Plant based?

The world and his wife seem to have decided that my diet and my body are public concern, which is not at all motivating to me to feel positive or pay attention to other people's viewpoints. 

However. I did make a delicious Indian inspired dinner today, of sweet potato and chickpea curry with rice and homemade flatbread. And it was all vegan. I've started looking at veganism as an option for me, as an animal lover; it makes a lot of sense and it's not too radically different anyway. 

It might not have been the most photogenic dish I've ever made but it was tasty!

I also made granola bars today, because I have a ridiculously early start in the morning. I wanted a grab and go type thing, because there's no way I'll be ready to eat at the time I have to leave. 

I made chocolate-peanut butter and a date and vanilla batch and they are TASTY. Very happy how they turned out. 

But again, awfully brown to photograph! Maybe I'll take an arty photo on the train with my hot chocolate (that I inevitably treat myself to because ugh so early - I have to have soy milk anyway because I'm lactose intolerant so that's not a change) and then Instagram it like a cool kid!

Harira

Yesterday's roast duck Sunday lunch was nice but not amazing. Today's Moroccan inspired Harira soup was awesome! Leftover duck put into the slow cooker with onion, celery, fresh ginger, chickpeas, lentil and stock plus a combination of turmeric, harissa, garlic and cinnamon... Yummy. 

However, today I also went and got myself weighed and it's having an enormous impact on how I feel. I wasn't at all prepared for the number to be what it was. I don't know where I'm going to come back from this. I was supposed to be having a consultation for weight loss surgery today and I cancelled it, because I decided I couldn't really afford it and because I thought we could probably do it "by ourselves". Now I wish I hadn't, because I don't know how to cope without help. It's difficult. 

Look, I'm back!

Whilst it might have been like a million years since I posted - last in August 2014! - I still have the password! So here I am.

I haven't weight myself in a year or more and don't care to. My body has changed a lot in that time. But my husband and I have decided to get back into cooking more real meals and enjoying new food, so we're back. Weight change might be an extra bonus.

This week's menu includes new recipes, part of my 2016 resolution to cook at least one new dish per month. Fingers crossed, we've got leftover duck Harira (a Moroccan inspired soup), a slow-cooked pork and red cabbage casserole and kangaroo meatball tagine.

Hooray!

No Posts Since April!

...which in my head, sounded like that famous song title about lack of sleep. I'm easily amused. 

Lots of things have happened since April. My moods have changed an awful lot, with a down patch and exams on top as well. Luckily, I'm well out the other side (and my exam results were also excellent, yay). So I've been much more focused on Slimming World and able to commit to it in a way I just couldn't when everything else was going on. I spent about 4-5 weeks maintaining, which was definitely better than putting weight on - but doesn't take me closer to my goal!

This last Wednesday when I was weighed I was thrilled to see I'd lost another 2lb, which takes me up to 53lb in total or 3st 11. I'm really hopeful that this next week I'll get my four stone badge!

One thing I've taken from this past few weeks of struggling was a piece of advice I received about not stressing over it. If I'm eating healthily, that's a success in itself. As my consultant says, a good week is not a wasted week even if it doesn't reflect on the scales like we might expect. 

So that's where I'm at. 19 weeks to my wedding!

Week 4

This morning I went to SW and found out I'd dropped another 2lb - taking my total loss so far to 44lb!

YAY! I have 8 weeks left until I've been going for one year. I would like to lose 2lb a week until then so that I've hit my 4stone award. Hopefully, that'll be possible!

In this post, I'm hopefully going to be able to hide each day's menu under a cut. Hopefully. ETA: My internet searching has decided that I can't do each separately, but at least they're off the main page.


Wednesday
Breakfast: banana, apple, pink and white (2.5)
Lunch: potato, beans, salad, pink and white (2.5)
Snack: pink and white (2.5)
Dinner: let's just call it 47.5 and have it done, so that this rounds up to a nice 55.
We're going to Success Express the rest of the week. I hope.

Thursday
Breakfast: banana, apple, mullerlight (0.5)

Lunch: HexB roll, steak, HexA cheese, massive salad, banana. Jelly, raspberries, strawberries, yogurt

Dinner: amazing super free curry, potatoes. 

Syns: 40. 

What goes through my head, I will never know. 10 syns left for the week! :/

Friday

Breakfast: banana, apple, yoghurt

Week 3 - Day 7

Another week is nearly over. Time to start worrying about getting weighed tomorrow morning! Though actually there are plenty of other things for me to worry about in the meantime... like all the work I have to do today (I've been up since 4.30am) and the studying I'm needing to do before my exams in June (oh my god, help) and the whole wedding planning thing too. Far too much going on - I'd love an easy life.

Next week I'm going to keep editing daily updates into one post, I think. Less spam, less triggery numbers for everyone else, all good really. As soon as I work out the hide text thing, anyway. I'm up to 75.5 syns this week I think at this point, not including today's. That's not bad going, I think.

Breakfast: banana, yoghurt, raspberries, tea.
Snack: apple, pink and white (1.5), activia
Lunch: pasta with left over super free bolognese. Pink and whites (3), chocolate (2)
Snack: pink and white (1.5)
Dinner:

Week 3 - Day 6

I wish I could remember the code to 'hide' things under a cut. I know how to do it on livejournal but I suspect that's not real code!

Breakfast - natural yoghurt, banana, raspberries
Lunch - superfree bolognese with pasta, 1 square of chocolate (1)
Snack - 2 pink and whites (3), HExB bar
Dinner - bbq ham, broccoli, roast onions. crabbies (6.5), chocolate (1)

total = 11.5

Week 3 - Day 5

I really want treats but am trying to abstain !

Breakfast - banana, raspberries, yoghurt

Lunch - jacket, beans, cheese, salad, pink and white (1.5), chocolate (4.5)
Break - alcohol (16), pink and whites (3)
Dinner - BBQ ham, HExB bread roll, salad, chips (1)

26

(Abstaining from indulgence didn't go so well when my little crazy head kicked in and a long walk didn't 'fix' it. May have gone a little over today's syns but we're okay for the week at 64 overall. As it's day 5 of the week, 5x15 a day = potentially 75 syns so we're still okay.)

Week 3 - Day 4

Breakfast: apple, yoghurt, pink and white (1.5)

Lunch: beans on brown toast (HexB). 

Snack: two pink and whites (3), ham, banana, mini mullerlight. 

Dinner: Crabbies (6.5), veggie bolognese with chopped ham and pasta, HexA cheese, chocolate (3)

Week 3 - Day 3

I sort of want to stop eating in the vague hope that'll make me lose weight quicker. People ask how long I've been doing SW and I always feel a bit like they expect more from me for this time frame. Heh.

Breakfast: banana, apple, small mullerlight 

Lunch: salmon pasta with onion, tomato and pepper, HExA cheese, 2 pink and whites (3), hot chocolate (1.5)

Snack: Activia, HExB crackers

Dinner: more of the lunch pasta (salmon, pepper, onion, tomato), Crabbies (6.5), pink and white (1.5)

Evening: chocolate (3)