Maintaining Balance

I've been a gold member now for nearly 3 months and it has not been easy. The first few weeks were great and then I started to go up a little, still within my 5lbs of goal, but hovering dangerously close to the top end. I kept making excuses for it.... I had things on, I needed to be able to relax a bit, work was stressful. I recognised the pattern and so a few weeks ago I decided to change it before things got out of control. I still couldn't get back down I was planning and tracking

Chilli Con Carne

I have recently discovered the lowest propoint mince out there - only 13pp for 500g, almost half of usual lean mince. Its the tesco extra lean and its less than 5% fat (you have to look close for the small print) and not only that, but its on special at the moment making it even cheaper than the lowest quality mince out there. I would suggest stocking up for the freezer.  I have also realised I can now make my mozzarella stuffed meatballs for even lower propoints!

Not again...

I knew this week was going to be a tough one, I saw the bumps in the road. I thought that I could plan my way around them and stay on a flat and steady track all week. I made the mistake of expecting too much of myself and then when I hit that bump, I hit it hard and flew into the air - and it took me a long time to come back to earth. 

My bump in the road was a wedding on saturday and I had a plan of not eating everything in sight, and counting the drinks I had, and getting back on track with a breakfast of fruit and yoghurt the next morning...well that plan spectacularly failed.

These Things Happen....

I was really looking forward to my weigh in this week. I had put it all out there this week and tracked 100% honestly for the first time in months. I was fully expecting to be down when I got up on the scales but tonight was not my night and there it was, I was up half a pound. I was well and truly shocked - the most surprised I have been by a gain on my whole journey.

Monday's Food Diary

The last day of the week is finally here and I am feeling good about my week. Although my day started with a little bit of a porridge disaster - it exploded all over the microwave in work. It didn't look too pretty so there is no photo of it today. I did try a new yoghurt flavour which is now rivalling coconut as my favourite - the honey peach. It goes perfectly with the porridge.

I was out of the office for the morning so didn't have my mid morning banana and I was pretty hungry by the time lunch came around. Tuna salad with a bread roll and a bag of snax. I was more than stuffed afterwards and ready to face another busy afternoon!

Sunday's Food Diary

Today started out off plan - I had a terrible nights sleep last night and I did not have the energy to go for my planned run this morning despite being out of bed pretty early. So I was determined to be good food wise, and that did start well with some delicious fruit.

Saturday Food Diary

Today has been a lazier day than I anticipated. I think the week has caught up on me and I needed to rest. I had planned an exercise rest day but I was meant to get a lot of cleaning done, but I kept putting it off until it was too late. I usually hate when I waste a whole day but I did get grocery shopping and my weeks plan made.

I have been loving this blogging every day. It takes some commitment and time but it's been great. Today was a real challenge as weekends are usually where tracking slips a little. And today started that way, I woke up early despite planning on having a sleep in and got up and while hardly thinking I had 3pp worth of chocolate and a cup of tea with skimmed milk. Healthiest breakfast ever!! I didn't take a photo of this but I did remember to track it.

Friday's Food Diary

I most definitely had that friday feeling today. I find the older I get the more often I find myself wishing days away - probably not a good thing. Anyway Friday's usually start with kettlebells before work  but I got a text last night to say it was cancelled, so Friday started like any other day....porridge, muller light greek yogurt and a cup of tea. And then of course a mid morning banana. I know I should mix my breakfasts up a bit - but this really works for me! 

Thursday's Food Diary

Today was another stressful day. I got up and went to work early and when I got there our email was down which meant I couldn't do the work I went in early for. I was playing catch up for most of the day and really wanted to finish close enough to on time so I could make my boxercise. I ran out the door without grabbing my lunch which set me back a bit but I got through the day just about.

The morning started a little earlier with the usual porridge and yoghurt combo with a cup of tea. It really cheered me up which in turn depressed me a little that I got excited about something so simple.

Wednesdays Food Diary

Another day on track and feeling great. It was a very long day and I was glad I was prepared and had good foods around me as today would have been a typical day for me to go off plan should I have needed to hit the shop for anything. Stress is definitely a trigger for me so the working week needs to be planned out.

Tuesday's Food Diary

This is day one of my online week of tracking! I have tried to take pictures of all my meals and snacks to keep it a bit interesting.

My day started with my usual weekday breakfast - 30g porridge oats made up with water and then a muller light coconut greek yoghurt stirred through. I try to alternate the flavour of yoghurt I use but coconut is def my favourite and just what I needed to cheer me up in work this morning.

Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail!!

This is one of my favourite weight watcher mottos. There is some serious truth in it and if I could only give one tip to those starting out, planning is it. There has been a lot of talk about planning recently, and I think summer is very easy to find yourself off track. With irish weather the way it is you never know when a weekend of great weather is going to pop up. And with good weather out comes temptation, BBQ's, beers in the sun, refreshing cocktails, picnics, ice cream. It's undoubtedly difficult to plan for these when you don't know they are coming. So you need to get smart and plan for the unexpected.