My 13 Week Challenge - Week 1: The Easter Bank Holiday

Last night was weigh in night and the first one of my 13 week, 13lbs challenge and I was up 2lbs!
Ok, so it didn't go to plan, I didn't lose the 1lbs I was aiming for but i'm not disappointed with myself either...sounds a bit strange I know but I feel fantastic!

Let me explain.
My plan for the long weekend was not to drink any alcohol, just eat one Easter egg worth 25 Pro Points from my weeklies and do plenty of activity and loose 1lbs.

Beautiful beach

Here is how it went.
My week started of with a great start, I woke up last Thursday morning and I headed out for a walk, I hadn't gone for a walk in weeks but I managed to do a 5Km walk and I felt great. I came home and I ate well for the day. Thursday night we headed down to west cork for an extra long Easter weekend. Friday got off to a great start, the weather was gorgeous, we went for a walk on the beach and later that evening we climbed up to The Beacan at Baltimore to see the sun set.

The Beacon

Ok...so I did eat some chips and shared a slice of cake with William before hand, but still not so bad. Saturday came and we went for a wonder around the local market, and I decided to make some dessert for Sunday lunch the next day. I made a raw food, chocolate & avocado tart, it was amazing! we went for dinner Saturday night, I really wanted pizza but I ordered fish instead and just had one very small glass of wine. I opted to be the designated driver so that I couldn't drink more alcohol and I resisted more wine when we got home but I did eat a couple of triangles of Toblerone...oops!
Doesn't sound too bad now does it, my weeklies would have covered the treats I did have.

My Chocolate & Avocado Tart

Then came Sunday and that's where things started to slip. The sun was scorching, we were having 12 people over for Sunday lunch and I got carried away in the buzz of the bank holiday weekend. we climbed the small mountain behind the house before dinner, it was tough but I made it!

I drank more than I should have on Sunday. Cold beer just tastes so good sitting in the blazing sun in a beautiful garden chatting with friends and I ate far more chocolate than I had planned, we had an Easter egg hunt in the garden that morning and I couldn't resist, Monday was similar to Sunday, more chocolate and an ice cream cone on the drive back home. 

Sunday morning egg hunt

So as you can see gaining 2lbs is not that surprising really. I was kinda hoping that the activity would make up for all the chocolate I ate but I knew that was just wishful thinking. I don't regret my weekend because I had an amazing time with friends and family, it was almost like a mini holiday and those kind of weekends don't happen very often.

At the top of the little mountain

I feel fantastic because I did more activity that I ever did when I was losing my weight originally and I have kept it up too. I went for an 8km walk on Tuesday and a 6km walk on Wednesday. I am setting up a great habit for myself and I am learning to make activity a part of my lifestyle and enjoying it too!

I didn't reach my goal that I had set for the week, but I conquered one thing, activity and I am proud of that. This week I will conquer tracking and I know I will have a loss next Wednesday night.

one challenge at a time, one day at a time, one meal at a time and I will get there because Slow & steady wins the race.

Confessions of A Perfect Person

I started this blog as a means of tracking my weight loss journey & keeping myself motivated, It turned into so much more along the way and I have loved every second of it. I always wrote about the good times but most importantly I wrote about the bad times,

Me before I started at 13st 10.5lbs  & when I reached goal at 11st 7lbs

The last few months have been difficult for me, my bad habbits crept in, I lost control and my weight crept up and I have found myself 13lbs over goal. During the last few months I have avoided blogging, I felt that if I couldn't blog from a positive place then I shouldn't do it, I became a leader a year ago and since then I have felt that I needed to be seen as 100% focused and on track all of the time, I needed to be perfect. I was afraid to come on here and tell you all how horribly wrong things were going because I was trying to maintain the image of a perfect leader. So I didn't tell you about the time I ate a whole pizza, or the time I ate an extra large chocolate bar in one sitting or the time I went to the cinema and had a medium popcorn, 2 scoops of Ben & Jerrys and a share bag of minstrels all to myself...yes I have done all of these things! The truth is I am not 100% perfect.The truth is there is no such thing.

Me now at 12st 6lbs

I am a perfectly normal human being.

I have my struggles
I have food issues
I have weight problems
I can fall of the wagon
But I can get back on!

So that is what I am doing right now, I am owning up, I am being honest, I am writing about the bad times and I am getting back on track.

where I will be for the next 13 weeks and beyond!

I am setting myself a goal. I want to loose 13lbs and get back to my goal weight by July 1st, That gives me 13 weeks. I know this goal is realistic and achievable and that's very important, I lost 31.5lbs in 32 weeks to get to goal ,so I averaged out at a 1lb a week weight loss.

Do you need a goal to help keep you focused? Why not join in my challenge and aim to loose 13lbs by July 1st. In 13 weeks I will be confident in my summer clothes and fingers crossed wearing a bikini to the beach! who's with me?

What would happen?

What would happen if you stick to the program 100% for a week?...

Well, you would loose weight!

That is the question my leader put to my class tonight when I told her that my challenge for myself this week was to stick to the Pro Points plan 100% for the next seven days. It seems pretty obvious doesn't it? However, sometimes we loose sight of that simple little fact, do it properly and reap the rewards!

For the last few weeks I have been up and down the same 1 or 2 lbs, it's been frustrating, but I am the only person to blame. You are not going to achieve your goals by messing around and cheating the program, you can't loose weight like that. As a gold member I know this, I know what to do in order to loose weight, for some reason over the last few weeks I chose not to do it. I chose to cheat, mess and guess. I willing engaged in behavior that I knew would cause me to gain weight and not lose it!

A reminder of what I have achieved

Why? why would I do that? 

I honestly can't give a straight answer to that question, I had a goal, I wanted to get back to goal for my tip to Krakow, that trip is now ten days away and I am still 6lbs to goal.

My tracker all ready to go!

I am not going to focus on what I didn't achieve over the last few weeks. So what, I wont be at goal for my trip, but I can lose a couple of pounds in ten days. I might not get to goal for christmas but I know I will get there in january if not. I wont allow myself to feel like a failure, what matters is what I do now, and now I can see that if I follow the program 100% I will lose weight and for the first time in many, many weeks it seems simple and I know that I can do it! 

If you're gonna do it, do it right!

If you're gonna do it, do it right! These words have been in my head all day today...and no its not because I heard the song on the radio. I went back to class this morning. I haven't been in almost 6 months, not since I became a leader. Over the last few weeks I really have lost the plot altogether. My motivation was decimated and I have been stuffing my face. Really stuffing my face! On Monday night driving home i ate a large bar of chocolate, 2 small bars of chocolate and a share bag of jellies...

Yes I am ashamed to admit that but thats just a snippet of the kind of behavior I have been indulging my mouth in of late. I knew what I was doing was going to cause me to gain weight, I knew it was unhealthy and I knew what I should be doing about it, but yet I couldn't bring myself to do it. I was completely in denial and telling myself it was ok and that I deserved to eat the food and I needed to eat the food!

last night I got to a desperate point. I was very upset and disappointed in myself. something had to be done and it had to be done ASAP. What would I tell anyone else in the same position to do, what would I tell a member to do? Go to class! So, I text my leader Sue to let her know I was thinking about attending her class the following morning, she replied ''see you in the morning'' I had no excuse, I had no choice but to go then.

Off to bed I went, feeling a tiny bit better, having made the decision. It was the best decision I have made in weeks! I attended class, got weighed, 7lbs over goal, not pleasant for a girl who swore she would never, ever go back to her old habits, ever! 7lbs is almost a quarter of the total weight I lost to get to goal, that is a scary thought! The meeting this morning was great, exactly what I needed. I had a refresher course with Sue at the end just like a new member would have their get started session and sue gave me some great advice that I am going to stick by for the week.

I am not going to focus on the gain or my past behavior. I am going to act like I have never done Weight watchers before, I am going to do Simple Start for the week and I am going to do it 100% by the book, no adaptions, no cheating! I am going to do it right! 

A Simple Dinner For Your Simple Start

Whole-wheat Couscous is free on simple start/Filling & Healthy, eager to have another Filling & Healthy food in my cupboard for dinner & lunch inspiration I had been keeping a vague eye out for whole-wheat couscous for the past couple of weeks. I hadn't managed to find it in the supermarkets I tend to visit on a regular basis.
While In Bantry on wednesday, putting up posters to promote my new class opening there, I came across a small organic supermarket and found a bag of whole-wheat Couscous there.

I was very keen to use it and decided that I would Make it for dinner today. I had a busy day, I went for a fabulous walk with my friend Amy & her dog in Ballincollig park, I hadn't been there before and it was stunning. I headed off after that to do my weekly grocery shop and then did a spot of cleaning at home for the rest of the afternoon. I wasn't feeling in the mood to do anything too timely in the kitchen after that and I decided on simple roast veg for the Couscous.

I wasn't really expecting anything amazing and I did worry that the vegetarian meal would not be enough for my boyfriend William. I knew I was onto a hit when after two mouthfuls william said ''we have to have this again, its delicious!'' and for once he didn't go back for seconds, he was full!

Roast Veg & Whole-wheat Couscous.

Serves 3 ( I made enough for 2 dinners & one lunch)

1/2 Butternut Squash, diced
1 Red Pepper, diced
1 Green Pepper, diced
3 Carrots, diced
1 Large Onion, cut into wedges
5 Baby Potatoes, quartered
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Cumin
Turmeric
2 Cups Whole-wheat Couscous
Fry Lite
0% Total Greek Yogurt (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200

Place the chopped veg into an oven proof dish and sprinkle on your desired amount of seasoning, toss and spay with Fry Lite.
Place in the oven and roast for 30-40 minutes
When the veg is done, turn off the oven & leave the beg inside to keep warm.
bring 2 cups of water to the boil & add the 2 cups of Couscous, remove the pan from the heat, cover and leave for 5 minutes.
Fluff with a fork & serve with the roast vegetables.
Top with a tbsp of 0% Total Greek Yogurt & enjoy!

Sometimes a simple meal can be very tasty & satisfying, this meal is certainly that. It is easy to prepare and cook so is suitable for people who are not that confident in the kitchen. The leftovers would be ideal cold for lunch the next day with some rocket & spinach leaves thrown in, which is what William is getting to take to work tomorrow.

As you all probably know by now I have become a Weight Watchers leader so spread the word!
I am Opening two new classes on Monday 28th April.

10:30 am in The Westlodge Leisure Centre, Bantry
6pm The West Cork Hotel, Skibbereen.

I also have a class on Tuesdays in Youghal at 5:45pm.

Porridge Bread Scones & Home Made ''Nutella''

Firstly I would like to apologies for my disappearance lately, I have been very busy. I have been doing my Weight Watchers leader Training. I passed my assessment last week and I am now officially a Weight watchers Leader! I am very excited and also eager to get going with classes. I will have more news soon about where my classes will be, for those of you interested in that.

Now I would like to make a splash back into blogging with my new recipe.

Porridge bread is by no means a new creation to us Weight watchers people, since the beginning of Simple Start in January we have all been raving about its wonderfulness. It truly is genius! However I did begin to get a little bored with the bread and mine was ever turning out quiet right, it was always a bit soggy in the middle. I would leave it in the oven for double the stated time but no such luck would come about.

So I decided to try turning the bread dough into scones instead and it worked a treat, they cooked perfectly and I am now in love with them. The scones, like the bread is free on Simple Start or Filling & healthy. I have worked out the Pro Points for those of you who prefer to count. I am now a complete convert to Filling & Healthy myself, so I do recommend you give it a try if you haven't already.

porridge Bread Scones

Serves 12

Free on Filling & Healthy
or 4 Pro Points each.

500g  tub Low Fat Natural Yogurt
Twice the empty Yogurt tub filled with Porridge Oats
1 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp bread Soda

Preheat oven to 180c

Empty the Low Fat Natural Yogurt into a mixing bowl,
Fill up the Yogurt tub twice with Porridge Oats and mix into the Yogurt along with the Salt and Bread Soda. Mix well to form a wet dough.
Grease a 12 spaced Bun Tin with Fry Lite. Using an Ice-Cream/Potato Scoop, Scoop the dough between the 12 spaced Bun Tin. Sprinkle over Wheat Germ if desired and bake in the oven for 40 Minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Place on a wire rack to cool.

*update - I got a new oven and now my Porridge Bread Scones cook in 20 - 25 minutes, so make sure you keep an eye on them.

Now the scones are just to get you started, the real delight is the home made ''Nutella'' I have come up with. It is what I would describe as a healthy grown-ups Nutella, a dark Chocolate and Hazelnut spread. It works out much the same in Pro Points as Nutalla does but it has less Sugar and no Palm Oil, so is much better for us. I am really in love with this one! It is the perfect accompaniment for the scones and will curb any Chocolate craving!

Dark Chocolate & Hazelnut Spread

2pp for 1Tbsp or 3pp for 2 Tbsp

150g Whole Hazelnuts
60g Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
50g Sweet Freedom Syrup (Light or Dark)
120ml Skimmed Milk
1tsp Vanilla Extract

Preheat the oven to 180c

Place the Hazelnuts on a lined baking sheet and roast in the oven for 10 minutes.
when the hazelnuts are done place them between 2 pieces of Kitchen paper and rub to remove the skins (this is tiresome work but do prevail!)
Place the skinless Hazelnuts in a food processor and blend on a medium/high setting for 10 minutes or until a peanut butter consistency is achieved, scraping down the sides as necessary.
Add in the rest of the ingredients and blend until well combined.

Spoon into a sterilised jar, I used 2 small ones and refrigerate and use within one week.

Enjoy! :)

Filling & Healthy Porridge Oat Pancakes

I have had a longing for pancakes for days now. It's seeing all the pancake mixes and toppings filling the shelves of the supermarkets. Pancake Tuesday is on it's way and gosh do I love pancakes!

I am filled with lovely thoughts of stuffing myself with pancakes all day on Pancake Tuesday. The reality is I will probably have 3 or 4 and be stuffed! While I am saving myself for ''Real'' Pancakes on Pancake Tuesday I don't want to waste any of my weekly pro points on them right now. I have been making alternative filling & healthy pancakes to keep me satisfied for now.

Most of us know of and love the banana & egg pancakes that have been circling around for a while now. I had them yesterday. While they are quick, easy and a good substitute for pancake cravings, sometimes I am a little bothered about the banana taste that comes with them.

Today I decided to try out a different method and the results were very, very surprising! These pancakes tasted very much like the real deal and were very satisfying and filling. I will be opting for these pancakes instead of the banana ones so long as I am following the filling & healthy program.

Porridge Oat Pancakes.

Free on Filling & healthy
Makes 4 Pancakes.

4 scoops of Porridge Oats (I used the red scoop that comes with microwave porridge oats, this works out at 60g)
2 eggs.
A large dash of Skimmed Milk (I did not measure the milk, I added in a little at a time until i got the desired batter consistency for pancakes)
1tsp Vanilla Extract
1tsp Baking Powder
Fry Light

Pour all ingredients into a baking bowl and blend using a hand blender. Alternatively mix together with a spoon or whizz in the food processor.
Spray your frying pan with some Fry Light and heat the pan to a medium/high heat.
Using a serving spoon or ladle pour some of the batter onto the frying pan.
These pancakes cook very fast so keep an eye on them.
After a minute flip over to the other side and cook for a further minute.
Repeat with the remaining batter and serve with your favourite topping.


You can make these pancakes gluten free by using gluten free oats and baking powder.

Simple Start Potato Gratin

Tonight is Steak Night!

Sirloin or Fillet steak is free on Simple Start which is great news because I love steak, but steak makes me think of chips, delicious home made chips from the deep fat fryer oh and dont forget the creamy pepper sauce to pour all over it.

What came into my mind today while trying to decide what to accompany my steak with, was mothers garlic & cream potato gratin. Layers of thinly sliced potatoes smothered in cream and garlic and topped off with a layer of cheese that melts in the oven, It's heavenly. On weekends home from college my mother would often make it and I would sit down with my parents and savor every mouthful as we caught up on the past week, good memories.

Potato Gratin before baking in the oven.

But I cant have that tonight, it's not Simple Start Friendly! As much as I might have wanted to give in and make it, because after all the thinking about it I now had a longing for it, I didn't give in. Instead I thought about how I could make a Simple Start version that would curb the craving.

This is the result...

Simple Start Potato Gratin

Free on Simple Start/Filling & Healthy, without the cheese, or use the cheese as a treat like I did or take from your weekly 49 pro points.

5pp per serving.

Serves 4

750g Potatoes, finely sliced, I left the skin on but you can peel if preferred.
2 Garlic Cloves, crushed. (I used garlic puree)
Salt & Pepper
200ml Skimmed Milk
40g Low Fat Grated Cheddar Cheese.
Fry Lite

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
Spray an oven proof dish with Fry Lite
Layer the finely sliced Potatoes in the oven proof dish, Lightly seasoning with Salt & Pepper and Garlic on every second layer, repeat until all potatoes are used.
Pour the Skimmed Milk over until it reaches just below the top layer of potatoes.
Microwave the dish on high for 10 minutes,
Then cover with foil and bake in the oven for one hour,
Ten minutes before the end take off the foil and sprinkle the cheese on top.

My delicious steak dinner.

I am a lifer!

I have had a very eventful couple of weeks.

On the 18th of January we celebrated my sisters 30th birthday at my parents house with a chinese take away, birthday cake, chocolate biscuit cake and lots of alcohol. My sisters boyfriend asked me how I was going to deal with the weekend on Weight Watchers and my response was exactly this,

''This weekend never happened!''

So I ate like it never happened, I ate what I wanted, when I wanted. I'm talking 8 slices of birthday cake in one weekend!

What do you think happened when I faced the scale at weigh in on Tuesday?...nope you didn't guess right, I actually had a stay the same. 

What this news did for me was make me over confident. My own birthday was the next weekend and I had a tea party planned. My friend Mandi made me a beautiful cake and I probably had about 8 slices of that over my birthday weekend too. I continues to eat like it never happened. what I wanted, when I wanted. 

My Birthday Cake

What do you think happened when I faced the scales on the following Tuesday?...yep, this time I was up! 3lbs!

It all caught up with me big time. You would think that was enough to kick me back into tip top weight watching shape, but it wasn't. I had spiraled out of control. My motivation was non existant. I was supposed to be trying out Simple Start this week, what I did was my own special version, Simple Start meals followed by whatever I wanted.  I ate and I ate and I ate my way to this weeks weigh in where I faced the scales and another 2.5lb gain! 

I was so mad with myself, so disappointed. how could I do this. How could I, the Weight Watchers gold member and future leader who had adorned the cover of the Weight Watchers supplement in the RTE Guide (oh, I will tell you all about that soon!) fall of the wagon so badly?

Myself and Will enjoying my birthday.

I thought about it all night after weigh in and I realised that I am human, yes I am a gold member and future leader but I am firstly and foremost a Weight Watchers member, I have a problem with food and I will have that problem for ever. I am in this for life! In life there will be slip ups, there will be moments and occasions where we give in or choose to forget about counting pro points for a while. The important thing is to go back, to climb back on the Weight Watchers wagon and move on.

Which is exactly what I am doing this week. Since Tuesday I have been following Simple Start properly and I have been enjoying every second of it. I am full, I am satisfied and I feel great!

I came across a competition that my favourite retro brand Stop Staring are doing. You simple enter a picture of you wearing one of their dresses and one lucky person will win a dress from them. It got me looking back at pictures from after I got to goal. I purchased a very special Stop Staring dress to be my goal dress and I wore it to the unofficial Weight Watchers christmas party in Tullamore. I started to remember what buying that dress felt like and how much I loved Weight Watchers for changing my life. I know I will never slip back to the old me if I keep that in my mind.

I decided to enter the picture in the competition. 

My goal dress.

I would love all the help I could get to win this competition so if your feeling generous please follow this link and vote for me

http://bit.ly/1fFgdk2

Thank you all very much,

Sarah

A 2 Pro Point Breakfast

A quick and easy low point breakfast which can be adapted for the simple start or filling and healthy programs.

1 Apple chopped - 0pp
1 Pear chopped - 0pp
20g Muesli - 2pp
1 heaped tbs 0% fat Fromage Frais - 0pp
1/2 tsp of Honey - 0pp

It's as easy as this...

Place the chopped fruit in a bowl, top with the Fromage Frais and Muesli and drizzle the Honey on top and viola a fresh tasting, filling breakfast in less that 5 minutes.

To make this on Simple Start or Filling and Healthy swap the Muesli for Porridge Oats.

Things are looking good for 2014

Happy New Year to all my readers.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are back on your weight watchers journey now. 

Or perhaps your starting now, well done on taking that step if you are.

If your not don't panic and certainly don't give up. You can get there. I myself only got back into the swing if it yesterday. My plan was to take three days off tracking at Christmas but it turned into seven. Things don't always work out the way we planned but there is no point in feeling guilty and punishing ourselves. It's important to accept the fall, no matter how bad it was, pick yourself back up and move on.

That pretty much sums up my new years plan. I don't make resolutions because I always fail at them. This year though I have a plan of things I want to work on in my life. I have been unhappy with some things in my life lately, nothing related to weight watchers directly but we all know how personal issues can interfere with our eating habits.
This year starts off with me becoming a weight watchers leader. This has been an ambition of mine since before I got to goal and I am delighted to be given the opportunity. I begin training later this month and I plan on being the best leader I possibly can be! I am extremely excited about the job and I know its going to have a positive effect on my life.
The other part of my plan us to dedicate time and effort into the Youtube channel I set up and neglected a couple of months ago. Life gets in the way and we always have an excuse to sit in front of the really rather than do something, well I do anyway. But not any more!

If you are making a new years resolution then my advice is to keep it small and realistic. If its the beginning of your weight loss journey then having made the decision to go to a weight watchers class is enough. There is no need to add pressure by saying you will loose one stone in a months time, that's only setting yourself up for failure. Take it 1lb at a time.
If your not new to weight watchers then a small change like swapping your daily chocolate treat for a healthier option like a sliced apple with a spoon of peanut butter is achievable rather than completely cutting out treats, which I know I certainly could never stick to! 

So best of luck with your plans for 2014 and keep an eye on my Youtube Channel for updates.

What is Christmas to you?

I have been thinking long and hard about christmas since my last weigh in of the year on tuesday where I had a very lucky stay the same. I was very worried i would be up and the thought was making me have butterflies in my tummy. I did not want to face christmas on a gain.
After talking to a number of people about their own christmas plans, some wanting to sts and some wanting to loose over christmas I decided to make my own.
I decided to write down what christmas means to me in order of priority and that would help me decide on the weight watchers result I would be content with.

Christmas to me is first and foremost about family, its no easy task getting my family all together during the year but at christmas we all know we will be together. We all love christmas and my mam and dad work very hard to make it special for us. even though we are all adults now, we are all shipped off to bed at midnight so the presents can be ''delivered'' under the tree. We all must wake up together and nobody is allowed down the stairs until we are all going.

Secondly christmas is about presents, this mind sound shallow and materialistic to some, but for me its more about the tradition we have as a family. After descending the stairs together in giddy excitement we gather in the living room and sit under the tree. The funny thing is we are all still like little children. we each have our own space under the tree, the same every year. me on the right, my sister in the middle and my brother on the left (we will squeeze his wife in there somewhere this year!) we each take turns opening a present, taking the time to pay attention and thank each other for the gifts. we love the little things like socks & PJs, oh christmas wouldn't be the same without the new PJs!

Thirdly then comes food. Like in most irish households, there will be an abundance of food in the Murphy household. After presents we have a grilled breakfast. fry ups were never fried in my house, they were always grilled so at least I know it wont be too bad! we are usually stuffed then until dinner time but might have a nibble on some chocolate. Its after dinner that i usually ask for the tin of roses and seeing how my mother forgot them last year i'm sure she has more than made up for it this year!
Alcohol plays a part too, my sister introduced me to Baileys with a shot of brandy in it a couple of years ago and its been a traditional drink at christmas for me since then. I have to have ginger ale on christmas! I have drank it with my christmas dinner since I was a little girl. That usually means that I dont drink very much alcohol through out the day.

I am so very much looking forward to christmas this year, its definitely my favourite time of the year. I dont want to come back to cork after christmas feeling like I didn't properly enjoy myself or have my traditional christmas, so I have decided that If i am up after christmas I will be ok with that so long as its not any more than 2 lbs! Ideally I would love a stay the same and of course we all want to loose. I'm half a lb over my goal so even loosing that half would be super, there is a big gap between christmas and the next weigh in so if I allow myself christmas even christmas day and St. Stephens day off weight watchers I can rain it in and hopefully see a loss at the first weigh in in January.

But like I said I love Christmas and I am going to enjoy it and if that means facing a gain then so be it. I will have that gain gone in no time. Make a plan that suits you and  you feel comfortable with. Nobody can tell you what is right or wrong. Enjoy your christmas and be happy with how it went afterwards.

Merry christmas sarah x

Weight watchers (unofficial) Christmas Party

At the weekend I attended the unofficial weight watchers party in Tullamore along with 9 other fabulous ladies. The night was organised by a fantastic lady called Maura from the weight watchers group on Facebook that I live on. Unfortunately though Maura couldn't make it in the end :(
We had a gorgeous three course meal at the Tullamore Court Hotel. I had A Chicken & Mushroom Vol Au Vent for my starter followed by Stuffed Chicken Breast with Croquets (the most amazing ones i've ever tasted) and vegetables. Dessert was Forerro Rocher Cheesecake and it had clotted cream on the top! I also had a large glass of red with dinner and four Gin & Slim Tonics throughout the night. so you have probably guessed it by now but I was no point counting the night at all.

After out hair & Make - up was done

I went to the party with my good friend Amy O'Riordan,fellow weight watchers and fellow blogger - http://growingintherightdirection.blogspot.ie
We started out morning off in cork with some gorgeous vintage style hair and make up by the wonderfully talented Rosa - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rosa-Through-The-Looking-Glass/151043948262325
We then began out journey to Tullamore, both with gurgling hungry tummies, which we knew was the completely wrong way to show up to a dinner so we stopped and got a sandwich on the way. It took us longer to get the the hotel than we had anticipated so we checked in and had a rush to top up our lipstick and get out dresses on to make it down in time for the dinner.

All set for the night

Our fears and concernes about meeting up with people we had chatted to on Facebook but not actually met in person would be awkward were quickly washed away, we all sat down and imidiatley started chatting and the conversation flowed for the rest of the night. I think its safe to say that all of us had a great night :) I am looking forward tp the next meet up which will hopefully be in the near future!

All the Gals!

Today is weigh in day for me and I cannot predict at all how its going to go for me. Npt having tracked the night away leaves me in the dark a bit. I really want a STS which would set me up perfectly for my own Christmas Party at my house this coming weekend. But I fear that I might have a gain after the indulgent dinner at the weekend. If I do gain though I wont be annoyed with myself for indulging and not tracking, I went there planning to eat what I wanted and thats what I did. I am at goal, actually 1lb under so I know that any little gains will be swiftly dealt with because I plan on staying at goal for a very very long time!

This was a short and sweet entry and I will be back later to let you know how weigh in went.

Getting to Goal Part 2

Maintaining is tougher than i ever imagined it would be. As weight watchers we spend weeks/months and sometimes years going to weigh ins every week hoping for a loss, we never see ourselves actually reaching goal but always concentrating on the next weigh in. You think loosing the weight is the tough part, and of course its really hard, we all know that. we think everything will be just perfect and simple when we do reach goal and we wont have a care in the world. Goal is the when we become perfect, like we always wanted.

Except that is isn't! I'm not trying to disappoint you or put you on a downer, but goal is tough, maintaining is hard. The sense of freedom and the feeling that you want to eat everything just escalates and I can see why a lot of people end up slipping back to old habits and gaining weight again and it terrifies me! I do not want to end up back where I started or worse. Maybe the fear is a good thing, maybe the fear will help to keep me focused and on track.

This is what looking in the mirror is like, my mind has not caught up with my body yet!

I don't have the perfect body that I dreamed off. Yes I am the size 12 that I have always dreamed off and I love it but I still have areas that I am not too pleased with and I have come to realise that I will never be 100% satisfied with my body and I need to be ok with that. we are human and we are not perfect! I still feel like an over weight person so my frame of mind is not quiet matching the way I look yet. I suppose it takes time to adjust to a new thinner body when your so used to the old fat one. Seeing people that I haven't seen in a while is helping with that a bit. Peoples reactions are a fantastic confidence boost and clearly there is a noticeable difference in my size. 

Some of the new clothes that I have ordered arrived and they are a perfect fit and changing from wearing clothes that are too big to wearing ones that are just right is really helping me to adjust and feel good about myself :)

One of my new goal wardrobe outfits.

My parents came to visit me this weekend, I haven't seen them in a few weeks and although they had seen recent photos of me they were really taken aback by seeing me in person and they were very complimentary. I was chatting to my mam about wanting a deep fryer so I could make chips as a treat every now and again but that I was also concerned about the dangers of having one in the house. My mam said that I have done so well and I shouldn't let anything ruin it and if I really wanted chips as a treat I should just go out and buy some instead so I thought that was a much better idea.

My first week of maintaining went as it should and I had a STS at weigh in last tuesday. This week i have been feeling quiet relaxed and within reason i have been eating what i want so I hope that I can manage a STS this week too. If I don't then I guess it will kick me back into tip top weight watchers form again so it wont be a bad thing, though I do need to stay within 2 lbs so I can get my gold card but I am confident that I will :)

So as promised here are my top recipes for helping you to get to your goal.

1.French toast with syrup and bacon medallions - a good weekend breakfast/brunch

Serves 1.

2 slices of calorie controlled bread 3pp

1 egg - 2pp

a dash of skim milk - 1pp (take out of daily milk allowance)

2 tsp of syrup - 1pp

2 Supervalu healthy choice bacon medallions - 2pp

9pp per serving. 

whisk together the egg and milk and add salt and pepper.

cook the bacon medallions on the grill until done and getting crispy on the edges.

spray a frying pan with spray oil and heat to a medium high heat.

pout half of the egg mic onto a plate and dip both sides of one slice of bread in the egg and add to the pan, repeat with the other slice. Cook both sides of the bread for a couple of minutes.

top each slice with a bacon medallion and a tsp of syrup and enjoy :)

2.Beetroot and low fat feta salad.

serves 4.

1 bag of rocket or rocket and mixed leaves - 0pp

2/3 vacuum-packed (or fresh cooked) beetroots - 0pp

100g low fat feta - 4pp

1 tbls low fat salad dressing - 0pp (I use Kraft low fat honey and mustard)

diced peppers and red onion  - 0pp (optional)

1pp per serving.

Add the rocket leaves to a big salad bowl.

Roughly chop the beetroot and add to the rocket,

Add in the pepper and onion if using,

crumble over the feta cheese and toss.

Drizzle with the dressing and serve. (this dish goes really well with chicken wings or drumsticks)

3. Curried Carrot Soup.

serves 4

900g of carrots (peeled and chopped) - 0pp

1lrg onion (diced) - 0pp

2 tsp curry powder - 0pp

1 veg stock cube - 0pp

0pp per serving

fry the onion in the bottom of a saucepan with spray oil and the curry powder for 2 minutes.

Add the carrots and stock, bring to the boil and simmer until the carrots are tender.

Blitz the soup in a blender and serve. 

4. Spanish Chicken Involtini 

serves 2

8pp per serving

For this recipe click here 

5. Cream cheese pasta.

Serves 2

80g Dried Pasta

100g Garlic and Herb Philadelphia

2 Bacon Medallions Chopped - 2pp

1 onion diced - 0pp

Half a Punnet of Mushrooms Chopped.

1 Vegetable Stock Cube

Boil the pasta in water with the stock cube.

Fry the bacon, onion & mushroom in a pan with fry oil.

when the pasta is cooked drain the water leaving about 2 tblsp of the water, stir in the cream cheese and the bacon mix.

Serve and enjoy.

6. Orange and Ginger Cheesecake.

Serves 6.

6pp per serving

You can find the recipe by clicking here 

I hope you enjoy trying out some of these recipes along your journey, I know that I have :)

Getting To Goal Part 1

I weighed in last night Tuesday 15th October 2013, I will always remember that date now, because that is the date that I got to goal weight and became a weight watchers gold member!

Goal! 33lbs lighter.

I rushed to weigh in after work, I was desperately trying to get there before the talk started, I knew I was getting close to goal and I wanted to get weighed in straight away, but I didn't make it, so I sat through the class, a very good one at that, waiting to find out if I was any closer. I stepped onto the scales and when my leader, Sue, said you have done it, I didn't quiet take it in. you have got to goal! Sue said again. I have!? wow, I was elated. I cannot explain what those words felt like to hear, I was grinning and I actually felt much lighter! Now I just needed to know what to do to stay at goal and get that lovely gold card in three weeks time. Sue advised me to up my daily points by about 6 and see how I got on with that and she gave me the leaflet all about getting to goal. 6 more points a day, woo!

Me at the end of my first year of college, I had piled on the lbs!

On the way to the car I asked my friend, fellow weight watcher and blogger Amy if I treated myself to a Chinese takeaway would that be silly after getting to goal. She encouraged me to treat myself, after all I had 6 more points now and I had only eaten 12 that day. I drove to the Chinese and ordered my favourite dish with fried rice (which I haven't had since I joined weight watchers 31 weeks ago!)
On the way home in the car I was still on a high and I got to thinking about how I got to this point. How I used to think that I would never even be a thin person. I was destined to be over weight. Shopping for clothes would always end in stress and tears. I couldn't do it. I was the person that would fantasize about how amazing being thin would be but never did anything because it was too difficult. I wasn't much of a follow through person. I started to cry, I was so happy because now I was that person that followed through on something. I was a thin person. I actually did it. I got home I ate my Chinese, I could only manage half, which I thought was very funny!

Me at goal in my very first size 12 dress!

I couldn't wait to share the news, I was home alone because my boyfriend was working late. That was a bit sad, I needed someone to jump up and down with me. I called me mom, she was in the car with her friends and they all cheered and tried to beep the horn but they couldn't find it in their excitement. Then I called my sister, my fabulously thin and muscular, not one once of jiggle sister! She was delighted for me and very proud that I had done it. Caroline has been a great support to me, my whole life. No matter what it is I am trying to achieve, Caroline is spurring me on from the sidelines. During my weight loss journey the times when we were both home for a weekend or at the beach with my family and I was tempted to eat something that was too high in points Caroline would say you don't need to eat that, fruit is so much nicer than sweets, they are natures sweets! and I would then have the fruit :) we talked about maintenance and making sure I didn't let the weight creep back on and I told her that nothing was going to ruin this. Nothing I could eat is better than feeling like this, I feel amazing, I feel beautiful and sexy, I am proud of my body now.

My before picture. Me at my college graduate exhibition.

People have been asking me a lot over the last couple of weeks to share my secrets, my tips, my recipe for weight loss and my answer simply is weight watchers! I have not drank any shakes or starved myself or only eaten cabbage for a month. I have had a very enjoyable 31 weeks, I have eaten out on several occasions, I have had outings to the cinema countless times, I have had a few night out on the town, I have had trips to the beach and I even had a weeks sun holiday. I enjoyed all of it and I never felt deprived. There is no secret or miracle fix for weight loss! there is however a very well researched plan that works if you have the right attitude and a bit of dedication. That plan is called weight watchers. As you might be able to tell, I love weight watchers. I have had my leaders application ready for weeks now and I cannot wait to send it off!

The same dress now!

For those of you on weight watchers or thinking about weight watchers,  I am going to try and dish out some tips and advise. The first and most important thing I can say is that the frame of mind you are in is so important, the attitude you have to your weight loss is the thing that brings you to goal or drags you down. I joined weight watchers twice before and never got near goal because I gave up. so what changed this time around? My attitude, I wanted it so much this time that nothing was going to stop me. I knew there would be gains along the way but I wouldn't give up over a silly little gain!
Some of my tips may be a bit obvious but I'm going to give them anyway, they made such a difference to me.

My Top Tips

1. If you haven't already then switch over to low fat dairy. skimmed milk all the way! For the first couple of days it's not so great but if I was to have full fat milk now I would gag, its too creamy and coats my tongue, yuck!
2. spray oil is your new kitchen friend. When you are on a limited amount of points a day, who wants to spend them on oil for cooking? not me, I love the fry light olive oil and its 0pp for a few sprays.
3. Water water water, drink as much as you can, diet coke is no substitute, it's made with chemicals and is very addictive, not good for you, even if it doesn't make you fat. I save it for trips to the cinema or meals out.
4. Do some sort of activity, I was never an active person, I hated sports and I would have rather watched T.V than go for a walk. you can loose weight without exercise but it has so many health benefits you should do it and it tones! I'm still not an exercise freak but I do a bit. I like to go for walks, usually with a friend, on the weekends a bigger walk/hike in the woods and I also took up roller derby, the first sport that I have ever fallen in love with.
5. Invest in a measuring tape. Sometimes our victories do not happen on the scales, especially when we increase out exercise and build muscle, we might get a gain because muscle weighs more than fat but we will be loosing inches, Measure yourself and take note so you know how many inches you are loosing.
6. Eat chocolate! If your like me and your a self confessed chocoholic then going without will end in a disastrous binge. I have some chocolate everyday, usually a curly wurly (3pp) from the fridge because it lasts longer!
7. Do not, I repeat do not weigh yourself in between weigh ins at home. Your scales will probably differ slightly to the weight watchers ones and you weigh differently at different times which is why you weigh in the same time, same day every week at weight watchers. weighing in at home will give you unnecessary grief.
8. Try new food. as you loose weight your taste buds will change, food that you used to eat may become to greasy or sweet for you and you will find that you like things you thought you didn't. Invest in a weight watchers recipe book, I love the members favourite one and get experimenting! If your on a tight budget then get on google, lost of recipes to be found online.
9. Track! if it passes your lips it goes on the tracker, do not kid yourself with this one, eating a biscuit and thinking it doesn't matter enough to write down is fooling yourself. If by chance you do go over your points in a week, if you have written it down you will know what you have eaten for the gain you got. If you don't write it down you may think you have blown it and make it worse by saying ''oh it doesn't matter now I will eat what a want!''
10. Last but certainly not least, do not be embarrassed to be on weight watchers, be damn proud that you are working your but off for a fitter healthier body. Do not let other people bring you down with negative comments, your good friends and family will be supportive, if not they are jealous because your doing something they wish they would do.

I wanted to share my top recipes too but this post is a bit long now so I will make that a part 2 to this post.  lastly look forward to your goal, I promise that its worth all the hard work, its all you have dreamt of and more!

Whatever it is, its working and my new favourite recipe.

I tried very hard to be good the last week I got my large 3kg jar so that i could put a euro in it every time I came home from work and not grazed on sweets all day, day one and two went great, not a single sweet passed my lips and then day three came and oops, I was stuffing my face again, it continued like the next 3 days at work. then weigh in day came (Tuesday) and I was a bit annoyed with myself again and I just knew I was gonna be up, plus it was that time of the month and I am always a STS or up on those weeks.

Amy O'Riordan, my good friend, fellow weight watchers and blogger came up with this wonderful idea of having a group diary, each week one of us takes it and uses it as a tracker, a diary of our feelings or just to put recipes in. Then the following week the next person has it and can look back over the other entries for inspiration. I had the diary last week. It started off well but in the end it got a bit neglected and I didn't finish my weeks entry. this is what went down last week, a meal and a movie with friends - tracked fine. A surprise dinner out with Will - tracked but went over my weeklies by 7. Take away - way way over and sweets, crazy. so now you see why I was expecting to be up.

I barely made it to weigh in to pass the diary on, I was stock taking in work from 8:30 am and I didn't get out of work until nearly 7, I drove like a mad woman and made it just as the class was over and passed the diary on to a very enthusiastic girl ( who's name I cannot remember, sorry)
I weighed in and I was down...yes DOWN 1.5lbs! I am starting to sound a bit like the girl who cried wolf at this stage, this seems to be happening to me a lot. I was thrilled but the first thing i said to my leader Sue was ''now i'm not gonna be good because I know I can get away with it!' then I got home and I thought about it and I decided that even if I can get away with it, it's not a healthy habit and I need to break it. It's better for my health to eat well and not be eating so much sugar all the time. So thats my vow for this week, to stop eating so much sugar.

This week I want to share with you my new favourite recipe, Spanish Chicken Involtini from the weight watchers members favourite book. Its really tasty, it does not taste like a diet dinner, it tastes like something you might get out at a restaurant.

Spanish Chicken Involtini

Serves 2

16 pp per recipe                    8pp per serving

100g butternut squah, peeled, deseeded and cut into small cubes. (I like to use a whole squash and really bulk up the meal)
200g red pepper deseeded and diced ( i use 2 peppers of any colour)
1 tsp paprika
calorie controlled cooking spray
60g ready to eat chorizo
2 x 165g chicken breast
2 tblsp low fat cream cheese with sweet chili (I used the philadelphia with sweet chili, but you could use any cream cheese and mix in your own chili sauce)

Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius.
Place the squash and peppers in a large ovenproof dish, sprinkle with half the paprika, season and spray with cooking spray.
Bake for 20-30 minutes, until tender. remove from oven and mix in the chorizo. leave to cool.
meanwhile cut the chicken in half lengthways. Place each piece between two sheets of cling film and use a rolling pin to flatten the chicken into four long strips.
divide the cream cheese between the chicken strips, spreading in neatly over the top of each one. Top with the squash mixture. Roll each strip up tightly and secure with two cocktail sticks each.
spray an oven proof s=dish with the cooking spray and place the chicken and the remaining filling in the dish. Sprinkle over the remaining paprika.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.

It should look a bit like this.

I had mine on its own, with the extra squash its loads. But my boyfriend likes his with sweet potato wedges, so if you have the extra points you could do that.

Williams plate with the wedges.

I am now 1.5lbs to goal and if i get there by halloween (which I should) then i will be delighted.
I think its safe to buy some new clothes now so i am going to town tomorrow to have a look around.
Will has made several comments about my underwear being too saggy on my bottom now so I think its time I bought some smaller ones for sure!

Also I will be setting up my own Please Pass The Skinny YouTube channel to go along with my blog soon, so keep an eye out for more information on that :)