Day. 23 - Rules are there to be broken.

BUT AM I BREAKING THEM?

Give me an N. Give me an O.
Ohhh, that's right.
I'm sticking to this plan like a piece of velcro sticks to a tennis ball.
Pretty darn well!

As you may notice, a few little design changes have gone on. Thought I might as well spruce the page up a little. Feel free to let me know what you think!

Aside from all that jazz, I actually feel a lot more positive about my diet now. Over three weeks in and I've not cracked, which in my humble opinion, means so far, so good. I've been making a few playlists to exercise to! I did 25 minutes worth of crazy dancing last night and my body aches because of it. Awesome times. No pain, no gain. If you have spotify feel free to listen to my 30 minute playlists! I have made 3 volumes:

Volume 1: A whole load of 80's cheese.

Dancing 30 minutes vol.1

Volume 2: Pop songs that make it impossible not to move to.

Dancing 30 minutes vol. 2

Volume 3: Classics to rock out to.

Dancing 30 minutes vol. 3

I really recommend trying this out! Just go crazy for the duration of the playlists and run around or jump about, do some crazy stretchs, do star jumps, anything you can to get your heart racing!

Catch you later alligators.
 
E

Day. 22 - I would kick myself in the face...

...but it is not physically possible, which to be honest, I'm quite glad about.

I went off to chubclub this morning feeling positive. I got onto the scales and my heart just sank. I really thought I'd tried hard last week and I'd lost 1lb. It's only my third week! I should be losing more than that. I was so ashamed I didn't even stay for image therapy. I just ran off like a little baby with a lame excuse! So now, I'm twice as ashamed. To make matters even worse, on the way home I got a chocolate bar and it was so tasty and worth the 8.5 syns I used on it. Then it dawned on me, I really didn't even try that hard last week.

By this point, I am three times as ashamed as I could have been. THRICE.

Anyway, onwards and downwards. I can't bitch about it like a small child when I know it's all my own fault! And it's still a loss, so I'm going to man up (metaphorically speaking) and step up my game this week. I am enforcing on myself a strict list of rules for the next 7 days.

Behold - Emily's 7 day mircale boost! OOOH. AHHH. Yeah that's right.

The following rules shall be stuck to or I shall live a life time of shame and regret (or something less dramatic).

RULE 1 - Always have a breakfast.

RULE 2 - Never eat past 6pm unless it is fruit or yogurt.

RULE 3 - Do at least 20 minutes of exercise a day.

RULE 4 - Try at least one red day and one green day.

RULE 5 - Only have one portion of food at meal times!

RULE 6 - Weigh and count everything that needs to be. No more guessing.

RULE 7 - Put more effort into this blog.

So, with the power of the miracle boost behind me, I am aiming to lose 4lbs through the course of next week. How exciting!

I am now off to make some wonderful pasta and scoff the lost before 6pm. Yum.

E

Day 8. First weigh in accomplished!

Finally approaching the end of day 8. It's been pretty darn successful I think.

I went to my first Slimming World class this morning. After debating the pros and cons as to whether or not to go and wondering if I even had the guts to go it alone, I man'd up and went... and man, I'm glad I did. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming, it really made me feel better and confirm that I made the right decision going. Not only this, but I got weighed today on a proper set of scales. Despite my next official weigh in at group being next week, to me, this was the big weigh in. I was so, so scared of what it was going to read. 

Having weighed myself at my Mums and the scales reading 16st7lbs (estimated - I saw it goes way past the 16 mark and refused to look) I now weighed in at 15st8lbs. I'm so glad my hard work paid off! I'm also aware I'm going to have to up my gain to get a decent loss this week. I've eaten well today, and plan on doing so for the rest of the week. Got my meals planned out and my exercise sorted - roll on next Tuesday.

I'm going to stop typing now as I need a wee (lovely) but I'll try get back on this tomorrow. My Nan has come to stay for a few days so I'm running on limited time!

Until tomorrow.

E

Day 5 & 6. Thinspiration.

First offs, apologies for my lack of blog yesterday! As I'm sure you're aware it is the weekend (or should I say was) and I felt a bit of attention elsewhere than the net was necessary. I'll post some recipes too. Yum.

I'm getting a strange addiction to toast. I just want it, all the time. I don't have it, but I want it! This is where my personal food diary is really coming in handy. When I write down what I've had I look at it and think 'is this too much or not enough?' and so far, more often than not I've had room left to sneak in a piece of toast. Now, however, I look back and think 'did I really need that?' and the realistic answer is no. I don't. It's all cool, lesson learnt, thou shall not be greedy.

Another reason this food diary is lifting my spirits is that at the bottom of each page, I write how I feel and find something on the internet (that I'd love to wear if I was tiny) and I copy a image of it. Be it a dress, nice pair of boots or cute jumper - it's motivating to browse through websites and know that this time next year I could be struting my stuff in a size 10 french connection dress. Here's to hoping!

Time to watch Southpark and not indulge in carby badness.

Night!

E

Day 3. The hard times are over...?

My mother always said to me that the first 3 days are the hardest. I used to believe her but now I'm not so sure! Having stuck to my SW diet perfectly and yet to have a true moment of weakness, I have a feeling there are much, much harder times ahead. I keep telling myself I can go this alone but I think the reality of the matter is that SW clubs are there for a reason. Support helps.

I have thusfore come to the conclusion that as of October I shall be joining my local slimming world group, and to be completely honest, I'm crapping myself. I think it will be good for me on a few accounts; since I've moved here I've not really made any attempts at a social life outside of activities with Liam, and the exercise to and from the club will be useful. Win win, baby. I'm just so nervousss.

Oh oh oh, I also baked a cake today without touching any of it! Albeit it was a bright orange, lemon cake (gross) but I figure I should get used to avoiding temptation while I can before I'm out in the big wide world with Gregs sausage rolls and Reeces Cups jumping up at me. Proudness + 10.

Right, sleep time. Off to dream about Topshop dresses and River Island boots.

E

Syn Free! Steak with Mushroom Sauce - Tasty times.

Today I thought I'd try and make a nice meal that was tasty, filling and something a little bit special. I had some sirloin steaks in the fridge so here is what I made! It doesn't look quite as appetising as it did in front of me but I assure you - it tasted uhmazing. Best of all, completely guilt free! This is how I did it:

Syn Free! Steak with Mushroom Sauce - Syn Count - 0
Serves 2

What I used:

3/4 pint of vegetable stock made with 2 stock cubes (other flavours can be used)

3 cloves of Garlic

A whole load of Mushrooms

1 slice of Lean Bacon

1 Red Onion

1 Tbs Quark (this can be replaced with Low Fat Yogurt or Fromage Frais)

Salt & Pepper

2 Sirloin Steaks

Frylight

1.Dice mushrooms, garlic, onions and bacon. Spray some frylight in a non-stick frying pan and begin to fry.

2. Once cooked, add stock and a lid and turn the heat down. Leave to simmer until reduced down.

3. When reduced down, add a tablespoon of Quark to give it a creamy texture. You might need to turn the heat back up so it melts in properly. You can also use low fat natural yogurt or fromage frais if you dislike quark!

4. Add some seasoning to taste and you have completed your syn free mushroom sauce!

5. Season your steaks and add to a preheated grill pan sprayed with frylight. I do about 4 minutes on each side.

There you have it. Guilt free, quality food! I served this on a bed of stir fried cabbage and peppers with some slimming world friendly potatoes. Very successful!

Hope you enjoy!

E

Syn Free! Beef and Veg Bolognaise with Linguine. Mmm.

This smells so damn good. It's also the type of recipe where you can chop and change the ingredients to suit you're own requirements. I find it's best to use whatever is left over. Anywho, here's what I used today:

Syn Free - Beef & Veg Bolognaise with Linguine - Syn Count - 0

Serves 2-4

Extra lean mince
3 Flat Mushrooms
1/2 Red Pepper
1/2 Green Pepper
Handful of Green Beans
2 Garlic Cloves
Fry Light
Tinned Tomatoes
Passata
Vegetable Stock Cube (Oxo work best! Beef can also be used to give the meal a meatier feel)

1. Cut the mushrooms, peppers, green beans and garlic and fry using fry light until almost cooked.
2. Add the mince and brown, stir in a crumbled stock cube. This coats the meat and releases some nice flavours.
3. Add a tin of tomatos (plum tomatoes work really well) and simmer until reduced. Add some passata depending on how much sauce you like and a pinch of salt and pepper.
4. Serve on a bed of Linguine cooked as per instructions on the packet.

Yum!

This meal is really filling and satisfying. I probably ate more than I should have but I'd definitely do it again. Om nom nom!

Syn Free! Easy Chips & Curry Sauce.

Thought I'd rustle up something a bit fiery for my lunch today. I figured I'm going to attempt a curry this week, might as well try making a dipping sauce!

Chips & Curry Sauce - Syn count - 0
Serves: 2-4

For the sauce:

1 Red Onion

1 tbs Curry Powder

1 Thin Chilli (optional)

Pinch of Turmeric

Tinned Tomatoes

1 Clove of Garlic

Boiling water or chicken stock

Fry Light

Super Low Fat Natural Yogurt

1. Dice the red onion and garlic (and chilli if using) and fry using fry light.

2. Add the curry powder and turmeric.

3. Add a few spoons of tinned tomatoes and fry down.

4. Once it begins to reduce, heat up some water or chicken stock (to taste - any stock can be used!) andstir in. Keep repeating this until you are happy with the consistency.
5. Before serving, stir in some natural yogurt to give a slighty creamy texture.

For the chips:

2 Large Baking Potatoes

Fry Light

1. Peel and slice the baking potatoes and par-boil. Add a pinch of salt to taste.

2. Drain until dry and shake in the colander. Place in a pre-heated oven on a high temperature until browned and looking tasty!

Yum! I really enjoyed this, it was really filling and the heat in the curry left me with a nice taste in my mouth which stopped me craving anything sweet. Good times.

E

Day 1. The challenge begins.

And so we begin.

My name is Emily, I've been alive for 22 years and I currently live inbetween Bristol and Bath with my amazingly supportive boyfriend Liam. I'm a graphic designer, musician, film fanatic, fashion enthusiast and self proclaimed chubster. I'm 4'11 and currently weigh 16st7lbs. Shocking.

Last week I had as what could only be described as somewhat of a monumental life changing moment. Returning to my hometown to visit my family, I went with the intentions of visiting some of my old college friends I've not see for a few years. This didn't happen, reason being that I was too embarrassed about all the weight I'd put on to even go out. Now I've always been a bit of on the larger side of life, but my weight has never held me back before. I feel like I'm missing out on what should be some of the best times of my adult life. So, after a bit of a moan and a tearful conversation with my mother I've decided to take some action. I'm the only person that can change my life, and I'm in a lucky enough position to have all the support around me I need. Thusfore, from this day onwards I shall no longer be 'Emily of Little Confidence' but instead 'Emily of Little Waist'. Each day from this moment I shall be a tiny bit smaller, oh yes, I shall conquer the overall battle with giantness and become a healthy, confident individual who looks fabulous and more importantly, feels amazing. And how do I plan on doing this?

Slimming world.

Current weight: 16st7lbs

Target weight: 9st7lbs

Weight to lose: 7st

One thing I've always been passionate about is cooking, experimenting, and as I get older I find recipes more and more fun to test out. My mum has been doing SW for however long or so and lost an amazing 4 and a half stone so far. I'm so proud of her, if not a little a jealous. Now it's my turn. She's given me the books, magazines, tips and advice and hopefully, using this blog, I can keep up with weight loss as well as sharing my own recipes and experience. I've joined facebook groups, I've done my research, I've invested in magazine subscriptions, I've got my own Muller Light shelf in the fridge. It's looking positive!

I've also taken a load of pictures of how I look now, which I haven't seen. I'll take photos every week until I reach my target weight.

Wish me luck!

E