Let's go back to when I was all happy and flowy last week.
Last week was great, it feels so good to be back on plan and 110% focused. My cravings are lessening by the day and I very rarely snack in between my meals (other than fruit).
I was hit with a few hurdles this week, some of which were easier to get over than others. The first one was my colleague's birthday. We always do birthdays at work, there's always cake and/or Krispy Kremes. Given that there is just two of us in our office at the moment, I decided against the usual caterpillar cake. While we used to smash one every Friday between five of us (pre-Slimming World days), I decided it may be a bit much for two of us.
Instead, I got a small, individual Victoria sponge from Morrisons. "Perfect," I thought. That is, except, I work with the nicest person ever who still insisted on sharing it with me and our lovely receptionist. I protested, turning down the Krispy Kreme he tried to give me too, but still ended up with cake. It was lovely, and I did enjoy it, but I totally wouldn't have had it if it weren't a birthday.
My other hurdle was on Friday. I had a lunchtime meeting with a lovely, local children's author/friend about a huge upcoming reading festival she is planning. It was in Costa and I knew I would struggle with what to have for lunch. I ended up opting for a chicken fajita wrap, which I later discovered was 22 syns. *Gulp* It was tasty, and I didn't have any other syns that day but, again, I would have avoided it if it weren't for circumstance. I toyed with having nothing other than a coffee from Costa but didn't want to appear rude. Food politics are hard.
Other than that, my week has been plain sailing. I had actual chocolate for the first time in ages tonight. I really, really craved it so did some Googling and came across a lovely sounding recipe for Curly Wurly brownies (not Curly Willy as I called them on Instagram earlier!) I didn't have some of the ingredients so I had to modify it slightly.
Here's what it came out like...
It was honestly beaut.
Here's how I made it....
Ingredients:
50g self-raising flour
1 tbsp sweetener
4 tsp cocoa
3 eggs
2 Curly Wurly bars
Method:
Spray a loaf tin with Fry Light
Break the Curly Wurly bars up and put in the bottom of the tin
Mix together the flour, sweetener and cocoa together
Add in the eggs and mix together
(If a little thick and gloopy add a splash of water)
Pour over the broken Curly Wurly
Bake at 180 for 10-15 mins
It's perfect when turned out the tin cos the caramel from the Curly Wurly bars all melts and adds a gooey topping mmmm. It works out at 24 syns for the whole loaf (according to the syn sums in the back of my battered book!) I did it in a loaf at it's narrower, a traditional brownie tin they'd have been wafer thin and nobody wants a brownie like a pancake. Although, that does sound kinda dreamy - brownie pancakes mmm! I cut them into four pieces, cos I'm a greedy cow, so it works out 6 syns per piece.
I didn't even wait for it to cool, just wolfed it down with some strawberries and fat free quark, a Freddo and two Alpen Lights as my HEB for the day.
A huge plate of goodies for 11 syns.
It's been a week of trying new things. I also tried the mushy pea curry.
A sentence I legit thought I would never say/write. When I told Tom it's what we were having for tea, he was sceptical. As was I.
I see everyone on the online SW groups banging on about how amazing it is, so I thought I'd give it a go. I am not a mushy pea fan, but I have seen others enjoy it who don't like them either, so thought I'd go for it.
I must admit, it wasn't as bad as I imagined. As I watched it cooking away I was already planning what we could have if neither of us liked it. But it wasn't too bad.
I would definitely have it again (I'll have to, as the other half is in the freezer!) but it isn't my top SW curry choice. It was super easy and quick to make, though, so providing I have mushy peas in the cupboard (they're not something I would ever buy unless making this) then it would be a good tea to make in a hurry. It was basically just two tins of mushy peas, a tin of baked beans, a tin of chopped tomatoes, some mushrooms sliced and a diced onion, with curry powder and chilli powder. You can add in any meat, too, so we added chicken.
I'm not sure whether it was mega filling, or whether I'd psyched myself up not to enjoy it, but I got full sooooo quick. I hardly made a dint in my plate!
Another hurdle was cooking Sunday dinner for my brother. I bloody love Sunday dinner and, like the true Yorkshire girl I am, the Yorkshire puddings are my favourite bit. I couldn't make Sunday dinner for Jack (and Tom, for when he eventually got home from work 2 minutes ago) without Yorkshire puddings. So I made them for them, and didn't have any myself. If that's not self-control I don't know what is. I also made the SW roast potatoes which, in my opinion, are just as good as originals.
For the roast potatoes, I just boil some potatoes for about 15 mins, drain them, rough up the edges, spray with Fry Light and put in my Acti Fry for approx 40-45 mins. They come out all crispy and golden and just generally amazing.
Anyway back to the matter at hand - my little weigh-in.
This week, I lost 1lb. Just one pesky pound. I am really disappointed because, even though I have been hit with some hurdles, I still felt I'd balanced it out and managed to remain 110% on it. I've been upping my gym attendance and I am really starting to see a difference now. I am so much more toned and have definitely lost inches. So I am trying not to fret too much about the number on the scales, because it's so easy for me to become obsessed with that, and focus more on how I look/feel.
I also need to remember this:
I see these pictures on Instagram of these mega fit women who post their comparison pictures. The left, they'll be a bit more round/flabby and, say, 11 stone. The right, they'll be toned, defined and super fit but 12 stone. Sometimes I need to remember that the number on the scales doesn't always tell it how it is.
After my blog post last week my consultant (I think I can still call her that, even though I haven't been to group since last May!) text me to remind me group is always there to help me achieve my goal. I have been toying with going back to group for some time now. I had planned to go back in the run up to the wedding to keep me on track, I just hadn't decided when. It's now less than 12 weeks till the wedding, so I know I need to get back soon.
Anyway, after she text I told her I was going back this week. I was so motivated and inspired to go back and see everyone and get back into the swing of things. But as Wednesday gets closer, I am pooing myself. Not literally, although that would be amazing and would make me feel much less petrified of the scales!!
I have promised her I'm going back now, so I have to.
I really can't back out now, but I am terrified. Probably more scared than when I first walked into that room on my very first night. Beth's scales will be totally different to mine, so I'm scared incase mine are hugely out compared to hers and I am left feeling totally deflated and disheartened.
I must remember, though, that I didn't climb out my target range overnight. It was a period of months of overindulgence on birthdays, Christmas and New Year. Therefore I'm not going to get back there overnight. One bad meal doesn't make you fat, just like one good meal doesn't make you skinny. I am so much closer than I would have been had I not got my head back in the game when I did, so I must keep looking forward. I am just a few pounds away so, even if I'm not back there by the time I go back to group on Wednesday, I should be by the following week.
I think I might take my measurements this evening, so that I have another way to mark my changes. If the scales are going to plateau I want to be able to see that all my hard work is making a difference somehow.
I'm already organised for this week coming, psyching myself up for my return to group on Wednesday.
I've made myself some baked oats for breakfast tomorrow morning. I have some fat free quark and some frozen strawberries in a little pot in the kitchen to take to enjoy with them. I also have a campfire stew in the slow cooker to have for lunch this week.
This week, my mini target is to get more speed food on my plate. It's always an after-thought "shit, there was barely any speed there" so I'll have some fruit or shovel some handfuls of spinach in my gob. This week, I'm going to make sure it's on my plate and eaten with my meals. Not as an after-thought. It's time for me to embark on a 'speed awareness' course for the week.
Food diary:
Monday:
Breakfast - 40g Cheerios 5% sugar (HEB) with fat free quark and sliced strawberries.
Snack - A clementine.
Dinner - Homemade tomato soup with a ham and egg cup filled with peppers and spinach (kinda like an omelette cooked in a muffin tin).
Snack - A pear and a clementine.
Tea - Sweet chilli salmon (1.5 syns for sweet chilli sauce) with peppers, broccoli and rice.
Syns for the day: 1.5
Tuesday:
Breakfast - Fat free quark with raspberries and strawberries.
Snack - A clementine.
Dinner - Homemade tomato soup and some roast chicken.
Snack - A pear and a clementine.
Snack - A slither of birthday cake. (approx 10 syns)
Tea - Cod fishcake (approx 5 syns) with green beans, cherry tomatoes, rice and new potatoes.
Syns for the day: Approx 15
Wednesday:
Breakfast - Fat free quark with raspberries and strawberries.
Dinner - Homemade tomato soup and roast chicken.
Snack - Two clementines.
Tea - Morrisons Eat Smart butcher style sausages (4 syns for 4 sausages) and gnocchi (5 syns) with a tomato, onion and spinach sauce and spinach on the side.
Snack: Choco-nut malt wheats (HEB) with semi skimmed milk (HEA)
Syns for the day: 9
Thursday:
Breakfast - 40g 5% sugar Cheerios (HEB) with fat free quark and strawberries.
Dinner - Jacket potato with beans and salad (lettuce, peppers and carrots).
Snack - A clementine and a pear.
Tea - Chicken and vegetable pasta bake (filled with tomatoes, peppers and onions) and topped with 40g reduced fat cheddar (HEA) and a side of spinach.
Syns for the day: 0
Friday:
Breakfast - Two slices of wholemeal toast (HEB) and some chopped apples.
Snack - Two pears.
Dinner - Chicken fajita wrap from Costa (22 syns)
Snack - An apple.
Tea - Leftover chicken and vegetable pasta bake with tomatoes, peppers and onions and a side of spinach.
Syns for the day: 22.
Saturday:
Breakfast - Mango, melon and pineapple with fat free quark mixed with a mango and passionfruit Muller Light.
Dinner - Bacon, Morrisons Eat Smart cumberland sausages (1.5 syns, two poached eggs, beans, two slices of wholemeal toast (HEB) and a huge side of spinach.
Tea - Mushy pea and chicken curry with boiled rice.
Syns for the day: 1.5
Sunday:
Breakfast - Two clementines, mango, pineapple and an apple.
Dinner - Roast gammon with SW roast potatoes, mashed potato, carrots, broccoli, green beans and peas.
Tea - Two Alpen Light bars (HEB), a Freddo (5 syns), strawberries and fat free quark and a slice of Curly Wurly brownie (6 syns) [recipe above]
Syns for the day: 11
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