Shift That Six!

Right, I need to lose 6lbs by Christmas. That's less than a pound a week - surely do-able?

In winter, you can eat soup and stews and baked fruit and things, which are filling and low fat and healthy too. Hurrah!

And I must do exercise to beat the very bad case of the winter blues that I am suffering from. Is it ever going to stop bloody raining?

I'd also like to reduce my grotesque cellulite too - it's even on my ARMS! What is that all about? (A bad encounter with changing room mirror/harsh lighting yesterday).

Yesterday's food:

Mashed banana on toast
Another banana
Spinach and tomato pancakes, new potatoes, carrots, peas
Pasta, pesto and roasted veg

Plus a gym visit too.

Bex's New Coat

Here it is!

Shopping

I had a day off yesterday and I popped into town to do a bit of shopping. I meant to get a new bra and some boots.

I came back with a new winter coat (pink with purple circles on), 3 tops, a dress, a pair of shoes, bra, knickers and a pair of tights. Oh dear me. Reminder to self - must not go shopping the morning after watching Trinny and Susannah and think I have £2000 to spend.

But I did manage to do 6 hours of Gothic Studies reading and found out that Percy Shelley was Illuminati - which is amazing considering I've just read Angels and Demons. Had nightmares about Mary Shelley all night though. Woke up at 3 and haven't been back to sleep.

However, yesterday's diet was not great
9 pieces of toast
Scrambled egg
Cheese and cucumber
Large portion of G&B Espresso chocolate

Not many vitamins in that.

A pertinent question

So, have any of us actually lost any weight since we've been doing this blog?

I know some of us lost, then gained, but is anyone actually lighter than when we started?

I'm heavier :-(

But I enjoy this blog, and blogging, and all you lovely blog ladies too. So I'll carry on blogging and hopefully lose some weight soon. Maybe.

A Craving for Stodge

All I want to eat all the time is cheese and potato pie. I must be laying down fat for the winter.

Rasp and banana smoothie
Toast and blueberry jam
2 x milky way hero whatsits (v small)
Leftover roast pork, roast potatoes and cauliflower cheese (God know's how many cals that had)
Apple
Chinese pork, mushroom and spinach soup with noodles. Well yum.

Didn't do any exercise and managed about 7500 steps.


I went to LBT on Monday, didn't hurt at all yesterday and now today I'm in agony. Wierd or what.

Failure

Dave cooked me a lovely three-course meal last night. It wasn't very calorie-friendly.

I failed on my steps - think my pedometer is broken as my steps seemed to halved, although I am walking the same distances.

Failed on the exercise - was feeling tired and lazy and my bum still hurt from legs, bums and tums.

I failed on my reading - didn't get my chapter finished.

I failed on reading the paper - watched Wife Swap instead.

I did manage to do an hour of ironing, but that was about it.

Must sort myself out as of today!

I am disgusting!

What's wrong with me? I scoffed sooooo much food yesterday, plus chocolates, and even though I'm supposed to have banished dairy products from my diet, I ate bloody cheese as well.

Banana, mango and soy smoothie
Toast and mushroom pate
About 8 mini-segments of Terry's Choc Orange
Stilton and cranberry sandwiches
Packet of salt and vinegar crisps
Thai tofu and veg curry
Brown rice

And I only managed a pathetic 6,300 steps, despite a Legs, Bums and Tums class, walking home from work, cleaning the bathroom, and leaping around the house lots.

Didn't manage to read the newspaper either, as I fell asleep sitting up in bed with it in my hands.

Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish!

My goals for the week

I was a bit crap last week as well. I did exercise for 3 times, but I also ate an awful lot of rubbish.

This week I am going to:
Tidy up my house for the cleaner and write her a note to attack the mildew in the bathroom
Get ahead in my reading by reading the Poe short stories that I am meant to
Tidy my bedroom
Do 10000 steps a day
Not drink anything until Friday and not get too drunk at the leaving do I am going to
Not watch any telly apart from Trinny and Susannah

Must do better

Last week, my diet was appalling. I was disorganised, had no food in fridge, my house was a mess, I had no clean clothes, I was tired, I was stressed out at work, I was a rubbish wife who left mess everywhere and heated up frozen burgers instead of cooking proper food.

Anyway, back to being a Superwoman this week, with all of the following things on my 'to-do' list:

*Plan and cook mega-healthy meals
*Exercise at least three times
*Do 10,000 steps every day
*Do one hour of cleaning/ironing every night
*Read a chapter of my book every day (trying to educate myself a bit with proper books and not chick lit)
*Read the newspaper every day (see above)
*Style my hair and put make-up on before work every day, instead of my usual 'drag brush through hair, slap on some mascara' routine
*Knit at least four rows of my new scarf every day

And that's it, I think. Should keep me busy for a bit!

I'm a bit quiet on the blog

cos I am being a BAD girl.

Yesterday
Croissant with butter (run out of blueberry jam)
toast with pate
Apple
Satsuma
Baked potato with tomato and basil sauce
Bread and butter pudding (oops)
2 Emmenthal and pumpkin crackers with mushroom pate
cheese and tomato omelette with watercress
Massive lump of a new G&B flavour chocolate (Espresso - bloody delicious, go and find some now)
2 biscuits.

I then sent myself to bed (at the time of 9.15) before I ate anything else. And then I woke up at 4.30 starving! I must have worms.

Another embarrassing thing I did yesterday was walk into a hairdressers, demanded to see a colourist and said 'I want to go brunette'. Luckily, the hairdresser had more sense than me and said 'No you don't. And I wouldn't do it, even if you asked'. The most shameful thing of the whole lot was that I said 'I want the same hair colour as Trinny and Susannah'. I am reminded of the time when I was 13 and asked the hairdresser if I could look like Nik Kershaw. How little times change.

Need to get organised

I have had the most busy week ever, in work and socially, so I haven't had time to cook healthy stuff. I haven't drunk my usual 3 litres of water, nor eaten my fruit throughout the day. And I don't feel my usual self at all - I'm very tired and unenthusiastic about everything.

Yesterday's food:
Apricot flapjack
Spaghetti bolognaise
Spring Rolls
Noodles with tofu and veg in peanut sauce

See what I mean?

As of today, it's back to cooking my own healthy food and forcing the fruit down. I have exercised lots this week, but haven't walked as much as usual because of crap weather.

My house is also a tip, and I have no clean clothes. Right, that all must change as of this weekend! Clean - walk - tidy - gym - wash - iron - shop - cook!

Guess what I've just eaten?

The blog baby must be giving me cravings.

Bread and butter pudding. Yummy yum yum.

Cakey Day

I woke up this morning with an uncontrollable urge to eat cake, so I had a special flapjack from the nice cafe on campus - yum. I blame Sez and all her flapjack talk!

Yesterday wasn't great either, and tonight is 'date night' so will probably involve some scoffing too.

Toast and jam
3 digestive biscuits
3 custard creams
Veg stir fry, curry sauce, chips, veg
Veg pizza with vegan cheese (absolutely minging!)
3 squares G&B dark choc
Minature bottle of Stella

Must do better.

I'm a very bad girl

Croissant with blueberry jam
toast and pate
6 biscuits
Lasagne, chips, veg and salad
Apple
Bit of leftover cabbage soup
Pasta with tomato sauce with too much parmesan on top

I don't seem to very good at the moment. And I've put on a kilo this week.

I did go to the gym and I did do 12500 steps.

And I was on my feet for most of the day at the dreaded open day. Shame I've got a 'family engagement' and can't do the one on Saturday ;-)

Naughty Tuesday

The day started well, but I made the mistake of going to the supermarket after aerobics class, late and hungry.

Toast and jam
Massive mixed salad and brown roll
Kettle chips with houmous and salsa
Quorn and veg fajitas with guacamole, salsa, jalepenos and refried beans
Glass of red wine

And after eating all that, I went straight to bed. How naughty.

Biscuit Frenzy

This is how many biscuits Bex and I have eaten today:

3 bourbons
6 custard cream
3 digestives

And for lunch we had chips.

But we have had to endure the horror of working on the reception desk at our University Open Day.

fish fishy fish

It was a bit of a naughty day.

Breakfast: toast and pate
Breakfast no 2: bacon sandwich
Lunch - chicken tikka baguette and flapjack

Well, we went out for a lovely dinner and I had:
2 kir royales
1 bottle champagne
3 oysters
half a portion of crayfish marie rose (posh prawn cocktail)
Seabass in rock salt with salad (half portion)
Lobster thermidor (half portion)
Baileys coffee

Very nice indeed.

And them M kept me up all night by either snoring or talking in his sleep. One of his many interesting topics of conversation was David Beckham's lawn mower. And how Nelly was in Elysium with her heroes. And he did whole renactments with Pancake and Russell searching for Nelly. I had to become all schoolmistressy and say in a loud voice "Can we all go to sleep now please?".

I think the lobster may have disagreed with him.

Phew, it's OK...

I just ate a huge salad to restock my body with vitamins after yesterday's festival of carbs.

Carbmungous

2 toast with marmite
Spaghetti bolognaise
Mushroom burger in a bun; potato wedges, peas

That is shocking - all carbs and not a lot else. No wonder I feel so rubbish today. Can you tell that I haven't been food shopping?

Yesterday, I also did loads of walking (about 3 miles in total), and a Legs, Bums and Tums class. But my bloody pedometer says I only did 8,300 steps - surely that can't be right?

And while I'm whinging, how come Dave has lost 10lbs in 4 weeks by not even trying, and I have been exercising like a mad person and have only managed about 4. Grrr. This kind of thing can trigger divorce, you know!

Utterly, utterly appalling

Friday - can't remember, apart from it involved pizza in the evening.
Saturday - toast, cheese sandwich x2, one with bacon in.
Buffet in evening - with pizza, sausage rolls, cheese straws etc
Approximately 8 cans of Stella
Sunday - egg, bacon, sausage, fried bread, beans, tomatoes, toast
Roast beef with yorkshire pudding
Sushi, pate on toast, cheese and ham croissant.

Absoluely dreadful. I can actually feel the weight gain today. Grrrrr.

Goals for the week - Legs, bums tums today, gym on Wednesday and Cardio Kickbox on Thursday. And do lots of walking.

It's my first wedding anniversary today and we are going out for dinner tonight at a mystery location. So I am presuming that it will involve much scoffing.

Sorry Vicks, didn't do much for blog baby. Hope you had more vegetables!

My weekend

Not too much scoff, and not too much boozing either...

Friday
Banana
Apple
Pumpkin and bean spaghetti
Celeriac and spinach mash, home-made kidney bean burger and carrots
2 squares dark choc

Saturday
Porridge with nuts, seeds and syrup
Wild rice with roasted veg
Bruschetta
Pasta with aubergine, courgette, sundried tomatoes
About a bottle of wine

Sunday
Tofu sausages, beans, toast, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, potato waffle
Banana and mango smoothie
Apple,pear and cinnamon crumble
Bit of rye bread with jam
Tofu sausages (again!), pesto mash, red cabbage

However, exercise was v limited indeed, as the weekend consisted of lots of sitting on the sofa. On Saturday, I managed a v crap 2000 steps!

This weeks aims:
Exercise four times
Do 70,000 steps in total
Have a DIY beauty session to scrub, pluck and de-fuzz

Another response to the news that there is a baby on the blog

from a colleague of mine who I'm sure finds this blog very exciting.

'Don't tell me, you've gone and eaten it'

Let's all have babies

Oh go on, it'd be lovely.

It was all going so well

Porridge with nuts, seeds, dried fruit and yog
2 M&S salads, one was a 3 bean salad and the other one was rice with aubergine. V nice
A good gym session (Cardio Kickbox was cancelled. Grrr.)
A good walk round town trying on clothes and managed 16000 steps yesterday.

And then I got home and ate sausage, egg and chips. They were venison sausages though and we did have carrots and broccoli with it so I did have some vitamins.

I hope blog baby likes sausages.

Food huge

I made sure that the blog baby got plenty of vitamins yesterday.

Porridge with figs, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and maple syrup
1 brazil nut
Jacket potato and huuuuggge salad
Celeriac, potato and spinach patties; home-made bean burgers; brocolli
2 squares of dark choc
Glass of wine

And I went to the gym and did lots of walking too.

Bex and I had a hideous time in H&M last night, where nothing fitted us and the mirrors were special cellulite-enhancing ones. Bleurgh!

I've got an idea

If anyone comments on how much I am eating. I can say 'It's OK, I'm eating for 3' cos I can eat all the things that Vicks isn't allowed to eat. Or 'The blogs having a baby, I've got to keep my strength up'.

Whaddya reckon?

I ate biscuits

.. but I'd just been a modern-day martyr by giving blood, so I deserved them!

Porridge with soy milk, figs, seeds, maple syrup
2 crunchy oaty biscuits
Pumpkin and coriander soup
2 bits bread
Pumpkin and bean spaghetti
1 toast and peanut butter (got unexplainably hungry at 10pm!)

And I did just over 10,000 steps in my first day of pedometering! That's five miles, don't ya know.

Bad news for apples like me

I read in the Guardian today that women who have waist measurements higher than 35" are at severe risk from diabetes. I think mine is around about 35" at the moment so I should be worried. Oh dear.

Porridge with nuts, seeds, yog, soya milk, blubes
Ham salad with mixed bean salad
Banana
Miso soup
Apple
Steak with mushroom sauce, bulgar wheat, broccoli and tomatoes

Lots of green tea.

And I still really, really ache from Legs Bums and Tums on Monday.

What on earth can I do to make my waist smaller?

Monday Munch

On the weekend I cut a fringe into my hair while I was pissed. It looks quite nice, thankfully, and proved quite popular on its first outing in work.

Yesterday, my fruit and veg intake was terrible! Organic veg box is coming tonight so I will be well stocked up with healthy stuff.

2 toast and marmite
Jacket potato and beans
3 dried figs
Lentil and veg casserole

Gosh, that doesn't sound like much at all, but I was very full up.

I got my pedometer yesterday, so spent the evening dancing around the kitchen to see how many steps I could do. This morning, I have already done 3727 steps. I can see how this step-counting can get addictive!

Too much cheese

Can't think of anything exciting to say, apart from I was very snacky when I got in from work.

blube and banana smoothie
Vegetable balti
2 slices wholemeal sunflower bread
emmenthal and pumpkin cracker with mushroom pate on
piece of ham
piece of bread and butter
Pasta with kale, mushrooms and feta cheese with lots of parmesan on
Rachel's organice yog
5 olives

My weekend

Well, I said I wasn't going to drink and that was a lie. But I only had a pint of shandy on Saturday and 2 glasses of wine on Sunday. But Friday night was very, very naughty. I also had pizza when I got in as well.
On Saturday, I spend the morning in bed with a hangover but didn't feel too guilty as the house was lovely and clean from Friday. The cleaner did a really good job. She's coming tomorrow as well, so I'd better tidy up a bit tonight.

Other bad things I ate: glamorgan sausages, welsh rarebit, cheese, pheasant, roast potatoes, roast celeriac, hot dog at the cinema.

But I had a nice time and did lots of gothic studying so I was good really.

A rant

I can't even begin to post what I ate on the weekend, but it wasn't good. And I had planned to be alcohol-free for most of it, and do exercise Fri, Sat and Sun. But it all went horribly wrong. What is wrong with me? I have absolutely zero self-control.

As I'm turning 30 next year, I have been reflecting a lot on what I can change about myself. I realised that I have been trying to diet/get fit since I was 13! That's 16 years of making promises I don't keep/having a 'new start' every single Monday/hating myself when it all goes wrong.

I don't know how to approach it next. I'm fairly happy with my figure at the moment, probably better than it's been for years, but I still would love to be 7lbs lighter, be more toned, and have a 98% fantastic diet (you've got to have a treat sometimes I suppose). And although some days I feel good, on others I feel grotesque.

Or should I just forget about trying to get the perfect body, and just concentrate on learning to love what I have? But really, I don't think that's going to happen. You either have confidence and a good body image or you don't. And I don't.

Isn't it difficult being a woman today, when you have to be beautiful, thin, well groomed, stylish, clever, funny and have a nice house, perfect relationship, lots of friends, a great career, etc etc, etc... And men just have to have the woman who does all of the above, and they don't worry about everything all the time. Sometimes I wish feminism never happened.

Oh well, rant over. If I'm going to be this all-new successful 30-year-old woman, I need to start by doing some bloody work!

Looking forward to the weekend

But I won't be drinking, so don't know how exciting it will be.

I made up a recipe for dinner last night and it was lush. It was a curry made out of red onion, onion squash, tofu, spinach and coconut milk. I thought it was really nice, but M didn't eat much of it and he didn't sound overly keen on having the left overs for his lunch today. Never mind. We can't all be blessed with superior taste buds. He also woke my up very insistently in the middle of the night and asked me if I was his 'mermolade'. And I think I am. Whatever that is.

Anyway, no exercise yesterday apart from walking. But food not bad either.
Porridge with nuts, seeds, yog, dried fruit, soya milk
Green tea x4
Parsnip, leek and ginger soup
1 and a half pieces wholemeal bread
Rachel's organic low fat yog
emmenthal and pumpkin cracker
Squash curry with brown rice

My new cleaner came round last night. She starts today. Her name is Denise and she sounds like she has smoked more fags than anyone else in the world ever.

Free pedometers

Walkers Crisps are giving away free pedometers, so we can all follow Bex's example of 10,000 steps a day!

Have a look!

Extreme naughtiness

Dave and I have declared Thursday nights 'date night', and last night's date involved scoffing lots of lovely curry.

Museli and soy milk
3 oat cookies
Banana
Moroccan chickpea casserole
Apple
1.5 poppadoms
Mixed veggie starter with lots of naughty things I don't know the names off
Okra bhaji, Saag Aloo, pilau rice, teeny bit of nan
1 bottle of beer

But swimming and walking must have made up for it some way?

The theme of naughtiness will continue throughout the weekend. Taking my mam to Bath for her b'day tomorrow, including lunch in the best veggie restaurant ever, having friends round Saturday night, then of course there is Munchy Sunday to contend with.

Will try to do exercise today, Sat and Sun to make up for it.

Have lovely times everyone.

Sweet Cravings

I keep craving sweet things when I get in from work. It's bad.

Museli with soy milk
2 apples
2 bananas
Spinach, chickpea and red pepper casserole
Moroccan aubergine, olive and lemon rice
Soy milk G&B hot chocolate

And that concludes my first week of being vegan. Hurrah!

At the gym, I did 40 minutes on the cross trainer, 10 minutes on the arm bike and lots of sit-ups.

Today, I've been swimming this morning, I've got Legs, Bums and Tums at lunchtime, and lots of walking too! Phew!

New Plan

I have started a new plan to be thin and beautiful. I am going to do lots of exercise because I enjoy it. And I'm going to eat whatever I want. However, I am hoping that my new intellectual interests will occupy me so much that I will have less time and inclination to eat. I like eating healthily anyway, so will continue with the organic box stuff and try and eat lots of fruit and veg.

Seems to be working so far. I went to the gym yesterday lunchtime for the first time in a month and I ache today. My tummy, back and legs are sore. Emma and I are going to Cardio Tone tomorrow afternoon. We don't know what it is though.

Porridge with nuts, seeds, dried fruit, yog, soya milk
Green tea x4
Chicken and veg risotto
Apple
Pumpkin and emmenthal cracker
Massive cheese and tomato omelette

So less food than normal.

Nibbly nibbly

I popped in to Sainsburys on my way home from work and was drawn to the deli counter, where I bought a HUGE samosa to munch on when I was making dinner. Then, Dave decided he fancied comfort food (burgers, peas and potato wedges), but I wanted something healthy (chickpea and spinach casserole), so we made two meals and ended up having a bit of each, which didn't go together at all!

Museli and soy milk
Lentil chilli and brown rice
2 apples
2 bananas
Three oat biscuits (oops!)
Vegetable samosa (oops!)
Chickpea and spinach casserole
Peas
Potato wedges
Glass of red wine

Plus swimming and walking.

Today, this nibbly snacking nonsense stops!

No blood and bats I'm afraid

But I did do a very worthy thing. M had bought a 2 pack of chocolate eclairs, ate one on Monday before I noticed he had them, offered me the other one last night and I said NO! Amazing.

Instead I ate:
Strawb and banana smoothie
Hot Cross bun with butter
Green tea x4
Apple
1/2 pain rustique (all gone now so gorging over)
Chicken salad
Cup of tomato soup (left overs)
Piece bread and mushroom pate
Chicken and veg risotto

I also did a step class yesterday. The first exercise I've done in a month. Ouch. I seem to be very unfit and got very red and sweaty during the warm up. I also had to look at myself in the gym mirrors and I am so NORMOUS. My tummies now number about 8, instead of the usual 5. Ooh, I am grim. But this will change! I am not drinking until October 16th, when it is Father in Laws 75th birthday. When it might be necessary to drink.

Hmmm

Started off well...

*Banana and kiwi smoothie
*Dried apricots
*Orange
*Pear

All got a little bit scoffy at lunchtime...

*2 brown rolls with houmous and avocado

Went downhill mid-afternoon...

*Jam doughnut

Don't know what happened when I got home from work...

*Veggie burger
*Corn on the cob
*Bubble and squeak
*Bit of sprouted grain bread
*Loads of Green and Blacks Maya Gold

Back to normal I hope

I went to bed at 8.30 last night, but feel a lot better today. I have my first Gothic Studies class this evening and think that having evening classes 2 nights a week is going to play havoc with my eating habits. I will be starving before I even get there.

Yesterday wasn't bad, apart from too much bread.

Porridge with nuts, dried fruit, seeds, yog and soya milk
Fish, chips, peas, carrots
2 and a half pain rustiques with butter (God they were nice. Lots of olives in them)
Home made tomato soup with our tons of home grown tomatoes
8 million cups of green tea and coffee.

I had to drink lots of hot drinks so I could stay awake reading my course book.

Bleaurgh

I have just had breaded haddock, chips and peas for lunch and it was a bit minging to say the least.

I also seem to be unable to remember much about what I ate at the weekend. Although fish pie, roast chicken and some kind of soup were all involved. I drank 2 cans of Stella yesterday, and an awful, awful lot on Friday. M and I didn't wake up until 2.30pm on Saturday. Although I think that was more down to jet lag than the booze.

I must find my food book that I write everything down in and start doing it again. It must be in the same place as my missing cheque book.

All the bad stuff I ate on the weekend...

2 potato waffles
Flapjack
Half a bag of crisps
2 pints bitter
Half bottle of wine
8 squares Green and Blacks Maya Gold

Ooo, when I write it down it doesn't seem too bad. Apart from that, I ate healthily but I ate LOADS!

Not funny anymore

I can't think of anything entertaining to write in my posts, so here's what I ate yesterday.

Porridge with figs, seeds and syrup
Orange
Banana
Jacket potato and huge mixed salad
Dried apricots
Crisps (Gah! Becoming a problem)
Sweet potato curry with brown rice
Wine
Coffee

Apart from crips, not too bad at all. Oh, and the wine, but it was only two glasses and I probably won't drink this weekend.

Still in holiday scoff mode

4 pieces of toast and butter
4 cups of green tea
Vegetable tempura, rice, peas, sweet and sour sauce
Flapjack
Pumpkin and emmenthal cracker with mushroom pate
Miso soup
Spring rolls, prawn toasts, chicken chow mein, beef in black bean sauce, egg fried rice etc etc
1 can of Stella

Eek. Must remember that I am not walking 10 miles a day and stop eating so much.

Do you want to hear about the orange trousers? Of course you do.

M and I were wandering round an antique market in San Francisco. I was wearing (as I had been doing so for the past 2 days) a pair of bright, bright orange trousers. Not only are they flourescent, but they are rather large. They are very wide and baggy. Their diameter at the bottom of the leg is roughly 2 foot.

Out of the blue, a very gay man in his early 40s comes up to me, grabs me by the arm and says (very loudly) "It's the lady with the orange pants! We SO love your pants, we've been watching your pants for the past two days."

I said "Thank you very much" and wanted to disappear into the ground. I wonder if wearing large orange pants in San Francisco means something. Is it a code I wonder?