so my birthday weekend went well. Mostly Friday I had a lovely meal with the Dutchie. Bruschetta to start and gorgeous roast lamb with jacket potato and spinach (note the healthy touch!) and NO dessert! He also bought me a fish tank so we have spent all weekend becoming fish-ners. Saturday, girls day/night out with my friends. Cue 12 hours drinking followed by a greasy (but hell lekker) dirty capsalon. Its not actually called a dirty capsalon but its got salad (again the health touch), sliced lamb, chicken, cheese, chips (or frieds for the Americans or fritjes for the Dutch) and garlic sauce (kinda kills the healthy touch) so me and my friends have christened it a dirty capsalon Sunday the in-laws were here so cue more eating (no drinking.....) and a hangover. More a tired hangover than a sore head queasy stomach hangover. And a chest that felt like a ten ton weight was on it (I need to give up smoking. Sometime. Maybe). And then the dutchie's brother stepped way outta line which resulted in a punch up between him and his wife which ended up in me dragging him outside and putting him on his ass. Note. I do not advocate violence but I will not stand by when two grown adults start punching and slapping each other in front of their children. One of the advantages of being both tall and fat. People calm down pretty quick when you need to get in their face.
On the plus side, I did gain this week. but only a kilo. Which, bearing in mind my massive calorie intake (almost 2000calories in alcohol alone) I'll take that gain. I think it helped that I didn't feel like I was cheating or going off plan or being naughty. I had given myself permission to relax and enjoy guilt-free. And I expected a gain so only gaining a kilo was a pretty good result in the scheme of things.
Tomorrow I'm back on my healthy eating and exercising routine strict. I have 2 weeks until Carnaval which will be another eating/drinking session so I need to put some work in now to offset it. And if i don't get back on track, then each day will slip away until its this time next year and I'm starting again.
I've made the conscious decision to relax my healthy eating and exercise regime for the next few days. Its my birthday weekend and I dont want to spend it beating myself up about food and drink choices. So i expect a gain when i weigh in on Monday. But hey, life gets in the way right? And its a conscious choice to relax (not stop and eat eat eat) rather than end up just eating eating eating and feeling like shite on Monday morning.
I have downloaded a new calorie counting app for my HTC and in just one day amzed myself by how much carbs i am eating! Even though i'm eating healthy, there is still a lot of hidden sugars in things and my Carb intake is insane. And I havent even had dinner yet. So I think after my WI on Monday I need to revise what I am eating and increase the protein in my diet as carbs is almost triple the protein.
I'm a girl who loves her carbs. I could quite easily wolf down a loaf or two of bread.And i dont think it is healthy to deny any food group. But even I know that too many carbs aint good, especially as I have PCOS and run the risk of either diabetes or hypoglycema. So carb atch commences next week!
humdrum and ho-down eh? how's that for a snappy title.
Today was a bit of a meh day. The kitchen is a mess so i didn't bother making my planned lunch. Its a tiny kitchen with one small worksurface and originally only 3 cupboards. 3!! how the feck am i supposed to fit all my kitchen wiz-gadgetry (that is rarely used) in 3 cupboards. So we bought some more from Ikea. Which means continuing the tiles (yes the walls were only part tiled to the edge of the cooker) put in some spanking new cupboards and another worktop. and then we went to bed! hey presto one nifty, but messy kitchen (operation clean up starts shortly!). work was meh. I'm not going to the gym today as the house is a state and the ho-down kicks off on friday so it needs cleaning before then. And dutchie is even more useless at housework than i am. A domestic Goddess i am not!!
I did manage to eat quite healthily at work. I had ertwen soup (pea soup), a wholemeal roll, yoghurt and 2, yes 2!! (count 'em) pieces of fruit. And then craved chocolate ALL day. If it wasn't for the fact I had no change in my purse - didn't ya know i'm like the queen? I never carry cash- i would have snaffled everything in the vending machine.
I do have a plan though. Well its a plan that I have been doing for the last 3 weeks now. for every Kg i lose, I pay 10eur into a locked savings jar (dutchie has the combination to the lock so I couldnt break into that sucker if i tried!). As I also suffer from Trich (more on that to come) I also pay myself 1 EUR for every day i am pull-free. So, after 3 weeks, I have the nifty amount of 59EUR in my jar. And Jan isnt even over yet!! Last night I browsed the net looking at all the things I plan to treat myself to with my hard earned "winnings". Then promptly decided that it doesnt matter how much i lose, nothing is going to suit me , and started looking at holidays instead. Which made me feel meh. Hence the meh=ness today
Ah well, in 2 days it is my birthday! (No, im not getting any older. honest. I'm like dorian grey. eternally youthful. honest!) Friday the dutchie is doing something. Don't know what as he wont tell. Or he hasnt actually planned anything and is scrambling around the next few days to try and sort something out. The dutch are very strange on birthdays. When its YOUR birthday, YOU invite people round to YOUR house where YOU proceed to wait on THEM hand and foot. I dont get it. Birthday's are about me! one day a year that's all I ask. But no, the dutch don't get it. The last 2 years I have managed, for financial reasons, to not have the Dutch-in-laws round for my birthday and instead only have them at the end of Feb for Dutchie's. But this year they have insisted that they come here. even though, its MY birthday and I dont want to. go figure. Though at the very least, they aren't coming until Sunday. I said, not too early as I am celebrating with friends on Saturday night and intend to get completley hammered. So they are arriving at 2pm!! Ha they will get a fright when i dander down the stairs in my dressing gown, hair like a crazy woman with hours old drool on my cheek and a glassy eyed stare. That will teach them!!
So, off to clean the kitchen I go, shake off the meh-ness and maybe dance around in my underwear (or maybe shorts and a tshirt, don't want to scare the neighbours) and then a nice healthy dinner. Homemade meatballs, gravy, mash and loads of mixed veg! Lekker!
Yup! In case you hadn't guessed, I'm back! Its been a long time. Almost 2 years since i last blogged and probably over 3 since i actively sought to do anything about my weight.
As per my last blog, I turned my life upside down. I'm pleased to report it's working out. I now have a stable happy job that I enjoy and have built a nice circle of friends here in the Netherlands. Started learning Dutch (round 2 starts in feb!) and lost weight. The dutchie and I are still together, and will celebrate our 3rd anniversary in May. So yay for crashing cars, packing a suitcase and moving to a quite frankly, weird-ass country and starting again. It works! who knew!
And now I'm activly doing something about my weight. While I have lost weight over the past few years, its been more a happy accident than perfect planning. As it was recently the new year (or if your Chinese, currently the new year!), I made the obligatory resoloution to lose weight, save money and stop smoking all in one fell swoop. Kinda. Well not really. The smoking thing is on the backburner (til march. or april. or may. or 27th Julember 2145) But the health weight excercise thing is going suprsingly well.
3 weeks in I have lost 2.7kg (yes, With adopting the Netherlands as my home I have had to adopt metric measurements. I dont think i will ever get used to telling people i'm 194cm tall. Makes me sound like im describing a scary life size doll. That might kill you. ya know, the ones that come alive when your not looking and stab you to death with little tiny knives. or needles. Or some other minature sharp thing) i;m eating healthy. exercising more. And walking the dog (yes, still the same one, The mutt is now an international traveller!) at least 5km every other day.
So yes. I'm back. For good. Or until I g et horribly drunk and forget about EP. (which might be this weekend as its birthday time!)
So pull up a cuppa, and read a while,.Or even drop me a line for a chat. We all need friends fighting the fat monsters!
So its been almost a year since I last posted and pretty much the same length of time since i actually looked at my weight. And boy, a lot has changed!
I split up with my OH, jacked in my job cause I hated it, fell into a dark dank depression, met a fantastic guy and moved to holland! all in the space of about 5 months. I'm now happily settled in the south east corner of the Netherlands a stones throw from the Belgium and German borders, without a penny to my name or a job to call my own. And i am deliriously happy. Except about my weight.
now in the last 3 years my weight has been up and down like a yoyo. (nothing new there) and i still weigh 3 stone less than i did back then so yay! but I also weigh a stone heavier than i did a year ago so boo!!! Now as I am in holland and dont speak an awful lot of Dutch yet, there is no way in hell I can follow a Dutch diet. And as the food is different here (frikandel, poffertjes, hutspot anyone?) there is no way I can follow a diet back home
So all i can do is make as healthy a choice as possible and up the excerise and hope to lose the weight
Its easter!!!! woot!! which means chocolate and eggs and chocolate eggs and ..........*screeches to a halt* ey up! erm i'm trying to lose weight. darnit!
yes girlies tis that horrible time of year when chocolate abounds and makes those who are trying to lose a few pounds either cave in and gorge ourself til we burst or hide in a cupboard til its all over and the lure of the chocolate bunnies has been cured with a 12bore shotgun.
So, being the wonderful person that i am i have decided to write a little Easter survival guide to help you all through the pain and suffering that is chocolate hell
1 - if someone gives you a huge chocolate easter egg cover it in something rotten. i find ants work well. gives them a tasty treat and prevents you from eating it
2 - take a ruler or stick with you when food shopping. when tempted to reach for the chocolate - beat yourself hard on the hand shouting thou shalt not feast! yes people will look at you like a mad thing,they may even recommend psychiatric treatment but your hands will hurt that much you wont be able to lift the chocolate
3 - if all else fails find a dark corner, wrap yourself in a blanket and rock to and fro crying eat the bunnies - this stage may last 3 days. be prepared. On the plus side though you wont have eaten for 3 days so you'll be skinny as a rake
haha seriously though if you fancy a piece of chocolate, have it. just dont overindulge buy a bar instead of an egg. Life is about living not denial. Everything in moderation is good!
on a side note, i havent been posting on here the last week. I'd like to say that its because i've had nothing interesting to say but since that is the case every day haha the honest truth is because i had a bit of a weight gain last week. i kinda lost my motivation a bit and didnt particularly feel like sharing the news. But a post by Tatumsmum really hit home with me. Just because i dont log it, write about it, share it, doesnt mean it didnt happen. I need to accept that i will not lose every week, as nice as it would be. Some weeks i might gain and some weeks i might stay the same. I just gotta learn to deal with it and move on. In the past i would have let a gain completly derail me and my diet would have ended and i would go back to eating crap and put on all that i had lost. no more!!
I am proud to say that the small gain last week (1 3/4lb) actually spurred me on to follow my diet rigidly this week and has a result i have lost 3 1/4lbs. So i am now 2lbs off my first stone. Yay!!
have a nice eater, enjoy your treats and enjoy being off work/school/whatever
I hate mondays. i think i have an old post that starts with something similar. But really...i do
Yesterday was awesome. I drove to coleraine to pick up the OH from his brother's house and decided at the last minute to bring the mutt with me. Once I picked him up we went to downhill beach for a frolick on the cold beach. Which resulted in me him and the stupid mutt (i love her really!) covered from head to toe in sand salt and water! with not a towel between us. Good times!!! I did manage to stick to my diet plan though, despite the presence of every ice cream truck in the land, which was
Breakfast - vanilla date oatmeal
Lunch - BLT (balsamic, lettuce and tomato)
Dinner - Mexican chicken (yipee!!) salad - which was lush! i really must start posting some of the really yummy recipes on here for all to try
Snack 1 - Pistachio nuts (50)
Snack 2 - chocolate mousee (made from tofu and cocoa powder). Not a success i must say. But i think if i blend the tofu with a little melted chocolate instead it will be much tastier and still much less calorific
Today - not so well
Slept in (and i even remembered to put the clocks forward!) but still slept in.
Managed to get my ass showered and looking presentable (well not just my ass, but aherm you know what i mean. I hope. not that i go round flashing my ass to people., I should though because its fit., aherm i'm rambling) but had no time to make breakfast or lunch to plan.
Lunch - meh i didnt have half the ingredients i should have had to make my planned lunch of courgette frittata even though i went shopping at the weekend. But i have stuck to the healthy very little meat plan and am opting for 2 slices wholemeal toast and a snackpot of baked beans.
Snack - apple and 1 slice cheddar cheese
Tonight for dinner i think im having some sort of spicy chilli dish thing (i cant really remember) but i know i have all the ingredients i require. And walking the dog for exercise
I do think i need to get back to the gym though, i'm suffering from having no regular form of dedicated exercise and even though im walking the dog and going hiking at the weekends, its not enough to tone/firm the flabby areas us girls seem so intent on pummelling to death eg thighs bum (here i go with the ass thing again) stomach. So perhaps next month i shall resurrect my gum membership and start training again. hurrah!
well i weighed myself this morning. And *drumroll please*
i lost a massive 10lbs!!! of which 4.5lbs were fat!!!
i have these nifty scales that give you your body fat in % and in actual weight so wohoo!! i'm well chuffed.
And a perfect incentive to keep going. I reckon the remaining 5.5lbs are probably fluid (i dont feel as bloated and i was on TOTM at my starting weigh in last saturday) so we shall see next week what my losses are. but to think. in 8lbs time i shall be under 19stone for the first time in a very long time
Actual results
Weight 19st 7lbs down from 20st 3lb
BMI 34.0 down from 34.8
Body fat weight (this is a shocker. i swear if you want to stick to a diet get scales that weigh your fat) 7st 10 3/4 lbs down from 8st 1/2pound
Body fat % 39.6% down from 40.1%
H20 levels (yup really fancy scales) 44.1% up from 43.8% hydration :)
of me!!!! well not for the spelling in my last post. but because i'm awesome!
Why am i awesome??? Pft like you need to ask. But I'll tell ya anyways
Today I had a hell=ish day in work. you know one of those days where everything you pick up is not straightforward? yeah my day was kinda like that.
My boss left today (1 months notice given, 1 day taken). We have a new regional manager over from Australia for 3 months because our companies adminstration practices are somewhat confusing. Everything we were trained in 6 months ago before the store opened is incorrect, long winded and unnecessary (hell i knew that on the 2nd day but heh it's a job) So we are getting a shake up. Which is good. But difficult when you are trying to go about your daily tasks as normal and deal with change and rectify mistakes they are picking up in the last 6 months and doing your boss's job and blah blah blah
But that's not the reason i'm awesome.
So the OH is away. I slept in this morning so no time to prepare healthy nutritious breakfast lunch or dinner. Grabbed 2 pancakes (total cals 300 as per my diet) for breakfast, beans on wholemeal toast (total cals 400 as per my diet) and drank water. Driving home, stressed, tired and hungry I pondered on what to have for dinner. Normally - junk food, fast food anything quick and easy.
I drove past KFC. I drove past McDondalds. I drove past Pizzarella (the nicest pizza place in northern ireland). I drove past 3 chippies a chinese and another McDonalds (i drive through Glengormley the fast food capital of Northern Ireland) I stopped of to get cigarettes...bypassed Subway, bypassed the crisps dips and chocolate isle and picked up some wholemeal rolls. Got home.
Made a veggie burger with ketchup. mustard and 1 slice cheddar cheese. and a huge salad.
Check me! I'm awesome. For the first time EVER in the face of tiredness hunger and stress, i managed to make the right choice. Anytime i've been on a diet in the past i've still struggled with this hurdle. And failed. And promised to make it up tomorrow.
Still, the first weigh in tomorrow morning so wish me luck
when life seems to be going well, it throws you a curve ball.
Diet is still going well. My frist weigh in this saturday since starting it so fingers crossed. I have been sticking to it religiously though.
But today my boss quit. Its kinda been a long time coming but crap all the same
She was away for 2 months and i was carrying the can and she has only just came back and now she is gone again. So i get to carry the can. again. And they still havent sorted out my pay rise for the promotion i got back in bloody november.
There is a small chance i may get promoted to my boss's position. If the pay and conditions are right i might take it but nothing has been mentioned as yet so will have to wait and see i guess
this weekend i'm on my own. the OH is going to his brother's house to paint it and doesnt come back til Sunday. YAY!!! i love having the house to myself. a time to chill out completly, do what i want to do when i want to do it and just relax without worrying about anyone. apart from the dog
So i intend to clear out the kitche cupboards and the wardrobes in preparation for spring. Visist my gran, take lucy to the forest park for a 6 mile hike and then lie on the sofa all day sunday. yipee!!
