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 7. End of week one!

Alas, I have finished my seventh day! I'm quite proud of myself for getting this far. I'm also crapping myself (putting it nicely) about my first weigh in tomorrow. I don't tend to do things on my own, let alone things that involve me standing up and staring my weight problems (metahporically) in the face. Nerves, nerves, nerves!

Today has been a bit of a let down, to a degree. I just think I ate too much. I felt a bit gross because of it. I think I'm starting to struggle a tad, not so much with the diet just the portion control and fitting in my superfrees. I'm going food shopping on Thursday and can't wait to get in the veg department! I'm going to try experiment with some snazzy vegetable dishes next week so watch this space for some recipes.

Tonight I had a Pork fillet Madras with Rice, and it was awfully good. Not sure how many syns it was due to the fact I used a table spoon or so of oil (virgin oil) but I think it was worth it! Shall post the recipe in the near future for that!

On a side note - I've stumbled across www.boohoo.com and previously wouldn't have bothered shopping there. Upon inspection, I'm loving some of their dresses, and more importantly their prices!

Will post results of the weigh in tomorrow after my first class. Wish me luck!

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 4. Thank god it's Friday...

Only time for a short post tonight, feeling a little tiredddd with extra consonants for emphasis. Had a relatively good day, slept through breakfast! Made a nice-ish lunch and a super nice dinner. Only had 1 mullerlight today and no fruit. Starting to feel a bit hungry though, probably the first time in ages I have.

I think this is a good thing. Feeling hungry every now and again makes me feel like my body is responding to the diet. 3 days left til my first weigh in... need to get my body busting some pounds off!

Anyway, sleep time. Night!

E

Mango glazed chicken - Syn count - 4 - Om nom.

My first Friday night on the SW diet, fancied something a little indulgent! I attempted to follow a recipe that was in this weeks SW magazine - Mango glazed chicken. Unfortunately, had I followed this to the exact recipe I don't think it would have turned out great. The amount of sauce required wasn't enough for 2 breasts of chicken I used and the recipe required 4 chicken breasts, it wouldn't have been. Fortunately, I improvised enough to keep this meal low syn and incredibly tasty. It really was lovely. Liam also really liked it! Definite crowd please and would be perfect for a dinner party. It has wonderful aromas. Rant over. Here's the recipe!

Mango Glazed Chicken - Syns - 4
Serves 2 - 4

2 Chicken Breasts (all visible fat removed)
Baby Mushrooms
1 Large Red Onion
Baby Potatoes
Green Beans (optional)
1 Red Chilli Pepper
1 Thin Green Chilli Pepper
5 Level tbs of Sharwoods Mango Sauce
5 tbs Water

1.Pre-heat the over to 180 degrees. Par-boil some bite size baby potatoes and add to a casserole dish.

2.Slice onion, green beans, mushrooms (I put them in whole!), chillies and dice your chicken. Add to the casserole dish.
3. Mix your mango sauce with the water in a cup. Pour this over the food and mix.
4. Place in the over and leave for 30-45 minutes. I also spray some fry light on top to crisp the potatoes and chicken!

I served this with basmati rice and stir-fried broccoli, sweetcorn and red peppers! Delicious!

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