Health - Eating Dairy Free

Given my recent tummy issues I have decided to make more of an effort to look after myself. There is no evidence that diet causes Inflammatory Bowel Disease, but once the condition is established attention to diet can help reduce symptoms and support healing. If there are changes in my diet that I can make that will improve my Crohn's symptoms, then I should be making them.

During a recent flare-up, I've found a low residue diet improved my symptoms.

Now that my symptoms are back under control, I've heard that following a lactose free diet should help longer term. I have to get 3 monthly Vitamin B12 injections; this indicates that my terminal ileum (end of the small intestine) is diseased as this is the only area of the gut that absorbs this vitamin. Lactose is digested in the terminal ileum, which we now know is diseased (this was also found during my most recent colonoscopy), so it follows then that avoiding dairy products should make me feel better. (Just want to stress at this point that I'm not a doctor, so if I'm talking nonsense then please let me know in the comments below).

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However it's easier said than done. There is milk in soooo many food products... there's the obvious ones like yoghurt, cream, butter, milk chocolate, ice cream, custard... but there's also milk in certain crisps, soups, cakes...

There are a variety of alternative milks, like soya, oat, almond, hazelnut, coconut milk. There are also 'lactose-free' brands like Lactofree. Lactofree also have cheese, cream and yoghurts. I've tried almond milk before which was ok, but not great in tea. Today I had my first cuppa with Lactofree milk and it was better than the almond milk. It didn't taste the same as regular milk, but I'm just going to have to get used to it!!

Controlling what I eat in the house is much easier, but it's when I'm at work or eating out that it becomes problematic. I've certainly noticed more gluten-free, dairy-free options whilst out and about and I need to make better choices when it comes to ordering. Where possible I'm going to try and go wheat-free and dairy-free.

Here are my ideas so far... I'd really appreciate your suggestions if you follow a dairy-free diet.

Swap ice cream for sorbet (Ice Delight is dairy-free and gluten-free and tastes amazing!)

Swap milk chocolate digestives for Oreo cookies (Apparently there is cross contact with milk, but I don't think the biscuits themselves contain milk). Oreos aren't gluten-free but I have bought some gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate oatcakes to try as well.

Swap sandwiches for sushi or salad. I need to get organised with this one so that I have lunch options with me at work. Today was my day off and I had a gluten-free Warburtons sandwich thin with a mashed avocado on the top. It was pretty good!

Swap yoghurt for fruit jelly (I'm still not convinced by the dairy free yoghurts - I'll need to give them another try to see if they taste any better from when I last had one. Today I bought a coconut milk yoghurt from Wholefoods and I'll let you know how this is when I try it - it was super expensive so I hope it's good!!)

Swap mayonnaise for avocado or hummous (home made mayonnaise is dairy free)

Snack on almond nuts, dried fruit (I love Nakd cola flavour infused raisins and Bear Nibbles yoyos) instead of chocolate bars. Nakd also have nibbles that are gluten and diary-free - I liked the salted caramel ones... yum! Beyond Dark chocolate drops are also gluten and dairy-free plus delish!

 

Do you have any tips for going dairy-free that you care to share?

Health - Drinking Enough Water

Eight glasses a day.

This is what we're supposed to drink, and I reckon that I'm lucky if I drink one or two. Yikes!

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Water is of course the healthiest option for quenching your thirst as it contains no calories and no sugar. It's also free!

I know that it's so important to stay hydrated and yet why do I struggle to drink the recommended water? I have zero excuses. And when I have a thumping headache and am feeling lethargic then that's when I wish I'd had a few extra gulps of good old H2O.

I tried using an app as a prompt to get me to drink more, but it didn't really help.

I'm making progress with my PT goals, and weight wise I'm now down to 11 stone 10 lbs. I've about another half a stone to go.

I'm not sure if this is a myth or not as I've not done enough research, but did you know that drinking water helps keep fat away? I'm hoping this will motivate me to drink more!

Your kidneys can't function properly without enough water, and when your kidneys don't work to capacity some of their load is passed onto the liver. One of your liver's jobs is to metabolise fat, but if the liver is having to do some of the kidney's work then it can't function properly and as such it then metabolises less fat. This means more fat is stored in the body and weight loss stops. Makes sense doesn't it.

So I'm adding this onto my Health & Fitness Goals: I will consciously drink more water each day.

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I have a plastic drink bottle at my desk and I'm lucky if I fill it once each day, if that. I'm going to put some reminders in my phone and get my water consumption up. Watch this space to see how I get on!

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.

{Busy}

I've been rushed off my feet this past month or so. My friend and her three girls were staying with me for just under a fortnight, then I had my sister's wedding, then my dad & his wife were visiting, followed by a visit from my sister and her husband (btw congrats guys!). On top of this, I've been busy getting more stuff done at the house (I've converted my dining room into a playroom, and changed the living room about a bit so it's a proper grown-up space - no toys!). It's only now that I'm getting back into a routine.

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I've joined a new gym (thanks to my friend who transferred her membership over to me!), and starting to feel motivated again about exercise. I went straight from work yesterday (if I were to go home first and sit down, it was more than likely that I wouldn't have gone out again!) and did a workout... on the treadmill, rowing machine and then for a swim. 

I was trying to look cool, and failed miserably... I slipped on the steps on my way into the pool area and landed on my ass. Majorly embarrassing. However, I think (crosses fingers) no-one saw me. Honestly, what am I like!

Healthy eating has not been going so well (as I stuff more chocolate into my mouth!) and I know I need to make more of an effort to cook from scratch. In my defence, I did make soup the other day in the slow cooker but I will continue to try harder.

I've also been getting more organised... around the house, planning play dates ahead of schedule and making the most of my days off. I feel much more on top of things now as a result. I just hope I can keep it up. 

The kids and I went to soft play last week - it's been a while since I've taken them - but it was great fun and the kids thoroughly enjoyed it. There were tantrums from both when we had to leave which was not so great. The walk home seemed to take forever with a son that kept demanding to go back! We also had a dry afternoon on Friday so we headed straight for the park. It was great for all of us to get some fresh air, and I felt myself smiling as I walked home. I was really starting to get fed up of raining days stuck indoors. I've also been looking into organised activities for the kids, and I'm hoping to sign them up for a few things soon.

Things are on the up again, I hope?

{Grooving Mums}

Here I am linking up again this week with Kate on Thin Ice for her grooving mums blog hop. I'm a bit slow at joining in this week - I'm normally very organised and get my post published on a Tuesday as soon as the link goes live. However, my me-time during the day is now limited as my toddler has decided that he no longer wants his afternoon snooze... he still needs it, and sometimes I'll get him to take it, but other times he's so adamant that he's not sleeping that I just have to go with it. I also feel bad as I've not been commenting on the other #groovingmums blogs, so I apologise and hopefully will catch up soon.

I've been a bit rubbish again this week with the challenges, but one thing I have done is contact my gastroenterologist about my Crohn's Disease and he's not concerned about my symptoms as my blood results and other tests came back ok. That's something I can at least put a tick against...

I did revisit one of the previous challenges 'winter warmth' and treated myself to some cosy ear muffs today from a local gift shop. I'll post a photo soon of them.

Here are the festive challenges set by Kate this week:

1. Get some catalogues and look online and in the shops to identify something for your body that you would like for Christmas. Then tell us all about it.
2. Can you do the same for your mind? Perhaps a book or film on a topic that you would like to explore further. Again, please share your ideas with us.
3. Light a candle. If you are up for meditation, try that. If not just enjoy the sight of it or buy one of those lovely scented ones to lift the spirits.
4. Make a change to your blog. Add an image or a badge (The Grooving Mums one is very lovely, hint). Add a disclosure policy if you are interested in reviewing product samples. Give some real thought to what you want your blog to do for you in the New Year.

Come back next week and hopefully I'll have achieved something off this list!

This past week I've been ill... I could hardly talk at the weekend due to sore throat and cold and so I had to skip running club and Pilates class which I was rather disappointed about. The weather has also been rubbish - wind, rain and even snow! So I've not been out as much and I think that's having an impact on my mood.

I did have a session with my personal trainer last night which I managed to go along to and - despite the mince pies and ice-cream that I indulged in over the weekend and the limited exercise - I've only put on 1lb and my body fat % has crept up just 0.8% - phew! I'll get back on track this week as I would hate for the weight to creep up each week and for me to end up where I started.

I've got our Christmas tree up and decorated the house, so I'm starting to feel very festive and my son is very excited about Santa and is thoroughly enjoying his advent calendar each day! My dad's wife made my son and daughter a calendar each and in the little pockets I put some chocolate santa's, coins etc.

I treated myself to a scented candle recently... it's very expensive for what it is and I wouldn't usually indulge this much money for a candle... but seeing as it's Christmas as we don't have a real tree or a log fire I thought I would get a candle that incorporated the essence of these things. It's called Library and is from True Grace and it is described as "a smoky blend of wood, amber and moss to recreate the sensation of walking into an old library". Funnily enough it reminds me a little of the strange scents from the Jorvik Viking Centre from when I was a small child - I've nice memories of our family trips there (I've just had a look at their website, and the tour takes you inside the home of an amber worker, so perhaps it's the amber!). Anyway, I digress... it's a lovely scent and I'm going to go and light it now and watch my twinkly fairy lights for a few minutes and relax (I finally got my son into his bed!!). That will at least tick off challenge #3 for this week :-)

{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...

{Healthy Eating Plan}

I am succeeding with the new healthy eating plan & exercise regimen.  Maria, my personal trainer, has said this week I'm her star pupil (although I'm sure she says that to everyone that's doing well!). I have now lost 1 stone since starting with her, and it hasn't felt like hard work at all. On my holiday last week I was sensible for the majority of the time, but did indulge in some carrot cake and a gorgeous lemon & poppy seed cake (& some birthday tray bake at my son's friends 2nd birthday party when we arrived back at Glasgow!). I think the thing I probably miss most is bread (in particular some nice white buttered toast - yum!)... I've not had any bread since starting with Maria. This is especially difficult when I have to butter toast for my son's breakfast!!

It doesn't feel like I'm on a diet (despite the restrictions - no bread, pasta, red meat, bananas...) because I'm eating regularly (every 2.5-3h) and I don't get hungry.  Breakfast is muesli & lots of berries, mid-morning snack is crudites & hummus or a handful of almonds, lunch is salad (prawn, chicken or tuna) or a bowl of vegetable soup or ryvita with cottage cheese, mid-afternoon snack is yoghurt & berries, fruit salad or an oatcake, dinner is stir fry, fish with vegetables or even chicken curry with brown rice. At the moment I'm enjoying a raspberry jelly as my late-evening snack. The key is to be organised. I try to carry a pack of Food Doctor seeds with me so that if I feel peckish I can have a handful. I picked up some Munchy Seeds at the supermarket the other day, Chilli Mix flavour, and they are yum!

One thing I've struggled with is to drink enough water.  I used to go a whole day only drinking 1 or 2 cups of tea.  Now I'm drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day and decaf tea. Again, it's all about being organised and I try to carry a bottle of water when I'm out and about. My Skip Hop changing bag doesn't seem to be big enough at the moment once it's been packed with nappies, baby wipes, muslin, baby bottle, milk powder & spare clothes for my daughter, nappies, snacks, sippy cup and a few toy cars for my son and then my bottle of water & tub of seeds! It doesn't help that the Glasgow weather is so unpredictable that I also tend to carry sun hats & suncream as well as rain covers whenever I'm out!!

{Motivate}

So far so good... I've been on my new diet, or healthy eating plan, for a week and I have lost 2lbs in weight and my body fat percentage has also dropped. Phew! I was dreading my first weigh in with the Personal Trainer as I had been at Becky's wedding the day before (great day had by all I might add!) but I managed to stick to the diet for most of the week and despite having curry, creme brulee and the most delicious wedding cake I still managed to shift some of the flab!

My session with the Personal Trainer this week was tough. I've been given an exercise regimen for the week and have to continue with the diet (no bread, no pasta, no white rice...).  But I am determined to succeed...

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