Tag / weightloss

by jo

Back on Weight Watchers.

There. I’ve said it. I’ve officially come out again. I got too fat. I comfort ate through a lot of last year for various reasons. I reached 14 stone just after a large Pizza Hut pizza that I had scoffed in next to no time, thanks to being unhappy and hungry. I’d always said when I reached that weight that I’d go back on – so yes, I’m back doing Weight Watchers.

Weight Watchers logo

This time I’ve paid for it myself, I’m not working with them, and I’m turning around my bad habits I’ve fallen back onto. You can’t beat a takeaway on a Friday or Saturday which we were doing – just the one, mind. But the weight crept back on. It got really bad around my birthday when we went for Afternoon Tea, followed by a further, posher one a few days later where I ate cakes, cakes and more cakes and oh boy it was GOOD.

Great Fosters Afternoon Tea

I know the score. Track your food and track your activity. Fortunately my phone has a step tracker in it, so that’s switched on and I’m hitting my targets a couple of times a week which is good – and the steps I’m achieving give me three or more points a day, which don’t end up being used.

So from weighing in at the start of the year at 14 stone, I’m already down to 13 stone 7.5 which I think is bloody good going. I didn’t even try very hard, just stopped helping myself to the biscuit tub at work – although yesterday found out one Oreo Cookie is 2 points – the same as a Weight Watchers Chocolate Bar. Heheh.

I’ve been stocking up in Poundland, whose selection isn’t as good as it was when I last did Weight Watchers – and getting additional bits in my weekly Ocado shop. With me making progress I am starting to feel better about myself, so that’s progress.

Weight Watchers has changed though since I did it. I can now track things easily on my phone (I couldn’t before), and when I can’t find it straight away, I can scan in the barcode which makes life much easier. I am rubbish at tracking every day, but know that, and also know I don’t go anywhere near my daily allowance. For example – here’s the food I’ve had today.

Breakfast

Apple and Pineapple (0 points)

Snack

Pack of Quavers (3 points)

Lunch

Sainsbury’s Be Good To Yourself Egg and Cress Sandwich (7 points)

Evening Meal

Butternut Squash, Ginger and Parsnip soup (3 points – damn you parsnips) in the Soup Maker plus 1.3 Weight Watchers Naan Breads 4 points).  This is not the soup, it’s an old one but the picture will do.

bramleyappleandparsnipsoup

I have a daily allowance of 30 points, and that only uses 20 of them, leaving me 10.

I have walked 6050 steps today, which gives me an additional 7 points I can use, so 17 in total that could be used on treats if I fancied it. (I earned 12 yesterday doing pilates for an hour as well – but I was too tired when I got home and fell asleep from 9pm!)

So far, so good. Plus Weight Watchers are doing a deal at the moment, where if you lose 10lb in 8 weeks they’ll give you your money back – now if ever there was motivation to try, that’s it! Well I’m three and a half weeks in and I’ve lost seven. I reckon I can do it. You can still try too – you can register with that deal (and Quidco offer cashback too) until the end of February.

Shaun said at the weekend “I don’t want to get diabetes” – something we’re both at risk of getting – and it gave me yet another kick up the backside. Although I do worry when I hear H on the Wii Fit saying “oh I just want to lose two calories doing this” – at least it means nothing to her right now….

Sim's Life
by jo

A Healthy Me? November

I think as far as November and health goes, it’s a big fat FAIL.

Last week I developed a cough, similar to the one most of my friends have had with the flu – looks like the jab worked, but I’m just not immune from the cough at the end. So far I’m eight days in with around one to three hours worth of sleep every night – I am not a pretty sight. I even had four days off sick last week which I haven’t done in a very long time. I felt rough.

Add to that a rather violent cough which then put my back out – you couldn’t make it up. I have a new Osteopath who looks on the body as a whole rather than just sorting out the back, so I’m currently taking her advice. One of the things I said was how annoyed at myself I am for giving in to easy food and putting my weight back on so easily. She suggested eating apple and pineapple for lunch every day, and from making that change I now weigh 13 stone 2 – which isn’t too far off the 12 stone 11 I hit initially. I haven’t tried the dress recently either – too tired.

So, let’s break it down.

Swimming. Sadly, nothing. I have to stop doing breast stroke because of my back – it isn’t any good. I can’t do front crawl (I need to learn), so I’m going to take an induction for the gym and do cycling and cross training which are both okay for my back, as well as some gentle weights.

Being Active. I wish. We’ve been out and about but when the cough started I’ve pretty much stayed at home, weekends in my pyjamas. See also – getting out.

photo-3-1-300x225

Food. I’m making improvements. At Blogfest we did the Unilever plate to eat all our food, and I’m thinking of ways to make sure all our food is used and we don’t throw things away needlessly, which seems to be working. I’m still not sure how showing an empty plate helps spread the word, but I did it anyway. I’m eating better for breakfast and really letting this cold get out of my system. Apparently my immune system isn’t that good, and seeing as I’ve been keeping myself awake for the last week coughing I invested in a Vicks Humidifier which will hopefully help. In turn, I’ll probably eat even better as I’ll get my energy back. I have not had a scrap of energy to prepare a Yumbox the night before work.

Weight. Pretty happy with that, could lose a bit more, that’ll come once I’ve picked myself up and we’re back on track. Next month? Eek. This time next month it’s CHRISTMAS EVE. Cripes.

So yes, a week and a bit of poorly time, and now I’ve a billion and one blog posts to catch up on….

by jo

A Healthy Me? October

I realise I’ve not updated in ages on my weightloss attempts, and actually, I’m doing terribly. I tried really hard to eat well but in the last month tiredness and illness got the better of us all – and more often than not, food wasn’t as fresh as I’d have liked.

Add to that a week we’ve just had in North Yorkshire with far too many meals involving chips, and I’m stepping away from the scales for a few days – my clothes are telling me everything I need to know.

Having said that, I got the dress to fit! So I’m doing something right somewhere – I did read that travelling to a different time zone can play havoc with your weight as you eat more (I know I do) to compensate for the mealtimes you’re missing that you’re used to.

With illness I haven’t been swimming, though we did lots of walking around Yorkshire when we were there which has hopefully worked off some of the chips and fat! I’ve had the flu jab, so I’m going to see if that makes a difference to my overall resistance to being ill. Shaun has had it too and has been constantly unwell.

So let’s get back to each section I’m working on.

Swimming – could do better. I feel a lot better and ready to restart. Revisit – although I am thinking about doing cycling in the gym upstairs for the days I don’t feel like swimming – then I don’t need to wait before I eat.

Being Active – I am going to wear the Fitbug Orb again and start tracking again. We’ve definitely got an active life – most weekends are booked up now until the end of the year so I need to find ways which involve walking to get there where applicable rather than driving.

Getting Out – we do plenty of that.

Food – needs some work, although right now Shaun is dairy-free so our diet has been adjusted a little bit where we all eat. Sandwiches at work have been a bit hit and miss, and with being so tired and ill I haven’t used the Yumbox as much as I should. That is going to change next week. We’ve had lots of nice vegetable curries though!

veg-curry

Weight – I think the 12 stone 11 was a freak measurement as I’ve never hit it since (and I did try twice when it came up)  so we’ll revisit that at the end of this month.

The chips tasted good though. I’m now looking for good Air Fryer deals as I think that’s the way to go. Don’t deny myself, just make them healthier (and use other vegetables).

by jo

A Healthy Me?

I’m overweight, probably borderline obese again since we got back from Australia where I ate to my heart’s content (and the seven hour time difference threw things a bit as well). I need to lose that weight, so I’ve been doing little things here and there to make a difference – while in the back of my mind knowing that one day I will fit into THE dress I bought out there (for approximately £5).

fremantle dress

So here’s my plan:

Swimming – I keep clicking my back out, and I’ve had a stinky cold so I haven’t been as much as I should do. I intend to go back this week though and get kicking up and down the pool again. Because of the lack of swimming I’ve been trying to walk more and make sure I do a certain number of steps a day. The Fitbug hasn’t been used since I hurt my back, so I need to get back into that again.

Being Active – I like to think I’ve an active life, in fact I get told off sometimes that I never stop. Now school is back we’re into the regular routine, Rainbows (with me helping) on a Monday – this week I showed them how to skip… Tuesday is Football with my pilates class an hour afterwards. Wednesday H has swimming and it isn’t convenient to watch her without running over half of the gym to get a decent seat. Thursday and Friday I collapse…

Getting Out – on the weekend we’ve been trying to do trips and walks around a bit more. Last Saturday we went into Central London to visit the British Museum, and on Sunday after a party we had time to go to Nonsuch Park to finish H’s home learning for school.

Yumbox Panino

Food – I’m one of those meal deal people a few times a week and it has to stop. On the other days I’ve been buying a sandwich from M&S, a low calorie one with vegetables, however, I’ve had it so much now that I’m at the point of feeling sick if I see it again, and I’m bored of egg. The low calorie sandwich options are not great out there. So I’m taking things in hand – and have bought myself a Yumbox Panino. Two or three days a week I’m taking my own lunch in, on the busiest days so I’ve had some food beforehand. After a couple of weeks the Yumbox will have paid for itself. I was mocked today for having one, then praised at the layout and how ingenious the silicone seal on the lid is, so that was good! Today’s lunch was a sandwich and some vegetables and hummous – something I’d have probably paid up to a fiver for before now. How silly is that? Add some fruit and it’s all good.

I’m also on the lookout for an air fryer, or one of the kind of fryers which uses no oil at all and makes chips from scratch in no time at all.

So that’s the plan so far. Every few days I get an urge to start running, but then my back gets a bit clicky so it’s put to one side – I’ll concentrate on the swimming for now I think!

I weighed myself this morning, and after coming in around 13 stone 4 when we got back, I’m now weighing 12 stone 11 – so something is working somewhere. I have to add, the difference moving around when your back doesn’t constantly hurts is a big one too.

So this is my September update – back in October. Maybe I’ll try get the dress on….