Weight Watchers

[asamaic]

Well done asamaic with your healthy choices I need to take a leaf out of your book.

Really? I thought I was taking a leaf out of yours, you always seem to behave more!

Yesterday was a disaster - the restaurant we were meant to go to was busy, so we went to Prezzo instead. Crab cakes I thought would be ok, and they were tiny, but when I checked afterwards - 797 calories for the starter! Given my main was only 472, that was ridiculous! I ate hardly any of the aioli dip it came with though, which hopefully is where the bulk of those 797 calories came from. Stepped on the scales this morning and thankfully I hadn't gained a stone overnight, which is what I had feared would happen.

Today I've been better - reading the nutritional information for one! Scary how some food can be secretly packed with calories and fat.

The House of Lords menu looks lovely - I have to admit, I do like reading about food even when I don't get to eat it. My skinny sister eats to live, whereas I definitely live to eat, making this all such a challenge.

I sympathise with the body clock, ClareBarr - I'm naturally a night owl. Work let me start much later than most people, but even so, I still struggle with going to bed and getting up! What I do know is getting a proper sleep pattern does help regulate weight, so if the only thing you're doing is trying to get into a regular pattern, you're still attacking the scales and taking positive weight loss action. Go you.

If anyone has any healthy recipes, do share. I now have my own kitchen and can cook away to my heart's content (or rather, I can once I b*y some pots and pans), but I don't think I know how to cook a single healthy meal. I mean, whenever I bake I use lots of marge, and whenever I cook, I use lots of cheese. Will happily take inspiration where I can find it!

[asamaic]

So, it's the start of day 7 for me and I'm pleased to say that with the exception of the Prezzo disaster, the scales have moved downward every day and I've lost 2kg!

To anyone alarmed I'm losing weight too quickly, not all of that is real weight. A lot of it is my system shaking off all the water weight from the salty takeaways I've had in the run up to getting on the wagon, so my weight loss should become a lot more gradual next week as there won't be any truly bad stuff left for my body to process. People say that one bad meal won't make you gain weight - well, it won't make you gain a lot of permanent weight, but it can leave you carrying water weight for a while as your fed up kidneys hang onto some extra water just in case they need it.

However, real weight or water weight, this week's loss means I now feel a lot less blaaahhrhrrr in myself (you know exactly what I mean!), and motivated to get through today and start the next week well. I know I'm not going to see as dramatic results, but I'm okay with that, because if I'm good, it's still going to go down, and that's all that matters!

I meant what I said about the first week being the toughest, but I've now managed to say no to takeaway quite a lot of times, and make better restaurant choices. ("Giant chocolate cake, you say? No, I'd like one scoop of the sorbet please.") Willpower is now returning.

Have a great weekend everyone!

[Diane65]

Well done asamaic that is just brilliant and as you say the first week is the toughest.

I think that I just ate the entire day yesterday. I started off well with all bran but didn't realise that we got fed on the train too hence eggs Benedict followed by marmalade on toast then arrived at the House of Lords to be greeted with champagne, Starter was goats cheese tart, followed by chicken with all the trimmings but lots of asapargus followed by knickerbocker glory (looked like trifle which I adore) then fed on the way home. It was a fabulous day meeting up with lots of lovely new people - it wasn't stuffy at all which I had a feeling that it could be with lots of dull polite conversation Then a bit of shopping before heading home.

I am finally almost free from excessive socialising so can give this my all.

Menu of the day:
Raspberry and banana milkshake (320 calories as a large banana)
Garlic sausage wholemeal roll with tons of rocket and tomatoes followed by a healthy living cherry yoghurt (300 calories)
M&S paprika chicken (I never got the chance to eat the other day) 303 calories followed by a poached pear just deciding weather to go down the vanilla route or more the cinnamon route as will be having a baked apple with ginger and nutmeg tomorrow so want a bit of a change. I have another ready meal to eat hence want to do a bit of cooking myself. I will post the recipe shortly as will be a healthy dessert.

Have a fun day everyone.

[ejwrank]

Well to to you, asamaic, and now that the first tough week is behind you with such great results you must be feeling confident.

And glad to hear of your day at the House of Lords (any Lordly hedge trimmers lurking in those dark corridors?), Diane. I think others on this topic will want to know that you were being honoured for a project you undertook and made a great success of. And of course you did this on a volunteer basis on top of all the rest of your family, work and other commitments. So I for one am very glad to see you being recognised and you certainly deserved all that you received yesterday! Congratulations!

[asamaic]

As ejwrank says, a well-deserved day, Diane!

[Diane65]

Thanks so much ladies and I couldn't see any hedge cutting Lords but I did get told off for taking a photo. Could that be because he was lurking around

I poached my pear with vanilla and honey and it was delicious with a subtle flavour. I wasn't sure how it would turn out as just cooking the one pear and trying to think how I could make it without sugar (I know that honey is sugar but could get away with a tiny amount), I peeled it and then cut the pear length ways and placed in a pan face down with about 3 cm of a vanilla pod squashed between the 2 pear halves then I covered it with a tsp of honey dissolved in half a cup of of water and poached covered for 15 minutes turning over halfway until softened. Let it cool in the pan covered to keep the flavour then eat at room temperature pouring the remaining syrup over the top. As I am one of many on here who doesn't waste food you can actually reuse the piece of vanilla pod as they still have loads of flavour so you can either wash and dry it then store in an airtight jar or wash and dry it then split it in half and either put it in sugar to make vanilla sugar which will still be giving off the flavour for months in an airtight container or rubbed into coarse salt and put in an airtight container and use in cooking eg for salted caramel or even on vegetables - I'm thinking of like butternut squash etc.

Lets keep on swapping recipes.

I have just made this ready for lunch tomorrow https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j ... SPq1cU-arg Celery is on offer for 49p in Tesco for 450gm so I've made a large pan so some for my Mum and Auntie Joyce but you can just as easily freeze it (less hassle too as my Mum might complain re having put garlic in it but very subtle so hopefully she won't notice ) plus I have made some herb butter (a friend gave me loads of herbs out of her garden so I froze them and I just took a handful out and chopped them up and mixed into butter) so will be having a small portion on a wholemeal roll. Both extremely easy and quick to make.

[jojojoanne]

Well Done, asamaic!!

[Diane65]

Menu of the day:
Branflakes with semi skimmed milk
Celery soup with a bread roll with herb butter (I need to get a proper herb chopper as large pieces of herbs in the butter which is fine as just for me but would be nicer finely chopped)
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j ... 4ZOlu5za3Q I was going to make one but it was half price today as sell be date today so not worth making as only £1.30 but having brocolli and green beans to go with it (also half price).
Baked apple with sultanas, cinnamon and nutmeg. (apples from neighbour's tree too. I have also been making apple sauce this morning which is a doddle https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j ... 8427,d.bGg so took some around to my neighbour and my mother and I will be having mine with some pork sausages later in the week. I cannot believe that he would have so much fruit and not actually use any of it. )

It's a beautiful day in Manchester so will be mowing my lawn and going for a walk. Have a fun day everyone

[Diane65]

Hardly surprising I have gained 1lb but I am determined now to get this weight shifted.

[jojojoanne]

You Can Do It, Diane!! Good Luck!!