NEED TO PLAN THE PERFECT PICNIC?




I had a great week, for the the first time in a long time my mood stayed up. At last things seem to be going right for me. I have been following the plan all week just one or two strays but nothing to jeopardise the weigh in. I am drinking 2 litres of water everyday, I fill a 2 litre bottle and keep sipping at it all day. Hopefully all going well I will get to Monday with out any major distractions to throw me off course. 


I have to get my head in the summer school holiday zone. Major planning is the only option I have. With the children being here everyday there will be days out and temptations galore. I cant make the plans now because we cant plan our days out untill each day so I will have to stay strong to resist temptation. What I will do is to check out different options online for places to go and see what kind of plans I can have in the pipeline. A lot of what we do this summer will involve picnics and every other year it was easy, we just ate lots of sandwiches. I cant do that now, So todays blog is about healthy picnic ideas and recipes.

I love picnics anywhere even in the car if its raining. When planning a picnic you have to be prepared. Its not just as simple as a place, a blanket and a sandwich. 

A WONDERFUL START TO MY WEEK



Good afternoon everyone, I am in such a great mood today. Last night at weigh in I lost 2.5lb which put me back on track and a 1lb onto my 3rd stone. I have managed to get over the wall and I'm heading towards my next goal. I also got slimmer of the week at group and that just made my day. My hard work paid off last week and I feel so good about myself. The awards are taking over my fridge door. 


The only thing I cant seem to stop is my craving for cheese. I never realised how much I loved cheese until I was told I can only have 30g for a healthy extra option. So I need a cheese distraction!! I browsed a few articles on the Internet and the options so far are to 1. just stop eating cheese. 2. eat more healthier foods and my body wont crave cheese! and 3. Find out what my emotional attachment is to cheese The last one made me laugh, do I have an emotional attachment to cheese? I know I am and emotional eater but what emotion does cheese help?


Today I had a stressful couple of hours and when it was all over the first thing I wanted to do was eat cheese. Is this the emotion cheese is helping me with stress and tension? Thinking about it I have been stress eating for a long time. Before I joined slimming World a lot of my meals would include cheese : cheese on toast, Cheese sauce with dinners, cheese on crackers and extra cheese on Pizza's. Have I made a discovery? I have looked up foods that help with stress and I will pop them into my food plan this week and see how I get on. Broccoli, Wholewheat rice and Pasta, Beef, Fish, Cantaloupe, Blueberries are a few of the foods I can start with to see how I get on. Hopefully its another step in the right direction. At the minute there isn't much I can do to alleviate the stress in my life. I have done a lot of work to improve my lifestyle but somethings cant be changed for a little while yet. I have to learn how to feel the emotions I go through and not feed myself to hide the emotions. 


NOT DOING TOO BAD AT ALL




Hey folks, I am quite pleased with the way things have been going for me lately with a maintain last week and a half lb off this week I am still on track. I have been taking things easier on myself and putting thought into my days. Last week was spent experimenting with different foods to find things that I can enjoy and eat a lot of without doing damage to the plan. This didn't come without the odd hiccup firstly there was the bad porridge experience when I decided to mix a coconut Greek yogurt with it to jazz up my mornings. First spoonful was weird, then the second, by the 3rd I wasn't liking it and by the 5th I was puking in the sink. This put me off my beloved Greek style yoghurt's for the rest of the week. I decided to stick to my menu of porridge made with water with a little sweetener because sometimes plain is nicer than fancy. 



I had success with a Chili Beef dish and also with a Beef Casserole done in the slow oven for 6 hours served with lots of veg. There was so much of the casserole that I filled up on it twice!! I had some of the low syn sausages that I love but I think I have to limit myself to only buying a few because I ate 8 in one day :-/ I had a disaster with a rotten apple and some manky raspberries but its all trial and error when you are trying out new things. 



My experiment this week is to find foods that are easily stored or frozen. I am also writing my recipes down as Invent dishes that work for me this keeps me occupied and out of the presses and fridge. I'm enjoying my journey again and I remind myself in the morning of what my dreams are and what I want to achieve. When January 2013 comes around I will have gotten rid of a load of fat that was annoying me last January and I will have finally carried something through. I will be 1/3 of the way to my target and I will be delighted with myself. 
Last nights group was great craic everyone was doing well and there were a few targets achieved so the spirits were high. Myself and the lovely looking lady that gives me a lift home ( I have to say that she reads my blogs) were bouncing off each other and for some strange reason everyone in group thought we were being rude but I think it was their dirty minds because I know we were innocent. Group is great if it was on every night of the week I would go to it. G our consultant is a fantastic person she has been on the journey and still is so she knows exactly what its like to have good and bad days. That woman really is doing amazing work because without her support I know I would have thrown in the towel a long time ago.


I haven't felt alone in the last few weeks because I'm using the people around me to guide me through the dark days and I should have been doing this all along. I'm not going to dwell on the shoulda coulda woulda's I'm in the here and now. Right here and now I'm happy and I'm following the right path and I know that I will be picking up a long coveted award next Monday because I owe it to myself.





 I am reading this everyday to keep myself going its a bit harsh but its true.

DISTRACTED BY LIFE




Its been a weeks or so since I blogged and the only reason for this was Life. I was distracted by life, which for me was a good and a bad thing. The good thing is, I have been more active since my last post than I have been in a long time. The dog loves me and now begs me for walks instead of Mr Bru. The kids are enjoying the trips out to forests and parks and I am actually enjoying spending even more time with all of them. I have a new lease of life and I am actually suggesting we go out walking, Which  Mr Bru found weird at first. The Bad thing is that I have been sitting on my laptop letting silly things distract me from doing my everyday planning. I have been playing games more than planning meals, things to do and even keeping in touch with people.


As I sit here now the sky is dull and gloomy and it has been raining since last night. My mood isn't great and I have just been eating anything today. I didn't even think about health and weight loss. That's when I realised I need to blog to distract me and get me back on track. Just because the picture outside is dull and dismal does not mean that my day has to be dull and dismal. So I have to come up with a plan for the rest of the day and my week. Walking is out the window and I need to undo the damage of 2 sausage rolls and a cream bun (I seems worse now than I thought this morning) I have been watching a Fitness TV channel and in the evening the workouts aren't to hard so I am going to try and follow one when the 2 younger ones are in bed. 


When you think about it there are loads of things around to help you on a weight loss journey. When I was minding the baby this morning I put her in her pram and then pushed the pram with my feet. While I was doing it I realised that this would help tone my muscles. I have her 2 - 3 days a week so that could be a workout for me. I have weights upstairs but they are a bit heavy at the minute so I could use tins of beans as weights to start off with and or even a kilo bag of sugar. There really is no excuse not to get some exercise on a rainy day. 

Don't let life distract you in the wrong way. Use the Internet to look for ways to help you exercise, plan your workouts they don't have to be too strenuous. Look around your home and find things to use. Don't just sit and say "ah sure I cant get out and I have nothing here in the house" It only takes 30 minutes of any exercise to get fit and healthy. I have researched a few things to kick us off so I hope it helps you and me. 

BEING A LOSER 2 WEEKS IN A ROW




I finally got a loss 2 weeks in a row and it has boosted me no end. I feel great about myself and positive that I can do this right again and stay on target. I changed a lot of things to get this loss. I realised that I wasn't eating enough vegetables with my meals so now I cook 3 or 4 types and fill the plate with more veg than meat or potatoes. I was only eating bananas and apples so I added oranges mandarins and grapes to the menu. I stocked up with more yoghurt's too. I have my 2 stone loss back with 4 lbs into my 3rd stone a total of 32 lbs and 3 dress sizes gone. I have my determination back again and I'm so glad its back.


My only downfall is cheese it seems to have a spell on me. I have an addictive personality and I get rid of one addiction and replace it with another. I got rid of cigarettes and replaced them with food. Since joining slimming world I seem to have developed an even bigger addiction to cheese. My plan this week is to just use my 30g Cheddar allowance per day and not have any extra as syns. I just need to be strong and remind myself everyday that cheese is making me go backwards. I want so much to have that extra stone for Christmas and its only 10lb away. It will be my Christmas present too myself.



I don't spoil myself enough and I think that may be why I'm indulging in cheese, So I decided its time to treat myself. Money is tight so I have made a plan things that I can do to pamper myself that wont break the bank. The list is made up of things like a foot soak, Doing my nails, a home facial. Its so easy to neglect ourselves when we have families or jobs to do. I know personally that when I neglect myself I start to feel down and when I get down I start to punish myself and put myself down. This wrecks the weight loss journey because I turn to food to comfort myself. Then the weight piles back on and the food comforts me again and the next thing I know I'm on that vicious circle again. I have looked up some home made remedies to help me so I will share my findings here if anyone wants to try them too.


LIFE IS HECTIC


I just realised today that I haven't blogged in ages. Everything has changed for me in the last 2weeks. Our circumstances have changed and we have to move house. At first I was devastated and really didn't want to have to do it but now the excitement has kicked in and I'm looking forward to this new adventure. 

I see it as a new chapter on my journey, 2012 was the year of change for me so obviously part of the change was  a change of address. It is making things a bit harder on my food plans because planning ahead isn't as easy as it was before. We have so many things to sort our before we move that I forget to keep track of my eating habits. I try my best but in a week or two when everything is settled I will be back on track properly. 

MrBru is also starting a 3 day week on the 30th so that has thrown a spanner into the works also. Trying to balance the books so we don't get into financial stress (anymore than we already are). There are loads of people in the same position if not worse than us so the best thing to do is to get on with things and not let them overwhelm me. Things are always as bad as they seem and everything does happen for a reason. I'm looking on this as a positive and the outcome of it all will be great. 

I wont be about for a little while and as soon as I have settled into my new home I will be back blogging like before. Talk to you soon :)

LOOKING FOR ANSWERS


Time for a catch up again. After my 4lb gain 2 weeks ago I got 3lb off this week which lifted my spirits. I'm like a yo yo this past few weeks putting it on getting it off again but the main thing is that I'm still 2 stone lighter this year. As long as I have a loss by the end of the year I will have succeeded in my goal for the year. 

I'm really struggling with myself lately and I cant really pin point what is wrong. I take the whole thing really serious for a day or 2 and then I say "ah Fuck it" and just eat what I want. I know the food optimising plan is brilliant and it really does work so why am I not doing it to the best of my ability? Take today for example, I woke up thinking no bread today and no matter what I was sticking to plan. I got up out of bed, got the kids sorted, out to school and put the kettle on. I was pottering about the kitchen and everything seemed to bug me. I don't have that much housework to do today, there are only 3 bowls, spoons and a knife to be washed. The floor has to be hoovered and I suppose I could run the mop over the bathroom floor. That's about all that needs doing. No doubt others would say there is loads more to be done but hey, they can come and do it for me :-) 

My head feels heavy and I just feel crap not in a physical illness kind of a way just a general downer type of feeling. I suppose everyday things are on my mind like bills and stuff but that shouldn't stop me from sticking to the eating plan. I made coffee and when I went to the cupboard for the sweetener I found a pack of biscuits and without thinking I ate 4 with butter on them. There are none left now I suppose that's a plus, but what gets me is that I can so easily just lift something and eat it with out even thinking about it. Does that mean I don't want this weight loss? Am I as serious about it as I think? 

I really don't have the answers to this yet but I will work on it today. I have a ham fillet ready to boil and I plan on making rice and vegetables with it and I wont eat anything else off plan. How can I get the answers to these questions? How can I get these bad habits to go away? I will spend the day trying to figure myself out. I'm sure the answers are in there somewhere but right now I cant see whats going on. This has been going on for years, I start off great and after a while I just don't care. I know all the good things, the bad things and the not so bad things. I have educated myself over the years on what should and shouldn't be done. I know that you must exercise to keep the balance going and its not even strenuous exercise either. You can do at least 15 minutes a day of anything that gets your heart racing.
Time to get the housework done and I suppose I could do that bit extra to keep me occupied and away from the Kitchen. Have a nice day everyone and hopefully it will pick up for us all. After spell checking and proof reading this blog I feel a bit better already even the sun has broken through the clouds to shine on me. They reckon staying positive is the way to get through your life and I'm going to concentrate on that and see how I get on.

NO POINT TALKING THE TALK IF YOU ARE NOT WALKING THE WALK




Good Evening folks I fell off the weightloss journey over the last month or so. I used every excuse I could think of and I was damn near throwing in the towel because I was struggling with myself. I had achieved my 2 stone then put on a few lbs then lost a few, put on a few more until my weight went backwards. I let this beat me and last weekend I was giving up but something inside me forced me to stop and think. I reached out to my fellow members of Slimming World and they all supported me some even spoke one or two harsh words!! I went to group last week with another 2lb gain and got the support I needed to keep me there. I realised I was talking the talk but I wasn't walking the walk. Every day I sat here and made my blog hoping to help myself and others but in reality I wasn't doing what I was supposed to I started to feel like my journey was for others and not myself. Was I doing this to keep others happy? Obviously I didn't want it as much as I thought. I started to feel a let down to others I had put so much pressure on myself with my blog and I was starting to feel that I had to impress everyone with my journey. I wanted to be able to write about how great I was and how I was losing all the time but in actual fact I was just putting the pressure on. If I was struggling I pretended all was well but the scales were telling me a different story. I felt the pressure and then with moving house I started to struggle with eating and I was craving food again. I found it much easier to give in to the cravings than try and fight them. I was using the fact that we had a lot of stress going on in our lives as an excuse to eat everything round me. Now a month later and a nearly a half stone heavier I gotten myself together. We still have a lot of pressure but Im food planning my days again. I am making sure I have lots of food in the house to snack on when I feel I need to so I don't nibble on toast or sandwiches. 

I wanted to wait until I did a full good week again before I got back to blogging and I am delighted to say I did it. I stayed on track most of the  week, only had 2 days that went over my syn allowance. I'm not expecting too much tomorrow at group but I have hoping for at least a maintain. I went shopping today and got everything I need to plan this week ahead so here goes. 

Time to put my money where my mouth is and get back on that journey. I have a new goal I want a stone off for Christmas.

FALTERING MIDWEEK BUT NOT FALLING


Well Monday was just as I expected with a Whopping 5lb gain!!!! I don't know what is worse the fact that now I giggle when I gain or when I used to beat myself up about a gain. I suppose giggling but this time I thought I wasn't taking things serious enough when I saw the gain. I said I would work to get rid of it but I'm not sure if I meant it. I stayed to plan all day Monday, Tuesday was ok until late that evening when something made me so angry and upset that I ate a bar of chocolate without even realising I had done it. It wasn't too bad I suppose but having had my syns for that day I could have done with out the extra 15 syns. 

Wednesday was a great day because it was our Anniversary. When I went to bed the night before my hubby had left a card and present on my bedside locker. It was a beautiful gift set of Burberry Brit Sheer, with the perfume. lotion and shower gel. The card was lovely too I was just chuffed and I woke up in the best mood. When the kids went to school I went up for a shower and pampered myself. We went to see my sister at mums house and then went home for dinner. The original plan was a Slimming World meal cooked by hubby's fair hands but I think he had bitten off more than he could chew so he went out for a takeout. The kids had set the table and we were all set for dinner I was having rice and a low syn dish BUT I just couldn't resist the extras that came with the meal. I ended up having a spring roll, some sweet and sour chicken, prawn crackers, chicken wings in satay sauce. To say it was delicious is an understatement it was absolutely fabulous. I had a lovely evening, me, Bruno and our 3 boys. How lucky I am with all these wonderful people in my life. 


Today started off looking like it was going to be a tester day. My mood was low and when the kids went to school I sat with a cup of coffee thinking I was fat and I cant even lose weight. I was starting to punish myself  because I put on 5lb and then stuffed my face last night again. I sat analysing why I was doing this to myself why couldn't I just control my eating habits. I came to the conclusion that the reason I was finding this hard was because I didn't want to lose weight I was happy with my body and so what if it didn't conform to peoples idea of what was the right size and weight. I went into the kitchen and got 2 wagon wheels out of the kids lunch supplies and ate them. Yes, feck it, I am fine. My husband loves me and my kids love me no mater what. 


Who was I trying to kid?? Of course I do. I was just trying to kid myself and boost myself into thinking I'm OK when in actual fact I'm just being weak and trying to find and excuse to feel better about myself. Yes, hubby and the kids love me but they will be able to love me longer when I lose enough weight to be healthy and live longer.


I decided to plan for the rest of my week. I need lunch first I couldn't do this on an empty stomach. On the SW Group page there was a photo of a meal that I could do for lunch and it was syn free too. So I got my brown bread topped it with Ham, tomato, red onion and cheese and grilled it. I made a mug of tea and started to plan. I was feeling better all ready. 


That's why I'm blogging now because I decided to have a wee break and I am so glad I did because I'm feeling even better about everything. I could have let my feelings overwhelm me today and I am so proud that I managed to fight it off and get back to my weightloss. Its a hard task but will definitely be worth it when I reach my target. 

NOTE TO SELF

You have to be honest
You have to be true
You have to motivate 
You have to keep going

Never give up becuase it will be worth it in the end

 

K3nzx 2013