Tuesday 28 May 2013

Don't focus on how far you have to go, focus on how far you've come!

Hey guys and dolls,

Hope you're all well and you're having a fantastic week.  I was away last weekend in Mullingar at the Irish Veterinary Nursing Association annual congress and had a great time.  I didn't get to plan my meals at all like I would at home and got very little exercise so I was so sure I'd have a gain this week.  I was 0.5lb down, I could not believe it!

Instead of being happy though I started to think negatively and of how far I still have to go.  Despite being down that half pound I had a bit of an odd week.  I ate at odd times, I was out Saturday night and I got no exercise for about 4 days, I went over my points when I got home Sunday and did the same yesterday.

I went though the "OMG I still have to lose 28lbs more..." and started to feel low.  Until a friend of mine told me to look at how far I've come.  I have to admit she's right.  I'm not one for blowing my own trumpet so to speak but I have come so far since I began back in January. I really didn't think I had the strength or the willpower.  Today I was talking about how much I used to hate shopping and now I can go into Penney's, pick up a size 14 top/jeans and know that it's more than likely going to fit me.  I don't cry in changing rooms anymore.

I think it's important to remember that if you have a bad week. Think about what you would do differently, draw a line under the week and start afresh.  Don't dwell on it.  This week I'm intending to lose 1lb. I'm going to track religiously and do a little bit more exercise than I would normally, even if it's just adding 5 minutes to my daily walk.

Well anyway, that's this week's entry.  Yes I am boring, I know.  I'm hoping to do a slightly more exciting entry at some point this week.  Best of luck to anyone still to weigh in!  Have a fab week everyone!

J xx

Tuesday 21 May 2013

M is for motivation: What keeps YOU going?

Hey everybody!  Hope you're all well.  

Well, I had my weigh-in this evening and I was 0.5lb down.  I am absolutely delighted with that because I had myself convinced that I'd be up!  I was at my (second) cousin's communion on Saturday afternoon and I fell off the wagon a little bit.  The good thing was some of the food served were actually WW recipes and they used low fat ingredients in most things.  My (first) cousin has lost a lot of weight with WW herself. suppose I did get in a fair bit of exercise so it was worth it.  

This weekend might be a different story because I won't be home.  I'm away in Mullingar for the Irish Veterinary Nursing Association annual congress.  I'm travelling up on Friday and I won't be home until Sunday.  It's difficult to plan food but I'm going to do my best to pick low PP options and get in as much exercise as I can.  I'll let you all know how that pans out.  I'm a little bit nervous to be perfectly honest.  This will be the first time since I started back in January that I won't be home and be able to plan my meals properly.

So..  Back to the issue at hand - motivation.  What keeps you going?  I've been thinking about this all week since I saw a post by one of the lovely ladies on the WW Ireland Facebook page.  Everybody is different.  I've seen lots of different answers to the question of what keeps people motivated.
  • Keeping their 'fat picture' on the press/fridge/in their car/in their purse.
  • Throwing out clothes when they become too big.
  • Thinking of it as a lifestyle change, not a diet.
  • Setting small and achievable goals.
  • Not letting set backs or bad days get them down.
Those are just a fraction of what I've heard from different people at different times.  Personally I would have to say that the main thing keeping me motivated is focusing on the fact that I won't have to feel I have to cover up this summer.  It sounds simple but it seems to be working.  For as long as I can remember I've been covering up in jeans and t-shirts for the summer months.  This summer I want to wear nice clothes, nice tops, skirts, maybe dresses.  I feel so much better about my body now.  I've also gotten rid of a LOT of clothes.  I got rid of at least 8 pairs of jeans and tops recently.  It's a great feeling.  Another thing I like - the WW journal.  I never leave the house without it!

That's about it from me.  Send me a comment and tell me what keeps you going!  I'm always interested in other people's ideas and opinions so don't be afraid.

Later dudes and dudettes!  Have a fantastic week!  

J xx

Tuesday 14 May 2013

I'm halfway home!!!

Drumroll please... All my hard work (and crossing fingers) has paid off.  Tonight I'm proud to announce that I am 2st 1lb lighter than I was when I joined on 8 January!  Woooooo!

I'm also halfway to goal now and I can finally say that I'm 10st something for the first time in at least ten years.  I can't believe that.  I know it's 10st 13 but it's still "tens".  I lost 1.5lbs this week, I was hoping for the half pound just to hit the 2 stone target so I was delighted when I lost another 1lb along with it!

For the last few days I've been nervous and doubting myself about how well I actually did.  I knew I tracked religiously and I got loads of exercise but I was still nervous.  I'm not really sure why.  Maybe because I was so close to the second stone.


I feel fantastic since I've lost all that weight.  I've got more energy, I feel more positive.  I've got a lot more confidence in myself in generally, not just about my appearance.  I'm finally at the point where I'm not completely repulsed when I look in the mirror.  Now it's "Okay I have more weight to go but you look ten times better than you did 4 months ago."  I have a lot more interest in myself.  Sometimes I do get emotional when I think of how far I've come and that's what I try to think about when the thought of how much further I have to go comes into my head.

Now to get to my next target.  This week we were given our Summer Challenge.  My goal is to lose my next 7lbs in the 8 weeks.  I think it's doable.  I've become a bit more realistic with my goal setting as the weeks have gone on.  I'm hoping to be down to 10st 6lbs on my 9 July weigh in.

So I suppose that's all I've got to say in this entry.  Not sure when the next one will be, I'm a busy bee this week.  I've got my course, Zumba tomorrow night and I'm also starting swimming lessons on Friday evening, excited!

Until next time guys, thanks so much for reading and I hope everyone has a fantastic week!

- J xx



Sunday 12 May 2013

Omelette anyone?

I was just about to post this entry when I learned Donal Walsh, the young man suffering from cancer who was on The Saturday Night Show just a few short weeks ago, has sadly passed away.  I'd like to take this opportunity offer my deepest condolences to his family and friends.  It's awful that such a lovely young man has been taken.  It really makes you think.  We really should be grateful for all we have.

It's times like this I always think of something my late Grandad used to say:  The light of Heaven to him.  RIP Donal, it's clear you touched the lives of so many in your short life.  xx

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Hey everyone!  I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!

So... I think a lot of people would agree that they can be tough for us weight watchers!  Strangely though, I think I had a fairly good weekend.  I tracked everything I ate and between yesterday and today I have walked just under 20km in total!

I won't lie, I will be very disappointed if I don't have a loss this week at weigh-in.  I'm so close to having my second stone gone and I feel like I've worked so hard this week.  But we all know that sometimes the hard work, for whatever reason, isn't reflected on the scale at WI so I'll just cross my fingers (and toes) and hope for the best!

So I've decided to reveal to you all what exactly I have eaten this weekend.  I won't be offended if you skip over this bit, just have a look at my wonderful recipe!  

Saturday:
Breakfast - 2 slices of toast with flora and marmalade = total 6PP
Dinner - Breaded fish (7PP), 150g mashed potato (3PP), cauliflower (0PP) and instant gravy (1PP) = total 11PP
Supper - 4 Aldi Crispbread (2PP), slice of ham (1PP), hard boiled egg (3PP), coleslaw (2PP), lettuce etc (0PP), 50g baby beetroot from Aldi (1PP) = total 9PP
Snacks = baby beetroot (I couldn't resist! - 1PP), 2 apples and lots of water!
I ate all my ProPoints which is usually difficult for me so that's progress.

Sunday:
Breakfast - 2 slices of toast with flora and marmalade = total 6PP
Dinner - Bacon (6PP), 150g mashed potato (3PP), cabbage and carrots (0PP) and instant gravy (1PP) = total 10PP
Snacks - some strawberries and a Harvest Morn chocolate and orange bar (2PP)

And that brings me to the actual reason I'm doing this entry!  I made a yummy omelette for my tea and I really wanted to share the recipe with you all!  I got inspiration for it from this recipe on the Weight Watchers website (4PP) and added my own little twist for one extra point.  I was a little nervous cooking it but I've now decided that I'm going to try out some new recipes in the hope that they'll all be as delicious as this one!  I actually made two, one for myself and my brother.  I knew the first one wouldn't be as good so I gave that one to him, of course.  Okay so, here we go...


Ingredients:

  • Low fat cooking spray
  • Half a small onion (I chopped it up really small)
  • Half a green chilli - deseeded and diced (says red or green in the recipe in the link)
  • Slice of cooked ham (This is the extra PP!)
  • 2 or 3 mushrooms
  • 2 cherry tomatoes both cut into quarters (recipe aboves says one diced tomato)
  • Approx. a quarter of a yellow pepper
  • 2 eggs
  • Pinch of ground cumin
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions:
  1. Heat your frying pan and spray with the low fat cooking spray.
  2. While it's heating, chop up all your yummy veggies.  Then beat the eggs with a tablespoon of water and stir in the tomato, salt, pepper and the ground cumin.
  3. Fry all your veggies for about 4-5 minutes.  Add a splash of water to make sure the onion doesn't stick to the pan.
  4. Give your lovely egg mixture a quick stir and pour on top of the veg.
  5. Cook over a medium heat until golden underneath and just set on top. 
  6. Enjoy!!

I think I should have been a chef!

Voila!  Served with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, baby beetroot and some coleslaw!
Total PP value for the meal = 8.

So there you have it!  I'm actually very proud of myself, it was scrumptious!  This, along with winning my first football bet, has sadly been the highlight of my weekend!  I'll post my next entry after WI on Tuesday evening, cross your fingers and toes that it will be  happy one!

Until then, ladies and gentlemen.  Thank you for reading!

- J xx




Tuesday 7 May 2013

So near but yet so far (but hopefully not for long!)

Well, I'm just back from weigh-in and I'm 0.5lb down.  I'm so close to my second stone, just 0.5lb more to go!  It's funny, the exact same thing happened before I lost my first stone, I was 0.5lb away for 2 weeks and then I made a breakthrough.  I'm a little bit disappointed as I was really hoping to get there this week.  But I'm not going to let it get me down because I've come so far since I began in January.

Now I'm not going to lie, I'm having my post weigh-in treat as I type this - a bag of King Crisps and a packet of chocolate buttons.  Tut tut.  Many people will say you shouldn't reward yourself with food but I think that's one thing that has really helped me keep focused.  Every week after weighing in and after my meeting I walk to the supermarket and get myself something 'naughty'.  I don't believe in depriving myself as I said before.  For me this is a lifestyle change, not a diet.  A treat now and then won't hurt! 

And so a new week begins tomorrow and I've decided I am going to try my absolute best to have that last 0.5lb off next week!  I usually I write down what I eat at the end of each day but I'm giving the track as you go approach a go this week.  I'm also going to give the 1,000 jumping jacks a go along with my walking and Zumba.  Seriously ladies (and lads) give it a go if you can!  It's so much fun and it's a great work out!

I suppose what I'm really trying to get across in this entry is:  If your week isn't reflected on the scales, don't be disheartened and don't let it get you down.  After weigh-in wipe the slate clean and start afresh the next day.  Don't focus on what went wrong, focus on what you can do to get yourself back on track, or in my case I'm focusing on what I can do to get to my next goal.  Fingers crossed for a good week, eh?  Best of luck to everyone for the week!

Over and out!

J x


Sunday 5 May 2013

The story so far..

Right so, a little bit about myself.  My name is Jane.  I'm 24 and in live in Laois.  I'm a veterinary nurse but I'm unfortunately unemployed at the moment.  I'm doing a healthcare course and I'm trying to think of a way of possibly combining the veterinary nursing with the healthcare.  They couldn't be more different but hey, I'll give it a go if it's possible.

So I've been threatening to start this blog for a few weeks now and with it being a Sunday I don't have much to do so here we are.  First of all, I should mention that this is the third time that I've done Weight Watchers and gone to classes.  I've started the program myself countless other times and given up after a couple of weeks because I just wasn't in the right frame of mind.  For some reason this time it feels different.  I'm more determined and focused   Don't get me wrong, it's been hard and I've had rough days but this time I'm finding that things are going an awful lot smoother than I thought they would.

Secondly, I feel I should say that I'm not on a diet.  I don't consider Weight Watchers to be a diet, for me it's a complete positive lifestyle change.  A diet to me means restricting yourself and depriving yourself of food that you enjoy to lose weight and I don't think that's healthy.  I don't deprive myself, I have my treat after Weigh In.  It seems to be working for me so far so I'll stick with it.

Why did I start Weight Watchers?  I'll be blunt.  I started Weight Watchers because I was tired of feeling ugly and unattractive and feeling sad when I looked in the mirror.  I was sick of trying on clothes in changing rooms and going home in tears because nothing would fit.  When I started back in January I was 13 stone.  That may not seem like a lot but I'm under 5ft, I couldn't carry that weight any more, both physically and emotionally.

I was with someone when I started WW this time but things happen and things change and a couple of weeks later we broke up.  At the time I was heartbroken of course but I now realise we weren't right for each other and I decided to concentrate on myself for a change.  I always thought if the relationship ended that I would break.  But I didn't, I got stronger.  Things like this happen in life and it's dealing with them that makes you who you are.

So here's my journey so far:
08 January:  My first weigh in - 13 stone
15 January:  -2lbs
22 January: -7lbs (The week of my break up - I was so upset I barely ate) - reached 5% goal and got my first silver 7
29 January:  STS
05 February:  -1.5lbs
12 February:  -2.5lbs
19 February:  -0.5lb
26 February:  -0.5lb - My first stone!!!
05 March:  -2lbs
12 March:  -2.5lbs - reached my 10% goal
19 March:  -0.5lb
26 March:  -1.5lbs
02 April:  -3lbs - My third silver 7!
09 April:  -0.5lb
16 April:  STS
23 April:  -2lbs
30 April: -1lb

So that's a total of 27lbs since 8th January, I'm so close to my second stone!  Generally I would be quite modest but I am feeling quite proud of myself.  I didn't think I was so determined or focused.  I'm proof that you definitely have to be in the correct frame of mind to lose your weight and you have to do it for yourself.  My next target is to lose 4lbs in 4 weeks.  I think it's doable but I have a weekend away planned the last weekend in May.  I'll just have to be careful and track everything and get as much exercise as possible and the most important thing:  Go to my meeting the week after!

My aim with this blog is to track my journey so that maybe someone can be inspired.  If I can help even one person then I'll be happy with that.  If I find recipes I'll post them here along with any other tips.  Just FYI though, I may post some random thoughts that have nothing to do with weight loss!  Don't say I didn't warn you!

Thanks for reading!

- Jane xx