Addicted to Shiny Stickers...

Another Thursday has been and gone and it was my weigh-in day.  I was so desperate to lose 0.5lb to get a shiny sticker.  A little round white sticker that said 5% on it.  You also get a book, but I am not bothered by a book, Shiny stickers are where it's at.  I tried so hard to lose my teeny tiny half a pound, and I lost 3!

Yep, you heard it, 3lb off!  That means since 18th August when I began this crazy journey I have lost 13lb.  Which means if I am REALLY good this week and lose 1lb I will et another shiny sticker.  of course I am losing weight for myself, to regain my confidence and my self-worth BUT that shiny silver sticker is calling to me.  So this week I am going to be good again.

I started well with bananas and Zumba, and went down hill a bit with wine and chocolate, but I have a plan, and I will stick to it.

Heading in the Right Direction

Suddenly, Summer is back.  I sweated my way through the morning, came home and got changed into SHORTS and a VEST top!  I went for a walk with the dog for 6km with no socks in my shoes and now my heels are covered in blisters and my shoes area  bit smelly.  But it is a step in the right direction.

I thought I would share a bit more about me.  I am 34, I have two children - Son (8), and Daughter (7).  I also have a Husband, and a Dog.  On here I plan to only refer to them as Son, Daughter and Husband, but Dog is called George, so may be referred to as George.  A few years ago I did Weight Watchers and lost 4 stone.  I had a little 50lb certificate, all sorts of shiny stickers and a pretty keyring!  I still had 2 stone to lose.  So, of course, I became a clerk at my meeting, stopped paying any attention to anything and had a long period where I maintained but did not lose anything.  Then I started a full time job, and I started to regain the weight.  The job got progressively more stressful, and eventually I spent the period from Feburary 2011 to July 2011 crying, drinking lots of alcohol, eating cheese and chocolate and generally finding life very difficult.  I stopped exercising, I stopped spending time with my kids and I stopped being happy.

In July 2011 I stopped work!  I had three weeks off with a stress related medical issue, and felt a bit normal.  When I went back I knew that stopping this job was right for me, and that finding something else that was low stress, so I could put my effort into my home life and relationships was the way forward.  So I left.  I am now at home, enjoying the stress reduction and looking into what jobs might be around that I actually fancy doing.  In the meantime I am baking, spending time with the children, trying to do a bit of writing, walking the dog and generally spending time and energy on myself.  This makes for a happier home life, and means my whole life has recovered some equilibrium.

Havign been in denial about my weight, I looked at some holiday snaps from July / August 2011 and was horrified.  Gone was the slim body I had worked so hard to get.  In its place was some kind of beached whale, monstrous wobbly thing.  I KNEW I had to do something about it.  A good friend goes to Weight Watchers, and with a new plan since I last tried it, it seemed like a good idea.  I rejoined on August 18th and so far I have lost 10lbs.  This is despite the fact I have had my daughter's birthday and my husband's birthday to deal with, as well as dealing with a huge lifestyle change. I realise it is a small loss in the time but this is for life, not just for weight loss!  I am going to weigh in on Thursday and am hoping to have lost at least 0.5lb as this will get me my 5%.  This is a shiny sticker that goes in my card and shows me that I have done a GOOD THING!

I always was a sucker for a shiny sticker.

Its a new day!

Yesterday was a new day, and it went really well!

1.  I went to ZUMBA.  What a laugh.  I am really un-coordiated, and mostly unable to tell my left from my right in a hurry, so I was rubbish at this.  But I had a great time, let other people laugh at the fact I could not coordinate my arms with my legs, and came home glowing, and feeling very smug about the start of my week.(Yes I know yesterday was Friday! I weigh in on a Thursday night so Friday is the start of MY week.) 

2.  My friend and I went to the Weight Watchers Get Gorgeous Lounge.  What a fantastic idea!  We had Weight Watchers Tagine, Weight Watchers Mousse,  a mini manicure and a massage.  The Tagine and Mousse were both delicious, but I am unlikely to buy the Tagine.  It is too expensive, and I could make it at home, so for me it is not really worth it.  But anyone who is looking for a quick convenient meal, go for it.

3. Then as we were walking back to the car we were invited to have a free makeover.  I don't really wear all that much make-up, but my friend does, so she had her make-up done professionally.  She has been going through a tough patch (not for me to share really) but it was fantastic to see a smile on her face, and the make-up lady made her look GORGEOUS.  On the way home she texted her boyfriend to demand a meal out - and she definitely looked the part!

4. I went to Beavers (for those not in the know these are mini scouts age 6-8) and talked about Healthy Eating.  And for the first time I did not feel like a hypocrite.  We often discuss the need for exercise, and a balanced diet and today I have both exercised and eaten a balanced diet.  Yay!

5.  My Daughter had her frst riding lesson.  She loved it, and to see her going round and round, making the person holding her lead rein run in circles was great, as was her smile when she finished it.

6.  My husband is going out for a curry tonight, so last night I told him I had food envy.  When I got in from all the fun he had cooked me a delicious, low fat, made up curry.

Recipe (for two)
Ingredients
250g chicken breast
1 tin chopped tomatoes
150g 0% Fat Greek Yogurt
One Chilli, deseeded and chopped
2 tablespoons curry powder
One Onion
150g long grain rice
Saffron

Method

Chop chicken and onion, fry in a little oil in a sacuepan or other deep, lidded cooking pot (he used the wok!) until browned all over. Add other ingredients, cover and simmer. Meanwhile, boil some rice with a pinch of saffron following the intructions on the rice packet.  Remove the lid after about 10 mins to allow the sauce to reduce and thicken.  Once it is to your liking ( I like a really thick gooey sauce but I know some like theres a little runnier.  This is personal taste when you are eating a made up curry, so as long as the chicken is cooked through it is not a huge issue.  Drain the rice and pour over a kettle of boiled water to wash any starch away.  Serve on a plate.  Eat with a knife and fork.

Oh and I found this website. http://www.43things.com/   I am not sure if this counts as an excellent thing but basically it is a goal setting website.  So you set yourself a load of goals which could be a short term goal (lose a lb, get a hair cut, eat a biscuit) or long term goals (find a career/job, write a novel, eat a packet of biscuits), they can be sensible or silly or just plain wierd, and then you report back on how you did.  You can fill in a treport on how you managed to complete your goal, and comment on other peoples goals.  Going to have a think about this and maybe try using it.

So 6 (maybe 7!) excellent things happened yesterday. And today is another new day.  Another friend is coming to visit, husband is away on a stag weekend (hence the curry) and the only plans I have are Daughter's dance lessons.  Oh, I might make Son practice his karate.  Other than that it is wait and see what the day brings!

Why?

Soooo...This is my new Blog.  Exciting!  There is all this blank space to fill with my ramblings and thoughts.  I decided to start a Blog because I read so many fantastic, interesting blogs while hunting around the internet and I felt a bit left out! 

Why this blog then, and why now?  On holiday this summer I saw some photos of myself and realised I NEED to lose some weight! Whilst looking for a sensible diet that would not involve eating only a steamed lettuce leaf and half a banana, I read lots of weight loss blogs, and I thought that having this blog would make me more accountable for my weight loss.  I need to lose 78lb! At Least! 

I have deiced to Weight Watch, as this looks like a sensible, manageable diet to follow long term.  I was doing brilliantly, in 5 weeks I lost 10lb.  This is exactly what Weight Watchers say you should lose - 2lb a week!  Tonights weigh in I managed to stay exactly the same as last week.  This might be because I had two birthdays - my daughter and my husband - this week.  But is more likely to be because i did not religiously count those little points.  Basically I put more stuff in my mouth than I burnt off. And drank about 3 bottles of wine, and ate a load of chocolate... And now I feel royally miffed by the fact I did not lose.  In my head because I want to lose those pounds they should just fall off.  Staying the same is just not on the master plan!

Anyway, I have drawn a line, as recommended by my slightly over-happy leader (much more about her later I am sure) and tomorrow I am back on it!