Jambalaya

Evening bloggies, a very quick update from me this evening as I am blogging during half time of the footie - I've been shouting myself hoarse cheering on my beloved Chelsea FC!

I don't know what's occurring at the moment but I am constantly running back and forth to the loo to pee!  I haven't altered my fluid intake any, I'm still drinking around 2L water a day and having about 4 cups green tea - no more than usual but I've spent the last few days shuttling back and forth to the loo every hour!

I had planned to get out for a run this evening but I completely forgot about the football - I love running but there is no way I am missing Chelsea's crunch match against Inter!  I am heading out for a run after work tomorrow though as I finish at 1pm.

Food today has been delicious and I tried out a new fabulous recipe for dinner thanks to my lovely friend Jildo.

I started off with porridge, made with 50g jumbo oats, 300ml skimmed milk, 10g coconut and topped with Greek yoghurt & blackberries.

Mid morning was a skimmed latte.

Lunch was a delicious frittata, made with 2 eggs, 4 egg whites, chopped red onion, green pepper, mushrooms, spinach & grated cheddar.

Mid afternoon snack was the same as yesterday as I enjoyed it so much.  Sliced granny smith sprinkled with cinnamon & maca and 2 babybel light.

Dinner was Jambalaya, courtesy of my friend Jildo.  It was so easy peasy to make and got the thumbs up from both me & Mr JAG - thanks honey!

Jambalaya


4 chicken breasts
1 red onion
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
100g brown basmati rice
1 garlic clove
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cayenne pepper
15ml tomato puree
400g chopped tomatoes
1 stock cube (I used vegetable)
Water

Cook the chicken in the oven and shred.

Fry the onions and peppers in a little oil/butter until softened.  Then add garlic, herbs & spice, salt & pepper to taste and saute for a few minutes.

Add the tomato puree, tomatoes, stock, rice & chicken and a good splash of water to help the rice to cook.  Simmer for 20-30 minutes, adding more water if required until rice is cooked.

I added in more cayenne pepper than the recipe called for and also added in some paprika as we are both spice lovers.  I think next time I make it I will cook the rice before hand as it took a lot longer to cook being brown rice.

Either way, it is a very simple yet delicious recipe!

After dinner, I sucked on a protein popsicle to cool down my mouth :-D

Ignore my manky chipped nail polish, I'm re-doing them as I watch the 2nd half!

Nutritional breakdown:

Calories: 1611
Protein: 145g (36.8%)
Carbs: 139g (33.1%)
Fat: 53g (30.1%)
Fibre: 15.8g
F&V: 9

Drinks: Lots of water & green tea, 1 skimmed latte

Exercise: About 3 miles running back and forth to the toilet ;-)


Second half has started so much dash!  Enjoy your evening peeps!

Support

Once again, I am overwhelmed by the support of my fantastic readers after posting about my recent blip.  Not only did I receive lots of lovely supportive comments and people sharing their own experiences, I was inundated with supportive messages on WLR and via email.  I can't thank you all enough.

I felt pretty yucky most of the day yesterday and slept dreadfully last night.  I also felt quite ill up until around lunch time today and I know it was down to the foods I consumed.  If that isn't enough to convince me that those foods are just not good for me, then nothing will.

All in all, despite feeling pooh yesterday, it was a lovely day.  Mini JAG presented me with the loveliest card and a beautiful bunch of flowers:

We spent a lovely day with my folks, my sister, brother, sister-in-law & my nephew and my mum loved having everyone around her:

My lovely sister and mum

Me & mum

The girls

My beautiful mini JAG and his cousin

I woke feeling even worse today through lack of sleep but as the morning wore on I started to feel a lot better.  I was really pleased to receive my Thermopure from My Protein as I have read so many good reviews about them I am hoping they will kick start my fat loss again.  I took one when they arrived and I definitely felt the boost it gave me.  I can't wait to take them pre-workout tomorrow, it's supposed to feel pretty intense!  Watch this space :-)

I had a bit of a stressful afternoon at work due to neurotic patients moaning so was really glad to get home this evening.  We are currently interviewing for a new member of staff which will mean my hours drop back down to 25, so I can't wait!  Yeah, I'll miss the extra cash but being home in the afternoon when mini JAG gets in from school will be so worth it.  It will also be nice to be able to keep on top of my household chores rather than having to spend the weekend doing them all!

Food today has been gorgeous though I forgot to snap a picture of my porridge!  I made it with 50g jumbo oats, 300ml skimmed milk, 10g coconut, dollop Greek yoghurt, drizzle maple syrup and fresh blackberries.

Instead, I will show you a picture of yesterday's mocha porridge, made with 2 tsp instant coffee and raw cacao powder:

Mid morning, I had a skimmed latte, which also went un-photographed.  I figure you know what it looks like by now ;-)

Lunch was a gorgeous prawn salad, made with 200g jumbo king prawns, 2 handfuls spinach, kidney beans, red onion & feta cheese with cherry tomatoes on the side.

Mid afternoon, I snacked on a sliced granny smith with maca & cinnamon and 2 babybel light.  It was my first try of maca powder and when I smelled it, I didn't think I would like it.  However, it was lovely and really went well with the apple & cinnamon.

Dinner got a massive 2 thumbs up from Mr JAG :-D  I wanted something quick so cooked some haddock fillets in a little butter, mixed herbs & garlic and served with some stir fried mushrooms, red onion, green peppers and cherry tomatoes.  Just before the end, I stirred in some crumbled feta and then added a couple large handfuls of spinach - amazing!

Nutritional Breakdown:

Calories: 1420

Protein: 139g (39.9%)

Carbs: 131g (35.1%)

Fat: 39g (25%)

Fibre: 20.7g

F&V: 10

Drinks: Lots of water, 5 cups green tea, 1 skimmed latte

Exercise: None

Am heading off now to finish watching America's Next Top Model - my guilty viewing pleasure.  What is your guilty viewing pleasure?

I have to get this off my chest

I was unsure whether to post about this because it isn't something I am proud of.  In fact, it's something I feel quite embarrassed about but I know in the past when I have come to the blog to talk about things, it has helped not only me to get my head around things, but has also helped other people reading too.

I binged last night.


I don't know what triggered it off.  My usual triggers are hunger or tiredness or even worse, both together.  However, I wasn't feeling either particularly so I don't know what it was about.  What I do know is that I am so disappointed.

When I say disappointed, I don't mean with myself.  I know the worst thing I could do now would be to berate myself over it because all that would do is make me feel shit and more likely to continue the cycle out of some sort of pity.

But I do feel disappointed because I really thought I had beat it.  I can't even remember when I last binged as it's been so long, so maybe I was a bit foolish to assume that it wouldn't happen again.  Well, this has just given me a huge kick up the arse and reminded me that there are absolutely no certainties where disordered eating is concerned.

What I am going to do is focus on the positives rather than the negatives.

It wasn't a planned binge. That was something I used to do in the past.  I would drop my son to school, walk back home past the shops and buy ridiculous amounts of junk with the sole purpose of going home and eating it all.  Last night it was like I wasn't really conscious of the whole thing, like I disappeared into a fog and was trying to find my way out again.

It made me ill. Though this is a bad thing, it is a good thing too because the next time I am tempted, I am going to remind myself just how ill it made me feel.  I went to bed with a pounding head and a queasy stomach and I am certain it is down to the amount of sugar I consumed.

It wasn't the biggest binge I've had. In fact, by some people's standards, it might not even class as a binge.  However, the reason I am choosing to call it a binge is because it was something I felt I had no control over.  


I eventually managed to stop.  In previous binges, I have eaten and eaten and eaten until I've physically had to stop because I can no longer eat anything else.  Last night, all the while I was doing it, I kept trying to stop myself.  I was telling myself that I didn't really want to do it and eventually, I emerged from the haziness, looked at what was in my hand and made myself go and throw it away.

I am talking about it.  I have never really talked much about binge eating to anyone in the past and I would definitely not have come and talked about it so publicly before.  However, when I chose to blog, I chose to be completely honest, both with myself and the people who are kind enough to read regularly.  If someone reading is suffering with the same sort of problem, maybe seeing me talking about it might encourage them to share their plight with someone too.


So, there is my confession.


I'm feeling very sluggish today and don't really want to do much but I'm going to go dive in the shower, wake myself up properly, make myself look beautiful and enjoy a lovely day with my family.

My sister and brother are both visiting (she lives in Rotherham and he lives in Birmingham) and we are going to have a big family dinner with our folks.  Mini JAG came down just as I started this blog post with the most beautiful Mother's Day card for me, that he chose and bought himself and I realise how blessed I really am.

So, no negativity today - I choose to have a good day!

BOO!

Did you all think I'd forgotten to post last night?

I wasn't feeling too hot so had an evening away from the computer.  Yesterday afternoon, I felt the start of a headache and took some painkillers but they didn't budge it.  I didn't have my migraine tablets on me as they are in my other purse so I had to wait until I got home.

By the time I got home it had started to ease off a little but I didn't much fancy sitting in front of the computer so I relaxed with the husband and we ordered an Indian for my treat meal.  We watched a couple of movies and just spent the evening chatting - it was lovely.

We watched The Hurt Locker - not a bad film really though the storyline didn't actually go anywhere but it was still pretty good.  I developed a bit of a crush on Jeremy Renner - phwoar!

Have you guys caught Lady Gaga's new video with Beyonce?  Oh my word, hot hot hot!  I have watched it so many times since I caught it yesterday morning!  Both Gaga & Beyonce look incredible and I have I have a bit of a girl crush on both of them.  If you haven't seen it yet, I urge you to watch - it's pure art!

You can find the video here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ95z6ywcBY - beware, it contains cursing and lots sexiness!

Food yesterday was lovely but I didn't calorie count all of it because of my treat meal.  It's the first proper blow out meal I've had in a while so I'm not going to freak out about it.  

I will share some pictures with you though :-D

Breakfast was my usual porridge, topped with Greek yoghurt, blueberries & pecans & a wee drizzle of maple syrup

Late morning, I had a cinnamon bagel

Lunch was leftover bolognese from the night before - yum!

Afternoon snack was some fresh ham from the butcher & 2 babybel light.  

Dinner was a chicken tikka jalfrezi with rice and salad.  I also ate 3 poppadoms:

I ate about half of it as it was just too filling but it was delicious.

Afterwards, I indulged in a bar of the raw chocolate that I received in the post from the Raw Chocolate Company and two tiny glasses of red wine.

I drink my red wine out of my Jack Daniels shot glass - it only holds 100ml which is perfect.  I find if I drink out of a larger glass, the temptation to fill it is just too much so drinking out of a small glass helps.

Hope you are all having a fabby weekend so far!  Catch you all later.

Successfully Maintaining Weight Loss

As it is now coming up to 9 months for maintaining my 3 and a half stone weight loss, I thought I would re-post this for anyone just nearing or entering their maintenance phase.


This post is prompted by the fact that today marks the 3rd month of successfully maintaining my weight loss.



Reaching my goal was the best moment ever because I know, with my hand on my heart, that this time it is forever.

The last time I lost weight, which was about 4-5 years ago, I had already started putting it back on by this time.  Old habits had started creeping back in, I had the mentality that I was at goal so could eat a few more treats, and before I knew it, I was back to where I started, with extra weight for good measure.  One thing you can always guarantee – the weight goes on a lot easier than it comes off!

So, what is different this time?  My attitude.  I believe that to truly succeed at maintaining weight loss, your attitude towards food, exercise and yourself has to completely change. 

I was reading a diet/fitness board the other day, where a girl was singing the praises of Slimming World, saying how good the diet is and how it “works for her”.  What she failed to mention to the person asking advice is that yes, it worked for her, but only for as long as she followed the plan.  She lost around 3 stone.  However, she went on to gain about 5 stone.  That is not a success is it?

So, let’s talk about the word diet.  Everyone has a diet – mine is healthy, the next person’s might not be so healthy, the person after him might be downright terrible.  The only context the word diet should be used is in the “everyday diet” sense.

Many people, when wanting to lose weight, say they are going on a diet.  The word diet, in this context indicates something that is started, so will consequently be stopped.  This is just setting yourself up for failure.

The most important thing to remember when trying to lose weight that bad habits have to be broken, new habits have to be formed and these changes need to be made for life.

I always remember at the start of my journey, a girl I know said something that pinged on that light bulb in my head.  She said “If you want to be a size 12, you have to eat like a size 12 for the rest of your life”. 

Does that mean I will have to monitor everything I eat for the rest of my life?  Most likely.  Is it worth it to look good, feel good and be healthy?  Absolutely!  There are some people who can eat whatever they want and not have to worry about gaining weight – good for them!  However, I am not one of them.

I also know that it’s not just about how you look on the outside.  There are plenty of skinny young things who have the metabolism of a 200lb, hulk of a man, that can eat what they want, drink what they want and not gain an ounce.  However, I can guarantee their insides will not be as lean as their outer side.

Some doctors think that internal fat, that surrounds the major organs like the heart, liver and pancreas is just as dangerous as the adipose tissue that bulges out underneath the skin.  Being “thin” does not protect one from diabetes or heart disease. 

Dr Jimmy Bell, a professor of molecular imaging at Imperial College, London, and his team have scanned over 800 people with MRI machines to show how people carry fat around their vital organs.

Out of all the women scanned by Dr Bell and his team, 45% of those with normal BMI scores, and 60% of men, actually had excessive levels of internal fat.

This MRI scan image provides a detailed look at where fat is stored internally in the human body. The image is of an average-sized man who is 6-foot-2, weighs 174 pounds and has a normal index of 21.7. Internal fat is shown as yellow, external fat is green and muscles are red.

Doctors are still unsure just how dangerous internal fat can be, but it is suspected that it can contribute to the risk of heart disease and diabetes. 

It’s really not worth the risk though is it?


At the start of my post, I talked about how attitude has to change.  A good friend of mine Stella recently posted on Weight Loss Resources about how she used to have the “diet mentality”.  She wrote:

”I wanted the weight watchers way of “eat what I like” to work, but I failed, then I failed, then I failed again. Then I changed how I eat and 8 months later I'm still succeeding. I'm the same weight I was back in Uni but I'm 2 clothes sizes smaller and look better.  I can't understand why anyone could think the best diet involves un-natural processed foods? Even when I did WW I was never a fan of heavily processed stuff and I always knew that by continuing to eat crisps and chocolate as long as it fell within my points, I was never going to have long term success”

As you will see from looking at her blog, her progress has been staggering and that is because she changed her attitude.  She knew that to lose weight and successfully keep it off, she had to ditch the diet mentality and create an everyday diet that is sustainable in the long term.


So, here are my top tips for successful maintenance:

• 
  
  
  
  Eliminate the word diet from your vocabulary, unless in an “everyday diet” context
• 
  
  
  Don’t create too big a calorie deficit – this will make it too restrictive and will mean your weight loss journey risks being marred by “falling off the wagon”, berating yourself and feelings of guilt
• 
  
  
  Remember you are creating habits that will last a lifetime.  Make switches such as swapping refined carbs (white bread, pasta & rice) for complex carbs (wholemeal bread, brown basmati rice and wholewheat pasta), swapping cakes and biscuits for healthier snacks such as fruit, raw nuts and yoghurt.
• 
  
  
  Eat foods that are nutritionally sound.  I know I say this all the time but filling your body with nutritious foods will nourish your body, leaving you glowing with good health.  Fill it with chemically enhanced foods, that have been through excessive processing (removing any goodness that was in it originally) can leave you feeling bloated, sluggish and hungry.  Most of these convenience foods have had excessive sugar or salt added to them, excessive preservatives to make them last longer and artificial flavours to make them taste better.
• 
  
  
  Keep an eye on your portion sizes.  Don’t fall out of the habit of weighing and measuring what you eat – it’s so easy for that 50g of porridge to become 60g and before you know it, your portion size has doubled.
• 
  
  
  Indulge a little.  By this I mean allow yourself to eat what you fancy for about 20% of the time.  This could be a weekly “treat” meal where you get to eat whatever you want, it could be a few glasses of wine at the weekend or a tiny bit of chocolate every day.
• 
  
  
  Continue exercising.  Many people exercise only as a way to burn off calories when trying to lose weight.  Find a form of exercise that you enjoy and carry on doing it after your goal weight has been reached.
• 
  
  
  Enjoy your new shape.  Since I reached my goal, I have overhauled my wardrobe.  I want to wear clothes that show off my new body.  I put so much work into it, that I want other people to see how good it looks.  I don’t mean that I go around half naked all the time, but I no longer wear clothes that to try and disguise my shape.
• 
  
  
  Ditch your fat clothes.  Once I reached goal, I went through my wardrobe and tried on every item of clothing.  Anything that was too big was discarded.  Don’t keep them there to fall back on – that attitude is defeatist and not conducive to successful maintaining.
• 
  
  
  Remember that anything worth having is going to be hard work.  The only time you will find success before work is in the dictionary!

Bleurgh

Yucky yucky yuck - this is how I feel.


I just got back from my run and feel lousy.  I think I ran too soon after eating and it really hampered my performance. Normally, my stomach is pretty iron clad and I can run within an hour of eating a large meal but tonight, it just went against me.  As I was about half way through my second mile, I felt really sick like I was about to see my dinner again.  I tried to run through it and the feeling passed but as I hit mile 3, I got the most violent abdominal cramps.  I stopped and walked for a minute and it passed but as soon as I started running again, the feelings returned.  So, in the end I cut my run short at 3.5 miles and came home.


My stomach has settled a little now but that's the first time I have ever experienced something like that, so from now on, I will be sure to leave longer after eating.


Today has been a good day.  Not only did I weigh in and lose 1lb, I received loads of goodies in the mail!


The very generous people at Vita Coco were kind enough to send me a sample of their 100% pure coconut water, 2 100% fruit yo-yo's, a packet of Bear baked granola nibbles and a packet of Bear fruit nibbles.

The Vita Coco coconut water is 100% natural and has 15 times the electrolytes found in sports drinks.  There is also no added sugar - bonus!  I can't wait to try it!


I also received, courtesy of the kind people at Nairns, a packet of Mixed Berry Biscuit Snack Packs:

I've not tried many Nairns products in the past, mostly their plain oatcakes and I have nibbled my way though plenty of their stem ginger biscuits.  I am looking forward to trying these and might take them to work tomorrow and share them out with our mid morning cuppa.


Finally, I opened my last package which was an amazingly generous bundle of raw chocolate from The Raw Chocolate Company.

Taken from their website, their chocolate boasts:

Our raw chocolate is more than just mouth-wateringly delicious, it is also full of life: un-heated cacao alone contains over 300 nutritional compounds, it is high in anti-oxidants, rich in essential minerals and even contains the natural 'love molecule' PEA.

And the fact that our chocolate is lovingly produced, RAW and uncooked, as well as free from sugar, dairy, and gluten, means all of that potent goodness delivers a real, natural boost that is unlike any other.

Who would have thought chocolate could be so good for us?!  They were kind enough to send me the following flavours:

• Vanoffe
• Twilight
• Dark
• Midnight
• Lavish
• Loaded
• Minted

I'm going to indulge in a bar this weekend.

So, to all of the above, I would like to say a HUGE thank you!

Food today has been really lovely and again, I have managed to keep to my nutritional split pretty well.  

I started off the day with a bowl of porridge, containing: 50g jumbo oats, 150ml skimmed milk, 150ml almond milk, 50g Greek yoghurt, 10g coconut butter, 85g blackberries.

I stirred the coconut butter into my porridge and it gave the most amazing subtle coconut flavour.  If you haven't made it yet, I highly recommend you do so quickly!

Mid morning was a skimmed latte.

For lunch I had a delicious salad made up of jumbo king prawns, mixed leaves, kidney beans, red onion & feta cheese, with cherry tomatoes on the side (they wouldn't fit into my lunch box!)

Mid afternoon, I snacked on 2 babybel light and a sliced, grilled chicken breast:

For dinner, I made a huge pan of lamb bolognese.  I have another 2 portions left over for the freezer.

After my run, I tried out the new Bear granola nibbles and they were gorgeous.  I felt like I was eating something really indulgent - the granola was lovely and crunchy and quite sweet even though there are no added sugars.

The ingredients read:

• Wholegrain oats
• Wholegrain maize
• Pineapple pieces
• Coconut
• Apple, grape & carob extract

Delicious!

My nutritional breakdown:

Calories: 1628

Protein: 165g (40.9%)

Carbs: 132g (30.8%)

Fat: 50g (27.9%)

Alcohol: 1.1g (0.5% - splash of red wine in bolognese)

Fibre: 22.7g

F&V: 9

Drinks: Oodles of water, 5 cups green tea, 1 skimmed latte

Exercise: 3.5 mile run - 33 minutes, 368 calories burned

Now I'm off for a lovely long shower.  My chest & arms are really sore from the weights yesterday and my legs are feeling really stiff now.

Hurrah for Friday tomorrow!

Weigh In

Well, it's only been four days since I really re-focussed on sticking closer to my nutritional profile and re-commenced carb cycling.

It seems to be working because I have lost 1lb!

I knew when I woke up that I would see a loss - I don't know how, but sometimes, you just know :-)

Motivation is still in full swing, so I will be pounding the streets tonight in preparation for my first half marathon in July.

I'm hoping to beat my previous best of 5.2 miles though if I can match it, I will be happy enough.  Whatever happens, I am going to aim for the distance and if I have to take a couple of walking breaks, that is fine.

What exercise plans do you all have for the day?

Hurrah for Coconut Butter

As you guys know, I've been dying to get my hands on some of the Artisana Coconut Butter for such a long time but haven't really had any luck.  I've not seen it in any of the health food shops I have visited and from an online search, I have only found one site that sells it for an extortionate £13 with another £6.95 on top of that to deliver it to me.

Erm, thanks, but I don't want to try it that badly!

So, imagine my excitement today when I settled down to catch up on my daily blog reading, to see that Heather has made her own!  Immediately, I went into the kitchen to make some and can't believe how simple it is!  Take a bag of desiccated/dehydrated coconut, add to a food processor and process for about 10 minutes, stopping at intervals to ensure the motor doesn't burn out.

Eventually, you will end up with a yummy, luscious coconut butter.

I added in 2 tbsp of agave nectar to give it a bit of sweetness and it's gorgeous - I can't wait to top my oats with it tomorrow!  Thank you Heather!

Today has been a pretty good day, both food and exercise wise, though my protein has been a little lower today.  That is simply down to bad organisation on my part.  I meant to fetch a bag of prawns out of the freezer for lunch before I left for work and forgot so had nothing to come home to.

I started off with my porridge, made with 50g jumbo oats, 150ml almond milk, 150ml skimmed milk, 1 chopped gala apple & cinnamon, topped with Greek yoghurt, blueberries & pecans.

Mid morning, I had my skimmed latte, which I didn't photograph.

Lunch was badly organised as I forgot to defrost my prawns.  I wanted something quick to eat that wasn't going to take too long to digest as I wanted to hit the weights.  So, I snacked on a bagel prior to training.

After the weights, time was getting on and I would be planning dinner within a couple of hours so I didn't want too big a meal.  I opted for a green monster:

It contained:

• 200ml almond milk
• 1 chopped banana
• 1 scoop vanilla protein
• 100g spinach
• 1/2 tsp spirulina

Yum!

After my green monster, I was suddenly overwhelmed with tiredness and for the first time in ages, I had to take a nap.  I only slept for an hour but actually felt worse when I woke up so wish I hadn't bothered :-(

Dinner was a delicious Spicentice recipe - Coriander Chicken.  It was my first time using this kit and I was extremely pleased with how gorgeous it was.  Coriander is one of my favourite herbs, so I figured I would love it.

I served it with a tiny bit of brown basmati rice.

After dinner, I had a yummy protein popsicle but mini JAG was using the camera so I couldn't snap a picture of it.

Nutritional Breakdown:

Calories: 1801

Protein: 123g (28.1%)

Carbs: 204g (43.8% - higher due to pre & post workout carbs)

Fat: 55g (28.2%)

Fibre: 24.1g

F&V: 8.7

Drinks: Lots of water, 4 cups green tea, 1 skimmed latte

Exercise: Weights - Chest & Arms

Tomorrow is weigh in day.  I'm hoping to see a small loss and would be happy with anything above 0.5lb.  My first week of being back on track properly with food is going well, so even if I see no loss tomorrow, I'm certain there will be one next week.

Please, wish me luck!

Hit the weights

As you can probably tell from the lack of exercise posts lately, I have still been struggling with my flagging mojo.  However, I seem to have been hit with a new flush of motivation this week and I'm not sure what has caused it.  Maybe it's the re-appearance of the sun and the thought of spring and summer on the way.  Whatever it is, I'm happy it's coming back!

I have re-focussed my eating efforts and it has made me want to train again.  I have that little fire inside my belly that has been missing for a while and it feels good having it back.  Don't get me wrong, I've not gained weight, I've not slipped with my eating and I've not got out of shape.  However, I have been plodding along since Christmas after I lost the extra lbs that I gained over the holiday period and I don't want to be a plodder any more!

So, with my motivation in full swing, I got home from work at 1pm, snacked on a cinnamon bagel and then hit the weights.  I trained my chest and arms and managed to increase my bench press weight from last time though my reps are right down.  My other exercises were pretty shit really and I'm annoyed at myself for slacking and letting my strength decrease.

So, here is my workout:

Bench Press - 30kg - 8, 4, 4
Incline Bench - 30kg - 3 - had to lower the weight as I nearly dropped it on my head!
Incline Bench - 27.5kg - 4, 4
Flyes - 8kg - 6, 4, 4
Barbell Curls - 15kg - 10, 8, 6
Tricep Dips - BW - 8, 6, 6


I've never really done dips before as part of my workout.  The only time I used to do them was as part of the body pump classes a few years ago and that was off the edge of a reebok step.  Today, I did them with my hands on the weights bench and my legs out stretched and feet resting on the bed frame like this:

Oh boy, did I feel them!

Now I'm just sipping on a post workout green monster before I go and make a start on dinner - I have no idea what to make!  Aaarrrrggghhhh!


What is your favourite exercise and why?


I think mine has to be either the squat or the clean & press - both make me feel super strong :D

Exhausted!

I only got in the house an hour ago and am now struggling to keep my eyes open so just a quickie and then I'm heading off for the evening, to put my feet up and chill out for an hour before bed.

It's great to see the debate going on about Weight Watchers endorsing McDonalds food - keep your thoughts coming.  It's also very interesting to read about everyone's phobias and it seems I am not alone in my fear of birds!  I never realised they were such a common phobia.  Alfred Hitchcock - you have a lot to answer for!

Food has been really lovely today and my macro split has been pretty much spot on - yay!

The day started off with my whey-free porridge.  I made it with 50g jumbo oats, 150ml almond milk, 150ml skimmed milk, 10g coconut & a wee drizzle of maple syrup, and topped with a dollop Greek yoghurt & 100g blueberries.

Mid morning, I had my lovely latte.  I have even got the girls and GP at work hooked on my home-made lattes.  I served them up with the last of my yummy fudge balls.  I've decided I'm not going to make them for a while.  Yes they are delicious and are completely natural so it's not like they're bad or anything, but I found I was snacking on those and missing out on other foods.  Now I'm focussing more on my macros again, they will have to be kept for the occasional treat.

I didn't have any fudgies, just my delicious coffee, which I didn't snap.

Lunch was a veggie packed frittata.  I used 2 eggs, 4 egg whites, a small chopped red onion, mushrooms, peppers & spinach.

As I was going to be late home for dinner, I ate my afternoon snacks in 2 parts.

Firstly, I had a sliced granny smith and 2 babybel light, with a cup of aromatic chai green tea:

Then a little later, I snacked on some grilled chicken:

Dinner was my favourite quickie meal - a healthy pizza made on a wholemeal flatbread - toppings included tomato, mozzarella, red onion, green pepper, mushrooms, marinated chicken and jalapenos.

My nutritional breakdown:

Calories: 1690
Protein: 165g (39.7%)
Carbs: 134g (30.3%)
Fat: 55g (30%)
Fibre: 19.2g
F&V: 7

Drinks: Loads of water, 3 cups green tea, 1 chai green tea, 1 skimmed latte

Exercise: None - weights planned tomorrow


I realised as I was writing down my food that it is my first whey-free day in a long time!  And I managed to keep my protein intake pretty high too - woohoo!  It means eating meat twice today but I'm not fussed as I am a real carnivore at heart - I love my meat!

I really think I'll be able to do this :-D

Tomorrow is Wednesday - hurrah!  I do love a hump day, especially as work ends at 1pm.  Not only that but it means only 2 working days left for the week so the countdown to the weekend starts tomorrow.

I'm getting really excited about my birthday in a couple of weeks.  There is so much stuff I want to buy at the moment I have kindly asked for people not to buy my anything to but give me the cash so that I can decide what to get.  A new camera is among my wish list but right now, as I have one that takes half decent pictures, it's not a high priority.

What is on your wish list right now?