Tracey's healthy yummy lovely journey

Thanks! Your food sounds so yummy! I'm from Wicklow so not too far from your neck of the woods :) I saw you're joining a SW group tomorrow? Best of luck xxx

Thanks hun, I try to make things as tasty as possible. Ah lovely my stepdad is from Rathnew I think... Yes I am re-joining tomorrow so I'll be well on my way after tonight. Thanks :)
I e tweaked a wrap before lol we're such rebels :) x

We're wild things ;)
 
Morning All!

I'm on my own all this week in work because my boss and colleague are both away. Gives me a chance to do a few bits and doss a bit too ;) I am so bold!

Today will be a good day except for dinner which will bring me way over my syns. We went out on Saturday and I was seduced by this amazing range of Indian cooking sauces. There was a guy doing a demo in the shop (really fancy expensive food shop) and he had samples. Well it was amazing. The one I tasted was a Korma with chickpeas and chicken and he said you just add in a tin of coconut milk to the sauce. He also had a tikka one which required just adding a tin of chopped tomatoes and some fat free yoghurt so I got that one and we're having it for dinner. I have no idea how to syn it because I am not on the SW website (till I re-join tonight) but the ingredients seem really good. I know sauces are usually v high so I don't want to fool myself but there are like 20 ingredients, all Indian spices and whatnot, and rapeseed oil is literally last on the list of ingredients so it isn't oily at all really! What would you guys think? OH and I will be sharing it and I'll have it with brown rice. It's not something we'll have often but I'll enjoy it after weigh-in as a treat of sorts.

I am re-joining SW tonight. VERY excited. I gained a lot since I was last there which was months ago so I have no idea what the scales will say. Hopefully that I am under 15 stone anyway. Its TOTM since yesterday and I feel so bloated so it's probably not the best day to re-join but I am not making excuses and I am going and finally re-comitting to going to class every week. I need a weekly weigh in and something to keep me motivated and excited/nervous about. I'll update my stats after tonight and then I'll me on my merry way to SW weigh-in every Monday evening. No excuses!

From next week on I'll be exercising every night. I am nervous and excited. I have been given an amazing opportunity and I am not letting it pass me by. Basically I was contacted by the owner of a fitness company and they want to sponsor me free of charge to train with them for the entirety of my challenge till the end of the year. How exciting is that? It's not cardio but weight-machines and the idea is that as you burn fat by using the weight machines you lose inches and lots of pounds. The weightlosses are great in this place and the transformations are very impressive. It's a 3 day a week type thing so I'll be doing it Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays and then Zumba Wednesdays and Thursdays. I'll rest at the weekend so it's perfect, and a nice routine I hope to settle in to very comfortably. The great thing about the gym is that the workout is only 25 minutes so it's not a massive commitment! I leave work at 5.30, get there by 6.15 and I should be home and all by about 7/7.15. I can totally handle that. I plan to become more organised with my dinners so I'm not eating too late. I might even start cooking and freezing some things. My holiday is 9 weeks away so with this training programme and being back in SW with weekly weigh-ins I should be flying! I really want to be down 2.5 stone by mid-August and I am determined.

Here's how today's food looks. A bit disorganised as we haven't been shopping yet so I had to buy a pre-packed sandwich but overall it isn't too bad. Well, except for dinner but I am viewing that as a treat and I really don't think it's too bad.

Breakfast - Alpen Light bar (3), innocent smoothie frube thingie (2) banana
Lunch - Tesco Light Choices Chicken and stuffing sandwich on brown bread (Hex B +9) UUUUGH it pains me to give this much to a sandwich when I could have made one much nicer myself had we done the shopping yesterday :( treble crunch crisps (5)
snack - Muller Light Yoghurt (1)

20 SYNS :mad: BEFORE DINNER! That's what happens when you're not organised. Could be worse I suppose!!
 
That offer from the gym is amazing! :)
 
Hi newbee, just wondering what store you get the alpen light lemon drizzles, cant seem to find them anywhere, they sound lovely :)
 
It's co op or tesco on the Isle of Wight lol
 
That offer from the gym is amazing! :)

Doesn't it? I am not going to pass up such an amazing opportunity so I am going to give it 100%. Scared and excited!

Hi newbee, just wondering what store you get the alpen light lemon drizzles, cant seem to find them anywhere, they sound lovely :)

Hi jenny, I got mine in Superquinn in Dublin!

Yeah would love to know that too!! How did you get on tonight missus?? x

I didn't end up going, you'll see why in my next post. Thanks for asking :)
It's co op or tesco on the Isle of Wight lol

LOL
Not gonna work for us Irish Ladies! x

I quite fancy myself as a lady!
 
Hi Everyone,

God where do I even start?

Firstly, as I said in my last post I have been offered an amazing opportunity to be basically personally trained in a new style of gym for FREE. They want to sponsor my challenge and get me to my goal weight through their training and take on nutrition. It's a snazzy place that is €1500 a year to join and I am basically getting it till Christmas for FREE. I couldn't believe it when I got the email. It was the day after my big revelation about how the challenge was not going to plan. It was like a sign.

Rather than go in to it in great detail I decided to pen my feelings in a blog post to explain why I have made the decision to leave Slimming World. Yep, I'm leaving. It is not working for me and many of you already know that. I don't have the self control with portions or treats and I have a lot of weight to lose. Let me start by saying I am 100% doing it for ME and that is why I created the challenge. Yes the money is for charity but the overall goal is something I will feel a great sense of accomplishment from. I have 6.5 months till my challenge officially ends and within that time I want to lose about 65 pounds. basically what is left to lose as overall I am probably down about 5.5 pounds overall. It is exciting and scary all in one.

The food I will be eating will be quite similar to what I eat now but it will involve less processed foods, minimal carbs (big difference to SW) and it will be way healthier and less processed. It will be 'clean eating' or sorts. The exact nature of the diet is 'Low GI' which is low sugar and low carb.

Anyway, if you want to read about my reasons for leaving the SW ways of life you can read it on my blog. I think SW will be a fantastic was for me to maintain my weight once I get to my goal weight but for now I need something that is stricter and a bit more severe. A bigger lifestyle change is needed. I need results and I will have to work hard to get them. I just don't have the self control for SW.

Here is the blog entry which explains it all...

I will still be using minimins and doing a food diary because I find it's an amazing way to be accountable for what we eat. I also couldn't do it without your support. I hope I can keep my diary here considering it's technically not SW anymore. If not I'll move it somewhere else.

So that's me. A new diet and lifestyle starts on Monday when I have my first consultation. After that it will be a low GI diet, weights and resistance training 3 nights a week and Zumba twice a week. BRING IT ON!

Tracey x
 
Great news on the gym front, that's so good! :) hope the new plan works well for you, diary will be one I'm sure as obviously I kept mine! Xx

Sent from my iPhone using MiniMins
 
You have to do what's right for you.


Good luck :)
 
Hey chick! Just wanted to say good luck on your new journey - sounds like a great opportunitiy with the gym and I'm sure you will smash your target! Make sure you let us know the link to your new diary :) xx
 
Good luck with your new diet/lifestyle! I really hope it works for you! Xxx
 
I wish you all the best Tracey! You will succeed, don't worry. Just keep your eye on your goal and take things a day at a time. I'd love to see the new things you'll be eating!
 
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! All of your comments and well-wishes really mean a lot to me :)

For the moment I am keeping my diary here, unless I'm told to do otherwise. You are all so lovely!

I had my first consultation/session last night with the gym. They did a body analysis and explained the food plan to me. I'll update my stats now but at the moment I am exactly 15 stone. I have lost 7 pounds in total so at least it's something right? I now have a goal to lose 65lb by Christmas.

The body analysis was really interesting because they don't just focus on weight but body fat percentage, muscle mass, fat around the heart, metabolic age etc...

Currently my body is 40% fat. Isn't that scary? I need it to be more like 20% to be healthy! So that's something we will really be looking at. The fat around my heart (visceral fat I think?) is also not good! Two things that need to dramatically change. She said I have quite a lot of muscle in my body (50 something %) which is very good apparently. She said that if she and I were the same size I would probably be heavier because I have more muscle. This is something we will be 'working with'. She wants me to basically not lose muscle but lose fat! That sounds good to me.

Then she explained the food to me. Basically its a high protein low carb diet. More like no-carb at the moment though. It's pretty severe so right now I am still a bit overwhelmed and sort of just taking it meal by meal at the minute. I am so used to being excited about food and variety so this is strange for me. It's quite plain at the moment so any ideas would be great.

What can't I eat? All carbs such as bread, pasta, rice, noodles, potatoes :wave_cry:
All sugar including that found in yoghurts, 'fake' sweetner (such as diet coke) and anything else sugary. I even have to watch my fruit intake because its high in sugar.
All 'bold' things and pretty much anything processed - no treats, snacks, sauces etc.

More importantly, what CAN I eat? Protein and lots of it. Chicken, fish, meat, eggs in unlimited supply. Vegetables. Most veg is OK (not carrots, parsnips and sweetcorn though as they are high in sugar, grr) but mainly gren veg which is the best. Fruit. Again most fruit is fine (not melon or grapes) but I shouldn't over-do it and should keep it to morning and afternoon and one or two pieces to snack on but not OTT as they are high in sugar too.
Greek Yoghurt and Natural Yoghurt - full fat versions even. How exciting!
Nuts (not salted or roasted) seeds
I can cook with olive oil which is also exciting, oh and I can eat Avocado but not over-do it once again.

So at the moment... that's about it :(

That's all I am certain about at the moment. How plain :(

I am trying to be upbeat and positive about it because it's so severe and different that it just HAS to work, but I am so not used to seeing my food as plain. I never till now realised how much I rely on carbs, sauces and cheese!

I can have cheese but not a whole lot because it's so processed and doesn't add much to our bodies nutritionally. I can have pesto and hot sauce. At least that's something! I can have milk too so at least a cup of tea isn't off limits!

I am stuggling to find exciting meal ideas that I will enjoy while also being 100% true to the plan. Today I had chicken salad with boiled eggs and lots of other salady things and it was lovely but I'd be bored with it every day. Then the other part of me thinks 'you probably will be bored, but that's the way it is so don't complain'. Slimming World was not working for me (or more so I was not working it) so I need something more severe. It's still very healthy!

So this not being excited about food stuff sucks. Can anyone help? I can have tins of chopped tomatoes, and I think I can have beans and stuff too! I've asked about stocks and curry pastes so I am waiting to hear about that. I was thinking I could make a thai green curry just without the rice.

I will get bored really easily if I am eating the same thing over and over again so I hope I can come up with some interesting ideas. I need to find out a bit more too though so hopefully that will happen soon. I find I am coming up with lots of 'I wonder can I have that?' so I should probably make a list and ask as I think of it.

I had my 'legs' workout last night and it was a killer! I am in bits today but that just shows it works, right? :) Tonight I'll be doing something different so atleast the legs won't be aggravated.

I just cannot wait to finish this work out tonight, have a shower, put on my PJs and curl up in front of the tv with a mug of tea and cuddles from my man. It's the simple things - maybe this is an eye-opener that I need to find more joy in things that are not food.

Tracey x
 
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