6lbs before holiday

I've got three more weigh ins before I go on holiday for a week.

I've worked out that if I lose 2lb a week, then by the time I go I'll be at the 14 stone mark, which would be fabulous.

What would be even more fabulous would be to lose just half a pound more than that, and have the number 13 at the start of my weight before I go on holiday. That would be amazing!

It's a good reason to stay on track for the next few weeks, and an achievable goal.

Alli - 4lb loss on wonder drug?

I've been having a couple of 'off' weeks where I didn't really stick to things, and therefore didn't lose much weight.

So I've decided to try Alli, the new over-the-counter pill that stops you absorbing a quarter of the fat you eat.

It's dead easy - you just swallow a tablet with each meal.

I've been taking it for six days, and hadn't suffered any side affects (some people find it gives them the runs) so I was wondering if it was actually working.

But I had my weigh in tonight, and lost 4lbs. I'd been fairly good this week, but had a few meals out and BBQs, so would have expected to lose about 2lbs without the Alli.

The other big plus for me is it makes me stick to my diet - I know that if I don't I might end up with some side effects, so it's a great incentive to stick to a low fat diet.

I'm impressed with the results in the first week, and hope this will be the kick up the bum I need to buckle down and get on with losing weight.

Rubbish weight loss

I only lost half a pound this week!!!

Okay, I am to blame and was no angel at the weekend - I went out for lunch and went to a BBQ.

So my greedy pigging means I've barely lost anything.

I am so upset because I really wanted to hit the two stone lost mark this week.

It is all my own fault for having eyes bigger than my stomach (although that's pretty hard, with the current size of my stomach) and I will have to behave myself this week.

Silly greedy girl.

Wardrobe malfunction

It's been an embarrasing but inspiring day!

This morning I put on a pair of trousers I hadn't worn for a few weeks.

They felt quite loose, but I thought I could probably get another couple of weeks use out of them before they became too big to wear.

But as I was walking to work I realised they were getting lower... and lower... and lower.

In fact, my trousers were falling off!!

I had to walk the rest of the way with my hands pinned against my waistband to stop them falling off.

Then all day at work I had to keep pulling them up.

As soon as I got home they were straight in the bin (they weren't in good enough condition for the charity shop).

Rather embarrasing, but far better to have your trousers fall off because you're thin than your trousers to split because you're fat!

Holiday inspiration

Well, now I've got a super reason to carry on losing weight.

I've just booked a two week holiday to India in October with my boyfriend.

I'll need to be on the beach in a swimsuit, and walking around in skimpy holiday clothes.

I'll also have a 24 hour plane journey. The last time I was on a plane I actually pushed up the arm between us a bit with my hip because I was getting to the stage where I was too fat for a plane seat. I was mortified and really hoped my boyfriend didn't notice and think he was going out with a whale. And on the National Express coach to the airport, the seatbelt nearly didn't fit me, also very embarrasing.

So when I go to India I want to:

a) not be worried about the clothes I'm wearing
b) have lots of spare space in my plane seat, not fill it to capacity
c) not worry that any coach seatbelt won't fit
d) like the holiday photos afterwards

I don't think it's possible to be at goal by then, however hard I work - I've got four months to go, and four stone to go.

But I can easily lose another two stone, and maybe get to three if I work hard.

Nothing like an incentive to keep me on the straight and narrow! Let's hope this will be the first holiday in years where I'll actually like the photos after the holiday!

Disappointed with weight loss

Well, today was weigh in day.

I was really, really hoping for 4.5lbs off - that would take me to having lost 2st in total, and get me my next 'silver seven'.

I'd worked hard with that in mind all week - done an average of three and a half hours of walking a day, tracked everything, and cut back to 18 points a day for the week instead of 23 (my leader recommended everyone did this for a week to get back to basics).

So I was pretty confident I'd hit my 4.5lb goal - or perhaps even exceed it.

But sadly I only lost 3lbs. I know that's a good loss in a normal week, but I'd worked soooooooo hard this week to get that extra push that I was really disappointed.

Still, time to pick myself up, dust myself off and start working towards next week's weight loss - when I'll DEFINITELY hit that 2st mark!

Happy grazing

I know I shouldn't be this excited about the delivery of my first Graze box. But I am!

I went out this morning and was really looking forward to getting home and finding out what the postman had delivered in my box.

I got some roasted hazelnuts, some fire nuts (spicy mix of cashews, almonds and peanuts) and some fresh apple.

There's a card with all the nutrition information, so it was simple to work out the points.

My first box was free - all the better! If anyone else wants a free box, you just have to enter the code P23KVJQF on the website (graze.com).

I think it will be a good way to get small portions of lots of different types of food, in order to get lots of different nutrients, without having to buy large packets with the risk of eating the whole packet!

Illegal snacking

Bless me Weight Watchers for I have sinned.

I was sitting in front of the TV and I wasn't hungry because I'd already eaten dinner.

But I couldn't resist the lure of the kitchen...

First I polished off an ice cream. Then some chocolate raisins. Then I went back to the kitchen once again, for some pretzels.

There was no good reason for this. I didn't need to eat. I wasn't particularly bored. I wasn't feeling emotional in any way. But yet I went to the kitchen for unwanted and unneeded snacks three times!

I am absolutely mad with myself. I'd been so good all week and hadn't given in to any kind of temptation. I feel like a failure.

However, I will cut back on points for the next two days to cover off the points I spent on my illegal snacking. I'm still determined to get a good loss on the scales this week, so fingers crossed I haven't blown it.

Cream cake nightmare

Today a friend turned up to visit - bearing cream cakes!!

She'd bought us two each especially, so I couldn't refuse without being rude.

So I had to eat them. They weren't even a treat, as I didn't like them. If I wanted to blow all my points I'd have picked some chocolate.

She meant well, of course, and was giving them to me as a gift.

After my friend left I looked up the points, which are about 10!!!!

I'll now have to spend the rest of the week trying to claw back the points by cutting back every day.

42,000 steps!

I got a bit carried away with the walking today.

I got up early to do an hour before work, did an hour to and from work, then did a four and a half hour walk after work.

I now feel like a geriatric but am proud that I've broken the 40,000 steps barrier and done 42,000 steps today.

I reckon I've earned about 24 activity points - which cancels out everything I've eaten today!

I bet I'll ache tomorrow though!

Another 2lbs gone

I've just been to weigh in and lost 2lbs.

I was a bit worried I wouldn't lose as it's only been a five day week this week - last week's meeting was put back to Wednesday because of the bank holiday.

So I'm glad to have lost despite being two days short. But still a little dissapointed as I was hoping for 3lbs, which would take me into the '14 stone something' category.

Still, at least I know I'll definitely achieve that easily next week!

Pointed picnic

To make the most of the glorious weather this weekend, the WAG and I decided to go for a picnic today.

I made all the food using recipes from WW magazine, in order to make sure it was all within my points allowance. Despite that we ended up with too much, couldn't finish it all and were absolutely stuffed - and I'm still under my points allowance for the day!

I made Scotch eggs (2 each at 2.5 pts per egg), spicy chicken empanadas (3.5pts), tortilla (3pts) with date buns for dessert (3.5pts). I also took along some Snack a Jacks (1pt each for a shared bag).

I also had a 99 flake ice-cream from an ice-cream van, which I'm counting as 5.5pts.

But to make up for this big picnic, we went on a long walk beforehand - nearly two hours along the river then up through the woods until we found a nice spot for the picnic. Then had about a 30min walk home.

I'm hoping that's enough to burn off the picnic, as it's weigh in day tomorrow!

Burn your bra!

Well, if not burn it then bin it.

I had two M&S bras that I bought about a year ago. They were really horrible - they never fitted properly, were plain beige and black, and didn't look good under clothes.

But they were two of only three bras that fitted me, so I've been wearing them for the past year. I didn't want to spend money on new ones until I'd lost weight - which I was always attempting to do, although I've only recently succeeded in that by joining Weight Watchers.

Today I decided to try on some other bras I had that hadn't fitted for a long while. And because I've lost a stone and a half, they fitted again. I was delighted!

So the old, horrible bras had to go.

If I'd had a bonfire, I'd have chucked them on it. But I didn't, so instead I cut them both into pieces with scissors and threw them in the bin.

It felt absolutely great!

Now I just hope I can start fitting into some of my smaller clothes soon and get a whole new wardrobe for free!

I would walk 500 miles

Today I wore a pedometer.

I know that the recommended minimum number of steps is 10,000 a day. So I wanted to find out how many I'm doing at the moment to see how much I need to increase it by.

I'm delighted to find out that I've far exceeded that number. I'm currently on 18,000 steps, and still have a few hours of the day left.

I think because I've been wearing the pedometer I have been more aware of my activity level, and have taken more steps than I would otherwise. But even taking that into account, I think I'd be safely over the 10,000 mark on a normal day.

That's not through going to the gym or doing aerobics. Just normal pottering around plus going for a walk.

I've just checked the activity points values for this, and it's 8 points.

As long as I bank those points, rather than spend them on food, that could really help increase my weight loss and get me to goal more quickly.

I'm really pleased. I don't plan to wear the pedometer every day, as it's bulky under clothes, but wearing it now and then will help ensure I keep enough activity in my day to day life.

19lbs down - quite a lot more to go!

Hi there.

I've been going to Weight Watchers for a couple of months now and have so far lost 19lbs.

Sounds great - but there's still a long, long way to go. I need to lose at least another 5st to get to the right BMI for my height. And even more to get to what would be considered "slim".

However, I know it works. I lost weight with Weight Watchers before, about 8 years ago, and got down to my right BMI.

All I need is the willpower to stay away anything with the word Cadbury's written on it and Ben & Jerry's ice cream!

This week I lost 2lbs - I was pleased, because I'd been to two BBQs over the bank holiday and had a couple of meals out too. (And succumbed to some sneaky chocolate).

I'd really like to lose 7lbs over the next fortnight, to take me up to a total loss of 2st, so I'll have to behave myself!