Biker chick!

These photo was taken recently at a conference I attended in Leeds. We had the pleasure of being driven on these cruiser bikes by these rather charming 'maturer' men to the Emmerdale TV film set (not open to the public so a bit of a privilege if you actually watch Emmerdale - which I am afraid I don't).

Thought I would do a quick update on what me and a few others have been going through during the 3rd/4th week of our Route to management programme. Our weekly get together sessions have changed slightly in that we are not really 'learning' anything ground breaking but understanding what is happening to us mentally and physically. A few of us were discussing outside of our weekly session (we actually get more out of these chats than we do sometimes from the hour and half session) how each of us are experiencing different reactions both physically and mentally. This really highlights the fact that what may work for one person doesn't necessarily work for another! Sharing ideas is great and really helpful but it is not always that easy or relevant to one's specific circumstances. So the gist of it is as I see it, listen to what you are advised with an open mind and at least try things to find out if they work or not. Don't follow things blindly! I am constantly astonished at how people just follow what they are told without questioning it, researching it, trying it out and playing around with it! Adult - the state that we need to be when we are around food! Not child listening to those who think they know better and want to be 'helpful' by telling us what we ought be eating now (outside of the programmes guidelines). This programme is very specific and therefore it needs to be followed according to it's guidelines. Once we are fully back onto 3 meals a day we are still being advised to follow the GI or GL principles - which from my research are very good guidelines to work with.

I have found that fruit is a bit of a trigger for me as it has natural 'sugars' in it, so I am having to learn portion control with this one - not easy when you understand that it is healthy for you but everything in moderation! Hope you are all enjoying the sunny weather!

It is quite strange how people who supported me during my abstinence period are now less supportive as I am 'eating' again and to them that means I have finished the programme. NOT AT ALL! The next few months are the HARDEST and MOST DANGEROUS for me as it is much easier to slip back into old habits now than before. So keep the comments and positive feedback coming as this is so important in assisting with the long term success of what each of us are trying to achieve.

New photo's of me in black to follow next week (requested by popular demand!)

Another small mile stone reached

Well today I reached another goal I set myself and that was to reduce my weight by 5 stone or 32kg's and at last nights weigh in I reached that goal! I now weigh 89kg's which is still 15kg's more than I want too but am well on the road to getting down to a healthy size. I am a comfortable size 16 and really enjoying the feeling of a healthier lifestyle and still reducing my weight while reintroducing conventional food back into my diet.

I believe it is very important to constantly set yourself SMART goals so that it focuses you to working towards a result otherwise I personally find it hard to work out what I need to do in order to move forward. Reaching your goals is all about how realistically you are setting them and each victory is a "positive stroke" which helps you to stay motivated and gives you a sense of achievement. For me this is very important as previously I have not achieved many of the goals I set myself and therefore have felt a failure. When I look back now at why that happened I realised that the goals were unobtainable for several different reasons and therefore not realistic. Small steps as they say and it is so self motivating when one does achieve even a small goal. I keep a record of all my achievements daily such as:

• I drank my 3 litres of water today
• I didn't lapse (cheat)
• I walked 10 000 steps today
• I did well with my portion control
• I stopped eating when I was full
• I left food on my plate and I was ok with it
• I had a sip of wine but didn't have the glass

They may seem minor achievements but for me they are important as it constantly encourages me to move forward and enjoy what I am doing. It makes it exciting! Most people are used to how I look now so I don't get as many "wow you are looking wonderful" or "you have lost so much weight - you look great" as I did in my first 3 months. You don't realise how important it was to get those constant compliments on an ongoing basis as it keeps you motivated. This is not "real life" though and now you have to find other ways to motivate you each day.

Last week we were able to have certain vegetables (raw of course) with our meal and as snacks in addition to one main meal and 3 food packs. I found there were certain days where I couldn't finish all 3 food packs and the meal and others where I could have had 5 food packs and my meal! My body seems to be reacting to the conventional food in that I am getting "hungry", but I am learning to tell the difference between emotional hunger and real hunger! Not easy I have to say but this is what we have been doing for nearly 4 months now. This week we can introduce red meat and fruit. Both these I love but have to be careful of portions. We are recommended not to have red meat more than twice in a week and only certain fruits but only up to around 400grams a day (which is quiet a lot). We also get to have tomatoes so can now have tomato based sauces which is a relief as have been struggling a little with this. I am also interested to see what affect it will have on my body?

That's all for today.

Putting what you have learnt into practice!

Well what a week! The first week in 15 that I can actually eat conventional food! How excited and and terrified I was all at the same time. Suddenly I realised I had to cook again, go food shopping and most importantly plan my week. Abstinence was definitely easier!

So I had my first mouthful of roast chicken (without the skin or gravy) and it tasted just like I remembered it would. A little dry so I had some plain cottage cheese (I really like it now) with loads of black pepper. It was lovely! I really tried to eat slowly and concentrate on the taste and savour the moment. I have to say that it wasn't as exciting as I thought it might be but when you are just eating chicken and nothing else, what was I expecting?? The rest of the week went well, had some salmon, prawns, Quorn (when marinated it is delicious) and some more chicken. On day 3 we were allowed to add lettuce leaves and cabbage and as many spices and herbs as we liked. Really great to discover new methods of cooking (without oil) and so many new flavours. It is like eating for the first time! Had my first BBQ and really managed it well. Drank copious amounts of sparkling water, had chicken and salad and then some coffee. Had a great time without feeling full, eating any chips and dip and no hangover! Fantastic!

My biggest challenge was how much to eat, stop when I am full and how to then cope with the "emotional hunger" that follows. I have a few tips which I believe have really helped me cope this week with re-introducing food and not going "off the rails" which I believe will benefit all:

1 Drink a glass of water before you eat.
2 Put your knife and fork down between each mouthful.
3 Chew as long as possible.
4 Concentrate on what you are doing so do not read, watch TV or be distracted from your meal.
5 When the food does not taste as good as the first mouthful - stop eating!
6 You need far less than your eyes think you do so stop when you are full and if you don't "feel" full use point 5 as your guideline.
7 Remember that you still have 3 food packs that you need to eat so don't think this is your only meal!
8 Portion control!!!!!! Palm size of protein - not hand size (including fingers) just a palm size!
9 Use a small plate to start with and even though you can eat as much lettuce as you like - remember control and portion size even though it is very healthy - it will help you to set up good habits.
10 Do the same process every day for 30 days and it will become a habit!

It's all about putting into practice what we have been taught in theory over the past 3 months. I think we all realised that the old habits are still there but we now have the tools to change them. This week we get to add certain vegetables, yogurt and diet drinks to our shopping list but still just one conventional meal a day. We are reducing our water intake this week to just 3 litres as the more "real" food we add the less water we will need (loads in the food).

I have shed another 1.8 pounds on my first foodie week, so happy with that. I would still like to continue reducing my weight but it will now be very slow - maybe half a pound a week? There will be weeks were I am probably going to put on a pound of 3, as long as overall I am maintaining my current weight or reducing it I will be happy. I am now just 1 pound off 5 stone!