Weekly weight loss report week 11 - What am I eating to lose weight?

I've stayed the same this week. In fact, apart from the quick 3lbs on/off a couple of weeks ago, I'm the same weight as 3 weeks ago.

So still 43lbs down

Still 7 more to go, which I've just realised, when I reach that, will make a total loss of FIFTY pounds (3st 8lbs)!

I'm pretty much ok with not having a loss this week. Yes, I would have been pleased to see a loss, but I also remind myself how far I've come, and how delighted I was when the scales registered a 43lb loss.

Also, and I'm very annoyed with myself about this, I've only been for one run this week and NO HULA HOOPING! :( The last week has been full on work wise. I have got SO much done, and after being really run down a couple of weeks ago my energy levels have shot back up, so I've been making hay whilst the sun shines and managed to do 13 hour days this week!

However, I'm aware of falling into the same routine that got me piling on the pounds over the last few years.... work, work, work (which I absolutely love!) and no exercise (which I am now also loving).

Eating wise, I'm right on track. I'm still doing the things that helped me lose weight. A balanced diet that includes lots of fruit and vegetables.

This is my fruit and veg 'haul' from my shop last Saturday.



A week later, this is what I have left.




And I've just stocked up again today with this little lot...




I've had lots of questions about what I'm eating to lose weight, and I do plan to dedicate a blog post to that at some point (I promise!).



But don't let the photos bring you to the wrong conclusion, I do eat more than just fruit and veg!

As I have been asked: Yes, I do eat carbs. This week for instance, I've had potatoes, rice and rice noodles.

And I eat meat: this week, tuna, bacon, chicken, lamb, duck (3 times!) and pork.



And I do have 'treats' such as crisps, chocolate and cookies! Oh, and alcohol!

I'm eating more seasonally. During the cold winter months I had a lot more stews and soups ( I LOVE my slow cooker ) and hot and hearty Sunday roast type dinners.

Now spring is starting to appear I'm in the mood for stir fries and less 'heavy' food.

And in preparation for the blazing summer we are bound to have (ha) I treated myself to a book for some salad inspiration.







I've eaten out a couple of times this week and had a Chinese take away. I'm getting less and less pleasure from eating out, what with also avoiding gluten/dairy until I get the chance to figure out my allergy. Anyway, in the take away I asked for boiled rice. Simple enough right? Oh noooooooo! Not simple at all. When I got home I found the rice to be covered in OIL!

Fuming? Yep! It wasn't like I was given fried rice by mistake. This was literally boiled white rice with some sort of oil on it.

Now it seems I'm going to have to ask if food is gluten/dairy and OIL free! *sigh*. I'm not adverse to oil or fat. I use oil (olive, vegetable, sesame) when cooking, but use it sparingly. I don't mind eating something with fat in it, WHEN I CHOSE TO, but don't force it upon me when I only want boiled rice. *rant over*

To sum up, I'm eating mostly natural, unprocessed food around 80-90% of the time, and out of that I'd estimate that fruit and veg make up 50-60%.

A roughly typical dinner plate might look like this...










But that's only a rough estimate. Sometimes there'll be much more veg, sometimes less protein or more carbs. I really don't get hung about this type of thing, nor do I want to. I just try and eat instinctively and have the freedom to have what I want. As I have mentioned before, my taste buds have changed so much, and I rarely will want something highly processed very often.

Anyway, the sun is shining and I've promised myself a run today!

Get in touch if you have any questions! Have a great weekend :)

Weekly running report - some company and new challenges

9.84 miles this week! Just a touch short of 10 miles, but who's is going to quibble about that? Sometimes I still think it's a miracle that I am going out there and hitting the streets at all lol.

Each of my three runs this week were excellent for different reasons.

Tuesday 2.23 miles

This was only a short run, but there was something about it. It felt like the easiest run I've had so far, I didn't even feel the 'toxic ten' minutes that I usually go through at the beginning of a run. I had put new music on my mp3, and this is the first tune that played. T.Rex, Cosmic Dancer. It's a slow track, but I'm a slow runner! I just felt like I was floating along the streets when I listened to this. The sun was shining, there was a nice breeze and I felt like I could have run for miles and miles...











Friday 3 miles

On Friday I had some company! My friend Libby and I arranged to meet at Canon Hill park for a gentle run. Well, all my runs are gentle at the mo! We set a goal of 1.5 miles which is a bit further than Libby has run before, and we met that goal too! It was great to have some company and we chatted along the way. Thanks Libby!







Today 4.5 miles.

I had company on this run too! My friend Ben is a more experienced runner than me and I was a little worried I would slow him down, and I probably did, but he was great to run the 4.5 miles with and ran with me at my pace.

This run also took me on a brand new route....WITH HILLS! I have been pretty much avoiding hills since I started running and when Ben told me we would encounter some I can't say I was looking forward to them. At all.

However, I surprised myself and when we reached the inclines I started seeing them as more of a challenge to beat. I would not be defeated by an incline! And I pretty much did them all. We stopped half way up one hill to view an old painted sign that was fading away on the end of a shop, a piece of advertising history. And then we were forced to stop at the top of a hill to cross a busy road. And I must admit to giving the next hill a wide birth at this point and suggested another route than I knew would have a nice decline, only to be met with a very slight but long incline near the end. Anyway, hill challenge met, so that's a great result. Thanks for a great run Ben!

In addition to running I've done about 2 hours of hula hooping! Now I've got my own hoop there is no stopping me lol.

I had a twitter question this week: Has the diet and exercise made a difference mentally & emotionally as well?

Mentally I'd say I'm even more positive if that's possible! I get a sense of pride from my achievements however big or small, so that acts as a boost.

For the last few years I didn't make time for exercise as I had such a hectic workload. My workload hasn't changed, and I look at my to-do list and gasp and wonder how I will get everything done sometimes, but I am now scheduling exercise time into my diary as I would any appointment or commitment.

I'm starting to feel the benefits of having a mental break from work. That change of scene and being active really does help. When I'm exercising I take on another train of thought and let my mind wander. Sometimes I think about work, but I get a different perspective on it. Sometimes all I can do is concentrate on how I'm running or I tune into my music. Sometimes mastering a new hula hooping move requires all my attention.

There are not only physical benefits to exercise and moving more, there are mental benefits too. I guess you get the best of both worlds! :)