Tag: weight loss

Enough is Enough

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I’ve tried it all, haven’t I?

Clean 9, Cambridge Weight Plan, exercising (kind of) – and I ALWAYS fall off the wagon. Why?

My relationship with food is not a healthy one. I go through phases where I eat and eat – whatever I want, whenever I want. And I go through phases where I’m pretty good.

Lately, it’s been difficult. I told you about having the cafeteria right next to my classroom, right? Last month, I was feeling fat, like nothing fit me and like I couldn’t be bothered to do anything about it. I exercised a few times – but couldn’t walk for a few days afterwards as I’d overdone it a bit!

After my birthday (yes, I am now 39) I decided that I’d had enough of feeling like that and went to see a nutritionist and “fat loss expert”. People I know already “see” someone (“see” because she doesn’t live here – everything is done online). She tells them what to eat, how much of it and if they go out to eat, she tells them what they can and can’t eat from that particular restaurant. Friends told me to try it out, but, to be honest, I was scared. Scared that I’d be told I couldn’t eat particular things in my favorite restaurants, denied my favorite foods at home, etc. I didn’t want to feel as though I was missing out on anything.

I think I may have realized that drinking two Cokes every weekend, eating pizza every Sunday and having a chocolate brownie and/or French fries every day was not going to help me lose any weight, or make me feel better about myself. Therefore – nutritionist and fat loss expert.

So I met with her on a Saturday morning. She weighed me and measured my body fat, etc. We chatted for a while about the type of food I eat, my timings, etc. She then gave me a meal plan and told me to follow it for two weeks. It involves green juice, salad, a bit of chicken, fruit, spinach – all very healthy stuff. She also said I had to do an hour of cardio every day. An HOUR? Of CARDIO? That’s like the worst thing in the world – ever. Anyway, so I wasn’t happy about it, but I did it. So for two weeks, I followed the diet. I slipped up once – I will NEVER say no to apple crumble!

Then we were traveling last week – so I called her and told her I was worried that I’d undo all the good I’d done. She sent me a holiday plan. It was very doable. But I didn’t do it!! We were on the move all day, and making avocado smoothies just wasn’t possible. Having said that, I think I was pretty good. I mean, I ate – but I didn’t really overdo it.

We got back on Sunday and I started the clean eating again on Monday. I feel pretty good. I haven’t had a Coke or a chocolate brownie in 3.5 weeks!

Anyway, so this is something I’m hoping that I can stick to long-term.

Let’s see!

Starting Again

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As you already know, I’ve started teaching full-time again. And… I love it!

One of the things that I was looking forward to, was the fact that I’d be too busy to eat everything I could get my hands on!

Seriously – I’ve exercised five times in the last YEAR! Four times in August and once in September. And that’s it.

Every day I eat two boiled eggs for breakfast and I take food to school with me – a small box of Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, a small box of carrot sticks, an apple and some chicken salad. It’s enough to see me through the day, right? Apparently not.

So I need the Crunchy Nut and the carrot sticks for while I’ve got my prep periods – you know, something to munch on while I’m grading or planning, or whatever. But that usually means that it’s all gone by 8.30 am.

Anyway, so just my luck – the cafeteria is right next door to my classroom. RIGHT NEXT DOOR.

Bistro 7 caters for the school. This is great for them. But not for me. Have you ever had their chocolate brownies? TO DIE FOR!

Anyway, so at 9.30 every morning, in to the cafeteria I go – whether I’m hungry or not and I have a chocolate brownie. It’s reached a point where the staff don’t even ask me what I want anymore – they just hand me the brownie and I hand them a N500 note. It’s also reached a point where my colleagues take the piss out of me!

But that’s not all. So I have the brownie. And then two hours later – during my lunch period, I have my chicken salad (it’s good – but it’s become boring). And then I’ll go back to the cafeteria and get French fries (they are SO good). JESUS CHRIST – WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? Again, the staff just know what I want!

Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad if I had to walk down three floors to get there and then three more floors to go back to my classroom – but no. NEXT DOOR!

Needless to say, although I know I’m not doing myself any favours, I keep on eating. A couple of weeks ago I decided enough was enough and I didn’t want to keep eating the brownies and the fries. So I decided to go back on Cambridge Weight Plan. I did so well on it last year… But stuff kept getting in the way – dinners with friends at the weekend, drinks with colleagues on a Friday afternoon, brownies in the cafeteria next door…

I decided half-term was a perfect time to start. I wanted to go to the CWP centre on Friday to get all my shakes and soups sorted so I could start on Monday. But Friday was a half-day at school and a large glass of red wine with colleagues put a stop to that plan. So I decided to go on Saturday – but they close early on Saturdays and I couldn’t make it on time. So I went yesterday (Monday).

I walked into the centre and the lady there had to weigh me. And I’m ashamed to say that I’ve put on four (FOUR) kilos since April. WTAF? To be fair, I did go in the middle of the day – so maybe I’ve only put on 3?

Anyway, so I’ve started Cambridge Weight Plan again today. It should be relatively painless (yeah right) this week – but once I start back at school…

Oh well – let’s see!

I’m Doing It Again

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I’ve spent the last month or so indulging in a lot of food and drink that I’m not meant to. I’ve been exercising a bit – but not as much as I should have been. My sister introduced me to blogilates. I really enjoy those (short) workouts!
Anyway, so after all my indulgence, I’ve decided it’s time for a cleanse. So I started the Clean 9 again today. I won’t post updates as I’ve done in the past – there’s only so many times I can tell you that I’m hungry and that I ate stir-fry for dinner!
I’ll update you if I anything out of the ordinary happens!
Here’s to cleansing!
X

Weighting Around

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It’s been over a month since I’ve come off the Cambridge Weight Plan diet and I think I’m kind of doing ok.

Well, I’m trying not to put on what I’ve already lost! After coming off Cambridge, I definitely put on a kilo or two. I suppose you can’t go from five hundred or six hundred calories a day for three weeks to about a thousand calories a day and not expect to put any weight on. I think I put on one or two kilos.

The first couple of weeks were difficult as I was trying to control myself, but struggled a bit.

However, I think I’m managing quite well now.

The exercise isn’t going very well, but I’m being careful about what I eat.

Generally, my diet consists of boiled eggs, salad, mung salad, fruit, stir fried vegetables and a bit of chicken or chicken salad. No oil. No fat. And I’m trying to have any sugar. But that generally depends on where I am in my cycle! If we’re going out – then I eat what I like. If we’re going out several times in the week, I’m a bit careful about what I choose to eat.

In the past I’ve rarely thought about whether I’m making a good decision when it comes to choosing food off a menu – but I suppose I have to start now. Apparently the older you get, the harder it is to shift excess weight. Great.

Anyway, I’m going to try!

So… Here’s to the next ten kilos!

 

I’m Done. For Now.

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I’ve stopped the Cambridge Weight Plan. For now anyway. I’ve did it for three weeks and lost 6 kilos. Amazing, right? I should just continue. Right?

But I can’t. I think I’m going to take a break for a week or two and then go back on it. Why can’t I continue? To be perfectly honest, I just want to eat for a bit! Not eat as in completely binge. But just eat.

Also – it’s kind of expensive.

So this morning I didn’t know what to have for breakfast. I was also a bit too scared to eat! After three weeks on 500 – 600 calories a day, I didn’t want to go overboard! I was so busy rushing around in the morning, I didn’t remember that I hadn’t eaten.

I had a boiled egg for lunch. With plain spaghetti. Not mixed. I know it sounds gross – but I’m not fussy.

THEN… It was Booni’s birthday today. We had some friends come over for tea this afternoon and to cut his cake. And going overboard is what I did. I actually want to cry. The cake was just so delicious. Then there was all snacks and ‘small chop’.

And after that… Dinner.

UGH. I have to try and control myself!

Cambridge Weight Plan: Week 2 Weigh-In

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I just went to my nearest Cambridge Weight Plan Centre to have myself weighed and my measurements taken.

I told myself I wouldn’t weigh myself at home during the week, but somehow found myself hopping on and off the scales at random moments during the day (and night!). As usual, it was a mistake as the scales never wavered.

Anyway, so I went in and weighed myself.

Last week I lost 1.7 kilos. I was disappointed. BUT, when I thought about it again, I realised I’d lost 5 kilos over the last two weeks. That’s better!

So measurements and weight loss over the last two weeks:

Kilos lost: 5 kilos

Inches lost from:

Waist: 4.8 inches

Hips: 2 inches

Chest: 1 inch

Arms: None

Thighs: None

I was thoroughly pleased with myself. However, I was also a little surprised that nothing had come off my thighs. I can tell from the way my trousers and shorts fit that something must have come off. So I decided to measure them myself once I got home.

According to my own measurements, I’ve lost 2.5 inches from each thigh. Because of that, I thought I’d better do all the measurements myself!

So here they are…

Waist: 4.8 inches

Hips: 4 inches

Chest: 2.5 inches

Arms: None

Thighs: 2.5 inches (each thigh)

I wonder if I’ve done it incorrectly… Oh well – I’m going with it!

I think this will be my last week. I can’t hack the no eating thing any more. And… I kind of miss exercising (shock, horror).

Onwards and upwards!

 

Cambridge Weight Plan – The Second Week

LagosMum2 Comments

It’s getting harder.

The initial high of losing 3.3 kilos last week has worn off!

I went to see my consultant on Thursday to pay for next week (24th – 30th August) and I asked her when I could eat again. I have actually been dreaming about chicken!

She said that normally they more people onto the next step once they’re closer to their target weight. But since I’m not that close to my target weight, she recommended that I stay on step 1. However, if I really insisted, then they could move me up. BUT – then I’d have to be content with losing about one kilo a week rather than two or three.

Hmmmm…

I told her I’d stick to step 1 for now. She said she admired my spirit and motivation!

I have my weigh-in tomorrow and they’ll take my measurements. But I don’t think I’ll continue on the Cambridge Weight Plan after next week. I’ve become tired, grumpy and cranky. And it’s not really suiting my lifestyle.

My worry is – what will happen when I suddenly go from having about 550-600 calories a day to eating normally? How do I maintain what I’ve already lost?

I’m thinking of trying Slimming World.

Any opinions?

Cambridge Weight Plan – Day 3

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It’s getting a little more difficult to stick to the diet. I was feeling a bit peckish this afternoon and started to reach for the box of Lindors that are in my room. I remembered just in time that I’m not allowed to eat any!

I had the oriental chilli flavour soup for dinner last night – it was really good. I just wished there’d been more of it!

I had a mango shake for breakfast today – it was quite disgusting. And I had the oriental chilli flavour soup for lunch again today.

I was pretty busy with the children all day – so I didn’t have as much water as I should have had. In fact, I had a lot less than I was meant to. Oops.

I started feeling quite hungry in the afternoon, so I took a nap. It was wonderful!

And for dinner I had the chicken and mushroom soup. It was also quite good. It was hard though… LagosDad was having tandoori chicken and it smelt so amazing!

I have to say – I’m quite impressed with the soups. They’re quite tasty!

As tasty as they are, and as hungry as I’ve been – I don’t think I’ve lost any weight yet. I’ve decided I’m not going to weigh myself or take any measurements until I go into the centre on Monday.

I’d better have lost at least 3 kilos though!

Keeping It Up

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It’s been a week since I completed the Forever Living Clean 9 – and my intentions were to carry on with the clean eating.

However, it’s proved to be harder than I thought!

The first thing I was going to do, was continue with the protein shakes for breakfast and lunch.

The second thing I was going to do, was continue with the exercise.

So what’s the problem?

1. The Clean 9 pack only had enough of the shake mix for the nine days. So I decided to order some more from Jumia. I checked the status of my order five days after placing it – and it said my order was processing. Still. After FIVE days!

2. Vins was feverish on Tuesday after summer camp. Not just feverish. His fever went up and down from normal to 104 until Friday. Turns out it’s tonsillitis.

So I exercised until Wednesday and I was very careful about what I ate. But as the week progressed, I found it harder and harder to eat sensibly. Partly because I wasn’t exercising, and partly because I was at home with Vins the whole time. Thinking about different (and healthy) foods to eat has been difficult! I don’t like the milk here – so cereal is out of the question. I don’t eat seafood – so a bit of grilled fish or whatever is also out of the question. I’ve been sticking to vegetable stir fry (sometimes with tofu, sometimes with chicken) for lunch and dinner.

Ok, so the Jumia order… After feeling a bit irritated with the fact that my order was still processing, I cancelled it. I could have just called them and asked what was going on, but you know what – I couldn’t be bothered.

Then I remembered a comment left on one of my posts.

I called James (the commenter) on Wednesday to ask if he had the Forever Ultra Aminotein mix in chocolate (I’ve only ever had vanilla and really wanted to try the chocolate one). His price (N4000) is cheaper than it is on Jumia (N5500) and I wouldn’t have to pay for the delivery (N450) either! He said he could deliver it to me the same day – but I didn’t have cash at home and I couldn’t go to the ATM, so I asked him to deliver the next day. I told him I’d text him my address and the product I wanted.

I texted him. For some reason my SMS delivery messages haven’t been working for a while, so I didn’t know if he had received it or not.

On Thursday I didn’t hear from him – but didn’t really have the time to call since Vin’s temperature was up to 104 again and we were going to the doctor.

On Friday I called him again. It turns out he didn’t receive my text message and had misplaced my number. He said he’d emailed me as soon as we’d spoken on Wednesday. He had, but I hadn’t checked my mail.

Anyway, so on Saturday morning James rang and said that his partner would be delivering my protein shake that afternoon.

When his partner, Daniel, arrived – I saw that he’d brought the vanilla mix instead of the chocolate. He apologised profusely and said he’d go and exchange it for me right away. I told him not to worry about it, and that I’d take it anyway, but if he could please bring me the chocolate one on Monday (they don’t last long and I’d need them both anyway).

This afternoon, Sunday, James messaged me to apologise for the mix up and said that he and Daniel had decided to give me the chocolate mix for free! Hooray! It really is very kind of them – they don’t have to do that at all, and I really appreciate it.

So…

If you’re looking to do the Clean 9 (James is selling it for N17000 (at the time of his comment) and I bought it on Jumia for N24000) and don’t know where to buy it from – look no further!

You can call James Anderson or whatsapp him on 08034835439, or email him on swahzzee4@gmail.com

Here’s to Keeping It Up!

 

The New C9 – Days 3 to 9

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Day 3

I weighed myself first thing in the morning and saw that I’d lost 2 kg. I was rather ecstatic! But as the day progressed I managed to convince myself that I’d read the scale wrong and that I’d only lost 1 kg. Why? Because I made the mistake of weighing myself again (later in the day) and the numbers were higher. It was a silly thing to do – because they do say that your weight will fluctuate – especially on days 3 – 5.

I followed all the instructions as I was meant to – and, I was surprised that I felt quite energetic all day! I dropped Vins off at summer camp in the morning, rushed home to collect Booni, took him to playgroup, brought him back home, did my 30 Day Shred DVD, rushed into the shower, rushed to collect Vins and then went to the supermarket. I had NO time to think about food until after my afternoon protein shake. It was only once I sat down and relaxed that I decided I couldn’t wait to eat! I spent the whole afternoon waiting for 8 pm and dinner.

On days 3 – 9, you’re allowed a 600 calorie meal for dinner. I had some whole wheat pasta with mushrooms and broccoli. It was… disappointing. It was good. But it was disappointing. I didn’t weigh out all the food to make sure it was 600 calories, I just kind of hoped it wasn’t more!

I slept really well on days 1 and 2 and was surprised that it took me so long to fall asleep on day 3. I put it down to having food in my tummy!

Day 4

I woke up tired – but that’s because I hadn’t slept well. I had the Forever Garcinia Plus soft gels, the aloe vera gel (followed by 250 ml of water as recommended), the Forever Therm tablet and the protein shake.

There was no playgroup, so I was able to exercise for a bit longer. I found my Davina McCall Body Buff DVD and did the warm up, arms, abs and stretch bits.

Lunch was the same as breakfast. In the afternoon I thought I’d share an apple with Booni – so he had a slice and I had the rest!

I was ready to eat dinner very early. My tummy was growling by 6 pm. However, my children had other ideas. While putting Vins to sleep, Booni woke. After getting Booni back to sleep, I had to go back to Vins. I didn’t end up eating until about 9 pm! I had Quinoa with chicken and stir-fried vegetables. It was rather yummy! Again, I didn’t weigh any of the food. I mean, there’s no way a bowl of Quinoa and vegetables can be more than 600 calories. Right?

Day 5

I woke up feeling quite energised! This was the first day where I didn’t have to check the instructions to see what to have and in what order – it was automatic. Good, no? I dropped Vins off, came back for Booni and went to playgroup. After coming back from playgroup I did the Davina DVD again. This time I did the warm up, boxing, abs and stretch parts. I felt GREAT! I showered and got dressed. Today, for the first time in ages, maybe years, I tucked my shirt into my shorts! I’m not saying I looked better. My arse is still a mile wide. And the shirt was big! I don’t know if I looked any slimmer. But I felt good!

I also found myself looking forward to working out the next day. Who’d have thought??

Because I worked out for a little longer, I was running late to collect Vins – so I waited until we came home before having “lunch”. This was probably a mistake as I had two errands to do before coming home and the traffic was horrendous. I ended up having my shake at 4 pm and I was starving!

I had an early dinner of rice noodles and stir-fried chicken and vegetables. Delicious!

Day 6

Funnily enough, I woke early this morning. Not early, early. But Vin didn’t have to wake me. And I felt refreshed. I’m usually so sluggish in the morning, but I was up and ready to start the day (makes you sick, no?).

Day 6 is a “weigh day”. But I forgot. I had my two Forever Garcinia softgels and then remembered! I was disappointed to see I’d only lost 2 kg. Or that I hadn’t lost any weight since day 3. Or had I misread on day 3 and lost one more kilo? In any case, I was only two kilos down from my original weight. I’d read on many sites that it was possible to lose from five to nine kilos on this  cleanse. Surely I should have lost more than that?

After dropping Vin off at camp I came back to my Davina DVD. I did the warm up, legs and core, arms, abs and stretch bits. I was very pleased with myself. It was much more than I normally do!

After showering, I took my measurements. I was going to wait until day 9 before doing this, but thought I had to see that this was all worth it. I’d lost one inch from my waist, one inch from my thighs, one inch from each arm and one inch from my neck. This was good. But not good enough. Shouldn’t more inches and kilos have come off?

I had my “lunch” on time and felt pretty good. I started to feel a bit peckish by late afternoon, so decided to have an apple. I think it made me hungrier!

It was also my in laws’ wedding anniversary on this day. I ordered them the most gorgeous chocolate cake. We cut the cake together. And I cut a slice for Vins. But I didn’t have any. I didn’t even lick my fingers 🙂

Instead, I had an early dinner of stir-fried tofu and vegetables (yes, again) with rice noodles. I think it was during dinner that I realised I’d bought the wrong noodles. I was meant to buy whole wheat Udon noodles. Oops. Will it affect my weight loss?

Day 7

While pouring my morning aloe vera gel, I suddenly realised that there wouldn’t be enough to last me through to day 9. Now what?

I had “breakfast” as usual, and after dropping Vins off and doing some stuff around the house, I did the Body Buff DVD again. This time I did the warm up, boxing, abs, arms and stretch. I had a good ache in my legs for the rest of the day!

I had my softgels, aloe vera gel and water, Forever therm and protein shake on time. The aloe vera gel finished. Oh dear.

One thing I never mentioned before is the Forever Fiber. It’s a small sachet, which is meant to be mixed with water as a ‘snack’. I had this every day after my workout. It didn’t taste of anything, but it was annoying because it never dissolved properly and there were bits floating around in my water!

My in laws had a dinner at home on day 7. I did what was expected of me and hung about downstairs, offering people drinks, etc. I had my own dinner before the guests arrived, so I didn’t feel too tempted to  eat the onion cakes, kebabs, red pepper cheese and all the other very yummy looking food that was served! I was pretty proud of myself!

The nanny was off, so it was a long night with Vin and Booni. They both woke at 1 am and wouldn’t go back to sleep. They both wanted cuddles to go back to sleep – and I couldn’t manage them both at the same time. Vins didn’t want to sleep in his bed and Booni refused to settle in his cot. So at 3 am we all ended up in my bed. Just as well LagosDad was out of town!

Day 8

Booni was up at 7 am and I was exhausted! I handed him over to the nanny and got back into bed. But I couldn’t get back to sleep. Vins woke at 8 am and started demanding breakfast, so we went downstairs.

As soon as he finished, I got into my gym clothes, had my Forever Garcinia Plus and went down to have my protein shake about thirty minutes later. The aloe had run out the day before, and I kind of missed it. Strange, huh?

I was feeling pretty lazy and didn’t actually do my workout until about 1 pm. Instead, I fed Booni grapes and a pancake. And did some catching up on season 4 of Homeland! Also, I spent my time thinking about which workout to do. I was feeling too lazy to do a ‘proper’ workout. In the end I did Davina’s Body Buff DVD again. I surprised myself by doing the warm up, boxing, abs, arms, abs again and the stretch!

I spent the rest of the day relaxing (in bed) and in the late afternoon I treated myself to a massage. I hadn’t had one in ages and my legs and shoulders were aching. It was so good!

I had an early dinner of Quinoa, chicken and vegetables (Chinese style).

Day 9

I couldn’t believe the last day had come around so fast! I slept well the night before, and woke up ready to work out. I weighed myself first. I have lost a grand total of… 2.5 kg. What a disappointment!

After that I was feeling a little unmotivated and took my time getting dressed and sorting myself out.

I finally got my workout in. I did Davina’s Body Buff again. I did the warm up, boxing, abs, arms and stretch. I wore my Zaggora  HotPants for the first time in a very long time (they’re not actually hotpants, by the way!). I’d forgotten what they felt like – it was kind of difficult to move around in them, but I sweated a lot more! I wish I’d thought of them sooner.

I was planning to continue having the shakes for breakfast and lunch – but the formula ran out at breakfast. I’ve already ordered another from Jumia (chocolate this time), but I don’t know how long it’s going to take to get here! They actually recommend having a 200 calorie meal (on day 9) for lunch instead of the shake (I was trying to take the easy way out!). Now that I was shakeless, I had two apples and five grapes instead. I was quite full afterwards and then started worrying about how many calories there were in apples and had I gone over my two hundred calorie limit!

By mid-afternoon I started feeling peckish again. Now I could have gone and had some more grapes. Or another apple. Or even some cucumber. But I decided that popcorn would do. Homemade salted popcorn. One cup is 55 calories. I know I shouldn’t have done it – but I did. I had a cup of popcorn.

LagosDad came back from his work trip in Amsterdam (pfft) and unpacked about a million packets of chocolate biscuits, cheeses and chocolates. I’m so glad he wasn’t here while I was doing this – I don’t think I’d have been able to stick to it!

We had dinner and watched Homeland until 1 am.

I forgot to take my measurements on day 9, so I took them this morning (Monday – the day after day 9 instead). I’ve lost two inches from my tummy and two inches from my chest, one inch from my thighs, each arm and my neck. I’m not totally happy with my results. What did I do wrong? I probably should have weighed my food every day – to make sure I hadn’t gone over 600 calories.

Anyway – so disappointed was I, I had a (thin) slice of that chocolate cake from my in laws’ anniversary. And then I felt guilty.

So that’s that. That’s my New C9. All over and done with!

Forever FIT 1 next.