Size 16!

I am wearing my size 16 jeans! They're not loose but not too tight! Hurrah I am thrilled! I am aiming for a size 12 at least, but it would surpass my dreams if I was to get to a size 10! I don't want to get to size 8, I think I would look too thin, as I am quite tall!

Christmas

I've been exercising some restraint over the holidays. Not gorging myself for the sake of it, but enjoying some goodies.

In the last week I have maintained my weight, which I think is good for Christmas. I am now (still, from last week) 13 stone exactly, and I am hoping that next week I will see a loss, so my first weigh in of 2011 will bring me below 13 stone, finally into the 12 stone-somethings.

I am looking forward to getting to my just-over-half-way goal of 12 stone, which fingers crossed, I should reach by March.

1 week to go..

It's 10 days til Christmas, and by next Wednesday's weigh-in, I want to have lost a total of 1 and a half stone since Christopher was born. Well, I've probably already exceeded that technically as I first weighed in when Christopher was 4 days old, and you lose a lot of weight in the first couple of weeks as water with your blood volume decreasing back to normal. But I have to date lost 1 stone and 6lbs since I weighed in after Christopher's birth, which means I have 1lb to lose by Christmas. I'm going to give one final big push to get there, so fingers crossed I can do it! And maybe even get down to that lovely 13 stone by the New Year.

How wonderful it would be to start off the New Year at 13 stone. I am currently 13 stone 5lb, so I would need to lose 5lb in 2 weeks and 3 days. Which is doable, if I lose 2lb a week!

I am so determined this time, once I reach my Christmas/New Years goal, I'll be moving the goal posts again, probably to get down to 12 stone, and around March time I think. But for now I'll leave it there. At least 1lb by next week, but if I really push myself, 5lb by 1st January.

Wish me luck!!!

At my Xmas goal!

OK so I have been naughty and weighed in yesterday morning, and this morning as well. I'm not going to weigh in again til next Wednesday - promise!

But in the last two days I have lost 2.5lb! I have been eating what others (who are already slim, so probably have a better sense of what is a reasonable portion of food) say is a good amount for a day, but have tried to limit my snacking to just fruit, and then only when I am hungry.

I've had a bowl of cereal and a cup of tea already this morning, and for lunch I plan on having maybe a cuppa soup and some fruit, or a big plate of tuna and egg mayo salad.

I now weigh 13 stone 7lb, which was my goal for Christmas, which is still 3 weeks off! I have lost 18lb since Christopher was born (well, more than that most likely as I didn't weigh in til he was 4 days old, and a lot of weight was lost in the early days with water and whatnot). I am maybe hoping to lose another 7lb (ok thats an ambitious goal, but one that might be attainable!) by Christmas now, so I'm down to 13 stone exactly. That's less than 2 and a half lbs a week. A minimum weight I'd now like to be by Christmas is 13 stone 4lb, which is a 1lb loss a week. And that should give me a buffer to still be at or just under 13 7 by the week after Christmas...

I looked at my profile in the mirror on the landing yesterday and thought "wow, am I slimmer?" I'm not really sure, but hey, I should be, right? I took my measurements yesterday too. Waist, arms, and thighs. So when I lose another stone, here's hoping the measurements will back up the numbers!

1.5lb down

Wednesday has become my weight-obsession day! I weigh in first thing in the morning, after my wee but after getting dressed. And then for the rest of the day can't stop thinking about it! About how well I've done that week, or if I've gained weight, thinking what I can do differently to lose it again. Today, I have spent the day feeling pleased with myself and my weight loss, and thinking ahead, if I manage to lose 1.5lb a week consistently (or on average) then I will be able to reach my 12 stone mid-stop weight goal by the time Christopher is 6 months old. If I manage 2lb a week on average, then sooner than that! And I have been snacking, I've not been drinking as much as I wanted to, so today I have had literally a handful of grapes apart from meals, and have had a few cups of tea. I have also been saying yes to Robert's requests for milky every time he has asked, and tried to feed Christopher frequently as well.

I have been losing weight for 2 months now, my littlest man is 2 months and 6 days old. And I have lost 1 stone, 1 and a half pounds. I have 2.5lbs to lose by Christmas for my first mini-goal! Which, hopefully, if I curb the snacking well this week, I will lose that in one week! I really should do some measurements, and re-do them for every stone I lose, so that I can see just how much weight I am losing. I find it hard to see that I have lost weight, I feel just the same. How brilliant would it be if I could be down to my ULTIMATE goal by the time Christopher is 1? My ultimate goal is around 10 stone, and I am currently 13 stone 9.5lbs.

Fingers crossed for a 2.5lb loss next Wednesday! Until the next weigh-in obsessive post!

Another lb down

I am now 1 stone lighter than I was when Christopher was 4 days old. So roughly 1 stone lost in 2 months. That is a good steady weight loss and one I am pleased with! I hope it can continue at around the same rate, if so, I will reach my first major goal by the time Christopher is 6 months old, and will have done the (almost) 3 stone lost in half the time I alloted myself.

My first mini goal is to weigh 13 stone and 7lb by Christmas, which, as I currently weigh 13 stone 11lb, I have 1 month to lose 4lb. Which at my current rate of 7lb a month, is completely do-able.

During the last week we have had Robert's birthday, we've had a meal out and have had party food and birthday cake, as well as (I believe) a batch of home made flapjack at around 200 calories a piece, and I tried unsuccessfully to limit myself to 2 pieces a day! So, I was expecting a gain, and my scales acting up meant that I stepped on them 4 times and each time showed a different weight, but twice showed around the 193lb mark so I have put it down as that.

This week I am trying my hardest to make sure I do not snack (and if I do, on something healthy, like a single piece of fruit, or similar). And I will try and start eating salads for lunch again. I took a fancy to egg and tuna mayonnaise salads while pregnant with Christopher so will be trying those again.

The meal planning is going well, when it comes to a meal that there isn't any of in the freezer, I try and cook a large batch of it when Jonathan is home, or he cooks it, and then any extra portions go into the freezer for the next time it's on the menu! It seems to be working in the way that we're not cooking food every evening, quite often all we need to do is get 2 tubs out of the freezer, and put them into the microwave for 10 minutes, and hey presto! The tubs constitute a fairly generous but not too large a portion, so that's a good way of regulating our portions as well.

I've read a lot in newspapers about how if you diet, your children are more likely to diet and have issues with their weight as well. It makes me wonder, what constitutes a diet? How rigid does it have to be before it becomes "a diet" in the way many people think of it "Oh, I'm going on a diet after Christmas" and so on.

For me, I don't see what I am doing as "a diet". Yes, I am making diet changes, and watching what I eat, but I am not counting calories, not disallowing myself this and that. I think for me, my "diet" is changing habits, changing my eating routines and trying to break down problem eating. If I am not rushed off my feet doing this and that, I find myself wandering into the kitchen, opening the fridge, or the cupboards. Which is NOT GOOD! When I find myself wandering into the kitchen now, I try my hardest not to open the cupboards or fridge, instead I put the kettle on and make myself a cup of tea, or make myself a glass of squash, and drink that instead. If I actually feel hungry, then I will get myself a piece of fruit, or a small bowl (and I mean small - I use one of Robert's) of cereal. Or a yoghurt.

Fingers crossed that by being strict with myself on the snacking, I will be pleasantly surprised next week. I am hoping for a reading of 191 lb or lower on the scales next Wednesday.

I am determined. This time I will lose the weight. Not by a fad diet, but by making changes I can see myself keeping, therefore I won't pile it back on again.

This is my inspiration: me, at a size 12, weighing around 150lbs or so, back in July 2001. When Jonathan and I were just going out.

4 days ago

I put my weight down as 198.5lb 4 days ago, although I wasn't wearing a top, so technically I suppose I was 199lb. Having stayed the same for 2 weeks I figured enough was enough, and to try and find the cause, and I think the problem is that I tend to eat with boredom, which isn't good. Whenever I've had the urge to snack since then I've tried to drink a pint of squash instead, and make sure anything I do snack on is healthy. I didn't buy any chocolate last week so I've not had that to snack on.

I did a sneaky weigh in today (I usually have been weighing in on a Wednesday) and I weighed just under 196lb! Which is 14 stone exactly, and back to my pre-pregnancy weight. The lowest weight I got down to between pregnancies was 13 stone 8lb, so I'm aiming for 13 stone 7lb by Christmas, which is about 1lb a week loss.

We have also been getting meal ideas down for me to draw up a fortnightly meal plan, and hopefully that'll lead to fewer takeaways and easy solutions and by focussing on portion size hopefully that'll lead to a few more lbs lost.

Here's hoping Christmas doesn't bring about too much of a weight gain - we won't be going overboard on buying special foods, so it'll just be rationing any chocolate or goodies got for Christmas. It would be lovely to have lost a dress size or two by summer.... And to get down all those size 14 clothes from the loft!

Goal of 24.9 BMI

Well I have a goal to get to a BMI of 24.9 by October 2011. I am currently 30.5 BMI, down from 31.5 BMI at the beginning of October, so that's 1 BMI lose in 1 month. If I can continue the trend hopefully I'll be down to my goal in another 6 months time.

My second son is now 5 and a half weeks old. I lost a lot of weight within the first 2 weeks of his birth, and now weight loss has slowed considerably. Possibly because my appetite has increased again, possibly because the first two weeks I've been getting rid of pregnancy water levels. But either way I now need a kick up the backside. I need to stop snacking so much during the day (Boredom eating!! If I'm not absolutely rushed off my feet I snack!), and just get on with what needs doing. More housework (if I can manage it with a newborn... I'm not going to make it a priority, but definitely going to try and do more to burn those extra few calories!), more walks.

I'm breastfeeding two growing boys now, so I should be dipping into my fat stores nicely, yet somehow the weight isn't dropping off, so it must be a problem with how much I am eating.

First stop - snack less.
Second stop - smaller portion sizes.
Third stop - fewer takeaways and meals out.
Fourth stop - less indulgence, ie: less homemade flapjack!!!!

I am going to try and get a meal plan drawn up before the week is out. Fill it with interesting meals, and just ONE takeaway planned each fortnight. Hopefully this will limit my time in the kitchen, and keep what time I am in the kitchen as being busy, so hands are less likely to wander into the fridge! Also will make sure that we are getting more healthy meals, and hopefully limit our portion sizes somewhat, especially if I make enough to portion out for extra meals!

I didn't buy any chocolate this week. I bought cake ingredients, simply because it's Robert's birthday coming up this month. But I figure if it's not in the house I can't eat it, and if I do want something sweet, I have to make it myself which is time consuming and therefore it's less likely to get made ;)

Today I have been trying to watch myself with what I eat. I am trying to drink a glass of fruit squash (no added sugar) whenever I get the urge to snack.

Today I have eaten a bowl of cereal (cranberry wheats) and a cup of tea for breakfast.

Snack over the course of the morning, a few grapes each time (so probably about 10 or so), and just under half a banana.

Lunch was half a round of sandwiches, dairylea and ham, on wholegrain bread.

I've drank probably 2 pints of squash today as well.

I am not hungry... but then I rarely get to actually feeling hungry before I eat. I want to try and actually FEEL hungry before I eat something, rather than just topping up constantly during the day.

Tonight I will be making a risotto with sausage, tomatoes, onion and pepper, and hopefully it'll be nice and filling, without having too huge a portion.

Next Wednesday, I really want to see 196lb come up on the scales. Which will bring me to 14 stone, and my pre-pregnancy weight.

Changes

Having read from someone that she was trying a no-carb diet for a few weeks so she could lose some weight for a wedding, and hearing her say after 1 week she lost 5 and a half lbs, it got me thinking. I also came across this article in the Daily Mail which was an interesting read.

Now at the moment I am almost 21 weeks pregnant. So I'm not about to do anything stupid and compromise the health of myself or my baby. But I've been researching on the internet about a no/low carb diet in pregnancy. My initial thoughts on this are "oh my god, how am I ever going to be able to cope without ANY carbs??" The thought for me is so daunting. No potatoes. No bread. No rice. No pasta. No sugar. No cereals. No fruit! Bread and potatoes in particular for me are a HUGE part of my diet. Sugary snacks, like biscuits, chocolate, sweets, even yoghurts, are my vice. But at the same time I eat a large amount of fruit, and the thought of omiting FRUIT from my diet just seems insane! Fruit is healthy, full of vitamin C, a nice healthy snack!

I decided to do some more research, what sort of low carb diets pregnant women followed. Most include fruits. Phew! But still, even with fruit, this is a diet that is SUCH a drastic change I cannot imagine being able to stick to it, it would be a fad, something I saw as a quick-fix and then bam all the weight comes piling back as I revert back to my beloved bread, potatoes, pasta, sugar.

I think the secret is to not introduce an "all or nothing" diet straight away. And by diet I mean a diet of food that I plan to eat and enjoy, not a diet in the traditional sense of the word, Atkins diet, south beach diet (whatever that one is!), peanut butter diet, etc etc.

Having done some research, starchy carbs don't really contain any vitamins and minerals essential to nourish the body. Their purpose is to release energy in a certain way. Omitting just bread and potatoes from my diet will be tough at first but it still leaves me with plenty of options. I can still have pastas, rice and cereals. Breakfast will be easy, I love my cereals (although I will miss my toast with jam!). Lunch will be harder, I love to make a sandwich for lunch, quick and easy! Dinner will require some change too. No chips/mashed potato, no more jacket potatoes! But pasta, spag bol, shepherd's pie minus potato topping, curries with rice, salad as a side, all still available.

This change will prompt me into eating healthier I think. Salads for lunch, or maybe a soup. If I get a good repetoire of recipes under my belt (out come the old salads/soups recipe books!) I think the amount of vitamins and minerals going into my body will increase, I will be feeding myself and my baby better foods important for his/her growth and nourishment, and hopefully helping myself curb weight gain, and set in place good eating habits for the future to help me lose weight after the baby is born. I am not looking for a fad diet. I am looking for a diet that will see me eating better for life. I am going to try and avoid it taking over my life. When I have tried to lose weight in the past I have been obsessively stepping on the scales every day (or the wii fit as it makes me feel bad when I miss a day!) this time I can see myself stepping on maybe once a week, or once a fortnight, or hell, even once a month.

I am looking forward to seeing a change, and feeling changes within myself. Of getting down to a healthy weight range so I can feel more confident in myself and treat myself to nice clothes without worrying if they make me look even fatter than I already feel. I want to set a good example to my son and my other child who I will meet in October. I don't want to give him a food or weight complex, so I won't be weighing myself regularly and I won't be getting upset if I gain a lb or two from day to day.

This is something I feel very positively about. And more importantly, it's one step at a time.

Been a while

So it's been a while since I updated here. I've been trying for a baby since August, so in some respects I've been fairly distracted from losing weight, thinking maybe this month, then maybe the month after... so I've been hovering.

I found out I was pregnant at the end of January, with a baby due in October. I am doing my best not to eat whatever I feel like whenever I feel like it, using the pregnancy as an excuse for eating for 2 (when actually I should be eating for one-and-a-little-bit).

I am almost 10 weeks pregnant and so far I have not really gained any weight with this pregnancy. I've not been trying to lose weight per-se, just trying to eat sensible portions, and do 30 minutes of gentle exercise a day 5 days a week, to try and tone up, and hopefully, I will be the same weight I am now once the baby is born.

Combined with not eating junk for months after the baby is born, and breastfeeding, hopefully I will lose weight fairly steadily, and oh it would be lovely, if when this baby is 1 year old, for me to be down to 12 stone! I am currently 14 stone 2 lbs so that's 2 stone (hopefully, if I manage to only gain baby weight) in a year. In fact, 4 stone in a year might even be do-able, which would bring me down to my ideal weight, and I would be over the moon.

Oh, it looks great on paper, but I guess we'll see what the next 16 months bring!

Weight at 10 weeks pregnant: 14 stone 2 lb