Another small victory!

27th August 2015

Work on a new you, not because the old you is bad but because the old you can improve!

So my small victory yesterday was to have a bowl of soup and two rounds of toast for my tea instead of the kebab and chips I wanted!  Yep, the chip shop is right across the road from my meeting and they've even started doing yellow chips, I was more than tempted, but nope I resisted and came home and had soup.  What was your small victory yesterday?  I wasn't perfect yesterday, I don't think I'm likely to be perfect for a while yet, but I'm improving and that's what matters.  Actually thinking back yesterday wasn't bad at all, although I didn't track, and I promised too didn't I!  I ate a slice of fruit loaf (3pp) and a slice of toast for breakfast (3pp), with an orange and my nutribullet drink.  The I had two bars at the meeting that a member had bought me so that was 4pp and a hot chocolate for another 1pp - ouch!  For lunch with had a chicken salad sandwich, 8pp, with a skinny cappuccino 1pp and at my evening meeting I had a packet of Fruit bears 1pp, then my soup and toast 8pp and a glass of wine 6pp.

There I've just tracked, and that adds up to 35pp, I'm pleased with that to be honest, if I'd had a kebab that alone would have been 30ish, then the chips another 15 or so depending on how many I'd had.  Yep, feeling good about my mid week tracker, I wasn't swayed by the tired at all yesterday and I had an early night so I'm ready to take on my really busy day, 5 Weight Watchers classes and a drive to Stoke for a 2 hour meeting in the middle!  I need to think about my eating.  I think for tea when I get home I'll grab a meal out of the freezer, might take it out this morning so I know it's there, that'll stop me from picking up a KFC or a chippy on the way home from my evening meeting. 

I might stop at the garage this morning and pick up a readymade sandwich for lunch as I don't have enough bread and if I buy early I won't be as tempted as if I stop on Motorway at lunchtime!  Forward thinking helps see, knowing yourself and your likely behaviour helps even more.  Don't pretend you won't succumb to things you know you're going to be tempted by, I'm not one for testing my willpower - I don't really have much where foods concerned, it's easier not to put myself in the position.  I'll get me some ready prepared fruit too, that'll give me something to nibble on.  Might even buy the bread and meat and throw the sandwich together myself if they haven't got any healthy stuff.  No, sorted, I'm going to hard boil some eggs to take with me because they need using and I'm trying to use the contents of my cupboards.  I can stop to buy bread and I'll make egg sarnies in the car ;) no one else will be there so the smell won't matter!

There, that took me minutes to plan and has given a plan, and when I've followed that plan I'll have another small victory or two to celebrate tomorrow.

What was your small victory yesterday, it doesn't have to be some grand gesture, it's the little things that add up.  Something like getting an unexpected gain at the scales but not letting it set you back, or starting the day with a pint of water and making sure you had your 2 litres by the end of the day.  Anything that helped you stay on track and heading towards that next weight loss.

Right I'm off, lots to do, need to stay focused, not use a very busy, long nonstop day take me off track.  I'm praying there isn't any food goodies at the meeting I'm at this afternoon because that will test me beyond belief, free food when I'm peckish is lethal.  I'll stay strong!  Have a great day BeYOUtiful, we can do this...

Gluten free and a stack of meat!

26th August 2015

There is no fun in perfection!

Well they rain woke me up this morning!  That was quite a downpour, I had to go and make sure there was nothing on the floor in the alley to soak up the rain, there was, so luckily I got there in time - phew!

I was asked yesterday about buffet food for gluten free people, I'm not going to lie I was a bit stumped so I've googled this morning, gluten free is becoming an increasingly popular form of dietary requirement and worth knowing a little about if you entertain I guess. 

Remembering sometimes you don’t have to buy expensive alternatives or read food labels to find gluten free products as some are gluten free naturally. I’m talking about any fresh meat, vegetables, fruit, rice, potatoes, pulses and fish!  Unfortunately for Coeliacs they don’t just avoid wheat and gluten, but also avoid; Rye, Barley, Oats, Spelt and Kamut. So remember to look out for these ingredients if you’re catering for a Coeliac.

So you can cater for them quite easily if you think a little beforehand, and remember google is a great tool!  I did wonder about the sweet stuff because of the flour thing, after all everyone likes a bit of something sweet and yes there are recipes online for that, one I found I'd be tempted with myself was;

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies, makes approx 20, 3pp each, 2 for 7pp

260g peanut butter (44pp)

200g caster sugar (22pp)

1 egg (2pp)

Prep:10min  ›  Cook:8min  ›  Ready in:18min 

Preheat oven: 190°C, 375°F, Gas 5

1. Put peanut butter, sugar and egg into a large mixing bowl and mix together. Leave to stand for 5 minutes to firm up.
2. {'Roll into small balls and place on cookie sheet. Flatten with bottom of drinking glass dipped in sugar (wf.org says': 'we used the back of a spoon without the extra sugar).'}
3. Bake for 7-10 minutes. When you remove them from the oven leave the cookies on the tray for a few minutes to make sure that they set, otherwise they crumble while still hot, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.

Thanks to Sue Moore in beautiful Arizona for sending us this amazingly simple cookie recipe. Sue says "This sounds like a joke, but it makes fabulous cookies! I've been making them for years - long before I found out I have a wheat allergy"
These cookies come in at approximately 118 calories each if you make 20.

Although they'd have to be made when there was people around to share, 20 cookies just sitting there, asking for trouble that!

There are recipes and ideas on the Weight Watchers website for gluten free and other dietary requirements, it's always a good place to go. 

One of my members also received delivery of the 50% off Extra Lean Meat Selection Was £112.07 NOW £55.00 off that's on Weight Watchers rewards site this week, they've have teamed up with the guys at MuscleFood, the multi-award winning lean meat specialists, to bring this exclusive offer* straight from the fridge, to your door.

Perfect for throwing on the BBQ, or using in your favourite Weight Watchers recipe, the 50 Piece, Ultimate Extra Lean Meat Selection includes:

• 24 x Premium Chicken Breasts
• 4 x 6-7oz Irish Grass Fed Rump Steaks
• 4 x 6-7oz Irish Grass Fed Hache Steaks
• 12 x 75g Chicken Breast Sausages (only 1.1g Fat)
• 2 x 400g Extra Lean Steak Mince (only 4.2% Fat)
• 2 x 4oz Extra Lean Steak Burgers
• 400g Extra Lean Diced Steak
• 300g Extra Lean Chicken Breast Mince

and:

• 1 x Award Winning Seasoning
• 2 x £5 Muscle Food Vouchers
• 1 x £6.75 Salmon Fillet Voucher Delivered Fresh
• Free Super Chilled Delivery

If you're not yet registered, sign up here http://www.weloverewards.com/weightwatchers/register/  with your email address and your Monthly Pass ID number to take advantage of this, and many other exclusive offers!  If you're a weekly payer just contact your leader for the password.

She said it was a good buy, there are lots of other things there too, I must go and check it out myself!  Anyway I'm in danger of turning this blog into a walking advert, but I think sometimes we don't read our emails because we're so busy.

Talking of busy, I have so much to do this week, I need to get to it, I managed to do a full on track day yesterday thought, used the meat I'd defrosted, we had turkey burgers, used my new burger press and for tea I stir fried my chicken and it with salad and a bowl of my homemade soup, bacon and mushroom this time I've made. 

Enjoy your day BeYOUtiful, remember to make memories as well as meals! 

Loving my life, let's get this day started.

25th August 2015

Be thankful for what you are now, and keep fighting for what you want to be tomorrow.

I had a great day yesterday, mostly spent up the garden painting my new greenhouse that my brothers building me from pallet and scrap wood, he's so clever!  It's going to be awesome when it's finished and yes of course it's being painted green, seagrass green actually but what other colour would you paint a greenhouse, can you tell I'm really thrilled with it and can't wait to be able to potter in the garden, even on a dull day and grow some seeds and plants of my own. 

 So far so good! just a door and windows needed now!

Because I was consumed by what I was doing, my breakfast of nutribullet drink (spinach/pear/banana/kiwi) and my orange kept me going to about 2ish, then I had a bowl of the soup I'd made with a couple of slices of low cal bread and that kept me satisfied till I finished out there about five.  After a long soak in the bath, I couldn't be bothered to cook and I wasn't overly hungry but I knew if I left it, I'd be hungry in a few hours.  No bread left so I just ate ham from the packet and had a packet of salted microwave popcorn.  Bit of a random food day I guess but at least I got some fruit and veg down me, there was courgette and onion in the soup.

A healthy balanced diet doesn't have to be perfect, if you're not hungry one day, it's good to listen to your body, we don't have to eat 3 square meals every day.  It's good sometimes to wait for your body to tell you that you're hungry not a clock.  When I had my soup yesterday, I actually realised I was hungry, that doesn't happen very often which is one of the reasons I love manual labour because it's one way to work up a real appetite.

What it does mean now though is I have both defrosted turkey mince and chicken in my fridge to use up today as one was meant for yesterday, I'll cook them both and one can be for tomorrow if need be.  I really need a loaf too, I'm improving though because that loaf yesterday had been in the house a week!  What scares me is it was still edible, makes me wonder what preservatives were in it!

I've got to be super organised this week as it's going to be a really busy one, 13 meetings, a business trip to Stoke, an afternoon of bowling and Nandos with my bestie and her kids and then once I've done my last cover meeting on Saturday, I shall be promoting my new meeting open the next Saturday, so lots of delivering leaflet and walking the streets ;) earning activity ProPoints. Then Sunday/Monday we might get to finish the greenhouse. 

I'll be having me a few early nights I reckon so I keep the energy levels up and I'll also need to get some planning into my meals, but to be fair, everything in the freezer and kitchen is healthy so should be okay whatever we make, just need to ensure I take stuff out to defrost, so turkey burgers or some kind of lasagne, burgers will mean a trip to buy bread or buns of some sort, unless we have them with salad instead or rice, I guess it doesn't have to involve bread, I do like the sound of a burger on a bun though and we do need bread, can't be leaving mom without the one ingredient she can make a meal of if I'm out.

Anyway, I managed to finished Monday within budget, so here's to Tuesday on track, I'm gonna check my eat out guide for Nando's and pre plan it so I stay on track. 

Just realised this weekend is a Bank Holiday, the last one of the year, we can survive it on track can't we BeYOUtiful?  Yeah course we can, I've woke up this morning full of life and raring to go!

Begin, continue or restart - it's all good!

24th August 2015

Your body is what makes you sexy.  Your smile is what makes you pretty. But your personality is what makes you BeYOUtiful!

Well I managed to lose 1/2lb, I'll take that, as long as it's going in the right direction, that's all that matters.  I'm guilty of not tracking again since Thursday, I work out how many ProPoints in what I'm eating but then don't write it down.  That's my commitment this week, to track, to make sure it all gets written down, most likely on my phone as it's with me all the time.

The giant courgette has been put to rest, I cut it in half and shared with my brother, the middle bit was too spongy to use but I made a delicious soup with it, I fried the diced courgette with 250g bacon medallions (8pp) and an onion in 2tbsp of olive oil (8pp), added 5 x chicken oxo cubes (2pp) and water and whizzed it up, absolutely lush, there's at least 8 servings in the pan, so only 2pp a bowl, really worth it.  Yes you could've made it without the oil but that's what adds to the flavour.

Every Sunday someone posts on Facebook, "I've wasted my ProPoints and eaten a load of crap" or words similar, the thing about 'crap' is it usually tastes nice, it's usually unplanned because said person was hoping not to succumb to any at all.

High expectations can be our downfall, if we set our sights too high, chances are we'll not reach those expectations, feel like a failure and end up doing even more damage!  Now I don't know about you, but I like a bit of crap now and again and I never beat myself up for having it, which actually results in me not having it that often anymore because I give myself permission to indulge if that's what I want.   It's okay to eat a bit of what you fancy, why not plan it and actually enjoy it, rather than feeling guilty about it.  Everything you eat doesn't have to be good for you, if it's not healthy on your body, it could be having a healthy effect on your mind!

Mom had a packet of biscuits on the side the other day and I remember thinking to myself, oh they're not very nice biscuits, I'm not keen on them, they were the round iced ones with a hole in, party rings I think they're called.  Well I looked and they appeared to have shrunk in size too.  Of course my greedy, curious gremlin had to try one to see if they were still not nice, and guess what, they were that particular kind of sweet, the one I don't actually like, but feel compelled to have another one!  6 biscuits later, I decided that would be my breakfast then, who needs eggs on a Saturday morning anyway!  Now some would consider that 6pp wasted on crap, I saw it as a reminder that 6pp of over sweet biscuits aren't all they're cracked up to be, don't last that long and the memory is soon gone.  I won't be eating them again, any time soon.  I will be asking my mom to move her biscuit tin from the kitchen table though as it's way too easy to walk in the kitchen, take one out and eat it, yeah I did that a couple of times yesterday, there are better biscuits in there now!   Yeah once you start that sweet tooth, it's hard to get rid of it, so the biscuit tin will be moved this morning, out of sight is out of mind.  I wouldn't have any of it in my house if it wasn't for mom, I can't eat what isn't there is my motto!

Monday morning already, where did that weekend go!  My brother made a good start on my greenhouse before rain stopped play, I managed to get a bit of gardening done too, I've got rid of my herb garden as I never use them and I've filled the drum  with pansies, so they should look really pretty once they flower.  I'm just waiting to get my bulbs now and then it'll be all ready for the pretty next spring.

I might have a proper breakfast this morning, or maybe I'll have it for my dinner, bit of soup for lunch and just start the day with my nutribullet drink and a large orange, we shall see.  I'm going to go check what's left in the freezer and cupboard and plan some meals for the week I think.  Yeah I'm off to do that now, I might even clear off the kitchen table whilst I'm down there and move those biscuits.

Here's to a great start to the week, tracking whatever I eat, getting an hour or two in the garden if the rain stays away, however your weekend went, here's to making Monday count, you can do it BeYOUtiful.