My name is Weesse and I'm addicted to..............

Happy 2015 to you all!

 It's a new year & like many, you may be looking to fashion a new you. News flash-you're fabulous the way you are! Be done with that resolution & carry on just being your wonderful self.  Boom done! End of blog. My work here is done. 

 Hold up. If it simply comes down to altering your diet ever-so slightly or overhauling it entirely in a bid to make you feel better on the inside & out, then I'm all for it! Making good food choices to give you more energy, to boost some weight loss (that little bit of fluff you've gained over Crimbo) or to give you a new focus on becoming a happier you can be a daunting task so any hints, tips & suggestions can help us all through those early transition stages. 

 Healthy eating sounds great & yeah it tastes good too but hey, so does chocolate, steak pie, gravy & pouring cream (obviously not all together! That's just weird.)! Can I get an amen?! So I appreciate that the thought of sidestepping the sweetie tin isn't filling you with much joy but remember, we can merely sidestep & then shuffle back on over whenever we feel we need a little pick-me-up. We ain't getting rid of no sweetie tin entirely. Balance is the key peeps. 

 I have to say I personally didn't overindulge too ridiculously over the festive season (boring I know!) apart from Christmas & Boxing Day. I didn't eat normally though.  My body clock's all over the place with late nights & late rises & mixed-up meal times so it's all caught up with me in the shape of 4lbs. I ain't too fussed over it. Pre-Christmas I'd dropped 6lbs with being ill (suffering from sciatica!) & having not much of an appetite so I was at my lowest weight in a long time. This in effect means that my 4lbs gain has brought me back to around where I was prior to falling ill. I now aim to try & shift it nevertheless but I'm not pressurising myself with what's on the scales. I'm more so looking to get my eating back to where it was. Balanced. Healthy. Yummy.

 I posted a while back about my weight loss journey in 2014 as hubby & I became fully paid up members of Weight Watchers, both of us opting for the app over classes.  A 2 stone weight loss for me was unexpected to be honest (was aiming for 1 stone) but I'm currently happy with my shape....couldn't care less what the scales say or what the labels in my clothes read, I'm just happier in my clothes & in my own skin. I've also reached a happy place in my day to day eating where I no longer continually consult the app for ProPoint calculations. I tend to eat the same things week in week out & know the point values of most foods so can eat healthy, balanced meals & snack on fruit & the likes, still reaching for the occasional treat free from any guilt. And really, regardless of which healthy eating programme you decide to follow, I feel that that's the key. Balance, that is. 

Ready Steady Brekkie......

 We all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day & I loves me some brekkie. My name is Lisa and I'm addicted to CRUMPETS! Honestly, Mr Warbuton must be sitting at home looking at his profit margins wondering what the hell happened last year. In fact he's sitting at home, staring at his new Ferrari I bought him wondering who bought all his crumpets! I bloomin' love 'em! It's my go-to brekkie now (snack too) & it takes a mean contender to make me me stray. Hubby is convinced I'll wake up one morning to find I've turned in to a fully fledged crumpet. I'd be interested to know how many crumpets I've consumed since June 2014. Many, I feel...possibly hunners! 

 Two lightly toasted crumpets, topped with a mashed-up heated banana (1 min in the microwave) with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon on top. Voila! Actually want to go make one as I type these words to you at 1.14am (Late, I know! Sciatic pain woes!).  Yummy, hot & filling! All you could want from a winter's brekkie. These are only 2 ProPoints each on WW (I get 32 ProPoints per day) so it's a filling option that isn't high in salt, fat or sugars. Add blueberries, strawberries for more sweetness (they're lovely heated also). Guarantee you'll be hooked once you try 'em. Just make sure you leave enough for me in Tesco's.

 Another brekkie option I love is Overnight Oats. Dry porridge oats, fruits of your choice, natural yoghurt (or flavoured low fat yoghurt if you'd prefer) & milk. I recommend you use a clip top jar (see photo & links below) as it makes it way easier than a bowl to assemble & store.

Photo courtesy of ikea.com

 All you need to do is layer up your ingredients in a repetitive manner-

a sprinkle of oats

a topping of yogurt 

some fruit   

Repeat the above 

 When the jar is nearly full pour in your milk to soften through the several layers, pop the jar in the fridge overnight & by morning you'll have a scrumptious, filling breakfast which you can even take with you on the go. Result! And no cooking involved! Double result! 

 Mimi is all about preparing in advance so she'll boil an egg the night before & have it with some gluten-free toast in the morning. Eggs are a great source of protein & I always find a boiled egg more filling than I expect it to be. We both love scrambled eggs & smoked salmon too which makes for a quick but more civilised of breakfasts on the weekend. Eggs rock! They roll too! Get it?!? 

 Mimi has just this week started using her slow cooker for the first time ever, in an attempt to cook when she AIN'T at home, so no doubt there'll be a post about her kitchen adventures soon. Ever the Girl Guide Mimi. Be prepared & all that. 

 I bid you farewell for now & wish you all the best in your efforts to be a healthier you in 2015. Sometimes all it takes is one suggestion of a meal or snack to break you out of the monotony of your daily/weekly food routine. Hell, if you comment below with some brekkie ideas I may even swap my crumpets (albeit momentarily) for something new! Wonders will never cease.

Wait!

Maybe my 2015 resolution should be to eat less crumpets?!?!

Mr Warburton & Mr Kingsmill would disapprove I feel. 

Over and out.

W x

The Links

Crumpets 

http://www.warburtons.co.uk/breakfast/product/crumpets

http://www.kingsmillbread.com/our-range/bakery-favourites/crumpets/6-crumpets/

Clip Jars

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/70213545/

http://www.tesco.com/direct/bormioli-rocco-clip-glass-storage-small-jar/653-7506.prd?pageLevel=&skuId=653-7506

http://www.dunelm-mill.com/shop/kilner-0.5-litres-clip-top-glass-jar-109496

Weight loss Post

http://mimiandweesse.blogspot.co.uk/2014_10_01_archive.html

Yup, I've Lost Weight!

Yup I'm a slightly slimmer version of me. 

It was through choice(& effort) & not because I had an issue with what weight I actually was (as I've never been one to weigh myself regularly), nor was it anything to do with being unhappy with my clothing size.  I've been comfortable with being mostly a 10-12 (my JLo booty sometimes needing even more room!) for the last few years. No biggy really... it was a case of, you just feel you could do with shifting a lil' bit of padding and you make the effort to do so.   I felt it had crept on gradually & was needing the heave ho, especially with a swimwear kinda holiday on the cards. 

 Hubby had also been keen to lose a bit of weight but was not so enamoured by the thought of  attending a class (for various reasons) which I could totally understand. Having taught a weekly dance class to a marvellous Weight Watchers group in Cumnock near Ayr , I'd heard great things & seen the amazing transformations of so many of my participants that it seemed the obvious choice. With the app being the affordable & best option for us both, we joined then navigated our way through the it, figuring out what our weekly points allowed us to munch on.....which we discovered was everything and anything really (you just gotta 'point it')'!! 

Using the app & following the ProPoints system has been a walk in the park...a breeze...an absolute doddle! Each day you type in what you've eaten (1000s of brand name products are uploaded in to the site for you to find and choose from) & you can see your remaining daily allowance, as well as your weekly points. So there's no way to lose track of what you've eaten! Of course you can also use it to make healthy, informed choices too. If you fancy something but not sure how many points it is, you simply type it in & it'll bring up the value....then it's down to you to decide if it's worth it to dive in or opt for something lower in points!  

We began our weight loss journey June 4th & within that 4 months of sticking to the program & enjoying regular exercise (I have an active job) I have lost 1 stone 6lbs thus far!  It's been a steady, gradual process with some weeks there being no weight loss at all. 

So what does a typical day look like for me? Firstly I'd like to point out that these are my preferences & that the program offers variety....I'm just a creature of habit most of the time & enjoy certain food groups over others. 

Brekkie? 

Crumpets have become my staple diet. They are low in points, filling and go with almost anything.  Can't even imagine how many of them I've eaten since we started the diet!  I quite often have mashed-up,  heated banana over them. Could literally live on that. It's soooo yummy! Eggs are a fave too and I usually boil an egg the night before to ensure I get that protein fix first thing. 

Lunch? 

Tends to be either tuna or chicken breast with heaps of salad. Low points, mega filling (haven't imputed my spinach leaves below but believe me, they're always there). I've seen myself add all sorts of veg too. Whatever we have that's zero points & will fill out my lunch goes in. Spring onions, broccoli, peas.... My tub is always brimming with greenery! 

Dinner?

We are enjoying the foods we ate before (mainly)but have adjusted portion sizes and thought twice about a jarred sauce, opting to make our own to allow us to control the calorie intake. Chicken fajitas, burgers, stir fries, curries.....we enjoy a varied and tasty diet. Will be posting a few recipes soon!

  My current daily allowance is 26 points which I ALWAYS eat. Rob on the other hand, has a much higher point allowance than me (men get more and it also differs depending on weight) and almost NEVER eats his full allowance. He annoyingly updates me every evening after dinner, when I've only got 2 points or so left, that he has something like 26 left....26 left??!!! He's eaten all day and is still left with the amount of points I get in a whole day! What the actual....?? He apparently should be trying to eat all his points each day but he finds it virtually impossible. He snacks on fruit mainly at work which has a zero points value so he doesn't clock up points during the day. We also both have 49 'weeklies' which you can tap into if you'd like to have that dessert or that glass of wine. Some days I find myself going over my daily 26 by a few points so this is where the weeklies come in to play and I don't feel too guilty about stretching out my allowance. I rarely eat even half of my weeklies but I know they're always there in case of scran emergencies! Oh yeah, we all have 'em! Birthday cake is of course a must-have! 

 My diet hasn't changed much to be honest. I was a healthy eater beforehand with a very balanced diet. What I would say has been the magic ingredient for me with Weight Watchers is the weighing and measuring of my food. Portion control is the key! Yes fruit and veg are 'free foods' so they require no measuring at all but my meat, dairy, carbs etc are weighed (or their weight checked on the packets) before consumption. Cooking or preparing food for two often left us in a scenario where we were overeating at dinner time in an attempt not to 'waste food'. Of course we could have cut down the portions and used the leftovers another day but we weren't....we were just eating them unnecessarily. Filling up on veg and fruit now allows us to eat plenty of the good stuff and manage everything else better than ever before. Tonnes of salad with a burger means I don't need potato wedges with it. Heaps of veg in a casserole means one chicken breast each is plenty for us. Swapping rice for grated cauliflower allows us to eat a heaped plateful without the bloated tummy and the carb overload! It's not rocket science but it kinda feels like it.

  As someone who ate healthily I wasn't convinced that the diet would work for me. I thought any weight loss would only be in high intensity workouts, which sadly (due to my work load,  I don't always have time for. I love exercise, it's my job to be active but because of the regularity of my daily 'workouts', my body expects that level of cardio and needs something far more intense to have an effect.  I was convinced that I didn't have much to change diet wise and yes, that was partly true but a few tweaks have made all the difference surprisingly.....1 stone 6 lbs to be exact! 

I'm down a dress size. I feel great. I'm never hungry. I have stacks of energy. I'm not bored as I can eat anything. It's given me the boost I needed mentality as well as physically. Result, I say! 

I'll keep y'all posted on our weight loss adventures and will be sure to post some recipes too. 

Over and out,

Weesse x