Thread: New Year, New Job, New me?

Ok, so I joined MiniMins in February last year and found it super useful for advice with my diet, recipes, others experiences etc. At that time my sister had joined Slimming World, was attending meetings and I decided to do it alongside her using her materials. It was really successful and I lost almost about 2.5st in 3 months going from 21 st 10lbs to 19st 5lbs. It was the first time I'd ever been on a diet, let alone such a planned one and I was amazed at how well it worked. After 3 months however we hit Easter and sort of mutually fell off the slimming bandwagon. I've put back on 2st of the weight, and am starting again from 21st 2lbs.

Now, my sister is at University and am I without the means to get to a SW group, living on a farm in the middle of nowhere and not being able to drive! I've looked into joining online but it's just too expensive. With the new year, a new (closer to graduate) job which I am starting tomorrow alongside my Tesco checkout job this seems as good a time as any to get back on the bandwagon, whilst I still have the inspiration. So I'm hoping, with the help of the guide and recipe books from when my sister joined, which she's bringing home from uni for me this weekend, and the support of MiniMins, that I can make a fresh start. Quite a few of my university friends are getting married this summer who won't have seen me for a year, so it would be nice to have made a good effort with my weight before then.

I can't quite remember the ins and outs, measurments etc, of the diet so it will have to start properly, by the book, this weekend but I thought I'd get this set up now

I didn't eat spectacularly today it has to be said ...

B: (Slept til 12 ... so no breakfast ... hey it was my day off, whatcha gonna do? )
L:*cringe* Chicken dippers with Tomato Ketchup and Mayonnaise ...
D: SW Pizza topped chicken with new potatoes.
Snacks and Drinks:
1 x Yu! Fruit pieces (Strawberry)
1 x Yu! Fruit pieces (Blackcurrant)
Diet Coke

Not going to bother with syns or anything until I have the guide again however Pizza topped chicken was always one of my favourite recipes and I have bought the ingredients for SW chicken cacciatore, an amazing recipe from one of the magazines which I used even after stopping the diet. That's for tomorrow so hopefully I can try and not stray too far until the weekend!

A couple of questions if anyone could chip in? I work at Tesco and one of the biggest challenges for me is that moment when I finish work late on a Thursday and desperately don't want to cook before I flop into bed, then I have to run the gauntlet of the whole store full of food to get out. I often froze batches of SW friendly spag bol mince or beef stews to defrost during the day then zap in the microwave when I got home those nights. Does anyone have any other freezer-defrost-microwave friendly quick comfort food recipes?

Also, I love Heinz spring veg soup which has rice in it, I do make my own soups now and then but have never added rice to them, is there a best way to do that? Any recipe suggestions for a similar soup?

Thank you! Have fun!

xxx

My sister brought all the slimming world stuff back with her on Friday, so tomorrow I plan to do a SW friendly shop, and have looked through all the recipe books tonight to earmark some meals for next week. Made Chicken Cacciatore too which was delicious, I really think it's of my favourite foods now, and so healthy! Enough to freeze a portion or two too which will be useful.

I'm going to continue to weigh myself on Sunday mornings I think. Thinking of saving a £ for every lb I lose too, to treat myself with new clothing of accessories when I lose a st.

Will begin proper food diary on Monday

xxx

So I weighed myself today and despite only following what I could remember of the diet and just generally trying to eat a bit better I've lost 4lbs. A good start! Off to write out my menu for next week now! xxx

Breakfast:

Apple
Grapes
1 x Alpen Light Bar

Snack:

1 x Alpen Light Bar

Lunch:

Jacket Potato with Tuna Mayo (reduced cal) (2 tbsp 5 Syns)
Salad (Cherry tomatoes, cucumber, a boiled egg)
Berry Mullerlight

Dinner:

Penne Arrabiata + Mozzarella (Olives 1 Syn)
Hartley's No Sugar Raspberry Jelly pot (0.5 Syns? That's what they used to be)

Syns total: 6.5
HEXA: Mozzarella in pasta.
HEXB: Alpen Bars

Well that went quite well, have pasta to take for lunch tomorrow now to fend off eating for the rest of the night ...

Ok ... So not going so well.

It's silly because I've done this before and done really well but I'm finding it harder to get back into again this year.

On one hand I had an excellent first day at my new job. On the other, I didn't eat ANYTHING until I got home, bad I know, I was that busy trying to impress and get everything asked of me done!

So Tuesday went:

Breakfast: Nothing

Snack: Nothing

Lunch: Nothing (Even though I took the yummy pasta arabbiata from the night before)

Snack: Nothing

Dinner: BINGE! 5 x slices of chicken straight from packet, SW chicken casserole, cake (God knows how many syns, a neighbour made it for us, LUSH) Jelly


Write off in short.

Today:

Breakfast: Half Tuna & Sweetcorn frittata

Lunch: Tuna + Sweetcorn frittata, Salad, Cheese, Mullerlight

Snacks: 2 Cadbury's caramel bars + Tuna and sweetcorn sandwich .... MAN I ate a lot of tuna and sweetcorn today ... almost farcical!

Dinner: Stewed Steak + New potatoes

Few toffees ... some marshmallows ... raspberries in jelly ... yikes basically.

I really am going to try and reign in the eating marathon! Tbh I think it's probably because I'm feeling a bit down about jobs and other things. Time to buck up my ideas, lots of girls at work are dieting too now so should make it easier

xxx

Wish me luck.

Getting back onto this is proving way harder than I thought, summoning up the will to pre-plan all my work lunches and do a big shop is just not happening. Will keep trying. Having said that, I ate half well this week, and I haven't put on any weight so I guess that's a bonus.

So I've finally got my butt in gear.

This past week (since last Wednesday) I've been following the plan properly again. I wrote myself a menu, and despite working in Tesco, did an online shop. I think this is going to be the way to go for me. It meant I could buy in the treats I was allowed and not get tempted by anything else. Also, it stopped me panicking and buying anything I was craving at the end of a long day because I knew I had food at home.

I'm taking back control of our freezer too! In my time off the diet it's been filled with about 20 odds and ends bags of chips/wedges by my brother and dad, none of which I ate anyway btw. Thank God chips aren't a nemesis for me, not too fussed about potatoes, I'm a rice/pasta/cous cous kinda gal unless they're little peeled new potatoes or mashed yum yum. So anyway, I've asked them to start eating their way through them by actually planning what meals they eat so I can fill it up with yummy portions of frozen SW meals.

Being on the plan properly this past week I've lost an extra 7lbs on top of the 2 from the beginning of Jan. 9lbs, can't wait for the first st.

Breakfast:

Sardines in tomato on toast

Lunch:

Homemade Minestrone Soup
Velvet Crunch Crisps (4.0)

Dinner:

Paprika Pork Casserole
+ New Potatoes

Snacks: 3 x Babybel
Cherries

Now I find myself in the enviable position of having 11 syns to play with! Might treat myself to a Danone Shape White Chocolate Dessert (5.5) and a microwaved Pink 'n' White (2.5)

That'll be 12 syns in total

Ok ... so first YEY I lost 12lbs. Almost a stone! I fit back into a new pair of trousers i've never worn now!

But on the other hand i've scoffed 4 rusks and 3 "funsize" packs of maltesers today. Swings and roundabouts hey?! Think it's because i'm feeling ill. Bleurgh.