You know you hate your job when..
1. You're awake at 11.55pm on Sunday to try to make the most of the weekend
2. You're awake at 11.58pm on Sunday wishing that Monday wasn't 2 minutes away
3. 00.01 Monday, you're still awake and you know you should be asleep because you have to get up in 6 hours go to the dreaded j.o.b
4. You wake on Mondays and check your face for any signs of an allergic reaction that would mean you'd have to ring in sick- all you have is eye bags
5. You get to work late, you leave work early and you take too long for lunch hoping you'll get sacked- nobody notices
Sunday, 4 August 2013
Monday, 17 September 2012
Week 2 of my fasting diet
Ok, it's Monday; fasting day and I'm pretty hungry right now!
Week one of the diet didn't seem too bad, in fact, the second fasting day had me in a much chirpier mood than usual at work. Not sure if the two things are related but I guess I'll find out if it continues. You generally wouldn't confuse my face with a ray of sunshine (especially not at work) but for some reason I just had a some new energy from somewhere- I was wearing a yellow top instead of the usual black frock so maybe it was also a little bit of colour therapy.
Today I think I may have over-indulged in some strawberries and mistakenly thought that a piece of salmon would have about the same amount of calories as chicken but it actually has more! Baked salmon 100g is approx 190 calories so I have gone over a little to around 550 calories today. I had the same breakfast and dinner as last week but for tea I had salmon (marinaded in soy sauce, lemon and chilli) with cabbage, carrots and peas. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't check the calorie content before I made my tea and I hope that this has not been a wasted fasting day.
What the scales say:
Scales show a couple of pounds lost but it's only been a week so I'm not too bothered about that just yet. I'm usually a scale addict and weigh myself in the morning everyday but I've been trying to not get too obsessed with the morning step on, step off, have a wee, take off my socks and step back on! Maybe I should get the measuring tape out but I have a problem with misplacing it. I don't know why, I must have at least 5 tape measures in my house but they all end up missing (in a place where the pens and odd socks hide).
The other days:
On the days when I've not been fasting I have still been eating reasonably healthy. I'm still weighing out carbs as I had done before in my healthy eating plan. I've also had a couple of treats; a slice of carrot cake, a packet of crisps and a few gin and slimline tonics.... OK so I've had a few treats.
I shall end my post with a pic of my fasting-spoiling-calorie-laden dinner of salmon and veg whilst kicking myself for not checking first. Lesson learnt: do the math.
Week one of the diet didn't seem too bad, in fact, the second fasting day had me in a much chirpier mood than usual at work. Not sure if the two things are related but I guess I'll find out if it continues. You generally wouldn't confuse my face with a ray of sunshine (especially not at work) but for some reason I just had a some new energy from somewhere- I was wearing a yellow top instead of the usual black frock so maybe it was also a little bit of colour therapy.
Today I think I may have over-indulged in some strawberries and mistakenly thought that a piece of salmon would have about the same amount of calories as chicken but it actually has more! Baked salmon 100g is approx 190 calories so I have gone over a little to around 550 calories today. I had the same breakfast and dinner as last week but for tea I had salmon (marinaded in soy sauce, lemon and chilli) with cabbage, carrots and peas. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't check the calorie content before I made my tea and I hope that this has not been a wasted fasting day.
What the scales say:
Scales show a couple of pounds lost but it's only been a week so I'm not too bothered about that just yet. I'm usually a scale addict and weigh myself in the morning everyday but I've been trying to not get too obsessed with the morning step on, step off, have a wee, take off my socks and step back on! Maybe I should get the measuring tape out but I have a problem with misplacing it. I don't know why, I must have at least 5 tape measures in my house but they all end up missing (in a place where the pens and odd socks hide).
The other days:
On the days when I've not been fasting I have still been eating reasonably healthy. I'm still weighing out carbs as I had done before in my healthy eating plan. I've also had a couple of treats; a slice of carrot cake, a packet of crisps and a few gin and slimline tonics.... OK so I've had a few treats.
I shall end my post with a pic of my fasting-spoiling-calorie-laden dinner of salmon and veg whilst kicking myself for not checking first. Lesson learnt: do the math.
Monday, 10 September 2012
New diet... Fasting 5:2
So the diet up to my holiday had me stuck at scale mate. I managed to hit 8 stone but only for one day (after a big poo). Saying that, I did find myself fitting into size 10 jeans in some shops. I'm still not confidently a size 10, I'd say I'm a 10-12 and the mission is to be a size 10.
I've been reading recently about an intermittent fasting diet, eating only 500 calories two days per week and eating normally the rest of the week. Today is the day that I try to fast. I've worked out a 500 calorie day plan (using the quick calorie guide found in the book 'Cook Yourself Thin' and google searches for anything not included in the book) and I'm going to do this twice a week (if I can) to see how this goes.
Here is what I plan to eat on my fasting day:
Breakfast: Poached egg = 82
1 slice of wholemeal Toast, Warburtons 400g loaf = 58 (no butter or spread)
Coffee with Skimmed Milk = 20
Total 160 cal
Lunch:
Half tin of tuna = 70
Lettuce, 60g = 10
1 Tomato = 15
Total 95 cal
Dinner: Grilled chicken breast, 100g = 120
Steamed broccoli, 90g = 22
Boiled carrots 50g = 12
Total 154
Total for day = 409
This leaves 91 calories for a couple of cups of coffee and I may snack on a tomato or carrot if I'm feeling starving.
All in all, this doesn't sound too bad, three meals... lets go..
Some links to further reading on the fasting 5:2 diet research/ news articles:
Telegraph
Some nice 250 cal recipes:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/9483381/52-diet-healthy-recipes-250-calories-or-less.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19112549
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2183677/Why-starvation-diet-actually-good--make-live-longer.html
I've been reading recently about an intermittent fasting diet, eating only 500 calories two days per week and eating normally the rest of the week. Today is the day that I try to fast. I've worked out a 500 calorie day plan (using the quick calorie guide found in the book 'Cook Yourself Thin' and google searches for anything not included in the book) and I'm going to do this twice a week (if I can) to see how this goes.
Here is what I plan to eat on my fasting day:
Breakfast: Poached egg = 82
1 slice of wholemeal Toast, Warburtons 400g loaf = 58 (no butter or spread)
Coffee with Skimmed Milk = 20
Total 160 cal
Lunch:
Half tin of tuna = 70
Lettuce, 60g = 10
1 Tomato = 15
Total 95 cal
Dinner: Grilled chicken breast, 100g = 120
Steamed broccoli, 90g = 22
Boiled carrots 50g = 12
Total 154
Total for day = 409
This leaves 91 calories for a couple of cups of coffee and I may snack on a tomato or carrot if I'm feeling starving.
All in all, this doesn't sound too bad, three meals... lets go..
Some links to further reading on the fasting 5:2 diet research/ news articles:
Telegraph
Some nice 250 cal recipes:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/9483381/52-diet-healthy-recipes-250-calories-or-less.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19112549
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2183677/Why-starvation-diet-actually-good--make-live-longer.html
Saturday, 5 May 2012
Holiday diet part 2!
So it has been about 5 weeks since my scales and I reached a stale mate. My healthy eating for the last few weeks has been not so strict. I tried to contribute to saving the high street by shopping local at butchers and green grocers however I ended up having to go to several shops and never having everything I needed! One Saturday I tried to stock up on the weekly packed lunches but the local shops were out of brown bread, ham & tuna. To cut a long story short, I've done a big diet shop at Tesco, ordered online to avoid picking up anything I didn't need.
For the last few days I have been in the diet zone. I know when I first started the holiday diet again I was eating low fat/salt bacon a few times a week for breakfast; not this time. I'm having bacon as a weekend treat. I'm still sticking to the old GMTV bikini diet that I printed off the Internet a few years ago, it worked for me before so I'm hoping that it works for me again. It's varied and doesn't always feel like a diet but portion sizes are noticeably small- unless you fill the plate with greenery.
My breakfasts have so far been: 2 poached eggs on 1 slice of toast (no butter or spread), low fat yoghurt with banana, goji berries and (no added sugar/salt) muesli.
Today it's Saturday so I've had a 'grill up'- pictured below.
I've also been starting the day with warm water with a slice of lemon- I have no idea where I read that this was good but I quite like it and it increases my water intake. I haven't given up the coffees though- but always with skimmed milk.
For my tea I've been eating chicken salad and brown pitta bread. One night I had tarragon chicken in a creamy creme fresh sauce (tasty). I've planned the rest of the weeks meals as: turkey stir fry, grilled meatballs, ratatouille on brown toast, tuna pasta and mackerel salad.
Doesn't sound too bad, let's see how this goes!
For the last few days I have been in the diet zone. I know when I first started the holiday diet again I was eating low fat/salt bacon a few times a week for breakfast; not this time. I'm having bacon as a weekend treat. I'm still sticking to the old GMTV bikini diet that I printed off the Internet a few years ago, it worked for me before so I'm hoping that it works for me again. It's varied and doesn't always feel like a diet but portion sizes are noticeably small- unless you fill the plate with greenery.
My breakfasts have so far been: 2 poached eggs on 1 slice of toast (no butter or spread), low fat yoghurt with banana, goji berries and (no added sugar/salt) muesli.
Today it's Saturday so I've had a 'grill up'- pictured below.
I've also been starting the day with warm water with a slice of lemon- I have no idea where I read that this was good but I quite like it and it increases my water intake. I haven't given up the coffees though- but always with skimmed milk.
For my tea I've been eating chicken salad and brown pitta bread. One night I had tarragon chicken in a creamy creme fresh sauce (tasty). I've planned the rest of the weeks meals as: turkey stir fry, grilled meatballs, ratatouille on brown toast, tuna pasta and mackerel salad.
Doesn't sound too bad, let's see how this goes!
Monday, 16 April 2012
Holiday diet + bank balance diet =
So, my holiday quest continues! I've been trying to combine healthy eating with money saving and the first step is:
Take my dinner to work with me! I do this usually however I've been a bit lazy recently and had started to buy Boots meal deals for my lunch. They cost about £3.25, so if I kept on buying one everyday I'd be spending £16.25 per week on my dinners! There's 8 weeks left till holiday so that's £130 spent on my dinner... And probs sushi everyday! I reckon buns and ham or pasta salad costs less than a fiver per week, so I'd say I'm spending about £40 in the 8 remaining weeks making a holiday savings diet amount of £90! Which I will more than likely spend on the first day in a scrumptious steak on the stone restaurant!
Wowzer I have to say, I never thought that those long winded maths questions would ever be useful......apparently they are! I will now enjoy my little tiny brown bun ham sarnies whilst thinking of the huge fillet steak I'll be eating in the sun!
I also went to a friends house last Friday for a gathering of drinks instead of hitting the bars in town, staying in is the new going out you know! This potentially saved me £50 just paid for a taxi there and back and alcohol. A bottle of vodka and diet coke- no beer even! A pint is about 170 calories, vodka diet coke is about 70 cals (single measure) so not only am I saving pennies I'm cutting down on calories. If I stay in for at least 4 weekends out if the remaining 8 that's £200 towards my holidaybobs.
Wowzer I'm saving £290 quid already! I also bought a metro pass saving £3 per week on travel do that's £24 taking me to a grand total of £314! Amazing work.
I also managed to avoid Yorkshire puddings on Sunday and had pork & couscous instead!
Take my dinner to work with me! I do this usually however I've been a bit lazy recently and had started to buy Boots meal deals for my lunch. They cost about £3.25, so if I kept on buying one everyday I'd be spending £16.25 per week on my dinners! There's 8 weeks left till holiday so that's £130 spent on my dinner... And probs sushi everyday! I reckon buns and ham or pasta salad costs less than a fiver per week, so I'd say I'm spending about £40 in the 8 remaining weeks making a holiday savings diet amount of £90! Which I will more than likely spend on the first day in a scrumptious steak on the stone restaurant!
Wowzer I have to say, I never thought that those long winded maths questions would ever be useful......apparently they are! I will now enjoy my little tiny brown bun ham sarnies whilst thinking of the huge fillet steak I'll be eating in the sun!
I also went to a friends house last Friday for a gathering of drinks instead of hitting the bars in town, staying in is the new going out you know! This potentially saved me £50 just paid for a taxi there and back and alcohol. A bottle of vodka and diet coke- no beer even! A pint is about 170 calories, vodka diet coke is about 70 cals (single measure) so not only am I saving pennies I'm cutting down on calories. If I stay in for at least 4 weekends out if the remaining 8 that's £200 towards my holidaybobs.
Wowzer I'm saving £290 quid already! I also bought a metro pass saving £3 per week on travel do that's £24 taking me to a grand total of £314! Amazing work.
I also managed to avoid Yorkshire puddings on Sunday and had pork & couscous instead!
Wednesday, 4 April 2012
Bank balance diet....
So, my mortgage is on the up. Water rates have gone up, tv licence increase. April brings such disappointing post. I'd like a nice letter next please mr postman!
The delightful pending summer holiday not only means trying to achieve a leaner waist but also means saving some cash to spend on hols. I opted not to shop online this week, to try the local butcher and green grocer to save some pennies.
Veg: defo cheaper than the supermarket but less choice. I did get some gapes and blueberries at a fraction of the cost of the supermarket. It was a bit crazy really, some things literally only cost pence! Two full bags of fruit and veg for less than a tenner!
Butchers: bought some minted pork chops that were both cheap and tasty and without much fat. I also picked up some chicken breasts and intended to eat them on Sunday. I found myself out with friends instead on Sunday so didn't cook the chicken.... A day later... I checked some food standards website and it says that fresh chicken can be kept in the fridge for 1-2 days! Oooops shopping at the butchers FAIL!! I didn't check on the Internet how long the chicken was safe to eat until AFTER I had a pot of chicken soup bubbling away. The chicken didn't look off or ruined or smell bad but I wasn't going to risk it.
So although the meat was cheaper at the butchers I actually wasted money when I had to throw the chicken out. Hmmm lesson learnt I'll probably stick to the supermarket for meat from now on.
The delightful pending summer holiday not only means trying to achieve a leaner waist but also means saving some cash to spend on hols. I opted not to shop online this week, to try the local butcher and green grocer to save some pennies.
Veg: defo cheaper than the supermarket but less choice. I did get some gapes and blueberries at a fraction of the cost of the supermarket. It was a bit crazy really, some things literally only cost pence! Two full bags of fruit and veg for less than a tenner!
Butchers: bought some minted pork chops that were both cheap and tasty and without much fat. I also picked up some chicken breasts and intended to eat them on Sunday. I found myself out with friends instead on Sunday so didn't cook the chicken.... A day later... I checked some food standards website and it says that fresh chicken can be kept in the fridge for 1-2 days! Oooops shopping at the butchers FAIL!! I didn't check on the Internet how long the chicken was safe to eat until AFTER I had a pot of chicken soup bubbling away. The chicken didn't look off or ruined or smell bad but I wasn't going to risk it.
So although the meat was cheaper at the butchers I actually wasted money when I had to throw the chicken out. Hmmm lesson learnt I'll probably stick to the supermarket for meat from now on.
Thursday, 29 March 2012
Scale Mate
I have reached a stale mate with my scales; a scale mate you could say. Yes, I know that my healthy eating has not been very strict and I didn't omit beer or alcohol in general. There is still time to have a t-total week of green tea, however this needs to be strategic. I have a cocktail night planned this Friday and a visit to some lively friends over Easter so it will have to wait.
I still have 10/11 weeks till the holiday so I'm hoping that continuing the healthy eating and portion control will encourage slow but long lasting weight loss.
I wish I had taken some measurements before I started my plan because although I've reached a scale mate I still feel a bit leaner. A few people have also started to comment that I've lost weight! With the glorious sunshine out in this freak English March I decided to get my maxi dress out the other day. As I was walking along the street I felt my knickers starting to slip! I spent the rest of the day checking my bum to make sure I still had my panties on! It could just be that I bought them too big, or the elastic has gone (they were fairly new) OR I have actually lost some inches (or cms). Either way I shan't be wearing those knickers again!
I still have 10/11 weeks till the holiday so I'm hoping that continuing the healthy eating and portion control will encourage slow but long lasting weight loss.
I wish I had taken some measurements before I started my plan because although I've reached a scale mate I still feel a bit leaner. A few people have also started to comment that I've lost weight! With the glorious sunshine out in this freak English March I decided to get my maxi dress out the other day. As I was walking along the street I felt my knickers starting to slip! I spent the rest of the day checking my bum to make sure I still had my panties on! It could just be that I bought them too big, or the elastic has gone (they were fairly new) OR I have actually lost some inches (or cms). Either way I shan't be wearing those knickers again!
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