De-cluttering

Thursday 30th November

Well, the loft looks fantastic. I am going to vacuum it out and I shall try to post a photo so that you can see it. I started on my Eldest's room, after a while I began to lose the will to live! I am going to make this my next room. I'm really busy with work and all sorts of other things but I am commiting to half an hours extreme de-cluttering per day.

Today I ate: -

• Fruit and fibre cereal with semi-skimmed milk
• Half a carton of New Covent Garden broccoli and stilton soup
• apple
• Pan-fried tuna steak, tomatoes, mushrooms, wholemeal roll
• Rachel's organic bio-live yoghurt with coconut

Chaos Theory

Wednesday 29th November

It's the beginning of the Christmas party season and I'm eating out at Prezzo in Lewes tonight with some of my branch commitee. I am going to attempt to just have a main with sparkling water. I'll report back!

I was trawling through the web searching for information on de-cluttering and I found an interesting article that suggested that people who hold on to a lot of clutter are more likely to have weight issues. The information was anecdotal, it wasn't researched, but it did make me think. I also struggle with clutter. Is it because we chubsters are all slatterns, glued to our sofas wolfing down Reese's peanut butter cups? It's four weeks until Christmas and I have decided that my home is going on a healthy living plan. I have some time off work today and I am going to start with the loft. I am going to get rid of what we don't need, either in the bin or to the charity shop or to someone who could use it. I feel that this is going to help me foodwise.

Today I ate: -

• Quaker Oatso Simple
• Salad with tuna in coronation sauce
• Pinched a few of the kid's chips
• Half a carton of New Covent Garden broccoli and stilton soup
• Garlic bread
• Crab cakes with tomato sauce, watercress and gratinated potatoes
• Pear and almond brioche bread and butter pudding with cream (I had dessert, d'oh!!!)

Struggle

Tuesday 28th November

The last few days have been a real struggle foodwise. I've been really het up about food and have wanted to eat all the time. I think it's a hormonal thing, I get a few days every month where I feel like this. Resisting the urge to consume feels like swimming against the current. Today, I am going to write out the menus for the next week. This will hopefully give me the impetus to stick to sensible choices.

Today I ate: -

• 1 slice wholemeal toast, poached egg, 2 tomatoes, Maldon salt
• Char-grilled baby aubergines and courgettes with tomatoes and hoummus
• Chicken tikka masala, basmati rice, carrots and green beans
• Rachel's organic bio-live yoghurt with coconut

Biscuit Challenge

Monday 27th November

Quilt group tonight and I'm going to try and avoid the biscuits. We do, unfortunately, have the best biscuits! I'll report back tomorrow.

Today I ate: -

• Quaker Oatso Simple
• Three Thorntons chocolates
• Half a carton New Covent Garden chicken mulligatawny soup
• Shepherds pie, char-grilled baby aubergines and courgettes, carrots, leeks
• Small plum crumble and custard
• 2 biscuits (I did, indeed, fail the biscuit challenge)

First Weigh-In

Sunday 26th November

The Big Day! I've lost 4lbs. Way to go!!! (actually a very long way to go!)

Sunday is probably my worse food day as we are out of our daily routine. I usually eat lots of bread.

Today I ate: -

• Quaker Oatso Simple
• Half a carton of New Covent Garden chicken mulligatawny soup
• Cheese sandwich
• Quesadillas and hoummus

Beware of the Buffet!

Saturday 25th November

Stressful day! Tempted to munch my way through it. Ate out with Beloved and as there was nothing particularly healthy or appealing on the menu I ended up having a tuna mayo jacket potato. This is a supposedly healthy option but when you are presented with a vast spud with a mayonnaise heavy filling and a tiny salad garnish it really isn't, is it?

On the positive side we popped in to my friend's 50th birthday party and I mananged to sidestep the buffet. The buffet is often my downfall! Well done me!

Today I ate: -

• Quaker Oatso Simple
• Left-over risotto, salad
• Tuna mayo jacket potato, tiny salad garnish
• End of his croissant (oops)
• Buttery cheese sandwich and third of a packet of kettle crisps (oops again!)

Brighton Part 2

Friday 24th November

The conference was excellent, I will take a lot from it that I can use at work. While I was in Brighton I did a little clothes shopping. Like many women who struggle with weight issues I delay doing things until "when I've lost weight". I think that I will sort out my clothes after I have reached my goal weight, it somehow seems wrong to buy new clothes whilst I am still over-weight. I have decided to change this mind-set. Today I made an effort with my appearance and it did increase my confidence. My family reacted in the following way: -

My Mum - You look gorgeous!
My Eldest - You look weird.
My Youngest - You look like Aunty Jo.

Today I ate : -

• 1 slice wholemeal toast, poached egg, 1 tomato, Maldon salt


• Lunch at Yo Sushi! katsu collection, inari nigiri, 2 bowls miso soup


• Dinner at Mum's! shepherd's pie, rissotto, salad

Brighton Beach

Thursday 24th November

Today and tomorrow I am at my professional body's conference in Brighton. I made sure that I carried on with my decision to eat good and delicious food mindfully. I picked up lunch from Bill's and it was sublime. Possibly, and I mean this sincerely, the best sandwich I've had in my life! And it was only £3.25 (with an apple!). There are real advantages to eating mindfully and really enjoying food.

Today I ate : -

• Quakers Oatso Simple
• Olive foccacia filled with stilton, smoked bacon, bramley apple sauce and herb salad leaves
• Russet apple
• Smoked mackeral, char-grilled courgettes and baby aubergines, iceberg lettuce and tomato
• Cranberry juice

Day 3 and Still Going!!!

Tuesday 22nd November

I usually give up any healthy eating plan on day 3 and have a couple of nice, buttery cheese sandwiches instead. A little hiccup today when I didn't take any lunch to work as I thought I would be popping home for lunch and then my practice manager booked me some more work and I was marooned at work with no food. All's well that ends well as I resisted the lure of the patisserie (a stone's throw from my workplace!) and had some soup at home before I picked up the kids from school. I have been really inspired by The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl. The writing is fantastic, hilarious and extremely honest.

Today I ate: -

• 1 slice wholemeal toast with 1 poached egg, 1 tomato and Maldon salt
• Half a pink grapefruit
• Half a carton New Covent Garden Thai Chicken Soup
• 2 teriaki chicken skewers, basmati rice, peas, stir-fried peppers, courgettes, mushrooms and water chesnuts
• Organic natural bio-live yoghurt with sultanas

Felt mournful at dinner as the rest of the family had a spring roll with their dinner. There are 4 in the packet and we usually have one each, I gave Beloved 2 this time. I considered asking him for a bite.

Ladies Who Lunch!

Tuesday 21st November

Lunch with friends today. Usually I use this as an excuse to pig-out big time! Disaster averted and I just had a main course and chatted with my friend as she ate her bread and butter pudding without feeling at all traumatised. I concentrated on the lovely company and the conversation and my friend's delightful baby rather than obsessing about food.

Today I ate: -

• Quaker Oatso Simple


• Fish pie, duchesse potatoes, mangetout, braised celery


• Smoked mackeral, egg fried rice, vegetables


• Organic natural bio-live yoghurt

So far, so good!

Monday 20th November

Didn't have time for breakfast this morning, so packed it up and brought it to work! I rushed back after the school run and made lunch to bring in to work too, I am feeling very organised.I have decided for the duration of this project that I will keep a food log and record everything I have eaten at the end of each day. Imagined myself 40lbs lighter this morning. Feeling excited and hopeful.

Today I ate: -

• 1 bowl of fruit and fibre cereal, semi-skimmed milk
• Smoked mackeral salad
• Chillie, basmati rice, carrots, peas, char-grilled courgettes and baby aubergines

Happy New Year!

Sunday 19th November

I've tried everthing else to lose weight, so now I'm going to try blogging. It's free and I paid the Rosemary Conley slimming group over £4 a week for over a year and actually gained weight! My Beloved just took the kids for a Sunday evening pre-school treat to McDonalds and bought me back a McFlurry and an apple pie. When I've snarfed them down that will be it. A brand new future, a brave new tomorrow? Who knows? Perhaps just another burst of unsustainable enthusiasm ending in failure 48 hours later?

I have picked today randomly to start, usually I opt for the traditional 1st January. My new year's resolution list for quite a few years now has started: -

1) Lose 3 stone (42 lbs)

Here we go again. Happy New Year!