17th May 2011

Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself. Being true to anyone else or anything else is not only impossible, but the mark of a fake messiah. The Savior's Manual

YAY, I lost 2.5lb, chuffed to bits, my mission is 8lb in 8wks so this takes the pressure off a little as I do have a weekend away in the middle of those 8 weeks! I’ve really enjoyed being back on track and focused. I’m enjoying the challenge of my ‘Skint Stint’, trying to make up meals from the content of my cupboards is leading to some interesting combinations, today I’m having liver and onions, I’ve also got an idea of making fish cakes with tinned tuna and smash ;-/, I’ll let you know if it works out.

Yesterday I made a fabulous concoction from some of the contents of my cupboards, here’s the recipe;

Peppadew Pepper and Butter Bean houmous
1pp per 50g serving. (Regular houmous is 4pp, reduced fat houmous is 3pp for 50g)
100g Peppadew Peppers in brine, drained (buy in jars)
50 g Kraft Philadelphia Light with Garlic & Herbs
1 large can Butter Beans in Water (drained)
Salt & pepper (I used garlic salt)
Put the all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. (or use a hand-held stick bender). Use as you would houmous, would be nice in a pitta with salad or on ryvita or as a dip for crudites (carrot, celery & cucumber sticks)

I’ve made time for me this week, which has meant I’ve ignored the odd phone call (returned them later), or not responded to my email quite so promptly and it’s helped me, being constantly on call means you get distracted. Yesterday, Joyce who helps me weigh on a Monday told me she wasn’t going to be able to help me anymore because she was so busy, to which I said, no problem at all, you’ve got to take care of you. She then went on to tell me that she cuts hair on a Monday, although she wished she didn’t because she’s not getting a day off at all, to which I responded then stop cutting hair too. She explained that she doesn’t like to let people down, which I totally understand but my reply was, “But it’s okay to let yourself down”! We can be TOO NICE! Too helpful, when it’s causing you to be rushed, tired, overworked, then you need to stop and say NO! Taking care of yourself is more than just losing weight, it’s emotionally too – it’s okay to put yourself first – it’s not selfish, it’s selfcare. If you know you need to add some activity to your life but you can’t find the time, something’s gotta give. I know this isn’t easy, but there’s always a solution, you just need to work it out for yourself. I’m too tired to exercise at night, so I made the decision to get up an hour earlier every day, no it’s not easy and some mornings I’d love to lie in, but once I’m out and moving, I’m okay and the more I do it, the easier it gets.

Interesting fact;

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Appetite is one of the strongest survival forces, with it the human species would have disappeared long ago. It is only when there are excess calories available all the time and people do not have to work physically, that the natural appetite causes problems. The mismatch only needs to be very small – a 1% error will accumulate 10,000 kcal a year, which is the equivalent to a weight gain of 1-2kg a year!
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This fact should make you feel better about the times you overindulge, your body is programmed to encourage you to eat, so every day you resist and stink to your plan, you are amazing, you’re showing such determination and willpower – you should be really proud of yourself. That 1% error is so easy to consume, you don’t have to be eating more, just making the wrong choices. You can get two products that are the exact same but made by different manufacturers and one will automatically have more ProPoints in than another, the quantity is the same, it’s the ingredients that differ. Some foods have more sugar, some more fat; it’s always worth doing the maths before consuming.

Here’s to another fabulous day xx