Losing Weight and Getting Healthy

A Good Start

2009-11-04T02:40:00.000-08:00

I did well yesterday, eating healthily and fitting in my exercise session as planned. My wieght was down to 10 stone exactly this morning which was good and I feel much happier and more energised today as a result. I hope that today goes as well!

New Month - New Start!

2009-11-03T02:29:00.000-08:00

Having my children and husband home for a week and going out to lots of places has not done my eating plan, exercise routine or weight much good at all. My weight is scarily up to 10 stone 0.8 pounds which is almost a stone heavier than I would like to be, I have been eating very unhealthily an dnot doing enough exercise. Having the boys at school full time means that I will now have the time to fit in a daily exercise session, will be walking a lot doing the school run twice a day and will not be out and about much being tempted to buy unhealthy foods. I would like to lose 2-3 pounds a week and that should mean that by Christmas I will be just over 9 stone and feeling and looking good! So my first goal is to reach 9 stone 12 pounds by Monday 9th November.

Saturday Update

2009-10-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

Although my weight loss has not been as fast as I had hoped this week, I am pleased with the results in how I feel. I have exercised more and eaten much more healthily. Instead of buying chocolate I have been buying smoothies and they have been great. I am feeling much better about myself and how I look because I am more toned and feel good as wlel as feeling better because my skin looks better. My weight is 9 stone 12.2 pounds at the moment and although I would like it to be less, I am happy knowing that I am doing the right thing and getting myself fitter and healthier again.

Wednesday Update

2009-10-21T03:22:00.000-07:00

I had another good day yesterday. I did a couple of cycling workouts on the exercise machine as well as some crunchies and I can already feel the difference in my body becoming more firm, which is fantastic. I am eating better and my skin is looking healthier as well, which is great. I lost some more weight and was 9 stone 12.6 this morning.

Update

2009-10-20T02:30:00.000-07:00

I was a little disappointed at my wieght being 9 stone 13 pounds yesterday despite me eating pretty well. I feel good today though as I did a good workout yesterday. I didn't do anything like a 300 workout but I did do two 30 minute sessions on the exercise bike burning 300 calories and almost flew up the hill to pick the boys up from school, partly becuse I was late but partly because I felt so energised, which was fantastic. I am not feeling quite so energised today but have not done much exercise yet, only a slow walk. I am hoping to start building up to doing more exercise, well more energetic exercise, perhaps not a sparta workout but maybe a good jog on teh exercose machine. I was planning on doing one on Sunday but never got round to it. I am wondering whether, when the boys are on holiday, if I get up extra early and do a half an hour jog on the machine then, it will set me up for the day and make up for the fact that I will not be doing the school run. I will have to see whether I can get the enthusiasm up when the time comes!

Recent News Story

2009-10-20T02:24:00.000-07:00

I saw a recent news story that there are campaigners in the Uk trying to bring about a law to stop people being 'fatist'. I can understand this to some extent in that people do discriminate about people because of their size, although I think that does not just apply to overweight people which is what this was all about, but also to those who are underweight and short or tall. I do think it is unfair if people are refused jobs because of it or if they are bullied because of it, but I think there is never any excuse for bullying or abuse whatever the cause. The part that I found concerning was that they were trying to copy a ruling which has been enforced in a state in the USA. In this state people can ask their doctors to not comment about their weight and not give them diet advice if they ask them not to. I think that this is not acceptable. Maybe if you are paying for your own health care it coudl be valid but in the UK healthcare is paid for by the state and it seems rather unfair that people who do not have a healthy diet can get free treatment and people who live a healthy lifestyle have to pay for it. Obviously it is not that simple and there are health problems, eating disorders and socio econmic factors which can also contribute to a person being overweight. Somehow I don't see this ruling happening in this country, at least not in the near future.

Update

2009-10-19T00:06:00.000-07:00

I did some exercise and ate sensibly yesterday but my weight went up a bit to 9 stone 13.4 pounds. I was a little disappointed. However, I know that I need to work hard because the boys break up form school on Wednesday and so I will be doing less exercise then because I will not be doing the school run. At the moment I want to work hard at it and have a good goal for losing wieght by. I woudl really like to be less than nine and half stone by halloween and I think that I can do it if I keep working at it. I must start working out a bit in the evenings as well as I know that I am not that fit and it would be great to have a healthier heart as well as being more toned. I did a few sit ups yesterday and I can feel the difference this morning and so I must keep that up as well. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Update

2009-10-13T04:07:00.000-07:00

After a weekend away my wieght was up to 10 stone 1.5 pounds yesterday which was a shock! I was better yesterday and it went down to 10 stone 0.8 pounds whcih was good. I am definately determined to get it down now and I have a family event coming up and want to feel good about how I look for that so hopefully that will inspire me, I also have Christmas not too far away and it is always nice to look good for then as there are always photos taken and I see a lot of my family who have not seen me for a year so it is nice to look good.

Health Information

2009-10-02T06:12:00.000-07:00

It can be hard sometimes to know which health tips to take notice of. Everyone seems to have an opinion on what is healthy and what is not, what will get us fit and what will not. There are people selling all sorts of products such as cleanse prox or muscle might and it can be hard to know what is best. The main thing is to think about you own needs. What do you want to gain, is it muscle tone or detox or maybe you want to lose weight or just become more healthy overall. It is a good idea to think about this before you start doing any research or spending any money as there are lots of products available and it can be confusing trying to work out which is the best for you.

Weight News

2009-10-01T05:13:00.001-07:00

I have still not managed to get back on track, eating wise. I have even been forgetting to weigh but I did remember this morning and was pleased that I had not put loads on, which was what I was expecting. My weight was actually 9 stone 12.2 pounds. I managed to do a little exercise the other night but then had a telephone call and stopped.

Cholesterol Medication

2009-09-30T02:29:00.000-07:00

I find the whole cholesterol issue very concerning. The fact that my arteries are slowly furring up so eventually I may get a blockage and heart attack is scary to me. I think that I eat quite well but I have no idea how much damage my body already has, especially as I know a lot of my family have cholesterol problems and I have no idea if there is a generic link. My Mother once told me that her doctor thought that every person should be taking cholesterol pills. I can see why this woudl be a great idea, there would be far less risk of blocked arteries and we woudl all be less likley to get heart attacks. However,there are quite a few disadvantages to this as well. Firstly the expense of course. Secondly that maybe we wudl all take it easy, execise less, eat more unhealthily and then we might put ourselves at risk from other diseases instead, perhaps the rates of heart disease may fall but cancer may increase. I think that we have to just accept that there is no magic pill that will mean we can get away with an unhealthy lifestyle and we need to do what we can to look after ourselevs and our families as well as we can.

Keeping Fit

2009-09-29T11:23:00.000-07:00

Watching my husband pedalling away has got me thinking about Exercise bikes. I always think that having a piece of gym equipment in your home is so much better, for most people, than a gym membership. Most people have the excuse that they cannot be bothered to go out if they want to miss the gym but if they have bike or whatever in the house then that does not stand. It also means that you can still spend time with the family when you are exercising which is really important. You do not even need to change which can save a lot of time. Lastly you can watch TV, listen to music or whatever. I think it is well worth considering as an option if you ar elooking into ways of keeping fit.

New Exercise Plan

2009-09-29T11:16:00.000-07:00

I didn't exercise on Monday night despite my willing when I posted on here! However, I have decided to commit to 30 minutes each evening and my husband is as well so we will be able to encourage each other - he is exercising right now and it will be my turn soon. I have decided to start with just 30 minutes on the machine and a few abdominal exercises but I will start planning some more complex Home Workout Routines once I get going. I think it woudl be good for me to do some toning and stretching while he is exercising and it will act as a good warm up as well. I am just taking it one step at a time though.

A Bit of a Lapse

2009-09-28T02:11:00.000-07:00

I have not been good this week. My weight was 9 stone 12.4 pounds this morning but I am determined to be healthy today and have already had two portions of fruit! I also am keen to do some more running on the exercise machine. The children have got colds so they are being a it more demanding than normal so I am feeling pretty tired but I must not use that as an excuse, I know that teh exercise will make me feel more energised.

Update

2009-09-24T08:22:00.001-07:00

I was rather disappointed yesterday when my weight stayed the same, especially as I did the exercise machine, a walk and ate well. However this morning my weight had gone down to 9 stone 11.6 pounds which was good. I have been trying to eat well today as well and I have done 30 minutes slow cycling on the exercise machine.

I am keen to get toned up as I have just discovered that I will be on holiday in about three weeks time and there will be a lot of swimming. I have therefore decided that I will make sure I do the cycling to tone up my bottom and legs and also go really fast up the hill on my way to pick up the boys from school. I am gong to start doing some jogging on the machine as well and plan on starting that tonight as I know I do not do enough to exercise my heart. I am also going to start doing some stomach toning exercises as I am sick of trying to hide by bulging belly all of the time! Hopefully if I lose some weight and tone up I will feel much better.

Success!

2009-09-22T03:03:00.001-07:00

I had a better and healthier day yesterday - I did 30 minutes on the exercise machine as well as eating sensibly and my weight went down to 9 stone 12.4 pounds. It is still not as much as I would have liked to have lost but I know I had too much cereal, so I will make sure I do not have too much today.

A Bad Week

2009-09-21T01:54:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately I had a really bad week last week. I was stressed with the boys starting school and despite the extra exercise my weight is now up to 9 stone and 13 pounds so now I am way off target for the Christening. I feel more positive today about things and hopefully I will be able to keep better control over what I am eating. I am not feeling too well today eitherw hich is an indicator to me that I need to get back to being healthier.

Monday Update

2009-09-14T02:39:00.000-07:00

I wa spleased with how I did at the end of last week, especially over the weekend bacause I was entertaining (although there are still nice leftovers to eat up!). My weight is now 9 stone 10.8 pounds which means I lost 3.2 pounds this week which is right on track for reaching my target.

Thrday Update

2009-09-10T07:16:00.001-07:00

It all went a bit wrong yesterday and my weight went back up to 9 stone 12.2 pounds. However, things should be better today and hopefully I will get back on track very soon.

Wednesday News

2009-09-09T00:55:00.000-07:00

I didn't have time to track my eating yesterday because I was very busy and too tired in the evening. However, adding it up quickly in my head, I think it was around 1200. I did a lot of walking too but was too tired to use the exercise machine. My weight was down to 9 stone 11 pounds, which was fantastic and hopefully I can eat healthily again today and lose a bit more.

Tuesday Weight

2009-09-08T01:06:00.000-07:00

I was up a little at 9 stone 12.4 pounds this morning. It was a bit disappointing but I know I wasn't that good yesterday. I realise that when I felt my blood sugar was low I should have had something like an apple or banana rather than unhealthy things.

Today I will be doing a walk this afternoon and will be having a cooked lunch which often makes me hungry in the evening as I have a smaller meal then. Hopefully I will be able to resist temptation!

Monday Report

2009-09-07T04:04:00.000-07:00

Food and Drink :

Breakfast - 150 calories
25g porridge oats with 150ml milk and green tea
Elevenses - 225 calories
a Wallby bar and a mango fruit bar
Lunch - 175 calories
2 slices wholemeal bread with Quorn ham and onion chutney, cucumber and cherry tomatoes
Afternoon Snack - 450 calories
a banana and some dolly mixture then strawberry ice cream and red grapes
Evening Meal - 350 calories
A vegetable stew with chick peas, potato, onion, marrow, carrot, cabbage and parsnip
Evening Snack - 100 calories
A 0% yoghurt with splenda and decaff tea
TOTAL - 1450 calories

Exercise :

30 minute walk and 25 minute walk
15 minutes cycling on the cross trainer

I had a blood sugar crash in the afternoon hence the snacks. This meant I did not stick to my target calories. I guess the scales will tell us tomorrow as to the damage.

Monday Weigh In

2009-09-06T23:56:00.000-07:00

I was thrilled this morning when my weight was down to 9 stone 12 pounds. It shows that the hard work yesterday was worth it and I will certainly be keeping it up. My aim is to keep to 1200 calories, do a walk and spend 30 minutes on the exercise machine.

Sunday Report

2009-09-06T07:11:00.000-07:00

Food and Drink :

Breakfast - 150 calories
25g porridge oats with 150ml milk and green tea
Elevenses - 100 calories
a banana
Lunch - 300 calories
2 slices wholemeal bread with Quorn ham and onion chutney, cucumber and cherry tomatoes and 2 cups of decaff tea followed by a 0% fat yoghurt sweetened with splenda and raspberries
Afternoon Snack - 150 calories
Some red grapes and strawberry ice cream
Evening Meal - 400 calories
Pasta with home made sauce, fish fingers, brocolli, carrots and peas with decaff tea and a decaff cappuccino
Evening Snack - calories
Weetabix and decaff tea
TOTAL - 1200 calories

Exercise :

30 minutes walking
30 minutes cycling on the cross trainer

A Healthy Eating Challenge

2009-09-06T00:31:00.000-07:00

I have my in laws coming for lunch next Saturday and a few others for afternoon tea. I want to do a really healthy spread of food but it is proving to be pretty tricky to think of what to do. I have come up with the following :

New potatoes
Green salad - with cos lettuce, cucumber and avocado
Couscous salad - with sun dried tomato paste, steamed onions and red peppers
rice salad - with onions and peas and stock powder
grated carrot and sultana salad
sweetcorn and red pepper
smoked salmon with lemon
cherry tomatoes
olives
houmous
salsa

I intend to make the rice and couscous salad with steamed or microwaved vegetables to keep the fat to a minimum. They can add the salsa or houmous if they want to.

My main problem is pudding. I am thinking of doing a fresh fruit salad, melon and grapes and maybe some cooked apple and sultanas with fat free yoghurt and sugar to add if you wish. I am a bit concerned about this because my father in law does not like fruit but I think it will do him good and he can always have none.

Afternoon tea is more tricky because they normally have cakes and biscuits. I did find a fat free cake in the Farmers Market a while back and that might be an option. I could try to make one myself of course. I will offer fruit again as well but we do have some guests coming just for afternoon tea who may not have had lunch. Perhaps I will offer them some toast or a sandwich as I will be giving one to the children.

At least I have a week to ponder on it!