A Woman's work is never done . . . Well mine isn't

Do you ever wonder why you get worn out, I do, until I have a day like today.  (actually every weekday)

My hubby often jokes about "Why I am always tired", "you have to do work to be tired" he say's, Just before he gets the look, the don't push me look,  the look he has nicknamed the "Scotty Glare". (Maiden Name was Scott) 

My day starts at 6am ish, when the hubby's alarm goes off, I desperately try to get back to sleep for another hour needing every ounce of beauty sleep I can get.  Then the mayhem starts, not only getting myself ready but shouting on the teenage son every ten minutes to actually move from his bed and attempt to get dressed.

Finally downstairs and the production line of breakfasts and lunches start, while in between making sandwiches I am still shouting on the teen to move and hanging out today's load of washing in the hope it will stay dry until I get home again this evening.

Finally the teen is up, dressed and looking human so I leave at 7.45, to a day in the office.  Most people find it strange and have no idea how we manage it but I work with my hubby, technically he is my boss, but I do not dwell on it or acknowledge it unless I have to, best not to make him too big headed about it ha ha. So a full day in the office,  non stop chaos until I leave again at five, or maybe six depending on the day or the traffic.

Funny how the 20 minute drive home can turn into 45 minutes in rush hour, but its also means I have that time to chill, reflect on my day or work on the to do list for when I get home.  Sometimes its time to turn up the music and forget the lists and the worries and to just sing, it always sounds good when the radio is louder than I am and its good for the soul.

Tonight the drive was far from chilled, it was a call to my son, a call to the hubby and then a trip to Asda, stocking up because it didn't get a chance at the weekend, planning the meals in my head on route so I can make sure we have what we need for the next few days at least.  It never stops them moaning "there is nothing nice to eat" or wanting the opposite to what I have planned, but I do it anyway, who needs gratitude !!!

Home and its time for the next job to start, wife and mum, son's tea made, dishwasher emptied and loaded again, washing off the line, rabbit fed and watered, our tea in the oven, next load of washing in the washer ready for tomorrow morning.  

Why am I tired, this is why I am tired.  I finally sit down as everyone else is thinking of going to bed, so do I have an early night, don't be silly that would be sensible.  Once they go to bed its my time to chill, watch what I like on TV, write on here, enjoy the quiet, the no noise and plan tomorrow's to do lists ready to start it all over again.

Would I change anything, god no, I love my life, my family are my world and I wouldn't have them any other way, well an occasional day off would be good, but hey ho, life's for living, I can rest when I die.

Who put that mirror there ? ? ?

I have just had a lovely week off work to spend time with my boys, (hubby and son).  Been looking forward to it for ages, just a few days away and a few days pottering around at home.

I love the getting away from the norm, where nobody can bother us as, we can escape into what I call the "Stewart Bubble"  A place where the three of us are together and the outside world is just that "outside".

I love the hotel living, beds made, very comfy ones at that.  Power showers that are so good you would happily shower 3 or 4 times a day just for the fun of it, oh and most of all the breakfast made for you without any washing up.

All good things yeah, until ..... MIRRORS

The full length mirror behind the door, the extra large mirror in the bathroom, more mirrors for doing your hair.  They are everywhere, Why ??  Who needs to look at themselves that much.

So the first day away and I am standing in the hotel bathroom, ready to have the power shower experience, and I catch a glance of my image in the mirror.  I try not to look, why spoil my really good mood by reminding myself of my size and shape.  You turn around again and there you are still the same size and shape, no where to hide no matter which way you turn.  Who thought it was a good idea to put so many mirrors in one place, especially one that could fit a small football team in its view.  

I put the image out of my mind and remind myself why I don't have mirrors at home, they just make you feel worse.  Remind you of what you already know but prefer not to be realistic about. If I only ever view my head and shoulders the rest isn't so bad, I can't see past my boobs when I look down anyway so the size of the rest of me is a mystery.  Well until you go to a hotel.

Well by day three, the mood was slipping and I started to realise it was something to embrace and not hide from.  OK so I am fat, hello !!! that's why I am on a diet.  Granted I would prefer not to look five months pregnant (yes that's what I looked like when expecting)  BUT I decided to use the images that I couldn't escape from as my before photo's.  Poised in front of the said mirrors, trying my best to take a full selfie without getting the arms in the way and without the flash going off, I faced my demons. 

They are far from pretty but they are here for motivation, so I can see where I was when I get where I am going.  A little scared to put them out there for anyone to see but it would seem everyone can see it but me (the boobs thing lol) but hey ho, its all part of the journey.

The New Fat Photo

When you see a photo of yourself, one taken by someone else and you have no say in the position of the camera to hide the chins, that kind of photo.  Well that was me yesterday.  I saw this one and god it hit me hard.

Shocking, awful, ugly, and most of all FAT.

Its funny, and not ha ha funny, but weird funny how we can be blind to how we look.  We can be huge and not see it and in the same sense can lose it all and still see the fat us.  Well this photo has sickened me even more than I already was.

I have been unsure about blogging about my weight loss for a while, not wanting to feel a failure for always "starting again", for never succeeding at reaching my goal and not wanting to feel I am repeating myself.

When I started writing this blog, back in 2013 it was to get into the ww magazine but I found I loved having somewhere to express my feelings and not worry about the judgement you often get with being yourself, so here I am again, starting over, not giving up, expressing how I feel in the words I want to use and not caring about judgement.

This is my weight loss journey, still a roller coaster, still really hard to do but still trying and determined one day I will get there.

Sadly it has taken this photo to get me back on here.  Its such a shame as the photo has come from an amazing day out and is now a little tarnished by this, BUT if I can use it as motivation then a positive can be made from a negative situation.

First post over, just as tough as standing back on the scales but its done.

Weigh in tomorrow night, see what damage this week has done, a lot after the marathon overload of beige food today to console myself for being fat, yeah no logic there but I'm complicated, say no more.

Lisa x

Doing it my way - Dolittle Style

Here I go again, its like a bad case of deja vu, always starting over, the cliche new year, new me. 

I have spent a while now wondering what approach to take to losing weight, I have been there and bought the T Shirt with most methods and I am forever telling myself "I know what I need to do"  but still not doing it.   Counting points, not counting points, Green days / red days, fasting days, shakes, you name it I have tried and last year I was sick of trying, sick of always thinking about food, the next meal, then the guilt if I went off track.  I am sick of the roller coaster journey the life of a constant dieter was taking me on, hence not doing very well last year, but over all not gaining either.

Personally, I believe in the law of attraction, which would mean if I am constantly thinking about food, about losing weight but failing at it, then as the law of attraction works, just like a magnet I am bringing more of the same to me.  If my whole thought process is consumed with losing weight, or in my case not losing it, then I am never going to get there.

So 2016 is about finding my positive mojo again, to start focusing on what I can do and not so much of what I can't.  It is about believing in myself and knowing that I will reach my goal if i focus on the end result and not how it will happen.

In December I was chatting to a good friend who knows all about losing weight and how to approach it and she said something that stuck with me, she asked me if I had ever thought about not following a plan and that whatever I decided to do it had to suit me.   This got me thinking about what would work for me, what did I want and how could I get it.  

Well overall I want to be slim, I want to be healthy and most importantly I want to be happy with who I am.  But i dont want food and diets to consume my every thought, I want the freedom to choose and eat what i enjoy but without the guilt that can easily come with it.  

So my way is going to be to eat what I want but less of it, in the quantities that are normal and not giant portions like I am used to.  I am going to move more, but at my own pace and only what I enjoy.  I am going to be guilt free and if I have a bad day that's ok because the next day can be a good one. 

I am going into 2016 with a new bucket list, with dreams to follow and a positive attitude, mixed together is simply a recipe for success.

Shaking it up

Time for a change, but just a little one.  Been back on track for a few weeks now with some good weeks, some not so good weeks and a week where it was good but didnt show on the scales.  It's proving that the ups and downs are the norm in the world of losing weight and I don't know if I will ever get used to the emotions that come with it.  

Well, plodding on, as I do, I have decided to shake it about a bit for a few weeks.  I am going to do the 5:2 diet along side by side with weight watchers.  2 days fasting and 5 days sensible weight watchers.  

Why ??  Because it gives me something to focus on, stops me getting bored and because I like to try new things.   I am finding I am getting bored with the same foods already, and have cooked lots of meals but I am now looking for something different.  So instead of going off the rails I am going to focus on the 2 fasting days and keep myself on track the other 5.  

What is the 5:2 Fast Diet?

It’s a different flexible way of dieting , you are not committing yourself to minimum calories every day, missing out on normal every day food, not being able to eat what you want when going out for dinner, this is may be why some people on a diet fail.

On the 5:2 Fast Diet you chose any 2 days of the week to fast consuming 500 calories a day for a woman or 600 calories a day for a man.

You choose (within reason) what you want to eat on the other 5 days; you can still go out for dinner with your partner or friends and eat the same as your family. For some people this may make dieting easier for you as you are not always thinking about being on a diet. You can simply choose not to indulge in that dessert to help you along the way.

I did originally think that it sounded easy until i realised how many calories are in the foods I eat on weight watchers.  89 calories in a banana, anything between 100 - 200 for a cereal bar.  Maybe it will turn into a valuable lesson in the calorie count of foods, something I have never paid much attention too as the points value was what i followed.

Hopefully it will give me a boost into the Christmas challenge I have joined in with on the Weight Watchers Support Group, either way it has got me raring to go for another week.

Little black dress season is in the near future so I have to try something.

Life Begins Now

November 2012 something got to me and my determination to re-join ww and lose the weight was at a high.  I went on to hit goals, both on the scales and off throughout 2013. Sadly, since then, all the weight has gone back on, the confidence has dwindled and the motivation has had more ups, downs and curves that a roller coaster. 

BUT . . . . . It's back

I don't know if its hitting a low again, where my weight is dragging me down and enough is enough.  Is it I have switched off from other peoples problems, I cannot fix anyone else's problems as only they can do that so now it's time to focus on me.   Or is it turning 39, I have no issues with my age, not afraid of getting older, but I don't want my whole life to be about being over weight, so maybe this is my motivation.  Whatever the reason, i am back in the driving seat and I am putting the foot to the floor and going to get to the finish line.

The big 40 is next summer so I am going to use that as a motivator, they say life begins at 40, so I aiming for my new life to do just that.  The slimmer, healthier, happier me.

I have found my mojo, my belief and my positive attitude, all things that would seem to have been lost for the last year.  I have set myself some mini goals for the next 12 months, challenges to push myself and dreams to reward myself.  My own mini bucket list before I am 40.

Now to focus on the end result, believe I can, and achieve the results.  I am dreaming big, and I can do this, just watch this space.

Diet ...... What Diet

My week in pictures, proof you can eat normally and lose weight.  All planned, pointed and tracked and I am 4.5lb lighter for my efforts.