Can Big Change to Beautiful?

doing ok, I think (day 17)

2011-01-16T16:51:00.003Z

Things are going pretty well. I went to two parties yesterday (Saturday). The first was 'afternoon tea' sort of time - 2 til 4, so I managed to avoid eating at it altogether (since all there was there was cake!) and the second was in the evening, but I was able to negotiate the buffet to find some quiche (and not eat the pastry), some chicken, sausage and lots of salad.

Today I tried making black bean brownies (I'll try to find the link for that). I used half a cup of sugar and I've eaten 1/36 of the end result. Plus I admit I had a lick of the spoon with batter on. But that was enough to give me a sugar headache. I think what I'll do is freeze them and have one as a treat once in a while, but it was enough to satisfy my craving for chocolate and deter me from wanting any more chocolate or sugar for a while. Actually, since I'm trying to be very honest here, I've just remembered that I did have one chocolate truffle earlier. We received them as a late home-made Christmas present and I just wanted to try one. But I will be giving the rest away.

I weighed myself yesterday and I was 284. That's up on my lowest, but that is partly to do with time of the month, and partly that my lowest was when my throat was really sore and I couldn't eat much at all.

9th Jan 2011

2011-01-09T10:49:00.003Z

Ok, so if today is 9th Jan, then that makes this day ten of my new start. And it's going well, sort of. It's going well in that I'm eating healthy, having less cravings for bad stuff and I'm losing weight. It's not going so well in that I haven't posted every day and currently I'm one poorly mama.

Thursday was spend still dealing with some of the lost purse fallout. I also went back in to town with my lovely friend Danielle to face my fears and to pop into the bank to say thank you to the ladies who helped me.

Friday we went to Teeny Tots in the morning, but at lunchtime my throat started hurting and it hasn't stopped since. By the evening I was dizzy and Menard says my head was really hurt. I started taking paracetamol, and have been ever since. Today I don't feel so dizzy and I think my temperature might be a bit closer to normal, but my throat is still really sore and my asthma is kicking in too, just for fun! Think I'll be ringing the doc in the morning to get checked over.

I've been using my wii fit to weigh myself cos my scales are just a bit too wacky to us anymore. I think being used as a door stop has not improved them! But this morning my wii fit went crazy too - the first time I tried it thought I'd put on two stone (28lb)! The second time was better, but still up, and I was all "hello, I've barely eaten, I'm still gonna check this again". I know it's not really a fair weigh-in cos I didn't eat much at all yesterday and that some weight may go back on once I can eat again (please throat stop hurting me when I swallow). But still, I did it anyway. And I was 285lb. Which would be 10lb down in 10 days.

I remember a similar thing happening in the past, that when I actually truly did phase one properly, the weight dropped off. I'll continue it for the two weeks it suggests and then I'll think about adding in some carbs cos I know weight loss like this is ok to kickstart, but not healthy to continue at quite such an alarming rate.

Day something? I've lost count. Oh and jan 5th!

2011-01-05T20:10:00.002Z

Quick post. It's been a bit of a rough day. (see this post on It's my Life)

I've forgotten already what day I'm on. Yesterday was bad bad bad, but also good. I over did it way way too much on the nuts and cheese. But I did get out and get some exercise, also the dentist said my teeth were fine and no signs of decay!

Today's been better. I got at least twenty minutes brisk walking this morning and some this afternoon as well. And it's just occured to me that when things when bad this afternoon it didn't even occur to me to think something like "a bar of chocolate would cheer me up" whereas in the past that might have been one of my first thoughts.

Ok, back tomorrow.

4th Jan

2011-01-04T07:07:00.002Z

Ok, so yesterday was day 4. Think I did ok with my eating. I'm trying to eat up the parsnips and carrots that are in my fridge, which I'm not sure are exactly phase one, but going slowly and definitely avoiding potatoes, so that's ok.

I felt really rough yesterday evening. Couldn't stop sneezing and my nose would not stop running. Bit better this morning, I think, although it's a bit early to tell. I've got to go to the dentist later, so hopefully I won't be sneezing and spluttering too much!

Mentally I think I'm getting this. I went to two big supermarkets and walked past lots of reduced Christmas goodies and creme eggs and although I thought, hm, in the past I would have bought some, if not a lot of those, I was able to say, "nope, I don't want them", and walk on. Same with the bread and cakes area, I just thought walk by and don't even look, and it worked!

Of course, I'm sure there will be more mind blips. But I'll just keep going. I soaked chickpeas yesterday, and I'm going to cook them in a bit. I have some tahini from my mum so I can try making hummus for myself (every time I spell that word, I'm sure I do it differently!)

I'm so tempted to weigh myself this morning, but I know that I shouldn't cos it's not good to get into a habit of doing it every day. I did, however, take lots of measurements of myself last night, so that'll be a good record to see how things change over time too.

Today we'll be heading over to see my parents at some point this morning (giving them a chance to assemble their new sofa before Sophia arrives on the scene). I'll be going to the dentist, and I've got a few other things to do in town, so that's some out and about-ing and a bit of exercise. I didn't really manage to get any yesterday.

3rd Jan

2011-01-03T09:00:00.002Z

So today is day 4 of eating good stuff and doing this weight loss thing!
I've weighed (cos it's Monday and that's official weigh in day) and I'm at the same as I was yesterday - 291lb. I won't be weighing again for a few days cos I know it's not good to do it every day.

Yesterday I successfully avoided the cake at church. That wasn't too tough, I mostly just stayed away from it. I also downed a few cups of water so I'd feel a bit full and wouldn't want anything else.

In the afternoon I did have some cravings. I think I need to make sure I've got stuff around for snacks as well as meals. I have cashew nuts, but I don't want to eat too many of those in a day. Need to go shopping for some vegetables anyway, so I'll have a think. Maybe I'll get some houmous and stuff to dip.

I also had a headache most of the day and felt a bit weak and feeble. I tried really hard to keep drinking. Today I'm going to try to count my drinks to see how much I'm having. I know I'm pretty good at it, but I want to count to be sure.

Plans for today - I'd like to start to try to make sure I get out for a walk every day. I know that's gonna be good for me in lots of ways.

2nd Jan 2011

2011-01-02T08:51:00.003Z

Eating veggies is going well. I haven't even had any cravings for junk. And I feel less bloated - something that the scale agreed with when it told me I was down 4lb! (Yes , I have been eating, I promise. Also, yesterday I didn't remember to weigh until after breakfast and today I weighed 'empty'. Also, I promise I won't be weighing every day, cos I know that's not a good thing to do.)

I had a headache yesterday and felt a bit bleugh, so I upped my water and that helped. After all my body is de-toxing from all that sugar and junk I've been feeding it lately.

Ok, gotta go get ready for church. Back tomorrow.

Oh, and I'll try to take some up to date photos soon.

New year, new start

2011-01-01T11:37:00.002Z

Ok, so boyfriend became husband, bump became almost 15 month old. Debs' belly got big.
I've tackled it a bit - I weighed in 6 months ago at a stomach turning 316lb. Right now, this morning, I'm 295lb. That's up from the lowest I've been lately, but I'm resolved to change. So, hence the reinvention of this blog.

Here we go....

Yesterday I was good. I ate loads of veggies and protein. I totally avoided the junk that's still left over from Christmas. I decided that enough's enough and I'm going for this.
So watch this space.

I'm currently still recovering from ickyness that's affected my asthma, so I can't get into exercise yet, but at least I can try to eat right.

Blogging again?

2010-06-05T06:51:00.002+01:00

I think I need to start blogging here again, but I'm not quite sure what I want to say. I'm to my highest ever weight and that definitely needs to change.

I weighed

2009-10-29T06:05:00.001Z

(as 6am after the night feed - well Sophia was asleep, so I figured I should grab my moment!)
And it's 272.2.
Yuck.
That's all I have to say about that. BUT I'm determined to change it.
In the meantime, however, I have to go back to bed.

(another) new start

2009-10-28T11:12:00.000Z

Ok, so my baby is here. Sophia Louise is three weeks old today. And I NEED to lose weight again. I know that I wasn't good with my eating habits while I was pregnant, and they've got worse since I gave birth, so it's time to take hold of them again. I'm not sure how much I weigh (I need to get my scales from my mum's house) but I know it's LOTS. I can tell cos I can see it on my belly and my thighs, and in my face.

I went shopping on Monday to get some trousers, since I was pregnant over the summer and the few maternity clothes I have are all too cold for the Autumn. I got a pair of black jeans, but it was quite depressing that I needed a size 24. That's only one size down from what I was wearing at the start of my weight loss journey a couple of years ago.

I know that it's still only 3 weeks since I gave birth, so I still need to be easy on myself. I need to rest and make sure I'm getting lots of sleep. For my sake, and Sophia's, but I also know that losing weight will help me feel so much more energetic and so much happier. So, this is it, I'm on the weigh again. I know that accountability helps me, so I'll be weighing in here (One weigh or Another) and I'm posting this post on my personal weight loss blog too (Can big change to beautiful?).

Life and changing shape

2009-05-24T13:14:00.004+01:00

I haven't blogged over here in a long time, partly I guess because it felt like I didn't need to blog here. I felt like 'big' had changed to 'beautiful'. I'd changed physically, but more importantly, I'd changed emotionally too.

I fell in love, with myself firstly, and then with M, who's now my husband. I felt beautiful. I recognised that beauty is on the inside, not just the outside. I've learnt so much and changed in so many ways since I started this blog back in September 2006.

So, why am I blogging here again? I'm almost 21 weeks pregnant and my body is changing shape again. It's exciting, but it's also scary and actually quite difficult to come to terms with.
I'd got thinner, my tummy wasn't huge, I felt more normal sized, and now my tummy is growing again, and it's sometimes hard to deal with.

I have high hopes for this baby, and for me, but I'm also scared that the weight won't come off again afterwards. I don't want to lose my determination, my spark, the impetus that helped me to lose the weight in the first place. So here I am to document the second half of my pregnancy a little, and how I'm dealing with changes in my body.

Thursday 15th January

2009-01-15T10:55:00.002Z

I think that although I'm not really losing weight this week, it's been good to make myself write down everything that I've eaten, even when I've gone totally off track. In the past I've just clammed up and stopped recording, and I have found it hard to persevere, but I'm trying. I'm hoping that today I'll stay on track. But whatever happens, I'll let you know!

weigh-in 223

Breakfast
Bacon and mashed cauliflower

Wednesday 14th January

2009-01-14T12:53:00.004Z

Forgot to weigh this morning

Brunch
mashed cauliflower & veggie curry

Snack
cashew nuts, macadamia nuts and a piece of cheese
(later) spoonful of peanut butter
A few chocolates. I found them when I was tidying up my room, and had eaten them before I realised that I shouldn't have.

Dinner
fajita style - onion, pepper, a little leftover beef, fajita seasoning, yoghurt and grated cheese.

After dinner
I ate that oat stuff again. I need to stop thinking that I need something else to eat.

Tuesday 13th January 2008

2009-01-13T09:35:00.003Z

Morning weigh in 222.8

Breakfast
cold veggie curry

snack
babybel cheese

lunch
veggie curry with a little cheese

afternoon
This is where it went wrong. I was really hungry, but didn't take enough South Beach friendly snacks with me. I ended up eating a mix of oats and hot chocolate sauce.

dinner
liver & bacon, onion, mashed cauliflower, peas and carrots

Evening
2 cookies

Monday 12th January

2009-01-12T11:20:00.002Z

Weigh-in 225.2

Breakfast
Veggie curry with a little grated low fat cheese

Snack
Baby bel

Lunch
Veggie Curry with grated cheese

Afternoon
small piece of chicken & mushroom pie, and 1/3 a baked potato. (Not a good move, i know :( )

Dinner
mashed potato and tomato, kidney beans and chicken.
Fruit salad and a little bit of icecream.
3 Quality Sweets sweets.

8th Jan 2009

2009-01-08T17:19:00.004Z

I got distracted (in life and in eating) and my accountability went, or rather I ate stuff that I didn't want to own up to eating :(

I'm back on track today, mostly. I got up late though.
weigh-in today 221.2

Brunch
Veggie curry with grated cheese on the top

Afternoon snack
piece of ham
spoonful peanut butter
handful cashew nuts

Dinner
Sausages with daal and cabbage. Followed by a couple of dates (just randomly really. Don't know why I ate them, cos I don't like them that much. Need to work on not doing that)

Evening
Babybel cheese

2nd Jan

2009-01-02T11:38:00.002Z

Morning weigh-in 221

Breakfast/Lunch (I ate it at almost midday, having had a late night and got up late today!)
bacon, egg, baked beans

Snack
Cashew nuts
Chocolate Orange

Dinner
Salad - lettuce, baby tomatoes, low-fat feta cheese, red pepper, chickpeas, cashew nuts, dressing. Followed by a small piece of Christmas pudding

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T13:22:00.005Z

Morning weigh-in 221.4 (ish, if not lower - my scales weren't cooperating today!)

Breakfast
bacon, egg, leftover broccoli

Snack
cashew nuts
1/2 mug of turkey and tarragon soup

Lunch
spiced chicken, potatoes, sweet potato mash, carrots, asparagus, bread, olives, lemon meringue pie, cheesecake, ice cream, chocolates... (it was not a good diet afternoon!)

Dinner
yam, chicken, potato

Not a good diet day, back on track tomorrow.

New Year, new resolutions

2008-12-31T12:20:00.002Z

Last August I got down very close to 200, and then I sprained my ankle and everything went downhill from there. Or is that uphill. Anyway, this morning I weighed in at 222.6.
That's not awful awful, but I can feel that extra stone or so, and I feel sluggish and icky. I want my energy back, and I want to get below the landmark 200.
So, as of today I'm back on track.
I've just done 25 sweaty minutes on the treadmill, and it felt good :)

I think I might keep track of my food for a few days too, just to get back into the way of eating healthily.

Breakfast
2 rashers smoked bacon and 2 eggs.

Snack
Cashew nuts

Lunch
Turkey and Tarragon soup

Dinner
About 5 spoonfuls of my boyfriends rice and beef stew and a couple of chocolates.

Snack
Babybel cheese

After midnight
Crisps, a few noodles and some chocolates.

Monday

2008-10-13T10:42:00.001+01:00

211.6
Up .2 from last Monday. Oh dear.

I did brilliantly Monday to Thursday, and then it all went wrong Friday-Sunday. Here's to another new week.

Breakfast
Veggie curry and grated cheese (I was in a hurry, and that was quick to make!)

Snack
nuts
babybel cheese

Saturday

2008-10-11T10:37:00.000+01:00

I don't even want to talk about yesterday. But I will write a post sometime about sabotage (of my own doing)
Weigh in 208.4

Breakfast
bacon, egg, baked beans.

Thursday

2008-10-09T10:08:00.003+01:00

weigh-in 205.6 (I don't understand how to me yesterday was a bad day and I ate stuff I shouldn't have eaten, and yet still my weight dropped so much!)

Breakfast
bacon, egg and baked beans

Lunch
Veggie curry and grated cheese

Dinner
Fajitas (no wrap), lettuce, cheese, yoghurt

Wednesday

2008-10-08T09:44:00.006+01:00

weigh-in 207.8

Breakfast
Veggie curry and mashed cauliflower (using up the ends of the leftovers!)

Snack
Spoonful of peanut butter

Lunch
nuts and a piece of cheese
Roasted aubergine (with oil, salt and pepper. yum!)
Square of dark chocolate

Snack
Packet of smarties (yes, it seems I blew the diet a bit today)
more nuts and peanut butter

Dinner
Chile con carne, salad, cheese.

I have eaten too many nuts today. Oh dear. I need to learn better self control with them. I think part of the problem was we didn't eat dinner until late, and I was really hungry.

Tuesday

2008-10-07T18:06:00.004+01:00

Weigh in - 209.6

Breakfast
Bacon, egg, veggie curry

Lunch
Chicken salad (went for lunch with a friend and found a lovely cafe, salad was yum!)

Snack
Glass of orange juice (at a friends house, it was thrust upon me, so I drank it!)
Nuts
leftover fajita stuff (there was only a couple of spoonfuls)

Dinner
Beef and vegetables (braised in the crock pot) and mashed cauliflower.

Evening
hot chocolate
spoonful of peanut butter

Monday

2008-10-06T09:41:00.003+01:00

Weigh in 211.4 - due to my over indulgence yesterday and time of the month related bloat.

Breakfast
A babybel cheese (I was in a hurry to get out the house so ate that, and will eat some more once I get to work looking after the kiddos)

Breakfast/Midmorning snack
Veggie curry and grated cheese on the top

Snack
Babybel and nuts
One chocolate sweet that the kiddos gave me

Dinner
Fajitas (no wraps), lettuce, yoghurt, grated cheese.

Sunday food

2008-10-06T09:38:00.002+01:00

Breakfast
Bacon, egg, veggie curry

Lunch
I was doing so well - I avoided the cake at church, and the crisps and nuts that people were nibbling on before lunch.
rice and chicken casserole (it was served for me, so I just went ahead and ate it) and lettuce. I'd have been ok if I'd stopped there, but then went on to eat at least 2 pieces of birthday cake (yep, chocolate birthday cake if my downfall!), a couple of slices of cheesecake, several bits of swiss roll.... It was not good :(

Dinner
Leftover fajitas.

Snack
nuts and cheese

Weight loss anniversary

2008-10-04T15:58:00.002+01:00

On Thursday (2nd October) it was the two year anniversary of starting south beach. As of Thursday morning I had gone from 294 to 211.2 (a loss of 82.8lb). My lowest weigh-in so far has been around the 203/204 mark, but I've bounced back up from there a few times. Hopefully going back on phase one will help me get back down there and past this hump.

I can't believe how different I am from two years ago. I don't recognise the 'me' I see in photos now, but I certainly don't recognise the 'me' I see in photos from back then. I'm going to write a longer post about it over at OWOA, but I just wanted to mark the anniversary here too.

I guess that although I'm not yet at goal, I do feel like big is changing/has changed to beautiful :)

Saturday (day 3)

2008-10-04T15:54:00.008+01:00

Weigh-in - 209.6 (down 1.6 from Thursday morning)

Breakfast 1
Small bowl of veggie curry and a little grated cheese on the top (eaten at half 7)

Breakfast 2
Bacon, sausage, poached egg, baked beans, hot chocolate (eaten at 10.30am in a cafe, after the church early morning prayer meeting)

Lunch
Bowl of veggie curry with grated cheese (eaten at 2.30pm)

Snack
babybell cheese and spoonful of peanut butter

Dinner
I was out at a 50th birthday party. I passed on the jacket potato, and just had chille con carne and homemade baked beans, with a bit of grated cheese on the top, and some salad.
I admit the icing on the birthday cake attracted me (it was chocolate, and time of the month now explains the cravings!) and I had 2 small bits of that, and one profita roll (although I wasn't very impressed with it, and did get a sugar headache from the cake)

Friday (day 2)

2008-10-03T09:11:00.003+01:00

Morning weigh in - somewhere below 211.2 (which is what I was yesterday). My scale couldn't make its mind up, so never mind!

Breakfast
Bowl of veggie curry with grated cheese (yes, weird breakfast, but I'd been up a couple of hours before I ate it - yes, I know, bad planning! and wanted something substantial and quicker to fix than bacon and egg.)

Snack
I'll be at our church mums and tots group this morning, so I'll take a snack with me to avoid the biscuits!
Took a babybel cheese.
But, I have to admit to having THREE cups of hot chocolate. It was freezing and I don't drink tea or coffee, and hot chocolate was on offer...

Lunch
A delicious chickpea, spinach and onion concoction cooked by a friend of mine. Yum

Snack
Cashews and Macadamias and a piece of cheese

Dinner
Pork chop, peas, mashed cauliflower, apple&onion and gravy.

Evening snack
I got really hungry in the evening so I ate some more nuts.

Back on phase one - Thursday (day one)

2008-10-02T10:44:00.005+01:00

Breakfast
(slightly random, I know!)
leftover sausage and vegetable and tomato 'mush' and cabbage, little bit of grated cheese on the top

Snack
babybel cheese, (a fairly big) spoonful of peanut butter

Lunch
Bowl of veggie curry with grated cheese on the top

Snack
cashews and macadamias and a lump of cheese
Some dark chocolate (yes, I know that's not on phase one, but it was eat something allowable on south beach, or blow it and eat something really bad, so I went for a piece of dark chocolate. Hey, this is phase one Debs style!)

Dinner
fajitas (no wraps), with lettuce, yoghurt and grated cheese.

Yes, I'm very aware that I ate cheese at every meal and snack today. It was low fat cheese, and I didn't have large servings. I'll try to eat less cheese tomorrow!
However, I also managed to resist the cakes and crisps and snacks that were on offer at my church small group. (And as DebbieBoo could probably tell you, I can easily get carried away with eating those!)

Monday morning weigh-in

2008-08-25T16:16:00.000+01:00

205.8
(so up 2.4 since Saturday - I blame water retention - from my sprianed ankle, and also that's what the anti-inflammatories do to me)

Official post-holiday Saturday Morning Weigh-in

2008-08-23T07:04:00.001+01:00

203.4
No gloating, honest!

Unofficial post-holiday weigh-in

2008-08-22T18:40:00.001+01:00

Friday 22nd August
205lb

Official pre-holiday weigh-in

2008-08-11T16:09:00.001+01:00

Saturday 9th August
211.8

Monday weigh in

2008-07-28T10:06:00.003+01:00

last Monday (21st July) I weighed in at 209.8
Today I weigh 208.6, so that's down 1.2

(two weeks ago I think I was 205.8, so i still need to lose a few more to get down to my lowest weight again)

Life ain't easy

2008-06-23T09:41:00.010+01:00

Today, I really need to stay accountable. I know i'm already off track. But I want to stop the downward spiral there. So here it it

Breakfast
Bacon and egg

Snack
Mini strawberry cheesecake
cheese
a couple of spoonfuls of chocolate spread

Lunch
Cheese sandwich (one slice of bread and some cheese)
aubergine (sliced, sprayed with oil, salt and peppered and cooked in a hot oven)
a pear (shared with a certain young lady)
little individual tub of icecream

snack
Oats, dried frut and milk
hula hoops
curried chick peas
spoonfuls of chili con carne
piece of cake
piece of chocolate brownie

breaking with tradition

2008-06-09T13:06:00.002+01:00

Yesterday we had a big family get-together to celebrate my Grandad's birthday.

I ate and ate and ate all day. I wasn't even hungry most of the time. I just ate cos the food was in front of me, and it's what I always do in these situations.
This morning I weighed myself and I was 218. That's up 12 on last Monday. I'm almost certain that some/most of that is water given the junk I ate over the weekend, but still, it's not good!

I know that I need to overcome the mental assumption that when I'm at something like that I will overeat. Cos it was like I just went into autopilot, and that meant disengaging brain and just shovelling the food in.

I'm back on track today, but I do need to give this some more thought..

Breakfast
bacon, egg and veggie curry

Snack
A pear

Lunch
Veggie Curry with cheese on the top

Snack
A pear

Dinner

Saturday

2008-06-07T11:30:00.001+01:00

Breakfast
bacon, egg, veggie curry

Snack
2 pears

Lunch

...

I have no idea what else I ate on Saturday. I know I was doing ok until I went out in the evening, and ended up eating a bunch of junk :-(

Getting back on track

2008-06-06T13:55:00.003+01:00

I was meant to be getting back on track with my food diary yesterday, but for a number of reasons that didn't happen.. anyway, here I am today, reporting in...

I couldn't have breakfast first thing because I had a fasting blood test that needed to be got out of the way first. I took a pear and a babybel cheese with me to eat on the way home, and had another pear when I got home (after 10am, so not exactly early for breakfast!)

Lunch was a bowl of lentil soup. I also ate a piece of corned beef. I was cooking veggie curry, but it wasn't going to be done in time for me to eat it and get out of the house to go get a parking permit for my hire car (we put a 'visitors permit' in this morning, which ran out at 1pm, so really I needed to leave to get that sorted at 1pm).

Dinner
Pork chop, broccoli, carrots, green beans and gravy. Yum :-)

Evening
Some pistachios and a piece of cheese.
Bit of chocolate.

I was trying to get a balance between making sure I was eating enough today, and keeping the evening munchies under control. Not sure I managed it.. but I'm trying!

Monday

2008-06-02T18:39:00.002+01:00

I don't even want to talk about today.

Sunday

2008-06-01T08:41:00.004+01:00

Weigh-in this morning 206 (Equals lowest weight so far. yay, I'm back on track!)

Had a slight freak out when I realised that I've dropped 6.8lb since last Monday, and wasn't even really doing phase one properly. And consequently, ended up over doing the carbs, and food in general a bit today. Am not panicking, much(!), I think. And will get back on track tomorrow.
I think one too many people at church this morning asking me if my health problems could be related to my rapid weight loss. I don't really know how rapid it is. Sometimes it just seems to fall off, other times it's really slow. I'm just a bit confused.

Breakfast
bacon and bubble&squeak (aka leftover cabbage and a bit of mashed potato cooked together)

Lunch
(I was out for lunch at the house of some lovely friends of mine)
Roast chicken, mixed vegetables, roast potatoes, a white roll. Followed by lemon cheesecake and summer fruits. And washed down with diet coke! (Not exactly a south beach friendly meal, but it wasn't excessive portions!)

Late Afternoon/Evening
(I just felt really hungry, probably a result of the not so good carbs earlier, so one thing just kept leading to another)
Pistachios and cashews with a piece of cheese. And I ate was was left in a jar of peanut butter (it wasn't loads, but still!)
Half an aubergine (egg-plant) cooked with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt&pepper.
A bowl with oats, raisins and cold milk (sort of like really really basic muesli)

Saturday

2008-05-31T15:13:00.003+01:00

Breakfast
Bacon, egg, veggie curry

Snack
Pistachios and cheese (more like 2 or 3 handfuls of nuts, so too many really. But it was a kinda early lunch around 11am, and then I went to bed. I just woke up and it's 3pm, and now I'm going to have lunch)

Lunch
Leftovers - beef stew, mashed potato and cabbage.

Dinner
Homemade lentil soup.

Friday

2008-05-30T14:14:00.003+01:00

Breakfast
Bacon, egg, leftover apple & onion from dinner the other day.

Snack
teaspoon of peanut butter

Lunch
Veggie curry with cheese on the top.

Dinner
Crockpot stew, cabbage, peas, sweetcorn and a couple of spoonfuls of couscous.

Evening
2 glasses of lemonade. I know, I need to find something that's got less sugar...
handful of pistachios and a piece of cheese (weird combination, I know, but I like it!)

Thursday

2008-05-29T22:49:00.005+01:00

Breakfast
Bacon, egg, veggie curry

Snack
A mini pumpkin muffin and a piece of cheese

Lunch
Lots of salad (which included lettuce, pepper, sweetcorn, kidney beans, grated carrot, croutons, a few bits of pasta with a tomato sauce on), half a small brown roll and spit-roasted chicken. A fairly big glass of lemonade (I was eating out with an old school friend. Cos the weight has been dropping off again this week I haven't worried too much about sticking to a proper phase one)

Afternoon Snack
Hot chocolate with whipped cream on the top (ok, so this really wasn't on plan!)

Dinner
Bacon joint, cabbage, peas and a few pieces of carrot, couple of slices of pineapple and gravy.

Oh, and last night I had 2 small glasses of lemonade when I was out in the evening.

Wednesday

2008-05-28T17:24:00.002+01:00

This has been a bit of a funny food day. I couldn't fit in eating breakfast before I had to leave to get the bus, so I ate an apple and a pear on the bus for breakfast.
Morning snack was another pear (but I got less than half of it, cos S&R were both demanding bites of it too!) and a babybel cheese.

Lunch was veggie curry with cheese on the top. Then this afternoon I had another pear (they were pretty small, and needed eating!).

Dinner
Pork chop, apple & onion, and broccoli.

Tuesday

2008-05-27T06:54:00.003+01:00

I got about 3 or 4 hours sleep, so we'll see how the day goes..

Breakfast
My usual - bacon, egg, veggie curry

Snack
Babybel (cheese) and bits of satsuma (we ate a few, but I didn't get much of a look in with S and R begging for more every two seconds!)

Lunch
Veggie curry with cheese on the top

Snack
A couple more pieces of satsuma.
A spoonful of peanut butter

Dinner
Not veggie curry! But not very inspiring either - 3 little beef burgers and half an aubergine cooked on a griddle pan.

Monday Weigh-In

2008-05-26T08:29:00.004+01:00

I just weighed myself and got the number 212.8 fives times in a row.
Since the scales were a lot less decisive than that yesterday, I'm just going to ignore the 217.4 figure I recorded yesterday (cos there's no way I can have lost nearly 5lb in one day, even on phase 1. Although I guess, some of that could be water, but anyway!)

I'm going out for the day, so I will try my hardest to stick to phase one, but I'll be out in a big group, so I have to be prepared for the choices not to go my way (for examply if we end up eating in an Italian place!) But most places do sell salad, so it should be ok. (Just it is raining, so salad may not be exactly what's on my mind!)

Breakfast
My usual - bacon, egg and veggie curry!

Lunch
2 sausages with sweet potato mash (which also had normal potato in it too) and red onion gravy.

Snack
Two chocolate sweets.

Dinner
Bowl of veggie curry
A mars bar

Today has been all over the place emotionally, and I don't want to talk about it right now.

Giving my poor neglected blog another chance

2008-05-25T16:56:00.005+01:00

Life's been a bit gloomy the last couple of weeks. The eating plan pretty much went out the window, and I've spent too much time wallowing in self-pity. Today things are changing.

I've accepted Brandi's 21 day habit challenge, and from today onwards I shall endeavour to keep a food diary/journal here on this blog, to keep a track of what I eat, and in particular to break the habit of mindless eating that I seem to have developed recently.

I weighed myself this morning, and although my scales still seem to need a little persuading to show the same number more than once, the number that came up most this morning was not a good one. I am recording here that this morning I weighed in at 217.4. That's up 11.4 above my lowest weight so far (which I logged on the 5th May).

As of this morning I've put myself back on phase one, properly. I'm not sure what I'll do about furit. I think I'll see how I go, and start by cutting it right out, but possibly add fruit back in sooner than other carbs.

Breakfast
I had my usual bacon, egg and a bit of veggie curry. I'm pretty happy with what I eat for breakfast, so I probably won't be messing with it!

Lunch
Meatballs, some veggie curry and asparagus and aubergine (eggplant) cooked together with a little soy sauce.Dinner
Veggie curry with cheese on top (Yes, I realise I've eaten veggie curry for 3 meals in a row, but I'm tired, people! And not feeling very inspired. And I'm sure it never hurt anyone to eat the same thing at every meal. Or not if it's something as innocent as veggie curry ;-) )

Monday morning weigh-in

2008-05-05T10:28:00.000+01:00

This morning I weighed 206.0
That's 3.6 down on last week.

Maybe tomorrow, Jack*

2008-04-28T18:11:00.002+01:00

Over the weekend I bought some more clothes, got to see my grandparents and uncle, went to Steve's baptism and lots of other stuff besides. I have got pics from Sunday, but I will have to loads them up tomorrow or sometime, cos this evening I'm going out for a drink with the boy.
See y'all tomorrow.

* That's a line from an advert, and it just came into my head when I was deciding what to call this post.

Weigh-in

2008-04-28T13:27:00.001+01:00

209.6
Yay :-)
Down about 2 1\2. can't remember exactly.

Friday's here again

2008-04-25T10:18:00.003+01:00

I have no idea what I've eaten this week. I was just concentrating on remembering to eat SOMETHING! I don't think I'm doing too badly though. I'm pretty sure I will have lost weight this week, but not so dramatically as last week, which is good, cos that was a bit scary.

I'm just happy being ME and enjoying the unexpected things life has thrown at me this week.

And I'm feeling so happy right now, I don't think you could say anything much right now to upset me (but I'm also tired, so maybe best not to test that one!)

I'll report back on Monday if not before.

Monday weigh-in

2008-04-21T15:41:00.003+01:00

212.2
Um, yes, that's down quite a lot on last week. I was kind of distracted yesterday and didn't eat any carbs, or anything much at all in the afternoon or evening. So I started the day with porridge (made with bits of apple in) and then I've had two apples, and a big lot of veggie curry with cheese sprinkled on the top (that I had to share some of with two demanding little ones who didn't want to be left out!)

I loved wearing the dress to the wedding on Satuday and had a fantastic time. I'll add a pic to the sidebar at some point soon.

The end of the week in review

2008-04-18T20:56:00.004+01:00

Well I did take a few more pictures of the things I was eating, but I didn't photograph everything, and I can't honestly remember everything I ate over the last couple of days. I think taking pictures of my food does help me to stay on track more, so I might so it again at some point, but I figured you were probably all getting bored of it by now.

Rach Wibbs asked how I can eat curry for breakfast. Well, I dunno. It's just warm and squidgy, and tastes good with bacon and egg, which have become my standard things to eat for breakfast. This morning I was out of curry and had to have broccoli instead, which just wasn't the same. But it's ok, because I made some more curry this evening, so I can have it again tomorrow.

On Thursday I went to Cambridge and managed to find a shrug, necklace and shoes to go with The Dress. We've also added new ribbon straps, which is good, because having lost more weight this week, it was kind of in danger of falling down. I will post pictures in due course.

I haven't done much official exercise this week - I went on my treadmill on Tuesday, but Wednesday and Thursday I was just content to walk around Covent Garden and Cambridge. Actually, I didn't have much choice, because the front room, when my treadmill is, was full of HP's stuff, so I'm not sure there was space to unfold the treadmill (it gets folded up when not in use, just to make a bit more space in the room). This evening I did a wonderfully intense hour on my treadmill - 25 minutes while dinner was cooking, and then another 35 minutes after dinner while the curry was cooking. (I didn't eat curry today, just made it ready to be able to have some tomorrow). And it felt really really good. Earlier in the day I was feeling a bit sad and lost because HP had gone back to university - my Mum took her today, so I was helping them pack and then load up the car this morning, but this afternoon the house felt really empty).

Hmm, now blogger doesn't want to save this post, but hopefully it'll change its mind in a minute.

She realises that she really better eat some carbs today

2008-04-16T10:00:00.005+01:00

It's not that I think my food is boring, it's just that it's time to change and eat something else. I think I could probably actually eat what I've eaten for the past few days for the rest of the month, and not have a problem with it. Only, I weighed myself this morning, and I'm down from Monday. Quite a bit down. Let me explain some of the reasons why this might be, before I tell you what I weighed this morning.
1. I've been on a course of oral steroids for a week. I took my last dose on Monday morning. Although I don't know exactly what they do, I do know that steroids can inhibit weight-loss, or at least make it harder to lose.

2. My Monday weigh-in was 219.4. I've been in the 219s since about Friday, so I guess I'd hit a bit of a plateaux. So, remembering that I've been on phase 1.5 (still eating fruit) so expecting to lose faster than when on phase 2, and if you take an average of the weight lost from Friday until today that's 5 days) then it's not quite so alarming.

All that said, my weigh-in this morning was 215.6. So I need to start eating carbs, cos it's just not healthy to drop that quickly for an extended period of time. (I'm down 7.6 in a week and a half, and that's plenty). I think I can almost get stuck in a phase one rut, and not want to stop, but I am determined to... So much so, that I'll probably eat porridge for lunch.

I have no idea if any of what I wrote was coherent, but hopefully it was possible to catch the drift of what I was on about. Besides, I have to stop losing weight, or else this dress will fall down too much when I wear it on Saturday.

Breakfast
Bacon, egg, veggie curry.Snack
Pear

Lunch
Porridge, made with 1\3 cup oats, skimmed milk, and a chopped apple. With cinnamon on the top.

Afternoon
Hot chocolate and a small piece of chocolate brownie (I'd taken a box of Brownies with me for Jeana and her family, and I ate a piece to show them that they weren't poisoned or anything...! Besides, it was small and yummy.

Dinner
Mini turkey burgers (made them the other day, and reheated them today), veggie curry, purple sprouting broccoli and broad beans. Two mini pumpkin muffins.

After dinner
Some nuts. Probably over did them really. Need to keep an eye on myself tomorrow.

Tuesday (was a long and busy day)

2008-04-16T09:37:00.003+01:00

I was looking after kiddos, and then when I got home I went on the treadmill, and then had to have a super-quick shower before heading out for a meal with my church small group friends. And decided that 11pm was too late to start uploading photos and all that jazz.

Breakfast
Guess what?Snack
Once again..Lunch
Veggie CurrySnack
Pear and a spoonful of peanut butter (I really pushed the boat out for that one!)

Dinner
Ok, so this where it gets exciting. Or not, but less predictible, at any rate.
I went out to dinner to Caffe Uno. I'd looked up the menu on Sunday, and discovered they had a few different salads. On closer inspection last night, there was only really one that sounded me, but one option is good enough! I read through the whole menu several times (I was one of the first there, and we waited a while for the last group of people to arrive!) but I didn't find anything that seemed worth wasting a carb or more on - sure, the pizzas and pastas looked nice, but they'd all be made with white flour, and the salad did sound good.
And it really was. I had them leave the dressing on the side (not so much for healthy reasons, but because I tend not to like salad dressings!) and just added some balsamic vinegar. There was plenty of chicken, and lots of interesting salad leaves, and I even ate the green beans. (I didn't take a picture, but you can see the description instead)

Insalata di pollo contadina...Succulent pieces of char-grilled chicken served with mixed salad leaves,roasted vegetables, green beans, artichoke, Caesar dressing and toasted pine nuts

Monday, Monday, so good to me

2008-04-14T20:34:00.003+01:00

Morning weigh-in 219.4 (Yay!)

(I think I may be staying on phase one until I make up my mind about whether I'm wearing a dress that Little One's Mum has lent me, to go to a wedding this weekend!)

Breakfast
Bacon, egg, veggie curry

Snack
PearLunch
Veggie Curry
Snack
Pear

Dinner
Cashew chicken with roasted spiced chickpeas with spinach on the side (I actually added another handful a bit after I'd taken the photo)(This recipe, but with some slight changes. Or maybe more than slight changes. We don't put in fish sauce, because I don't eat fish. Instead tonight I just put in some hot water instead. I used three onions instead of the shallots. We didn't have rice, and I don't put the spinach in it, but serve it on the side as a salad - it's a good way t cool your tongue from the spices, because I always put more chickpeas and more spices than the recipe says. But other than that, it's similar!)

Sunday, or Just how much veggie curry is too much?

2008-04-13T20:25:00.007+01:00

Ok, so I've been photographing my food for several days now, is anyone getting bored? I'm not really, it's just that basically I'm stuck in a veggie curry rut at the moment, and there are possibly only so many time y'all will want to look at veggie curry in a variety of bowls and containers!

I think that my modified phase one has probably done its job - the weight loss has been kick-started again, and unless something very strange happens between now and tomorrow morning I should be safely below my next short term goal (220). I'll start adding in some carbs again, but I am aware that I'm going out for a meal on Tuesday evening to Cafe Uno which is an Italian restuarant, so it could be easy to go overboard on carbs there. I've just been looking at the menu online, and will probably go for a chicken salad of some type - they have a couple of different ones. If things don't go according to plan, or I just can't face salad on the night, then I can always cut the carbs again for a day or two (but my intent is to go down the sald route. I'll let you know how I do.)

Breakfast
2 rashers bacon, egg, veggie curry.Snack
As is often the case on a Sunday I didn't have a snack this morning, but I did successfully stay away from the cakes and biscuits at church. Actually, I looked at them and though 'nah' and that was that. They didn't even tempt me. That IS an achievement!

Lunch
Turkey burger (homemade, and sort of fall apart-y) - that's Parmesan cheese on the top, leftover broccoli and some veggie curry (you may see a theme emerging!)
Half a pomegranate.

Afternoon snack
It kinda felt a little bit like I was snacking all afternoon, but I think all I ate was two pears (only took a picture of the first one!), some pistachios, and a couple of spoonfuls of peanut butter. Ok, so I need to watch the nut intake, but I think it was liveable with today. I know that's got potential to be a problem, so I will keep an eye on myself.

Dinner
Guess what? Veggie curry, with low-fat cheese on the top. This was actually the last of last week's plus some more of today's batch, and with some leftover sweetcorn thrown in for good measure. I like leftovers - they're fun!
I'm still feeling hungry, but I haven't decided what to have next.Evening Snack
Seems like it was all about the green - I started off with some sugar-free jelly, but after one mouthful I realised it was too sweet and was giving me a headache, so I gave it to my Mum. And instead finished off some sald that was leftover from lunchtime and the last three macademias in the pot. I still feel hungry, but I've got to the 'blow-this, I'm off to bed stage of the day'!

Veggie Curry

2008-04-13T20:11:00.003+01:00

I was going to take pictures as I made some this afternoon, but the camera was in the other room. Anyway, Brandi wanted to know how I made my veggie curry, and although it is different every time, here's a basic recipe.

Onion, garlic, curry powder, dried thyme, stock\broth, vegetables (sweet potato, courgette(zucchini), carrot, parsnip, squash, swede, anything that's a root vegetable really), tinned chopped tomatoes, tinned chickpeas (garbanzos)

Chop a couple of onion (quite large - I usually cut the onion in half, and then in thirds each way, if that's any help at all!) Crush\Chop a couple of cloves of garlic and then fry together in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, until beginning to soften (try not to burn the garlic, like I did today).

Toss in a couple of teaspoons of curry powder (I used medium heat) and a teaspoon of dried thyme. Mix together until the onion is coated.

Add some stock - I use vegetable bouillon which you mix using a couple of teaspoons of stock powder and some hot water. I make about a pint (20 fluid oz). Pour in the stock (carefully, watching out for the steam - especially if you used boiling water)

Peal the sweet potatoes\squash\anything else that needs pealing! Chop into small cubes (I usually make them pretty small, but not always cuboid - the bigger it is, the longer it'll take to cook) Also chop any other vegetables, such as courgette. I sometimes throw in some bell pepper too.

Add all the chopped vegetables to the pan (did I tell you it should be big?!). Also add some chopped tomatoes (I usually put two cans) and some chickpeas (also 2 cans). Chuck in some salt and pepper, give it all a big stir, and then gently simmer for around half an hour, or until you come back and remember you left it cooking. The vegetables should be soft (you can easily cut them with a knife) or even going a bit mushy, if you've left them a long time.

Does that help? Today we didn't have many interesting vegetables so only used onion, sweet potatoes, courgette, and carrot. When I eat it I'll sometimes throw in some frozen peas or sweetcorn before heating it up in my bowl in the microwave. It should be good to keep for about a week - that's about how long it generally takes me to get through it, but it depends who else is eating it, and how many meals I've eaten it for.

Saturday, hungry day

2008-04-12T16:42:00.005+01:00

Breakfast
1 rasher middle cut bacon, egg, veggie curry.Snack
A pearLunch
Bowl of veggie curry with cheese on the top.
Spoonful of peanut butter (yes, it seems I'm back on nuts!)
Snack
7 Macadamia nuts, a pear, quarter of a red pepper, a bit more peanut butter. Oh dear, that's a lot, but I'm just so hungry today! (See I told you I was hungry - this is the pear, about to be bitten again!)Dinner
Roast Lamb with roast parsnips, peas, sweetcorn and purple sprouting broccoli. There's mint sauce on the lamb, and I put a bit of gravy on after I took the picture (I thought you'd be able to see the pretty colours better if I took it before I did that!)
After Dinner
Argh! I just ate a whole bunch of nuts. I'm about to go to bed, and I felt really hungry, and had some nuts, but then I couldn't stop eating them. Tomorrow's a new day. I'll start again then. I'd better clean my teeth quick before I eat any more.

Friday's Finally Here

2008-04-11T12:47:00.005+01:00

Weigh-in this morning 220. Woo-hoo!

Breakfast
2 rashers bacon, egg, a couple of spoonfuls of veggie curry and some yellow pepper (that's the ingredient I'll be adding to most of my meals today - we have lots and it needs eating up!)
Snack
I ended up not having a snack this morning, but having lunch fairly early. I'll see how I go this afternoon - maybe I'll have two snacks then!

Lunch
Veggie Cury with extra yellow pepper on top.
Snack
A pear and a raw mushroom.
Dinner
~~Too tired to tell you now what it was, see if you can guess!~~
It was some thin beef steak, cut into strips and cooked with pepper and rosemary. Then augergine, cooked on the griddle pan, and the remains of the chickpea/onion/courgette/pepper mixture that I'd put in my lunch the day before.After Dinner
A piece of my newly invented apple cake (I had to go off phase one to try it, but it was worth it!)

Some things I didn't eat today

2008-04-10T19:54:00.006+01:00

Any of the chocolate chip muffins. Even though they were trying to call out to me, I told them NO!Any of the biscuits or leftover Easter candy and chocolate - a whole cupboard full!
Any of the numerous packets of crisps.Or anything else that wasn't on plan. All I've gotta do now is choose my evening 'munchie' sensibly (I forgot to take my antibiotic before dinner, so I'm letting my dinner go down, and then will need to eat something after I take it. Don't know if that's the right course of action, but it's what I've decided!)

Thursday

2008-04-10T08:59:00.007+01:00

Good morning!

Today is a bit of an odd day. I had to be up and out early enough to get to R&D's house for 7.4o am, so that their mum could head off to work. So I had a shower at home, and brought my breakfast with me. Also, since we're going out for the day, and I won't be eating veggie curry for lunch (it's best hot, and although I could take it in a thermos, I only just thought of that!), so I had it for breakfast!

Breakfast
Veggie Curry

Snack
Ok, so I was wrong in thinking we didn't have any pears. We had one left, but it already looked so bruised that I didn't want to take a picture of it in case it put you off them for life! And it was really bruised inside too, so I only ate about half of it.

Lunch
A sort of salad type thing. I didn't want salad (lettuce and all that) because it just seemed too cold (we'll be having a picnic), and also we didn't have anything exciting to put in it. If I weren't doing phase one I'd probably have made a couscous salad, but as I'm not eating carbs right now, I'm having, as I told HP, 'a couscous salad without the couscous'. It doesn't look at that appealing in the photo, but it tastes good.
I sauteed together some onion, courgette and yellow pepper. Then added some chickpeas, soy sauce and a bit of paprika. I added to that some leftover meatloaf, some raw mushroom cut up, a little bit of red pepper (I would have put tomato for a bit of colour, but we were out of baby ones!), and a few cashew nuts.
I also ate about 7 grapes.

Snack
8 more grapes and a cheese tri-bite. (Basically just a pre-packed portion sized piece of cheese) (I only took one picture of grapes, because I didn't take it until after I'd eaten the first 7!)

Dinner
Sausage mush*, as made by HP with peas and low-fat cheese grated on the top.

*Cut the sausage into chunks and fry in a little oil. Add an onion, chopped, then a tin of chopped tomatoes. Add chopped mushrooms and red and yellow pepper, some mixed herbs, Worcestershire sauce, and some kidney beans.

Evening
A spoonful of peanut butter after my antibiotic, and then 7 macadamias cos I was still hungry. Guess I'd better head to bed before I eat anything else!

Wednesday

2008-04-09T14:48:00.005+01:00

Breakfast
1 rasher middle cut bacon, 1 egg, some spinach and a spoonful of veggie curry.Morning Snack
A pear (I actually got to eat all of this one today, although I had to hurry the last few mouthfuls as some men were arriving to put some loft insulation in at R&D's house) (And I did take a new picture this morning, if you look carefully you'll see it is different to yesterday's one)

Lunch
Veggie curry and a raw mushroom.

Afternoon snack
A pear (yes, I like pears, but more importantly, they needed eating, especially since the only other person that eats them is my Mum, and she's been doing phase one and not eating fruit the last few days) The second mushroom.
I also ate half a pork burger. It was leftover from the kid's dinner and I was hungry (it was after 6pm and I wasn't going to be eating my dinner until half 7.) I'm afraid I didn't take a photo, but I can tell you that I totally ignored the leftover chips, and to be honest wasn't even tempted. I figured the burger was actually pretty healthy - I read the packet before I ate it!

Dinner
A pork chop with leftover braised green cabbage from a couple of days ago, leftover red cabbage from yesterday, and peas (which I added because it was all looking a bit brown and boring!)

Photographing my food - Tuesday

2008-04-08T09:11:00.010+01:00

I'm back to taking pictures of my food for a couple of days...

Breakfast
1 rasher middle cut bacon, a fried* egg (broken and turned) and spinach (wilted in the pan once the bacon and egg are done)
* I use a non-stick pan to cook the bacon, and then fry the egg in the pan afterwards, so it's not exactly fried, and I don't add any extra fat to cook it in.

Snack
Pears - I took the photo first thing, before I took them out with me, because I knew they'd probably be bruised when I actually got to eat them. I actually ate about half of the one on the right, because it was bruised inside (they're getting a bit past it really), and then maybe 2\3 or 3\4 of the one on the left before Little One spotted it, and stole it off me to finish it himself.Lunch
A mixture of a few different leftovers (I'm not fussy!). There was some of my veggie curry, some cashew nut curry (we had it for dinner Monday night, and I couldn't eat all my portion, so I saved it to go in this combo). On top of that I threw in a leftover cold sausage, cut up into little bits, and some broccoli (the long green bits are broccoli stem, which although some people just throw it away, I think it's yummy). Oh, and I also ate a raw mushroom while I was waiting for it to heat up in the microwave and sorting out the kids' lunch.Afternoon snack
I forgot to take anything with me to the kids' house for my afternoon snack, and couldn't find anything south beachy there, so I just stayed hungry and moaned about it various places online!

Dinner
We had meatloaf, made from pork mince, I believe. With that I had peas (yay!), roasted radishes (I tried putting on sesame seeds like Kalyn originally suggested, but I didn't really notice them, to be honest) and red cabbage (cooked approximately like this)

Evening snack
I realised that the antibiotics I'm taking are supposed to be taken before food, and therefore ought probably to eat something after I took my evening dose. Also, I was feeling hungry, so I ate the leftover radishes. (I took a photo, but will upload it tomorrow when I do tomorrow's pics)

Still ill

2008-03-28T12:50:00.000Z

I have a throat and ear infection and am on antiobiotics. I'm really coughy and wheezy too, so once again I'm not able to get on the treadmill. Grrrr. I wanna get on it so bad, but I also want to live. So I won't (get on it).

Monday weigh-in

2008-03-24T21:49:00.000Z

Today I weighed in at 222.8. That's down 5 from last week.
I've got a bad earache and sore throat so I'm not going to be exercising for a few days, and haven't done so since about last Wednesday.

This week's exercise post

2008-03-19T11:38:00.004Z

Monday
I had a really long day looking after the Little One and Little Flower, so I didn't go on the treadmill. However, I did go for a couple of walks with the kids and got some fresh air.

Tuesday
35 mins on the treadmill (3.5 km) at incline of 6.

Wednesday
35 mins on the treadmill (same as yesterday)

Weigh-in

2008-03-19T11:35:00.001Z

This Monday I weighed exactly the same as last week.
(227.8)

Exercise

2008-03-11T10:11:00.002Z

Monday
40 mins on the treadmill.

Tuesday
65 minutes working HARD on the treadmill.

I think I overdid it on Tuesday, cos I ached for the rest of the week, and upset my asthma a bit.

Thursday
12 minutes treadmill

Friday
11 1\2 mins treadmill

Monday morning weigh-in

2008-03-10T10:43:00.001Z

227.8

That is down from last Monday (which was 228.6) but up 3 from my lowest weigh-in this week. Water retention? Who knows.
But it's down, and I'll take it!

My exercise challenge

2008-03-05T12:11:00.008Z

Having been able to get back on the treadmill again (after a chest infection) and discovering how much it improves my mood and makes me feel better, I'm going to set myself a challenge.

At the moment I don't have a full time job (although I'm working on it..), but that means I have lots of time to exercise.

So, my challenge is to do at least 5 hours exercise a week. And, if those five hours are on the treadmill, and I do other stuff in addition, then that's even better.

Sunday
1 hour treadmill

Monday
1 hour treadmill
weights (approx 15 mins)

Tuesday
30 mins treadmill
30-40 mins swimming (I did 28 lengths)

Wednesday
1 hour treadmill
weights (approx 15 mins)

Thursday
45 mins treadmill

Friday
1 hour treadmill

Saturday
70 mins treadmill

Sunday
Took a day off from exercising.

This week's Monday weigh-in

2008-03-05T12:09:00.000Z

On Monday I weighed in at 228.6 (my lowest so far, and breaking through the 230 barrier)

Hmmm, haven't posted on here in a while

2008-02-25T14:08:00.004Z

Weigh-in Today (Monday)
230.2

I lost around 2 stone (28 lb) while I was living with blest in Texas, and another half a stone since I've been back.

I'm still dealing with my body adjusting to the time difference (having to make myself eat in the mornings cos I just don't feel very hungry then) and mentally it's been hard too.

Today I'm in a really bad mood, for a number of reasons. But hopefully it'll lift soon.

WOW! I just added a new pic in the sidebar, and look at the difference between July 2006 and Feb 2008.

Monday

2007-11-05T13:37:00.002Z

Weigh-in 263 (total loss since last Monday is 6.4)

Breakfast
Baked beans, mashed cauliflower and bacon. (There's is a photo here which you probably don't want to look at because the beans and cauliflower got all mixed together, because it was the final leftovers and they were in a pot together, which doesn't look so lovely, however it tasted great!)

Snack
Jelly with ricotta, and then a spoonful of peanut butter. Just got a craving for the peanut butter so went with it - had one little spoonful and then put the jar away.

Lunch
I panicked a bit because I suddenly realised I felt cold and wanted something warm rather than lettuce etc, and all the beans are gone. I aimlessly looked in the fridge a couple of times and then realised I could do another stir-fry for myself. This one has onion, carrot, courgette, red pepper, mushroom, pine nuts and soy sauce. Note to self - come up with more simple but warm things to eat for lunch.Dinner
Cashew nut curry (which contains sultanas, so that was my fruit for the day!) and brocoli.

Sunday

2007-11-05T13:37:00.001Z

Breakfast
Baked beans, mushrooms and bacon
(forgot to take the picture until after I started eating!)
Lunch
Stirfry with onion, carrot, courgette, mushroom, green beans, brocoli, red pepper, lamb (left over from the roast on Friday), pine nuts and soy sauce.Afternoon snack
Jelly with ricottaDinner
(boring, I know, but they needed using up..)
baked beans and cauliflower

Saturday

2007-11-03T12:09:00.000Z

Weigh-in 262.8 (down 2 from yesterday)
I'm trying to work out how long I should stay on phase 1. I like the rapid weight loss, but I know it's not ideal for longterm. I'm considering adding in fruit next week, but staying off other carbs for another week. Any thoughs y'all?

Breakfast
Bacon, baked beans and cauliflower.

Lunch
Chili con carne, mashed cauliflower, broad beans and red pepper

Afternoon snack
babybell

Dinner
Celeriac and lentils with hazelnuts (recipe we found in The Guardian (thanks Bekki). Tasted ok, but I wouldn't recommend it!) Jelly with ricotta.

Friday

2007-11-02T11:23:00.000Z

Pictures now uploaded

Morning weigh-in 264.8 (back up .2 from yesterday)
I will stict to phase one today (Wednesday and Thursday I had slight deviations from the plan, but still felt ok with the choices I made)

Breakfast
Homemade baked beans with a flat egg. (I probably ought to freeze some of the beans, because the recipe makes a large batch, and I tend to just eat it at some meal every day afterwards until it's finished. I don't mind, just wanted to point that out in case people don't think I have a very varied diet!)Lunch (I didn't have a snack this mornnig because I had a bit of a lie-in, so there wasn't such a long time as usual between breakfast and lunch)
Chili con carne with mashed cauliflower and some red pepper (not in the picture)Afternoon snack
Some cashew nuts and a babybel (no picture)

Dinner
Roast lamb with lots and lots of vegetables. Not sure I can remember what they all were without looking at the picture! Peas, broad beans, brocoli, carrots, cauliflowr. Also some gravy and some mint sauce.

Thursday

2007-11-02T11:13:00.000Z

Morning weigh-in 264.6 (that's down .2, but still down!)

Breakfast
2 rashers of bacon and a flat egg

Morning snack
Some cashew nuts

Lunch
Homemade baked beans, mashed cauliflower, kale (can you tell I'm having leftovers!)

Afternoon snack
Sugar-free jelly and a babybel (not pictured!) (I was felling really hungry and knew I wouldn't get dinner until quite late)

Dinner (no photo)
Chicken curry with rice (I was babysitting and went straight from looking after J & B. The family I was babysitting for made me dinner and left it for me to have. I didn't eat all the rice, but decided I was hungry enough to want to eat some of it) I also had a couple of garlic dough balls with the curry. I probably ought to have left them, but it had been a long day and I was hungry. I need to be aware for the future that when I'm hungry I don't make such good decisions, so need to try to plan ahead.
I was able to totally resist the cake that they brought me home at the end of the evening, so that was an achievement.

Wednesday Evening

2007-11-02T09:58:00.000Z

(I didn't manage to take any pictures at the party as it was all a bit manic)
In the afternoon I had some cashew nuts for my snack.

At the party I was pretty controlled. I had crockpot beans and sausage (which for some reason none of the kids wanted when compared to crisps, sweets, chocolates and cake?!) and cucumber.
I also ate a couple of falafals and a samosa. I allowed myself to have one small piece of chocolate brownie, and then thoroughly ignored it for the rest of the evening. I made sure I drank lots of water, and at the end of the evening I felt happy with my choices.

wednesday

2007-10-31T13:23:00.001Z

This morning's weigh-in 264.8 that's down again. Yay!

For breakfast I had two rashers of bacon on top of 'flat' egg made with two eggs.For lunch I had some of my homemade baked beans (will try to put up a recipe, but not today cos life is too busy!), and leftover brocoli and some of the mashed cauliflower. Yum.
Little J enjoyed it too.And then after that I had a babybel because J didn't want it and I couldn't let it go to waste!
(He didn't eat it at all, I just only remembered to take the picture after I'm taken a bite!)
Thanks everyone who has been dropping by to encourage me. It really helps me stay on track.

Evening meal

2007-10-30T18:33:00.001Z

For dinner this evening I had 2 lamb chops, mashed cauliflower (if you've never had this then you definitely ought to try it. It tastes yummy and is a great substitute for mashed potato) , curly kale, gravy and mint sauce. Delicious :-)

This is working

2007-10-30T17:03:00.001Z

Do you know, this is really working for me. Just because I've made a commitment to myself to take a picture of everything I eat, and because I don't want to let any of the OWOA ladies (and Bird) down, it really is working. I think it was Brandi who suggested a while back that I use those guys as an excuse to tell other people, but that didn't really work, however like this is does seem to work. I'm not saying that I'm only doing this for all those guys, I am doing this for me. I know I need to lose this weight, it just helps knowing that they are behind me all the way. I needed to find a way to stay accountable, and this seems to be working for me.

Please excuse the not brilliant photography, I probably could take better pitures if I treid hard, but it's not practical to spend that long before every meal! However, just the act of taking the picture helps me to actually look at the food I'm putting in my mouth and process what I'm eating. It takes the mindlessness out of eating, and that is what I needed to do.

This afternoon I had a sugar-free jelly for my snack (actually it was jelly mixed with ricotta, but anyway). I was aware that making chocolate brownies might make me want something sweet so I went for that rather than nuts or vegetable and houmous.

Today so far (Tuesday)

2007-10-30T12:55:00.001Z

Weigh-in this morning 265.2 I know that is a big drop from yesterday (about 4 pounds) but I know that some of that was fluids as I had quite a bit of unhealthy salty stuff on Friday and Saturday last week. I feel thinner, and my trousers are back to falling down slightly, so I must have been bloated.

This morning for breakfast I didn't feel like the same as yesterday, but I already had the vegetables cut up (I did a double lot yesterday and put half in a bag to use today). So I stirfried the veg in a very little oil and added a dash of soy sauce, and had them on top of what's known in my house as flat egg. (I used spray oil, broke the yolk and flipped it over so that both sides got browned)
I didn't have a morning snack as we were out shopping and I'd forgotten to take anything, but I think I do need to try to remember something for tomorrow.

For lunch I had similar to yesterday, but added a handful of chickpeas instead of cashew nuts
(lettuce, cherry tomatoes, red pepper, turkey, chickpeas, vinaigrette (we make that ourselves and tend to use more vinegar than oil which is not the traditional way to do it, but I like the vinegary taste)This afternoon I am cooking baked beans and chocolate brownies (for our church kids party tomorrow night). My plan is to have a big bowl of washing up water ready so that I don't even have chance to lick the spoon.

UPDATE: The brownies are in the oven, and I managed to not eat any of it. All I have to do now is remain strong when I cut them up once they're cool.

Monday's dinner

2007-10-29T20:31:00.001Z

I had ~~chicken~~ turkey dopiaza with brocoli and a spoonful of mango chutney. It was yummy :-)

Extra nibble

2007-10-29T18:59:00.000Z

Since one of the problems I've had with keeping a food diary is that I've let stuff slip past without recording it, this time I want to write down everything, even the seemingly small stuff so that I don't go that way again. As a result I'm recording that I had a spoonful of cottage pie while giving The Little One some dinner. And that was basically because he really didn't want to eat it and when we did get some in his mouth he wanted to spit it out, and I wanted to check that what I was feeding him really was edible, and that I wasn't trying to feed him something that was past it's best. It tasted fine, so I figured he just doesn't like cottage pie! We persevered and got some of it into him and then changed tack and gave him some toast instead :-)

Afternoon snack

2007-10-29T15:28:00.001Z

I got to share my afternoon snack with The Little One, which means I got half a pot of jelly and ricotta (whisked together and then left to set) and half a babybel!

Monday Lunch

2007-10-29T12:44:00.000Z

Salad with lettuce, pepper, cherry tomatoes, turkey, a few cashew nuts and vinaigrette.

Breakfast Monday 29th October

2007-10-29T09:27:00.000Z

I've decided the only way I'm actually going to realise what I put in my mouth is to take a picture of every single thing I eat in a week. I realise this will probably be boring for most people, but I need to find a way to stay accountable. Food diaries just aren't enough, because I just give up when I eat sometihng I shouldn't.
So I'm going to write about doing this on all my blogs (One weigh or another, It's my life, and here)
in the hope that people might pop in and see how I'm doing.

Weigh-in this morning 269.4

Breakfast - vegetable omlette\frittata
onions, brocoli, red pepper, mushroom, 2 eggs, splash of skimmed milk, cheese, salt, pepper, mixed herbs
(I took a photo in the pan as well as on the plate because I knew it would fall apart when I got it out the pan)

Shrek climbs a tree

2007-07-25T10:10:00.000+01:00

Weekend round up

2007-06-11T18:48:00.000+01:00

I drank lots of water.

I ate lots of vegetables.

I ate sugar.

I snacked.

I did no exercise.

I am up 4.8 today from last week.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
(that's me growling at myself).

Goals for this week:
1. Go to bed early. I know how much of the extra eating and bad choices has been because I was tired.

2. Exercise, even if it's only 10 minutes a day, it's still better than none.

3. Cut out sugar and carbs for a week. (phase one) and do it properly.

4. Be aware on Wednesday - that's my bad day, where I'm in situations that mean carbs and sugar are easily available, and my will power is low.

Day 7 (Thursday)

2007-06-08T18:26:00.000+01:00

1. Water - Lots and lots

2. Fruit and Vegetables - lots and lots, more than 5.

3. Exercise - None really. I was tutoring after school, so didn't have loads of time. Should have gone swimming.

4. No sugar - Hmmm, broke this one.

5. No after dinner eating - Can't remember. Have a feeling I broke this one too. Feeling a bit discouraged. Think I've got tired and a bit low, and then my resolve breaks more easily and then I feel even more disappointed in myself and discouraged.

Day 6 (Wednesday)

2007-06-08T18:20:00.000+01:00

Wednesdays are really long and busy days for me, so i didn't get round to writing a post then, nor yesterday, so now I'm just going to do a quick five point summary

1. Water - loads, kept needing the toilet in the evening!

2. Fruit and Vegetables - 2 apples, tomatoes, chickpeas and pepper for lunch, peas and asparagus for dinner.

3. Exercise - didn't get out for a walk, but did do some speed tidying and cleaning. I set my timer for 10 minutes and then raced around a room sorting and moving things and putting them away, and also some vacuuming. I did that for at least 40 minutes, while entertaining a small person (I brought him back with me to my house)

4. No sugar - managed to break this by eating some silly stuff at small child's house.

5. No after dinner eating - had some grapes at small group meeting (midweek church group) so broke this one too. Not the best day really.

Day 5

2007-06-05T14:53:00.001+01:00

Wow, how did it get to be day 5 already?

Breakfast
2 rashers bacon
1 egg

Snack
8 (!) dried apricots
half an orange
small piece of banana
[Ok, let me explain all that. Apricots and me need to stay away from each other, and in future we will. This morning I took the Little One to Hayes Hill Farm and although I was taking him home for lunch his Mum sent me with a banana, an orange, some juice, nappies and a packet of apricots. I need to ban myself from apricots I think, cos I'm not very good at only having a couple at a time, or rather, I have a couple, and then a couple more. So we ate apricots. And then when we got back into the car we sat and ate orange and banana, or rather Little One ate most of it, but some bits he fed to me. And since I knew I was unlikely to get to eat lunch until gone 2, I let him!]

Lunch
A little leftover mashed potato
Tikka chiken
half a yellow pepper
3 cherry tomatoes
sweetcorn
[I stuck the chicken on the bottom, covered it with the potato and zapped in in the microwave. Then covered it with the salad stuff. It was yummy.]

Snack
spoonful of peanut butter (I was having cravings, so decided to have a little bit)
an apple

Dinner
slice of melon
brown basmati rice
chick pea chilli (very hot!) (with lots of different vegetables in it)
left over cold lamb from Sunday's joint

Vegetable and fruit servings: about 4 veg and 4 fruit

Water
Loads and loads and loads, definitely met the target

Exercise
I chased the Little One all over the place this morning and went for a little walk this afternoon.

No Sugar - I'm not sure eating dried apricots really goes with this category, but I don't really know. I aim to stay off dried fruit for the rest of the month. Reminder to self - next time check you actually put the apples in the bag, otherwise you may not have them when you want them!

Day 4 of the challenge & official weigh in day

2007-06-04T19:39:00.001+01:00

breakfast
2 rashers bacon
1 egg

snack
lite cheddar babybel
small apple

lunch
last of the homemade baked beans
a small yellow pepper
about 5 cherry tomatoes
lettuce

snack
small apple
4 macadamias
few cashews

dinner
cashew nut curry (containing turkey, mushrooms, onion and lots of other nice things)
peas (lots and lots)
2 spoons of mango chutney

Summary of vegetable\salad portions: 3 portions at lunch, 2 at dinner
Also 2 fruit portions

Exercise - well, Monday is a really long day for me. I work at school from 9-3.30 and then go straight to do some home tutoring for and hour and a half, all of which meant I didn't really get much exercise, but I did join in the Athletics lesson that I was supervising this afternoon (the school gets an outside instructor in to run the sessions, but requires a staff member there in case of discipline etc)

Water - I lost count again, but let me think.... yep, definitely got over 6 pints. Seems like I'm addicted to the stuff!

No eating after dinner - well I've have my dinner now, and I feel lovely and full, so I know I've had enough to eat. So I won't let myself give in to cravings later on if I get them.

Weigh-in - I was 261 lb this morning. I'm going to take my weight last Monday (at the OWOA weigh-in) as my start of challenge weight, because my weight on the 1st was similar to that I think, or if I wasn't I don't actually remember because I only write down the official weigh-in weights, if that makes sense! So so far I have lost 3.8 lb on this challenge. I'm determined to try to get into the 250's for next week :-)
Oh, and todays weight is the lowest I've been on this weight-loss journey. I have reached it a couple of times already on the journey and then put a few pounds back on, but this time hopefully the challenge will ensure I push on through the decade barrier, and on down with the weight loss.

day 3

2007-06-03T19:38:00.000+01:00

breakfast
2 rashers of bacon
1 egg (you may notice a pattern developing here. I've pretty much got into the way of fixing my breakfast which allows me to get my lunch ready at the same time if I'm having a packed lunch, and since I like I pretty much always eat the same thing. Some people aren't convinced about bacon on the south beach diet, but it works for me, so I'll stick to it!)

snack
an apple (I've found that carrying a couple of apples in my bag is good for days like today where it means I can munch on that and not have to worry about cakes or biscuits finding their way into my mouth!)

lunch
roast lamb
a spoonful of mashed potato
brocoli
peas (lots!)
a mixture of roasted root vegetables (shallots, parsnip, butternut squash, sweet potato, courgette)
gravy
mint sauce
strawberries (frozen - very yummy!)

snack
I have to admit that I had a couple of squares of milk chocolate. Almost as soon as I had eaten it I did regret it. Gave me a bit of a headache, and the eating it wasn't as good as the thinking about it! Next time I'll just admire it from afar!

tea
small amount of the homemade baked beans (I put a portion ready for my school lunch tomorrow)
about 5 cherry tomatoes
the remains of the left over cabbage
a little bit of yellow pepper
some grated cheese
One of CJ's oat muffins (yummy! We are going to freeze the rest, and I think I might have to keep myself away from them!)

I have drunk loads of water today. And eaten loads of vegetables and fruit. I reckon it must be about 8 portions all together. I ate some chocolate and a muffin which were probably not strictly on my diet, and I do want to try to be stricter with myself from now on.

Oh, I have to admit also that I had a few cashews last night after my dinner which wasn't really according to plan either.

I think I can do the vegetable eating and water drinking pretty easily. I'm trying to schedule in when I will do exercise (I think these first three days were a bit of a wipeout so far as exercise was concerned, but am ready to do this!) I need to be more strict with myself about not eating sugar, and not eating after dinner.
That's me for now. Over and Out :-)

Day 2

2007-06-02T13:12:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I drank at least 120 oz water, and managed to resist evening snacks.
And my weight was down this morning from what it was yesterday morning. Hurrah :-)

Today:

breakfast
2 rashers of bacon
(EDITED TO ADD) an egg (Thanks HP, missed it off by mistake!)

snack
small apple

lunch
portion of homemade baked beans
cabbage
a slice of ham
grated reduced fat cheese

dinner
We went to nandos :-)
We had some olives as an appetisers, but I only ate a few - I'm still trying to decide if I like them or not!
I had a nandos sald (mixed leaves, red pepper and cherry tomatos) with a chicken quarter with lemon and herb marinade.
I managed to resist the frozon yoghurt for dessert, but I must admit that I had sprite to drink. I think that was because I was so thirsty when we ordered it was the free refill that tempted me more than anything. On my way home from the tube station I had another apple. Although that's kinda after dinner eating, I was counting it as my dessert!

Not too bad a day. Not a huge amount of walking unfortunately, but I did manage to find a new swimming costume, two new tops and a pair of (ladies) sandals - I have trouble finding feminie shoes because I have really big and wide feet. I think the thing I need to work on for tomorrow and the coming week is meeting the exercise target.

Oh, and I drank loads today. Lost count, but reckon I reached my target for that.

June Challenge - Day 1

2007-06-01T19:11:00.000+01:00

Day One in the June Challenge, Debs is ready to do this :-)

CJ, writing over at one weigh or another, has suggested the June Challenge.
Each one of us taking part is setting slightly differing challenges, but with hopefully with similar results - ending June being fitter and weighing less!

My version is as follows:
1. Eat at least 5 portions of fruit and veg a day.
2. Drink at least 6 (UK) pints of water a day (That's 120 oz).
3. Consume no sugar. This is one that I may need to define further as the month goes on, but for starters it definitely means no chocolate, sweets, cake etc.
4. No evening eating after the evening meal. So I can eat dinner, but then no further snacks after that.
5. 30 minutes of exercise four days a week. I think I need to look at my week and schedule this in, otherwise, if I try to go day by day I can see this not happening. This is the part of the challenge that I know I need to work hardest at to achieve.

Today I ate:

breakfast
2 rashers of bacon
1 egg

lunch
portion of homemade baked beans
5 cherry tomatoes
grated reduced fat cheese

snack
apple
2 macadamia nuts (all that was left from the open packet!)

dinner
meatloaf
carrots
green beans
sweetcorn
cabbage
gravy

I make that at least seven servings of fruit and vegetables. I haven't really had any exercise today though. Tomorrow I will probably be going up to central London with Bekki, my Mum and my uncle, so hopefully there will be lots of walking around. Maybe I should take the stairs instead of the escalators on the tube...

Monday 30th April

2007-04-30T19:51:00.000+01:00

Breakfast
1 middle cut rasher of bacon
1 egg

Snack
15 grapes
6 strawberries

Lunch

salad made from:
7 cherry tomatoes
1 orange pepper
1\2 tin chickpeas with paprika sprinkled on
1 sausage
few cashews

An apple

Snack
1 square galaxy chocolate (a celebration sweet)
apple

Dinner
lamb rogan josh (otherwise known as spicy tomato and lamb soup)
brocoli
green beans

Haven't posted on here for a while

2007-02-03T13:33:00.000Z

My last post sounded really, um dunno what the word it, but when I went back and read it it made me go 'ouch' which wasn't really the intention. I was actually trying to state the fact that since I was stating my exercise facts that was what I would call the post. However I was tired and it didn't come out right!
Here's a picture of the little one and me because, well just because really. I know it's not all that flattering, but hey!