ReSet 2017 - Day 6

So today was the beginning of the first weekend following ReSet. I wasn't sure how it was going to go as the hubby was working, I was having one of my couches cleaned, my son needed to get to football and I needed to finish off some birthday shopping for my eldest daughter tomorrow.  This meant having to be out of the house most of the day.

For breakfast I made myself some scrambled egg, peppers and spinach (with a small added amount of  cajun spice). Believe it or not, but I had never made scrambled egg before in my life as I never liked it when I was given it as a child.  So this was a new thing for me, I think it turned out ok.  It was quite yummy, although the guy cleaning my suite at the time was looking at it a bit strangely (Think he thought, "Peppers for breakfast?")

So before having my shower prior to going shopping, I decided to do a home workout.  We had been given a Tabata workout to do, but I wanted to actually follow someone as had never done something like this before.  So I done THIS workout, it was tough and sweaty, but I couldn't believe how quickly it was over.  I liked the variety of upper and lower body work and I stretched my spine in a way that I haven't done in years. I did need to use an inhaler afterwards though, just so I could breathe a bit more easily, lol!! I'm not asthmatic, but I seem to get a virus in the winter and the inhaler helps me breathe better, definitely after exercising.

I actually didn't manage to have lunch today and there was a hiccup with dinner.  In a nutshell, my food shopping was due to be delivered this afternoon, but I received a message to say there had been a system problem and my order was cancelled.  I was compensated for the inconvenience, but it meant having to go to the shops rather late in the day and I couldn't even remember what was planned for dinner. 

So we ended up having steamed smoked cod fillet, homemade potato wedges with a selection of green vegetables (brussel sprouts, whole green beans and green cabbage medley).  I did take a picture, but I have no idea where it has gone on my phone and like the rest of my day, nothing has really gone to plan.  Take my word for it though, it was delicious! I'm not sure if it was allowed, but by the time I got home, a McDonalds could easily have been on the menu, so its all gooooooood :-) 

I am all tucked up on my cosy couch, cuddling the box of tissues, hoping this cold doesn't linger for long and sipping on my water.

P.S.  I had 2 big achievements today. First, I shopped in Cadbury's and Thorntons stores today and wasn't tempted by the goodies around me, and secondly, I shopped on an empty stomach and stuck to the list! Booya!! These are big, personal NSV's!

ReSet 2017 - Day 5

I woke up this morning and I was feeling ravenous!! The feeling has not left me through most of the day. For breakfast we had a yummy strawberry and oat smoothie, made with coconut milk. (Mum if you are reading this, this is the first time I have liked anything with coconut milk in it. I know you love it!)

For lunch I had some left over soup from yesterday, which was filling, but very quickly I became hungry again.  I have been having my snack in the evening, but today I pinched a satsuma from a colleague at work (cheers Charly!) which filled a gap until I came home to the lovely, scrummy, yummy chicken burritos loaded with vegetables.

I fear for the rest of the evening, not gonna lie!  I have a snack pack of nuts on standby for if (read WHEN) I get hungry later. I usually feel like this when Aunt Flo is visiting, so its nothing new, but normally I will literally stuff my face.  Tonight, I need to remain strong and will probably do a YouTube kettlebells or zumba workout to distract me and make me drink more water. 

This weekend is going to be tough, particularly because we have a birthday.  Keeping busy will be the key (and maybe a zip on my lips too for added security!) 

Wish me luck guys, wish me luck!! See you on the other side!

ReSet 2017 - Day 4

WHAT. A. DAY!

This morning we had some snow, not a huge amount, but enough to throw me off my routine. My lovely hubby had set out the peppers and spinach to go with scrambled egg, but with having to clear the car of snow and leave a little earlier to get to work on time, I just didn't have enough time for my planned breakfast, so it was (hot) porridge and a banana instead. 

During the morning rush, one of my children was having a bit of a strop because he couldn't find his gloves and complaining he would be cold in the playground.  Normally, I would have blown from 0 to 100 very quickly, which never achieves anything and leaves everyone on edge.  However, after I dropped them at breakfast club and driving to school, it dawned on me how controlled and calm I was whilst dealing with a difficult child.  I know I spoke yesterday about how my mood has been much better, but it really has changed a lot! Not only is this plan benefiting me, it is benefiting everyone in my home.  I hate stressful mornings where I am short and snappy with my kids, even if there is reason to be, but it's never as nice as when everyone is happy.

Fortunately I had remembered to lift my soup mug out the fridge with the carrot, lentil and coriander soup that we made last night in the Instant Pot (yes, this machine really is so versatile and is used EVERYDAY!).  So I had this at lunch, which was really yummy and super filling.  The workplace can be very challenging, as there are often chocolates and biscuits lying around. Usually around 3pm, I'm having a craving for something to eat and I haven't had that this week.  I have also found that I have been more productive, achieving tasks that I have had sitting for a while and just not able to bring myself to do them.  I'm loving this new energy that has been unleashed both physically and mentally.

And because I have been so productive, I didn't manage to take any pictures today.  For dinner we had chicken fried rice, which everyone loved.  I probably would have added more veg into it though with some ginger, chilli and garlic to add more flavour. It's a similar dish to something we would have frequently in lettuce wraps. Yum yum!

On a little side note, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who reads my blogs and gives it a little like or a comment.  It really helps me stay focussed and on track throughout the day when I think about what I'm going to write about.  This is a very personal journey and those who are following the same plan will be doing it for their own reasons, but your support is much appreciated 💖

ReSet 2017 - Day 3

DISCLAIMER -  before you start reading there's a little TMI in this post!

So the only reason I am able to type this post this evening is because my fingers must be the only part of my body that doesn't ache from the home workout 2! I am SOOOO chuffed with myself though. When I first looked at it, I told myself that there's no way I'd manage 1 complete set, never mind the 4!  And guess what??? I managed all 4!! HUGE achievement for me.

Today I felt pretty good, no cravings throughout the day. I was even offered chocolate at work and I was able to refuse without feeling that I was missing out.  I had no headache today, but did struggle to drink water whilst at work.

After work I had swimming lesson run to do and by the time I got home, I had a complete crash in energy. I had left my workout until this evening and really thought I wouldn't be able to do it. I picked up after dinner though and managed to prepare tomorrow's food.

Whilst preparing the food, my hubby asked me if I had decided to make "being calm and chilled" my new year's resolution? My blank look obviously encouraged him to explain that he has noticed that my mood has been different recently and I am more relaxed.  So I'm not a complete psycho ALL the time, but I do have my moments of extreme mood swings.  Now I'm not saying my more stable mood is all down to ReSet, but I definitely think that it has been a large contributor.  I guess the sugar highs and lows from binge eating was having a huge effect on me.  What makes this an even greater non-scale victory (NSV) is that Aunt Flo has paid a visit too and this is when I'm normally at my worst.  Susan told us that we would benefit in many ways by following this plan and I'm beginning to see some of these positive effects. I think part of it is choice as well, intentional and unintentional, but it feels great!

Not going to focus too much on the food tonight, but here's some photos of what I had:

2 poached eggs on wholemeal toast

(Eggs done in sistema microwave egg poacher - 30 seconds)

Chicken Salad (the chicken was hidden underneath this lovely variety of vegetables)

Chicken breast cooked in Instant Pot - took 6 minutes, love it!

Bolognese and "courgetti"

I couldn't eat it all, portion wa too much, but here's a photo of our courgetti using our spiraliser

Water - 1500mls

ReSet 2017 - Day 2

One word... OUCH!!!

For anyone who has done a fitness session consisting of mainly squats, this picture will bring back memories for you!

This was me this morning, cue the hysterics from my children as I lowered my painful fat butt onto the toilet seat.  Worst thing about the whole thing is that it will be tomorrow when the pain is at it's worst! Yikes!

So today has been pretty similar to yesterday.  Have coped pretty well with eating, have managed to drink 1 litre of water whilst at work and have tried to take more steps where possible in my sedentary job.

The meals for today were:

Breakfast - Overnight oats with banana and vanilla

This was a bit easier to swallow, I used a bit more milk to make it less stodgy. Still not my favourite though.

Lunch - Mozzarella and tomato salad, mmmmmmm!

His and Hers 

Dinner - Sweet potato, spinach and bean stew

So the recipe was butter beans, but I wanted to add some variety, so I added butter beans, black eyed beans and chick peas.  I used my wonderful, amazing, super duper Instant Pot to cook this. Bunged all the ingredients in and cooked in 15 minutes!! I even cheated by using my mandolin slicer/cutter to prepare the vegetables, so was super quick to prepare too! Two out of 4 kids ate the lot, one ate half and the other point blank refused to touch it.  We enjoyed it though, was different, clean and filling. I am learning that with the help of my gadgets, there's no excuse not to have a healthy dinner, even when on a busy schedule.

Exercise - ReSet Home Workout 1(The Tester)

So I was to record how many of the following I could achieve in 1 minute. I decided to do some jump rope as a warm up, I was pretty much dead after this alone. But hey, I will compare this mornings results to my results at the end of the 4 weeks and see how much I have improved (if I'm not dead by then!)

Bodyweight squats - 19

Press ups (box) - 25

Bodyweight reverse lunges - 9 (these kill me every time. I could really feel the tightness in my leg muscles)

High knees - 22

Jump squats - 12 (also a killer for me)

Tricep dips - 13

Alternating side lunges - 16

Plank (forearm) 30 seconds!! (How rubbish is that?? My kids can do 8 minutes!!)

I have had a dull headache today, despite drinking all that water.  I'm guessing its my body's reaction to detoxing the refined junk out of it.  I've had a moment on the way home from work where my mind turned to chocolate, I kind of wanted some in that moment, but it was fleeting and I'm ok again.  I'm looking forward to my snack later, greek yoghurt and berries.

ReSet 2017 - Day 1

Day 1

So I set my alarm last night for 6:30am, with the intention of getting up and doing a Kettlebell workout on YouTube.  After only getting to sleep after 1:30am, I was not best pleased when said alarm was loudly ringing in my ear. I promptly switched it off and rolled over to go back to sleep for another hour. Five minutes later, I found myself getting up out my bed, threw my gym gear on and marched downstairs with determination that I was going to follow through with my plans. I have no idea where the change of heart came from, but I really enjoyed sweating it out as I followed the ripped guy on my TV screen.  Glass no.1 of water was consumed during this time 👍

Breakfast - Overnight oats with stewed apples and cinnamon

Well let's just say, for me, it tasted as good as it looks (in the pink cup!) Darren (my hubby) sent me an email that went like this: "Just eating my breakfast now. Wow!! If I have to eat this most days then I'll definitely lose weight."  At this point, I hadn't even touched it yet, but definitely wasn't looking forward to it at all.  I tried it cold, it wasn't going to go down. I heated it up in the microwave at work, it didn't really make it any better.  I did manage it though by 10am, only took about 30 minutes.  Not my favourite, but I would try it again.  It kept me full for 4 hours, thats pretty good going for me.

Lunch - Salad with tuna mayonnaise 

I was so looking forward to this and it was mega yummy!! When I was preparing it the night before, it really didn't seem much compared to what I would normally be looking for.  I actually struggled near the end to finish it as I was beginning to feel full.  So that was a good sign, but I forgot to drink *face palm*

Dinner - Sausages with sweet potato mash and vegetables

So we were advised to get sausages with the highest pork content we could afford.  The highest available in supermarkets appears to be 97%. These were chipolatas at only 90% as it is all Darren could find when doing the shopping.  We were also only meant to have 2, however I worked out that 3 of these is about the same as 2 sausages, so I'll take that.  We could have done better with the vegetables and substituted the peas for another variety, but there are some carrots and broccoli hidden under there too.  Now the last time I had sweet potato mash, I wasn't too keen on it. This time, combined with the onion gravy, it was super delicious so will definitely be doing that one again.  The kids really enjoyed this dinner too.

So I have a snack and 4 glasses of water to fit in this evening (I have drank one whilst typing this post) - we'll see how that goes.  Remember, this is a girl who normally only drinks 3-400mls per day, so I'm already doing better.  

And that's what this is about, making baby steps in the right direction to becoming healthier.  I was mega chuffed with myself for getting up earlier to exercise, it could have been so easy just to lay in bed.  It really set me up for the day. (Well in actual fact, my legs were pretty dead, I nearly fell down the stairs, but we'll not talk about that too much!)

All in all, I'd say its been a good day. Let's see what tomorrow brings...

** Update ** I have managed to drink 1300mls of water today!!! My kidneys won't know whats hit them.

Reset 2017

So that time of year has come around. You know, the time where you decide that this is going to be THE year, now is the time to eat healthy and get fit?  So I signed myself up for Reset 2017 by Susan at Run Well Fitness.  I have blogged before about my binge eating habits and my personal difficulties with food.  Reset is not going to be any easy feat for me.  The idea of 3 meals plus one healthy snack, clean eating, incorporating all food groups, drinking plenty water, choosing better options, good sleep habits and exercising 3 times per week sounds pretty reasonable, but when I compare it my normal habits, it's going to be tough going.

So at present, my meals aren't too bad.  My major downfalls are the high fat/high sugar snacks such as crisps, sweets and chocolate. I also only drink approximately 3-400mls of fluids per day, usually no added sugar diluting juice.  My husband wonders how I can function on such little fluid, but I guess I must get some from foods.  So trying to up this to 6 glasses of water per day is going to be tough.  I also live a pretty sedentary lifestyle, despite having 4 children.  At work I sit at a desk, I walk to my car, drive to clients homes, sit for around an hour, walk back to the car and then walk upstairs to my desk. In the evenings, I am normally taxiing my children to various clubs and music lessons in the car, reading books for homework, chatting to them about their day and then before I know it, it's time for bed. So this part of Reset will also be habit changing for me.

Right now, I'm looking forward to these personal challenges and turning bad habits into better lifestyle choices.  I have a buddy to help me too, a lovely mum from school but I will also be using my blog here to record my (honest) thoughts and feelings each day.

So here are my starting stats:

Weight 15st 10lbs
Height 5ft 6.25in
Waist 114cm
Hips 120cm

Basically clinically obese.  I know it. I see it. I feel it.

Here are my starting out pics.  At the end of the 4 weeks, I will post my after pics.

So here's to trying again 👍