Health - Dealing with a Crohn's Flare

Regular followers will know that I have Crohn's Disease, which is one of the Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (the other being Ulcerative Colitis). You'll find a little bit about my diagnosis in this earlier post.

Last year I had my first flare and ended up back on steroids to control the symptoms. Shortly thereafter I had a colonoscopy which confirmed that I still had some active inflammation.

I've never really been back to my usual self since that flare last year, and then last week I had 7 days where everything I ate went through me. It was horrendous and I was absolutely shattered. Hence why I've been pretty quiet on Twitter and here on my blog - apologies!

I restricted my diet and for a couple of days I ate toasted crumpets, white toast and rice pudding to give my gut a bit of a rest. I lost nearly half a stone - which was good because I had put on quite a bit over my Easter holidays - but obviously this was not a good way to lose it!

When I was first diagnosed I had a book called something like The Healthy Gut (it had a bright red cover!) and I thought I'd share some of the advice that I remember; hopefully this might help others out there with IBD.

I've found that when I have a bad day, the BRAT diet helps. It's a bland diet that has foods that are low in fibre. When you're having a flare you want to avoid high fibre foods as they could worsen the bowel upset.

BRAT stands for Bananas (contain pectin which helps regulate the digestive system), Rice (absorbs fluid and adds bulk to your stools), Apples (Peel and grate them then leave to go brown; like bananas, apples are a good source of pectin) and Toast (said to soak up toxins, especially if its burnt).

Apparently Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup is also good as it has the perfect balance of electrolytes for an upset tummy although I'd have thought that tomatoes, which are acidic, aren't a good idea. I saw a nutritionist when I was newly diagnosed and I was told to stop eating tomato-based sauces (I used to eat a lot more pasta and curries than I do now) and not to drink fresh orange juice on an empty stomach.

It's also really important to drink plenty fluids. Victoria (@IckleBear_) on Twitter who also has Crohn's suggested Lucozade Sport to me, so I got myself plenty to keep me going!

Thankfully I seem to be a bit better now and my bowels have settled. I'm still waiting blood results from the hospital and faecal calprotectin measurements which correlates significantly with disease activity in people with confirmed IBD.

At the moment I take azathioprine daily to control my Crohn's, but if I continue to have these episodes or flares then the nurse has suggested that we may look to change my meds. I am also going to investigate different diets more. First up I'm going to switch all my tea to decaffeinated; caffeine makes me run to the loo! I'm also going to consider going wheat-free or maybe even gluten-free.

Healthy Eating

I was asked over on Instagram by Merry in the Ferry about my work day eating habits after posting this photograph of my office drawer filled with snacks!! It also ties in quite nicely with my health & fitness goals that I posted about last week.

As you'll know if you are regular readers, I am currently seeing a personal trainer once a week for an hour sesssion. I was struggling to get motivated, especially hard at this time of year when it's dark and cold! For me, I knew that some sessions with a PT would be money well spent. Exercise is great for your mental health and wellbeing, helps you sleep better and I know that by losing a bit of weight I'd boost my confidence. I wasn't exercising at all, and had totally gotten out of the habit of exercising, and Ross has got me back into  it. I started in November last year and now that I'm seeing results I'm finding staying motivated a lot easier. I weighed myself this morning, and that's me now lost 7 lbs.

However, it's not just exercise, what you eat is just as important.

The key for me is being organised - hence why I have a drawer full of snacks at my work. This way if I'm feeling peckish and my colleagues have donuts or crisps, I can get myself a healthy snack and I'm able to stay clear of the junk food. I actually managed to resist the donuts...! Are you impressed?

So at the moment in my desk drawer I have the following:

• Decaf tea bags (Tetley)
• Rude Health Oat & Spelt Thins
• Peanut Butter
• Oatcakes
• Munchy Seeds, Chilli Bites
• Muesli (one with more seeds and nuts than dried fruit, like Jordan Nut & Seed)
• Baby plum tomatoes
• Bear blackcurrant yoyo (these are designed for kids, but to me it's a sweet treat!)
• Food Doctor Roasted Bean Mix
• Beyond Dark chocolate drops

I've also got some Light Philadelphia cheese in the fridge, which I have on the oat & spelt thins.

Some other snacks that are great are crudites & hummus, sugar snap peas, popcorn, yoghurt & berries, a handful of nuts, rice cakes or a few dates.

On a typical day I'll have the following:

7.30/8am Breakfast - muesli & cup of tea

Muesli with dates & bananas

10am Snack - see list above!

12.30pm Lunch - soup or salad, sometimes with a spelt thin and Philadelphia cheese

Hummus & oatcakes with salad

3pm Snack 

5pm Dinner - this varies and depends on whether or not I have the kids but I try and stick to healthy options where possible. If the kids are having pasta, then I'll have gluten-free pasta or choose to have steamed cabbage instead. I'll possibly write a separate post on our dinners.

Chicken stir fry

8/9pm Snack

So I'm actually eating lots, and eating a lot more than I would have previously. But it's all about eating the right kinds of food. However it's also about being realistic. I can't stick to this 100% of the time... I've got to have a life and I do love my food. We were at Pizza Hut at the weekend for dinner, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also still have take aways, but again I'll be sensible in what I choose.

Hopefully this has provided some inspiration, food for thought you might say ;-)

You can find my Weight Loss Inspiration post with before and after photographs here which has a few more tips on losing weight and getting healthy.

{Wobbles Wednesday}

My weight loss plans are not going well... :-(

I'm sat at my computer with a bowl of ice cream and some fruit. At least part of it is healthy!

My Sainsburys Online Grocery Delivery Pass has worked in that I managed to avoid all the treats in the supermarket aisles whilst I did my weekly food shop. So that's a step in the right direction at least.

I've also been doing weekly meal planning. Another positive change.

However I was at a friends house at the weekend and majorly fell off the wagon... I consumed an obscene amount of crisps, dips and cakes. I also ate a burger, toast, a bagel and a sandwich. So out with the no bread rule!!

I've also not managed a single run in a fortnight now.

I can do better than this, I just need to try harder.

What's not helping is that work is really stressful as we get closer to a really important external audit (that's the week after BritMums!). All I want to do is eat chocolate and sweets to get through it!! I'm absolutely shattered and I know that the chocolate will just be a quick fix, but it tastes sooooo good!

Despite this, I have managed to stick to the healthy breakfasts and salads at lunch time but by the afternoon I'm craving sweet things!

Today I had a Total Greek yoghurt with fresh berries for breakfast, a Tunnocks caramel wafer at 10am (I was on a training course and couldn't resist!), a prawn & cous cous salad for lunch, a handful of dried cranberries in the afternoon, leftover chicken stir fry for dinner, two of the kids chocolate bars (eaten in secret in the kitchen so they couldn't see me!!), a packet of Hula Hoops and my bowl of ice cream and fruit.

It's definitely the evenings that throw me off. My willpower is seriously lacking.

It's now just 3 weeks to BritMums and I'm not convinced that I can reach my target.

Time to get motivated...

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{Wobbles Wednesday}

I'm not sure if anyone is hosting the Wobbles Wednesday blog hop these days? Anyway, I thought I'd update you on how I'm getting on with my weight loss goal.

I was doing ever so well, until the weekend arrived. Oh, and there was also the massive pile of sweets that R brought back from America. And the amazing Courgette & Lime Cake that I baked... I got distracted from my goal and my weight has started creeping back up.

I went from 12 stone 2 lbs down to 11 stone 10 lbs (yay!), but I'm now back up to 11 stone 13 lbs.

Back on it now though! Must. Keep. Focused.

I've bought a Sainsburys Online Grocery Delivery Pass as that was one of my action points to get to my target... start shopping online again. I've also been utilising my 'What to Eat' meal planning notepad. I'm feeling organised. I can do this!!

If you haven't seen my Instagram feed, then here are some of the pics of what I've been eating these past few weeks (aside the cake!).

I've been doing well avoiding bread and pasta (motivation for this is my Crohn's Disease). Although I did have some toast at the weekend (boy was it amazing!). I'm on my last week of steroids for my Crohn's flare-up so I'm hoping that's me now and I won't flare-up when I stop them altogether.

It's now just 4 weeks to BritMums Live. Can I reach my target??

Lots of fresh berries - normally have this with a handful of muesli and yoghurt for breakfast 

With a cup of tea of course!

Salmon & cous cous salad

Chicken breast with vegetables and salad

Prawn & cous cous salad

Chicken & rice noodle stir fry

Smoked salmon, cous cous & bean salad

{Cravings}

The problem

As soon as you tell yourself you can't have something, then why is it that that's all you can think of??

I demolished the last of the Easter eggs over the Bank Holiday weekend whilst I painted!

I'm trying my best to get back into the way of healthy eating. Since my Crohn's flare-up and starting steroids, I've put on another 7 lbs!! So I now have over a stone to lose. I'm really annoyed at myself for letting the situation slide...I should have got it under control ages ago. But I keep telling myself I was ill & blaming the drugs too (they do apparently cause weight gain)... But now I have no excuses. I've got a fortnight of steroids left to take, I'm on a lower dose & thankfully things in that department seem to be more like normal again. Well, as normal as can be for someone with Crohn's I guess!

This week I went out and did a 5K after work. Boy was it tough, but I at least got back out there. My plan is to run again on Sunday & Tuesday whilst the kids are with their dad and I have an opportunity to pound the pavements. It will be good for my mind too - some time to think and clear my head.

After my 5K!

I desperately need to get the eating under control through. I tend to be good in the morning...breakfasts I've been enjoying a small portion of muesli with plenty fresh fruit which is exactly what I had when I was under the watchful eye of my personal trainer a few years back.

For lunch I've been having soup and/or salad. The more colourful the better. As long as I'm prepared, I'd happily eat salad every day. I've been throwing chicken, prawns, feta cheese, beetroot, pine nuts etc into lettuce, cucumber & tomatoes. Yum! I also had a massive bean salad which I made at the weekend as part of the #MorrisonsMum campaign & it lasted me my working week too. This week on one of my days off I was at a soft play with the kids & chose their homemade lentil soup & even managed to resist the bread!

I'm trying to snack healthily too... I have rice cakes, oatcakes, peanut butter, dried cranberries and mixed nuts in my drawer at work. 

It's the evenings that get me though, particularly when I have the kids with me. I find myself picking at their leftovers as I hate to see food wasted. Today they had pasta and I had a salad with feta, chorizo, falafel & olives. But I must have had 3 or 4 mouthfuls of their cheese loaded pasta that they didn't finish.

We also baked a banana bread from the Three Sisters Bake cookbook, with chocolate chips in it, as you do! Which would be fine, apart from that I've eaten the majority of it myself in the space of one day!!!! I just cannot resist sweet things especially cake. 

Banana bread ready for the oven

The kids are currently fast asleep and I have a cup of tea in my hand. I'm craving something sweet and wish I had bought something nice whilst at the supermarket earlier today. Instead I have grabbed a handful of dried fruit and some Food Doctor roasted bean mix. It's not really hitting the spot... :-/

The plan

Here's my five-point plan... I'm starting small with a hope that I'll stick with it.

1. Start meal planning again
2. Shop online, it will help me avoid the temptation to grab naughty cakes and sweets
3. Get out for at least one run each week
4. Drink more water
5. Avoid white bread and pasta

The reward

I desperately need some new clothes for work. I've been wearing the same dresses for ages now and I'm getting so bored of them. My reward when I get back to 11 stone 7 lbs (half way to my target) will be a couple of pieces of clothing for the office. I already have my eye on a few things (more on this in a separate post).

If by some miracle I manage to get to my target of 11 stone before Brit Mums Live, which is now just 6 weeks away. Then my next reward will be a new outfit for the event.

Right, that's it now in black and white. No going back... 

{Vegesentials - fruit & vegetable smoothies & juice}

The kids and I were recently sent some Vegesentials smoothies and juice to try.

My little ones love their fruit, but are less inclined to eat all their vegetables. I sneak vegetables into Bolognese sauce and chilli and serve carrots, sweetcorn and broccoli with every other dinner, but the concept of getting some extra goodness into them in the form of a Vegesentials drink appealed to me. Unlike the adult drinks which are half fruit, half vegetable, the kids range has a higher ratio of fruit but each one contains 100% pure & raw ingredients.

Having a Vegesentials tea party :-)

The pink Groovy Beet and Strawberry juice was the favourite of the littlest, and the eldest preferred the orange Cheeky Carrot and Peach one. Neither of them were that keen on the green Cool Cucumber and Pineapple smoothie which surprised me - perhaps due to the colour, I'm not sure.

Vegesentials website

For the adults there is a choice of 6 different flavours:

• Celery, Apple & Kale Juice
• Beetroot, Pomegranate & Carrot Juice
• Carrot, Peach & Cucumber Smoothie
• Carrot, Mango & Parsnip Smoothie
• Cucumber, Pineapple & Spinach Smoothie
• Beetroot, Blueberry & Cucumber Smoothie

The story behind the brand is quite something, which you can read in full on the Vegesentials pages here. I can fully appreciate the thinking behind changing your dietary lifestyle to improve your health. 

The drinks contain raw, fresh, pure fruit & vegetables. No added sugar, water, additives, pre-packaged or artificial ingredients, dairy, gluten, concentrates, preservatives, ascorbic acid or heat pasteurisation. That's some list!

Drink Fresh. Feel Fresh.

Look Fresh. Stay Fresh

with VEGESENTIALS

I'm a sucker for packaging, and I love the Vegesentials bottles. 

I have a very sweet tooth (lover of all things pick n'mix and cakes!) and if I'm honest I found the adult drinks too savoury for my liking. However they do say that there's one for every palate... so I don't think it was expected that I would like them all. I found the beetroot ones very earthy and felt it would have been nicer served hot as a soup (obviously defeating the purpose of them being raw). My favourites were the orange ones - with the Carrot, Peach & Cucumber Smoothie being my favourite. I do love a bit of cucumber (normally with Hendricks though!).

I think if you were determined to make the change to a healthier lifestyle and were keen to introduce raw juice to your diet then the convenience of these drinks is the real winner, and I'm sure I would get used to their taste if I stuck with it.

I thought the kids drinks were much more palatable, and I'm glad that they were enjoyed by the little ones, the youngest in particular.

It's certainly something that I would consider buying for them in the future, and I may even start throwing the odd vegetable into the smoothies we make ourselves here in the Glasgow Mummy kitchen.

We were sent complimentary juices and smoothies to try in exchange for an honest review. Opinions as always are my own.

{Wobbles Wednesday}

It's Wednesday, so that can only mean one thing.... Wobbles Wednesday with The Naked Mum.

I unfortunately didn't manage to weigh myself this morning when I woke up as I had been at my work on a night shift of sorts, so I'll update this post tomorrow with my weight.

Last week I had put on 4 lbs but I'm hopefully (*crosses fingers*) that I've lost at least 1 lb this week.

On Monday I started a Paleo diet of sorts. I'm following it as best as I can although I know I've already eaten a few things that I'm reckoning aren't allowed.

A drumroll is needed for this next bit....

Today is day #3 and I've managed three full days without wheat, dairy or caffeine. I have to say I'm rather chuffed with myself. I had even bought my colleagues brioche, muffins and yum yums for their breakfast this morning and I didn't touch a single one. Amazing huh!

I'm going to attempt to keep it up but will allow myself to have the occasional non-Paleo meal.

The main point of this is to try and improve my Crohn's Disease symptoms. I bloat very easily and it can look like I'm 6 months pregnant - it's uncomfortable. Hopefully this diet will help.

I've not attempted the Paleo Auto Immune Protocol and as such have been eating eggs, tomatoes and the occasional handful of nuts. Not sure I'd cope with no eggs or nuts!

Here's what my meals have looked like - not sure if everything is Paleo as I've had soup from a tin and microwave popcorn, but I'm trying my best!

Breakfast - smoked salmon and scrambled egg

Lunch - chicken salad / vegetable soup

Dinner - salmon with vegetables and corn on the cob

Snacks - fruit, handful nuts & dried fruit, carrot sticks, king prawns, popcorn

{Paleo Diet & Crohn's Disease}

The lovely Laura over at The Mrs Makes has written a blog post on 'Eating Paleo' and she's inspired me to give this diet a try. Basically, the theory is that you eat like our caveman ancestors did... the diet is high in protein, low in carbohydrate and no processed food. My sister is also going to attempt a diet of no processed food to help curb her sugar cravings... I really need to get motivated for this I reckon! No more cake!!?

I've already said that losing weight is 70% diet and 30% exercise. I've got the exercise part sussed - I do at least 4 runs a week normally and I try and make a metafit class when I can. It's the diet part that's seriously lacking.

The more reading I've done, I actually think it might help reduce my Crohn's symptoms and be very beneficial to me health-wise.

Head on over to Laura's post to get some of the background information on Paleo principles, and below you'll find some thoughts on a Paleo diet specifically for autoimmune diseases, like Crohn's.

Paleo Auto Immune Protocol

Some of the normal Paleo-friendly foods have been shown to cause issues for individuals with autoimmune disorders. The key for Paleo for Autoimmunity is to remove Neolithic foods (grains, breads, potatoes, beans and dairy) and it's also recommended to avoid the following foods:

• eggs
• tomatoes and aubergines
• peppers
• spices such as curries, paprika and chilli powder
• nuts and seeds

This then means that I can't have an omelette or scrambled eggs for breakfast, and I can't have my usual porridge or muesli either... hmmmm...

*goes away and does more googling*

Right, here are my initial thoughts:

Breakfast

Smoked salmon, fruit salad, banana

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Lunch

Chicken salad (greens, red onions, cucumber, beetroot, sweetcorn, avocado, carrots; no peppers or tomatoes)

Prawn, avocado and mango salad 

With homemade salad dressing of olive oil and garlic

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Homemade vegetable soup

Dinner

Grilled fish and vegetables (no peppers or potatoes)

Grilled meat and vegetables

Squash 'spaghetti' and meatballs

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Snacks

Not sure what I can do for snacks as my usual 'healthy' choices are rice cakes, hummous, yoghurt, nuts & seeds or some cherry tomatoes! None of which are allowed. Instead, I guess I could try these:

Mange tout

Sliced apples / pear

Carrot and celery batons

Handful of dried fruit

This definitely needs more thought.... suggestions are much appreciated. Do you know anyone that's tried a Paleo diet for autoimmune disease? 

{Wobbles Wednesday}

Just catching up with some Wobbles Wednesday posts as I missed last week due to my holiday (no 3G - I'm amazed that I coped!!).

Last week I lost 1 lb and I was starting to think that I would get to the 11 stone mark soon... but this week I'm now up 4 lbs and my weight has increased to 11 stone 7 lbs. I'm disappointed, but I guess it was to be expected as I was on holiday and I've not really exercised either over the past week and a bit.

Today and yesterday I've been feeling a bit 'meh'. I'm definitely an emotional over-eater. I'm stressed out and tired and have turned to tea and biscuits to get me through... it's not something I'm proud of and this evening after work I've already eaten 6 pancakes and nearly a whole packet of Party Rings. I just need to stop buying 'treats' as I've shown time and time again that I've no willpower or control when it comes to sweet stuff! The only good thing I did was manage to not eat the donuts that appeared today at work... it's a start!

I'm going to try and get back onto the healthy eating tomorrow, but I'm already anticipating a difficult Thursday and Friday in the lead up to the longest day, which is the anniversary of my mum's death. This year marks 12 years since she passed. I miss her every day, especially more so now when I've so much on my plate and I'm starting to struggle.

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{Lazy}

I have become so lazy in the kitchen lately and I'm ashamed to admit I can't even remember the last time I cooked a meal from scratch (ok, I can - it was a Thai chicken curry I made for a buffet day at work - but before that, who knows!). I've been surviving on cereal, sandwiches, fruit, salads (pre-prepared from supermarket), beans on toast, scrambled eggs and microwave meals. The kids have been having much the same, but they get fresh pasta a lot (it's quicker to cook!) and sausages (but I'm trying to be healthy so avoiding both!). I used to be really good at making homemade soup in my slow cooker, making beef or chicken casseroles too and the occasional risotto. The laziness has got to stop - all the pre-packed food is expensive and it's not setting a good example for my children. I was blaming it on the fact that I'm so busy and that it's harder being on my own to get everything done, but it's no excuse really.

Tonight I placed an online supermarket food order and along with the microwave meals and pre-packed salads I got the ingredients to make cheese, ham & courgette muffins (thought this would be something fun to make with the little ones and would be an alternative to sandwiches at lunchtime) and vegetables to make my usual carrot and lentil soup in the slow cooker.

Cheese, ham & courgette muffins

Carrot & lentil soup

I bet mine won't look anything like the photographs, but my aim is to at least make these two things before the weekend. 

My energy levels are starting to dip, I've also been in a bit of a bad mood (to be expected I guess with all the recent goings on) and I'm guessing my rubbish diet isn't helping matters (that and my Crohn's Disease and the fact I haven't had my Vit B12 injection in aaaaaaages, when I'm supposed to have them every 3 months!). 

However, I've made it back to the gym this week which I'm very pleased about as my weight was starting to creep up and up (which is the last thing I want after the efforts I went to to lose it!). In the last week I've run 5 miles, went to Body Attack, Body Pump & Body Step at the gym and I went to my usual Pilates class. 

Here's to a happy & energetic week ahead *crosses fingers*

This post was for Kate on Thin Ice's Grooving Mums, which I haven't participated in for a loooong time (sorry Kate). Do check out Kate's blog and join in if you are feeling like you want to get your groove back - the more the merrier.

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{On the Up}

I don't want to tempt fate, but I think things are on the up! I've been through a pretty rough time lately, and on top of all the relationship stuff, there has been all the other bits and pieces that fell apart too.

Today I had was given the gift of another compliment from a random stranger. This time it was two ladies in my local park. I stopped briefly as my little ones were interested in seeing the dogs they were walking and we got chatting. One of them was telling me what lovely teeth I had and that I had an amazing smile. It was all very bizarre, and a bit embarrassing, but lovely all the same and I walked off feeling much better about myself. My confidence is improving, definitely.

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I'm still in the process of moving my kiddies into separate rooms, but I'm forcing myself to go to bed earlier (8pm last night I was in bed!) and that's helping massively too. I'm still getting a number of wake-up calls during the night, but if I go to bed early enough I can cope better!

My boiler has been fixed, my iPhone is now back in my possession and working perfectly *touch wood* and my car has also been repaired. Phew!

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I've not been doing much in the way of exercise recently and I think that it has been affecting my mood. So on Tuesday morning this week, when the kids were with their daddy, I got up at 6am (yes, six o'clock in the morning!) and went for a quick 3 mile run before going to work. I'm going to try and make this my new routine. I was shattered by Tuesday night, but I did feel much better for getting some much needed exercise. My diet has been pretty appalling, but I am aware of this and need to try harder. It's basically down to me being lazy and I've been eating far too many processed foods

I've got a few social things (was going to call them events, but I'm not sure what qualifies for an event!) in my diary coming up - the girls are coming round this weekend for pizza and wine, I've got another personal shopping trip with my sister next week (@the_grey_house, who has nothing to do with 50 Shades of Grey lol!!), and I'm also going for afternoon tea soon with all the girls at my work - I find that having things organised ahead of time makes a big difference and it's great to have things to look forward to. I was out with some new friends on Saturday night this weekend and had a great night. My little ones were thankfully with their daddy on Sunday as I was in bed for most of the day... oh dear! I am well and truly a lightweight!

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For all you other 'Grooving Mums' out there, do join in over at Kate on Thin Ice.

For now, over and out!! :-)

{Grooving, or not as the case may be...}

I'm linking up again this week with Kate on Thin Ice for her weekly #groovingmums Blog Hop. This is week #6 already, and we're now into November... where has the time gone? Grab the badge that features above and check out Kate's blog if you fancy joining in.

I've had a bit of a mixed week if I'm honest.

My dad was here last week which was lovely to catch up with him and his wife. My son adored having his granddad around - we went to the garden centre and you could here my son shouting at the top of his voice from all corners of the store... 'Granddad, where are you?'. My sister also came down for one night and we had a mini-celebration for my dad's 60th (which is actually in November, but we won't see him again until April). I enjoyed being the hostess (I used to love hosting dinner parties b.c.) and I prepared a few nibbles for our friends & family which went down a storm (big thanks to my friend Claire for the inspiration for all the canapes). We also had a day trawling round some fabric shops and I'm feeling inspired to get the sewing machine out to make some curtains for the house (watch this space!). My sister has already made a cushion amongst other things with the fabric she purchased (she's child-free so can get things done much quicker than me!).

Some nibbles.... healthy-ish!!

On Thursday after my dad left I had a 'Keeping in Touch' day at my work. I'm due to start back in January, but had a day of training organised. I have to admit it was nice being back, even though I spent the afternoon reading Standard Operating Procedures! I wore my new Gok Wan dress (size 10!) and got a few nice comments about my new slim figure.

At work.... 

I also had a lovely night away in a 5 star hotel with a friend. We had a day of pampering at the spa followed by a lovely dinner that we got all dressed up for...

Dressed up for dinner in my new Wallis spotty dress

For Halloween on Monday I took the kiddies in their pirate outfits to visit granny & grandpa and they had a lovely day. My sister-in-law also came along with her two little ones so my son had great fun playing with his older cousin.

Last night, my friend Becky and I went to a flower arranging course. It was a one-off 2 hour course at a local florist and I had a great time and learnt loads. I'll do a separate blog post on this, but here is a quick photo of my creation:

However, here are the negatives (thought I'd start with the positive, up-beat bit!)...

Sticking to the healthy eating has been difficult now that Maria, my personal trainer, has said I can ditch the food diary. I've had too many nice cakes with my dad when he was here followed by a weekend of indulgence... must try harder this week.

I've also not been feeling great. I've had a bit of a cold and my tummy has been a bit sore too. I've been a bit of an idiot when it came to my Crohn's medication. With my weight loss I should have really reduced the dose of my medication, so I've technically been taking an overdose and I've been getting some not-so-nice side effects! My own fault really. My dose has now been lowered, but it's going to take a wee while for things to settle out. 

I've also not been doing much exercise... partly because I've been too busy and partly because I've been feeling a bit rubbish. I'm finding it difficult to go out running in the evenings now as it's so dark and it's not really safe to go on my own. I would go in the morning before hubby & the kids get up, but again it's too dark. I'm finding it really tricky to keep to the exercise plan at the moment and I'm feeling sluggish and a bit bleugh...

I feel like all I do is go round and round the house picking up stuff all the time and don't actually get anything done... dirty nappies, messy clothes, toys, more toys and even more toys...

Here's hoping the week picks up!

{Weight Loss Inspiration}

I've reached my target weight, and my personal trainer has now featured me on her list of success stories on her website! Here are the before and after pics:

3 July 2011

3 July 2011

11 Oct 2011

I have achieved the following results:

• lost 6 inches from my waist
• lost 5.75 inches from my hips
• my body fat % has dropped 11%
• lost 33lbs (however I've lost in total 3 stone since having had baby 5.5 months ago)
• dropped from a size 16 to a size 10

All in just 3.5 months!!

The key has been to eat healthily, no crazy diets, and to do a bit of exercise.

A number of people have asked how I've done it, so I want to share with you some of the tips I've learned from Maria.

• Keep a food & exercise diary, and be honest with yourself
• Eat little and often
• Watch portion sizes
• Have something to eat as soon as you wake up in the morning to get your metabolism going
• Choose the healthy option where possible
• Limit bread, pasta & potato intake (I had no bread or pasta to start with)
• Choose wholemeal where possible (brown rice, wholewheat pasta, wholewheat noodles, seeded brown bread)
• Avoid or limit bananas (as far as I'm aware they slow metabolism - not sure if this is true or not. This is the only fruit that I've been told to avoid)
• Avoid or limit red meat 
• Eat lots of fresh fruit & vegetables
• Eat lots of fish
• Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day (I struggle with this one!)
• Avoid Coke & Diet Coke
• Avoid alcohol (I'll have a soda & lime when out)

Here's what I would eat in a typical day:

7am - couple of spoons of low fat natural yoghurt

8.30/9am - museli (one with nuts and seeds rather than dried fruit e.g. Jordans Nut & Seed) with skimmed milk & lots of blueberries & raspberries or porridge

10.30am - snack (handful almonds; crudites & hummus; oatcake, fruit salad, yoghurt & berries; sugar snap peas or handful popcorn)

12 noon - vegetable soup; chicken, tuna or prawn salad (with salad leaves, beetroot, pine nuts, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives and drizzle of dressing); ryvita & cottage cheese or Food Doctor pitta bread with chicken and salad

3pm - another snack

5pm - fish with lots of vegetables; chicken stir fry with brown rice/noodles or homemade chicken curry (tomato based sauce) with brown rice

8pm - another snack

If I'm feeling hungry at any point I'll grab a handful of Food Doctor seeds or Munchy Seeds or a handful of cherry tomatoes or sugar snap peas.

I still have the occasional cake (there is no point trying to cut out everything 'bad' - it's got to be a realistic diet so that you can stick to it), I'll also still eat chocolate occasionally (80% cocoa dark chocolate and I'll only have 2 squares) and if I do have a take away then I will have a chicken kebab (salad, no sauce!).

In addition to the healthy eating I've been exercising approximately 5 times a week. I've joined Maria's running club which meet on a Sunday morning and I've started a Pilates class too which is a Monday night. In addition to this I do a Davina workout DVD at the house (Davina's are the only DVDs that my personal trainer recommends by the way). I've also been trying to do a run when I can, but at the moment it's becoming difficult as the nights are getting really dark, as are the mornings! To start with I went out for brisk walks with the kids in the buggy and I'm now able to run (I did 5.37 miles this morning at running club, and before August I had never really run before).

Davina Fit DVD

Hope this is helpful? Any questions, do let me know.

{Getting Your Groove Back Tuesday}

Kate on Thin Ice has started a new Blog Hop/Linky/Meme called "Getting Your Groove Back"...

I've been working on getting my groove back for about 3 months now. I decided enough was enough and it was time to make some changes. Out with the slummy mummy (no energy, lack of confidence, negative thinking...) and in with the yummy mummy (or at least somewhere in-between)!

Two questions have been set this week...

1. What song would be best to play a lot whilst attempting to get your groove back?

Kate's song choice is Revival by Annie Lennox. Funnily enough, my song choice is also Annie Lennox! I've got a jogging playlist on my phone and the one song that gets me to up the pace a bit is Annie Lennox 'Little Bird'. Think the image of Demi Moore's amazing body in Striptease when she dances about to this song must give me a boost of motivation!!

2. What can you do to make your body feel better this week?

Here's what I've been doing to get my groove back...

Diet & Exercise...

I have hired a personal trainer and lost a considerable amount of the post-baby flab. I was 13 stone 10lbs after my daughter was born 5 months ago, and I now weigh a trim 11 stone 1lb. My trainer Maria would like me to get to the 11 stone mark, so I have 2lbs left to lose. We've also been keeping track of my body fat % which has dropped dramatically from 39% to 29% (target is 25%). I feel great, have a lot more energy and it hasn't felt like hard work. My advice - ditch the diet, eat regularly, choose the healthy option, drink plenty of water and do a bit of exercise. It's been an expensive way for me to get in shape but I'm very glad I did it as Maria has given me the motivation that I so badly needed. The key now is to get a bit more toned. I'll get some better before and after photos soon (Maria wants to feature me on her website) but here are a quick few:

3rd July 2011

23 Aug 2011

My Wardrobe (or lack of!)...

I've booked myself in for a session with a Personal Shopper for November. It's a complimentary service at House of Fraser and I'm very much looking forward to it. At the moment I have one pair of jeans that fit me well and I also bought an amazing dress from M&S (in a size 10... a first for me!), which I am yet to have an occasion to wear it to, but I couldn't resist it!! The majority of my wardrobe is ill-fitting, shabby & worn out. One item that I am very happy with is my new glasses which I purchased fairly recently - I love them.

On Saturday I did a 1 hour power shop in my local shopping centre and bought some new boots, a new belt (size small!!), a new little black dress, a grey tunic/dress and some new underwear... What a difference it's made having some clothes that actually fit properly.

Socialising & Me-Time...

Last week I had my hair coloured & cut all ready for the weekend as I had a big Saturday night out planned with my girlies! My first in a long, long time! We had a lovely dinner out (I chose the healthy options for started and main, but did indulge in some sticky toffee pudding - yum!). I also had a lovely Sunday morning with the girls at Blysthwood Square Hotel for a cupcake masterclass with Naked Bakes.

This evening I have booked myself in for a lovely relaxing facial... heaven! I've also got a night out on Friday planned with hubby... a chance to wear one of my new dresses!

Good luck to the other mummies that are also working on getting their groove back...