Moving Home

I moved house and forgot to tell you - I'm so sorry!

You can find me at:

NotJustLaura

Hope to see you there soon.

Begin at the Beginning

I bought the Wii Fit.  Then I bought the Wii.  They gathered dust.  I got fatter.  I've outgrown my size 20 jeans.  I can't walk up the stairs to my flat without puffing.  My back hurts.  My bad ankle is protesting.  I smoke.

I've spent 6 months pretending to do SlimmingWorld. It does work when I do it. But I don't do it. And I get fatter. My thighs rub together. I can't run for the bus. I've been mistaken for a pregnant woman.  I dread getting off the couch.

This can't go on.  So I have joined WeightWatchers today. I've been listeing to the advertising for a while. My problem is eating when I'm not hungry - there's really nothing wrong with what I'd choose to eat for dinner. But I eat for emotions and I eat for taste - and not a little taste, either. And WeightWatchers claims to address these issues in a way that SlimmingWorld does not. I've signed up for 'Monthly Pass' and will stay for 12 weeks as I've just finished a '12 week countdown' with SlimmingWorld and am the fattest I've ever been. Ever. In my whole life. It seems fair to give WW the same 12 weeks.

It won't be the same 12 weeks though. Because what has to change isn't my eating plan - it's me. Today I've been weighed and I'm about to go and measure myself and fill in the book I've been given. I'm feeling motivated. Or desperate. I'm feeling something and that's got to be better than the apathy and half-heartedness of the past three months.

Tomorrow is Week 1 Day 1. I will have worked out my Points and a menu plan by then so I'll be ready to start from breakfast time. I will also have dusted off the WiiFit. I'm too scared to go for a walk in the sunshine in case I get stuck. No, don't laugh! What if I walk thus far and then can't make it back? I'd have to phone my mother and ask for a lift ... Oh no. Exercise will take place in the safety of my own home. But it will take place. With much puffing and sweating, I imagine. Needs must.

I'll check in again tomorrow.

Turning Over a New Leaf

I started this Blog wih such good intentions.  Unfortunately they didn't last.  I've not been very well of late and have been eating all the wrong things, smoking and refusing to exercise.  And I've been taking extra medication which came with a leaflet which said, 'Side effects:  Weight gain.'  

The good news is that my mental health is greatly improved, Im being weaned off the extra pills and I'm ready to start over.  Again.  And again, if it's necessary.  I'm nothing if not persistant.  And, of course, I have a plan.

Quitting smoking, dieting and making a commitment to exercise are all big things.  They're too big to do all at once, starting today.  I've tried to do that before and fell flat on my face as soon as the wind changed.  That's why I've got a plan this time.  I do like a good plan.  Here it is:

Week 1:  Quit smoking

Week 2:  Quit smoking

Week 3:  Quit smoking + diet

Week 4:  Quit smoking + diet

Week 5:  Quit smoking + diet + exercise

Week 6:  Quit smoking + diet + exercise ...

So, today, all I need to worry about is quitting smoking.  I have the patch stuck to my body and the gum tucked into my cheek.  I have toffees.  I have something nice to do this evening (watch a film while eating munchies) and I know I can do this.  I'll let you know for sure tomorrow ....

Small Successes

1. I've done 30mins of aerobic Wii Fitting each day since I started.
2. I've FoodOptimised properly each day.
3. My Wii Fit age has dropped from 44 to 37 (I'm 36).

What's on the Menu?

I'm a Once a Week Cook. Theoretically. Sometimes I cook over two afternoons - sometimes it takes a week. My groceries were delivered yesterday so today is Cooking Day. I'm late starting due to the terrible distraction of Animal Crossing - Let's Go to the City.

Anyway - here's this week's menu:

Kofta Curry
Coq au Vin
Quorn Cottage Pie
Herb-crusted Salmon

These are all SlimmingWorld recipes. I've done the curry and salmon before and they're delicious (the fish with 'SlimmingWorld Chips') and I generally like coq au vin and cottage pie so I think these are safe bets to try. There's nothing worse than creating four portions of ickiness when you're on a tight budget.

What are you going to eat this week?

In the Beginning

OK. So let me start by saying:

I love food.

I love choosing it, cooking it, eating it. I imagine it. I fantasise about it. I glory in it. I eat because I'm hungry. Happy. Sad. Angry. Depressed. Bored. Celebrating. Commiserating.

And let me also say:

I hate exercise.

Hot, sweaty, effortful pain. I hated PE at school and I hate it now. You remember the kid that was picked last for everything? That would be me. Every time.

Unfortunately:

Love food + hate exercise = Obesity

I'm carrying about twice the weight I should be. I feel I should add my mitigating circumstances (ie excuses). I was on medication that is known to cause weight-gain (not sure why) and the one I'm on now causes increased appetite. Unfortunately it does not cause one to burn up those extra calories.

I've been dieting for a long time and yet I currently weigh more than I ever have before. Which is depressing. I've made various attempts at getting fit but, the fatter I get, the harder it is to get off the couch and started, never mind keep going when it's cold and dark and wet. And this is Scotland - it's cold and dark and wet a lot.

However. As I'm bursting out of my (new) size 20 clothes and don't want to go up to a 22 I really do have to act. Fortunately for me, I've also found some inspiration online. Surfing about the other day, I came across Wii Mommies and they seem to have what I'm looking for (clothes that fit) I already have Wii Fit and really enjoyed using it (and losing weight) until I lost the habit in the run-up to Christmas.

So I do have a method of exercise that I enjoy and know causes weight loss. I also have a diet which works for me - SlimmingWorld. I've been on it for a few months but haven't been taking it seriously. I've not been staying to ImageTherapy, nor have I actually been FoodOptimising between meetings. Is it any wonder that I've gained and gained and gained?

So I have exercise. I have a healthy eating plan. Now I need a goal ... What I'd really like is to be a size 14. I don't know what weight that equates with and it seems like such a long way from where I am today. So here are some goals which I do feel comfortable with:

1. Buy a 12 week Countdown to SlimmingWorld next week.
2. Attend and stay to ImageTherapy each week.
3. FoodOptimise 100%.
4. WiiFit 30mins daily.

After 12 weeks, ImageTherapy, FoodOptimising and exercise should be firmly ingrained habits and I hope to have lost 12lbs.