Gingerjo’s Blog

It’s costing me a fortune in clothes. The trousers I bought about 5 weeks ago are already hanging off me. I look like a kid playing dress up with her big sister’s wardrobe.

I’ve finally got in my last pair of ‘drawer under the bed’ trousers. They are a pair of beige cords I bought in M&S in Norwich shortly after I moved there. They were a bit tight but I figured I’d lose a few pounds and they’d fit great. I’ve had them nearly 5 years and never worn them yet! That was about the time I started piling weight on. They look good now though and I shall wear them this weekend. I’m really glad fashions haven’t changed much in the last decade.

It’s only a couple of weeks since I got in my other ‘diet target’ pair of trousers I bought shortly before I left Glasgow. I’d been on a diet after I’d finished writing up my thesis and everyone said how good they looked. I already need to wear them with a belt I’ve shrunk that much. God it feels good!

Work should watch out though - I can wear my navy blue interview suit again. They’d better not upset me or I’ll be off job hunting, confident in the knowledge that I’ll have something nice to wear when I get an interview. Actually, a really good marketing job came up this week at Salford uni. If I went for it I’m sure I’d be in with a good chance, but I’ve too much going on at the moment to apply for it, and, for the most part, I’m happy where I am. Besides I’ve got some interesting projects going on at work at the moment and I’d like to see the fruits of my labour. I’ve enough challenges to be getting on with for now.

Wow, I’m under 12 stone for the first time in years. Only just mind, but it’s a milestone and it feels great. Of course I have to drop a point - only 20 points for me to eat tomorrow unless I earn some by doing some exercise. I’ll see how I feel tomorrow. I’ve been really stiff after my bit of running the other day, but then no pain - no gain.

Whoo hoo! I’m 11 stone something!

In a few days (once I’ve used up all the points plan only foods I have) I’m going to try the Weight Watchers core plan. I’m quite excited about it because it means Mark and I will be able to go back to cooking for eachother. On the points plan and with me having been working so much overtime we’ve largely been fending for ourselves and my diet’s become low calorie but neither healthy nor sociable. Hopefully the core plan will make it easier for us to cook for eachother.

I do think it will involve a lot more cooking from scratch, but Mark really likes trying out new recipes so I’m hoping he’ll enjoy it. It doesn mean that I have to pretty much give up bread, cheese and packet sauces, but not all the time - some packet sauces are quite low in points so I’ll be able to count them from my 3 points per day. Also it means I won’t have to make lunch every day because I’ll be able to get a baked potato and beans from the canteen.

The only thing concerning me is that I have to give up my weetabix minis with chocolatey bits. I really love those chocolatey bits, but I’m hoping that ordinary weetabix minis with some frozen cherries or raspberries will be just as good.

For the first time in a very long time I actually ran today! After walking for 5 minutes to warm up I ran for 2.5 minutes at 5.2mph then walked for 2.5 minutes at 3.6mph. I repeated that 4 times so I ran for 10 mins in total. This gave me 1.5 activity points. I then walked so that in total I’d walked for 20 mins gaining another activity point. I was really pleased with myself because I seriously didn’t expect to be able to run for 2.5 minutes. I thought I’d collapse after 30 secs. Afterwards I did my weights routine which gained me another activity point.

What a good girl I am!

I’m quite excited really because I’ve discovered that Weight Watchers activity points do not take anywhere near as much collecting as I thought. They only require a fairly small commitment. For instance I’ve worked out that at my current weight (around 12 stone) I only need to do 20 minutes of low intensity exercise to earn 1 activity point. Basically that’s walking to the shops and back or playing step on Wii Fit for 20 minutes. How easy is that!?

I’ve also discovered that my Bellydancing class gives me around 4 points. I would never have thought it was that high. Obviously as I lose weight I’ll have to do adjust the minutes per activity point but that’s OK.

It’s still a huge motivation just to know how easy it is to gain points!

Given that I’d eaten uncontrollably for 4 days last week it didn’t come as a surprise to me that I’d put on weight. But I have to confess I hadn’t expected to have put on 1.5lbs!! So now I’m back exactly where I began since I joined. Fortunately I know that I’ve lost lots more weight prior to this, but I’m still now 2lb behind where I planned to be.

However, when I arrived to weigh in I discovered that I’d won £14 on last week’s raffle which instantly made me feel better. I never win raffles, but I’d purchased lucky number 7 so it must have been fate wanting to keep my spirits up. So I bought a WW spicy cookery book and a oil dispenser pump largely because Mark likes to cook with oil and this way we’ll know exactly how much he’s used so I can point up recipes more easily.

I’m also thinking of trying the core plan next week, but I’m not sure I can give up my chocolatey weetabix minis in a morning. It’s the only chocolate I get!

I’m really very disappointed in myself. A few days on holiday and I’m back to my old self - stuffing my face. It would appear that half the year on weight watchers has taught me nothing. From Thursday to Sunday all I did was eat. I REALLY enjoyed it though. I had a steak pie followed by black forest gateaux at a Table Table in Dudley, quite a few Lily O’Brien chocolates, traditional fish and chips at the Black Country museum, some more chocolates, creamy mushroom pasta (which was quite grim actually) at a restaurant in Llangollen, lots of crisps, sticky toffee pudding, pea and ham soup with loads of posh bread, braised steak in onion gravy at the Goat Inn on the Caernarfon-Porthmadog road, and some more crisps.

Of course it was nice while it lasted, but I’ve totally scuppered this week’s dieting and may well have put on several pounds. I’ve got my WW meeting this evening which I’m not looking forward to, but Joy is nothing like Majorie from Fat Fighters so I’m hoping all I’ll get is a disappointed/sympathetic look.

I’m back on the diet with a vengence now though. Vegetables all round tonight then.

I wondered what all the fuss was about omega-3. It’s always on adverts and stuff, but none of them ever really say why you need it. Well I discovered today - apparently it’s really important for your brain to function normally. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors got about 50:50 omega-3 and omega-6 fats, but these days we have a massive imbalance, consuming vastly more omega-6. There is some evidence to suggest this is one of the reasons for the increase in ‘brain’ diseases (both physical and mental) these days.

Eating lots of oily fish provides lots of omega-3 and might help combat stress and improve memory and concentration. There are only two drawbacks: a) oily fish is oily and therefore high in calories ie it’s fattening; b) you can’t have more than three portions a week if you are pregnant or thinking of getting pregnant (which I’m not at the moment, but I might be in the next few years) - I think there’s something (a heavy metal?) that accumulates in the fish due to pollution which is bad for the foetus.

I like tinned mackerel and herring (especially in tomato sauce) which a big juicy salad so that’s good. I can eat lots of oily fish. I like smoked mackerel too. And salmon. Not keen on sardines though.

But then you see I feel guilty about over-fishing… You just can’t win!

Well, I’m a bit disappointed this week - I’ve only lost 0.5lbs. Still that’s still better than a kick in the teeth. Next week though I’m on holiday and it’s just pointless trying to work out points when you’re eating out all the time. I guess I’ll just have to try and minimise the damage.

I’m still tired out from all the exercise. It feels good at the time, although I’m struggling to do more than 30 mins cardio after the weights. I’m trying to vary the cardio machines - using two different ones each visit for 15/20 mins each. I’m not at the point where I can run yet though.

It’s my legs that seem to be suffering most - it’s not that they ache - they just feel stiff and a bit leaden. I’m hoping this will stop once my muscles have had time to grow a bit. Perhaps a week off from the gym will give them the chance the need to develop and when I get back they’ll be raring to go?

Hurray (hopefully) we’re off to bonny Scotland on our hols next week. We’ve booked hotels in Glasgow, Oban, near Loch Ness and in Northumberland (yes, I know the last one’s in England!). I dare say the weather will be horrible, and we’ll get soaked to the skin, multiple times, but at least we’ll be doing it somewhere that isn’t here. I really need to get away from, well, not Manchester, it’s Bolton that I’m sick of.

I am really worried about the diet though. I don’t see how I can do it while I’m away, not properly anyway. Scotland isn’t well known for salads, especially not in the winter. In Britain, salads are generally poor quality and overpriced in pubs/restaurants, and I can’t really take a few tomatoes and a bag of spinach with me. And I certainly won’t be able to go to the gym either so I’ll lose momentum there too. I’m really quite concerned that if I stop I’ll never get going again. Hopefully Mark will force me.