Festive weigh in

Holy crap. Today is definitely a day for using the lord's name - 1.5lbs off.

Say WHAT?! Best Christmas present I could have ever given myself... 12 stone 4.75lbs.

Merry Christmas, I'm off to gorge on Lindt balls!

Starting Weight: 14 stone 0.25lbs
Current Weight: 12 stone 4.75lbs
Weight Loss This Week: 1.5lb
Total 2013 Weight Loss: 1stone 9.5lbs

Living the dream

It's safe to say 2013 has been a pretty incredible year for me.

Everything I've ever wanted is coming true. I live in a beautiful, big house with three cats and I am in love with and am loved by the most incredible person I've ever met - who I'm marrying in five months time. I am so lucky.

And to top it all off, I've managed to kick the arse out the weight loss charade and am the lightest I can ever remember being for around 15 years.  This is all the stuff dreams are made of! I can actually say with some certainty, I am living the dream, MY dream.

I'm excited for 2014. I just want to keep the good feelings going; in love, in weight loss, in work - everything really! The wedding is a big focus and I know the first six months of the year are going to be busy busy. I'm ready for it though and I'm ready to be married to TB, to start the next chapter of our life together.

I'm also ready to get into the 11 stones! I'm a bit nervous about the festive feasting that could derail things but I also feel a kind of calm about it all. I'm weighing in on Christmas Day and I would love to see a loss. The odd chocolate coin has snuck past my lips but I've determined to delay the eating with abandon as long as possible. Boxing day.... well, who knows, I might even go for a run. I know! What the chuff has happened to me?!

Lots of festive love to you all and here's to a Christmas Day filled with food! xxxx

Weigh in

Half a pound off. I feel that's fair.

I had a big loss last week and I have definitely struggled a little over the past few days.  So when I saw 12 stone 6.25lbs flash up this morning, I was pleased there was a loss at all! Sometimes when I lose a good few pounds in one week I don't really believe it till the following week - so to see 12 stone 6 was still brilliant. Feels great!

What also felt great, but also a little embarrassing, was the size 14 coast dress I wore to a black tie do on Tuesday (where I had a little wine and ate half the pudding). I wore this dress when I was a bridesmaid in October 2011. I originally bought a size 16 but soon realised the 14 was the better fit, which felt so good. A size 14 dress from Coast? Get in! But it now looks like the 14 is too big! It's strapless and kept slipping down and I had to do that thing where you are continually pulling it up. Classy. But who cares! I was flipping delighted!


Reflected buy the midweek wine and ice cream consumption, the festive munchies are definitely starting to creep in and when hanging lindt balls from the tree (oh yeah, we like to go all out with our edible decs!) it would have been so easy to scoff a couple but I really want to give these last six days before weigh in, and indeed Christmas Day, a big push. I would bloody love to see 12 stone 5.75lbs - or less, next week. It would be a Christmas miracle!

In the last week I've been to spinning, run 5 miles and been to bodypump. This week the plan is spinning today, a 5 mile run tomorrow and on Christmas Eve too. Even if I was to stay the same next week, I'll have not have gone bonkers and started stuffing my face - kicking off a possible fortnight of festive face filling.

Starting Weight: 14 stone 0.25lbs
Current Weight: 12 stone 6.25lbs
Weight Loss This Week: 0.5lb
Total 2013 Weight Loss: 1stone 8lbs

Before and after

Another busy weekend - and finally, we have finished the living room! Horay!

There are a few things we still need to do (paint and attach the mantelpiece, varnish the window frame, get a mirror up above the mantelpiece as well as pics on the walls and finish placing ornaments and stacking books) but we are moved in and I love it!

You can see how it looked when we went to view it and now that it's been brought ever so slightly up to date! I can't quite seem to get my pic taken from as far back an angle as the top pic, but you get the idea.

I feel the pics don't quite reflect the hours and hours of work this one room took. You don't see the two undercoats, the hands and knees grinding of paint stance, the sanding of every inch of paintwork (and there was a lot of paintwork - check the skirtings!).  The window and fire are also new. Let's not even being to think about how much money we're spending on the house overall.

It's been another good week diet and exercise wise... spinning on Thursday, 8km run on Friday and bodypump yesterday. However, there have been a couple of slips that have snuck in. Firstly,  I made a couple of traybakes on Sunday for TB's charity coffee morning at work and I ended up eating a slice of 'sticky stuff' (basically my very naughty version of Rice Krispy Squares) as well as picking at tablet and a few maltesers. Ooops.

Last night I sat on the couch all night  and also ate some crisps - a double hit of no movement and extra calories. Tsk tsk. I've got to get my head screwed on straight as I've got a black tie dinner tonight where I'll need to turn down the wine as much as possible and flat out refuse the pudding. Weigh in looms!

Peridot asked me what I'm doing foodwise. I'm not one for counting points, calories or... well, anything really. I'm just trying to avoid anything unhealthy or processed. A typical day is:

B: Melon and yogurt or porridge with honey
S: clementine or two
L: Homemade soup i.e. spicy pumpkin and chicken or butternut squash with chilli (no bread)
S: clementine or two - if anything
D: chilli and sweet potato or healthy fish pie, low fat choc yogurt

Other than that I might snack on some cold meat and a couple of boiled sweets. That's about it really. I'm also really trying to watch the portions. My meals are all made from scratch and I do try and make them as low fat as possible but that's usually me just adapting them to have more veg/less oil etc. Hope this helps!

I'm missing my usual Tuesday night swim tonight so I'm off for a stomp around the streets in my lunch-hour.

Weigh in

Last week's half pound was most definitely a red herring... because this morning I'm 2.75lbs lighter! Boooo YA!

I can't actually believe it. Almost three pounds off. That means I saw 12stone 6.75lbs on the scales. What?! WHAT?! I honestly have no idea when I last saw that number. I don't know if I have ever actually seen it. I was about 11 stone at school and then I really had very little to do with the scales until they had jumped up quite a bit past 12 stone 6.  So exciting!

I have worked for it though - a 7km run and an 8km run as well as swimming (which I dragged my mum to when she was visiting). And the eating has been stellar. STELLAR!

Speaking of my Mum, she is doing really well too and we've agreed that we're going to keep the focus for as long as possible - and our last weigh in before Christmas will be... Christmas Day. Why not? TB and I are hosting Christmas and I see no reason to dive head first into a selection box before then. If I eat and drink like a merry old thing for the best part of a week untold damage could be done and with the wedding inching every closer, I don't have time to gain and re-lose half a stone.  I can't believe I am about to say this... 11stones, I'm coming to getcha!

Starting Weight: 14 stone 0.25lbs
Current Weight: 12 stone 6.75lbs
Weight Loss This Week: 2.75lb
Total 2013 Weight Loss: 1stone 7.5lbs

Am I smaller or the boys bigger? ;)

I don't care - BELIEVE ME

My objective on Saturday night was to look smokin' hot.  I felt great and I got some lovely compliments so I'm going to take that as goal met.

As I knew I would, I saw the married one. And as I knew it would be, it was totally fine. We blethered away and all was good. I also chatted away to two of my female friends who are going to be part of this same team that they are all (TB too) involved in next year.

As soon as I saw them they both made reference to the fact TB is now part of that close knit team (and by default me too) and that there is history with me and the married one. For example one of the girls used to be invovled with someone who was part of the team before. She said : "I'm glad I'm not the one things will be awkward for anymore!".  Then later on the other girl said to me: "It'll be all be fine." I replied: "I know. I'm fine about it all. I just think it's quite interesting (i.e. married one's decision to involve TB)".

At the time I didn't think anything more about it but then the next day it dawned on me that they think there is some sort of issue with the married one and I. There's not. Okay, I won't lie. I've seen him pawing over other girls and I don't like it. I have no right to be irritated by it and it's not that I wish I was them. I just don't like it. My ego doesn't like it. The married one knows that. I don't like that he knows that but well, he does.

But this is all just...  nothing. None of it matters. I don't care about anyone except TB. The married one can flirt and come on to the world and it's wife - I might feel a little jealous but he means nothing to me. My concern is that TB gets wind (thanks to chat from others) that there is some sort of problem/tension with TMO (the married one) and wonders what it's all about. I do find it interesting that TMO has created a situation where TB and I will see him a lot more between now and the summer - and will be living on top of each other for two weeks in the summer. But who cares - it's TB and me. We're a team and I just want to make sure that others are aware of that withouth me trying to look like I'm protesting too much.

Weigh in

Bit late with the weigh in report.... half a pound on. Hmmmm.

Not so happy about that, obviously. Despite my boozy Saturday night I really don't feel it's just but well, that's how it is. This all happened on Thursday - four day ago now. So it's old news and I've pretty much forgotten about it. Since then I have been like a laser - could not be more focused.

Okay, that's not quite true. Food wise, I have been amazing. Drink wise, I've had two heavy nights on the sauce. That's not great but I with all the challenges facing me (everyone eating chips and cheese halfway through the night and hangover recovery for example) I feel like I was a bloody champion.

On Friday night at my work Christmas meal, I shunned the bread roll with starter and gave away my pudding. I couldn't have been more resolute.

And earlier in the day I ran 7.64km! That's my furthest yet! I won't lie. I was pretty chuffed with myself. So as you can tell I am on a mission to lose that half pound this week - and some more. If I could lose a pound I'd be happy. That would be great.

Starting Weight: 14 stone 0.25lbs
Current Weight: 12 stone 9.5lbs
Weight Loss This Week: + 0.5lb
Total 2013 Weight Loss: 1stone 4.75lbs

Chubby fingers crossed

Weigh day again tomorrow. It seems to have come round again so quickly.

I've done all my usual workouts and so I feel confident that I worked hard on that front. In fact, I forgot to mention just how hard I worked on my Friday run. 7.5km without stopping! And at a good pace too! I really am surprising myself with the old running malarkey. The first km or so and the last km always seem to the be the hardest but I feel quite determined on each run I go  - so there is no half measures.I know I'm working hard at spinning as last week I was almost sick. Nice.

The only thing that has let me down was the Saturday night boozing. There is the booze I drank and there is also the effect it will have had on my body. What that was, who knows. Tomorrow is a really early weigh in as I'm away on a training course so at 5.30 IN THE AM (ugh) I will be hopping on the scales. A loss. That's all I want - just a loss.

Stay classy

Saturday night started off so well. Sushi and drinks with friends. However, with not that much sushi and a lot of drink, it all kinda went downhill very quickly.

I met TB and a couple of his friends when I arrived home on the train, when I was pretty tipsy. I don't really remember much of the night after that. I do know I drank even more. I remember arguing with TB, I know I left the club on my own and then I know I had an argument with a guy outside and I remember crying. Not cool.

Most of it is a blur and I have no idea who the person I was arguing with or what about. I feel sick when I think about it. What the hell was going on. I am so embarrassed. I've not been that drunk for a long time and I know I was not being a nice drunk.

Suffice to say Sunday was pretty much a total write off and even today I don't feel quite myself. I think it's more the dread or 'the paras' as my friends and I used to call it. You know that feeling in the pit of your stomach  - the one where it feels like you're about to get found out for doing something really bad.

This Friday is my work Christmas night out and I am determined not to drink too much. I'm too horrified by my behaviour on Saturday. Shudder. I am too old for this crap.

TB and I also have a last minute night out coming up. This Saturday is a big night out for a huge group of our friends that takes place annually. We weren't going to go but TB decided he fancied it so we're going. I'm looking forward to it but I don't see these friends for months at a time, and I wanted to be thinner! Why is that always the first and overriding thought that goes with every occasion?  'How fat was I last time I saw these friends?' 'What will I wear?' 'Will anyone think I look thinner?'

There is also going to be someone from my past there, the married one. I've seen him plenty of times over the past year so it's no big deal. What I'm not sure about is he and TB are going to be spending more time together in the run up to a big event we're all going to next summer. In fact a few of them are all going out for dinner before the night out on Saturday. I'm not sure how I feel about this and I'm pretty sure the married one know that I'm probably not totally okay with it. I don't really know what else to say about it apart from I'll be doing two things on Saturday. 1. Not drinking too much and 2. Looking smokin hot.