Week 4

Well here we are, another week in and 2.5 lb lighter!!! That makes 9 pounds off in 3 weeks! I am so chuffed yet at the same time somewhat paranoid. Things never go this easy for me. I am somewhat pessimistic and think when I go next week I will have gained 10 pounds or she will phone and say oh the scales where wrong. But I am sticking to it,the eating plan that is.  I just live in fear of what the scales say next time, though that's dieting for ya!


I have been cooking from scratch almost every night. Had some lovely things, who would of thought cooking could be fun and taste nice without doing it the "Hairy Bikers" way and adding 3 tons of butter and cream.
 I took the time over the weekend to make a folder. It kinda felt like a Blue Peter scrap book. I sat at the table with magazines, leaflets and computer printouts and cut out all the recipes I liked the look of.  Then I arranged them in my new shiny folder.

Bought a new recipe book at slimming last night so that will be a few weeks of new ideas.


Managed to the gym on Tuesday and going to Zumba tonight. Need to get walking now too..... bring on the better weather!!!!

Week 3

Well its week 3 of Slimming world. Its going easy which I am shocked about. Lost 3.5 lb the 1st week, and then 3lb the second week. I am imagining it should settle to a 1-2 lb weight loss a week soon as long as I stick to the plan. I have been pretty good but so far this week, Thursday I went over syns by 1. Then last night I ended up in the Laichmoray for supper. I did however take the salad but it had rich creamy coleslaw, grated cheese and chips with it so BANG will defo be over then too. Need to get my finger out to make sure I have a loss. I am starting to find I am better at work than when I am at home. Even though I work in a school kitchen I can happily resist picking now. But at home when I sit with a coffee that's my time. Not in the evening but during the day. I have been trying to pick on fruit more though. Need to go and get a pan of soup on for lunch otherwise I will be picking then too. I do find that if I fill myself up at the 3 meal times I am far better. I CAN and WILL do this. If I can stop smoking 40 a day I can easily lose weight! I am using the same determination and willpower I used to do that to do this.


The meals have been ace, I have enjoyed them loads, after 2 weeks of experiments I think this week with be a return to some I have done before. I have ordered a new book so should hopefully get it next week. Family Feasts for a Fiver. Sounds ace already!!!!

Exercise is going good. Going to the gym on Sunday and going again Tuesday. Did Zumba Thursday. Walked the morning School run Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Walked it home on Wednesday. Its cold out today so I think it will be a housework day today to burn off fat.

Valentines Day

Well I ended up in the kitchen for hours! Felt like Delia Smith for a bit but enjoyed it. Decided to have a nice meal with my husband and cause I need to watch the syns I thought it best to make it all myself. I did look and the M&S meal deals but all packed with oils and butter so instead bought 2 very nice, lean Sirloin steaks.

This is the sauce recipe.

I am a pro now though see! All the little torn bits of paper keeping my pages haha.

Sirloin Steak,
Beef Tomato stuffed with sautéed red onion, mushrooms and couscous,
Herb Roasted Vegetables  ( Carrots, Sweet Potato, Butter nut Squash, Mushrooms and onions),
Boiled Broccoli and runner beans,
Home made ( slimming world syn free) Chips
and all smothered in a home made Mustard and Mushroom Sauce.

Should of took a pic before, not just the after.

Followed by an Apple Betty with pear in it lol. Also made by me. It is simply peeled and sliced fruit in the bottom of a dish with eggs, sweetener and a Muller light added in then baked in the oven. It was meant to be a vanilla one but I had none left so added a Raspberry and Cranberry instead. I think it would of been better with the vanilla. I will defiantly make it again. However less as Mike was not too keen on it.   Served with sweetened Quark. Which shocked me how nice it was when it was sweetened.

PS, the meatballs where..............ok ish, WAY too much garlic.

Tomorrow night is Stew!

I got some pretty pink flowers too!

Recipe books.

Never thought I would see the day I was using a recipe book!!  But here we ( Mike and I both) are using the books I bought at Slimming world. Its great 9/10 times!  For us, its teaching us a new way to cook. For one we never ever used the grill unless it was for cheese on toast, now its got home-made burgers and chicken fillets going in it. I do however have a huge cast iron griddle pan that I always used before ( with loads of oil in it to stop it all sticking) but there is something nice about grilling. I shall use the grill more.

Here for example is what we had tonight, Chermoula Chicken with fruity couscous. I would give it 8/10. Was a bit too spicy for me, my lips where tingling at the end. That's maybe why the couscous was fruity, to cool it down. I would defo have it again as it was all syn free! Meaning I would be able to eat it all over and over if I wanted.

Tomorrow night is Meatballs with herbed Tagliatelle.  ( but have Extra Lean Steak Mince instead of Turkey Mince so using that)

Slimming World

Having been at the exercise since September I thought it was now a good time to get the eating sorted. Seems silly to be doing loads of fitness then coming home and eating shite :) Defeated the purpose so.......... I wanted a new outlook, new ideas and a new way of doing food for us as a family so I joined Slimming world. It is not slimming really just sensible eating. What I did not want to be doing is standing weighing out what I can eat or having to make lots of different meals for one meal time. 

Tonight was my 1st weigh in and I have lost 3.5 lbs! I am pretty chuffed as I never felt hungry or as if I was depriving myself. Just seems tricky to get into it at 1st. Knowing what's allowed and not.  I am sure that will come with time. Also what I did tonight was took my "before" pictures, even though I have already started lol. I aint posting them till I have a nice comparison one. 

The exercise is going good-ish though its different. Mike is a wonderful husband who supports me in whatever I do. He wanted to do the gym and would not go alone alot so I have, for him, given up one Zumba a week and am going to the gym on a Sunday morning with him. Works out fine as the kids go to the cinema to watch a movie and we pick them up at the end. I also go to the gym on a Tuesday morning when I can, then Zumba on a Thursday night still. 

I aim to get walking to school again in the mornings and hopefully get the bike out to work!!! 


and I hope to post here weekly again!..........