May 18th 2010

Today I started my weight-loss journey again. After losing 15 lbs in January and then giving up, I have gained 13 lbs of it back.

So I now start at 243 lbs.

I have set an initial target of 182 lbs. By this point I will look and feel like a different person, and I will set new goals at that stage. And I’ve also decided to set myself smaller goals along the way so that I can feel like I’m achieving.

My first goal is to lose 3 lbs a week until the end of June. If I am successful I will have dropped 20 lbs by the end of June, which will bring me to 223 lbs. I don’t care about anything other than THIS GOAL. This is my priority, so I’m going to put the rest of the weight-loss challenge out of my mind.

Today I haven’t snacked on anything bad and I’ve eaten healthily all day. For exercise I did around 3.5 miles of walking through woodland which took about an hour and a half.

January 19th 2010

A pretty bad day, I won’t bore you with the details. It involved a little overindulgence (not TOO much) and no exercise. Although as soon as I’ve finished writing this sentence I’m going to go do 30 mins of something, even though it’s 2:00am. I will NOT fail damnit!!!!

January 18th 2010

Woo, just recovering from 60 minutes of intense interval training (2 x 30 min sessions). If you want a good workout I really recommend Davina McCall’s workout DVDs, especially the 30 Minute workouts. Really get you working but it’s also fun and the music’s pretty good and upbeat! (…DVDs probably UK only). For breakfast I had low-fat Vanilla probiotic yogurt with sunflower seeds (..really yummy with yogurt) and fresh raspberries. Lunch was one slice of wholemeal bread served with a mixed pulses curry (…basically just a tin of mixed pulses with chopped tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic, fresh grated ginger, squeeze of lemon, coriander and a teaspoon of mild curry powder). Dinner was white fish pie with peas and carrots. For snacks I had some more yogurt with fresh cherries, seeds and raspberries. I might have another low-fat, low-sugar snack later!

January 17th 2010

First day without any exercise. I initially felt bad about it but now I’m over it and I’m just going to get focused again. I consciously ate healthy food and didn’t overeat at all so, even though it’s not been the best day for weight loss, it’s certainly not been the worst either. Onto tomorrow!

January 16th 2010

Great day today! Had a bit of a shaky afternoon – I ate some chocolate! But it was only half a bar, and it was dark chocolate so I’m going to forgive myself. I did a full 60 minute ‘interval training’ workout DVD – SERIOUS HARD WORK! But got through every section, sweated buckets and felt amazing afterwards. For food I ate wholemeal toast with honey + coffee (no sugar) for breakfast, jacket potato with prawn marie rose + coffee (no sugar) for lunch, and dinner of minced beef with vegetables on brown rice. Snacks included handful of raisins, and a few odd handfuls of cereal, THAT bit of chocolate and a shot of Cointreau. With all the exercise, I think I can forgive a little sugar. Good day, feeling great.

January 15th 2010

Today has been the first day of  my new challenge; to get PHIT for Feb 1st. This is how I’m going to work things – commit myself to just two weeks at a time. So, today’s exercise has been 20 minutes of vacuuming the house, and 20 minutes of interval training using a fitness DVD (40 mins total). For breakfast I had small bowl of Fruit & Fibre cereal, coffee (no sugar). Lunch was baked beans on 1 slice of wholemeal toast. A snack was a small tortilla wrap with tuna, cucumber and 1 tsp mayo. Dinner was minced beef, onion and vegetables (small portion) served on a bed of brown rice, with a large serving of purple cabbage and brussels sprouts. Drank lots of filtered water, and several coffees (no sugar).

1st WEIGH-IN!

Wowowowow. I’ve lost 10 lbs in 2 weeks! I’ve completely SMASHED my targets! I feel great! I’m a little concerned that the weight has come off so quickly but I’m also incredibly proud of myself for this achievement! So, my weight on Jan 1st was 245 lbs, and now it is 235 lbs. I’ve done this through completely changing my diet – I now eat more fruit and vegetables, I keep careful eye on the amount of sugar I consume, I’ve upped the amount of fibre going into my body by eating more pulses, beans and wholemeal products (pasta and bread). I’ve cut down my portions and have developed more of a ‘grazing on good foods’ kind of habit. I drink more filtered water and I feel like this has helped IMMENSELY.

Above all, my level of exercise has increased five fold! In the past 14 days I’ve done some form of exercise EVERY DAY. Most days I’ve really pushed myself to do either a workout DVD, some dancing in my living room or some boxercise. On the days where my aching muscles have begged for a break I have taken long 3 or 4 mile walks which are a little more gentle but still burn the calories.

It’s been hard work, but not as hard as I’d thought. I know I can do this now, but for me, the issue has always been sustaining the motivation, keeping focussed and getting off my backside. To ensure that I stay focussed I’m going to set a new 14 day target (approx.) which will take me up to February 1st. As much as I love to look into the future and imagine my new slimline body, I also need these smaller steps to ensure that I don’t go off track.

HERE’S TO THE NEXT FORTNIGHT! May it bring many successes!

January 14th 2010

Woooohoo, my first 14 days are DONE! I feel great to have reached this milestone, now I need to re-focus and get ready for the next 2 weeks. My first weigh-in is tomorrow morning, I will post the results on this blog! Today I did 1 hour 30 mins of interval training using Davina McCall’s “30 minute” workout DVDs. Breakfast was poached egg on wholemeal toast and coffee (no sugar). Lunch was mixed bean salad with chopped low-fat sausage, red and yellow peppers and olives. Dinner was 1 small turkey fajita, peas and a snack of a banana. During my workout I drank a lot of filtered water, and had two more coffees throughout the day.

January 13th 2010

Breakfast: Half a bowl of Fruit & Fibre cereal, coffee (no sugar) and small piece of french bread, thinly spread with honey. Lunch: Tuna sandwich (with 1 tbsp light mayo), cucumber, red and yellow peppers (raw) and 1 tomato. Snack: 2 mini Jaffa Cakes (gluten free). Dinner: Oriental turkey stir fry with vegetables. Exercise: 60 minute workout (2 x 30 mins) using Davina McCall’s workout DVD “My Three 30 Minute Workouts”. Drank LOTS of filtered water during the workout!

January 12th 2010

I can’t decide whether today was good or bad. I spent the day walking (I did about 3 or 4 hours walking the streets of London) which was brilliant exercise. For breakfast I had a small piece of french bread (white) with honey, a small bowl of Fruit and Fibre cereal and a coffee (no sugar). For a mid-morning snack I had a small white bread roll with one small serving of butter. Lunch was 6 pieces of sushi with fresh pickled ginger, a bottle of sparkling spring water and a double macchiato. I had a snack of raw carrots and podded peas. Dinner was OUT at a Chinese Buffet restaurant. I had two plates worth of food BUT – about 70% of each plate was vegetables (broccoli, courgettes, bean sprouts etc). I had a dessert of 2 small pieces of sponge cake with a little cream and nuts on the top. Bad! I also had two vodka and Diet Cokes, and a small bottle of Becks beer. SO – to summarize, I don’t know if the endless walking burned off the food/drinks I consumed.