You heard me ... don't weigh yourself on carpet. So far, I've always weighed myself on hard flooring, but today I just grabbed the scales and plonked them down, not thinking the different flooring would make a difference ... but how else do you explain me weighing almost 2kg more in the living room to the kitchen ... trust me, the rooms are not that far apart, it's not a marathon to get from one to the other.
So, proper weight (taken in the kitchen as usual, cause I couldn't believe I'd gained this week, so double checked with the kids) is 110.5kg ... not quite as much as I'd hoped, but still going in the right direction ... woohoo!
(The boring bit)
Percentage of starting weight lost this week - 0.6%
Total of starting weight now lost - 3.9%
And of target weight loss - 12.9%
New weight is 110.5kg ... which is 17st 5.5, or 243.5lbs
Wednesday, 18 June 2014
Smoothies R Us
Here are the base recipes for the smoothies I mention in my food diaries ...
As a general note, I've found the recipes work better when a significant proportion of the fruit is frozen ... better texture and flavour. Also, it means the prep time is far less, and it's easier/cheaper to keep a variety of fruits available.
Just drop the ingredients in the blender, in the order listed, pulse a few times, then blend to the required consistency (for those who don't use blenders often, if you don't pulse first, you run the risk of getting large pieces of fruit caught in the blades, and either having a lumpy/poorly mixed smoothie, or as I once did with a cheap blender, unwittingly burning the motor out).
Bananaberry
Initially based on a Weightwatchers recipe, I vary the berry part of the recipe to use up whatever I have ... I've used raspberries to top up when I've been low on the strawberries, and also used a forest fruit mix which contains blackberries, raspberries, black and red currants and dark cherries (though be aware, this give a very seedy/bitty mix, and it's not really a consistency that can be strained if you don't like things like that). So far, all have been tasty ... in fact, I prefer the tanginess the different berries bring over the straight strawberry mix.
Basic proportions ...
half cup blueberries
1 cup apple juice
half teaspoon vanilla essence
1 cup other berries
1 cup banana
(Note 19Jun2014 - I've now discovered that using just frozen blueberries, frozen raspberries and a fresh banana, along with the juice, gives a smoothie the consistency of a mcdonalds milkshake - that is, you can eat it with a spoon *yum*)
Mango-Peach
Another Weightwatchers recipe, this time I've not played with it much. I use frozen mango, and tinned peaches (in juice, not syrup), purely because it's what I have, and haven't yet used the ice, and it tastes fine.
1 cup mango
1 cup peach
half cup orange juice
2 teaspoons honey
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup ice (softened)
(Note 20Jun2014 - Rather than waste the juice from the peaches, I used it in the smoothie, topping up to the right measurement with OJ ... came out very nicely, as sometimes just OJ can make it a bit tart)
Banana-Honey
This recipe came from a general Google search, and was found here ... it brings up a nicely flavoured, mid-thickness, milkshake, that I picked more as a way to get the kids blending and drinking with me as anything else.
1 banana
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup milk
(ice optional)
Oreo Smoothie
I have one child who isn't fruit-friendly, hence this recipe as a treat. It's nice, but I'm not sure yet if it quite works taste wise ... I'd prefer something a bit creamier, but that may just be the yogurt I'm using, as I don't have any Greek style at the moment, just regular 'vanilla', or that bananas don't hang around this house long enough to freeze them *chuckles* I'm also contemplating adding some chocolate milkshake powder, as aforementioned child says he can still taste the bananas *facepalms*
1 banana (chopped and frozen)
quarter cup yogurt
half cup milk
blend these, then add 2 Oreo biscuits and pulse until crumbled.
I have another recipe that uses frozen chocolate yogurt, which sounds nice, if only I can find it here in the UK without piles of added bits and pieces (think B&Js).
As a general note, I've found the recipes work better when a significant proportion of the fruit is frozen ... better texture and flavour. Also, it means the prep time is far less, and it's easier/cheaper to keep a variety of fruits available.
Just drop the ingredients in the blender, in the order listed, pulse a few times, then blend to the required consistency (for those who don't use blenders often, if you don't pulse first, you run the risk of getting large pieces of fruit caught in the blades, and either having a lumpy/poorly mixed smoothie, or as I once did with a cheap blender, unwittingly burning the motor out).
Bananaberry
Initially based on a Weightwatchers recipe, I vary the berry part of the recipe to use up whatever I have ... I've used raspberries to top up when I've been low on the strawberries, and also used a forest fruit mix which contains blackberries, raspberries, black and red currants and dark cherries (though be aware, this give a very seedy/bitty mix, and it's not really a consistency that can be strained if you don't like things like that). So far, all have been tasty ... in fact, I prefer the tanginess the different berries bring over the straight strawberry mix.
Basic proportions ...
half cup blueberries
1 cup apple juice
half teaspoon vanilla essence
1 cup other berries
1 cup banana
(Note 19Jun2014 - I've now discovered that using just frozen blueberries, frozen raspberries and a fresh banana, along with the juice, gives a smoothie the consistency of a mcdonalds milkshake - that is, you can eat it with a spoon *yum*)
Mango-Peach
Another Weightwatchers recipe, this time I've not played with it much. I use frozen mango, and tinned peaches (in juice, not syrup), purely because it's what I have, and haven't yet used the ice, and it tastes fine.
1 cup mango
1 cup peach
half cup orange juice
2 teaspoons honey
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup ice (softened)
(Note 20Jun2014 - Rather than waste the juice from the peaches, I used it in the smoothie, topping up to the right measurement with OJ ... came out very nicely, as sometimes just OJ can make it a bit tart)
Banana-Honey
This recipe came from a general Google search, and was found here ... it brings up a nicely flavoured, mid-thickness, milkshake, that I picked more as a way to get the kids blending and drinking with me as anything else.
1 banana
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup milk
(ice optional)
Oreo Smoothie
I have one child who isn't fruit-friendly, hence this recipe as a treat. It's nice, but I'm not sure yet if it quite works taste wise ... I'd prefer something a bit creamier, but that may just be the yogurt I'm using, as I don't have any Greek style at the moment, just regular 'vanilla', or that bananas don't hang around this house long enough to freeze them *chuckles* I'm also contemplating adding some chocolate milkshake powder, as aforementioned child says he can still taste the bananas *facepalms*
1 banana (chopped and frozen)
quarter cup yogurt
half cup milk
blend these, then add 2 Oreo biscuits and pulse until crumbled.
I have another recipe that uses frozen chocolate yogurt, which sounds nice, if only I can find it here in the UK without piles of added bits and pieces (think B&Js).
Days 44-46
I didn't feel 'right' after that McDonalds meal ... in body or mind ... and stupidly I let it affect what I ate. But even so, I think I got back on track, in some degree at least.
I've also been trying out (or using up) some milk based smoothies for the kids ... think personally I prefer the fruit ones, but they're ok for a change.
Day 44
Breakfast - MR Shake
Morning Snack - banana honey smoothie
Lunch - Small 'tiger' bloomer cob, leerdammer, ham and salad leaves
Afternoon Snack -
Tea - banana honey smoothie
Evening snack - Small 'tiger' bloomer cob, leerdammer, ham
Day 45
Breakfast - MR Shake
Morning Snack - half graze punnet
Lunch - MR Shake
Afternoon Snack - Go Ahead Chocolate thins
Tea - Half a (griddled) beef burger (no bun etc), handful of fries (leftovers meal)
Evening snack - banana honey smoothie, 30g greek yog with 2 oreos crushed, 30g pretzels
Day 46
Breakfast - MR Shake
Morning Snack - 60g mixed fruit and nuts
Lunch - MR Shake
Afternoon Snack - Go Ahead Chocolate thins
Tea - lrg bananaberry smoothie
Evening snack - sml Oreo smoothie, 2 sugared 'fingerella' cakes
I've also been trying out (or using up) some milk based smoothies for the kids ... think personally I prefer the fruit ones, but they're ok for a change.
Day 44
Breakfast - MR Shake
Morning Snack - banana honey smoothie
Lunch - Small 'tiger' bloomer cob, leerdammer, ham and salad leaves
Afternoon Snack -
Tea - banana honey smoothie
Evening snack - Small 'tiger' bloomer cob, leerdammer, ham
Day 45
Breakfast - MR Shake
Morning Snack - half graze punnet
Lunch - MR Shake
Afternoon Snack - Go Ahead Chocolate thins
Tea - Half a (griddled) beef burger (no bun etc), handful of fries (leftovers meal)
Evening snack - banana honey smoothie, 30g greek yog with 2 oreos crushed, 30g pretzels
Day 46
Breakfast - MR Shake
Morning Snack - 60g mixed fruit and nuts
Lunch - MR Shake
Afternoon Snack - Go Ahead Chocolate thins
Tea - lrg bananaberry smoothie
Evening snack - sml Oreo smoothie, 2 sugared 'fingerella' cakes
Sunday, 15 June 2014
42 & 43 ... and a significant change
I've realised two things this week ... one, smoothies are the way to go for me with regard to curbing my appetite, and two ... I don't like 'bad' food any more.
The spam fritters (day 40) were greasy and stodgy, the hotdogs (which are canned ones) were meh, and the McDonalds meal, whilst I did enjoy the chicken (which being the least processed meat they sell is one of their healthier options) at the time, I actually felt ill after and craved fruit (hence the major smoothie hits once I got home again).
I didn't even enjoy the lemonade (day 42) as I normally do - and it's an organic, all natural, lightly carbonated version, no nasties. I actually found myself pouring some Dandelion & Burdock away the other day, it felt cloying to the taste, when normally I've found it refreshing.
Can't be a bad thing though ...
Day 42
Breakfast - MR Shake
Morning Snack - half serving (kids leftovers) weetabix and coco pops with semi skimmed milk
Lunch - MR Shake
Afternoon Snack - Banana honey smoothie
Tea - 2 small hotdogs, glass 'proper' lemonade
Evening snack - graze punnet, bananaberry smoothie
Day 43
Breakfast - MR Shake
Morning Snack -
Lunch - McDonalds - wedges, 4 chicken selects, strawberry milkshake
Afternoon Snack -
Tea - Mango peach smoothie
Evening snack - Banana honey smoothie (small), mango peach smoothie (large)
The spam fritters (day 40) were greasy and stodgy, the hotdogs (which are canned ones) were meh, and the McDonalds meal, whilst I did enjoy the chicken (which being the least processed meat they sell is one of their healthier options) at the time, I actually felt ill after and craved fruit (hence the major smoothie hits once I got home again).
I didn't even enjoy the lemonade (day 42) as I normally do - and it's an organic, all natural, lightly carbonated version, no nasties. I actually found myself pouring some Dandelion & Burdock away the other day, it felt cloying to the taste, when normally I've found it refreshing.
Can't be a bad thing though ...
Day 42
Breakfast - MR Shake
Morning Snack - half serving (kids leftovers) weetabix and coco pops with semi skimmed milk
Lunch - MR Shake
Afternoon Snack - Banana honey smoothie
Tea - 2 small hotdogs, glass 'proper' lemonade
Evening snack - graze punnet, bananaberry smoothie
Day 43
Breakfast - MR Shake
Morning Snack -
Lunch - McDonalds - wedges, 4 chicken selects, strawberry milkshake
Afternoon Snack -
Tea - Mango peach smoothie
Evening snack - Banana honey smoothie (small), mango peach smoothie (large)
Friday, 13 June 2014
Days 40 and 41
It's hot ... so hot, that meal-sized food isn't really something I'm even thinking about much of the time - and I'm drinking so much water I'm all but sloshing *chuckles* which also helps with the appetite, as you can see.
Day 40
Breakfast - MR Shake
Morning Snack - 30g 'skinny' chocolate popcorn
Lunch - MR Shake
Afternoon Snack - Graze punnet
Tea - Spam fritter, baked beans. Glass orange juice. small slice strawberry cheesecake
Evening snack -
Day 41
Breakfast - MR Shake
Morning Snack -
Lunch - MR Shake
Afternoon Snack - ice cream cone from van (no sauce etc)
Tea - 2 slices luncheon meat, large bananaberry smoothie
Evening snack - large bananaberry smoothie, one apple
Day 40
Breakfast - MR Shake
Morning Snack - 30g 'skinny' chocolate popcorn
Lunch - MR Shake
Afternoon Snack - Graze punnet
Tea - Spam fritter, baked beans. Glass orange juice. small slice strawberry cheesecake
Evening snack -
Day 41
Breakfast - MR Shake
Morning Snack -
Lunch - MR Shake
Afternoon Snack - ice cream cone from van (no sauce etc)
Tea - 2 slices luncheon meat, large bananaberry smoothie
Evening snack - large bananaberry smoothie, one apple
Wednesday, 11 June 2014
Day 39 Food diary, and a surprising weekly weigh in
Breakfast - MR Shake
Morning Snack -
Lunch - MR Shake
Afternoon Snack - 30g 'skinny' chocolate popcorn
Tea - Cod fillet in breadcrumbs, small portion mashed potato, serving peas and carrots. Glass weak squash. Single scoop vanilla ice cream with half a peach.
Evening snack - 30g mixed fruit nuts and seeds
I've added the snacks to the 'snacks' blog, but otherwise there's nothing much to say about yesterdays food.
But when it comes to my weigh in ... wow. I'm not sure how, but apparently I lost 3lbs this week ... that's the gain from last week gone plus another pound ... and yes, I double, triple, quadruple checked it, twiddling the little dial that calibrates the scale and getting two of the kids to read it too.
So ... I have now lost over 10% of my target loss .. woohoo!
(The boring bit)
Percentage of starting weight lost this week - 1.2%
Total of starting weight now lost - 3.4%
And of target weight loss - 11.1%
New weight is 111.5kg ... which is 17st 7, or 245lbs
Morning Snack -
Lunch - MR Shake
Afternoon Snack - 30g 'skinny' chocolate popcorn
Tea - Cod fillet in breadcrumbs, small portion mashed potato, serving peas and carrots. Glass weak squash. Single scoop vanilla ice cream with half a peach.
Evening snack - 30g mixed fruit nuts and seeds
I've added the snacks to the 'snacks' blog, but otherwise there's nothing much to say about yesterdays food.
But when it comes to my weigh in ... wow. I'm not sure how, but apparently I lost 3lbs this week ... that's the gain from last week gone plus another pound ... and yes, I double, triple, quadruple checked it, twiddling the little dial that calibrates the scale and getting two of the kids to read it too.
So ... I have now lost over 10% of my target loss .. woohoo!
(The boring bit)
Percentage of starting weight lost this week - 1.2%
Total of starting weight now lost - 3.4%
And of target weight loss - 11.1%
New weight is 111.5kg ... which is 17st 7, or 245lbs
Monday, 9 June 2014
A Bad Week, So A Fresh Start (Day 38)
Yep, as you may have guessed from the lack of food diaries, it's been a bad week ... the weekend in fact was so chocolate- and snack-laden, I didn't even keep my diary privately.
But, today is a new day, as they say, and so I'm back on track, and wanted to post todays food diary before going to bed, rather than tomorrow.
I know I still have a few glitches (like the coated fruit), but otherwise, I'm fairly happy with it. Oh, and tea wasn't intentionally just a smoothie (which came from a Weightwatchers recipe), I simply wasn't hungry for more once I'd had it.
Breakfast - MR Shake
Morning Snack - Approx 60g mixed dried fruit and nuts
Lunch - MR Shake
Afternoon Snack - Go Ahead Chocolate Orange Thins
Tea - A large (double serving) mango-peach smoothie and a Dairylea Strip Cheese
Evening snack - 25g pack caramel coated raisins
But, today is a new day, as they say, and so I'm back on track, and wanted to post todays food diary before going to bed, rather than tomorrow.
I know I still have a few glitches (like the coated fruit), but otherwise, I'm fairly happy with it. Oh, and tea wasn't intentionally just a smoothie (which came from a Weightwatchers recipe), I simply wasn't hungry for more once I'd had it.
Breakfast - MR Shake
Morning Snack - Approx 60g mixed dried fruit and nuts
Lunch - MR Shake
Afternoon Snack - Go Ahead Chocolate Orange Thins
Tea - A large (double serving) mango-peach smoothie and a Dairylea Strip Cheese
Evening snack - 25g pack caramel coated raisins
Wednesday, 4 June 2014
A Wet Wednesday, and a weigh in to match
You may have noticed that I've not done my food diary this week - I have tracked it, but I snacked so much, and missed several shakes, that it was depressing. As a result, I have no loss to report, but a 2lb gain *sighs* Better luck next week, huh?
(The boring bit)
Percentage of starting weight lost this week - -0.8%
Total of starting weight now lost - 2.2%
And of target weight loss - 7.2%
New weight is 112.5kg ... which is 17st 10, or 248lbs
(The boring bit)
Percentage of starting weight lost this week - -0.8%
Total of starting weight now lost - 2.2%
And of target weight loss - 7.2%
New weight is 112.5kg ... which is 17st 10, or 248lbs
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