Thursday 9 February 2012

So the morning after my last post I woke up with a nasty old virus – sore throat, banging head, snotty nose and aching limbs. There was no way I could even crawl out of bed, let alone make it to the gym and I was just glad that I was in homeworking mode and didn’t have to drag myself onto the coach.

Fortunately, I did manage to recover sufficiently to attend my birthday meal on Saturday evening, hosted by the lovely Karen, and we had fun packed evening, with lots of good food, good wine and good conversation – and a huge amount of cake!

Unfortunately the night ended with a large amount of snow, which left me stranded and unable to get to the gym (if it doesn’t snow again tonight I am hoping to finally get there tomorrow).

Apart from stopping me from exercising the snow has had another bad effect on me – it’s completely ruined my way of eating. When the weather is cold like this I don’t want salads and fry ups and the usual fare that has become my way of life. This week I actually found myself feeling physically ill at the thought of any of the foods that I would normally have for breakfast, my body instead craving porridge. A stew is fine, and I can eat those, but I want dumplings and jacket potatoes with it, not just some cabbage. And as the cold weather continues it’s not going to get any better. And to add to this, my chocolate cravings are not going away either as my mood plummets because of the bad weather.

Today I received another box of chocolates (a late birthday present from a friend who I hadn’t seen for a while). I know I should take the chocolates into work and share them with my colleagues as I did with the advent calendar, but I don’t want to. They are a decent box of chocolates and some of my favourites and I just don’t feel like being that virtuous. Add that to the fact that I had already bought some chocolate when I went shopping and it all adds up to me sliding way off track.

In fact my groceries this week include a disturbing number of carb laden foods. Although in the main my diet will still remain as low-carb as I can make it there will definitely be a bit of blip.

So the bad stuff I bought today was:

• 4 fresh tiger rolls (bought because they smelt so nice and I hadn’t eaten all day – these have now been eaten along with some prosciutto)
• 2 frozen jacket potatoes (I know, I should never have got them, but they were cheap and I was really craving a jacket spud)
• 3 bottles of sparkling rose wine (because it’s one of my favourites and it was reduced to £3 a bottle)
• 1 bag giant chocolate buttons (fairly standard for me these days, but will be split into four portions)
• 1 bag giant white chocolate buttons (because I wanted to try them – not a good excuse I know, these will also be split into four portions)
• 1 bottle of pancake batter mix (as it was on special offer and in readiness for Pancake Day which I absolutely refuse to miss as I adore pancakes)

Overall, I know that this isn’t actually that bad compared to the amount of carbs I used to eat, but these items really shouldn’t have made my basket at all (except for the pancake mix which was never not coming home with me).

I can’t help that I hate the weather at this time of year and wish I could just hibernate until Spring and I can’t stop the carb or chocolate cravings, which are going to be with me until it gets warmer. All I can do is try to limit the carb intake where I can (whilst I am going wildly over the 30g of Phase One I am at least not anywhere near the 200g that is the recommended daily amount for a female) and try to get to the gym when the weather allows. I just need to hang tight and be aware that I’m not going to lose any weight whilst I’m in this mood, but hopefully I won’t gain too much either and once the weather gets warmer I’ll be ready to get back onto Phase One with a vengeance.

Tuesday 1 February 2012

So it’s a new month and a good time for me to get back to chronicling my health and nutrition plans. I’ll be honest that a combination of the bad time I was having earlier in the month, combined with disappointment at having gained weight even though I’d gone straight back on the hardcore Phase One of the IPD left me severely demoralised and not feeling inclined to blog (nor really to exercise, although I did manage to force myself to the gym a few times).

Additionally, my birthday threw up a few treats and a considerable amount of chocolate (it appears everyone suddenly forgot I was IPDing) and so I haven’t been quite so good as I could be in the last week or so either, although I was pleased to discover, upon weighing myself on Monday, that I am back down to my immediate post-Christmas weight and have thus once again lost 2 stone and 2 pounds.

I am still in the midst of celebrations, with a birthday meal re-scheduled for Saturday evening, and I’m having a bit of a chocolate crisis at the moment too, so can see a bit of yo-yoing going on until I finally manage to settle down and get back onto Phase One properly again. I have at least managed to get back into doing my regular gym workouts which should help a bit – especially as I am now finding time on a Sunday to go and do a full workout, a full power plate session and some swimming as well – over 1,000 calories burnt and a goodly amount of fat too one assumes.

So breakfast today was ham, cream cheese and avocado wraps with a lunch of creamy gammon, cabbage and mustard casserole. Dinner was picky stuff as I forgot to get anything out of the freezer this morning as my brain wasn’t working. I did have a chunky peanut butter KitKat (one of the Limited Edition ones so I needed to try it – and it was scrummy), but apart from that I’ve done pretty well today.

No exercise tonight, but I’ll be going tomorrow. I just need to drag myself out of my lovely warm bed and out into the freezing cold! 

Today’s exercise:  walking to and from the bus stop

Carb's Eaten: 47.1

Exercising to: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J K Rowling read by Stephen Fry (UK Edition)

Weight Loss in 2012 = 4 pounds

Total Weight Loss = 2 stone 2 pounds

Inch Loss = 19.5 inches

Current Goal: To wear my M&S ‘magic’ dress (size 22) (hopefully by Easter)

Mood (according to Moodscope): 25%

15 January 2012

After an early breakfast of a mint chocolate protein shake, I spent the morning on a bit of housework, whilst ruminating on my problems. This left me feeling depressed and teary so I went to the gym for a good long session in hopes of working it off.

Before the gym I had some ham and cheese for lunch then stopped at Asda and got some essential supplies, but because I was so fed up and in a self-sabotaging mood I also bought some chocolate. Sadly, not the dark over 70% chocolate that I normally enjoy and is classified, at a pinch, just about okay for Phase Two of the IPD, but giant chocolate buttons which can definitely be classed as comfort food but very non-low carb friendly.

After a three hour long workout including cardio, power plate and swimming (I’m guessing I’m going to die tomorrow) I ended up feeling angry (with myself) rather than depressed and came home to dinner of pork and mushrooms in a creamy mustard sauce with buttered savoy cabbage and mangetout and cheesy broccauli (see what I did there) mash. I then sat down to watch one of the best programmes I’ve ever seen, namely the last episode of Season 2 of Sherlock during which I consumed my chocolate.

However, I didn’t eat all of it. Whereas before my trip to the gym I was ready to overdose on sugary chocolatey goodness by scoffing the entire pack, the delay and change of mood meant that I had the sense to split the pack into four and only eat one quarter. The others I’ve packaged separately in readiness for the hard times ahead and have stored them somewhere safe (in my Monster Book of Monsters box which can be a bit temperamental about opening so I might have a problem retrieving them when the need arises).

Obviously the gym did its job as my Moodscope score is considerably better today than yesterday and far better than it would have been if I’d stayed in the mood I was in earlier. I’m feeling more positive at the moment which is a good thing – and I’m not even feeling guilty about the chocolate!

Today’s exercise:  bike = 12 mins; stretching = 10 mins; treadmill = 5 mins; cross trainer = 5 mins; arm bike = 16 mins; power plate = 25 mins; bike = 10 mins; swimming = 60 lengths

Carb's Eaten: 44.6

Exercising to: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling read by Stephen Fry (UK Edition)/Various swim tracks

Weight Loss in 2012 = -2 pounds

Total Weight Loss = 1 stone 12 pounds

Inch Loss = 19.5 inches

Current Goal: To wear my M&S ‘magic’ dress (size 22) (hopefully by Easter)

Mood (according to Moodscope): 43%

14 January 2012

On waking this morning I realised that I really couldn’t face dealing with my problems without ending up seriously depressed, if not suicidal, so decided to completely ignore the bad stuff for the day. Instead I set to work having a bit of a clear up and finally installed the LCD TV that I bought last year, which gave me my workout for the day as it meant removing a 50ish kg TV from the stand and through the flat (I had been waiting for help but decided I couldn’t wait any longer, although I will need help getting it to the tip). This was a good move as my mood has lifted considerably, although being serious I can’t put off the bad stuff for much longer.

I began the day with a mint chocolate protein shake. Lunch was leek mince with an almond topping served with cheesy cauliflower and broccoli mash and buttered savoy cabbage. The fridge is now almost bare and so dinner was some ham, cheese and avocado.

I’m thinking about going to the gym tomorrow. I can’t decide whether to go for another power plate session (my abs have finally stopped aching) or whether to give the aqua aerobics a go. Afterwards I really need to go shopping, if only to stock up on essentials like cream, soya milk and green stuff.

Today’s exercise:  Weight lifting and hauling

Carb's Eaten: 28.2

Exercising to: Wizard Rock (HP-related music for those not in the know)

Weight Loss in 2012 = -2 pounds

Total Weight Loss = 1 stone 12 pounds

Inch Loss = 19.5 inches

Current Goal: To wear my M&S ‘magic’ dress (size 22) (hopefully by Easter)

Mood (according to Moodscope): 29%

13 Friday 2012

So today has been a dreadful one for me, with more bad news sending my mood rocketing down to its lowest level since I’ve been using Moodscope.

The morning began badly when I couldn’t drag myself out of bed due to tiredness and the headache that is still lingering. When I did finally surface it turned out that it was a good thing I hadn’t gone to the gym as my lower abs and biceps have seized up, quite painfully. It turns out that instead of taking it easy (as I worry sometimes that I do at the gym without Siobhan around to push me) I really did push myself and am suffering big time for it today.

Breakfast was a chocolate mint protein shake, followed by another fry up for lunch (mainly to use up the remaining bacon etc.). Dinner was bacon wrapped cream cheese stuffed chicken breasts with buttered green vegetables (once again because they needed to be used up).

Once my mood plummeted I found it a little hard to concentrate or get enthused about anything, so I took refuge in watching many episodes of Fringe to take my mind off my problems. I did take a break to watch the Sports Relief Celebrity bake off final and found myself seriously craving the yummy cakes and biscuits being cooked and so dug out a piece of cheesecake. A glass of Glayva has put my carbs well over the limit for the day, but makes me feel better.

I am aware that I can’t bury my head in the sand forever, but currently definitely not up to dealing with my problems today. Maybe I’ll be more up to it tomorrow. Either way, I’ve got a lot of stuff I’ve been putting off that needs to be done so I should be pretty busy.   

Today’s exercise:  None

Carb's Eaten: 41.7

Exercising to: Watching Fringe and baking programmes

Weight Loss in 2012 = -2 pounds

Total Weight Loss = 1 stone 12 pounds

Inch Loss = 19.5 inches

Current Goal: To wear my M&S ‘magic’ dress (size 22) (hopefully by Easter)

Mood (according to Moodscope): 15%

12 January 2012

A little late getting to the gym this morning, but that probably helped as I was having a power plate workout. The college is back so the place was absolutely packed – with even more students than before Christmas.

It’s been a bad day for me, with bad news and confirmation of bad news (which is reflected in today’s Moodscope score) so I’ve not been feeling at my best. Still headachy too, so I had a lunchtime nap to try and shift it, but I woke up with stomach cramps too, although they fortunately only lasted an hour or so and I’ve absolutely no idea why they happened.

Breakfast was a chocolate mint protein shake (my current fav) with some ham and strong cheddar for lunch. I was having trouble getting the motivation to cook (hence the picky lunch) and eventually had a fry up – gluten free sausages, oak smoked back bacon, scrambled eggs, mushrooms and tomato – which was lovely. I followed this with a piece of cheesecake and had a tot of Glayva to cheer myself up.

I’m beginning to feel the power plate workout in my abs, may do some more tomorrow if I’m not too sore.      

Today’s exercise:  bike = 10 mins; stretching = 10 mins; power plate = 30 mins; swimming = 20 lengths

Carb's Eaten: 30.8

Exercising to: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling read by Stephen Fry (UK Edition)/Various swim tracks

Weight Loss in 2012 = -2 pounds

Total Weight Loss = 1 stone 12 pounds

Inch Loss = 19.5 inches

Current Goal: To wear my M&S ‘magic’ dress (size 22) (hopefully by Easter)

Mood (according to Moodscope): 24%

10 January 2012

I’ve still got a nagging headache today, the legacy of yet another night of rubbish sleep and nothing will seem to shift it.

Breakfast this morning was peppered buttery boiled eggs with sausages, which made a nice change from a protein shake. For lunch I had some of the mince I cooked yesterday. Because of the headache I didn’t really fancy much for dinner so just had some prosciutto, cheese and a greek yoghurt.

I had intended to go to the gym this evening to do some power plate work but couldn’t face it with this stupid headache so am going to have an early night instead.

Today’s exercise:  walking to and from work

Carb's Eaten: 25.8

Exercising to: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling read by Stephen Fry (UK Edition)

Weight Loss in 2012 = -2 pounds

Total Weight Loss = 1 stone 12 pounds

Inch Loss = 19.5 inches

Current Goal: To wear my M&S ‘magic’ dress (size 22) (hopefully by Easter)

Mood (according to Moodscope): 33%

9 January 2012

I have to admit to being very disappointed today as I discovered that I’d put on four pounds, which means not only did I put back what I lost over Christmas, but also the two pounds I’d lost before Christmas to make my two stone. To be honest I’m a little confused by this. I could fully understand the weight gain last week when I’d been eating and drinking whatever I wanted, but to go on now after a week back on low carbing seems rather cruel – and, I will admit, very demoralising for me.

I was already having a bad morning, with stress stuff causing another bad night and the loss of my car keys causing me to be later for the gym than I’d have liked, but this was a real blow. But, determined not to let it beat me, I did my workout as usual and stuck rigidly to my carb limit for the day.

Back home, for work and a chocolate mint protein shake, followed by a late lunch comprising a ham, cheese and mushroom omelette. This evening I cooked some sausages in preparation for breakfasts, stuffed aubergines and the base for an almond topped mince dish. For my dinner I had pork and mushroom stroganoff with salad followed by another piece of cheesecake as I was feeling sorry for myself (although it’s made me feel rather sick so I shouldn’t have had it – I’ve now frozen the rest).

So I’ve tried to carry on even though I’m feeling quite disheartened by the weight gain and am hoping that it was just some strange blip. I really hope that next week will see a loss (any would do but today’s gain would be better).    

Today’s exercise:  bike = 10 mins; stretching = 10 mins; treadmill/weights = 10 mins; cross trainer = 10 mins; arm bike = 16 mins; bike = 10 mins; stretching = 10 mins; swimming = 10 lengths

Carb's Eaten: 28.3

Exercising to: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling read by Stephen Fry (UK Edition)/Various swim tracks

Weight Loss in 2012 = -2 pounds

Total Weight Loss = 1 stone 12 pounds

Inch Loss = 19.5 inches

Current Goal: To wear my M&S ‘magic’ dress (size 22) (hopefully by Easter)

Mood (according to Moodscope): 34%

8 January 2012

So cooking, games and the TV meant I completely forgot about blogging yesterday.

It was a productive day as I managed to cook a huge beef and butternut stew and a ham and cabbage casserole. I also managed to get myself sorted with another few recipes for today – leek, blue cheese and ham bake (there was a bit of a tricky moment when I realised that I didn’t have any white wine which is part of the recipe) and a lime and ginger cheesecake (having a bit of a sweet craving at the moment due to the stress and this will help to keep it within limits), although I forgot to get some more mushrooms (hadn’t realised how many I’d used) so the vegetable mince and stuffed aubergines will have to wait until tomorrow when I go shopping.

I also cooked myself a ham, cheese and mushroom omelette for lunch – I was on a roll after all the rest of that cooking and was determined to have some proper food, not just picky bits for a change, although I did still have a chocolate mint protein shake for breakfast. With the leek bake and a slice of the cheesecake for dinner I’m feeling nicely full, and all cravings are currently sated.

My mood's a little better due mainly to my acceptance that I've done everything I can to avert the current crisis and it'll either work out or it won't. Obviously being almost full moon means it's more likely to go wrong, as this is always a bad time for me. But at the moment I'm stable enough to realise that I can't do any more than I've already done.

Back to the gym in the morning, where I really should have a go at the power plate. I’m not expecting great things for my weigh in tomorrow, but I guess staying the same would be okay.   

Today’s exercise:  cooking and cleaning

Carb's Eaten: 35.1

Exercising to: Wittertainment and the TV (Sherlock, Fringe and Merlin)

Weight Loss in 2012 = 2 pounds

Total Weight Loss = 2 stone 2 pounds

Inch Loss = 19.5 inches

Current Goal: To wear my M&S ‘magic’ dress (size 22) (hopefully by Easter)

Mood (according to Moodscope): 33%

6 January 2012

When I woke up this morning I had a stinking headache, caused partly by another rotten night’s sleep which was mainly due to stress. I couldn’t face going to the gym so instead went back to sleep for a few hours. It didn’t really help and I’ve had the headache nagging away all day even though I’ve drunk plenty of water.

Breakfast was some prosciutto and cheese with a banana protein shake for lunch. Protein shakes with a headache are a really bad idea as they have a tendency to make me feel sick, but I couldn’t face cooking anything. Dinner, when I finally forced myself to cook it, was creamy tarragon and lemon chicken with a salad.

Still rather stressed, I also had a glass of Glayva to calm me down – which it did remarkably well. However, I really don’t want to get back into drinking, apart from special occasions or when I go out with my friends, if for no other reason than it’s a lot of wasted carbs. On balance I think the drink was worth it though as it’s chilled me out a bit.

Today’s exercise:  work on the computer and a bit of housework

Carb's Eaten: 36.8

Exercising to: Wittertainment podcasts

Weight Loss in 2012 = 2 pounds

Total Weight Loss = 2 stone 2 pounds

Inch Loss = 19.5 inches

Current Goal: To wear my M&S ‘magic’ dress (size 22) (hopefully by Easter)

Mood (according to Moodscope): 21%

5 January 2012

I was back at the gym this morning. I wasn’t aching as much as yesterday, but I’m still having a bit of trouble getting going this week and didn’t get there until 7am. It was very quiet – not sure whether it was just the time, or whether people’s desire to exercise has already worn off.

I had quite a good workout but my knee was hurting by the time it came to swimming and I wasn’t really in the mood, so I just did ten lengths before heading for a double session in the Jacuzzi to try and soothe my aches.

Once home, I had a chocolate mint protein shake for breakfast with some cheese for a mid morning snack. Lunch was smoked salmon, cream cheese and avocado roll ups with a very late dinner of bacon wrapped cheese and mustard stuffed chicken breasts with a salad.

Dinner was delayed by a rather stressful phone call which left me worrying and rather down and partially accounts for my low score today on Moodscope.

Funds are a bit tight after Christmas and I’m going to have to do some careful planning to make sure that I can continue with my way of eating for the rest of the month as it would be all too easy to resort to cheap bread and pasta meals. Unfortunately low carbing, and healthy eating in general, doesn’t use the cheapest ingredients, especially when you’re trying to go for quality over quantity. This is a job for the weekend as we all know I’m completely rubbish at planning anything properly and I really need to get cooking too, which I just can’t seem to get the enthusiasm for during the week.  

Today’s exercise:  bike = 10 mins; stretching = 10 mins; treadmill/weights = 10 mins; arm bike = 16 mins; cross trainer = 7 mins; bike = 10 mins; stretching = 10 mins; swimming = 10 lengths

Carb's Eaten: 20.6

Exercising to: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling read by Stephen Fry (UK Edition)/Various swim tracks

Weight Loss in 2012 = 2 pounds

Total Weight Loss = 2 stone 2 pounds

Inch Loss = 19.5 inches

Current Goal: To wear my M&S ‘magic’ dress (size 22) (hopefully by Easter)

Mood (according to Moodscope): 20%

4 January 2012

Still had a backache this morning, along with a rotten headache from a bad night’s sleep which left me slow and running late. As I wasn’t with it I forgot to pick up my breakfast, although fortunately I did manage to take the lunch (which I’d left out overnight to defrost).

So breakfast was scrambled egg, bacon, sausage and a mushroom from the staff restaurant, with leek, ham and blue cheese pie for lunch. I also had a couple of mini salami’s for a snack. Tired from the long day I couldn’t face eating much this evening (or more accurately couldn't face cooking) so had some Greek yoghurt, prosciutto and some lovely mature cheddar along with a couple of litres of sparkling water, in a vain attempt to get rid of the still lingering headache.

No exercising today as I’m still feeling it in my muscles and I’ll be going to the gym tomorrow morning, so my only exercise has been walking to and from the bus stop. I did finally get round to measuring myself this evening though and have lost another seven inches in total since the last time I did it (which was apparently the 16 October 2011).  

Today’s exercise:  just the daily walking

Carb's Eaten: 35.1

Exercising to: Musica

Weight Loss in 2012 = 2 pounds

Total Weight Loss = 2 stone 2 pounds

Inch Loss = 19.5 inches (yay, finally got round to measuring myself)

Current Goal: To wear my M&S ‘magic’ dress (size 22) (hopefully by Easter)

Mood (according to Moodscope): 27%

3 January 2012

Back to the gym this morning where I did a truncated work out and then a session on the power plate. Having pulled just about every muscle in my body I missed out on the swim to instead rest in the steam room and jacuzzi in hopes that it would help.

Shopping followed so my fridge is now nicely filled with all sorts of goodies again. I also discovered that the gas refill for my Sodastream (which lasts between four to six weeks depending on use) costs about the same as a week’s worth of sparkling water (San Pellegrino obviously, not cheap generic supermarket stuff), so that was definitely a good purchase.

Unfortunately, as the day has gone on my body is seizing up – starting with a backache and gradually moving everywhere. This made taking down the Christmas tree and decorations a little difficult as I’m having a problem with stretching at the moment. I just hope that after a decent night’s sleep I’ll be a little recovered as I don’t envy a long work day and four odd hours of travelling with a bad back.

Food today was some yummy prosciutto and cheese for brunch with pork stroganoff and a large salad for tea. I also had some Greek yoghurt, which is the reason why my carbs are over the minimum level.

I’ve just got time to get the food sorted for tomorrow and then it’ll be time for bed. I’m feeling quite positive at the moment, which is shown in today’s Moodscope score which is the second highest it’s been.   

Today’s exercise:  Bike = 10 mins; Stretching = 10 mins; Treadmill/weights = 10 mins; Arm bike = 16 mins; Power Plate = 20 mins; Bike = 5 mins;

Carb's Eaten: 26.9G

Exercising to: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling read by Stephen Fry (UK Edition)/Various swim tracks

Weight Loss in 2012 = 2 pounds

Total Weight Loss = 2 stone 2 pounds

Inch Loss = 12.5 inches (not sure why I’m bothering with this to be honest as I can never be bothered to do it!)

Current Goal: To wear my M&S ‘magic’ dress (size 22) (hopefully by Easter)

Mood (according to Moodscope): 41%

2 January 2012

I did manage to get to the gym this morning, although being honest it was about four hours later than I’d originally anticipated which meant that I didn’t have a chance to go shopping as I had a lunch engagement. Of course the gym was hugely busy – probably the busiest I’ve ever seen it and there were plenty of new recruits starting with their new year’s resolutions to get fit. I wonder how many of them will still be coming by Easter?

Imagine my excitement when standing on the scales to discover that not only did I not put on any weight over the last couple of weeks, but I had in fact lost another two pounds. This is amazing considering I haven’t stuck to the low carbing at all (as expected), although maybe not such a huge surprise that I didn’t gain weight, as whilst everything was carby, my portions weren’t massive (I even missed several meals) and with the exception of a hugely alcohol-fuelled New Years Eve I’ve not overdone either food or drink. Even chocolate was kept pretty much to a minimum (and I turned down the opportunity to bring home Christmas chocolates).

Although I did still (out of habit mainly) keep a note of everything I ate over the Christmas period I’m not worrying too hard about recording it on Fitday for the time being. I may put it on there eventually for completeness, but I’m not sure it’ll add anything except stress me out about the amount of carbs I actually consumed and it wouldn’t be accurate as portion sizes would all be guesswork – so pretty much useless for real comparison.

I did realise pretty quickly just how much better I feel without all the carbs. All those horrid body effects such as bloating, wind and indigestion that I’m pretty much free of whilst low carbing returned and it wasn’t pleasant. In fact there were a few days when I felt pretty rough which may have been caused by my diet, although obviously I can’t be sure of that.

And so today, although it is now the new year, I am still on holiday and, because I was eating with friends who had prepared a meal (containing carbs of course) I am not worrying about today’s food either. Tomorrow, which is still a leave day for me I will get up, go to the gym and then go shopping. The low carbing will then resume with a vengeance.

The one resolution I have made is that I’m not going to worry too hard about going just over the 30 gram carb limit. Whilst I obviously want to keep my carbs as low as possible I also want a nice variety of food and that will necessarily include the higher carb ingredients such as butternut squash and leeks and with a potentially difficult year ahead I don’t want to spend my time worrying about what extra carbs are going to do to my weight. I guess this means that weight loss could take a little more time, but with the amount I still have to lose I’m in it for the marathon, not the 100 metre dash and so a few extra weeks or months isn’t going to make much difference.  

Today’s exercise:  Bike = 10 mins; Treadmill/weights = 10 mins; Cross Trainer = 10 mins;  Arm bike = 16 mins; Bike = 10 mins; Swimming = 40 lengths

Carb's Eaten: No idea as I’m not counting today!

Exercising to: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling read by Stephen Fry (UK Edition) – yep still! / Various swim tracks

Weight Loss in 2012 = 2 pounds

Total Weight Loss = 2 stone 2 pounds

Inch Loss = 12.5 inches (not sure why I’m bothering with this to be honest as I can never be bothered to do it!)

Current Goal: To wear my M&S ‘magic’ dress (size 22) (hopefully by Easter)

Mood (according to Moodscope): 39%

1 January 2012

So I'm back. 

I'll be doing my official weigh-in at the gym tomorrow morning followed by shopping for lots of good stuff ready for resumption of the IPD on Tuesday. Normal blog posts will resume tomorrow too.

Happy New Year everyone!

Day One Hundred and Five

So I’m pleased to announce that contrary to (my) expectation, I have indeed managed to reach the two stone target that I set back in September. I didn’t have my official gym weigh in yesterday as I’ve been in last minute Christmas and packing for Spain mode (also the reason I haven’t blogged), but my home scales, this morning, tell me that I have reached my target and I’m happy to claim that achievement.

Even though I’ve now reached my target, and I’m now on the wind down to Christmas I was still a good girl and gave away my advent calendar chocolates – it’s been surprising how many people told me I should have one, and even gave away one of the penguins that I’d promised myself at the beginning of December, to my friend Kev, who has been desperate for one for just as long. I do still have two penguins and the nameplate though, so I don’t really feel that bad about giving the other away.

Today’s carbs are going to be over the limit again due to a cheeky chocolate chip cookie which I had to celebrate my friends’ birthday, and the kebab I’m having for tea, after a rather high carb lunch of beef and butternut squash stew with buttered green vegetables. Breakfast was buttery egg and gluten free sausages, so not too bad really and certainly not in the stratosphere carb-wise.  

The invitations for meals while I’m in Spain are coming in now and it’s giving me an idea of just how far off plan I’m going to be going while there. Given that I’ll be spending nine days with the generation that would starve if they didn’t have potatoes or bread I think it’s safe to say that any chance for low carb is pretty much out of the window. I know from previous visits how stressy it is for everyone when I attempt to go low carb (I can usually get away with the occasional salad when I’m at home, but not when we’re eating out) so it’s really not worth the arguments. After all this is supposed to be a happy time and I want to enjoy it. Originally I was intending to take some protein powder with me so I could guarantee a breakfast every morning, but I’m not sure whether they sell soya milk out there and semi skimmed milk makes the shake far too high in carbs to contemplate so I’m not going to bother.

So the plan for the Christmas period is to eat and drink whatever I want, enjoy myself and then start back in the gym in the new year. The initial target will be to lose any weight I gain back over the next couple of weeks, the longer term goal is to fit into my black miracle dress.

I'm not sure whether I'll get a chance to post while I'm away, so just in case, I'll wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Today’s exercise:  Frantic packing

Carb's Eaten: 65G

Exercising to: Christmas choons all the way baby!

Weight Loss =  2 STONE!!!!

Inch Loss = 12.5 inches

Mood: Stressed

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Day One Hundred

So it’s Day One Hundred of this way of eating (should I be adding a whoop whoop or something here?) and to be honest I’d expected it to be a bit of a blow out as I was meeting Mrs H3 for our Christmas meal and present exchange before heading to the cinema to lust over Robert Downey Junior for a couple of hours. I had seriously expected to have a pizza, or some cheesy garlic bread or something (especially after the last disappointing meal out) and had been considering the naughty ice cream again too as it is a Christmas meal, but amazingly when it came to it I ordered a Bosco salad and a bottle of sparkling water, and I gave Mrs H3 most of my breadsticks again – and no, I didn’t have the ice cream either.

As the rest of my day had consisted of the usual protein shake, prosciutto and cheese this left my carbs in a very healthy state, and even a little chocolate cream hasn’t pushed it over the limit. I am rewarding myself with a glass of Glayva though as my cold seems to be getting worse again and I’ve got a sore throat and I’m hoping it’ll help a little.

I also managed to get to the gym this morning, although I wasn’t feeling in the mood for swimming for some reason and so I spent a bit of time on the machines then had a power plate workout, which burnt off a few carbs and calories.

Today’s exercise:  Bike = 10 mins; Stretching = 10 mins; Treadmill/weights = 10 mins; Cross Trainer = 5 mins;  Arm bike = 12 mins; Power Plate = 30 mins

Carb's Eaten: 46.4G

Exercising to: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling read by StephenFry (UK Edition)

Weight Loss = 1 stone and 11 pounds

Inch Loss = 12.5 inches

Mood: Extremely Snotty

Day Ninety Nine

I was so tired this morning that I didn’t get up for the gym again. The alarm did go off at 5.15am, but having pressed snooze a couple of times, I turned it off. I thought I was getting up, but I obviously fell asleep again and didn’t wake until almost 9am, so I guess I must have needed the sleep.

I did force myself to leave the house so I could post my Christmas cards, but having started cooking I didn’t quite manage to get to the gym this evening. I really need to force myself to get up and get there tomorrow morning.

I decided to have another go at making stuffed marrow. This time I used a recipe by the Two Hairy Bikers, although to be honest I only followed their directions for stewing the marrow before stuffing it with my own mixture made up of whatever was hanging around in the fridge. It was definitely an improvement on baking alone, but still wasn’t quite as tasty as I’d hoped. I’m not one to give up though, so I’m sure I’ll have another go sometime in the future. I think the key might be to season the stuffing more as the marrow has such little taste. I also found an interesting sounding recipe for my onion squash. Hopefully I’ll have time on Saturday to give it a go.

For breakfast I had a protein shake and lunch was a fry up with gluten free sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, mushrooms and tomato. I also had some prosciutto as a mid-afternoon snack. And, for dessert this evening, I had a greek yoghurt.  

Today’s exercise:  A walk down to the Post Office and back

Carb's Eaten: 27G

Exercising to: Catching up on Wittertainment podcasts

Weight Loss = 1 stone and 11 pounds

Inch Loss = 12.5 inches

Mood: Procrastinating

Day Ninety Eight

I know, I’ve been a.w.o.l again. This was mainly due to a chest infection that left me feeling pretty crappy and made me disinclined to do anything much and everything I did do seemed to take three times as long, thus leaving little time for blogging. Suffice to say that with the exception of a couple of bottles of wine (an Italian Verdicchio and a Spanish rose Cava) which were supposed to help with wrapping the Christmas presents (I still have yet to start that task although the wine has gone) the food has been pretty much the usual fare – protein shakes, cheese, prosciutto and frozen meals with the odd bit of greenery thrown in for good measure. My weight hasn’t gone down any more, but then it hasn’t risen either, which is a good thing – in fact everything has been going along on a pretty even keel.

Until today.

Yesterday I got transfixed by a work colleague who was eating a bacon sandwich and although I kept trying to put it out of my mind the craving wouldn’t go away and I just knew I was going to fall.

Yes, I know that on the IPD I can eat bacon until it’s coming out of my ears, but this is different. I’m talking about a lovely greasy WHITE BREAD bacon sandwich with ketchup, which is something I haven’t had for over three months. By midnight last night I’d decided that I wasn’t going to make any breakfast for this morning, instead I was going to treat myself to the sandwich. Of course I wanted to control this so it didn’t turn into a complete disaster and so I took along lunch, although it happened to be the moussaka which is the highest carb meal I have: but maybe getting it all out of the way in one go is a good thing. For dinner tonight I had the picky stuff and a protein shake which are filling and very low carb.   

I had intended to visit the taxi stand, which does the best bacon rolls in London, but it was closed this morning and because I was unwilling to miss out on my cheat (and because I didn’t have anything else) I went instead to McDonalds, a place I haven’t visited in at least a year or so, and had a double sausage and egg muffin which tasted absolutely delicious. Interestingly though, it gave me indigestion after a couple of hours which is something I haven’t really had to deal with since I’ve got into low-carbing and it was an effective reminder of why I don’t want to start filling my body with carbs again.

Amazingly, when I looked up the nutritional value of the muffin it turned out to be less carbs than a bacon roll would have been, and at a fraction of the carbs that the sticky toffee pudding was last week, it wasn’t even enough to make me feel guilty about going to McDonalds. Although the end total for the day is rather scary, it wasn’t helped by having a couple of extra strong mints (to try and ease the indigestion) and a cup of tea that I had with a friend mid-morning (unfortunately our staff cafe doesn’t do rooibos and vanilla tea and I’m not keen on the fruit teas they serve).

But getting into work I was faced with another major temptation, this time in the form of a chocolate Yule Log. And on a day when I’d already cheated this was a serious temptation. I’m normally pretty good with Christmas food. I can ignore the mince pies, Christmas cake and Christmas pudding when they are passed around as I detest dried fruit and peel – but a chocolate Yule Log, especially when everyone else in the office is partaking, is a temptation too far.   

Now I think I’ve actually been doing really well on sticking to this way of eating, especially with the run up to Christmas. I’ve given away all fourteen pieces of my advent calendar chocolate, resisted all the other chocolates and goodies that have so far been brought into the office, haven’t succumbed to buying any of the festive fare that’s everywhere in the shops (I have a box of chocolates in the cupboard that are for Spain and I haven’t even once considered opening them) and even my works Christmas dinner wasn’t anywhere near as bad as it could have been. And so I had a piece of the Yule Log, although I did make sure it was a small piece and I logged it on my Fitday as if it was a full size piece.

Being serious I no longer think that I am going make my two stone target by Christmas as I only have one more weigh in before I go to Spain next week (and I have absolutely no intention of attempting to stick to low-carbing while I’m there as it will cause a lot of stress; and not just for me). As I seem to be plateauing at the moment, I think it’s unlikely that the three pounds that I need to shed to get to target is going to go, especially as I have a Christmas meal to attend with my best friend to make up for being away at Christmas on Friday and last minute drinks before I go away with other friends that I’ll miss over the holidays. I do still have another few sessions at the gym which will help. But experience has now taught me that toning up doesn’t mean losing weight and of course, I could be in the inch loss phase.

I’m not using this as an excuse to go mad and fall off the wagon, or as a justification for “cheating”. I’m merely expressing my current feelings about where I am with this way of eating. For once in my life I actually feel in control and I am happy to relax over the next few weeks and not worry too hard about what I eat and drink, knowing that once January comes I’ll be able to move back into low-carbing and with a new work out programme at the gym I’ll soon be back on track and hopefully moving onwards and downwards with my weight-loss.

Oh, and a couple of weeks on Phase One bootcamp probably wouldn’t go amiss either!    

By the way, if you want to see my finished Snape angel, you can check him out on my normal blog.

Today’s exercise:  A little more walking than normal as I had to track down McDonalds!

Carb's Eaten: 75.4

Exercising to: Christmas music all the way baby!

Weight Loss = 1 stone and 11 pounds

Inch Loss = 12.5 inches

Mood: Introspective