over the last couple of weeks, my inner voice has been smugly chirping ‘Excuses, Excuses!’ at me.  While annoying, this has actually helped me to not lose focus completely and I feel it has played a big part in helping me to nip this attitude in the bud and find the willpower to get myself back on track.

I’ve been back on track for 2 days now and went back to the gym last night.  As I’m starkly aware that my last 2 posts have been pretty bleak!I’m going to go away now and come up with an action plan for the rest of this week  to help make sure I resume moving forwards!

Wish me luck…

The Results Are In – Week 8

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Filed under My Progress

Weight loss:    +0.5lb

This is how I felt before my weigh in this week! Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This is how I felt before my weigh in this week!
Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Current weight:    12st 1.5lb

Weight loss since start:    4.5lb

Lbs to go to reach next target:    2lb

I’ve had a pretty disappointing week on the whole.   I think this is mainly down to being back at work and I’ve also not been feeling great with a cold/sore throat/bad chest which means I haven’t done any exercise this weekend.

What’s gone well?

Being back at work has helped me stay on track with my eating during the day.

Whilst shopping this weekend, I was very tempted to buy myself a bar of chocolate.  As I’d already had a few chocolate treats over the course of the week, I decided I didn’t really need it.

What’s been difficult?

I’ve found it really hard to stay motivated over the past couple of weeks.  I feel like I’m falling back into my age-old pattern yo-yoing.  I need to find a way to stay focused.

The week ahead

I’ve planned out all my meals for the week (which I’ve not done for  the past couple of weeks) so hopefully that will help me to stay focused food-wise.

I’m also going to hunt out some positivity and motivation from somewhere, so if you’ve any ideas about where I can find some, please let me know.

Getting Off My Lazy Backside

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Filed under All Things Weight Loss

Last week I was on half term holiday following an extremely challenging and emotionally draining 6 weeks.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

On Sunday, I woke up nice and early, had a nice lie in whilst finishing my book and thought to myself ‘I really can’t be bothered to go to the gym today.  I just want to have a lazy day and enjoy the last day of the holidays’.  I even voiced this thought to Mr FFF who replied smugly ‘Well. I don’t really need to go ’cause I did an 8 mile run yesterday’.

Yet, it wasn’t his gloating that made me change my mind.

I got to thinking about how I haven’t had a great week food and exercise wise (although I do feel lovely and relaxed) and how good it had made me feel to make the healthy choice when faced with a weight loss dilemma on Saturday night.  I also thought about how I’d feel if I didn’t go to the gym (guilty; annoyed; that I’d wasted my day) compared to how I’d feel if I went (virtuous; smug).

So, I chose not to ‘Wait until after my weigh in on Monday and then get back on track’: I got up, got my workout gear on and went to the gym.

And you know what?  It really did feel good 🙂

The Results Are In – Week 7

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Filed under My Progress

Weight loss:    0lb

Image courtesy of Grant Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Grant Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Current weight:    12st 1lb

Weight loss since start:    5lb

Lbs to go to reach next target:    1.5lb

 I was pretty pleased with staying the same this week as Id had a lazy week off work

What’s gone well?

I went to a new fitness class this week, a Zumba class that is on straight before the Body Pump class I normally go to on a Tuesday with Mr FFF.  I enjoyed the class and I went on to complete the Body Pump class afterwards without too much difficulty.  I’m planning on making this a part of my exercise routine from now on.

I went to my second parkrun on Saturday and managed to complete it 36 seconds faster than the previous week.  I know it’s not a huge improvement but I wasn’t actively trying for a faster time this week as I was running with a friend who was taking part for the first time.

On Saturday night I faced a weight loss dilemma: whether to cook a nice, plan-friendly meal (which I couldn’t be bothered to do) or to order a takeaway.  In the end, due to thinking carefully about where I want to be and the choices I need to make to get there, I decided I didn’t want to eat rubbish and opted for cooking.

What’s been difficult?

I’ve found it really hard to stay on track and not comfort eat this week.  There were a number of factors involved in this such as being off work for half-term and eating out at an amazing restaurant for a friend’s birthday.  But I’ve reminded myself not to use these factors as excuses – mainly I’ve wanted to relax a little, which is fine, I just have to accept that I’ve put achieving my goal back a little.  The fact that I’d been off-track most off the week was also a big factor in helping me resolve my Saturday’s dilemma (see above).

The week ahead

I’m back at work so that should help me to stay on track in the day.

I’m aiming to do my double exercise class again on Tuesday night although I won’t be able to attend my normal Friday night Spinning class as I’m taking my mum out for her birthday.  I’m looking forwarding to doing parkrun again at the weekend and I’m going to actively try for a quicker time.

Thanks for reading.

PS  How do you stay on track when you are out of your normal routine?

Weight Loss Dilemma – Cooking vs Takeaway

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Filed under All Things Weight Loss

I had such an argument with myself yesterday it was pretty ridiculous.  It lasted for about an hour and it was over whether to cook or order a takeaway.

Image courtesy of lamnee / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of lamnee / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The argument built like this: a friend of ours was spending the weekend alone as his wife was working away so I’d invited him round for dinner on Saturday night.  On Saturday morning, we saw my sister-in-law and it turned out that her partner was also away for the night leaving her alone with their 18mth old son.  So Mr FFF though we should invite them round too.  I agreed as I’d planned to make chicken fajitas so it would be easy just to do some extra.

Saturday looked like this:

  • 9am 5k parkrun
  • home, shower, housework
  • 12:30 visit to my nan’s to see a load of family
  • 3:30 meet sister for coffee

So, by the time I met my sister, I was already thinking, ‘I can’t be bothered to go shopping for dinner’.  However, as we’d met in town, I decided I could probably get the stuff I needed from M&S.  Although it would be a bit more expensive, it would save me the time of having to drive to the supermarket.  So we went in and got all of the required ingredients.  Until we got to the last item on the list: tortillas.  They had none whatsoever.  This was a pretty big problem as they are pretty essential to fajitas!

So we put the stuff back and left the shop with me moaning about how I’d just wasted time and now still needed to go to the supermarket!

As I was walking back to the car I decided I really couldn’t be bothered to cook and sent Mr FFF a text to ask if we could just order takeaway.  He said yes.  ‘Great!’ I thought.  ‘I don’t need to cook.’

But there was something niggling away at me.  It wasn’t that people were coming round expecting home-cooked food, as our friend will eat absolutely anything (except ‘raw’ cheese), Mr FFF’s sister, by her own admission, can’t chop an onion and Mr FFF loves any form of takeaway.  So what was bothering me?  I realised that I actually didn’t want to eat rubbish.

Now, I know there are takeaway options you can have that aren’t that rubbish, but compared to home-made fajitas and potato wedges, every else made me think ‘Yuck!’.

So, in the car, driving home, I’m arguing with myself about whether I should cook or order takeaway.

I was literally half a mile away from home when I decided to carry on to the supermarket, stop being lazy and buy the ingredients needed to make dinner.  I reasoned that it wouldn’t take that long to shop for and the meal itself I’d chosen due to the fact that it’s quick and easy to prepare and there’s not much mess to clean up after.

I felt so pleased with myself for making the healthier choice that, rather than just dashing in to grab the stuff I needed for that night’s dinner, I took the time to stock-up on some fruit, cereal, milk and the ingredients to make two quick and easy dishes for lunch and dinner for the Sunday as well (salmon salad and the ever delicious balsamic beef which I can smell bubbling away in the slow cooker as I type).

Everyone loved the fajitas too.  Look out for my recipe later on this week.

Stepping Up The Exercise

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Filed under All Things Weight Loss
Image courtesy of Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So it’s half-term week and I thought that I’d use the extra time to increase the amount of exercise I’m doing.  I’ve already taken part in my first parkrun event and now tonight I’m going to step things up another gear with a new Zumba class.

If you’ve never tried Zumba before, you ought to find a class and give it a go.  It is a dance-based exercise class based on Latin/Salsa/Merengue/Cha Cha dance steps.  It’s great fun and a great work out that’s easy to adapt for different fitness levels.  I used to regularly attend Zumba classes at my old gym.  However, on joining my current gym they didn’t run any at a time to suit me.  But now they’ve started a new class and it’s on right before the Body Pump class I’ve been attending for the past 6/7 weeks.

I didn’t want to give up the Body Pump class as Mr FFF has been enjoying going to that with me, but I do really want to take up Zumba again.  So I’ve decided to go to both.  This will not only earn me more activity points and boost my weight loss, but it will also increase my stamina and overall cardio fitness.  And I’m pretty certain to sleep well tonight!

Wish me luck!

The Results Are In – Week 6

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Filed under My Progress

Weight loss:    +1lb

Image courtesy of Grant Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Grant Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Current weight:    12st 1lb

Weight loss since start:    5lb

Lbs to go to reach next target:    1.5lb

So I have small gain this week but I’m not disheartened by it as I’ve had a lovely weekend of being wined and dined (or more accurately beered & takeaway-ed) and eating delicious chocolates for Valentine’s day; then I enjoyed a meal and drinks with my work colleagues on Saturday to celebrate surviving the Half-Term From Hell.  So it could’ve been much worse.

 

What’s gone well?

I took part in my first parkrun event this week and I really enjoyed it.  I was thoroughly impressed that, despite not running further than a mile in several years, I managed to run for the whole course and completed it in a respectable time.

 

What’s been difficult?

Loosening the Control Freak reigns was a little difficult this weekend.  While I wanted to have a successful week weight-wise, I also wanted to let my hair down a bit with my colleagues.  Although I don’t like to drink lots (I can’t cope with the hangovers these days), I find that, if I have a few drinks on a Saturday night, even if I stay within my points budget, I usually stay the same or have a slight gain at my Monday weigh in.  In the end, I went out, ate a sensible meal, had a few drinks and really enjoyed myself.  I reasoned that it was a one-off, and I’m in the right frame of mind at the moment not to let it completely throw me off track.

The week ahead

This week could be a tough one as I’m on holiday from school.  I’ll be meeting up with a friend who is also a teacher so we always get together for lunch and a catch-up in the holidays. I’m also going to a really fancy restaurant on Thursday evening for a Friend’s birthday.

To help deal with this I’ll make sure I stay completely on plan for the lunch with a friend.  At the meal I’ll probably go a little off plan but I will look at the menu beforehand so that I can make as wise a choice as possible.  I’ll also make sure I stay completely on track for the rest of the week and I’m going to do an extra exercise class tomorrow to get some activity points in the bank.

I’m also really looking forward to taking part in parkrun again on Saturday.  Who knows – I might even get a bit faster!

Thanks for reading.

PS  How do you stay/get back on track following a slip up?

On Your Marks, Get Set…

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Filed under All Things Weight Loss

Well, I’ve taken the plunge.  In an effort to bank a few more activity points prior to going out with my work mates on Saturday night, I’ve registered for parkrun and plan to take part in my first one this Saturday morning!

Image courtesy of stockimages / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of stockimages / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If you’ve never heard of it before, parkrun is an organisation that arranges free, 5km runs across the country (and indeed the world!) every week.  Your time is recorded and logged online so that you can track how you’re improving.

I must say, I’m a little apprehensive: I’ve never been a massive fan of running and I haven’t run at all since September.  And even then I was only doing 1 mile daily.  However, I’m reasonably fit and I hope that being in competition with myself will help to spur me on to make this a weekly occurrence and so give my exercise and weight loss a boost.

Here’s hoping!

PS – If you’re interested in taking part in a parkrun event, take a look at their website http://www.parkrun.org.uk/