SlimPod diary - Week 2

After last week's great start I am optimistic that my motivation will only improve this week as Trevor's words weave their magic in my mind. I love listening to my SlimPod and do so twice a day. The kids are now used to finding me having a quick snooze as a result, but I'm feeling more energetic and getting more done generally so it's not a waste of time.

Fri  - I am definitely thinking about food a lot less. You know when you diet and when you're not eating you're thinking about what you're trying not to eat, or about your next meal? It's not like that at all. I'm still off the fizzy pop and finding water is naturally my first choice of drink. Today I went into town and parked in a street near the shopping centre in order to maximise the amount I would have to walk doing all my errands. There wasn't even a great deal of thought in the decision, it was like my subconscious made it for me and my body just drove the car that way. A bit scary really - I clearly have a malleable mind!
Biscuits: 1
Fizzy drink: 0

Sat- average day today. I weighed this morning and the scales continue to show lighter. Will try to resist weighing tomorrow. Daily is a bit silly. I made lemon cake and had a slice of that, but otherwise no snacking or overeating. I listened to my SlimPod twice - once in the afternoon and once before bed. I didn't do any excercise but I did a lot of moving around generally.
Biscuits - 0 (but cake)
Fizzy drinks - 0

Sun -  I suspect hormones are dictating my food choices at the moment. Today included a glass of red wine and a Mars bar. I'm definitely thinking about food less. Dinners are always organised in advance but I don't spend all morning wondering what I'm going to have for lunch, and I don't get hungry in the afternoon either.
Biscuits - 0 (but Mars bar)
Fizzy drinks - 0

Mon - today was a good day. I found myself wanting to snack when I wasn't hungry, but it wasn't that hard to resist. It was probably the biggest test of my willpower since starting. I went to the gym and enjoyed it.
Biscuits eaten - 0
Fizzy drinks - 0

Tues - Slimming World weigh in and another 1.5lbs off. I am a little disappointed as the weight hasn't come off as fast this week as last, but I tell myself not to be ridiculous. The scales are moving in a steady downward direction and I feel good, am eating less and have more energy. I also had wine, cake and chocolate this week and still lost 1.5lbs AND it was easy, almost effortless. Except for yesterday I've not really had to make a conscious decision to resist something that I wanted to eat just for the sake of it. I'm thinking about food a lot less. All these are Good Things.

Wed  - I hate this time of the month. I am so hungry I could eat the furniture and today has been a real struggle. Easier than past months, definitely, but a struggle compared to the past 2 weeks. On the plus side I had McDonalds for dinner (not my choice). I made a healthier choice and only managed less than half what I would normally have eaten just 2 weeks ago. My husband is very impressed at how much less I want to eat.

After another week I am 2lbs down (another 0.5lb off on scales at home today). I will perservere with my PMS cravings and hope that next month is easier.

Onwards and inwards!

Meal Planning Monday

Last week's meal planning was a success, with everything made as planned and no extra shopping trips because I coudn't be bothered cooking what was on it. A quick check of the freezer yesterday showed that I've got tonnes of bread, for some reason, which isn't good on Slimming World. I've also got a tonne of other stuff in there that could really use running down which means that this week probably won't be that interesting.

To compensate for what is going to be a boring week's eating, I'm going to detail what I wish my menu looked like. Since it's a dream menu, I'm including puddings.

Mon

Mum's beef bourginon with garlic croutons

Raspberry Pavlova

Tues

lasagne and salad with baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, and red onion

pistachio and chocolate gelato

Wed

roast chicken with all the trimming (including Yorkshire pud)

treacle tart and custard

Thurs 

Lentil burgers with home made wedges and salsa.

spicy apple pie with whipped cream

Fri

Laksa with tofu or fresh prawns

Coconut custard with caramel syrup 

Sat 

home made pizza including vine ripened tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil

chocolate brownies (not completely cooked so they're still squidgy) served warm with fresh raspberries and creme fraiche

Sun 

chicken schnitzel, mashed potato, ratatouille, and gravy

steamed lemon pudding with pouring cream

Now that I've got myself salivating with half a dozen times of chopped tomatoes and some frozen veg to look forward to, I'll leave it there with the promise to have an actual real menu plan next week.

 

Meal Planning Monday

Here we go for this week:

Monday: Chicken fajitas(but with cous cous not tortilla for me)

Tuesday: Quorn stir fry with egg noodles

Wednesday: Sticky Five Spice Gammon *

Thursday: Frittata and salad

Friday: Chicken and butternut squash curry*

Sat: Chicken and vegetable fried rice

Sunday: Quorn sausage, Slimming World Chips, egg, tomatoes and spinach

* are recipes I've never cooked before. They're from the Slimming World Meals in Minutes Cookbook. 

It's a pretty chicken heavy menu this week, but I've gone right off red meat lately, and I never eat fish. 

I made 5 out of 7 meals on the plan last week. I missed the creamy mushroom chicken but the ingredients could be frozen so that's not a problem; and Sunday's pasta and spinach pesto ended up being pasta with a courgette and tomato sauce I had in the freezer. I'd be lost without my freezer. It's a 6ft upright one that was in the house when we bought it. What it lacks in ineffeciency it more than makes up for in the ability to bulk buy and freeze.

This week is pretty busy, so the meals either have to be ones I can make quickly (like the stir fry), or make in advance and freeze (like the curry and fajitas, which are ready and waiting).

Last week I tried herbed pork mince and cous cous for the first time. I wasn't wild about it and probably won't do it again. Unfortunately it made loads, so I've got another 2-3 meals worth of it in the freezer to be eaten.

Meal Planning Monday

I know I said this wouldn't be a foodie blog, and it's not, but I have a family and we all eat, therefore I meal plan. I don't always follow through but it's nice to start the week with good intentions. I follow Slimming World so my menu is SW friendly.

Mon - Frittata of sorts: new potatoes, diced onion, chopped Quorn sausages, cherry tomatoes, fresh spinach pan fried. Pour over eggs beaten with some Quark, season and bake until firm

Tues - Fried Rice

Wed - herb minced pork and vegetable cous cous

Thurs - gammon, egg, SW chips, spinach, cherry tomatoes

Fri - chicken with creamy mushroom sauce

Sat - meatloaf with mashed potato and vegetables

Sun - spaghetti and spinach pesto

Lunch is usually left overs from the night before. My favourite breakfast at the moment is berries (frozen from the supermarket) with a Muller light mixed with either rice or rolled oats.