Blip

I had such a good start to the week, feeling really good about what I was eating. I made this syn free breakfast over the weekend. It was so filling! 

I made my family favourite chilli con carne from the Extra Easy Cookbook.

And for Sunday dinner I made these burgers with babybel melted inside and loads of roasted vegetables. I was greedy and had two wholemeal rolls, one as a HEX and the other as 5 syns. 

Tonight I made this tuna pasta bake using quark and fat free fromage frais and some cheddar which was another HEX. 

So tonight was Couple of the Year so we had a taster evening. I made these smash scones and everyone loved them.  I wrote out the recipe for them. 

 There are various recipes online but I find them quite dry, so here is mine.

• 3 eggs beaten
• 600 g low fat cottage cheese
• 170 g bag of smash
• 1/2 cup of water
• 3 spring onions chopped
• 3 slices of cooked lean bacon chopped fine
• salt
• pepper

Mix altogether and add water until the consistency is light and smooth. Just put in the oven straight, I use stoneware but it should be alright on a baking sheet. I put it in at 200 degrees for about 25 minutes until they brown.

I didn't get to they gym as often as I would have liked and I wasn't expecting a massive loss but I wasn't expecting a gain either. :( I put on a lb. It should come off next week. It's just a blip! I've been doing this long enough to know we all have blips!

I have to say I measured my waist and it's gone down an inch. That is my little non scale victory for the week!

Fighting the January Blues

My oh my, it's been a tough week! I've been going back to a few old favourites as I'm not working at the moment. I've been using my free time to focus on slimming world and getting fit in the gym.

When I'm in a rush this Batchelor's pasta with some bacon
 and added frozen spinach makes for a healthy filling quick meal! 

This new MullerLight flavour is excellent for only one syn! 

I love Chinese cooking and this is one of my own recipes using leeks to
make a delicious base with ginger garlic and oyster sauce. 

The result is beautiful, filling and very tasty!

I'm really enjoying fruit again as well
as I love to pick on them while I'm watching
telly.

 I'm enjoying green tea quite a bit too, 

and its keeping me warm!

My absolute family favourite is this bolognese using pork mince. It's just delicious!

I love a good old Slimming World curry loaf but I added chicken this time!

 My husband asked for this smash cheese scones with a tomato soup. The scones are delicious, made from smash cottage cheese and eggs! Please feel free to ask me for recipes!

 So it's been very cold this week and fairly depressing. I'm trying to stay focused and positive, work out at the gym and this week I had a 1.5 lb loss! I'm quite pleased and I'm hoping I can keep losing. Let's see how it goes! 

First week's results

It was my husband's birthday last week. It sucks having your birthday in January. I ran out of ideas for a present so I made him a peanut butter and chocolate birthday cake.

 And it was delicious so obviously I had to have a slice!

  The kitchen is my happy place, I have to say... I love making pasta for my children and this meatball dish was lovely.

I made these quick noodles using ready to eat chicken and some frozen Chinese veg...

I've been working on my lines for my next play. So I'm cutting my cooking time by using my slow cooker. This beef stew was lovely.

I know people have mugshots for lunch but it's a snack for me, especially when it's so cold in my house. It is a free snack. 

And then I was back in the kitchen cooking this feast of Punjabi Chicken, two syns per serving because I use Flora Cuisine Oil to cook this dish. It's so worth it. 

After all that at weigh in I only lost half a lb. I probably shouldn't have had the cake and there were some crackers lying around after Christmas. I could have been better this week. I'm also thinking about trying the whole SP days that Slimming World have started suggesting, cutting down on carbs and having more super speed veggies. I'm going to try but I'm not keen on faddy diets and tweaks. I love the Extra Easy plan but I think I've not been as good as I can be. I also love the new food planner and fit log on the website. They've made some fab changes. I'm also still doing zumba three times a week so lets see if I have better results next week. 

Back on Plan

I did it! I rejoined! Half the battle is getting back on plan and I'm so pleased I've done it. I had a friend come along with me to join and she was nervous. I assured her that it's a great plan and it would do her a world of good. It excites me to see so many of my friends in group and they are all doing so well.

So when I got back on the scales I was happy. My last weigh in was on the 28 November and I was down 12 lbs from my joining weight then. Over Christmas I put on 3 1/2 lbs so that's not bad considering one of my friends in group confessed she'd put on 8 lbs and she hadn't quit Slimming World at all. I'm still 8 lbs down from my original weight and two sizes smaller. I have to say I think it's down to my gym activity.

There are a lot of debates about how much working out can make you put on weight. I've weighed this much before but was completely wobbly all over. I'm now pretty toned on my legs and arms so I think there is something to say over what 5 lbs of fat looks like on your body as opposed to 5 lbs of muscle.

It looks like someone has already discussed this before...

http://drseltzerweightloss.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/muscle-vs-fat.jpg

I've just come back from my third zumba workout this week. My body is pretty fatigued but my endorphins are rushing. I feel fantastic. I've never been more physically fit. Keeping up with the svelte little twenty-somethings is what I'm most proud of!

I will try to take a photo every week to show the difference I'm achieving. Let's see how it goes. I'm very optimistic about 2015!

Here is a couple of dishes I made this week getting back on plan.

Chilli con Carne from the Extra Easy recipe book with some Slimming World Chips

Malaysian Red Pepper Chicken Curry from the Taste of Asia cookbook

Both are incredibly delicious and satisfying! 

Hello 2015

I'm back! It's been a rough few months since my last post. Around the time of that post my job started to go south. I was finally told that my employer would not be renewing my contract four days before my graduation from University. It was a bit of a low blow but the job wasn't going well and I was too excited about graduating to give a damn. I was graduating! You see, it took 20 years to achieve this dream so I was high as a kite! And I was loving the outfit I bought for the occasion.

And then I started celebrating the graduation with some friends...

and then the Christmas parties started...

And then my weight started going up...

And losing my job and trying to stick with Slimming World made me feel sad.

So I gave up...

for a month.

I quit Slimming World after almost two years.

BUT!

I missed it!

And now I'm rejoining on Thursday. I'm not on the plan 100% but it's a slow process getting rid of all the naughty food in my house and giving up bread again. I think I've put on 4 lbs but will confirm after my weigh in on Thursday when I rejoin. I've taken some pictures for comparison later. I am currently a size 18 and squeezing into it. 

I went back to my zumba class last night and I am booked to go three times a week. I don't plan on looking for work for a while so this is going to be my focus for a while. I'm also working on writing full time so blogging about this is going to keep me sharp! I really need to sort out my hair too!

Well I'm ready for 2015 now! Hurrah!

Happy Hump Day!

Wednesday is hump day, but I feel like I've just got over a personal hump. I've been struggling with keeping to my Slimming World diet for the last few weeks. I'm still pushing it at the gym but it's now half term and the kids are home. We've been super busy with activities but proud of myself for making pizza chips the other day after a long shopping trip to Ikea. Added loads of roasted veggies to it. Awesome!

I've also made Spaghetti bolognese this week and tonight I made Singapore Noodles. 

I also went to the Tower of London yesterday, it was a beautiful day and a lovely sight to see. 

Hoping now I can stay good! 

So I put on a pound last week but for some reason I was feeling pretty trim. I think its all the work I've been putting in at the gym. I feel toned and not wobbly at all. My problem area is my tummy. It gets bloated and then nothing fits me. I've found ways to disguise it but its really only passable when I'm working out. I went shopping on Saturday for a nice to wear to my local theatre in the evening. I was a bit paranoid but no one said it looked hideous! :) phew!

Tonight I've made burgers, 

Was a nice quick meal while catching up with Strictly! I'm off to zumba class now! 

It's been a crappy week, with crappy weather. My new job is in a near perfect scenario, part time, term time only so I don't need childcare, excellent pay and benefits, not too far away, my own office. But with this great scenario comes a pretty tough job. I've been in tears and drowning my sorrows in cake and junk food. I've been ill too, with a mild cold and the lousy weather just finishes me off.

I made some great meals this week despite it all, like this paella I found in an old magazine my group leader gave me, a chorizo and chicken one!

I also made beef stew on Sunday...

and a chicken curry for dinner tonight. 

So I've been doing my best for my meals, it's just been a tough week resisting all the naughty stuff in between. Weigh in tonight and I've put on a lb this week. I'm chastising myself but I won't let it get to me, time to have a fresh start this week from tomorrow. I want to be good because I have a night out planned next week and I want to have a few drinks. It hasn't been that awful this week, I've been to the gym for some hardcore zumba classes and I've started wearing my engagement ring again. It used to feel uncomfortable. For a whole year I couldn't even wear my wedding ring, and now look. :) 

Gotta take these non-scale victories where I can! :)