Only happens once every four years!

29^th February 2012

Every oak tree started out as a couple of nuts who stood their ground.

Great meetings yesterday 253lb lost already this week, that’s fabulous.  I think we’re all realising the sunshine is about to show its face more often and we’re gonna have to take our big cardigans and coats off so we need to drop a few pounds to feel good doing that.  It was lovely to see a few returning faces too, and nice to know they want to come back to my meetings.

Every four years an extra day is added to our calendar to make sure we don't spin into another universe (or something like that). I know it's done for a reason but won’t even begin to explain why!

How special is today for those that were born on the 29^th February in a leap year, they only get to celebrate properly every four years, so for them its truly special.  For us it’s the novelty of an extra 24 hours in our year that otherwise you wouldn't have. Good yah!  Why not do something different with it?  You might be thinking it’s just another day in another week and you’ve got to go to work as usual – I know, me too.  But I bet there’s a spare hour or half hour you could find sometime today to do something you’d enjoy and if not today, pencil it in for the weekend and maybe do something for the whole day instead of an hour.

I think I’m going to spend the hour sorting out a playlist for running, I keep putting it off because of time, so today I’m doing it, regardless of the fact I have sooo much to do, for a change everyone else will have to wait. 

We had this conversation in the meeting last night, how members are too busy to eat lunch because of work.  So if you come under that category, here’s something to think about - when would you consider it more important to work harder on taking care of yourself – when things are tough and stressful, or when things are easy and cushy?

When times are toughest, right?

The times when things are hectic and stressful are the very times you really need to focus on taking care of the engine that drives you – your body – to prevent it breaking down when you need it the most.

Work environments are becoming harder, not easier, and we increasingly have to do more with less. Greater workload and pressure is falling upon fewer shoulders…and we are all getting older, not younger.

With each month that passes how many of us are getting in better shape rather than worse? How many are building more energy rather than less? How many are getting better sleep rather than poorer?

Time spent working on your nutrition, your energy and your recovery isn’t a cost – it’s an investment in building better health and a fitter body.

A stronger, well-maintained body will resist the damaging effects of stress, pressure and long hours far better than one that has been neglected.

Don’t miss a meal or a workout and don’t cut short on quality sleep.

If you fail to prioritise taking care of yourself it won’t be a question of IF you break down, it will more than likely be a matter of “when”…

Today’s a special day, It only comes around once every 4 years - so make the most it.  Make it the day you decide to put yourself and your health and fitness first because you are the most important person in your life!

Be Amazing!

Cheer up you're having Broccoli!

28^th February 2012

Our strength is often composed of the weakness that we're damned if we are going to show. Mignon McLaughlin

Managed a run yesterday after my meeting on the morning, I have to say I didn’t want to run and had to force myself out of the door, I wasn’t in the mood at all and even when I started I was thinking I’ll only manage ten minutes if I’m lucky, but I ended up going for 45 minutes and covered 4.12miles which ain’t very quick at all just under 11 minute miles but it’s faster and further than I thought I’d ever manage so I always feel better when I finish and that’s the reason I do it.

My diet wasn’t the best yesterday, I had the leftover KFC from Sunday but at least I didn’t have anything with it!  27pp on 5 pieces of chicken, 1 of which I ate for breakfast and 4 that I had for lunch!   Then my tea consisted of – wait for it, this is just so wrong, a bowl of grey peas (10pp) and broccoli which I cooked because it would have gone off!  The broccoli should’ve had a cheese sauce on it but I was just not in the mood yesterday at all, I was faffing about all afternoon, at least I earned 8pp with my run and a couple from the dog walking, so it could’ve been a lot worse.

I think we all have days like this don’t we, when you can’t be bothered or you’re too busy and making the time is too much effort.  The important thing is not to let those days turn into weeks.  So today I’m having a yogurt and banana for my breakfast, I shall eat the rest of the broccoli for lunch with cheese sauce and I’ll think about tea (mmm just looked on esource, there’s some nice cheese sauce recipes on there, there’s also a simple white sauce recipe in the complete kitchen that I’ll probably use and add cheese), might take chicken portions out of freezer and make a bit of a chicken chasseur, yep going to do that now.  That’s my day sorted, not so difficult when you bother is it – my body needs veggies today, I need my energy levels back up, especially as I’ve got another weekend away planned this Friday.

This week in meetings we’re looking at the important of the food choices you make and I have to say when I see some trackers they aren’t good!  I know you can eat anything as long as it’s within your allowance and lose weight but if your choices aren’t so great then you’re not going to feel too good whilst you’re losing.  It’s all about healthy balance, if you’re not sure what that is read thought your programme material again, there’s a section on healthy guidelines - worth going back to look.

Different foods do different things to your body, some have healing properties too if you believe what they say in articles, for example oats can lower cholestoral, and a book I have open in front of me now says berries can beat the blues, just a handful a day can help you jump-start your way to feeling better.  So porridge for breakfast covered in blueberries, strawberries, cranberries and/or raspberries.  Or maybe a smoothie,

(serves 1)

1 apple, quartered with the core removed
1 pear, quartered with the core removed
Handful of berries (fresh or frozen)
A splash of fruit juice (or sugar free squash)
Fruit yogurt to taste (PP vary

Blend until smooth and drink straight away. 

Or add them to a sugar free jelly for a delicious dessert later on.

Brocolli is another mood boosting food and is good for lots of things, there’s 5 pages of the things it can do in this book – we shan’t share all that, just remember it’s a very good veggie choice ;-)

On that note, I better get dressed and walk Alfie, mornings are most certainly getting lighter, just not quick enough!

Never too old to try new things ;)

27^th February 2012

It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.” Mohammed Ali

What a fantastic weekend, 6 ladies, one apartment (one bathroom!) and lots and lots of giggling ;-)  We went to see ‘We Will Rock You’ which is a fabulous show, there aren’t many shows I’d want to sit through twice, but I have this one.  One the evening we went to a burlesque show at Volupte, London, we’d decided to dress for the occasion although most of them hadn’t and what a laugh that was – corsets, tutu’s, stilettos and fishnets.  Can I just say it is not the comfiest of clothing and by 11pm I felt like I had a cracked rib, it was actually a painful experience, which ended in me removing corset and sitting in mates leather jacket.  But we had the best time and the show was fabulous, I wasn’t sure beforehand what we were going to see but it was funny, entertaining and just a tad risqué.

If you can watch videos, here’s a one minute snippet, there are swearwords so if you’re easily offended maybe don’t click the link https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bevs-Weight-Watchers/133361767350#!/photo.php?v=10150679497910862

After this weekend I’ve realised that not many, if anybody is 100% confident with themselves and if they say they are then I take my hat off to them although I'm not quite sure if I believe them.

I'm very comfortable in my own skin and happy with who I am, I love my life and I’m not sure even if I had the change that I’d change anything about it but I still have my moments where my confidence has a wobble, like the weekend cringing at a photo of myself even when everyone's telling me I look good. I'd happily walk round half naked in the room with 5 others whilst getting dressed no problem at all but once clothed and made up I felt different more conscious about my face and how it looked being made up than my body being covered in fishnets and corsets (how mad is that, I've never felt comfortable in makeup). And listening to the girls get ready and all of us chatting the next day, just shows that even the most gorgeous 20 something doesn’t realise how amazingly beautiful she is, we all need to remember we are gorgeous and that that gorgeousness isn’t just about our size, shape or look, really beauty comes from within, it’s about your very essence, your smile, your personality and your scrumptiousness! Me and Lynne decided after discussing it in depth for all of 5 minutes that we just don't like posed photographs, I prefer it when someone just catches me unawears because my smile always looks fake when I pose so then I don't like the photo. 

(this was the only one where my smile was real)

The ladies http://www.thekittenclub.com/ at the burlesque show were very comfortable in their own skin, they had no issues with removing their clothing and they were gorgeous but just like you and me they had cellulite and weren’t the stereotypical perfect body but boy did they look awesome.

Yep I guess we all have our insecurities and they might be there all the time or you may have learnt to tame them and they just show up occasionally, all you can do is work on telling yourself how fabulous you are and take care of yourself because the more you take care of yourself, the better you feel and the more fabulous you will realise you are.

Easy – NO!  Worth it – HELL YES! 

As you get older, having ‘first experiences’ gets more difficult, but for me this weekend was full of them, it was the first time I’d done dress up (fancy dress styly), first time I’d worn a corset or fishnets, first time I’d had false eye lashes stuck on me (although they were removed instantly – I couldn’t wear them they’d drive me mad!) and it was the first time I’d sat in a club with a leather jacket on and NOTHING underneath.  Fabulous weekend, I recommend trying to include new experiences to everyone, they may not be comfortable (either physically or emotionally) but they are SO WORTH IT!  Just like you are. Xx

Yay It’s Monday, we get to do a week all over again, how lucky are we? 

Enjoy your day. xx

Worth every penny!

25^th February 2012

Live within your needs, but beneath your means. You shouldn't buy stuff you don't need with money you don't have to impress people you don't know.

Got a lot to do this morning catching a train to London for a fab time with the girls, just got walk Alfie first and finish getting ready. 

I’ve not got much to write this morning, instead I’m going to share an article I found in an Hello magazine yesterday whilst having my hair done.  The article states that the best way to tighten your belts financially and lose weight is to join Weight Watchers!  Go read if for yourself.

Have a fantastic weekend, I intend to, got my corset, tutu & fishnets at the ready, not forgetting heels I can’t walk in – oh dear this will be fun ;-)

Stay on track x

It's all good ;-)

24^th February 2012

Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today. James Dean

I’ve got to say, pitch black outside and black in my bank account, pay day for me today and I’m smiling until the credit card man takes his cut next week, my bank account looks quite healthy this morning. 
I’m very much looking to my weekend, and because I won’t be drinking I’m not remotely worried about staying on track, it should be pretty easy. 

After a query on facebook last night about ProPoints, I’d just like to remind you that if something looks or sounds too good to be true, it usually is.  So if you’re not sure always ask, that’s what I’m here for.   And if you’re sat at home reading the blog, looking on our facebook page but not attending a meeting, remember you’re missing out on the part of the plan that truly matters.  Weight Watchers works because of the group support – you don’t have to take my word for it, ask my members who lost 564lb this week and have lost 373 STONE so far this year, 2 more of which achieved their goal yesterday making that 16 so far this year to add to the 135 from last year.  Yep Weight Watchers works because of the group support and I love it.

In the meeting this week we’ve talked about blocks, it was interesting and if you recall the rules of life I blogged about earlier in the week, rule number 3 was “there are no mistakes, only lessons”.  With weight loss especially, we all know it isn’t a particularly easy journey and different times in our lives bring with them different challenges.  A lot of members feel great disappointment and anger when their plans don’t give the results they hoped for and the first reaction for most is to feel that they have failed.  And whilst it is easy to jump to this depressing conclusion, it will impede your ability to progress with your weight loss journey.

Wouldn’t it be more useful to decide that rather than view your slip up as a failure you can view it as an opportunity to learn.  Every time you don’t live up to your own expectations is an opportunity to learn something important about your own thoughts and behaviours.  This thought pattern can be used for other things besides your weight loss, notice the next time you feel ‘wronged’ by another person, use it as a chance to learn something about your reaction.  Whether it’s your own wrongdoing or someone else’s, a mistake is simply an opportunity to evolve further along your path.

Just think for a second how much different you would feel emotionally if instead of seeing the disappointments, hurts, losses, illnesses, tragedies in your life as hardships you decided to shift your perception and see them as opportunities to learn and grow.  It would make you feel empowered, you would be taking charge of your life and rising to those challenges instead of feeling defeated, victimised or cast adrift.  I heard a wonderful story yesterday from a member about her sisters positivity, the lady told me how her sister has had cancer three times now, and three times she’s had to have something removed, mastectomy etc.  The lady told me how her sister and her husband were at the bank filling in insurance forms and she asked the bank manager, “When he dies do I have to spend this insurance on his funeral”, the manager a little taken aback replied, “erm, no I suppose you don’t, we give you the money and you do with it what you think best”, she then exclaimed, “Excellent, I’ll take you to the crem in a cardboard box in the back of your van, and I’m off on holiday”.  The bank manager a little shocked stated, “you seem quite certain, you’re going to outlive your husband” and her fabulous reply was, “Oh yes I am, god’s taking me a bit at a time so it’s going to take a while, he’ll take him all at once”.  You’ve got to love that positive spirit and the fact that three different trips to the hospital with cancer has left her fighting not crying.   And luckily her husband has an excellent sense of humour!

So let’s make today, positive Friday, heck why not stretch it to the whole of the weekend, and for as long as you can keep it going. 

13 stone gone in a day on my scales - YAY!

23^rd February 2012

Imagination is more important than knowledge.  Albert Einstein

What a fantastic day yesterday, I just love my work, I’m so fortunate.  My fabulous members lost 186lb yesterday – WOW, how great is that, that’s 13 stone, who said number 13 was unlucky, I think that’s fabulous. 

A few members were telling my how they’d read Debbie story in the Express & Star (if you missed it here is a link http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2012/02/16/nursery-nurse-slimmed-from-21-stone-to-just-12/)

And how much she had motivated them to continue, I’ve got to admit I do love the success stories in the Weight Watcher magazine each month, it’s great to see before and after photos isn’t it, and there are some fabulous ones in this months which arrived yesterday.   There’s also a delicious recipe for white chocolate, pineapple and banana loaf which got my attention for some reason ;-)  Yeah found a couple of worthwhile articles to read at the weekend, one on snacking and the other on lunches.

I managed to cook yesterday and run, as well as getting all my work done, I was very organised.  Made a delicious pork and chorizo rice casserole, used the chicken and bacon recipe from the recipe card pack and just substituted the meats, I’ve got to say I’m loving the putting rice in a casserole, it really works.

I cooked that because my first organic fruit and veg box arrived from www.abelandcole.co.uk yesterday and it had carrots and parsnips in which are the main ingredients in that recipe.  The grapes were delicious too I had some of them for my breakfast with one of the bananas.  (if you fancy giving them a go, when you order tell them the reason you signed up was because of me Beverley at bev_ww@yahoo.co.uk and they’ll give me a free box), it says they’ll even give you something too so everyone’s a winner.  I’m going to have them delivered for a month and see how it goes, I like the fact I don’t have to go to the shops this week now because I only needed veggies, I can manage with the foods in the fridge and cupboards and I know if I’d gone for veggies, I would have bought other stuff too.  I’m considering online shopping for the same reason in future because the time I spend (which I do enjoy I have to say – I like food shopping) in the supermarket I could use for running, time management is key in a busy life.  My mate ran round the park the other day whilst her kids played there so that she didn’t have to miss out on her run, boring maybe compared to her normal run, but it did the job and the kids loved being out too.

Why we’re talking about something for nothing, if you remember I had my face done on the Bare Minerals counter last Friday and the lady did say if any of you want yours done to give her a ring and make an appointment.  The number is 01902 422311 #3628, its in House of Frazer, Wolverhampton, ask for Helen, Kirsty or Hannah and they can do anytime between 10 & 4.30pm.  I really enjoyed it, learnt a bit too and there was no hard sell.

This not drinking and eating good food really is filling me with energy and a positive mood, feeling so much brighter than two weeks ago, so if you’re still feeling the winter sluggishness, try it, start drinking water (I have mine hot), more fruit & veg, do a bit of cooking and if you do like a tipple, keep it to the occasional one, not an every night thing.

Yay, it’s Thursday, which means it’s almost Friday and the start of the weekend – bring it on ;-)

What did you have on your Pancakes?

22^nd February 2012

The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change. Carl Rogers

Great weight losses already this week over 200lb, last week ended at 600lb (or 42 stone) and lots of members achieving their 5% targets yesterday which shows that regardless of the weather, half term or valentines day it is possible to lose weight.  The important thing is remembering that!

My food choices weren’t the best yesterday but I just fancied egg and chips and it was delicious and as long as it’s ProPointed now and again doesn’t hurt, I had a chicken wrap for tea so balanced it out a bit.  Today I plan to eat plenty of vegetables, not quite sure what I’m going to do with them yet, but I’ve got all morning to think about it and I just need to check what veggies I have, could do another chicken dinner with gravy.

I didn’t have pancakes last night despite it being Shrove Tuesday but I’m guessing a lot of you did and every year I’ll get at least one text asking me how many ProPoints in my pancake and every year I have to say I don’t know, because just as with everything else you cook, it depends on the quantity of ingredients and the amount you have.  Having said that there is a recipe on WW Esource for 2pp per pancake, but I’m guessing most of yours were 4pp before the topping was added!  I’m wandering how many had chocolate philidelphia as the topping ;-)

So why are Pancakes eaten on Shrove Tuesday?  I was curious so I googled it, because Lent is a time of abstinence, of giving things up. So Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to indulge yourself, and to use up the foods that aren't allowed in Lent. Pancakes are eaten on this day because they contain fat, butter and eggs which were forbidden during Lent.  And Lent as most of us no whether we’re religious or not was in the past was a long, strict religious fast when people gave up all rich food.  These days the rules vary depending on who you’re talking too but a lot of people seem to use it as a time to give us something for the duration of Lent and then the eat chocolate eggs at Easter! 

I’m not a big fan of ‘giving up’ anything because it usually makes me want it more, having said that I haven’t had an alcoholic drink since 12th February but I’ve told myself if I want one I can have one, luckily I’ve decided at the moment I don’t want one, and being on antibiotics will encourage me to stay alcohol free a little bit longer. 

Instead of giving up something for Lent, I’m taking up something, I’m going to make a conscious effort to take care of myself for the next month or so, I’ve already been doing that since the 12^th and I have to admit to feeling much better both physically and emotionally.  It’s so true that when you take care of your body, your body takes care of you. 

I know I’ve had a throat infection but normally I would be in so much pain with it and feel absolutely dreadful, this time I don’t, my throats a little dry and it had the white infected spots on it but I don’t feel ‘ill’ which is a huge bonus.

I’ve just been reading on my facebook page what you all had on your pancakes and now I want pancakes!  Thanks Pam for mentioning the recipe in the WeightWatchers 'The Complete kitchen' 4pp (p.26), I think I might be making them for tea and have with banana and chocolate Philadelphia spread if I don’t manage to shake the thought by then.

I’ve still got 10 eggs to use up, must stop buying them by the dozen because I don’t eat them quick enough.  Maybe a scrambled egg & rocket wrap for breakfast, that’ll use a couple.

Well now I’ve got myself and you thinking about food, I’ll get going on some work ;-)

Midweek already – have a wonderful Wednesday. xx

Forget about the price tag...

21^st February 2012

The things in life truly worth having don't come with a price tag.

I downloaded a 10 mile training plan yesterday and I’m going to see if I can get my level of fitness up to that level, I started running last August and over the last month or two or three, it’s slowed down to once a week, even once a fortnight because it is difficult to get the enthusiasm to go out in the freezing cold when you’re not 100%.  I thought following a plan would give me some focus, so yesterday I started on day 7 of week 3 of 12 weeks as that’s where I thought my fitness level was, we shall see!  I did 40 minutes which was 3.65 mile, it wasn’t pleasant but I’m sure it will get easier, I got on holiday at the end of May and would love to be able to do a ten mile run along the coastal path or country lanes.

I’m still eating healthy and not drinking and yesterday I had the tastiest tea, fried egg and baked beans on granary toast – oh my word, I don’t remember the last time I had that for my tea but it really was scrumptious.  I fried the egg in oil and put butter on the toast and it was worth every one of the 16pp it cost me, the beauty of running for 40 minutes is the activity ProPoints it earns me.  Everything is okay in moderation including oil and butter.  Did you know there’s approximately 50 ProPoints in a half pound block of butter, so obviously you wouldn’t eat it straight from the packet as a snack, but we’ve had the block in our house for over a week already and we’re not even halfway through it, so as long as you don’t eat things too quickly it’s okay.  It’s a bit like the chocolate Philadelphia cheese I mentioned the other day, mines still in the fridge with about a tablespoon gone, one of my members was telling me yesterday how she’d eaten the whole tub ;) moderation really is key to long term success.  And some foods just taste so much better when cooked in a certain way and fried egg with toast and butter is one of those times.

I ordered a book that arrived yesterday and I can’t wait to read it, ‘The World Book of Happiness’  in it 100 leading experts in positive psychology from 50 countries share the best ways to find and keep happiness in our lives.  I personally believe if you can find inner happiness you can cope with anything, even this recession we appear to be in the middle of!

I know I’ve often heard my mom say, “when I win the lottery, I’ll…..”, but would it make you any happier – I’m guessing you’re all nodding right now!  But according to this book, not necessarily, what would you do if you did come into money – save it, buy something or give it to a good cause?  And which of those would make you happiest? 

Well according to the expert who wrote one piece in my book, money and material possessions are often said to hold the key to happiness but can money really buy everything, even happiness?  Surprising but compelling research has concluded that money has little capacity to make us happy, and that happiness gained through material wealth fades quickly. 

Psychology teaches us that happiness originates from satisfying, loving relationships and reliable and trustworthy friends; from the ability to enjoy the pleasures of life; and from a meaningful and socially relevant job.   You may agree or disagree, but looking round I tend to agree, I’ve visited very poor countries where the children laugh all day long and I’ve seen the damage having money can do to people in the media.  I was at my most unhappiest when I was earning my biggest wage and driving the company car, one reason being I spent more time working than I did living.

The key points of what I read were;

-      Don’t imagine that you can buy happiness with money.

-      Happiness bought with money soon melts away.

-      Instead, invest in relationships and friendships – and enjoy them.

-      Look for a job which is meaningful both for you and for society.

I feel fortunate to have found such a job.

Can’t wait to read the rest of the book, and later on today I might revisit my sunshine list, which for those who don’t know is my list of things that make me smile, as from memory I know twenty pound notes aren’t on there ;-)

Enjoy your day, smile and go eat something you really enjoy guilt free – you are allowed to take pleasure in your food, even when you’re losing weight. xx

The miracle of you!

20^th February 2012

There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle, or you can live as if everything is a miracle. Albert Einstein

I’m sleeping well at the moment, and I have penicillin from the emergency doctors for my throat so that should sort me out soon enough. 

Apart from the throat and being tired, I do feel better in myself, and I’m sure eating well and not drinking is helping, haven’t had a drink for over a week and haven’t wanted one either which is a bonus, I’ve been eating 3 meals a day and keeping treats to exactly that treats.  Yesterday I had a tiramisu for 7pp after my Sunday roast and it was delicious, I didn’t eat again though all day because I was full to the brim.  No cooking required today as I have the chicken casserole that I made Saturday to eat, and chicken wraps for tea.

What did you think about the ‘ten rules for life’ I blogged yesterday, I love them and am reading a little book that goes into more detail.  I particularly love the first one, “You will receive a body – you may love it or hate it, but it will be yours for the duration of your life on Earth”.  Yep think about it, you can accept it or reject it, but it is the only one you will receive in this lifetime.  There isn’t a refund policy, you can’t part exchange it, so it is important that you learn to love it as the relationship between you and your body is the most fundamental and important relationship of your lifetime.  It is the blueprint from which all your other relationships will be built.

We all have a different relationship with our body, you may think of yours as a custom-built home or you may feel that it isn’t matched to your personality!   You may have a strong connection or you may be uncomfortable with your body and feel that you would like it to be different, thinner, stronger, healthier, more attractive, less clumsy.  No matter what you feel about your body, it’s yours and the relationship you have with it will have a great influence on the quality of your life.

So if you haven’t already done so make peace with it, accept it and respect it, you’ll be amazed at the effect it has on your self-esteem.  

Louise Hay (an author and a very wise lady) says, “I find that when we really love and accept and approve of ourselves exactly as we are, then everything in life works”

Acceptance is embracing what life presents to you with a good attitude.  Now unless you plan to spend the majority of your time in out of body experience, your body shows up wherever you are, so you need to get used to it!  Otherwise it can really ruin your days, think about it how many times has a potentially wonderful day at the beach been ruined by you judging how you look in a bathing suit?  Imagine how much fun you could have if you accepted ‘this is me and I’m happy with it.’

Seriously I’m not suggesting you stop trying t get healthy and lose weight, however if you accept yourself and respect yourself, you are much more likely to take care of yourself and feed your body healthy foods and exercise your body to change its shape.

For years I was obsessed with the shape of my body, particularly my big thighs!  I didn’t just want them slimmer and firmer, I hid them under trousers, even on the hottest days, those babies were never allowed to see the light of day.  The thigh weren’t the only part of my body I wanted to change and I’d spend hours at the gym and days undereating in an effort to make those changes, all of those hours were not pleasureable. 

I eventually decided to love the skin I’m in, yes I have large thighs, they are also healthy strong thighs, yes I can pinch more than an inch on my stomach  and when I do I smile cos it’s part of me.  The more I accept myself the easier I’ve found it is to follow a healthy eating plan, what used to be my attempt at punishing to my body is now me nourishing my body. 

These days I don’t run in order for my legs to firm up and change, I run because I’ve accepted my legs are amazing and capable of doing it and by running it gives the rest of my body energy.

Believe it or not there is plenty documented proof that the mind and body are connected, so acceptance of your body is not only essential for you emotional well-being, it is essential for your physical health too.  Denying your body complete acceptance can lead to illness, whereas practicing acceptance can heal disease.  Even the modern medical community now embraces the value of self-acceptance for its power to maintain a healthy mind and body. 

Does accepting your body exactly as it is now mean that you can never strive to improve it?  Of course not, it is perfectly natural to want to be your physical best, however if you approach that challenge from a place of love, it’s more likely to happen. 

Stop criticising, judging or finding fault with your body and you will be much happier – trust me.

Next Saturday those lovely chunk thighs of mine will be wrapped in fishnet stockings, decorated by a tutu with a tail and strutting about on a Burlesque night out in London.  If you’d have told me I’d be doing that a few years ago, I’d have laughed in your face but now I’m actually quite looking forward to it ;-)

Whilst we’re on a loving streak, learn to love Monday’s too, they go much quicker and hold much more enjoyment than you realise when you do.

What you make of your life is up to you.

19^th February 2012

Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength. Unknown Author

The white stuff has fallen once again but it only looks like a sprinkling so I won’t grumble.  I’ve also woke up with a throat infection – boo, white stuff on my tonsils means I’m going to have to go to the doctors – not my favourite place!

I was super organised yesterday afternoon, made a cottage pie for my dinner which being hungry I had a 3^rd, so it came to 8 for the mince mixture and 8 for the potatoes (because I added butter) but it was delicious and so worth it.  I’ve also made a chicken casserole which is only 11pp for the entire thing, 375g chicken breast pieces from Co-op, carrots, onions and 4 oxos with water.  I’m going to serve it with the rest of the mash mmm, proper comfort food for a snowy poorly day ;-)

Although I could just eat a Sunday Roast Dinner to be honest, I’ve got a feeling I might be going to the supermarket and freezing a chicken casserole!  We’ll see.

Well apart from the throat thing, I feel so much better than I did a week ago, for the last 7 days I’ve treated my body with a bit more respect, I’ve fed it healthy food, I’ve hydrated it with water and I’ve given it a rest from alcohol.  Have these things made a difference; of course they have, if you treat anything with respect it behaves in a more positive manner, whether it’s a person or your body! 

Yesterday I managed to run 4 miles, first time in two weeks and although I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it, it wasn’t as difficult as I expected, I’d gone out to do 3 and was impressed that I managed the extra mile. 

Last week when I decided it was time to start taking more care of myself, I started looking through lots of my old personal development books, and I found out the ten rules for being human, the first time I read them years ago, I nodded a lot and smiled, I thought they were worth sharing;

Ten Rules for Being Human by Cherie Carter-Scott

1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.

2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life."
3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."
4. Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5. Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6. "There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7. Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9. Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10. You will forget all this.

Now you’re either nodding or shaking your head from side to side and totally disagreeing, either way, only you decide your future and you can sit wallowing in self pity if things aren’t working out the way you want them to, or you can turn your life in the direction you would like it to go – easy – no it isn’t, worth it – ABSOLUTELY!

Enjoy your Sunday, you won’t get another one for 168 hours!

It's basic instinct baby!

18^th February 2012

The difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter.

I read this yesterday and found it very interesting;

Five basic food instincts are responsible for our continuing survival against the odds.  We know this from studying human history and all the consistent findings of modern research into our eating patterns.  These instincts can be our downfall unless we understand them and start to work with them.  Our instinctive eating behaviour falls into these categories:

HUNGER – We need to satisfy our hunger.  We like feeling full.  We see this instinct in newborn infants, and we know this is not something they have learned; it is an innate need that will help to ensure their survival.

AVAILABILITY – We eat just because the food is there.  And – here’s the thing to watch out for – we want to eat more when more food is there for the taking.

CALORIE DENSITY – We love to eat and we love food, especially when it’s loaded with calories.  This is true in every culture.

FAMILIARITY – We enjoy eating foods that familiar to us.  We associate these foods with feeling safe and comforted, and we have triggers than can drive us to eat them again… and again.

VARIETY – We are instinctively attracted to a variety of foods, and we eat considerably more when we’re presented with more choices.

So do you recognise one or more of your downfalls there?  Apparently these food instincts are basic to who we are, we can’t change the fact that we have them, but we can learn to manage them! 

Is it time to recognise and embrace your true nature, I’ve always believed knowledge is power, luckily I’d already read this before going to the all you can eat buffet that is Cosmo!  I did go up twice because let’s be honest the plates aren’t very big, but I also filled most my plate each time with the delicious vegetables, so hopefully not too much damage done.  But the fact that there was so much ‘AVAILABILITY’ was tempting, I found myself thinking mmm that looks nice about so many of the things  that I did find it difficult to resist.  What helped was having Lynne’s kids with us, because you have to help them get their foods and then we were all having a conversation and not just eating, my stomach soon filled up and said enough.  I did find it interesting watching other people though, and a diet tip I picked up yesterday would be “your meal should never be higher than the width of your plate” yes I was witnessing such plates and there was so much on the plate they didn’t look appealing to eat at all. 

This week I’ve noticed because I didn’t buy all the typical rubbish and opted for a trolley full of good ness, then I’ve only eaten what was available to me, so I’ve eaten much better and today instead of feeling, ooo I don’t wanna do anything I’m too tired (that’s how I felt last Saturday) today I’m gonna put my trainers on in a moment and walk/run Alfie then maybe do half hour myself depending how long he keeps me out.

I had a lovely day yesterday, after a visit to see the bank, I was walking through House of Fraser back to my car and stopped to look at a box of make up that had ‘starter kit’ written on it, the lady offered to do my face and who was I to argue, so she spent an hour teaching me (she did one side of my face, I did the other) how to put on the ‘bare minerals’ foundation and I had a lovely time, I’ve never really bothered with make up so it all blows my mind, but for the first time ever I didn’t leave thinking “what do I look like” or “I’ll never be able to do that”.  What I did like was their new marketing campaign “Be a force of beauty”, they have taken some beautiful women from different age groups and made them up with make up but there is no hair brushing so you can see that they have wrinkles and laughter lines just like the rest of us.  The women and the photos are gorgeous, the lady on the counter also gave me some leaflets so if you fancy having a go, let me know and I’ll give you her details.

Right ten hours sleep and Alfie is starting to look real desperate now so I better take him out for his walk, he is such a good boy.

Make the most of your Saturday, you won’t get another one for 7 days!

Yesterday I was asked by a member if her friend could get my daily blog even though she went to another meeting, yes is the answer, anyone’s welcome to read it, please pass it on.

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Success and more success - I love it!

17^th February 2012
Good instincts usually tell you what to do before your head has figured it out. Michael Burke

It was great to see Debbie in the Express and Star yesterday, I’m so proud of her, she’s done so well and looks amazing, I’m sure you’d all agree.  If you missed it, here’s the article online http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2012/02/16/nursery-nurse-slimmed-from-21-stone-to-just-12/ I’m proud of all my members though, they don’t have to be in the newspaper to be amazing, I was thinking yesterday after reading the article, how many of my members have come so far and done so well, some still have a way to go.  For example on a Thursday morning Katie has lost over 60lb, she always manages to smile even when she hasn’t had the best week, oh yes plus she’s the only member to have ever turned up to my meeting in her PJ’s because she didn’t want to miss the meeting after she’s had her gall stones removed ;-).  Then there’s Rachel who’s has lost over three stone and I remember her getting to goal, then getting pregnant and having to start all over again!  Amanda who ran the Great North Run and is now only 12lb from her goal, Jane who comes first thing in the morning on her way to work who’s lost well over 50lb now and text me to tell me she doesn’t shop at Evans anymore, and lovely Fay who’s lost 2½ stone and now helps me at the scales when she can, the list goes on, these are just a few members from one of my 13 meetings, every member who gets weighed in my meeting has their own success story, some are nearer to their goals than others but they are all amazing.  And not forgetting, my golden oldies that come every week to enjoy the meeting and to meet up with each other, two of them got their gold star yesterday for being at goal for 8 years each, how amazing is that!  They’ve been at goal longer than I’ve been a leader! 

Yep everyday I meet amazing people, everyday I get to do a job I love and I feel very fortunate for it.  My members inspire me and motivate me to stay in control of my weight, so it’s true Weight Watchers does work because of the support. 

So I’ve eaten some delicious meals this week, yesterday I made a Chicken and Chorizo Jambalaya which was so tasty I ate it twice, it has to be good for me to eat the same thing for lunch and dinner!  For 11pp it was also large, I had the recipe out of a good food magazine and it will most definitely make it into the next Bev’s Bite, which I think needs putting together as we have some money to raise for our Race for Life event (don’t forget to sign up and join us if you haven’t already) https://raceforlife.cancerresearchuk.org/rfl/confirm_join_group.jsf?group_join=yes&groupNumber=BL3202

I’ve managed to stop and cook lunch everyday this week, it doesn’t take as long as I think it will, my lunch is my mail meal as I work in the evening.  Now to make it through my weekend and keep the success going, I haven’t stayed on track at the weekend this year if I’m honest!  So this weekend I will, my plan is cinema and Cosmo today, yep I’m going to do a buffet lunch and still stay on track, I might even take photos of the food I eat there so I can share with ya ;)  Then Saturday and Sunday I will cook again, maybe “Ham hock & cabbage mash” and “frazzled chorizo linguine” we shall see what I have left on my to cook list and what’s in the fridge.  I have to say it’s definitely worth the effort because sitting down to eat something that looks scrumptious is keeping me on track as sitting down to eat a ready meal doesn’t!

The only snack I’ve had this week other than a banana was a Weight Watcher Very Berry Bars, I chose them because they are full of dried fruit, more flapjack like than bar and the ingredients all look natural. 

Anyway I’ve got an appointment with the bank people so I better get a wriggle on!

Have a fabulous day – yay it’s Friday ;-)