Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!!!!

Woohoo!!! Yippee!! I am awesome!! In fact, I am absolutely fabulously awesome!! I am not just patting myself on the back - I am giving myself a great big hearty slap on the back, high fiving myself and dancing a jig all at the same time!! Weigh in day today and as you can probably guess, I had a great loss. I finally, finally, finally had a decent loss which is much more in line with the amount of effort that I have been putting in. I lost 1.5kg (3.3lbs)!! It's about bloody time I reckon and all I can say is thank goodness, because I really was starting to wonder what the heck I was getting so wrong. I managed to pull it all together this week and it has made such a big difference. It is also that time of the month for me which makes it even better, because I usually don't lose much at all in that week. It even makes me think that if it hadn't been for that, I might have lost more. Not that I am being greedy. I am soooooo happy with my 1.5kg and if I can keep doing that each week, then I will slowly get back to where I need to be. Now I am only 1.9kg behind on where I should be by now, instead of 2.1kg. So this week, I am going to try to keep doing what I have been doing, and hopefully next week will be just as good.

So what did I do this week? First of all, I made sure that I tracked all week and kept within my points. I did use some of my 49 weekly points, but I still had 28 left at the end of the week and I didn't touch any of my exercise points, so that was an extra 96 points that I didn't eat. I made sure I drank at least 4.2 litres (142 fl oz) of water every day, because that is what I worked out I should be drinking based on my weight, amount of activity and allowing for some coming from what I eat. I also increased how much protein I was eating. I worked out that I should be eating at least 200g (0.44lbs), once again basing this on my weight and how much I exercise. I have to say that this has been one of the hardest things to do and it means I have to be much more organised with planning my meals. I have to have protein with every meal, including snacks, which is not something that I am used to. I have begun to have eggs for breakfast every day with either ham or bacon, I have had to add meat to my lunch and am eating tuna for at least one of my in between snacks, as well as having at least 3 glasses of milk every day. Believe it or not, even by doing this, I am most days struggling to get the full 200g of protein in! I am starting to feel like a big ball of protein lol!! Even though I am not getting the full 200g every day, I am still eating way more protein than I was and I guess that has made a difference. It seems so strange to have to each so much of the stuff that I would normally limit in my diet in order to lose weight, but I am liking the satisfaction that I get from each meal. I am feeling fuller for longer and that is always a good thing. So, the three things I am going to continue to work on for this week are tracking, water and protein. I am not going to say exercise, because I just make sure that I exercise every day now. I have done for three weeks now and am soooo proud of myself. No excuses - even if I can't make the gym, I can find 30 minutes for my exercise bike in front of the tv at night if I haven't had a chance to exercise before that. I don't like it, I don't enjoy it and I don't think I ever will, no matter what people say, but I have come to terms with the fact that I just have to do it. I have to. It's as simple as that.

So here's hoping that everyone else has a great week and let's keep plugging away - we will get there in the end, slowly but surely!!

PS - I had to go out to dinner on Saturday night and didn't want to blow my points allowance, so I did something I have never done before. I looked up where I was going on the internet and looked to see if they had their menu online, which they actually did. I planned my meals for the day, worked out how much protein I needed to eat for dinner, chose a 300g steak from the menu and tracked my points before I left for dinner. When I got home I checked what I had tracked as opposed to what was on my plate when I got it and adjusted where necessary. By doing this, I managed to have my cake and eat it too. I had a lovely meal out in a restaurant, I got to choose something that I really liked and still managed to stay within my points for the day. I also left before the birthday cake came out, which meant I didn't have to be tempted to have a piece. I could have if I'd wanted to - I had points there, but decided I didn't want to waste them on that when I had already had the treat of a restaurant meal. I was very happy with myself I must say lol!!