keithsbulgebattle

  Having been stuck on a dreaded double plateau for two weeks I am pleased to report another loss!

Easter was always going to be a bit of a challenge, what with me being a self-confessed chocaholic but I was good and (almost) survived the weekend without chocolate. Almost. I’m actually stil going through chocolate we got at Christmas and as it’s Marmite chocolate, I’m the only one eating it since Matt thinks Marmite is evil. When I first discovered Marmite chocolate (when in Robert Dyas looking for saucepans of all things!) I decided to try ot out of curiosity but was pleasantly surprised – the marriage of the two works surprisingly well, and the fact that it has such a distinctive flavour don’t eat too much of it in one go. 

I’m getting to the point now where this is going to get expensive – wardrobe wise and after nearly 12 weeks I’m finally going to have to get stuff a size smaller! And I can actually get into some stuff that has always been skin tight. As the Weight Watchers community calls it, a NSV (no-scale victory).I shall keep that in mind the next time I have a week with no movement on the scales.

Loss this week: 700 grams (about 1.5 lbs)

Total loss to date 12.6kgs (annoyingly, 1 stone and 13 pounds!!)

  
It’s been a good week.

We finally got most of our wedding invites out.

After five months of stress and worry, I found out that my job following the restructure is (drum roll please) the same as my current job.

I went to a black-tie event on Friday. The dress code was “glamorous” but since my full lngth, sequined Gaultier was at the dry cleaners, jacket and bow rie it was.

I visited a fantastic almost unknown museum with some of my Instagram friends and had a lovely walk in Holland Park afterwards.

Cooked a lovely birthday dinner for Matt and the next day tried something in the new Weight Watchers cookbook that tasted really good and we couldn’t finish. Was it really “diet food” ?

I guess that having had a couple of down weeks, I was due an up week. It reminds me that the road to success has its ups and its downs and twists and turns and hazards along the way to trip you up and, if youbworry about them too much they’ll stop you getting to where you want to be.

Which brings me to another point. Guilt. I see and hear of so many people who say they feel guilty for not going to the gym (gym is a foreign concept as far as I’m concerned) or having an extra glass of wine (make that an ENTIRE BOTTLE OF RED for me on Friday). Guilt is such a negative thing. It drags you down and makes you regret what you did the night before. Life’s just too short for that – so I overindulged. It’s my s-**t to deal with without all the woe is me and attention seeking. Just get up and move on – nothing to see here! I didn’t intend this to be a rant but that’s the one thing that annoys me about the online weightvloss community – this all too pervasive sense that you must feel guilty! I refuse to be drawn in to that and, thanks, I will have that extra glass bottle of wine, thanks!

So I said it was a good week. This week’s loss is another 1.6kg ( 3 1/2 pounds) so the total now stands at 11.9kg (26 pounds or 1 stone 12 pounds)

Here’s hoping next week is another good week!

#weightloss #wwmen

So after the first dreaded plateau, the weight has started shifting again. 1.3kg in the first week and 0.4kg in the second week. It seems like there might be a pattern coming – a week of no loss, then a shift, then a smaller shift, then repeat so a three week cycle.

Accentuating the positive, even a loss of 0.1kg is still a loss – a loss is a loss after all. But that doesn’t help the super-impatient me – on Connect (the Weight Watchers online community) I see lots of stories of people who are losing significant amounts each week and then going through their posts realise they’ve been going to spinning classes, or spending huge amounts of time in the gym or, heaven forfend, running. Run? To quote the inimitable Spike Milligan, if I were meant to run I’d have been a thoroughbred race horse!! So actually, I think the fact that I’m making slow progress is OK – a bit like the story of the hare and the tortoise.

In other positives, some clothes are now starting to feel very loose and a particular pair of trousers that have been like a second skin for some time are now actually comfortable and don’t, err, “crush” certain parts. Matt also thoughtfully shrunk a pair of jeans for me but putting them through a 60 degree wash and then putting them in the tumble dryer! These jeans were a snug fit anyway and I feared that they would not fit following this little episode but no, they actually fit fine although the hem does now look like it’s had an argument with my ankles.

All things considered I’m pleased with my progress so far and won’t be deterred by the slowing down of the loss rate – if anything it’s making me more determined.

Total weight loss so far: 10.3kg (finally hit the 10kg!) or a stone and six pounds in old money.

Well I suppose it had to happen some time – I hit a plateau this week. Not an ounce off. Looking back over the week it’s not entirely surprising. Lots on at work so no lunch time walks and no walking to work most days as it had just been too cold or wet! So the exercise had just not happened. I’d tried to be good (as you all know, I don’t do guilt!) but the halo may have slipped on a couple of occasions… 

So this week I’ve been making a point, where possible, of getting a minimum of a 30 minute walk each lunch time and walking to work as much as possible. I even walked home on one day which is up hill nearly all the way – and felt smug when I got in before Matt who was on his bike! Plus making sure that the dinners are a bit lighter, so tonight was a lovely sea bass fillet cooked in a paper bag with veg. Followed by chocolate pudding and custard. And an Amaretto. And still within my allowed 77 WeightWatchers SmartPoints allowance for the day (down from the 82 when I started).

That’s what I’m finding the most difficult thing – actually eating all the points in any given day without constantly stuffing my face. At least I’m more likely to stick to this plan since it’s difficult to go hungry and I can eat what I want as long as it’s within the points allowance.

On the positive, no weight gain and as I haven’t written anything for a few weeks, the total weight loss is now 8.6kgs – or 18 lbs – so unbelievably I’ve lost over a stone already! Let’s hope it continues… 

  
Well not exactly a pound of flesh but the photo shows a pound of human fat. Who knew it was bright yellow? Almost enough to put you off your dinner!

After chatting with a fellow bulge-battler, it was suggested I move my weighing day to a Friday. That way any misdemeanours (vats of gin, beer or burgers, for example) usually as a result of an instameet would be minimised due to having the whole week to work it off. I thought about this for a few mins but decided to keep the weigh-in day as a Sunday. That way there’s more of an incentive not to overdo it any day of the week.

I’m still not used to eating late in the evening but the husband goes back to a job with much less travelling so we get some life back and can eat at reasonable times again. Had a slight blow out the past couple of days involving a large Baileys and some speculoos but in my defence, I had walked about 18000 steps that day, involving a fair few staircases. I refuse to be guilty about it. The thing that gets me with the WeightWatchers online community is the number who continually moan about going over, feeling guilty and then going all clean living for a day or so. Well those who know me know I don’t do guilt so I think I’ll have more chocolate, thanks!

And I suppose I should give an update on the weight since I missed a week. I have now lost the sum total of 14.9 pounds or 6.8 kgs. 

  
So with much trepidation, and new bathroom scales delivered courtesy of Amazon and Doddle, the week one result is in! I honestly don’t know how Doddle makes any money – I didn’t pay for delivery charges and didn’t have to pay at Doddle either but it’s just so convenient. Right in the town centre and open early and late. So much better than having to schlump to a horrible Industrial Estate in the middle of nowhere to the local Royal Mail sorting office.

The emergency purchase was necessary when I realised the old ones no longer worked properly. The digital display had packed up, so thinking it was the batteries, put some new ones in but no difference. Then I had a brainwave and switched the voice on – yes it also had a dreaded “Speak your weight” function. 

“2.8 pounds”

Eh? So I tried again. “2.8 pounds”

Now I know I’m trying to shift some bulk but not that much! At the seventh attempt it gave me a proper reading which is how I got to my start weight. We’d kept the scales in the bathroom and it turns out that’s not a good place for digital scales. Who knew? So as not to have to go through this rigmarole each week, off to Amazon I went. Shiny new scales collected and batteries installed (not sure the free tape measure or body fat callipers will get much use) and we’re off! And they are most definitely not being stored in the bathroom.

So why the picture of the beer? I took a trip to the massive ASDA store in Roehampton Vale to track down some Heck sausages. The WeightWatchers online community have been positively raving about them so I thought it would be good to try them. Skinless sausages and some Chorizo-style chicken sausages in the basket I headed towards the checkout – only to go down the beer aisle… And there, on the top shelf (like porn) my favourite Belgian beer! Not just the usual blond, but also a bruin and a ruby and just £3 a bottle. You’ll be pleased to know I was good and the beer stayed on the shelf! Haven’t tried the sausages yet though.

So, weigh-in day came and time to christen the new scales. Always a bit of a scary moment, especially as I’d gone over my smart point allocation on some days and under on others. Apparently you’re supposed to use your full points allowance each day which I was finding really difficult to do. 

And the result?

Week one loss of 4kg or 8.8lb YAY!

I know it won’t keep going that quickly (if only) but it’s a good start and I’m quite pleased with myself. Onwards and upwards (or downwards)!