Monthly Archives: May 2013

Happy Birthday to me (!) … the 4-week/9-day push ends well!

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I didn’t quite make my original 4-week goal, but I got so close! I did drop a little weight overnight so I can happily report that I am the lightest I have been for 20 years! And I did make it into a dress that was too small for me 4 weeks ago… and even my Mum commented that my legs looked slim!

Here we are out for a very lovely lunch today!

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I loved lunch! It was delicious and very special! I couldn’t manage all of my dessert, though (poor attempt!) but it definitely didn’t stop my enjoyment of the whole day

I’ll be taking a diet break for a few days, and I expect to increase a little weight over the coming days, but I am not going totally wild! I am planning to be back at the same weight in one week’s time, all being well.

New goals need to be set when I’m back. I’ll think about what I want to achieve in the next few weeks. That will take us to the middle of June and one whole year since I started this healthy mission. One year! I can’t believe it’s been such a long time, it has flown!

Thanks for sharing my journey with me… I wish you a wonderful day, evening or morning… wherever you are!

12 hours to go but the temptation to ditch the diet is almost unbearable!

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All good tonight with 12 hours to go…

I’ve been exactly the same weight to the half pound for 3 days. I’ve given myself the goal for tomorrow morning as it’s my birthday … then am off out for lunch and doing lots of lovely other things this next week. So I’ll be having a diet holiday for a few days.

With only 12 hours to go, the urge to start the diet holiday is almost unbearable! Especially with a giant white chocolate Toblerone in the house! But resist, I will!
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Until tomorrow! Resist, resist!

36 hours to go in the 4-week focus…

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36 hours to go in the 4-week/9-day push. In the last 36 hours, I achieved the 9-day target and my gym goals 🙂  The problem with achieving your goals is that you then need to set some new ones! So, new gym goals have now been revised and the programme revised with some even more evil-sounding exercises … including way too many squats for my liking!

It didn’t dawn on me until I was driving home that in my new programme, my repetitions have increased by 50 percent! Wah! Okay, okay … that’s the 6-week goal. But still … wah!

Breaking things down into smaller goals works really well for me – into manageable chunks that don’t seem too overwhelming – both in terms of time and difficulty. It’s amazing what can be achieved when fully focused on a short-term goal. It seems silly to even say it, but the short-term goal thing is so obvious, yet so effective.

4-week focus … time is nearly up. From a weight-loss perspective, I may  be a pound or two adrift from the four-week goal, but you never know what might happen in 36 hours!

In any case, I’ll be able to enjoy my birthday in the knowledge that it’s all in the right direction. One step at a time.

Good luck with your own goals, whatever they may be!

It’s the weekend and (eek!) treats are in the house…

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5 days done, 4 to go on the 9-day push … and things are on track … but …

There’s a whole load of temptation in the house, though, as Wayne went food shopping and bought treats as his (17 and 15-year-old) daughters are staying for the weekend. So it’s a danger zone for me… the lure of crisps, chocolate (mmmm… maltesers!) or whatever might prove too much for me.

Normally I’d let myself have a little treat to avoid feeling deprived – but am very focused on this last push, so I am trying to avoid calorie-dense, nutritionally-low value foods – to make every calorie count! It’s amazing how much you can eat of ‘real’ food in comparison to, say, even 4 squares of chocolate. So I’ve put those ‘treats’ out of sight, so I am not so tempted. I think I’ll be okay, but I generallly find healthy eating more difficult at the weekends. If I stray, I’ll compensate by being more active –  walking or going to the gym. I have a gym review booked in tomorrow afternoon anyway – having body fat percentage measured (eek!) so I hope it is down a little and to have met my other 4-week gym goals.

Am now very close to my 9-day goal, I might even be able to beat it … and possibly hit the original 4-week diet goal. We’ll see! I’ll be happy with hitting the 9-day goal, the 4-week goal or anything in between!

Whatever you are doing this weekend, have a happy one, y’all!

9-day push update, slightly obsessive scale usage and boiled eggs

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Super-quick post tonight.

I’m so pleased that I have digital scales. They measure increments of a quarter of a pound or 200 grammes.

Yes, I am getting on every day, and so far the scales are going in the right direction, even if is a quarter of a pound down a day. I fear I may be slightly obsessed though, as I took the scales to an overnight hotel stay with my other half earlier in the week. Sorry, Wayne!

So sticking to the diet IS tough, but seeing the scales go down is great motivation to stay on track. And also knowing it’s only for a short while, then I can stablise again.

There are 3 of us in the team at work trying to lose a little weight, so that definitely helps that there is not so much ‘naughty’ food around to tempt us.

And finally, thinking forward to next week, for our birthdays, we normally bring in cakes, donuts or other goodies to work. I think I’m going to have to bring some healthy snacks in as well next week! Healthy suggestions welcomed, as I don’t expect anyone will welcome a hard-boiled egg as a snack!

2 days down, 7 to go … and the outlook is sunny!

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Outlook is sunny

I am focused. The light is officially on. It’s 2 days into the final 9-day push and all is well. I have curbed my eating, restricted my calories, am drinking more water and have been to the gym.

The ‘X’ stone 11 goal is definitely achievable now with 7 days to go until my birthday – and I might even get into a new dress that is hanging up at home that has never been worn 🙂 (Deliberately bought in a smaller size as a goal to get into!) I’ll be trying it on every day to see if there is any progress – and – I know you shouldn’t really get on the scales every day, but dear friends, I may not be able to resist to ensure progress is continuing! Just got to keep up the good work and not be distracted. Focus, focus, focus!

P.S. Am still addicted to watching the US Biggest Loser on Sky on Monday evenings. Bob and Gillian are still trainers in this series – and they are pretty awesome when it comes to motivating weight-loss. The contestants are heading towards the final few weeks and it’s definitely helping me stay motivated – they are doing their final pushes too. This is my favourite part of the series, where you see the before and after shots – the transformations can be amazing! It helps me, anyway!

A wobble on the 4-week push … refocus, refocus, refocus!

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Well, unless I chop a leg off, I don’t think I’m going to make my 4-week goal. I’ve had an enjoyable week and I DID resist the egg-buttie-breakfast-run on Friday, but then it went a bit downhill from there. I had my Mum round for the evening on Friday – dinner-and-a-movie-night. I was all determined to have a healthy dinner. She was a bit later than planned, so I convinced myself I needed a glass of Sancerre while I waited… and this simple decision began a weekend off the diet.

What’s encouraging, though, is that I can view a weekend off the diet in perspective. It simply is a wobble, not the end of the world. It’s true, I haven’t lost weight in the last few days, so no progress made to the 4-week push since last week – but the important thing is not to continue in this vein. In previous years, I’d have just carried on – eating and drinking what I fancied, regardless of the consequences. In fact, let’s be honest, that’s how I used to eat every day! So I must have learnt something this past 10 months or so!

Time to refocus: So now it’s the 9-day push! I recognise there is only so much I can do in 9 days. It’ll probably take me 2 days to get back to where I was on before the wobble. I think the very best I’ll be able to achieve in 9 days is to get to ‘X’ stone 11 lbs – above where I wanted to be, but still would be an acceptable loss across the 4 weeks and – importantly – it means I am still going in the right direction. (And no, I’m not publishing my actual weight to the world – even I have my limits as to what I’ll share across to the world!)

So, it’s back to reducing the calories. Later this afternoon, Wayne and I are off to the gym – I’m going for that ‘X’ stone 11 goal!

 

Friday cooked breakfast run? Just say no!

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So… 2 weeks left to go in my self-imposed ‘4-week push’. After a good start, the sunshine (hello, Spring – you are most welcome!) has made me feel great about life and the universe, but hankering after social nights out with good friends and loved ones, and for a chilled glass or two of something sparkling … and I don’t mean San Pellegrino … so I’ll have watch it, or else I’ll be stabilising at a too high weight. Go to re-focus! And do it now.

I guess if I desperately fancy a drink-drink, maybe I can add some sparkling water to the wine. At the very least, that will help me not get too tipsy (what a great word!) as I appear to have lost my ability to drink since being on this ‘mission’.

Tomorrow, I’ll resist the ‘cooked breakfast delivered to your desk’ that is our usual Friday treat at work. If anyone from the office is reading this, you have my full permission to confiscate my egg buttie (fried egg sandwich) if I weaken my resolve overnight!

Finally, I need to remember that I’ve a couple of slightly-too-tight dresses to fit into this summer (bought as goals to get into) … and I’d really like to wear one of them on my birthday.

I can do it! Two weeks to go!