It’s 2.49pm and I’m still in bed, oh yeah :D  Today is my one day of lie-in indulgence.  I woke around nine, but spent the morning chatting to DP, reading, playing the laptop and just enjoying day dreaming.  I feel like an entirely new person!  I also feel a cold coming on, probably because the immune system has taking a beating due to stress, but that’s ok.  I’m keeping up the fluids and vitamins and exercise, hopefully it will sort itself out

So once I’ve type this I’m getting up and starting on the Big Clean.  Everything is going to be cleaned to within an inch of it’s life, but not all today!  I’m also going to my very first step aerobics class with one of my friends who I’m going to Skye with.  She’s got a summer membership of the uni gym, and mine ends in July.  If we use it regularly enough, I might scrape together some pennies to get a basic membership.  And tomorrow we’re going in the morning, either to a class or just to use the machines, as I’m out for my cousin’s 20th at night.

Weight Watchers handbook and tracker book arrived today.  The handbook is second hand so it doesn’t have the points booster calculator for converting exercise into bonus points, but I ordered one today so I can work those points out once it arrives.  I think I’m going with the POINTS plan at the moment, rather than core, and have an allowance of 21 points a day.  So I will need to change my W8 Challenge criteria so it encompasses the points too.  I’m not sure how WW will work for me, but I will give it a try of 3 months, which is how long my journal lasts for.

I forgot to weigh in today before I had breakfast, so I’ve no weight measurement for today, but I will get one tomorrow.

Hope you are all having a lovely day!

Mango x

Well that’s it - I am well and truly FREE!

The exam today wasn’t as bad as I had feared.  I was very lucky with questions, and they were ones I had revised for.  I think I’ve done enough and that’s all I want to say about it, I am DONE!  The only thing I’ll add is that it is weird correcting myself now - “No Mango, you don’t need to feel guilty for checking email and blogs”!

And today didn’t go as badly as I thought it might have foodwise.  It could’ve been a hell of a lot worse!  And I got two hours walking today, woop woop!

Exam food:  Dairy Milk

Lunch: one burger roll, one sausage on a roll

Tea: lentil curry with wild rice

After-tea snack: some Maltesers

Water: 86oz

Exercise: 2 hours walking, half of which was with groceries!

And I am too tired to colour code or add more to this post right now (got about 2 and a half hours of sleep last night) but rest assured exercise is going up a gear from tomorrow!

Well obviously given that I have more revision to do, procrastination is my preferred option right now.  I am not particularly hopeful for tomorrow’s exam.  I do know pretty much all my notes (apart from what I’m learning today) but while this is the layman-friendly baby subject the lecturers are harsh with their questions and even harsher with their marking.

I had a better weigh in today (= happy Mango!) and can’t wait till tomorrow afternoon!  All my classmates and I are going to Magdalen Green, a big wide open park to have a BBQ and play rounders :)  And I am going to be super active doing a MAJOR overhaul of this flat.  I tell you, biohazard suits should be worn at the moment - this is what happens when I don’t have time to do the cleaning, bf’s “picking up the slack” is little more than, well… nothing really!  AND now exams are over I will be earning super stars WOOHOO!  Gym when it’s rainy, walking when it’s sunny or playing rounders or just tossing a ball about I’ll be able to be outside again rather than stuck in learning stuff!

Weight Today: 154.2lbs (-0.6lbs)

Brunch: 2 slices of reheated veggie pizza

Afternoon snack: two plums

Tea: chilli con carne with brown rice, petit filous for pudding

Water: 86oz

Exercise: 35 minutes walking to post office and around town

Ok so updating then…  It’s 11.05pm on the night before the exam and I can tell you I am officially down-and-out terrified.  I know I know, there’s no more learning I can do now, I’ve done the best I can in a short space of time, it takes a hell of a bad answer to fail.  Regardless, I am TERRIFIED.  I can tell you now ladies, tomorrow will not be an OP food day, I am going to Tonic for my lunch (my favourite lunch-style bistro/restaurant) because I haven’t been there since February and it is a huge treat.  Also, I will probably be having some cider or what not because I will be *shell shocked*.  But there will probably be quite a lot of walking as well, so not to worry.

If you don’t hear from me tomorrow, I’m not dead, I’m probably just passed out in a hibernatory state.  See you on the other side chicks; let’s hope I’m the same person…

Mango x

Weight Today: 154.8lbs (+0.2lbs)

Breakfast: oat cheerios with semiskimmed milk and heaps of raisins

Lunch: one slice of wholemeal of bread (yup, just on it’s own!)

Afternoon snack: small sweet cinema popcorn

Tea: two slices of veggie pizza and one slice of garlic bread

Water: 72oz

Exercise: 35 minutes walking around the Tesco carpark over and over…. lol

No chocolate at all-go me!

Mango x

Finally, after rain this morning, the sun has come out.  I love the view from my bedroom window :)  We’re at the top of a three story tenement building and our garden is joined up with the street parallel to us.  There’s a big huge beech tree in the back garden and the green leaves look so bright against the sandstone of the tenement across the gardens, it’s so pretty!

I’ve finished another topic of revision for my exam, which is good!  1 to go (and 1 day left of studying to go too!)  I am looking forward to being FREEEEE!  I really am so excited :)  My cousin’s 20th birthday party is on Thursday, then the next week I’m going to visit my parents for a few days, probably Tuesday to Friday or something.  It’s nice to just chill out with nothing to do and be able to enjoy doing nothing!  However, I’ll probably get bored quickly so I’m taking some reading to do for my dissertation project :)  How geeky am I?

Also, in the last week of May I am going to Skye (a beautiful island in the Scottish West Hebrides - google it) with a group of friends in the year above me.  I hadn’t been going to go, because of financial reasons, but the cat has improved on his own and since we don’t have to pay for xrays - bingo!  Holiday!  It’s very special to me though.  I met two of the girls in the group at a psychology away trip in January (which was run by the department and a whole load of people in my year went and four 4th years, including my two friends).  But even though everyone who went on that trip made friends with everyone, I’ve kind of been included into their special group.  It’s not about being in with the cool gang or anything, I just feel really special because they are great people.  There’s going to be about 10 of us going and when I told them I could go they were so happy!  I try to think of that memory when I’m sad.

In other news - thank you so much Diet Buddy!  I ordered the WW handbook and a 3 month tracker journal from eBay for under £10.  Hopefully this will give me all the information I need, though I may need to buy a points calculator or something to get the points values.  I’m going to give it a decent try.  I think before, I may not have been completely honest with myself or been particularly rigid in weighing things and counting points, but this time I am motivated and prepared to take the good days with the bad.  And I want stars so no cheating!

I’ll get food and exercise in later

Mango x

My mood is resembling the weather - overcast!  There’s a culmination of factors involved; being up on the weigh in this morning, stucking studying again (2 more days to go…), feeling sore and in the end not being able to do more than half hour of partner stretches which won’t count towards an exercise star.

Bummer.  I’m hoping I’ll feel better tomorrow, I just have to keep loading in the ibuprofen and fluids.

Weight Today: 154.6lbs (+0.6lbs)

Breakfast: none

Lunch: raspberry jam sandwich, Crunchie (one piece of chocolate for the day!), 2 jammy dodgers

Afternoon snack: lightly salted kettle chips

Tea: sausage and tomato pasta (grilled sausage cut up in pasta with a homemade tomato, garlic and mixed herb sauce)

Water: 64oz

Exercise: only 30 minutes of partner stretches

I really want to start doing Weight Watchers again.  I did them for a while a year or so ago and didn’t really stick with it long enough to see positive changes, but so many people are having good experiences with it, it makes me want to give it a go again.  I find it easier than calorie counting.  I shall have to wait till we’re in better financial climates though - it’s not cheap on a student budget!

I think it’s finally hit me.  I was 154.6lbs this morning.  Also, I didn’t drink as much water yesterday.  Do your muscles weigh more when they hurt?  I am SORE today = major muscle inflammation.  Off work today because I was sick during the night I was getting so nervous about this exam, which is ridiculous.  I need to chill out and just keep studying.

I wanted to exercise and catch up on stars!!  But right now even walking is a challenge

Weight Today: 154lbs (+/- 0lbs)

Breakfast: very small bowl of leftover risotto

Lunch: 65g of pasta with tomato and oregano sauce, pinch of grated cheese on top

Afternoon snack: small sweet popcorn at the cinema

Tea: miniature chicken pie, two potato croquettes and mixed vegetables

Water: 64oz

Exercise: 1 hour yoga

I was thinking last night.  Dangerous, I know.  When I look in the mirror I don’t really see myself in the holistic sense.  I see hair, or tummy or thighs.  I don’t see all of me.  So last night I tried to look at all of me.

What do I not like?

• Stretch marks - My skin is so pale that the big red smears across my skin stand out for all to see.  I feel bad about them.  They’re signs I’ve not taken as much care of my body as I should have.  If I’d had children that’d be different, but this is just because I got lazy and put on weight.
• Cellulite - I know we all have it.  I just don’t like it.
• Heavy Hips - I used to be quite well balanced but now I’ve gone rather pear shaped and up 2-3 dress sizes in trousers and skirts.

What do I like?

• My hair - It’s a really pretty colour and shapes my face nicely.
• My boobs - They’ve gone up a few cup sizes from gaining weight, but they fit my figure and are nicely shaped.  (Sorry if that’s TMI!)
• My waist - It’s reappeared slowly, and while I am working to shape it better I still like that I have one!

It was strange taking in myself as a whole rather than just focusing on the parts I don’t like.  While there are parts of me I’m not happy with, I am working towards improving them.  I don’t really know what I inteded to share with this post, other than the fact that I did this.

I’ll update later with foods and whatnot.  Oh and I must have averted the cheesecake disaster with drinking so much water.  I weighed in at 154lbs on the dot for the third day in a row!

Mango x

Ugh today has not been a good food day!

My exam went quite well though (finally - one exam I don’t feel sick about!) and I am studying later for the next one; Developmental Psychology.  I’m also making headway about gaining clinical experience.  A psychologist on the clinical psychology forum I’m a member of got in touch saying a 14-25hour vacancy is coming up in my area.  It’s a lot of hours, but an incredible experience, so even the interview would be a really good opportunity for me.

Also, DP finally kicked his butt into gear!  He’s got out of his funk and cleaned up a little, thank goodness.  Anyway, I’m off to make tea in a minute.  The cheesecake below was ridiculous! I was subsumed by “aaaaaah chocolate!” hormones, and couldn’t in any good conscience claim an OP food day! I am adding another contingency - only one piece of chocolate a day.  I don’t know what possesed me today, I’m just glad I reasserted self control before I ate the whole damn thing.  Naughty mango…

Weight Today: 154lbs (+/- 0lbs)

Breakfast: none

Lunch: tuna sweetcorn baguette on wholemeal with mixed peppers, plus a caramel slice

Afternoon snack: slice of cheesecake - around 540kcal, oh dear!

Tea: homemade risotto

Water: 104oz!

Exercise: 45 minute walk, 50 straight sit ups, 20 left side twists, 20 right side twists, 60 reps of 17.4lb weights

I love my risotto. I have a full-fat recipe (the original one I concocted) and a lower-cal one that I adjusted.  Instead of chicken I use extra lean turkey, red peppers and green peas.  I changed out the 35g of butter for 20g of low-fat margerine and change the richer italian cheese for a smaller amount of parmesan.  It is DELICIOUS and my token dish.  I am proud of it

Mango x