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.

Carb Cravings or Mind Games

I am a little frustrated with myself today.  After a few good weeks I have had a few iffy days, today being the worst.

Every now and again I have a week where all I want is toast, cereal, pasta and the easier the better as I seem to lose my desire to cook.  I have, in the past, always told myself I must be craving carbs and I must need them or it must be hormonal and that it is just the way it is.  But is it, or is it just me using it as an excuse to eat more ??

The disappointment today was giving in to the vending machine, I didn't even think about it, I just ate both crisps and sweets for no reason other than greed.  Because I had no plan today I also ate a baguette and cream cake for lunch.  I say ate but maybe inhaled is a better description. The food went in that fast I cannot even remember if it tasted good.  To say I am not happy about it is an understatement.

I then sat at my desk this afternoon, feeling full, bloated, slightly sick and very fat.  The difference one day can make to your mood is unbelievable, the low it brings should be enough to stop me doing it again, doubt it will but it should.  I still have the memory of how good I felt at the beginning of the week so it was easy to compare how the bad food had made me feel today, and it hit home quite hard.

Me being me, to find out if  body craves carbs I googled it and found this :

• Following a diet that's extremely low in carbs and calories can trigger cravings for carbohydrate-rich foods. Restricting your carbohydrate intake reduces serotonin production in your brain. Adequate serotonin helps to keep your carbohydrate cravings reined in, psychologist Judith Wurtman writes in "The Serotonin Power Diet." Conversely, inadequate serotonin can make you feel low and moody, eager to reach for the foods you've been trying to avoid. If you suspect that your serotonin levels are low, try eating a piece of dark chocolate, a banana, eggs, salmon or whey protein to lift your mood.

Now I may just want to believe this but it makes sense to my moods and how I feel.  So just to be sure I googled again and found this:

Why Do Carbohydrate Cravings Occur?

There are several theories for why carbohydrate cravings occur:

• We’re hungry. Our bodies run on carbohydrate, so when we get hungry, it may be the body’s wisdom telling us that it needs fuel – especially when we get too hungry. Carbohydrates are digested faster than protein or fat, so energy gets to the body faster. Can you think of any behavior that sets you up for carbohydrate cravings? If you said, calorie counting, you’re right. How many of us walk around feeling truly satisfied when we were watching every calorie we eat?
• We’re deprived. It’s obvious that when we’re cutting out carbohydrate foods, we might feel a little deprived and want them more. For someone who’s never dieted, this may be an easy thing to overcome. But for the diet-weary, it’s a big hurdle to overcome. Diet deprivation not only sets up carbohydrate cravings, it generally causes us to eat more than we really need to feel satisfied.
• We’re carbohydrate-deficient. Technically, the body can make carbohydrate from protein and fat. But it takes longer. Ask an athlete who has tried to limit carbs – energy levels are dramatically decreased.
• We’re insulin resistant and making the wrong choices. This reason still needs to be elucidated, but it does appear that some people crave carbs because their bodies don’t handle the types they eat well. Note the emphasis on type. It’s not the whole grains, fruits and starchy vegetables that set us up in this instance; it’s the very sweet and/or low-fiber sources eaten in excess.

Answer to my original question is, Yes, I can be craving carbs and it is not just in my head.  At least I am not going mad but I am determined to get this under control before I work my way through a whole loaf of bread.

Thanks to the Ladies on the WW Support group for helping put things into perspective.

21 Day Challenge Day 21

Day 21

Food

Breakfast - Slice of toast with low fat Spread

Lunch - Turkey Dinner

Tea - Scrambled Egg & Toast

Snacks - Piece of Homemade Cake

Steps - 17834

Mood - Fantastic

Reached day 21 and I am pleased with how I am doing, a little bit of me wants to keep going with daily updates to keep me focused.  

I have looked back at my original post to see what I set out to do and see if the habits have changed.  

Earlier mornings - currently I drag my slightly over-sized rear out of bed at the latest possible moment then rush around like a nutter getting everything ready to get out the door for 8am.

I have not managed the earlier mornings, well not as early as I aimed to do but I am awake and up earlier than I used to be so this one I will class as "in progress but could try harder".

No Diet drinks after 9pm (unless I am out) - sounds a weird one but I struggle to fall asleep at night and I believe a good amount of this is due to the huge amounts of caffeine I am drinking through the day.  Then the tiredness kicks in as the week goes on and then I eat more and don't have any energy

Well this didn't happen LOL, (my addiction to Pepsi Max is greater than I thought). I did cut down on how many cans of Pepsi Max I have been drinking through the day, trying alternative diet drinks to try and change the habit of taste, and swapping for more water. On an evening it all depends on what I am doing, if I am busy I don't drink as much, I find drinking diet drinks is my substitute for snacking on an evening.  On a plus I am going to bed earlier and sleeping better so the overall outcome is a positive one but needs a little more work.

Hit my daily steps targets - currently set at 8k on my Fitbit, to increase to 9k next week and 10k the week after.  

This is the one I have enjoyed the most, I have hit my daily steps and more.  I am really enjoying the walking and would happily do more given the time, but I am adding in as much as I can around work and home life.  Today was a sign of my new enjoyment when I set off for a small walk and 4 1/2 miles later returned feeling amazing (the sunshine helped of course).  I am sticking to 10k a day as I find this achievable but still need to put in extra to reach it.

Put myself first - realising I am worth it is a hard one the get my head around, realising that sometimes being a little selfish is ok.  This is going to be the hardest one for me but I am going to try.

Putting myself first is always going to be tricky, my family are the centre of my world so they always come first but making the time everyday for my walks has been a good start.  I have also been sticking to my food choices and not changing my plans for others, this sometimes is testing as it means making different meals but that bit I don't mind.

One habit that I have broken is the vending machine curse, I have found myself at the machine, money in hand, and talk myself out of it and walking away.  I have found I am not thinking about snacking through the day like I used to and have started eating fruit instead.  I don't think the fruit will last as I don't like many fruits but I am trying while the desire is there.

I don't know if admitting "talking to myself" is a good thing, but that is what I am finding myself doing.  Standing in a supermarket telling myself I don't need things I would normally buy, telling myself I don't need a cream cake when everyone else is, refusing the chocolate biscuits being handed around at work because I don't need them.

I have found in the last 21 days that I do have Willpower, after years of telling myself I didn't, Success in my eyes

Weigh in this week was another 3lb gone, so I am guessing my new approach is working and I am one happy Dolittle x

21 Day Challenge day 20

Day 20

Food
Breakfast - Crunchy Nut Cornflakes
Lunch - Subway Chicken Tikka Flatbread with Light Mayo
Tea - Childs portion of Cod Bites & Chips ( didnt manage them all which was a huge shock to me)
Snacks - a few quavers

Steps - 8578

Mood - Proud

Feeling pretty pleased with myself today.  This may seem a little strange to anyone reading this as I havent had the healthiest of meals of walked as many steps as usual but I have still been in control.

The steps are lower as I stayed in bed half a day, it's Saturday and I was not feeling to great this morning so why not.

Food wise I chose the best available option for lunch, the alternative was Gregg's Pasties and cream cakes.  Even when everyone else was having chocolate eclairs and fresh cream strawberry tarts I stuck with my Chicken tikka flatbread & bottle of water.  I didn't give in to chocolate when in the shop buying drinks and snacks for others, actually talked myself out of it while in the queue.

Then when we decided for an impromptu trip to the park this evening we called for tea and I didn't just choose a child's portion of cod bites and chips, I actually left most of the chips being comfortably full. This in itself is a new experience for me and is a positive step in the right direction.

Best bit - No guilt

21 Day Challenge Day 19

Day 19

Food

Breakfast - Bliss Yogurt & Raspberries

Lunch - Chicken & Brown Rice

Tea - Burger & Chips.  Eton Mess

Snacks - Banana, 4 x Peaches, Peanut M&M's

Steps - 12038

Mood - Great

Another fab day, I am liking the feeling of being good and could certainly get used to it.

Became apparent today that I have changed my snacks through the day from vending machine junk to fruit, who would have ever thought I would have had 7 portions of fruit in one day, granted 4 of them were donut peaches but it was better than the picnic I was considering.

A little disappointed that I had the M&M's, given to me as a nice gesture, but I should have been stronger and not ate them.  BUT too late now so no point in feeling guilty or dwelling on it or I will talk myself into a bad weekend.

Mini 1/2 mile walk at lunch time and another 2 miles tonight, loving my little walks and my thinking time I just need to find some new routes so I dont get bored.

Now to keep it up over the weekend and hope for a reward on the scales Monday.

21 Day Challenge Day 18

Day 18

Food

Breakfast - Croissant

Lunch - M&S Ham & Mustard Mayo Sandwich, Crisps

Tea - Chicken Kebabs with Brown rice & Sweet Chilli Sauce

Snacks - Banana

Steps - 10475

Mood - Positive, Happy & Optimistic

The feeling of being in control is an amazing plus towards staying on track. Simply planning tomorrow, today, and sticking to it is making this seem very easy and I am loving it.

I am loving the feeling of satisfaction when I get to the end of the day and I have cooked something tasty for tea, I have stayed away from un-necessary snacks and I have reached my steps target.

I am feeling mentally stronger and plan to keep it going way past my 21 day challenge.  I may have to start blogging a daily diary tho as I am finding writing my thoughts and feelings every night is helping to keep the motivation going.

21 Day Challenge Day 17

Day 17

Food

Breakfast - Belvita Biscuits

Lunch - Chicken & Stuffing Roll & WW Crisps

Tea - Sweet Chilli Chicken Sizzler with Dirty Rice, Fries & Flatbread

Snacks - Banana, Chicken Tikka Pieces

Steps - 11469

Mood - Amazing

I am loving today, I am feeling on a real high about how things are going.  No vending machine again, not even thinking about it very much anymore, dare I say I may be breaking the bad habit - eeek how good would that be.

No desire for my sneaky Wednesday McDonalds today either, realising that I used to mentally tell my self it was ok as it was technically lunch but then eat snacks all morning telling myself it was ok as I didnt stop for lunch on a Wednesday.  Funny how easy it is to let the mind win, well not this week.

Quick call into Asda, while feeling a bit hungry, would usually mean grabbing a sausage roll or something similar, not today, today was chicken tikka pieces (77 calories) and a banana.  Came out of there feeling really pleased with myself.

I think I may be getting addicted to my walking, I am enjoying the time to think, the time for me, even if it is only half an hour.  Went out tonight in between the thunderstorms for a walk, real power walk for the fear of getting caught in the rain and I really enjoyed it.

My biggest break through today was guilt free eating out, out for a meal with friends and under my new approach I ordered exactly what I wanted, enjoyed every bite and didnt beat myself up with guilt at the end of it.  To top it off I happily declined a dessert,  not because of being good but because I was full.

Loving it !!!

21 Day Challenge Day 16

Day 16

Food

Breakfast - Bliss Yogurt & Raspberries

Lunch - Chicken & Stuffing Roll, WW Crisps & Boots Shapers Bar

Tea - Chicken Stir fry with Wholewheat Noodles

Steps - 12630

Mood - Fantastic

I am simply feeling great today.  Talked myself out of buying from the vending machine even thought I was standing in front of it with the money, maybe I have willpower after all - RESULT

Sitting for 15 minutes at lunch time in the sun turned into 15 minutes walk in the sun and finding a lovely little spot to walk to to eat lunch in the future - RESULT

When convenience would have been easier I still made stir fry for tea, which I really enjoyed and found the cooking bug is coming back.  I had forgot how much I actually like cooking from scratch - RESULT

All in all I am one happy Dolittle today.

21 Day Challenge Day 15

Day 15

Food

Breakfast - Belvita Biscuits

Lunch - Ham, Cheese & Pickle Roll, WW Crisps & Boots Shapers Bar

Tea - Steak Lattice & Oven Chips

Snacks - 1 Homemade Shortbread Biscuit & WW Hot Chocolate

Steps 10507

Mood - Great

Back on track today after a 4lb gain this morning.  Not surprised but just wish it didnt go back on so quickly.

I have stuck to plan, I have done the activities I planned and I have not given in to snacks.

Little reminders of how much I want this, That I can do it and that no-one else can do it for me.  I sometimes feel very alone on this journey, no one asking how its going, how I am feeling, no support network close to me so if I dont encourage myself who will.   

15 days into changing habits and I cant say it's making that much difference, but I m not sure if doing it with a trip away in the middle was the best idea. 

21 Day Challenge Day 14

Day 14

Food

Breakfast - Special K

Lunch - Chicken & Pasta

Tea - Ham, Cheese & Pickle Sandwich with Chips

Snack - Cookie

Steps 10642

Mood - Positive

Back to trying to be good, next week all planned and shopped for.  Exercise also planned, adding in a little more each day where I can.

Made myself go for a walk today to add to my steps or I am finding I don't hit my target, feeling quite please with myself.  Not looking forward to weigh in tomorrow but very rarely do I ever look forward to standing on the scales.

21 Day Challenge Day 13

Day 13

Simply rubbish !

I am feeling fed up and very annoyed with myself for choosing badly all day.

I have let myself lose the control I need to succeed and it has put me in quite a bad mood.

Sad times !

21 Day Challenge Day 12

Day 12

Food

Breakfast - Muller Bliss Corner Clusters with Raspberries - (Currently my fav)

Lunch - Chicken Tikka & Sweetcorn Pasta, Shapers Bar

Tea - Chicken Fajita's

Snacks - Picnic

Steps - 9552

Mood - Positive

Feeling good today, or at least better than yesterday.  I have realised that I can not ignore hormones, tiredness and emotions, I just have to learn how to deal with them.

I have struggled this afternoon with the want for chocolate and gave in to a picnic. I can't work out why I felt that I needed it.  I battled with the argument in my head for a few hours but gave in and decided it would be my one snack of today and move on from it.  Since I have eaten it I have been fine so I don't know if it is a myth or if I just want to believe it, but maybe sometimes our bodies just need sugar.  Either way it got me past the feeling of need and stopped me thinking about it or pigging out when I got home.

I am pleased I hit my 9k step target today, even made a point of going out at lunch time to add a few thousand to my total.  Note to myself - dont wear heals to go for lunchtime walks !!

I am feeling a little apprehensive about the weekend, I dont want to lose track of my goals before weigh in Monday but I am already worried about lunch tomorrow.  We are going to help our daughter with some work on her flat and she is promising to go and buy us fish n chips for lunch.  I don't want to offend her by refusing this lovely gesture and don't want to be awkward and say I want something else, BUT I dont want to be bad either.  I need to have an alternative plan so I can be in control but what ?????

21 Day Challenge Day 11

Day 11

Food

Breakfast - Belvita Biscuits

Lunch - Subway Chicken Tikka Flatbread

Tea - Sweet Chilli Cod Fillets, Wholewheat noodles, Stir Fry Veg & Chilli Sauce

Snacks - WW Wafer Biscuit, Yogurt Peanuts, Birthday Cake

Steps - 8661

Mood - Frustrated (still tired)

The current positives are that I am being more food conscious than usual, choosing better choices, avoiding the snacking from the vending machine and getting up earlier.  

Making the effort to cook instead of calling for take away seems like hard work but the end result is always worth it.

BUT I have side stepped from my progress with being away for a few days so felt the need to re-read my original post about changing habits.  I have gone back to staying up late, drinking Pepsi Max later at night and without even realizing I hadn't changed my steps target to 9,000 as I planned.

So back into it with a bit more concentration :

• Steps goal has now been raised and I will need to make the effort to go out for those little extra walks to make sure i hit it.
• Bed as soon as I have finished writing this and alarm set for 6.15am
• Breakfast, lunch and tea already planned for tomorrow so no temptation to partake in fat Friday.
• Cut out the snacks, back to only one thing a day that is not my main meals, they soon add up and as much as I am avoiding the vending machine I am finding alternatives to fill in my day.

Focussed & determined !!!!!

21 Day Challenge Day 10

Day 10

Food

Breakfast - Muller Bliss Corner Yogurt and granola

Lunch - Cheese Snack pot, WW Crisps & Shapers Bar

Tea - Cheese & Bacon Pie with Garlic Thins

Snacks - Birthday Cake & Belvita Biscuits

Steps - 8888

Mood - Sleepy and unorganised

Getting back late last night has meant today wasnt planned in the way I would like it to be but I didnt eat too badly considering.

I am looking forward to being back in control, it's a feeling I like and it certainly helps keep you going for another day.  So tomorrow is all planned and that should be me 100% back on track hoping my few days away have not done too much damage and I can either stay the same this week or even a cheeky loss.

Still tired today and busy with a birthday tea for Jack, hence the birthday cake, so early night and back to early mornings.

21 Day Challenge Day 9

Day 9

Food

Breakfast - McDonalds Bacon & Egg Muffin

Lunch - Weatherspoons Panini & Chips

Tea - Greggs Corned Beef Pasty

Steps - 12556

Mood - Tired

Back home tonight, very tired but I have had an amazing few days with my important people.  As you can see eating today was definetly not recommended for losing weight but it could have been a whole lot worse.  

Very happy with my steps today considering we were travelling for over five hours I still managed to get in a few miles.  Walking around Windsor was a beautiful way to top up the steps.

21 Day Challenge Day 8

Day 8

Food
Breakfast - Cooked breakfast of scrambled egg, bacon, beans and toast
Lunch - Chicken burger and fries
Tea - Pizza Hut

Steps - 15920

Mood : Happy

Food not so good but I am on holiday and I cannot control all the situations I am in when away so instead of feeling guilty I am enjoying my time away and keeping the quantities in control and avoiding unnecessary snacks.  This in itself is progress.

Lots of Active Minutes tofay, walking around Legoland and going bowling tonight added up to a very active day.

Today has been non stop except for the time sitting in the sun enjoying the time together - Priceless moments like this are what I treasure most.

21 Day Challenge Day 7

Day 7

I am writing this post from my phone as I am away to Legoland Windsor for a few days so not sure how it will look when published.

Food
Breakfast - McDonald's bacon and egg muffin meal
Lunch - chicken sandwich and chips in the park
Tea - lasagne, chips and garlic bread
Snacks - mince pie, crisps, fruit crumble sweets

Steps - 13564

Mood - Annoyed

I have let myself get carried away and ate whatever was on offer

Easily tempted to eat McDonald's for breakfast and lunch was what I wanted not what I should have been having.

The only positive thing is I didn't eat all of what was put in front of me which is not normal, usually the plate is cleared and I am looking for dessert.

I also refused ice creams and hot sugared donuts and stuck to a diet coke instead.

I am happy with the steps I have done today, hoping tomorrow is even more as I was travelling for five hours today.

Food choices need to be better tomorrow too.

21 Day Challenge Day 6

Day 6

Food
Breakfast : Crunchy Nut Cornflakes
Lunch : Ham & Coleslaw Sandwich with WW Crisps
Tea : Chicken Burger in a Warburtons Thin with Fries
Snacks : Yum Yum

Moving More : 6191 Steps recorded but took it off to charge

Mood - Fantastic

Weighed in this morning as I will be away from home Monday morning and absolutely delighted that I have lost 8lb.  It has been so long since I have lost such a large amount which has kept me on a diet high all day.

I have kept on track and even thought we are going away for a few days I feel mentally strong to keep to being as good as my location will let me.

21 Day Challenge Day 5

Day 5

Food
Breakfast : Strawberry & Banana Smoothie
Lunch : Chicken & Stuffing Sandwich, WW Crisps & Muller Corner Goodies Yogurt
Tea : Chicken Fajita's
Snacks : Peach, WW Crisps

Moving More : 11003 Steps 

Mood - Feeling better - battle of wills again but happy with my day

Still a struggle to get up early but did it anyway.  I am thinking it is going to take the 21 days to get this right but then that is why I set it for that long. 

My motivation has been really good today, I didnt give in to "fat friday" at work and stuck with the sandwiches I made.  Even bought some WW crisps to swap for the ones I had with me to save a few calories / points.

Made a point of walking to the shop when I got home instead of the usual jumping into the car for ease.  Measured it on my fitbit and it was just over a mile but gained me active minutes and nearly 3000 steps.

Going to weigh in early this week as we are going away Sunday so wont be able to weigh in Monday.  Fingers crossed for a loss to keep me motivated while we are away and for coming back.

21 Day Challenge Day 4

Day 4

Food
Breakfast : Belvita Biscuits
Lunch : Chicken Tikka & Sweetcorn Pasta
Tea : Ham & Egg Salad with Baked Potato
Snacks : Peach, Boots Shapers Strawberry Nougat Bar, Chicken Satay Sticks, Malteser Cake

Moving More : 8974 Steps 

Mood - Feeling tired

First day this week where I have had to really argue with my willpower, like the devil and angel are sitting on each shoulder.  

Wanted to stay in bed this morning but made myself get up earlier than usual but not as early as I wanted.

I made homemade Malteser Cake and happily managed to leave it alone except for the smallest piece in the box, usually I would have had 5 or 6 pieces

Got home and was tired and hungry, wanted to sit down and do nothing but didn't  Did give in to snacking a little while waiting on tea but usually it would be slices of toast or crisps, so not too disappointed with myself.

Exercise has been less today too, was busy at lunchtime so I couldn't go out for a walk and just couldn't be bothered to go tonight.  A little annoyed with myself for not going tonight but still hit my 8k step goal.

Overall, it has been an okay day, could have been better but could have been so much worse.  Time for some sleep and re-focus tomorrow as weigh in this week will be early before a few days away on Sunday.