Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Well, as the title suggests, I have had a great week (well, less than a week really being as I only had 5 full days between weigh in), but as I say, I have had a great week. I lost 4lbs again! Not only that, but I achieved the SW hat trick - 1st stone off, slimmer of the week and slimmer of the month! Super chuffed. I did feel like doing a bit of a dance when I came out of SW this week :-)

(sorry about the picture quality - I have bounced my phone off the quarry tiled floor this week, the camera did not fare so well)

So, my reward was that I got some shiny stickers for my SW book,  certificates, and a massive bag of fruit and veg, oh and the lovely feeling of having got what I deserved  - a good loss!

Our lovely SW lady (who, herself has become famous this week for her huge loss - you can read about her here) was so encouraging, and I can really relate to where she has been, as I am there now :-)

Mom, and all the other slimmers are so encouraging, what a nice bunch of people.

Once again I have come home, logged on, and chosen 7 new recipes for tea, from SW online and from my new curry book, and shopped accordingly. I feel set up for dinner with the folks tomorrow night, and for all my meals next week. Good times...even get to have a brulee for pud tomorrow night.

I was a little unsuccessful in one area last week, I promised to use my portion plate - but if I am completely honest, just plain forgot!

I am however, just a little excited about the prospect of colour coding my food diary to see how much of the good stuff I am actually eating - high-lighters, here we come!

So, I shall keep trying, and look forward to whatever this week brings.

See you soon reader x

Walk this way

Not that all of my posts are going to borrow a song title (it's Aerosmith & Run DMC if you weren't sure), but yeah, why not.

So....after a horrible and very upsetting day on Thursday, where we lost one of our horses suddenly. I think you'll understand why SW wasn't high on the list of priorities that day, and I missed my weigh in. Now normally, when I have missed classes in the past, I just take it as a 'day off' and then go the next week, only to have maybe put on a little or maintained, which is frustrating to say the least, and really a waste of a week. This time, I contacted SW lady straight away, she put me in touch with the next class in my area, and I went, this morning.

4LB LOSS! Wahoooooo!

I'm very pleased with that - I have stuck to plan all week, and although I have eaten out twice, I checked out the menu before hand and chose the most sensible option that I could on the day and bloody enjoyed myself! No feeling deprived what so ever!

I have been for 3 short walks (20-30 mins) this week, and had a go on the cross trainer - which, to be fair, I think will be put on hold for a fitter time in my life, as I managed just over 5 minutes, before it felt like my quad muscles were going to rip through my thighs, and generally have just been a bit more active.

I've maintained the organised approach, I have once again planned our evening meals for the week, and shopped accordingly. I feel in control, ready for the week ahead. Mom and I are planning to walk back from the stables tomorrow, which is about 2 1/2 miles, as I need to start throwing in a longer one here and there to make sure that the 5k in May is not a big shock to the system.

My other plan for this week, is to use my portion plate, I have talked about it before here. The eating plan I am on allows you to have as much free food as you like - healthy things, like fruit, veg and lean meat - which is great, but I have been carrying on with my usual sized portions - which is ok at the mo, as the calories compared to my previous meals, will still be considerably less, but at some point that will matter - so better I get my head round it now, while I've still got room for manoeuvre, so to speak.

I have a much shorter time to weigh in now, only 5 days instead of the usual 7 - but I am really hoping for 3lbs on Thursday - then I will have dropped my first stone. I am already noticing a few differences. For one - my always swollen feet and ankles (on work days), are noticeably slimmer, and not holding any excess fluid which can only be a good thing, and my cankles (wow, I am so science-y) - the bit between my actual ankle, and my calf, has also got thinner, definitely - I know this, because my long boots did straight up without me needing to coax the zip past! Result!

So there only remains one thing, no food/diet related photo this post - but due to the circumstances, I'll put a pic of Kiki & my best girl, Wigs - really sad times, we have lost both horses in 4 months. Lovely girls. x

Back to school

For me, it was something that the lovely SW consultant, Carron said to me in my first week, that really resonated with me....'treat it like a project'.
Little did she know, that she couldn't have said anything better to me - that is like a red rag to a bull, but in a good way.

You see, I am, what you might call a stationery whore. I love useless little post-it tabs, brightly coloured dividers, patterned paper, cards, fancy pens, you name it, if you can buy it at Staples, I will without doubt love it!

So, my first week at SW has been all about the project, first of all I got myself a folder (purple, naturally) and some dividers, I went on the SW website, and decided that because we tend to eat the same old, same old all the time, we would try something new - and I printed off a recipe for each night - I ordered the shopping on line, using the recipes as my list, and pinned the list of dinners on the wall, with strict instructions to the chef (hubby) that on pain of death, he has to follow these to the letter, which is hard for him, as he used to be an actual chef, and never uses recipes!

I downloaded the SW and C25K app, put some hideous photos of me in the front of my book to inspire me, and researched a couple of challenges for me to have a go at. A few minutes on the laptop, and I have booked myself on to 2 5K runs! Ok, so when I said researched, I checked, and it is totally ok to walk these - phew! The first, in May, is the black light run - basically you get neon powder thrown at you throughout the run, which glows under UV - so it's all glow in the dark....I'm thinking through what neon goodies I have in my fancy dress drawer (yes, as a 39 year old woman, I do actually have 2 fancy dress drawers) and can think of some pretty fab stuff to wear. The second, is the colour run, and this runs (pardon the pun) much the same, only in daylight, and this year, they have GLITTER! Oh my god, I am so overexcited about the fact they have glitter. This was the sole reason I signed up - seriously, if it had said 10K, I might even have done it!

I guess, what I am trying to say, is that if something taps into my brain in this way, like only a project can, then maybe, just maybe.....it might work.

The signs are good so far - did I mention that I lost 1/2 stone in my first week?
Wahoooooooooooooo!

 

There are some lovely folks out there who have really inspired and encouraged me this week - so big thanks to you all for that, I do really appreciate it.

 

Anyhow, the shopping has been delivered, the list is up for the week, and I'm off to make super healthy home made pea and bacon soup. Yum!

Here I go again!

In the words of the bouff haired David Coverdale - he of Whitesnake fame...'Here I go again...'

Hello lovely reader, I know I've been away for a while - but I'm back now, and ready to give calories a right kick up the jacksie.

Although I have always been of the larger variety, I have never really felt large inside , everything seemed to work properly, and the biggest of my problems was that I couldn't get knee high boots to fit - but I can be a bit slow on the uptake sometimes (no comments please) and recently my knees have been hurting, my feet have hurt for a long time, and I just generally feel like I have been run over, all down to being far too heavy for the willowy 5ft 8-er I should really be.

It came to a bit of a head for me on a girly hol in Cornwall back in November. We visited the beautiful Minnack Theatre, and just down the cliff from the Minnack, is a beautiful beach....

 

See, it's gorgeous isn't it (despite the little man popping up in the corner)? Turquoise sea off the coast of Britain, who would have thought it? It was a really warm day, t-shirt weather in fact, and my feet were crying out for a paddle, but I looked down that drop, and I thought about how, once down there, how the hell was I ever going to get back up without some kind of cable car or breathing apparatus. Bad times - I had been truly scuppered from doing something I wanted to do, because of my weight, and the discomfort and embarrassment it would bring. Now I know my fellow holiday ladies would not have been judging me, but I would have, in between the heavy breathing...A LOT.

 

So, I mentioned I was a slow on the uptake....well, since then I have quite literally being chewing the fat....thinking what can I do, how can I stick to whatever I decide? Every winter I think that come next summer, I won't have fat ankles, so I can wear skirts, or cropped trousers etc, and then each winter, I think I won't have fat calves next year, so  I can get a choice of knee high boots to wear.....but each season, I am a bit bigger, and everything stays the same.

 

I've mentioned in a previous post that I haven't got a 'thin' photo so I always struggle to have any visual references that remind me how I may have once looked, so what could I use to help keep me on track?

 

One of my lovely besties, Sara, is getting married this year, in October, and she has asked me to be one of her bridesmaids. Exciting!! For one, I have never been one before, and although a state 99% of the time, I do like a glam outfit from time to time; and two, did I mention one of my best friends is getting married??? Super chuffed for her, and super excited to be involved in all the sparkly fluff that surrounds a good wedding :-)

 

So, this is where I started ruminating some more.....we went to choose Sara's dress (it's a beauty by the way, and she looks stunning in it, absolutely gorgeous) anyhow, she chose so quickly, she asked the lady if us bridesmaids could try on some posh frocks too.......I did have an inward meltdown. I was not prepared. Wrong undies, hairy tree trunks, old tired bra - am I painting a beautiful picture? Anyhow, the only frock that was roughly around my size was still considerably smaller than I needed, and in a deep orange (not a good colour on me!)....when I saw myself in the mirror, I was mortified....and I just keep thinking how I am going to feel on the day - a big blimp. If I focus on that, I am hoping that I can carry on sticking to some kind of diet.

 

Now, I am not setting myself up with unrealistic goals, I have 9 full months until the big day - so I am thinking if I could lose a pound a week, then that's getting on for 3 stone - any less would be a disappointment, I am hoping for more really, maybe more like 4 or 5 stone.

 

I also have seen something that has really taken my fancy - there is a 5k run called the colour run in August, where you basically get blasted in coloured powder and glitter on your way round.....you can walk it, which I am aiming for, as even walking that distance would be a challenge for me, I am so unfit. If I can run a little bit here and there, well, that would be the icing on the cake.

 

Trainer shopping it is then.......wish me luck once again, and I shall keep you posted with my ups and downs............x