Post Christmas Weigh In!

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas filled with fun, laughter, food and drink I know that's exactly what mine has been filled with!
Sunday night and it was the biggest weigh in I have ever had to face literally! I knew that I had been bad and my fate was left to the scales all I could do was pray!
I stepped on nervously to find out I had gained 5 n half pounds, yes it's quite a big gain but I was over the moon, I was filled with relief that it wasn't worse. Now weigh in was done it is seriously onwards and upwards I will soon have that back off and more I hope. The next weigh in for my group isn't while 8th jan now so I have plenty of time to get a decent loss.
Finally I would like to wish everyone a very happy new year and here's to a brilliant 2013 for all. I am also going to say that 2012 has been a brilliant year for me and I hope it continues. The support and inspiration of every person at my slimming world group has been immense I love everyone of them, I actually look forward to going to group just to see them. So a massive thank you to you all because without you I would not be here with a 4 and a half stone weight loss and a new healthier, happier life!!
Now all the festivities are over I can't wait to get back in the gym and start eating properly again.

Pre Christmas Weigh In!

Due to the Christmas period the weigh in's for group are all slightly different. Today was our choice head to group Christmas Eve morning and see how we had done before the Christmas "treats" appeared.
Well I got on the scales hoping for a loss, yea I would have loved to tell you I had really done well this week but in truth I knew it hadn't been one of the best. Especially when last night I went out to Toby Carvery for a meal which included a pudding oopsie! So I was really pleased when I lost 2.5lb this week I am now only 1.5lb away from getting my 5 stone award which won't be this week!!
To end I would like to say a huge Merry Christmas to everyone who reads my blog and all your families I hope you all have a fab time and I will up date my "Post Christmas Weigh In" on Sunday after group!

Text Santa!

This is a random post but I feel like it is valid.
Tonight on ITV is the show Text Santa which is a money raising show full of Christmas cheer. I personally sat watching with my mum and friend Joanne. The programme raises money for a number of charities these include:
Marie Curie Cancer
Whizz-Kids
Age UK
Anthony Nolan
Carers UK
Together For Short Lives

The charities all raise money for brilliant causes if you missed the show but would love to donate something no matter how small, it really is easy, the easiest and wat way (the way I chose) was to text Santa 70070 which donates £5.00. Other ways to donate include the ITV website and branches of Santander around the UK.

Bad week turned excellent!

Well what a truly horrendous week for my diet it has been. I had some time off work which meant that there was places to go and people to see. The first glitch was after weigh in last Tuesday when we all went out for a lovely xmas meal. Moving on to Thursday it was our annual trip to London for the day where I basically lost all control of my diet and ate whatever I wanted this included a chicken and mushroom pasty at 01:30am at the service station! Friday came around and it was a Xmas meal out with work so off to the all you can eat Chinese I went and again didn't even think about slimming world. Then finally Saturday a Xmas shopping day in York where once again I had a meal out with family and friends and once again it wasn't slimming world friendly!
Tuesday night and it was truly time to face my fate! I stepped on the scales hoping it wasn't going to be too bad but when the figure jumped up by 4 stone I practically fainted however thanks to my slimming world consultant Mandy winding me up and stepping on the back of them it wasn't true phew!!! So in the end I came away with a 1 and half gain which I was very pleased with.
This week in group it was Christmas party week which is where members took in some low syn treats for the table and also the big Christmas raffle. The raffle came round and it was time to see who had won the main prize of a tefal actifry. So a bad week came good when it was my number that got shouted out, I was so over the moon I couldn't believe it!! Merry Christmas me and thanks to Mandy for my prize!
This week is last week before Christmas and next weeks weigh in is on Christmas Eve morning so my socks have been pulled up and I am set for a good week hopefully I can pull off a nice 4lb weight loss to hit my 5 stone award before Christmas that really would be an amazing Christmas present.

Motivation is the Key to Success!

Tuesday night once again and as you all know last week i was a little bit down in the dumps. I thought i had lost all my motivation and felt like i was giving up on myself. Well after that bump in the road i re-read my Slimming World book and really got my focus back. Not only did i give it 100% with my Food Optimising i really pushed myself with the Body Magic aspect, and i am very proud to say it worked!!
I got on the scales at group last night and was praying that my hard work would pay off and it would reflect on the scales and show me a decent weight loss. I had told myself that i deserved a least 2 or 3 pounds off. Imagine my shock, pride and utter suprise when my best mates in group, who do the weigh in's, Sarah and Adele told me i had lost 4lb this week!!!!!
You seriously could have knocked me over with a feather. What a fab weight loss, and all because i got my motivation and focus into gear and really pushed myself. Its a great feeling when you know you have acheieved something. In image therapy i was also given the Slimmer of the Week title, another proud moment for me. The support of the group and all the new friends i have there is just brilliant, they really helped me last week to boost my confidence and basically push me forward, so i just want to say a massive thank you to everyone in my group without you lot i would not be writing this now!!!!
I now need just 2.5lb to hit my 5 stone award which i know and will be truly honest to everyone i will not get next week. This week is a really hectic and syn filled week for me.
Today sees the start of some time off work and if you read the blog of my best mate Charlotte you will have already seen how action packed it is. Basically after weigh in it was our groups night out which was a beautiful 3 course meal at The Viking in Goole. The night was brilliant, such a good laugh with all our new "Fat Fighters" friends. This also signifies the start of things to come, Thursday is a day out and meal in London, Friday night is Chinese Meal out with work and Saturday is a meal out in York. However, as Mandy, Our consultant says, if i take out those bad days i can really try and work some magic for the rest of the time. I am so focused now that i am going to be extra good on the other days and go to the gym 4 times plus swimming next Monday to see if i can at least maintain or come in with a small gain. If its a loss at all next week i will be exstatic so watch this space everyone.

Almond Christmas Cookies!

 

Here is another recipe that i tried whilst on my weekend off work however i've only just had the chance to put it on here! So here are all the details you need to create your own.

 

Slimming World Almond Cookies

 

Ingredients

57g Self raising flour

113g Plain Flour

42g Low Fat Baking Margarine

100g Vanilla Mullerlight

4 x Tbsp Sweetner

Fry Light

6 x Drops of Almond Essence

 

Method

1. Seive the flour into a bowl and rub in the margarine until the mix in your bowl resembles breadcrumbs. Add in the yoghurt, sweetner and almond essence, then knead the mix together until it forms a soft dough. Wrap your dough in clingfilm and place in the fridge overnight.

2. Preheat your oven to 220oc/Gas 7. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment and sray lightly with fry light. On a floured surface rollout your dough to the thickness of a pound coin. The using a cutter (i used christmas trees but the recipe says a star cutter) and cut out 24 cookies. Place them on the baking sheets and bake them in the oven for 12-15 minutes until they are slightly risen and browned.

3. Remove the cookies from the oven and place them onto a wire rack and allow to cool. Then enjoy

 

If you would like to decorate your cookies remember that 1 tsp of icing is 1syn. These cookies are brilliant to add onto a buffet or just to snack on with a hot drink. They are only 1.5 syns too so can be enjoyed without breaking your syn allowance.



Cheese, Ham and Broccoli Pasta

 

Here we go then the 3rd and final recipe of the day.

 

Slimming World Cheese, Ham and Broccoli Pasta

 

Ingredients

200g dried pasta

6 x extra light cheese triangles

200g Brocolli, stalks removed

100g mushrooms, sliced

1 x Large Onion. chopped

400g Ham, cubed

Fry Light

 

Method

1. Place pasta in boiling water, add in the brocolli and cook until the pasta is soft and the brocolli is cooked through. Drain and Set aside.

2. In a frying pan, sprayed with fry light, fry the onions and the mushrooms until they are soft, add in the ham and fry for about 5 minutes until the ham has warmed through. Add in the Pasta and brocolli and stil the mix well. Add in the cheese triangles and mix really well until the cheese has melted and coats the pasta. Serve immediately.

 

This is a very filling dish, it incorrporates your superfree and makes a very tasty meal. The above ingredients serve 2 people and is 3 syns per serving. However to make this syn free you could use the cheese element as your Healthy Extra A for that day.

Coconut Macaroons

 

 

This is the second recipe of the day:

 

Slimming World Coconut Macaroons

 

Ingredients

4x Egg Whites

198g/7oz Sugar

71g/2 1/2 oz Coconut

 

Method

1. Beat the egg whites until they are frothy.

2. Add in the sugar and beat the mixture until stiff.

3. Fold in the coconut using a metal teaspoon, then drop small amounts of the mixture onto a parchment covered baking tray. This should create 30 macaroons.

4. Bake for 30 minutes in a preheated oven on 170c/325f/Gas3.

5. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for a few minutes before removing them from the baking sheet.

 

Another fantastic buffet idea or a nice sweet treat if you need it! They are brilliant on diet too at only 2 syns per macaroon.

Prawn and Chilli Ginger Cakes

This is the first of 3 recipes i am going to blog today so here goes:

Slimming World Prawn and Chilli Ginger Cakes

Ingredients
113g/4oz Wholemeal Bread, Crusts removed
255g/9oz Raw Prawns, peeled
2.5cm/1" piece of root ginger, finely chopped
1 x Tbsp chopped corriander
1 x Red Chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 x egg
fry light

Method
1. Place the bread in a bowl, cover with water and soak for about 10 minutes, then squeeze out the excess water.
2. Place the bread, prawns, chilli, ginger, corriander, egg and seasoning into a food processor and whizz until all ingredients have combined.
3. Form the mixture into small cake shapes, heat a frying pan sprayed with fry light. Cook the cakes for 2-3 minutes on each side until they are golden brown. Serve them immediately.

The recipe makes 12 cakes and the syn value per cake is only 1 syn! They are perfect for Slimming World friendly buffets.

Can do attitude!

I know this update is a little late seeing as it is now Thursday and weigh in was on Tuesday night but here goes.
Tuesday night once again came round very quickly and i knew that it wouldnt be an outstanding one. The weekend before had consisted of 2 very naughty and syn filled days. Saturday night i went out for an Italian meal with Charlotte and Joanne and even though i knew it was wrong and very high in syns i just couldnt say no. So off we went to Bella Italia and i must say it was beautiful however even that did not help the guilty feeling i got afterwards. However i still did not help myself anymore and on Sunday i caved once again and off i went to Toby Carvery with Joanne. Ok so maybe it was not as syn filled as the previous night but it was still quite high in syn values.
It was safe to say i was on self destruct mode, my motivation had vanished and i really was not in the mood to even think about Slimming World let alone what i was eating.
Tuesday night and it was time to face facts and see what damage i had done to myself. I was quite shocked to find that i had actually lost half a pound. However even seeing a loss on the scales i could tell in myself that my motivation and drive just wasnt there. So in image therapy i told the group about my mood and my lack of enthusiasm. My group were fantastic as always and really boosted my mood and gave me some handy hints and tips to try and get myself back on track. I must say, it worked, i now feel a different person i have decided, with the help and "slight push" of group to really try and hit my 5 stone award before Christmas so i have 3 weeks to loose 6.5lb, i really do need to knuckle down and go back to basics to see if i can pull a really good number next week. I have a weekend off work this week too ,so instead of dwelling on places that i want to eat or tempting takeaways i could snaffle in front of the tv, i have decided i will try out some new Slimming World recipes, yes i will post my efforts on here so keep those eyes peeled and you never know you may spot something you would like to try yourself.

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas!

It truly is that time of the year again! The halls are decked and that Christmassy feeling is upon us all.
I do have to say though that I disagree with the "Christmas people" who start decking their halls in November, so the first weekend in December is always the time to get those decorations out and start the Christmas proceedings!
I hope you all have that Christmas feeling, if not i hope you get it soon. I think it really is the best time of the year... Well apart from summer holidays of course!!