Long Time No Speak.....

Well I apologise for the lack of posts from me but things have been pretty hectic here. My weight is stuck but I do have a valid excuse......
I AM PREGNANT!!!

I am due on 12 April although could be before that if I have an elective section or 2 weeks after that if I try (read am made) to have a natural birth. Had my scan today and all is well.

I shall try posting more regularly however the weight loss is taking a back seat for the moment.

Finally Lost

Well I finally lost weight, although it wasnt the amount I had hoped for at the beginning of last week, it was only 1lb but hey ho a 1lb is still a 1lb.

I am going to be cooking new meals from scratch this week so a bit scary with various foods I have never cooked before. Fingers crossed the meals actually turn out how they are supposed to.

Another Gain!

I gained 1lb this week oops. That makes 4 weeks in a row that I have now gained (and half a stone).

I MUST get back on track as I hate that I have done so well and now its all going back on. I dont have anything major happening between now and xmas so there is no excuse!

Fingers crossed I can report back next week with a good loss.

Happy 30th Birthday Peter

Well is was my wonderful husband's birthday yesterday and he reached the grand old age of 30.

We had a surprise party for him on saturday at his parents house and I have to say it was bloody hard lying to him for the past few months about this that and the other. Trying to get invites out and replies back without him knowing, making sure he had saturday and today off work, hoping that no one blabbed and gave the game away (especially not me!).

He had a great day and lots of drink was involved ;o)

Yesterday for his actual birthday we had a quiet day and saw a few family members and then went out for a meal last night (que more drinking!).

We are all totally knackered now, especially Amy bless her. She didnt go to bed until 10.30 on saturday (usually she is in bed by 7pm)and so yesterday she was a tired little bunny.

Weigh in tomorrow *gulp* I am expecting another gain, probably 3 or 4lbs. Thankfully after this weekend we have no more big birthdays or weddings or anniversaries or anything until christmas yay. Just need to get back into the swing of it all now and eat proper food rather than the rubbish I have been having.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETER.....I love you so very much and hope you have enjoyed your birthday. -x-x-x-

Happy Birthday Mummy

Its my mum's birthday today. She never usually likes her birthdays for one reason or another so am hoping that today she will enjoy herself. Unfortunately one of her cats (actually my old cat that I had to give her as she recked my flat) Meadow died suddenly on Monday night so that has put a downer on things but fingers crossed we can make her birthday a happy event!

I gained 2lbs yesterday ooops. I am my own worst enemy sometimes as I have been eating so much cr@p the past few weeks and had a gain 3 weeks in a row now. I woulod be happy to lose 1lb next week but I dont know whether that is going to happen or not as Peter's 30th is on Sunday and we have plans all weekend. Luckily I am not going to drink as I will be driving. I dont usually drink anymore anyway since having Amy as I am too much or a light weight.

Amy has been a nightmare since having her jabs, up and down all night the last couple of nights to a very moody baby!

Transformers - The Movie

We went to see the new Transformers movie on saturday night and I have to say it was excellent. I thought the FX were fabulous and I hope they decide to make another one.

The in-laws looked after Amy so we could go as we havent been out just the two of us since the beginning of December last year so it was well overdue for us to go out.

Today is our 2nd wedding anniversary (which is why we went out on Saturday night) and so far I have been doing lots of washing (to be ironed later) and took Amy to have her booster jabs which she really cried at which made me want to cry :o( Poor baby.

Weigh-In is tomorrow but I dont know if I want to go as I have been really naughty yet again this week - oops. Will see how I feel tomorrow and decide whether I am brave enough to go and step on the scale. This week I have no-one else to blame - or do I!?!?!?

Blast from the Past

I popped into our local town centre earlier and bumped into an old school friend - Diane Dye - who I havent seen properly for about 6 years!

We were best friends at school and used to get up to so much mischief. When we left school we drifted apart then met up again but lost touch. I am sooooo happy.

Her sisted, Sarah, was also with her and she is a really nice person too :o)

We are planning on meeting up at the weekend with our children (Di has 2 and Sarah has 1) so all the kiddies should get along well too.

Happy happy happy!

Home & Weigh In

Well we had a lovely time in Evesham. Weather was awful when we first arrived and we couldnt even make it out of the car into our cottage as it was so bad! Luckily by the time we went out in the evening the rain had stopped and the sun came out.

We saw Stuart, Michelle and Kieran on Thursday night and had a nice meal with them in The Round of Gras and Kieran and Amy ran riot around all the table chasing one another and Kieran kept giving Amy kisses which was just so cute (see Stuarts blog http://www.stu-wilson.blogspot.com/ for pictures).

Friday we went to the West Midlands Safari Park and saw lots of different animals (obviously!). Amy seemed to like looking at the animals too which was nice.

Spend Thursday and Friday nigth playing cars with Peter and the in-laws and drinking lots of wine and Bud which is something I dont usually do so made a nice change (and I didnt have a hang over yay!).

Obviously from all the good food and alcohol I had put on 2lbs this morning, thought it would be more like 5lbs so will have to make sure I am good this week so it doesnt catch up with me!

I have one more weigh in until Peter's 30th birthday weekend and my dress fits but is a bit tight around my bust. On the plus side at least I know they wont fall out!!

Away & News

We are off to see our friends in Evesham tomorrow and will be staying up/down there for a couple of days and I am really looking forward to the break. Not sure how I will fare with slimming world but will try my hardest (honest!).

I somehow managed to gain 1lb this week which was a bit of a surprise. I can only think that its my MIL's roast dinner which is very oily as this is the only thing I had that was out of the norm. (Note to self: dont eat MIL's food anymore!).

Thought we had to take Amy to hospital yesterday which was scary. Monday night she got her leg stuck between the bars on her co (does this a lot) and when Peter went up to see her she had twisted around with her leg still through the bars. Tuesday morning she couldnt/wouldnt walk on her left leg and kept falling over and crying
:o( My mum came around to come with me to the hospital and Amy went running up to her!! Quick recovery or what. Kept an eye on her yesterday and although she is still limping a little she seems to be okay so we assume its just badly bruised.

Bless my poor little baby, she certainly is in the wars what with banging her head, cutting her lip, biting her tongue.

We have been talking about trying for baby no. 2 which is a big step for me because I am worried that I wont love baby no.2 as much as I love Amy (strange thing to say I know). I am also worried more for the fact that if we have another girl would I feel different to the way I feel for Amy being our first?

It took us a year to get pregnant with Amy so I am preparing myself for a long wait (and hope that I dont get totally obsessed like last time). Wish us luck!

Wii....

We purchased a Nintendo Wii this weekend and I have to say its bloody good fun!

Thw Wii Sports is very funny (why dont the people in the background have legs?). I especially like the boxing!

We also have Mortal Kombat (not tried that yet), Harry Potter (tis okay but a bit slow) and Monkey Balls which I love!

Unfortunately as I have also got the new Harry Potter book wii playing is limited as I am busy reading most of the time when Amy is alseep. I dont think I am going to be staying up until 3 or 4am to read it though like some people I know.

We are going away on Thursday for a couple of days and the place we are going to (Evesham) is flooded eek! Our friends Stuart & Michelle and their son Kieran who live in Evesham are stuck at home as they live on a hill and below them is flooded. I really hope the water receeds before we go there next week else we wont be able to catch up with Stuart, Michelle and Kieran which will be a shame. Mind you thats if we actually make it there what with the roads being flooded!!

Thats a Load Off...

Well after having a nightmare 2 weeks where I have gained 3lbs I have this week lost 6lbs YAY.

My mini goal is for my hubby Peter's 30th birthday which is 12 August as we are going out somewhere special (cant say much as he might see!). Ideally in the next 3 weigh ins before his birthday I would like to have lost another 6lbs then I would be at the same weight I was when I got married.

Amy is still an early riser. She gets up anywhere from 5am-6.30am and is currently refusing to have a nap in the day. Joy. When she is tired she gets all wobbly so we have lots of lovely bruises on her head at the moment! I am sure people look at me as though I am beating her up (I'm not honest!).

We have some friends over for dinner tomorrow night and I am being a very good girl. Everyone else is having garlic bread, pizza and chips and I am having wholemeal pasta, cheese, lettuce, carrots, cucumber, peppers, boiled egg, ham slices and boiled potaotes. Garlic bread will be hard to resist I think but I WILL resist it (I hope).

Party & Whoops!

Amy's party was lovely on Sunday. We had a mixture of family and friends and Amy seemed to enjoy herself - especially running up and down the garden to the back gate which she isnt usually allowed to do. Amy was spoilt and got lots of lovely pressies although she wasnt interested in opening them only in eating the wrapping paper.

Well I have had a very naughty week with my diet and yesterday at weigh in I gained 2lbs. Considering the food that I ate (chinese, chips from chip shop etc) and the amount of alcohol considering I dont usually drink any now 2lbs gain isnt that bad.

I am now back on track and really really want a good loss this week. I should imagine all the tidying up and taking down of Amy's birthday decorations will help with the exercise side of things!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL

Well I cannot believe my beautiful baby girl is 1 year old today. I have no idea where the last year has gone but gone it has.

Have had a nice day with visitors and we went to a place called Tropical Wings which is a lovely place. There are lots and lots of butterflies flying around and you get to walk through and look at them all. One landed on me and Peter thought that was funny! We also saw lots of birds, some meercats, goats, donkeys, monkeys, tortoises and insects. Amy didnt seem overly fussed but we had a good time.

We have her birthday party on Sunday and are expecting about 30 people so I am sure Amy will be a bit overwhelmed bless her.

Have taken lots of pics and will upload them when I get the chance between cooking for the party and cleaning and tidying up!

On the diet front its been a baaaad week! I have so far had 80 syns with another 40 or so to be had on Sunday. I think I will just be very careful between now and Sunday and limit the damage. I should imagine I will have another gain again this week but hey ho my little girl is only 1 once.

Weigh In

Well today I gained 1lb. Not a happy bunny but I only have myself to blame really.

I am an emotional eater and a family member has well and truly pissed me off and upset me regarding Amy's 1st Birthday and her party (and their lies regarding the same) and so I turned to food and have now had a gain.

Grrrrr why do I do it? Such a pratt.

Right well today is the start of a new week so will have to be extra good. I have Amy's birthday on Thursday and so will be going out so saving some syns for then and then on Sunday we have her birthday party with lots of food so will be saving the majority of my syns for this!!

For those who are interested, the slimming world website is www.slimmingworld.com/lifelineonline you need to enter your email address, a password and a group password. The group password this week is STRAWBERRY. I dont know how well this website will work for those of you across the pond but it has some lovely recipes and good tips so might be of some use.

Here is to a better week!

What is Slimming World

Nancy an answer to your question...

On the Slimming World diet you have red days and green days.

"Red Day" On a red day you have unlimited ("free") amounts of meat and fish (all visible fat removed) a limited amount of carbs (i.e. pasta, potatoes) "A & B choices", "superfree" foods and "syns"(will get to those in a min).

"Green Day" On a green day you have unlimited ("free") amounts of pasta and potatoes (carbs) a limited amount of meat/fish.

"A & B Choices"

In addition to this you have 2 A choices and 2 B choices.

A's are milk, cheese etc.

B's are cereal, crispbreads, nuts etc.

The amounts you eat are again limited i.e. 28g cereal, 250ml milk etc.

"Free Foods" You really can eat as much as you want i.e. 2 large steaks, a packet of ham slices, 4 chicken breasts, 2 jacket potatoes, a plateful of pasta etc.

"SuperFree" Foods. The free foods are the bulk of the diet, apples, oranges, bananas, pears, plums, carrots, lettuce, cucumber, kiwi etc etc basically all your fruit and vegetables. Some veg can be had on a Green day but not a Red day like peas and sweetcorn (due to the digestion or something!).

"Syns" You can have between 70-105 syns a week. The syns are your naughty foods/alcohol or cooking sauces. You should aim to have 70 syns a week therefore approx. 10 a day.

Sample:-

Red Day

Breakfast - 2 weetabix (B choice) with 250ml semi skimmed milk (a) choice and a banana.

Lunch - 6 (or as many as you can eat) slices of ham with carrots, cucumber, lettuce, onions and 3 babybel lights (a choice). Muller Light yoghurt, kiwi, apple, orange.

Dinner - steak, 198g new potatoes (B choice), swede, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower. Followed by a Skinny Cow ice cream lolly 4 1/2 syns.

Green Day

Breakfast - 2 weetabix (B choice) with 250ml semi skimmed milk (A choice) and a banana.

Lunch - Jacket potatoe with cheese (A Choice) and a salad (carrots, cucumber, lettuce, onions etc) and 7 hi-fibre crackerbreads (B Choice) with flora light (syns) followed by a muller light yoghurt and fruit.

Dinner - Quorn lamb style grills, mashed potatoe, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower. Followed by a Skinny Cow ice cream lolly 4 1/2 syns.

Its basically eat as much as you want and lose weight! It obviously works as I have lost nearly 3 stone (42lbs Nancy!). I am NEVER hungry and I never go without either.

Think thats about it!

MMMMM Mattessons

Would like to share this little new found food with you!

Its by Mattessons and its called Fridge Raiders. They do Chinese Spare Rib flavour which is 2 1/2 syns on a red day and roast chicken flavour which is 1 1/2 syns on a red day. They are lovely! The chinese spare rib ones are to die(t) for!

I have been for a walk today and am off to aqua fit tonight yay me.

Amy is teething so am having to deal with grumpy/clingy child and nasty nappies!! Only 1 week and 1 day until she turns one. OH. MY. GOD.

Oh yeah I only lost 1lb this week boo hiss thought I would have lost a bit more than that. Will have to try harder this week, although I am off out to London on friday night for a few hours and have free food and drink at my disposal. Must resist!

Hello New Blogger Here

Well after having numerous people tell me I should have my own blog - I have made myself one!

Not sure what exactly I am doing but hey ho its all a work in progress!

A little history - My name is Gemma and I live in Basildon, Essex with my husband Peter and daughter Amy. (I have an older brother who EVERYONE knows, Dan aka 0ddness blog man!).

A little history lesson. Since I was about 19 years old I started gaining weight and never really stopped. When I was pregnant with Amy I kinda ate what I wanted when I wanted and therefore gained even more weight.

I tried and failed to breastfeed Amy and was very low about this however it was pointed out to me that my biggest craving - Peanut M&Ms - could now be eaten! So never one to miss an opportunity I ate them and ate them and ate them and before I knew it I was heaver than when I was 9 months pregnant!

Fast forward to January 2007 and I actually decided to do something about all this weight and so I joined my local Slimming World group one Tuesday morning. The scales read 16 stone 11 lbs.

Fast forward again to now and I currently weigh 14 stone 1 lb. I have had a few hiccups along the way where I havent been 100% commited to the plan but my head is now out of the sand and I am on my way again. Ideally I would like to be 10 stone 7lbs but will see how I feel when I eventually get there.

I will post here food ideas which are in line with the slimming world plan and any thoughts and feelings about the diet along with my weekly weigh in (Tuesdays).

This blog is also intended for me to have a good rant so be warned!

Finally, welcome everyone!