Thoughts in the witching hour

So it's nearly midnight as I start writing this and I am laying in bed and all I can think about is my weight and lack of weightloss. 

I have no one to blame but myself for that and I know in my heart of hearts that I wil be a fat bride, not as fat as I was but with nearly 6 months left to go, although I can and will lose more I will not hit my dream size for the wedding. Not that it was particularly small anyway, I had said that if I could be at most a size 16 I would be ok. 

I am currently laid here between a size 20 and a 22, 21 if you will.

I have now got to the point where I am just fed up being fat, it's not going anywhere and certainly nowhere fast. For the past couple of months you will have noticed I have been stuck between the 18st 8lbs - 18st 10lbs area. It fluctuates and sometimes I can be closer to one than the other. But after 2 months that is a bit ridiculous and it's annoying me.

I know a big part of it is lack of exercise, although I still pay for the gym monthly I haven't been in a few months! I got out of the habit of going, I got lazy and it got cold, Jon started working away a lot...ALL EXCUSES!! And I need to stop it, I need to stop being lazy, I need to stop being weak and ordering takeaways. It just all needs to stop.

So, tonight I have decided that for the next 7 days I will be adding a blog post every day with what I have eaten and what exercise I have done. After a week I will see where I am at and where my weight is. 

I have set my alarm for 7am so I can get up and do something before work.. I am hoping that works and we are hoping to go to the cinema tomorrow which will be walking. 

Current Weight: 18st 6lbs

Target weight loss: 1 stone

Pounds left until target: 11lbs

Weightloss so far: 5lbs

Target weight: 17st 11lbs

Countdown to christmas weigh in

This week in my weight loss journey I am again thinking forward to christmas, as you may remember in my last blog I had some thoughts on my christmas dinner options as we do not do the traditional christmas dinner and instead do a 'pick and choose' buffet throughout the day.

Nommy!

Normally we just buy party food and chuck it in the oven and pig out all day, but this year I am going to look into some other options:

Healthy Crisps:

Firstly, ignore the dip, I won't be making that, but crisps are a big part of the Christmas meal, so if they are healthier that can cut out a lot of naughty calories. Bear in mind that with the recipe it asks for Olive Oil however we would use Frylight here instead.

Ingredients

3 large potatoes, sliced into 1/8-inch thick rounds
2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oilSalt

Method

1. Toss potatoes in a large bowl with 2 tablespoons of oil, and pepper until well coated. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Arrange potato slices in 1 layer on 2 cookie sheets. 
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until chips are crisped and lightly browned. 
4. Remove from oven, season with salt and cool.

I am going to keep looking for more healthy recipes as I go, I am thinking something like stffed mushrooms, peppers, potato skins etc. I think the route to take is homemade as far as possible to avoid extra calories that I don't know about.

This week I have lost 2lbs! YAY! My scales hinted at being 18st 7lbs last week but changed their mind by weigh in day, so I am glad that I have kept it off this week, obviously the new batteries in the scales are helping me out!

Current Weight: 18st 7lbs

Target weight loss: 1 stone

Pounds left until target: 12lbs

Weightloss so far: 4lb

Target weight: 17st 11lbs

This week in my weightloss journey..

What I REALLY want is to lose weight, especially now I have bought THE dress, now I realise that no-one can give that to me I have to earn it. So, with that in mind I went and bought myself a planner that will help me to keep track of what I am doing.

After hearing about it on another blog I went and had a look at www.personal-planner.co.uk and with the amount of customisation available I thought, now this I like! So I went through the steps and chose my front cover (I decided on a 'Wonder Woman-esque theme; blue with white stars my name in yellow and red elastic) which 'modules' I wanted in the diary, including the format of my days, for the modules I decided on a meal planner for the week and a 'training' (workout) tracker. I am hoping this will give me another way to track what I am eating, weighing etc. If I track it in enough places I should be able to get it covered.

The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed that I have not written a blog recently, with work being super busy I have not had the time to write my blog and when I get home I was refusing to even look at my computer, this should all change now.

This is pretty much my determined look!

Whilst I was stood there in what will be my wedding dress, undone at the back because I couldn't fit in it, I looked in the mirror and thought, this is not what I want to see on my wedding day, this is the last time I look this big in my wedding dress! When it came to ordering I was feeling nervous, what size did I want to order it in, they measured me up and advised against going too small a size in case I don't hit my target size as they would only have about 1 inch either side to let it out and that could be an issue.

Let me tell you know that with a zip up wedding dress (sssh don't tell people it has a zip!) the sizes are more biased to the thinner end of the size guide and unlike a tie up back you cannot get away with just not zipping it up as tight.. So, I came to the desk to order it and they put the sizing chart in front of me; 'Now don't get disheartened..' they say and immediately I am thinking oh god they don't even do my dress in my size! What it actually was that wedding dress designers seem to have their own own sizing guides and they showed me the chart and I was 2 sizes above what size clothes I actually wear!!! They agreed to let me order one size below (which is still a size up from what I wear now) as they said we would much rather take it in than you not fit into it.

So with that in mind I now have to lose AT LEAST a dress size in time for my dress to come in (June) so that I can have fittings alterations etc. This is more than doable, when you think about it it is just a couple of inches off of various places. I am so close to having lost 2 stone so far (only 4lbs to go) so I know I can do it.

We are off on a walk tonight as Jon has the dentist so the gym will be closed by the time he is done. We used to walk in all weathers, we did lots of walks in the snow last winter, so we need to get back into that habit and not wimp out because it is 'too cold'. I have decided to make sure that I am and to prove it to my lovely readers (psst that's you!) that I am going to take a photo every time we go out for a walk and stick it on my instagram/twitter (@Fordith for both), it may not be very interesting but it will be there! Probably won't be taking photos at the gym... probably not allowed... but I will still update statuses to show it.

I have had a couple of up and down weeks in my time off and my weight has fluctuated around the 18st 9lbs mark, sometimes one lb off sometimes one lb on, so I need to have a good week to get myself back in it! I also need to prepare myself for xmas and make sure that we don't go mental with chocolates and xmas food. We don't have a proper christmas dinner and just have a buffet, maybe I will have to slip some vegetables and salad bits in there. ;)

Current Weight: 18st 9lbs

Target weight loss: 1 stone

Pounds left until target: 14lbs

Weightloss so far: 2lb

Target weight: 17st 11lbs

  

Can I just get paid to walk around all day?

I have been off work since wednesday and took the time to go Wedding Dress shopping with my mum and various members of my Bridal party (depending on the day). It was an odd experience.

I knew what I didn't want but not necessarily what I did want, it was a lot of Trial and Error, I got into a sort of rhythm eventually when I was able to spot the dress on sight that I knew I would not like even if they were different looks to the one I had tried on. I was correct in thinking that it would be difficult for me to shop for them, some shops would not let me try on the dresses that I would not be able to get on, which is fair enough, but some shops outwardly told me not to go near the rails because of my size, and I kept thinking 'I understand what they are saying but what if the dress I want is in there, I could try on a similar style but prefer those designs and order it in my size.' But hey ho, I did not. 

Overall it was a good experience, I was able to try on a lot more than I thought I would, all of the shop assistants were lovely, except one, who quite obviously did not want a woman of my size in her shop, asked me what I wanted and I told her what I didn't want and those were the dresses she pulled out and simply said 'well that's all we have we are a small boutique' and within 5 minutes of walking in we were outside the shop again. But I did not let it taint my day.

It turns out I seem to have expensive taste in wedding dresses, now don't get me wrong I wasn't choosing dresses that were thousands of pounds but they were out of my ideal price range. Possibly it is because of the shops I decided to visit but there was an overall theme so I think it must be me! 

This wasn't a common sight!

I was amazed at how many dresses I was actually able to get on, ok they weren't done up at the back properly and all my back fat was hanging out, but I was able to stand inside the dresses and see (mostly) what I would look like in the dress. Some did not sit quite right due to my large hips and bum, but some were able to bring in my waist and remind me that I have one hidden in there somewhere! However, if it was down to shops assistants I would have bought them all, they all:

• Suited my figure!
• Looked amazing on me!
• Were a really nice colour on me!
• Would fit beautifully in my size!

Unfortunately for them I get really uncomfortable with 'sales pitches' and if I were in the street and they tried to accost me I would hold up my hand say 'no, thank you' and keep my eyes averted, but that is quite hard to do in a wedding dress...

It was certainly frustrating to my mum and bridal party when I kept asking them what they thought but never really commented on the dresses myself. I know that I am a thinker and a mull-er, I like to go away and think about things and come to my decision then. If I can't stop thinking about it then I know its the one, if not, it's not. But I also hate being put on the spot, and feeling under pressure to make a decision. When everyone is looking at you waiting to make that decision you want to try and please them, but at the end of the day it is my dress and I need to be happy with it. 

I do worry that I will never find 'THE dress' because I like lots of different aspects and have not found a dress that incorporates all of these. I also think that I won't have 'THE reaction' to the dress that is traditional (tears, screaming, dancing round the room whatever it is) or cliche. Like I said previously I need to think about it, and if I like it I will buy it, but that does make me look miserable (just my face I am afraid!) whilst I am trying them on!

We do definitely have a favourite though and are going back to view it in a couple of weeks, if I do choose that dress the next question is: 

What size do I order it in? 

My thinking is that although I am a large size now I really want to be slimmer for the wedding, I know that it is easier to take in dresses than let them out, but will having the smaller size push me to lose the weight? I will HAVE to lose the weight to fit into my dress, it may give me the incentive I have been missing of late.

And with that in mind, it's a loss of 2lbs this week, which is great! I just need to keep pushing onwards! Maybe by the time I go back to look at the dress I could lose half a stone!?

Current Weight: 18st 9lbs

Target weight loss: 1 stone

Pounds left until target: 14lbs

Weightloss so far: 2lb

Target weight: 17st 11lbs

I know I'm, naughty!

So last week  I may or may not have completely forgotten to write my blog and I may or may not have almost done the same this week... and of course I was punished for this by putting a lb back on and am now 18st 11lbs again! Noooooooooooooo *over dramatic fall to knees*

It's my own fault and I know it, I have many excuses; I was stressed, I was lazy with my exercise, I was busy with wedding stuff, I was eating badly. You can pick whichever will make you shout at me less! ;)

My wedding dress trying on went really well! I was able to fit (ok not perfectly but I could get them on!) into all but one of the dresses I wanted to try on. Luckily, I did pre-warn the lady that I am very picky, I think she realised by just how much by the end of it.

Although I may not have found THE dress I am not disheartened, I found one that I did like but not enough to buy and definitely not enough to go way over my budget to buy. I wanted to make that many alterations to it that I thought in the end it wouldn't be that dress anymore and it would have been too plain for me. I wasn't allowed to take pictures so I can't show you but there was some definite umming and ahhing over it.

Like I said, I may not have found THE dress but I have started the journey, I know what style will look better on me than others and I feel a bit more confident at saying 'no, I don't like that' and being sure of my choices.

I have another wedding dress try on in a couple of weeks and I have decided that I am going to be uber good until then and be as strict as possible! I have started my food diary again to try and sustain this so I can yell at myself daily.

I have added a new target, to lose my next stone, no date as of yet but let's see what I can do!

Current Weight: 18st 11lbs

Target weight loss: 1 stone

Pounds left until target: 14lbs

Weightloss so far: 0lb

Target weight: 17st 11lbs

Taking steps

So this week I took a step, a step towards one of my scary goals, trying on wedding dresses!

I have my appointments booked and made my mum take time off work to join me, it is something I have really worried about because of my current size, and I have spoken about it before in this blog. So, I will not bore you with the weird mind burps I have on the matter. But, it has made me think about my goals and how much stricter I need to be, I would say that we are eating a hell of a lot better than we used to, but its still not great. I need to get over that 'I'm too tired to cook after work' thought process. When we get takeaway it takes just as long to wait for the food to arrive than it would it we just made dinner, which is ridiculous when you think about it. 

With the wedding plans getting started the thought of diets and fitness is becoming ever present in our minds as the day looms and I still have that big bum and jelly belly! I really am going to try and step it up so that I can look my best on the day but will not stop once the wedding is over! I am determined to be thinner so that if and when I become a mum I am not out of breath playing with my kids, or can't sit next to them on rides (a strange thought I know but when I think that in my current state I could not fit on adult rides a child's ride is surely smaller?).

This week it is a maintain, partly due to over indulgence on Jon's birthday and but mostly due to not getting off my fat arse and doing more exercise! But we are off to the gym tonight and wakling to the cinema tomorrow so let's lose weight!

Current Weight: 18st 11lbs

Target weight loss date: 6th October

Pounds left until target: 11lbs

Weightloss so far: 5lb

Target weight: 18st 0lb

Just a quickie

Ok, I will not lie to you, I set out an exercise plan for last week and did not stick to it. At all!

Naughty Ica!

So this week we are going uber strict on the diets and uber strict with our exercise plans. We want to see how that affects our weight loss for the week.

With our wedding day getting closer and closer all I want to do is try on dresses. But I am caught up in my own thinking of:

'If I try to try on dresses now they won't have many in my current size, and if I don't like the ones that they do I would risk buying one that I can't try on and what if I did and when I'm thinner it doesn't suit me! Or if I try one on now that I like but when I'm thinner it doesn't look right'.

And it goes on like that, so I guess my current option is to wait until the last possible moment so I will have lost enough weight that I can try more on and then carry on losing until the final fitting! However, I have just booked myself and one of my bridesmaids into the National Wedding Fair, so I will be taking lots of pictures and oohing and aaahing!

In the meantime my weight loss this week:

Current Weight: 18st 11lbs

Target weight loss date: 6th October

Pounds left until target: 11lbs

Weightloss so far: 5lb

Target weight: 18st 0lb

Some highs, some lows

So this past week I have been cramming revision in for my exam yesterday, it was a mixture or trying, boredom and results. 

This was definitely me but in front of my laptop!

I had some false starts, did a few mock tests, eventually getting to the point where I was regularly passing the mock tests. I was revising right up until the last minute, really hoping I would be able to soak it all in, or enough of it! I have really struggled this week, not to understand it, although there were a couple of sections it took a few times round to get it, but to remember it past the ten minutes it took to move onto the next section. I am not sure if maybe I had too many other things on my mind or that I just wasn't able to concentrate fully. Either way, I did my test on Sunday, it was an hour of nerves and (psychological pain) but I....

Although it is only a preliminary result, hopefully it won't change and in 4 weeks time I will be receiving a certificate with my name on! So after all the worrying we decided to go out and celebrate my result. Still being on a diet I did try and be good and only had a small sausage and mash with gravy for dinner, not adventurous but nice! 

I did finally make some of the Banana and Oat cookies yesterday, with far too many Bananas lying around the house, I made use of them. I also did mine quite chunky so they weren't crispy all the way through. I have found them to be quite nice but not really sweet at all, I think with some yoghurt they might be nice as a breakfast. I didn't help matters by adding dark chocolate (the only stuff I had in the house) making it even less sweet, however in one batch I did add a small amount of sweetener to see if that would help, and it did slightly but obviously made them a little less healthy.

Prior to cooking

A plan of action

My thoughts of late have turned to the momentual task ahead of me and Jon to lose lots of weight prior to our wedding, this graph shows what my weight loss has been like so far:

So as you can roughly see, although I have gone down and it is a steady downward slope, there have been times where I have hovered and neither lost nor gained, these are the areas I need to work on. We have 46 weeks until the wedding, and if I want to get to my targeted weight of 13 stone then I have 82lbs to lose (5st 8lbs) and that works out to 1.7lbs a week between now and the big day.

Which IS doable!

So Jon and I are going to sit down one week and plan a strict week (diet wise) and exercise every day, and see what effect that has on our weight loss for the week.For this week my plan is:

Monday: Gym in the evening

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: (Gym/Pool is closed) Walk in the evening

Thursday: Gym in the Evening

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: (At parents this weekend) Walk during the day

Sunday: (At parents this weekend) Walk during the day

So this week's weigh-in - it's a maintain this week, I blame my celebratory meal last night ;) But really I know I have nothing to blame except myself:

Current Weight: 18st 12lbs

Target weight loss date: 6th October

Pounds left until target: 12lbs

Weightloss so far: 4lb

Target weight: 18st 0lb

I may be a sheep afterall

I always thought I was more of a shepherd than a sheep in nearly all my walks of life, and if I am going to copy someone I will tell them beforehand e.g. 'Oooh I like your comic book, I am going to buy one for myself' or 'Oh that activity sounds cool I am going to try it too!' 

I know my sheep are good! I should be an artist! ;)

But, when it comes to diets and weight loss I have been reading a lot of people's blogs for help, support, and sometimes even a giggle or two. I have looked at their blogs and thought.. maybe I should do that too.....

Things like before and after photos, now I have a lot of before photos from holidays etc but no 'posed' ones. And now I've lost a stone it's a bit late, however I will do one because I still have a lot of weight to lose do there will still be a comparison to make.

People keep asking me what my end goal weight is and, honestly, I have no idea! My 'ideal' weight from such things as BMI calculators are around 11 stone. Now, whilst that sounds amazing I personally know that being that weight would not suit me, I would look anorexic most likely because of my height etc. I think what I will aim for is ultimately around 13 stone. That would still leave me looking healthy without passers by trying to shove doughnuts in my mouth.

At the same time I am not stupid or ill-informed about weight loss, I know that the closer I get to my goal the harder it will become. I just have to keep positive and keep up the exercise (that hopefully) I will be in the rhythm of and keep pushing.

Another blog I saw they were keeping track of their measurements so that even if they may not have lost weight they had lost some cm/inches off their waist for example. Now I used to do this when I first started losing weight for that very reason, but last week I started again properly, unfortunately I didn't do it this morning as I woke up late and had to rush to work so that will be tomorrow mornings job. I am keeping track of whatever I can; neck, upper arm, bust, under bust, waist, hips, bum, upper thigh and calves.

Now two weeks ago we started going back to the gym and swimming pool, however last week I was hit with the mother of all colds and coughs, Unable to breathe, I thought it was prudent that I didn't extenuate the situation and gave it a miss. Now, I am still suffering from said illness however I have said that we will still go swimming tonight, but I am on light duties, no underwater swimming (my favourite) no ploughing up and down the lanes until I pass out from lack of oxygen! ;)

Quick Flashback to a previous blog

We tried the Inside out chicken kievs last night... and they were NOMMY!! It was basically garlic crusted chicken, but nonetheless was still tasty, even Jon, who doesn't like garlic, enjoyed them! I chose to have potato chunks cooked in fry light as our side. I would recommend the recipe though as it really was tasty, and is going in our recipe book! Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of them before I ate them up! Maybe next time?

Now onto business: This week's weigh in!

Well it seems was a great week for my because after WEEKS of trying I have finally dipped under the 19 stone marker that has been tormenting me! I have lost 3lbs this week making me 18st 12lbs. It may not seem like much but to me it is amazing! It has been SO long since I saw that number 18 on my scale, I was jumping around the bathroom very excited.

Now my target for 2 weeks time is still 12lbs away due to my hovering weight around my birthday, because I forgot to think of this when setting the target and the unlikelihood of me losing 6lb a week for the next two weeks, I have granted myself a small extension. I have now made the target 6th October and still to be 18 stone. I think that this is doable now I am back in my groove!

Current Weight: 18st 12lbs

Target weight loss date: 6th October

Pounds left until target: 12lbs

Weightloss so far: 4lb

Target weight: 18st 0lb

The dreaded birthday week!

So this week was my 26th birthday (well yesterday in fact) and so with various meals out to celebrate I tried to be good where possible, to the point where I got sick of salad! However, I will admit the odd dessert may have slipped through or a couple of drinkies... All in all though I was restrained.

I had a great birthday and got spoilt by friends and family alike! I wasn't adventurous with my birthday requests this year, only asking for money towards our wedding (which was happily received) the only person not to comply was Jon who bought me a sapphire necklace. This is my birthstone and for as long as I can remember I have always wanted a sapphire, now I have one an I LOVE it! With a couple more of his presents in the hands of Royal Mail I can't wait to see what I get, but the most important thing to me is that I have him! :)

We also took a trip with the in laws to see Wicked, the musical, which I loved!! It was a bit strange hearing it sung with a British accent after knowing the soundtrack from the American version so well. The acting at first was a bit pantomime however they seemed to settle down later on, our Elphaba was not who was actually in the programme, it was the understudy's understudy. Now don't get me wrong she had an amazing voice but it does make you wonder how the person who should have been there would have sounded like! 

The thing I would pick on for the production was that in the final duet 'For Good' the pair were a little out of time, they managed to get it back in the middle but then lost it again, I am not sure if they were holding their notes too long or not long enough but you could hear the beats of the song and their melody did not quite meet. However, I do love a good musical and I had a great time, the sets were amazing and crazy amounts of detail, the costumes were great and you could see it was a big budgeted production.

Now enough of that soppyness, prior to the birthday celebrations we had started our health kick anew and actually mushed our lazy bums to the Gym and the Pool. On wednesday we picked up our fat selves and trundled down to the gym, being back again was good, we had to remember how to get back into the rooms and how to use the equipment, but we did it, we went.

One thing I have learnt is that I needed to get some sort of knee support as sure enough my knee went at the beginning of the session so I had to take it easier for the rest of it. When I go to the gym I find exercising pretty boring, so what I do it almost circuits I do about 10 mins per piece of equipment and move my way around the room and before I know it I have done an hour!

We also went swimming the next day, and although we weren't streaking up and down the pool, we were constantly moving, my plan was rather than try and rush straight into it I will build up my exercise routine and slowly increase the time and intensity of the workouts.

So, it comes down to weigh day, which admittedly I did weigh in yesterday but forgot to post it up, so this week it's a maintain.. which considering the amount of times I've eaten out this week I am pretty happy with considering I seriously thought I was going to put weight on this week. It makes my target a lot harder to achieve as I seem to have come to a standstill since setting it.. but I won't let that stop me!!

Current Weight: 19st 1lb

Target weight loss date: 22nd September

Target weight: 18st 0lb

Pounds left until target: 15lbs

Weightloss so far: 1lb

Some quick, easy and healthy recipes I am going to try!

So like all of us I am always trying to find new things to try that aren't desperately bad for me so that I do not get stuck in a food rut. This happens quite a lot in our household, you try something, find you like it then eat that at least once or twice a week for quite a few weeks. Due to this, I went looking for something else to try that both I and the other half can eat (we seem to like/dislike the opposite of the other), as I refuse to cook two different meals every night, when he wants steak I let him get away with it. ;)

So below are a couple that I have found and will be looking to do relatively soon:

Let's start with a recipe that caught my eye and is not a main meal but we are always looking for healthy treats/ nommy snacks!

Banana and Oat Cookies!

Your ingredients

I am sure I am not alone in that sometimes i overbuy Bananas or just don't get round to eating them before they decide they have had enough and your time is up!

Well here is a recipe that uses overripe bananas (the more bruised the better) and porridge oats... and that's it! I am all for recipes that have very little ingredients but taste great, it means you don't have to spend £30 on a single meal buying all those special ingredients that you don't normally have in your pantry.

So here is the recipe:

Banana & Oat Cookies
Makes approx. 18 cookies after mix-ins

3 very ripe medium bananas (the bananas I used were completely brown)

1.5 cups  oats

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (this is a must).
2. Mash the bananas and oats together in a large mixing bowl using a fork. The end result should be about the same consistency of normal cookie dough. If the mix is too dry, add more banana, if it’s too wet, add more oats.
3. Place tablespoon-sized scoops of the dough about 1-inch apart on the parchment-lined cookie sheet. 
4. Bake for about 15 minutes, until golden-brown.
5. Leave to cool.

Optional mix-ins:

1 tsp each vanilla, powdered ginger, cinnamon

Chocolate chips 

Raisins & unsweetened cocoa powder

Source: http://blog.freepeople.com/2014/08/bananas-oats-meet-easiest-cookies/#ixzz3BgGmMeIk

Inside out Chicken Kievs!

Source: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2214/insideout-chicken-kiev

I am a Chicken Kiev fiend, I admit it! I love them, however on my diet (and most diets) they are a big no no, mainly down to the sheer amount of calories in a good kiev. You can purchase 'lighter' kievs but they will still normally set you back about 400 calories per kiev, and you are not going to eat them on their own!

So, imagine how happy I was to find a healthier version of them, where I can regulate how much calorific content they have! Again, this recipe only has 3 ingredients so ticks my shopping basket box, and although it calls for garlic butter, you could make this yourself with your own ingredients so that you can swap out the more fattening ingredients for a lighter version.

Prep:5 mins

Cook:20 mins

Skill level: Easy

Serves 4

kcalories

218

 

protein

34g

 

carbs

5g

 

fat

7g

 

saturates

4g

 

fibre

0g

 

sugar

0g

 

salt

0.37g

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

25g garlic butter, softened

25g crispy breadcrumbs

Method:

1. Place the chicken on a baking tray, rub with a little of the butter, season and cook under the grill for 15 mins, turning once until cooked through.
2. Mix together the remaining garlic butter and breadcrumbs. 
3. Remove the chicken from the grill and top each breast with a smear of the breadcrumbed butter. 
4. Return to the grill and cook 3-5 mins until the breadcrumbs are golden and the butter melted. 

Serve any buttery juices, alongside new potatoes and peas or broad beans.

Facing some fears

Today, I am going to speak about some of my fears when I think of all the weight I have to lose.

On this weight loss journey I have a lot of my personal fears and worries to face, and they are not mine alone. I think at one point (are many, as the case may be) we all have them, and mostly they are all common or similar. 

My first one is something I think everyone suffers from, even those that are not even fat but just out of shape, the dreaded 'Working out in front of people' thought. The thought that whilst we are panting, sweaty, and bright red disgusting messes that all the other 'fit' people in the Gym are staring at us, judging us for being as big as we are, or muttering to their friend 'ooh look at her!' 

So let's get one thing straight: THEY ARE NOT! 

As a whole, humans do have a tendency to judge others, however, we suffer more from being selfish and self-centered, what I mean by this is that the other people there do not care what you are doing, what you look like, or who you are. They are focusing on their workout, their heart rate, or just how knackered they are already after only 10 minutes and deciding how long they have to keep going before they can leave without others noticing. 

We do not need to worry, we just need to get on with what we are doing, focus on yourself and your weight loss, focus on the 10 reps or the next 10 minutes of your run, eventually you will get into your own rhythm of gym time and won't even notice who is there or isn't!

The second big worry is when you read or watch on tv those that have lost lot's of weight but still have all of the 'Excess Skin' although it may happen it is not a definite. 

As the article states, there are many factors that could lead to excess skin, however like I have already said it may not happen. I am definitely a 'what if' person and a lot of the time it stops me from doing or trying things, or even just over thinking a situation and getting into a funk. 

I am hoping that because I am not trying to lose 5lbs + a week and am doing it sensibly (and some would say slowly) that I am lessening the chance of this and it gives my body time to snap back, by doing some exercise as well I hope that will help the skin return to normal. As the last line of the article states; 'The bottom line? Worrying about the likelihood of having loose skin is no reason to put off losing weight. Losing weight will leave you healthier and will most likely lead to a longer and fuller life.' This is something I definitely need to take note of.

My final fear is not really a fear but a very common occurrence, 'Depression when I don't lose or put on weight' I know that I shouldn't beat myself up about it, weight does fluctuate and sometimes it is out of your control, as most women know around the time of your period you put on up to 2lbs because of hormone fluctuations etc. but a lot of the time I DO know why I put on the weight, it's because I wasn't that strict with my diet or didn't exercise that week. I need to STOP that behaviour and I need to stop letting myself by dragged into the realms of diet naughtiness, surely there is a will power class out there you can take??

This week's weigh in, it was a mismatch of strict and not very, so I have managed to maintain this week, next week lets start losing those pounds! 

Current Weight: 19st 1lb

Target weight loss date: 22nd September

Target weight: 18st 0lb

Pounds left until target: 15lbs

Weightloss so far: 1lb