Lost down a rabbit hole!

My apologies for being absent for quite a while, I have been busy with life and also have had some trouble with some personal things so havent had the inclination to write about anything for the whole world to see. But less of that and more of this:

How have I been doing?
I went back on CWP for 8 weeks and then started fainting quite regularly so on the doctors orders I had to stop CWP. I am now on Day 2 of a new LOW CARB diet which I am enjoying but also finding difficult to know what to eat sometimes. I have done this way of eating before and found it quite easy, I only stopped because I got pregnant with my daughter and you can't low-carb diet whilst pregnant. So I decided to give it another go, and no chance of me becoming pregnant this time ;) I have read this book and I am doing their version of low carb:

What about my weight?

Ive managed to keep losing weight and Im quite impressed with my progress actually! 

I promise to blog more often now that I have things to say, Im trying out new recipes again too so I will be sure to share them. Thanks for reading x

Overeating and how to end it?

I've just finished reading this book, "The End of Overeating" by Dr. David Kessler. It gave me a really good insight into why I (and many others) overeat and the way food makes us feel. It was a little hard going at first, lots of jargon to get your head around but it really does makes alot of sense. The food companies and fast food restaurants are in the business of making the consumer come back to their restaurant or eat their food again and again. They don't care if people are obese, they dont care if their food is full of rubbish and makes people ill, as long as they can sell their products and get repeat business. That's why their food mainly consists of sugar, fat and salt, the 3 most addictive properties that 'fast' food has. The book goes on to say that on a biological level our brains give off chemicals when we experience pleasure, whether it is from shopping, alcohol, exercising, food or something else, and as humans we crave that pleasure, those chemicals released into the brain that make us feel GOOD. The problem is, when you get those pleasurable and good feelings from food, you tend to go back for more and more. And THAT is exactly what the fast food industry wants! Instant gratification from eating fatty/sugary/salty food needs to change, and my first step in changing that is to find other things that give that sort of gratification, those good feelings, and that are alot healthier than eating fat/sat/sugar. Im currently thinking of what those things could be, maybe watching a comedy show on tv, reading a book, talking to a friend on the phone. Im going to work on a list that I can look at when I feel the crave of sugar or fat calling me. I'll share it when I get a few more. I really recommend reading this book though, it really makes you think about what you are putting into your body.

Hunger and Food Cravings, what do they mean?

Have you ever come home from a bad day and dived head first into your fridge? Or had an argument and found yourself turning to food? Its a reality that plagues many of us and a habit that has formed in me since I was a little girl and when I was down or feeling sad my Mum would get me ice cream or chocolate and of course that made me feel better at the time. I don't blame her for that because she was doing what she thought was best and she didn't know that it would become a habit that continued long into adulthood. She still does it with my nieces if they fall over or feel sad she offers them food, but it what her Mum did and her Grandma before that. I think its sort of passed down from generations and I am trying to break the cycle with my daughter as I don't want her to end up an obese adult like me and hating herself. Just to add, I don't hate myself any more, because I am breaking that cycle.

What's the difference?

Emotional hunger comes on all of a sudden.	Physical hunger comes on gradually.
Emotional hunger feels like it needs to be satisfied RIGHT NOW!	Physical hunger can wait until you have time to eat.
Emotional hunger craves comfort foods, ice cream, chocolate etc.	Physical hunger will be satisfied by any type of food, nothing specific.
Emotional hunger isn't satisfied when you are full, you will continue to eat.	Physical hunger stops when you've eaten enough and you are full.
Emotional eating triggers feelings of guilt, powerlessness, and makes you feel bad about yourself.	Eating to satisfy physical hunger doesn't have an emotional response.

What do cravings mean?
When you are craving a specific thing what does your body actually want? For example, when you have a craving for chocolate, and can't get it out of your mind, it doesnt mean your body has a shortage of chocolate in its system. Below is a list of food cravings and a healthy alternative:

So many diets, so little time....

I was just writing my about me page and I thought I would do a little list, just for myself really, of all the diets I have been on in my life. Lets see...

• Cambridge Weight Plan
• Slimming World
• Weight Watchers
• Cabbage Soup Diet
• Slim Fast
• Low Carb
• Slim and Save
• Water only (dangerous!)
• Vegan
• Calorie Counting
• Healthy Eating
• Tesco Diets Online

I think thats all of them, and that is ALOT of diets, and guess what they ALL got me to successfully lose weight, but I didn't keep it off, some were really unhealthy, some were really good for me but all in all unless my heart was in it to start with, or as soon as I went back to my unhealthy eating habits the weight piled back on, and usually more besides. I do wonder if I had never dieted, would I still be the size I was when I did my first ever diet? 

Weigh In Day: Week 1 of 12

As I explained, I am now back on Cambridge Weight Plan and I have been following the SS (Sole source) plan for a week. So its my first week on Cambridge but 10th week as far as weigh ins with my consultant, and since I only put on 1.25lbs since I saw her last I decided to count this week as week 10, but its really week 1. Does that make sense? I hope so! Anyway, down to the nitty gritty of what I lost this week....

-16 & 1/4lbs!

Yep! In one week I managed to lose over 1 stone! 1 stone 2 1/4lbs in fact. I was amazed, as was my consultant but its a great personal achievement and shows what being on slimming world, then 3 days off any diet, then straight on CWP and sticking to it does for your body. I think going from CWP to SW was a mistake for my body, its so high carb based and CWP is so low in carbs I think eating v low carb for 10 weeks then 3 weeks of high carb really contributed to this first week loss. Or week 10, lol!

In total as my pic shows I've now lost 64 1/4lbs and its in only 10 weeks, so im really happy with that. Im really on target for my goal for 3 months, I wanted to lose 4stone in 12 weeks, and Im already 1/4 of the way there. I may even get 5 stone off, who knows. Im prepared for a much smaller loss this week since that loss I had was huge! But onwards and inwards I go, towards my goal!

We are just a Couple of Losers!

Since its Valentine's Day today, I thought I would share a couple of photos of my husband and me:

The top one is from our wedding day, 3/3/12. It was such a romantic and magical day that I will never forget. I was really happy and didn't care that my dress was a size 26 and I weighed around 25 STONE! But I didn't care one bit, because I was marrying my best friend *awww* lol!

The second one is from today, 14/2/14. We have now lost 9 stone since our wedding day between us (and gained a beautiful daughter!) using a combination of different methods to help us both lose weight and I am continuing on using the Cambridge Weight Plan to lose more and hubby is eating healthily. We are much healthier now and I would say happier in ourselves, you can really see the difference!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Back to Cambridge!

Went to my Cambridge consultant today and I started again today, back on Cambridge now and happy about the switch. I had my new weigh in and I now weigh 20st 5 1/4lbs, so since I last went to her I have only put on 1 1/4lbs, so thats good. Really I have put a bit more than that on but that's ok, she would never know haha!

My goal is to stick to it 100% for 3 months and lose 4 stone. That will take me to 16st 5lbs so that would be brilliant. In an ideal world I would like to be in the 15st bracket but even if I dont get there I will be close. Im really looking forward to the results that I know I will get by sticking to Cambridge, so thats what I aim to do! I managed to stick to it properly last time so theres no reason why I wont be able to this time.

Not looking forward to the coldness, or the going to the loo every 5 seconds from all the water Im drinking! But its so worth it!