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Disclaimer
Beverley has prepared the content of Bev's World irresponsibly and carelessly. She therefore disclaims all warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, originality or completeness of the drivel presented on this blog or on other linked websites or on any subsequent links. She vehemently denies that the information may be relied upon for any reason. Beverley shall not be liable for inflicting laughter, shame, disgust, torrents of tears and the eventual desiccation or crashing boredom on readers.

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Tuesday 31 July 2018

27 days left


31st July 2018
Failure is a lesson learned.  Success is a lesson applied.
Day one in the bag!  I did it, I made it through, damn it’s tough.  So much food, so little time, but 3 meals are plenty and I wasn’t hungry at all, I even got to enjoy some wine.  I started with the intention of doing No Count then changed my mind when I realised Flex was still the better option, especially if I wanted to enjoy the good stuff.

This was my day;
Loaded mash potatoes (spring onions, green pepper & mushrooms) topped with dry fried eggs.  4SP using up yesterday’s leftovers & the dying veg in the kitchen.

Huge bowl of beef stew 8SP

Eggy bread, cheesy veg & WW tomato soup 6SP 
Total for food was 18SP, so even with the milk in the two cups of tea I had, there were points left to either roll over or indulge with a glass of red for me.

The truth is, I ate more variety yesterday than I have in a good while, I also got thinking about what to eat this week rather than just eating what was there.  Here’s a couple of new recipes I plan to try,
Leek and bacon risotto – page 66 WW mag and Baked curried beef & rice – page 71 WW mag.  I completed emptied my existing online shopping basket then refilled it with healthier stuff, I took the total down from £55 to £41, and got more food and of course healthier.  I’ve got the makings of a stir fry, some frozen peas to have with my potato waffles and eggs.
I’ve also bought some Weight Watcher yogurts for mom, she’ll enjoy them and they were on offer, might be tempted to indulge myself.   Today we’re having chicken breasts stuffed with St Agur blue cheese, you can do the same with low fat soft cheese, nice wrapped in ham of any kind.  I’m thinking on a bed of rice it’ll be delicious.  That is if what I’ve defrosted is chicken breasts anyway!  I’m sure they are, with the remaining stuff, I might have the stir fry for tea or put them in the slow cooker with the leftover sweet & sour sauce if it’s still edible.

I’ve decided I’m getting my cooking mojo back, focus on healthy and tasty, then I won’t want to eat the rubbish.  I’ve got my little herb garden going on, I’ll use some of those chives in my stuffed chicken today and maybe some coriander on my stir fry tonight. 

I didn’t just make it through my first day, I’ve started my monthlies this morning so I made it through an emotionally charged, body craving everything day, now even I’m impressed.   I also already feel better than I did yesterday, I know it’s likely to be psychologically but who cares, I got out of bed much easier this morning than yesterday, I feel more positive, ready for my day, my brain actually has something to say instead of me sitting here thinking ‘what shall I write’ which has happened a lot of late.  See the article in the Weight Watchers magazine was right, it said after 1 day = better concentration.  “Just 24 hours in, you might be feeling less hungry and better able to control unplanned snacking as you step off the blood-glucose roller-coaster caused by irregular eating and snacking on foods that are high in sugar.  Having a more stable blood-glucose level can also improve your ability to concentrate and give you more energy to power through a workout”

It was also great to see so many in my Facebook group wanting to join me on my 28 days to healthier, a month to make a difference and now we’re starting day 2, I’m thinking a countdown would probably work better than a count up, so 27 days to go.

Catch ya tomorrow BeYOUtiful, here’s to working on a healthy life and having a very great day.

Monday 30 July 2018

28 days of healthy

30th July 2018
Sometimes I look at you and I wonder how I got to be so damn lucky (should be what you say when you look in the mirror!)


I read an article in the latest Weight Watcher magazine yesterday about what differences 28 days of eating healthy make (read it, it’s good), then I keep seeing “I got my energy back” all over the internet from people who’ve lost weight.  I’ve woke up this morning feeling like Gollum with all my aches and pains, I reminded myself I had to sit down in the kitchen to chop all my veggies for my stew yesterday (oh it’s an epic beef stew by the way, I’ll mostly be doing No Count today so I can graze on it throughout the day).  Then whilst reading the Sunday papers (well the mags, I don’t read the papers, mom reads some of them to me!) I came across two really healthy looking cheap meals which I’ll share below in a bit.   Add to that the post saying 22 weeks to Christmas and how much you could lose by then!  Oh and if you’re curious at 1/2lb a week it’s 11lb, 1lb a week is 1st 8lb, 2lb a week 3st 2lb.  You shouldn’t be aiming for more than ½ - 2lb a week as that’s a healthy weight loss, we want to be losing fat not muscle!

Anyway all this has got me to thinking maybe I’m going to use the month of August as an experiment and see if I can notice all those differences mentioned in that article.  I think a small part of me is scared to have too much energy because what will I do with it?  There’s only so much I can do whilst I can’t leave mom, but I’m sure I’d rather have that problem than be tired.  So here goes….

A month to make a difference, I’m not waiting till the 1st, I can start today.  The first thing I’ve done is gone into my online shop which was coming tomorrow and emptied the basket so I can start over because my choices were all delicious but not necessary conducive to losing a few pounds.  Oh and sis if you’re reading this, you’re getting back on track too!   Anyone fancy joining us, you’re welcome and remember,   

You’ll have
Good days
Bad days
Overwhelming days
Too tired days
I’m awesome days
Why do I bother days
I got this days
I don’t got this days
I can’t go on days

And every day you’ll still show up and strut your stuff because the truth is, you’ve survived every day like these so far!  Plus let’s keep reminding ourselves it’s just for 4 weeks and your new mantra is

Keep going
Keep going
Keep going
Keep going
Keep going
Keep going
Keep going
Keep going
Keep going
Keep going


Has that sunk in yet?   28 days, by the end of today, it’ll be 27 days.  I know so many people who need to do this right now, I suppose I should say ‘want’ not ‘need’ but when I talk to them, for their own self-belief and self-esteem it’s a ‘need’ not a ‘want’.  I don’t want to do it!  I do WANT to see if it makes a difference to how I feel when I get out of bed in a morning though, how I feel going to bed too and how I feel in the hours in-between!  I’m 48, feeling like I’m 58 and acting like I’ll 68, it needs to stop, I can’t put me on hold because of mom.  Yesterday wasn’t the greatest day, there were tears in our house and I know if I was feeling stronger in myself, I’d have handled that situation better so there’s another reason.

Today’s my day off, I’m going to get me a pad and pen and put together some meal ideas then redo my shopping list to reflect my healthy menu.  No Count will do me good today, the stew won’t be eaten with a shedload of bread and butter because I don’t have much bread left to tempt me.    The goal is ‘healthy’, yes a bit of weight loss added to it would be nice but that’s not my ultimate goal, I want to feel well, alert and alive!

Right day 1 of a month to healthier, let’s have ya.

Oh those recipes I was talking about, they’re from Miquel Barclay’s new book Super Easy One Pound Meals, I liked them also because they serve 1, but just looking at them, they’d need major tweaking as the first ones at least 20SP!  I’ll not bother sharing them after all as we’re on a 28 days of healthy, where’s my water?

Catch ya tomorrow BeYOUtiful, here’s to working on a healthy life and having a very great day.



Sunday 29 July 2018

nowt to say this morning


29th July 2018
May your choices reflect your hopes and not your fears.

I made a curry out of the leftover chicken, used a Sharwoods balti sauce jar, 13SP in the whole jar and I had about a third of it, so with half pack of microwave rice, the meal only cost me 9SP, bargain.  I’ve woke up fancying a beef stew this morning, as you do!  I’ll buy a pack of beef when I fetch mom’s papers, it’s raining here so I won’t mind spending some time in the kitchen today.

I’ve been awake since half four, mom went to the loo, then had a full blown chat with Alfie before going back to sleep, leaving me wide awake.  I went downstairs to get a drink to find the cover had blown off the garden double chair so the cushions were soaked and to top it off a fox had crapped on them.  I’m still smiling, hopefully the day will improve. 

I’m sat here trying to think of something to write but the truth is my head is full of nothing this morning, I’ve got relaxation down to a fine art, I’m spending less time online and more time in the room with mom which makes for a happier mom. 

Instead of sitting here, I’m going to go clean up the kitchen, fetch moms papers and enjoy my Sunday because they don’t last long enough do they day’s off.  She must be a mind reader because she’s just got up, it’s half 6 and I’m away. 

Catch ya tomorrow BeYOUtiful, here’s to working on a wonderful life and having a very great day.