Dead in the water

Not me, I'm happy to say, but my blogging mojo. It is currently swimming up to a pool bar in a hotel in the Caribbean to order another Long Island Iced Tea, would send a post card but it cba and is hoping it never has to come home.

I have started a new project which I am calling "operation look like Nigella".  Well, I was til she wore that God awful Preen dress, I was more after Nigella poured into Vivienne Westwood or her current fave Wiggle dress than something that would look better on a bonfire.  

I'd quite like my "curves" to be top and bottom and separated by a "waist" again.  To be honest am having a massive mid-life crisis about my ever increasing age, Queen Canute?, and I can't bear the thought of being old AND fat.  So I am working on the fat bit and hoping I can hide the old with an extra slick of concealer, a bloody good bra and regular trips to the hairdresser.  My one real concern is that 10 years ago I thought I looked like ten types of crap, now I wouldn't care how I looked, I'd just like to be ten years younger.  Reality is that in another ten I am going to wish I was me today, when the me of today is striving hard to be the me of yesterday.  See now why I drink, you try keeping all that in order.

So blogging is taking a back seat for the time being.  I'm sure I'll be back and I hope when I am there will be less of me, but I've been here before so who knows?!

14lbs by 14th May - week 4

Feeling rather chuffed with myself this week! Just back from the gym and I lost 3lb this week, whoop!  So a total of 7lb in the first 4 weeks which I am pretty happy with tbh.

That said Sophie from sophiephiephie blog left me a link to a really terrific post on her blog that was written with the help of her mum is who is the Principle Dietician at a leading London hospital and a wise woman too I reckon.  Next time you are hacked off cos you only lost 1lb this week read this and think on! A pound off is a pound off! Thank you so much for your comment and link Sophie, your timing was spot on!

So over to you Annabella - let's hear it!

Has anyone seen my metabolism?

When I conceived this post (this morning, drying my hair - its when I do my best thinking) it was going to be a rant about how unfair my life was, that I had virtually starved myself for 4 weeks, had spent an inordinate amount of time in the gym, quite literally sweating my ass off, and had managed to lose only 3lb.  Having done my compulsory 400 cals in the gym this morning I decided to leap on the scales one last time this week. And was shocked to notice that I had lost 2 kilos, which is actually 4.4lbs!! In total, I hasten to add, not this week!  That WOULD have been awesome!

However, if I was trying to shift that last pesky 10lb, ladies I hear your pain (yea right, do I bollocks), that would be acceptable but when I have something in the region of a quadrillion lb to lose you wouldn't think it out of the question that around 10 lb could just eff off themselves with only a minor tweaking in the amount of crap I eat.  But no, it seems not.  Just to be clear, as the suggestion has been made that someone who is a quadrillion pound overweight who is going to the gym 4 times a week AND actually going in and doing stuff, not just parking in the car park with a paper back and a sarnie, might just be lying about the amount of food they eat or the amount of exercise they are doing I have put together some figures.  I want to say "here's the science bit" but Modesty Brown might read this and coffee would shoot down her nose at my concept of science!

So at my current weight my Basal Metabolic Rate (can I just point out I am typing this on Friday night after half a bottle of Prosecco, I reckon I am due kudos for even being able to type basal metabolic rate, let alone knowing what it is!) is 1745. In other words I need 1745 calories to maintain my current weight, god forbid.  I have just read that the easiest way to lose weight is to work out your BMR at the weight you would like to be, taking things in stages if you have a lot to lose. So if I wanted to maintain a weight that was a stone less than I weigh currently my BMR would be 1671 cals per day, so to lose weight I need to reduce my daily calories by 74 calories a day.

So, if we assume that one Weight Watchers pro point is 50 cals (I did some googling and this seems to be the accepted level) then my points value of 29 pro points a day equates to 1450 calories.  Which is  295 calories a day LESS than my BMR to maintain current weight and 221 cals less than I would need to maintain a weight 1 stone lighter.  Therefore I should be losing weight, no? And thats before we factor in the calories burnt in 4 gym sessions (1600/wk now you ask).

So on that basis we can assume that a 4lb weight loss, sorry 4.4lb, over 4 weeks is pretty freaking paltry.  But am I disheartened. Well, yea  a smidge! But I will not be beaten! 
So instead of a rant this post has turned into a battle cry; bring on the drummer cos I am going to war. 


Onwards and upwards. Oh and Annabella - weigh in is Tuesday morning, try not to forget there's a honey! x

14lbs by 14th May - week 1

Morning all.  Just back from the gym and delighted to say that I have lost 1kilo, or 2.2lb's in old money!  I have been really good for the first time in ages and I am glad it has paid off.  

It actually hasn't been too bad, first week never is is it, its sticking with it in 6 weeks time when the novelty has worn a bit thin!  I went to the gym on Weds, Thurs and Friday last week. Did 15 mins fat burning on the bike, followed by 15 mins cardio still on the bike and then 20 mins cardio on the treadmill, few sit ups on the swiss ball and on one morning did 5 mins on the rower.  Saturday was out walking with a friend as needed to photograph trees for a project - needed a tree with no background which meant lots of walking up hill and then yesterday took the dogs for a walk near home which takes 20 mins - so more active than usual.  

Food wise have been having cornflakes, soya milk and a bit of sugar or greek yog and honey with fruit for breakfast, something and salad for lunch - falafel or something veggie generally and dinner has also been either something and salad or something and veg, couple of little bits of potato here and there but no huge meals of pasta and sauce, which is a real weakness of mine.  So an increase in veg and salad and a reduction in carbs.  Also I bought some nice pasta dishes when I was last in Ikea and I only ever eat off of them now, rather than our much larger dinner plates so that has really helped with the portion size - at least half of the plate is always veg or salad and then the other half is generally 3/4 protein and maybe 1/4 carb. Snacking has disappeared - having a Nescafe skinny latte at 11am has helped push me through til lunch time.  My hardest time is 5.3pm when I am cooking dinner and the urge to nibble is huge, I have a handful of almonds or a couple of oat cakes and a cup of tea which seems to help.  

Please note there is likely to be a massive dip in the Italian economy very soon as my consumption of prosecco has massively reduced!  In the past I drank on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening and sometimes if I felt the need on a Thursday too!  Certainly 2 of those evenings I drink a bottle of prosecco or Sauv Blanc.  This weekend I had 2 glasses of prosecco on Friday, and on Saturday had a bottle of Sauv Blanc - paid for that one though, head was falling off on Sunday! But I didn't drink on Sunday night which I am pleased about.  Was in two minds about this but am going to post a "before" photo, be kind!

And yes, I do know about fat girls and horizontal stripes not being an ideal combination!  


Annabella at Skin Scrubs has decided she is going to join in with this too and has promised to post in comments about how she is getting on whenever I do a weight related post, so Annabella - lets hear it!