6 Week Challenge - Week 2 Update

Well as you can see I am starting my third week well prepared. I stuck to last weeks plan to the letter and I am happy to report I was down
a further half pound this evening. I am already half a pound above my 1lb a week goal. I did end up having a little bit of cous cous at book club and at my parents house and while I can't for sure say its down the cous cous, I have felt much more bloated since eating it. However I have still stayed away from the bread and pasta and most things processed.  My energy levels are still up and my skin is continuing to become clearer and all around I am feeling good. 

Nothing Tastes as Good as Being Thin Feels.........

We have all heard the phrase 'nothing tastes as good as being thing feels', and I know I have used this phrase many a time for motivation, but I am not sure this reflects my feelings on this anymore. I've spent a lot of time this week thinking about the reasons why I embarked on my own weight loss journey. Of course there are a lot of different reasons for this, but vanity played a huge part in this. Now I'm not saying there is anything wrong as using vanity as motivation, it is important to be able to feel comfortable in your own skin and feel good about who you are. However I'm beginning to think that I have put a bit too much of an emphasis on that. I have managed to maintain my weight but I I have slipped back into bad habits over time and that is why I have decided I need to rethink my motivation and look back to my longterm goals.

6 Week Challenge - Week 1!

I am feeling great at the end of my first week at this. I have stuck to my plan 100% and I am really hoping that I see the payoff tomorrow night at weigh in. Not only do I feel fantastic, I have more energy than I have in ages, but my skin in the space of a week has cleared up no end. I also seem to have lost all my bloating and considering its my TOTM I would usually be experience huge water retention and really bad skin. So its really paying off. I also had a big night out on the drink on saturday night which was my only break in good eating. I had one mini cupcake that night, a couple of glasses of wine, a couple of cocktails and a couple of vodkas. I was within my weeklies and I was not tempted to hit the chipper at the end of the night. Even though I was miserably hungover the next day, I still managed to avoid the bread with my breakfast on Sunday morning. 

Hairy Dieters Do It Again!! **Smart Point & Flex Updated**

Everyone knows how big a fan I was of the Hairy Dieters first cook book. It is easily my most used cook book and it has never failed to disappoint, whether I am just cooking for me or entertaining friends. I was so excited when I found out they had a new book coming out and I ordered it as soon as I could. And here it is, Hairy Dieters: Eat For Life. I only got it on Tuesday so am yet to try any of the recipes, but after analysing all the recipes (working out the propoints), I do believe this one is even better than the last. For anyone trying to lose weight, be it on weight watchers or otherwise, I seriously cannot recommend these books enough! This one focuses on the importance of making the life time changes and sticking with them, which is hugely relevant to me and I'm sure many others now!Since my last post on these guys is far and above my most popular post, I have trawled through the new book and calculated the propoints for all the recipes.

6 Week Challenge

I feel like the "diet switch" has been constantly changing over the past few months. We all know the feeling, wake up in the morning and the switch is firmly turned on - by the weekend it is firmly turned off, and in the few days in between has going a little bit crazy. I have been managing to maintain within my 5lbs, but I am yet to go even half a pound under my goal. This is and always has been to me a life change rather than a diet, but I have found myself over the past few months over indulging and spending the rest of the time trying to make up for it. I need to remind myself of where I am and how I got here. Only then will I really figure out how to stay here! 

Prawn & Pea Risotto

I love risotto - all types, plain tomato risotto was my favourite food as a child before I even realised you could make any flavour you want. My boyfriend has always maintained he doesn't like it, so I have never cooked it for him. I just discovered that he always associates risotto with mushrooms and thats why he thinks he doesn't like it, so I decided to make a prawn risotto to see if I could bring him around - it worked. This is a lovely dish that is both light and filling. Can be served as is, with a green salad or with a side of steamed asparagus or long stem broccoli. It does take a bit of patience and lots of stirring, but it is worth it in the end!

Ice Ice Baby

The weather does seem to be fading slowly into August so I may have missed the boat a bit with this post. Despite the sun having disappeared, it is still very warm and very muggy and it has taken until now for me to discover just how refreshing an Iced Coffee is. The fact that my new job is 2 doors away from a Starbucks has meant I have spent an unnatural amount of money on coffee. Before I do any serious damage I decide to work out the points in all the lovely iced treats. I've decided to post the points for the best value ones available, and anything that includes whipped cream is really not worth it (a tall skinny caramel frappacino is 8pp with whipped cream and only 3pp without). Nutritional info is on all the websites, but this just gives you a taste of whats available!