Happy Valentine's Day

Well I won't tell porkies, this weekend has not been conducive to shedding those 14lbs! But I'm not worried about it, I'll get back on the wagon tomorrow and continue. We always celebrate Valentine's Day by staying in and having an indulgent meal, last night didn't disappoint!

If you want to come to this page for inspiration and tips on weight loss and not temptation then I sincerely hope I can help, so let me give you a heads up, this post is not going to do that! You may want to leave this post where it is.

For anyone still with me, we enjoyed a huge sirloin steak, with onion and garlic (that had been pan fried in butter!). This was served alongside roast vegetables, dauphinois potatoes and a portobello mushroom stuffed with stilton! Wow!!

Pudding was an M&S delight, hot chocolate fudge pudding with millionaire shortbread ice cream!

Major calories but a rare (literally for the steak!) and delicious treat!

Satisfying That Sweet Tooth

Hello all!

As my meal plan today has been largely the same as the rest of the week I thought I'd share with you my answer to a sweet craving. You don't need to behold, this is nothing earth shattering, but I turn to the humble apple!

Rather than eat one in its raw state though, if I'm desperate for something sweet I will preheat my oven to 200C and core my apple, I then dice it using my Pro Cook Chipper and Chopper (link below as I haven't figured out blogger on the iPad yet!). Simply spread the apple on a baking tray, I sprinkle mine with sweetener and cinnamon (either could be omitted) and bake for 10-15 minutes and eat whilst warm! Delish and comes in around 80 calories! 

So next time you find yourself really fancying something naughty and high calorie/fat, why not give this a try first? When it's this quick, easy and delicious (and light!) there really isn't a downside!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/ProCook-Chipper-Chopper-Dual-Function/dp/B0099JX0RI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1423688037&sr=8-2&keywords=procook+food+chopper 

Cosied Up on the Sofa

Why hello there!

So an update on the last couple of days... Yesterday I got a call from the lovely people over at Cambridge Weight Plan to let me know I passed the accreditation! YAY! I am SO excited and can't wait to help people on their journey the way Suzie (my consultant) helped me to achieve!

Obviously my Christmas weight hasn't all dropped off since Sunday evening (shame!), so I thought I'd let you know what I'm doing in my bid to shift the first 7lbs, in a bit more detail than eating less and going to the gym!

Monday...

Breakfast: 2 x easy peeler clementines (eaten at my desk around 9:30am)

Lunch: Marks and Spencer Smoked Haddock Chowder (whole 600g pot) and an apple (around 12pm)

Afternoon snack: banana (eaten around 3.30)

Dinner: Marks and Spencer French Onion Soup (whole 600g pot)

Dessert: Aldi fat free coconut and vanilla Greek style yogurt

Total calories: 982

Gym: 2 mile run on treadmill and 15 minutes swimming - according to My Fitness Pal that's around 484 calories worth but I always take that with a pinch of salt!

Tuesday...

Breakfast: 2 x easy peeler clementines

Lunch: Marks and Spencer Chicken and Super Grain Soup (600g) and an apple

Afternoon snack: banana

Dinner: Marks and Spencer Spicy Lentil Soup

Dessert: Aldi fat free coconut and vanilla Greek style yogurt

Total calories: 1,002

Gym: 1 hour breast stroke (762 calories +  that pinch of salt!)

You may have spotted a theme with the Marks and Spencer soups. This isn't my normal diet but my fiancé gets them for his lunch a lot and they sound so delicious I thought I'd incorporate them this week! So far I've established my smoked cod chowder is actually far nicer (and less calories!); the French onion and chicken and super grain soups are both a lot sweeter than I would like and the spicy lentil soup is delicious! It reminds me of a butternut squash and lentil stew I make which I ate too often a little while ago and subsequently went off it, I think I'm ready to make another batch again now! 

A thought to leave you with, I try not to refer to weight loss, why?

The story so far...

Tonight I have decided, I'm going to blog my way through my last 14lbs weight shed. I need something to motivate me, at the moment my headspace isn't enough, so I'm looking to you web space! People may read this, people may not, but fingers crossed it will help.

My story so far is that my weight has fluctuated, up, down, up, down since I was about 18 - in other words for the last decade. Last year I 'ran' a marathon. I weighed 15stone at the start of my training, and 15 stone at the end! Sick of feeling fat and self conscious, I turned to the Cambridge Weight Plan. I had dabbled in CWP previously and it really worked for me, until I cut corners following the steps up to maintenance, this time around I refused to do that! And it worked! I went from 15st down to 12st. At 5'8" that was my target and I got there by the end of working through the steps! Go me! Then, through a combination of my new found exercise regime and healthy eating habits, I lost another 7lbs and felt fabulous! I was back to my 17 year old self's size! 

Then... December hit! With my birthday and Christmas, and my mum's milestone birthday I've stalked back up to 12 stone. My target is to get to 11 stone, and as of tomorrow I want to be back in the game! I'm currently training to be a CWP consultant (keep your fingers crossed for me!) and I want to help other people feel as good as I do!

So, my pledge, is to update this space with what I am doing to ditch those 14lbs. I'll try to post my exercise regime, meal plans, recipes etc and updates of their effects! My plan for next week is to reduce my caloric intake to approximately 1,000 per day and get into the gym 6 times this week (that will probably reduce back down to 4 once I shed the first 7lbs). If you're interested in following my progress or seeing what hints I have then please do follow the page for new posts.

Until then, here are some before and afters...