Keep losing, losing, losing...

Another 2.5lbs off this week - so that's losses for two weeks in a row for the first time in ages.

Dead chuffed - I've overdone the syns on occasion, but the secret seems to have been resisting temptation most of the time, sticking to free food during the day, loads of fruit, and not being away at the weekend (so I had control over what I was eating and how it was cooked).

Highlights this week:

• SW breakfast (with fried potato cubes - yum!)
• BBQ with Joe's burgers, Joe's peppered steak and homemade coleslaw
• Apples, apples, apples!

I love it when the plan comes together...

I lost 2.5lbs this week, thanks to following the plan most of the the time.
Much happier than previously and have a renewed determination to stick to plan when I can. I reckon the online shop I did this week will help me to do that - where possible I ordered syn free foods/healthy extras.
I've also decided to go syn and HE free during the day so that I can ensure that no syns "accidentally" creep in. By doing so I reckon it gives me a bit more choice in the evening, since nothing's off limits. It also works out cheaper since it makes me prepare lunch to take rather than going out and buying it.

At this point it would be appropriate for me to apologise to my long suffering (well, since September) wife. I've recently tried a few SW recipes that I've enjoyed, but she hasn't. She has been kind in her words and I really appreciate her support. Love you baby! x

Into and out of the abyss

At weigh in tonight, I've put on 2.5lbs over the last two weeks - pretty much in line with what I was expecting given that I've been off plan for some time now.

Looking back through past weigh ins shows that I've only lost 1.5lbs this year. The bigger reality check is that I am now the same weight as I was 9 months ago and that's pretty hard to take.

It's not a case of not believing in the plan - I know it works, because I lost 2.5 stones before slowly putting the majority of it back on. The issue is that I've got out of the food optimising mindset - I no longer question myself about what I'm eating, so it's very easy to veer miles away.

Nobody else can decide what I eat - I'm a (sometimes) rational, (hopefully) intelligent person with my own mind. I just need to get that mind back into the habit of thinking before eating. Easier said than done, but my weight and my health is in my own hands and I still want to get to my target weight - it's just going to take (a lot) longer than I originally hoped.

Simple things...

I had to miss weigh in yesterday since I was working late. In a way it was a relief because I am pretty certain the scales wouldn't be nice to me, and deservedly so. I haven't been 100% on plans for quite a while and think it is starting to impact on the inches as well as pounds.
I need to get back on it so I can throw out all my fat clothes and fit into my nice new ones.
I did, however, take a step towards that today - wore my (smallest) suit for a client meeting for the first time. There's something about wearing a suit that fits well that makes me feel so much better about my self. Here's to the next size down!

Mixed emotions

It's been a while since I last posted on here, for which I apologise.

I've put on 1/2lb in each of the last 2 weeks (leaing me with a total loss of 1.5stone, a full stone heavier than at my lightest on SW), and have come off the scales feeling completely different each time.

Last week I came away from weigh in confused as to how it happened. As soon as I got in the car it all came flooding back - funny how you think you've stuck well to plan because you have selective memory!

This week I was expecting a sizeable gain - 2 bottles of wine, a few cakes and a few meals out would've warranted it - but was pleasantly surprised with the small gain. That's not to say I wouldn't have preferred a loss - of course I would, but in the circumstances I got off lightly.

I have been drafting a post with some tips for how to make inspired food on SW, but given my gains in the last few weeks I don't feel in a position to offer advice to anyone. Instead, I will try to get back on the wagon and get some losses under (or away from!) my belt before I publish it - that way I will feel less of a fraud.

For me, weekends are the killer - where possible I can food optimise during the week, but at weekends it's difficult to always make the right choice when eating out and very hard to tell people who cater for me that I'd rather eat something more SW friendly. Any tips?

Don't look back in anger...

At weigh in tonight I put on 1.5lbs - the amount I lost last week, which takes my total loss back down to 1st 8lb, or 3lb off in total since I started this blog just over a month ago.

Am I surprised? No - after a week in which I had: pizza; chocolates; a curry with my wife and some friends; a chinese takeaway; and several cupcakes, I expected a gain.

Am I disappointed? Absolutely not - because it was expected and I was aware of what I was doing, it's not hit me like some gains have done. That's definitely a good thing, since it means that I'll not get into the spiral of guilt and I'll not go to such extremes that I become a control freak and stress myself out over my eating.

At the end of the day (and I've said this many times before), following the SW plan is all about making long term changes to the way I eat. I proved to myself last year that I could lose weight in doing so, and I'm confident it will happen again. I've still got a lot of weight to lose and the best way to keep it off is to lose it slowly and steadily.

Here's to a step back in the right direction next week. Scan bran challenge anyone?

A great way to end the weekend

SW potato and sweet potato chips, Joe's sausages, mushy peas and SW curry sauce (courtesy of this blog: http://zoe79.blogspot.com/2008/08/chip-shop-curry-sauce.html , but made with quark rather than fromage frais)

Absolutely delicious!!