Four weeks in!

So  I am nearly into a month of a healthier lifestyle and I thought I would share my successes, fails and what I learned along the way.

Successes

1.I have significantly reduced my portions. I am more aware of what the right portions for me look like and when I am over eating.

2. I have introduced more vegetables into my meals. I try to have at least some sort of vegetable or salad or sauce containing vegetables with lunch and breakfast

3. I have learned to understand when I am hungry and when I am not and obey those cues (well some of the time). There have been times I have skipped or had light lunch or dinner because I was still full from a good lunch or breakfast.

4. I have developed the habit of walking as much as I can and if the weather allows and being more active at home in my chores and with my kids.

Failures

1.I have not been able to stick to a formal exercise programme like the HIIT and aerobics.

2. I have still had bad episodes of binge and comfort eating

Learning points

I have learned to listen to my body, I feel so energised after a few days of healthy eating , drinking water and moderate exercise and I can instantly feel the difference after a day of overeating or eating junk. I wake up lethargic an literally ill!

I am learning the importance of my cycle and how to work with it. I am learning I have to prepare with good healthy eating and exercise for the 'low days' before my period, taking it easy during that time and allowing myself healthy comfort food and then  making the most of the energy spurt I have just after my period. I am still learning more about this and myself but I now realise  how understanding yourself in relation to your cycle is so important.


I will have my first official weigh in on the 2nd of February and I am pretty sure I have not lost any major weight, if any. One lady did comment however that that I look slimmer and asked if I was on a diet. I am also able to close all my coat buttons! Hooray for progress.

xxx

Anne

very bad week

I am so disappointed in myself. I was felt a bit down this week due to some stuff going on and I turned back to my usual comfort.....food. or should I  say carbs.  I went back to bing eating and threw exercise out the window. Its sooo clear to me though how my mood affects my eating and everything. its not good, this has to stop.

Weekend Sabotage and HIIT Day 3

First for HIIT Day 3: Whaaaaat! I just finished my workout and thought I would pass out in the last three minutes. I am surprised I didn't throw up. Anyway now I am back to life. I feel good! endorphins are running high. ha ha

Now I think I missed out another unhealthy habit: SABOTAGING MY JOURNEY AT THE WEEKEND. This weekend I just let it go and lost all discipline. why oh why? I do want to lose at least some weight. I don't think it will work if I put everything back on between Friday and Saturday.
I am catching myself now before Sunday joins in.

 Past behind, onwards and upwards!

Fitness Challenge 30 Days of HIIT!

I have found a pretty good  exercise programme I could do at home. I used to love HIIT work outs and they usually gave me the best results. My favourites were the Fitness Blender workouts on You Tube.

Now that I am more or less starting my fitness journey all over again I was looking for a simple fitness challenge to get me started.

I found the 30 Days of HIIT challenge on www.neilarey.com

Its a really good site with free easy to follow meal and fitness plans.


So I completed Day One of the HIIT challenge. I am doing level 1 which is five rounds of high knees, squats and burpees.

Did I mention I absolutely hate burpees,  groan!

Exercise

I don't want to make excuses but the weather has been  horrendous. I do not want to get  soaked and freezing cold before I get to work so I am afraid I haven't been walking to the next train stop.  I think I will have to focus on an in door work out that I can stick to.

My eating habits are getting under control and my body seems to have adjusted to the smaller portions. I am eating more veg so it seems to fill me up. I am also drinking more water.

Next focus, exercise!

Do 'healthy recipes' make you eat more ?

I  am not sure anyone else has noticed or experienced this or its just me.  In the past when I got fired up to lose weight and eat healthy I would spend hours looking up health recipes and meal plans.I would then shop for all kinds of ingredients I had never used before.

I realised one of two things happened.

1. I wouldn't like some of the meals and for lack of some the recipes and my family felt like I was subjecting them to torture. So we would end up with a ready meal or order a take away.

2. I would fill the fridge with all sorts of 'healthy snacks' for the week which I would finish in two days.

Now the funny thing is when I was at a healthy weight and didn't think so deeply about what I ate, I hardly had or wanted take away. I have always enjoyed cooking so I just cooked the meals I grew up with.  Don't get me wrong I do like to experiment in cooking and try new recipes but sometimes on a diet there is the urge to completely change your well ..diet. lol

I also remember I didn't grow up snacking between meals. To be honest I used to have two major meals a late breakfast then supper at four  At most I would have three main meals.  The whole idea of snacking to keep you from getting hungry was something I adopted when I wanted to lose weight and for me I don't lose weight when I snack often.

When did I begin over thinking about food so much. Hubby is a naturally slim man and all he says is he just eats when he is hungry.

Well it would be foolhardy to say learning about healthy eating made me gain weight, I have learnt how to cook healthy versions of  the meals I grew up with. I am just wondering if we sometimes go overboard and its just a few simple changes that can make a lasting difference.

Just sharing my thoughts.  I understand that there may be some with different backgrounds and did not grow up with home cooked meals so it would be  different for for everyone.

Share any thoughts please.

Thanks

Anne

xxx

I need a distraction

I feel a binge coming on.

Since about three o' clock I have been fighting the urge to eat junk. I have just finished my dinner of fish and vegetables and scoop of ice cream for dessert but I know that I feel like eating loads of carbs like toast, scones and anything in sight. So I decided to right this post to get my mind off the urge.

To be honest I am feeling a bit better now. I hope I can hold out till morning.

Anne

xxx 

Setback

Tonight was a slight deviation from my good habits. My husband and I had a Groupon for a meal at an Italian restaurant that we hadn't redeemed and was about to expire tonight. Its been a while since we have had a night out so we made the most of it. Unfortunately we only had the options of Pizza or Pasta ( oh there was Risotto but I really don't like it) I was a bit apprehensive because I had just started this health plan and didn't want it hindered.

We ended up sharing a Calzone and huge portion of Pasta in creamy sauce. We did go for the vegetarian and 'healthier' options but that does not  excuse the dessert I just had to have! I am a bit upset with my self  for overeating ( I knew exactly when I was full and should have stopped).

 I  wont let it get me down though.  Tomorrow is a new day!

Anne

xxx

Scale Rant

Okay I know I should not be checking the scale so early in the game but once in a while (daily more like) Hyde rears its ugly head and drags me to it. I did a  weigh in on the 2nd of July so I could have a reference point and weighed in 82.7kg  Two days later on the fourth I weighed in 82.4kg and I thought yes! progress so soon.  Back to the scale today I was back at 82.7kg. I mean seriously! I have been really good compared to the amount I ate over the Christmas holidays.

Deep down I know the truth that weight fluctuates daily and I might not see real results till four weeks but somehow the scale still affects my mood and subconsciously makes me feel like I am failing. My husband calls the scale my mighty oracle that I consult to determine my mood. Sad but true.

That's  how I have been discouraged over the past year: By being a scale junky!


So I am going to put the scale away till my next weigh in about the 2nd of February. I have to remind myself that this is more about being healthy and hopefully weight loss will be a by product.

So goodbye scale. Its been fun (sometimes) but I think our relationship has gotten a bit toxic and we need a break.

Healthy Habit Plan

Its been two days of developing healthy habits and I am feeling positive.


I have developed a plan for the first three weeks that will hopefully get and keep me on track.

Week 1

1. Drink More Water:

• A glass of water with every meal and snack 
• One glass of water first thing in the morning and just before bed
• Flavoring water with a drop of lemon juice

2.  No Eating after 8pm

•             Cup of herbal tea at 8pm then brush my teeth
•             Close the kitchen door!

3. Fruit  for snacks

4. No Refined Sugar! I have already been able to cut out sugar from my porridge. I will sweeten tea with half a teaspoon of honey.

Week 2

1. Walk more:

Catch my train a station further from me. That's an extra 20 minutes of walking per journey

2.Reduce meal portions and add extra vegetables

3. Stick to 2 snacks per day of a piece of fruit and a  few nuts

Week 3

1.Introduce a formal  work out.

Aerobics or interval workout every Thursday  and Saturday !

So that's my plan. I will be cutting out processed introducing whole options alongside. I am hoping that in six weeks I would have developed an 80 percent clean diet.

Good luck to anyone else on a health journey or joining the Healthy Habits Challenge.

Anne

xxx

Healthy Habit Challenge !!

In my last post I listed the unhealthy habits I developed over the last two years. Writing everything down makes everything so much clearer and makes it easier to find solutions. So here is what I am going to do about those unhealthy habits .....Absolutely nothing!

I am not going to focus on breaking those old habits but instead I hope to develop new ones. ( Its basically the same thing but perspective counts people!)

The annoying thing about me is I have gained quite a lot of knowledge on healthy eating: from the health course I went on to the numerous books, articles, blogs and you tube channels I read and follow. There is so much out there I think I have information overload. Its back to basics for me. Simplicity is the key for me to succeed and make a healthy lifestyle a second nature.

Here are the healthy habits I hope to develop over the next six weeks and maintain for another six. I chose three months because I think if I can stick to them that long they should become second nature.

So here they are

1. Drink more water
2. No eating after 8pm
3.When I have the urge to snack, I will snack on fruits/vegetables and nuts and have a large glass of water
4. Increase vegetable portions on my plate
5. Sweeten foods (only if I have to) with natural sweeteners.
6. Go for whole and least processed options of food I can afford
7.Walk three hours a week:
8. Formal exercise twice a week
9.Cook from scratch as much as possible.
10. Early bedtime for an early rise and good breakfast!

Okay so that's my list for the next three months. Obviously this is a very general list and I will break this down into a more specific plan which I will post soon.

Is anyone willing to join in the challenge? If you are a complete beginner, serial yo yo dieter or have slacked on your healthy journey why not join in and lets motivate each other. You don't have to go with my habits goals and they don't even have to necessarily be up to ten. It should be as personal and achievable as possible.

Just list your habit goals in the comment section and lets get started!

Anne 
xxx

Confessions-My Unhealthy Habits

I suppose by acknowledging the unhealthy habits that are preventing success in this journey I can tackle them one by one.  So here they are

1. Grazing ( a lot): Developed this while breastfeeding. Is there anyone out there who has experienced the never ending feeling of hunger when breastfeeding?  Well  I was crazy hungry all the time and therefore ate all the time. Well  I am no longer breastfeeding so no more excuses.

2. Big portions of meals especially carbs: Yep that was on top of grazing.

3. Not being able to stick to an exercise routine: I could blame, having two little ones and work and general lack of time. But to be honest  I have been too ambitious and never started out slow, which brings me to the next.

4. Being an all or nothing person. Wont say much but that is a very unnecessary way to live!

5. Convenience food: Juggling a family and work has led me to easy option ready made dinners like pizzas and fish and chips etc. with my portion sizes.... not good.

6.Eating late: Unnecessary snacking at night.

7. I don't drink enough water and unfortunately hate the taste of water when I am not extremely thirsty.

8. Not enough fruit and vegetables: We do eat a minimal amount of fruit and veg and a few smoothies but I definitely  need to increase the percentage in my diet.

So there are some of the unhealthy habits I need to tackle to get back on track. What are some of your unhealthy habits?

If you have any ideas on how to tackle any of these please share: PS: take note of the reasons behind them, eg convenience, time etc

Thanks



Anne

xxx

About Me

Okay, I am not one who has been in to New Year's resolutions (mostly because I don't stick to them), however the 2nd of January has been the most convenient date to get more serious about my health journey.

I have been on and on off my health journey for about three years. After the birth of my first daughter I was motivated by the desire to get back to pre-mummy shape so I went on a free health course where I learnt the basics of healthy living and lifestyle ( I wasn't very clued up before then, I ate whatever I wanted and stayed generally slim). I cleaned up my eating habits, lost some weight and was a happy bunny....for a while. A year later old habits had crept in and I had gained all the weight and more!

So I began again and was really driven this time,  I cut out junk reduced my portions and was back to my goal weight within no time..... then there was the happy announcement of baby number two!

I did maintain mostly healthy eating and I was walking to work and back everyday so I think I put on a relatively healthy amount during my entire pregnancy: about 20 pounds. Unfortunately the pounds did not budge afterwards  and I suppose I just gave up. I ended up developing the worst eating habits ever.

So here I am a year and half later still 20 pounds overweight, lethargic and feeling generally unhealthy. Its not all about the weight this time. I suppose weight loss alone is not the best motivation for the long term. I really want be healthier for me and my family so here I am on the 2nd of January starting this blog to:

1. Be accountable
2.Share anything I learn along the way that might help anyone.
3.Have some fun blogging!

Anne
xxx