EuropeCrazy's World Of Slimming: Week 11 weigh-in

Took a week off weighing in and fell a bit spectacularly off the wagon.  I know I wasn't going to weigh myself for 2 weeks but stepped on the scales this morning and discovered I'd gained 1lb.  I had a 'retail therapy' day off during the week, but forgot just how unforgiving those fitting room mirrors in Next can be!  

Regular readers of this blog will have lost count of the amount of times that drastic measures were required, but I'm at that point yet again.  I already have a lot of fitness equipment at home, but have purchased another couple of fitness-related things and have written up a structured exercise plan for the next few weeks, along with strictly sticking to the Slimming World plan.  I really need to boost my energy for this holiday and for the months ahead

It is very hard to lose weight when you're not in a good place, but my mood has picked up over the past few days so I'm now really focused on making progress.  It's now or never :)

The season of good intentions

There's a kind of "end of term" feeling for me at the moment.  Eurovision season is (officially) over for another year - although the analysis and the post mortems will carry on for a little while yet.
I'm still in that post-holiday mood which I'm trying very hard to keep going.  My plan for the remainder of this month is to publish all my outstanding blog posts about a) Eurovision and b) Brussels.

From tomorrow, my latest in a very long line of fitness campaigns begins, After tonight there will be no more binge eating or overdoing it.  It's about weight loss and fitness from now on, and it's also about putting a bit more structure back into my life, getting back into a decent sleep routine, and generally sorting out a lot of things which have drifted and/or been neglected over recent months. I need to start looking after myself again and I'm not going to do that sitting at a computer for hours on end, so that's why I need some time away from the internet, and that's what I'm going to do for June at least, and maybe some of July too.  I did an internet detox a couple of years ago and it was very constructive.

Fitness plan 2015: week 8 round-up

Been a bad girl this week.  Did some walking though, but the combination of a sinus infection and some emotional stuff meant that a) I wasn't really well enough to exercise and b) the return of comfort eating, despite my vow that I wasn't going to do that any more.

Oh well :(

Last week I had to go and buy some bigger sized clothes for my forthcoming holiday.  I stood in the middle of one of the shops and thought, why am I doing this?  I have wardrobes full of lovely clothes, many of them nicer than some of the hideous garish patterned junk passing itself off as spring fashion, but the problem is that I have outgrown them.  So there was some motivation, but then real life got in the way again and old, bad habits returned.

It's funny when you read all these newspaper/magazine articles, these motivational stories about people losing large amounts of weight, that when you see the 'before' and 'after' picture, the 'before' picture is inevitably a holiday photo,  If there is one consolation for my spring diet failure it is that I am going on a city break rather than a resort holiday, so don't have to worry about how I look in sun dresses or shorts.  But if all goes well, we're hoping to get away for our main summer holiday in September, so I'll have just under 4 months to sort it out.  AGAIN.

There are still some negative aspects outwith my control, which continue to mess with my mind and get in the way of my good intentions, so I guess my main objective in the coming months will be to try and put all that aside and concentrate on improving my own health and wellbeing.  But Brussels beckons, with its beer and chips and waffles and numerous eating out opportunities, so all that healthy stuff will have to wait!

Fitness plan 2015: week 7 round-up

Last week's brilliant result spurred me on.  I did all the right things, ate all the right things and exercised till my legs could take no more.

But...no weight loss this week.  Stayed the same.  To be honest I was extremely pissed off about that, after all the sacrifices and time spent exercising this week.

Anyway I've decided to take a week away from the scales next Friday although I'm still going to stick to the plan.  Next week's very likely to be quite a stressful week and I don't need to give myself a hard time to add to that.  So there will be a report next week, but no weigh-in for a fortnight.

Fitness plan 2015: week 6 round-up

I wouldn't usually do this till Sunday, but I was so happy with this week's result that I wanted to share it tonight :)

I've been very good this week, lots of home-made soup, fruit salads, lots of water and ridiculous amounts of exercise = 4lbs weight loss.  In one week!  That's not usually the kind of thing which happens to me, as even when I was doing a structured 'diet' I struggled to lose any more than 2lbs a week.  I know this isn't going to be a regular occurrence, but I'm just going to toast my success tonight with a (non-diet) glass of wine :))

Fitness plan 2015: week 5 round-up

After the binge-eating disaster of the previous two weeks (and the reappearance of "the chins"), there was worse to come. At the beginning of this plan I decided not to weigh myself, however curiosity got the better of me and I was faced with the shock news that I had gained five pounds.  After coming to terms with this, it was enough to motivate me back into my healthy eating and exercise routine, and back in the dieting mindset again - water, home made soup and fruit have been my best friends this week!  I've been a very good girl. *polishes halo*

One change is that I've reluctantly decided to bring back my Friday weigh-ins which I used to do on WeightWatchers. So I nervously stepped on the scales yesterday to discover that I'd lost 2lbs this week.  I'm extremely happy with this result as I hadn't done any aerobics this week and only focused on walking and the exercise bike (needed to get the leg fitness back) so in the coming week I'm back to doing my aerobics again in addition to everything else, and hoping to lose another 2lbs.

Fitness plan 2015: week 4 round-up

As predicted last week it was inevitable that I wouldn't have a very successful week - but not only that, I've only gone and spectacularly undone all my good work of the first 2 weeks (and mediocre attempts of the 3rd week).

So it's back to square one yet again from tomorrow, only this time I'm going to add some seriously healthy eating into the equation from now on.  I'm banking on the (previously successful) golden trilogy of home-made soup for lunch, after-work aerobics, and gallons of water to help me back on the path to fitness.

Not going to beat myself up over it - let's draw a line under the past week and move right on...!

Fitness plan 2015: week 3 round-up

...oh don't even ask :(

I will hold my hands up and admit that I just couldn't be bothered this past week.  No other reasons.  I will try my best over the next few days, although the temptations of Easter and that long holiday weekend are approaching, therefore I'm expecting progress to be very limited in the coming week!

Fitness plan 2015: Week 2 round-up

Two weeks into my fitness regime and it's going very well indeed.  I am even beginning to lose inches, and clothes which haven't fitted me in ages are now beginning to fit.

My general fitness is gradually improving.  As with last week, I had some intensive aerobic and toning work at the beginning of the week, but I avoided last week's leg exercises which left me unable to walk for a couple of days!

All is not so good on the healthy eating front though....oh well there's always next week I suppose :)

My mood is slowly improving, although there are still some puzzling aspects of life which continue to confuse me and make me sad.  But I have decided to stop focusing on bad situations which are only pulling me down.

So it's onwards into week 3 of my fitness plan.  This week I'm going to build on what I've achieved so far.  I bought a new pair of running shoes yesterday ....

....but no, I won't be taking up running (!) however as I do a lot of walking, then I hope these are going to help my little feet happy while I'm out there pounding the pavements.

I'll be back next Sunday with another update.

Fitness plan 2015: week 1 round-up

So the first really serious week of my new 9 week fitness regime has gone pretty well, although it inevitably plummeted thanks to last night's drinks and snacks which accompanied the final chapter of 2015's Eurovision national finals season.  As I previously said, I have a lot of posts on the various national finals to write up and publish over the next few weeks, and really need to get on with these!  

I had seriously considered taking up a gym membership but quickly reconsidered due to the hefty monthly fees.  And besides, what's the point of joining a gym if I have an exercise bike, a mini stepper, hand weights and numerous other fitness items at home?  The money which I'd have spent on that gym membership can now go straight into the holiday fund.  Talking of which, we are taking our spring city break in Brussels this year, and are pretty excited about that too!

Therefore I decided that I'm getting fit at home, for free.  The week started with some pretty intensive aerobics, which I used to do regularly.  Surprisingly I coped pretty well, although some of the leg exercises seemed to have the opposite effect and proved just how unfit I am.  Yet on the other hand, I felt as if my general fitness levels had increased dramatically after just 3 days, and it also had a very positive impact on my mood too, towards the end of the week.  

The one thing I've decided not to do is to weigh myself until the end of the 9 weeks: my main focus is on losing inches, toning up and improving my physical and mental fitness, rather than becoming too focused on what the scales say.  

Onwards to week 2!

Taking stock

Beginning the third month of the first quarter of 2015, and only three weeks away from the start of British Summer Time - yes! - although that feels like a long way off, as it's just been bitterly cold for weeks, and thanks to that very chilly wind it feels even colder than it was at the beginning of the year.  I guess that's nothing though, compared to the outrageously cold winter weather which affects many countries at this time of year.  

My last post on here was pretty hopeful: I'm settled into my part-time working routine and making it count as I'm continuing to tackle the decluttering and neglected jobs at home, and even found myself in the garden yesterday!  

Unfortunately my fitness regime crashed after about a week: I pulled a muscle in my back/shoulder area after carrying some very heavy shopping and was in a lot of pain for a while.  And then a lot of other stuff in my life just spiralled out of control over the last fortnight, with the result that the fitness plan was replaced by binge/emotional eating yet again to cope with it all. I don't really want to write about all that stuff, suffice to say that the strain of the past couple of weeks has left me feeling upset and exhausted and I just want to get my life back on track again.

Anyway, some good news as faithful travelling companion and I are now planning our spring holiday (expect an announcement in the next couple of weeks) so this will be my target to get fit and shed a few pounds.  What I am most looking forward to is improving my walking fitness, and not feeling so tired/lethargic all the time.  I have a mountain of draft blog posts to finish/post but have been too tired lately, so I will get round to posting them eventually :)

In the meantime, there's an exercise bike calling my name....

So that was January...

At the end of that horrible nightmare which was 2014, I decided to throw that year in the dustbin and start 2015 with a blank sheet.  2015 already seems to be an improvement on 2014.

The best thing of all was that I started working part-time.  It immediately had a great impact on my mood, mental health and home life.  Long-neglected tasks are now being seen to at home, I'm managing my day to day work more effectively, it's all good so far.  It's my day off today, so I've had a lie-in! I'm typing this blog post and catching up with a few jobs at home. 

I guess the only down side is the financial aspect, as the pay cut has forced me to do some serious budgeting. However there comes a time when you realise that there are other important priorities, and I'm quite happy as long as I have enough to live on and save up for holidays of course!

I have had to make some big sacrifices in other areas, cutting unnecessary spending and stepping up bargain hunting to a new level.  I used to be a compulsive shopper but this habit has now been well and truly curbed!

Last year I gained just over two stones in weight in the space of 9 months.  That's a pretty frightening statistic, but I didn't feel that it was the right time to throw myself into a fitness regime until a few days ago.  Hello again to the exercise bike, weights, mini stepper and walking to and from work.  I'm beginning to feel the benefit already, although there is still a long, long way to go.  I'm not dieting but slowly reintroducing healthier eating back into my life.  The other reason why dieting isn't really happening is that one of my plans for this year was to learn to bake and my first attempt was pretty successful.  I made cupcakes on a day off in January using my brand new food mixer and it went well.  (I'll post the pictures on here later once I upload them from my phone).  Assignment no.2 turned out to be the Great Meringue Disaster.  I guess that's one for a later date.  Meringue fail aside, I'm planning the next instalment.  Be very afraid *evil laugh*.

I'm trying to throw myself into mindfulness, which appears to be working for me most of the time.  Even the below-freezing temperatures haven't got me down!  Last week we had a lot of snow which still hasn't melted.  Anyway I'm taking everything one day at a time, but I'd be a liar if I said there hadn't been dark days over the past month: there have been more good days than bad days though, and the old 'January blues' thing didn't really happen as I was actually relieved to get Christmas, and all that surrounds it, out of the way.  One very positive thing was that I managed to overcome my terrifying social anxiety to go to what turned out to be a very enjoyable evening last Friday with faithful travelling companion and his lovely friends. 

I took a month out of blogging and tweeting, although the planned internet detox didn't quite get off the ground.  (Will maybe try that again in the summer, the way I did a couple of years back).   I finally got round to getting my laptop screen fixed as well.  Just in time for throwing myself wholeheartedly into Eurovision season of course!