My journey to a healthy and happy new me

[Nia_B79]

Hi everyone ?

I've been lurking on this site for quite some time now and all your posts/diaries/threads have been an inspiration and therefore I've decided to start my own diary to record my weight loss journey. Its not going to be easy but hopefully by keeping this diary it will help me to stay on track. I've never done anything like this before!

I've tried many diets but none have ever worked and anything I do lose ends up going back on! I weighed myself yesterday and I was 14stone, ideally I would love to get down to 10stone as this would take me into the healthy bmi range but any weight loss will be an achievement and an improvement to my health in the long run. I am determined to get the weight off but will do it with a combination of healthy eating and exercise.

So, let me introduce myself, I'm Nia, I'm 32 (nearly 33) and I live in a small town in North Wales. I've been overweight most of my life and it's now time to change things as my family has a history of diabetes and heart disease. I'm looking forward to the journey ahead as at the end of it there will be a slimmer, more confident and happier new me.

Here's my food diary for today:

Breakfast - Wholeweat muesli, with skimmed milk, coffee x2

Lunch - Wholemeal pitta bread filled with light Philadelphia and ham, packet of Pom bear crisps, banana, coffee

Dinner - Heinz tomato soup followed by a cup of tea!

I've not drank any water today so tomorrow's goal is to drink as many glasses of water as I can. We have a water cooler upstairs in work so a few trips to top up on the water will be beneficial as exercise also!!

I haven't done any exercise today but plan on getting up extra early tomorrow morning and doing week 3, day 2 of my couch to 5k app before I go to work.

I'm really looking forward to sharing my journey with you and will welcome any feedback that will help me on my way ?

 

[Nia_B79]

I absolutely love home made soups I shall be cooking up a batch of vegetable soup for lunches next week.....healthy, warming and definitely filling

Yesterday didn't go according to plan as the other half decided to take me out for a meal to make up for him being grumpy for the past few days!!

My food diary for yesterday was....

Breakfast
Wholemeal muesli with a cup of tea

Lunch
Sun dried tomato and garlic flavoured cous cous mixed with chopped ham and a load of roasted veg (peppers, onions, courgettes, aubergine and cherry tomatoes. Followed by a banana and lots of water throughout the afternoon!!

Dinner
Pub meal - Hunters Chicken, chips - I know not the healthiest option and salad! Other half had pudding but I firmly refused after having those chips!!

I arrived home rather late hence writing yesterdays entry today! I shall update today's food diary a little later on Roll on 5pm when the weekend officially starts

 

[Nia_B79]

It's been a rather good day

Breakfast
Wholewheat muesli with a dash of skimmed milk, white coffee x2

Lunch
Cous cous, ham, roasted vegetable followed by a banana and lots of water

Dinner
Onions, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes and bacon (fat removed) cut into strips and fried with 1tbsp olive oil! Once all ingredients had cooked nicely they were stirred into some pasta with 1tbsp of light Philadelphia - absolutely delicious

Not really done much exercise today but I will be cranking up the music in a min and cleaning this house from top to bottom.

 

[Nia_B79]

Your meals are nice and healthy and your dinner sounds yummy.

Thanks I love healthy eating and am starting to feel the benefits already. Seem to have a lot more energy and making better food choices! I don't expect the weight to fall off over night ( even though it would be brilliant if it did lol ) my focus is to lose it steadily and concentrate on getting healthy as this is not a diet it's a lifestyle change - and for the better

My main worry about losing weight is being left with saggy skin, but at the moment it's best to carry on and deal with it if ever I have to cross that bridge! Going to start incorporating resistance training to my workouts, ab crunches, squats, press ups etc in the hope it will help tone my flabby bits up (unfortunately I have lots of them). Need to get back into my exercise routine as I've been slacking the past two weeks!

Here's my food diary for today:

Breakfast
Porridge and coffee

Lunch
Sliced apple and banana, milky coffee made with skimmed milk

Dinner
Pasta and bolognese (lean mince, garlic, onions, mushrooms and a tomato sauce)

Rather than having a few glasses of wine tonight I'm going to replace them with glasses of iced water

Going to weigh myself tomorrow and this will be my starting weight. I last weighed myself on tuesday night and was 14st, I don't think this was a true figure as did it late at night, so from now on my weigh ins will be in my birthday suit every sunday morning

 

[Nia_B79]

My first weigh in today and I'm happy to be 13.09. The only way is down from here and I hope to lose about 2lbs this coming week. I weighed 14.04 on the 27th December so I am very happy with my progress so far

My focus for next week is plenty of exercise, and to drink lots of water! I'm going to start week 3 of the 'couch 2 5k' app again and hopefully progress to week 4 next week. The days in between I plan to do some toning exercise, I'm going to devise a circuit training plan later on, thinking of running 2 mins on the treadmill followed by 1min of ab crunches, squats, lunges, press ups etc Will repeat until I've done a full 30 mins of exercise. It'll be interesting to see the results next week, all good I hope.

Here's my food diary for today :

Breakfast
2x soft boiled eggs with a toasted pitta bread to dip in ( had no bread for toast ) coffee x2

Lunch
Chopped apple and banana and a milky coffee

Dinner
Baked potato, quorn savoury mince (made with quorn, peas, carrots, onions, mushrooms and gravy granules) Green beans and sprouts.

My other half ain't here this weekend so there is no temptation to eat any sweet treats with him! Even though I've missed him loads I've had some time to concentrate on myself and focus on what I want to achieve and how I'm going to achieve it.

My main reason for wanting to lose the weight is health reasons, my dad is not well he has heart failure, kidney failure and diabetes and all this is a result of bad diet and lifestyle. It breaks my heart to see him struggle every day and I certainly am not going to go down the same road as him.

 

[Nia_B79]

Another good day today, have stayed on track and no snacking in between meals! I've had a really bad day at work so gonna run my frustrations off on the treadmill in a bit, first I thought I'd update my food diary.

Breakfast
Porridge, coffee

Lunch
Chargrilled veg and hummus in a Wholemeal pitta bread, Pom bear crisps and an apple

Dinner
Not feeling hungry so going to have a bowl of cereal.

 

[Nia_B79]

Yesterday's menu was.......

Breakfast
Muesli, skimmed milk coffee

Lunch
Homemade veg soup, 2 slices of bread with low fat butter, apple

Dinner
One pot chicken casserole( chicken thighs, carrots, onions, leeks, potatoes, casserole mix and dumpling)

Snacks
Packet of quavers and diet coke

 

[Nia_B79]

I've fallen off the wagon a little since my last entry, my dad got taken into hospital and everything has just been total chaos!! Managed to stay the same with my weight, 13.09 so that's a relief.

Back on the slimming road today, here's my menu.....

Breakfast
Apple, banana and blueberries with natural yoghurt, coffee

Snack
Apple, green tea

Lunch
Chicken, salad with a blob of mayo in a garlic tortilla wrap, pom bear crisps, water

Snack
Coffee

Dinner
Lean mince chilli and rice

Exercise:
Starting the couch 2 5k app from the beginning today, so 30 mins jogging/walking

Determined to get a fit and healthy by the summer, bring it on

 

[Nia_B79]

Hope your dad is ok.

We all have our off days especially when something happens to a member of the family.
Good thing is you didn't put on any weight so you don't have that to worry about.

Thank you for your kind words and encouragement

I feel really motivated this week and am more determined than ever. I did 30 minutes on the treadmill last night and will be doing 20 minutes on the cross trainer followed by 10 minutes of resistance training tonight. I think exercise plays a really important role in weight loss. I was regularly going to the gym 2 years ago and I managed to get down to 12.7 (lowest I've ever been for a long time) I then bought w house last year and all my time and attention (and money!!!) went on doing it up. As I didn't have much time for the gym I invested in a treadmill and cross trainer to use at home and intend on using them as much as possible now Can't wait for the summer months to arrive and I'll hopefully be a little bit leaner and can wear summer clothes with confidence again.

Here's my food diary for today:

Breakfast
Muesli topped with blueberries and natural yogurt, 1x slice of Wholemeal toast with low fat spread, coffee

Lunch
Chicken salad with a bit of light mayo, apple and low fat crisps

Dinner
Chicken, new potatoes (dry roasted in their skin) parsnips, carrots, peas, garlic and herb stuffing, and gravy

Drinks throughout the day:
Coffee, water, green tea with apple and pear

 

[Nia_B79]

Feeling absolutely brilliant about myself after completing 20 mins on the cross trainer and doing some resistance training Back on the treadmill tomorrow, if I keep this up I'm sure the pounds will melt away

On the way home from work tonight I thought to myself 'shall I give the cross trainer a miss' but when I got in I just got on it and did my 20 mins and now I feel brilliant. Next time I tell myself I can't be bothered with the exercise I need to read back on this diary and think about how good I feel after I complete a work out.

 

[Nia_B79]

Got a busy day ahead of me today so I thought i'd update this now before I head off to work. Also, if I write down what I'm going to eat for the day I'm more likely to stick with it

Visiting my dad in hospital tonight so I need to get all the housework done and fit in 30 mins of exercise on the treadmill before I go.

Had a really good day yesterday and long may it continue. Feeling a bit nervous about stepping on the scales on Sunday as I don't feel I'm losing any weight despite the healthy eating and the exercise. I must remember not to feel disappointed with the results if they're not what I expected. My work colleagues seem to think I've lost lots of weight as my clothes are really loose on me now, I think it's all the exercise changing my body shape because the scales tell a different story.

Here's my menu for today:

Breakfast
Muesli topped with blueberries and semi skimmed milk, coffee

Lunch
Chicken salad with mayo in a garlic tortilla wrap, apple, banana and lots of water

Dinner
Chilli, steamed veg rice

Exercise
Week 1, day 2 of couch to 5k app on the treadmill

 

[Nia_B79]

Had a sneaky weigh in this morning and the scales said 13.7 - yaaaaaay Still feeling positive and for the first time in ages I think I can actually do this, I am going to reach my goal of 10 st (only another 3st 7 to go!!)

Going to have a break from the exercise tonight and have some 'me time' I'm thinking a long hot soak in the bath - bliss

Here's my menu today :

Breakfast
Muesli with semi skimmed milk and cup of coffee

Lunch
Chicken, salad with mayo in a garlic tortilla wrap, apple, banana, water

Dinner
Beef Meatballs, mushrooms, onions, peppers in a spicy tomato sauce and pasta, water

Drinks throughout the day;
Gallons of coffee!!! Water