Day 3

So far, so good.  Planning sure does make things easier!

I had another perfect day yesterday ... again including dessesrt.  It's amazing how much food you get on a healthy eating plan when you actually stop and plan it out.  Enough to keep you lovely and full and not missing out on any of the good stuff .... even the Ben & Jerry's (but just a small portion and put on some crumbled meringue to bulk it out).

Today I've purposefully given myself a slightly more relaxed day - but not too relaxed.  I took today off work, as it's just too quiet in the office at the moment and I felt like some R & R instead would be a good thing.  But lo and behold, even on my day off I've still been thinking and planning.

I just switched things around a little bit, so that instead of having a larger lunch and smaller breakfast as is my norm, I had a bigger brunch (after my lie-in of course!) and a bowl of my zero point soup later.  And I even booted my ass down to the gym for my regular Friday circuits.  Since I didn't have any particular plans for today, I didn't see why I shouldn't go along as usual, and I'm glad I did (once I'd sufficiently recovered my breath not to feel like passing out).  I also figured, that since I was planning on a takeaway tonight, I should put some hard work in first to earn it.

After my very late lunch (errrr - half 3 / 4 o'clock - not sure how that happened!), I spent a happy couple of hours wandering round the mall at Cribbs Causeway looking for new work trousers, some Converse trainers, and new gym bottoms.  I've managed to find my gym gear, and a lovely pair of red converse (so pretty, and a different style for me - I'm branching my wardrobe in a different direction again!), but no work trousers. 

Tonight's been a sofa evening with my fully licenced and planned-for takeaway.  I sensibly came home and perused the menu first before heading round to the takeaway, so I knew what I wanted and didn't over-order on a split second decision.  Definitely a good plan.   And although I still ate more than I needed, I did leave something on the plate, which is such a mind-fuck for me usually.  Baby, baby steps. 

So not a bad start to my new Weightwatchers week.  Meals are all planned up til Sunday, and I fully intend to sit down then and plan the next couple of days out.  Scales were slightly down this morning on last week, at 13st 3.2lbs.  I'm going to a friend's birthday tomorrow night (need to think of a drinking strategy tomorrow afternoon before I go), and then seeing a friend on Sunday night.  Invites have been sent for our flatwarming, tickets have been purchased for Leopallooza this summer (whoooop! My first ever proper festival!), and I shall leave you with some photos from the last couple of weeks.  Firstly, some silliness from the roller disco the other week, and then some of the photo booth pics from the Jailbreak party a week or so before - I do silly so well, don't you think!  Also please note the awesomeness of my "after" hair in the last shot, once the lady doing all the crazy hairstyles had been at it at the party - love love!!

Hope y'all are having a good weekend! xx

And On That Note ...

... My trousers just gave a resounding comment regarding their feelings on the size my ass at the moment - second seam to go in a week has just ripped!!!

Mind you - I have had these trousers and worn them consistently to work several times a week for 2 years or so now, so maybe I shouldn't be too surprised.

I feel some emergency trouser shopping coming on tonight - I'm not sure fixing them again is worth it. Hopefully, I'll be getting into my smaller ones soon anyway!


- Posted from my iPhone

The Mighty Plan

All hail The Mighty Plan!!!

And Soup!! Lots and lots of Soup!

As promised, I've got my ass in gear. I have planned. I will not say I have A Plan, as that implies some kind of longevity that we all know I generally lack the application of, but I have Planned, and in the short-term I know exactly what I'm doing.

I even went Food Shopping!!! With A List!!! An activity that has been sadly lacking around these parts for a while now.

Basically speaking, I sat down yesterday and cast my mind back to the distant reaches of early 2009, when I was actually doing something novel which I believe they call Losing Weight. Sadly, my actual trackers from that period have been lost to the mists of time, but I spent a while mulling over the general habits that made me successful.

I was quite surprised how many individual habits or tricks I could come up with, especially when I considered how many I've since abandoned. I still weigh my portions of pasta and cereal etc - that's now a deeply ingrained habit, but I realised I used to bring my own lunch virtually every day, and most days that included home-made soup, so I knew every point I was eating. I kept small snacks in the house and took a supply to work, or out with me, so I didn't need to think about treats or fuel - it was just there. No wonder I used to be able to avoid the pic'n'mix at the cinema - I always had a treat-size pack of Cadbury Buttons ready in my bag.

So last night I stocked my cupboards. I got treats, fruit and supplies. I cooked a double portion of veg sauce for my pasta and half went in the fridge. I have meals ready to go til Sunday. I made soup (so much soup!!) from the remnants of the fridge and fresh stuff and have 6 portions pre-boxed and ready to go (3 in the freezer, 2 in the fridge and one here at work). And I made sandwiches to bring with me today.

My tracker yesterday was a perfect 29 points and I'd had dessert after dinner. I went to bed last night feeling happy, satisfied and guilt-free for a change.

I've re-evaluated why I want to do this: it's for me. Not for how I look, but how I feel. I can look good when I want to, and I'm far more confident these days than I've probably ever been before. But I miss how I felt a stone ago. I miss how my clothes felt and my fitness felt. I like feeling sleeker and more toned and tighter. I miss feeling lighter and more energetic. And I miss the feeling of achieving my goals.

I'm going to focus on those feelings, my immediate plans, positive self-talk and how I feel. And a little bit less focus on the scales because they'll do their thing in their own sweet time.

Xx

- Posted from my iPhone

Lack of Planning

The weekend ended not too badly on the food front. Jo and I ended up at her health club on Monday for a bit of light cardio, a couple of laps of the outdoor pool and a jacuzzi, followed by healthy lunch at the club's restaurant. Oh, and the 20 min walk there and back. Unfortunately, there was a slight downfall later in the evening in the form of fudge bought back for me from Croyde by my flatmates. But overall, the weekend wasn't terrible - I just need to get my Friday nights a bit more under control so I don't use all of my weekly points in one day!

Today would have been excellent, but my lack of foresight let me down. And by lack of foresight, I mean "lack of food in the house".

I read a post earlier with a little quote in it "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail". I don't necessarily agree with that all the time, but in terms of healthy eating it can be quite true. No food equals a lack of choices and a tendency to go wrong.

On the upside, I just gave the rest of my Green and Black's chocolate to my housemates to deal with (and that was hard believe me!!!).

Tomorrow, I intend to do a bit of meal-planning so I can do an efficient shop and get some of the opportunities for temptation nailed down before I go wrong again. There's no point having disaster-avoidance at the weekend if I waste my opportunities during the week!!

What-ho, sailors of the healthy-eating seas, full steam ahead!

- Posted from my iPhone

Trying Something Different

I know - just occasionally I do some of this healthy-eating thing that I'm meant to. Sort of. Anyway, I thought I should try and make some effort this weekend since weekends are my (epic) failing point and I'm not so busy for once.

Sometimes you have to pick your battles. I often rely on my Friday circuits class as putting me on the right track, psychologically speaking, for the week.

Yesterday's class was not a great one, it has to be said. For the first time ever, I had to leave a class early. I got half-way through and was feeling so light-headed I actually made the decision to walk out. I have to admit that I felt a bit of a failure for leaving, but you can't win them all - yesterday was not happening and it wasn't my fault - just one of those days. But here's the thing with The War: sometimes you can't win every Battle, but it doesn't mean it's time to give up.

After that, yesterday evening was a lovely start to the weekend. Hannah and I met up for Eat Drink Bristol Fashion, which was a pop-up food event in Bristol. Giant tee-pees set up in beautiful Queens Square, and inside, a glass of champagne and tapas dishes by Michelin starred chef Josh Eggleton, an open fire pit and a live jazz band.

It was absolutely delicious - not traditional Spanish tapas but little dishes to nibble on - think scallops wrapped in pancetta, asparagus with a garlic and herb butter, beetroot spelt risotto and sticky ribs. However it did use up a fair chunk of my weekly points on top of my dailies. Aided by a big ol' glass of a yummy Sauvignon Blanc with such lovely fruity flavours it was a treat for the tongue (after a couple of glasses of the bubbly stuff).

Today, I'm enjoying a lovely relaxing day to myself. I caught an epic night's sleep last night and have just enjoyed a couple of hours in my local coffee shop browsing a magazine and reading my book (and totally ogling the cute guy sat across from me :-)). Right now I'm catching up on last week's The Voice before I scooch over to my friend Clare's house for tea and this week's instalment. I admit - I'm hooked!! And yes - I've tracked all my eats.

Nipping down to London tomorrow to catch up with my lovely bf Jo. Good times.

- Posted from my iPhone

A Huge Leap Forward

I was kind of hoping I'd be able to write this post (as I hinted at earlier in the week) and thankfully it's all turned out just dandy, so I can!

It often seems in life, that just as one area of your life stutters a bit (dating, weightless, take your pick), another part comes together.

Some of you may know that I've really struggled with debt for the last 18 months or so. I had debt before that, at a much more manageable level, but The Great Life Upheaval of 2010 caused it to spiral rather out of control. Suddenly, I found myself on the receiving end of a lifestyle I couldn't quite afford and not an easy exit to be seen.

And for the first time in my life, I picked up the reins and determined to get myself the hell out of that debt hole without parental help and on a permanent basis.

Last year tuned into a near constant struggle to make ends meet, as I teetered along a very uncomfortable edge of just-about-managing-my-debt, and I ended up having to make some very tough decisions to get my expenditure under control.

After reading lots of literature online about debt management, I finally took a deep breath and downsized my car (not such a trauma since the old one was giving me so much grief, although it went against my long-inbuilt snobbery to get a cheaper car instead of a flashier one). After that came an even bigger step as I move out of my beautiful warehouse flat and into a shared house with strangers. It all turned out well (after a bit of deposit-juggling and a few traumas with moving date delays), and I started this year able to finally start making inroads into my debt.

Today, the next big piece has finally fallen into place. As a result of my improved financial management, my internal credit rating with the bank has gone up, and today I scored a loan to consolidate my debts. All of them. Even better still, it's a staff loan (as I work for a bank) and it turns out it comes with some very nice perks attached such as a lower interest rate and the ability to make as many over-payments as I want with no financial penalties.

Today I paid off pretty much all my credit cards and laid a small "safety" fund on one side in my savings. Today, I move forward!


- Posted from my iPhone

The Long Weekend

The problem with surf weekends that lack on the surf front is that they are basically just weekend's full of eating and little or no exercise to offset it!!! Doh!!!

That said, this weekend's trip to the Gower was lovely and probably just what was prescribed in terms of time to unwind and relax. I made it to the cottage late on Friday night, after a false start where I got to our tiny village only to find that there was no phone signal and I didn't have the address, so I had to dive 5 miles back up the road to find a mobile signal so I could call my friends and find out where I was supposed to be going.

Saturday's surf was a no-starter as it was flatter than the proverbial pancake, so we had a wander out towards Wormshead Point and then lunch and a cream tea, followed by dinner at a lovely local pub in the evening.

Sunday was even lazier as the pelting rain discouraged us from wanting to leave the house at all. A lie-in followed by grazing, board games and trying to get the log-burner lit followed. And a BBQ in the evening.

Yesterday we had a bit of a change of scene and tried our hands at archery and falconry on the way home!!

The scales pretty much stuck their tongue out at me this morning as a result. Not good and it entirely serves me right. These trips away are not good for either my purse or my waistline and I'm rather glad that May is actually looking rather light on the ground for confirmed bookings. I need to make a concerted effort to get my waist and purse back under control.

Hopefully, I'll have some developments on the debt front to report later in the week though which would be great.

In the meantime I leave you with my lovely new haircut (although it has been slightly rained on the way home):




As well as my poor knees a week on from the roller-disco - damn my ability to bruise like a peach!!!




- Posted from my iPhone