Back to the Blog...

Well it has been a week and a half and true to form I have not entered anything into this new blog. Ah well...

I have, however, lost 4 lb and 6 oz since Friday 28 March. Hurrah! Well on track for not having to give something up for 3 months!!

I'm not sure I've stuck so well to my mission statement, but seeing as the pounds are coming off anyway I wont worry about that too much. More like guidelines anyway...

So, in the spirit of trying to keep a food and exercise diary:

Thursday 10 April
Breakfast
Sainsbury’s English Butter muffin with poached egg
Mug of decaf coffee with a splash of skimmed milk and one sweetener

Snack (11 am)
1 orange
50 cl (more or less) cold water

Lunch
1 toasted Bagel with Philly extra light and salad
2 plums
1 kiwi fruit
1 pack Boots Shapers salt and vinegar twirls (less than 90cals, less than 3g fat, I think)
1 bar of Boots Shapers chocolate nougat thing (again, less than 90cals, less than 3g fat, it was one of those days...)
50 cl (more or less) cold water

Snack (5-7pm)
1 banana
2 glasses red wine, 3 canapés (there was a do on at work...)

Dinner
Japanese steamed rice (no idea of portion, 1 large rice bowl perhaps?)
Stir-fried Chicken thigh marinated in yuzu honey, soy, garlic, ginger, fried in sesame oil with carrot and green beans (no idea of portion, but small amount - perhaps a thigh and a half?)
Miso soup
Sake (about three sake cup fulls)
3 large tablespoons Yeo Valley natural no fat yoghurt with a heaped teaspoon of soft brown sugar. Yum. And not bad considering the Fiancé has ice cream with chocolate on it!

So not too bad a day really. Also walked to work (35 minutes, just under 2 miles) and went for a bit of a wander at lunch time. :o) Did get the bus home, but it was late and I would have missed my tea if I hadn't! ;o)

Next week will be more of a challenge as we're off to the States. Not exactly known for their small portions and healthy food... Watch as those 4 pounds go back on... Sigh.

How it all began...

I used to be fit. Well, I had a modicum of fitness... I ran the Great North Run nearly two years ago. And when I say ran, I mean for over half of it I was running and for a similar amount of time I was walking quickly. I lost weight, I felt great, and I could run at least 2 miles without wanting to die. And then I stopped. I tried occassionally to pick it up again, but kept falling flat due to the painful fact that I hate running.

Anyway, over the year and a half since that pinacle of fitness I have tried to keep myself fitish. I walk to work, which is just under 2 miles and try to do other things. At the end of the year the fiance and I even went dancing. That was great. And then Christmas and chocolate happened, the mornings were dark and I started to regularly take the bus to work and I began to feel like a blob again... And then, the staw to brake the provebial camel's back, I was weighed by my doctor last Friday. And I cried. Not there and then, I at least had the decency to wait until I got home and could do so on the fiance's shoulder. I wailed and sniffed and God Bless and love him he was wonderfully supportive. "We eat quite well", says he, "but what can I do to help you further... We could start walking more - we could go for a walk tomorrow". I sniffed and smiled and knew he loves me. And to be true to his word he prodded me out of bed on Saturday morning for a brisk and bracing 50 minute walk near where we live. Bless.

But! Walking alone will not save me. My doctor asked if I had a goal for weight loss - I said I didn't want to be a fat bride when the fiance and I wed (this was nearly called fat bride, but as I am determined not to be...). So this is my mission statement:

FOOD:

• I will not snack between meals, unless the snack is healthy
• I will only eat sweats when I am at the cinema
• I will eat smaller portions of food that is lower in fat
• I will eat a varied breakfast (not just poached eggs)

EXERCISE:

• I will go for a long walk with the fiance at the weekends
• I will walk to work (at least 4 days per week)
• I will walk home from work every day
• I will do my stretching and crunching yoga type exercises at least 5 times a week
• I will go to the swimming pool at least once a week
• I will start running again.

And then, because I have the best friends in the world, one of the troop challenged me to a bet - the one who has lost least weight by 3rd May must give up something chosen by their significant other. And that thing must be something that we don't want to have to give up because the period of abstinance must be 3 month! Eek! The fiance wont tell me what it is he'll make me give up (to give himself more time to think of something). But I must be determined to win the bet. Which means that I must do more exercise, get myself fit and carry out my mission statement in full.

So! The persuit of fitness begins... And to help me I shall track my progress here. I doubt that anyone will be reading, but if you are - it'll probably be boring and I probably wont keep writing, so I'd give up now if I were you....