2010 In Pictures...

Firstly my lovelies, I would like to say a huge thank you to every one who commented and congratulated me on my first year. As with the majority of people, I started this blog just as a bit of a place for my ramblings to come out and as a diary of sorts. It means a lot to me that you come and visit and comment on the nonsense that oozes from my being. As one of my favourite blogger's Bitch cakes would say, you are AWESOME!

Now my lovely readers, I thought that seen as you are all so fabulous and wonderful, that it was about time I fulfilled my many promises of pictures. So here are many of my ever changing face! I have put them in chronological order (where did I learn that word?!) so you can have a good old nosey!

Just starting out in January, I only know this due to it being the first ever pic on our new camera!

Looking very un-comfortable in Cardiff in April.

Posing whilst being the support crew for Mr B's friends on their mammoth walk.

With my sisters at Kheira's house warming in June.

With Mr B at the same house warming party.

Just about to start the race for life with Harriet at the end of June.

So far my favourite EVER picture of me in my lovely red dress that is now too big! You can just see my charm bracelet too...

In the gorgeous dress at the same wedding at at 3 stone gone at this point.

With Mr in Scarborough in October on the rescue mission to get the parents!

With Harriet in a bar in Scarborough on the same outing.

With my auntie Jayne at a family party at the end of October.

Outside Edinburgh Castle the day before my birthday this year :)

The end of 2010, Boxing day at Grandma's with my two baby sisters and 5 stone 4 lb lighter!

So there you have it boys and girls, most of my year in pictures! I hope everyone has a lovely time however they celebrate the new year. If I don't dream up another blog before then, have a enjoy what ever you do and see you next year!

Lex xxx

My First Anniversary!

Well, well, well boys and girls who'd have thought it. Today is the first anniversary of me starting WW, it only feels like a few weeks ago! Today I am going to share with you my picture that finally made me admit I needed to do something about my weight before it became a massive problem. So without further a do, here we are...

September 17th 2009

Here's another, it's a very rubbish pic of Mr B I'm afraid. This was taken in the glamorous location of Skegness...

July 2009

I both hate and love the first picture of me at the same time. I hate it due to the fact that I'm there in all my blubbery glory, not being able to do the big girl thing of hiding behind someone or something. I hate the fact that you can see my stomach bulging, and the way my chins are being squished into my neck. I tried to convince myself that my stomach was just my dress and that it was a really bad picture, but I finally accepted the fact that I needed to do something. That's why I also love this picture. It was the proverbial kick up the bum that made me start this journey and become the person that I am today. I also love it due to the fact that my Mummy is in it and my favourite auntie, Jayne who is actually that tall/little!

So sometime in the afternoon of the 28th of December 2009, I joined up to WW online with a starting weight of 18 stone 6 lb. I never would have believed I'd have lasted a whole year doing this, never mind wanting to continue doing it and even looking towards becoming a leader. Entire aspects of my life have changed including my appearance, attitude towards food, and my out look on life in general. Of course I'll still have blips, but on the whole I'm in a more positive place than I was this time last year. I no longer feel totally uncomfortable in social situations, no longer panic at meeting new people, I no longer worry what others think of me in regards to my weight and I feel more confident.

I'm not sure I have ever shared why I want to be a more healthy weight. Well here goes... I have a genetic disorder called Turner Syndrome which only affects girls (if you want to find out more: http://www.tss.org.uk/) and it affects, amongst other things, fertility. After finding out about Turner's when I was a teenager, my stubborn streak has taken over, and I am determined to be a mum some day. I would love to be able to conceive naturally, but may possibly need help through IVF. I know that if I hadn't started to lose weight, when it comes to possibly needing any help this would be the first thing the doctors would tell me. So in a way I'm getting a head start, plus it can only help my body if we don't need help with conceiving. I'm not saying I want a family right now, but I think getting my head round everything now and getting myself as healthy as I can is a step in the right direction.

It feels very odd writing all this down, a nice odd but still rather strange! So I am ending my first year on WW, and 2010 a size 14, and 5 stone 4 lbs lighter feeling very lucky to have all you lovely blog readers giving me encouragement and support whenever I need you. Thank you all... Bring on 2011!

Lex xxx

The Foods Of Christmas Past

This is going to be my first attempt at Christmas on WW as I'm sure I've already said at least once during my many ramblings, and I'm beginning to look forward to it properly now. My festivities are kicking off today with the lovely Mr B's birthday, who is yet to decide where he would like to go for his tea I might add! Thank you for party points WW!! Just need to keep a reign on them in case of mince pie related incidents...

A lot has changed in the last year, least of all my appearance but I will be doing a post on that next week. One of the big changes has obviously had to be my eating habits. Old Lex would eat for eating's sake until she was so stuffed it hurt or was so bloated that it was un comfy to wear anything tight fitting! There were seconds, and sometimes thirds at many a meal unless the plate was already groaning with the weight of what could feed a small army for a week.

This Christmas dinner is being cooked by yours truly, and just for Mr B and I too. So I only have to please us, which is fairly easy as long as there are no parsnips near his plate or evil evil garden peas near mine. There a very few temptations for me in our cupboards as we are essentially being fed by others throughout Christmas, which is making it so much more easy for me to point everything up and keep "old Lex" in check. I think I may almost be at the stage where I no longer eat because it's put in front of me or because something is just there and to be polite which is a very big deal is my little head!

Yesterday I sat and tried to remember what a typical Christmas day's food used to be like and it went something like this:

BREAKFAST ~ Selection box, or most of one plus two slices thick white toast and proper butter

CHOCOLATE

LUNCH ~ Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, seconds, lots of wine, pudding/s

CHOCOLATE

TEA ~ Nibbles, sandwiches, crisps, party food, cake, dips, more wine/alcohol of some sort

Just writing that down makes me feel more than a little bit ill, I might try and point it up just out of curiosity!

This year I am hoping for a cleaner, less stodge related Christmas. The two main obstacles in this plan being Mr B's parent's Christmas day tea time, and dinner at my grandma's on boxing day. The in-laws put on a proper "spread" as it were at any time of year never mind at Christmas so I need to keep a firm grip on "old Lex" seen as it really will be the food ghosts of Christmas past on that there dinning table. In saying that I'm not even sure my body could handle all the bread and pastry that will be there. Old Lex took over in York last Sunday and bought a sausage roll type jobbie with the sandwiches for lunch. I took one bite and swiftly gave it to Mr B who devoured the evidence! All I could taste was grease and it was VILE with a capitol V! Mr B seemed to enjoy it though...

Dinner at Grandma's should, in theory, be a little easier as Grandma is a veggie so I will be surrounded by lovely, filling, 0 pp food! Hurrah! I shall be making a few dozen of the WW friendly mince pies to accompany me on these jaunts so I know that if all else fails there's at least one sweet option that isn't too bad.

On that note bloggerinos I think I may wish you all a very very very merry Christmas! I hope you all have a lovely time what ever you get up to, and I hope Father Christmas remembers where you live!

Lex xxx

Is Honesty The Best Policy?

Hi everyone, hope you're all OK and haven't got frost bite or swine flu! I'm getting bored of the cold now, especially having to scrape the car before work as that eats into my first coffee of the day drinking time considerably!!

I have read a few blogs and posts on the WW website recently that were all to do with the subject of honesty with weight loss. Honesty with other people that is, not with yourself as that goes with out saying really. Now that I have lost a fair bit of weight, people are commenting on my appearance a lot more and are asking more and more questions. To be honest I'm not sure how to handle this! I answer the questions of how much have I lost and how long has it taken, but then comes the "how much more?" and "how much did you weigh?" parts. According to WW, for my height of 5' 5", I should have a couple more stones to go overall. If I tell the truth of how much further I have to go, people become shocked and outraged and tell me to stop. But they don't understand how far I have come in the past year and how many obstacles get thrown in our ways as we're trying to do our best on the long weight loss journey.

So far I have only told my true starting weight to a select few people, I only told Mr B my starting weight once I knew that I finally weighed less than him. How have you all handled it? I'd love to hear your views on when the truth should be told, or if it should be told at all!

Any way, on a lighter note I got mistaken for a new girl at work yesterday! A guy that came in to do some work had not been on site since February, and I've always chatted away to him but he was different with me yesterday. It wasn't until him and his mate were leaving that he realised it was me all along bless him. That's only mainly due to his mate telling me I looked stunning and have lost more since he last saw me a few months ago. It honestly made me grin from ear to ear for the rest of the day, and just now whilst I'm writing this too!

I had lunch with my WW leader Yong on Saturday which was great. Non stop chatting, nice food and lots of warming coffee made for a lovely few hours. We spoke about me becoming a leader once I reach goal, and she thinks I'd do well at it. Apparently she's looking for someone in our meetings to be the new starter clerk, and has asked if I'd be interested in doing that. Yong started off being a clerk, and she says it really helped her get to know what happens behind the scenes and get a greater knowledge for her becoming a leader. Fingers crossed for me!

Overall I didn't have a very active weekend, we did lots of walking around town and in York but so far I haven't managed to make it top the gym. The scary hill of doom down to it has not been gritted and I can't say I'm too keen on trying it! Off for a walk up to the hairdressers in a while though so there's a few extra activity points hehehehe...

Lex xxx

Winter Blues

Please forgive my lack of enthusiasm today boys and girls, I think the winter blues have well and truly set in in Lex land today.

WI was a success last night, I lost 2.5lbs so I am rather pleased with that! I didn't make it to the gym last night as I had a panic attack on the way home on the M1, not a great place for it to happen I can tell you, so I had jelly-like legs for a few hours afterwards! I am booked in for Zumba tomorrow night though, and I'm really looking forward to it too.

I made 2 dozen of the mince pies to take to my WW meeting last night and they were a huge hit with all the boys and girls! Yong, our leader, had 3!!!!! I managed to rescue myself one before they all went luckily. I'm meeting Yong on Saturday for a girly natter and some lunch, and I can't wait.

Well I'm afraid that nothing more exciting has been happening with me so far this week. Here are a couple of pictures of me seen as I don't think I've put any on for a while!

Lex xxx

Feeling Festive!

I am so glad to be back at work for a rest and some peace and quiet after a rather busy weekend! After lugging the furniture and Christmas tree around the front room on Friday night, we are all trimmed up and ready for Christmas! Bring on the festivities!!! How many activity PP do you reckon pushing and pulling a cabinet and a settee would have earned me....





This weekend has seen a gym trip, a sort of Christmas shopping trip, a family get together and the aforementioned trimming up. No wonder I feel worn out today!!





Zumba was AMAZING! I am hoping to make it a regular feature in my week, and I'm definitely going back this Friday for a wiggle, jiggle and a giggle at myself! I really didn't realise how un-coordinated I am until I was stuck in front of the mirror with the other ladies for that hour. It was so much fun, and every one's in the same boat and just having a laugh and enjoying it with the hip shaking and sticking out of the bum!





I met up in Sheffield with my best friend Sally on Saturday, for what was supposed to be some shopping. We ended up pottering around not buying much apart from coffee and putting the world to rights. We also managed to rack up a fair few activity pp between us too! Sal has now lost a stone and a half on WW and is loving it as much as me, we wore our pedometers with pride on Saturday!





I also had a major breakthrough this week, and avoided a mince pie related disaster. I LOVE mince pies, and this being my first encounter with Christmas since starting WW I knew I had to either go "cold Turkey" (how very apt...) or try something new. Having narrowly avoided the pies on Friday at work (I swear I could hear them calling me!), I turned to the fountain of knowledge, the WW website. I found a recipe on there for some mince pies made in filo pastry that only come out as 1 pp each!! How fantastic is that!!! I made some yesterday, and they have gone down a storm with my Dad, Mr B's Dad and his Mum too. So I have been to the shops and stocked up on more supplies for more batches over the next few weeks. I shall definitely be taking some to my WW meeting on Wednesday.





Here is the recipe for those of you who aren't an online member, I only made a dozen though as a trial. I also folded the tops over to make them look more pie like, but that's just because I don't like things too crunchy!

Mince Pies

ProPoints® Value: 1
Servings: 36

Preparation Time: 5

minCooking Time: 15

minLevel of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
300 g Pastry, Filo, Raw, packet, thawed if frozen
5 spray(s) Cooking Spray, Calorie Controlled
350 g Mincemeat
4 teaspoons Sugar, Icing (level)


Instructions
Preheat oven to Gas Mark 6/200°C/400°F.
Unfold filo pastry and use half of it to line 36 patty tins, layering 4 small squares of pastry into each patty tin, and misting each layer of pastry with a little spray cooking oil.
Place 1 teaspoonful of mincemeat into each pastry case. Top with pieces of the remaining filo pastry, scrunched up into folds. Mist each one with spray cooking oil.
Bake for about 8-10 minutes until golden brown.
Serve warm, dusted with icing sugar.

Lex xxx

Thrice Weekly...

No you rude minded readers, nothing to do with rudy things! Please drag your mind's from the gutters! My three things are to do with changes I have made this week.

Firstly, I have finally managed to get in three gym visits! Hooraah! Well it'll be three after tonight's jaunt anyway. This has taken military planning given the weather and that the roads are still pappy everywhere. Our gym is at the bottom of a hill of doom that I fear my car may not survive in the ice, hence the lack of visits since before we went to Edinburgh.

So I went for my usual workout on Tuesday night, a swim on Wednesday in my new smaller costume (not sure I like swimming in a halter neck though...), and tonight ladies and gentlemen, drum roll please....I shall be losing my ZUMBA virginity! I can't wait, I've heard so many great things about the classes and I have finally plucked up enough courage to go to a class. Have any of you Zumba'd before?? How did you point the activity on the tracker??

This leads me nicely into my other three things. I have set myself the challenge of doing three things differently or trying something different, this was brewing in the back of my mind any way but was even more backed up by the fact that this has started appearing in the front of the "Your Week" mags from the meetings.

I have been wanting to try different fruit and veg to what we usually get in our shopping, and I was struggling to find a way to sneak in something that Mr B would also eat so it wouldn't go to waste. I was struck by a stroke of genius in the fruit aisle in my local Tesco on Monday, he doesn't like fruit so why not just try fruit for a while. After all, it's now 0 pp so unless I consume a full fruit bowl a day I should be ok. I have no idea how they got to Barnsley, but I found Persimmon fruit! I have read a few blogs about this fruit and have tried for a while to get hold of some and finally succeeded. It's quite difficult to describe to taste, I suppose its got an apple like skin on it, with a sort of peach/apricot type fleshy flesh. Sorry for such a rubbish description! I also picked up a pomelo fruit, I am yet to eat this but apparently its a bit like a grapefruit, only the outside is green... Here is a pic of the persimmons

My second thing is to try new recipes that we haven't eaten before as we've found a few favourites and they keep making an appearance on a very regular basis. So far we have had a very yummy chicken and bacon casserole and a peppery meat loaf. I thing both of these will be making another appearance!

My third new thing is the Zumba class at the gym. I have been on about booking into a class for ages now, and I finally feel I have enough confidence to go out and do it. I hope I'll meet and get to know some new people in doing this, as all my friends live a long way from me now which sucks! I think it's been the confidence and lack of self belief that's held me back from going before, I'm happy to say that even though I still have MAJOR up and down days, I think my mind is catching up with my weight loss. Bonus!

On about weight loss, WI went well this week. I have lost the 1.5 lb that I gained before we went away, plus the same again so I'm now at 5 stone 1.5lb gone. I'm very chuffed with that, that takes me to 4.5 lb gone in the 4 weeks that Propoints has been in action.

Right I will now stop rambling and go and do some work, major H&S inspections and audits today so my boss's stress levels are through the roof bless him!

One more thing before I go though, I want to send Linz lots of love and hugs and I hope that she hears something soon to put her mind at rest. We're all thinking of you lovely :)

Lex xxx

I Have Returned Older and Colder

I'm still here honestly! I am returning to blog land a year older, no wiser, and a lot lot colder!I've been up to my eye balls in snow, quite literally (as I'm sure most people have!) as I'm so clumsy... I'm rather fed up of the snow and would quite like it to go away now please!

First things first though, my surprise weekend was to EDINBURGH!!!! AWESOME!!! It's some where I've wanted to go for a very long time, we visited when I was a lot younger but all I could remember were the hills, parts of the castle, and staring at a lady's rather strange walking boot type things.

Mr B had apparently had it booked for months and months, so much so that we travelled first class there and back on the train! This was a totally new experience for me, and I certainly won't complain if it ever happens again hehehehe. I was going out of my mind trying to guess where we were going to, as I was convinced we were going by train (which eventually proved right), but we firstly travelled to York station, which threw me off course as it's on the main line and you can get to most places! I spotted the Edinburgh train and asked if we were going there, and the reply I got was we were on that train but only for an hour then we had two more connections!!!! Grrrrrr! Obviously I then was wracking my brains, were we off to Northumberland? Where could we get to from Durham? He came clean once we were well on our way bless him. He can be such a lovely softie at times.

The hotel was gorgeous, and was very close to the city centre so I earned many activity propoints with all the sight seeing and doing touristy type things! Another bonus was the rank sausages for breakfast. Now I know this may not sound like a good thing to most people, but given the choice for a cooked breakfast I tend to pick sausages, this trip being no exception to the rule as the bacon was too pale for my liking. I tried both the beef and the pork and leek and turned my nose up at both. My how times have changed. The old Lex would have soldiered on with the least foul tasting of the two and maybe have gone back for more just to check. So given the circumstances I filled up on scrambled egg, beans and tomatoes and loads of 0 pp fruit, yummy yummy in my tummy! What a difference a year makes!

Whilst we were away, I cured my fascination with the famed Starbucks Gingerbread Latte. I have wanted to try one for ages, so I did and I'm sorry to say it was vile. I was so looking forward to it too as it combines two of my favourite things, coffee and gingerbread! I'm feeling slightly upset that it was nasty as it was my birthday treat to myself, but I think I will have to try their other festive creations as I feel I'm missing out! Slightly side tracked, but I can't believe the amount of Starbucks and other similar coffee establishments there are around Edinburgh. It's seriously crazy, for example there was one on the corner of the next street from our hotel, then a costa bar inside the hotel, an independent coffee place on the other corner and then a Starbucks just outside Haymarket station! I think coffee culture may have gone mad, although I like it very much!

One great advantage of being in the gorgeous city that weekend was that it is St Andrew's day the day after my birthday, and given that he is Scotland's patron saint, Edinburgh were celebrating by making major tourist attractions such as the castle free for the whole weekend!Bonus! We took great advantage of everything and became one of those annoying tourists all weekend.

The only downside was the snow, and the fact that we didn't know what the snow was doing at home! But we were some of the lucky one's who's train wasn't cancelled, but we did have to dig the car out at York station!

So due to the stupid snow, I couldn't get to a WW meeting at all. We couldn't get either car out so we gave up and had the rest of the week as snow days. This is the first time I have ever done this but there was no other choice and the guilt soon wore off after a treat of a glass of wine ...

I did weigh myself at home and I appeared to have lost the 1.5 lb that I gained but Wednesday will be the day of reckoning and I can see if I've managed to keep on track!

I will download pictures from the weekend soon :)

Lex xxx

Quest Complete!

The quest for popping corn has now been successfully completed! Thanks for suggesting Tesco Seren, but I managed to find some on my little jaunt into town after work yesterday afternoon. It was only £1.60 (I think) for a rather large bag full from Holland and Barrett.I didn't think was too bad compared to many of their prices. However with the lack of an awesome pink popcorn maker (unlike S!), I am yet to get the energy to pull a pan out of the cupboard of doom...

I've been feeling a bit under the weather the past few days, just very very lethargic. I'm sure it's just something to do with the evil coldness that has descended on us all over the country, I refuse to be poorly for my days off! I'm sure another session in the gym will either be "kill or cure" tonight. I'm sure I'm turning old as I was in bed, ASLEEP, before 10 last night! What on earth is happening to me!

After today I'm not back in work until next Wednesday and I can't wait! I have a lovely cafe visiting day planned for tomorrow with Mum. I think we're off to Blackerhall cafe which is at their farm shop just outside Wakefield and is well worth a visit. Everything is gorgeous and probably not very WW friendly, although now that PP are here....

Here is the inside of the cafe, it doesn't do it justice as it's set inside a barn with all the beams exposed. Oh and for the girlies among us, the toilets are very nice too!

I also need to get organised and pack for my super surprise birthday weekend that Mr B has organised. I have no idea at all what is happening or where we're going, all I know is that we go on Friday morning and come back on my Birthday (Monday)!!!! It's all very exciting!!!!

I shall let you know what the scales of destiny read at my second WI on the new plan. I have been able to be my usual organised self this week regarding meal planning etc so we shall see tonight!

Lex xxx

Work Once More

It's the start of the working week once more boys and girls, I hope you all had lovely weekends. I'm sure I blinked and missed mine though!

Ross Noble in Salford was amazing on Friday night, I thought my sides might actually split and my ears are still aching from laughing too much! We had an unexpected surprise of seeing one of my oldest friends and her fiance there too. It was fantastic to see her and to admire her engagement ring that is bloody gorgeous! We've not managed to meet up since February so my appearance was a bit of a shock to her to say the least, the last time we met up I was just starting the long and winding road of WW and had just lost my first stone so 4 stone and 4 dress sizes must be a bit of a shock to her!!

We had a quick wander around the Imperial war museum on Saturday morning as Harriet wanted a look (she's doing GCSE History) and it was free! I'm not into the history of war by any stretch of the imagination but even I found it interesting, I'd certainly recommend it to anyone as it's not just the first and second world wars, but every conflict since the first world war. Oh and the cafe is rather nice too...

Saturday night was Harry Potter night! Mr B and I love the books and the films, as does Harriet, so Mr B booked us tickets for a late night showing. It wasn't as packed as I thought it would be, but that's probably just the time that we picked. I thought it was fantastic, really dark and eerie just like the book. I think Harriet has at least three more trips to see it planned with various different friends!

Even though we were away, and I had ice cream in the interval at Ross Noble, plus a full English breakfast on Saturday morning, I only dipped into "Party Points" by 5! Not bad going me thinks! I even found some butterkist "light" popcorn when we called at the shop for cinema supplies, the small bag (50g I think) works out as 4 pp and I don't think I could have eaten any more than what was in that bag. I tried to find a bag of popping corn so I could make myself a portion and know exactly how much there was etc but I couldn't find any! Any clues as to where I could get some?? Please??

My friend Sally is coming round tonight for tea. She has been doing WW for a little while now and has so far lost 19 lb! She's doing fantastic at it and is also loving the propoints. I have promised to cook a ww friendly tea later which is going to be "Sausage, apple and red onion casserole" It looks rather yummy and has potatoes in it too. For 10 pp, plus some 0 pp brocoli I'm hoping it will be nice and filling too. I'll let you know what it's like...

Lex xxx

Holy Crap!!!!

Where the frick did that come from last night??!! I am shocked, neigh stunned, at the news the scales of doom showed last night. Even for all my moaning about bloaty-ness and water retention, I still managed to lose 1.5 lb! AWESOME!

So as some of you may now be aware, by losing that 1.5 lb this week I have reached my very own mini goal. Yes my lovelies, I am now 5 whole stone lighter!!!! FIVE STONES!!!!!! It really has not sunk in yet at all. In my head I still look like I did when I first started, even though I know I don't at all.

I stepped onto the scales with a distinct sense of "oh well" and a mental note to try harder next week. So when they showed the magical number I couldn't believe my eyeballs! The poor cover leader Lisa kept asking me if I was OK as I went into some sort of stunned silence and kept asking her if she was sure that's what I now weighed. I then explained that that took me to 5 stone gone, and I then had to tell her how I started online and have only been going to meetings since the end of June. Once the meeting got under way she then encouraged me to tell the others what happened at the scales, and they all clapped and cheered bless them. I'm not ashamed to admit that I welled up more than a little bit too!

Today is the day of the stupid shift. A nice 13 hour stretch at work worse luck. I'm half way through now though, not sure what I can find to do for the rest of the time as there's not many people around at all today, it's all rather odd.

I'm beginning to put my faith in the new propoints system, and have tracked everything for today and still had 6 pp to spare. So I indulged in a slice of cake from the sandwich van at lunch time. It felt rather naughty to be eating "proper" cake that was all accounted for, even if I did get a massive sugar rush from it!

Tomorrow night is the Ross Noble gig at the Lowry in Manchester, and I can't wait! Nor can Harriet and Mr B for that matter, lets just hope we don't forget the tickets!!

Lex xxx

First Week Done...

Well it's come round so fast, but today is the first of my WI's on the new plan. As I said in my last post, my body feels like it's against me this week so I'm not holding out much hope.

Like some of the other girls, I feel like I have over indulged this week and I have struggled to get my head round the fact that some tried and trusted foods are now higher in value than before. Throw into the mix the fact that my "ladies things" have arrived unannounced and with more water retention than usual, I think I may not be onto a good thing tonight!!! But, I am still going to the meeting and facing whatever the scale gremlins are chucking at me.

So that's my moan for today over and done with! I'm at the gym tonight, but can't get there Friday as we're off gallivanting again. I'm trying to get back to going three times a week, but seen as it's coming up to many birthdays and random celebrations, it's going to be a struggle. I shall keep aiming though and if I get there twice it'll be good, three times will be awesome.

The treadmills at the gym have been changed so they now operate in miles per hour rather than kilometres. This is all well and good but I had just got used to the speeds that I liked to run at!! Some how I managed to miss all the random notices about the change dotted around the gym, and instead convinced myself that my legs were just tired that day!

I shall let you know how I go on tonight...

Lex xxx

Back To Work

It's my first day back in the office after a wonderful week off, and it's been a huge shock to the system! It's strange just how quickly you manage to forget what it feels like to get up at stupid o'clock in the morning and have to scrape the car...

I hope you all had a lovely weekend. Grandma's visit was lovely and Jason Manford didn't disappoint! My face hurt from laughing so much!

I really struggled with making wise choices with food though. I had a chicken salad for lunch, lots of fruit and then a sandwich and a sausage roll before Jason Manford, and crumpets when I got in! I thought I'd got my head round the fact that I'm not going to starve or waste away if I don't eat. But obviously Saturday was a nice little blip in things to keep me on my toes! I'm sure I could have gone without the sausage roll or the crumpets, the sausage roll especially as it tasted foul, but old habits die hard as I still ate it all! I think once I start learning what propoints some of my more regular food choices are it should get a little easier.

My parents treat us to a yummy curry last night too. Dad said it was danger money/curry for us taking Harriet to Manchester next weekend and for having her when they're away for their wedding anniversary. It was scrummy non the less, and I pointed everything and still only dipped into the weekly allowance points (or party points as I like to call them!) by 3, so not bad going at all for a very delicious meal.

This week is going to be a bit tricky planning wise too unfortunately. I have to contend with crazy shift patterns, unplanned overtime and a trip to Manchester to see the comedian Ross Noble next Friday. So I haven't been able to sit down and plan to my hearts content as I have got into the habit of doing, which has knocked me back slightly but I'm never too far away from my new eating out guide and new little blue folder! Thank heavens for the freezer and it's left overs!

In spite of the lack of pre-planning this week, I did delve into the depths of the freezer yesterday armed with a permanent marker and my new propoints calculator in the hope of totting up the new values of some of the bits that I have stored away such as fishcakes etc. It was well worth the tens minutes of freezing to sort my head out a bit more.

I'm a bit dubious about the first WI of the new plan on Wednesday. With how my body is, it'll either be a slight loss or a massive gain until it settles into the new routine.

How is everyone else getting on with it all?

Lex xxx

Day Two and All Is Well

Well hello there my lovelies, how has your week gone? I have now had two full days on the new Propoints system and am slowly starting to get my head round it all! How is everyone else finding it all??

The WI results this week showed a 2 lb loss which I am very chuffed with thank you very much, just 15 lb more to the 5 stone mark! Lets see what this week holds! I have never seen as many WW members all in one room at the same time as there were on Wednesday night, we had to get more chairs out!! Everyone sat and listened intently and I think most of us have got a rough idea of what we need to be doing to get started...

So far I haven't been able to plan any meals in advance except for my porridge for breakfast due to my holiday days that have been full to bursting and keeping my nice and busy. I have worked out (as has the lovely Linz) that the Aldi porridge I like is now 5 propoints, rather than the 2.5 in old money. Now as this is all relatively new I'm not sure how to split up my 30 point daily allowance as of yet so this morning I got all creative with 30g of porridge oats, some water and topped with an apple that I cooked down in a drop of water with loads of cinnamon. It was rather yummy and only works out at propoints.

The thought of planning my evening meals in advance like I did before is slightly worrying me. I need to sit down and make the time over the weekend and enter some of my favourites into the recipe builder on the website and get the propoints updated, I'm sure once I get started with it it won't take too long (famous last words.....).

My week off is finishing on a high with a visit from my Grandma and auntie in the morning, possibly the in laws too, and then a night out in Manchester to see Jason Manford. I'm very very excited and giddy!

Now seen as there's no excuse any more, here are a few more pictures for your perusal, these are from June this year I think...

Lex xxx

It's Started...

How is every one finding the propoints?? I've had a quick go on the website but it's my meeting tonight so I shall get all the info I can tonight. I logged on this morning for the first time since it all changed, and I think that if I adopt the attitude that I'm starting a fresh I should be ok... Will those be famous last words??

I have finally got my pictures uploaded onto my laptop! Hurrah! Here are a few I have found from April when we were in Cardiff for a few days, I cannot believe how much my face has changed!

I shall report back tomorrow with my WI results and my thoughts on propoints! Have a great day every one.

Lex xxx

Counting Down...

Well my lovely bloggettes, as of WI last night I lost 2.5 lbs which definitely makes up for the slight gain I had last week. My weight at the moment is now 13 stone 9.5 lbs, and I'm feeling pretty chuffed with my little self about that. I am now on the count down to the new plan, Wednesday is D-day for our meeting!

I set my self the little mini challenge of being at 5 stone gone for the one year anniversary of me starting, but I changed that to being at 5 stone gone for the end of the month. So with 3 more weigh in's before my Birthday and the end of November, I hope I can shift that annoying 3.5 lbs! Please can everyone cross their fingers and toes for me?!

Last night's meeting was all about change, and Yong was hinting BIG time at what's going to happen with the new propoints plan. I'm very undecided about all the change at the moment. I'm sure once I get into the hang of it I'll be fine, it'll be just like starting all over again as a new member I reckon. On one hand I like the thought of it, whilst on the other I'm thinking that I've spent time and money getting to where I am with my weight loss. It's hopefully the kick up the bum I need to make me concentrate rather than becoming complacent. How's every one else feeling about it?

Lex xxx

The Second Of November

The 2nd of November marks a day that will be ingrained in my memory forever as the day that cancer took my Grandad 8 years ago. He had his faults, and he could be a mardy bugger, but he was only human and he was MY Grandad. He had a wicked sense of humour and loved to wind us grand kids up by watching cricket whilst other more entertaining things were on. He liked to drink tea, and John Smiths, and ate cold baked bean sandwiches, and he was MY Grandad.

I have always believed that there is something else after we leave this earth, I have no idea what but I have always felt that way. I wouldn't say I'm psychic or anything but I guess I can pick up on little things as most people can. Such as I can feel that there's "someone" in and around my desk most of the time, and I knew the precise moment that both of my Grandad's died, but yesterday had to be the strangest day for a while!

I was on lates/afters yesterday so I managed to have the morning to myself for a change. I had to run errands in town, and get something sorted for my tea etc. Whilst i was pottering in the kitchen I had radio two on, and there was a lovely lady vicar on the show saying that the 2nd of November is all souls day and is the day that we should remember all those that we have loved and lost. How very fitting. As the day progressed I saw two blokes that looked like my Grandad, and even walked like him! Then every shop that I went into had some sort of music / song that he liked on, I mean who plays Bonnie Tyler really!! I then went into Boots and saw the cricketer Dickie Bird, who spoke to me and asked how I was. He was one of Grandad's favourites! Then to top it all off on the way into work, the radio had on another of his favourite tracks.

All such strange things that are probably a coincidence but certainly made me crack a smile...

Sorry for this post boys and girls but I felt the need, normal service shall be resumed shortly I promise. Plus there's the threat of tonight's WI on the horizon!!

Lex xxx

To The Rescue....

Merry Monday everyone, hope you all had a great weekend. Mine didn't go to plan but turned out good in the end! That's got to be a bonus!

The rich beef cobbler that I made the other night turned out to be very very yummy, as did the lasagne I made from a WW recipe on Friday night. I even managed to make the white sauce non-lumpy after a failed first attempt. Sometimes my stubbornness comes in handy!

Mr B and I had planned a trip to Scarborough for Saturday, and we were going to meet up with my parent's and youngest sis as they were due to come home on Saturday from a week in sunny Flamborough. All was going to plan until I had a missed call when I was in the gym on Friday afternoon...

Dad's car well and truly died! He turned a corner, the crank shaft snapped and has blown a hole straight through the engine! Oooooops! They got recovered back to the chalet and were then due to be towed home on Saturday morning. So after many random jumbled up conversations, it was decided that Mr B and I would go to the chalet, collect some of there stuff and then go on our merry way to Scarborough. Lex and Martin to the rescue!!!

We got up at stupid o'clock, were on the road for 7 am and with them for just after 9, all with a wee / coffee stop en-route! Not too bad at all!! Harriet then tagged along with Mr B and I for the rest of the day and stayed at ours. She must have eaten far too many ice creams this week though as we said she could anything at all that she wanted, and she just had a 99!! Strange child! I thoroughly enjoyed my sundae and I pointed it all up too. I was rather accountable!

We met up with some friends for a curry Sunday night. It tasted sooooooooo good! We're both curry monsters so since I've started WW I try to make my own, but it's just not the same as it being cooked for you. It was a real treat and I only went over points by 1.5 due to the hot chocolate I'd had whilst we were in town.

I put my planning head on yesterday and have planned as many meals as I can for this week. It doesn't help that I'm on another odd shift again tomorrow, so that's thrown a huge spanner in the works! Tonight is Turkey and mushroom stroganoff, I hope mine looks like the picture as it looks yummy!

Hope every one has a great start to the week,

Lex xxx

Health and Safety Overload!

I have returned and am proud to say that I have survived the health and safety course and an over night stay with moaning colleagues! Wooo hoo! I have to say that it was the same course as last year and just as "interesting" as it was once more geared towards the construction industry. I did come into my own in some areas though so I was feeling slightly smug for a fraction of yesterday. The picture above is of the notes I made on the first day, as you can see at one point in the afternoon my mind wandered and I started adding up how many points I had had so far and had got left for the evening meal... Exciting times! The glass of wine I had with tea was lovely and extremely well deserved. I even managed to earn 2 activity points on my pedometer, as Caroline and I needed some fresh air after the course and went exploring.

I did find the whole thing a struggle as I expected I would. The food choices that were on offer were not fantastic for someone trying to track their points! I remembered from last year that its a full cooked buffet lunch, so I had a fish cake on the first day and a piece of Salmon on the second both accompanied by salad and veg, I even sat all virtuous with my satsumas for pudding whilst everyone else was tucking into amazing looking puddings. It was hard not to revert back to my old habits, especially when I saw the chocolate torte type thing that was on offer. Both lunches were delicious but at home I try and eat lighter at lunchtime and have something bigger for my tea, which wasn't great yesterday with it being the dreaded WI day.

The lack of water available for me to guzzle was a tad rubbish too! There were some large bottles of water on the tables but for some one who can drink loads without thinking about it, there wasn't enough!

So that leads me nicely in to last night's WI result. I had a gain of 1.5 lbs. I'm not surprised and certainly not shocked by this due to the lessened control I had over the two days leading up to it. In all honesty I thought I was going to have a much larger gain than that so I am gratefull that there's less to aim to shift for next week. Even with this gain, I'm still over my four and a half stone mark which is the thought that is keeping me going. My own mini goal is to be at 5 stone gone by my birthday at the end of November...

My WW leader, Yong, last night was teasing us by not letting anything slip about the secret new changes to the plan. Does anyone have any inside info that they're willing to share?! She did however tease me by asking me if I eat a lot of fruit and then winking at me!!! How very mean!!

All my organising skills are coming into their own with the meal planning. Tonight's tea is a, dare I say it... Slimming World recipe that I have adapted and pointed up. I have to admit it was the Herby horseradish dumplings that attracted me and made me buy the magazine! So its rich beef cobbler with herb and horseradish dumplings tonight and lasagne with pork mince for tea tomorrow. Yummy yummy in my tummy, at least I hope so!

Hope everyone is having a great week, I've had fun sat drinking my coffee and catching up an every one's posts.

Lex xxx

Damage Limitation

Bonjour my lovelies, I hope you all had a lovely weekend and you've managed to get warm at some point today! The sun is now taunting me by being out and lovely, but I know how cold it is out there!! Stupid northern weather and it's stupid frostiness! Although the plus point was that my lovely hat that Mum made for me kept my ears toasty.

Well the lurgie has returned with a vengeance, thus giving me a gravelly voice and a cough any smoker of around 100 a day would be proud of. Does coughing count towards earning activity points? It's certainly making me ache like I've been doing some sort of sit up all night long! It probably has something to do with lack of sleep and spending Saturday afternoon sat in a draught in a freezing restaurant...

Saturday was Kheira and my adventure to meet up with some family for our auntie's 50th. Mum and Dad are "accidentally" away this week so it was left to us two to go nosey, I er mean enjoy ourselves. The venue of my Auntie's 50th bash was changed at the last minute, so I went from knowing what I was having at the planned Italian meal to facing the challenge of eating in a place where I used to love their burgers and curly fries. Torture is not the word!

Kheira and I glammed up ready for the celebrations only to be faced with the prospect of spending the afternoon freezing in the restaurant with some of our least favourite people. It turned out not too bad to be honest. The food was rubbish which meant that I didn't go over points, and there was plenty of conversation so we stopped noticing how cold we all were!

Most of the people that were there haven't seen me since maybe new year time, so it was a massive shock to them to see me looking so different. My uncle who's a typical blokey bloke even told me I looked stunning which meant a lot to me I can tell you.

Mr B and I had a nice relaxing day on Sunday. It was lovely for it just to be us two rather than us visiting or people visiting us. We walked up into town so I could collect my snazzy new specs and then enjoyed lunch in a gorgeous coffee shop that we have found all tucked away. I will post some pics of my glasses on here but I am paler than a pale thing on a pale day today, even more so than usual. It also doesn't help that my rudolph-esque sore nose is being highlighted by the red top I am wearing!

This weekend has mainly been about damage limitation. What with the meal out on Saturday, and me on a two day health and safety course on Tuesday with an over night stay in a hotel, I won't be able to control as many things as I would like to be able to. I went to the gym on Friday before my shift started and I'm hopefully going straight from work tonight, plus I have racked up activity points with all the walking this weekend, but I'm starting to fret that it might not have been enough for even a STS never mind a loss. I have pointed religiously and nothing has passed my lips that has not been written down, but the slight niggly feeling that arrives on the morning of WI day has arrived two days early! I'm not a fan of this! I know that it's only for this week, and I can get back on track on Wednesday night, and I also know that I have done all I can before hand to try and counteract the daft things like maybe not being able to drink enough water during the course.

I'm sure all will be fine, but I am a born worrier! So I shall be giving myself a mental slap and carrying on with all the good work. I shall now concentrate on worrying about having to spend two full days on this course with work mates that I am less than enthusiastic about...

Lex xxx

Sausages and Saucy Specs...

Firstly, I would like to make a quick apology for my apparent mardy-ness on my previous post. Fingers crossed I'm feeling much better and in a far better mood. There have even been reports of me smiling today....

The down side to the lurgie is that Mr B has now decided that he has it! I swear I can't be ill without him trying to copy! I had the dreaded swine flu last year, and his boss made him work from home just in case he caught it an spread it at work. He did not. He was at home annoying me. I'm sure he'd have period pains if he could get away with it!

Anyway, that's by the by. As of the dreaded weigh in last night I was down 3.5 lbs! I have no idea how that happened. The only thing I have done differently is upped my running. I have now cracked the four and a half stone mark and am also now into the 13's. This is all great but I am now down a point!!

This week is a bit of an odd one as I am working lates today and Friday, which messes up any sense of normality and routine that I like to have. The old version of me used to sit scoffing crap from the vending machine all night, especially when I had to work nights. But thankfully those days are no more! I have put some severe planning into meals this week to try and hold off any slip ups that might try and tempt me. So last night I made a cottage pie ready for tonight's tea and a recipe that I have adapted from Slimming world called "speedy bangers and beans". Both have been very very filling and have stopped me wanting anything else. The sausages are gorgeous and so so tasty without having to do to much messing around! I also replaced mashed potato on top of the cottage pie for carrot and swede mash with a little flora light in and I have to say I am surprised at how much I enjoyed it. There's even some of each left for dinners/teas for tomorrow or for Mr freezer to hold onto for another day.

I also had my eyes tested this morning as they have been aching a bit and I get a bit paranoid about things like that. I have worn glasses for reading and being on the computer for years now and I'm chuffed to say that they haven't changed too much. That's all well and good but one of the pairs I already have are now stupidly wide for my face!!! I didn't even think that was possible!! So I had to pick some new frames, what a shame!! I adore anything retro/vintage and was hoping to get some in that kind of style but no such luck in Specsavers! I will post pics once I've collected them.

I am here until 11 pm tonight and I'm feeling every minute of it. At least I can use the time to catch up on reading your lovely blogs.

Lex xxx

Mardy Poorly Lex

Dear Lex's Lurgie,

Please can you go away now, I quite like having my voice thank you very much. I especially like being able to have soup without it hurting to swallow and being able to concentrate on anything apart from earache...

You are making me extremely ratty and bad company today which is making me have a face like thunder, not great for being at work I can tell you!

I am bored of you lurgie, please leave me alone.

Yours Sincerely,

Mardy Poorly Lex
xxx

Fruity Porridge = Nom!

Here is my latest yummy find that I blogged about yesterday. In the words of Harriet and Mr B, NOM!!! Although they are usually speaking about curries or other awesome food stuff...

It says to make it with milk or water, so I tried it with water for the first time ever and was pleasantly surprised.

I'm feeling a bit off it and washed out today, my throat is hurting and so are my ears. Fingers crossed it's not the dreaded lurgie that's spreading like wild fire around here. I'm sure I'll feel better after my soup at lunch time.

I'm planning on keeping to my three gym visits a week that I've managed to get over the past few weeks, as I know next week I will struggle. I went last night and have now increased the amount of time I am running for. I can now do 1 minute 30 without stopping! Getting rather proud of myself.

It's WI day tomorrow, and if I have a loss then I will be losing a point. I've been attempting to save one a day this week just get into the habit a little early, but with all the partying at the weekend it was a little difficult. A short sharp shock might be good for me, you never know!

Lets see what the scales have in store....

Lex xxx