2016 - A Retrospective!

This year has gone by in the blink of eye! I don't think I'm the only one, but I feel like the older I get the faster the years go by. This year has been a bit of a manic year for me, in both a positive and negative way. I finally got the promotion in work I had been hoping for, and for the first time in years I absolutely love the work I do. It has added a huge amount of stress and tough deadlines, but it is nice doing something I actually enjoy and I can see a real career path for me going forward. I  also spent the year doing everything I can to save for a house and I am hoping that 2017 is the year I become a home owner. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: December Week 3

I love this time of year but it is seriously tiring. I feel like I am exhausted all the time. Trying to get all my work done before the end of the year, get christmas shopping done, keep my running up and get the socialising done. My apartment constantly looks like a bomb hits it, and any time I manage to find the sofa I find myself falling asleep. I really cannot wait until Wednesday when I finish work for a whole week and a half! 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: December Week 2

Christmas is in full swing and it gets harder and harder to resist temptation as the weeks go by. I haven't had a very good run on the scales the past 9 weeks. I stayed the same at the last weigh in on Thursday which brings my total weight loss to a whopping 3lbs.  I do have 2 more weigh ins before Christmas to add a pound or so to that so I am doing my very best to resist whatever temptation. The thing is, while I know I probably could have been better, at this time of year things could be a whole lot worse. If I allowed myself to get so disappointed and so disheartened that I gave up, then I'm pretty sure in the same amount of time I could have gained over a stone. So I will stick with it and hopefully lose another pound or two in the next 2 weeks. And once Christmas is over, I will get back to it again ASAP!

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: December Week 1

Not many weigh in's left before Christmas, so I was not one bit impressed when I was up 1lb on the scales on Thursday. I have realised over the past year that my body basically hates me and both the week before and of my TOTM the scales do not cooperate. I would have hoped to at least STS. This week, despite staying on plan, I feel so bloated and heavy that I am sure I will be up again. If that is the case this week, I will take it on the chin and move on. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: November Week 5

November is coming to a close and the busy weekend are starting to take a bit of a toll on me I have to say. I'd love to have the time to get meal prepping on a Sunday but I have conceded that for the rest of the year I am going to have to rely on what I can get in Dunnes on a Monday to make do for work lunches for the week. Weigh in last week went much better than I expected and I only gained 1lb. I have put that firmly behind me and started my new week fresh as soon as I got home from weigh in. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: November Week 4

After the last few weeks of up and down, this week the scales finally caught up and I lost 3lbs. The only reason that happened was because I trusted the program and stuck with it. It would have been so easy to get frustrated by the lack of movement on the scales and give up. No matter what the scales are saying, if you know you are sticking to the plan then don't give up. The scales will always catch up!

Christmas Plan of Action!

I love Christmas, well most aspects of Christmas. We all know it can be a serious struggle to get through the holiday season without gaining back a lot of the weight we work so hard to lose throughout the rest of the year. I find, as with anything the key to getting through the season is planning! While it may seem like Christmas has snuck up on us once again, we do still have plenty of time to make a plan of action. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: Nov Week 3

This week to my disappointment, I managed to gain half a pound and I did not understand how or why. Sure I had a big day/night out the previous Saturday, but I had 100% stuck to my 30 smartpoints every other day, and with the Mo Run and the upcoming Run In The Dark, I have upped my running quite drastically so I had clocked up loads of activity points. Since heading back to class I have lost a grand total of 2lbs, in 5 weeks and I am still 5lbs above goal. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: November Week 2

Last week with the bank holiday was a bit of a struggle, but I felt like I stayed on track. I used up all my weeklies and a few fit points but I tracked everything so I felt like I deserved a loss. Despite that all week I knew I was retaining water, I just felt heavy. So it was no surprise when my leader told me that there was no movement on the scales this week. I was disappointed but not at all surprised and sure at least it wasn't a gain. So I am still 4.5 lbs above goal and the weeks are disappearing, there are only 7 more weigh ins until Christmas. That is plenty of time to lose the 4.5lbs but I would like to lose a few more to give me a little bit of a buffer to gain a couple of Christmas if that's what happens.

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: Halloween Edition

I love Halloween, always been one of my favourite times of year. Unfortunately for the third year in a row I am costume free! So I have decide to spruce up my usual Monday Meal Plan to try and make up for it a bit. I had a good week last week and I ended up losing the half pound I gained the week before. Usually after such a good week I'd be hoping for a little more, but for one I am always happy with a loss, and secondly I really think I got away lightly only gaining half a pound the previous week so it's all good. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: October Week 3

Despite my best efforts, last week ended up being a disaster! I had a great weekend, and was ready to do my very best on my business trip - but I ended up having no options open to me. I left my house at 4:30am to head to the airport, and so my morning was fuelled mostly on coffee as it was just too early to eat. So by the time lunch time came around I was starving and dug into the sandwich platters that were on offer. I had no idea when we would make it back to the hotel for dinner and there wasn't anything else to eat there so I went with what was available. By the time we got back to the hotel that night I was like a zombie and all I could do was head to my room and order room service - and of course the menu was limited to sandwiches, burger or fish and chips. The next day I started out promising - smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, but once again gave into the sandwich platters and by the time I got home that night I just ate whatever was in front of me. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: October Week 3

Last week I got back to weight watchers in a big way. I filled out my journal every day and tracked every mouthful. I forgot about adding up in my head and tracking my calories/macros and went back to what I know works for me. Still its always much more nerve wracking getting weighed by somebody else, so I was pretty scared getting up on the scales. There was no need as I was down 2.5lbs which is a big loss considering I had only been 7lbs above goal. Out leader handed us all little Christmas Trees and told us there was 10 weigh ins until Xmas (including that one) and she wanted us to challenge ourselves to what we wanted to lose in those 10 weeks. Each week we would get little jewels to decorate our tree depending on what we lost! I love a good countdown challenge and I have set myself a goal of 7lbs so that I can be back at goal by Xmas. One great thing our leader did say was to be honest with what you think you can achieve. Think ahead to all the social events and things that will come up between now and Christmas and set yourself a realistic goal. So for me 7lbs is realistic, not a loss every week, but enough to have me happy and comfortable again. 

Asian Salmon Salad

I know its probably the end of salad season, and therefore not the best time to be posting this recipe. But to be honest, the weather has been all over the place and you never know, we may get one last blast of warmish weather before winter really takes root. I have been sitting on this recipe for a good few weeks and if I don't share it know, it may well get lost in my recipe notebook never to be made again.

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: October Week 2

I have a confession, I have been kidding not only myself, but all my readers for the past few months. I told myself I stopped going to my Tuesday weigh in because work was too busy and I couldn't spare the time, when that was not the truth. I told myself as long as I kept up the Saturday weigh in's and the results there were ok I would be fine. The reality was that I stopped going to my Tuesday weigh in's because it was too close to the weekend, and I really couldn't get away with going mental at the weekend and not have it show on a Tuesday. My saturday weigh in was ok because it was before the carnage usually started. I also was weighing myself before any real food and after my run, with no clothes on - so really it was the lowest weight I could possibly be and not realistically a reflection of where I was at when I reached goal 3.5 years ago. I'd also given up tracking SmartPoints properly, I was tracking calories and working out the SmartPoints in my meals but I have definitely been eating far too many treats as they were within my calorie allowance for the day. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: October Week 1

Last week I had a great week. Apart from the celebrations at my parents house (which my weeklies should have covered) I was 100% on plan. So I thought I would definitely be down on the scales on Saturday. I have to say I was pretty surprised to be up 1lb, but I refuse to let it get me down. I had my cheat pizza on Sat night and was all ready to be back on plan on Sunday, but with the weather being so gorgeous in Dublin I ended up heading out for an impromptu afternoon in the sun. Drinks, tapas and dessert followed. So not a good start to the week. Today's hangover hasn't helped matters but I have managed to somehow stay on track for the day. 

Cherry Tomato Risotto

My favourite dinner growing up was tomato risotto. It was so simple and one of the first dishes I learned how to cook. It was just a basic risotto with a tin of chopped tomatoes mixed in before the stock. So simple and so tasty, I do still love it to this day. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: September Week 4

Last week of September is upon, I know its early but I'm going to say it; Christmas is going to be here before we know it! I had a great week last week. I felt fully in control for the most part, and even when I got a pretty bad bout of anxiety at the end of the week I managed to stick to the plan and not eat all around me. So I was delighted to lose 2lbs of my recent gains this week. Only 2.5lbs more to go to get back to goal. I have my week planned out this week and was hoping to have a similar result, however last night we celebrated my parents 37th wedding anniversary (happy anniversary Mum & Dad) and so we had a bit of an indulgent dinner and dessert. I didn't even attempt to SmartPoint it all so I have decided to just write off my weeklies and stick to the 30 dailies for the rest of the week. 

Caprese Chicken

I made this a few weeks ago when I was really in the mood for a comforting and indulgent meal. Low fat mozzarella is one of my favourite things to add to italian food as the lovely stringy texture makes it feel like it is really naughty full fat cheese but it is so low in smart points. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: September Week 3

Despite my best intentions last week, I managed to gain 1lb - which puts me at 3 consecutive gains in a row and up to 4.5lbs above goal! I am not sure what I expected last week to be honest. I was out for lunch 2 out of 5 days, I spent all evening on Thursday baking treats for work on friday and then went to my friends on Friday where we had dinner, drinks and dessert and it was my TOTM to top it all off. Last week after my gain I had said it wasn't noticeable in the mirror, well this week it is. I feel AWFUL. All I am seeing is every lump and bump and it is not good at all. I have to get on top of this quickly. 

Lunch Ideas!

One of the best things I started doing this year was regularly preparing my lunches on a Sunday for the week ahead, packing them up and bringing them all into work on the Monday so they are there for the week. I was never really one for heading to the shop for a sambo daily (not sure how people afford this), but I used to do a bit of a shop on my lunch break on a Monday and have enough soups/sandwich fillings to try and keep me going for the week. The is still my backup if for any reason my meal prep does not happen, but I find I enjoy my lunches a lot more when they are homemade.

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: September Week 2

I have not been a very good blogger, or a very good weight watchers since before Electric Picnic. I had a week off work last week and when I got back from Electric Picnic had great plans to catch up on my blogging, eat 100% on plan and get lots of running done. None of that happened. I ended up getting sick for most of my week off. Unsurprisingly I gained weight this week, 1 pound. Adding to the pound and a half I gained the week before I am getting closer and closer to being outside my 5lb range of goal. The summer can be a bit of a nightmare for weightloss. There is so much on that it can be hard to keep focus, and for most of the summer while I wasn't perfect I managed to pick myself up and be good on week days at least.

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: August Week 5

August is pretty much over and with it the summer is gone!! It's really going to be Christmas before we know it! I had a fantastic week last week. Was on track all week right up until my night out on Friday. Things went a bit mental on Friday night, and after a 3 course meal and plenty of drinks, I picked up a 3 in 1 and chicken balls on the way home. So no surprise when the loss I had been expecting on the scales did not show. I did manage to stay the same which I am absolutely thrilled with. What I am not thrilled with is my eating the rest of the weekend, I just lost the plot completely. I was feeding my hangover at first, but then I just didn't seem to care or think about what I was doing. On top of everything I woke up yesterday morning with a sore back and couldn't even get out running.

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: August Week 4

I feel like I spent a few weeks in July where I spiraled a little out of control and wasn't really sure what was going on. I was very stressed in work and as usual I let it affect my eating. I didn't do too much damage on the scales but I was starting to feel a bit rubbish. Bloated, heavy, more tired and my skin was not doing too well. It's taken me a few weeks but I am feeling in control again and starting to see the improvements already. The scales this week saw a loss of 1.5lbs which brings me back to 1.5lbs above my goal weight. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In August Week 3

I'm so sorry I have been really bad at blogging. I do make sure I have time for my meal plan post every week, but apart from that the days of the week just seem to get away from me. I have a few posts planned, its just about finding time. I have been working on a big project in work with a tight deadline and its just coming to the end now which hopefully will mean I won't be quite as exhausted in the evenings. The madness at work has also led to a little bit of relaxtion of my diet. I haven't been going mad, but I know I have been having too many snacks during the day and no tracking every single thing I am eating. I did manage to lose 1lb this week, but I'm feeling very bloated and lethargic and I know if I don't tighten up on it then I am on a slippery slope. I'm starting my new training plan tomorrow and I am really looking forward to it. 

Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon

Last year after my disastrous experience at the Clontarf Half Marathon, I decided I was done with that distance and I would stick to the 5k and 10k races. For the whole rest of the year my running was sporadic and I let my performance in one race ruin 6 months worth of running. So this year as my training for the Mini Marathon ramped up, I got the bug back and decided I was going to try the half again. So a couple of months ago I signed up for the Rock'n'Roll Half. The one thing I decided at the time was that I was not going to let whatever happened on the day get me down.

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In August Week 2

I'm going to keep this post short and sweet as I am exhausted! I should have taken today off work to recover from yesterdays half marathon. I will be back tomorrow with a full post on my day but for now its my usual weigh in and meal plan.

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In August Week 1

Little late with this weeks post, I really needed a restful day yesterday so I decided to skip my post in favour of chilling out and doing nearly nothing! I hadn't weighed myself officially in 2 weeks but a sneak peek after the wedding last weekend showed I was up a good few pounds. So when it came to this weeks weigh in I was hoping I would have seen a STS as the weigh in 2 weeks previously. Delighted to see I was actually down 1.5lbs over the 2 weeks. I was surprised but I knew I deserved it. I had been organised and on plan 100%, basically worked my ass off to see that result.

Weekly Meal Plan July Week 4

I've had a tough couple of weeks when it comes to staying on plan. Between my mothers 60th birthday, my boyfriends birthday and of course my own birthday I feel there has been an abundance of treats in a short space of time. I lost a bit of motivation and structure along the way and the good summer weather hasn't helped things. Works also been a bit up and down with stress levels rising and falling quite a bit. The scales were starting to go up a bit and I was starting to feel it a bit in how I looked. Last Monday was my birthday so I took the day off blogging, but I managed to lose a pound at last weeks weigh in bringing me to 1.5lbs above goal which isn't too bad. But of course I then went on a bender of birthday treats followed by 3 days of being good and then a wedding. I was away on Saturday so had no official weigh in, but a sneak peak of the scales yesterday shows a substantial gain. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: July Week 2

I had a bad week last week, I just seemed to lose all motivation and had absolutely no inclination to track what I was eating. My meals were mostly on plan, but I wasn't weighing or measuring anything. I was picking and snacking too much and I just wasn't paying any attention. By Friday evening I just didn't care and when my boyfriend suggested a takeaway I did not argue. So it was no surprise that I gained a bit of weight this week, I was up 2.5lbs. I have to say I felt pretty rubbish, the usual bloating and sluggishness but it just wasn't enough to stop me. It feels like a bit of a waste to be honest. I know I deserved the gain but I would rather have a gain like that after a big treat/blowout that I really enjoyed rather than just being silly and lazy about my plan. 

Weekly Weigh In & Meal Plan: July Week 1

Last week was a tough week for me. Not only was it my boyfriends birthday but it was also my mum's 60th, and coupled with another busy week at work I was feeling nervous about my ability to stay on plan. By Friday I had done a pretty good job, apart from a little slip up lunch on Friday after mine got stolen from the fridge in work. However I was still not expecting much from the scales. The wedding was a major blowout and so I was really just hoping for a STS this week. Something must have been working for me though and I am down another half a pound this week! So once again I am back at goal. I am feeling much better where I am now, since March I have pretty much stayed within 2lbs of goal. Its such a change from the latter part of last year where I was pretty much hovering between 11 and 11.5 stone.

Roast Cod with Summer Spaghetti

This is another recipe I've been thinking about for a while. Pasta with some sort of tinned tomato/passata based sauce has always been my go to pasta dish - but I am trying to branch out without increasing the propoints too much. This one went through a few different versions in my head before I finally settled and experimented. All the thought paid off and the result was a really tasty, filling but light mid week dinner.

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In June Week 5

After a couple of really bad weeks I finally got my shit together last week and had a great week on plan. I was feeling pretty confident by the time Saturday morning came around and it was time for my weigh in. All the organisation paid off and I was down 1.5lbs which once again brings me to half a pound above goal. As soon as weigh in was done, it started another weekend off plan as I was off to a wedding!

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In June Week 4

I can't believe the weeks are flying by so fast, the end of June is pretty much upon us. I had to do a double take when putting the title on this - week 4 already! I think time is going much quicker at the moment as things are so manic. I really don't feel like I have appreciated June at all. I have let the stress take over.

Meal Plan & Weigh In: June Week 3

I missed last weeks meal plan due to the long weekend and the mini marathon. I did a rough one in my head but I didn't write it down and I kind of just winged the week and I really noticed the lack of organisation! I had leftovers from a BBQ for my lunches and the portion sizes were all wrong. I found myself so hungry in work in the afternoons. By the time the evenings came around I was finding it so hard to stay on track. By the time Friday came around I was over it and was off plan all day. With the previous Bank Holiday weekend being a total blow out, in the end I only had 3 on track days and I knew a gain was inevitable on Saturday morning. So there was no surprise that I was up 1.5lbs, if anything I was surprised it wasn't more.

Mini Marathon 2016!

I've been really bad at blogging lately and this post should have gone up earlier on this week! I have a few posts in the pipeline so I will catch up soon! 

Last monday I completed my 9th Womens Mini Marathon with 35,000 other women. I have so much love for this event! There is always such an amazing atmosphere on the day and along the course and this year it was no different. My one issue has always been the organisation of the starting pens. No matter what you always have people who insist on starting in the joggers, fast joggers (and even runners) section who have absolutely no intention of even attempting to jog. You also have people who decide they are going to start early to get a bit of a head start. All of these people just get in the way of the people attempting to run it and I think there needs to be something done to combat this. Not only is it frustrating for those trying to get a good time, its also dangerous for the walkers having people push past them to get on their way. If people could just start in the sections relevant to them and be conscious of people running it would make things a whole lot better. 

Weekly Meal Plan June Week 1

I was away this weekend which meant I didn't get a chance to weigh in on Saturday. The weekend was a planned weekend off tracking and counting while I visited my oldest friend. We drank a lot of prosecco and not a smartpoint was even considered while I was over there and it was brilliant. I really believe that we all need days like that to keep us sane and motivated. I woke up this morning ready to get back to my regular eating patterns and no matter what damage I have done over the weekend I will manage to get it back down in a week or so. I haven't checked the scales, and will be doing my best to avoid them until Saturday.

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: May Week 4

Its been a tough month, work has been pretty crazy for me and I just feel like the time has disappeared. Looking back over the month I haven't lost any weight but I have managed to remain below goal which is enough for me. This week I lost the pound I gained last week so I am back to half a pound under goal. I think I'm happy maintaining for the next few months. As nice as it would be to get down to my original goal weight, I am not putting any pressure on myself for it. 

My focus is on keeping my running up. I have had a couple of not great weeks between injury and ramping up but I know I can pull it back. I have 2 weeks until the VHI Womens Mini Marathon and 10 weeks until the Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon so I need to focus on sticking to my training plan. There is going to be lots of social events over the coming months so I just need to figure out balance. 

This weeks meal plan is an exciting one. I am off to Leeds to see my oldest friend on Friday so I have to be sure to stay on track right up until I get on the plane as I am sure I will be having a few treats while there. I have made her promise to push me out the door running both days, as I can't afford 2 days off training so I am not too worried. I am trying out 2 recipes from the new Hairy Dieters cookbook (I have smartpointed the whole book ->here<-) and you can find the recipe for my Crab Chilli Pasta ->here<-. 

Hope everyone has a good week! 

Hairy Dieters Fast Food! ***Flex Updates***

I was so excited when I found out that there was a new Hairy Dieters cookbook coming out, and one focused on quick meals. I have started using Jamie Oliver's 15 minute meals more regularly and I love something that can come together quickly in the evening! I got this after work on thursday evening but only got a chance to really sit down and go through it properly yesterday when I started to work out the smartpoints for it. There are some great recipes in there and I already have 2 marked to try this week which I am looking forward too! It looks like a fab book. I have worked out both the Smartpoints for the count and the no count plans but I have not worked out propoints. Apologies to anyone still following this plan, and if I get a lot of requests I may go back and work this out, but for the moment I just don't have the time. 

Chicken & Bacon Pasta Bake

Usually when I make a pasta bake, the basic recipe is always the same; a simple tomato sauce mixed with the pasta, some protein and whatever veg I'm using and then top it with cheese and you're done. And when I added this pasta bake to my meal plan I figured that is what I would do here too. Then I started thinking about how I could make it a little more special and a little more indulgent. The fact we were going to be having it for leftovers tonight so I wanted to make sure it was something we would be looking forward to a second time. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: May Week 3

I had my usual weigh in on Saturday morning but decided not to post my results on social media like I usually do. I told myself it was because I was heading out and didn't have time and because I knew I would  be posting it here that it wasn't really important. In reality I didn't really want to put it out there as it wasn't the result I wanted. I gained a pound. I couldn't really pinpoint the exact reason why I had gained, but I think in general I had just been a little bit more relaxed about my tracking and counting. Work has been pretty stressful and I think my focus was elsewhere. 

Taco Turkey Salad

Now the summer seems to finally be here, its time to look at some lighter options for dinner time! Salads are great but it can be easy for them to get a bit boring and repetitive so its nice to be able to mix it up a bit. This recipe makes use of turkey mince again and is really quick and easy to throw together mid week. 

Parmesan & Basil Turkey Burgers!

I am really loving turkey mince at the moment. It is so low in smartpoints and packed full of protein its the ideal ingredient for an easy, low smartpoint and tasty dinner! Because the flavour of the turkey itself is quite subtle, its a great carrier for all sorts of different flavours and great to experiment with. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: May Week 2

I felt myself getting a little bit comfortable in what I was doing this week. I seemed to be a bit more casual about using a few weeklies and fit points than I usually am this week, particularly as we had a bank holiday Monday to contend with at the start of the week. I also was starting my new position in work on Tuesday so there was a little bit of celebrating/anxious eating in preparation for that. I made it through the week and got to Friday with just 14 weeklies in the bank and we had a work night out planned. I had thought I would be good right up til we got to the pub, I would have 3 or 4 gin and slimline tonics and not eat too much of the food. Not sure what happened, but there was pizza in work at 5pm, and I had 3 slices and then proceeded to eat LOADS of the food in the pub. Then I got home and had another drink, some crackers and crab pate and some chocolate.

Mini Apple Pie's

It's been a while since I posted a sweet treat. I tend to stay away from making sweet treats unless I have people to feed, otherwise I am stuck in the position of having lots of treats with a short expiration date and a big appetite - not the best combination. So a recipe that can make just enough for you to eat then and there is a winner.

Meal Plan & Weekly Weigh In: May Week 1

Having a very lazy bank holiday monday! Going to try and recharge my batteries in preparation for the week ahead. It may only be a 4 day week, but its a big week for me. I got a bit of a promotion in work and I am starting my new position as Business Analyst tomorrow. So I want to be as prepared as possible, and as well as sitting around relaxing I am doing lots of research into the role.

Butternut Squash & Feta Filo Pie

Continuing my quest for interesting vegetarian dinners once a week, I recalled a pie I had made for my vegetarian friend a couple of years ago when I had a small dinner party. The rest of us were having the Hairy Dieters Chicken Tangle Pie so I needed something I could use the filo pastry. While I couldn't remember the exact recipe I used, I did remember the star ingredients and so I started there. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: April Week 4

This weeks weigh in was not the best. I was up 3lbs when I stood on the scales and I have to say I was a little shocked. I wasn't expecting a loss but I know I did nothing to deserve a 3lb gain. I didn't drink enough water, and it really was probably one of the most important weeks to get enough water in. I'm usually up or STS this week and next week of the month, but 3lbs seemed to be a little unfair. I seem to be saying this at least once a month going over my posts from the past few months, but I'm totally ok with it. I know it'll be down again in a week or 2 and I can't dwell on it.

Spinach & Quark Cannelloni

Back when I was a teenager I was a vegetarian for 4 years. It started out as 'ethical' reasons, not wanting to eat lamb after seeing it in the fields earlier on that week, but I think the main reason it stuck so long is because I am stubborn. I didn't want to give up. I wasn't a good vegetarian, my diet largely consisted of pasta with tomato sauce and lots of convenience foods.

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In - April Week 3

Another week down and another weigh in done. I was really nervous after last Sundays blow out, but I had stuck to the plan for the rest of the week so I was a little hopeful. I didn't need to be nervous because I was down another half pound which means I am at my lightest weight since I was 23. I'm not switching to maintenance just yet, I want to give a go and see if I can finally get to my original goal of 10 stone. Back when I got to goal originally, I decided my body felt more comfortable at 10 stone 7lbs, and it wouldn't be practical even if I got to 10 stone to be able to maintain there. So while I still consider my goal weight 10 stone 7lbs, I'd really like to try and get to 10 stone and see if I can hover a little lower than my actual goal to make maintenance a little easier. I'm in no rush to get there, just going to keep plugging away at it. The next 2 weeks won't see much if any loss, but will be sticking to my meal plans and working up those fit points either way.