Summer Healthy Eating

So, as I may have mentioned, I am trying very hard to eat more healthy, to exercise more and to tone my tummy and thighs up for the Summer. Yes, I know, Summer is pretty much already here now...but I am still working on it!

Being in a healthy relationship, my weight gain over the past several months is higher than I am happy about and I really want to do something about it.

I have pretty much cut carbs out of my evening meals and try to stick to plenty of vegetables with either chicken or steak. 

I have two slices of wholemeal toast for my breakfast and for lunch I generally have chopped fruit and veg, with some cheese and salsa. It's something I have had since I was a child and, being out of work at the moment, it is something I have time to prepare fresh on the day. I tend to have a Strawberry yoghurt with Strawberries as a 'dessert'.

My main downfall is Wine and Chocolate in the evenings. Sometimes after a stressful day I fall back on this and I know this is one of the major factors preventing me from reaching my targets. I've been trying to find healthier alternatives and something I am obsessed with at the moment is carrot sticks and Salsa. 

I have also tried to make healthier mini pizza bread with Be Good to Yourself Naan bread as well lately, for when I really want pizza. I make it with a bit of Cheddar and some Salsa for a slightly healthier version of the real thing.

Healthy vs Unhealthy

I feel I am living a constant battle at the moment. I am aiming to lose some weight and tone up in time for my brother's wedding at the end of May and the start of Summer, but at the same time I love food, and wine, which makes things a little harder!

I have been generally eating healthier meals lately. Ed cut out carbs so a lot of our meals have been just meat and salad or veg, which is obviously better than some of the meals I used to eat in the past, but when I eat bad foods I tend to go overboard... These are a few of my good, and not so good, and downright awful things I have been eating lately...

Steak with Salad

This is what Ed and I will eat on a Tuesday after Boxing as it is very quick and simple and pretty good for us too. We use Caesar salad but I don't like the dressing so have it plain.
 
Hunters Chicken

This isn't too bad, depending on how it is cooked. I have also started replacing the baked potato with sweet potato, which makes it better for you. This is usually something I will put together on a Monday night as I won't have had work and it takes a little more effort than some of the dishes I make.

Lamb Steak

This is actually a creation of Ed's. He is a much better cook than I am and this had a pear and parsnip puree, which is something I wouldn't even know where to start on. It was very yummy. Ed is good at making me try new things.
 
Fried Egg & Bacon Sandwich

 

I never used to like eggs until recently when I started having scrambled egg on toast for breakfast. Unfotunately that then changed to fried egg sandwiches, which are my current breakfast obsession, which is not good and something I am trying to get out of doing. I don't usually include Bacon as well as Egg so it's not as bad as this... but still, not good!

Baked Sweet Potato with Cheese & Chilli Dressing

I actually saw this on another blog and fell in love. I used to eat baked potato with Cheese and Tuna before Boxing but it left me feeling a bit bloated and eurgh so I started swapping it for this and it makes me feel so much better.

Chocolate dipped Strawberries

Ok, onto the truly bad stuff. I am in love with Chocolate dipped strawberries, or just chocolate in general. I try to kid myself that having the strawberries makes it better for me, but it really doesn't. Oh so yummy though!

Pancakes with Chocolate Spread and Strawberries

 

Ok, so I have a confession to make. I am addicted to chocolate spread. It has to be Cadbury's own brand and it can be in pancakes with strawberries, or it can be straight from the jar. It is the main reason I am not losing any of the weight I planned to, and in fact am putting more on. Not. Good! (But so amazingly tasty)

7 day food diary

I have had a couple of requests for me to write out a diary of all the food I've eaten throughout a typical week so people can see how I'm going about losing my baby weight. As I've mentioned before, my diet is more of a healthy eating plan with treats allowed at the weekend. I also now do a class- work it baby in Bournemouth once a week which is a mixture of weights, aerobics and cheer leading moves.

Monday:
Breakfast- Special K high fibre cereal bar
Glass of water
Lunch- jacket potato with small tin of Heinz beans and a thumbnail of cheese, handful of cherry tomatoes, glass of water
Snack- chopped apple, carrot, grapes, tomato and cheese, glass of water
Dinner- chicken pasta with onion and green pepper, glass of water

Tuesday:
Breakfast- High fibre cereal bar, two slices of wholemeal toast with small amount of margarine, glass of water
Lunch- jacket potato with tuna, handful of cherry tomatoes, glass of water
Snack- small probiotic yoghurt
Dinner- herb chicken with new potatoes and vegetables, glass of water, raspberry sorbet for dessert

Wednesday:
Breakfast- cereal bar, glass of water
Lunch- jacket potato with tinned spaghetti, handful of cherry tomatoes, glass of water
Snack- cereal bar
Dinner- chilli con carne, whole grain rice and probiotic yoghurt and tangerine for dessert, glass of water

Thursday:
Breakfast- cereal bar, two slices brown toast, glass of water
Lunch- wholemeal wrap with small amount of cheese, turkey pieces and tomato slices, glass of water
Snack- nothing
Dinner- pasta bolognese, 2 malteaster bunnies (Naughty!), two glasses of water

Friday:
Breakfast- cereal bar, glass of water
Lunch- 2 wholemeal wraps with small amount of cheese and tomato slices, an apple and a glass of water
Snack- cereal bar
Dinner- fish pie, raspberry sorbet for dessert, water

Saturday:
Breakfast- two slices wholemeal toast
Lunch- chicken pieces, apple, water
Dinner- whole takeaway style pizza, half a bag of sharing bits of wispa chocolate, water

Sunday:
Breakfast- cereal bar, water
Lunch- nothing
Dinner- Sunday roast with cheesecake for dessert, water, small 1/2 glass of rose wine
Snack- chopped fruit and cheese, water, couple of penny sweets

That's my diet throughout one week. I attend my class on a Monday and I try and walk with pushchair throughout week when I can (though haven't been due I snow). I lose around 2 pounds a week.

Welcome to 2013!

So, another new year is upon us and I know people get fed up of seeing or hearing about resolutions, feeling that they are a waste of time and people never stick to them, but I disagree. I think that even if people don't stick at a resolution for the whole year, they are at least finding something that requires change in their life. Fair enough if you don't have anything you want or need to change in your life, but for a lot of people the end of a year and beginning of a new one is the perfect time to reassess and realise what they can improve. 2013 is set to be a good year for me with Tim moving in next week and preparing for our wedding next February. I have a list of things I want to achieve this year:

1. Lose 1 stone by April

This one is simple. I have a further 1 stone to lose before I am back to (just below) my pre pregnancy weight. I have a huge motivation to lose the weight this time round as I am not allowing myself to go Wedding dress shopping until I have lost it..... torture! I also set the deadline for April as we are having Carly's Christening the end of April and my birthday is the beginning of May, so it will mean I can be a yummy mummy again in time for those events, perfect! I plan to lose the weight with healthy eating, smaller portions and allowing myself treat days at the weekends.

2. Tone up my 'Mum Tum'

Linked to the first, this one is also to help with fitting into a wedding dress and also to help boost my self confidence. Although I am only 23, with two young children, I find it hard to see myself in any way other than mummy at the moment and I want this to change! I am so excited to be starting my old exercise class back up this month, as well as doing plenty of walking with my mum (who is also trying to lose weight and tone up) and getting the good old wii back out of storage for a bit of Zumba.

3. Only drink on special occassions

To be fair, this will be pretty easy as the only real reason I have been drinking more than I would usually lately is because of Christmas and New Year, which are special occassions anyway... It is so much hassle to drink whilst breastfeeding anyway (for those who don't know, it involves using a breast pump to express before and after drinking as well as sterilising bottles you wouldn't usually need to sterilise). For the sake of having a couple of glasses of wine, it just isn't really worth the effort. I also know that by not having the odd glass of wine I will also find it easier to lose the weight so all in all a win win situation.

4. Pay off our wedding

This one will take a little time, but rather than leave all the balances that need to be paid until just before the wedding and being left with a massive bill, we have decided it would be better to spread the cost out over the year and pay off something every couple of months. First on our list is the photography!

5. Take lots of Photos

I love taking photos and having something tangible to look back on in the future. I got a new camera at Christmas from my nan so I plan to take a lot more photos, especially of the kids as they grow throughout the year.

6. Start my business

This has been on the agenda for some time now. Due to having the kids, my career never really set off after graduation, but hopefully this is the year that will change. As soon as Carly is a couple of months older, I plan to start up my own business, and hopefully by the time I am able to have her in nursery for a little while, I will be able to start making it a proper success. I can't wait to be able to work again. Although I love being a mum, sometimes it's nice to use your brain a bit more.

7. Visit people more

This is very dependent on how much money we have as we are going to be on a very tight budget with the wedding. I really miss friends and family who live in other parts of the country and aim to visit as much as I can this year.

8. Get another tattoo

I have had my next tattoo planned for a few months now and can't wait until I can have it done for my birthday. I have a tattoo of a feather with the word believe which is for my grandad who passed away when I was 12 on my left wrist and I want to have a rose on my right wrist with the word love for my nan.

9. Make new friends

To be honest, I am fed up with the way I have been treated in the past by so called 'friends'. 2013 is definitely about getting rid of the people who haven't been there for me in the past, and finding people who actually give a damn.

10. Demand a Smear Test

I know this isn't the done thing, but I actually really want a smear test done. Apparently the risk of cervical cancer increases when you have children, and having now had two and with my mum having had an abnormal result in the past I am really reluctant to wait it out until I am 25 (another year and a half!). I'm not sure whether they will allow me to have one or not, but I am definitely going to try my hardest! I don't understand the women who are allowed to have them and don't go because they are 'scared it might hurt'. I would take a bit of discomfort over a risk of leaving my children alone any day...

Back on the Health Kick

If you have been reading my blog since the beginning, you may remember that my first posts followed my healthy eating plan which saw me lose my baby weight and more in time for Cameron's Christening in April 2011. Since then I lost a further half a stone and toned up through regular exercise. However, since moving house last month, I have been under quite a bit of stress and my weight has creeped back up.

I am by no means overweight, but neither do I want to be. So as of tomorrow, I will be going back on the healthy eating wagon. My treat day really helped me last time, so I will be using this again. Basically, I will eat very healthily throughout the week, also decreasing portion size for the evening meal, and then on either a Friday or a Saturday I can eat anything bad I have been craving that week whether it is a takeaway curry, a big bag of doritoes or a bar of chocolate (or all three, it has been known to happen).

Wish me luck!

Project 365 #44 Healthy Eating

After eating quite a few bad things lately I thought I would be a bit healthier and yesterday for lunch I had tuna and beans on a jacket potato. It was actually very yummy!

Getting Back on the Healthy Eating!

If you are regular readers you may remember that I lost all of my pregnancy weight plus half a stone more by eating healthily and having one treat day a week. I fell off the wagon, so to speak, a good few weeks ago and started eating utter rubbish on almost a daily basis. I have no appetite mostly so when I am hungry I eat all the wrong things. For awhile this was ok as I stayed the same weight, but in the last week I have slowly begun to gain a little back and it has given me the push I needed to get back on track with the healthy eating and fitness. I will get my flat tummy back!

I will be eating healthy again, with the treat day one day on the weekend. I am also starting a mummy fitness group tomorrow night which I bought from Groupon ages ago. I am very excited about it but also nervous as I hate going to exercise classes, especially when I am alone! I hope that going to a class will encourage me to keep up exercise in my spare time at home as well.

Are you crrently on a healthy eating or fitness plan? Are you coping well or struggling?