Make Monday Marvellous

Monday 10th June 2019
Maybe this day in not
One of your favourites, but
Never forget that every
Day you wake up is an
Amazing gift and it's up to
You to make it count.

What's not to love about a Monday, it's reset day, re-start, new week, new goals, we got this people. 

I decided yesterday I was going to challenge myself to switch things up and increase the foods in my diet, rather than eat the same old same old.  I  didn't add loads as I ate a huge breakfast, I ended up having 6 slices of streaky bacon, tomatoes, bread, egg and mushrooms!  That cost me 19SP!  Which is why my dinner was only 4SP, I had a beef stir fry,   

So in 2 days, I've only eaten 18 different foods (list at bottom of blog), let's see what today brings shall we.  I've still not planned any meals, I just enjoyed sitting watching tele with mom yesterday after my long walk. 

We walked from Bentley Bridge Wednesfield to Rough Wood Country Park, we've decided we're going to cover as much of the local canal paths as possible, we did 9 mile yesterday, we hadn't realised how far we'd walk when my phone announced 'you have walked 4 miles....' we were so close to rough wood, we carried on a bit further, my legs weren't grateful on the last mile home, blister on my heel and my leg hurt before I even started out so you can imagine how it felt when I got back.  I'd love to wake up one morning completely pain free, that would be so awesome.  I'd settle for waking up one morning and someone had cleaned my house from top to bottom - that's not gonna happen either!  

 We completely wore out little Merlin look (how cute is he!) 

Right so it's Monday, my appetites been a bit odd this weekend, I've eaten but not wanted a plate of food like I usually would, I've had a good sleep (almost 8 hours), yeah I've woke but I've gone back to sleep, the foxes behaved last night and didn't make any noise thankfully.  Hopefully that's me fully recharged and back to normal.  

My weekly review in my journal, 

The best bits - the walking for sure, I would just keep going and going if my body could and I didn't have to go home, I love walking on a glorious morning.  Earning FitPoints is just a bonus.  Staying on track whilst going to see the Spice girls last week too.  

The hardest bits - continuing to track when I've not been eating great, especially after I didn't lose weight on Wednesday. 

I've learned - being 'in the zone' doesn't last and that's when you have to keep going, it's not about being perfect, persistence and hanging in there when you're not in the mood, your hormones are interfering, you're tired, etc etc that's what will get me to the goal I've set.

I've loved eating - actually I haven't really, I think that's been the problem, I've not fancied food this week, I've just eaten because I should, which is why there has been so many broghies and cheese triangles,  I did enjoy those little roasted potato cubes I made and the fish fingers but that's it.  

Next week my goal is - a weight loss obviously!  But to get some structure back to my meals and to eat a variety of foods. 

Achievements/successes this week - I made my workshop even though I was late because of the CCTV man,  I did a live workout with Lorraine, plus 2 at home (I'd forgot about that), plus I maintained my 7.5lb loss since May 1st.  I've been pretty active really,  a total of 143 Fit Points earned, yesterday alone I earned 76 of them, 251 active minutes, 28,891 steps, because Alfie expected 2 decent walks in addition to the walk I did with my bro.  

Yeah here's to a great week, it looks like the sun is going to shine today and even if it doesn't, let's make it a very, great day.  I've got a busy morning, lots to do, places to be, I plan to make it another Magic Monday - do you?  What would your answers to this weeks review be?  Maybe take a moment to think about it. xx  

Food list

Banana 

Broghies 

Cheese triangles

Cheese

Chocolate biscuit - 1 honest 

Crisps

Eggs 

Low fat pork sausage

Onions

Milk  

Mushrooms

Porridge - WW stuff 

Peppers - green & yellow 

Seafood sticks 

Strawberries

Streaky bacon

Tomatoes - canned & cherry

Wholemeal bread

Written whilst walking!

Sunday 9th June 2019

Variety is the spice of life 

Rolled out of bed, made mom a cuppa and Alfie’s forced me straight out the door, had to take my mug of tea with me, it was a good one too.  

Yesterday morning started with a sausage and tomatoes sandwich then the rest of the day I snacked on stuff, I’d even been to Lidl’s for fresh stuff and never cooked anything!  I couldn’t be bothered if I’m honest. I even had an afternoon snooze again. So my snacks included an entire pack of seafood sticks which totalled 8SP, Broghies and cheese spread another 4SP then I caved and had a packet of crisps for another 4SP, yeah the packet may have said lights but they weren’t at 4SP a packet! 

I set my members a challenge yesterday which I’m going to do myself, I’ll let all my other workshops know throughout the week. It’s too eat as many different types of food as possible, I’m doing this because I realised I was eating the same things and I want more variety. So yesterday wasn’t a great start but these were on the list

Wholemeal bread

Low fat sausage (very nice they were too!)

Canned tomatoes 

Broghies 

Cheese triangles

Seafood sticks 

Crisps

Strawberries 

Bit of cheese I broke off a chunk

Milk in my tea

As you can see that list needs some veggies adding to it!  I promise to do better today and cook whatever it was I took out the freezer yesterday for a start. 

I’m writing this on my phone as I’m walking Alfie, then I’m off to meet my brother at Bentley bridge to walk the canal in the other direction. I know I was supposed to be doing the chase but after that rain yesterday I didn’t think we would be going anywhere so I’ve had a lie in, plus I have a bad leg, it hurts down the back, it’s tight in the hamstring. 

I need to decide what to do with the steak that’s defrosted, it’s not best steak but still good slices by the look, so I’m think slow cooker maybe, I’ve also defrosted some white fish, don’t ask me why I took two things out yesterday I don’t know.  I do know Alfie is in no rush to get me back to the house!   

Don’t forget now I’ve realised I'm eating similar foods every day here’s to upping my game this week, it’s all about trying to include different foods, you up for that challenge? 

That’s me for this morning, I have to get back to go meet Ian. Whatever you’re up to, enjoy your day! 

Count me out!

Saturday 8th June 2019
Reach for the stars, you just might become one!

Well yesterday I blogged that I'd be doing my 5k my way on the chase tomorrow, I think that'll be cancelled, as much as my bro and I love to walk on a Sunday morning, we don't walk in this kind of rain - we ain't marines!  Plus I know he's off to see Rod Stewart tonight, so will probably be shattered, I'll message him later, I reckon if it's not raining, we'll go later and maybe not there, but we can decide at the time. 

I had a truly lazy day yesterday, once I'd finished my paperwork, walked Alfie and done my 20 minute workout.  My meals were convenient and as tasty as they were, I need veggies back in my life!  

These were chips from Co-op, they've always been the ones I like but I have to say I preferred those chip chunks I made myself yesterday in the oven. 

I even had an afternoon nap in front of the tele yesterday, hopefully I'm finally back to 100% energy levels, it doesn't help that I'm waking regularly with hot flushes, at least I go back to sleep afterwards. 

It's stew weather isn't it this, middle of June and contemplating making a stew, that's just not right!  I might play freezer surprise, there's a pack of something in there, I think it's beef, will take it out this morning and see what it turns into when it's defrosted.  Still need to do a bit of shopping, need fresh veggies. I've put my copy of the veggie/vegan cookbook somewhere and I don't know where!  I want to cook something from that, what am I like!  My office is still screaming sort me out woman, maybe if it rains all weekend, that's what I'll do.

What's your absolute favourite WW friendly meal, why don't you send it to me and I can start sharing some of them.  I have so many savoury recipes that I love, but if you're looking for a Sunday morning warm muffins to share with the family, these are epic; 

Wake up Muffins 

Serves 12, 6sp each

Tired all the time? These banana, raspberry and nut muffins will help to keep you full of energy all day long. Lower fat, rich in energy-producing B vitamins. Prep 15 mins Total time 35 mins, plus cooling. Get ahead Make the day before; store in an airtight container.

Nice microwaved for 30 seconds before eating. The muffins can also be frozen

50g unblanched almonds, chopped (5SP)
300ml natural yogurt
4 tbsp smooth peanut butter (25SP)
1 large egg
225g self-raising flour (22SP)
2 tsp baking powder
75g light brown soft sugar (18SP)
3 ripe bananas, peeled and finely chopped (about 375g unpeeled weight, 225g peeled weight)
1 x 150g pack raspberries

Preheat the oven to 200oC, fan 180oC, Gas 6 & line the holes of a 12-hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases. Sieve the flour and baking powder into a large bowl and add a pinch of salt and the sugar. Stir in the chopped banana, raspberries and half the chopped nuts. Make a well in the centre of the mixture.

Mix together the yogurt, almond butter and egg in a small bowl until smooth. Pour into the well and gently but quickly mix everything together.

Divide the mixture among the muffin cases and sprinkle with the remaining nuts. Bake for 18-20 minutes until risen and golden. Serve warm or leave to cool on a wire rack.  

Right, I need to get back to tracking before I eat stuff not after, got a bit lapse this week, need to get it sorted, yes today I will be 100% honest tracking again, thinking about what I eat, before I eat it and hoping to pull things back to get me a weight loss Wednesday! 

What do you plan to do?  

Let's all have a good day shall we....

Get your bake on!

Friday 7th June 2019
Ask yourself if what you're doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow. 

Today is going to be a very, relaxed day!  I need to recharge!  Mom's not been the best which hasn't helped but I've probably not been either with being tired but on a positive I've stayed on track. Although I do need to do a shop, my fridge is starting to look bare, not planned any meals either for today so I need to check the kitchen out straight after this blog so that I don't get tempted to go off plan later, I have scales to step on Wednesday and unlike this week I don't want a maintain, I want a loss!  

This weekend is WW #WW5kMyWay, I plan to do my 5k on Cannock Chase Sunday morning at 7am, you're welcome to join me, message me for the meet place if you're willing to get up at silly o'clock!  It's not to late to start training, okay you may not be up to running a 5k this week (I don't plan to!) but if you'd like to in future check out the WW page. 5k training

But back to yesterday, after my rushed Wednesday, I knew Thursday wouldn't be an quieter really, I set my alarm 15 minutes later than usual - mistake, those extra 15 minutes sleep didn't balance out the having to rush more before work, I don't like rushing at all!  I wanted food before leaving for work of course and we'd had these new things in my stock delivery, "crispy bacon with no mess", now I love a bit of bacon, but I'm impatient and I never cook it correctly, which is one reason I only really eat it when I'm out and someone else cooks it.  But I decided to have a dabble and I had some bacon in the freezer from before I got on track.  They defrosted quite quickly whilst I was doing other stuff and they took 2.5mins in the microwave, oh my day's, game changer, I really enjoyed my bacon flatbread, nom nom nom. 

My sister approved on it too, this was her meal and what she said about it.

Omg what's not to love crispy bacon done quickly and the clean up is so easy. 

I loves a gadget and this one is brilliant 😍

For dinner I went all out, I was tired and knew I'd end up picking if I didn't take time to cook a a meal, salmon with a garlic Maggi paper, the spuds were incredible, 400g of potatoes = 10SP but there's about 7SP worth on that plate, mom didn't want any so I have to confess to eating the other 3SP worth too!  They're just diced potatoes, parboiled for 5 minutes, then spray lighted and roasted in the oven, Sainsbury's Vivaldi spuds are the best. 

Not very hungry after my huge dinner, I opted for a bit of what I fancy 4SP of low fat cheese, onion and lettuce on 1SP of broghies, nom nom. 

The only other things I ate was a taste of Jemma's crusty cheese bread.  She adapted the original recipe we'd found on FB and I preferred her version. 


CRUSTY BREAD - 27SP total, get as many slices as you can, then do the math ;) 

Ingredients
160g Self-raising flour (16SP)
180g Fat-free plain yogurt
1 Teaspoon baking powder
1 Egg, whisked
1/2 - 1 Teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon mixed herbs & garlic powder
100g Asda 50% less fat cheese (9SP)

Preheat oven to 180/Bake

Add the self-raising flour into a large bowl. Add the yogurt, salt, baking powder & herbs/garlic powder. Then, add the whisked egg. Mix gently until well combined. Spoon into a loaf tray and sprinkle the cheese on the top.

Bake for 45 - 55 minutes

I haven't made it myself but it was tasty when I had a bit of Jemma's. 

I had a late night again because I was watching the foxes in the garden from the kitchen, at least I slept till 6 and I've not got much to do today, I need to spend some time with mom and give her lots of attention, I can always tell when she needs it x 

I'd have a go at making that bread but we'd eat it all, maybe I'll go through the new vegan / veggie cookbook and pick a couple of recipes, do an online order and plan to make them over the weekend.  Not today though, I'm not planning to do anything today other than my weekly massage, dog walk and my paperwork. 

Right that's me over and out, here's to a fantastic Friday.  Enjoy your day.

Oh but if you fancy getting your bake on, this is one of my favourite WW friendly cake recipes, Julie makes it and it's amazing! 

Lemon and lime crunch cake

Makes 12 slices, 5sp a slice

175g self-raising flour (17sp)

1/2 tsp baking powder 

A pinch of salt
60g low fat spread (8sp)
100g caster sugar (25sp)
1 egg, beaten
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
Grated zest and juice of 1 lime
150g fat free natural yogurt
40g Demerara sugar (10sp)

Preheat the oven to Gas Mar 3/180oC/160oC fan oven. Line a 900g loaf tine with non stick baking parchment.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a small bowl.

In a mixing bowl, cream the low fat spread and caster sugar together for about 3 minutes using an electric mixer.

Beat in the egg and 2/3rds of the lemon and lime zests. Add half of the flour to the mixing bowl and mix briefly, followed by half of the yogurt and mix again. Repeat with the rest of the flour mixture and yogurt. Don't over mix or the sponge will be rubbery. The mixture iwll be quite stiff compared to a standard sponge cake batter.

Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared loaf tin and spread out evenly. Bake on the centre shelf for 35-40 minutes. A skewer pushed into the centre of the cake should come out clean when it is cooked. Remove the cake from the oven.

Quickly mix together the rest of the citrus zest with the lemon and lime juice and the Demerara sugar. Use a skewer or fork to make little holes all over the cake, spoon the citrus drizzle on top and leave to soak in. Cool the cake in the loaf tin.

Store in an airtight tin for up to 3 days.

Cooks tip: to get more juice out of citrus fruit, warm them for 15-20 seconds in the microwave before halving and squeezing. Alternatively, simply roll the whole fruit on the work surface, pressing down firmly as you do so, to release more juice. 

Julie tips - I add a spoon of flour, when adding the egg, stops mix splitting. When adding yogurt/flour stir around the edge of bowl, cut through the middle (spatula works well). Mix until just incorporated and get it in the tin and straight in the oven. Once you start mixing the yogurt reacts with the baking powder to create a light cake. Happy baking 

Pizza anyone?

Thursday 6th June 2019

Your time as a caterpillar is over, your wings are ready. 

I had what felt like a very rushed day yesterday, it started with my workout, which Alfie interrupted btw and I had to do the last bit holding him like a weight!  

This is what I want to still be able to do when I'm old! 

I had to find 2 forms of id for a cbs check, no idea where my passport is, so my mission is now to sort my office sooner rather than later, I made do with a bank statement and my driving license, then the man rang me at 10 to say he was on his way to sort my phone and the CCTV which was great but I was just going to my workshop :( He sorted it thankfully but it meant I only caught the last 10 minutes of the talk, at least I made my weigh-in, I maintained which I'll take, it's almost a calendar month since my last monthlies and although they don't come as regular there could be stuff going on in the background.  

I then popped in the Coop to collect the Foodbank stuff, then nipped to have my leg pulled about again by Lorraine, she will cure or kill me, I can see it in her eyes!  By the time I got back it was getting on for lunch time and I hadn't even had breakfast time, so I made a Broghie sarnie with ham and a cheese triangle, 3SP max. 

Oh and I walked into a hallway full of WW boxes with stock in, so I then have to move them all to where they should be.  

By now I'm thinking, I ain't stopped yet and I still have to go to work later, so I decided to go get my cook on as I'd promised my girls toad in the hole for their tea.  

5SP per portion toad in the hole!
200g plain flour (20SP) 
200ml skimmed milk (3SP)
4 eggs
salt
12 chicken breast sausages (Penn Road Butchers) (6SP)

I realised my turkey mince needed using too and Dave reminded I said I was going to make a pizza and test out a recipe my sister had found.  So here it is, I did just that.  

 Now what is it you ask well, it's a turkey mince based pizza!  The recipe I had used canned chicken (it was an America recipe). So this is what I did, the used canned chicken, I used turkey mince. 

10oz or 285g turkey breast mince (or chicken breast)  
1oz or 30g grated parmesan cheese 4SP
1 large egg

Spread mince on a baking sheet lined with a silicon mat or parchment, I used my pan liners, anything to stop it sticking. Bake at 350/170 gabs mark 4 for 10 minutes to dry out the mince.

Once mince is done baking for 10 minutes remove and place in a mixing bowl. Increase heat of oven to full temp on oven.

Break and crumble the mince up, add cheese and egg to the bowl with chicken and mix.

Pour mixture onto baking sheet lined and spread thin. I used my hands to flatten it down. I think if I did it again I wouldn't make one big one I'd make 4 small ones.  

Optional: With a spatula press the edges of the crust in to for a ridge for the crust. This is beneficial is you're using topping that may slide off (i.e. eggs).

Bake the crust for 8-10 minutes on full. 

Remove crust from oven. Add desired toppings and bake for another 6-10 minutes on full. Toppings will dictate final cook time.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes and see what you think.  Enjoy!

It wasn't bad at all, not really a pizza but good in its own right I think, I'd definitely make another and experiment by making slices rather than one big pizza I think, as mine wasn't as crispy as I'd have liked it to be in the middle.  I topped mine with 3SP worth of parmesan, courgettes, mushrooms, spring onions. tomato - use pasatta for zero points, my fridge is almost empty but there's so many options you can top it with.  But I can see there's definitely potential here!

Whilst I was messing about I decided to finally open the can of Jackfruit I have, it's vegan friendly and zero points, again I reckon if you used it in a recipe in place of chicken or tuna you'd think damn yeah this is okay.  I just warmed it through and added some sugar free sweet and sour sauce. can't remember the brand, some brothers, Penn Road butchers are selling them now I believe.   I also mixed a bit with a sachet of WW BBQ sauce I had, I wanted to just taste the flavour, I reckon with the WW teriyaki marinade, some spring onions, broccoli and some rice, mmm that would really work.  Yeah definitely, it's got a good texture and with a strong sauce, you've just saved points and got yourself a vegan meal! 

Well that was my day yesterday, of course that didn't include the best bit the Workshops on the night which were great as always, it was bedtime before I knew it, such a busy day, but I ended on track, let's do it again shall we!

I set my alarm 15 minutes later and now I'm running 15 minutes later than usual because my blog has still took the same length of time to write, so I'm off, catch ya tomorrow, let's all be awesome today shall we!  Yeah come on, let's be bad asses! 

My bestie has done so well!

Wednesday 5th June 2019
Don't wait, life goes faster than you think.

Well it's Wednesday morning, weigh day and I've wok up still feeling half asleep, I didn't have the early night I'd planned, I don't even know why not but it was like a magnet was keeping me stuck to the chair, nearly 11 by the time I went up, ain't I daft.  Plus I ended up drinking more wine than I usually would on a Tuesday night and I had a bag of Wotsits and a chunk of cheese out of the fridge - what the hell, the night before weigh-in, am I a complete numpty or what!

Anyway let's not dwell, I'm enjoying my mug of tea and I'll get plenty water down me, a bit of fresh air with Alfie on our walk and I'm sure I'll be okay.  Now this is where it could all go tits up, I've said this month is about me making activity a habit, part of my weekly routine, so I have to do a workout this morning, I only have to do 15 minutes and my plank but it's part of my planned routine, Monday, Wednesday and Friday and I can't skip it already, I'm only on week 2!

If anything can motivate me it's seeing these two's before photos, check them out, Vicky is my bestie so I've watched her do amazing things over the last two years, she's lost over 2 and a half stone with me at WW, but also working out with Lorraine in her classes, but it wasn't until I saw this screen shot I took on one of the workout videos on Lorraine's on-demand workouts that I realised how far Kell had also come since joining me in January, she too has always worked out with Lorraine.  It just goes to show the combination of the WW plan and activity works wonders!

 This was them both last Christmas time I think Lorraine told me on her video https://www.ltfitness.net.

This is Kell on her holiday this week, 2 stone lighter.

This was my bestie V at our mates wedding in Dec 2016 I think, I should really know when they got married but hey I have a bad memory.

This is the gorgeous girl now, doesn't she look stunning, actually she always did but now she's the slimmest I've ever known her and I love how it's made her feel because the real results you can't actually see by looking at a photo, you feel them by spending time with her, having known her for 15 years, yeah getting fit has really helped my bestie in so many ways.

I'm hoping those photos will motivate me through my workout this morning, especially as my leg is still playing up, I'm hoping doing some stretching style stuff will help rather than hinder.  I'll let ya know tomorrow!  Use it or lose it is my belief and talking in the workshop last night, I admitted one of the reasons I haven't done any exercise over the last few year, is that I've been scared of injuring my body so that I'd be in more pain than I already am (that and I'm a lazy bitch who can't be bothered).  I'm hoping by building my strength, it will help my aching muscles and creaking bones, my ultimate goal would to be painfree in my back and legs.

Ooo a fox has just run down the road!  Speaking of which I had CCTV fitted yesterday, so mom can now watch what's going on outside from the living room.  I know the foxes have been last night because I saw one come and get a little bit before I went to bed, plus the rest of the food has gone this morning, yes the apparently like stale fruit loaf!  I believe they are partial to jam and bread too, so I know what to do with my stale bread in future, well we're not supposed to feed it to the ducks anymore are we, did you know that, now instead you can feed them, sweetcorn (tinned, fresh or frozen - take me out the tin first of course!), frozen peas, oats, seeds (bird seed or the stuff we eat) and lettuce, we all throw lettuce away so why not get the kids and go feed the ducks!  Oh and leftover cooked rice, oh and uncooked rice too apparently.  Who knew.  Get the kids a free duck activity guide here https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-and-river-wildlife/keeping-our-ducks-healthy/duck-guide 

Anyway, I digress, I wanna go do my workout, I need to play with my CCTV, I can get them on my phone but I'm having issues with the app, the man was going to sort it whilst he was here yesterday but you couldn't make it up, the App Store was down and it didn't come back on until he'd left and now I can't make it work, I'm gutted cos he goes on holiday tomorrow and I bet I ain't going to get it sorted before he comes back.   But I can't fault the work he's done, it's all set up, I had a little play with it last night before going to bed - that's probably why I was late, here's his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Affordable-CCTV-for-ALL-1944322239144003/  if you need security cameras and don't fancy climbing up a ladder yourself!

Right that's me I'm off, here's to a very great day, mid week already, where are these weeks going, they just fly, can you believe it's been 5 weeks since I joined a WW workshop as a member!

Catch ya tomorrow, focus on the good!

What a wonderful day yesterday was!

Tuesday 4th June 2019

The fact that you aren't where you want to be should be motivation enough.

Well this is going to be short this morning as I got in about 1 last night and I've had an extra half hour in bed to usual so I've got more to do in less time than usual.

I had a night out!  Yeah it's been over 3 years since my last, me and my bestie Vicky went to see the Spice Girls at the Ricoh arena, we had a wonderful time and check us out - we stayed on track!

It only got ugly once and that was when we went to find our seats and the bloke told us those seats didn't exist!  He got his manager who said don't worry we'll get you seats but.... I went into full "I haven't had a night out in 3 years, my moms got vascular dementia and I'm her carer!' mode, Vicky laughed at me later.  But turned out those seats were there and the people he'd told us were sitting in them weren't they were in the next two seats.  This continued to happen for the first hour of the support act, every one in our row was asked to move because of mix ups with tickets, everyone on our row refused, pointing out we'd paid twice as much for our seats that those they were trying to get us to give our seats up for.  Nightmare, the rest of the evening was full of fun and laughter though and we had excellent seats.

Actually my entire day had been busy and fun, it started with me going to Lorraine's house the fitness lady to make this video

workout with Lorraine at ltfiness.net

After last weeks workshops, we wanted to show how easy it is to workout at home, it was a lot of fun, bare in mind I have 2 left feet, I don't think I did too badly, it was a lot of fun to make.  Plus don't she's still offering all the online videos for £5 a month, very much worth it I have to say.

Oh can I add me and Vicky stayed on track whilst out, I bought us a meal deal from the Co-op which we ate in the car before going in, tuna and cucumber low fat sarnie was 6SP and a bag of crisps 5SP, Diet Coke and we were sorted.  I had 3 wines in the arena, so that was 16SP, of and £16 funnily enough - ouch, can tell I haven't been out for a while.

Now my fitbits saying I did 21,852 steps although I know a couple of thousand of them are just us dancing in our seats last night, but we did walk to and from the arena which was 40 minutes at least, so I'm taking the 29FitPoints I earned yesterday and adding them to my tracker.

Right I need to go, moms just woke up, she was okay when I got home, told me she'd missed me, I got emosh at the concert when they sang mama, and I miss her every day, the old her anyway.

Anyway, back to happy, here's to a great day of taking care of me!

Love your life, we only get one, oh and be present, my phone went away the minute the concert started and it stayed put away till the show had finished, I wanted to enjoy every moment, I witnessed so many people missing stuff, trying to get pics, all my pics are in my head. xx

Spice up your life!

Monday 3rd June 2019
The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.

117 FitPoints, I did a whacking 47 FitPoints yesterday, oh yeah, 230 active minutes, that's almost 4 hours of walking about!  We did a wonderful 8 mile walk along the canal path from Bentley bridge to Aldersley junctions, it's a lovely time of year to do that because of all the ducklings and the cygnet's, I was relieved to see those actually as the two swans had been at Ashmore park whilst she was sitting on the nest (I'm assuming it's the same two) and then we hadn't seen their babies, but they've had 5 and they're looking healthy.  I also got to see a heron sitting on the waterside, glorious sight, there was a water rat too, which I know isn't the prettiest thing but I saw one.  Yeah a wonderful walk and what made the start even better was Merlin came bounding towards me as if he knew me and was pleased to see me, no barking at me at first either, he soon started barking as if to say come on let's get going!  Alfie had already had his 40 minute walk so he was happy at home, he had another one later in the day too.

Foodwise, well needed to do some planning, I was so hungry when I got home I quickly cooked sausages, egg and mushrooms and had them with a couple of slices of bread.

 My dinner was going to be sweet and sour chicken but when I opened the chicken, they didn't smell good so I didn't risk it, instead I took this frozen meal out and I have to say it was food and edible but I won't be buying it again, I can just knock something better myself quickly.  I have one other frozen meal it's the southern Indian curry, that I've had before and liked thankfully.

 I indulged in a crisp sandwich for tea, 8SP well spent as always, then we had an early night...

Because I'm off to see the Spice Girls later so wanted to be rested, so glad we've got seats as I know I couldn't have stood for that long, my leg already hurts this morning, it's pulling all down the back of my left leg, but having said that, I feel so much better than I have been feeling, I'm not getting out of bed like Gollum in a morning and that's just from losing 7.5lb, walking every Sunday and doing a couple of short workouts outs last week.  It's all helping and that's what is motivating me to carry on.

I was talking to Lorraine via messenger yesterday and said how when I exercised in my 20's it was all about looking hot and having a 6 pack, that's why I've not bothered doing it now because I'm not bothered about either of those things, I'm happy with how I look, I look like a 49 year old who's enjoyed life so far.  However after last weeks workshops I've realised I do want to live longer and stronger, and whilst doing that I want to be able to stay independent and look after myself.  Losing weight alone isn't enough, I need to get my muscles strong enough to carry me and my energy levels up, hence the moving more and signing up for the online workouts.  I'll be doing another one this morning, but more about that later!

I haven't done my plank yet, I went to do it on the landing and got to 7 and heard mom say to Alfie, I'll be back in a minute so had to move as she needed the bathroom, I'll go do it though honest, even though my stomach doesn't want me too because the muscles are hurting, I think I might have pulled them Saturday at the workshop being a numpty!

Right food today, nothings planned, but I'm off to see the Spice Girls later so I'm thinking zero foods or really low for breakfast and lunch, see what Vicky wants to do re food before the concert, food at arenas is never good and it's always expensive so maybe something before, I could even make us something.  I'll be having a glass or two of something but nothing ridiculous as I've still got to get up at 5am in the morning and go to work!

I've finished my 4th week in my WW Journal, I started it on May 6th, whereas I started tracking on the 1st on my app, the page I'm about to turn over says,

          Believe in
          yourself.
          Being positive makes everything easier.

That's so true, I've still to do my weekly review, the best bits, the hardest bits, I've learned, I've loved eating, Next week my goal is, Achievements / successes this week.

I'll do that whilst I'm drinking my cuppa later, although my achievements were walking 8 mile yesterday morning, doing 2 x 15 min workouts this week, losing 2lb.  Next week my goal is to hopefully lose weight again, to do 3 workouts, to continue the plank and to continue using my journal and prioritising myself #MeFirst #JournalJune

Right I've got somewhere I need to be this morning, then lots to do before I can go and play out later ;)  I hope you have as good a day as I plan too!

Happy Monday.

  

WOW, seeing success on the screen!

Sunday 2nd June 2019
Change is hard at first, messy in the middle & gorgeous at the end.

I got home from work yesterday morning and Alfie wasn't in the walking mood, so I decided as I'd have been out for an hour anyway so mom wouldn't notice the difference that I'd go and have a walk on my own, so glad I did, not only did it make me feel good, it also upped my fit points so I ended the day on 15k steps and 20 FitPoints, 87 active minutes, 60 of the were that walk.  This means I'm up on FitPoints compared to last week, plus I used only 36SP yesterday which is brilliant for a Saturday for me!

I had a delicious breakfast yesterday bacon medallions (1SP) with a dry fried egg and mushrooms on 2 slices of warburtons 400g wholemeal bread (3SP), such a great start to my day, I really enjoyed it, bacon medallions will definitely be going on my regular healthy shopping list, which I've just decided to start compiling.

 The lovely Jane gave me a bunch of dill at the workshop so I had to cook salmon, I love this meal, salmon and mash and because I knew I wouldn't be having another meal and so had spare points, I had me 6SP of butter in that mash which would've been 5SP without it, 11SP for a main meal is great if you're other meals are low.

Instead of raiding the crisp cupboard later, I made a broghie sandwich, 2 of them with a cheese triangle in between - my new favourite crunchy snack for 2SP.  

I know I've said it already this week, but I've absolutely loved the workshops this week, I think it's possibly the first time in a long time I've enjoyed talking about activity, not the easiest subject to cover because I have a lot of members who either don't like it or because of disabilities or age can't really do it.  We've proved that to be wrong this week and again I know I've already mentioned her but some of that was thanks to Lorraine helping me out by doing this video about strength, Strength training since then I've joined up to her on demand, will be doing my next workout tomorrow as off walking with my brother in a bit, but I might if it gets really nice, do one this afternoon, either in my kitchen or the garden because I've just seen one I fancy, that she's uploaded in the last few days, it's LIIT workout - 1 for my fellow WW that have signed up for it with me, if you're one of my Saturday gang you will recognise Vicky and Kell and you can see how far they've come since making this video with the help of both me and Lorraine, the combination of WW plan and Lorraine's workouts have worked wonders for them, both losing over 2 stone each!

I was just about to post a before and now photo of them both, one doing exercise in that video the other from Vs page but I realised I shouldn't do that without permission, so you'll have to go check the video out, until the let me know I can use a screen shot ;) and if you want to sign up remember there's a special £5 WW offer, all you need is your membership number which is the number under the barcode on your plastic membership card.  https://www.ltfitness.net

Right I need to stop typing and get taking Alfie for a quick walk so I can then go walk with my bro, my mornings are always so busy, then it slows down thankfully.  

Enjoy your day, I plan too, we've got this, and trust me, compared to how I felt at the beginning of May, this is so worth the effort, as much as I enjoy food and wine, I can enjoy them a little less frequently to have my enthusiasm for life back.  

Oh here's a couple of 30 day challenges, which have also been mentioned in the groups this week; 

#JournalJune & a delicious desert

Saturday 1st June 2019
May the month ahead bring you love, happiness and sunshine.

Here's to making June as good as May was for me, what would you like to achieve this month?  Mmm I'm not going to choose a weight loss goal, although I'd like to be lighter at the end of the month than I was at the beginning so I suppose that is a weight loss goal.  

My non scales goal is going to be to make activity a habit, I've just done my morning plank and I will do my workout again either tomorrow or Monday probably Monday as I go walking tomorrow morning, but I love that I have the flexibility of when I want to do them and that I'm not tied to a class, yes I think this on demand option is going to work for me. (https://www.ltfitness.net £5 a month, special price for WW members)

Yesterday was a chilled day, started with a walk on the park with Alfie and Kell who I bumped into whilst out, we talked foxes (for a change lol) then on our return we went and investigated the empty house two doors down which I thought was where the other end of the fox tunnel might be and there is evidence of them going behind that shed too, plus we actually saw one run up the garden.  So yeah it's either another den or a tunnel to the same one.   They had Alfie going mental in the middle of the night with their antics, I didn't get up to watch, I was so tired, instead I grabbed Alfie and made him stay on my bed with me until he calmed down which he did eventually. 

Anyway, after my paperwork, I then went and enjoyed my massage before spending the rest of the day chilling with mom, oh and a second walk for Alfie, he made sure I hit my 10k steps yesterday, I had planned on walking to massage but it started to rain and I don't mind getting wet but I don't want to be soaked and have a massage then put wet clothes back on.

We had this for lunch, breakfast had just been a banana and a handful of wafer thin chicken, oh and a cheese square between 2 broghies.  Those microwave chips didn't taste like they used to, so not sure I'll buy them again, someones recommended a different brand so I've added them to my online basket.

I've been using my journal since May 13th and I really do think it's helping me to stay focused on how many points I use and watch my sleep and activity patterns.  This is something I'm going to continue to do #JournalJune.  I've gone over my weekly allowance every week but by recording my activity points, I'm working at earning more FitPoints than I eat, as of this morning, this week, I'm at -45 weeklies and I've earned 50 FitPoints, so I'm on course.  It's working as I've lost that 7.5lb in May, when it stops working, I change my plan.  Until then...

Well that's mom just woke up, so I'll get off, oh but first, quickly I want to show you my pudding I had last night, zero greek yogurt, raspberry coulis and a WW mint protein crunch bar chopped up.  Delicious and easy to make.  

RASPBERRY COULIS

• 
  
  • 200g of raspberries
  • 1 tbsp of icing sugar (2 SP) 
  • Place the raspberries in a small pan with the icing sugar and heat for a few minutes until the raspberries collapse and release their juices.  Transfer to a bowl and blend briefly with a hand blender until the raspberries are puréed. Do not be tempted to over-blend the raspberries as this will break up the seeds and discolour the coulis. Pass through a fine sieve to remove the seeds and reserve in the fridge.
  One last thing, my brother is responding so well to treatment that they want him to have 4 more sessions, please if your a man or know any men, get them to get their prostrate checked.  The 3 hammers are doing free prostate cancer screening for men 45+ on Friday 14th June, 5.30-8.30, it's a simple blood test.  https://3hammers.co.uk.  Could save a life!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Here's to a fantastic June, lots of sunshine too hopefully.