Summer Eating!!

Well hello folks,

It has been a while and this post is long overdue.

I have basically started and stopped it over the past two months which is very similar to the way my diet is going! I start on a Monday with the greatest intentions and by lunchtime on Monday my get up and go looks like it never turned up at all!

As mentioned in my previous post I fell off the wagon since May 1st, I cannot get myself back in the zone at all.  Have I put back on all the weight I lost since the beginning? No but I haven't kept it all off either.  So much for the words "I'll never see that number on the scales again" ha ha nope in truth I've probably seen it about 3 times in the past three months.

So my summer eating plan has consisted of well pretty much eating what I wanted to! Of course this isn't helped by the fact that I am doing sweet f**k all exercise! I seem to always have something I need to do or somewhere I need to be.

I did join a slimming world recently, however I went to a daytime class and I did have a few issues with it. I am unsure if I should say what my issues were because I might come across as a bit of a whinge (and god forbid I would come across like that ha ha)  but one of them was during the class - which by the way I think takes a bit too long,  the other people in the group talked amongst themselves during the whole time our leader was speaking! I struggled to hear what she was saying and all I wanted to do was stand up and tell them to stop talking!  I won't pretend I have even tried the slimming world programme I read over the books and I just can't grasp it - how can I eat all of that food and still lose weight? I know the success that has come from it because I have spoken with people about it and seen the amazing results that have come from it and hats off and well done to all of those people - I just wish I could "Get It" ....if anyone wants to offer some tips and advice I would be delighted! I am going to look at some other classes and see where I can go that suits me best - Do all slimming world classes take over an hour? 

So now I am sitting here typing wondering what do I say or do to get back on track, And really the answer is very simple - CLOSE MY MOUTH MORE AND MOVE MY LEGS MORE!!

Kids are back at school in a weeks time so that is my starting date, in the mean time I am going to try and be good...I use the word try because I know this weekend I won't be as I am heading off to Killarney to the Races on Saturday and I plan to eat drink and be very merry :-) My trying this weekend will be seeing how I manage my hangover and how much I eat that day! 

I will also blog more about it all, I will do my best to do a once a week or minimum once a fortnight, sometimes it will be about weight loss and other times I really do hope I can mix it up. 

Thats it for now,I am going to sign off with a quote I have saved to my phone - in the hopes of it inspiring me.

"The pain of reaching your goal will only last a short while,  

The pain of not trying, will last a lifetime"

20.08.2015

That wagon nearly killed me!!

Ok, it is over 2 months since I last posted anything so to my blog followers I apologise!

I could lie and say oh you know I was away etc etc but to be honest I wasn't the truth is I fell off the wagon in style! Not only did I fall off the wagon but it actually ran me over, My get up and go basically got up and F*cked off.

I used to hear people say oh its easier to lose weight in the summer, you get out more, you eat less - to those people I say - WTF! Since May 1st my exercise routine has gone to pot, my diet has been very balanced in that I have covered all food groups including huge amounts of ice cream and I feel like I am constantly hungry.  So I have discovered I am a winter dieter. I have no idea why but I think it’s easier!

Back to reality tho and I have a few events coming up that I want to feel good for so I have set myself short term goals but in the midst of setting those I decided I needed a long term one...I recently turned 39 so in just under 12 months I will be standing on that hill they call 40 and I don't want to be puffed from climbing to the top, so out of breath I can't enjoy the celebrations, of which I plan on having plenty.

As I said it’s been a while since I exercised properly but yesterday I had the perfect excuse to go and find my mojo, a local 6K charity run/walk, the sun shone, the atmosphere was fantastic and I finished smiling because I found it, my mojo was back.  I enjoyed the walk - I hurt like hell today but it’s a satisfactory pain (you know the ones) so this morning bright and early when my body clock decided I'd had enough sleep I tied up my runners and bit the bullet, Granted I was walking like I had left my horse tied up somewhere but it felt great.

Diet wise its back to basics, I am not going to pretend I'm gonna say no thanks to that HB Swirl but I am going to make better choices for the coming weeks and see how it goes.

Here’s hoping better choices work!!

Until the next time (I won’t leave it so long)

LA

22.06.2015

What a wagon!

Hi folks, 

It has been just over a month since I posted last. Life has been kind of busy of late so this blog has been a little neglected!

Since my last posting I have created my Facebook page 2lbs down, I'm losing it and I have gotten some amazing feedback, and I am very flattered and chuffed with all the support I have received.  I also got a little negativity but hey that was to be expected as well and as I have said from the beginning what I am doing and how I am losing it is the right way for me, it doesn't mean it’s the right or wrong way for other people.

My weight has kind of plateaued recently down to a number of things firstly I am not putting 100% effort into my diet and secondly I am certainly not putting 100% in to my exercise, So I have fallen off the wagon slightly!  I have lost 2lbs put back up 1lb etc

In the past when I fell off the wagon I didn't try and climb back aboard, however after a couple of false starts I am back in the driving seat. Three months in I am down 18lbs.  The magic of 2 stone is within touching distance!  I have decided 10lbs - 2lbs a week - that is pretty achievable I THINK!

So being back on the wagon for me means the 3 W's 

WATER -  I have become a bathroom stalker (possibly TMI) but whilst its a nuisance I think of the positives...the extra steps :-)

WRITING IT DOWN - I use my fitness pal app and it helps me track what I eat, if I don't have time to write it down I take a picture of it so that later when I am inputting my food for the day I can go back and see what I ate, I used to think if I can't remember eating it then I mustn't have lol

WALKING - So 3 months ago I hated walking, in fact one of my neighbours & I used to joke if they saw me walking my car was broken down.  I have let my walking slip a little over the past two weeks but I started back Monday morning and I decided to introduce a little bit of running so this W has turned from Walking to Wogging!! Do I like it, not particularly but do I feel it makes a difference - hugely! I am pushing myself harder and hopefully it will pay off!  Very standard simple thing running/jogging  for 1 minute walking for 2!

So falling off the wagon doesn't mean the journey is over, we wouldn't be human if we didn't have our slips, trips and falls.  The important thing is knowing that you can get back up and just start again where you fell off.  

I am going to sign off with something I read today

"You didn't gain it in a week.  You won't lose it that fast either"

08.04.2015 

My Inspiration & My Motivation

So here we are, 2 months on and I am 17lbs lighter  and I am seeing the number 16 on the scales for the first time in over 10 years - this makes me happy :-) very happy :-).

So my inspiration and my motivation, Yes of course I am doing this for myself, to make myself feel better, healthier etc but what sparked it? Aside from the shocking number on the scales!

A very old (old as in I know her a long time ;-) ) friend posted something on Facebook about operation transformation and I commented on it and we started a little conversation about weight loss and the ups and downs of it.  She decided to set up a group for those of us in that conversation and she called it the not fat anymore club :-)  In that group are 5 other ladies 4 of whom I have never met and I don't know at all, these ladies have become my inspiration and my motivation.

The terms of the group were that each week we would weigh ourselves and take a picture of the scales and post it to our group, at the beginning we also set challenges for ourselves drinking water, counting steps etc.  We did this every Monday morning because then we weren't so willing to fall off the wagon at the weekends.

Each day we have conversations, we post motivational pictures to keep us going, we share low fat recipes and enjoy our fat loss banter. 

These ladies were the very first people I shared my actual weight with, up until that point I hadn't even shared it with my husband, and if I am being completely honest I hadn't weighed myself in some time what’s that old saying? "What the eye can't see the heart can't feel" unfortunately the heart does feel it in this case!   

Out of the 6 of us I was the one with the most to lose, Some of the girls had maybe 7 or 8lbs to get to their target and others a little more - but that didn't matter - if we had 5lbs to lose or 5 stone it was all the same - we were all on the same journey, we wanted to be healthier, slimmer and feel better.

We are happy to share our failures and we support each other in them, we are delighted to share our success and we applaud each other for those.

Of course other people in my life have motivated me but these girls were the ones who sparked the fuse for my light bulb moment!

Our group has been renamed, Now we are the Skinny Minnie’s Club - some of us have gotten there sooner than others but we are all there for the journey.

Those ladies are my inspiration and my motivation - Thank you girls xx

Here's to us totally losing it!

05.03.2015

To Carb or Not to Carb

Hey folks,

So my first post was a couple of weeks ago now and I was in week 5 of my plan...Since then my weight loss has kind of slowed down aka stood still ;-)  I did hit my stone loss but went back up the following week so as it stands now I am currently weighing in at 17 stone 4 & 1/2 pounds.

I am not disheartened tho, Just because the scales hasn't moved doesn't mean I am not feeling the benefits... I have exercised more so I feel myself toning up, I have lost 1.5 inches from my waist since I started so it’s all good.

Recently I won a 6 week programme with a gym in my area, it was going to be all about losing weight whilst doing regular exercise, I was over the moon and couldn't wait to get stuck in.

On Sunday we had our first session - I am still feeling the pains from the exercise we did and whilst it is pain it’s a good pain, when I try to stand up I am getting up from the chair like an ole woman of 80!

So the diet part of the plan is a NO CARB - yep NO CARB diet...

This I will admit I am struggling with for a number of reasons:

1)  I shop for a family of 4 and to add additional items to suit my no carb plan would increase my costs

2)  My Hubby does the cooking during the week in our house and when I get home I just want to eat my dinner and not have to think about no carbs!

3)  The sustainability of it - What happens when I go back on my carbs after week 6?
4)  99% of the time we sit down to eat dinner as a family, alot of the time its the only part of the day where we are all together for that period of time, I don't want to have to be cooking my "other" dinner when they are having theirs
5) I have 2 kids, both thankfully relatively healthy with no major Food issues or hang ups (of course like all kids they don't like certain things) but I don't want to be showing them that I think its ok to not eat a balanced meal ie; no carbs!

Now don't get me wrong I am not saying it’s something you shouldn't do but I am just unsure if it the right thing for me to do.  I guess it’s a combination of all of the above and the fear of the unknown to a degree, I also worry that I will hate the fact I can't have carbs and I will just get sick of it all and throw in the towel on my whole plan! So for now Week 1 I am concentrating more on low carb than no carb let’s see how that goes!!

Until next time :-)

23.02.2015

The F Word!

So here we go, my first ever blog!! WOW

Let me introduce myself, I'ma 38 year old Mammy of two, wife to one.  I work full time doing a job I love and overall I am a fairly content person! (obviously winning the lotto and being skinny would make me happier but hey one thing at a time)...

This blog will mostly be about my weight loss - the ups and the downs (because isn't that what weight loss is all about) how the downs create the ups and when you’re up your down!!  I am a qualified MUA also and love clothes (doesn't every girl) so once in a while to break away from all the FAT talk I might change it around, mix it up so to speak and post some non-fat facts :-)

What do I call it?  a journey / transformation / rollercoaster / challenge ?? I have settled on calling it my New Year New Me plan!!

I have always been "Big Boned" as my nana likes to say - over the years I remember hearing statements like "ah tis puppy fat" or "that’s just puberty" always followed with twill fall off ya or one of my favourites "you will need every bit of it if you were to get sick in the morning".  Then came the "baby weight" well my baby weight came with my first child who is now 16 years old and well it became quite happy where it was and decided to stay! I have used all the excuses...I have tried all the diets. Weightwatchers (I used to ring my Chinese order in as I stepped off the scales) - Motivation (I held my nose drinking the shakes)...Well I even did the Total Food Replacement diet...I would lose a stone and think yeah I’ve done it! forget the other 7 stone I needed to add to it!! 

I like to dress well and make the best of what I have, but at the end of the day I have FAT and lots of it! 

So January 5th I decided this is it, its time to P*ss or get off the Pot!! I pulled my scales out took a deep breath and took that step!!  I have always heard people say that until you get your head around the fact that you need to lose weight all the diets in the world won't help, Well let me tell you the numbers I saw on my scales certainly set things moving in the motivation land of me!

I stepped back from those scales and I told myself - That is the last time you will ever see those numbers on a scales you step on! My light bulb was well and truly switched on!  I took a picture of that weight and honestly it was all the inspiration I needed to get started!

I am part of a weight loss group that my friend started on Facebook - a group of 6 determined ladies who are motivated to lose weight and each week we promised we would post our weight pictures on that group as a way of monitoring our weight loss! My picture that day was the first time a very long time that I publicly shared my weight. I was sick at the idea of posting it but those ladies were amazing with their encouragement that day was the beginning for me!

That morning January 5th 2015 my New Year New Me Plan kicked off and I had a starting weight of 18 stone 2 and a 1/2 pounds.

I am now 5 weeks in and it is all going well.  I will post my weekly losses and gains in my next post but for now I wanted to start with an introduction to me and where I am coming from and I hope you might enjoy my story and stay with me as I work to where I want to be!

10.02.2015