Meal Plan & Weigh In: February Week 1

I have been very lax about posting so far in 2019, and I will change as soon as possible. I had every intention of posting my meal plan last week, but an unfortunate 2 day hangover meant that both Sunday & Monday (by the time i got through work) were a complete write off! I'm not sure how, but depsite eating my way through my hangover on Sunday I still managed to lose 2lbs at weigh in on Thursday. That bring my January weight loss total to 5.5lbs, only 2.5lbs to get rid of the rest of my Christmas gain. 

I've been feeling quite positive about my WW journey. Trying to focus more on how I am feeling and less worrying about the number on the scales (though it is hard not to get a little boost when the scales are moving). I am trying to be mindful about my eating. Focusing on why I want to eat my preplanned 'healthy' foods during the week in work instead of going out and grabbing a chicken fillet roll, crisps and chocolate. When I do have a treat or go off plan, whether it was intentional or not, to actually enjoy it and not feel guilty about it. Last Sunday I fed my hangover; crisps, chocolate, cheese, bread, pizza...all the stodgy stuff you crave when the hangover hits. Instead of feeling guilty and worrying about the scales all week I just moved on with my week as normal. I didn't undereat to make up for it, or kill myself with extra activity. I woke up on Monday and had my normal breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

I didn't have the best start to this month. For some reason on Friday I was just a bit picky with my food and I had such an awful week in work that as soon as I got home I could hear the bottle of wine calling me. So I shared a bottle of wine with my partner, had some garlic bread with my dinner and had a few chocolates. 

Did I need them? No

Do I wish I could handle my emotions around food better? Yes

Will I feel guilty about it? No

Guilt would not have changed what happened on Friday, and it may have affected every day since. Instead of going down the rabbit hole of self hatred I have done before I choose to now accept that I am human and sometimes my emotions get the better of me. I like to think of myself as a rational person, but we can't live life by rational & logic all the time. I have feelings that sometimes take over and for me that leads to over eating. I will always try and change that, but I refuse to feel guilty about it any more. 

Back to my usual meal planning. Only way to make it through the week. I had a planned day off on Saturday but got myself back on track on Sunday and have a good week ahead of me (once I don't let the stress take over). We are out 2 days this weekend, so just need to focus on the days before and after that and ensure to keep up the activity! Hope you all have a great week.

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In

I'm going to keep this post brief as I am working on a longer post dedicated to some goals for 2019. I am firmly back in the swing of things and managed to lose 3lbs of my Christmas gain. It may have gone on quite quickly but I know it will be slower to come off and I'm ok with that. I would rather lose it again gradually than try to rush it for no real reason. I feel like I am back into a real routine and that's how I work best. When I am enjoying the food I'm eating and not overthinking everything. 

Weekly Meal Plan and Weigh In: August Week 4

Last week was my first full week back on plan all summer and I have to say it felt great. For the most part I didn't feel temptation and I was happy with all my planned meals. I had a treat on Saturday night and worked a few treats during the week into my daily points. My skin started to clear up a bit and I felt like I was sleeping better, and of course the scales responded and I was down 3.5lbs on Thursday. 

So I Took The Summer Off....

Its been a long time since I post here, and its been about the same amount of time since I have been on plan. The summer seems to have just disappeared in the blink of an eye, but that did not stop me doing as much damage as possible. I weighed myself last Thursday in absence of going back to a meeting and I managed to gain 10 lbs over the summer, and was weighing in 1 stone over my goal weight. It could have been worst, but not surprising my clothes are all very tight on me. I'm not going to lie, I have had a great summer, but its time to get serious again. 

Weekly Meal Plan and Weigh In

I missed last weeks meal plan, I had an absolutely mental week last week. Monday night I was out seeing the Streets in Dublin and wasn't home until after midnight. That really put me a bit behind for the week. I also had some stuff going on work wise which had me running around a bit like a headless chicken for most of the week. I don't want to go into the detail but it ended very positively for me, but it was a lot of stress. While I didn't get a chance to post last week, I did not go off plan. I had a couple of extra drinks through out the week, celebratory and otherwise, but I really took advantage of the weather and upped my exercise last week. It helped that the wellness committee were running a competition for the person who could have the highest step count in one day last week. I came 5th and won myself a €50 voucher.

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: February Week 2

Finally last week the scales started to catch up with me and I lost 1.5lbs. Still 7.5lbs above goal but starting the feel a bit better about it. We went out for dinner with my parents on Friday night and while trying on different outfits the night before I had lost the self consciousness I'd been feeling the past few weeks. My bloating seemed to have gone right down and starting to feel like it was my body again. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: December Week 2

Last week I was so convinced I was facing a gain, and just hoping I could do enough for a STS. I didn't feel like I had gained, and I was doing everything I could to counter the few off plan meals I had. I upped the pace on my runs and it really paid off, as I managed to lose half a pound by the time weigh in came around! I was pretty surprised, but it does just go to show that if you make sure that you don't use a weekend full of events to lose the run of yourself then a loss is possible no matter what. I had 3 days where I had events at which I did not hold back, but other meals on those days were usual on plan meals. I worked hard and enjoyed my treats and it did the job. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: November Week 5

Last week I was up half a pound. Even though I knew I had oversnacked on Sunday, I really was hoping I had done enough to pull myself back. I know a lot of people can get away with an 80/20 attitude and still see losses, but I really can't. I can just about get away with having a night off pointing and see a small loss if I am 100% on plan the rest of the week. I find with every year older I get, the more difficult it is to maintain and the less I seem to be able to eat. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: November Week 3

The weeks are flying by, can you believe there are only 6 weeks until Christmas Day and 6 more weigh ins. This week I lost half a pound which brings my total since rejoining class to 2.5lbs. I am still 7lbs above goal, and I was really hoping the progress would be a little faster and by now I would be at least back within my 5lbs of goal. I'm not going to lie, its really hard to stay motivated at the moment, and I am screaming at myself to take my own advice. If anyone else was saying this to me, I'd be telling them that as long as the scales are going in the right direction you should be happy, or stick with it and the scales will catch up....but it is so difficult. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: November Week 2

I have to say I've felt pretty great over the past couple of weeks. I feel motivated and excited about what I'm eating for the first time in ages. I really want to stay on plan and while I have been tempted to stray there is something inside that is making me stick with it. The only problem is, I am yet to see the physical benefits. I feel pretty bloated at the moment, and my skin is in bits. I have a rash on my face (which I think is stress related) and my skin is blotchy and uneven. I have very little energy and my running is improving but very slowly. Last weigh in I lost the half pound I gained the previous week.

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: November Week 1

Happy Halloween!! I've always loved Halloween, getting to dress up and be someone else for a night. I think its been about 4 years since I last had a costume and I didn't get organised again this year, but next year no matter what I will have a costume. This year is also the first year we are getting trick or treaters being the first year in our new home. So there have been LOADS of sweets in the cupboard. I have so far had excellent self control and my plan is to try and forget that they are there. Since going back to class I have also kept a stash of 2 sp weight watcher bars in the cupboard and they have been doing the trick as a sweet fix in the evening. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: October Week 4

Had my first official weigh in after heading back to class on Thursday and I am delighted to report I lost 2lbs. Great start and really boosted the motivation to keep on going. I was meant to be out 2 nights in a row at the weekend, but I had such an awful week in work and I wasn't feeling well that all I could do was stay in. So instead of using up all my weeklies on booze, I spread them out over the whole weekend but they were well and truly used up by the end of the weekend but all tracked and counted. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: August Week 4

I was a little worried that I had over indulged in the preparation & aftermath of the half marathon last weekend and it would show on the scales. I was pretty happy to see that I had maintained my weight! I reverted this week a little and didn't track a thing all day on Saturday and decided to then write off my weeklies. I went back today and tried to retrospectively track and I definitely went over my weeklies which is not great. I also was planning on heading back to running this weekend, but Saturday got away from me and I woke up on Sunday with one of the worst headaches ever that just did not seem to go away for the whole day and by the end of the day I was sick to my stomach as well. So while I got a fair amount of walking done on Saturday I got absolutely no exercise done on Sunday. 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: Half Marathon Edition

Last week after my fantastic week I was looking forward to my weigh in. I knew I had followed the plan, done plenty of exercise and I was feeling pretty lean. I lost 1lb which I am pretty happy with. I was away on Thursday overnight for work and so my food was all over the place for the day and I did not eat well and it spilled over a bit into the Friday. I decided instead of trying to track SmartPoints, since I had a lot of running to do over the weekend, tracking calories might be a little easier. I did start my carb load on Friday and decided that I needed to eat back most/all of my excercise calories in preparation for the race. I am not sure I am going to have as good a result on the scales this Thursday but to be honest I am not that bothered, I needed the food and wouldn't have changed anything about the weekend.

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: August Week 2

Slipped back to my old ways a little last weekend and I didn't really track anything. I was out for dinner and made the healthiest choices I could, but I drank plenty and fed my hangover the next day. I knew I had done some damage and even though I got myself back on track on Monday, I was not surprised when I saw that I had gained 2lbs when I weighed in on Thursday morning. So I gave myself a bit of a kick in the bum and planned out my bank holiday weekend ensuring I would be able to stay within my weeklies and dailies.

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In: July Week 4

End of July already, but at least the sun is making itself at home! Last week was a pretty good week for the most part. I used up all my weeklies at the weekend thinking I wouldn't use any for the rest of the week, but since my birthday was Tuesday it was rather silly of me to think I would skip dessert that day. And I ended up having 2!! So I was over my weeklies a bit and ended up gaining a pound at my Thursday morning weigh in (I think mother nature played a part in it too). 

Weekly Meal Plan & Weigh In July Week 2

I'm a little late again this week, I've a bit of a cold at the  moment and yesterday I just had no energy by the time I got home from work. My stress has not really reduced but I feel like I am managing it a little better and feel like I can finally get my head back in the game properly. I've been messing around for far too long, and its not helping anything. Knowing I am letting my health slip back is just adding to my stress. 

Weekly Meal Plan: June Week 4

Last week was not my best week, but there were definitely more good days than bad so I am taking that as a win. I feel like I am focusing too much on the all the negatives from the past few months and letting the guilt win. So for the next few weeks my aim is to focus on the good. 

Weekly Meal Plan: June Week 3

Since my last post, things have been a bit up and down. I had a couple of weeks where I felt I had my control back. I was following the No Count plan for a few days a week and it was really working for me. My plan had been to avoid the scales until I felt a bit better but that hasn't worked so well for me, and at first it was telling a good story. Then things took a turn again the past 2 weeks, and I've been all over the place again. My weekends were pretty manic, and until this sunday we hadn't done a proper weekly shop in about 3 weeks. So I was grabbing things on the go during the week and trying my hardest to eat as well as possible. The weekends were my usual, stop trying on Friday morning and then wake up Monday feeling both guilty and a little hopeless. 

Weekly Meal Plan May Week 4: Back From a Break

Last time I post I had decided I was going to take a bit of a step back from things and I took a bit of a bigger step than intended. The couple of weeks that followed were pretty tough. I have had a lot of stress in my life this year and I think I was fooling myself into thinking I could manage. It all got a bit on top of me and I needed a bit of time to myself. So I took a few weeks off blogging. I couldn't come back on here repeating the same thing again and again, as it wasn't helping. I just couldn't face it. I was still posting my usual food posts on social media, but not as much and I felt like I was just going through the motions a bit.