ReSet 2017 - Week 3 results

It's been another while since I blogged, apologies for that.  Last time I'm sure I mentioned I hadn't been feeling too great.  Never in my life did I think that I would have to spend time just concentrating on being able to breathe and nothing else.  Well, I've ticked that box off my bucket list!! I went to the docs today and got some new friends to make breathing a bit easier:

So for this reason, I have found it really hard to keep up with the exercising this week, which is a bit of a bummer.  However things will get better and I'm looking forward to trying Strong by Zumba this coming week.  I guess though, with the amount I have coughed over this last fortnight, my abs must have had some sort of workout, right? Always the optimist me :-)

I am really excited to share my weight results this week with you all! Last week I was disappointed to not get down into the next stone bracket, but I have done it!! Pretty well into it, might I add!! So chuffed with this result.

My next goal is to now get into the 13 stone bracket (not by next week might I add, lol!) I haven't been less than 14 stone 4lbs for at least 5 years so to get past this would just be amazing for my self confidence. I know I can do it, it will probably take more effort on my part when ReSet is over and I don't have the support of all the others who are also doing ReSet, but I CAN do it and I WILL do it!

Darren and I had a discussion last night about life after ReSet.  He has his plan and I have mine.  I plan to continue as I am, but will allow myself a treat when it is a birthday or special occasion.  If I find that this encourages me to start indulging again in the sugar, then I will just have to pull right back again.  It'll be trial and error for me to see what I can manage physically and mentally.

One thing's for sure, I wasn't prepared for this beauty:

Look at the brightness of that green smoothie! It wasn't my favourite at all, but I did manage to drink it. I want a medal for that, haha!!  Below is a picture of tonight's dinner. Lemon chicken with savoury rice (small amount of rice with peppers, mushrooms, onions, spinach and carrot) and a splash of soy sauce. Super tasty!!  I prepared the chicken in the Instant Pot on the slow cooker function. Cooked for 5 hours and then kept warm until serving, how amazing is that?????

For this coming week, we had to prepare our own meal plan.  I was pleasantly surprised at my ability to put something together.  I was actually really dreading this part, but it wasn't too bad at all. Tomorrow however, I have a big day and attending a selection event in Edinburgh.  Lunch will be provided and I'm scared to peek at what will be available for eating.  Will just need to make the best choice of what is available, but this will be the first time I have even out.  Fingers crossed there is a lettuce leaf or something I can nibble on, haha!!

ReSet 2017 - Day 17

So I thought I should blog tonight, just to let people know that ReSet hasn't killed me. I'm still alive, although feel pretty dead.

On Monday night, I went to bed and woke up at stupid o'clock in the morning, wide awake and not able to get back to sleep.  Fast forward 20 hours and it was time to go back to bed. Everything in between is a blur.  My appetite has been shocking, I barely want to eat. Not good at all.

Today I managed to make a GREEN smoothie!!!! They are surprisingly good.

Ok, so it was brown but changed to green by the time I got to work

LOVING the blender, highly recommended!

So I tried something new for the first time tonight...AVOCADO! It was nice, but is it meant to have a strong taste, as this one didn't? Well I could taste the lime and tomato that we mixed through it, but not much else.

I guess in this picture it looks like I've filled my dinner plate, but this is actually a side plate.  Not sure if my stomach has shrunk or what, but I can't eat half the portion size that I was able to eat before.  

The ReSet plan has definitely become more of a lifestyle, I can't say I'm needing to think about it too much now. I still don't miss what I was addicted to before, I still need to work on the exercise.  It will come, perfection doesn't happen overnight, does it?

ReSet 2017 - Day 14 and 15

Well yesterday was just awful. I cannot recount a time when I have felt that ill in my life. After lots of rest and hydration, I am back to feeling (almost) myself again.

So at the end of week 2/ beginning of week 3, here is my weight result:

3 lbs and that precious quarter off!!

Truthfully, I was kind of hoping to be seeing the 14 stone bracket, but after how I was feeling the last couple of days (Saturday being tough having to resist many tempting delights and then Sunday feeling rotten), I am happy with my lot.  That's still a 9.5 lb loss in a fortnight which is truly brilliant. Darren lost 2lb this week, so that's 7lb loss in total for him.

This morning, I still wasn't feeling brilliant.  I couldn't face eating breakfast, as was still feeling nauseous.  I decided to sip plenty water and later in the morning, I felt like eating (and devoured) a juicy orange.  This was just enough to get my appetite going and for me to enjoy my tuna salad for lunch.

I knew what my body did and did not need today.  I can't say before ReSet that I was overly in tune with myself.  If I didn't feel full all the time, there was something wrong.  Today I actually took some time to figure out what I needed to do and definitely benefitted from doing so.  I had taken porridge to work with me and almost pushed myself to just eating it anyway, but it wasn't right, I would have felt worse.  So the moral of the story is... 

listen to what your body is telling you :-) 

So here is my latest addition to my kitchen gadgets (I feel like I am turning into my brother and sister-in law who also love their kitchen gadgets).  It is now time to experiment with my smoothies. If I start turning green or orange, you know I have had too many, haha!! I will post some pictures of my experimentation in future blogs, so watch out!!

ReSet 2017 - Day 13

Today has been the hardest day ever for me.  I have just had to fight temptation all day and its made me feel grouchy.  I wanted to go walking again today, but it was so cold outside and I could barely get a heat in me whilst in the house, so I didn't go.  I done my chores for the day, but that was about it.

I had egg, spinach and mushroom omelette with bacon for breakfast.  It was nice to have a change and it was reasonably filling.  We made another batch of green split pea soup for lunch and for dinner we had to use up some pork loin medallions.  These probably weren't the best choice, but we cut the visible fat off before cooking, so it hopefully wasn't too bad (we filled the plate with green veg, so there was some good on there). 

Whilst making the oat and blueberry muffins for tomorrows breakfast, I decided to make a green smoothie.

Yea, I had the same thoughts...not so green is it?
So in it, I used coconut milk, spinach, curly kale, and handful of mixed berries (blackberries, cranberries, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries). Will need to experiment with ratio a little, although with those berries, it's likely its just going to look brown.  It was really tasty though and just what I needed after resisting goodies ALL day.

So here's hoping for a better day tomorrow, with more enthusiasm to move more and be happy :-)

ReSet 2017 - Day 12

So the shopping has been ordered for next week's plan, here's hoping we have more success than last.

Today, we were again encouraged to reflect on our thoughts and feelings at this point in the plan.  If I am honest with myself, I haven't been as active as I need to be. Instead of making excuses, I decided to see what I could do to change this.  Friday evenings my boys have goalkeeping training, which they love.  I decided that instead of the hubby driving them there, we would walk instead. It's just short of a 4 mile walk all in, but we done it. I hit my 10,000 step mark just as I was turning the corner into my house, bonus!!

So I had a slice of my spelt loaf this morning with peanut butter and sliced banana.  It didn't look much on the plate, but the bread is rather dense and was definitely enough.  I really enjoyed it.  Now I know if I ever run out of bread for the kids, I can throw one in the oven pretty quickly.

Lunch - Piri Piri chicken salad

I'll tell you, this box would never fill me before.  I didn't manage to eat it all today, definitely feeling the difference and gradually cutting portions down, which for me is the best way. I then don't have that psychological block of "missing out" on something. Obviously this chicken was cooked in my Instant Pot (as are most of my other meals.) 

ReSet 2017 - Day 11

Look, look, look what I made!!!!

                                                    

Spelt Loaf!!!!

I've never made bread in my life!! It smells so good and looks so tasty, I'm gonna struggle not eating some tonight. It's for tomorrow's breakfast, with nut butter and banana. Oh man! My mouth is watering!!

I can't believe all the new things I am trying.  This hardly took any time at all to make, shove it in the oven for 45 minutes and voila!! It's so easy, why haven't I done this before?

So this morning I had overnight oats, with vanilla, blueberries and raspberries.  I think it's the vanilla that I don't like.  I could quite easily eat it without.  I left the berries whole too and that really helped. But on the whole, I was actually ok with it all this time and even finished it. Go me!! 

Lunch was so yummy, homemade split pea soup.  I was so looking forward to it, that I forgot to take a picture.  I had a mega busy day at work, I was just so happy to finally sit down and eat it.

Meatballs are a firm favourite in our house, especially homemade meatballs.  Tonight's menu was turkey meatballs and wholewheat spaghetti.  Not anything too different for us, as we usually have wholewheat pasta.  Another meal enjoyed by all (although my youngest daughter did say she didn't like them, that was after she had eaten 4 of them. I reckon she was just being lazy with her food, not new for her!)

So far today, I've had 1200mls water, I'll maybe get that up to 1500mls by the time I hit the sack tonight.  I feel like I should exercise this evening too as I've had a reasonable amount of carbs, probably just an "easy to follow" youtube workout.

Happy ReSetting all!!

ReSet 2017 - Day 10

Before I got married, I was pretty slim and very active.  Playing football was my favourite sport to play and I was pretty decent in my day.  I ate food for survival, I never really thought about what I was eating and never overindulged. Then I met Darren.  He enjoyed taking me out to different restaurants, eating nice food and devouring desserts. Fast forward 14 years and I feel like I'm 90 years old some days.  My hips pop so loudly, other people stare! "Yep, that was me," I say.  My knees like to give my hips a run for their money in the popping department.

During my workout tonight, the reverse lunges were definitely the worst. They always are though, however I could see from my reflection that I am beginning to get that leg lower to the ground.  That's a victory for me, a small but satisfying change.  I could feel the tightness in my hip, it felt as though everything around that area needed a good stretch. So that will be something (else) to work on.

I struggled to find good music tonight, something motivating, upbeat that makes you want to keep going.  What are your "go-to" tunes for exercising?

A fellow ReSetter asked me tonight what I have found the hardest.  I couldn't really think of anything as it hasn't been as difficult as I imagined.  However it dawned on me that my water intake could be better.  I have fallen back to only drinking 1000 mls some days.  Another ReSetter described to me exactly how I feel when I drink so much water...nauseous!! Who else feels this way? Why do I feel sick if I drink so much water? Is it psychological from throwing up in pregnancy? Who knows, I'm sure the ReSet boss will have a brilliant answer.  She is super supportive.  My hubby asked her a question the other night, her answer was straight to the point and in depth.  We are so fortunate to be supported so well! Thank you ReSet Boss!