Emily's Journey to a Jawline - including food pics!

[LuhLuhLoser]

Ahh good luck to you too. I'll be keeping all my fingers crossed for good numbers for us both!

Just finished a 20 minute workout I've kind of created for myself. Literally feel like I could collapse on the floor haha. I'm going to try to do it every other day or so. From Monday on wards I'm going to start running three times a week, and the days I'm not I'll do a workout at home. I kind of don't just want to get slim, I want to get fit. I want to be strong and healthy, rather than just less fat, to put it quite bluntly.

I know it's not going to happen over night but I'm going to try and start making healthier changes to my lifestyle and my food. I've been eating somewhat 'lazy food' the last week or so, so next week I'm going to start focusing a bit more on the nutritional content of what I'm eating. I'm going to ease in to it, I don't want to put too much pressure on myself at any one time.

Tomorrow marks four weeks of consecutive dieting, and I'm feeling like... more focused than ever?! I don't know. I just want it so badly this time. I keep thinking of how different I could be this Christmas. It's such a long way off but it's enough time that if I keep this up, I'll have really made a difference to my life.

Anyways, just pondering stuff! Here are some food photos from today! Hope you all have a great weekend.

E x

 

[LuhLuhLoser]

Two pounds down! Very happy with that, even more so given it was star week! Feeling super pumped for the week ahead. I also had the best breakfast I've possibly had in my life this morning. The photos really, really don't do it justice.

As it's kind of our V day today, we thought we'd kick off the day with a nice brunch. I worked it out to be about 450 calories, which was totally worth it. I'd quite happily have this for dinner. It was kind of... spinach, chorizo and cheese topped with egg and paprika and baked in the oven for 10 minutes. It was so good! I've got my dad coming round for breakfast next Saturday so I'm going to do a bigger version and add some roasted sweet potato in there too. It would be really easy to make SW friendly, it's literally just wilted spinach and chorizo, and I only used about 2/3 syns worth, with a healthy extra portion of Tesco's ''pizza cheese'', aka mozzarella and cheddar, the best melting combo in the world, and then a couple of eggs on top. Could easily swap out the chorizo for bacon and add other veggies too.

Also went for a nice long walk today to get some bonus exercise points. I'm not going to count calories at all tonight, but tomorrow onwards I'll be back on my A game. I've already done the shopping for this week, but the week after I'm definitely going to focus more on the nutritional content of what I'm eating. Plus, if I can lose 2lbs again next week I'll be down a number! Very much looking forward to that!

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend!

E x

 

[LuhLuhLoser]

Happy Valentine's Day! As said before, we had out V day meal last night and as much as I wanted it to be the nicest meal, I actually didn't enjoy it all that much. It was really greasy and stodgy, and we ordered way too much. I'm also not really a dessert person, and we had these melt in the middle GU puddings, which were way, way too rich. I just felt really sick after, and I think maaaaybe I'm actually starting to prefer healthier food! Weird but good times I guess.

Straight back on it today! Here's the food plan so far:

One weetabix with 100ml milk and blueberries (156 cals)
Half a bagel thin topped with tomato, spinach, 30g cheese and chorizo (204 cals)
Quavers (88 cals)
Bowl of strawberries with light spray cream (108 cals)
Mini chicken roast with new potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage (497 cals)

Total cals: 1053

Will very probably have a few cups of tea here and there and maybe an extra slice of chorizo if I get hungry before dinner, so happy with my calories for today! Going to do some exercise later too... totally in the zone!

Hope you're all having lots of loved up fun!

E x

 

[LuhLuhLoser]

Quick food plan for tomorrow!

Bagel thin with butter and light garlic philadelphia (239 cals)
Cheesy potato hash with spinach, egg and chorizo (257 cals)
Pulled BBQ beef, sweet potato mash, SW coleslaw and salad leaves ( 480 cals)
Quavers (88 cals)
Berries and cream (108 cals)

Total cals: 1172

The pulled BBQ beef is only 3.5 syns for the whole pack on SW, very good syn value! Just hope it's as tasty as it looks on the pack.

E x

 

[LuhLuhLoser]

Verdict on the Tesco BBQ Pulled Beef: Amazingly good! Would definitely 100% recommend! I reckon you could use it in so many different meals too. It'd be great with some soy, garlic and chilli flakes added to a chow mein dish... or you could probably make a beef curry with it. Shall be buying again!

Today's food:
Bagel thin with butter and light philli (239 cals)
Cheesy egg, potato, spinach and chorizo hash (274 cals)
BBQ pulled beef, rice, broccoli and cauliflower (408 cals)
Quavers (88 cals)
Mini pepperami (38 cals)
Hifi bar (73 cals)
Biscuit (56 cals)
Milk in tea (50 cals)

Total calories: 1,201

Without blowing my own trumpet toooo much, all my food over the last few weeks has been so good. It's kind of making me annoyed with myself for not doing this sooner, but life happens. I'm discovering so many really yummy versions of unhealthier versions I used to like, and also finding that my taste buds are changing a bit too. I definitely think calorie counting is working for me, but I'm still incorporating a lot of slimming world style cooking techniques and keeping a third or so of my meals vegetable friendly.

I'm going back home for a few days this week, as Liam's off to London for some big fancy conference. Calorie counting should be really easy to keep up, so I don't feel worried about it in the slightest. I'll be having lunch here and then dinner at my mums. She's making SW gammon and veg, so depending how I feel on the day I'll either have that or grab a ready meal from Tesco.

Tomorrows food plan is as follows:

Nutella on toast (175 cals)
Pulled pork, cheese and salad bagel with quavers (386 cals)
Chicken breast with leek & cheese sauce, new potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower (394 cals)
Rocky road hifi bar (73 cals)
Mini pepperami (38 cals)
100mls milk used in tea (50 cals)

Total cals: 1,115

I'll probably end up having a biscuit or something in the evening, taking me just over 1,200. I find planning all my meals in advance really helps keep me focused during the day. I've run out of fruit until Wednesday, sad times, but I'm going to start trying out frozen fruit as hopefully it'll last a little longer during the week.

If, and that's a big if, I can get a 2lb loss this week, it should take me into the 12st bracket again. I'm super excited about getting out of the 13s, but I still feel annoyed at myself for putting so much weight back on in the first place. Just gotta be patient. I know I could probably try harder and get there faster... but I've gotta do this for a really long time and I want to make it as easy as possible for the best possible long term outcome. Over the last 4 weeks, I've lost pretty much 2lb a week consistently. If I can keep that up I will be so, so happy. Fingers crossed.

Here are some photos of today's food.

Hope you're all doing well!

E x

 

[LuhLuhLoser]

Today's food:

Nutella on toast (174 cals)
Pulled pork, cheese and salad bagel with quavers (386 cals)
Chicken breast with leek & cheese sauce, new potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower (394 cals)
Biscuit (56 cals)
Mini pepperami (38 cals)
Hot chocolate with cream (151 cals)

Total cals: 1,199

No food pics today so far as I was in a bit of a rush so it looked a bit rubbish haha. Dinner is in the oven and smelling good though! Roll on Saturday weigh day. Almost five weeks down! Woop!

E x

 

[LuhLuhLoser]

Today's rough food plan:

Nutella on half a bagel thin (145 cals)
150g baby potatoes, pulled pork, 30g cheese, spinach (308 cals)
Quavers (88 cals)
Mini pepperami (38 cals)

Total cals: 579
Total cals left: 621

Off back to Bournemouth tonight for a few days, so got plenty of calories left to get a meal tonight! I'm also planning to go food shopping on Friday (woop!) so here's a quick plan of meals for next week:

Saturday treat night: Pulled pork, sweet potato, coleslaw, garlic bread (million cals)
Chicken katsu curry with rice and veg (450 cals)
Beef brisket, new potatoes and veg (400 cals)
Thai green chicken curry with rice and veg (430 cals)
Chorizo and spinach pizza with salad (450 cals)
Pulled BBQ beef, sauteed potatoes, salad (400 cals)
Gnocchi, bolognese, cheese and spinach (500 cals)

Will update later with whatever meal I end up having tonight! x

 

[Miller2]

Not been on for a few days so just catching up with your posts. Your meals for this week look great. I know you're not doing sw at the mo but have you done the sw pulled pork? It's lovely. You could also make flatbreads and just brush them with garlic butter and parsley. That would defo not be a million calories

Flatbreads: 25g SR flour (per flatbread) = 4 syns. 25g fat free natural yoghurt. Mix it all together with a pinch of salt and pepper. When I'm growing garlic, I use a few garlic shoots chopped up in the mix too, chives work well too. Spray a teeeeeeeeny bit of oil on a griddle pan. Dust your hands with flour so it doesn't stick, and shape and flatten the dough to about half a cm thick. Place it on the griddle. Keep an eye on the underside so it doesn't burn. When the bottom has a flatbread/pitta feel to it, flip it over and cook the other side. They don't take long at all. You could then do 1 tsp of butter/oil (I use clover lighter 1 tsp is 1 syn) - I put it in a mug and grate/crush in a teeny bit of garlic and then microwave it for 30 seconds or so until the butter has melted which should also soften the garlic too. Brush it onto the flatbread.

Don't add salt to it though, it REALLY does not need it!!! I didn't even sear it in a pan first. I lobbed it all in a show cooker with a load of onion too for speed and just left it on low for about 10+ hours. It was delicious. x

 

[LuhLuhLoser]

Thanks Hannah, I really should try the pulled pork! The amount I've been eating lately is insane haha. Think I'm a bit addicted! The flatbreads sound great too, and before Christmas I got really into making my own bread so it would be nice to do some actual baking again! I've got so lazy with my cooking the last few weeks, would be good to actual eat home made food lol. Flatbreads and pulled pork together would be perfect.

Been back home since yesterday and so far, so good! Kept to 1,200 calories yesterday and I'm on 100% on track today. I'm off out tonight with my friends but shall stick to diet cokes. Having dinner here tomorrow but should be all good, healthy and low calorie. Reeeally hoping for a 2lb loss this week to get into the next stone bracket. Keeping all my fingers crossed!

Hope you're all having a great week! x

 

[LuhLuhLoser]

All went well last night! Ended up going to my friends for a games night instead of the pub, which is good because no money was spent, but bad because they had bowls and bowls of yum sweets and nuts! I think I had about 5 jelly babies and maybe 1 almond haha. I'm not going to stress about it though, I had about 200 calories left so I'm sure it was within my limit.

Last day back in Bournemouth until homeward bound tonight!

Today's food plan is:

Egg on toast with butter (200 cals)
Lunch on the go at Sainsburys! (est. 350 cals)
3 Chicken sausages, beans and new potatoes (380 cals)
Rocky road hifi bar (73 cals)

Total roughly - 1,030

Feeling a bit nervous about weigh in tomorrow. I've maintained my calories every day, I just think I could have made slightly healthier choices at times. We'll see in the morning!

E x

 

[LuhLuhLoser]

Aw mannn. I maintained! *shakes fist at the world* Not a single budge! I'm kind of okay with it though. This week has been a bit disjointed with going back home, and I've had hardly any sleep the last few days. Going to have my treat meal tonight still and get back on it with vengeance in the morning. Got a healthy food shop ready to go!

I'll update this tomorrow with my food plan. Hope everyone has a great weekend! x

 

[LuhLuhLoser]

Okay. So, week 5 weigh in was a maintain. Not going to lie, I was a little disappointed as I've been really focused this week. I'm going to give it another week and re-evaluate depending after next weeks results. We went to the cinema last night and I had my treat meal and sweets as planned, but I'm back on track this morning and ready to get a 2lb loss this week to make up for it!

Today's food:

Ham, cheese and salad bagel thin with quavers and an apple (407 cals)
Rocky road hifi bar (73 cals)
Beef brisket with new potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots (394 cals)
Raspberries, choc shot and cream (65 cals)
100ml milk (50 cals)

Total cals: 989

I don't mind being under a bit today to counteract some of the over consumption yesterday, but I'm going to keep it at 1,200 for the rest of the week. I'm going to make sure everything is 100% weighed and accounted for too, just incase I've been guestimating wrong.

E x

 

[Miller2]

A maintain is fine - it's not a gain and does no damage. It might just be your body getting used to a different diet perhaps? I dunno, just a thought. I always think you need to try things for a few weeks to get a realistic idea of how it works for you.

I'm doing thai fishcakes on Friday - never made them before. I'm planning on blitzing cod, red chilli and spring onion together with a bit of salt and pepper then doing them in the air fryer. I'm just wondering if they'd be a bit tasteless. I want to try my husband on fish you see, and I think cod is the way to go as it's not a really fishy fish. Have you ever done fishcakes? If so what have you put in them? Your food always looks amazing so thought I'd ask x

 

[LuhLuhLoser]

Thanks Hannah, you're probably right! I'm going to give it another a week at least and then see how I get on from there. Thai fish cakes sound lovely! I haven't made them, but if I was going to I would most likely use Tesco's Ingredient Thai Red Paste to give them some flavour. I think it's 1 syn per tablespoon, and a little goes a long way! Other than that I would use a combo of chilli, garlic, ginger, lemongrass is big in thai food? And maybe coriander and a bit of lime. I love cooking haha. Let me know how they turn out! x

 

[Miller2]

That sounds much more exciting! I've never eaten Thai food so I wouldn't know where to start. The SW site said spring onion and chili but even I thought that sounded like it would lack in flavour. Not a massive fan of coriander so I may give that a miss. I've got loads of limes at the moment cos I have a mini lime tree in the conservatory so I'll lob a bit of that in too. Thanks for the suggestions!!!

 

[LuhLuhLoser]

Always welcome! A mini lime tree sounds amazing, I really wish I was more botanical. I love plants and flowers but can't seem to make them survive longer than a week lol. I really can vouch for the tesco curry paste though, it's so good for adding to marinades or sauces you want to give an extra bit of flavour too, and it's amazing in butternut squash soup! This is the one: http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=268578556&gclid=CIL36OXji8sCFdYy0wodBX8NQQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

I had a really good clean diet day yesterday, but couldn't help like feeling I'd overdone it a bit on Saturday. I had breakfast with my dad and his family, which wasn't really unhealthy but did consist of fresh white tiger loaf and hollandaise sauce! And then I ate about a million sweets at the cinema. Anyways, I woke up thinking maybe if I see the visable damage on the scales I'll be more motivated to not have a treat night next weekend. Low and behold, I've lost half a pound since Saturday morning lol. So... I'm going to give it until the end of the week! Desperately want to get into the 12's now. Plus it will be my second goal of sticking to my diet for 6 weeks, so it would be nice to celebrate with a decent loss.

Today's food:

Flatbread, hummus, ham, chorizo and salad platter with an apple (336 cals)
Quavers (88 cals)
Chicken katsu curry with rice, broccoli and cauliflower. (446 cals)
Raspberries, cream and choc shot (65 cals)

Total cals: 935

Quick lunch pic! Was absolutely delicious. One of my favouritest lunches so far I think. Also, actually left the house today and went for a run! Feeling totally pumped and focused. Roll on Saturday! x

 

[Miller2]

that lunch looks well yummy!!!

 

[LuhLuhLoser]

Thanks! It was amazing. I think the sunnier it gets the more I'll enjoy salads and fresh vegetables. Bring on the summer!

Today's food plan:

Half a bagel thin topped with avocado, with a slice of ham and chopped tomatoes (257 cals)
Flatbread topped with tomato, chorizo, spinach and cheese with side salad and tsp of chilli jam (285 cals)
Thai green chicken curry with rice, cabbage and leeks (403 cals)
Small apple (41 cals)
Raspberries, cream, choc shot (65 cals)

Total cals: 1,051

My breakfast was so, so delicious. I love avocado so much. I want to start getting a bit more creative with my breakfasts I think. I might try out some smoothies next week, and I saw some sort of roasted sweet potato, spinach and a poached egg combo that sounded reeally yum! In fact, I think I'll try that for breakfast tomorrow.

Here's a breakfast photo. I've not tried this before so not so sure it will work lol...

https://www.instagram.com/p/BCIKiFoDo1L/?taken-by=hopefulhappyhealthy

E x

 

[Miller2]

I once did roasted cubes of potato (it was normal potato now sweet potato though) with asparagus and a poached egg with loads of black pepper. It was really tasty so that sounds lovely.

I'm just sat eating a tunnocks caramel wafer for 6.5 syns now that I've got in from a really pants day at work.

 

[LuhLuhLoser]

Ooh that sounds amazing. I always forget how much I love asparagus and egg together! Could add some parma ham into the mix too. Putting that on the shopping list for next week! Hope your day has been better since you got home, nothing a tunnocks wafer can't fix! x