London Life

Greetings from Lovely London… I am currently living it up in a beautiful serviced apartment in the heart of London. It is amazing. It has a fully functioning kitchen, a shower that would strip the skin off your back, and the biggest bed with the most comfortable mattress, fluffiest pillows and cosiest blanket.  If you’re traveling, this is definitely the way to do it!

I have been concerned about how my eating habits my go while away. It’s so much easier to be at home and in my routine (and my comfort zone), but I know that this is a way of life for me now, I need to be able to adapt my food choices to my life. And I am trying very hard.  I made really good food choices yesterday, I had a bagel with smoked salmon and salad for my breakfast and I went out for dinner to a lovely Italian. I read the menu, I drooled over the pizza choices and the creamy cheesey gooey sauces, so much so that they had to put a “Caution, Wet Floor” sign beside my seat.  But, as tempted as I was by all that, I made good choices. I had an avocado and prawn salad, no dressing, for starter and Gnoochi with a tomato and basil sauce.  I had to fling the menu at the poor girl and order her away from my table before I changed my mind and said “Four cheese sauce, with extra cheese please”..

I can’t speak as highly of my willpower when it came to the bread and oil that was brought to my table. I ate that. I am not proud, but man it was so tasty. So I am happy to live with the shame…. The great thing about being in London is that you manage to get a lot of steps in without actually having to make a huge conscious effort to move. So yesterday I had managed to do a grand total of 14,534 steps without really trying… although tell my legs that cause they are killing me today!

After such a successful eating day yesterday, it’s given me the confidence to remain on track and not completely loose the plot while here. Smart choices! I’m starting with low pointed breakfasts (had fruit salad and granola bar (5pp)) and I’ll do the something similar for lunch so that I can be a bit more relaxed about dinner.

London is such a busy place. It’s one of my favourite places to visit, but I am really missing Himself and the Dolly. I had a facetime with them last night and my poor Dolly didn’t understand what was going on. She got so upset when I was saying goodbye to her. I think she’s wondering where the heck I’ve gone. Only two more nights to go! This jet setting lifestyle wouldn’t really be for me.

Week 4 - The Result

Well I made it safely to the end of Week 4, and I have had another loss! A loss of 2.5lb kids! That's a total loss of 6.5lb! I am so pleased with myself.  This is the first time I've been in weight watchers that I have consistently lost! I am so close to my silver 7 that I can see it's shiny sparkly goodness winking at me in the distance! This day next week I'll be sticking that bad boy to my card!!!

Like I said, the scales isn't the be all and end all, but it sure does make me feel even better knowing that it's working!

Now the biggest challenge - a week in London without gaining!! Thankfully, I got word that there is a tube strike so I'll be found trotting around London for the next few days!

It's Weigh Day - Keep Her Lit is nearly over

The end of Keeping Her Lit is in sight.  It's been a tough week! The Diet God's have conspired against me all week and done their utmost to distract me from my goal, but for once,  I was bigger than (most) of my excuses! I have been as sick as a small hospital all week - might have mentioned that once or twice. But I still managed to get up and going and do over 10k steps every day this week bar yesterday. Which was the worst day ever....

I thought I was going to die!

In preparation for my weekend in Donegal, I got up on Saturday morning and worked out to about 5k steps. I hopped in the car, fresh as a daisy, and headed off for my 3.5 hour drive. The Dolly was a pet and slept a good portion of the journey but we stopped half way to stretch the pins and grab a quick something to eat. And herein lies my downfall... I went to a supermarket / garage place and decided that I would say no to the spicy wedges and jambon and go for a chicken and salad wrap. I paid dearly for this choice... because I got a dose of food poisoning that hit me at about 4am and caused me to pass out in a heap on the bathroom floor ensuring that my poor father nearly had (another) heart attack. I was bed bound for most of the day yesterday. It was Feckin horrific.... but may bode well for the scales eh???

Despite all that conspired against me, I have completed 68,330 steps. I am just over 12,000 short of my goal of 81k and am going to do what I can to achieve it. I am still weak as a kitten but a little walk won't kill me...

Someone made a comment to me during the week about my positivity and that they hoped that I had the support to back it all up..it got me thinking. I am blessed to be surrounded by some incredibly supportive people,  Himself being my biggest cheerleader. But regardless of the support I have,  this journey will not be a success unless I support myself. We need to give ourselves the very best chance to succeed. So, for example,  right now may not be the best time to look into that tour of Cadburys ....

Speaking of the Husband. He went off out and bought me a lovely early birthday present. Diamonds?  Good lord no! A hunk of black rubber that vibrates if I sit still for 30 mins and tracks all my moving and grooving? Why yes, that romantic old divil knows how to cut straight to my heart!!!! He bought me a jawbone UP24. The most addictive thing I have ever owned. I am obsessed with it!

I made it through Week 4. I haven't jacked it in and thrown in the Towel. I am still remaining positive and I am so proud of myself for getting over this week without just saying "ah feck it, I'm sick, pass the curry and prawn crackers".

I would be over the moon with another 2lb loss, but will be conservative and say 1lb. And again, that scales is just a number.  It's not always a fair representative of all the work I have put in during the week. It can not make me as happy as I was made on Friday morning when I put on a pre-pregnancy work dress,  and it zipped, and I could wear it out in public! Granted I had a massive amount of scaffolding on underneath it holding everything in. But I felt amazing!!!! The scales can't give you that feeling!!

Good luck to all my weight watchers this week! Sending you all feather light thoughts

Some of my meals

All of my moving and grooving and my new favourite toy 

Me in my work dress delighted with myself of a Friday morning !!

Thought for today

It is by attempting to reach the top in a single leap that so much misery is produced in the world - William Cobbett

We all know Rome wasn't built in a day,  no matter what it is we are trying to achieve; personal success, professional success,  increased fitness or decreased girth, it won't be done over night. We need to work at it and be prepared to stay the length of our journey. Don't sabotage yourself by expecting too much too soon!

(Final) Thought for Today

Thought for Today

Keeping Her Lit... on a slow burner

Ah lads! It's finally got me. The Feckin head cold has taken a hold of me! I can't believe it. I've dodged throat and ear and chest infections like an immunity ninja for weeks! Himself has been struck down, my Dolly has had it twice and I've still avoided it. But last night before I went to bed I could feel the cotton wool expanding in my head,  my throat starting to burn and a tightness in my chest as I coughed up a lung like a seasoned smoker!!

I haven't the time or the inclination to be sick! I have steps to maintain, pounds to loose, weight to keep off!

Still managed to do over 10k steps today so that's not good.

All sympathy and virtual hugs and love gratefully accepted and appreciated!