Low

Just sadly not the low I'd have liked. After a second week of immaculate eating and getting back into the gym, the tiny loss I'd been seeing all week has some how had a eleventh hour reversal and turned into half a lb on from last week.

Highly frustrating and enough to make you wonder why you bother trying so hard.

BUT I came to this conclusion: staying on plan may not have resulted in the second consecutive loss I wanted to see this week, but veering off plan will sure as hell not result in that loss happening either.

So with gritted teeth I'm gluing my ass into the driving seat for a third week and trying to keep in mind that whatever else, I'm still 3 lbs down from where I started 2 weeks ago.

In the meantime, I'm going to wash my frustration away in the sea and go surfing and camping this weekend. Whilst attempting not to do anything stupid eating and drinking wise!

Keep going Teeth Gritters!!





- Posted from my iPhone

Nerves

I have to confess, at the end of my second week back on Weightwatchers, I'm feeling a little nervous.

Last week I had an amazing weigh in result, that saw me drop nearly 4lbs - that's a huge amount for me, as I often struggle to lose the weight with any speed.

This week, I've continued to be really honest with my tracking, and have only used about half of my weekly flex points. I've also clocked fair few activity points which I haven't dipped into, courtesy of two spin classes, a Body Balance and a solo session in the gym with my trainer's programme. That in itself makes me very proud, as I know I've made some conscious choices about my eating and I've made the effort to fit in exercise time ... even when it's meant hitting the gym at 7am!

However, I'm not sure the scales are going to move this week. I had a big loss last week, and I know if I stick to it and I'm honest, that they'll continue moving in the future, but right now they seem a little stuck. I need to mentally prepare for that, so I'm not disappointed with whatever I get tomorrow.

I want to stay motivated for the whole 12 week run up to ski season - that's more than just losing weight, that's getting strong and fit too.

Just a little lb tomorrow would be nice though.


- Posted from my iPhone

Fire

Sometimes, for no apparent reason, a fire is lit under your motivation, and just roars to life all on its own. And just like that, everything seems easier to accomplish. The challenges are manageable, the everyday becomes straightforward, and progress starts to occur.

This is what apparently happened to me whilst in France last week. I had a lovely week near Cognac with a big group of friends, which was exactly what I needed it to be. It was mostly comprised of sleeping, and relaxing, and chatting to wise and wonderful people - both those I'd known for a good long while and some excellent new additions to my circle of acquaintances - and eating lots of bread, cheese and pâté, and drinking wine, and diving in the pool and then floating around it for hours on a giant inflatable ring stolen from the kids, reading my book and nursing a cold glass of white some kindly soul had bought out to me. And then some more reading in the glorious sunshine. And a lot of napping. All in the surroundings of a sprawling, quirky farmhouse and some idyllically quiet countryside.

Occasionally, I stirred myself to daytrip to Congac for a tasting at Maison Hennessy (where I discovered a love of Hennessy VS and ginger), or a pootle round La Rochelle's pretty old riviera style, but mostly it was about the restorative effects of just disconnecting for a while.

I allowed myself to eat and drink what I pleased, and the sheer amount of sleeping and napping I did told me how much I needed the break, but towards the end of the week I found myself becoming increasing eager to get on with my healthiness and fitness goals ready for ski season.

I've come to the conclusion that, in order to make real progress, I need a bit of good old-fashioned discipline, and that means a framework to guide me. As much as I enjoyed the break away from Weightwatchers and trying to some different approaches, right now I need the control of their portion sizes. I originally left WWs because I thought their revised plan didn't work for me ... I lost all my weight on the older plan, and when ProPoints came in I really couldn't get to grips with it. In hindsight, I think I'd just got to a point where I didn't have enough motivation to make it work. And now I do.

The first week? Spectacularly well! I stayed on my basic daily points pretty much all week, with only a night at my Dad's seeing me dipping into a few flex points. I made it to my first spin class and did my fist run in 7 months or more. I would have done Pilates too, but when I arrived at the gym it had been cancelled and I didn't have kit to do an alternative work out with me. And in the first 5 days I dropped nearly 4lbs. 4!!

This morning I even got up and made it to the gym for an hour long RPM class (slightly different spin). At 10am. On a Saturday!!!

I feel energised, and positive. And I've enjoyed wine and a bit of chocolate this week.

I seem to have found a menu balance that works, so for now I'll stick roughly to that whilst I work out some other alternatives to add in. Lots of veggies with my dinner. Lots of fruit during the day. Carbs or protein for dinner - not both together (helps keep my points total down). Lots and lots of fluids. And a touch of discipline.

Long may this feeling continue!!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Oop North

It's been a gloriously sunny weekend up in Leeds catching up with some of my oldest friends (plus 2 husbands and a baby).





Lunches were had in York, and homemade icecream, (York) Minsters were admired, BBQs dusted off and much wine and Pimms drunk. A lovely slow weekend of reminiscing and dissecting of life.

These days I find that I'm happy for my friends, with their huge houses, new cars and babies, and whatever other different avenues their lives have taken them down because, whilst I don't know where my future lies, I have short and loose medium term plans that I'm content with. Their path is not mine, and vice versa, and that's absolutely fine.

It was good to catch up, compare and contrast, and know that I'm doing what's right for me, and that they're happy too.

Mind you, all that wine and food doesn't make for an easy first weekend when you're trying very hard to get your weightloss kick started again!! Loosely speaking I'd like to aim to lose a lb a week between now and leaving. I'm not sure I'll have reached that lb tomorrow, but aside from yesterday's over-indulgence and a few chocolates and glasses of wine on Friday night, I've not been bad this week, and have been very conscious with my choices.

Hopefully tomorrow's scales won't show too much damage from the weekend and I can catch up with my progress. Especially since I'm off on holiday this Friday!! I have a very busy week at work ahead and need to pack and finalise holiday details too, but have intentions of getting to the gym when I can and maintaining my conscious eating efforts.






- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad