I'm Back!

Hello again - long time no see!

After several years of being away from slimming world I am back!  I never did reach my goal that I desperately longed for.  My goal back then was to lose about 4-5 stones.  I managed to lose 2 1/2 stones - and then it all just seemed to fall apart.  Creeping ever so slowly back on again until I was right back to where I started.  I've tried umpteen ways to try and lose weight ever since..quick fixes...losing a couple of pounds here and there but never sustaining anything long enough to make a difference - and then in true form whatever I lost went right back on again.

So back with my dieting partner in crime Karen - I rejoined slimming world over a week ago (kind of half heartedly if I'm honest) and in my first week I lost 4lbs!  I am amazed.  In my head I always think I'm kind of eating in a slimming world fashion anyway - but obviously not when I stick to it and lose 4lb!  Although to be fair my main meals are not to be bad.  My downfall is bread and junk food at night.  During the day I am fine as I have a busy full-time job, night time was where it all fell apart.  But made some good changes this last week and it obviously paid off.  I was delighted to find out that you are allowed 3 slices of 400g wholemeal loaf - this has really made my day being the bread lover that I am.  It seems to satisfy me much more that the measly 2 slices of paper thin weight watchers bread.  Rediscovering slimming world homemade chips has also been my saviour this week.  Crisps have always been my downfall, Walkers being my favourite - but being 6 syns a go, I've switched to hula pufts which are just 3 syns a bag.  Also with the crisps, I could easy have had more that one bag, and then something else after it...and then something else after that.  I've just been forcing myself to say no after I've had them - and it's obviously helped.

I'm going to try and update some of my recipes on here as I go along, as they are a bit out of date now and some of the syn values may have possibly changed now.

Anyhow it's good to be back.  4lbs is a great start,  spring is here and hoping to be out and about more - so feeling very positive at the moment, which sometimes is half the battle.

See you soon X

Progress....or lack of!

Well it's just been one slippery slope, probably since about January.  I lost my mojo a bit,  stopped going to class as the New Year resolution gang joined enmasse and class took forever...I mean forever!! Things cropped up socially and with the kids that stopped me going every other week. I started having a bit of this and a bit of that. I then started having more of this and lots more of that. I gained a little. I went on holiday to Tenerife a wee bit heavier than I was but still felt acceptable.  Which brings me to round about April time. I work in a school and April to July is the busiest term ever. It was s#?t! I was stressed. Mega stressed. I'm not sure if I was consciously over eating on junk but I know that stress causes weight gain due to a hormone it triggers. The rest is just a downward spiral from that moment on.

I have tried several times to get myself back into slimming world. I know how it works. I know the plan. I have the books...I start off my day well but by evening it's all been sabotaged by eating crisps, a biscuit, sometimes chocolate, maybe a sandwich thrown in there and possibly more crisps!!!

Why oh why?! I hate the weight I am. I hate how I look and yet it doesn't seem to be enough. It's got to come from within and I just don't know or understand why I am doing it to myself because I end up every night feeling grumpy and frustrated with myself for not sticking to it, vowing that tomorrow I'll be better...and the wheel just seems to go round and round!!

I buy jeans that fit...and then another size smaller for when I can fit into them. I have heaps of smaller clothes with labels still on them! Even that doesn't seem to be incentive enough. It's the wrong kind of pounds I'm losing!

So browsing through my kindle and I find this book. A comedy about a couple trying to lose a bumper amount of weight in a competition to try and win the big cash prize of £50,000 and all the ups and downs of trying to lose weight.

I'm hoping that I can relate to the problems they encounter...and hopefully get some motivation back!!

Failing that....I think it's wired jaws and a zip!!

Turkey Burger

This was quite nice.  I wanted to have a burger, but the last time I made them they were quite bland.  So looked online for some recipes and found a fajita seasoned burger.  They had a bit of a kick in them, but still not 100% there on the flavour - so next time I will just add more.

The seasoning recipe was for 500g turkey mince.  Basically add to the mince, mix, pound and then make into patties - then pan fry them - 3/4 minutes either side.

To make the seasoning:

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes

salt and pepper (to season the top and bottom of burger before grilling)

Gain

Oh dear!  I've been slipping for quite a while now and it's been a bit like one step forward and 10 steps back.  My heart hasn't really been in it.  I had missed class for various reasons, mainly due to being away for a few weekends and as my class is on a saturday, with working fulltime, sometimes a saturday can be busy with appts etc.  So today I stood on my own scales and saw that I was probably going to be about 3 or 4lbs heavier than the last time I went.  I know the diet, I know what to do, what to eat etc so thought to myself that as my heart wasn't in it, I would probably be better giving the class up and just plodding along doing it myself and saving myself the £5 each week.  Although I did feel quite guilty about giving up.  However, a quick chat with my pal Karen who also goes to Slimming World, changed my mind and I was back to class before I knew it and feeling motivated again to carry on.  Sometimes when you slip it's quite hard to get back into it, and I find that when hubby is home it just all goes right out the window!  However - I'M BACK and am raring to give it another go!!  I only have 4.5lbs to take me into the next stone bracket - so if I could manage that before I go on holiday I'll be quite happy!  As I've said before, I'm def taking the scenic route and my journey is such a slow one - but I'll just keep chipping away at it and hopefully one day will be a size and shape that I'm much happier with and a lot more confident about.  Onwards and upwards!!

Strazzers

The strawberries in the supermarkets are so big at the moment.  This one was almost the size of my palm, in fact nearly the entire punnet had strawberries this size.  They are big but they are certainly not nice and juicy like the ones bought in the summer.  I do like strawberries though and they are still nice enough - local is def best though - can't wait for summer, can almost taste them from here :)

Risotto

This is one of the things I make with my leftovers of roast chicken. It's so quick and simple to make.  I add some chicken stock to some risotto rice, add some shredded chicken, chopped onion, frozen peas, garlic, salt and plenty of black pepper.  Cook in the oven for about 20/25 minutes until the liquid has absorbed and the rice has softened and then at the end sprinkle with grated parmesan.  I love it :)

Measurements for 1 serving approx 75g rice and 250ml chicken stock.

Slow Cooker Ham and Diet Coke

That's the ham all sliced and sorted ready for tomorrow night's tea :)