Signing a contract...

27th December 2016

Believe in yourself and you will be unstoppable.

Today is the first Tuesday this year that I don't have to get up and go to work, I'm still up at the same time though, my body clock just likes to wake up in the morning and go to bed early.  Now my batteries are recharged, I'm contemplating house sort out, one room at a time over the next few days!  I need to really and it'll be nice to have a good cleanse, get rid of stuff, sort stuff out, iron stuff that I haven't worn in months.

I did absolutely nothing yesterday because life is all about balance, you don't need to always be doing, sometimes its okay and absolutely necessary to shut down, kick back and do nothing, yesterday was one of those days.  Actually I did walk the dog twice so at least there was movement involved, oh and eat, I had roast turkey dinner round two, it's all gone now, so glad we only had a small turkey though, wouldn't want to be eating that for days.

Who's ready for change, who's had enough of the turkey and tinsel and is ready to get their healthy on?  To help you, I've knocked up a contract below for you to complete and sign.

Contract

I ___________________ understand that I am attempting to improve myself each day.  

I commit myself to my goals, and in turn, commit to rewarding myself appropriately when a goal has been accomplished.  These rewards will be neither edible or drinkable, however they will be enjoyed.  

 I, _________________, commit myself to this healthy and happy behaviour for the duration of this contract, ending________________.  

I will remind myself to strive for progress not perfection.

Signature ________________

Date________________

Once you've signed the contract you need an action plan, yep not an action man, although if you can get one of them, why not, especially if he does housework! 

What are your goals, get specific about what you really want, now having lost weight before Christmas (although I reckon half of that's gone back on over Christmas) I was enjoying feeling slimmer, feeling more comfortable in my clothes, I liked seeing the photo of me in my Christmas Santa outfit, I was enjoying cooking healthy meals, taking walks in the fresh air and generally looking after myself.  The weight loss was an added bonus.  What do I want to achieve?  What do you want to achieve?  What will 2017 look like in our own personal world?  Ask yourself questions like what is the one thing you can't not do to be happy?  What changes do you need to make?   The more specific and clear we are about our goals the more likely we are to achieve them.

If you have the one big weight loss health goal, you'll need to break it down, oh and don't be afraid to dream big, you can lose a lot of weight if you're willing to put the effort in, my members do it all the time.

I have a number in my head I'd like to get to, I don't know how far away from it I am right now because I've gained weight over Christmas, but last Thursday, it was another 15.5lb away, I'm guessing it's about nearer 19lb away now - oops!

Okay so I've got my big goal - have you?  Now to break it down into smaller goals, will you set a timeline for each of those goals?  I think my small goals rather than weight related will be habit related, the ones I blogged about the other day, drinking that water, going for that walk, hitting that step goal, doing some housework, having no alcohol days, eating fruit and veg, tracking everything, not eating after 8.30pm, sitting up the table to eat, taking time for me and time to smile and getting plenty of sleep.   All of these habits when undertaken regularly are what enable me to hit my weight loss goals.  Yep we can do this! 

When I take the time to focus on me and my needs I do feel better, happier and healthier - I need to remember and remind myself of this.  Some days I know I see that list as a chore, when really it's not, it should be a pleasure because it ultimately makes me feel good.

We can see change as painful, but nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don't want to be.

What does your perfect self look like in your head - go be that person, work towards being that version of you - YOU GOT THIS!

BeYOUtiful, decide today to stop standing in your own way. xx

You may have noticed that the contract had the space to put an end date, have you chosen one? I don't ever intend to stop trying to improve myself so my contract has no end date - what about yours?

Contract

I Beverley understand that I am attempting to improve myself each day.  

I commit myself to my goals, and in turn, commit to rewarding myself appropriately when a goal has been accomplished.  These rewards will be neither edible or drinkable, however they will be enjoyed.  

 I, Beverley, commit myself to this healthy and happy behaviour for the duration of this contract, ending never! 

I will remind myself to strive for progress not perfection.

Signature B Longsden

 

Date 27/12/16

Happy Boxing Day.

26th December 2016

Love your whole story even if it hasn't been the perfect fairy tale.

A lovely day was had yesterday, very relaxed and enjoyed, it started with the usual opening of the presents, then I took Alfie for a walk.  I then spent an hour in the kitchen cleaning it up then prepping dinner with the help of Prosecco and orange juice, a rather good combination if I do say so myself! My brother rocked up just as we'd started our dinner, I couldn't wait any longer I was ravenous, then we spent the rest of the day, watching tele, chatting and generally enjoying each other's company.  The dinner was delicious, I might need leftovers for brekkie ;) then to decide what to do with the leftover turkey!  I'm thinking turkey and cheesy mash with red cabbage for dinner today, nice!  It's a shame fat lasts longer than flavour, but today we won't be thinking about the weight gain, we'll leave that till tomorrow, today is another zero smart points on every kind of day, wished I had an avocado - random I know but they are really high points normally! 

Today I will mostly be watching tele, walking the dog and chilling again.  Bliss!  I've done my morning meditation, drunk a pint of water and I'm even going to eat a bit of fruit, most likely a satsuma, that's 3 habits I intend to continue throughout 2017, start my day good and early, I'm then more likely to end my day good and early. 

If you're looking for recipe ideas for your turkey this one looks good;

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/roast-potato-turkey-sausage-stuffing-pie

If there's any of mine left after the dinner, I'll make a coronation turkey sarnie for tea, that'll fill the gap between dinner and bedtime!

Right I'm off to tackle the kitchen, short and sweet this morning, I'm still a bit tired, need a mug of tea to wake me up.   Here's to another wonderful day, enjoy it, I know I will. x

We wish you a Merry Christmas...

25th December 2016

Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store, maybe Christmas means a little bit more.

Happy Christmas BeYOUtiful, here's to a wonderful day.  I had an emotional morning at my meeting yesterday, spoilt I was with love and laughter and of course a few gifts.  Then we had a good chat in the meeting with everyone getting involved, sharing stories and having my belief that the meeting is where the magic happens.  It  ended with the fabulous Karen getting up and standing next to me, that always unnerves me when a member does that because I'm not expecting it and I don't know what's coming next!  Anyway it was a wonderful moment, I could truly feel the love in the room as she read the following poem and I got totally emotional.  For once I was left speechless...

A Christmas Poem for our Bev

Bev...

Good looking, brainy and gorgeous.

Cool and sexy too!

But that's enough about myself,

Now Bev, let's talk about you!

We went to the beach last summer.

But our 'cozzies' just didn't fit.

So we used our fish 'n' chip papers,

To cover our dangly bits!

It was just no use - we'd never win,

Those clothes were meant

For someone thin!

We're finished with all them fad diets,

It's balance that holds the key

A bottle of wine in each hand

Was a well-balanced diet for me!

Seeing ourselves in the mirror.

We thought a diet would do us no harm.

Shedding our fat would be helpful.

They said Bev's Weight Watcher works like a charm.

So Bev we wondered has anyone recently told you,

How totally smashing you are?

If not here's a message to tell you.

That you are an absolute STAR!

You tell us to make sure this Christmas,

Is the best we've ever had.

Don't go completely crazy.

But party on like mad!

So Bev we wish you an epic day.

One that really rocks.

And leaves you with that smiley feeling,

From your head down to your socks!

- - - -

Bonnie captured it on video too xx

How completely brilliant in that poem, a memorable meeting for me that I'll remember forever, I was truly touched.  There was talk of keeping my eyes peeled for little elves and that confused me a lot, however it was later explained, they thought I'd got a massage and they'd all clubbed together to pay for that one and the next - told you I've been spoilt, I'll look forward to them in January.

So I've been saying "It's not Christmas yet!" for weeks, guess what IT IS NOW!  Here's to a magical day, I do BELIEVE in that magic, it really is the most wonderful time of the year.

Eat, drink and be merry because come Tuesday, I (we I hope) get SMART, put our Weight Watcher hat back on and get the healthy back to balance with the happy!

Lots of love to you BeYOUtiful, the weather outside is frightful but the bucks fizz will be so delightful!  I can hear my mom getting up, so I'm off to make her a Christmas Day cuppa, then I'm putting on my music and will mostly be spending the morning, getting tipsy with the turkey, ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!

One more sleep...

24th December 2016

And then I realised that to be more alive, I had to be less afraid. So I did it, I lost my fear and gained my whole life...

It's only Christmas Eve already, it's very early so only just but yep, it's Christmas Eve, a few more hours and I've got a whole week off to relax and spend some quality time with my mom.

I plan to walk the dog, enjoy some cooking, watch a few movies and have a few giggles with my mom.   I had planned a week of overindulging however having done a little bit already and seeing a photo of me in my Santa outfit, I've decided to keep the indulging to Christmas Day / Boxing Day, then I'm back on the healthy.  Why?  Because I liked how I looked in that Santa outfit, I looked good and I don't want to undo all that good work I've done over the last few months and put all that weight back on in a few days.  I'd already gained on Thursday, in the last 4 weeks, I've regained 4lb, that's how easy it is to put it back on!  I could double that by Jan 1 if I keep eating mindlessly. 

Instead I'm going to use the time to get my head into gear, I realised watching my habits is more productive than just watching my weight, so that's my plan. I came across a 'habit tracker' for a bullet journal on Pinterest the other day and I really liked the idea.  At first I got all excited about the idea of a bullet journal, then I realised I'd never have the time or inclination to keep on of those, but the tracker idea really caught my attention.  So this morning because I've been up since stupid o'clock again, I've thought about some of the actions I'd like to become good habits and I've made my very own habit tracker to put inside my Weight Watchers food journal.  How it works is every day I manage to do that habit I colour in that box on the chart - simples.  The plan is to get as many coloured in as possible.  So far I've come up with these habits that I'd like to improve on or continue;

Water

Go for a walk

10k steps

Read

Housework

No alcohol

7 hrs Sleep

Eat fruit

Eat vegetables

Don't eat after 8.30

Eat breakfast

Track everything

Eat up the table

Take time to smile

Take time for me

If you can think of any I might wanna add, let me know.  The plan isn't to do all of them every day but as often as I can, some I'd expect to do every day, the water one for example, I expect myself to continue to drink at least 1 pint of water a day, we all know I won't never drink again, but if I can colour in a few no alcohol boxes a week, that's a good habit to get into.    

This is an example of the idea from Pinterest, I can't find the original one but it was very similar.  If you notice on this one she's drawn a line round the days she plans to actually do certain habits - I like that idea too!

I want to be more organised in 2017 too, I need routine to help me be successful, so I might do a daily task tracker too like this one, I forget to take my medication so often! 

Anyway, it's nearly Christmas, I've got some lovely members to weigh this morning, and can I just say, you remember 12 weeks ago when I said #12wkgoal and told you if you follow the plan,

It takes 4 weeks for you to notice a change

It takes 8 weeks for your friends to notice

It takes 12 weeks for the rest of the world to notice

It takes one day to decide that you are enough

Well this lovely lady did just that and last night she received her 2 stone award, look at that for a difference;

She's inspired me to get back in the game from Tuesday 27th December, when you getting your healthy back BeYOUtiful?  Have a plan - they work!

In case you don't read my blog in the morning, I'll take this moment to wish you a very Happy Christmas, have the best day, make memories, be nice and enjoy spending time with those you love.