BeYOUtiful, be yourself...

7th June 2017

We rise by lifting others. 

Kindness "the quality of being friendly, generous and considerate." It's not hard is it!

If I asked most people how would you like your child to grow up I'd hope they'd say happy, healthy, kind and caring or words like that.  I don't think "skinny & pretty" are our priority - I do hope not anyway!  

When I ask people to tell me their qualities they usually say words like 'kind', 'loving', 'caring' 'make people laugh'. People with these traits are the type of people I want in my life not the self obsessed, selfish kind. 

If you have a child or you are an influence in a child's life, please make sure you showing the values we want to see in our works.  Also make sure they know it's okay to be them, to be unique, to be different, to be whatever the heck they want to be, they don't have to confirm to the stereotypical image that's portrayed by the silly magazines and social media.  In other words tell them to be BeYOUtiful, to be the own kind of wonderful. 

Last night was an emotional meeting as we shared our "whys", one young ladies why hit a few cords and memories with others I think by the tears in eyes round the room. We've all been called names in our lives, we've all had people be mean to us, it's hurts. Imagine if the generation that's being raised now was taught that being mean isn't necessary, that spreading love and being kind wins every time. I like the sound of that world. 

Imagine if when people decided to lose weight it was for themselves, to get healthier and take care of themselves and not because they knew people were judging them on their size or because someone had said something mean to them!  Imagine if we loved ourselves as much as we loved those important people in our live. If we took care of ourselves as much as we are willing to take care and prioritise everyone else. 

Difficult to imagine?  No wonder there were tears in people's eyes last night. We really do need to start being our own best friends. 

The only way to make a happier, caring and kinder world is to lead by example, they don't miss a trick these kids, they replicate what they see, they become fresher versions of what they are surrounded by that is unless you show them and teach them to change direction and be themselves. 

Enjoy your day, I plan too xx 

Save our meeting!

6th June 2017

Do everything with so much love in your heart that you would never want to do it any other way.

My body is not in a great place right now and my hormones and moods are a little all over the place too, googling on the internet yesterday I found this info;

"Menopause happens when you haven't had a period for 12 straight months and you aren't pregnant or sick. It's a normal part of aging." 

Reading that yesterday on a website made my heart sink, if this 'Perimenopause' is the warm up, the workout is gonna suck big time baby.  Honestly, whoever created us, if 'someone' did, they were a little twisted with all the stuff we endure, just saying.

So anyway, I really didn't expect to lose weight but I snuck a little half off, truly pleased with that I was, it's made me more focused for this week now, I will shift this stone, 2lb of it's gone already, here's to another pound this week. 

At the end of our meeting, the coach told us because the meeting is so small it's going to have to close, we've convinced the boss to give her 4 weeks to turn it around and get it up to a number that's worth keeping open so please everyone, can you save this image below and post it on your timeline on Facebook to help the lovely Emma save her meeting and so I can continue to go every week, I'm enjoying having that hour each week, it's really helping.   I think this is a reminder to us all how important it is to attend our meetings each week, they won't keep open meetings where there aren't members.

After the meeting a handful of us when to commiserate with a bacon butty, this was actually where we came up with the idea to save the meeting, so it was worth the 12sp the sandwich cost me, luckily I hadn't had breakfast so this served as brunch. 

It gave me the taste for white bread though, yep you guessed it I had more for my tea, I cooked the chicken in mint and roasted a courgette and yellow pepper and made a delicious sandwich topped with a tablespoon of low fat coleslaw, really tasty.   I weighed the bread and was pleasantly surprised that it was 2sp a slice, I sliced it myself from a loaf on the reduced section in the co-op. 

I didn't feel great yesterday, I went to Waitrose to treat myself to nice stuff and I just wasn't in the mood didn't even get past the 3rd aisle, I bought a little then got home and realised I'd forgot milk and bread, I started an online shop then decided to just nip over the co-op for milk and delay my big shop till my brains working better and my hormones are back to level.  At least it saved me a few quid I guess.

We'll eat eggs today as I have quite a few going on, ooo I might have egg on toast for brekkie, I'll add a few tomatoes to make it healthier, it just shows you can have a bit of what you fancy doesn't it.  Last week for me was definitely more 60/40 than 80/20 so I really do need to put more effort in this week, maybe go for a walk if it ever stops raining, how heavy has the rain been in the night, it's been waking me up throughout the night, since Alfie woke me at 1am, little darling - NOT! 

Anyway, I'm a loser this week, which makes me smile, I've been told to get some magnesium for the menopause and sage for the flushes, I'll start with trying to keep the healthy eating going, cutting down on the wine a little (only a little!) and drinking plenty of water, getting some early nights and resting more, our bodies can only do so much, we need to remember that.

Here's to a tremendous Tuesday, I'm already looking forward to my lunch and I haven't even had my breakfast yet :)

Healthy days become happy days - we got this BeYOUtiful!

short one today...

5th June 2017

Don't go forward in anger, love spreads.

I had a busy morning yesterday, my bed was delivered just before 8, they both looked surprised that I wanted it putting upstairs, then it turned out I didn't tick the 'assembled' box and pay the £20 so they left the two big boxes on the floor and told me to have a nice day!  After thinking 'yay, this is going to be fun', I read the instructions '2 man job' apparently, but I managed to do it with just me and a couple of pillows to act as the other 'man' and hold the bars off the floor.  It looks fab, I love it, my bedroom is now complete, now to start planning the kitchen...

After taking my pc to be fixed (again, hopefully this chaps sorted it), walking the dog twice, putting the bed up, then changing my bedding, hoovering and polishing all the rooms, doing my washing, tidying the kitchen I finally collapsed shattered on my chair and enjoyed the One Love concert on the tv, it was excellent, both mom and I thoroughly enjoyed it and we made a donation to do our bit, hope you did too, you could donate a fiver by texting LOVE to 70507.  I hope they've raised an awful lot of money.

My 'diet' wasn't the best again yesterday, my neighbour bought me a box of quality street to say thank you for giving them my old bed, it didn't take mom and me long to demolish them!  Back to healthy today, I'm off to do some shopping after my weigh in and meeting, I don't expect much today but if I don't go we all know where that ends up, so I'll go take it on the chin and move forward.

I've got some chicken defrosted so I think I'll put that to marinade maybe in the rest of that mint stuff I opened last week - if I can find it.

I need some tasty food this week to keep me focused, I didn't buy a loaf yesterday because I knew I'd overeat on it.  I'm trying to get stuff used out the freezer too, so I don't want to be buying too much, I think I'll make a list of what I have got in there and then decide what I can do with it and shop round that.  Yeah I'll go make a cuppa and do that when I've finished this blog.

I've got a stock take to do today, that's more Fit Points I guess, let's look at it from a positive, I'll use it as a chance to have a clear out of the shed, all those steps count. 

Keeping it short this morning, turns out I don't seem to have any sound on my pc this morning, so it's just shut down as I was trying to see if the speaker was plugged in - great joy, I'm going to see if it can be sorted out easily, but I've got lots to do so need to get on. 

Here's to a cracking good day, healthy all the way...

Surround yourself with happy people!

4th June 2017

Never be a prisoner of your past. It was just a lesson, not a life sentence.

Love and laughter really is the best medicine, I obviously woke up to the news that everyone else has this morning but I'm not going to focus on that because that's what they want, they want us to be sad. 

I had a wonderful day yesterday, brilliant meeting on the morning, I can honestly say the best feeling in the world for me as a coach is standing in front of my members and watching them almost cry with laughter before leaving on a high ready to take on their week ahead, because I know that focusing on the healthy and happy is what life is really all about, the weight loss becomes the side effect then.

Straight from there we had Bonnie's charity event, which was a huge success, well done to everyone involved and especially to Bonnie for  all the effort she's put in getting it all in place and sorted, so proud of her, the total raised yesterday was £604.05, how fab is that!  She's already raised £382 on her Justgiving page and a lovely man has rounded it off to the grand, just fantastic.

I'm not gonna lie, I was tired yesterday, not physically so much as emotionally drained, just shattered.  After walking Alfie at lunchtime, Lynne and Vicky came and picked me up and we went out for some food.  I forgot about everything for a few hours, including Weight Watchers hence the pizzas that were ordered.  Now this could've had a completely different turn out had it been left to Steve the unhelpful and frankly rude barman at the Fox & Anchor, who blunty told us we couldn't eat food at that table, there was a sign (there wasn't btw) and if we wanted food we'd have to go out the front of the pub, if he'd said it politely I wouldn't have minded but he didn't and he'd already ignored me a few times before that.  I went out to break the news to my mates and was gonna say let's go somewhere else when Jamie the waiter came and sorted us out - what a lad, so nice, the best service we've had in a very long time and we've had some good service, but this lad was lovely, really was.  The couple on the next table told us that Steve had been frankly rude and unhelpful to them too.  I honestly thought he was the manager and that's what gave him the right to be rude, but no he's not, he's related to him I believe but he ain't doing him any favours, I wouldn't go back again, proving how much damage one person can do to a business.

We didn't let him spoil our afternoon though, we had a fabulous giggle, a lovely catch up and I went home completely relaxed, mom and I chilled for the rest of the day before going to bed around 9 because I was falling asleep in my chair.

Alfie darling woke me up at 1am barking at something!  I wasn't impressed but I managed to go back to sleep, then I was woke up by a horrid nightmare at just after 4 this morning, great joy.  I've been awake since, I've took my bed apart and bought it downstairs because my new beds being delivered at 7.30am! Yeah that early, at least they'll be gone and I'll have my day left to myself.

I haven't even thought about food for today yet, I'll check the kitchen out later as I do my Sunday sorting out, a nice steady day today I think.  Whatever you have planned make sure you focus on the love, focus on the healthy & happy - don't let them win!

I'm up for a good day - are you?

3rd June 2017

It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe.

Oops forgot to set my alarm clock, good job I woke up naturally, if a little later than usual, I've got enough time not to rush.  Hoping it's not going to rain today as it's Bonnie's charity event, she's hoping to raise lots and lots of money for Cancer Research, so if you're free this morning, it starts at 10.30 runs till 1pm, a few hours for people to get together, eat a cake, try their luck at tombola or the raffle, treat themselves to a bit of something nice whilst helping to raise lots of money.  I'll be there with my Weight Watcher stand, my bestie will be there with her Scentsy stand, she's already sold me my pay day treat, they've bought this one out, how cool is he;

 He's going to look so cool in my kitchen, he'll match my lovely new blinds and because he has a lid, I'm less likely to knock him and spill the wax whilst I'm being all creative in there with my cooking.

Then I'm thinking of having him for the bathroom,

he'll look good, mom likes to talk to her teddies (who doesn't - I know I talk to mine), she can chat to quack as well whilst she does her morning business, it might distract her from the pain she wakes up in! 

No I'm not thinking I'm having it, you can't take it with ya, if it's going to make my mom smile at least once, it's a bargain, plus it'll smell lush too.  We'll all be quackers in our house - get it!

 Now to decide which scent pak to have in him, luckily they can be changed as often as you want.

 Anyway FOOD!  I had the best tea last night, highly recommend this;

9sp in half the pack, I've never had Katsu chicken before but I will definitely be having it again, I'm going to look for a recipe to make my own too.  According to the internet Katsu is a Japanese term and usually refers to a deep-fried chicken or pork cutlet, this curry is milder than most and is usually served with rice.  Now I wasn't fussed about the 'crusty' sprinkle bit to be honest (that'd save a point missing that off) but I loved the sauce, it was right up my street and I have to say chicken thighs well they just blow chicken breasts out the water, they are far superior, I think I'm going to go back to using them or legs for recipes like this, it makes so much difference, hence worth the Smart Points difference.

Here's one recipe I've just found on the internet http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/recipes/chicken-katsu-curry-1919371.html

Chicken Katsu Curry

Serves 4 (21sp a serving!)

100g flour, seasoned with lots of salt and pepper (10sp)
1 free-range egg, beaten lightly (2sp)
200g Japanese panko breadcrumbs (21sp)
4 boneless chicken breasts (6sp)
100ml groundnut or vegetable oil (29sp)
steamed rice and salad to serve

For the curry sauce (16sp)

1 tablespoon groundnut or vegetable oil (4sp)
1 onion, peeled and chopped
5 whole garlic cloves, peeled
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons plain flour (6sp)
1 tablespoon medium curry powder (1sp)
600ml chicken stock
2 teaspoons honey (5sp)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 bay leaf
half a teaspoon garam masala

Anyone who is into Japanese food knows that katsu curry is wickedly wonderful. What makes it stand out from other curries is that the meat is breaded and fried before having a luxurious silky curry sauce slathered all over it.

To make the sauce, heat the oil in a small pan. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes, then throw in the carrots and sweat slowly for 10 minutes with the lid on, giving the odd stir, until softened and starting to caramelise. Stir in the flour and curry powder and cook for a minute. Slowly pour in the stock until combined (do this gradually to avoid getting lumps). Add the honey, soy sauce and bay leaf and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, so the sauce thickens but is still of pouring consistency. Add the garam masala, then pass the sauce through a sieve (unless you prefer a chunky sauce).

Now prepare the chicken. Lay the seasoned flour, egg and breadcrumbs on separate plates. Coat the chicken in the flour, then dip into the egg and finally into the breadcrumbs.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the breaded chicken breasts for 5 minutes on each side, or until golden and cooked through. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and leave to drain on kitchen paper. Slice the chicken diagonally and serve with the sauce drizzled over, steamed rice and salad.

From 'Gizzi's Magic Kitchen' by Gizzi Erskine (Virgin Books, £20). Picture by David Loftus

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This recipe could massively be tweaked and points lowered, I wouldn't bother with the breadcrumbs at all, for me they weren't what made the dish, I would just have a go at making the sauce and add cooked chicken, I could save 3sp by using sweet freedom or agave syrup instead of honey too, I might be tempted to have thigh, leave the skin on for a few extra points, but yeah a healthier, equally as tasty version could be made and that's what makes Weight Watchers wonderfully wicked, because it's taught me to do that.   Or I could just stick with buying the ready made version from Sainsbury's for £4 at 9sp per portion...

Anyway I have a busy morning, this afternoon catching up with both my besties (yay) then a lovely weekend ahead of spending time with the single most important lady on this planet, whatever you have planned, take care of you, enjoy it and let's remember we're trying to lose a little each week.

80/20 all the way!

2nd July 2017
You can't expect to win the jackpot if you don't put a few coins in the slot.

Slept till 6, then heard mom move about so I got up to make her a cuppa and top up her medication.  Now out with Alfie as apparently he wasn't going to stop staring at me till I caved and got his lead!  It's a lovely morning, I don't think it's going to last though, not according to the weather forecast, I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

It was a longer than normal Thursday yesterday as I had to pick my helper up because my regular one was on holiday, it adds almost an hour to the day and with me already leaving at half 7 and getting home at just before 8, the extra bit just finishing me off, glad it's Friday today and I haven't got to rush anywhere.

On my way home I had a craving for chippy chips, I knew I had leftover curry which I'd added mushrooms too. I justified having them because I knew I hadn't got any microwave rice. Small portion weighed 20sp so I had half with my curry and I was sated. I would've rather had the battered chips but that chippy didn't have them. Craving satisfied, I watched BGT with a glass of wine before going to bed.

My lunch hasn't been mentioned because it isn't really worthy of one, We had the packet of mince beef crispy pancakes with cheesy mash, the beef ones were slightly better than the ham and cheese ones but they are still something that will never grace my freezer again.

A new member mentioned turkey drummers yesterday, I just looked 3sp each, I don't think I'll bother reminiscing over that one!

I've got me a massage booked today, I managed to get in when my back started hurting yesterday, I haven't had one for 3 weeks, Saturdays got cancelled. If this mutt of a dog actually starts moving and we get back home, I'll be able to get some stuff done before then, he's a funny little dog, he's paying particular attention to a dandelion plant as I type. He wants to walk in the middle of the road this morning, I draw the line at playing chicken before 7am and sober!

I'm thinking a Weight Watcher frozen meal for lunch, get some of that freezer food eaten, salmon and broccoli melt I think, mmm nice.  Then I have a chicken thing in there I can cook for tea, 9sp in half.  That's my day sorted, multitasking whilst dog walking, can't beat it. I'm also adding stuff to my next online shop delivery, I need rice so I don't use it as an excuse to buy chips again.

I think if I've heard anything from my members, especially my new ones over the last few days it's that they want a plan that's liveable.  Most have come fresh from trying other options that just aren't working.  We all want to enjoy life, enjoy food, really enjoy a night out and time with our friends and family whilst eating and drinking and having a good time. The beauty of Weight Watchers is you can do that, those weeklies, the 80/20 approach have helped all my members survive the bank holiday, lots of them still lost weight, some maintained (no shame in a maintain) and some had an enjoyable gain which they know they can get off again. This is real life, we can't be 100% on it all the time, actually we don't want to be and thanks to the Smart Plan we don't have too.

I'm trying to pull pack some FitPoints to help with my 80/20 approach, although at the speed  he's going this morning, it's not making much different, so slow today!  I've not even done 2,000 steps and we've been out over half hour.

I might need eggs for breakfast today, I'm missing them, ooo yeah eggs on toast, I will have some fruit too, get that five a day.

Here's to a great Friday, everyday can't be a 20% day, some days have to be part of the 80% too, you still have to get that balance.  We're still out walking, but I've managed to access and I'm about to post my blog from the green, we worked out at the scales even with 1lb loss a week we could all be 2st lighter by Christmas, of course if you don't have 2 stone to lose you could be maintaining your goal by then!  happ You firsay BeYOUtiful!  Oh alfies lay down now, we could be here a while 😝

Starting the month positive!

1st June 2017

A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything.

First of another month, by the end of this one, we'll be halfway through the year!  I plan to make it count, hopefully it'll be a hot month and I can take advantage of more walking and sitting in the garden, salads and plenty of water - all good for my weight loss!  Stone by September, is my goal, half stone by July 13th, breaking it down and keeping it real, I know I enjoy a glass or two of wine and I don't want to give that up completely, so I'm going to continue to enjoy them and still lose weight, tweaking my 'diet' along the way.

 The tweak a week idea works, last week it was adding more fruit, this week I'm going to be tracking on paper, I'll do it on my app too but when I'm chilling and start to get board and tempted to snack, I'll sit and copy it across to my pad because then I'll have all my meal ideas laid out in front of me for when I'm struggling and don't know what to eat.

Last night I had this,

Minted chicken and ranch coleslaw in a delicious pitta bread.  The chicken was the powder from home bargains, the coleslaw was a kit from Asda, I didn't use the croutons in there, just the sauce and I pointed just that as Ranch dressing using the app, then the veggies in the bag are zero points. 

The Pitta breads were from the Co-op and only 4sp each, it was like a kebab from the chippy, really filling too.

I tried broad beans yesterday, they're alright, they were frozen ones and they're a bit faffy as they're better if you take the outer skin, but I added a spoon of mint sauce to them and then I didn't need to remove it. 

Now to focus on today, I'm going to have the rest of that beef curry for my tea and add mushrooms to bulk it out and add some rice, 12sp in total.   I need to think about lunch though, I have some leftove mash and veggies I can do something with, maybe a bubble and squeak style thing with a crusty cheese topping and a fried egg on top, that would be quick and easy.  I could eat that right now, but I won't I'll stick with my fruit and Greek yogurt, I had kiwi fruit on it yesterday, I can eat one of those a day, only £1 for 6 too, especially as they're packed with more vitamin C than an equivalent amount of orange, quite easy to peel too for use in my fruit salad, you can just cut them in half and scoop out the flesh with a spoon of course.

Yeah I'm getting me some weight off this month and little tweaks like a kiwi fruit a day are going to help, what's also going to continue to help is not having the stuff  in the house, can't eat what isn't here!  I'm not likely to binge on Greek yogurt!  I'm using the Asda app and as I think of things I do need or as I run out of something I'm adding it to the list so I only get delivered what I need, no over ordering, just press deliver when I hit the £40 level as I have the year delivery pass. 

I've just seen on Facebook one of my younger members Liam, he's asked his mom to post his before and now photo, 17lb in 9 weeks and the transformation is amazing, he chose to join and for a young lad to sit in a meeting with a bunch of women, that's quite something, but he fits in really well and he's enjoying himself.  I won't share the photo as it's not a public one, but his mom goes on to say before his son, sister and mom they've lost 73lb in my meetings this year - how fabulous is that!   The whole family are getting healthy together, just brilliant.

Right I'm off, it's time to go to work, well not quite but it soon will be so I better get dressed or folk will stare. 

Here's to just doing it this June, one day at a time, no need for perfection, turning our why into WOW!  We got this BeYOUtiful.