Christmas Challenge: Weigh In 2

Another great week under my belt, my tracking app must not know whats hit it. I have 14 fully tracked days under my belt which if I am being honest is probably the most consecutive full tracked days in about 2 years. It is most definitely paying off, more than I imagined. I was shocked to find I was down a further 3 lbs this week. I had not expected 2 huge losses in a row. I am only 2 weeks into my challenge and already over halfway to my goal. Now I am sure I gained a lot of the extra weight in a very short period of time which may explain why it has come off so quickly and I really do not expect it to continue.

10 Days to Galway Bay!

I actually cannot believe how fast the past few months have gone by and my first half marathon is almost upon me! I am feeling all sorts of things but mostly a hefty dose of nerves mixed with excitement. I feel prepared, my training has not been as rigorous as it could have been but I have done all I can. I've officially started my taper which means I only have a few shorter runs to go. I have been keeping up my gym routine twice a week but next week I am going to give it a miss. My runs have suffered a couple of times due to my aching muscles and I just don't want to take the risk. 

Christmas Challenge: Weigh In 1

The results are in and after my first week 100% on track in a long time I am down 4.5lbs. Which to be honest I was not expecting and could not be happier about. I have not lost this much weight in a single week in a long time and it just goes to show how out of control I had gotten over the past few months. It wasn't a particularly difficult week, I ate out once and got a takeaway, I ate chocolate every day and didn't feel deprived at any point. Something that I realised that over the past year and a half that I had forgotten how great the program actually is. I have slowly slipped away and was following my own program which was working until this summer hit, but then I lost focus. It may be a bit early to say but I am really hoping I have found my focus now and can get myself back to a healthier me. 

I have had some great food this week, when I ate out I made the healthy choice and really enjoyed it. I chose to go back to propoints, I find that I bend the rules a little too much on the filling and healthy program. It works so well for so many people, but I like the feeling of being really full and propoints lets me do that. I can still have loads to eat on 26pp per day and while a lot of the foods I eat actually do count as filling and healthy foods I really like the flexability of being able to have some smoked salmon, or a bit of cheese and still have my weeklies in tact for those moments when only chocolate will do. 

Last week when I realised how much weight I put on, I was a little down about it and I said it to my boyfriend. He looked at me and said "You've done this before and you can do it again", at the time it wasn't what I wanted to hear. I wanted him to tell me the scales must be wrong and I hadn't gained any weight and was still gorgeous, so his words unintentionally brought me down again. But the more I have thought about these words, I realise it was just what I needed to hear. He is right and lying to me wouldn't have helped. I know I can do this, and throughout my life this may happen again and I need to remember that I can do this. It is not a failure to fall off the wagon, but it is a failure not to jump back on when you realise.

So how did everyone get on in Week 1? Are you on track to your Christmas goal? If not, just remember you can do this. Anything is possible when you put your mind to it! 

Confessions of a Gold Member

Being a gold member is not easy. There is no magic button you press when you get your gold card that means all your food and weight loss issues have disappeared forever. The work doesn't end with that lovely little card in your wallet. It can be really hard to actually accept that you will have to be careful around food for the rest of your life, that you will never get to just eat what you want when you want like you perceive all those 'normal' people you know do. That thought has crept into my mind so many times over the past year and a half, usually a fairly fleeting moment while I am stuffing chocolate or cake into my face. The thought passes usually fairly quickly, and doesn't come back for at least a few weeks.