Marmite

I may or may not have fallen off the no breakfast bandwagon already...I know it will be easier when I go to work and I won't have the temptation of the kitchen a mere floor away so it's fine though. I just went to sleep last night craving Marmite and woke up this morning needing it. So I figured I would oblige because I know myself; if I don't satiate a craving then I'll just think about it all day before eating twice as much of it. I went with three pieces of gluten free bread (because they're tiny) at about 70 calories each I think. Plus a clementine because mum bought a packet of them yesterday and they are delicious. 

I took off 100 calories from my dinner time allowance to deal with the extras and had a bowl of soup, a gluten free roll, a couple of clementines and a Malteasers bunny with a brew a bit later (I have to eat them at the moment...they'll be gone till next easter soon..what will I do!). Tea tonight is panackelty which is a sort of simple meal made from bacon, corned beef, potatoes and broth so it should be fairly low on the calories because I don't eat an awful lot of it before it fills me up.

I've done my exercises for today as well with round two of X Men first class. Entirely enjoying that film. It has the amazingness that the first two X Men movies had (we're forgetting that Last Stand ever happened thankyouverymuch). It also has the added benefit of Jennifer Lawrence who I absolutely adore. Total lady crush on her and I don't care who knows it!

I entirely just got sidetracked reading more news about poor old Richard Griffiths. Absolutely made me sad this morning when my mum told me about him. He's another one of those ones who's been around forever and who you think will always be around forever. A bit like Richard Briers or Geoffrey Hughes. Geoffrey Hughes is a hard one because he looks so much like my dad. To the point where he would always joke that it was his brother on tv. It worries me because both my parents are overweight. Well my whole family in fact. My older brother is pushing thirty stone I think and I don't know what to do to help any of them..I'm still battling my own weight demons and they don't seem too bothered about tackling their own.

I don't know, that took a bit of a weird turn there. I've gone and depressed myself. Think I'll just leave it there for today.

Tatty boo.

Courgette 'pasta'

Today I tried out a recipe. Well no, not a recipe, more a technique. I have mentioned my cutting back on wheat products to try and help my stomach (which incidentally is absolutely playing up to the max today and was yesterday post trip away with all kinds of naughty foods) and I wanted to try out using courgettes as a replacement for pasta. Not only wheat free but an absolute fraction of the calorie intake to boot. It's a technique which has been kicking about the internets for a while, and with the addition of a 40p peeler to our cooking arsenal I decided to give it a go. Mum had used half a squash in a random mish mash meal she cooked us yesterday and I was tasked with finishing off the other half today. So cooking my own meal felt like the perfect time to have a bash. 

The technique is simple. Take yourself a courgette or two (I had one because of the addition of all the squash but if it had been a meal in it's own right I think I would have gone for two) and then just peel it into long strips, top to bottom using a vegetable peeler. Boom, courgette pasta. I read all over the place that stopping as you hit the seeded middle is best because the seeded part doesn't make for sturdy strips and that is just what I did. I just cut the seeded part into coins and added that to the pan as well. Then I put the strips into a colander with a pinch of salt and used a bowl to weight them down to try and get rid of any excess moisture. Whilst that was sorting itself out I just peeled the remaining butternut squash and roasted it with a red onion in some garlic oil.

After that was almost cooked (about 30 minutes) I cooked up the discs of courgette with some random mushrooms from a sort of taster pack in some oil and garlic, added some already cooked and diced chicken thighs and then a touch of soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and salt and then added the drained strips for about two minutes. That amount of time keeps them just a little crunchy which is entirely to my taste. Al dente I suppose if you're being fancy.  Anyways, that made for a very nice and filling sort of a meal. I didn't have any idea of what sauce I fancied hence the sort of lack of one. But the courgette strips are so lightly flavoured that they would literally go well in anything I think. Mine was a sort of savoury flavouring more than anything but I am no cook! It was still very nice though especially with the roasted veg. Simple and tasty, and a whole helluva lot less calories to boot! Definite success and something I am entirely planning on doing again.

As to the rest of the day, I skipped breakfast as per my plan. I find it hard being home and hungry on the morning but I know once I break myself out of the habit of eating it and once work starts again it will be a lot easier. I never used to bother with breakfast anyways so I'm fully expecting to jump back of the breakfast bandwagon without troubles. Yes it's supposed to be an important meal, but frankly it just seems like a waste of calories to me. Dinner was pea soup, a gluten free jaffa, an orange and a malteasers bunny. I had a banana and a couple of pickled onions whilst I was waiting for my tea as well a bit later. It's been a bit of a nibbly day today but I'm hoping the 200 calories I saved from breakfast should save it. I had a bit of chocolate as well..I've been craving it recently and I'm not sure why. I'll work on resisting it though. 

I have done my exercising as well much as I didn't want to...I was trying to kid myself that I was fine food wise but then I remembered the bits and bobs I have been nibbling and hauled my arse onto the bike to the tune of X men First class which is turning out to be a pretty interesting film so far. I've decided to save the rest for tomorrow as incentive to leap onto the bike without moaning as well...fingers crossed that works.

We'll see though. My brain is very much in holiday mode currently with me not being at work. Back there on Sunday, boo and hiss. Then I have my birthday off and that's it. No more holidays planned for the moment and nothing to look forward to. I'm hoping that it will kick start my arse into planning properly on moving out and getting my own place..like I think I said though, first I need to pick a city.

Anyways, I'm going to go grab a couple of clementines and a brew and settle myself down for the night. My bedtime is entirely screwed up. OH WELL.

Tatty boo!

Adventure a go-go

So I've been off gallivanting round the country again for the last few days and as a result of this my diet has suffered. Not that I'm bothered of course. I don't like to have to think about what I am and am not eating when I'm off on what is essentially a holiday. But I weighed myself this morning and after four days of not fantastic eating I have only put on a pound. So woo hoo! 

My brother goes to uni in Sheffield and as I was planning a trip to Leicester to see some of my old uni mates, my parents decided that they would take the time to go up to Sheffield and visit him and drop me off to Leicester along the way. No complaints from me. It mean I didn't have to worry about travel day and also didn't have to fork out for an 80 quid ticket. I am such a bad traveler. I alternate between nervously checking and rechecking whether I have a ticket and also that it is definitely the right day I have selected for travel. Stupid I know but that's the way my brain is wired apparently. I also HATE having connections with a passion. If there is a straight through option I'll take it nine times out of ten even if it adds hours to my journey because I just cannot stand the thought of having to trot from one mode of transport to another. I'm convinced I'm either going to fall asleep and miss it or just not get there in time or lose my baggage inbetween. Again unfounded, I've (touch wood) never had a bad time traveling really aside from the usual delays and the like. Doesn't make it any better though.

With that and my entire lack of having any sort of directional sense and I am an absolute nightmare. It's fine if I'm with someone because I know we can brainstorm and sort out everything should it go wrong, but alone I just figure I'd go into meltdown mode. And I've never flown either so that should be interesting whenever it actually does finally happen. 

Anyways, I landed in Leicester and had a whale of a time with my ladies. It's like we never left each others company even though I haven't seen them for a year for the most part. There's a group of five of us (one bloke) who meet up as often as we can but we failed over the last year. We usually get two fairly meaty jaunts in but this time we only managed the one. But we left with the promises of actually getting a proper trip together because we were missing our token chap with it being a last minute sort of plan and also it was just an overnight stay and entirely not long enough. Just what I needed though. An injection of amazing banter and company. I miss having people about me.

It led to another dilema however. I have been planning on finally moving out of the family home and going on adventures myself but I just don't have a clue which city I want to move to. Leicester was one which I was looking in to and was a side quest of me visiting my friend there to see how the city felt. But whilst I was there I had another friend give me the option of moving into her spare room in Lincoln whilst I got my feet under me if I should so chose. I love Lincoln. It is a fabulous place which is steeped in history and has an amazing castle. I love that sort of thing and it instantly appealed to me even though I hadn't really had it down as an option. So some serious research is going to be needed because, quite frankly, I am done with working in the care home. I have a few days off now before I'm due to go back and I wouldn't mind one jot if I just didn't ever darken their door again now. Over it. The job is fine, I could do it in my sleep. It's just the people. I need to work somewhere where there are more people my own age and more men. I just can't take the amount of lady nonsense that goes on.

Anwyay, I ate all the food ever in Leicester, one which was a Chinese buffet deal which crippled me. I can keep a cool head on the surface of my stomach kicking off but it hurt so bad at times. After that I went to Sheffield and stayed in a hotel with my mum and dad for a couple of days and spent too much money and ate even more food. 

Like I say though, I'm not bothered and I only put a pound on (13 stone 13 now). I got so many compliments from my friends because, like I say, I haven't seen them for a year and have lost two stone in that time. It was nice and it has given me a bit of a boost as far as weightloss goes. I woke up this morning with the plan to start skipping breakfast again. It's just wasted calories (much as I'm sitting here hungrily waiting for a dinner appropriate time) but it means that should I go over at any point today then I'll have 200 ish calories to compensate. It's meant to be fat day today but I've had a fat weekend so I'm not going to claim it. I'm not getting on the bike though because that will screw up my exercise week. We'll start that nonsense again tomorrow I think.

Anyway, mammoth post. I think that will do quite nicely for now. I'm off to compose a list of pros and cons of cities I wish to live in...or more likely play Pokemon Red for too many hours.

Tatty boo!

13 Again

Woot, so it turns out the go hungry diet actually works! Got on the scales this morning and I have lost three pounds this week. 13 stone and 12 pounds, how exciting! I mean yet again it's come at an inopportune moment because I am going to see my friends this weekend and there will be lots of eating. Plus it coincides with going to see my brother in Sheffield and there will be hotel morning breakfast eating (which I'm not going to lie, I can't wait for!). But it just shows that it does work. I mean I think I have ruined it slightly today anyway with what I have eaten. I have been eating some form of cereal for breakfast everyday with soy milk. I never know how to get 30g because we don't have any sort of digital kitchen scales and so I reckon my estimations have always been slightly on the larger side. But according to the internet, a cup of cereal is about 30g worth which is what I have been having every day and it appears it must be about right calorie counting wise if my weight loss is to be believed.

Dinner would have been good but I think some pourable yoghurt drink might have ruined it. I had a 200 calorie tin of soup, 100 calories of gluten free bread roll, a malteaster bunny and a glass of yoghurt..which I think might have pushed me overboard. Then tea was a fairly heavy calorie affair too, we had some of those 'take away' meals from Morrisons. I haven't done the maths entirely but I reckon it might be a little over my 700 calories. I haven't eaten anything else though today so if I jump on my bike in a little while I might be able to shave the excess calories off the top hopefully. 

I'm excited though. I think the combination of the minute of high paced biking every five minutes of the work out along with the not giving in to my hungry belly helps too. I need to join a spinning class maybe and get a proper high intensity work out as well. I'd like to join a gym, but like we were discussing at work, it's not worth it unless you're definitely going to go maybe five times a week. Otherwise it's a money trap, and I could very easily see me not being bothered to go on occasion. It would mean that I would be more likely to work out more, and there would be more equipment for me to use. But maybe only if I can find one which has a deal or a good price on it anyways. I can't really afford to waste money every month. We shall see anyway after I have spent all my money ever on these upcoming trips.

God knows I love seeing my friends but it isn't healthy on the old bank balance. I mean I don't mind saving but I have been having to do it every month since Christmas to pay for the places I've wanted to go. I'm good at it though, I haven't gone outside my boundaries and I have still managed to squirrel away £200 a month into my savings account for moving out of the house. Something I am hoping to do soon once I pick the city I want to move to...But it also means that inbetween the times I'm going to see my friends, I can't really afford to go and leave the house all that often. I don't really socialise down here because I don't have a friend base (finding people your own age when you're out of school is a hard thing to do when moving to a new city). But I like to go out with my mum and blow some money on the odd occasion and I haven't really been able to do that so much recently. Not complaining though I guess. I would take scrimping and saving for adventures over not any day of the week.

Anyway, like I say I'm still yet to exercise tonight. I made the fatal mistake of having a warm under my duvet after a crap night's sleep and had like a 90 minute nap instead of exercising. So I reckon I'm going to finish this up, bum about the web a little bit longer and then get my arse on the bike. Then I reckon I'm going to crack on either with a little Time Team or with the Pompeii documentaries I'm currently addicted to. I've seen a lot of Pompeii references with there being an exhibition at the British Museum at the moment and it reawoke my curiosity for the story. 

Think that'll do for now, tatty boo!

Pizza and a side of strawberries

I feel like today has been a good day. Fat day was yesterday and I basically just ate chocolate and cheese the entire day without even thinking of the calorie numbers. Today has been a much more restrained affair. 

Breakfast was the last of my gluten free muesli with soy milk. Dinner was some homemade butternut squash soup (which has cost me the use of my right thumb..more on that later) and a coconut macaroon thing. I had a banana for a snack whilst waiting for tea and then pizza. Which I know isn't great but it was a home made job, apart from the base. A gluten free base and not all that big to be honest, smaller than a dinner plate put it that way. Mum made them with all sorts of meats and veggies and not a ton of cheese so I'm thinking it wasn't so awful. Not as bad as a take away at 300+ calories a slice anyway! Then I had a bowl of delicious strawberries with some vanilla yoghurt on top. 

So yeah, not a bad day all round. That is literally everything I have eaten. I haven't had any nibbles of anything or anything like that. And I have done all my exercise as well so that's that nonsense out the way. So hopefully that should be taking me on my way to a minus this week. I ate tea around six o clock and it's getting on half nine right now and I am still pretty stuffed. I keep intermittently drinking a lot of water as well though which might be helping. Tough anyway, like I said in one of my other posts, if I get hungry I'll just have to deal with it. Time to think like a thin person. 

As to the wheat free thing I think I'm going to loosen the reigns somewhat. I'm thinking of limiting that to more stodgy items like bread and pasta and just cutting it down rather than out of my diet. I know that it can have an adverse affect when you do cut things out, especially something like wheat, because you can almost make your own body intolerant to it by doing that. So I have been nibbling on bits and pieces of things with wheat in them to see if there is any sort of correlation between my stomach kicking off and wheat and so far we're ok. So yes, maybe cutting back rather than out is the best way forward.

The dairy thing, however, I think does make sense. I had a piece of cheesecake yesterday in a sort of gungho 'balls to it' sort of way and I definitely did get bloaty after that. So I'm thinking cutting the dairy right back is a good thing too. Yoghurt and cheese not so much however. I've read that the cultures in the yoghurt break down most of the lactose in their processes so yoghurt isn't so bad to eat. And cheese I refuse to do without but I don't eat a ton of it anyway because it's so fattening. We're getting there I feel. Balances and such of things but we're getting there (hopefully).

I had a moment yesterday during fat day of wanting to make some soup for my next couple of dinners. I enjoy home made soup, especially because I know how much salt there isn't in it compared to cans, but I always find I'm too impatient fresh from work to wait for it to cook. So I cooked it in advance. I had a butternut squash lying about so I figured boom, soups sorted. They're an absolute bugger to skin though, and as I was peeling it, my thumb slipped and I impaled myself under my thumb nail with a piece of the skin on the squash. It hurt so bad and bled everywhere. I was telling myself to man up last night when it was throbbing and burning, usually I have quite a high pain threshold, but I woke up this morning to it leaking pus and being generally unpleasant. I basically waved it in front of my mum whilst moaning and she cleaned and bound it for me so hopefully it will be better tomorrow otherwise I might have to go get it checked out. 

But anyway, self maiming aside, I did create a lovely big bowl of soup. One butternut squash, two potatoes for body, garlic, salt and pepper. I wanted some onions to bring out the sweetness but we didn't have any so I had to do without. It's not as amazing as some butternut squash soups I have had but it is very simple and a little bit tasty. I have enough for a big bowlful today and another tomorrow with leftovers enough to wave in front of mum till she eats it. I don't know that it will be good for a third day. 

Anyway, I think that's good for now as updates go. I'm going to go wallow in some self pity and watch some more Time Team. My passion for which has arisen again. I forgot how much I loved it! 

Tatty boo. 

Calling it

I'm calling it now, I think this week is going to be a fat week. I have tried to keep my calorie numbers down but I am struggling at the moment for some reason. I just keep being really hungry at times. I watched a girl at work today who is a size six eating her 'dinner' and I was so enviable. Honestly, she had brought a leftover chinese and literally had two bits of beef and three forkfuls of noodles and she was done. No where near clearing half a pot of leftovers...and that's her done for the day till tea time. It blows my mind. I wish I was wired like that. The only way I could do that is to just be hungry and deal with it. I think I have too long gone with instant gratification whenever I am peckish and it's screwed the programming of my mind.

Starting Monday I am going to hardcore mode this diet thing. I am going to rigidly stick to everything and not have any sorts of nibbles or extras at all and just be hungry. I have read so much recently about actresses being starving what with awards season being about and everyone marveling at how emaciated Anne Hathaway looked in Les Mis. I also read that she was eating a couple of oatmeal crackers a day and nothing else during the prep for that movie which is, of course, unhealthy but by god I'd trade my mother for her willpower!

I think I have gotten lazy in the sense that I have lost so much already, five and almost a half stone. It feels like I should have achieved my goal and yet I have so much further to go. The next level feels almost like it should be a hop, skip and jump away. In Boots a girl hopped onto the scales whilst with her friend, and she had a pretty amazing figure. I heard her say 'oh I'm more than I thought. Eleven stone'. That's only three stone from me! I'm three stone from that! I can do it I know but it's just so tedious.

So yeah, I think it's time to just embrace being hungry and drink more tea or something because what I'm doing clearly isn't working when I'm two months from Christmas and only eight pounds down. Even with the constant exercise. I mean six times a week is a lot more than most people do and it just doesn't show. I'm sure it's doing wonders for my fitness. In fact I know my fitness is improving because the last time I visited my friend previously we walked up this ginormous hill and at the top I was fairly out of puff. This time round we did it again and whilst I was still winded, it was a lot better than the first. So I know that's improving but I just need to apply my mind to the eating thing and get out of this rut.

Next week shall be known as hunger week! And we WILL get through this brain. No you're not going to starve if you don't have a snack. Get a grip.

I'll keep you posted. Good boo.

Squash your butternuts

Good lord, I just had the most amazing tea. Roasted feta is delicious, who knew! I've only ever had it straight up, never cooked. What a fool. I had a half a butternut squash with feta on it, roasted with some baked ham and a salad. Delicious. Probably a little high on the calories with the oils and such but I reckon under 700 calories so I don't mind. 

Dinner was cock a leekie soup, Baxtors, and pretty tasty considering it came from a can. Mum made an amazing discovery too. Tesco's own gluten free rolls are delicious! It's just like a normal roll..maybe slightly chewier but absolutely lovely. I'm so happy. Shame we don't shop there often. I had a couple of gluten free jaffas as well with a brew as a mid-afternoon snack. Breakfast was a bowl of muesli and soy milk so a good day all round I feel. I have done my exercise and drying from my shower also so the rest of the evening is mine. 

I'm over my cold thank goodness. It was a bit of a mean one in the middle and I'm still dealing with the cough, but other than that it's pretty much done. Just in time for work tomorrow. I had my week off, followed by one day back at work and then my 'weekend' such was my shoe horned holidays. It's fine though, I could do a one day week any time you liked. I remember not wanting to exercise on Tuesday but I did eventually. After much persuasion on my own part. Today's biking was a tad more intense than usual. I've started incorporating bursts of high speed for a minute or so sporadically. Probably about time I intensified the workout a little so that's good, think I will continue that from now on. 

Aside from that I've done basically nothing today. Yesterday was fat day and I spent it shopping with mum and eating nice dinners and the like. Today is my 'Sunday' and I have spent it in my pjs for the most part, aside from getting changed to exercise. I bought Sherlock Holmes the movie yesterday on Blu Ray, the Robert Downey Jr one, because I love it. I wanted to get the sequel which I had not watched but CEX didn't have it stocked at the time so I watched it online when I got home...with a view to buying it Mr.Policeman sir. I love his portrayal of Sherlock. The bromance between him and Jude Law's Watson is amazing. Like an old bickering married couple, I cannot get enough. Anyway, even though I had seen the first one only about a week ago, I found myself wanting to watch it again whilst I exercised. So I obliged myself. Makes the time go by quicker when I'm watching something I really enjoy.

 Anywho, my plan for the rest of the evening is to dry out and ready myself for work, sort through all the clothes hanging on my coat stand as it is over burdened, and possibly watch some Time Team with a brew and a biscuit later. I watched one of the more recent Time Team's a couple of days ago and it reawakened my love for it. I was so saddened to hear they'd cancelled it recently, even though I haven't watched it in years, because it brought up memories of Sunday night's with my dad. Mum used to work late and he would always make me and my brothers sandwiches and cakes and the like, and we'd sit and watch Time Team together. Probably where my love of history stems from.

Anyways, that really will do, tatty bye!

All kinds of illness

Huzzah, I have returned. Currently sitting wrapped in pyjamas and a hoodie and feeling sorry for myself but I am here! I caught some sort of cold prior to leaving for my trip to Bristol to see my buddy. Just in time, thanks immune system or lack thereof. It basically meant I coughed and sneezed my way through my three day trip and even killed the night out plans we had, bless his heart. My apologies! Suppose that's a good thing as it probably saved me calories in the long run...but maybe not with the amount of crap we ate. Although we did trek the length and breadth of the city as well so it should have somewhat balanced itself out.

I weighed myself this morning anyway and I have only put on a quarter of a pound so I am very happy with that considering. I was supposed to be getting back on the horse today but I just woke up with a craving for a sausage sandwich (gluten free roll) and luckily for me we had one of those hot dog-esque Mattessons is it? Something like that, the sausage in a bag type things. It'll do in a pinch and it did. I'm not exercising today either on account of feeling like crap. Luckily for me when I was shoe horning in my remaining holidays at work I ended up taking this Monday off which I originally wasn't going to do. Otherwise I would have been at work currently whining to myself. I'm not one of those people who whines too often out loud when I'm ill but internally I can winge all I want.

I don't think I'm going to try too hard to stay within my calorie boundaries today (I just put in a request for apple juice from my Mum and we all know there's a lot of calories in fruit juice), but at the same time I'm not going to be eating all chocolate either. I probably won't have any because I did eat quite a lot of it over the weekend. Replacing meals in some instances lol, how very healthy of me. 

As to my stomach, it was well behaved the entire time luckily! I stuck to fairly plain meal options when we did eat. I had a tuna salad for one, a jacket potato for another. And managed to not eat any wheat products even though my extremely helpful friend kept insisting that I should just 'sod it and eat a piece of cake/sandwich/crepe'.

Anyway I think that'll do for an update. I'm not really planning on being helpful diet wise today and no one needs to read an entire post of 'boo poor me I'm ever so ill' (even though I am :D).

I'm probably going to do ill person naps now. Tatty boo.