Emma's Journey from Fat and Frumpy to Fit and Fabulous!

That's fantastic, well done :)
 
Thanks everyone.

I've been so busy this week, but I've stuck to plan and I'm still feeling great! I'm back home with my family for the bank holiday weekend, so I'm hoping to resist temptation to slip back to eating bad food. I really fancied Chinese last night, but I had a jacket potato with spaghetti hoops and salad instead. My boyfriend was being mean and showing me photos of pizza to try and tempt me, but I managed to resist. We're going to try and make our own healthier pizzas on Monday, hopefully they'll be tasty because pizza is my ultimate weakness.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!


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Thanks everyone. I've been so busy this week, but I've stuck to plan and I'm still feeling great! I'm back home with my family for the bank holiday weekend, so I'm hoping to resist temptation to slip back to eating bad food. I really fancied Chinese last night, but I had a jacket potato with spaghetti hoops and salad instead. My boyfriend was being mean and showing me photos of pizza to try and tempt me, but I managed to resist. We're going to try and make our own healthier pizzas on Monday, hopefully they'll be tasty because pizza is my ultimate weakness. Hope you all have a lovely weekend! Sent from my iPad using MiniMins.com

Well done on resisting!! Glad things are going well! Any bank holiday plans?
 
Pizza is my weakness as well. I tried to cook a healthy version, but it didn't work.
If you find a good recipe, please, let me know :/

Enjoy your weekend!
 
My bank holiday plans are pretty simple - I went to a gig last night as one of my friends is in a band, and then tonight I'm going to see the new Avengers film at the cinema. Going for a pub meal first, looking forward to a nice steak with a jacket potato and salad :)

I've been really good this weekend. We made chicken tacos for tea yesterday before the gig, and although there was about 6 syns in each one including seasoning and salsa, I only had two while my boyfriend had 3. I was hungry after the gig and really fancied a chicken kebab, but I resisted. I'm really proud of myself.

My main worry is that I don't want to feel like I can't have a takeaway every now and then. When I lost 4st over the last few years (not following SW) I still had pizza every Saturday. The weight came off more slowly, but I didn't feel deprived. I want to be able to have a treat once or twice a month and not feel guilty about it. I'm going to buy the Fakeaways book, but I still want the real thing every so often too.

Do any of you still have a cheeky takeaway every now and then? I wouldn't even know where to begin with counting syns for it :/

I shall keep you all updated with the pizza tomorrow if it works out. I've got a pizza base mix from asda which is 7 syns for a quarter, so it's not the best but I'm still going to give it a try.


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I do occasionally, for the plan to be a realistic way of life you have to be able to include everything... There are some guidelines for syns in your plan book but tbh I'd probably just assume it was loads and write it off as an off plan meal!

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I do occasionally, for the plan to be a realistic way of life you have to be able to include everything... There are some guidelines for syns in your plan book but tbh I'd probably just assume it was loads and write it off as an off plan meal!

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Thanks for the advice - writing it off sounds like a good plan. I've bought the Fakeaways book at group tonight so hopefully I'll be able to satisfy my cravings without going completely off plan :)
 
I've just got back from my second weigh-in, and I lost 4.5lbs! Got my half stone award and won slimmer of the week :D

I'm really happy because I've worked really hard this week, and managed to stay on plan all weekend (even though I had popcorn at the cinema last night and an ice cream at the beach today). I could have quite easily had a takeaway, I really really wanted one, but I was able to resist. And I'm proud of myself.

I was hoping to lose a stone before my holiday in July, but I've still got 11 weeks to go and I'm only 5.5lbs away from a stone now, so I'm thinking I might increase my target to two stone. I'm happy to lose 2lbs a week now that I've got my first half stone, but I'll be over the moon if I continue to lose 4lbs per week!

I read on another post that one member is counting her half stone chunks as steps/phases/stages. She had 6st to lose, so said it was 12 steps. I had 5st to lose, so in effect I re-started with 10 steps/phases/stages to go through. I'm now safely through the first stage, and onto stage 2. It's a good way to look at it, breaking it down into small chunks, as 5st seems like a massive amount to lose, but 10 sets of half stones sounds so much more achievable.

I was back at home with my parents and my boyfriend this weekend, so that was a bit tricky, but luckily my boyfriend is on board and he wants to lose a few pounds too. He's been encouraging mostly, but he has his moments where he tries to tempt me with pizza. But I'm able to resist, so that's good.

Food wise, I had tacos on Saturday and a steak at the pub on Sunday. I planned to make home-made pizza today, but we ended up going down to the beach as it was such a nice day. We ended up skipping lunch, but we did have a big breakfast of bacon and eggs with a big bowl of fruit, so I wasn't hungry. I sneakily had an ice cream whilst at the beach, but I don't feel guilty because it was a small one, and I didn't have any lunch. I've had pasta and salad for tea this evening, and now I'm starting to think about my meal plans for the rest of the week.

I've pulled mince out of the freezer so I'll make spaghetti bolognese tomorrow. I'll be going shopping after work tomorrow to re-stock, so I'll probably have bacon and scrambled eggs on Wednesday, and something with chicken on Thursday and Friday. Might try to make the chicken chow mein from the Fakeaways book on Friday, that'll give me something to look forward to.

Hope you all have a good week and good luck with your weigh-ins :)
 
Well done :)
 
Today has been another good day :) I forgot to prepare overnight oats last night so I just had a hi-fi light bar and an apple for breakfast. Had leftover pasta and salad for lunch, and then went food shopping after work. I've bought tons of herbs and spices and stuff to get a proper stock cupboard up and running, so I can be prepared to cook anything I fancy.

Tonight I made spaghetti bolognese from scratch for the very first time, and it was really tasty! I used onions, sweetcorn, green pepper, and two tins of chopped tomatoes, and I chucked in a stock pot and some Italian herbs. It was a big packet of mince, so I've managed to have tea tonight, lunch for tomorrow, and two extra portions made up to keep in the freezer. I'm really chuffed with myself because I honestly don't think I've ever chopped an onion before!

So now I've got lots of yummy foods in the cupboard and the fridge, and I'm feeling really positive about the rest of the week. I'm aiming to lose 2lbs per week from now on, but obviously I'll be happy if I lose more. I haven't quite gotten round to introducing exercise into my new lifestyle just yet, but I'm working on it.

Also, in other news, I've managed to bag myself a job interview for a new teaching job closer to home where my parents and boyfriend live, so fingers crossed I might be able to move back home in the summer and finally move in with my boyfriend! Exciting times :) It'll be really good for me to move back home so I can live like a proper adult, instead of feeling like I'm still a student going home for the weekends and holidays. I'm 26 now, and I want to settle down. We're planning to get married in two years and then start a family, and I can't do that if I'm living 90 miles away. I'm really excited about it, please keep your fingers crossed for me!
 
Today has been another good day :) I forgot to prepare overnight oats last night so I just had a hi-fi light bar and an apple for breakfast. Had leftover pasta and salad for lunch, and then went food shopping after work. I've bought tons of herbs and spices and stuff to get a proper stock cupboard up and running, so I can be prepared to cook anything I fancy. Tonight I made spaghetti bolognese from scratch for the very first time, and it was really tasty! I used onions, sweetcorn, green pepper, and two tins of chopped tomatoes, and I chucked in a stock pot and some Italian herbs. It was a big packet of mince, so I've managed to have tea tonight, lunch for tomorrow, and two extra portions made up to keep in the freezer. I'm really chuffed with myself because I honestly don't think I've ever chopped an onion before! So now I've got lots of yummy foods in the cupboard and the fridge, and I'm feeling really positive about the rest of the week. I'm aiming to lose 2lbs per week from now on, but obviously I'll be happy if I lose more. I haven't quite gotten round to introducing exercise into my new lifestyle just yet, but I'm working on it. Also, in other news, I've managed to bag myself a job interview for a new teaching job closer to home where my parents and boyfriend live, so fingers crossed I might be able to move back home in the summer and finally move in with my boyfriend! Exciting times :) It'll be really good for me to move back home so I can live like a proper adult, instead of feeling like I'm still a student going home for the weekends and holidays. I'm 26 now, and I want to settle down. We're planning to get married in two years and then start a family, and I can't do that if I'm living 90 miles away. I'm really excited about it, please keep your fingers crossed for me!

Well done on the job interview!! I'm waiting to hear on one too for the reason! My other half and I have been together 5 years and wanting to settle down but we're 80 miles apart at the moment! I will keep my fingers crossed for you :)
 
Congratulations for the great loss and the cooking thing :D
I love cooking, but I improvise a lot because I never have the fancy ingredients. Tonight I made a sauce for my salmon which was basically goat cheese with canned peas and carrots + herbs. It was awesome!

I agree about the take away, you have to please yourself every once and a while. We are humans and food is good, we have the right to enjoy it as everybody -- I know it sounds better when we read, but in reality there is a lot of guilty and self-blame involved, I'm working on that.

Good luck in your job interview!
 
Thanks guys. I'm waiting to hear about another job too, the deadline for that is tomorrow so hopefully I'll have two interviews next week! It's been a stressful few months, but things are starting to turn around now. I'm still finding it hard to comprehend how much my attitude and outlook have changed just since I started eating more healthily. I'm so much more positive these days, I love it!

I'm feeling hopeful that I'll be moving back home. I've only officially been with my boyfriend for six months, but we have been best friends for five years and were casually seeing each other for three years before I moved away for my new job. Quite literally the week after I moved away, he decided he wanted to be serious after saying for three years that he just wanted to keep it casual! The little sod haha. It was good though, I definitely think if I hadn't moved away, he wouldn't have realised just how much he loves me and misses me when I'm not there. I just really want to settle down now!
 
Good luck with your interviews!!!

Fingers crossed for you, would be great if you can move back home.

Dxxx
 
Bit of a weird day today. Food-wise I've been fine, but a guy has gone missing from my home town and it's really shaken me. I went to uni for my PGCE and was on placement with the guy's girlfriend. It's the kind of thing you don't expect to happen to anybody you actually know in real life. He went out in Newcastle on Monday night, and hasn't been seen since around midnight. They think he might have gotten a taxi or tried to walk back home to Hebburn (about 20 minutes drive, so much longer walking), and he just didn't turn up. He didn't turn up for work at 4pm on Tuesday and his phone is dead. Nobody has seen him since he left the club around midnight on Monday. I honestly can't believe something like this could happen, and all I've had on my mind today is how would I cope if something like that ever happened to my boyfriend or a member of my family? It's absolutely awful.

Food for today has been a bit minimal. I started work at 10am so I only had my breakfast on my lunch break at 12.30. I had leftover spaghetti bolognese for tea when I got home at 5.30pm. I haven't really been feeling hungry, maybe it's the shock and stress of the situation. Hopefully there'll be some news soon.
 
Bit of a weird day today. Food-wise I've been fine, but a guy has gone missing from my home town and it's really shaken me. I went to uni for my PGCE and was on placement with the guy's girlfriend. It's the kind of thing you don't expect to happen to anybody you actually know in real life. He went out in Newcastle on Monday night, and hasn't been seen since around midnight. They think he might have gotten a taxi or tried to walk back home to Hebburn (about 20 minutes drive, so much longer walking), and he just didn't turn up. He didn't turn up for work at 4pm on Tuesday and his phone is dead. Nobody has seen him since he left the club around midnight on Monday. I honestly can't believe something like this could happen, and all I've had on my mind today is how would I cope if something like that ever happened to my boyfriend or a member of my family? It's absolutely awful. Food for today has been a bit minimal. I started work at 10am so I only had my breakfast on my lunch break at 12.30. I had leftover spaghetti bolognese for tea when I got home at 5.30pm. I haven't really been feeling hungry, maybe it's the shock and stress of the situation. Hopefully there'll be some news soon.

How awful... Things like that really do make you think don't they... Fingers crossed he turns up safe and well...
 
Still no news about the missing guy, it's been nearly 72 hours since he was last seen.

Had a good day for food today at least, but I've been feeling very fraught and emotional. This has really shaken me for some reason. But in a way, it has kinda confirmed for me that giving up a job I was offered here in Leeds to move back home was the right thing to do. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something awful happened to my family while I was living away.

I have also been told that the second school I applied to has requested my references, which is a good indication that I'll be offered an interview. I haven't had any contact from them yet to confirm it, but I'm hoping to hear tomorrow. They said the interview will be the week commencing the 11th, so it has to be one day next week, and it's only fair to give people a bit of notice to prepare. I really need one of these jobs to work out for me, otherwise I'm going to be jobless after the summer. I feel in my gut that I'm making the right decision and it's going to work out for me, so I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed and hope I don't blow it at the interview.

Food for today:
B: overnight oats (HE B) with fat free cherry yoghurt and grapes
L: ham salad - lettuce, tomato and cucumber
T: bacon, scrambled egg with laughing cow extra light triangles (HE A) mashed in, and spaghetti hoops
Snacks: big bowl of grapes and strawberries with fat free cherry yoghurt on top and a bag of Asda's cheap version of Skips crisps (4.5 syns).

I've only had 4.5 syns so far today, but I don't really want to eat more just for the sake of eating more. I'm not hungry just now, but I might have a Hi-Fi Light bar later and count it as 3 syns as I've already had my HE B with breakfast.

I've made overnight oats and ham salad again for lunch tomorrow, then I'm not sure what I'll have for tea. I've got the rest of the bacon left over from tonight so I might have bacon and eggs again, but I want to try cooking something new. I might wait until Saturday to do that though.

Quiet weekend in Leeds for me this weekend, hopefully get lots of planning done for the next three weeks. Work is going to be a bit quieter after tomorrow as most of my classes are year 12 and they go off on study leave tomorrow. Their first exam is on Monday, so I'm a bit nervous about how they'll get on as it's my first year of teaching and I'm hoping for good results. I won't find out until August but I can't help worrying anyway.

I'm hoping for a good loss again on Monday. 2lbs a week would be ideal. I've already lost 8.5 and then I've got 11 weeks until my holiday so if I lose another 22lbs, I could in theory lose 30.5lbs before I go away. It's crazy to think I was hoping to lose 1st and I could actually lose 2 if I stick to the plan.

If I get down to 14st 7lbs that'll mean I'm only 9lbs away from the lowest weight I got to before I went on holiday last year (13st 12lbs). And then once I get back to 13st 12lbs, I'll only have just over 2st to go to hit my ultimate goal weight (11st 7lbs)! It makes it seem so much more achievable if you break it down into smaller chunks.

Hope everyone is having a good week!
 
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