Simple Start - My Week

Well I did it, a full week following the new approach to WW with the Simple Start Plan, and in all fairness it wasn't too hard if you have the right foods in the cupboard.  Just a case of checking out the shopping list and make a little plan.  My plan went slightly off course when it was pointed out that WW Bagels are no longer filling and healthy choice, which is a shame as i do like them but will now save them for my weeks counting points. 

So here's my week in picture form, I certainly didn't starve and had plenty of choice.
 
Day 1:
B 2 Weetabix with skimmed milk and banana. (weetabix extra treat)
L Homemade Vegetable Soup with ww Petit Pain with wafer thin ham
T Gammon steak, homemade chips, poached egg and baked beans
Sugar Free Jelly and Low fat Custard (treat)
 

Day 2:
no breakfast decided to sleep instead of eating, it was Sunday after all.
L Braised Beef and vegetables
T Tuna and Sweetcorn pasta
Gravy and Mayo my extra treats today
also had a crumpet and wafer thin ham in the afternoon, not sure if i was hungry or bored.
 

 Day 3:
Porridge with Banana - really nice even tho i was unsure.
Chicken and Sweetcorn Pasta (mayo treat)
Ham Crumpet Sandwich
Jacket Potatoes, beans, bacon and cheese (treat)

 Day 4:
Crumpets (or pikelets) with chocolate spread (treat)
baked potato with beans
pork steaks and roast potatoes
not sure if pikelets are filling and healthy but i use them as crumpets.

 Day 5:
weetabix with banana
pizza thins
diet coke chicken
treats are the weetabix and cheese.
 

 Day 6:
porridge and banana
diet coke chicken with brown rice and ww wrap
slow cooked gammon, chips and egg
 I did not used my two treats today but not hungry

 Day 7:
porridge and banana
ham crumpet sandwiches
cheese and bacon pie with salad and sweetcorn
ww chocolate bar and cheese were the extra treats.
 

 

And the results were promising with

4 1/2lb gone.  (Woop Woop - Happy Days !!!))

My views after a week, I cant complain after such a great loss, (even though I obviously wanted 7lb because I always want more)  But i was pleased it was just a week, i did find breakfast a little repetitive and if i didn't work I could have had more variety but when its breakfast on the go I have to choose what i can make and eat "Al-Desko" which was mostly porridge. 

I did find breakfast was keeping me going til nearly lunch time, but i am not sure if that was because i was eating it later or because my choices were better, i like to think it was my choices.  I also realised that my mid-morning snack was more a habit then a need.  But i did start craving sweet things by the end of the week and feel i am not wanting chocolate this week. 

Over all I am pleased I tried it, i like to know what new things are all about and it did what it said, got me started in a simple way.

I was all for doing a filling and healthy week this week, and have got half way through and i am sick of it. 

Without repeating too much of what i have already said previously, i like convenience, i like things in jars when I am too tired to cook, i like counting points so on the days i want to graze all day i can.  Filling and healthy is alot of cooking from scratch and some weeks I can do that and love doing it, and then other weeks i just don't want to. 

I am hoping to get this week out of the way with no damage and get back to what i know and like best, counting pro points.

Hope everyone is having a good start to 2014 x x x

Simple Start to 2014

It's the start of another new year and what better way to begin with the New Weight Watchers Simple Start, and no I don't work for weight watchers and I am not paid to say this, I truly do love something new to challenge myself to follow.

What better way to start a new year with something new, after eating too much for the last three, maybe four weeks I am ready for a planned menu that will help me keep on track.  And yes I could do this counting pro points but I have been doing that for a year so why not have a change even if it is only for a week.

My interpretation of the new approach would be that it is filling and healthy without the 49 weekly pro points but with two extra treats a day.  After downloading the apps I realised the extra treats were the things I often use to add to my meals like mayo and cheese so I thought, I can do this, it's one week without snacks and hopefully a good kick start to losing the Christmas gain.

I think it's a good way to start new members as filling and healthy foods should be main focus on any healthy lifestyle but it was always second place to pro points.  Don't get me wrong I am all for pro points, the flexibility of eating what I want in the right quantities, and the convenience of eating out and grabbing food on the go is why I love weight watchers, but for a week it's a great way of introducing new members to trying  new foods that they may not normally have.  After looking through the Simple Start Shopping List I found myself trying to think of new recipes or meals I could have made up of the free food.  What I am looking forward to most though is pasta and jacket potatoes without weighing, some of my favourite comfort foods that I don't have often when pointing foods.

i have planned my week to make sure i stay on track, some days may get swapped around depending on what we are doing but a planned menu has helped me make a shopping list. I am, like many, working on watching the pennies as pay days between December and January are a long wait after the Christmas so i have checked the cupboards and made my menu around what i have, keeping it as simple as possible, i guess that is the idea though.

The only down side is buying wholewheat pasta, and maybe having to buy weight watchers products as they cost more than the supermarket own makes but for a week i will go with it and hope for a good week. maybe i need to check out the ww app for alternative filling and healthy products that could be used instead.

 My weigh in is tomorrow morning so i will see what damage i have done over the last few weeks, i don't plan to worry about it as i know i can lose it again, and then i am set for a good start into 2014. 

One last thing, i don't know how many people read my posts but if you are i want to say a huge thank you for following and supporting me last year. I hope all your journeys are going well and lets make 2014 a great year. We Can Do This !

Keep the motivation and positive approach and we can all have happier and healthier lifestyles x

 love Dolittle x x x

2013 Summed up

Well what a year, I haven't posted on here for a while, longer than i thought to be honest, which considering I always have so much to say is surprising, but i thought i would end the year by reviewing my year.

At the beginning of 2013 i decided to create a bucket list, a list of small things i wanted to achieve by the end of it. The idea was to get to the end of the year and feel a sense of achievment instead of thinking i had "done nothing" all year.  Well I am pleased to say mine was a success and i feel 2013 was a good year.

First was to become a columnist for the Weight Watchers magazine, something I am sure many thought would never happen but here I am a year on, still writing for them and loving every minute of the experience. 

Then was to complete the Race for Life, something I had done before but i wanted to run or jog some of the way.  I am happy to say I completed this with my best friend Sarah in Newcastle this year.

Next was to wear a dress for my Mam & Dad's Ruby Wedding Anniversary, something i didn't wear very often.  Well i didnt wear one for their party, bought one but didnt feel comfortable on the night, but did wear a fab one for my works christmas party.  Me in a little black dress, well a little'er black dress and i felt great, the few comments i recieved about my weight loss has made me determined that next year everyone will notice.

Then there was wanting to own a size 16 pair of jeans, last christmas i bought a new pair size 20 and swore i would never buy a bigger size, and not only have i dropped to sizes in jeans but i also managed to fit into size 16 top, OMG from a 22 to a 16 with boobs like mine is AMAZING.

I can happily say this year has been a success, not only for my WW Journey but for me and my family.  We have got to the end of it healthy and happy and thats the important factor.  Yes i have still had my ups and downs but so does everyone and thats what makes me human.  I hope to get my 50lb certificate by the end of 2013 which i didnt quite reach, but 43lb is good enough for me, i am certainly not thinking this doesnt work or I cant do it.  I am thinking the opposite, if i can believe all these things can come true I had better be careful what i wish for this year as i guess its coming my way.

 My current before and after picture made me realise how far I have come

I started my year with the attitude of I CAN DO THIS, and guess what i did.  I am going into 2014 with the same attitude, following my same motto's of ASK BELIEVE RECIEVE, if you want something enough, believe in yourself and dreams can come true.  And my favourite one :

 I am now needed to make my 2014 Bucket List and make some plans of what i want to achieve this year.  Weight loss is still high on the list but i have learnt this year not to focus so much on how quickly I lose as long as it is still coming off.  

This was supposed to be posted in 2013 but I have taken three attempts to finish it so I will end simply with :

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE - LOTS OF LOVE AND LUCK FOR 2014