Tips and diet ideas!

Lots of people asked me what I did to lose the weight, what gimmick I used, what diet plan. For me it was simply about changing my habits and cutting out that which was unhealthy.

- gluten and wheat: for a couple of weeks I cut this out completely. A large proportion of the population are intolerant and it makes you build up ft around and below the belly button. Cut it out! It is difficult but you can buy lots of nice gluten free alternatives in supermarkets! It's also really present in premade sauces!

- sugar: probably the hardest one for me but the key is to stick with cutting it out. I think for me personally it takes about three days and my sugar cravings go. I also get a headache when I cut it out but after that I feel amazing.

- E numbers : I am more and more inclined to agree that prepackaged food is not good. The more natural the better. It might be convenient but the chemicals are bad for us. Spend time actually cooking. I felt all kinds of smug when the horsemeat scandal broke because I hadn't touched a ready meal in at least a year! Even the weight watchers ones are packed with preservatives. If it has a long date on it, it is no good. (For example, today I had curry super noodles. Good idea at the time but now I am shouting at Kev for not gettin the boiler to work and I feel hungry again! Lesson learnt!)

- alcohol: I really struggled here. Everyone knows I love a drink. For the first couple of weeks I didn't drink at all. I felt glorious. Then I decided on low cal drinks: reduced alcohol wine, vodka an diet coke were the best for me. Stopping the things you enjoy just makes you want them more. The key is moderation.

- carbs and fat are good! But they have to be the right kinds! I love bread and cheese but as I was keeping a food diary I noticed that bread makes me angry and cheese gives me migraines. It's all about the right choices: rice, Cous Cous, brown pasta as for fats olive oil is a miracle worker, nuts and humous was surprisingly good for snacking on. Don't jut cut these out. Nothin good will come of it.

- weigh yourself daily. That way you can track what's going on and what does and doesn't work for you. However, the scales don't mean anything. I also measure myself and look at the fit of my clothes. That is way more telling. This should be at the same time every day! I fluctuate between the morning and evening. You are usually lightest in the morning!

I think I will shut up for today. I am by no means an expert. Just sharing what has worked for me.

This is me.

So, this time last year I was in denial. My mother kept telling me I was fat and I just didn't believe it. I could fit into most of my clothes still! As well as that I was always ill! Migraines were a regular occurrence, I had terrible spots and I would get acid reflux and IBS weekly! Then it happened. It hit me like a cartoon anvil right in the face. My partner works in the media and my sister and I were asked to go along to a recording of, ironically enough, a monster food challenge. Great. Anyway a couple of weeks later a work colleague was like "Oh, I saw you on youtube!" Of course I had to go and have a look. It was disgusting. I had never realised just how big I looked. Straight away I signed up for the gym and luckily enough, the gym was holding a slimming club for just £12 for a 6 week programme. I signed up without hesistation. 
When I told my mom about this she just kind of snorted at me. My nan said, "You will never do it, you like chocolate too much." The thing my family don't really realise about me is that I am fiercely competitive! I would not be the person who lost the least weight in that club. In fact, I ended up being the person who lost the most, losing a stone and a half. And the perks were glorious. None of my clothes fit me, my skin was glowing, my nails were growing, I wasn't waking up in the night in pain any more. I felt amazing. 
The club ended in september and I have lost weight more steadily since then but I have kind of fluctuated between 9 and 9 and a half stone since Christmas. So I decided to start this blog for two reasons. 

1. As a way to kind of push myself to lose a little more. 
2. To inspire others who want to lose some weight. 

For me, once I got over the first week or so it was easy, but that first week was horrendous! Food was EVERYWHERE! Eventually though my cravings for sugar and bad things seemed to subside and I did all the bad things less! This weekend however, has been a bad one. A weekend away and a  wedding. Never good!

So this is my blog. I will be posted recipes I try, things I encounter and general inspirational things I find. Losing weight isn't easy and I know  I hope you like it!

(Just to show you what I have managed... the below pictures are all of me... the first one was in July 2012, the second in August 2012 and the third and fourth were this weekend. I went from 12 and a bit stone to 9 and a bit stone and I dropped two dress sizes. I am now within healthy BMI!)