8am Sept 5th

 Just about to get sorted to go to work. I’ve had a pint of water, a vitamin tablet, a daily anti histamine tablet and a coffee with a smidge of warmed full fat milk. I will break my fast at 12.40

Probably as I’m in class

For the month of September supporting a little one who is non verbal with additional needs. And they are only little - 5 years old! 

I’ve done a covid test but it was negative - so let’s co time this SFS. It is like day 1 again because it was my father in law’s birthday yesterday and I had lemon drizzle cake. 

I am human after all !!! 

FR x

14.38 Saturday

 Had a few drinks with friends last night. Not totally sugar free as I did share some Chinese chicken and a ready mixed g&t. 

Today I am tired. Going to have a nap! Lamb curry is for tonight- always better a day later. 

8.46 Sept 2

 Morning- thanks for the comments and support as always x 

Slept better last night, though was mentally drained from work - and pre internet changeover stress. 

Day two so far I’ve had water and black coffee. Will break my fast with a tuna salad I think at lunch. Making Lamb Keema for tea very healthy and will have with cauliflower rice. Successfully navigated and didn’t have the free posh sandwiches/jacket potato to order  from the very nice deli that school paid for. There were no simple salad options. I go home anyway for the dog but it was quite hard to decline especially as it was free and from the posh shop!!! 

Bit of a headache still so two paracetamol and more water before I start work. 

R x

3pm day 1

 I’ve got a headache. 

Had lettuce leaves, cheese, tomato and onion for lunch with mayo. It was lovely. Need to up my water and I have got a coffee with oat milk. 

So far so good. 

SFS

 

No more Afternoon Tea for me until October! 

The title stands for 

Sugar Free September 

I have over indulged n the holidays. I can tell it on my scales, in my clothes, my chin, my joints. I’m bloated and uncomfortable and I know this happens every single time.

So I will be back at SW on Monday night but have properly tightened up my resolve to follow the F800 and SW principles that work so well with me. And the SFS stands for Sugar ( & Sweetner ) Free September 

And by this I mean sugar in it’s simplest for chemistry wise which includes all those simple carbohydrates that I have been stuffing my face with! 

Sugar, white bread, white pasta, potatoes and anything with sweetners in as much as I can manage. 

I will allow sourdough bread only if I have it. It’s allowed on F8. And I’ve been going to make my own sourdough starter for 100 years now so I might do that! 

Pasta and rice will be wholemeal and whole grain if I have it. 

8.20am so far so SFS! 

I will probably blog often recording my withdrawal!!! 

I’m fasting until lunchtime today. There will no doubt be goodies galore in the staffroom but no I will be strong! Lunch will be scrambled egg and leaves I think. Tea will be cottage pie SW recipe for them with mash and the base mix with veg for me. 

Going to measure my waist and neck and record it on the first of every month. Along with the scales! 

Back soon with progress. 

R x

August

 Well, it's been up and downy. I am still trying! The month of August has brought lots of challenges so far and many celebration meals planned out for my Mum's 70th. I will endeavor to keep the days in between as healthy as possible and will not go absolutely overboard at the events themselves. I will enjoy what I have and be mindful of what I am having. But I am having!!

 I am still following the F8 methods. It works best for me. I am determined that once the holidays are done and I am back to school routine that I will once and for all keep the downward trend in numbers going so I can change my wardrobe!! I had a morning yesterday looking at the things that are just not comfortable and with a bit of effort will be fully wearable. Then I will embrace the next phase of getting down to my target range of August 2018! 

Happy to report that I am a long way from the start range of August 2017 but letting go of feeling cross about it all was liberating. 

I've a new recipe I want to try for overnight oats. Tiramisu flavoured ones. I'll do a full report on it! 

Trying to be less Fat August 15th 2022 xx

What I ate in June 2022

 As promised to myself, here are most of the things I’ve eaten in June. 

It’s been my birthday month and the butterfly cakes you will see are made by my son, so light as a feather - I had one a day for three days! 

Mostly on track. A few days of hit and miss. I restarted my SW official progress as a tool to help me forge ahead with shifting this flab. 

My reasoning was if I had to re lose stupid pointless pounds to get where I was…I might not! It’s drawing that line that I have been scathing of a little in the past. 

I have a new mantra for any lapses, not relapses. See a previous post. 

There’s time for the day to get better. I have used this and it worked. Another way for me to stop that I’ve had a biscuit I might as well have the packet, and then a large unhealthy meal. Even if your last packet of crisps was 10pm 

There’s still time for the day to get better- have a large glass of water and go to bed! Instead of then having chocolate at 10.10pm ! Honestly, it’s a wonder I ever get anything done with this inner voice going on and on and on! 

I am still fasting and still believe it’s this that has helped in the gain and gain some more usual habit of my past 40 years of dieting. I have definitely stopped the immediate self loathing. It’s now a so what?  I tell you, if I think of this it deeply saddens me that that is my life. So we go on! 

As part of my role in the Pastoral Team at work, we had a well being celebration as part of our peer support group. In my line of work this is definitely needed. And we did some forest bathing stuff. In a teeny tiny public wood led by a wonderful human being who made me feel reenergised and enough. It’s true that at this moment in time, every form of human being on the planet seems to be recognised and accepted, yet never ever truly embraced across all walks of life are those who are larger. Why is this??? I don’t know if you ever watched a TV programme where a beautiful girl who I think is great, Scarlett Moffatt who came to fame via Gogglebox. Well they took their semi detached house and went to live with an African tribe. There was a scene that was powerful where she was invited to join in the village ceremony for coming of age for the girls I think it was. The just was the tribal women wear necklaces and a maybe a sarong to hide their nether regions but are bare naked elsewhere. I half understood her reasoning as she is on tv etc but the main reason was because of her self loathing and disgust - but the genuine love and admiration and messages from the tribal women about how her body and her shape was the desired one in their world and how she should never be ashamed had me in tears. Gosh I’m going off on a tangent here. 

So some stats to keep me going! 

Wearing smaller knickers and bra again. 

Definitely more comfortable moving about.

If I’ve lost this week I’ll get my stone award for this attempt! If I was talking in old money, ie. the SW card before this one it would have been my 2.5stone award. But I’m in new numbers for this time around and the next new number bracket, although a way off, means that some of the smaller clothes stashed in my wardrobe will finally fit again. 

Not every day’s food but a snapshot of what’s going in!! 

The baked cheese and honey crisps - YUMMY - but not buying them again! Dangerous!! 

Lots of love for now.

Today can still get better xx

Some of the meals I’ve had in April and May - photo heavy

 I just want to record some of the delicious meals I’ve enjoyed on this way of eating I’m doing. When I look at them, it amazes me why I revert in a lapse to boring beige stuff (crisps, chips, bread and biscuits although the empire biscuit shown is very colourful but that’s only on as it’s my absolute favourite treat when we go to DaisyClough ( pronounced cluff for my none local chums ) Tearoom ) 

Eggs Benedict

Greek chicken kebab

Mushroom omelette and salad

Sunday Roast beef

Omelette, bacon and tomatoes

Cajun dirty rice chicken

This is GRILLED tender stem broccoli a la James Martin - TRY IT with poached eggs and mushrooms

Jacket potato, synned full fat coleslaw 

Manky veg soup with lean ham

Full fat synned chicken liver pate in celery with salad

SW ready meal, halved with steamed sweetheart cabbage and leek.

Ham and egg salad

Plain salad

Manky veg soup with 30g cheddar grated on the top,
with strawberries and yogurt for pud.

Mmmmmmmmmm hahaha

Mixed salad to go with quiche at the caravan. 

Beige but healthy coffee and fruit salad with yogurt

Beginnings of a quiche

The pre roasted innards of a quiche

Overnight oats

Afore mentioned quiche

Chicken salad

Think I’ve shown this before, beans on a homemade bagel

SW ready meal with salad

Bonus freezer find campfire stew on cabbage medley

Tuna sweetcorn innards for another quiche

Another day, another overnight oats

Two Tuna sweetcorn quiches 

The SW ready meal featured in the pics  yummy

Steak and veg

Sunday Roast Chicken Dinner

Good stuff packed in my overnight oats
Pictured above. 

SO, having collated all of these, it is easy to remind myself that I am in no way being deprived or missing out. Yes, it takes a little effort and planning sometimes to have a good and varied daily menu, but most of the time it does give me joy. 

Doing this post has inspired me to post an honest and truthful record of everything that I am going to eat in the month of June. 

Challenging due to lots of birthday celebrations with friends and family. 

So as it is the 1st June, I will get started. I will somehow meld the photos and try and do one a week so will have 4 posts. I will also record my weight and measurements and note any difference- here’s hoping they are all going the preferred way hahaha. I am still combining the F8and SW. I have said it before, but it’s what has kept me going. I think, either of the regimes on their own, would have seen me with big sustained gains. I’m still far from target but still two and a bit stones lighter than I was in November 2021. 

Let’s see how I fair in June. TTBLF as ever x 

Still at it!

 I know, out of sight out of mind! 

But I am still making quiches and getting certificates and shiny stickers!  I WAS 1lb away from my 2 1/2 stone award but I had a lapse. All is well. The lapse is over and the carbs are being weaned off again! Back to this blogging lark soon. 

Catch up post!

 Well am here after a month and a bit with news and shiny stickers! After two weddings, much peri menopausal symptoms putting up with, days of sugar seeking I never gave up! 

I have, to be honest, pissed about with the same 5-6lbs for four weeks- up and down like a bride’s nighty. One thing I’ve stuck to is the intermittent fasting and I am convinced that it’s this that has minimised the gain on the days where I’ve chosen to ignore the healthier option and eat sugar. I’ve finally sorting out my password credentials on the app and can work the barcode scanner. It has helped stop me in my tracks sometimes to realise how many SW  ‘syns’ are in something. 

Last night I went straight from work at 6.45pm ( Ofsted rang, so I needed to double check the room and  my files etc were in order. I didn’t have my book or my card - I just got a life off my work chin. The girls in the social team gave me a new card. On the scales I jumped. ( gingerly stepped ) and 

5.5lbs off to get my 2stone award, Slimmer of the week ( very unusual for our group to be no fresh produce - mind you , I did take the tinned carrots - hastily grabbed ) and best of all I’m a pound and a half into new numbers! So my mini self target this week is to stay in new numbers! I had promised myself, as a foodie reward for losing, I was having one of the bagels made by my son at the weekend. I did have one. Toasted. With butter. And beans on for tea! 

Bloody lovely. 

I have still been choosing full fat Greek yogurt. I’ve eaten lots of salad, protein and veg. Not once felt deprived and I’ve made a real effort to up my water. Some of my meals have been amazing and some less so! Jeitting publish as this has been languishing in drafts! Much has occurred since I started writing this on Toesday morning! 

Big clue 

Sat in the SAT tests, Headteacher gets THE phone call 

IN THE SATS 

It’s been BRUTAL 

Back soon 

Wedding weekend

 So, I’m half a stone lighter than I was at the Hen do. Which, if I’m ho set could have been more but hey ho. I’ve two choices of posh frocks as a result. I am ready to proper buckle down for a good couple of weeks at least - as my friend said, Weddings don’t come along so often so enjoy it. 

I chose the best I could from the wedding menu and opted for the melon fruit platter starter I think ( will update after the event ), the roast beef dinner and the white chocolate to let one cheesecake ( there was sticky toffee pudding and a cheeseboard on offer too ) I love cheesecake and never have it at home because there’s only me that likes it and it’s a very posh hotel so the plates will be huge and the portions teeny. I’m not planning on drinking much. A few glasses of wine with soda I think. 

Back home tomorrow after breakfast which I’m just going to look at the menu now 

Hmmmm I’ll probably go for the full English, but I do like the vegetable option.Also I do love pancakes and the eggs portobello look good. Decisions decisions. All of it will taste amazing and be fully appreciated because someone else has made it for me! 

Once back home and unpacked. I’m planning on going to class. Not looking too deeply at the numbers because they will most definitely be up, but in the bigger scheme of things it’s ok. Too much else in the world to worry about. The numbers will come down again for sure. 

Ttblf one wedding at a time !