From here to inskinnity! My mission to lose 13.5 stone!

Hey Bev :), just had a quick catch up on your diary. Well done on the low syn day :p. Glad you've been 100% since Monday and are feeling good about it. Hope you have a smashing big loss on Sunday ! Enjoy the rest of your week hun and good luck with your studies too. :)

Kay xx
 
OOh we have pasta bake about once a fortnight we have the tomato and herb and add tuna into it... I guess its easier for me to fit it in with counting calories... with low fat cheese it's not too hard to fit in really as it's my main meal. It's made me hungry now arghh craving pasta bake at 9.45am isn't good!
 
Mrs Ginger - Aww noo, craving pasta bake goodness at that time in the morning is never good, lol! I've had the tuna one before too and it's delicious. It's just hard to combine meat and pasta on slimming world as that means an EE day, so only half as much cheese unless I want to syn it. You can see why I don't have it very often!

Kay - Thanks hun, I'll just be happy with any loss this weekend, I'm tired of getting my hopes up and with * week looming I expect I'll be feeling pretty bloaty soon! Still hoping for some downward movement on the scales though...

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Well I've been walking my rather large butt off today! The street I normally park on has roadworks, so had to park further away at the top of a hill, lovely! On the plus side it was great body magic as managed around an hour of walking today in total rather than my usual 40 minutes.

I'm so proud of myself for how well I'm doing with the walking, but I know I can do a lot more exercise wise. I'm still struggling with the swimming if I'm honest. It's just finding the time and inclination to do it, especially when i'm finding it hard enough juggling work and uni! I'm seriously considering joining the gym, if I know I'm paying out so much each month for a service I'll want to get the most out of it. Plus if I join somewhere like the Virgin health club down the road it has really nice surroundings that would make working out seem a lot more enjoyable than at the grotty council pool. The only thing is the cost of £42 per month, and I'm trying to cut down my outgoings ahead of being a full time student, not increase them! :rolleyes: I might just park at the top of the hill for work, that way I'm forced to do an hours walking 5 times a week and I won't be beating myself up about the times I miss out on the swimming! We'll see how I feel about this option at 8am tomorrow ;)

Week 32, Day 3 - EE
Breakfast - Skipped, mad rush this morning!
Lunch - Ham sarni on 1 slice wm bread with tomato and light mayo - hexb + 2 syns , oreo cookie - 2.5 syns
Snack - muller, grapes, 2 x mini babybel (hexa)
Tea - Spicy sausage and veggie pasta - 9 syns
Total - 13.5 syns

In the mood for lots of comfort food this week, can't you tell * week is nearly in town with all the pasta I've eaten lately! Ah well it's still on plan, having chicken casserole tomorrow night at Chris's parents but will try and squeeze my second red day of the week in on Saturday.

Have a lovely day guys, can't wait for the weekend now! xx
 
Mrs Ginger - Aww noo, craving pasta bake goodness at that time in the morning is never good, lol! I've had the tuna one before too and it's delicious. It's just hard to combine meat and pasta on slimming world as that means an EE day, so only half as much cheese unless I want to syn it. You can see why I don't have it very often!

Kay - Thanks hun, I'll just be happy with any loss this weekend, I'm tired of getting my hopes up and with * week looming I expect I'll be feeling pretty bloaty soon! Still hoping for some downward movement on the scales though...

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Well I've been walking my rather large butt off today! The street I normally park on has roadworks, so had to park further away at the top of a hill, lovely! On the plus side it was great body magic as managed around an hour of walking today in total rather than my usual 40 minutes.

I'm so proud of myself for how well I'm doing with the walking, but I know I can do a lot more exercise wise. I'm still struggling with the swimming if I'm honest. It's just finding the time and inclination to do it, especially when i'm finding it hard enough juggling work and uni! I'm seriously considering joining the gym, if I know I'm paying out so much each month for a service I'll want to get the most out of it. Plus if I join somewhere like the Virgin health club down the road it has really nice surroundings that would make working out seem a lot more enjoyable than at the grotty council pool. The only thing is the cost of £42 per month, and I'm trying to cut down my outgoings ahead of being a full time student, not increase them! :rolleyes: I might just park at the top of the hill for work, that way I'm forced to do an hours walking 5 times a week and I won't be beating myself up about the times I miss out on the swimming! We'll see how I feel about this option at 8am tomorrow ;)

Week 32, Day 3 - EE
Breakfast - Skipped, mad rush this morning!
Lunch - Ham sarni on 1 slice wm bread with tomato and light mayo - hexb + 2 syns , oreo cookie - 2.5 syns
Snack - muller, grapes, 2 x mini babybel (hexa)
Tea - Spicy sausage and veggie pasta - 9 syns
Total - 13.5 syns

In the mood for lots of comfort food this week, can't you tell * week is nearly in town with all the pasta I've eaten lately! Ah well it's still on plan, having chicken casserole tomorrow night at Chris's parents but will try and squeeze my second red day of the week in on Saturday.

Have a lovely day guys, can't wait for the weekend now! xx

Shop around for well equipped private gyms.... Our gym is great and it only cost us £379 for me and hubby to get a 16 month membership for the two of us..... it was our anniversary present to each .... the idea being that if we keep fit we will have more anniversaries xx
 
Shop around for well equipped private gyms.... Our gym is great and it only cost us £379 for me and hubby to get a 16 month membership for the two of us..... it was our anniversary present to each .... the idea being that if we keep fit we will have more anniversaries xx

Aww what a lovely sentiment! I'm going to get looking for private gyms now, sounds like you got a good bargain! x
 
I'm seriously considering joining the gym, if I know I'm paying out so much each month for a service I'll want to get the most out of it. Plus if I join somewhere like the Virgin health club down the road it has really nice surroundings that would make working out seem a lot more enjoyable than at the grotty council pool. The only thing is the cost of £42 per month, and I'm trying to cut down my outgoings ahead of being a full time student, not increase them! :rolleyes:

Hi Bev! I think it's really important that the gym you choose is convenient location wise. My OH and I joined a gym which ended up being 3 buses away from us when we moved! Before it was 1 10 min bus journey away (we do drive but don't have a car in Paris as the transport is good and traffic is terrible!) and we'd go 2/3 mornings a week at 6:30 am! We did that for about 8 months. Then we moved and there was no way I could face getting 3 different buses (+ waiting time) so early of a morning or doing it after work! And thus I stopped going. F still goes sometimes, but only really if he wants to re-train body parts he has hurt in basketball training/matches. He def doesn't get his moneys worth.

I also think it is important that you feel good when you're there, which often depends on lots of things: the atmosphere, the staff, the people who go there etc.

The gym we were with was mainly full of 'normal' people. I definitely wouldn't have felt comfortable going if it was full of posers!

I'm not at all doubting your judgement! Just wanted to share factors that influenced me!

And at the end of the day, on the money subject, if you find a gym that you love and you know you want to go to then do it. You can't put a price on your health! But I'm not sure that paying for it will be enough motivation if one of the elements above is out of sync!

xx
 
Sophie - You're completely right about it needing to be the 'right' gym. I'm the same as you and would hate a gym full of posers. There's a gym (one of those cheap no contract ones) less than 5 minutes from my house but it just looks full of teenagers and chavs! I really wouldn't feel comfortable working out in that environment, so no matter how much I tell myself its great value I'd never ever go!

The only problem with a lot of the other ones is the fact they all try to tie me into a 12 month contract. I'm kinda hesitant to take one up as I've been a gym member several times before and I've always been stuck in long contracts without really making the most of it. I'm a great position now though to get myself exercising more as I'll be finishing work at 1pm from now on and so long as I can fit uni work in it's a great routine to incorporate exercise into. I mean seriously, if I can't do it now when I have a fantastic schedule, will I ever be able to do it when I'm at uni full time and working from Sept? Erm, nope.

That just reminds me actually, I read the article you posted about willpower yesterday, very interesting read! (If anyone is reading this and wants to take a look its here The science of willpower: Kelly McGonigal on sticking to resolutions | TED Blog) It made me think a lot about my motivations for the gym - i.e is it something I WANT to do, or something I feel that I SHOULD do? I honestly think I want to do it, but more for the results than any deep seated love of exercise. Don't get me wrong I enjoy exercise once I'm at the pool/gym and feel great for the rest of the day, its just getting me there in the first place that's the problem! I do want to change though and get more active, I just really need to consider my options, visit a few gyms and find the right one for me. And like you say it shouldn't be about money, you really can't put a price on your health. I honestly won't mind paying for an expensive gym if that's what it takes for me to actually go and enjoy it!

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As you can see I'm still indecisive about the whole gym thing! I've already requested a free trial day at the Fitness Unlimited gym near to work, so hopefully can get that arranged soon. In total I've got 3 options:

- Pure gym - £18 per month - classes and gym but no pool :( - 5 minutes from home
- Fitness unlimited - £29 per month (corporate rate through work) - 5 different sites across Sheffield (one next to work and 2 near home) - pools, exercise classes, gyms - bit grotty
- Virgin Gym 1 - £42 per month - pool, sauna, steam room, jacuzzi, exercise classes, gym - 5 minutes from home

I'm tempted to just say sod price and go with the Virgin gym, but its worth properly looking into it first rather than rushing. I just think if I'm going regularly I'd get my moneys worth for the sake of £10 more... it's only if I wasn't using it I'd be glad I picked the £18 one, and I'm not giving myself that option!

Anyway sorry for boring you all silly with this gym nonsense!

On a more exciting note it's Friiiidaaayyyy! Woop! It's gonna be a busy one for me this weekend getting the coursework finished, but tonight I'm uni free and visiting Chris's parents and going to the cinema. We haven't been in a couple of weeks so it'll feel like a nice change, Chris has been nagging about seeing Grand Budapest Hotel for ages so we're off to see that.

I'm having serious withdrawal symptoms from socialising lately, it's all down to this uni work, so when its out of the way next Wed I've got lots of plans for catching up with friends and going out for movies/meals/you name it! It's not going to be very SW friendly, but after being a social hermit for the last few weeks I want to let my hair down a little. I hate making healthy choices when I eat out, but I'll try and limit the off plan meals to just 1 or 2. I'm desperate to try this new BBQ restaurant called Smoke, it's been getting rave reviews from friends and colleagues so can't wait to finally go!

Week 32, Day 3 - EE
Breakfast - Chewy D - 5 syns
Snack - 2 munchies - 2 syn
Lunch - Ham sarni with tomato and 2 slices wm bread - hexb + 6 syns
Snack - Grapes and 2 x mini babybels (hexa)
Tea - Chicken casserole with potato, peas, swede, mushrooms, gravy - 2 syns
Total - 14 syns

Fairly high syn day today but most of those syns comprise extra hexb's as I've actually had 3 today (chewy D and 2 slices wm bread). Hopefully that'll get the pf paying me a visit soon. She needs to get a skuttle on though as I haven't been for days! The pasta I've been eating more of lately really hasn't helped my digestion one bit!

Seriously nervous about WI on Sunday as I don't feel lighter at all. If anything the post * week bloat is beginning, ugh. Will honestly be happy with half a pound this week and I never thought I'd be saying that! :p
 
Hey Bev :), just catching up on your diary. It's great that you want to join a gym. I think your right if you have the time in your schedule then its defo worth trying to fit it in. Hope your able to find the right gym for you. Wanted to wish you lots of luck hun for weigh in tomorrow ! Hope you come back with a big smile and a great loss :p .

Kay xx
 
Sorry hun I didn't see your post on my diary have just replied to it, won't repeat on here, you made me cry :cry: . Thanks so much for your kind words and support, I really appreciate it. :)

Hugs Kay xx
 
Hey Bev :), just catching up on your diary. It's great that you want to join a gym. I think your right if you have the time in your schedule then its defo worth trying to fit it in. Hope your able to find the right gym for you. Wanted to wish you lots of luck hun for weigh in tomorrow ! Hope you come back with a big smile and a great loss :p .

Kay xx

Thanks hun! Its actually gonna be on Sunday this week. After the impromptu Indian on Sunday night (when the cat ate the casserole! :D) I decided to give myself an extra day. There's no way I'd have an EE day with 14 syns before wi! Low syn red day tomorrow ;)

I just think with the gym its something I need to make time for. I want it to be something I can do for the rest of my life and the easiest time to incorporate it has to be this year when I'm changing my diet and lifestyle around. I'm scared I'm going to join and not go, I won't lie. But I know I need to do it if that makes sense, I don't want saggy skin! I've been lucky up to now but with 7st to go I'm so nervous about it, those programmes on the telly don't help! :rolleyes:

Aww, your reply popped up as I was typing this, I never meant to make you cry, silly sausage! I'll always support you all the way, just like you do with me. xxxx
 
Oh yea now I remember your weigh in is Sunday, silly me. I was thinking hmm she's doing 14 syns lol . I should have known you do low syn day before weigh in, I forgot. Yep with gym its so important to find the right one, espesh once your stuck in a contract. What I did is I booked myself for one of their trial days then I decided. I looked at the following factors before making my decision, location, membership fee, contract details, staff and pt trainers, hygiene, talked to existing members to review it in their words staff will always try and encourage you to join, equipment and how new it was, opening hours. I went to 3 and kind of scored them on all those things and then made my decision. Like you I didn't mind spending the money for quality but strangely enough the area I am in it turned out the expensive had too many members and was over crowded and the no contract budget one was actually brand new and scored high on my criteria. I am with them now, they are 24 hour 7 days a week, its a fab gym and the members gave me rave reviews about it and all the pt trainers are excellent. Whats even better is, if you have a month when you can't go they only take £5 from you to freeze your membership until you are ready to comeback again. :)

I have a feeling once you join you will get addicted to it and start really enjoying it :p. I hope you find the right one for you hun.

Kay xx
 
I would try the cheaper one for 3 months and if you dont like it after that move to Virgin. Every month you are at the cheaper one you are saving £24 - which is £288 a year.....think of the nights out/new outfits that would buy!!
Just my view babe xxx
 
I dont swim so I'd go for pure gym I don't think it'd bother me having no pool but if that's important to u if go for the grotty one! (Lol) the £42 one just seems so expensive! X
 
Just got in from the cinema, Grand Budapest Hotel was such a stunning movie to watch, really enjoyed it!

As for gyms, Chris suggested I try the pure gym with no contract and see how I get on. All the others need a 12 month commitment, which is why im so wary given my gym history, or lack of! Gonna check a few out first though. Like Kay says there are so many factors to consider, i never even though about how busy they might be or the newness of the equiptment. I know pure gym only opened last year so should be all brand new, just hope its not too busy. I agree with Rochelle that Virgin sounds expensive, if Pure Gym does the job why pay double?! Elle put it into a nice perspective with the savings! Such a difference over a year.

The only downside is the lack of swimming, but I can still just pay to use my local pool. I have a discount card so its only £2 a time.

Anyway, i'll shurrup now about the gym - I swear I talk about exercise far more than I do it!
 
Do you have a YMCA nearby?

Most people think I'm mad, I now drive past two other gyms to get there but I love it, the people are great, the instructors are great and I never felt uncomfortable in there, which makes a huge difference.

I did a 10 day trial for £10 and joined afterwards, this is the longest I've stuck to a gym and I'm off there in 2 hours for Pilates and PT session.

Another option is to buy a few bits for home, I have skipping rope, 2 kettlebells, step deck and some dumbbells, cost about £60 for all of it but it's a great work out :)
 
Jody - I had a look and there isn't a YMCA gym near me unfortunately or I'd have checked it out. Its great you've found somewhere you feel comfortable to work out. I think that's part of the battle really, if its somewhere you feel judged or looked down on by posers its just not somewhere you want to go, no matter how much you want to exercise. Hope you enjoy your session today, what's pilates like? I definitely want to get involved with the classes, can't wait till I can Zumba again!

As for working out at home I've tried that before and I just haven't had the motivation to do it unfortunately. I've still got 4 untouched Gillian Micheal DVD's sitting on the shelf! Maybe once I get back into the exercising mood I'll be in a better place to do it at home too.

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Gorgeous Saturday morning here in sunny Sheff! I've been out and about this morning doing the big shop with Chris. Always love supermarket shopping, sounds pretty sad but I really do enjoy it! In light of the fact that next weekend I've got 2 off plan meals out I've skipped treat night this week. Still going to be having a home made cheese burger fakeaway tomorrow night, but it'll all be within syns.

I've decided I'm going to focus a lot more closely on portion sizes. I had tuna jacket potato and salad for lunch and literally was piling the salad on to use it up, I didn't realise until Chris pointed out it was like a mountain! I know it's only salad but I still didn't need that much, so took half of it off and saved it for tomorrow. I was still really full after, but I know if it was on my plate I'd have eaten it just because it was in front of me! Really need to nip things like that in the bud, I know for a fact with some of the pasta meals I've had this week I didn't need as much as I've had. At least I'm noticing these things though and I'm going to consciously work on them next week. I don't want to give the you all idea that I've been having massive portions, because I haven't, but I've probably gone for an extra scoop of pasta when realistically I already had enough, so I don't want it getting out of hand.

I'm pretty sure weigh in tomorrow is going to be a complete write off for a number of reasons:
1. I haven't had a pf visit in just over 4 days. If I don't go before WI tomorrow it'll be FIVE DAYS!
2. * week is immanent and I feel all bloaty (unless that's because the lack of pf action!)
2. I haven't had a fantastic week - my portions have been off, I've had more green and EE days than normal, last weekend was a write off and I know I can do better!

So yeah, if I do get a loss tomorrow i'm not sure I deserve it really. Though I've had 6 days technically on plan they've all (bar 1) been at the high syn end of the spectrum and a lot more carby than usual. At least I've done 4 hours walking this week, lets hope that saves me tomorrow! *crosses fingers*

Week 32, Day 5 - Red
Breakfast - Chewy D - hexb
Lunch - Tuna mayo (3 syns) with cheese (1/2 hexa) jacket potato (hexb) with side salad - 3 syns
Snack - Mixed berries and muller
Tea - 2 red peppers wrapped in bacon stuffed with philly - 1.5 hexa + 3 syns
Total - 6 syns
 
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Speak of the devil and she shall appear - pf has just visited - PHEW!
 
Send her to me - i have not seen her in a long time!!!

I've booted her out of the door and she's on her way to you! ;) Just send her back for tomorrow morning! LOL
 
Rang up Pure Gym earlier to arrange a visit and surprisingly someone was free this afternoon, so I've just got back from a look around. Facilities look great, open 24 hours, brilliant price and over 40 classes a week, so I'll be joining on the 31st! Eek! So much for looking around eh? :p I'd join sooner if I could but want to wait till pay day so I can get the right direct debit date!

I'm pretty excited and it means I'm going to set myself an exercise challenge for April. I really want to give things a shake up and see if I can get bigger losses. Although in the past I've found this hasn't happened, I don't think I was physically doing enough exercise over a long enough period, if that makes sense! I'm planning on really pushing myself, going 5 days a week and upping the red days. I've got just over a month until Tunisia and I want to be comfortably into the 18's by then if at all possible. More importantly though I want to look and feel smaller!

Sooo my challenge for April:
- 5 days a week at the gym/pool
- 5 red days a week
- eating more salads and soups (I'm not a soup person but after seeing the results of the soup challenge I'm going to try and find some I like)
- always snack on super free first (instead of the mullers!)

With exercise I don't think the scales always give an accurate measurement so I'm going to get the tape measure out at the start of the month and then again at the end of the month and see what the changes are! Oh and don't worry, it goes without saying that I'm going to listen to my body and take good care of myself.

Hmm... now I need to find an industrial sports bra in a G cup, any ideas?! :eek:
 
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