Forecast - generally fine with slight hiccups

As the title suggests things seem to be going a bit more smoothly on the eating front of late. I negotiated last week's eating-out-fest fairly well, including an unexpected Indian meal on Friday night and lunch out on Saturday, and the scales were slowly trickling downwards.

I'd done a couple of good runs, and on Saturday I was so restless in the evening, that despite having traipsed round town for several hours during the day, I took myself off up the hills for a walk while the sun set.

The hiccup came on Sunday, when I got together with friends to watch the football, followed by a BBQ.

Yes, the dreaded BBQs again.

I baked on Saturday, because I knew I could safely take the result to the BBQ and get the majority of it eaten by other people. A guilty pleasure indeed. The result was my first attempt at any kind of pie or pastry, and I have to say, I was really pleased!

See how pretty my pecan pie was:




However, we ate so much at the BBQ it was physically painful afterwards. Ouch. Interestingly though, because I'd eaten very little earlier in the day, and because although we ate a lot, not much apart from the pie was truly bad, I wasn't nearly as over on points as I'd thought I'd be. More that I'd grazed my way through a lot of lean, grilled meat, salad, couscous and some potatoes. Even though I ate past where I was comfortable, I still retained some sense and turned down things I didn't need and made some conscious choices in terms of what I ate - things like knowing I wanted a mango chicken skewer because it would be tastier and lower points so not having a beef-burger, and not having any bread.

Monday, I picked up where I left off pre-BBQ and went straight back on the good eating. I've made it super easy for myself this week - I went shopping last night and stocked the fridge and cupboards with everything that's low-point, healthy, quick or pre-prepared. A bit cheaty, but useful.

So I've got a couple of ready meals and soups, lots of ready-cut, ready to steam veg, cold lean meats or fish, and fruit. No excuses.

Last night I was meant to be having a first lesson at playing squash with Jon. Cue work going shittily manic and me not getting to leave the office til gone 7 and therefore missing our booking for the court. We ended up with Jon cooking me dinner instead and me falling asleep on the sofa while watching Shrek.

I allowed the crappiness of the day to get to me yesterday and ate a bit out of stress - not ideal as then I was annoyed as I was over on my points too. By contrast my friend Jo went on a bootcamp over the weekend and lost 7lbs!!!!! I'm incredibly proud of how much hard work she must have put into that but at the same time frustrated that I don't seem to be able to do the same.

Tomorrow I have my first counselling session. Eeeeek! I'm suddenly nervous that I won't know what to talk about when I get there. I guess there should be plenty though, given that I found myself tearful and emotional on Monday whilst watching Letters to Juliet at the cinema, and talking to Bec afterwards - just watching a chick flick should not be making me so depressed about my own life!

Anyway - back to taking things one day at a time for me, since that got me through last week so well (spot that Sunday and the BBQ was the one day I didn't make a plan for last week). Aims are to eat on points for my food and get some exercise tonight. Maybe a run. I also want to try and find some of the menus for places I know I'll be eating on this weekend's hen party. Planning is key for me.

Finally: I promised some pictures of all the dresses I bought at Bicester Village. Well, here they are!

This one will hopefully be for Rob and Caz's 30th bash in a couple of weeks - a black-tie affair in Loughborough:



A steal from on eBay - original Coast price £195, and I picked it up for £30. It's a size 14 and still pretty tight around the bust, but I couldn't do it up at all initially, so that's cool.

This one's for Katherine's wedding in 3 weeks:




Another great bargain - £70 reduced from £150. I love the bright acid yellow-green colour of the top, and the detailing of the band under the bust (it's all beaded), but I'm a bit worried that it seems to be a bit loose around the bust and the ribs already - might have to wear with a really padded bra! I tried on the 14 in the shop and it was sodding tight so I went for the 16, but that might have been an error.

If all else fails and it's too big, then I'll be wearing this one instead:





I luuuuurve this dress!! This is also my option for the Cartier Polo at the end of July. Another Coast size 14, but this one fits nicely already. Super bargainous: £45 reduced from £160.

And finally, for playtime:







This little number from French Connection - and half price too. This dress makes me feel properly skinny, so it's my friend. I wore it out in London a couple weekends ago, and got lots of compliments, so I'm thinking it's going to the hen weekend with me - nothing like feeling pretty to boost a girl's confidence!

- Posted from my iPhone

(Mini-)Goooooaaaaal!!!

Hey guys,

The mini eating out marathon is now over for the week. Yesterday, I finished work early and then rushed off to the doctors for my travel appointment. After a chat about the options available, and being told that apparently all of my vaccination records since birth have disappeared, I got jabbed once in each arm, with a promise of more to come next week. Oh, what a lucky little girl I am!!!

I got the combi-shot for tetanus, diphtheria and polio in one arm, and Hep A in the other. Both are now sore. I also need typhoid, because of our exposure to potentially contaminated water (mostly due to our intention to surf whilst we're away). And I have to get anti-malarials (joy). Also, as of yesterday, Costa Rica has issued a travel warning that dengue fever has broken out, for which there is no vaccination or specific treatment. Extra joy!

I was due to have dinner with Jo after the needle trauma was over (she had to appt immediately before mine to get jabbed), and I had it all planned out that we would go to Ask and I could eat healthy pasta sitting in their courtyard garden.

Instead, Lissa decided that she wanted to come for dinner too, but didn't want to drive all the way over to Malvern where we were, so it was all change on the plans. We ended up going to a very nice pub with a garden, but I was a bit dismayed to see that their menu was not only quite small, but almost entirely consisted of the words cream and chips. Arrrrrgh!!!!

After a bit of indecisiveness, I ordered a starter of prawns, salad and tomato mayonnaise with, a slice of homemade bread and butter (thankfully, spread thinly) and a small side of their chips, which are at least thick cut and not particularly greasy. I ended up about 4 points over for the day, but that's no catastrophe.

The best bit? My aim for the last two days was to come out with the scales a bit lower than I went in. Achieved? Yep. A little bit back down.

Today's goal was simply to finish the week on track. I wanted to stick to my points for the day, and go for a run this evening to a) stretch my legs, and b) bank a couple of activity points. So far, today is turning into a bit of a trial. Grrrrrr.

I went to get breakfast this morning, only to find we had no milk, no bread, no eggs and no fruit juice. So all breakfast options were out. I stopped to grab a skinny muffin and a small fruit salad on the way to work instead. Then my plan for a healthy lunch out in the sun was scuppered by being told that we had a compulsory lunch to celebrate a colleague's 10 years with work. Not too bad - 3/4 of a sandwich, a couple of breaded chicken fingers and a mini-sausage roll. Feeling full, but a baby flapjack sneaked in. I've got a couple of points left for dinner now (salad or soup then), so not a total disaster, just not exactly what I'd planned. I'm still able to meet my goals for the day though, so I'm happy.


- Posted from my iPhone

Shattered but happy so far

Oh my lord - 4 hours sleep is not enough when you're 29 years old. My eyes feel like sandpaper today!!

My eating went pretty well yesterday considering. By the afternoon I was getting really stressed at work, in an "I want to hit things" kind of way. Chocolate biscuits on the cabinets didn't help but I managed not to go crazy on them.

After abandoning the fight with my work and downing tools at 5pm sharp, I had just enough time to drive home, ditch the car and my work bags, and walk down to the station whilst munching on a treat-size bag of Cadbury Buttons to keep the hunger-monster at bay - the only portable food I could find in the house.

After unwinding over a couple of drinks with friends in a gorgeous pub garden I knew nothing about previously (how'd I miss that??), we sauntered round to the restaurant for tea.

I am SO glad I'd decided what to eat beforehand, as I adore Mexican food, and trying to make a healthy choice whilst starving hungry would have been pure torture!!! As it was we had a jug of Margerita and two starters to nibble on between 6 of us - which was great as it meant no chance to get carried away on the nachos, and then I had my swordfish as planned, with stir-fry veg and new potatoes. Not a delicious, deep-fried burrito, or a pile of guacamole, sour cream and cheese in sight. My plate came with half a field of potatoes on it, which I'd kind of suspected it might, so I decided right away to only eat half of them. I finished the meal feeling comfortably full and more than a little bit smug with myself. And only 2 points over for the day.

We had another drink afterwards in a bar, then wandered home, where I stupidly proceded to stay up til 2am watching tv with Jon. Hence the cheesegrater eyes this morning!

Today is Round 2 of eating out. I've got to leave work early to head to the doctors for my holiday jabs (ouch!), and then I'm going for drinks and dinner with Jo. Part catch-up, part holiday planning and part celebration of yet another promotion for her at work (she's now a director at her company, aged just 29!!).

I'm going to suggest we eat at Ask, as we can eat in their courtyard garden and enjoy the nice weather, plus I can make a safe choice there and have pasta with a tomato and veg sauce, to stay on track.

It's nice to not be feeling bloated and sick the morning after a meal out, so I'm enjoying this healthy choices thing. Bizarrely, I'm also missing the opportunity to run or work out in the evenings because I've been busy the last couple of nights - I think probably because I'm appreciating now how they make physical changes to my body. Tomorrow evening I'll be able to work out though.

Hope you're all enjoying this gorgeous summer weather! I definitely am - skirts and dresses all the way these days, and I've been told I look "very glam" today ... just as well as there's an absolute stunner of a new guy started in the VAT office this week ... believe me I'm thinking up excuses to wander over there so I can stare in awe and appreciation ;o)

- Posted from my iPhone

Screw you, Scales!

ALSO ENTITLED: sometimes my body talks to me, and occasionally, I listen.

So far, so good on this plan of attack for the next couple of days. My eating yesterday was stellar ... and unexpectedly small. I'd had about 10 points of my allotted 21 by the time I left work yesterday. Ultra-low point food and me being careful saw me through the day, as I was intending to save my maximum allowed 4 points for the day.

As intended, I got home, pulled on my running gear and ventured out into the still warm evening to stetch my legs on the hills. I thought I'd try a new route and keep it varied, so as I reached my halfway point along the East side of the hills, I crossed the ridgeline and tried to find a route back on the West.

Somebody call me a dumb-ass please, as I should know from my biking on the hills, that the path I took goes DOOOOOOOOWN. Easy running as I dropped lower and lower, but always aware that what goes down has to come back UP again.

Still, I told myself I could walk if I needed to. Better than that though - I walked a few sections but ran all that I could, and I'm really quite proud of myself. Not that my couple of 100m ascending / descending is anything compared to what some of you guys run - but it's a lot for me - and I know when to award myself a pat on the back. Just under 6k of rolling (and occasionally steep) hills in 45 mins.

After my run, I found mself totally unenthusiastic about food. I don't know whether it was the heat, the later time or just a side-effect of running, but food wasn't appealing. I compromised by cooking a healthy dinner of venison grills (super-low fat and tastey) and veg in a tomato sauce (I gave up on carbs though - that wasn't happening) and told myself I'd have a dessert to take me up to my minimum points limit for the day. Again, my body said "no, don't want it" and I just shrugged and gave up. No point forcing it.

So I ended the day on a total of 14 points and a good run.

Are the scales down this morning? Are they hell!!

2lbs up.

Screw 'em.

Dinner's picked out for tonight - we're eating Mexican, so I'm staying off the fajitas / enchiladas / deadly diet-killing dishes and have picked Cajun swordfish with veg from the menu. Sorted.

Catch ya later, dudes.


- Posted from my iPhone

Game on!

I am hearby branding this weekend a success. I ran when I said I would, and this morning's scales were down on Friday's, so I hit all my targets. I had a bit of a sweet tooth last night, but nothing that a run this evening won't cure. I'm on track for a good day of eating today too.

Now for the challenging bit - I've got invites for dinner over the next 2 nights. I'm going to try and check the menus out beforehand and decide what to have so I can plan my points. I prob won't have any time for exercise over the next couple of days, so I shall content myself with goals of planning my food and a catch-up run on Thursday (and tonight's run of course). If I can get the scales down another tiny little bit I'll be well-pleased!!


- Posted from my iPhone

Changes?

Is it possible for just over a week of running (4 x 5k runs) to make a difference to your shape?

I don't know, all I know is this: the scales haven't particularly budged anywhere yet, but when I went to put on my jeans yesterday (jeans I only bought about 2 weeks ago) instead of fitting comfortably / snugly the way jeans should, they appeared to be a bit baggy all around the whole bum / thigh area. I wasn't sure, but to double-check the jeans hadn't just stretched somehow, I grabbed my skinny jeans out of the wardrobe to try. These are my benchmark, I'm-feeling-small jeans as they only started to comfortably fit me when I was at my smallest over Xmas, and then after skiing they were seriously snug. Yesterday though? Yesterday they went on waaaaay easier and for the first time in 6 months I wore them out the house!

That definitely gives me a kick up the ass to keep doing a couple of 5k runs a week! If I see a change in my shape after just 4 runs then surely the scales would have to start moving if I keep it up?

Yesterday morning (before the jeans incident) I did what I'd promised and got up and went straight out for a run. I'm not a huge fan of first thing in the morning runs, as I always feel very sluggish before I've eaten breakfast, so I had to take lots of little walking breaks - especially on the big hill. But it was done.

After a quick breakfast and some packing I set off for London. I did a detour via Bicester Village again and picked up a new dress to wear out last night, and a back up dress for the black-tie event next month. It's gorgeous - navy silk with a big flower at the waist -I did promise some photos of the dresses so I'll try and do those later this evening for you!

After keeping my points low during the day and running I knew I could afford to eat something nice for dinner last night, but I'd still need to remain conscious of what I was eating so I didn't go crazy. Our eating plans had changed, so we ended up going to Belgo, which is a Belgian restaurant specialising in mussels. I had a lovely dish called Florentine mussels which was a mussels in a spinach sauce with Gruyere cheese on top, and a small bowel of chips. I stuck my drinking to two short cocktails (caiprinhas) and some vodka and slimline tonics. I actually couldn't physically eat or drink any more than that as I was sooooooo full afterwards!

So in terms of the challenges I set myself: I ran when I said I would, and the scales were down a little bit yesterday morning, so if I can keep them there or a little bit lower tomorrow morning I'll be happy. I want to do some gentle exercise this evening when I get back, whether that's a walk, or bike over to my dad's or just a swim.

Catch ya later, kids.

- Posted from my iPhone

Happy smiley running people

Amazing what a little positive self-talk can do. Got back from lunch and as planned slung on my running gear and went out in the drizzle. Feeling slow and sluggish after eating and probably running a little too soon too. I started talking myself up somewhere just after the half-way point - telling myself I could keep going. Slowly, slowly I sped up and got stronger and ended up storming the last part with a smile.

Last Friday I wrote that I'd clocked my fastest 5k to date - 5.1k in 40 mins.

Today I ran the same route in 38 mins.





Proof of my happy (sweaty) face.

- Posted from my iPhone