Showing posts with label Smart Points. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Smart Points. Show all posts

Friday, 5 October 2018

1 Year Week 2



Now
The beginning


I know its been a while since I wrote a weigh in post, I seem to be saying it a lot. I've had a lot on my plate and I've not had the chance to just sit and write in my posts. Several reasons not all good not all bad some were even more life style changes, some was getting the balances right so its been a good adjustment all together.

So it has been a little over a year since the first picture was taken and I can't quite believe its happened this fast, that I've stayed the whole year, it both does and doesn't feel like its been a year. 

People might ask if in the first photo, or at least when it was taken was I happy. Truth, yes, I was happy, I wouldn't say my own inner happiness has changed. I was not miserable and why I went to weightwatchers again, honestly Yasmine had said some of the other girls made comment on my weight to her and I didn't want her getting upset over it and my mother was bugging me to go back (and believe me the latter was a very big contributor to the situation I'll do anything not to be bugged about something), because as ever, my mother is the sound of my conscious. Its true, I've told my husband that when my conscious calls it sounds like my mother on more then one occasion, a lot of growing up she told me she's 'leave it to my own conscious' instead of telling me  yes or no, I suspect its so I could learn consequences, though I've said it before I sometimes wish I had someone telling me yes or no but then how would I grow!

Do you feel different now you've lost the weight? Well, yes and no.
I'll sometimes sit there and seriously say to my hubby "I feel as fat as I did at the start." I won't have ate anything to bloat me, I just feel it and I know its ridiculous but again seriously, sometimes I think the first picture is still what I feel like.
It'll be when I'm groggy or bloated or on my ladies time of the month, or when for some strange reason I can't climb the hill from my daughters school back up home. There was one day near the end of last term actually I remember I was having an asthma attack, I was pushing the pram up the hill, there was pollen everywhere (which does make my asthma worse) there's a bit just before you get to my street, you do have a sharp incline still to complete but there's just some greenery with trees and there's a round bit in the middle where you can sit so I sat down I took my inhaler and I remember thinking "I can't do this because I'm fat. Why am I bothering?!" And I was nearly in tears thinking I was still fat and I looked down and what I saw, didn't match the imagine I had of myself when I thought what I did just a few seconds earlier. "No." I thought shaking my head "You can't do this because you have asthma, its up hill its not an easy walk. You find it hard because you have asthma."
But then there's other times when I've completed something which I know fine well I couldn't have done a year ago, even nine months (Like the 5K runner above and yes I ran those times!) and it hits you all over again that I am changing. In all of this, I am changing.
12 Months of Weight Loss

Some weeks have been frustrating you can see below that my weightloss hasn't been straight down all the time, though thankfully none have been a massive leap upwards... Sometimes I've been more because I've been building up muscle, I've felt smaller I know I am, and then I step on the scales and they are the same or higher! 

Has it been easy you made it look easy? Why Thank you for saying so, but, no, no it has not been easy, it IS NOT easy, because I don't think this journey will really end.

Do I want to eat the chocolate over there? Yes I do. Do I? Honestly, sometimes yeah.


Last week I really tracked my food...
really really tracked it!
Standard Mars Bar 12 SP.  (or 449 Cal)

12 Smart Points could also serve me a spaghetti and meatballs recipe (in fact that is 11SP!)

The choice is mine, the Mars Bar can sometimes be satisfying and is worth the fact that you get to eat fish and veg for tea that night (I currently get 23SP a day with 35 weeklies!)  But ultimately I choose the spaghetti and meatballs.  And not eat both.

My favourite snack is popcorn (at 3SP for 30g its a steal!) 

Sometimes it felt as though my hard work, hasn't paid off, my Coach will tell you! And sometimes its frustrating. In making some positive changes you invoke some negative ones until we learn to balance it. 

People have noticed. Its obvious its coming off, but there are people who I see so regularly say it too. Both my kids go swimming (have swimming lessons) so I'm up at the swimming pool often, and because I get in the pool with Joseph have seen it all in a swimming costume! Joseph's swimming teacher and one of the lifeguards both say it! 

And I love how men try and approach the subject. Some don't at all with me, will talk to Phil about it and its because they don't want to offend me, I know thats why, and I guess some women would get upset by a man saying "You look like you've lost weight." And maybe it might have been slightly insulting after loosing a pound or two but when you've lost over 70 of them... I'm guessing its okay to notice! and whats funny is that their wives just out and say it! One friend I've known for years the conversation went something like this

Him: "You're looking well." 
Me: "I am thank you."
Him: "Has it been a deliberate decision or....?" 
Me: "It's been deliberate, and hard work."
Him: "Good, good on you." 

Not once did either him or me say anything about weight, but it was obvious what we were talking about, ladies and gentlemen that is how you do it! 

I don't want to talk too long because I don't want it to seem like a lecture, because even I get it wrong, you know I'm not perfect at it, but I'm getting there with it, sticking with it is important. I've still got a way to go, but you know something, I've made it this far! 

So if you've made it this far, thanks!


Total Lost

5st lb (or 72 Pounds) Loss this week: 3.5 pounds
Average weekly loss 1.3

lb (I'm okay with that!)









Wednesday, 17 January 2018

Quick and Easy Breakfast

Breakfast is ready!

Those of you who know me know that I love a cooked breakfast! I've put them on here before as a victory 'look what I've done for very few SmartPoints' kind of thing. There are some days however you just can't make yourself do it right? 
For all a healthy breakfast is a great start to the day I think we are sometimes fooled into thinking that actually being full for longer is less important then the calorie intake.  
Its difficult to get your head around sometimes that its the foods and whats in them which are important. One of my favourite things at the moment are eggs. When they brought in the Flex Smartpoints eggs were one of the food which weightwatchers changed from having a points value to them not having points at all. The reasoning is that studies showed that eating certain foods had no effect on the rate that you loose weight (if cooked and prepared in the right manner).

So naturally WeightWatchers websites have exploded with foods which can be made free (or very low) in SmartPoints. Now Egg was not the only free food found on the Flex but it does help with making delicious foods!

So this is breakfast on the go. I'll tell you before I show the ingredients they are 1 Smartpoint for two cups.  They are great for people on the go, food you can literally prepare in advance, pick up and run and they really take very little time to prepare as well (though I'll admit I didn't time it!)

What You'll need
A Muffin tin
6 eggs 
3 bacon medallions
3 mushrooms
6 cherry tomatoes
Fry light Spray

  1. With the frylight, spray the muffin tin with it
  2. break the eggs placing one egg in each cup
  3. get a fork break the yokes and whisk the eggs lightly in the tray (don't worry if its not scrambled completely)
  4. cut up the bacon medallions and share equally among the six cups
  5. Cut up the mushrooms and share equally among the six cups
  6. cut up the Tomatoes and share equally among the six cups
  7. Place in oven 190 (fan oven) gas mark 5 for 15 minutes.


I've also seen this done with cheese though you will need to add those points/calories to the final count.

Per recipe:
Bacon medallions =97 calories /1 Flex SmartPoint
eggs=338 calories/ 0 Flex SmartPoints 
Mushrooms= 85 Calories/ 0 Flex SmartPoints
Tomatoes= 15 Calories/0 Flex SmartPoints
Frylight spray=6 Calories/1 Flex SmartPoints

For those on weightwatchers its a great little snack if you are on the hungry side and the plus side is they are made up already to go!

Friday, 17 November 2017

End of Week 8



 So this week Ladies and Gentlemen has been an interesting week...

I've been on Flex Smartpoints this week and if you like its a step between Smatpoints and no count.
Weightwatchers have added more stuff which you previously had to point to their no count list BUT they take 7 Smart points off your daily allowance....

The idea behind it is that these new no count items can be added to your daily intake and not be counted.

Now wait and see what was on the list. Eggs, fish (unsmoked, non processed) chicken breast (no skin not processed) turkey Breast (no skin not processed) peas (not mushy) sweetcorn (including corn on the cob) all lentils and legumes. All of these include canned veg and canned fish. (unless its processed)
These are a HUGE deal. I love love love peas and sweetcorn but avoided them because they were pointed 2, for a veg... (I think not!) Now this week they've been there and I've been eating them guilt free!
Eggs used to be 2 per egg. Now free you only have to count the bread and you can have dippy eggs for 2 (for one egg and one buttered crustless bit of bread) or 4 (for 2 eggs and two buttered crustless bread) instead of 6 and eight respectively.

You can do a veg broth for free, add lentils to your soup... completely free!

Chicken dinner.... nearly all free (just count those potatoes!)

I was on it all last week, I was not hungry once and I only once went over my daily allowance but it was because I was being greedy and had a flake soooo.... that was worth it!

Along with this of course was the fact I didn't use all my dailies everyday.... So you can roll onto your weekily four a day. So you can roll over a reserve and have treat you want if you like.

The science?
Proteins found in these food keep us fuller for longer. So by encouraging us to eat them we eat less naturally anyway...

I've seen people go on and say if I'm allowed to eat two chicken breasts I will just eat them....

WHO can eat TWO chicken breasts with their dinner and not be full? I mean HOW?! Unless you are Adam Richman, ya can't! And if you really can...  I want to meet you and shake your hand!
This little girl passed her level 4 class in swimming this week.... as a result she took me swimming Thursday night.... and she worked me hard! My legs and bottom were killing!

So the result?

I lost my regular 3 pounds.....

Is this true Mammy?   No no it isn;t!
Now hold up and listen...

This to me is a huge success.

Its the week after my monthily ladies and this is my heavy week. This time last month I only lost a pound in that week so to loose as normal is a big deal.

As well.... I didn't feel like I lost, I told my husband so, I told Joseph's swimming teacher so, I even told my leader so. So it step on and see that.... Its just awesome!!.... Also it marks my 25 pounds lost in 8 weeks! I'm not even at the end of month 2 yet.... I so want to loose three next week, that will mark my 10% and my two stone!




Five SmartPoints on Flex


Weight loss this week:-3lbs



Weight loss total: -25lbs or 1 Stone 11lbs





Thursday, 26 October 2017

Get your bake on!

I like to bake. It is honestly one of the  have only ways I'm a good little housewife. I love to bake cakes and biscuits and I like to cook meals at the end of the day! Mostly because I think when you like good food you want it at home so you learn.

Its always one of the things I miss when I go on a diet, so when the weightwatchers magazine for November came through, and there were bakes in there... well you weren't going to stop me.

 Yasmine helped me bake this one. she was happy to fluff up the mix while my arm was resting and I think she found it interesting. She likes to bake too, so since she's just finished her turn at cookery club... guess who gets to bake with her now!
 
 You can see it looks a ... little different! So here is what we did. Our cake tin was 24cm not 20cm... and they say size doesn't matter! Well I managed to get it cut in half but I bet I would have been more comfortable with a 20cm or smaller case! 

Having said that, its still a good bake and I was surprised how the case turned out considering just how little flour and sugar is in it! (Side note, I only seemed to have plain flour so I did use baking powder in my cake because I used plain flour, I may need to experiment with the amount I put in see if it makes any more of a rise!)

I also think the mousse, although made to the specs needs another gelatin leaf if its going to look like anything like the one in the magazine! Not that mine is terrible or anything, as you can see it hold its shape just fine!

Yasmine told me to leave the bits out next time, but despite the fact it was quite a tart gateau she seemed to enjoy it. 
We did used frozen mixed berries rather then just blackberries AND I used strawberries to decorate rather then blackberries because those things are expensive in shops!!
It did however taste very nice. Both me and Phil enjoyed it and its a nice little treat for three Smart Points, considering only three would get you a plain special K bar too!

                                Thumbs up Weightwatchers magazine, thumbs up!
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