Birthday Greetings!!!

Today is my birthday .
I am 43 years young.
I've had a good year.
I've a lot to be thankful for.
Time for Reflection!

I have a great husband and 3 very happy( most of the time ) and healthy children.
My mother is nearly 82 and hail and hearty. TG.
My dad died in 2011 and I miss having him around.
He was a gentleman.
He was sick for years but fought it bravely.
He had a beautiful death where we were all around him and he just slipped away.
I believe he's never too far from us and I often ask him to keep an eye on my lads for me.

Myself and my husband have good jobs.
We want for nothing.
My children aren't very demanding.

Weight wise I'm very happy at where I'm at.
I know I have another 9 lbs to go to my goal but my clothes are all fitting me better already.
I'm a lot slimmer now than I was 10 years ago.
I'm a lot fitter now than I was 10 years ago.
I went to a Secondary School 25 year reunion a few months back.
We made a weekend of it.
Two of us kicked off the weekend with running a 5K race.
This was something neither of us could have done 25 years ago!
All and all I'm healthier now than I was before.

Birthday Celebrations have been put on hold til the weekend.
My long term plan is to eat very well and track during the week and to relax a little at the weekend.
This doesn't mean to forget all about Healthy Eating but to live life! and hopefully to eat from the Filling and Healthy Foods.
I feel in the past maintaining my weight has been a problem.
I'm hoping to train myself to choose from these foods always.
That's the plan !!!!!

Eating Out

Eating out can prove to be problematic!
But it shouldn't be.
We must live life.
But it is important to make good decisions when eating out.
If we "blow it" every time we eat out , we undo all the good work we do during the week.

This week, I ate out several times.
I made good choices.
I generally chose salads, chicken or fish with veg.
I had a salad bowl usually instead of chips or potatoes.
I drank loads of water.

I decided against having desserts and wine.
I didn't need them.
I'd prefer to hold onto my points!

I'm hoping this is what my Weight Watcher Leader means when she talks about eating from the Filling & Healthy Foods.
It's a great option for us weight watchers when we're out and about and can't track properly.
I'm hoping to track from Monday to Friday and just eat from the Filling & Healthy Foods at the weekend.
Hopefully it will work for me!
Time will tell!
Watch this spot!

A Lapse is NOT a Relapse!

This was my Weight Watcher Leader's mantra on Thursday night.
A lapse is not a relapse!

Strangely enough since then I'm not feeling hugely motivated.
And I'm worried!
I don't want to give in.
I have my goals written out.
I'm hoping to lose 1 to 2 lbs a week every week!
I feel it's doable.
So what's my problem?

I'm finding it hard to say no to the biscuits around me.
I'm looking for something to eat even though I'm not hungry.
I'm getting careless with the tracking.

I'm writing this to hopefully buck myself up.
I need to eat more filling and healthy foods.
I need to TRACK, track , track.
I need to think about -
The 3 occasions I have coming up- 2 communions and a wedding.
The lovely dresses I want to wear.
The Relay marathon I'm hoping to do in June.
The 10k race I'm hoping to do in July.

It's important to remind myself of why I'm doing this in the first place.
I'm doing this for me.
And I'm so worth it!

Hopefully  I'll get back on track today.

Week 4

Week 4 Weigh In - down 1.5lbs.
I'm not overly happy by this!
I thought I did as well as last week and was hoping to be 2 pounds down at least!
Ah well it's going in the right direction.

The good news is that altogether I'm down 10.5 in 4 weeks .
And I have only another 9 lbs to go!
I would love to have that gone in the next 4 weeks but realistically I'll allow myself  8 weeks.

TIME and VARIETY continue to be my biggest challenges.
I'm usually hungry when I come home from work and I need something quickly.
At present I'm going for soup everyday.
I would love to try and make up my own soup.
I do cook because I have to!
But I wouldn't be very confident in the kitchen.
I'm looking for a Fool Proof Recipe!

Some days I'm finding it hard to keep up the Motivation.
I'm hoping I can sustain it and stay focused.
At the moment when I'm at home Food is all I think about.
My life seems to revolve around my food.

I've kept up with my running this week.
Yesterday I started Week 12 of my Coach to 10K.
That's running for 18 minutes and walking 1 and repeating this 3 times.
Again I don't find it easy but I get a great sense of achievement afterwards.
I try to run 3 to 4 times a week.
I'm being told by a fellow Weight Watcher that that's the reason I'm not losing more weight.
Muscle weighs heavier that fat!!
But surely a pound of muscle looks better than a pound of fat!
Sometimes it's hard to know what the right thing to do is.

I find it easier NOT to tell people that I'm a Weight Watcher.
People generally mean well but often do nothing to motivate you.
Comments like " You're grand the way you are! -  We'll see through you if you lose anymore ! -  Are you sure you're not overdoing it? " don't help.

The Barbeque Season

The Barbeque Season has begun!
This poses a big problem for us weight watchers.
The amount of food especially the amount of meat available is one of the biggest problems.
Beers and wines are also free flowing.

Last weekend I went to a Barbeque.
It was a difficult day for food choices!
I think it's important to PLAN  beforehand.
Have an idea of what you're  going to eat.

For me , it's very important that everybody doesn't know I'm on a diet!
I chose the Chicken Skewers and I filled my plate with lettuce , tomatoes, onions and mushrooms.
I steered clear of the burgers and the sausages.
I love a burger but I made this choice beforehand so it was abit easier.
I drank 1glass of wine. I paced myself and drank slowly.
I also drank a lot of water.

I did allow myself to have a small dessert.
I had a slice of homemade apple tart without the ice cream .

All in all I made good food choices.
If I wasn't a weight watcher I would easily have eaten and drank three times the amount I ate that day!

My Favourite Snacks

One of my biggest challenges is finding the TIME to plan and prepare my food.
I seem to be always in a hurry to collect someone or to do a drop off!
Also There  always seems to be endless matches to attend and support.
As a result its crucial that I have a supply of " weight watcher friendly " foods at hand.

Since I've joined weight watchers I've become very aware  of what I eat.
I'm not only looking at the propoints in a food - I'm asking myself-
 Is this healthy?
Will it fill me?

One of my best finds this week is the " Carrot, honey and coriander Soup" from Cully & Sully.
It's delicious and 200mls of it ( half the carton ) works out at 1 propoint.
I usually have this with 2 krisprolls or 2 Ryvita which works out at 3 propoints.
Sometimes I put cheese on them.
I use the Philadelphia Light cheese mini tubs or the Laughing Cow Light triangle or a slice of the Dubliner Light Cheese.
Each one works out at 1propoint each.
I find all of this very fulfilling for only 5 propoints.

I have always loved Cheese and it amazes me at how high full fat cheese is in propoints for a fairly small portion!
The Cheeses I mentioned are pre portioned or pre sliced which I find great.

The Ryvita I use is the Fruit Crunch Ryvita.
It has a sweetness to it which I love.

Eggs are another stable in my diet.
I have them poached, scrambled or in an omelette.
A poached egg on a slice of  Wholemeal Hovis bread toasted and buttered ( low fat of course! ) works out at 6 propoints.
I used use the Hovis Nimble Bread.
One fairly small slice is 1 propoint and 2 slices work out as 3 propoints.
I always had 2 of them but found that I enjoyed the Wholemeal Hovis bread better so I stick to that now.   One slice works out at 3 propoints.

Yogurts are another great quick fix.
I love the Weight Watcher Dessert Recipe yogurts.
I generally have one over a fruit bowl.
Quite filling and all for 1 propoint .
Very tasty!

If I need a sugar fix I have a cup of coffee with sweetener .
I might have this with a Chilli flavoured Rice cake which I'm quite partial to.
Again this treat is 1 propoint.
The benefits of Sweeteners is an ongoing debate which I'll tackle on another day!
At the moment I feel I couldn't do without them.

I generally don't buy packets of biscuits or treats for the house.

First of all I prefer not to put temptation in my way!
Secondly I have kids ( and a husband ! ) who would eat them in me anyway!
I taught them well!!
If I am out and would like a treat with a cup of coffee I would buy a small Cadburys  purple  Snack.
This is 3 propoints.

Week 3

I had my Week 3 Weigh-in last night.
I was down 4 lbs!!
I was delighted!
I was hoping to be down about 2 lbs.  So anything else was a bonus!

So what did I do this week that was different?

I definitely upped my exercise.
I ran 4 times this week.
I'm religiously following my Couch to 10k.
Yesterday I started Day 1 of Week 11.
This week starts with a warm up of 5 mins and then a 17 minute run- 1minute walk.
This is repeated 3 times and I finish up as always with a 5 minute cool down.
I don't find it easy but I get a great buzz from it when I'm finished.
This week I downloaded another free App called RunKeeper.
So far I find it good.
Every 5 minutes it tells you what distance you've ran and what speed you're running at.
I find it a pleasant distraction and a good motivator to keep me going.

Food wise I did ok.
I spent my week making up for eating freely on Saturday.
I'm not a huge dinner fan.
This week I had many small meals / healthy snacks rather than a proper dinner.
These healthy snacks include poached egg & mushrooms on toast, soup with krisprolls / Ryvita & cheese, an omelette and WW beans / hoops on toast.
I don't think this is a good idea long term.
It's not sustainable.
I would like to cook proper and varied dinners for myself.
I would like to eat more vegetables.
I'm very good at eating fruit.
Variety is another thing I need to work on.
I tend to eat a lot of the same foods day in day out.

So my Challenge for this week - Make time for dinners!
Add Variety to my menus.

You have to Live Life!

This weekend myself and hubbie went away to a hotel for a night.
It was a much needed rare treat!
It was also a spur of the moment thing.
We had planned to meet friends of ours for dinner there and decided the day before to stay!
My first reaction was PANIC- How was I going to fit this in to my Weight Watchers plan?
What could I eat?
For a very brief period I did not want to go.

But this is Life and we have to live.
So I decided that while I was away I was  not going to track.

This is how it went!

I'll start with the positives.
I had a lovely much needed break with my husband,
It was no harm to remind myself that life shouldn't revolve around food!
I was very conscious of what I was eating.
Within reason I made good food choices.
I didn't eat bread.
I made a conscious decision to move the bread basket to the other side of the table!
This was difficult as it contained lovely homemade bread!
I drank loads of water and herbal teas while away.
I didn't have a starter or dessert.
I chose a chicken salad for lunch.
I had fruit, a natural yogurt, 2eggs,toast and 1rasher for breakfast.
I bought a light weight running jacket and I went for 2 45 minute jogs.

And now for the not so positives!
I didn't track.
I drank 2 glasses of wine and 1 glass of port.
The salad I had for lunch had a lovely dressing, croutons and Parmesan cheese in it and I licked the plate clean!
I found it difficult to choose for dinner.
I didn't want another salad!
So I looked towards the fish option.
There was only beer battered deep fried fish on the menu.
In the end I chose a chicken curry with rice.
It was lovely and again I licked the plate clean!
I chose we'll for breakfast except the eggs were fried.

This week I plan to cut down alittle on my daily 26 points.
I'm hoping to make up for my weekend indulgences .
I would love next Thursday to be down at least 1 lb.
Time will tell!

Hedonic Hunger

Hedonic Hunger!
So that's what they call it.
The desire to eat even though you are not hungry.
I have this a lot!!
And the good news is that this is only a habit!
Habits can be changed!
This I know is one of my greatest challenges.

So how am I going to work on this Challenge?

At my last meeting my leader was speaking a lot on this topic.
Her mantra was that " Size Matters".
When serving ourselves we should choose smaller plates, bowls, glasses etc.
Take wine for example. If you fill a small glass of wine you feel you've had a glass of wine.
If you put the same quantity into a larger glass you might even feel alittle hard done by!
Same goes for bowls and plates.
If you put 30g of cereal into a large bowl you will nearly be searching the bowl for it.
If you put the same quantity into a smaller bowl- add some fruit and perhaps a yogurt and your bowl is overflowing.
I suppose we need to train our brains to see things differently.
So this week I'm going to invest in a set of smaller ware for my use exclusively !

I'm also going to try and slow down when I'm eating.
If you chew your food properly and slow down you're  giving your stomach a chance to register with your brain that you've had enough to eat!
It seems to be all mind games this week!

And finally the more you drink the fuller you are!

Week 2

This week I lost 1lb .
I was abit disappointed. I had hoped to be down by 2lbs.
But I suppose it's in the right direction.

This week went fairly well for me.

I tracked everything I ate.
I have downloaded a Weight Watcher Calculator App on my phone.
I find this much easier to point the food on than the actual pro point calculator or the manual one given out to me the first time I went to Weight Watchers.
My only concern in regards to tracking is that sometimes one item might be 1 point and two of them might be 3 points!
This week I have used up my 26 points everyday and I have used about 15 of my weekly allowance.

I drink alot of liquids daily including water, decaf coffee , green tea with vanilla and peppermint tea.
Sometimes I wonder if you can actually drink too much ?

I exercise most days.
Since last week I have downloaded a free App called "10k Trainer FREE - Run for PINK - Couch to 10k".
Since I was already doing about 30 minutes jogging, I started on Week 9.
On Week 9 I have to warm up for 5 minutes, jog for 10 , walk for 1 and do this 4 times and finally finish with a 5 minute cool down.
I have managed it ok.
I find it a very doable programme and I'm hugely motivated by it.
Long may it last.

It's probably in planning the food that I've had the most difficulty.
I've had turkey stir fries, chicken wraps , chicken salads, lots of eggs and soups.
I've even eaten out 3 times!

I often find time an issue.
With 3 busy children I find after work I spend my time as a taxi.
I often need something quick to eat and I leave my main meal until later at night.
For a quick fix I eat a poached egg on toast,  Philadelphia light cheese on Ryvita or soup with krisprolls.
Sometimes I eat several snacks rather than 1 main meal.
I'm sure this can't be good.

My Attitude to Food

I seem to be paranoid with eating. I eat for all sorts of emotional reasons . This I need to address. Really one should only eat when one is HUNGRY!
I need to recognise the FULL Feeling.

This week  I'm going to stop before I eat and ask myself 2 questions.
1) Do I need this?
2) Am I hungry?

I also need to slow down and enjoy my food. I'm always first to finish.
Often I feel my stomach hasn't time to tell my brain that it's full!

I really do believe if I can tackle my relationship with food and change my attitude I will be able to maintain my weight loss.

I seem to always need to be eating or drinking something.

 This brings me to another bad habit of mine.
Chewing Gum! ( Sugar Free - Of Course!) .
This  bad habit is linked to my dieting and has come to the fore again recently.
I seem to think that if I'm chewing Gum I won't be eating! I don't give my jaws a break.
I'm at my worst in the car.  When I'm driving I could chew 5 or 6 pieces  of gum in an hour.

Another Challenge for me this week is to try and Quit the Gum!

My Exercise Regime

Over the years I wouldn't have been an overly athletic person.

But I always walked.

That's the great thing about walking .

Everyone can do it.

You can walk by yourself or with a friend.

And You can go for a walk wherever you are.

Last Summer I decided to take up jogging.

I downloaded a free "Couch to 5k " App for I pods and I phones.

I worked methodically through the programme.

I didn't find it easy.

It's an 8-10 week programme starting off with 4 or 5 intervals of walking for 3 minutes and jogging for 2 minutes.

This eventually worked up to jogging for 30 minutes.

I highly recommend this App or something similar if like me you're not a natural athlete.

Since then I have jogged 2 5k races and a 4 mile Mini Marathon.

I got a great sense  of achievement from doing this!

I'm back training again at the moment.

As I said before I'm a fair weather exerciser and haven't done a whole pile of jogging during the Winter. 

I'm just about up to 30 minutes again.

I still don't find it easy but I do get a great buzz when I've it done. 

Hopefully all this jogging is toning me up and burning a few calories!

As well as those obvious benefits,  getting out in the fresh air is great for your head and mental state.

I always feel good after a jog.

This year's goal is to do a 10 k Race during the Summer.

I must surf the net to see if there's an App to help me.

I'll let you know how I'll get on!

What I learnt in WEEK 1

There were many things I took on board this week.

Tracking is crucial.
That is writing down absolutely everything you eat and drink and pointing it.
This makes you very aware of what you eat.
And it cuts down on subconsciously eating ie eating something left on the work top or finishing something on your child's plate!
I have started to do this several times this week and stopped because of the tracking!

Planning your food is very important.
You need to have plenty of fruit , vegetables and "Weight Watcher" friendly food in stock.
So when you're  hungry or just feel like a snack you have something healthy at hand.

Drinking Water is highly recommended .
As well as being good for you, it fills you up.
I'm quite partial to the Herbal Teas.
I love Green Tea with Vanilla in the morning.
I also drink Peppermint Tea and Very Berry.
I tend to use one bag and refill it several times- hence upping my water intake.
I also drink decaf coffee with sweetener which I find great when I'm hungry or need a sugar fix.
I would love to be able to drink coffee without sugar but I find it's the sweetness that I like.
I'm trying to cut down on it.
Another challenge for me!!

Again folks all advice would be most welcome!

The third facet of Weight Watchers is Exercise.
It's the one major good habit I've picked up throughout my years of weight watching.
It doesn't matter what you do once you're moving.
Walking - for a half hour 3 to 5 times a week is all that's required.
It's that easy.
And the benefits are huge- a fitter more toned up person !

Now that we have an extra hour in the evening (Clocks went back here at the weekend), my Weight Watcher Leader asks each of us
" What are you doing with the extra hour? "

So I'll leave you on that note.

What are you doing with that extra hour?

The First Weigh In

4lbs down!
Delighted.

I don't know why I was worried.
I usually weigh myself at home so I have some idea how I'm doing.
But my scales seems to be playing up on me at the moment.
My Weight Watcher Leader stresses that we shouldn't weigh ourselves at home.
She feels if we haven't lost weight or God forbid put on weight we mightn't come to the meeting!
And that's the time we need the meeting most.

Anyway lets move onwards and "downwards".

Awaiting the Weigh In

Tonight I'll be having my second weigh in.
I'm alittle bit apprehensive about it .
I feel I've had a good week.
I did it all by the book.
I tracked everything.
I drank loads of water.
And I exercised 6 out of 7 days.
So why am I worried?

I need a good weight loss this week to keep me motivated.
Maybe I was overly generous with pointing my foods.
I 'll just have to wait and see!

Wish me luck!

What's a Healthy Weight?

I'm 5"3.
The healthy weight recommended for my height is between 8st 5lbs and 10 stone.
For most of my adult life 11 st up was nearer my norm.

Previous Weight Watcher Experience.

When I started Weight Watchers (the first time! ) in May 2011, I found this healthy weight information abit daunting to say the least!
My Weight Watcher leader set a target weight for me at 9st 4lbs.

I felt I was never going to reach this weight.
But I did! And 6 months later I had lost 1st 5.5lbs and weighed 9 st 3lbs!
I was never ever so light in all my life.
I got my Gold Card and I was over the moon.

Gold Card

When you get your Gold Card you are free to attend Weight Watcher Meetings for the rest of your life as long as your weight stays within 5lbs of your target weight.

This is where I failed!
I had two major problems here.
First of all , as soon as I reached my target weight, I subconciously changed my target weight to 9st 10lbs! ( 5lbs over my target!)
Not a good move!

Secondly I didn't continue to go to the meetings.
I now know that I need to go to the meetings once I hit my target weight.
At least once a month - if not once a fortnight at the start.
I seem to be the type of person that needs to be "publically weighed",  "named and shamed" and kept accountable to keep me motivated.

Sad but true!

How did I let that happen?

I have asked myself this question over and over in relation to my weight down through the years.
I get comfortable with myself - settled - lazy perhaps and then the old habits start creeping back.
As somebody once told me " Once a Weight Watcher - Always a Weight Watcher!"
I think once I get to a weight I'm comfortable with, I forget this piece of advice.
Throughout my years of dieting I have picked up numerous good habits.
I eat well. (Too well you might say!)
I like fruit and vegetables.
I drink plenty of water and herbal teas.
I always eat breakfast.
I exercise regularly. ( I'm a fair weather exerciser though!)

So where does it all go wrong?

With me it seems to be a maintainance problem.
I seem to be able to lose the weight but not keep it off.

One of the problems lies with Portion Sizes.
Perhaps it's an Irish thing.
I always finish what's on my plate.
And if the truth be known I often finish food on my childrens' plates as well!

Secondly I seem to have an emotional attachment to food.
I eat when I'm hungry , when I'm happy or sad , when I'm tired or stressed and even when I'm sick!
I'm not sure how I'm going to overcome that problem.

Any advice greatly accepted!

Another problem I seem to have came to the fore yesterday.
Time or rather lack of it!
I was racing aroung so much that I didn't have time for a proper meal.
I spent the day snacking on rice cakes.
Then, when I did eventually come home, I was too tired to cook anything decent and I had another bowl of weetabix.
This to be very honest is a regular occurence.

I feel abit like a hopeless case!
St Jude please help me!

Back to Weight Watchers!

I went back to Weight Watchers last Thursday.
I'm thinking about it since January but I kept telling myself that I could do this myself!
I couldn't!
What I might lose in one week was up the next.
I hated the thought of going back!
I got a great welcome from my Weight Watcher Leader which made me cringe all the more.
Then the moment of truth - the weigh in -
10 st 9.5lbs.
Back to where I started 2 years ago - having got my Gold Card that time.
How did I let that happen again!!!

About Me

My name is Mary Kate.
I'm 40 something, a mother of 3 and a wife of 1!
I work full time.
I am 5"3 and weigh 10st 9.5lb.
I've always been overweight, never being ( or considering myself!) obese but always overweight.
My weight never really bothered me until after having my first child nearly 17 years ago.
My weight really spiralled after having my second child - a beautiful girl- the apple of my eye.
It rocketed to 13st 7lb!
In the last 16 years or so I have tried all sorts of diets and they all worked!
I did Slimfast, tried Cabbage Soup, Nutron, Motivation and Weight Watchers.
My problem seems to be with maintaining my weight.
I generally have no huge problem losing the weight.
It seems to be all or nothing with me.
I'm either on a diet or not!
I tend to have a "bad" relationship with food - I eat and overeat not only when I'm hungry but also when I'm tired, stressed and even sick!


This time as I head back to Weight Watchers for the second time I'm hoping to change the way I view food.

Why Weight Watchers you might ask?
I believe that it is probably the safest and the most reliable and natural way to lose weight.
It doesn't involve changing your diet hugely.
It's all about choices!
There are no banned foods.( not really anyway!)
It's a very structured programme.
You can eat what you want - you just have to point it!

Please join me on my journey!

Welcome to my Weight Loss Journey

I've decided to write a Diary of my struggle with losing weight.
This is an ongoing battle!
In this Diary I hope to include a daily blog, tips on what I've found useful, motivational thoughts and notes on exercise.
This is a motivational activity for me.
I hope someone else might find this beneficial.
All my views are my own.