Weigh day - what will be will be!

Tuesday 28th February 2023

No one is better than you.

Check me out having tomatoes!  I seem to have been successful with my tomato purchase, I had a delivery a week last Monday and accidently put 3 different types of tomatoes in my basket and they all got delivered.  Thankfully they're keeping well too.  I really enjoyed this breakfast but it gave me a bit of heartburn, certain foods do and tomatoes and toast seem to be two of them, the spread didn't help either!

Got my jobs around the house done, washing, oh my days, it really is never-ending isn't it!  There's only three of us, what the hell do women with lots of kids do, they must never stop! 

Once I'd done a few things that need doing, I watched an episode of Power Book, it's all about balance :) I've just had my morning shower and noticed cobwebs on the ceiling in the hall so when I'd finished drying myself, I used the towel to flick them all down - multitasking at its best right there!  At least I got dressed before doing it, that would've terrified anyone if I hadn't!

As our meal out last Friday was such a disaster and I hadn't really done anything with Aryn over the half term, we decided to go out for dinner after seeing a members meal on Facebook.  The Anchor at Coven is a Vintage Inn so I downloaded the app and it gave me £20 off if I spent £40 - bonus!  Aryn helped me lower the calories in mine by having one of my Aranchini balls to taste, he had half my big scratching and some of the pork belly, I did get a little of his lamb though too, we like to taste each others stuff.  He ate half my sticky toffee dessert though as I was full and he's a machine!  

  

It always pleases me that the sticky toffee pudding is lower in calories than most of the other desserts, Aryn's banoffee pie was twice the calories!  

Anyway, I did go over my day by 353 calories but over the week I'm 1738 calories in credit according to my app.  Will I lose weight today?  I don't know, I'm hoping so but I have a feeling I'm not going to because of the 4lb I lost the week before that I wasn't expecting. 

We shall see and continue regardless.  I need to have a good day today, check the freezer for ideas, thinking fish, I'm fancying spaghetti to so many some of that topped with a piece of fish.  Aryn's already decided he's gonna have a school dinner, so he won't be starving when he gets home which meals we can have our main meal when I get back from work tonight.   Soup for lunch for me, omelette for breakfast maybe, will go check what I have to go in it.

It's all food in the house, I love it and it keeps my mind motivated to stay on track if I'm thinking of healthy stuff.  https://www.supercook.com/ I found this website yesterday, you put ingredients in that you have and it gives you ideas, I haven't played with it much but it looks good.

It's a bit nippy this morning, apparently we're going to have the coldest March in a decade = boo.

I'm off in search of breakfast, let's have a great day, it's easy to think sod it and eat anything but it's worth not doing that, questioning your thoughts, trying to find solutions, setting yourself a few challenges, I ate an apple yesterday - go me!  

Mwah, luv ya 

love me x

Survived the weekend!

Monday 27th February 2023

Let's do this!

Back home after a lovely weekend in Stratford, check me out, I went over a bit yesterday but overall, I've been damn good, resisting temptation on many an occassion!

We drove over after the huddle Saturday morning and went for lunch at Lambs, oh the food was delicious, this was my choice, 

  

 

I was too full for dessert, so that saved me some calories but I did have wine later. 

Sunday I started with an omelette, mushroom and corned beef, wouldn't bother with the corned beef again, I like my veggies in my omelette.  

Because we hadn't booked we couldn't get anywhere for Sunday lunch so himself decided we'd try out the Cadac bbq I'd bought him for his birthday last year, the sun was shining but damn it was cold lol.

Thankfully we ate indoors once cooked, he did ribs and chops,  I did myself trout in the oven, got me a bargain from Waitrose believe it or not, whole trout £3.50, so I had two but I couldn't eat them all, managed one and a half with the samphire, I even indulged in a little slice of cheesecake.

I also had a go at making Mojitos like I had on holiday, the didn't use the soda water and lime they used sprite with rum, so I had a go, what I realised is they put a hell of a lot of rum in them to get that flavour so maybe I'm better off sticking to wine!

We left early this morning as I've lots to do today and Aryn needs to get sorted to go back to school tomorrow, he's gone back to bed lol, it's not easy entertaining a teenager is it, Shakespeare's crap apparently, so that's everything in Stratford off the list! 

I better lose a little bit of weight tomorrow after all this effort, but if I don't it'll show eventually, I've got to look at the bigger picture haven't I.  This week I'm going to focus on drinking my water and aiming for the 5 a day, I've started by having tomatoes on toast, they were delivered last Monday before all this missing fruit and veg in shops started.

Right I better get the washing done, plan this weeks huddle chat and all the other things on my to do list.  

Have a great day, 

Mwah, luv ya

Love me x

Comes in 3's!

Saturday 24th February 2023

One step at a time.

Started my day yesterday with time in the pool, half walking / half swimming, my pain isn't as bad when I'm in the water so I'm happy to stay there.  My pain has moved around my body the last few days, I think it's partly to do with exercise, the massage and I'm trying to correct my posture by sharing my weight equally between both feet as it was pointed out to me that I lean to the bad side by Nikki when I went for my treatment.  

I knew we were going out for a late lunch so I wanted to have a decent breakfast, I really enjoyed this, I love veggies, I really do and this was lush, bit of salt and pepper (I'm getting better with pepper, realising it really adds flavour as I get used to the taste).  

 

I snacked on a banana (making an effort with the fruit too!)  I'm actually making an effort full stop, is it easy - hell no, worth it, let's hope so.  

Well the day went a bit awry from there!  We went for lunch, we should've changed our mind when we were told that even though we'd booked there would be a wait for food as they were busy, we later found out the one chef had walked out that morning.  I had planned on having Asian Singapore noodles and asked if there were prawns in it as I was allergic, she went and checked and said no.  Aryn fancied prawns for starter and I said, have them because at least here I don't have to cook them so it's safe - famous last words.  Our meals came, Aryn ate half my starter too, he really enjoyed them.

They forgot my garlic mayonnaise, they were obviously struggling, the waitress was lovely and doing the best she could with what she had. 

Then the mains came, they were overpowering with flavour, the sauce on my noodles was like those stir fry sauces you get from the supermarket, too strong and too much of it, the fish would've been better without the sauce.  Aryns cajun rice tasted like they'd just poured a pot of cajun powder over it.  Aryn tried to eat my noodles but even he couldn't.

     

I'm sure this was mostly down to pressure, whoever had ended up in the kitchen maybe wasn't used to cooking those meals, the waitress again was lovely, when she asked if we enjoyed our meal, I said honestly, not the mains, I'm not one to complain about a meal and I wasn't complaining, I was just honestly answering her question, she insisted on refunding us a meal so I gave her it as a tip.  As we pulled out of the car park space, I heard that noise, you may never of heard it, but it's when you know your bumper has got stuck on the kerb, normally it doesn't do any damage, but hell not this time, this time, it did this; 

  

What is it with me and bumpers, that's two BMW's and a Range Rover I've done the bumpers on now, one I did the front and back bumper on - deep sigh!  

As we pull out the car park and head down the street I feel my face start to feel hot, I look in the rear mirror when we stop at lights and the right side is swelling up and going  very red, I've had an allergic reaction to the prawns, I'm guessing the chef who dished up our starters, did Aryn's then mine without thinking about the fact I'd said I had an allergy!  Hey ho, I won't die, but it caused me an afternoon of discomfort.  I poured some bottled water on my sleeve and wiped my face down, took two antihistamine's when I got home even though it says 1, took the car to have the bumper put back on, I love our mechanic and he loves me too lol,  it'll need replacing at some point but no urgency.  

So that was the 3 things!  The worst of it was wasting almost 800 calories on something I didn't enjoy - gutted.  I did still end my day on track though, the tablets took effect and I went up to bed at 6ish to watch tele, but of course that never happened.

I woke up when my phone started ringing and I've had 10hrs 21m sleep apparently! 

I think the antihistamines definitely had something to do with that, my face is still a little tight and uncomfortable but I'll live thankfully.

Looking forward to the morning ahead at huddle, we also have a posh meal booked as a treat for Aryn has he didn't get a holiday with us, hopefully it'll be more of a success!

Here's to making it through the weekend on track, I'm gonna start with the last of my breakfast muffins, the tables booked for 1.45pm so they'll keep me going till then.

Enjoy your day, 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

 

First week on track completed!

Friday 24th February 2023

Start before you're ready!

Another day in the bag, I do believe that makes it a full week completely tracked and within my allowance, I've not done that in a while!  Here's hoping I can keep it up and see results and hopefully a drop in my pain levels.  

Yesterday was a busy day as Elle's been poorly so I was running solo, but it was all good, that's why there's two of us, so we can have time off now, unlike in our past jobs.

I'd already got my potato frittata muffins made so that was breakfast sorted.  

I nipped to the shop in-between meetings to get a bit of fruit, I was going to buy ready chopped but I couldn't bring myself to pay the price, so I grabbed a bunch of bananas (97p), apples (6 for £1) and a pineapple (95p), I know I need to eat some fruit for the fibre content and all the other benefits of course, I'm not a huge fan if I'm honest but I had the apple, had to take the peel off as it was sticky even after washing it - yak!  The banana was alright though, then I had a bowl of soup for lunch, half a carton of Chicken.

The other half of the carton, I used to make a tuna pasta bake, I used 150g Zenb pasta, 2 cans tuna, 150g garden peas and 90g cheddar, that made 3 decent sized portions.  I cooked the pasta with the peas, mixed in the tuna and soup, topped with cheese and popped in the oven for 15 minutes to brown, it was delicious.  I cooked some mushrooms and spinach to add to mine and added a ball of beetroot, the whole meal was 532 calories and 13.4g fibre thanks to the Zenb pasta.

 

I did enjoy a glass of wine as well before going to bed, all is good on the tracking front.

Today we're off out for a meal, Aryn's choice as is treat for the week, we're going to try the New Ivy House, looking at the online menu I might have Asian Style Fish, which is served with Singapore noodles drizzled with teriyaki sauce and a lime wedge, that sounds good and healthy-ish.

I've got the frittata muffins for breakfast after I've been swimming, at the minute I have a cat asleep on me so I need to solve that issue first!  

I did try to do the pilates yesterday but my knee was hurting too much so I only managed 5 minutes, I will keep trying, the inflammation is pretty severe in my legs the last few days, I'm hoping its down to things being moved about from my massage and it'll work itself out.  

Right let's get this Friday started!  I've put my positivity pants on and I'm ready for a good day, how about you?

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

You can't beat a good sleep...

Thursday 23rd February 2023

Here's to a day of PositiviTEA!

Started yesterday with an hour in the pool, walking and swimming up and down, next was our morning huddle, so it was eleven before I got breakfast, but it was worth waiting for, long may the enjoyment of omelette continue. 

  

I had potatoes that needed using so I decided to make potato frittata muffins, I made 16 using the following ingredients.  Cubed the potatoes and steamed them, I left the skin on them for added fibre.  Put the potato, diced onion, spinach in muffin cases, topped with egg and a bit of cheese with half a tomato on top.  Cooked for about 20 minutes at gas 180.  It made 16 at 93 calories each.

 

Tea was fish, mash and broccoli, I left some of it too - check me being full up!  I've just remembered to add the tartare sauce to my tracker.

 

Another day in the bag!  I'd say it was easy, but I'd be lying, temptation is everywhere, those muffins, I had two I could've eaten half dozen.  

I went to bed pleased with myself, I was absolutely shattered and it was only 7ish, but it wasn't long before I was asleep and damn I slept till my phone started ringing at 5.48 this morning, which is a good thing because I'd forgot to set my alarm!

Fantastic sleep, I may have woken but I've slept well too, finally coming out of the jetlag hopefully and get back to some normality with my sleep.  Although in the week going to bed early isn't a problem because if I get up early, I'm more likely to get stuff done in the mornings like going swimming and I want to start doing a bit of yoga, although I've been recommended pilates and I'm going to give this video APPI Beginner Matwork Class with Jacqui - YouTube a go, will try and do it today, would've done it this morning but not going to have time now as I'm still in my PJs.  

I'm feeling good, in control, long may it continue, yesterday as well as sticking to my calories, I drank water, I hit my step count target which is 6730 this week, set by the Better Health Rewards app, that's a Wolverhampton thing.  Yeah focusing on me, long may it continue!  

On that note, I better go get ready for work, here's to another great day.  I've not thought about my meals which for a Thursday isn't a great thing, but I have those potato egg muffins I can start with, then that tuna pasta salad maybe that I didn't make yesterday.  I've got soup I can have for lunch so all is good.  

Mwah, luv ya

love me xx

 

Midweek already!

Wednesday 22nd February 2023

Put yourself top of your to-do list!

Well I was very, very surprised yesterday at my results, I didn't feel like I'd gained weight on holiday so was pleased when I stepped on the scales Saturday in my jeans and having had breakfast to see I'd lost 1/2lb, but when I stepped on yesterday after being on track since Friday the scales said I'd lost another 4lb, WOW, catching up on my sleep by going to bed at silly early o'clock to try and sort the jet lag out has helped, really thinking about whether I want the food on offer has obviously helped even more.

4lb will be a one off, I'll be happy now with 1lb a week or anything to be honest, I just want to see results, I'm well aware I'm in the 'honeymoon' period of my weight loss journey, everyone can do it for a week or two, it's keeping it up that matters.  My pain is definitely motivating me and wanting to enjoy summer and our first holiday abroad with Aryn, I don't want to not be able to join in because I'm in so much pain.  I have my eye on a swimming costume at least one size smaller, do I buy one now as my motivation?   

Back to now though, I had another good day yesterday, great to be back at huddles seeing our members, catching up and getting back to normality.  

My food day looked like this; 

I started it with a scramlette, yep it was going to be an omelette but that didn't work, too much in the way of veggies in it to hold it together :) still look at all that lovely amount of goodness I managed to get into the pan.  

Lunch was a bowl of soup to tied me over until Aryn wanted pancakes which I knew he would.

 

Pancakes, let's just say, they are not my forte, even buying the ready made shaker, I still manage to mess it up and Aryn had a go at tossing them, the first was too thick to toss, the second one went on the floor, the third one was okay and he caught it, the fourth, well let's just not talk about it too much, as we poured it into the pan, flour came out too as the mix hadn't mixed enough, he ate it though.  I had a taste of two, so tracked a whole one to cover me.  

I really enjoyed my dinner, wanted to use the pittas I'd bought so Aryn had chicken fillet things in his, I had a couple of burgers in my I'd found in the freezer, they didn't look very appetising at all, but they tasted good enough.  I've just realised I haven't racked the salad cream so I will go and add that on.  Ah it's only 15 calories so that's okay.

 

I'm not keen on that bistro salad, dry beetroot sticks don't do it for me!

Aryn made himself some toast and put marmalade on one but didn't like it, so I ate the rest, all tracked and I grabbed a fish stick out the fridge.  Finished my day on track though and under budget, that number isn't a target, it's a guide.  

I've set my app for me to lose 1lb a week.  Just looking I only hit 4.2 portions of fruit and veg so that's something for me to work on for sure.  My fibre was 15.7g, guidelines 25g, I'm not too concerned about that from a going to the loo point of view (I don't have an issue there!) but fibre does fill you up, so there's a reason to aim for more. 

I might make a tuna pasta bake today to use up some of the stuff I have in the kitchen, plus there's a lot of fibre in the pasta I have, https://zenb.co.uk  it's not cheap but it's super packed with fibre which is good and I bought it on offer so got 40% off.

Yeah I'll batch cook some I think and freeze, make use of my afternoon, right now I have a large cat on my lap trying to stop me typing as he wants fussing, that's not making blogging easy so I think it's time to go lol.  At least he's settled now!

Let's have a great day, start questioning your thoughts if you're struggling with your food decisions, ask yourself 'why' and what are you getting from any bad choices your making.  This lark ain't easy but we can do it, the more we try the easier it will get.  

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x