Slimming World #14 - I`ve Hit A Wall

No weigh-in for me this week as hubby has a football meeting; he runs the local youth football team for under 8`s. Tonight is the bi-monthly meet up.

Anyhoo, in some ways I am glad that I can`t get to group tonight. I seem to of hit a wall....no matter how hard I try I can`t get my weight down below 11st 3lbs.



This week I have upped my exercise levels and been on plan bar a naughty Cadbury`s Galaxy Salted Caramel bar, naughty but ohhh, so nice!

I ran 3k on the road on Sunday. If anyone tells you that running on a treadmill is harder then on the road they are lying to you!! I can comfortably run 4k on the treadmill but almost died at only 3k on the road!!! I`m guessing that on the treadmill you are kept at a steady pace and not going off too quickly and burning yourself out??


On Monday I even tried playing netball with the school mums for the first time in about 18 years!! I LOVED it, but it showed just how unfit I am as by the 2nd quarter I was huffing and puffing like a steam train! It was going amazingly well until I was pushed over and heard a very loud ping with shooting pain in my right calf muscle, it felt ok to begin with but within a few minutes I knew that I had done something big. 3 days on I still can`t place my foot flat to the floor without my leg feeling like its being pulled off and have a lovely swollen foot, from searching on the internet it sounds like I have torn my calf muscle. I haven`t been to the doctors as dont want to take an appointment for just a sore leg.

I`m hoping that this injury doesn`t mean that I can`t run the Run Or Dye race in July as the recovery period can be as long as 18 weeks...eek!!

So then, I`ve eaten good, hearty and on plan meals but still I weigh the same as last week. What am I doing wrong?? I know that the decrease in my exercise levels whilst my leg heals will make an impact on the weight loss but I`m getting to the point of quitting and I really don`t want that.

Let`s see what happens in the coming week xxx

Starting Weight - 12st 5lbs

Current Weight - 11st 3lb

Weight Loss To Date - 1st 2lbs

Starting Clothes Size - 18/20

Current Clothes Size - 14/16

Fab Food Friday #4

Hi there and welcome to the 4th week of Fab Food Friday. #FFF

Last week was very quiet and sadly no-one linked up but we are back this week with the hope we will get the highest number of linkers so far!!!

Last night I went to weigh-in and was pleasantly surprised at a 1 1/2lb loss. I say surprised as I have been a bit naughty this week; I have been on plan for all my meals  but have had a few naughty snacks in between meals. A visit to the park with good friends on a very sunny and warm Tuesday resulted in an ice cream treat. I didn`t have any signal on my phone so couldn`t check my app for the syn value of my chosen ice cream....a peanut butter Cornetto. I was shocked when I got home and checked the app that it had 10 syns!!!! Ooops...then yesterday at work a dozen of Krispy Kremes appeared and my favourite chocolate dream cake was there staring at me, I was good for 2 hours whilst everyone else was tucking in to theirs and refused to have one; but at the end of my shift it was still there calling me and my willpower caved and I loved every mouthful. Sadly I did check the syn value and it was a whopping 16 syns!!

This week I am back on plan 100% as I NEED to get my Club 10 award, only 1 more lb and it will be mine!!

If you love the food that Slimming World allows you to create then dont be shy, grab yourself a cuppa and show off your delicious creations.

If you do link up we would love it if you could grab the badge below for your posts to show you are proud to be part of Fab Food Friday #FFF xx

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Allergy Awareness Week

This week sees the start of Allergy Awareness Week, 20th -26th April.


During this week many allergy charities and companies trying to provide some relief from allergies are trying to maximise the awareness of the general public to allergies; their symptoms and how to try to alleviate them.

Millions of people in the UK are living with one or more allergies. A whopping 44% of allergy sufferers are living in daily fear of having a reaction, yet 66% of the sufferers have no idea how to use an adrenaline pen which could save their lives in a severe attack.

The most common allergy that people think of is hay fever or asthma, but in fact you can be allergic to literally anything and everything.



If you suffer from allergies then here are a few things you can try to alleviate the symptoms, some of which are a really good idea but some are not always easy to apply to normal life!!

• Don`t hang the allergy sufferers clothes out on the washing line to dry as pollen can attach to the clothes and bedsheets.
• Stay indoors on dry and windy days and try to keep the windows shut.
• Keep indoor air dry with a de-humidifier, or if possible install a HEPA ( High-Efficiey Particulate Air) filter.
• Avoid outside activities first thing in the morning when pollen counts are at their highest.
• Avoid wearing hair gel or similar hair products which are pollen magnets.
• Immunotherapy injections are available to try and gradually desensitise you from your particular allergy.
• If you suffer from contact allergies try and create a protection layer over your skin with a barrier cream.
• Don`t use scented bathing products and use non bio washing powder.
• Use natural or unscented cleaning products when cleaning the house to prevent any unnecessary allergens to be introduced into the air.
• Don`t dismiss drugs and over the counter remedies; if you can tell what the trigger symptoms are of an attack then you can greatly minimise the effects the attack has on you. 

Across the UK the top 5 cities most at risk of dust mites are:

City	% at risk of dust mites	% with an existing allergy
Leeds	65%	21%
Southampton	58%	20%
Sheffield	57%	12%
Bristol	56%	19%
Manchester	55%	29%

ALLERGY AWARENESS WEEK: 57% OF BRITS AT HIGH RISK DUST MITES

New research has revealed millions of Brits are at high risk of dust mites in their homes due to poor bedroom hygiene.

Online bed retailer Time4Sleep.co.uk conducted an independent survey¹ into the nation’s cleaning habits in aid of Allergy Awareness Week (20^th – 26^th April).  

The research found a huge 57%² of Brits are failing to take precautions against dust mites in their homes, despite their potential to cause allergic reactions.

To find out more about dust mites and see if where you live effects your chances of getting dust mites click HERE.

50 Things That Make Me Happy

What makes you happy???

I have been tagged by Elaine at entertainingelliot and Amy from everythingmummy to take part in the new blogging sensation of listing 50 of the top things that make me happy.

Here goes, in no particular order, just as they came into my head!!

1. The smell of freshly cut grass
2. The sound of my children giggling
3. Crochet
4. Clothes shopping
5. The warmth from the first sun of spring
6. A long soak in the bath, not that I get to spend very long in the bath any more!!
7. Ben & Jerry`s half baked chocolate fudge brownie and cookie dough
8. Breakfast in bed
9. My children
10. A tidy house ( a very rare occurrence!)
11. Friends
12. Walks on the beach
13. The smell and feeling of fresh bedding
14. Changing into my pj`s
15. Family movie nights
16. The smell of freshly washed baby hair
17. Being silly with my boys
18. Getting the whole extended family together 
19. Wine and giggles
20. Getting my hair coloured ( very necessary since the pesky greys have appeared)
21. Finding a 5iver stashed in my wallet
22. A naughty take-away night
23. Listening to Ben trying to have a conversation with his older brothers
24. Reminiscing looking back at old photos
25. Writing blog posts
26. Newborn puppies
27. Chocolate
28. Ice cold beer on a hot day
29. Dipping my feet in the kids paddling pool
30. Christmas...I LOVE everything to do with it!!
31. Watching my tv series on call back.
32. Family wrestling time
33. Drying loads of washing on the line in the summer
34. The smell of bbq`s
35. Rocking Ben to sleep in my arms
36. Sunday roasts
37. Singing out loud in the car
38. My husband
39. Watching Alfie play football and score a goal
40. Going to the gym!!
41. Seeing the scales go down each week at Slimming World weigh in
42. Fitting into smaller clothes than this time last year
43. Making my friends smile
44. Receiving random kisses and hugs from the boys
45. Date nights with hubby
46. Redecorating the house in my head
47. Making plans
48. Potting plants
49. Watching any James Bond film and remembering my dad
50. Cooking.....anything!!

Now that`s my 50 things, I tag Laura from maxandmummy, Natalie at OneBusyWAHM and Debbie at superbusymum....go, go, go!!!!

Fab Food Friday #3

Hello and welcome to this weeks Fab Food Friday!! #FFF

Thank you for popping back for another link up of fab Slimming World and healthy meal and snack ideas.

Last week we had the lovely Emma aka MrsShilts link up with her lush recipe for Synfree Diet Coke Chicken.

I`ve seen loads of recipes for diet coke chicken in the slow cooker but never for conventional cooking methods; this is definitely going to be tried in the Wood household this week. I`ll let you know how it goes!!

What have you created this week??? Grab a cuppa and share with us your favourite recipe; new or old xx

If you do take the time to link up please grab the badge below to show you are proud to be part of Fab Food Friday.

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Weigh-In #13 - Not A Good One

After last weeks nice birthday surprise of a 2.5 lb loss I was hopeful of a repeat this week, but alas it was not meant to be!!

Tonight I`ve weighed in and have gained 1.5lb. I had a sneaky feeling that it would be a gain as I have been away to see my nan on the Isle of Wight. My nan is 93 years young and is an inspiration to be around, she lives on her own in a 3 bedroom bungalow which is kept in a pristine condition...but she doesn`t believe in diets and that she must wait on her guests hand and foot. After much protest from myself I gave in and let her do her thing. This meant me being fed bread, rolls, cake, dinners and desserts that were no way Slimming World friendly in any way shape or form!!!!! As I was eating each meal I could feel the weight piling on!!

All tired out on the ferry back from Isle Of Wight

So the plan this week is to try and detox as much as possible so loads of fresh fruit and vegetables. Also I am planning on trying to increase my water intake. I`ve had some major headaches this week and can only think that I`m not drinking enough.

My aim is to loose 2.5lbs this week to get my Club 10 award...it has eluded me for a few weeks now so its gonna be mine next week!!!

Run or Dye - I`m In, Are You??

Regular readers of my blog will know that I have been on a fitness and weight loss mission for just over a year now.

The main exercise activity I like to do is run; whether it be on the treadmill in the gym or running around the beautiful heathland that I am very lucky to live next to.

I dont do it as often as I should do but love the feeling of freedom that running gives you.





Now sometimes I admit it can be a bit boring just plodding along so I was so excited to hear about Run or Dye 5k events that have been organised around the country this year.

Click HERE to see if there is an event near you.



Whether you are a beginner or running pro you can take part in the most colourful 5k course in the world. Over the 5k course you are pelted with paint powder so become your own rainbow canvas!!

Just when you think you can`t become any more colourful you cross the finish line and enter the Finish Festival; join other finishers and jam out with the awesome MC`s and count down to the moment when you get to join in the colouring fun and open your packet of colour and paint the sky!!!!

This looks like so much fun and I am definitely going to join in, my only worry is how my car is going to look once I`ve driven home!!!

I`m taking part in the Bournemouth race on the 11th of July so check back to check out the fun I had!! Let me know if you are coming to to the same race so we can Hi.

If you fancy joining in but are not 100% sure then check out the video below to see just how much fun you could be having xx

Also here is a discount code for you lovely peeps to get £3 off of your entry fee xx  KISDISCOUNT

Weigh-in #12 - My Slimming World Journey

I`m am getting so bad at this....it`s Sunday and I`m only just getting round to writing this post about Thursday`s weigh-in...ooops!!!!

I do have a really good reason for it this week though; on Thursday it was my birthday so had a much needed day off from everything.

I did go to weigh-in, which I am quite proud of. My consultant was very surprised to see me. I decided I was going to still go because if I made an excuse this week not to go then I would probably make another excuse next week and so on.


Not feeling very optimistic I stepped on the scales to be very happily surprised to of lost 2 1/5lbs!!!!!





I was happy and very surprised considering I had had a few naughty pieces of chocolate over Easter and did have the obligatory hot cross bun. After having the hot cross bun I wish I hadn`t as almost passed out when I found out that each average hot cross bun has 9-12 syns in and that`s not with the margarine!!!!!!

Even though it was my birthday I stayed on plan 100% and instead of a cake I made some of these gorgeous Half Syn Chocolate Brownie`s, which anyone on SW MUST try.

Now this week is going to be a struggle as I`m in the mid frame I`m going to have again; yesterday was Alfie`s 8th birthday and for a treat we took him to our local branch of Sprinkles Gelato Ice-Cream Bar. Now since starting SW my willpower has become stronger but nothing could stop me from having a naughty treat. I had a Ferrero Rocher sundae which was AMAZING, I daren`t not try and work out the syns on it as I have probably used my whole weeks allowance in one go!!


I would really like to loose at least a pound this week so I can get my Club 10 award....lets see if I can do it xx





Weigh-In #12

Starting Weight - 12st 5lb

Current Weight - 11st 3lb - loss of 2.5lbs

Total Weight Loss To Date - 1st 2lb - 16lb

 Clothes size 14-16, was 18/20

Fab Food Friday #2 #FFF

Welcome to week #2 of Fab Food Friday!! #FFF

Sadly no-one linked up last week but we are only just starting out so that is understandable!!

Please feel free to link up ANY of your favourite recipes, not necessarily Slimming World as long as it is still healthy.

If you do join in next week your blog may be picked as our favourite and showcased at next weeks Fab Food Friday link up.

So grab yourself a cuppa and join on in. We hope to see you there and would love it if you could grab the badge below for your posts when linking up xx

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Minecraft Creeper Crochet Blanket

Regular readers will know that I have recently become obsessed with crochet!! As a New Year`s resolution I decided that I wanted to try and new craft and here I am 4 months later and am addicted.

To begin with I tried the good old granny square then on to a c2c (corner 2 corner) blanket. About 3 weeks ago whilst I was recovering from having my gallbladder removed I was working on my current WIP, a large c2c blanket for the sofa, when Alfie said he would like me to make him a blanket in the style of Minecraft!!!

His birthday is this Saturday the 11th so I decided I`d try to make him a Minecraft Creeper style blanket, but with only 3 weeks to do it in and still being a newbie to crochet what could I do in that time??

After much faffing and deliberation I desgined a Creeper`s face, using 80 8x8 c2c sqaures - 60 green and 20 black. I chose the c2c design as I knew that it worked up quickly and I could do it anywhere due to the size of the small squares.

I allotted myself the task of making at least 4 squares a day so I could be finished in time for Alfie`s birthday. Somehow I have managed to complete all the squares with time to spare but never factored in the time it would take to stitch it all together...cue lots of late nights staying up till gone midnight to get it finished.

Here it is in all its glory finished with 2 days to spare!!!

Here is the pattern that I designed if you fancy trying it yourself. I used 5 x Women`s Institute 100gm in Lime and 2 x 100gm Women`s Institute in Black...this is definitely a yarn eater!!

Each square is 8 individual squares of 3 x dc and 3 ch x 8.

I used the video below to learn how to do a c2c square...

Please spam me with your Minecraft creations xx

Half A Syn Chocolate Brownies

You know your an adult when you have to make your own birthday cake!!

It`s my birthday tomorrow and being on Slimming World I was worried I wouldn`t be able to have a nice piece of cake to celebrate...that was until I found these 1/2 syn Brownies.

Who doesn`t like chocolate and cake and ONLY 1/2 syn per slices????

I found this recipe on mydietjourney, it is so easy and SOOOOOOO tasty!!

Here goes....

1/2 Syn Chocolate Brownies

Serves - 25

Prep Time - 10 mins

Baking Time - 30 mins

Ingredients

• 70gm of Sweetener
• 60gm coco powder
• 6 eggs, separated 
• 1tsp vanilla essence 
• Fry Light

Method

1. Spray a baking tray with Fry Light and line with greaseproof paper.
2. Preheat oven to 180 degrees (fan assisted, adjust accordingly for gas)
3. Whisk the egg white till they form soft peeks.
4. In a separate bowl mix the egg yolks with the sweetener, coco powder and vanilla essence, you may need to add some water if the mixture becomes too stiff.
5. Fold egg whites into chocolate mixture
6. Pour mixture into baking tray
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
8. ENJOY still warm or allow to cool.

You can eat the brownies as they are or you can top with quark and an options sachet mixture. At only 2 syns per options sachet spread onto 25 squares you cant really add any 0.08 syns to the total ;-) so lets not!!!!

Weigh-In Week #11 - Finally I can see results!!

I haven`t weighed-in for a fortnight as my normal group ceased to do the evening weigh-ins. This due to my consultant Susie being so damn good that she has been promoted to a team leader.

Unfortunately due to her new commitment she has had to stop doing 3 of her 6 weigh-ins and give the evening ones to a local consultant. The time has stayed the same but location has changed to further away from me so I decided to try a new group more local to me.

So my new weigh-in night is Thursday`s, this Thursday I stepped on the scales happy with what ever the outcome was. I have to admit I had had a few naughty treats since last weigh-in so was very pleased with only a 1lb gain.

Since starting my SW journey I keep seeing before and after photos of my friends and fellow slimmers but never thought you could see my loss of a stone at all. That was until today...I was going through some older photos on my chromebook and found some rather unsightly ones of me. 

I compared them side by side and I can actually see a difference!! 

The photo on the left is from my works meet the team page and was taken about 3 years ago when I was at my heaviest, the middle one is last October and the right one is today, 4 months into my Slimming World journey.

Finally I can see that all the hard work is paying off!!

If you are about to start your Slimming World journey you MUST take some before photos, no matter how much you don`t like the look of them, its definitely worth it. I had started to doubt the diet but this has given me back the umph needed to get through the next few weeks as it is gonna be a true test of my willpower....Easter, my birthday and eldest sons birthday all within 7 days of each other!! 

If you are on Slimming World and have made an amazing meal please feel free to join in in my new blog linky that started this Friday called Fab Food Friday; a place to showcase your SW creations.

Weigh-In #11

Starting Weight - 12st 5lb

Current Weight - 11st 5.5lb - gain of 1lb

Total weight loss to date - 13.5lbs

Clothes size 14-16, was 18-20

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Fab Food Friday #1

Welcome to the first Fab Food Friday link up!!

#FFF is a new Slimming World recipe link up where you can show off your culinary creations...good or bad and in return we hope you`ll find a positive group to be a part of.

Tell us about your ups and downs of cooking; the disasters, the successes and the mishap meals that turn out pretty darn good....and in return you`ll get honest feedback on your meals and maybe make some new friends along the way.

If you do link up please feel free to grab the badge below to show that you are part of Fab Food Friday`s xx

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