Tuesday 31 August 2010

Stuck in a rut

Week 4 total weight loss - 0lbs!!

Nothing! Nada! Zilch! Not a measly lb have I shed this week. I wish I could say it was because I had a night on the vino or because I scoffed a huge slice of cheesecake - but I've been saintly all week and I've done heaps of exercise. It makes no sense! Aaargh.

All week I kept expecting my weight to suddenly drop, but the scales didn't budge. I know I should be grateful that I didn't gain, I know I should be pleased with my weigh loss so far, but if I'm totally honest I'm really disappointed. I had hope that I would have reached my first mini goal of 1 stone by now. Anyway enough of the moping, I just hope for more success in the next week.

On another note, thanks to Charlotte for the lovely comments on her blog, it cheered me up on an otherwise miserable Sunday!

All the exercise I've done this week has got me thinking - I want to climb a mountain! Yup, I'm gonna ditch my heels for hiking boots. I probably should have decided that when the weather was a bit warmer....

Friday 27 August 2010

Under the weather

Summer is officially over and the gloomy weather is making me feel miserable. The temperature has dropped, jumpers and jackets are out of the wardrobe after their brief hibernation and an umbrella has taken up permanent residence in my handbag.
Winter is usually comfort food central for me, so I know that I'll find it difficult once the dark evenings and endless days of thick cloud and heavy rain kick in. Hopefully the thought of looking fabulous for xmas parties will keep me motivated!

The exciting news is that I got my first compliment about the weight loss yesterday from a friend who doesn't know about the diet! Sure my close friends and family tell me that they can see a difference, but I'm never entirely sure whether they're just being nice. Yay, it's official now - there is a visible difference! Once I've lost a stone I'm planning on posting some progress picture, I was hoping to get there by the end of week 4 but despite the PP day this week and heaps of excersise the scales are not budging this week : (

Yesterday I went to one of my favourite cocktail spots and drank......diet coke. It was a very strange experience indeed! I'm starting to think I might be able to make it through my trip to vegas a few weeks time without the booze - or maybe I'm kidding myself thinking that I can make it though a week in sin city without a sin or two! 

Tuesday 24 August 2010

Mallercise - my favourite way to burn calories!

Week 3 - Total weight loss 3lbs

For years I've been telling people that shopping is my favourite sport, so you can imagine my amusement when I came across this article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/apr/29/healthandwellbeing.fitness

I could be burning up to 400 calories every lunch hour, as I power my way round the local mall, although you wouldn't catch me lunging in the middle of Debenhams! Mallercise has even made its way in to the urban dictionary - love it! I hope they introduce for the 2012 Olympics.

Anyway, I digress - I'm 11lbs down now and I've lost 15% of the total amount that I plan to lose. Not bad! Although I was disappointed to discover that my "True weight", 156lbs would still put me in the overweight category in terms of BMI, despite being at the lower end of the healthy weight range for my height - all very confusing.

True to my word, I did a proper workout today, half an hour of Davina Fit work out DVD. It was all going so well, until I turned around to see the paperboy gawping at me through the window as I jumped around like a maniac! Cringe. Oh, and of course I did my daily hour of Mallercise too.

Monday 23 August 2010

Socially awkward...

Lately my social life has been testing my will power. At a BBQ this weekend I literally had to fend off friends, who were desperate to ply me with alcohol. If another person asks me whether I'm not drinking because I'm pregnant, I'm going to scream!

What is the big deal about booze? Am I just more fun to be around when I'm hammered....hmmm, I have photographic evidence which would suggest not!

Plus, I have a Birthday dinner coming up this week on a pure protein day - no idea how that will work.

Anyway, I kicked off my exercise as planned today with a 40 minute walk, despite heavy rain. Tomorrow I plan to do a proper workout, cardio, abs, weights - the works.

Saturday 21 August 2010

Totally losing it! (weight that is)

Week 2 - Total weight loss 3.5lb

So I've soared past the half stone mark - I'm 8lbs lighter and my clothes are feeling a little loose. My goal for the third week is to add some more exercise in, I've been doing and hour of walking everyday (ok walking combined with shopping, but walking nonetheless), but I need to up the ante now.

I'm a big fan of workout DVDs and workout games on the WII these days, when the weather is rubbish. If it's nice, then long walks or even jogging. I can be quite disciplined if I put my mind to it and workout 3/4 times a week, but if I get out out of the habit (which happened a few months ago) I find it very difficult to start up again!

I'm committing myself to start again ON MONDAY. There...it's in writing now so I have to do it.

On another note, a rather exciting one, I have booked a holiday to Las Vegas with my husband and my mother-in-law for 3 weeks time! I am hoping that I can lose a stone in total or more before then. But how will stick to the no alcohol rule on holiday?

Erm...what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas - does that apply to diets?

Thursday 12 August 2010

Dining out dilemma

Who doesn’t love going out for dinner?

Normally I would jump at the chance! I would relish the thought of knocking back the wine, while my friend divulges the latest gossip - sharing some garlic bread while we eagerly await the main course.

Not tonight….

It’s the first time I’ve eaten out since starting the diet last week and I don’t think it’s going to be easy. The first hurdle is finding something that I can actually eat legitimately! It’s too early to be bending the rules, but we are going to “Carb hell” otherwise known as Pizza Express. A salad is the only option, but even they come with bread sticks.

I think it pays to do your homework, so I’ve been on to the website to peruse the menu for suitable options. Luckily they also have a list of calorie content in everything, so I can make an informed decision – Pollo Verdure Salad(unfortunately without the breadsticks).

I know it’s going to be a test of my will power to pass up a nice relaxing glass of Pinot Grigio and persuasive arguments such as “oh go on, one glass won’t hurt will it?”. But I’m on this diet for a reason – to get healthy and feel happy – so I will resist temptation.

Tuesday 10 August 2010

Cruising along nicely!

Week 1 - total loss 4.5lbs

I've reached the end of week one, completed the attack phase and I have moved on to the cruise phase of the diet. This involves adding vegetable into the mix for five days and then switching back to pure protein for five days. The 5/5 pattern continues until you reach your goal weight, which for me should hopefully be January (just in time for my birthday!).

The week hasn't felt too challenging, I haven't felt hungry particularly and drinking lots of water has done wonders for my skin. I'm really pleased with my loss so far and I feel like I'm really getting somewhere this time. Plus I have a great incentive, my husband has said he will by me a Thomas Sabo charm bracelet when I have lost a stone and a charm for additional each stone I lose. I think it's really important to reward yourself, but never do it with food!

If there's one thing I've learnt through my many years of yo-yo dieting, it's not to use food as a means of rewarding yourself or cheering yourself up. How many times have I had a rubbish day at work and thought chocolate or a chinese take out was the answer? It works for all of a few hours and then I end up feeling ten times worse, because I know what it'll mean the next time I get on the scales. So in my opinions rewards should be something you'll enjoy without feeling guilty.

Friday 6 August 2010

Attack!

The first phase of the Dukan diet consists of 2-7 days of a pure protein diet and I'm aiming for 5 days. It should be interesting as I'm not a huge meat eater and I'm a carb junkie.

It wasn't until dinner time on day one that I started to panic, all day at work I had been drinking plenty of water and merrily eating chicken and 0% fat yogurts and I wasn't even feeling peckish. But at dinner I looked at my steak and 2 measly gherkins and thought, there is no way this ever going to fill me up - where are the potatoes, where is the salad and where is the steak sauce for crying out loud? To my surprise, I ate the steak very purposefully savouring every mouthful and when I finished I felt satisfied, not full exactly but I definitely felt like I had eaten a decent meal. Plus I still had the essential oat bran gallate to come.

Woke up on day two feeling sprightly, despite supposed lack of energy I should be experiencing from lack of carbs and was intrigued to hop on the scales. The book says to weigh yourself every day - which is not something I'm in the habit of doing as it's usually bad news. I wasn't expecting any change because I lose weight very slowly, but sure enough I'd already lost 1.5lbs! That would normally take me a week to lose at weight watchers.

Now before you try and burst my bubble, I know it's probably just water weight, but it's an encouraging start to somebody who wants to lose weight quickly. Yay me!

My next challenge is having a guest over for dinner (I'm determined not to let it affect my social life). Have to cook 2 separate meals and avoid looking like a total weirdo!

Dukan do it!

So I've chosen to follow the Dukan diet - and it's pretty extreme! I've followed lots of diets before, the most successful being weight watchers, but I needed something different this time. Weight watchers is a great diet, there's so much flexibility and you can pretty much eat anything, within reason, but I find the weight loss slow and it's easy to over indulge inadvertently by not measuring something or forgetting to add points. That said I may well revert to it once I've reached my goal weight (9 stone 10 according to Dr Dukan) to help me maintain it.

Anyway I wanted a diet that helped you to lose weight quickly and something that was structured - this seemed to fit the bill nicely. I bought the book from amazon after reading some impressive reviews and eagerly awaited it's arrival.

The book is easy to read and has some interesting ideas about additional ways to lose weight, like turning the heating down in your house to 23 degrees so that your body has to work harder and burn calories to keep your body temperature regulated. Interesting, but not particularly useful in summer!

Fat free

I've been that girl before, you know,  the one who looks fabulous in anything. When I was 19 I lost about 5 stone on the weight watchers diet and was a skinny minnie all through my uni years. But I came home, got a desk job, ate my husbands cooking and the rest is history. And here I find myself 28 years old and in an even worse situation than before, one I swore I'd never go back to - one I literally used to have nightmares about when I was thin.

My wardrobes (yes pleural, I love to shop) are like a clothes store, with sizes from 8-16 and I have been all of those sizes over the years, but at the moment even 16 feels tight and I need take action.

So if you want to join me on my journey back to slimness, here it goes - post your comments please to let me know you're out there. Perhaps we can help to motivate each other?