Let's have a happy Monday!

Monday 31st July 2023

Last day of another month, July flew by didn't it? I made it through the month without gaining, woo hoo, I even lost weight, happy with that.  I'd be chuffed with an half pound loss tomorrow as we had another weekend full of alcohol and food!  I have to say I got a little drunk on Saturday night and I was hanging Sunday morning, that's not something I do often and it wasn't intentional.  I enjoy my red wine but I don't ever drink that much that I feel like that, turns out whisky two nights on the bounce wasn't the best idea.

I am proud of myself though because I didn't eat the kitchen Sunday morning, I rested temptation, drunk plenty of water and relaxed, then nipped to the shop and bought a chicken to make a simple roast dinner, I also made a beef stew to enjoy today. 

I had an uneventful, relaxed weekend which was very much needed, we just chilled out and watched tele yesterday, Saturday he serviced my car for me and that was about all we did.  Oh and a few machine fulls of clothes washing, that's a never-ending cycle isn't it. 

Today is a busy day, hospital appointment for Aryn, then he wants to go to the gym now he has 'proper' trainers.  I've then got my pain management appointment, Fridays included a bit of chair yoga which was great, but I have struggled with pain this weekend to the point of tears on Saturday afternoon through sheer frustration.  Bless one of the locals over the pub, we'd been there half hour and she came up behind me and said, 'We're leaving now you can have our chairs with the back on, I can see you're in pain", how nice was that!  It did help too. 

I'm going to plan our huddle chat next, I want to do a list of what's in my freezer to help with meal planning.  I still need to sort the spare room and I have ironing to do - boo.  Nothing 'exciting' happening in my word, sorry not sorry, I like this normalness. 

Here's to doing my best this week, I'm going to work harder on a weight loss for next week, no excuse of being too tired to care this week because we've rested all weekend.

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x

Friday ain't it!

Friday 26th July 2023

The best part of yesterday were the huddles - anyone want a teenager!  I even went to work to get away from the mood in the house and I looked forward to going to bed when I got home.  I finished watching Emily in Paris first though. 

Food wise, I knocked this up very quickly, after a failed trip to buy the boy trainers!  

For tea I had a badly made cheese toastie, this morning I'm going to have beans on toast, I just fancy them, I might even throw an egg on top.  I really need to go do some shopping my fridge is almost bare, the only thing in there are sauces, spread and a bit of cheese - sad times.  I also need to do an inventory of the freezer so that I know what I actually have in there. 

I'm going to knock together a pasta bake today for convenience, then we can eat that at any time and if there are any leftovers they can be frozen. 

Not sure what today looks like, we were going to the gym but I'm not sure what mood he'll wake up in or if he wants to do that anymore!  I've got my pain management later on this afternoon and hopefully himself will be home and not working tomorrow so they'll be someone in the house who likes me today lol. YAY to teenagers NOT!  I do wanna do a bit of sorting in the spare room too, might put my music on load and wake him up :) I know I'm extremely childish!

I'm gonna go get another cuppa, make my breakfast and enjoy a few hours of quiet and calmness.

Whatever your day looks like, enjoy and good luck x

Mwah, luv ya

Love me x

You can't beat supporting small, local businesses!

Thursday 27th July 2023

What a lovely day yesterday, after our huddle on the morning which I always enjoy, I nipped home to pick Aryn up and we went to the gym for a short session, he wants to get fit, but I'm not personal trainer so it was the blind leading the blind.  I did go and ask a member of staff who was in the office for a little advice and she was lovely, she said he shouldn't do weights until he's 16, but he can use his body weight and to focus on cardio, aiming to get up to 45 minutes and to get out of puff, so he can't say more than 5 words without struggling, to mix it up so he does the machines he enjoys.

We then went to find somewhere to eat and managed finally to park at Momma Sorrentis  which did not disappoint and we've found out that the church across the road is now permanently closed down so we can always park on their car park!  

Aryn had pizza, I opted for pasta and we were both impressed, I've never thought about putting pork in pasta but I will now, I'll add some chorizo to mine when I make it, I'm actually looking forward to having a go myself.  

 

For dessert Aryn had a home made eclair and I went for a cannoli with ricotta filling, oh how delicious, so light, Aryn had a big bite to try mine saving me a few calories. 

 

He also raved about their banana milkshake, so much so, he had a second one!  We will definitely go back, they've got a new menu coming out and I can't wait to try it.  She also does cooking classes which sound fun. 

Once home, I put together my new step stool for the kitchen which came and then I didn't do a fat lot of anything after that, I was in bed by half seven, was planning on continuing watching tele but I fell asleep, woke to a phone call just before 9 from himself, then slept till after midnight, waking another 2 or 3 times in the night but going back to sleep.  My fitbit says I had 8hrs 40m of good sleep, despite being awake for 1hr 39m, I'll take that, I feel good this morning, my pains not too bad at the minute thankfully, much better than yesterday morning. 

The vacuum cleaner is still in the hall, apparently I told him he could finish it tomorrow - I didn't mean he could leave it in the hall - deep sigh, you have to be specific in your communication don't you!

Right I need to go, I want a shower and I have to leave in just over an hour, here's to surviving another day, making good choices, there's a lamb thing in the fridge we could have, or I'll suggest pasta.  I have lots of beef mince in the freezer, I need to think of what to do with it.

Mwah, luv ya

Love me x

Domestic God!

Wednesday 26th July 2023

How pleased am I with a maintain on the scales yesterday!  VERY I won't lie, this week I'm going to work hard to getting at least 1/2lb off next week as I want to be in the next stone bracket down.  I'll be using the contents of my freezer to do that as my bank and my purse is quite empty but the freezer is full.  They'll be a long of fish in batter and chips I think.  Although I have a few packs of frozen chicken and mince, so I need to go through the freezer and get thinking.  I'd like a good clear out of cupboards and freezer to start afresh with new stock.

The rest of my day included 3 lovely huddles, a trip to the tip and cleaning, ma'an I struggle to clean with the pain in my back/leg which is very frustrating but I did get a good bit done, just kept taking breaks.  My kitchen now looks lovely, I do need to oil the worktops at some point though.  

Aryn got his 'I'm going to sort and tidy your house' head on, then when I came back from work and he'd been at it for 2.5 hours, he'd hoovered the hall, stairs and landing, and done this tidying, 

I do like the idea of rolling towels, I have to admit!

I obviously have too many spray bottles! 

he realised it's not that easy, you start doing one thing, then realise there's another job, then you clean the floor and the cats make another mess lol. 

This is how he left my hall when he went to bed; 

The funniest part was he sat down shattered and then realised he hadn't put his bedding back on his bed, so asked me if I'd put the quilt cover on but he bought the quilt out to me as I wasn't allowed in his bedroom, I'm guessing he hadn't got as far as tidying that room lol.

A good day all round, I'm off to get me another cuppa before going to work, here's to a great day.

Mwah, luv ya

Love me 

Counting my blessings!

Tuesday 25th July 2023

Well it's been a long weekend, I'm not gonna lie, I didn't track so we're back to day 1.  I wasn't ridiculously bad though, I just didn't do it.  I'm not good with tired and tired was definitely what I was, we only had 4 hours sleep two nights as we were travelling to and from Ireland, then you spend a day trying to get over it.  Got back yesterday and didn't get much done as was again super tired, was in bed asleep by half seven and slept for nine and a half hours!  Woke up with a bit of a head this morning, but it's gone now I've had a drink, bit dehydrated I reckon.  Oh I am ready to get back to our huddles though, looking forward to seeing everyone and stepping on the scales and taking whatever they say ready to sort it out. 

Foodwise, I didn't do badly, we did have a Chinese takeaway, I also took this with us from the freezer, it's leftover lamb diced up in the gravy from the dinner we had with the lamb that day.  I just added mash and peas, nice. those yorkies didn't survive, I'd left them in too long and they were so hard, Aryn reckons they were softer when they came out the freezer!

I finally got round to cooking the TikTok feta cheese, tomato and pasta dish, it was as good as I hoped it would be and I'd do it again.  So simple, roast cherry tomatoes with the feta block of cheese in the middle and some oil, salt and pepper.  Next cook your pasta, when it's all done, mix it together, I added basil leaves to mine but there's a few variations online. 

I did indulge in fish and chips on the ferry on the way home, but left half the chips and a third of the fish as it filled me up quickly.  

It was whilst sitting on the ferry that I saw the tickertape on Sky news say there were fires in Corfu, I messaged my brother who called me to confirm, they were close enough and sadly heading his way, they were going to sort passports and dogs just in case.  As you can imagine the rest of the night was me hoping they'd be okay.  We arrived home at 3am and grabbed a few hours sleep, he called around 7 to let me know they were staying put for now as it was chaos on the roads and he was going to help the firefighters as he knew where the wells  in the village were on their mountain.

Thankfully I've woken up this morning and seen a comment on my Facebook post saying it looks like they're going to save their village, which at one point it didn't look like they would. 

Puts everything into perspective doesn't it.  We had rain all weekend as I believe you did here and I'm okay with that.  I laughed when Elle messaged and said 'what's Ireland like in the summer', my reply, 'the same as in the winter apparently, raining' lol.

Yesterday was back to normal, Aryn had the dentist and his hair cut (all of an inch off his shoulder length hair!), I went to my pain management group, managed to do most of the exercises, she tailored a couple for me thankfully.

Right, let's do this day!  I've not planned food at all but there's plenty in the freezer so we won't starve I'm sure!

Oh we bought a tractor - as you do!  He hired a super dooper lawnmower for the lawn but it wasn't doing it, so he said he was taking it back, then going to look at old tractors and yep, he came back with one that had a mower attachment on the back!  Oh and the biggest smile on his face!

 At least it means he's now agreed to getting double glazing at the bungalow in Ireland :) he gets a tractor, we get a warmer home there - bargain! 

There's so much I wanted to do whilst there but my body just won't let me - it's so damn frustrating. I really hope this pain management course helps me long term so I can get back to a place where I can do some maintenance of the house, a bit of painting etc.

I am off now, need a shower and another mug of tea - not at the same time of course. 

Mwah, luv ya

Love me x

Another day, a little healthier...

Thursday 20th July 2023

Day 25 of tracking

Well it's a short one from me today as I've lots to do, but I'm on day 25 of tracking 100%, honestly however I need the numbers to come back down!  I've got a little cocky since Tuesday, losing that 1.5lb when I'd gone over most days, ,even though my sensible brain knows it's actually catch up from the really, good week I had the week before.  I need to get back on track and within my allowance.

I did go to the gym after our lovely huddle, well I say gym, I went swimming, managed just over half hour, did half mile, I decided against the gym as I don't want to overdo it, too much, too soon. My shoulders hurt from the swim and my leg still hurts all the time anyways. 

I've slept well, if a little less than I'd planned as Aryn came to have a chat when I was about to go up :) he had his school end of year report yesterday and to say he only started in January, it was excellent, we're so proud of him.  

His reward supper was a Tim Hortons Frappe and a Extra Large 16" Stuffed Crust Pepperoni Plus Pizza without onions from our local Pizza Supremo, so difficult to resist having a slice off him, I cut a sliver, which wasn't even an inch wide, delicious.   There has to be almost 3,000 calories in one of those!  How is he under 10 stone?

The rest of my day was just getting stuff done, ready for a busy few days ahead.  My MRI scan appointment arrived, it's bank holiday weekend on a Sunday morning 8am, no weekend away for us that weekend now.

That's me done, need to get ready for work, things to do and all that, I don't like this adulting sometimes, I wished I had someone else doing everything for me :) 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

Getting there 1lb at a time.

Wednesday 19th July 2023
Day 24 of tracking today

I was super pleased I lost weight yesterday, especially after my eating out at the weekend, however remember I had a truly excellent week the week before and lost a mere 1/2lb, so it obviously caught up proving our bodies aren't machines and sometimes the results take time.  

We're not machines either and this is my weight loss card proving that weight loss isn't a one way journey!  I've managed to lose half stone in the last month, but I've had the gains too, thanks to holidays and special occasions.  

This will most definitely spur me on, tracking is 100% making a difference to me because it's making me address exactly what I'm consuming - ignorance isn't bliss.  Ignorance for me has caused me to gain weight, quite a lot over the last decade but damn I'm doing my best to try and get it off again!  Hopefully into the next stone bracket next week or the week after - no pressure, just doing my best. 

No food photos from yesterday, I had an M&S chicken tikka massala, it should serve two, but I didn't have rice, I had a couple of slices of bread with it.  Really tasty, just what I fancied and very filling, I even left some - check me out, listening to my stomach when it says "I'M FULL - STOP!"

I cooked a Gousto meal for when Aryn got back from his trip and left it on the side, forgot the photo, but he ate it, he was in bed when I got home, obviously a tiring day :) I've froze the rest, I wasn't hungry after my late lunch.  here's the recipe for the recipe

and here's the link for the offer 

I'm definitely going swimming today!  Will try to do a little in the gym first, the bike seemed to be okay, we shall see, a few stretched maybe, although I did a few stretches before I got out of bed, then limped down the stairs and round the kitchen - DOH!  

Loved the huddles yesterday, talking stress, which is reminding me that worrying about things doesn't change the situation so it's pointless doing it.  Here's to a no stressing day about anything, not even how many calories are in things or how long it's going to take me to lose weight.  One day at a time! 

Mwah, luv ya

Love me x

Staying focused on my WHY!

Tuesday 18th July 2023

Day 23 of tracking ahead

A good day yesterday, life anyway, food wise let's say not the best choices so I ended 138 calories over my allowance but I was reminded once again why I need to eat better.  I had a bacon and egg sandwich which gave me terrible heartburn, won't be doing that again in a hurry!  After I'd took Aryn shopping for clothes, we asked if he could have a burger king, when we looked on the app, you got a free whooper if you spent £3, so that was my tea, a whooper, I have to say it was very tasty, 601 calories, so higher than a big mac but really tasty.  Thankfully there aren't that many around for him to request one too often :) 

I forgot to mention I had my appointment with the rheumatology consultant on Saturday, he's sending me for a MRI scan, he agreed the trauma (accident when I fell of longboard) has most likely caused the damage, he believes I have nerve damage in my spine, probably around L5.  Thankfully, he doesn't think I have rheumatoid arthritis, he was more inclined to think it was osteo arthritis.  Anyway, he said we'd wait for the MRI and then he'd see me again, absolute worse case scenario is a referral to Orthopedic surgeon but then I'd have to think carefully about surgery on my spine - NAH, I don't think I want that!  

He also said he would prescribe me Amitriptyline to help me sleep if I wanted it, so that my body could heel and I get 'better' sleep, but I don't think I want to take them after doing a little research, there is a mention that they can cause seizures in epileptics and that's me and I'm not risking that for a good nights sleep!  I get enough sleep, it may be broken but I manage and when I've looked on my fitbit, it's well within the benchmark for a women of my age - although does any women my age get good sleep lol.

My pain management appointment went well, I managed to do the exercises standing up this time, I also managed 18 minutes on an air bike, thankfully that position didn't causes me any pain whilst doing it.  I'm hoping losing some more weight will help reduce the pain on both my back and my knee, so I need to get back within my calorie allowance and lose some more weight.  

I wanted to go swimming yesterday morning but my back was really hurting, it's gone okay now, so I'll go tomorrow afternoon.  I now have a few exercises I can do at home too, so I'll try and do a few this afternoon between huddles.  It doesn't have to be an hour I've realised, just 5-10 minutes helps, stretching is gonna be my new favourite thing too, because that pain down my left leg has caused me to sit more and it all needs stretching out. 

What to eat today, I need to be very careful here because the fridge if full of delicious food and I need to not try to eat it all in a day!  I want chicken tikka masala which is 608 calories - ouch!  I'll work round that I think.  We shall see because I have Gousto too that need cooking.  Will reorganise the freezer to make space to freeze some of the food that came last night, I got carried away because I had a £15 voucher and then there were offers, so I got £100 worth of food for £63 from Ocado.  Had to be done, although now I'm super skint, doh!  I don't need to buy anything else for a couple of weeks now though.  

Well I'm through boring you, I'll get on with my day, we're talking stress this week in our huddles, that'll be interesting.

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me 

Eating out is rarely low calorie!

Monday 17th July 2023

I can't remember what day of tracking I'm on & I won't keep going back on my blogs to work it out :) but I'm still doing it, even when it's way too many calories, I've gone over my allowance and I'm having to guestimate the totals!  All of which I had to do this weekend...

We had a Chinese takeaway on Saturday, again The Golden Wok off Stubby Lane did not disappoint, absolutely delicious, freshly cooked and hot, delivered quickly too.  I wasn't ridiculously bad, I had egg fried rice, a spoon of chow mein, a pancake roll and I tried one of his pork balls which were huge.  That more than took me off the scales calorie wise, did you know a small silver foil tray of egg fried rice (365g) has 679 calories in it!  That's my favourite when I have a takeaway, I love it with red sauce!  Their pancake rolls are huge, Nutracheck doesn't have pancake rolls in the takeaway section surprisingly, but even if they did, I doubt they'd match those, which weigh 170g each, comparing to shop bought ones, I'm guessing they're about 400-500 calories which is why they taste absolutely incredible, all those crunchy veggies and beansprouts, mmm.  No photos, sorry was too busy eating! 

Sunday I drove himself back to work and he took us all for lunch at the Red Iion in Cranford, so a bit of a trek from here but wow, delicious again and £30 for 3 courses, not a bad price for posh nosh.  I had this; 

 

Scallops, black pudding, samphire in Nduja butter

 

Cheese and onion pie with Yorkshire, roast potatoes, parsnip, veggies and gravy.  I resisted the cauliflower cheese, a) because there was so much food but b) because I just don't think it should be on a roast dinner with gravy, I love cauli cheese but on its own.  The boys had belly pork which looked amazing.  I only hate half the pie because I really fancied a brownie for pudding. 

I didn't expect all that on the top of it lol, I really don't like smarties at the best of times, so I scrapped them off, Aryn had the chocolate flake, I ate half the brownie and the ice cream and I was stuffed, didn't eat again the rest of the day, I could barely breathe driving home.  

I have to show you the lads dinner, oh my days look at the crackling on that and their puddings too; 

 

How good do that all look!  Just another reason I'll never be skinny again...

If I do manage a loss this week, it'll be because of how good I was the week before, so we shall see.  It doesn't look great does it!  

 

I consumed 12,504 over the week, obviously Sat/Sun were guestimated, there was no way of getting it 100% accurate, my fit bit says I burned 15,924 so I can live in home I sneak a loss, but I'll take whatever on the chin. 

Today, I will improve those numbers and have a good day, I've got a busy day too as I've got to take Aryn shopping for clothes after school, he's outgrown everything and is off to Drayton Manor with school tomorrow so needs something to wear so he doesn't look like a homeless kid!  I've also got my pain management appointment this afternoon and getting chat ready for huddle.  There is housework still waiting, but it might have to wait a little longer.

Here's to a great day, despite the weather, although we might not have rain here today for a change!  

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x

Give yourself a lil love x

Saturday 15th July 2023

Day 20 of tracking 110% about to commence.

Well my planned day got changed the minute I stopped blogging yesterday!  For the better this time though, I'd just been messaging back a member and it reminded me that I too should remember to make time for me, so I decided the housework could wait, I was going to go and have a few hours to myself and I enjoyed every minute of it.  I went to the McArthurGlen Outlet in Cannock for a mooch around.  I even treated myself, bagged me a pair of baggy Levi's for £20, I don't want to spend more because I'm hoping they won't fit me by Christmas or they'll need a belt!  Then I had a pair of gym leggings and trainers from Adidas for the gym and this 12 week pain management thing.  I was chuffed with the trainers, they were reduced from £178 to £28 and I got another 10% discount - bargain, I had a pair of joggers from Ted Baker too, they're mens but I really liked them, I was going to give the to himself but I'm undecided at the minute because I can get them on and I'm funny about joggers, so he may have lost them before he even received them.

I picked up a bucket from KFC for my sister on the way home and I was good, I just had a couple of drumsticks, resisted the other one and put it in her bucket.  Oh I did track everything again and I was within my allowance, I actually pulled back 220 which is good for a Friday.

The rest of my day included my pain management class, that was a chat, then a short circuit workout which I had to mostly do sitting, but it's helped me to realise even seated exercise will help me, no matter how short the workout.  

I didn't cook at all yesterday, for tea I had one of these for 220 calories, I wasn't keep on the bacon flavour, but I do like Idahoan mash usually.

I wasn't really hungry yesterday, unlike the day before, it's good to listen to your belly sometimes!

Got a busy day ahead, our wonderful huddle this morning, then an appointment with the Rheumatology consultant, followed by our bed being delivered - yay, no more sleeping on the sofa!  OH I do hope this appointment moves us forward in a positive direction.  The previous physio said I have radicular pain in my back, basically a trapped nerve / herniated disk, they're all different terms used for the same kind of thing, but he also believed I have Rheumatoid arthritis causing my other pains, we shall see, after all it could be menopause as that can cause pain.  I know my knee is genuine wear and tear because that's been shot since my 20s and it's just got worse.   At least I managed to do 9k steps yesterday walking round the shops, it hurt, at times I had to scooch down in the shops or find a seat for a moment, but I managed.  I struggled at the pain management thing because by then I'd already caused the pain to increase, very frustrating but I'll keep doing what I can to improve it. 

Not sure about the rest of the weekend, but I think it might involve driving him back to work Sunday so both cars aren't at his workplace!  He really knows how to show me a good time :) 

Ah the washing machines just beeped, so I'll go and sort that, here's to a great day, try to take a bit of time for you, you're important too!  

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

Every day doesn't have to be a 'perfect' day

Friday 14th July 2023

Here's to Day 19 of tracking

Well yesterday was an epic fail in staying within my daily allowance but it was a success because I tracked every mouthful!  What went wrong?   It all started with my desire for a sausage sandwich....

All I wanted was a couple of slices of medium bread and sausages, nothing too difficult but cafes use thick bread - yak and Greggs for some reason give you the choice of baguette or cob/roll whatever you call them.  I decided in the end to have the Greggs baguette, so off I walked from the huddle and when I got to the counter I said to the chap, 'you don't do sausage sandwiches do you?' to which he smiled and said, "yeah I can do you a sausage sandwich", well, to say I was pleased was an understatement.  Oh the joy was short lived as I noticed him putting sausage on a roll!  I hadn't the heart to tell him that wasn't a sandwich so I paid and took it.  Greggs call that a Breakfast Sausage Sandwich Roll apparently and it's 353 calories.  Normally their sausages are good but these were small and mediocre, to say I was disappointment well gutted - I know I'm dramatic. 

I decided I would have sausage and mash for my dinner, the Co-op do lovely sausages so I nipped over when I got back from the huddles and bought some, threw the sausage in the actifry whilst peeling the spuds.  Got distracted and was just about to check my spuds when I looked at the actifry, 2 minutes left, I knew before I opened the lid, they were overcooked!  The Ninja defaults to 20 minutes unless you change it and of course I hadn't, so yeah they were too far gone :( the sausage gods were against me.  Hah but I'd bought two packets because they were 2 for £5, I wasn't going to be defeated so I started again and thankfully the second time I succeeded and my dinner was delicious.

I had already eaten 2 of those overcooked sausages though whilst I was waiting for these ones to cook - DOH!

Later Carol and I decided to have a too good to go bag from the Coop on the Turnberry, £3.30 for £10 worth of stuff - that was another mistake, mine contained a 400g white loaf, a tomato and mozzarella pasta ready meal, a Gingster chicken and mushroom slice,  toffee yogurt and cocktail sausage.  Carol's was similar but the slice was replaced by a pork pie and the bread by soda bread rolls.    None of it 'healthy' really and guess who inhaled the Gingster slice when she got home - yep more calories wasted.

A truly heavy carb day for me, I couldn't fill myself up, but today is a new day and a fresh clean slate.  I'm going to cook something delicious so I don't want to carb up!  I'm actually thinking scrambled eggs and tomato for breakfast, then I need to think about dinner.  I fancy some sardines in tomato sauce, mmm but for dinner I have wraps that need using, there's also beef mince from the Gousto meal I didn't cook, I could make that still, spiced beef kofta, I just don't fancy it.  I might make burritos for Aryn with them, he likes those, can use all the spices from the Gousto meal just not add the onion as he doesn't like them anyway and I used them in my onion gravy yesterday :) 

A few people have said how nice the curry looked the other day, here's the recipe Cambodian Chicken & Mango Curry | Gousto and if you do fancy trying the boxes, here's the link 

Here's the Hello Fresh link for 60% and 25% for ten week

I'm ready for a better food day, I've got my pain relief session later, but this morning I'm going to do some serious housework, the kitchen worktops can't be seen for clutter!  I am a messy bird.

Have a great day, YAY it's Friday! 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx 

I will keep tracking and doing my best!

Thursday 13th July 2023

Another day of tracking ahead, I forget the total :) my memory sucks!

Another day 100% tracked honestly, I did go over my total by 206 calories because I had wine!  My plan is to not drink in the week but I'd painted all the fence panels down the left of our garden (8 of them!) when I got back from work on the morning, and I was in agony.  I struggled to make dinner taking painkillers then decided I was gonna have some wine, a) because I really like it, b) to numb the pain a little c) to help me sleep on this bloody sofa and it worked!  Although I didn't get to go to sleep till after ten because bless him Aryn sat chatting with me for a couple of hours, I do love it when he's in a chatty mood, he such a funny lad and hearing his stories from school are entertaining. 

Food wise I was healthy at least, I really enjoyed this breakfast, the breads wholemeal and from a 400g loaf so that helps keep the calories down and I was full afterwards.

lunch was 25g porridge, 100g low fat Greek yogurt, 100g raspberries and a banana all smashed up together in a bowl, you don't need a photo of that :) but it tastes really good and I'm eating it because apparently it's a great combination for lowering cholesterol and having other benefits.  I'm really trying to add foods in that will help my health not just taste good, I really want to be healthy and help my pain issues. 

Dinner was this plate of wonderfulness, yep mango with chicken in a mild curry works.  It was mild because i didn't add so much of the green chilli, I'm a light weight with chilli and I have control in the kitchen.  

  

Here's the link for the offer and thanks to those who have used it to trial Gousto as it's given me free food which of course helps me financially.  65% off first box, then 25% for 2 months

I snacked on a couple of crackers with a cheese triangle and that was my day in food.  Movement wise, I did 6240 steps with 49 active minutes, Fitbit says I burned 2,462 calories and Nutracheck says I ate1,740 so at least I did good there.  

I'm craving a sausage sandwich this morning, I've wanted on for days now, just looked and a Greggs sausage breakfast roll is 388, but it's the baguette I usually would have and that's 558, that's a lot isn't it.  I need a cafe that does a sandwich, or I need sausages to make my own, I don't think I have any in the freezer unfortunately.  Ah well, eggs again maybe!  

I've got one Gousto meal left to cook, so we'll have that today, 676 calories for spiced beef kofta wraps with harissa yoghurt.  They look tasty but if I'm honest I don't fancy beef again, I might make them for Aryn and freezer the rest and have some fish myself, ooo I could have fish in wraps, mmm yes possibly.

I've just realised whilst chatting to himself that I haven't had a mug of coffee for over a week, I've been drinking 2 mugs of tea in the morning then water.  I might go make me a mug, get some caffeine in my body. 

On that note, here's to a great day, a wine free day for me and hopefully a busy day in the huddles.

Mwah, luv ya

Love me x

Of course it isn't easy!

Wednesday 12th July 2023

Day 17 of tracking begins

I'm not gonna lie, when I stood on the scales yesterday morning and they didn't show a difference, I was disappointed, I went for a wee and managed to lose half a pound, still not thrilled by that but I took a breathe and inputted my weight into the nutracheck app and bless it for giving me this message.

I've lost 5.5lb in 3 weeks and been tracking for over 2 weeks, I feel more in control and that I'm taking care of myself and prioritising my health.  Self-care is being made a priority, but let's be honest changes take time and creating new habits need to be done one at a time. 

I had a very, good on track day yesterday, ending on 1113 calories and enjoying my dinner a lot!  I didn't enjoy the lunch thing I threw together, I'd nipped in Lidl for raspberries and spotted beansprouts, thinking I've got mushrooms that need using, I'll make a veggie stir fry for hardly any calories with a bit of hoisin sauce.  Oh my, WHY would I do that, let's just say, it was not chow mein!

I left half of it and had a couple of crackers with a cheese triangle on it instead! 

Dinner on the other hand was delicious, another easy to make recipe from Gousto,  Quite high in calories for 715 but filling and tasty.  Gousto offer link to try them yourself

     

Gousto offer link to try it for yourself

I got peckish later, not sure if I was hungry or just wanted food and knowing I was under 1,000 calories decided it was okay, so I had a cheese triangle and tomato sandwich before settling down on the sofa for the night.  It was more comfortable to sleep on than the floor in the bedroom - roll on Saturday when the bed arrives!

I asked in my image above 'what does your self-care look like today?"  Mine is going to include, cooking a healthy meal, having an early night and maybe going swimming or if it stays dry I'm going to tackle painting a panel or two up the garden.  I know painting in the garden doesn't sound like self-care but for me it's movement, getting outside and proving to myself I can still do stuff despite my pain.  I'll also enjoy my book whilst painting as it's audio, I do love a good naff easy read feel good book.

Cambodian style chicken thigh and mango curry for dinner today, I fancy that, it's only 522 calories too, although it does use a little vegetable oil which will add a few more calories to the dish.  Now to decide on breakfast, I'm thinking oats with raspberries or eggs as they need using.  I guess I could have one for breakfast and one for lunch, yeah I've just tracked all three and it's all within my allowance because I'm not having any wine.

I'm hugely surprised at how easily I've managed to stop drinking wine in the week because I love it, but I have and it's saving me plenty of calories which I'm using on healthy foods that will hopefully help my body recover.

I chased the rheumatology appointment call I was supposed to get on Monday and finally I have an appointment for this Saturday after work, here's hoping we're making some headway and getting somewhere.  

Weight loss might be more difficult as we get older, hormonal, menopausal or maybe it just feels that way, either way, it is still possible.  The trick is to focus on taking care of yourself, focusing on the healthy and the weight loss will become a side effect.  

It's too easy to think 'sod it' or 'it's my age' or whatever reason you choose, I should know, I've been doing it for months / years, but it's got to stop.  I deserve to take care of myself!  Don't you?

Mwah, luv ya

Love me x