Week 21

So, I have been absent for a few weeks - I have sat and recounted the weeks and it appears I am now at week 21. Weigh in this morning was a surprising 124.3kg which gives me a total loss of 19.4lbs - I need to get back on track! 

But on the bright side, any weight loss is good weight loss and I have managed to keep this off. My lowest weight so far this year is 123.6kg so I appear to be maintaining rather than gaining which I have never done before when I have lost some weight and then wandered off from the diet plan.

Christmas and New Year are always bad times for weight loss and good times for weight gain but we have planned our meals and should not be eating to excess - pate and crumpets for breakfast, short ribs for lunch with usual roast potatoes and veg and then the boys have Christmas pudding and I shall have some fruit (I don't like Christmas pudding)

I need to cut down my hours at work - at the moment I am working 6 days a week which works out as  at least an extra 23 hours per week which leaves me no time for myself. How my new line manager thinks I am going to be able to achieve my workload in the usual working week will be interesting but on the bright side if I do walk out of work at 4pm then I can be home and preparing the evening meals (hubby does the majority of the cooking and tends to be a feeder) and even get a walk around the block sorted each evening - I can but dream that I will that organised!

I don't usually set New Year's resolutions and I don't intend to do that this year either. What I need to set are new goals which can be achieved instead. Reading through the connect chat board on the Weight Watcher's website shows me that my amount of weight loss is perfectly achievable but it takes determination and effort - I start out with them both but they seem to jump ship fairly early on! 

My life needs to be better organised, my health needs to improve to allow me to live long enough to see grandchildren (way to young to be a grandmother yet), I need to make time for me - these are my new life goals.

I now need to work towards them - I seem to be on repeat but I know what I need to do, I just need to maintain the determination and effort.

Week 16 and a bit!

Life has been hectic and I haven't been following the plan as I should be!

Need to reset my goals (just like my iPad!) and get back on the wagon.

Starting weight was 133.1kg

Current weight is 124.7kg

Total loss so far 8.1kg (17.8lbs)

So still a good loss but that's now on average 1lb per week - so not bad because if I keep that up that's still 4 stone in a year!

Need to get back to aquafit and I have found a zumba pass which will be valid until January so hoping to get back to that as well - teacher does something call zumba plus which includes 15 extra minutes of toning the areas we all love to hate.

Also need to get back to planning meals - have winged it the past 4 weeks and I know that for this plan to work I have to plan!

The party season is upon us and although I do not go out for either my work or hubby's work, I suddenly have lots of social engagements to attend. I need to be able to plan ahead which can sometimes be very difficult when you are not going to chain restaurants and can't find the menus beforehand to try and made a planned sensible choice.

Loosing the amount of weight that I have to loose was never going to be easy, but the NSVs I have at present is that I have dropped at least one trouser size in my work trousers and my jeans are saggy on me now and could do with a new pair! My tops feel looser on me and I probably need to look to invest in some new ones as well. So I know that things are good, I just need to stay focused and get there.

I have changed my weigh in day to a Wednesday from now on so week 18 will be the starting point from next week!

Week 13

It has been a fraught couple of weeks - but then again, in my life, that just seems to be a normal week!

I put on 1kg on week 11 but have managed to loose 0.5kg in week 12.

I still need to look to move my weigh-in day to a Thursday - forgot to do it this week, but am off work next Thursday so hopefully I will remember to try it on that day.

Have been fairly good all week this past week but we have been to collect son from his first 6 weeks n the Army and so on the Friday I had a small cooked breakfast at our Premier Inn hotel and then didn't eat anything else until we got home. We stopped off at Pizza Express and I thought I was being good ordering one very thin pizza. Got home and tracked it- 33 fat points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For the love of god - that's horrendous. That took my total of fat points on Friday to 73 points  - so bad!
I also haven't pointed the vodka or the snacks we had at the hotel on the Thursday night.

Fit points have also dipped over the past couple of weeks and I haven't hit my 85 point target for a couple of weeks now - really need to step it up!

Weigh in then was a surprise - I lost 1.4kg which brings my total loss to 9.5kg or 20.9 pounds in old money -that's a stone and a half - wow!

Need to work hard and see what happens next week

Week 10 - for the love of God!!!!!!!!

So this week, I have put back on the 100g that I lost last week!

Weekends appear to be my bad time - wondering if I should change my weigh in day to Wednesday or Thursday instead?

Will weigh myself on Thursday this week and see what it says

Busy week last week as we are expecting CQC at work from Wednesday and I think they will be looking to speak to me - how have I coped? Eaten crap!

I see a pattern here - I got to around this weight last time and then stopped going.

Need to work harder - seems a bit deja vu!

Difficult week as I am away on Thursday night at a hotel with a meal provided - need to look at the best foods to eat but it will be an on the hoof choice I think

Swim club boot camp lady is off again for 2 weeks so we don't plan to swim this week but instead go for a walk around a park in the dark - and we have the scary clowns here, must make sure we are in pairs!

Hope to be better next week - maybe even start to post my meal plans too

Week 9

Weigh in this week and I've lost 0.1kg - so really I've stayed the same!

I have been naughty this week and eaten all of my points every day and then all of my weekly points as well.

Exercise is not so great and I really need to start walking around the block each night - just leaving work so late, makes it dark by the time I get home and I'm so tired I just don't have the energy.

My other problem is that I am so tired that I really don't have the energy for aquafit  - I am turning up each week but just cannot out 100% into the class.

I have measured myself again this week as my monthly check - another inch from my hips so I am happy with that - more reasons to go and make the effort at aquafit! In fact, my work trousers are starting to be baggy once more and I have the next size down in my wardrobe from when I lost weight last time and they fit! May not be able to sit for long periods in them and could probably do with being a long length rather than a standard length, but its the next size down!

Targets for this month:

Loose another 4 pounds - this would take me to 1 and a half stone weight loss

Go to aquafit every week - try and loose another inch from my hips, I dream of having a hip size in the 40's!

Leave work at 6pm each day - this will give me energy when I get home to go and walk around the block.

Try and find a new pair of trainers that don;t aggravate my achilles problem.

Eat better - I am tired, I am missing monkey, husband is grumpy, therefore I eat crap!

Week 7 and 8 (things have been a bit busy!)

So, I have reached week 8 and all is good!

Week 7 - not such a good one!

We spent week  7 visiting family so that my son could say his goodbyes as he left home to join the Army.

First off, we went to Grampa (my Dad) - pub meal out, chose salmon but it wasn't a great meal and I didn't eat it all.

The next day, we went to visit Nan and Grandad and the Great Aunts and Uncles - more meals out, clotted cream on top of ice creams with flakes in and generally poor food! Was informed by my Mum that eating grapes would make me fat!

Managed to fit in a 30 minute swim and we also did lots of walking  on one of the days up and down cliffs!

Then the end of the week we took him off to the Army - his best friend was going in too and we rented a farmhouse about 20 miles from the base and the two families stayed there all together. Lovely village pub with great food but lots of alcohol too!

Result of week 7? 1lb on  - oh dear!

Week 8 was much better - think I needed something to focus on to take my mind off the fact that he was gone and was not texting or ringing home!

Managed exercise - aquafit and then a 2 hour walk with hubby at the weekend and with other small bits of activity I was almost at 200 minutes for the week.

Had some great meals, but managed to stay more or less within my points and used up all of my weeklies as well!

Weigh in this week was 1.7kg off bringing me to a total of 8.5 kg in total in 8 weeks - that my friends is a great weight loss as far as I am concerned!

My work uniforms are starting to feel looser, I can do up my raincoat more easily and my new work trousers are starting to feel loose.

I am due to measure myself this weekend to see if I have lost any more inches - it does feel like it.

So, onwards and downwards as they say - here's hoping that week 9 is a good one!

7.3kg down!

So this week I weighed in a day early as I was going to be away from home for a few days - managed to loose 1.2kg bring me to a total of 7.3kg weight loss or 16 lbs. This makes a happy bunny- I had had a large meal out on the Saturday and knew that I would be having meals out while we are away this week.

Exercise levels have not been good, I am working stupid hours at work in anticipation of being off this week and so I have only made 60 minutes of aquafit exercise this week - once again, must try harder needs to be my motto this week.

I am very tired this week as well and could do with just sleeping, but with only child going into the Army on Sunday, I really don't have time to sleep either!

I took hubby off my car insurance last year after he wrote his car off - nothing dramatic, just drove through a ford about 6 inches deep and flooded the engine - total write off! So when we go away, we always take my car and now I am the only one who can drive - need to drive over 200 miles to our destination so will be tired.

This coming week, if I stay the same I will be happy - meeting the baby brother on the Monday - for lunch, out with the parents on Tuesday evening for goodbye meal, travelling north Saturday and stopping in a farmhouse we have rented - meal out and lots of alcohol for the parents but not for the boys!

Will try and walk and maybe swim while at the parents - not aquafit but it will give me something!

Sorry for the poor blog this week - so tired! But I think I mentioned that!

So How Am I Doing So Far?

So this week sees me at the start of week 6 of this monumental weight loss journey - so how am I doing so far?

Starting weight: 133.1kg

Current weight: 127.0kg

Weight lost so far: 6.1kg

Starting body fat: 44%

Current body fat: 43.6%

Body fat lost so far: 0.4%

Bust was 45 inches and is now 43.5 inches

Waist was 39.5 inches and is now 37 inches

Hips were 54 inches and are now 53 inches

Total inches lost: 5

Am disappointed that I have put on 1 lb but I know why and so this week I need to be spot on with everything!

This past week has been hard. Its been my time of the month (TOTM as the say on the Weight Watchers connect board) and I have really hit my daily and weekly points hard - too hard I fear. I have managed to gain 84 fit points this week against my target of 80 so that's a good point, although I have earnt more in previous weeks.

This week I have been very tired - not sure why but I have felt completely wiped out and with a headache that started on Friday and lasted until Sunday morning, that didn't help very much either.

I need to get into the habit of eating earlier - hubby likes to eat late as he gets hungry later in the evening if we have eaten early - my answer to that is you snack on some fruit. I want to eat early and then be able to go to bed by about 10pm - I really need my beauty sleep, I am getting old and it's all taking its toll on me!

This week's goals will be:

Loose 1 lb
Aquafit
Walk around the block at least once
Swim at least once

It's my boss's 40th birthday on Thursday and we both have the day off and have a day of treats planned - lunch out at a posh restaurant, maybe a couple of beauty treatments in the afternoon, no doubt tea out too and then off to the local open air theatre in the evening. Pointing everything will be difficult, but I will do my best and if I can get in some extra fit points during the week that will help me no end.

Boot camp lady is back at aquafit and I really knew it last week but that helps me with loosing the inches so I am going to carry on plus I have a laugh with my friends who go.

I feel much better than I did, although I think hubby prefers me large as he does seem to sabotage me with food, but I will resist - well I have too otherwise I will fail and I am too old to be carrying this amount of weight around with me and I will end up being a patient who everybody moans about as I will be the large lady who needs 6 people to lift her - I will not be that patient, I cannot be that patient. I am a ticking time bomb the way I am now and I really need to take action as soon as possible. If I carry on the way I have been the past 6 weeks, then here's hoping that it will all work out for the best.

First Stone!

A little bit late with this week's post - things are a bit hectic in our house at the moment!

Only child has passed his GCSEs and this means he is off to the Junior Soldier College at Harrogate - we drop him off on his 17th birthday which is just over 2 weeks away. We have lots to do in those 2 weeks - visit grandparents in Bedfordshire and Devon as well as buy all of the stuff he is meant to be taking away with him.

So, Monday was the Bank Holiday - I lay in bed dreading the weigh-in - not sure why but hey ho!

Snuck downstairs about 6:30 - everyone else was still asleep and hopped onto the scales -1.9kg off! I was very shocked - to the point where I even got back on them just to be sure! This brings me to 6.7kg off in my first month - definitely not expecting that but I will take it thank you! This makes 14lbs and 12 oz - so my first stone has left me!

I haven't been so good with my activity last week and I don't think it will be good again this week, but with everything else going on at home, I will take what I can!

So, lets review my goals for August:

5kg weight loss - actually lost 6.7kg

Achieve 7,500 steps per day - my 28/7 average is 7,048 so almost there!

Attend aquafit each week (even if my friend isn't able to go) - managed 4 out of 5 classes - hurt my knee at Zumba!

Look at attending a Zumba class as well - have only been once and now the teacher has left the class - need to explore the new one. Maybe after the 18th September!

Body fat is now 43.5% - a reduction of 0.5%. Not a lot, but at least it's downwards!

BMI was 44.9 and now 42.7 - still obese by a long way but again, its downwards

So let's set September's goals:

2kg weight loss - I can't expect the same level this month. 1 lb per week is an achievable goal

Need to get to 7,500 step per day

Keep going to Aquafit - boot camp instructor has returned and I feel that I am having a workout and not a graceful musical movement around the pool!

Think about Zumba - must preserve the knee though!

Onwards and downwards my friends - see you all next week!

Lost a little bit more!

So, I am on week 3 and I have managed to loose a further 0.7kg so almost at 5kg for my first month

I haven't made my activity target this week as the weather has been poor and we didn't go for a walk on Sunday.

I only managed to eat all of my points on two days last week - 4 days under and 1 day I was over.

I need to plan a bit better for this week - haven't managed that so far today. Need to try harder.

Weight: 128.3kg - total weight loss 4.8kg

Activity: 104 minutes - 46 minutes below target :(

Goals for the coming week:

Loose 1kg

Must eat all of the daily points

Achieve 150 minutes of activity

STS - stayed the same :(

So this week, I have stayed the same - I have pointed every day and have only gone into my weekly points twice. In fact looking at my usage over the past week, I have not hit my daily points on 5 occasions - this I think is my problem.When you look at the connect board, the expert dieters say you should eat your points every day. That puts me in an awkward position for today as work was horrendous and I was still ringing patients at 7:30 - one even told me it was time to go home!! I managed to eat both breakfast and lunch but I still have  29 points to each tonight- that will be difficult!

I made it back to Zumba only to find that my current Zumba instructor is reducing her evening classes so that she can be at home with her teenage daughter more and that she will only do Zumba on the night I do my aquafit. She is doing Clubbercise so maybe I will make it to that one night - give it a go once I suppose!

Zumba made my right knee hurt, so I did not make it to aquafit on the Tuesday, instead I rested my knee for a couple of days and then swam 20 lengths on Thursday with hubby swimming 50!

Also went out with hubby on Sunday for a 10K walk along our local canal - very posh houses I can tell you!

So how did I do with my targets for last week?

Weight: 129.0kg - total weight loss 4.1kg

Body fat: 43.9% - total reduction 0.1%

Activity: 267 minutes - 117 minutes above target

Goals for the coming week:

Loose 1kg

Must eat all of the daily points

Make 150 minutes of activity again - aquafit gives me 60 minutes, swimming for 30 minutes as well, so that just leaves me another hour to find in the week - maybe try a walk around the block a couple of nights as well and that should just about do it.

Wish me luck!

Wasn't Expecting That!!

So, was up with the larks this morning for work, nipped down to the scales in the downstairs bathroom and OMG - 4.1kg off!! That is an amazing start. Don't think I will see that again in a long while, in fact I would be surprised to see that in a month!

Feeling good - went to Zumba after work, managed 37 minutes of activity on top of the hour of Zumba and also walked over 11,000 steps today and almost 8km (took the FitBit off for Zumba).

Best day since the half marathon!

Have also found an app for measuring bits and bobs on too - will measure tomorrow now as I don't think I can move off of the sofa - tomorrow morning is going to be fun!

Need to remember that slow and steady wins the race - it is important to take it one day at a time as well.

Let's see how the rest of the week pans out.

The Beginning

So, let me introduce myself.

I am 46 years old, 172cm high and weigh a whopping 133.1kg - that gives me a BMI of 44.9

This is the heaviest I have ever been and I know that it will be the most difficult to loose.

I bought some fancy scales yesterday which also told me that my body fat is 44%.

I have been a member of Weight Watchers for many years - for the past 3 years I have paid for an online membership (approx. £12 per month) and have just watched from the sidelines!

I bought myself a FitBit One a year ago today in a mindset of using it to become more active - not sure if I have achieved that overall but according to my 1 year anniversary I have walked 2,315,715 steps, climbed 4,916 floors and walked 1,644.26 km - that sounds a lot to me!

I will add though that I signed up with some friends last November for the half Moonwalk which was 15.2 miles and did achieve it but did not do nearly enough training for it - lesson thoroughly learnt there!

So what should my ultimate goals be?

Ideal weight: 54.7kg - 74.3kg (so need to loose between 58.8kg and 78.4kg - OMG!) ideal BMI

My body fat should be no higher than 30% for someone of my gender and age group

150 minutes of activity per week - government recommended guidelines

So how to achieve this?

I have started the diet on the 1st August - first weigh-in is tomorrow morning.

I have a smart point allowance of 46 points per day and a weekly smart point allowance of 42

I currently have a fit point target of 70 per week but looking back over the past couple of weeks, I have managed to achieve this with no problems and so I might increase it from tomorrow to 80 per week. (Fit points are a way to encourage you to exercise more. In the ideal world, you should not eat your fit points but if you were struggling, then they can be used once you have eaten all of your daily and weekly smart points).

I was getting disheartened  with not achieving my 10,000 steps per day according to my FitBit, so I have decreased that to 7,500 with the thought that once I have achieved that consistently for 2 weeks I can then increase it by 500 each time to do a gradual goal increment.

I have started going to aquafit at our local swimming pool - the instructor is a slave driver but amazing. The pool is completely shut to everybody else and then we are all over the pool, running (well trying in my case), shallow end and deep end workouts and it is the full hour. Where I have been previously we have had a little block on the side of the pool with everybody else having lessons or just casual swimming and getting in our way. I now get out of the pool sweating and my legs feel like jelly!.

I plan on measuring myself later on today so maybe I can also look at inches lost too!

So, on to my first month goals:

5kg weight loss

Achieve 7,500 steps per day

Attend aquafit each week (even if my friend isn't able to go)

Look at attending a Zumba class as well

I hope to update on a weekly basis as to how I have done - highs and lows - but I am hoping that I can start to feel better about myself and start to become a healthier person too!

Wish me luck