Half a stone down in two weeks

Last night I had my second weigh-in since being back at Slimming World and lost 4lb - meaning I've lost half a stone in two weeks. I also got Slimmer of the Week for my group!

I am now just 2lb heavier than I was when I first joined Slimming World back in 2016... But, I am also three to four stone lighter than I was nine weeks ago, before Peyton was born.

I had a really good week last week, food wise, and managed to prepare my meals much better than the week previously. I also managed to get more speed on my plate, usually in the form of spinach.

When I did Slimming World the first time around, spinach was my go-to. I'd always fill at least a third of my plate with it and put it in almost everything.

This is a Lean in 15 recipe and worked out about 8-9 syns - totally worth it!

I've tried to try some new recipes this last week, too, so that it kept things interesting. That's what I love most about Slimming World, that you can still eat normally and not deprive yourself of good meals.

My breakfasts have been the same everyday - overnight oats - but that's because it's so hard to eat breakfast. Because Peyton sleeps so long at night time she feeds like a trooper on a mooring, making up for all the milk she missed out on during the night, so I very rarely get chance to eat my breakfast with both hands/in less than half an hour/before midday.

Lunch has depending, again, on how she has been. Some days I had leftovers from the previous night and others I'd just make a quick sandwich.

As I am breastfeeding I get more healthy extras. This is a godsend for me because it means I get oats at breakfast, bread at dinnertime and still have one HEB left for snacks/more bread before bed/a bowl of cereal.

Sticky five spice gammon with my trusty side of spinach.

I haven't really been spending my syns, either. Rather than spend 15 syns on one bar of chocolate, like I did before, I've been having meals that use a few syns. If I've been feeling completely full and satisfied after my tea I don't need anything else. Which, often, is a good job because I don't usually get time to eat it anyway!

What I have been really struggling with is syn free snacks during the day. When I was pregnant I was reaching for the biscuits and easily troffing half a packet, at least, in just one sitting.

Fruit is easy to snack on but it gets a bit tiring reaching for an apple, or some blueberries, every single day.

I got the new Slimming World magazine when I was at group last week and there were some picnic recipes in there that I thought would make great snacks/lunchtime options. I tried the sticky sausages first, which also included a recipe for a nice sounding relish.

The not-so-sticky looking 'sticky sausages'.

I made these one night, when Peyton had gone to bed, and snacked on them during the days that followed.

While they didn't look like the picture in the magazine, and weren't exactly 'sticky', they were still really, really tasty.

Other meals I have enjoyed have included pork and apple burgers, from the Pinch of Nom website, and a chicken kebab and spicy rice, also from the same website.

It definitely didn't taste as 'charred' as it looks - my pork and apple burger with the best Slimming World chips I think I've ever made!

I also finally got to try the 1 syn cod and chorizo burgers from Morrisons and, boy, they were worth the wait. Days when I am really hungry, I'd definitely have two. For one syn each - why not?!

They reminded me, actually, of a dish my mum used to make which was cod in a chorizo crumb. The recipe for that was from a Hairy Dieters book which she had dug out for me, so I'll give that a whirl one night.

The chicken kebab that everyone raves about - and I can see why!

Served with the syn free Nando's spicy rice

I love looking through recipe books that aren't Slimming World sometimes, just to get new ideas and inspiration for meals. It's so easy to adapt most things to be Slimming World friendly - whether it be low syn or syn free.

The cod and chorizo burger was worth the wait - so much so that I tucked in before taking a picture!

I have all the Lean in 15 books so went through them the other night and picked out a few things to do this next week. One of which is a firm favourite of mine, his beef pie.

I'm planning to do that Sunday and it'll be just 5.5 syns per portion (just syns for the pastry) once I've tweaked the original recipe and made it friendly for Slimming World.

I'm also going to make a prawn tagliatelle, something with salmon (not sure what yet, I just really fancied it!), the cod and chorizo burgers again, and the rest of the pork and apple burgers that I have left in the freezer from last week.

I was so, so happy this week to have lost 4lbs. I felt, this week, like I had lost weight.

I managed to get back into a pair of non-maternity, pre-pregnancy jeans this week.

Granted, when I wore them before I was pregnant it was with a belt - as they were a bit big - and they're VERY snug now, but I was still able to fasten them and sit down without feeling like my circulation was going to be cut off. I wore them all day and I felt absolutely fabulous!!

It's a shame the same couldn't be said for my top.

Since getting pregnant, and breastfeeding Peyton, my boobs have grown an insane amount. I've gone from my dinky, little B/C cups to huge, ginormous F cups! While this is great, to an extent, as I have always wanted bigger boobs, it is annoying because none of my nice, pre-pregnancy tops fit me.

We have booked to go to Center Parcs next month so I need to invest in some swimwear that will

1. cover my stretch marks sufficiently
2. fit my melons in
3. be easy to breastfeed in (incase P has a milk-related meltdown poolside)

I have found a few options on ASOS so will order them and try narrow it down over the weekend.

I am also hoping to have lost a stone by the time we go. It's optimistic, as it's just over four weeks away, but I believe it is do-able.

So, here goes, another week and, hopefully, another nice loss at the end of it!

You may also like: I'm back at Slimming World now

A look at what's been on my plate this week

I was going to incorporate this into my last post, about being nominated for Woman of the Year, but I realised it was starting to reach 'War and Peace' length.

I just wanted to share with you some pictures of what I have been eating this week, for those of you who doubt that you can actually eat nice things and still lose weight.

This was what I had for my tea last Thursday.

They were supposed to look like chicken goujons, but they're more like pieces/strips/shapes. No matter, though, they still tasted amazing.

To make enough for two people, I made breadcrumbs from four slices of wholemeal bread (using your HEB for each person) and mixed them with garlic salt, paprika, mixed herbs and a bit of pepper.

I dipped the chicken in some beaten egg, then rolled it in the breadcrumbs, and put on a baking tray (that had been sprayed with Frylight to stop them sticking!) Then, I just simply baked them in the oven at 180 for about 25-30 mins until the chicken had gone nice and golden and crispy.

Then, voila!

My chips were done in the Actfiry. I chopped and boiled them slightly before drying them off, spraying them with Frylight and then coating in paprika and garlic salt and putting in the Actifry for about 40 mins.

Easy peasy. It looks totally naughty, but it was completely syn free.

Similarly, my breakfast on Saturday morning.

Bacon - with the fat cut off - poached eggs, beans, two slices of wholemeal toast (HEB) and some tinned plum tomatoes. Completely and utterly, 100% syn free.

Who says you can't have a big breakfast with bacon and still lose weight?

My favourite meal of the week, and probably that I have made for some time, was Monday night's tea.

It was quite a faff and time consuming to be doing when I got home from work but, oh my, it was totally worth it.

So, here we have plain boiled rice (obvs) with a chicken curry and saag aloo.

The saag aloo was just incredible. The recipe said it served four (I think it was meant as a main dish, rather than a side) so I have loads left in my freezer for another occasion. The recipe was from the Slimming World 'Fakeaways' book and, whilst quite time consuming, was really easy. The list of ingredients was long, but I realised most of them were herbs and spices I already had on my spice rack anyway.

The chicken curry was just something I threw together myself.

I thinly sliced one red onion, diced a red pepper and crushed some garlic cloves and threw them in a pan with some Frylight, turmeric, ground corriander, ground cumin, cumin seeds, and garam masala. Once the vegetables had started to soften, I added the chicken breast (which I'd chopped into chunks) and squirted in some tomato puree. I also added a chicken stock pot and a little bit more of the herbs, as well as some salt and pepper.

I left it all to marinade/cook for about 10 minutes, making sure to keep mixing it all together so it didn't stick to the pan. I then added a tin of chopped tomatoes, brought the pan to the boil, and then left it to simmer for another 10-15 minutes. I think I threw some more herbs in, and some mustard seeds, throughout the simmering stage and just kept tasting the sauce to make sure it tasted like curry/wasn't too spicy.

It was absolutely beaut!

Unfortunately, there's none of the curry left as Tom went back for seconds (and not just a little bit, another whole plate full!)

I've eaten some lovely things this week, and have tried a fair few new recipes. For me, that's the key to maintaining - variety. I get so bored eating the same thing all the time and like to mix it up and try new things.

I also love cooking and trying new dishes, experimenting and working out what works well together.

After last night's inspiring group I felt totally motivated for today.

I seem to have brought the entire tupperware contents of my cupboard to work.

For breakfast I've got chopped strawberries with fat free Quark and the 5% sugar Cheerios; lunch is a jacket potato with tuna mayo and sweetcorn (2 syns for the mayo) and some carrot batons; an apple and a clementine to snack on; and plenty of water.

I think tea will be leftover pork meatloaf (an adapted version of a Jamie Oliver recipe to make it more Slimming World friendly) with linguine - nice and quick before my hair appointment!

This weekend's menu consists of lasagne and homemade chips, Slimming World friendly Saltimbocca and maybe a roast dinner. I bloody loved the roast we had the other week and totally could eat another one of them this weekend!

Incase you missed it, here was the spread:

Anyone who doesn't think you can't eat good meals and still lose weight, think again! No rabbit food or traditional 'diet food' here!

You may also like: Slimming World friendly recipes

A little update from me

I have M.I.A from my blog recently. Life has been a tad chaotic, in every possible way, and I have just felt a bit jaded.

I've not really had any routine and everything has been a bit all over the place, and that is never good for me.

I haven't even been writing about Slimming World, even though I have wanted to. Primarily because I just didn't know what to say!

So, a little update on that first.

Last week, I was back to being royally pissed off again. You'll remember a few weeks ago I put on 1.5lbs, which took me out of my target range. I was annoyed, to say the least. The following week, it was rectified when I lost the 1.5lbs I had gained the previous week.

Then, last week, I went to be weighed - only to discover I'd put 1lb on. Taking me right to the cusp of my target range - meaning any gain at all would, once again, take me out.

I had no idea what was going wrong - I felt like I was doing ok and didn't necessarily feel like I'd had a bad week.

This week, I'd felt it was inevitable I would have a gain. We had a Friday night treat of pizza for tea, then had a takeaway on Sunday (and I drank a fair bit of wine) - so it didn't look good. However, to my absolute shock, I actually lost 2.5lbs.

Tom shared my shock. Here's his reply to my message telling him of my loss:

Gotta love the support from my darling husband, there!

So, while I have been thinking about writing you all a Slimming World-related update, I'm not too sure what to say. My body is playing serious games with me!

I was only saying to my mum's friend yesterday that I didn't feel like I had gained any weight. In fact, some of my clothes are actually a little on the big side now. Yet the scales didn't seem to be agreeing with my wardrobe.

I need to remember the last post I wrote, where I said we need to be kinder to ourselves. I need to be nicer to myself, that's for sure. I'm so incredibly hard on myself in every aspect of my life.

It's definitely something I need to work towards.

Anyway, glossing over the weird recent scale results, I'll share a beaut new recipe I tried this week.

It was a mango and chilli salsa, which we had with pork meatballs and boiled rice.

The ingredients are:
One pot of prepared/ready to eat mango
One red pepper
One red onion
Two tomatoes
A chicken stock pot
A tsp of sweetener
A tsp of salt
A tsp of basil
A tsp of chilli flakes
A big squeeze of tomato puree

Method:
Chop everything really small and mix it all together in a bowl
Leave it to simmer over a low heat for 15 to 25 minutes and then serve.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!

Here was the finished article:

Anyway, this is a new week.

I am now right in the middle of my target range, which gives me a little bit of freedom once again. I'll definitely need it given that this weekend we are at a beer festival and a house warming in the same day!

I've kicked it off as I mean to go on, though (food wise)

40g of the 5% sugar Cheerios (HEB) for breakfast topped with fat free quark, passionfruit and strawberries - b-e-a-utiful!

I'm still plodding on with the Couch to 5k. I have gone very quiet on that front, though. I am only just about to finish week three after having to take two weeks off running due to unbearable knee pain.

However, when I picked up where I left off I didn't find it a struggle, and actually found it to be far easier than before. So hopefully I can keep at it now and finish what I started! I will keep you all updated on my progress - whether you want to hear about it or not(!) - on my blog's Facebook page.

Incidentally, if you've not yet 'liked' my page, I would massively appreciate it if you could. Some days when I can't be bothered stringing long sentences together and writing an actual post, I do post some bits and bobs on there.

Like, for example, the below...

For anyone who is interested, Simon did actually give Tom's pic a cheeky 'like' on Instagram so he was absolutely buzzing his little bum off!

Anyway, if you would like to give my page a like, I would like that very much, like. You can find it here: www.facebook.com/wordsbynat

Moving on quite nicely from the above photo, there's a huge hole in my life now Love Island has finished. I think that's maybe why I feel like I'm lacking routine because my life was structured around that each day.

I am, of course, joking. Maybe. A little bit.

We've instead picked back up watching How to Get Away With Murder. It's on the complete opposite end of the spectrum to Love Island. We are very hooked, though. So it is filling the void nicely. The only problem is it is so intense that I can't watch it too close to bedtime or I can't sleep.

In other news, if you haven't yet seen Dunkirk then stop reading this right now and go and watch it. It. Is. Incredible.

We saw it last week and I already want to go and see it again. The whole thing is just incredible - the way it's shot, the acting, the storyline, the way it is told - just spectacular.

I think that's about it, I promise I will start planning some proper posts in the coming weeks and actually have something for you all that is mildly interesting to read!

Until then, you may also like: You're never a failure if you keep trying

You have to try this syn free 'cheesecake'

It's a trend that's been incredibly popular at my Slimming World group for a good month or so now - syn free 'cheesecake'.

I'd tried a variation of it when I first bought grape nuts but I really wasn't sold on it. Given how many people are now trying, and enjoying, it, I thought I'd give it another go.

I have no idea where I went wrong before, but oh my life, it was amazing. If you hadn't known any different, you'd have been forgiven for thinking it was actual cheesecake.

There are many variations on how you can make it, but I stuck to basics making it completely syn free (and perfect for an SP day).

For the base, I just used 40g grape nuts (HEB) and a dash of vanilla essence; mixed it together and squashed it in the bottom. I then added some Quark, sweetened with a teaspoon of sweetener, on top of the grape nut base. Then, simply, top with whatever fruit you fancy.

Other ladies at my group have made the creamy bit by mixing Quark and a flavoured Muller light, but I found just adding that little bit of sweetener to it was enough.

Then, leave it in the fridge to chill. When I made the ones pictured, they were chilling for almost 24 hours.

The longer you can leave them, the better. The grape nuts soak in the moisture from the Quark/fruit/sweetener so turn into a biscuit-like cheesecake base, rather than the crunchy texture they have when fresh out of the box.

We had it for pudding after tea last night and I was still full up when we went to bed. It tasted so indulgent, is so filling, and is a great sweet-treat alternative.

I made one for Tom - who is still on his 'clean eating' programme - and he loved it, too.

He was sold on it because the grape nuts box said high protein, and the Quark is obviously high protein too.

It's one I would definitely recommend you try - whether it be for breakfast, pudding or a sweet snack.

More confessions of a Slimming World target member

I haven't written a Slimming World blog for what feels like forever. But you'll all be pleased to learn my silence doesn't mean I have gone off the rails.

In fact, this is the longest I have remained within my target range since I reached target. 

For those not familiar with the workings and wordings or Slimming World, once you reach your target weight you have a six pound range - three pounds either side of your target - with which you can remain in order to still get free membership. 

When I reached target last year I was forever hovering around the top of my range, creeping out then dropping back in again the following week. Then I just gave up going to group, weighed myself at home and slowly started to slip back into old habits. 

Since I started going back to Slimming World in February I have kept within my target range, slowly creeping down to the bottom - completely unchartered territory! 

Obviously my wedding dress is huge motivation for me sticking with it, but my head feels so much more focused than when I reached target initially last year. I'm going to group every week, even though I haven't stayed all the time I have been and committed to getting myself weighed and staying on track. 

I still eat chocolate, biscuits, crisps and all the nice food I like. I still have cake at least once a week and enjoy a glass of wine every now and then. And I am still able to maintain my loss. 

I've recently found myself creating some colourful culinary delights, which instantly makes me want to eat them even more! 

I've done a sausage ragu, using Morrisons Eat Smart Cumberland style sausages which are soooooooo tasty and only half a syns each. Zero fat comes out and they're so nice. I don't want to shout about them too much, because I don't want another Porky Lights style sausage shortage across the country, but honestly people should try them. 

I also did a Slimming World version of an old favourite that mum used to cook regularly when I lived at home. It's a pork meatloaf and is honestly soooo tasty! I think I adapted it to work out at around 3 syns per portion, but it could have been less than that too by adapting and changing other ingredients. 

Then there was a lasagne, which was syn free using my cheese as HEA, and some gorgeous fish and chips on Good Friday. As well as a tasty tagliatelle packed with speed vegetables using 2 syns of red pesto for the sauce. My tummy is rumbling just recalling all the goodnes. 

While touching on the subject of Easter, I have to share with you the amazing Slimming World friendly Easter basket from my in-laws to-be. 

Very aware that I had a wedding dress to fit into in a matter of weeks, and aware of my lack of self control where chocolate is concerned, they presented me with a basket of fruit and smaller chocolate treats. I was genuinely so excited!

If you'd have told me a few years ago I'd be more excited about a basket of fruit for Easter than chocolate eggs I would've laughed in your face. 

I enjoyed every last piece of fruit, and every last syn of chocolate. 

Life is about striking the healthy balance between food that's not only tasty, but also good for you. And, boy, I am completely in my stride after finding the perfect balance. 

I seem to have developed a rather embarrassing habit since getting back into the slimming swing of things

I feel like I'm proper back in the slimming swing of things now after losing another two pounds this week, yippee!

I'm now just one pound away from my target weight, which I reached one whole year ago next week, and creeping slowly down my target range ready for a food and booze-filled few days for my hen do next weekend.

This last week I really felt like I had a firm grip on things and was in control, making good choices. Each hurdle I was faced with I overcame with relative ease.

Friday night we ended up having an impromptu Chinese takeaway at Tom's mum and dad's. We never really have Chinese, unless we make it ourselves, so I had no clue what to order. I also didn't know what was good/bad syns wise and didn't want to write my week off on just the second day in. I put a quick shout-out on our Slimming World group Facebook page and within minutes I had loads of responses advising me on the best low-syn dishes. I went with chicken in black bean in the end, which has always been a firm favourite when my dad has made it.

Saturday I had my wedding dress fitting (more about that later!) and when I got home Tom decided he wanted to go to Kitchen for lunch. For those not from round here, or not privy with Kitchen, it's basically like food heaven. Imagine the best, nicest cakes and sandwiches, deli foods, sausage rolls, quiches, flatbreads, and pork pies then double it - and you're somewhere near Kitchen. I've only ever been once and not gone all out with a huge sandwich and a cake, so I wasn't sure how it would go.

I managed to restrain myself, though, and had a piri-piri chicken skewer salad bowl. It was so, so tasty. It had some dressing (forgot to ask for it without) and obviously the piri-piri will have had syns in, but I have no clue how many. I imagine it won't have been too bad, but I did keep in mind for the rest of the week my uncertainty surrounding those syns.

Saturday night I was at an engagement party so had set myself the plan of just drinking vodka and Diet Coke - easy peasy. That is, until, my best friend, bless her, went and bought me a couple of drinks. Only when I was ordering my last drink of the night did she realise that I'd been drinking Diet Coke, and not full-fat coke, and that she'd ordered me full fat. By this point, I was fairly tipsy so didn't really care! Two full-fat cokes isn't going to kill me and, as the scales showed this week, didn't impact at all on my weight loss.

The rest of the week was pretty plain sailing. I haven't really been too adventurous with my meals, although I have developed a new obsession with the butternut squash crinkle cut chips from Sainsbury's - they're beaut! I just spray them with Frylight, sprinkle on some garlic salt and paprika, and whack them in the Actifry for 30 mins and they taste just like 'normal' chips.

They featured in two of my teas this week...

Homemade chilli burgers with the SW burger relish, butternut squash chips and spinach

Pizza-topped chicken with butternut squash chips and salad

I tried a new fakeaway recipe this week, too, from a recipe I had seen on Instagram. It was salt and chilli chicken Chinese and ooooh it was beaut. Just thinking about it now is making me want to eat it all over again. It was really simple... Just 120g Smash/instant mash, one teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of pepper, one teaspoon of chilli powder, one teaspoon of garlic powder and one teaspoon of garlic salt. Mix it altogether in a bowl then beat two eggs in a separate bowl. Dip your chicken pieces in the egg, then in the mixture, then back in the egg, then in the mixture again. Pop them on a baking tray and bake at 180 for 20 to 25 mins. I served it with the SW egg-fried rice (first time I've done it and it was beaut) with some peppers and onion for added speed. Absolutely beaut.

The salt and chilli chicken Chinese fakeaway

I'm feeling really, really good at the moment. I seem to have developed a rather embarrassing habit of stopping at every mirror I pass at home and lifting my top up to look at my stomach. Even when I got to target last year I don't remember feeling this confident and happy in my skin. Today I am in a fitted size 8 dress that I haven't worn since about this time last year. And, as I mentioned above, I had my wedding dress fitting last weekend.

I was a bit nervous, although I knew I shouldn't have been, after I tried it on last. I went the week before Christmas and it was so, so tight. It barely went over my bum and was a struggle to fasten. I didn't dare move in it incase it ripped! This time, however, it went straight over my bum no problem and fastened easily. It felt amazing! It's now just eight weeks until the wedding, and four weeks until my final dress fitting. But, before all that, my hen party next weekend.

I certainly have lots and lots of things to keep in my mind as a goal whenever I feel like throwing in the towel and eating a whole pizza and all the chocolate!

Food diary

Thursday: (SP)
Breakfast - Bacon, poached eggs, beans and spinach
Dinner - Chicken sandwich in a wholemeal roll (HEB) and an apple
Tea - Pizza - base made with the Aldi crusty wholemeal bread mix (HEB) - topped with tomato puree/passata, chicken, peppers, onion and 45g 50% reduced fat Morrisons cheddar (HEA) and served with a huge side salad.
Syns for the day: 0

Friday:
Breakfast - Choco-nut malt wheats (40g HBE) with semi skimmed milk (HEA)
Dinner - Tomato and spinach tomato packed with cherry tomatoes, spinach and passata
Tea - Chicken in black bean sauce (7.5 syns) with plain steamed rice.
Syns for the day: 7.5

Saturday:
Breakfast - Choco-nut malt wheats (40g HBE) with semi-skimmed milk (HEA)
Dinner - Piri-piri chicken with salad and dressing (syns unknown)
Tea - Cajun chicken pasta with a side of spinach
Drinks - Three vodka and diet cokes (9 syns) and two vodka and cokes (15 syns)
Syns for the day: 24

Sunday: (SP)
Brunch - Sausage sandwich using Morrisons Eat Smart Cumberland sausages (1 syn for 2 sausages) in wholemeal bread (HEB) with poached eggs, beans, spinach and cherry tomatoes.
Tea - Homemade chilli burgers with butternut squash chips, spinach and the SW burger relish
Snack - Two Hi-Fi lights (HEB) and a chocolate brownie Fibre One  (4 syns)
Snack - Strawberries and two pears chopped and mixed with chocolate-y fat free quark (made using one teaspoon of Choc Shot for 0.5 syns)
Syns for the day: 5.5

Monday:
Breakfast - Strawberries with chocolate-y fat free quark (two teaspoons for 1 syn)
Dinner - Homemade tomato and chilli soup
Tea - Chinese chilli salt chicken fakeaway with SW egg-fried rice, peppers and onions with 2 tbsp of sweet chilli to dip (3 syns)
Snacks - Two mint choc Hi-Fi bars (HEB) and a caramel Fibre one (4 syns)
Syns for the day: 8

Tuesday: (SP)
Breakfast - Two dippy eggs with soldiers (HEB)
Snack - Fat free quark with strawberries, blackberries and raspberries
Dinner - Homemade tomato and chilli soup
Snacks - Clementine, pear, apple
Tea - Pizza-topped chicken (topped with 45g of 50% reduced fat mature Morrisons cheddar as my HEA, peppers and onion) served with butternut squash chips, spinach, peppers and onion.
Snack - Two Hi-Fi lights (HEB)
Syns for the day: 0

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Fresh strawberries with fat free quark
Dinner - Homemade tomato and chilli soup
Snack - Two clementines and a pear
*I have tea after I'm weighed*
Syns for the day: 0

Forget the Porky Lights sausage scandal, this little porky pig is getting lighter!

I've done it - I lost two pounds this week which is what I needed to get myself back in my target range. Yippee! 

I've felt in control this week. Tuesday evening I went to the cinema with my best friend so made sure I kept my HEB so I could have two of the salted caramel Hi-Fi bars in the cinema. When I bought them in group I was told they taste like toffee popcorn - but they're soooo much nicer than that.

I had the two of those with a 30g bag of Proper Corn sweet and salty popcorn, which was six syns, and that kept me going until tea.

We went to Pizza Express for tea. Usually, I'd order a big pizza without even thinking twice. I don't want to be a really boring person who goes out for a meal and has a salad which costs an insane amount of money and could have been made for a fraction of the price at home. But, at the same time, I was conscious that weigh-in was just 24 hours away and didn't want to undo my hard work.

I opted for the pizza with the hole in the middle filled with salad. I quickly worked a couple of bits out on my app and this came out at 22 syns, which I was happy with. It was nice, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't a proper pizza. 

I absolutely love eating out, and when I'm back comfortably in my target range I won't be so anal about my choices, but I really wanted to try be sensible last night.

Similarly, when we took my mum out for tea on Friday. Usually I'd go all out and have pie or curry or something with chips and onion rings, but I was still feeling so focused from Wednesday night. I decided on poached salmon with rice, vegetables and a big bowl of salad from the salad bar. I did indulge in a couple of glasses of wine, but stayed within my syns for the day - win!

Some of my days at work have been crazy busy this week, so crazy that I've missed lunch. You know shit's serious when I miss a meal. Thursday I was in court, and I had such a rubbish day, I ate my tuna sandwich and that was all I had time for. I had a haul of fruit with me which didn't even get touched.

Monday was similar. I'd taken soup to work to have for my dinner but was so busy it was 3.30pm by the time I realised I'd not had it. Instead I just grazed on fruit through the day, but was starving when I got home. I decided that, as I was so hungry, I'd do pasta and chips (SW friendly, I must add) to have with tea that night. I did eat almost an entire broccoli as well, and carrots, but I just needed the carbs - my poor stomach thought my throat had been cut!

I have also finally managed to get my hands on the elusive Fibre One bars. I've seen so much hype about them I basically just wanted to try them to see what the fuss was about.

They're currently on offer at Morrisons at £1 per box - they're usually £2.80! As soon as I caught wind of the offer I added a box of each flavour to my online shop. By the time I went back to it that evening, to add some more for my best friend, they'd all gone.

I had visions of mine not turning up, and me getting real brownies as a substitute, but thankfully all three boxes were present and correct when my shopping came.

I've seen everyone say how small they are, and they're not wrong, but they were tasty. I wouldn't pay £2.80 for them, but would definitely buy them again (if I can find them) when they're on offer.

Ive tended to crumble them up and mix them with a Muller Light and Hi-Fi bars, it makes for a really sweet, low-syn treat, rather than me inhaling the square in one mouthful.

I have tried a few new things this week. I made the nacho-style feast from the Slimming World website on Saturday night.

When I dished it up (literally just put the dish I cooked it in on a plate and on the table) I thought I should've maybe served something else with it. It didn't look a lot.

But it was so filling and really, really tasty.

My pudding afterwards was the below - 7 syns of heaven.

I managed to save my HEB (which is something I always struggled with) so crumbled two rocky road Hi-Fi bars in the bottom of the glass. I then mixed a vanilla Muller Light with a Cadbury Highlights sachet (2 syns) and a teaspoon of Choc Shot (0.5 syn) and put that on top, added some raspberries and a crumbled Fibre One chocolate brownie (4 syns) and another teaspoon of Choc Shot to drizzle over the top (0.5 syn) and voila!

It was so, so nice. So chocolatey and felt so indulgent.

Sunday morning's breakfast was similar. I made the same pancakes as last week but tweaked them and added Choc Shot to the mixture for a more chocolatey hit.

They worked out as one syn for the above for a teaspoon of Choc Shot in the mixture and a teaspoon of it drizzled over the top.

To make the pancakes I mixed 40g porridge oats with one egg, 50ml milk, a teaspoon of sweetener, a teaspoon of Choc Shot, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. I served them with raspberries, strawberries and fat free Quark, with a teaspoon of Choc Shot drizzled over the top. One syn for the lot - beaut!

Choc Shot seems to feature heavily in my blog this week. If you're following Slimming World, and you haven't yet checked it out, I really would recommend doing so. It's so, so good and is just 0.5 syns per teaspoon! And a teaspoon goes a long way, it's so chocolatey.

It can be quite pricey, but it's often on offer in a lot of places so I try snap it up then. As well as normal chocolate they do a chocolate and coconut and a chocolate orange flavour. So, so good!

A reward for my fab food pics this week came on Tuesday when, out of the blue, Slimming World messaged me on Twitter to tell me I'd won one of the #FreeFoodFeb competitions.

I'm so excited for my package to arrive so I can see what I have won! The picture that won it was my homemade pizza using the Aldi wholemeal crusty bread mix as my HEB which I had the other weekend.

All in all, this week has been a good one. I am feeling better, I am looking better, and my confidence is back up to where it was. Tom even said to me one night this week he could tell I'd lost a lot of weight again, which is always nice to hear.

I have my first dress fitting this weekend which is super exciting! I can't wait to see how my dress fits me now, compared to when I tried it on at Christmas. It was a bit too tight around my hips then, but now I'm confident it'll fit me perfectly. Eeeek!


Food diary:

Thursday:
Breakfast - Three clementines
Dinner - Tuna mayo sandwich (2 syns for light mayo) on a wholemeal roll (HEB)
Tea - Pasta with chicken, tomatoes, peppers, onion and a side of spinach
Syns for the day - 2

Friday:
Breakfast - Choco nut malt wheats from Tesco (HEB) with semi-skimmed milk (HEA)
Dinner - Thursday night's leftover chicken and veg pasta
Snacks - Two clementines and a pear
Tea - Poached salmon with rice, peppers and onions and a side salad
Drinks - Two 125ml glasses of red wine (13 syns)
Syns for the day - 13

Saturday:
Breakfast - Bacon, poached eggs, beans and spinach
Dinner - Homemade carrot and swede soup
Tea - SW nacho-style feast
Snack - Two rocky road Hi-Fi bars (HEB) with a vanilla Muller Light mixed with Cadbury Highlights sachet (2 syns) and a teaspoon of Choc Shot (0.5 syns) topped with raspberries, a crumbled Fibre One (4 syns) and a teaspoon of Choc Shot (0.5 syns).
Syns for the day - 7

Sunday:
Brunch - Chocolate oat pancakes (HEB and 1 syn) with strawberries, raspberries and fat free quark.
Tea - Pork meatloaf (approx 3.5 syns per serving) with carrots, broccoli and linguine
Snack - Toffee Muller Light with a caramel Fibre One (4 syns) and a salted caramel Hi-Fi bar (3 syns) and some strawberries.
Syns for the day - 11.5

Monday:
Breakfast - Strawberry and raspberry baked oats (HEB) with fat free quark, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries.
Dinner - Three clementines and a pear
Tea - Leftover meatloaf (approx 3.5 syns per serving) with carrots, broccoli, pasta and SW chips
Snack - Salted caramel Hi-Fi bar (3 syns) with a caramel Fibre One (4 syns)
Syns for the day - 10.5

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Fat free Quark with strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and red currants.
Dinner - Homemade carrot and swede soup
Snack - Two clementines and a pear
Snack - Proper corn sweet and salty popcorn 30g back (6.5 syns) and two salted caramel Hi-Fi bars (HEB)
Tea - Pizza Express Leggera American Hot with salad (22 syns)
Syns for the day - 28.5

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Fat free Quark with strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and red currants.
Snack - An apple
Dinner - Beans on toast
Snack - Two clementines and two pears
Weigh-in before tea.

Just like Arnie, I'm back!

I did it. I went back to group.

After a few weeks of psyching myself up and getting my head back in the game I was so ready to go back. And I was so happy with my results.

Since I was last in group, in the middle of May last year, I am just 2.5lbs heavier - and just two pounds from my target range. I was so convince my scales would have been too kind and I'd be crushed, but it's all good.

I rang Tom when I came out, all excited, and told him I'm 2.5lbs heavier than when I was last in group.

His reply?

"Well you did put a lot more on than that."

Cheers, babe. That's love right there!

He is right, though, I did. But I've clawed it back, I'm back in control and I feel great.

From Sunday until today I have been a bit better behaved than normal, determined not to be left red-faced when I stepped on the scales.

After my first successful SP day in over a year on Sunday, I was off to a great start.

Monday's meals went like this...

Breakfast: Fat free quark with strawberries and raspberries
Dinner: Homemade spicy butternut squash soup with a ham sandwich in a wholemeal roll (HEB)
Snack: A clementine
Tea: Spicy sausage pasta (2 syns for four Morrisons Eat Smart Cumberland sausages) with courgette, red onion, peppers, cherry tomatoes and a side of spinach.
Snack: Frozen 'chocolate buttons' (3 syns)
Syns for the day: 5

The frozen 'chocolate buttons' were insane. I'd seen them on a Facebook group I'm part of and they looked like little fudges. In reality, they were more like disks of ice-cream/Mini Milk - but they did the trick all the same.

I just mixed a sachet of Cadbury Highlights with two teaspoons of Choc Shot and a toffee Muller Light. Then put them in some teeny, tiny bun cases and into the freezer for two hours.

The recipe I saw used silicone moulds but I didn't have those, and the bun cases worked just as well. Next time I am going to use a vanilla Muller and maybe get some lolly moulds and turn them into fake Mini Milks. They were soooo good.

Here they are:

Tuesday's meals went as follows..

Breakfast: 5% sugar Cheerios (HEB) with fat free quark, strawberries and raspberries
Dinner: Homemade spicy butternut squash soup
Snack: Apple and pear
Tea: Creamy salmon linguine (made with fat free quark) with asparagus and tenderstem broccoli.
Syns for the day: 0

I had a majorly busy day on Thursday so didn't have much time to eat. Tea was super late, too, which I hate but I didn't even walk in the door until gone 8.15pm. By the time I'd chucked together my go-to quick and healthy tea and we actually sat down to eat it, it was almost 8.45pm!

No time to want any snacks before bedtime then!

And today I've had...

Breakfast: Fat free quark with strawberries and raspberries
Snack: An apple
Dinner: Homemade spicy butternut squash soup
Snack: A pear and two clementines

I went to the gym straight from work and then to group straight from the gym, so haven't had chance to have any tea yet. I did have two Alpen Light bars as my HEB after I was weighed - I didn't want to take any chances!

I'm now trying to prep breakfast and dinner for tomorrow, which will be trickier than normal as I'm in court all day. So I'll most likely have to take a sandwich for dinner. And breakfast will probably have to be fruit on the bus. But it's ok, I got this.

Best of all? I've got the app back!!! I can finally stand in Morrisons and work out syns on things before I buy it - and know they're right - rather than guessing afterwards or just putting it back.

I've got my mind totally set on losing 2lbs this week now to get me back in my target range ready for my dress fitting next weekend - eeeek! I'm also going to challenge myself to have a different breakfast each day, to try mix things up a bit and add some variety.

A week of trying new things, hurdles and my 'speed awareness' course

It feels so good to be back into the swing of things, my mojo is well and truly back. I am a bit disappointed with what the scales have told me this evening, but I'll elaborate more on that later.

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

Three pounds down in my first week back on plan

There's nothing quite like your waiter thinking the food you just ordered for yourself was for both you and your other half to give you a complex.

That's exactly what happened to me in Pizza Hut a few of weeks ago.

We got a voucher for Christmas so decided to make the most of it before the wedding got too close and I went on a fat, carb and fun-food ban.

After perusing the menu, and mocking Tom for wanting ribs at Pizza Hut, we were ready to place our order.

Me: "Can I have the sharing pizza, half Hawaiian and half cajun chicken with stuffed crust and a side of chips please?"
Waiter: "Okay, got that"
Tom: "And I'll have ribs please?"
Waiter: "A side of ribs?" *glancing back at me*
Tom: "No, ribs as my main, all that's just for her."

Cheers, babe.

I ate three and a half slices and a half of my chips before admitting defeat.  Tom had a slice and took the rest home for his dinner the following day.

I enjoyed the blowout, don't get me wrong, but it made me realise I need to get back to my Slimming World ways 100% before the wedding arrives and I roll down the aisle.  So for the past few weeks I have slowly been cutting the crap and introducing more Slimming World order back into my life.  Even if it's just adding that third of speed to my plate on a night, which I've got soooo bad at doing.  Even though I've been re-focusing and getting back on track since New Year, I've still not been keeping a proper record or sticking to it properly.

I'm just over half a stone away from my target, so it shouldn't be too difficult to reach. But I've really got out of the swing of following plan 100%.  The only Healthy Extras I measure are my oats (40g) and my two slices of wholemeal bread.  The only other HEB I will have are any stray hi-fi bars I find hiding in the back of the cupboard or if Alpen Lights are on offer.  And I never measure my milk in porridge/hot drinks or weigh my cheese out any more.  And I couldn't tell you the last time I counted syns or stuck to just 15 a day.

This week I decided I would make a food diary, as I find this really helps keep me on track.  Plus, when I publish it on my blog it stops me eating crap because I don't want to be embarrassed when you all see what I've been troffing!k

Monday, I was off to a great start.  I find the week much easier if I have a good first day.  I had a late meeting at work, which started at 7pm, so meant I was out the house when my usual snack/sweet cravings hit.

I always find it hard after tea.  Even though I'm usually full, fit to burst, I just want something sweet.  I had this discussion with my best friend recently.  She can exercise far more control over such situations than me.  Her advice was to have one Celebration/mini chocolate.  Perfect if, like her, you can just have the one.  For me, one would lead to two, to three, to four, then to the whole box (except the Snickers) being demolished.  Before I would know what was happening, I'd be surrounded by sweet wrappers, feeling sick and immediately wishing I'd not just done that.  I literally just can't control myself when it comes to things like that.  So I either have nothing at all, let it pass, and feel proud of myself.  Or I have one thing. Then two.  Then a third.  Then have to go brush my teeth to stop me putting anything else past my lips!

This week I even managed to have some days where I didn't have any syns at all.  I literally could not tell you the last time that happened.  The key to me not wanting to snack or have something sweet after tea is stuffing myself silly at tea time.  My meals are always sooooo much bigger and fuller when I am doing Slimming World, it's so weird!

Take this one, for example...

I had to carry my plate with two hands because it was so heavy!

It was my KFC style chicken which is an absolute fave of mine!  I love it even more because it's free!  There's no speed on my plate (mainly as there was no more room!) but I think it's excusable on a Saturday night. And it's so much better than reaching for a takeaway or a real KFC.

This was another big one - and was sooooo nice!

I always find my meat balls are either really dry or they fall apart really easy. I think it's because I try to put too much stuff in them.  But these ones were perfect, and were so tasty!

As you can see, my meals don't exactly look like I'm "on a diet".  I'm just eating lots of the right thing.  The sauce under my meatballs was packed full of peppers, cherry tomatoes, onion and passata.

And it's totally worked.  Refocusing and getting back into the swing of things has seen me lose 3lbs this week - wahoooo! My head is well and truly back in the game now.

So much so that when me and my mum went for lunch on Saturday to a gorgeous little cafe in Selby, I had a salad.  It does the most amazing cakes and panini sandwiches and I'd usually think "sod it" and have a panini and a slab of cake, but I didn't.  I was so proud of myself.  I had a roast ham salad and a small piece of rocky road. I couldn't not have anything sweet!

I've even been out this week and picked up some of the new HEB cereals.

I never have cereal - apart from porridge oats - as my HEB because you never get enough or it's boring cereal.  So, when I heard about the 5% sugar Cheerios I was straight on it.  You get so much for your 40g too and they just taste like normal Cheerios.  I also went and got the Tesco choco-nut malt wheats which are also 40g as HEB. You don't get as much of those, and the texture is not my cup of tea, but the chocolatey hit was amazing.  It even made the milk all chocolatey which was sooooo good.  I'll be having them again just for the chocolatey milk afterwards!

This is what they look like incase you want to pick some up for yourself. The Tesco cereal is just over £1 per box which is really good considering how expensive some cereals can be (the Cheerios were almost £3 a box - won't be buying them every week!)

While I was in Tesco on my cereal hunt I came across the biggest butternut squash I have ever seen in my entire life.

I had seen other SWers on Instagram posting pictures of big butternut squashes that they'd also got from Tesco, so I couldn't resist taking a picture of mine.  It's literally ginormous. And it only cost me £1!!!

It's really heavy, too.  I'm not really sure what I am going to use it for. I like to use butternut squash to make soup, so may use half of it for that. I'm totally not looking forward to trying to chop it up, though. I find it hard enough when they're small/normal size!

I've really, really enjoyed my first week back on plan. I don't feel like I've missed anything or been deprived of anything. If I wanted some sweets on an evening, I managed to control myself a small portion and work out rough syns for them. This has been the hardest part as I've not been to group for so long I don't have my online login or app to get to the syns list.

It's been such a big help for me this week keeping my food diary and knowing that I will be publishing it on here, so my apologies in advance for the number of Slimming World-related posts that will once again be coming your way over the next couple of months!

Food diary

Monday: 
Breakfast - Overnight oats - 40g porridge oats (HEB) with lots of fat free quark, mango, pineapple and raspberries.
Dinner - Homemade butternut squash and chilli soup.
Snack - Two clementines with a peach and pineapple Muller Light.
Tea - Cottage pie (syn free as made the mashed potato using fat free Quark) with carrots and broccoli.
Snack - Hi-fi bar (3 syns)
Syns for the day: 3

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Fat free quark mixed with two Alpen Light bars (HEB), raspberries and two clementines.
Dinner - Homemade butternut squash and chilli soup.
Snack - Apple, clementine and a peach & pineapple Muller Light.
Tea - Spicy meatballs and linguine with peppers, cherry tomatoes & an onion/passata sauce.
Snack - Chocolate pretzels (approx 9 syns)
Syns for the day: 9

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Bacon, poached eggs & beans followed by an apple.
Dinner - Homemade butternut squash and chilli soup with a chicken sandwich in wholemeal bread (HEB).
Tea - Grilled chicken with asparagus, broccoli, tenderstem broccoli and rice.
Snack - Fruit pastilles (5 syns)
Syns for the day: 5

Thursday:
Breakfast - Raspberries and clementines with fat free quark.
Dinner - Chicken sandwich in wholemeal bread (HEB), a mandarin Muller Light and two apples.
Tea - Pasta bolognaise with lots of cherry tomatoes.
Syns for the day: 0

Friday:
Breakfast - Melon, strawberries & grapes.
Dinner - Chicken sandwich in wholemeal bread (HEB) and a mandarin Muller Light.
Tea - Smoked salmon and king prawn linguine in a creamy fat feee quark, chilli & garlic 'sauce' with asparagus and spinach.
Syns for the day: 0

Saturday:
Breakfast - Bacon, poached eggs, baked beans and two slices of wholemeal toast (HEB) followed by an apple and two clementines.
Dinner - Roast ham salad (lettuce, rocket, spinach, peppers, red onion, sweetcorn, tomato & cucumber)
Snack - Rocky road (approx 12 syns)
Tea - KFC style chicken with homemade chips, sweetcorn and baked beans.
Syns for the day: Approx 12.

Sunday:
Breakfast - 40g Tesco choco-nut malt wheats (HEB) with 150ml semi skimmed milk (HEA - used the rest in coffees throughout the day) with two clementines.
Dinner - Roast gammon and roast turkey with two small Yorkshire puddings (5 syns), broccoli, parsnips, cabbage, carrots, two roast potatoes (5 syns) and gravy (4 syns)
Tea - Didn't need any tea!
Syns for the day: 14