My top 11 weight loss tips

Tag: Weight Watchers

26
Jan
2017

My top 11 weight loss tips

Categories: Weight Loss, Weight Watchers

There are a lot of weight loss tips out there and so I thought I’d revisit and share a few that have really helped me over the last year.

1. Plan your meals in advance
If I don’t do this, I’m prone to overeating or letting my sweet tooth decide what’s on the menu (during my Uni days I did have Nutella for lunch on several occasions – just Nutella and a lot of it). Plus, if you have an event coming up – I find this encourages you to really think about the healthy choices you could make.

2. Treat yourself
As much as there are certain foods that should be eaten in moderation, I find banning them completely from my menu are disastrous, and so I will still enjoy a small bar of chocolate, or hot chocolate most days.

3. Record what you’re going to eat before you’ve munched it
On several occasions I have eaten something I thought was healthy (or reasonable in terms of its Weight Watchers Smartpoints values), but only realised I was wrong once it was in my stomach and while I was in the middle of using my Weight Watchers app to record it. I’m embarrassed to say there have also been times when I’ve forgotten whole meals I’ve had… no wonder I put on weight if I can’t remember what I’ve actually eaten!

4. Weigh yourself just once a week
Your weight can really fluctuate throughout the week and if you’re constantly jumping on the scales it can really knock your confidence if it goes up a little mid-week. Pick the same day and time each week to weigh in or skip the scales once in a while and measure yourself. You’ll be surprised at how your body shrinks when the scales might not be showing a change.

5. Book into an exercise class or schedule a workout with friends
This makes you more accountable for your fitness regime and less likely to quit or cancel.

6. Batch cook when you can
If you’re in the kitchen already, make the most of it and make double portions; but put the extra in box to freeze straight away so you don’t pick at it. Now my daughter is a little older I find this helpful as it means I have quick meals for her too. It’s also great on days when you just can’t be bothered or something pops up and you run out of time to cook anything healthy.

7. Have a few healthy ready meals to hand
Again, this is great for when you’ve lost energy to prepare anything decent or your day hasn’t quite gone to plan. All supermarkets tend to sell some kind of healthy option and you may have guessed that I’m a fan of Weight Watchers ready meals.

8. Try a new recipe each week
Keep the spark for healthy food alive! I love a cookbook for inspiration but you can find loads of healthy recipes online – especially on Instagram (I also post a few of my favs on here too.)

9. Plan a tasty and substantial dinner with a little treat
I’m less likely to pick on naughty things during that mid-afternoon slump when I know I have something delicious to look forward to that night.

10. Surround yourself with snacking fruit and veg
I like to snack and so having this stuff around can’t be bad eh?

11. Stock up on frozen fruit and veg, too
They’re so handy to use in smoothies, overnight oats or to cook with. Plus, you can get loads of varieties already chopped or diced for you… Simples!

P.S I hope you find these tips helpful. I’ve compiled them while “i’m in the zone”. If I post about going off track any time soon, please can you resend me the link to this page!

03
Jan
2017

Hello 2017!

Categories: Baby & Me, Weight Watchers

Wow, what a Christmas and New Year! I drank far too much, ate far too much and had a brilliant time doing so! For the first time ever, I actually exercised over the festive period and really enjoyed it.

Today it’s back to normality which includes a return to my Weight Watchers meeting and time to face the scales. Although I felt like I made some healthy choices over Christmas, I also made a lot of unhealthy ones and have genuinely been scared of the first weigh-in. To my surprise and delight, I managed to maintain! Woohoo! I’m so pleased and now feel motivated to get to goal.

I’m not far away from my pre-baby weight and I must drop a dress size to fit into a bridesmaid dress already purchased. So, let’s do this!

I’ve just planned my meals and activity for the week ahead and I hope to focus on being healthy and enjoy a few new gym classes and recipes this week. As always, throw your weight loss tips and plans my way and whether it was a loss, maintain or gain – did you enjoy your Christmas and have you stepped on the scales?!

Here’s to a happy and healthy 2017 xx

01
Dec
2016

31 Christmas weight loss tips

Categories: Weight Loss, Weight Watchers

Losing weight over Christmas can be really tricky, and while Christmas shouldn’t be just about food and drink – it does seem to dominate December. With that in mind, here’s a little round up of healthy Christmas weight loss tips I’ve picked up, read or heard over the years and I hope these can help you (and me) stay on track over the festive season.

Christmas is just one day, don’t eat mince pies for the whole of December!
If you’re hosting Christmas parties, stock up as near to your event as possible, rather than bulk ordering weeks in advance. This will hopefully prevent pre-event eating and having to re-stock. Unless you have a second freezer that you can stay well away from!
Plan your meals and activity in advance – there are a lot of days over the festive period you can still be healthy on.
Practice safe/non-binge drinking. Alternative between alcoholic and soft drinks if you can on a night out and batch cook some healthy meals for the days/hungover that follow.
Often find yourself right next to the buffet? Move away after you’ve enjoyed your food and get involved with some festive games or dancing!
Keep your weight loss goals close to mind – write them down and carry them around as a little reminder when you feel like you may be over indulging.
Eat your greens and lean meat – roast dinner can be pretty healthy if you allow it to be.
Experiment with new Christmassy recipes to impress friends and family.
Plan a few active days over the holidays instead of planting yourself in a pub for hours on end – visit Christmas markets and enjoy some Winter walks.
Feel Christmassy with some lighter treats – mini mini pies, low calorie hot chocolate, roasted chestnuts…
Sign up to a charity run or event to keep yourself motivated during winter.
And with that in mind, why not embrace some Winter sports – try indoor skiing, head to a dry slope or go sledging!
Find yourself constantly grazing? Chew gum!
Are you a prosecco fiend? Stock up on low calorie options. Or perhaps a skinny lager is more your thing?
Bake your own, healthy mince pies! Here’s a healthy mince pie recipe to whet your appetite!
Love a Baileys? Buy the super tiny, bottles so you can enjoy the taste without the abundance of calories (or SmartPoints).
Replace festive snacking to an indulgence of another kind – enjoy Christmas themed scented candles, bubble bath and take a good soak!
Fancy a Christmas movie? Thankfully popcorn is quite fashionable these days and there are loads of options on the market to choose from – buy multi-packs of the skinny variety to stay in control of how much you munch during your favourite Santa flick.
Out and about and fancy a hot chocolate? Why not! Ask for a skinny hot chocolate or feel just as Christmassy with a Chai tea instead.
Paint your nails… that may keep you off the mince pies for a little bit! (Can you tell I’m craving a mince pie?)
Make more time for your spuds over Christmas, and put them in the oven for longer to roast, rather than depending on lots of cooking oil or goose fat to crisp them up.
Transform you everyday porridge, deserts or hot drinks into something festive with a sprinkle of cinnamon – plus, this little spice is really good for you.
Read my blog for inspiration or to at least feel you are not alone if you’re plans, don’t go to plan!
To help balance out any extra food or drink you might have, squeeze in a little more activity before or after any festive occasions you have booked.
Create your own healthy hamper to have around the house for when you fancy a snack. I’m a big fan of Bounce Balls, Naked bars, and protein shakes.
Buy yourself an early Christmas present – some new workout clothes, walking gear, or a pedometer so that you feel more motivated to keep moving while its cold outside.
Download a food diary app and track what you eat before munching, you can then make an informed decision as to whether its worth the calories or SmartPoints (if you follow Weight Watchers like I do).
Serve up some warming one pot meals. They can be super healthy and packed with loads of veggies.
Decide if you’re happy to lose weight, maintain weight or gain a little weight over Christmas – this may help you navigate certain situations with more control.
If you have a foodie event coming up it can sometimes be tempting to skip meals beforehand – unfortunately that can lead binge eating and reaching for high sugary and fat options. Eat as you would usually and enjoy a little indulgence if that happens. It’s Christmas after all!
Most importantly, relax! Whatever happens, enjoy your Christmas and if you’re weight goes in a direction you’re not too happy with, then there’s always January to get back on track!

I hope you found some of these tips useful and please share any advice you may have in the comments box below.

Happy holidays! xx

Photo: This is a pic from an Ocado magazine I received – it contains mouth-watering pages.

17
Nov
2016

Self-gifting: A new way to lose weight!

Categories: Baby & Me, Weight Watchers

I’m starting to appreciate the positive effect being kind to yourself can have on weight loss. This does sound very cheesy but being able to say I’m not perfect but I’ll keep on going has (I think) enabled me to stick with Weight Watchers (and try to improve my eating habits) for longer than I have ever have done on any other weight loss plan. It’s about progress and not perfection – stolen from a meme I saw this morning!

Being positive and kind to yourself can help you recover quicker from a minor blip too. In the past if I felt as though I went off track, I’d write-off the whole week. Now, I might have a little pep talk with myself and start afresh there and then; or the next day at the very latest.

Being kind to yourself may also mean putting yourself first and being a little ‘selfish’ – be it making the time to cook healthy foods, going to a gym class you like or simply giving yourself a pat on the back once in a while.

I’ve had to remind myself of this lately, as I’ve had some set minor set backs in the last few weeks. You can probably guess what one of those is if you’ve read my last post and another was my local Weight Watchers meeting closing.

Finding another to go along to as proved way more difficult than I thought it would; and until it closed I hadn’t appreciated just how important it was to me and my weight loss success. It’s been a good month of trying to find times and venues that work and up until last week, my weight loss had pretty much stayed the same. This week however I was gutted to have put on 2lbs. On the flip side, I think I’ve found a new meeting to go to weekly, as it really helps me to stay focus, and the members were (as always) so lovely. In this meeting we talk about kindness how we’re often kinder to others than ourselves – which led on to jokes about buying ourselves gifts but I thought, why not! I definitely need to start doing that more, especially if it could help my weight loss! (And yes I’m aware that Christmas is just 6 weekends away and it’s probably not the most suitable time to be all for buying myself stuff.)

That said, here’s to self-gifting and kindness; because we should be our own biggest fans and not our biggest critics.

03
Nov
2016

Chocolate velvet post-workout protein shake recipe

Categories: Recipes

This delicious smoothie recipe is inspired by The Body Coach; Weight Watchers; close friends of mine at www.echosupplements.com; a nutritionist at my local gym; and what I had in my kitchen. It tastes great and you’re sure to love it if you’re a chocolate fiend like me! I hope you enjoy it if you give it a whirl… or should I say blitz (poor attempt at getting in a blender reference).

The following recipe includes some of the ingredients The Body Coach uses in his post-workout recipes, but has been tailored to what I usually ‘spend’ SmartPoints* wise on breakfast. It also includes some sneaky fruit and vegetables (tip given to me by a nutritionist at my local gym) and a scoop of PHD diet whey protein powder. Lovely friends of mine who run www.echosupplements.com inadvertently introduced me to PHD diet whey protein bars and powders – during a catch up they shared one of the bars they had on them and it was so good. It completely sorted out my chocolate craving, actually filled me up and as a pleasant surprised had a low SmartPoints value too!

A Weight Watchers friendly Chocolate Post-Workout Protein Shake Recipe
Requires a blender
For Weight Watchers it works out at 5 SmartPoints

Ingredients
20g rolled oats
200ml of Oat milk (could used almond milk)
1 scoop of PHD chocolate diet whey powder
1 banana
Handful of spinach (frozen or fresh)
Handful of blueberries (frozen or fresh)

Method
Chuck in a blender and whizz!

Do check out www.echosupplements.com or give them a call if you’re interested in trying PHD for yourself or want to know more about protein powders. They’re so knowledgeable and super friendly.

Enjoy the smoothie!

P.S I also noticed that the smoothie matched the colour of my nails, and so I thought I’d share that pic in this recipe too! haha.

* When you follow Weight Watchers – the counting method, as there is a no count method – every food and drink as a SmartPoints values

20
Oct
2016

A simple pasta sauce recipe

Categories: Recipes

This is a short and sweet post to share a little recipe… tomato and butternut squash pasta sauce. It’s tasty, filling and goes well with lots of stuff like prawns, beef or chicken, alongside pasta and whatever veg you may like (such as peas, spinach or peppers).

Tomato & Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

Tinned tomatoes
Tablespoon or so of tomato puree
Coconut oil (or your regular oil)
Olive oil
Onion
2 garlic gloves
Butternut squash – I use a packet of the frozen stuff
Salt, pepper and oregano
Teaspoon of agave syrup

Method

Cook your butternut squash until soft (then leave to one side or while that’s cooking crack on with the below)
Slice and dice some onion and crush some garlic – fry the lot in your chosen oil – I like to use coconut oil.
*You may want to use a pan larger than a frying pan for this as it’s going to contain the whole sauce shortly and it creates a decent amount!
Add your salt, pepper and oregano, followed by the puree and tinned tomatoes – stir it up.
* If you want to add fish or meat to the sauce, you could add your chosen item to the pan at this point to cook.
Once the onion and garlic look nearly cooked, add your butternut squash and mash it all up.
Bring to boil, reduce to simmer for 10 or so minutes. Stir in a little olive oil and I like to add agave syrup for a bit of sweetness and voila!

It’s basically your standard tomato sauce with butternut squash! I may be slightly obsessed with butternut squash at the moment. I love it in this sauce though as it makes it super thick and delicious. Plus, on Weight Watchers its 0 SmartPoints, whoop whoop!

The photo shown is the sauce with prawns and peas, which was later mixed in with some wholewheat pasta.

09
Oct
2016

3 ways I beat my weight loss plateau

Categories: Weight Loss

Once a week I record my weight. For me, this is concrete evidence that I’m eating well and moving around enough to shift the weight I put on during pregnancy. Although dropping a dress size and feeling more confident are incredible weight loss success measures too, I do feel a little frustrated if the number on the scales doesn’t budge after a week’s worth of healthy eating and exercise.

A few weeks ago I realised I had stayed the same weight for 4 weeks in a row. “What a waste of time” I thought. In an attempt to start new and healthy habits, I refrained from self-wallowing in chocolate and decided to look at what I had been eating and how much exercise I had actually done. In hindsight, I had overindulged on chocolate and prosecco. Also, I hadn’t managed to think about my day or week ahead and plan what kind of foods I could eat and when. I’ve always found that having a loose plan of a menu for the day and making sure I’m surrounded by healthy foods always keeps me on track. From that exercise, here’s what I did and the good news is, after a week of following my refreshed approach to weight loss I shifted 4.5lbs – and that included several meals out too!

Tips to get your weight loss back on track:

1. Own up to facts
I had to really question how healthy I thought I had been over the last few weeks. Having looked at the foods I was eating, it was quite obvious that old habits had crept in and I was overindulging at every meal. I really do believe you can enjoy everything you like when wanting to lose weight, but large portion sizes, alcohol and sweet treats have always been my downfall and it’s something I need to keep an eye on. So, I faced the facts and stopped being in denial about how healthy I had convinced myself I had been.

2. Advanced tracking
So, I use the Weight Watchers app every single day. I record what I eat and when. Usually, I record it as I’m eating it or on a few occasions (and which I wouldn’t recommend) after I’ve finished! This has sometimes backfired as I thought foods were lower SmartPoints than they were! Having spoken to my leader about my weight staying the same, she suggested I track my foods in advance. This means adding everything you’re going to eat for the day or the next day in advance. It sounds simple but it’s made such a difference. I used to roughly guess how many SmartPoints I’d eat, but it was never as accurate as actually tracking the foods in advance. This way, I know for sure that I can stay within my allowance and – this may be a huge sign of still having a baby brain – I’ve actually forgotten on several occasions treats I’ve scheduled into my day. This is especially exciting at the end of the day when I thought I’ve been out of SmartPoints but I’ve already allocated a little Weight Watchers chocolate to enjoy! Yum! I should also add that I had soup whenever I felt that I needed more than just a piece of fruit or veg to keep hunger at bay. Check out my lazy veg soup recipe here.

3. Keep exercising
Exercise makes me feel tons better and I’m sure that if I hadn’t kept up my running, spinning, Joe Wicks videos and walking, I would have gained weight instead of staying the same. So, I vowed to myself to keep up the exercise and I booked in sessions in my diary so that I was more likely to stick to it.

I hope these tips can help anyone who has stumbled across this page. Leave any tips you have in the comments below!

17
Sep
2016

A weight loss friendly peanut butter curry recipe – this is delicious!

Categories: Food, Recipes

I wanted to share a curry I’ve been making for a while that is absolutely delicious, full of healthy stuff and best of all does keep you feeling full! Warning: this recipe contains nuts (the clue is in the title, after-all).

Peanut Butter Curry
This little number is a popular West African curry and it was made a lot by my family when I was growing up – whether at my house, my auntie and uncles, or around family friends’ houses. Traditional West African or Caribbean curry recipes of this kind can include a few more spices, butters and oils than my version – which do taste great – but this version is super quick to make and (if you’re following Weight Watchers like myself) is lower in SmartPoints values than some versions of this curry.

Before I start – I apologise in advance to great cooks out there who may see this recipe and think “ahhh you’ve destroyed a beautiful dish you evil woman!” Recipe writing is also much harder than I’ve ever appreciated (shout out to all those I’ve worked with previously who have been responsible for writing top notch recipes). I’m a little nervous I’ve forgotten some key ingredients, as I’m so used to just chucking this curry together quickly after a long day.

I’ve included a rough guide of the quantities I use, but you can easily add more or less of everything and it will still work. For those on Weight Watchers, this recipe comes to around 8 SmartPoints values and is totally worth every single point – calculate the exact value of your version and track it too for weight loss success.

Be warned, this is moreish!

Peanut butter curry
Serves 2

Ingredients

Pack of diced chicken
Tinned tomatoes
Chopped onion
Crushed onion glove or 2
2 tablespoons of peanut butter (I use smooth)
Tablespoon of curry powder
Teaspoon or two of coriander
Teaspoon of cayenne pepper (optional if you don’t like spice)
Coconut oil (or your usual cooking oil/oil sprayer)
Salt and pepper
Teaspoon of agave syrup, honey or brown sugar (I tend to use agave but this is also optional)

*If you want to add veg to this recipe, you could include peas, beans or sweet potato to this curry. Diced pepper or spinach just about works, but I like it plain or with beans and peas best.

* Serve with rice (I tend to have wholegrain in the cupboard, but it works great with whatever you usually eat or jollof rice).

Method

Fry the onions and garlic in your chosen oil
After a few minutes add the curry powder and coriander
Add the chicken and cook for 5 mins or so; or until you’ve browned all of the pieces – stir frequently
Add tinned tomatoes, peanut butter and cayenne pepper
Stir thoroughly, bring to boil then simmer for 15/20 mins or until the chicken is fully cooked
Season with salt and pepper
Plate up with some rice and voila!

Enjoy and do post a comment below if you try this recipe and like it.

14
Sep
2016

You can eat out and lose weight!

Categories: Weight Loss, Weight Watchers

I love eating out and it always make me feel sad when people think you can’t eat out and follow a weight loss plan – you can! Below are a few tips I’ve found helpful when choosing what to eat, when eating out – and a lesson I’ve learnt the hard way!

Tips for eating out and losing weight

Go for lean meat or fish
These options will keep you feeling full and are generally lower in calories and SmartPoints (if you’re following Weight Watchers like me).

Say yes to veggies
Opting for a dish full of veggies will also help you to feel full, contribute to your 5-a-day and will lead you to feeling a little smug that you’ve ordered something healthy out!

Look at the menu before you go
You’re more likely to stick to a healthy choice if you make the decision in advance. That goes for how many courses you may like as well. I’ll often order a starter because other people are, but I’m never that fussed by starters and end up thinking why did I bother eating that? I’d much rather have a pudding!

Ask for sauce on the side
Sauces can be laden with a high number of calories or SmartPoints – ask for it on the side so that you can be in control of how little or much you smother your food in.

Go for a sorbet or share a pud
I love a pudding but out of all the choices on a menu, these are often the most troublesome for someone wanting to make healthy choices and lose weight. That said, most places will offer a lighter fruity option or sorbet. Or, simply share the pudding you want the most with a friend!

For Weight Watchers members –
Check to see if the Weight Watchers app or Eat out book has the SmartPoints value of the dishes available at your chosen restaurant. Then track it! On too many occasions I’ve picked a meal, eaten it and then checked it’s SmartPoints values after. More often than not I’m shocked by what the meal has cost me and wished I had done my research before eating. On special occasions a high SmartsPoints meal doesn’t bother me too much, but sometimes I might be eating out 3 times in week and then I’ve already used up all weekly allowance on the first outing!

03
Sep
2016

Why everyone should learn to say NO!

Categories: Baby & Me

I’m awful at saying no to people, and er food – yes it does talk to me. I’ll agree to anything even if it will leave me feeling exhausted or anxious. The same goes for food, I can be full and feeling all healthy and then I spot a cake and instead of just eating a little slice, I’ll scoff the lot. What the hell, it’s only cake – it’s not a big deal. Same with plans – you can’t do everything so just say no and move on. I have serious arguments with myself over my inability to say no.

A lovely friend of mine had noticed this trait and gave me a little exercise to do. She said, “imagine a colleague asks to lift share with you but there’s no way that it could work. I’m that person, now tell me no”… Okay weirdo, I can do that…

“Er, I’m really sorry I won’t be able to do that because I think you live in the other direction to me and it’s not on my way to work. If I picked you up then drove to work I’d have leave really early, and er I could leave really early I guess but er” I couldn’t actually say no! I was so embarrassed, even in a silly conversation while drinking a lot of red wine (hell yeah I was out at the time), I couldn’t say no!

However, I really need to sort it out. On a few occasions I’ve felt like such a bad mum as a result of not being able to say no, because it’s meant my daughter’s routine had been completely messed up because I’m trying to do everything and please everyone – she was completely shattered (as was I). Other examples have been over unexpected foodie occasions when I’ve planned to catch up with someone thinking we’ll have have drinks and it’s turned into a real food fest. (I’m not anti food fests when the time is right, but sometimes i’m in the zone, I’ve eaten a healthy meal and I just want to sit with a beverage and save my Weight Watchers SmartPoints for a big dinner with pudding in the evening – it’s all about priorities!) Long story short, I’ll eat too and I’ll always end up eating way more than the other person once I get started. I’ll then return home feeling annoyed with myself and just pants.

So, I will try to say no more without being rude, ending up a complete bore, or leaving my daughter completely worn out by traipsing her around everywhere. If you’re like me, join me in my challenge to say no! It doesn’t make you a bad person, other people say no and I think we’re going to feel a lot better for it!

P.S.
I would like to confirm that I do enjoy food out – please don’t stop inviting me out for breakfast, lunch or dinner!