Feed me!

30^th November 2012

Some people develop a wishbone where their backbone should be.

 

Good morning in this last cold day of November, and it is a chilly one, just turned my pc whilst singing, “good morning, good morning, we’ve danced the whole night through”, yes I’m turning into my mother for sure!  Anyway I digress, I turned the pc on and smiled when I saw this story

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/york-enjoys-violent-crime-free-day-120730507.html

on my yahoo home page, (yes I’m a yahoo not a google girl, always have been, always will be, far superior search engine – in my opinion!)  how fabulous is that, an entire day free from violent crime in such a huge city, and murder down 23% from last year, that can only be good news.  This time last year I’d just got back from New York, and I have to say I never felt unsafe whilst there, it’s such a busy place you never seem able to be ‘alone’ so it’s difficult to feel scared.

Anyway I’m putting off telling you all the scales weren’t very nice to me yesterday 4lb on!  It’s take me 12 weeks to lose 5lb and then I put four of it back on it a week – oops!  There just hasn’t been enough food on the planet to satisfy me this week, I’m not sure if it’s the cold weather, my hormones or the full moon but I’ve been ravenous all week.  The scales made me realise yesterday I have to sort the appetite out so I aimed for filling and healthy foods, I ignored my mind telling me I didn’t like porridge and weighed me out 30g (3pp) which I poured milk on and chopped a banana in, I like it raw not cooked and I actually do like porridge, my mind has been lying to me because it wanted toast!  And it kept me going till lunchtime easily, don’t get me wrong I still WANTED to eat other stuff but I wasn’t hungry my belly was full and it did help me resist.  For lunch I had Salmon (7pp), veggies and smoked brown rice (6pp), it wasn’t meant to be smoked I burnt it and wasn’t starting again so ate the good bit ;-) quite nice actually, I’d cooked the rice in a couple of chicken oxo cubes to give it a bit of added flavour.  Bless Di (my Thursday night member) she made me a delicious 7pp tea, a beef hot pot thing which was 7pp and I had it with about 3pp of leftover rice.  I did succumb to a couple of slice of nimble white bread with WW spread and wafer thin ham which was about 4pp so not the best day but a damn sight better than it has been.  The whole day would have been F&H if it hadn’t been for my hotpot, but it’s shown me there’s another option and I wouldn’t ridiculously overeat if I tried the odd F&H day, so maybe I will!

I’ve just realised I’ve been doing blogging for just over 4 years, I looked back out of curiosity to see what I was doing on the other November 30^th, in 2008 I was spending the weekend at a Buddhist Monastery!  In 2009 I was sorting and tidying my office – some things never change do they! And on three of them I had a stinky cold, so that’s a bonus this year, fingers crossed I ain’t got a cold!

All give mention to tomorrow being the start of advent, so why break tradition, have you got your calendar ready – does it have chocolate in, if you do and you want to be golden and ProPoint them, look on the back for the weight, every 100g will be roughly 15pp, work out the entire thing and either take it out of your weekly allowance this week or divide it by 3 and take a bit out of your weeklies every week for the next three weeks!

Last night one of my gorgeous members got to goal and said she was going home to destroy her weighing in dress, I thought that was fabulous, she’s wore that dress every week whilst losing the weight so what a fantastic symbolic gesture!

On that note I’m off to make a brew, it’s freezing here this morning and I need warming up.

Take care of you xx

 

mmm I want one!

29^th November 2012

I am only one, but I am still one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. Helen Keller

It’s a bit nippy this morning, but rather that than rain I say!  My members are all coping with with the start of the festive season I have to say, 70lb lost last night and a few silver sevens, 5% and 10% handed out, not bad at all!  And there’s a few so close to goal they can almost touch it ;-)

I’m holding off shopping this week because I have quite a bit in the freezer and cupboards that could do with being used up before Christmas, I’m just going to buy a loaf and a bit of veg today to get me through, I’m going to have Salmon for lunch and then I plan to ProPoint and work my way through the rest of the contents – not all in one day of course. Did you know the average UK family throws away a shocking £680 worth of food and drink every year!  To cut down on waste, plan your food for the week and make a shopping list.  Freeze leftovers or use them in packed lunches. Visit lovefoodhatewaste.com for ideas.

I’m going to plan next weeks shopping list, I want to include lots of Filling and Healthy foods so that I can make lots of good meals with the ingredients and I’m going to try and do it as cheaply as possibly because November and December are not good months for me financially so I can’t afford to be frivolous.

I have some wholewheat spaghetti I noticed and a perfect combo for that is to add extra garlic and onions to your pasta sauce and use the wholewheat spaghetti to bolster the bolognaise.  The amino acid cysteine, found in garlic and onions, increases the absorption of iron and zinc from wholegrains by up to 159%.  Check me out with the knowledge!

Here you go I’m on a roll now and strawberries with cheap fizz is something we’ve had on Christmas day for brekkie in the past, did you know 9 strawberries is all it takes to get your RDA of vitamin C.  That’s a really easy way to get that Vitamin C.

This week has been the first week I haven’t tracked as I told you, yesterday was difficult for me to write down and admit what I was eating because I was overeating!  Not bad stuff just the wrong stuff throughout the day, but it did turn to bad stuff on the night, I did what is so easy to do, I listened to what someone else was having and thought;

 “mmm I WANT one”,

I knew I didn’t need one and it wasn’t a healthy choice, but

“mmm I WANT one”,

It’ll mean the gain you’re expecting on the scales tomorrow will probably be higher if you have it;

“mmm I WANT one”,

It had at least 30-40pp in it you realise!  And you don’t have them spare to spend;

“mmm I’m STILL HAVING one!”

And I did, I walked over the chippy with my shop lady and ordered a donor kebab!  Was it nice? Honestly? It really depends on what you mean by nice!   I loved the pitta bread and the salad, I enjoyed the taste of the mint sauce and the lemon, as for the donor meat, having separated some of it and tasting it separately I realised it wasn’t very nice - it didn’t stop me eating it mind!  But it did make me realise that it’s the salad pitta I enjoy more than the donor meat, although some places sell much better donor meat than what I ate last night!  So I’m going to get me some pitta breads, the Weight Watcher ones are classed as F&H as they have added fibre, and I’m going to make me some salad pittas, I might add some stir fried beef because that will be just as tasty (if not more so!) and a few herbs and it’ll be lush, and guess what, I have a couple of thin pieces of beef steak in the fridge so I don’t even have to buy it!

So next time you have fast food, taste it, don’t just eat it and learn from it.

Take care of you. xx

 

Skillpower not Willpower is the future!

28^th November 2012

A pleasure is not full grown until it is remembered. C.S. Lewis

Have you ever been so full you thought you'd burst and just then someone says, "Who wants pudding?" And you reply "I do!"  We’ve all done it haven’t we, and occasionally a lot of us still do.  I’m improving I have to admit, I can feel when if I have something else I’m going to regret it later because I’ll be so full it would cause me discomfort, but sometimes I forget!

Will this be your Christmas this year, using the old, “oh it’s Christmas” line, or will you have a bit of what you fancy but not too much (oh I’m allowed to talk Christmas now by the way because it’s less than a calendar month away and advent starts on Saturday and anyway I’m a little bit excited and I need to discuss it!

I’ve been preparing!  In none expected ways ;-) yes I’ve done the Christmas shopping that I plan to do, only bought presents for kids, and yes they’re all wrapped!  But that’s not the kind of preparing I mean, I mean preparing for the eating and drinking, I’m practising.  Two weeks ago I bought cheese, at least 10 small pieces of different kinds of cheese and I gave myself permission to eat them if I wanted, rather than wait to eat them Christmas day when I’ll be full from my turkey dinner, I thought it would make sense to enjoy the special flavour cheeses beforehand, and I’m rather pleased that I haven’t even touched 7 of them yet and those I have indulged in have been at a sensible amount.  So I’m realising I can have everything, I just can’t have it all on the same day or I won’t feel well.

Mom’s also decided she’d like to keep the weight off that’s she’s lost from being poorly, I’ve been trying to fatten her back up but she wants it to stay off because she thinks it might help her pain in her body, so we have talked about the foods that we need to NOT have in our house, one because they won’t help her keep the weight off and two because I just can’t resist them when they are there!  Walkers Cheese & Onion Crisps are now officially banned from the Longsden household as are any cheddar type biscuits and Asda cheese savoury sandwich filler!  They are too easy to grab and eat and lose loads of ProPoints in a few minutes, and I can not resist them when I’m fancying something.

I’m sure we all have those foods we can’t resist and a lot of us use the fact that “I have to have it in the house for the others”, no we don’t!  Really, we don’t do we, is it neglect is you don’t have YOUR particular favourites in the house for the other half or the kids?  I’m sure they would be all to happy for you not to buy that food if they realised how much it would help you, and really is it doing them any good eating those foods anyway or are you helping set them up for a similar future to you!

If you’re not sure what those foods are that you can’t resist start keeping a journal, you’ll soon identify those moments when you wobble, tracking is the one thing that gives you control over your food choices, tells you where you are with your weight loss efforts and shows you where you’re spending the majority of your ProPoints!  If you were to realise that every night you spend 4pp on a packet of crisps then maybe actually seeing it on a page will make you think mmm, maybe there is a better way to spend 28pp a week!  I know I have! 

This week I haven’t tracked properly since Thursday and I stopped altogether on Sunday and I know I have ignored the fact that I’m overeating!  I usually write it down regardless but because I haven’t my portion sizes have been ridiculous!  Therefore my little notepad is coming back out this week and for the whole of December I’m going to use it to learn about myself, to find out the times and foods that give me a problem and I’ve also realised that I have a monthly eating cycle too, so I will use it to identify that also.  Tracking whether in the zone or not will help you shed more light on where need to make changes or tweaks, it’s definitely helped me the last three months!

Here’s to taking care of you! xx

 

You can't beat a diary, it stops you forgetting the good stuff ;)

27^th November 2012

Rather than aiming to be ‘perfect’, just aim to be a little bit better today than you were yesterday.

Another good long nights sleep, and feeling good this morning despite the fact I’ve just smashed a special glass that a member bought me when she got to goal, all over the kitchen floor, not a good task clearing up smashed glass at 5am!  I could’ve kept that glass for special occasions but instead I’ve used it almost every day for the last few years, never forget Life's too short to keep stuff for best!

So yesterday I asked a group of people to give me one of two highlights of their lives, an even, a day, a moment, anything that they’d remember forever.  I got the answers I’d expected, precious ones like their children being born, going to Disney, Egypt, passing driving test, swimming with dolphins, being awarded a First Class Honours degree, being cleared of cancer, amazing sex!  These were just a few of many because life really is amazing, the memorable stuff doesn’t have to be huge either, for me it would include playing on the seesaw with my mate a few weeks ago, hearing another bestie say I know exactly where we are in France (when we were in Belgium), having two besties look at me like I was a total idiot when stood at the top of the empire state building they discussed how that film ‘HONG KONG’ had been filmed there and I’m not getting it at all, then I realised they meant KING KONG!  All of these moments are ingrained on our hearts and in our minds, because they are truly special and important.

Only a couple referred to getting to their goal weight or getting in a specific outfit, I doubt if for any of the other memories our size/weight was important in that moment!  In the West the body is often worshiped as if its perfection were the highest goal we could attain, few people can escape the media images and cultural bias toward idea bodies!  It’s such a shame because it can consume people’s lives and it really isn’t that important to look a certain way to have the most amazing life.

Being healthy is a different thing altogether of course, that’s most important but it also covers mental as well as physical health and not forgetting emotional health, striving to have a body or look like someone that just isn’t possible is not good for ones emotional state!

I’m guessing the lady who said “leaving my first husband then going on to meet one of the best men ever who makes me so happy” realises hopefully that the best man ever loves her unconditionally despite her weight! 

Everybody is special, everyone has a story if you only stop to listen, and we’ve all done or are doing amazing things with our lives because life is a beautiful thing.  Most people have a love story to tell, you don’t have to go to the movies to see one, and the real live couple don’t look like Nicole Kidman or Tom Cruise (thank goodness!)

I listened to one of my gorgeous O.A.P. gold members Thursday tell me how she used to be a right party animal, she’d been carried to bed many times, it was lovely to see the twinkle in that tiny ladies eyes as the memories come flooding back.

So this Christmas instead of worrying constantly about the damage you might be doing to your weight, make wise food choices, indulge but don’t be ridiculous!  Instead of spending ridiculous amounts of money you don’t have, read this by Martin Lewis who asks is it time to ban Christmas presents – he makes a very good argument.

Martin Lewis - Is it time to ban Christmas Presents?

Instead of gifts why not give people the gift of your time, spend time listening and hearing their stories, we’re all in such a rush, we’re all so obsessed with getting the perfect body, having a beautiful home, being the best at our job that we’re forgetting the things that really matter and forgetting to make the memories we’ll share later in life.  No one wants, “She/he was a very busy woman/man, worked really hard, their house was always tidy and she/he was a size 10/32” as the only memory people have of them – or do you?

I know I don’t if I could choose the memory of myself it would be more like, “Oh yeah Bev, she was always smiling and had so much fun, always seemed content with her life”.

That’s how I want to be remembered because that’s how I want to live!

Take care of you and start making memories not striving to buy clothes in a specific size!

Four weeks & counting ;-)

26^th November 2012

The great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, but in what direction we are moving. Oliver Wendell Holmes

Oh well it’s certainly Monday Morning, I actually slept to my alarm despite having an early night and it’ just taken me a good ten minutes to make a cuppa and sort moms tablets, she nearly ended up with the wrong ones because I was half asleep!  Note to self – put tablets up at a time of day when I’m not half asleep in future to save killing your mother!

I had a very lazy day yesterday too, I did go to the shop to look at that canvas but changed my mind when I saw the price, I’m going to have a go at making something like it myself, because I’ll enjoy doing that too.  If you could have heard me and Lynne shopping on Friday we said that about everything, “we can make that!” but I actually can make this, it won’t be like the one in the shop but I’ll be able to make a small enough version to have in my office which will be better as that’s where I spend most of my time.

So other than a bit of window shopping and food shopping, the rest of my day consisted of watch tele, reading, a nice bath and a distinct lack of vegetables!  Yes I realised this weekend my diet has been very carb heavy and veg less, so will need to rectify that situation today.  I’ve not felt like cooking at all so maybe I’ll buy a salad or some frozen veg, we’ll see.

Oh yeah I did do a bit of scrapbooking too and I gave my office a slight tidy up so I wasn’t completely lazy, only almost.

I’ve just realised four weeks today will be Christmas eve – oh my word, that’ll be here before we know it and in the words of Greg Wallace (one of the new faces of Weight Watchers)

"Christmas for me is a time of indulgence so I won’t be holding back. That’s the beauty of Weight Watchers. It takes the stress away, keeps you in control and allows you the odd indulgence – and what better way to spend your weekly allowance! I know I’ll go for a jog the next day to help earn some activity ProPoints to balance it out."Gregg Wallace

 

I’m with his there, I will be indulging this Christmas but I won’t be making myself ill doing it, I can’t eat like I used to my body doesn’t like it, and my most recent Gold member Susannah seems to agree, she wrote on face book yesterday

 

“Well I have proper celebrated reaching my goal weight... I haven’t stopped eating this week lol! My body just can't take the rubbish or that much food anymore lol back on it tomoz xx”

 

I think we get to a place where we realise we don’t need so much and we can still enjoy life, perhaps enjoy it more because we’re not uncomfortable sat at that table in the restaurant.  I do not want to be sat there Christmas afternoon feeling absolutely stuffed to the uncomfortable point, I want to have enjoyed my dinner and be sitting watching the kids play, maybe even playing their games with them and laughing and enjoying ourselves, not sitting there in pain or sleeping through the one day we’ve waited months for it to arrive!

Four weeks!  I’m thinking I need an advent calendar in my life, but not a chocolate one, I’m not a fan, will look into that, but first I will get ready for work and walk Alfie.

If you do want to earn some activity ProPoints, there’s a £2 coupon in this weeks Weight Watcher email which you get automatically if you have esource and you can also become a community user by registering https://www.weightwatchers.co.uk/signup/registration/StepOne.aspx

Right I’m off for a walk with my pedometer, I have 7pp I like to earn on a Monday!

Take care of you. xx

 

Rather have a VPL than be on a VLCD!

25^th November 2012

Butterflies don’t know the colour of their wings, but human eyes know how beautiful they are.  Likewise, you don’t know how good you are, but others see how special you are.

Saturday whilst shopping I saw a board with “the time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time” and it’s so true.  Yesterday I blogged the stuff I was going to get done, housework etc but instead after cleaning out all the cupboards in the kitchen I went and met my mate after work and we had a walk round Cannock doing nothing in particular but having a good giggle in the process.  Then I went for my massage and after snoring my way through that I sat and had a chat with the three ladies that were in the shop, normally I’d have been thinking “you need to do this or should be doing that”, but instead I just enjoyed the natter.  We all need to spend more time wasting time or not as the case may be ;-)  I spent the night NOT doing anything with my mom in the living room, was a fab day.  If I can find somewhere to put that red poster I saw and it’s still there, I may go back and buy it today.

So the natter I had with these ladies was good, I make the mistake of believing everyone has the same knowledge of food/diets/eating as I do, I tend to forget I do a lot of research!  So it was interesting to sit and listen to a conversation about ‘diets’ and to hear their beliefs and opinions of dieting, fad diets and all things weight loss related. 

Fad diets in my opinion are a waste of time, VLCD (very low calories diets) are dangerous, one very famous VLCD diet for example starts at a tiny 415 calories per day (the NHS recommends that an adult woman should get around 2000 calories a day, is it safe/good for you? Well anything that works by forcing your body into ketosis – a state in which you are undernourished and your body must process your fat stores in order to survive doesn’t sound too appetising to me!  These kind of diets lead to Yo-Yo dieting which isn’t good, can lead to problems with metabolism and because it’s a miserable cycle to get into, it may be linked to depression.

When the body goes through a period of starvation, it prioritizes burning fat and sugar to using protein. However, if the starvation goes on for a long time, the body will begin to turn muscle and connective tissue, which is rich in protein, into glucose. With its low-calorie content, VLCDs mimic starvation and can result in the loss of muscle and connective tissue, if continued for extended time periods. This can lead to a weakening of the heart muscle and connective tissue in the body.

And believe it or not one of the risks of a VLCD is malnutrition. Although some of those ready mixed meals contain essential nutrients, these nutrients are chemically produced and added to the powder mixes and snack bars. Unlike fresh food, chemically produced nutrients do not always enter into the bloodstream through the digestive system. As some of these diets contains no fresh food items, there is a risk of not getting nutrients that are essential to the optimal function of vital organs.

But for me one of the main reasons I wouldn’t go near them is because I like eating, I want something that I can enjoy and do for the rest of my life, not something I can do for a month that will depress me, possibly make me ill and all for the sake of a weight loss.  Hell no thank you, I’d rather keep my chunky thighs and my wobbly bum, it’s my body and I love it enough to want to nourish and take care of it, not starve it to death or force feed it yucky shakes that I don’t enjoy.

So today I shall be starting my day with a fried egg toastie for 7pp because I can!  What you having?  Hopefully not a shake and a couple of vitamin tablets!

Take care of you, it’s the best thing you’ll ever do. xx

 

 

 

 

 

What a load of Christmas balls!

24^th November 2012

If it were not for the last minute, nothing would get done.

Yesterday was lots of fun, the first day for over 12 weeks that I didn’t track and point anything at all!  Breakfast was a bag of Walkers Crisps, then we went Christmas shopping up town, we were going to Birmingham but changed our minds, had cake for lunch and for tea we went to Penn Tandoori where I enjoyed a delicious saag and lamb balti dish which was to do for, and in it I dunked Keema Naan washed down with a pint of Cobra – divine! 

It was so good to catch up with the girls, we haven’t been out for a while so we enjoyed ourselves, and sometimes that’s just how it is and it was fab!

I have to say though, I can’t eat like I used to, I get fuller – faster and if I carry on my digestion system revolts and gives me pain.  I had my first experience of trapped wind last night in my chest and yes it does feel a bit like you’re about to have a heart attack!  We’ve laughed this morning about how as you get older (or as we do anyway) you start to think more about the after effects of doing something, i.e. “ooo pastry, I like it but it doesn’t like me”, I remember my mom saying that and me thinking ‘what?’ now I totally understand and have said it myself.  When asked if I want another drink, I weigh up how my head will feel in the morning before accepting where as ten years ago, I would have just said “of course I do!”  Oh how we grow ;-)

It’s not just with food neither, yesterday Lynne and I walked round the shops ooo’ing and aaah’ing over things in the shop, then following it up with, “I’ve managed without one for forty years, I don’t really need one”, or “we could make one of those, tape a photo”, or “yeah it nice but it’s not twenty pound nice!”  Oh dear I think we’ve finally started to grow up and you know what, I kind of like it, I walked round those shops and there was nothing I wanted, I used to feel like I needed everything years ago, whereas now I realise I already have everything I’ll ever need, I have the bestest group of friends anyone could ask for, the most amazing mom, a great family, the cutest dog and lots of love – what else do you need really, oh yeah my iphone ;-)

Seriously though, the rest is just STUFF and it’s not essential, as long as the bills are covered and we’re all well, I’m happy.

Today I shall mostly be doing a little bit of housework, and then I’m going to reminisce whilst making a paper ornament ball!  What I hear you cry, well when we were kids our nan used to make these vile balls from Christmas cards, they would be all over her living room, she’d recycle everyone’s old cards to make them and we would be sent home with a bag full to decorate our house!  I never liked them, always thought they were naff, but yesterday when I recalled them, it was with love and amusement.  My memory isn’t the best and I don’t really do sentimental stuff but that really made me go back in time.  So I googled them and found the instructions and I’ll be making my own version, here they are; http://jane.walkerillustration.com/web_paper_ball_ornaments.htm

But before that can commence, I really do need to do some housework, it’s starting to show lol, it’s a grey day out there this morning, so not looking forward to walking the dog etiher, but hey ho gotta be done, so I better go.

Whatever your plans, have fun and if you’re a bit skint and worrying about paying for Christmas this year, just try and think back to your childhood Christmas’s what are the best memories, for me it wasn’t the pressies, they were probably important at the time but I can only remember 4 gifts I was bought in the first 15 years of my life so I wouldn’t worry too much about that side of it.  The cardboard ball decorations though, now that’s a memory that’s really made me smile!

Today, take care of you AND yours!

 

Get an attitude of gratitude!

23^rd November 2013

Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. F. Scott Fitzgerald

What’s with the weather, you do not expect to be hit by a flying bin on a Thursday afternoon, but it was a possibility yesterday, it was like something out of the Wizard of Oz!  Let’s hope it’s finished with because I fancy a trip to Birmingham today and I don’t want to go if it’s torrential and horrid!

So yesterday was Thanksgiving in America, this time last year I was in New York having a fab time, we watched the Thanksgiving Macy’s Day Parade and I was thankful to my friends for standing there patiently with me (even though they were cold and a little bored) to watch one of my dreams come true, it was amazing. So what are you thankful for? Sometimes it’s a great question to ask yourself, especially when you’re having a lousy day.

So Greg Wallace of Master Chef fame declared his love of Weight Watchers earlier in the week and now Patsy Kensit, she’s lost 3 stone with us which is fab.  Now it was mentioned yesterday that it would be nice to see members who have lost more weight in our advertising and we do agree, unfortunately it is a legal requirement, there are very strict laws around featuring members who have lost weight and so Weight Watchers (and all weight loss organisations) have to comply within the given law.  If you’re a bit of a geek like me, you can read about it here section 12.11 of the following explains this - not sure how Lighter Life managed to get away with it!

http://www.cap.org.uk/advertising-codes/~/media/Files/CAP/Codes%20BCAP%20pdf/BCAP%20Section%2012.ash

Losing weight – however much isn’t easy and whether you have 5lb or 50lb or 5 stone to lose, Weight Watchers is a great place for re-educating yourself, for learning how to eat healthily.  I remember when I first joined Weight Watchers I was about 18 and I only had a few pounds to lose but I didn’t want to end up with my moms weight problem, so thought that by doing something about it I wouldn’t, however I didn’t last because I felt like a fraud, I was given the side eye by quite a few people who were obviously thinking what is she doing here!   I often tell my members never to assume the slim lady in the queue doesn’t need to be there, she may be similar to how I was back then and just need re-educating or she may have lost weight and now be maintaining her goal.  On a Thursday morning I have over 30 gold members weigh in each week, they are all at a healthy BMI so look like they don’t need to be at a Weight Watchers meeting but they’ve all lost weight.

Yes we’ve all got our own reasons for being there, everyone has a story, you just can’t always see it.  I’ve loved my meetings this week, we’ve had a giggle but also come up with some great ideas for how to cope over Christmas.  I was super impressed with everyone coming out in that weather last night, I couldn’t believe how wet some had got just walking from the car!

I’m sat here wondering why I’ve been awake since 4.30am on my day off, my body clock is a joke sometimes, but I’m not tired so I’m listening to it and going to take advantage by getting my paperwork done out of the way.

It’s Friday, and the weekend is almost upon us, remember it’s not Christmas yet so let’s stay focused and on track.  You’re taking care of you, not just losing weight!

 

 

 

 

Never eat a Mac D's slowly - it's just wrong!

22^nd November 2012

Skill Power, not Will Power, is the Key to Success!

Weigh in day today and I’m feeling positive, I’ve been so busy this week wrapping shopping and wrapping Christmas presents I haven’t thought much about overindulging.   I might be treating myself tonight though to a Chinese chicken chow mein, although it’s been on my to-eat list for about 6 weeks now and I still haven’t got round to it, that’s progress, it shows I can wait for something.  My ‘to eat’ list is one of the best things I’ve ever come up with as it’s taken the urgency out of wanting to eat certain foods, which means when someone mentions something and I think “ooo I fancy that”, instead of having it that day, I add it onto my list.

Yesterday when I came out of B&Ms after a bit of shopping, I realised it would be one o’clock before I got home and I’d still got my paperwork to do, and in front of me was MacDonald’s, well I do like a Maccy D’s I have to say but I have realised that it’s a food that’s eaten fast, so whatever you have you always kind of wolf it down, it’s actually part of the experience – you cannot savour a Macdonald’s – trust me and if you can you’ll wish you hadn’t because they go cold really quickly and they’re not that fantastic in taste!  Having had this realisation a few weeks ago I decided that instead of my usual Big Mac Meal for 26pp I would have a happy meal – cheese burger and small fries for 14pp, and I actually didn’t realise there were only half the amount of fries and the burger did what it was supposed to because it was eaten in the car and not really given a great deal of attention.  Actually I did try to focus on the first few bites but realised the gherkin and the sauce was the other side of the burger and without them it was a bit rank!  So I hurried through the next two bites till I got to the ketchup!  How wrong is that, to eat with the attitude that I need to hurry this up it’s not so good.  Maybe next time I see a MacDonald’s I’ll recall those thoughts and opt not to bother at all, realisation is an amazing tool!  So next time you indulge, slow down, stop and taste and then decided if it’s worth it.

I’m going to start my countdown to Christmas – sorry – but I do think it’s good to realise how close it is and think about what you need to get done and how you plan to cope, it’s 32 days!   Trust me that will fly by, and it’ll be 2013 before you know it.

A lot of my members are still losing really well and are on track to enjoy Christmas, I’ve even got members joining now because they know they will gain a little over Christmas so what to do something about it now so they don’t end up even heavier in 2013.  Ignorance isn’t bliss is it, we can pretend it’s not going to happen and suffer the consequences or we can think now and pre-empt situations and decide how we’re going to cope with them.  I’m planning, doing lists, I don’t like shopping in December, not a fan of the crowds, hence the reason I’m shopping now, love my credit card I do, it’s worth its weight in gold ;-) 

And I’ve already decided that I can handle a 5lb weight gain over Christmas without getting too worried about it, that’ll give me free reign to have a week off tracking and enjoy myself without going crazy.  I’ve got my Irish Coffee at the ready (£3.99 in B&M for 2 microwaveable ones – genius)  I will be partaking of some Bailey’s it’s 98pp a litre by the way – again ignorance is not bliss, and it’s on offer in Asda this week, £8 I’ve been told.  My Christmas day indulgence is Port (54pp a litre), I like it served with cheese for my tea, now I’m not saying I’m planning on drinking a litre of anything at one sitting but it does give you something to use as a comparison so here are a few more;

red wine          25pp a litre

sherry             48pp a litre

whiskey           81pp a litre

port                  54pp a litre

baileys             98pp a litre

mmm I was about to say food for thought, but it’s more like fluid for thought, awareness is important, ignorance isn’t bliss.  It’s all about being pre-pared, planning how you’re going to cope with it all.  As I said at the beginning of this blog;

Skill Power, not Will Power, is the Key to Success!

Have a fabulous Thursday, now I’ve firmly put the thought of Christmas in your mind and of course never forget to take care of you. xx

Most of us spend a lifetime being angry at ourselves for being fat!

21^st November 2012

Never let hope elude you; that is life's biggest failure. Bob Zuppke

Easily pleased I am look “21-11-12”, today’s date reads the same read forwards or backwards ‘-)

I had a delicious slice of cake last night, not very often I partake in a piece of cake, I didn’t even share it with my mom.  Chris on of my members had made the Christmas cake from out of the Weight Watchers December magazine and I have to say it was to die for, and quite a large chunk for 5pp, I’d definitely be happy with that over Christmas for sure.

So I’ve had about ten days where I’ve been full on ‘in the zone’, and it was fab, the last two days I’ve veered a little, not crazily, but I have gone over my ProPoints allowance, I have realised the amount of Filling and Healthy foods have gone down over the last few days so I will rectify that situation and see if it helps.  It could of course also be down to hormones, the weather, any number of reasons but I can’t do anything about the weather, nor hormones really I suppose so I will focus on the thing I do have control of and that is consuming more F&H foods. 

The other new thing I’m having to contend with is the different foods I’m buying to try and tempt mom to eat, this is difficult.  Things like sandwich fillers and quiche that are high in ProPoints, it’s ok for mom because she’s not eating much but I’m seeing them every time I open the fridge and I need to get over the urge to eat them, I love the cheese savoury sandwich filler from Asda but it’s 21pp a tub! And it’s not a very large tub either.  I will rearrange the fridge today so it’s not the first thing I see, this is difficult though because I want it to be the first thing mom sees to tempt her so I can’t hide it.  Therefore I am going to have to resist, have a shelf above with equally tempting food for me, that I enjoy, that are less ProPoints. 

I have so many members stay focussed for the first few weeks on the plan then it starts to get a little difficult for whatever reason, could be something similar to mine above, could be a night out throws them off, or someone in their house is ill.  They fall off the plan for a few days, and feel guilty for falling off their diets, and instead of realising they did what they could at the time, instead of acknowledging that this is a learning curve and it won’t always be plain sailing – they get angry at themselves and feel guilty.  Then to punish themselves, because guilt always seeks punishment, (this is why I don’t do guilt – it’s a none productive emotion!) they go and stuff themselves with all the food that they know isn’t any good for them or their bodies!

What they would be better of doing, (I nearly said SHOULD then, and realised that’s a dreadful word – it’s laced with guilt!)  or what they could have done was acknowledge that for those few weeks they followed the plan they were taking care of their bodies and actually felt good about it, that would be better for them than laying a guilt trip on themselves for not changing 100% immediately.  By doing this we can all start to break they cycle of the yo-yo dieting habit.

There’s another possibility though, one most of us won’t like to think about and that is that overeating can mean a need for protection.  When you feel insecure or frightened, you pad yourself with a layer of safety.  CRAZY I hear you cry!   That was my initial reaction I have to admit but bare with me.  Here is a line copied verbatim from a book

“Weight has nothing to do with food.  Most of you spend a lifetime being angry at yourselves for being fat.  What a waste of energy.  Instead, realise there is something going on in your life that is making you feel unsafe and insecure.  It could be your work, your spouse, your sexuality, or your life in general.” (Louise Hay)

So you’re either sitting there now thinking ‘what a load of cobblers” or you’re starting to think, “mmm there may be something in that”.

I know when I was first presented with this idea I though it was rubbish, I didn’t feel ‘insecure’, I’m a confident person!  Mmm, now I realise she may have a point, at that time I was in a job I didn’t feel capable of doing, I was sure that at anytime they’d realise I was a fraud and every time the MD walked in my office my stomach turned.  That was when I gained 3 stone in a year!  Then a few years ago something happened that put my job in jeopardy, I gained weight then not a lot but I just lost control of my eating.  And finally when mom had her mini stroke earlier in the year my eating habits went a bit crazy and I felt like I couldn’t get back on track, of course that was because I was concerned about her and I didn’t have control over that situation.  So I think if you realise that Louise Hay isn’t trying to say you’re unhappy or weak or pathetic (as I read it initially) that it could just be something in your life you haven’t got control over and need to address or in my case with mom just acknowledge because there really was nothing I could do then it may help you with your weight issue.

Don’t get me wrong that’s not the only reason people have weight problems, there are others for example just overeating because it’s there and it’s nice, or eating foods that aren’t the best choice through lack of nutritional knowledge, but it is a reason you may want to look into if you’re struggling to stay on track long term. Xx

Remember anything I say on here is usually because it’s had an effect on me personally, I read lots and take from the books what helps me, I’m just condensing it for you into a little snippet to get you thinking.

Have a fabulous day, and even if you have to ask yourself a few truthful painful questions it’s good because ultimately it will help you to take care of YOU? xx

 Repeat after me;

 

 

Don't be fooled by your willpower!

20^th November 2012

To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another.

Katherine Paterson

I’m loving the Morrison’s chocolate advert, I think it sums up exactly why we shouldn’t buy tins of chocolate before Christmas, I’m sure a lot of you will agree, watch it then read on!

So in a tub of Celebrations, there are approximately 94 sweets in a tub (I've counted them) at 885g there’s 115pp in the entire tub and using the nutritional information it works out at 1pp for one, 2pp for two, 4pp for three! Getting the gist!

2 tubs totals 230pp which if that was all I ate for a whole week, would be my 49pp weekly allowance and 7 days of my 16 Daily ProPoints! It'll leave me with 1pp.

So think before buying and think again before taking the tape off the tub! 

I’m in the zone at the moment, really enjoying eating well, keeping myself occupied so that I’m not thinking about food too much and yet I still got tempted yesterday.  I popped to Hooty’s store to pick up a few things for Christmas and as I walked across the car park the smell of hot dogs and burgers hit me, the thought, "I've only had 5pp so far today, and they smell good", flashed through my mind. I watched two people walk away chomping down on them, then I looked at the lady serving and she was flipping burgers with one hand and eating a burger with the other (not very hygienic as she licked her fingers!) The other thing I also noticed was the ladies walking away and the server was none of them looked very happy, they weren’t smiling or really paying any attention to what they were eating, the were just shovelling it in!  So realising it was probably almost 20pp I changed my mind and walked into the shop.  I reminded myself I may think I’m hungry but I didn’t feel/think that way until I got out of my car and smelt those burgers.  So instead I waited until I got home and had a massive jacket potato with cheese and low fat spread which actually probably came to 20pp as well, but it was planned and I really enjoyed it – I don’t eat jacket potatoes very often for that reason, I tend to put a lot of spread on it making it not such a filling and healthy meal!

So yes, regardless of how ‘in the zone’ you think you are, temptations all around and you may find it difficult to resist if you buy those tins of chocolates no matter how strong you felt the day you bought them, that feeling may not hold 24/7!

I’m off to the German Christmas Market on Friday in Birmingham and I was warned yesterday it’s like running the gauntlet with all the food / drink along the way, but I was also told if I hold out at the other end I can get myself a nice Tikka Wrap from an Indian place!  Will I, mmm we shall see!

I shopped in Morrison’s yesterday, didn’t need much just wanted a browse really, and I noticed all the Christmas foods and realised that there are foods there I haven’t eaten in a while, some of which I do want to indulge in and some I can live without.  So instead of having an overload of cheese over Christmas and eating it all in a few days, I bought some yesterday which I will include in my meal plans this week, that way I can ensure I’ve got the ProPoints for them.  I’ve also realised that I don’t need a lot of the stuff, if we buy it we will just eat it because it’s there, so I’m planning on being choosy – are you?

I don’t want to come back from my holiday in January having undone all the good progress I’ve made up to now finding my happy nutritional balance, I don’t want to have heartburn and indigestion for the week I’m away and I don’t want to feel sluggish and tired like I know I do when I eat a load of rubbish.  Yes from now on I’m going to start listening to my body – today it’s telling me it wants some greens as it didn’t get enough yesterday!  Oh no now I’ve got a talking body to add to my ogre ;-)!  I’m not a freak at all – I won’t have it said.

Remember whatever you eat, ask yourself – are you taking care of YOU? xx

 

#GreggAWallace - See I'm getting the hang of this Twitter lark! (I think!)

19^th November 2012

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Leonardo Da Vinci

So Greg Wallace is the new face of Weight Watchers, I have to say I’m pleased, those that know me well, know he is one of my guilty pleasures!   I just love his passion for food, I relate to it and now it seems we have more in common - a passion for Weight Watchers.  I just love this line he was quoted to say;

People say to me, ‘Life’s too short to be on a diet’. I say to them “mate, life’s too short not to feel and look this good!

How true is that!  Since joining Weight Watchers, Gregg has lost over a stone in under eight weeks and he is now the lightest he has ever been in his adult life.

“People say to me, ‘Life’s too short to be on a diet’. I say to them “mate, life’s too short not to feel and look this good! There are no miracle cures out there. It’s all about a gradual change of lifestyle which helps you lose weight and keep it off for the long term.
Honestly I have never looked or felt this good. I have never had this much energy! I love the way I look now – I can’t get my face out of the mirror and I’m loving the attention I’m getting from the ladies! It only takes one person to say ‘wow’ and you’re hooked.
Give Weight Watchers a go. What have you got to lose (except a bit excess weight!?).

 

Well said Greg, it’s all about taking care of yourself isn’t it.  That’s what I focus on anyways. Poor Greg suddenly got an influx of Weight Watcher Leaders following him on twitter yesterday ;-) although I'm guessing he'll appreciate that because he is a bit of a tart himself (he doesn't just enjoy eating them!) I'm still trying to get my head round Twitter, I'm a facebook girl!

I had a fabulous nights sleep last night, I’ve always gone to bed early between 9 and 10pm, but the last few weeks because mom’s also tired, we’ve been going even earlier, I’m usually up between 4 and 5am whatever time I go to bed so that extra half hour we had last night was nice, 8.30pm in bed was lovely, I didn’t go straight to sleep but just lying, relaxing is nice.

You may realise it but sleep is important for weight loss success, losing weight while you sleep might sound like a dream come true but research has indicated that the amount of sleep you get affects your appetite and, consequently, your weight.

When you get a good night's sleep, at least 8 hours, your body produces the hormone leptin, which regulates your appetite. With enough leptin, you will feel full and satisfied after a meal. Adequate rest also regulates the hormone ghrelin, which increases appetite. Skimping on sleep reverses these positive effects, with a double whammy of less leptin and more ghrelin, so you feel less satisfied after eating and eat more food more often.

Insufficient slumber also leaves energy levels sagging, meaning you're more likely to skip doing any exercise and reach for a quick fix from sweet or starchy foods, or, worse, a beverage such as red bull or coke laden with high-fructose corn syrup. A study in 2004, found a 33 percent increase in cravings for calorie-dense foods with high carbohydrate contents after just one night of restricted sleep. These foods give you instant energy but cause a spike and dive in your blood glucose levels that sends you back to the snack machine for more junk food.

So if you needed an excuse for a few early nights there you have then, the National Sleep Foundation reports that fewer than 7 hours of sleep each night is associated with increased risk for obesity, diabetes and additional health problems in numerous clinical studies. However, logging more than 9 hours of sleep per night might not be good, either, but research has yet to prove that excessive sleep is a causative factor. With people's busy lifestyles, though, getting too much sleep usually isn't a problem.

If you want your weight lose to be helped by sleeping more, set a regular bedtime, and wind down by dimming lights, avoiding alcoholic beverages, turning off the television and avoiding controversial or emotional topics of conversation. A bedroom conducive to good sleep is quiet, dark and cool, with a comfortable bed mattress. White-noise machines or fans might help prevent interruptions of sleep.

So there you have it, I’ve definitely noticed I’m sleeping better since I’ve cut down on my wine intake, I only drank 3 days out of 7 last week, that’s progress and that’s two weeks in a row.  It’s definitely helping my weight, I’m under eleven stone for the first time since Sept 2011, so I shall continue to resist, although I didn’t struggle to resist at all last week.

Of course as well as sleep we all need energy, so if you’re a monthly pass holder there’s what looks like a delicious energy bar recipe on the Weight Watchers website to help you make it through those busy mornings!