Two days into being back on Weightwatchers after a 6 month hiatus in the Alps and how's it going?
I LOVE IT!
Being back tracking and having a measure of control over what I eat is such a relief, it really is!
I'm pretty hungry at the moment, so maybe eating a little more than I should be, which is a bit awkward as I already used up my weekly points on an awesome girls' night with a glass of prosecco and the takeaway I'd been longing for, but all in all, my eating is much better right now.
As I mentioned last post, I'm also being kind to myself. I'm going on holiday on Saturday, and gearing up for having to do some job interviews soon too (hopefully!) and this has required a bit of a refresh of my wardrobe. Partly because things just got old, tired or a bit out of style and, yes, partly because at my current weight some things just don't fit right.
I'm not berating myself about it. Instead I've had a few little shopping trips where I've looked for things that will make me feel good right now, and also still look good when I've lost some weight: cute, loose-cut silky floral shots, print trousers, a stripy waterfall cut jacket, a couple of new bikinis that are adjustable with ties and a gorgeous little tunic / dress / cover-up for the beach with a draw-string waist. Plus some accessories: moccasins, because a girl needs some classic shoes, new sunnies (I officially have an obsession) and make-up. It's amazing how a different eye pencil and a bright new lipstick will make you feel more glam and pulled together!
I also had a really long phone call with my old friend and flatmate-to-be the other night and we've agreed that we both want to get fitter / lose weight and we'll support each other's efforts, which is always awesomely helpful.
So all-in-all, I'm feeling kinda positive right now. I'm not expecting a massive loss this week, and god knows what holiday will do to me, but I'm on the right track again.
Monday, 27 April 2015
Saturday, 25 April 2015
Home Sweet Home
Sometimes it's just good to be where everybody knows your name .... or more precisely to be where your dad welcomes you with open arms and a hug, and cooks you dinner with a bottle of bubbly on the side. It's nice to be appreciated!
The journey home was very relaxed, although long, and having left France at 4pm on Thursday afternoon, I was relieved to arrive home just before 3pm yesterday afternoon, just under 24 hours later. To be fair, I had added an overnight in a hotel into that time and a lunch break once I was off the Eurotunnel so I can't complain!
After a glorious night's sleep I'm feeling much refreshed and ready to tackle the list of stuff that needs doing this week, as well as getting some much-needed catch ups sorted with all the people I've missed whilst I've been away ... but it's a different, much more pleasant type of busy than the last couple of weeks have been. I realised this morning how lovely it is to be able to sit down and relax without feeling vaguely guilty that I should be doing some work for shut-down of the resort or cleaning something somewhere. Aaaaaaaah .... relax.
One thing that I've got straight back into the swing of is Weightwatchers. Like last season, my weight has stayed vaguely stable most of the season; it went down a bit in the first half and then it went up a bit, but just in the last couple of weeks it's gone up a bit more again, and I wasn't feeling great about it. I'm home, I'm ready to do something about it.
Last season, when I got home, I made the mistake of not getting straight back to normal, and instead I let myself enjoy all the things I'd been denied during my 6 month absence and the result was that on top of the 7 or 8 extra lbs I arrived home with, I added another 7 or so. Not this time.
It's all perspective really, a lot of girls pile on the weight on a season .... especially the first time seasonaires. There's been at least 4 girls I've known this season who've added a couple of stones to their frames, and I feel sorry for them because they're going to get home and it's going to hit them that it's going to take work to get rid of it. I've been more conscious about my weight, maybe because it's something I've always struggled with a bit, so while mine has fluctuated it's not been dramatic.
One thing I should confess to though is that I left for my first season at 12 1/2 stone. Came home, just over 13 and then added that aforementioned extra half. I did try last summer to get back down, but somehow it didn't quite happen, so I was just under 13 1/2 when I went away this winter. Which means I'm just over 14 now. Hence not where I want to be, and not a weight I've been for a while now.
I'm not going to let it upset me, as I don't plan on staying here. There's no point beating myself up about it, as I know I've been eating differently whilst I've been away, and it's not a way I'd ever consider eating here at home, so it's just time to sweep my motivation together and get back to healthy eating. And you know what? I'm feeling pretty positive about it. I'm off on holiday a week today, but rather than either worry about how I'll look in a wetsuit or around the pool, or go to the other extreme and not bother trying until I'm back, I'm just calmly picking up the reins now and getting started.
I rejoined Weightwatchers this morning before I even got out of bed. I'll have the Chinese takeaway I've been craving for weeks in the next couple of days, but it'll be pointed and tracked. I'll take what loss I can get this week and I refuse to feel bad about myself on holiday next week.
Frankly, I feel better about where I am in life than I have done for ages at the moment, so why not think of ways to feel better still, than focus on what I haven't achieved yet?
The journey home was very relaxed, although long, and having left France at 4pm on Thursday afternoon, I was relieved to arrive home just before 3pm yesterday afternoon, just under 24 hours later. To be fair, I had added an overnight in a hotel into that time and a lunch break once I was off the Eurotunnel so I can't complain!
After a glorious night's sleep I'm feeling much refreshed and ready to tackle the list of stuff that needs doing this week, as well as getting some much-needed catch ups sorted with all the people I've missed whilst I've been away ... but it's a different, much more pleasant type of busy than the last couple of weeks have been. I realised this morning how lovely it is to be able to sit down and relax without feeling vaguely guilty that I should be doing some work for shut-down of the resort or cleaning something somewhere. Aaaaaaaah .... relax.
One thing that I've got straight back into the swing of is Weightwatchers. Like last season, my weight has stayed vaguely stable most of the season; it went down a bit in the first half and then it went up a bit, but just in the last couple of weeks it's gone up a bit more again, and I wasn't feeling great about it. I'm home, I'm ready to do something about it.
Last season, when I got home, I made the mistake of not getting straight back to normal, and instead I let myself enjoy all the things I'd been denied during my 6 month absence and the result was that on top of the 7 or 8 extra lbs I arrived home with, I added another 7 or so. Not this time.
It's all perspective really, a lot of girls pile on the weight on a season .... especially the first time seasonaires. There's been at least 4 girls I've known this season who've added a couple of stones to their frames, and I feel sorry for them because they're going to get home and it's going to hit them that it's going to take work to get rid of it. I've been more conscious about my weight, maybe because it's something I've always struggled with a bit, so while mine has fluctuated it's not been dramatic.
One thing I should confess to though is that I left for my first season at 12 1/2 stone. Came home, just over 13 and then added that aforementioned extra half. I did try last summer to get back down, but somehow it didn't quite happen, so I was just under 13 1/2 when I went away this winter. Which means I'm just over 14 now. Hence not where I want to be, and not a weight I've been for a while now.
I'm not going to let it upset me, as I don't plan on staying here. There's no point beating myself up about it, as I know I've been eating differently whilst I've been away, and it's not a way I'd ever consider eating here at home, so it's just time to sweep my motivation together and get back to healthy eating. And you know what? I'm feeling pretty positive about it. I'm off on holiday a week today, but rather than either worry about how I'll look in a wetsuit or around the pool, or go to the other extreme and not bother trying until I'm back, I'm just calmly picking up the reins now and getting started.
I rejoined Weightwatchers this morning before I even got out of bed. I'll have the Chinese takeaway I've been craving for weeks in the next couple of days, but it'll be pointed and tracked. I'll take what loss I can get this week and I refuse to feel bad about myself on holiday next week.
Frankly, I feel better about where I am in life than I have done for ages at the moment, so why not think of ways to feel better still, than focus on what I haven't achieved yet?
Wednesday, 22 April 2015
Flying High .... And Home
I can't believe just how quickly the time has suddenly flashed by ... I've done my final handover in the office, been asked when I'll be back (not if, but when, which is always nice) to work out for my company again, cleaned my apartment this afternoon, and all that's left is to pack the last few things and clean the chalet we're staying in tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow afternoon I start the long drive home.
HOME. And do you know what? I'm totally ready for it. The Alps are stunning at this time of year, and there's a part of me that's sad to be leaving this lifestyle behind and the ability to ski in the middle of a work day, but there's another part, a louder part, that just craves to see family and friends and the UK again, right now.
One thing I did manage to squeeze in before my departure was my parapent ride!! I said here that it was one of my goals on my fun list before my 35th, and I actually got off my ass and sorted it out and it was AMAZING!!
I was a bit nervous about it, because I'm secretly a bit scared of heights, but I've watched them circling over my dad's house for years and it's always given me that dreamy feeling of wondering how amazing it must be, and now I know!!
Tomorrow afternoon I start the long drive home.
HOME. And do you know what? I'm totally ready for it. The Alps are stunning at this time of year, and there's a part of me that's sad to be leaving this lifestyle behind and the ability to ski in the middle of a work day, but there's another part, a louder part, that just craves to see family and friends and the UK again, right now.
One thing I did manage to squeeze in before my departure was my parapent ride!! I said here that it was one of my goals on my fun list before my 35th, and I actually got off my ass and sorted it out and it was AMAZING!!
I was a bit nervous about it, because I'm secretly a bit scared of heights, but I've watched them circling over my dad's house for years and it's always given me that dreamy feeling of wondering how amazing it must be, and now I know!!
Next to tick off, one of my three new countries for the year in just over a week's time - Morocco!!!
See you on the other side of the Channel!
Sunday, 5 April 2015
Mini Adventures
Hey! In very exciting news (for me, at least), I am now officially a debt-free person. With actual savings too. It's all terribly exciting and adult, and I can't tell you how satisfying it was to pay off my cards and loans. I even closed my student overdraft. Finally. It only took 12 years!
So that's all very awesome, and now that I am a solvent human being, I have every intention of staying that way. Of being a person who has money in the bank, and can pay off her credit card in full each month and isn't generally scraping the barrel just before pay day.
Yay for me!!
And once the excitement of that was over, I set about planning a holiday or trip for after the season end, in earnest. I'm feeling pretty proud of myself, because after some conversations with friends, it looked like no-one was really around at the right time to go away with me, and rather than just give up on the idea, I've gone ahead and booked something just for me! Eeeeeek!
The only time I've been away on my own before was my month long trip to Africa in 2013, and somehow this felt different and a bit more scary (don't ask - it's not logical at all) because that was a fully planned tour and this was ... well, just a holiday.
But I've hit upon the perfect solution. I knew I wanted to go somewhere warm, and I knew that rest and relaxation were high on the agenda. I also realised, that if I was going travelling on my own then I needed some kind of agenda or activity to keep me engaged and stop me feeling lonely or bored at any point. After looking at lots of different ideas and discarding them on the grounds of being too expensive, too long, too boring and a host of other reasons, I hit upon a good one and I just booked it today. So 4 weeks today I'll be surfing in Morocco!
I've found a surf camp that also runs beginners surf courses (despite owning my own board, I am very much a beginner ... or useless, depending on which way you look at it!), with optional yoga sessions in the mornings, doesn't charge an arm and a leg to penalise solo travellers and offers a chilled out, social situation, where everyone eats together at meal times. Perfect. There's a pool and a roof-top terrace, lessons on 5 days and options to visit nearby markets, hammams and all sorts of other interesting local attractions.
I'm really happy about the yoga part of the holiday too, and like that the surf lessons are only 2 hours in the morning, as I know I get knackered quickly, which leaves you the option to either do additional surf guiding in the afternoon if you're feeling particularly energetic or just chill at the riad. Perfect.
I've never been to Morocco before, so that ticks off one of the three new countries I wanted to visit this year, and will also count towards my surf goal too. It'll be a great week to rest, relax and recharge before I hurl myself back into work full time. Plus I have just over a week at home with my Dad first - yay!!
All in all, I'm feeling pretty positive right now. I think my friend and I have vaguely come to agreement on the terms of my renting her spare room in London. The last big transfer day of the season is out of the way and it's less than 3 weeks until I see my family again. The sun is coming out tomorrow, so I might actually put my damn skis on and go up the mountain (as it's been a shameful 9 days since I last did so), oooooh and I might be parapenting next week! Generally, life isn't too bad.
Here's to life!
So that's all very awesome, and now that I am a solvent human being, I have every intention of staying that way. Of being a person who has money in the bank, and can pay off her credit card in full each month and isn't generally scraping the barrel just before pay day.
Yay for me!!
And once the excitement of that was over, I set about planning a holiday or trip for after the season end, in earnest. I'm feeling pretty proud of myself, because after some conversations with friends, it looked like no-one was really around at the right time to go away with me, and rather than just give up on the idea, I've gone ahead and booked something just for me! Eeeeeek!
The only time I've been away on my own before was my month long trip to Africa in 2013, and somehow this felt different and a bit more scary (don't ask - it's not logical at all) because that was a fully planned tour and this was ... well, just a holiday.
But I've hit upon the perfect solution. I knew I wanted to go somewhere warm, and I knew that rest and relaxation were high on the agenda. I also realised, that if I was going travelling on my own then I needed some kind of agenda or activity to keep me engaged and stop me feeling lonely or bored at any point. After looking at lots of different ideas and discarding them on the grounds of being too expensive, too long, too boring and a host of other reasons, I hit upon a good one and I just booked it today. So 4 weeks today I'll be surfing in Morocco!
I've found a surf camp that also runs beginners surf courses (despite owning my own board, I am very much a beginner ... or useless, depending on which way you look at it!), with optional yoga sessions in the mornings, doesn't charge an arm and a leg to penalise solo travellers and offers a chilled out, social situation, where everyone eats together at meal times. Perfect. There's a pool and a roof-top terrace, lessons on 5 days and options to visit nearby markets, hammams and all sorts of other interesting local attractions.
I'm really happy about the yoga part of the holiday too, and like that the surf lessons are only 2 hours in the morning, as I know I get knackered quickly, which leaves you the option to either do additional surf guiding in the afternoon if you're feeling particularly energetic or just chill at the riad. Perfect.
I've never been to Morocco before, so that ticks off one of the three new countries I wanted to visit this year, and will also count towards my surf goal too. It'll be a great week to rest, relax and recharge before I hurl myself back into work full time. Plus I have just over a week at home with my Dad first - yay!!
All in all, I'm feeling pretty positive right now. I think my friend and I have vaguely come to agreement on the terms of my renting her spare room in London. The last big transfer day of the season is out of the way and it's less than 3 weeks until I see my family again. The sun is coming out tomorrow, so I might actually put my damn skis on and go up the mountain (as it's been a shameful 9 days since I last did so), oooooh and I might be parapenting next week! Generally, life isn't too bad.
Here's to life!
And Folie Douce Fridays!
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