21 Day Challenge Day 1

Day 1

Food
Breakfast : Bliss Corner Yogurt & Raspberries
Lunch : Tuna & Sweetcorn Pasta
Tea : Chicken Lattice, Oven Chips & Sweetcorn
Snacks : Peach & Pink Wafer Biscuit

Moving More : 9771 Steps 

Mood - Feeling in control and feeling good.  Full of motivation and optimism for the next few days. 

Creating New Habits

I have spent the last week or so thinking too much.  I have been watching a serious of The Biggest Loser on catch up and it has got me thinking (and motivated.)

Why do I do it, what is it in my head that makes me eat so much.  Is it something from my past that has made me an emotional eater, was food a reward for good behavior, I eat it then its like a punishment because I gain weight, so why do it !!

Why do I eat in secret so much, is it if no one sees it then I never ate it ?  I do this a lot, a very very bad habit

Why do I have an excuse for everything ?  Too Tired, No Time, My Family Comes First, I don't do mornings, and the list goes on.

I 100% believe in a positive mind and a positive approach to life so why is it I find myself dwelling on the negative's without even realizing it.  And the Law of Attraction is quite clear, what you feel and think about most is what you bring to yourself.

So after much deliberating and questioning I have decided to stop trying to work out why I do what I do, does it really matter, is it going to make it better, No I don't think it will.  I spend more time thinking about being fat then actually trying to become skinny, so if I think about being fat, then its more likely I will stay like this and get bigger along the way. 

No more why's and what for's, Time for change.

So here I am at day one of creating new habits.  According to Google, somebody somewhere decided a new habit is created in 21 days, so I am going to record my new habits for the next 21 days and see if they stick.  I have decided to keep to achievable goals so I don't set myself up to fail.

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.

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

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

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.

I am excited to be heading into my mini challenge for the next 21 days.  Watch out for my daily updates.

Dolittle x

Staying Determined

I am seriously struggling tonight but I know it's mostly to do with being tired.  It always seems to be one of the common factors when I want to reach for snacks on an evening.  So I decided to come on here and write, if I am typing I can't be eating.

I have been really good this week I am still on a vending machine strike and even managing to avoid the free rolo's this week at work, Amazing I know LOL  Snacks are being kept to a minimum, more water is being consumed and walking in my lunchtime is back on the agenda.

But I am finding it hard, especially when I am tired, to motivate myself to come home and cook.  That said I have still been making myself do it and it really does give me sense of achievement knowing I have not given in to the easy options.  I have also reminded myself how much I enjoy cooking, once I get started that is.  I enjoying making something out of nothing last night : Wholemeal Pasta, Peppers, Mushrooms, Chicken and Sweet Chilli Soft Cheese

Now tonight was the worst night so far but I stuck it out and threw together a pitta pizza, OMG it was amazing.  It was very tasty and felt really naughty all at the same time.  I forgot how much I liked them.  (Even made one for tomorrow's lunch)

As hard as it sometimes is to stay on track I am finding the feeling of staying in control more than enough to keep me going.  I know I will have bad days where I will want to give in but today is a good day, tomorrow is already planned and then I am half way through the second week.

After my 3lb loss last week I am determined to have another good week this week, and next week, and the week after.  

Old habits are hard to break

Finally back to having a laptop so i can get back to writing on something bigger than a mobile phone. Looking through here and realising how easy it is to go back to your old ways,  thinking i had learnt so much but obviously hadn't learnt anything or I wouldn't be back where I started (well nearly).

I like to believe that I haven't failed as I have never given up.  I have doubted whether I am following the right plan over the passed few months.  If it's not working then maybe I was on the wrong path, maybe I needed to choose a new direction, like being at a dead end and needing to retrace your steps to the last crossroads and choose to travel a different road.

For now I am going with the common sense approach, adding in what I have learnt with weight watchers.  I am cutting out the snacks, aiming to have smaller portions, and moving more.  Seems very simple but time will tell.

I have proved to myself how easy it is to fall back into the old habits like the vending machine snacks, the larger portion sizes and the secret eating.  A recipe for an unhappy, unhealthy life and not the way i want to live.

I recently read that getting to your destination, your dream, can sometimes mean taking the wrong turns, reaching what seems like a dead end, but I have now realised that this is ok as long as we see them as lessons and learn from them until we get it right.  I am on a journey with lots of turns and know I will finally get it right.

Weigh in tomorrow morning and feeling optimistic for the first time in a while.

Hello 2015

Well here I am again, back where I started or near enough.  

2014 was a write off as far as my diet went, stupidly I never saw myself as not being on a diet, I never thought I had given up but when you get to the end of the year and realise you have gained nearly all of the three stone you lost the year before it makes you realise it was a disaster.  

What damage would I have done if I hadn't been consciously trying to stick to it, scary thought indeed.  It also shows me how easy it is to put it back on.  Why did it happen, I don't know.  I spend far too much of my life trying to work out why things happen, why did I do things the way I have and I don't have the answers.  All the answers sound like excuses and I don't see the point in spending too much time dwelling on the past, I cant change it, and all I will do is beat myself up over it.  

So 2015 is here, I had already psyched myself into knowing this is going to be a good year, it's funny how positive thinking can make you feel and act in a positive way.  Even before the turn of the year I knew I was going to rejoin a ww meeting.  I am optimistic it will help get me back on track and I am hopeful that the meetings will help build on my enthusiasm and positive approach to changing my way of life.  Let's also hope it's not the same things I have been told every other time I have been, I need a challenge to keep me focussed and I am hoping the new changes to the plan will do that.

I also knew I was going to be what might seem a little selfish this year.  I am going to put myself first for a change.  I spent too much of last year putting myself last and it made me far from happy so this year will be different.  My family are my world and keeping others happy does not always make us happy so no more, enough said.

So I sit here, finally writing again and realising how I have missed it. Writing helped me in 2013 to keep focussed so I am hoping it does the same this year.  

Happy New Year and 2015 I am coming to get you !!!!

I am back

Time to start writing again, i had lost my way and have had a terrible year gaining two of the three stone i lost last year.

What's that all about !

I have a mix emotions about the last 9 months. I have been on my normal roller coaster ride but i am feeling positive again and think writing my thoughts on here will help put everything into perspective.

My posts Will be shorter and probably simple as i am now blogging from my phone,( until Santa brings me something bigger )

It feels good to feel good again x

EVENING UPDATE

Delighted i have stuck to plan all day, the daily drama usually sends me to the vending machine for comfort but i battled with the voices in my head and won.

Today's food choices are mostly planned around what is in the cupboards and the freezer as i am in the dreaded week leading up to pay day so even more pleased that i was able to keep on track and in my points allowance.  Didn't enjoy lunch much but kept telling myself it was just the fuel to keep me gong til teatime.

The power of positive thinking has worked a treat today so going i will start tomorrow as i did today, singing "Oh What a beautiful morning"

Dolittle x x

Positive Power

I cant quite believe its been two months since i was on here, time certainly does fly.

Its been a funny few months, i started my year with a great week on simple start and then yo yo'd ever since.  Without making excuses, i have been in a weird place, tired all the time was the start of it, and if i am honest i would say i was probably heading towards a dip into depression again, if i wasn't already there.  Don't get me wrong i don't suffer from it in a serious way, not like some people do, but i get low, everything is a challenge and a struggle, concentration is difficult to the point making a shopping list is hard work let alone going to buy the things on it.  So weight loss went to the back of the agenda and getting through the week was about as good as it got.

After a trip to the Dr, asking for them to take lots of blood and check me out for any medical ailment that might be causing such issues I realised i was bringing myself down with the thoughts & feelings I was having. (Dr did give me all clear thank goodness)

Now to explain where I am going with this, I read The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne a few years back now and if you haven't read it you may think i have gone slightly mad but it all makes sense to me.  The Secret is The Law of attraction, we bring to ourselves what we are, how we think and how we feel.  So if i was constantly complaining about always being tired - then like a magnet I would always be tired.  Its like the saying "Smile and the world smiles with you" or one of my favourites "Whether you think you or think you cant, your right".  We have the control to decide how we feel and how we are.

So i told myself that i was going to turn this around with Positive thinking, and I have.  I think you can do anything you set out to do if you just believe it.  I wake every morning and sing to myself "Oh what a Beautiful Morning" then much to my son's annoyance I then keep going with the singing and occasionally dancing around until we are ready to go to work and school.  Your day will go how you start it, if you constantly moan about being late or being tired then guess what ? You will be those things because it is the Law of Attraction.

We don't need to question how it works, we don't question how magnets work, but like a magnet we get back what we give out.  We just have to believe in what we want most will come to us if we think it and feel it. 

Nice brings Nice !

Thoughts Bring Things !

 

I don't ask anyone to agree with me on this unless you have experienced it first hand, but starting your day with a song and a smile certainly goes a long way to making your day a better one. 

 

I am now getting through day to day on a positive note, occasional i dip but i soon come out smiling again.  I have joined the Social Media wave of sharing my #100happydays on my own facebook page, and if something as simple as reminding ourselves of the things that make us happy can lift the spirits then why not.  We can all spend far too much time dwelling on the bad, and BOOM as the law of attraction works we experience more bad things, so i am spending my time thinking about the good things, the ones that make me feel good, the ones that make me smile and i know i will have a year of good days making amazing memories.

 

My Day 7 was as pictured below, Hubby and I got back on track and both lost, 5lb for me and 8lb for him.  That was Monday morning and I know i am back on the losing streak.  I will be slimmer this summer !

 

I was a little sad that my run in the WW magazine came to an end, as other than i enjoyed writing for them every month, I also think it kept me focused.  So on my Dolittle's Facebook page and my Twitter account I have starting my #100daysofww.  Just a small way of sharing my day, good or bad i will record it for 100 days.  It will help keep me focused and help me towards losing another 3 stone this year.  100 days will take me to the week before my holidays so great timing and incentive to stay on track.

 

Keep Smiling

Dolittle xxxx