Fat Fighting Friday…. (i think we’re on week 11 but have no idea!)

As you can probably tell, I’ve been off track with the whole slimming world thing for the past few weeks. After our anniversary celebrations lasted for roughly 5 days and involved a whole lot of food and wine, I then had my cousin’s wedding which also consisted of a whole lot of food and wine! I missed weigh in that week as I had a hangover from said wedding and just couldn’t face seeing the gain on the scales. I should have went and faced it. But I’m a wimp.

Last week I went back and had a 1.5lbs loss which I was amazed at as had struggled to be good as I had missed class.

This week….. well, I’ve only gone and bloody managed this….

Yup, I managed to lose 3lbs this week taking my total weight loss to 21lbs in 11 weeks. This also means I have got my Club 10 award which is when you lose 10% of your original body weight.

Over the moon is an understatement! I feel determined this week and back in the right kind of frame of mind to stick to plan.

I also had my monthly weigh and measure at Curves Gym and have lost another 5 inches off of my body taking my total to 17.75inches in 2 months. Ridiculous but amazing!

A big change I’ve made in this past week is to cut out all forms of fizzy juice. I used to be addicted to full fat Coke but since starting Slimming World i switched to Diet Coke. Last week I managed to freak myself out reading all the horror stories and reports about Aspartame (google it) so switched to sparkling water with lime cordial (and cut out Muller Lights as they have it in aswell!) and am honestly feeling a million times better for it. I’m not sure it’s had an effect on my weight loss but I definitely feel less bloated and sluggish. Always worth giving it a go!

I’ve been taking pictures each month of my progress and was going to post some on here…but not feeling confident enough yet so maybe when I get a bit closer to target I’ll do that. Maybe. If someone pays me…. 😉

What I’ve Been Munching this week…

I was planning on doing a “What I’ve Eaten this week…” video for Youtube. Unfortunately, my computer is mince and doesn’t let me edit videos so until I figure it out I just thought I’d stick up a few pictures of the kind of things I’ve been eating this week.

Breakfasts:

Half a toasted bagel (Healthy extra B) topped with one extra light laughing cow cheese triangle (Healthy extra A), bacon with no visible fat, baby plum tomatoes and a quarter of a melon.

35g of original porridge oats (Healthy Extra B) made with 250ml of semi-skimmed milk (Healthy Extra A) and topped with chopped strawberries and a banana.

My sad version of a fry up as I don’t eat sausages, don’t particularly like beans and don’t eat the whites of eggs (hence why my fried eggs are tiny..only yolk there!) Grilled bacon, baby plum tomatoes, mushrooms fried in fry light and two eggs fried in fry light. Also, a cup of pineapple and grapefruit green tea.

A bowl of chopped strawberries, cherries, pineapple, melon and banana, topped with natural yoghurt and one crushed Summer Fruits Alpen Light Bar (Healthy Extra B) with a cup of cranberry green tea.

Lunches:

Picnic lunch so I made a salad with spinach, runner beans, peppers, baby new potatoes, tomatoes and two slices of salt cured peppered beef (free on EE). I had one tablespoon of Kraft Light Thousand Island Dressing which was 1 syn. I also made a fruit salad with apple, cherries, strawberries and pineapple.

Up at my mum and dad’s and my wee mammy made a roasted vegetable tart with potato salad and salad. The puff pastry was 9.5syns (whoooooops) and the mayonnaise in the potato salad was 2 syns. Was yummy though!

Dinners:

Smoked haddock and pea risotto with green beans and peas. My first ever attempt at a risotto and must say I was impressed with myself!

The infamous Slimming World “Big Mac in a bowl” recipe. It’s extra lean mince fried in fry light with onion and garlic, then mixed through with iceberg lettuce, gherkins, 2 low low cheese slices and 2 tablespoons of Kraft Light Thousand Island dressing, and then topped with the last cheese slice (Healthy Extra A for the 3 slices) I’d heard great things about this. But it was rotten. I ate about a quarter of it and he rest went in the bin. Boak.

Homemade Aubergine Bake with potato salad and a crispy salad. I made the Aubergine bake with sliced aubergine, healthy extra A allowance of mozzarella cheese (60g) and a homemade tomato and basil sauce. Was the best meal of the week. Will definitely be having it again!

The aim for next week is to get another 1lb and go from there! Hope all your diets and healthy eating plans are going well! Let me know how you’re getting on in the comments!

The Southside Girl x

Goodnight…. sleep tight?

Becoming a parent is one of the most amazing, incredible, life altering things that can ever happen to you. You’re suddenly in charge of this tiny little person and your whole world suddenly revolves around them, their wants and their needs. Everyone knows becoming a parent involves a whole lot of sleepless nights. Babies are hard work. What you’re not told, is that those sleepless nights carry on long after your baby is sleeping through the night. Well, it’s true in my case anyway!

Both of my boys have always been fantastic sleepers, sleeping through the night from around 10-12 weeks old. They have also both been in their own rooms, in their own cots, from 12 weeks old. Welcome over protective mother to the picture, who has spent every night since, waking up several times to go and check on them and spending a ridiculous amount of time listening each night to make sure I can hear them breathing. They cough, I’m in there. They groan, I’m in there. I have become a ridiculously light sleeper, and even when the boys are at a sleepover I still find myself unable to have a decent night’s sleep. Grooooooooan.

So a couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by the people from Silentnight Beds Scotland who asked if i would like to try out a sleep accessory that may help my sleepless night situation. I had to fill in a survey so that they could see my sleeping habits and they would then send me out a suitable sleep accessory (unfortunately, a new bed wasn’t one of the options – gutted 😉 )

A week later I received a lovely parcel from Laura Ashley containing their “Fresh Linen and Jasmine Room Spray.”

The packaging is really lovely. Solid glass bottle with a small polka-dotted design and a silver lid. Lovely. Now, this scent is described on the Laura Ashley website as being;

an uplifting room spray which is infused with a Fresh Linen and Jasmine fragrance to give a wonderfully ambient aroma to the home.

First of all, I will be honest, I was slightly perplexed when I received this. A lavender scent I would have understood. But I had never thought of Linen and Jasmine as scents that would aid sleep.

This room spray really does smell beautiful. It only takes a little bit for the room to become full of the scent. It reminds me hot summer days, clean washing with a hint of sun cream thrown in for good measure. It’s gorgeous!

I’ve tried this room spray out for a week now, and whilst it does make your room smell beautiful, I’m unsure as to whether it did help me sleep better. Feel more relaxed as I was falling asleep? Yes, I think so. A clean, tidy bedroom that smells GORGEOUS is always going to help you relax. But as for an unbroken deep sleep, then I’ll have to be honest and admit that it didn’t really help out in that area. I did wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and the room still held the smell of the spray which was really impressive! I’ve actually taken to spraying the room spray in my living room, and have had numerous compliments on it (particularly from Aiden, who loves it!) so overall, a gorgeous uplifting scent but not necessarily one that will aid sleep.

Here are some of my top tips if you’re a light sleeper/rubbish sleeper like me :

• Try having a hot bubble bath before bed. Radox do a range of sleep aid bubble baths that might also help with relaxation. Bliss.

This is my current favourite(not a sleep aid one right enough):

• Make sure you have a clean and tidy bedroom. It really can make all the difference. Clean sheets and new jammies are my absolute most favourite thing in the world!

• Listening to relaxing music can help you have a better sleep. I went through a phase where I was really struggling to fall asleep. I found several pieces of music on YouTube which include “binaural tones” which are sound patterns which are specifically designed to produce brain waves associated with a relaxed state of mind! I’m usually completely comatose by about 7 minutes in. (Note, if you have a weak bladder, the first ones probably not the best for you, a lot of running water!)

• Make sure you have a comfortable mattress/bed. It makes all the difference! If you’re looking for a new one, head over and have a wee look at the Silentnight Beds website here.

I hope a few of these tips can help you out. Running on empty is never good for anyone, whether you’re a parent or not. A good nights sleep can make all the difference.

Goodnight everyone, sleep tight and sweetdreams! (hopefully!)

The Southside Girl x

*disclaimer – I was sent this bottle of Laura Ashley room scent for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions remain my own.