Extra Easy Online - attempting to maintain!

[vintagepockets]

I made paella again tonight for the family as it was so yummy when we had it on Friday. I finally checked the chorizo packet today and there is a whopping 450 cals per 100g which is about 22 syns. It really only needs about 25g per person so works out as about 5.5 syns per portion but the OH goes a bit chorizo crazy and has been putting in 50g per person so that's a huge 11 syns each! I'll be putting the chorizo in next time as it doesn't even need that much!!!

It's also TOTM so I've been having massive chocolate cravings this evening. I have given in and sated the craving now so I'll be over my syns for today. I just need to try to stay on track this weekend as I have been going a bit crazy at the weekends lately.

My scales are reading inaccurately again and jumping all over the place. I think I have an unlevel floor in my room as every pair of scales I buy are a bit dodgy. I think I'm going to take the current ones back (again!) as they also keep reverting to kg even though I select stones. I'm tempted to just get some mechanical scales as at least they'll be more reliable!

Food Diary...

Breakfast - banana, blueberries, activia 0%, 35g jordans natural muesli (HEXb)

Lunch - creamy smoked salmon & broccoli pasta (broccoli, courgette, red onion) (40g philadelphia light HEXa)

Dinner - chicken, king prawn and chorizo paella (11 syns - reason so high explained above!) (red onion, red pepper)

Snacks - 4 mikado (2 syns), 1 thorntons (3 syns), 1 milk tray (2.5 syns), 4 squares of Montezuma mint choc (4 syns), packet of flying saucers (3 syns)

3 tea w/ skimmed milk (HEXa)
2 herbal tea
Sparkling water

Total syns = 25.5


Lunch...
Recipe - My Slimline Recipe Book: Creamy Smoked Salmon & Broccoli Pasta

Dinner... lovely paella simmering away

 

[vintagepockets]

Argh I still completely have the willpower to continue SW but I've relaxed a bit in order to maintain. I'm concerned that I'm relaxing TOO much though. I can't wait to get these scales replaced with manual ones tomorrow so I can at least know that my WI's are accurate. I still feel slim but I do worry that I will gain if I continue the way I am. At least when I do go off the rails I don't eat even closely to the way I used to so I know that SW has completely ingrained itself in me now. It's times like these that I wish I went to group!

 

[Honeyoc]

Food looking amazing Vintagepockets!!! You've convinced me to go to wholefoods in London lol! I don't know why I don't go more often, it's not even that far from me! Anyway methinks I will be going sometime this week thanks to your amazing lookinf steaks. I'd really love a browse through each isle, especially the wholegrain bins. Yum! Might even get some brown rice sushi :drool:

I must also try the M&S popcorn, they sound amazing! Oh and I put that freedom syrup on my waitrose order lol (how stalkery am I?!!) really looking forward to it!

Have you heard of Joe's sausages? Here's their website link Low Fat Sausages they do delicious sausages, sausage meat and burgers and are all free. They used to be endorsed by SW but I don't know what happened and SW withdrew their endorsement. If you put the nutritional value through the syn calculator they all still come out as syn free so it's all good! They do a pork, chilli and garlic sausage that tastes really chorizo-ey, if you add that with a good dose of smoked paprika to your paella, you've got yourself some syn free chorizo! Try it!

 

[vintagepockets]

Thanks honeyoc. I know I'm a bit obsessed with wholefoods we even went today and I got some more tea but that was the only SW friendly thing we got! I absolutely love it in the it's like a big food festival. I'll miss it when we more to Manchester but I'll probably go back whenever we're in cheltenham to visit family lol.

Thanks for the tip about joes sausages. I've had a look at their site before but their minimum order is 8 packets and you only get free delivery if it's over 16 (I hate paying for delivery). Maybe when we've moved into our house and we don't have to share a freezer with my mum I'll be able to put in an order. I do really want to try them!

 

[newbee89]

Yeah, true. I'm starting to realize that about oil alright.

Do you have Mao and home or Cafe Mao in the UK? It's a thai place. We've just had a Mao takeaway open near where I live and I went in after weigh-in about 2 weeks ago and they cooked my whole meal in Frylight. How amazing is that? Apparently as a promotional thing they called the local SW leader, who is my leader, and they asked what measures they could introduce to promote business among her members. She told them to offer Frylight when cooking meals instead of oil. I think it's absolutely brilliant. I had an amazing chicken and beg with blackbean sauce served with noodles and I knew it was below 5 syns and it was SO tasty. It's so nice to enjoy something guilt-free!

 

[newbee89]

Those Joe's sausages sound great. Sometimes I get jealous that in the UK you guys have a lot more branded choices as SW is originally from the UK. We have few branded things to choose from so it's always very exciting when our leader announces something that SW have officially endorsed as free etc. I must start looking at things myself and using the syn calculator to find things that are free myself. That's a great tip Honey gave you regarding free choritzo. I LOVE the stuff, it's such a pity it's so high in syns. Then again, if I knew I was having that meal for dinner I would be happy to give it the 5.5 syns as I would make up for it by having a low-syn day otherwise.

I understand your worries about being a bit too relaxed at the weekend, but try not to stress about it too much. Keep an eye on your weight when you get the mew scales and if it starts to creep up you can adjust accordingly. Maybe try to make good decisions wherever is humanely possible. I know you said you are shy in those ways but it is so liberating to order a nice meal in a restaurant and ask for it to not be cooked in oil as you are 'allergic' or if they say they need to use a little just emphasise that it can only be a tiny bit as it will make you sick. No restaurant wants to make someone ill! There is ALWAYS a way for them to cook it less-fatty. It mightn't taste as incredible but it's still a gorgeous guilt-free meal. I always do that in the chinese now when I get my chow mein or chicken and blackbean. SW say the blackbean dishes with boiled rice are 5.5 syns for 350g and that's allowing for the oil used in cooking. I order it without oil and ask them to use soy sauce instead so I feel that the dish is then still about 5/6 syns at most as despite it being about 500g it is significantly less fattening without the oil. Little things like that make a huge different. I'm learning that a lot lately. Like this week I went out for dinner on Saturday, to a Chirstmas part, to a retirement party and out for lunch after shopping. After all that I still had a 2lb loss because I made good decisions while out at those events. I honestly can say I really enjoyed myself though. That's what has really 'clicked' for me this time. I know I can live and not be a hermit and still lose weight. It's a great feeling!

OH and I have this restaurant we LOVE to go to. Their steak is to die for and they do a steak night deal whereby you get a fancy steak meal for really cheap when you buy anything else such as a drink, started, dessert. The steak is soooo mouth-wateringly good and is served with a french herb butter, tripple cooked chips and salad. When we go (and I haven't been in months) we get the steak as it's cooked (definitely oil used but not saturated either) and instead of chips I ask for boiled baby potatoes with no butter. It's never an issue and they are more than happy to do that. They just know now when I go in. So I have my steak which feels like a lovely treat and on the side I have lovely baby potatoes and their side salad which has green beans and everything in it. It's a good SW meal and all I have to really think about is a bit of salad dressing and a bit of oil on the steak. I usually use a bit of the herb butter because it's amazing but it's easy to judge what amount you are using. Things like this make a huge difference for me. I don't enjoy the meal any less, and I am saving a zillion syns by not having chips. Same with the meal on Saturday night, I got a ceaser salad for starters and I got the dressing on the side and I just removed the croutons. I ended up using about half of the dressing I would normally be served and I didn't eat the croutons so I saved loads of syns. Did I enjoy it any less? Not at all, it was gorgeous. Same with my pasta dish, I did as you said and didn't order one which had the word creamy in it lol. I chose a pesto one and it was served with 'lemon oil'. I asked for it to be served with no lemon oil and it was absolutely no issue and I really enjoy enjoyed it.

You have to live. It's not worth sitting at home being miserable and not enjoying a social life. Especially with you and OH both working, sometimes a nice meal and a few drinks is just so what the doctor ordered and I think it is so important to allow yourself to do that. I think it's just about finding a balance and knowing you have the self control to enjoy yourself but no go absolutely crazy at the same time. It is possible.

You are doing great and you are such an inspiration to me for loads of reasons, so give yourself a pat on the back and don't be too hard on yourself! Hey, and maybe next time you see the weight creeping up it will be because you have a little person growing in there

xxx

 

[vintagepockets]

Aww thanks tracey and you're completely right. I just think maintaining is a balancing act and because I was so strict with SW for so long it still feels a bit naughty going over my syns! At least I know I'll never go back to the way I was as I absolutely love my figure now and how eating well makes me feel. My brother asked me last night if I was still dieting and I said no but I still follow SW in the week but effectively have the weekend off "within reason". I said it was because it encourages me to eat fruit and veg and not snack on crap and he said it sounded like a good idea. He's super healthy and training to be a personal trainer.

My Mum annoys me though as she keeps saying I don't need to lose anymore and she doesn't want me to get a problem with my weight like her. That really annoys me as I'm just trying to be healthy and not put all the weight back on. I certainly don't analyse everything I eat and if I go off plan it's usually planned and I don't feel (too) guilty after. My mum still talks about a weekend she had 'off' about 6 months ago where she ate pasties and drank cider all weekend as an example of why it's ok to treat myself. I do treat myself I just don't bang on about it for months when I do. Just because you get to target doesn't mean you just go back to eating crap again - why don't people get that! It took a lot of time and effort to lose weight so I'm not just going to stuff my face with crisps and chocolate now that I've achieved my goal. It drives me up the wall!

Haha I went off on one then! Rant over!

 

[vintagepockets]

Ooh and the little person would be lovely - but maybe in a years time! x

 

[newbee89]

I totally know what you mean regarding treating yourself. I really think you have the right idea. I mean, if you get too relaxed and become a bit reckless you could put the weight back on etc so I think it's equally important to a) Enjoy yourself and b) keep tabs on it and sort of assess it as you go. That's not being obsessive, I just think that's being mindful. And that is how you got to your goal weight.

I'm glad your brother approves. I really believe in the 80/20 rule whereby if you are good/healthy/nutritious 80% of the time you can afford to treat yourself 20% of the time. When you think about it that is pretty much what you do isn't it? I would definitely say you are good at least 80% of the time. It's something I always keep in my head when I am having a bit of a treat. My food habits and general attitude to food have changed SO much since starting SW. But that was years ago, it just never really properly 'clicked' with me until about a month ago, and now I am flying. I actually enjoy my food a million times more now and I am losing weight as opposed to gaining, how amazing is that? I love how my favourite meals such as pasta dishes, stir fries, curries, burgers, chilli etc are all SW friendly when made the right way and I am completely learning habits that are for life. Not just till I get to goal (which I will be Summer 2013 by the way ). As you said you could never just go completely off the rails now. It's in-built with you now and it's just how you are and what you naturally do. To me that is the most amazing thing because I know I will never be the way I was before. It's completely in the past. The best part is I am really enjoying the process.

It's alot easier when you are doing it with someone isn't it? I know your OH might not strictly follow it the way you do, but cooking those meals for two makes things way easier. It's something to look forward to at the end of the day and it's just a very holistic experience in my experience. Speaking of which, how are all the preparations going for the big move? Will you be working between now and then? It must be so exciting, and probably a bit overwhelming at the same time.

In a year it is, watch this space arty0048:

 

[Skulldilocks]

That creamy pasta looks lovely, I'm not a fish person but was considering experimenting with some pasta, ham and green veg like brocolli, spinach and courgette so glad it looks promising with Philly x

 

[vintagepockets]

That creamy pasta looks lovely, I'm not a fish person but was considering experimenting with some pasta, ham and green veg like brocolli, spinach and courgette so glad it looks promising with Philly x

I love pasta with green veg, they go together really well. I'm sure you could put any kind of meat in there, ham sounds good and maybe some bacon mmm.

 

[vintagepockets]

We're still going through the process of surveys, valuations etc so hoping for a January move date :cross:

 

[vintagepockets]

I made some smoked mackerel pate today and the taster I had was bloomin' lovely! I can't wait to have it with toast and carrot sticks for my lunch tomorrow. I made about 330g worth which I'll split into 3 portions which should contain 50g philadelphia light and so I'll count it towards my HEXa. It works out at 0.5 syns for the whole batch so per serving the syns are pretty much negligible. Here's the recipe - My Slimline Recipe Book: Smoked Mackerel Pate I'll post a picture tomorrow.

In other news, I'm wearing a pair of size 12 jeans today that at my heaviest I didn't wear as they were too uncomfortable and gave me a muffin top. I can now pull them down without undoing the button. The belt I normally wear with them is completely pointless too now as I need another whole punched in which would be about 3 wholes in (if that makes sense!?)

Food Diary...

Breakfast - banana, blueberries, activia 0%

Lunch - wholemeal roll (HEXb), 27g rf cheddar (HEXa), ham, lettuce, cucumber, 2 tsps flora el (1 syn), 1 tbsp el mayo (0.5 syns), carrot, M&S cheese & onion popcorn (4 syns)

Dinner - Singapore Noodles (onion, red pepper, mangetout, babycorn)

Snack - funsize maltesers (5 syns)

3 tea w/ skimmed milk (HEXa)
Sparkling water
2 herbal tea

Total syns = 10.5


Lunch...

Dinner...
Recipe - My Slimline Recipe Book: Singapore Noodles

 

[newbee89]

Here it is

 

[newbee89]

I bought the m&s popcorn. I love it!!

 

[vintagepockets]

Yum that looks so good. There is a recipe for nasi goreng on the SW site but it sounds a bit boring so I'm going to try to find something online I can adapt. Morrisons do party satay skewers and they're 0.5 syns for 5! Those with 1 tbsp of satay sauce for 1.5 syns would make a good satay skewer alternative.

 

[vintagepockets]

Just realised I've only got 5 more days left of my current SW membership that I'm not planning to renew! The next 5 days will be spent searching through the syns online database and making a record of the syns values I regularly need. Plus noting down any recipes I've bookmarked and yet to try. After that I'll be relying on minimins a hell of a lot more!

 

[vintagepockets]

I bought the m&s popcorn. I love it!!

It's so good isn't it! I wish they did 6 packs of just the cheese and onion flavour.

 

[newbee89]

Yum that looks so good. There is a recipe for nasi goreng on the SW site but it sounds a bit boring so I'm going to try to find something online I can adapt. Morrisons do party satay skewers and they're 0.5 syns for 5! Those with 1 tbsp of satay sauce for 1.5 syns would make a good satay skewer alternative.

That sounds amazing. Id say it could work with your fried rice mixed with the prawns and chicken, it just needs a good herb added to it i think.

Sooo good when the egg oozes all over the rice. I am so craving it now and I only had it 3 days ago.

Also prawns crackers are not as bad as i thought- from a chinese you get 5 for 1.5 syns. But these ones are the 'proper' authentic kind of harder darker ones. You could probably get them in m&s. i'm dying to see how you get on now!

Also yes i'm the same with the popcorn haha. All over the cheese and onion flavour. I love that its only 4 syns. Amazing!!

 

[vintagepockets]

Hmm I might give this one a go but minus the oil.

Traditional Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice) | Feeling Nibblish?

I may give it a go tomorrow but I was planning on having rice for dinner so we'll see. If not I'll trial it over the weekend.