Week one done

I've done both of my fasting days for this week, and am so glad to be able to eat normally over the weekend.  I've definitely noticed a difference in my appetite, I'm getting full after smaller portions which is always a blessing.

Now I'm on track with the food side I need to look at the exercise aspect. I was hoping that a Pole Dance class would ignite some kind of passion for it and it would see me become obsessed with practicing, WRONG! I did find it to be an amazing workout, with my body still aching days later but I just wasn't feeling the instructor and the way the class was taught. If anyone from the Manchester area knows of any other instructors please let me know.

For now however I am looking for ways to ease me back into the gym, and this watch seems perfect.  Not only is it a pink gadget which always catches my eye, but it monitors the calories burnt which I feel would spur me on to push myself harder.

Has anyone else got this watch, or do they recommend any other brands/styles?

Michelle x 

Polar FT4 Watch - Argos

I'm Back

Wow, can't believe it's been over a year since the last post, I may as well confess now my weight is exactly the same.  Whilst I'm glad I've not gained, it is disappointing to see I haven't reached my goal weight, however this year has seen some big changes health wise.  Soon after the last post I underwent a laperoscopy and found I have stage 4 endemetriosis, as well as meaning I spent close to 2 months in bed it has also affected my general fitness.

 Side boob, double chinnage and arms that could lift off if I flapped

Anyway stopping with the excuses I've decided it's time to get back on the diet, and my weapon of choice is the 5:2 Fast Diet. My initial reason for choosing this was it was an easy to follow plan, and it didn't require me spending (and wasting) money, aside from the initial download cost of the book the rest is free - might even end up saving you money since you fast for a couple of days per week.

The premise is simple, eat normally for 5 days (within reason and no binging) and then 'Fast' for 2 days (a quarter of your daily calories, so 500 for women and 600 for men.)  Today was my first day and I'm surprised to say I did well and didn't struggle too much.

 

I decided to make the most of my calories and fix a meal that was as filling as possible without splurging all of the 500 calories in one go.

I came up with Tomato Soup and Matzo Pizza, which was delicious and super filling, I didn't manage to finish all the soup at lunch so saved some for after my Pole Dance class (which was horrendous and clearly not right for someone as uncoordinated as myself.)

 

To make the soup 

Tin of chopped tomatoes 74 calories

Pepper, Onion Salt, Paprika, Crushed Chillies, Tabasco Sauce

Add the tomatoes to a pan, heat lightly then blitz with a hand blender until smooth.  Add seasoning to taste (I went a bit OTT with the chillies, but it definitely warmed the tummy!)

Matzo Pizza

Matzo Cracker 78 Calories

2 Tablebespoons Tomato Puree 28 Calories

Baby Plum Tomatoes 6 Calories

Cheddar Cheese 20g 83 Calories

Italian Herb Seasoning

Spread the puree, top with the tomatoes and cheese, sprinkle with seasoning and grill until the cheese melts. EASY PEASY!

There you go, all that yummy food for less than 270 calories, I also allowed myself a pack of quavers (88 calories) with the soup leftovers later on in the evening.

Hopefully I will keep on top of the diet posts now, and if you have your own diet blog send me the links!

Michelle x

 

Winners :)

Sorry I haven't posted for a while, I've been mad busy trying to get beach ready for my upcoming holiday as well as getting all orders done and dusted.

In terms of my diet it is going ok, the exercise part is going REALLY well. I've started getting strange muscles on my thighs I'm not too keen on, but I suppose its better than a love handle??!!

I will blog more about this over the weekend, this is just a quickie to say who the winners of the Zaggora comp are....

Gillian
Lauren
Polly

I am contacting all these individually (for data reasons can't post their full names but if you don't get an email it isn't you)


:) xx

First week so far

So my mission to eat less and exercise this week is going to plan so far, well kind of.  I have completely cut down my usual takeout food habit, now when I say take out I don't mean big greasy chippys but I do have a tendency to eat from places such as Wagamama, Rice, Barburrito etc probably 5 or more times.  This week I have made home cooked dinners and am filling up my lunches with as much veg as possible to prevent me from snacking.

This would be my usual daily food diary

Fun Sized Banana and Cereal Bar, i'm not a morning person and the thought of anything more at that time turns my stomach.

Mug shot, with a packet of microwavable steam veggies mixed in.

Roasted veg & chicken.

The exercising with the Zaggoras is proving successful so far, I'm off to the gym on Friday to try them out during a proper workout.  I am expecting lots and lots of sweating.  The competition to win a pair is still going if you want to enter

Has anyone tried chocolate tea as a way of curbing sweet cravings?? What does it taste like?

Will keep you updated xx

Zaggora Competition Time

Ok, so it is almost July and I haven't blogged in over a month and probably haven't lost a single pound. After having a hospital appointment last week where they insisted on weighing me (apparently they couldn't just take my word for it) I noticed my weight has stayed pretty much the same since I started on my big diet plan.

The 2 big boxes of Jenny Craig I paid a small fortune for sits in my living room, and I have no idea about what or if I want to follow a specific diet plan.  The biggest problem for me is that I eat out A LOT, so diets where i have to eat specific food doesn't really work for me, another downfall of JC was I despise microwaved food.  As I'm going to Greece at the end of July I really need to snap back into some sort of plan, or my bikinis won't fit and I will resemble the GhostBuster Stay Puft Marshmallow Man hobbling along the beach.  The way I lost weight last year was quite simple... EXERCISE and eating smaller portions, so am going to give this a go.  

Unlike a lot of people I actually enjoy going to the gym, the walk I have to do along a main road in Manchester City Centre from my gym to my car is made pleasurable if my tshirt is literally soaked with sweat and has turned a different colour.  I feel like I have worked hard and despite the lack of energy and that my muscles are crying out for a break I have a little spring in my step.

So the plan is exercise, now I want to find a way to make each workout really count.  Since I read other diet blogs in the hope for inspiration I came across several reviews on Zaggora Hotpants.  Now I love the idea of miracle pants that will dissolve the fat and make you a size 8 with no effort, but I know they don't exist, but these seem like the closest thing to that dream.  These pants claim that they can help reduce body fat, the visible signs of cellulite AND help you lose 2 dress sizes in 2 weeks.  They make the claims that wearing when active will be more effective but you can get some results by sitting on your sofa watching Corrie (or Revenge for me, off topic but my favourite programme right now.)

They work by increasing energy expenditure by raising the core body temperature, resulting in an increase in metabolism. The 80% increase of perspiration when wearing these pants helps burn calories and break down toxins, meaning weight loss and reduced appearance of cellulite.  

So after reading the reviews and seeing a promotional code on Facebook, I  took the plunge to buy a pair.  They only arrived this morning, which took a bit longer than I expected, but I understand the pitfalls of slow postage more than most.  One first feel they felt like a wetsuit, and after squeezing myself into them in the most ungraceful manner I gave them their first test run.  Holy cow I sweat like crazy, I only did a quickie on the exercise bike but the sweat would make you think I had run a marathon.  When I wear them to the gym I think I will put some pants over, this doesn't affect how they work, but helps the rustling noise they create and also hides all my lumps and bumps these seem to highlight.   As you can see the cat wanted to take part in this photo, how sexy do I look ha!

So I am now on the 2 week challenge, 30 minute workouts 3 times a week (which I'm sure I will go over because an hour an half doesn't seem enough to me) wearing these bad boys and after 2 weeks I should have dropped down to a size 10.  I will measure myself tomorrow, and do the results during the 2 weeks.

Now the lovely people over at Zaggora have kindly given me 3 pairs of the Viva Hotpants (as modelled by my thunder thighs or the skinny minnies in their promotional pic) so for your chance to win one of these pairs all you have to do is follow the instructions below.

How To Enter

1.  Follow this blog via the Google Friend connect (to the side)

2. Visit the Zaggora website, pick your favourite colour and comment below with your preference

Additional Entry

Follow the Jelly Button Jewellery blog via Google Friend Connect, and leave a comment below letting me know you have entered twice.

Easy Peasy Right!!! Now for the boring bits...

The Rules

To be entered you need to follow AND comment.

This competition will close at the end of my 2 week challenge, midnight (GMT) July 15th 2012.

The winner will be selected at random, and will be notified within 7 days of the closing date.

The PR from Zaggora will send the prize directly to the winner.  

This competition is open to UK entrants only.

Excuses excuses

Right first of all I am going to get the excuses out of the way, I've been poorly, I spent a few days away with Uni, I've been busy, I've been celebrating with my best friend, blah blah blah.  All these excuses are true but combined they have meant I have been a massive failure when it comes down to my diet.  

I have avoided the scales until today, luckily I've not put any weight on but I've definitely not lost any!! The only positive is that I have still been going to the gym a couple of times a week, meaning I can see my muscles however small returning.

The thing I'm not unhappy with at the moment is my boobs, they're HUGE!!!!!!! Most girls would moan, and most lads would (and do) say it's like slapping God in the face dieting to reduce them.  But until you struggle fitting 34H cups into a dress, running on the treadmill, or not being able to lye on your front you won't understand.  Photographic proof of how they impose on my life is my photos from my night out last week, I had an adorable top and high waisted skirt, and rather than notice the teeny tiny telephones and polka dot pattern the first thing you see is BOOBS!!  But after all my moaning I'm the only person who can shrink them, so diet is back on and I am sticking to the gym..... I promise ;)

Sorry about the chinnage on this pic, I was fairly tipsy and holding my head up was an effort.

Week 1 and half

Soooooo this week hasn't gone well at all in terms of dieting :( First problem (boys may want to stop reading) was I started my period, and this basically means I am in crippling pain and can't do much except sleep, this leads onto the second problem.  After spending the past year suffering with abdominal pains which feels like severe stomach cramps ALL THE TIME as well as my stomach swelling up and going rock solid I finally got a diagnosis.  I have been told it is a bladder infection, food intolerance to just bad period pains, and after seeing what looked like a big bubble on the ultrasound I was told I have an cyst on my right ovary.  This is why when I am on my period the pain gets so intense I often vomit and faint, and then through the rest of the month suffer with a pregnant looking tummy that lasts a few hours then disappears until the next trigger.   I have even measured the difference in my abdomen during one of my fake pregnancies, before it is 34 inches.... during it goes to 39, thats 5 whole inches of swelling OUCH!!!  I was tempted to ask for a picture when I went for my ultrasound, I felt really left out sat with the pregnant women wondering the sex of their unborn child, I looked like I was about to give birth to a tennis ball.

My cyst (which I now call Bubbs) combined with that time of the month has meant dieting has been the last thing on my mind,  I have eaten pizza, steak, wings, chicken with bacon and cheese, cake etc... not all at once but since my weigh in so am dreading looking at the scales on Monday!!

I am determined to get back to my diet today, I clearly can't exercise because that aggravates Bubbs but hopefully by next week I can make an appearance at the gym.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend whilst I feel sorry for myself and lock the fridge up to avoid all those Easter eggs calling out to me. x