I'm back from my conference, ate badly but not as bad as it could have been. Weig in tomorrow and then i'll write a nice long post for you all.

Its good to be back!

Yay, welcome back CH! Hope your WI goes well....got mine tonight....not sure if I've lost....but would be nice lol....

having an original day today which will be interesting, its my first one ever! i only eat fish so i think ill be having a fish overload by the end of the day! I will have to pick up some quorn tomorrow so i can carry on with my original days!

Moonchild- I made it up sort of like a pizza. mushrooms, sliced cherry tomatoes, sweetcorn. i used tomato pasta sauce (which i made myself - i like the made a batch up every sunday for eating throughout the week) and used a healthy extra portion of cheddar on the top (no mozz on the house!) it wasn't very cheesy, but i prefer more tomatoey pizzas anyway! so that was good for me! good luck for your WI.

i have a question - as smoothies aren't free, how is soup free? there is a recipe on the SW site for tomato soup which is free...and as tomatoes are apparently a fruit..i don't understand how they worked that one out? can anyone shed any light on this?

I'm here today, I got back into work yesterday to find the internet was down. I maintained this week, dissapointed but these last few weeks have been a bit naughty and not enough exercise. I'm going to get back on track after the weekend though (lots of birthday things happening).

How's everyone doing?

Hi all, back again, had a really busy weekend and no time to write. Foodwise the weekend was ok, however we got a Brioche from Costco on Saturday, and I had half of it. Very ashamed of myself, but oh my, it was soooo good. Am on backshift all week, so my eating should be ok as I only get home at 9pm. Usually have a good week when on backshift...very strange that...I lost 1lb last week on my WI and I am hoping to loose 2lb this week, that would be great. Can't go to the boxing this week which is a shame, and it's stormy and rainy, so I cant go running either....oh well.....anyone got the password by the way? I keep forgetting to ask....

Welcome back, I ate really badly over the weekend, but my birthday was the excuse and now that's over and done with I can get back to eating well. I'm so close to getting below 15stone and I seem to have been there forever!

Hope you have a good week, I'm going to try and post a lot this week to keep my mind off food.

I know the feeling Helen, I've been hovering above that 17st mark forever...Gosh, I set myself a 15st mark till xmas, and I'm not even below the 17...thats pathetic....I'm so glad when xmas is over.....there is just waaayyy too much temptation about just now....oh and :bday2you:

Hehe thanks!

I'm going to be strict till Christmas and then I'm going to allow myself a few treats! I wanna be thin!!!

Well, had a good day yesterday, due to the backshift, and so far I've stayed mostly syn free today, besides some plannes syns for my lunch...really hope I can keep it up .....

Well done! I'm the same I've been doing really well. My Aunty is in town today so we're having a family meal, I am determined to stick OP!!

Hey how did your meal go? I tackled another day of backshift, and stayed well OP, yay! Hopefully the scale will be nice to me tomorrow after having that loadfull of brioche during the weekend...all fingers crossed. Am on a red day today, made some stirfry chicken this morning, going to have it with some pita bread and a baked potatoe later on....

Hehe time to be honest, I ate badly and loved it!

Back on track today and feeling quite proud of myself. I don't expect to lose this week but I am on plan and I hope to lose next week.

Sounds like you're doing well Moonchild! Well done!

I think I need to be on backshift more often lol, eventho I hate working this late, it seems to be good for my eating habits, as I eat on completely different times now.....but well, we see about the WI, I'll probably have to pay for enjoying the brioche....but oh it was worth it lol......

I'm sure you'll be fine, shame you miss out on the exercise though. Not looking forward to WI but its my own fault and I know I did better this week than last. If I maintain I'll be happy, although of course I'd rather lose!

Don't we all lol...well my shift is nearly over...at last......stayed OP, no runs to the sweetymachine...yay.....Have a good WI all tomorrow....

I maintained as expected. Would have liked a lose but maintain is ok. I'm off to the gym tonight so I'll be much more motivated to stick OP then, for some reason exercise motivates me to eat better. I so wanna get below 15 stone and I'm one pounds above argh!!!! I really wanna push myself now.

Heyy! 2lb lost this week. I'm soo proud of myself. The original days are going ok but I'm running out of ideas. I have some salmon in the fridge that I keep grilling and having vegetables with that. But thats getting boring. I will have to have a think of what else I can do with it. I eat my dinner at work so everything I make has to be transportable! I'm going to have a look through the recipe archives on the site to see if i can see anything suitable there.

Hey good for you Helen, maintaining is better than gaining....well done. I'm sure you will have a better week this week.

Bryden, well done on the 2lb!!!!! Thats great! I know what you mean about the red days, its hard for me as well to come up with good ideas. Since I been on backshift this week I had to be creative as well, dinner at work. What I did one day is stirfry some chicken in a bit of sauce and had it for lunch in a pita with cheese on it. and then made a bake potato at night in the microwave with the rest of the chicken, was very nice actually. And on monday I made curried mice, which was absolutely delicious. Again during lunch with pita and dinner with a potato.....I'll post the recipe for the curried mince soon, it is divine!!!

Got my WI in 3 hours, gotta dash down from work during my lunchbreak. So keep ur fingers crossed....

Moonchild - I was worried about your curried mice for a second there! Pheww its mince!

Ooopsi...lol sorry bout that!!! Anyway ladies, check it out....went to my WI stepped on the scale, looked down and thought...this cant be right! The scale read 16st 13lb..woooohoooo, I lost 4 lb and hit the 17st mark...I am sooooooo pleased!

Oh well done girls that's great! I'm really pleased for you :hug:

Yeh, finally broke that 17st barrier, I know its weird, but it feels different....16st barrier here I come lol. Had a pretty good day at work foodwise. Had porridge for breakfast, soup for lunch and chicken with rice for dinner....If I get through the weekend without sinning to much I should be in for another loss next week....plus I can go back to boxercise....

Well done everyone!
This weekend is going to be a bad one for me, My friend is American and is holding a Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. I am very excited for it as I haven't celebrated this holiday before! I'm bringing a few dishes myself and there is going to be a quorn roast so hopefully I won't syn too much!

Hi guys,

Thought I'd make a quick post before bed, I've been really good this weekend, I've counted everything and I went to the gym on Saturday for Bums and Tums and then I went on the exercise bike at home and did some stretches with weights, I'm desparate to get below 15stone, its been a big sticking point for me for a while.

I have a really busy month with working coming up to Christmas, it's the same every year and it involves a lot of extra hours and manual labour. I always get tempted with the mince pies and the chocolate that we have in the office though, we already have a lagre tin of heroes to distract me, this year I'm hoping to stay strong and to have the time to keep up the exercise.

Hope you have all had a good weekend!!! :)

Good Morning Ladies,

Bryden how did your Thanksgiving dinner go? Hope you enjoyed yourself.

Helen, isn't it strange that we all come to a stepping stone now? I've luckily passed mine after 2!!! months and I am so relieved...it was like a brick wall. I'm sure you will get there, just have faith. I know if you put your detemination behind it you will get there. My next stepping stone is 16st and oh would it be great to reach that by xmas....however, I'm not getting my hopes up. Temptation is everywhere during this period, and I got a couple of xmas dinners coming up. But I'll definetely try and be good.

Weekend was actually quiet good. Mr. B was on call, so we couldn't really go out for dinner anywhere. So we ordered chinese on Saturday night (had a sweet chilli chicken subway for lunch). And yesterday we had a roll with cheese for lunch and a stirfry for dinner....er and a piece of chocolate sponge cake in the afternoon ;o). But I think it should be ok this week. Going to boxing tonight and on wednesday and have planned my meals well. And without eating out twice during the weekend I should be allright synwise as well....so 16st 10 here I come lol....

Awesome, you're doing really well, I'm so desparate to lose. My Mum says I have to be happy because I've been losing inches but I want the weight to go!! I know that if I don't lose before Christmas I'll be really fed up.

My Dad is coming over tomorrow and is taking me out for dinner, I can chose where we go, I'm really struggling because I want to eat something nice but also I want to stick on plan.

I'm hoping to get to bums and tums tonight as I won't be able to go tomorrow.

Does anyone know how many syns Frubes are?

Why don't you just have a steak with new potatoes or a baked potatoe....just syn for the sauce you;ll have. and have some breaded garlic mushrooms for a starter, they are 1 syn each....voila!

Frubes are 2syns per tub (40g) on both days.

Thanks Moonchild, you are our walking syn directory! That's a good idea about the meal, I'll look at that, maybe gammon steak, I love the stuff.

It's funny like you were saying earlier that we both plateaued at the same time, you getting over it has given me hope, I was feeling really fed up. Any news about a new job for you?

Lol, no im not, just had a look at the SW website lol......we might be going to one of our local restaurants next weekend, and I'm already looking forward to my pepper steak lol.....mmhhhhh, just have to have the willpower to choose a potatoe instead of chips.....cause their chips are lovely lol.

It's horrible to hit a plateau, and when I read it about other people I always though, och I get through that no problem, logical thinking....and what was I doing? Exactly the same as everyone, get frustrated and panic.....It is soooo weird to be passed that now. And I really hope it continues this week now that I'm back on my normal eating pattern.

No news about the job, didnt even have the courtesy to tell me that I didn't get the job. Might send them an email today and tell them where to stick it lol.....

My thanksgiving dinner went great but I think it has mucked up my weightloss this week. Alot of wine was drank and I definitely went back for seconds! I think I have put on at least 2lbs but we shall see tomorrow!

I think I'm going to stick to red days for a while. They seem to work well. I have set myself a goal to lose 7lbs by the 7th. I don't think this is do-able though. I'm still settling into SW since I quit the last time.

You never know Bryden, might not be as bad as you expect....weightloss is full of surprises (as I seen with my last WI). So all fingers crossed for tomorrow. I really dont' know if I've lost this week, I should have, but well, my predictions are usually way off lol. As long as I haven't gained I'm quiet happy.

Regarding the red and the green days. I find that it helps if you alternate between them. I tend to stick to green more, because I just looooove pasta, rice and potatoes, but I do force myself to get creative and have red days as well. My TL told me the other week to try and cut out bread or pasta for wa week, which I did last week, didnt have any pasta and only a few pita breads during the week and I've lost 4lb. This week I've tried to go without potatoes (but had WW chips yesterday), and still have only had little bread...so I'll see how that goes. It's amazing what you are able to do if you put your mind to it.......A few months ago I could not have lived with my daily bread. Now I see it as a wee treat...

Oh and here is the curried mice...eerrrr mince recipe:
1lb mince
1 large chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tblsp tomato sauce - 2 syns (or use passata free)
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ceyenne pepper
1 tblsp brown sugar - 3 syns
1/2 tsp salt

Brown the mince, add ingredients, leave to simmer

Asked my TL to use sweetener instead and she said she tried it and it wasn't as nice. Seen brown sweetener the other day when I went shopping, so I might try it with that...have to say, the syns are well worth it....and you don't have it all in one go. I had it for lunch in a pita and put cheese over it and microwaved...yummm....and for dinner you can have it over a baked potato or with rice....so, u use 5 syns and two b choices during the day....and its lovely......I've added a little water to make it mor saucy....you might also try it with fromage frais to make it creamier......variations are endless lol....

Geez this is a long post....

Hi Girls,
I'm feeling pretty excited and happy, I looked in the mirror and I have stomach muscles above my tummy button. I can tense my stomach and the upper bit has shape and looks firm!!

I'm not worried about my weigh in this week to be honest I don't think I'll have lost, not because I've been naughty because I've been really good, but because I've been toning up lots and usually when I tone I don't lose. I don't mind though, I feel fitter and I know my body is beginning to take shape.

I mainly have green days to be honest, Saturday tends to be a red day with a nice cooked breakfast, and a chicken kebab (counted as syns of course). I occasionaly have mix2max days but like I say mainly it's green days, and I still lose. I find as long as I exercise I'm getting smaller :D I think it's all about finding the balance and finding what suits you best.

I maintained! Which is a relief!

Yeah, I prefer green days as I'm a pasta and potato fiend! I think I will have a red day today and a green tomorrow as I have bought all the kit to make sushi. It's soo easy to make!

Originally Posted by crazy helen:
Hi Girls,
I'm feeling pretty excited and happy, I looked in the mirror and I have stomach muscles above my tummy button. I can tense my stomach and the upper bit has shape and looks firm!!
.

Thats awesome! I am soo happy for you!

Hello Chix!

Well I have gone and done it. Joined SW by post that is. Quite painless but we shall see. I had to guess what my weight was - I said 14st 9lb (I am hoping it is not more!!!!). I shall bring my scales in to work and weigh myself tomorrow. eeek!

Of course this means I have now got to be good :(

Well done to crazy helen for finding her stomach muscles. I don't believe I have any. I am just one big jelly! I don't care, come the works Christmas do I will be wearing my 'miracle suit' under my dress and they will think I have lost stones! I do hope it will allow me to breathe....

By the way - veggies can use quorn mince in moonchild's recipe or if you really have to - that awful TVp stuff or PVC as mum calls it....

Bryden, well done! Eventho u didnt lose anything, but the good thing is, you didn't gain....

Helen, oh good for you on the muscles....I know I have some too, cause they do hurt on a regular basis after the boxing, but they are still hidden under inches of fat....but they will be back, I'm sure of it lol....it's great that you are starting to feel happy with your body, thats the only thing that counts.

Peacock, well done on the joining...about time lol....quiet a challenge to start before xmas, but at least that means that you mean business.....so all the strenght for you.....

Well it's WI day for me today...I'm really hoping for the best....it would be great to have another loss this week. I'm on a bit of a high right now. Somebody viewed our flat yesterday and they are very intersted. Now we just have to get our higher mortgage sorted out and we can move to our new house before xmas!!!! Hopefully the bank will play, cause I'm a foreigner...thats the only thing that keeps me on edge right now....so keep your fingers crossed....have bank appoint booked for monday, but I'm trying to move it to today.......can't bare the wait.....

I didn't have time yesterday to tell you I'd lost 5 pounds over the last week, I was totally in shock. Haven't got time to make a big post now but wanted to let you know. How did your weigh in go?

Well I haven't received anything yet from the postal SW. I must bring my scales into work tomorrow as I should keep a note of how much I weigh!

Where is everyone I'm getting lonely here!