Weight Goal: 8st 7lbs (119lbs)
Morning Weight: 8st 11lbs 4oz
Loss: 1lb
Total Loss: 10lbs 12oz
Left to Lose: 5lbs 4oz

Bum Goal: 34½" - 36"
Bum Circumference: 37½"
Total Bum Loss: 1"
Left to Lose: 1½" - 3"

Another pound loss this week. As the amount I lose decreases each week, it feels like I'm starting to plateau, but I still haven't been doing any exercise so I guess it's to be expected. For the first time in ages I actually feel like doing some exercise this weekend, so I might dust off the ol' Kate Lawler video tomorrow and give that a whirl (with more stretches before and afterwards this time, as last time I did it I couldn't walk properly for a week). I've been hearing a lot about P90X as well, and have no clue what it is — just that it's meant to be good, so I'll be researching that on the weekend too.

I've recently been feeling like I need something creative outside of work to keep me sane, and make me feel more of a person and less of a robot at the moment. I've been really inspired by a girl I met on a course at work who wants to be an illustrator. She's always so enthusiastic and encouraging, so last weekend I went out and bought some fabric and have spent the week making a sausage dog shaped draught excluder and an A-line dress. I've loved sewing and making things since I can remember, but got out of the habit when I started my first job, and have slowly forgotten all the things I used to know how to do so easily. I have really enjoyed it, and spent my last bit of money in the week buying some more fabric to make another one this weekend. It feels great to have an activity to look forward to doing each evening, rather than just slumping on the sofa and browsing the Internet until bedtime.

One of the shocking things I've learned whilst embarking on this new hobby is the ridiculous extent to which shops use vanity sizing. I usually buy a British size 8 or 10 in shops, but, according to the measurements on the back of the sewing pattern I purchased, my bust and waist are a size 12, my arse is a size 14 and my back waist length is a size 18, meaning that I am a pear with a very long body and stubby little legs. Ah hobbies, a great way to boost one's self esteem.

I know that thoughts of exercise have been very much on the back burner, but I realise that if I want to fit into that gold dress by Christmas I'm going to have to rev up my metabolism. I'll finish with a picture of said dress to spur me on...

Weight Goal: 8st 7lbs (119lbs)
Morning Weight: 8st 12lbs 4oz (124lbs 4oz)
Loss: 1lb 8oz
Total Loss: 9lbs 12oz
Left to Lose: 5lbs 4oz

Bum Goal: 34½" - 36"
Bum Circumference: 37¾"
Total Bum Loss: ¾"
Left to Lose: 1¾" - 3¼"


Again, I'm really pleased with the number on the scales continuing to go down. I had another weekend away from home last week as I went to London with some friends. We travelled down by car, so there were a lot of service stations, all of them containing a LOT of unhealthy food. I made sure that I'd listened to the hypnosis the day before the trip and found it really easy to stick to the rules, despite the lack of healthy food. Here's a list of what I ate that weekend:

Saturday Morning: Linda McCartney sausages, mushrooms, beans, toast, tomatoes
Afternoon: pink licorice, cola cubes, pear drops
Evening: chips, onion rings, 2 glasses wine, 6 rum & diet cokes
Late Night: falafel kebab with houmous, chilli sauce, green chillis, red cabbage, chips

Sunday Morning: Burger King veggie wrap, chips
Evening: Thai green curry, onion rings, chips (lots more junk, but can't remember as it was last week)

Despite this onslaught of fat, stodge, and generally terrible food, I was able to listen to my body, only eat when hungry, enjoy each mouthful, and stop when I was full. It was so nice to come back from a weekend away not feeling disgustingly bloated and actually having lost some weight.

My friends have started to noticed my weight loss too, so I told them my little secret and that it seemed to be working really well for me. I lent one of them the book and CD on Monday and she's told me that it's making a lot of sense to her, so hopefully it will work out well for her too.

I still haven't got around to doing any exercise as I can't shake this cold. Everyone at work seems to be suffering with it too, so if it doesn't go by then end of this week I'll have to cart myself off to the doctors. I will attempt some "Just Dance" tomorrow and see how I get on...

Still Going Strong-ish

Weight Goal: 8st 7lbs (119lbs)
Morning Weight: 8st 13lbs 12oz (125lbs 12oz)
Loss: 1lb 12oz
Total Loss: 8lbs 4oz
Left to Lose: 6lbs 12oz


Bum Goal: 34½" - 36"
Bum Circumference: 38½"
Total Bum Loss: 1"
Left to Lose: 2½" - 4"

I'm still ill after 3 weeks so haven't really felt up to blogging or exercising, but my eating is still going really well. I feel so much more in control and unemotional towards food, and this in turn has made me feel a lot more relaxed.

We were away this weekend so I was presented with a few challenges that I was really proud of myself for handling well. First we took the day off work for a trip to a theme park. Finding healthy, vegan food at the here was impossible, so I settled on a Burger King Veggie Bean Burger with no cheese or mayonnaise (which, according to the website, is vegan). I also had a portion of fries and some water. I removed the bread from my burger as I was trying to follow the Paul McKenna rule, "eat only what you want", and I find the bread to be the most boring part. I finished about half a portion of the fries.

Next we drove South to visit my family which is a never ending question bombardment of "Are you hungry? Have you eaten? There are biscuits in that tin; there's crisps in the cupboard; I've got you some Linda McCartney sausage rolls/Redwood hot dogs/falafel..." and as you can imagine, it's pretty hard to resist, but I did—and didn't even feel like I was missing out, or struggling to say "no thank you".

We usually have a lot of drinks with my sister and her boyfriend, but because I'm eating a lot less food the alcohol is definitely having a quicker and more potent effect—at least I'll be a cheap date I guess. She also bought tons of Pringles, olives and some delectable wasabi peanuts, but after a nibble of each variety my stomach told me I was satisfied and I was able to stop. I really need to work on cutting down my alcohol intake to match though, as I had a wretched hangover all weekend.

I keep forgetting to take photos as I'm a rubbish blogger (especially as all my favourite blogs have lots of pictures), but here are some shots of our newly stocked fridge (the animal parts and secretions are NOT mine!)...

...my omnivorous boyfriend's "appetising" dinner (and he says my food looks disgusting)...

...and guess what, a disgusting looking, but very tasty, Thai Green Curry again...

...and my delicious breakfast this morning—I LOVE it!

I'm away again this weekend but will bring my camera and try to engage my brain to take some foody pictures when my friends aren't looking (they don't know about this blog and I'm not ready to share it until I get much better and more interesting!). Til then...

Morning Weight: 9st 1lbs 8oz (127lbs 8oz)

Loss: 6lb 4oz

Total Loss: 6lbs 8oz

Bum Circumference: 38¾"

Total Bum Loss: ¾"

As you can imagine, I am overjoyed by the results of today's weigh-in. I can't believe I've managed to lose 6lbs 4oz in two weeks without measuring any food, and without eliminating anything from my diet. I have listened to the 25 minute hypnosis session every night for a fortnight, and I truly believe this little ritual helps keep the principles of the "rules" clear and present in my mind. 

I have found myself with so much extra time that I used to spend fantasising about what to eat next, and can actually go for hours without even the mirage of a mere crumb entering my mind. By paying much closer attention to my body's signals I have also realised that I am a lot less hungry than I usually imagine, and it takes a LOT less food to fill me up. 

I'm getting so much more enjoyment and pleasure from actually slowing down and tasting my food. I've realised that previously the pleasure I got from eating was the sheer sensation of shoving it all in my mouth and swallowing it all really fast — as if trying to plug a leaking hole — rather than the actual flavours and textures of the food.

The only slightly disappointing thing today is my bum measurement. I was hoping that the sheer change in my eating habits would be all that was needed to miraculously whittle my bottom down by 5½ inches, but sadly it looks like I'm going to have to hit the gym again. I've only managed to get there once since coming back from our holiday, and today received this guilt-inducing email in my inbox...

No guilt and no pressure eh? I think I'll start trying to go at the weekends again as it's getting very dark in the evenings and I'm a bit of a wuss when it comes to walking home alone in the winter months. On weekdays I'm going to have a crack at these two beauties and see if they have any effect...

We treated ourselves to 'Just Dance 2' for the Wii on Sunday. I saw an advert for it on Saturday night and just thought it would be a bit of fun before nights out, but having played it on Sunday I got seriously sweaty. I'd say it's a definite no-no for pre-night out drinkies (unless I'm going for the Alice Cooper look) but it may just serve me well as a fun workout mid-week when I can't face the dark and dismal gym after work. 

The Kate Lawler workout was recommended to me by an exercise DVD aficionado at work (believe me, she's tried all of them), so I managed to get it on Amazon for £2.25. I tried it this evening and it seems okay. I think I may try and get another one with an actual fitness instructor rather than a celebrity as surely they must know slightly more about exercise. Also I imagine I'll quickly get bored of doing it every day, but I might alternate it with the dancing (which is a lot more fun). I also have a Pilates DVD hidden away somewhere, so I'll try and mix them all in whenever I have a spare hour in the evening ('Clueless' style) during the winter, and will save running at the gym for the weekends.

I'm feeling pretty sleepy now after my first workout in months so I'll think I'll head off to bed and listen to my daily dose of McKenna magic. I WILL be in that dress by Christmas!

Ugh...

I've been ill for the past couple of days so haven't felt like blogging, but have continued listening to the hypnosis each day and have managed to stick to the rules so far. I'm really looking forward to weighing myself on the 25th to see if this is actually working.

It was my sister's birthday on the weekend, which would usually be an excuse for a never ending feast of vegan cupcakes, nachos, dips, curries etc etc. In fact, we did indulge in all of these things (complete with a candle in the cupcake for her to blow out), but thanks to the rules and hypnosis I was able to eat just enough to be satisfied and stop when full. The cupcakes were absolutely delicious and I'm so glad I'm now able to get my vegan sweet fix just around the corner...
http://sweettoothcupcakery.co.uk/northern-quarter-cupcakery/

I was off work on Monday and yesterday and completely lost my appetite. I still ate a few things here and there, but avoided stuffing myself with my favourite illness comfort food of Smash instant mash with Pure vegan butter and ketchup (it always hits the spot). Instead I had some bruschetta and then a takeaway veggie burger, chips and onion rings. I left half of this but felt slightly better for having eaten something.

Today I went back to work which in hindsight was a terrible idea as I think I've just made myself worse. I went for a walk to the vegan cafe and got some delicious pumpkin and leek soup to warm me up. I think I've been really bad at packing in the fruit and veg lately as this felt really nice and wholesome as I was eating it - as if every cell was feasting on the nutrients.

Tonight I made Thai Red Curry and it was horrible. I made the mistake of using frozen vegetables so it ended up really watery. The worst part was the peas I added. Their flavour was so overwhelming I could only manage a bit of it before gagging at the horrendous combination of pea and Thai spices so I definitely won't be making that mistake again.

I need to remember to take pictures of everything too. My blog's looking very bare and drab with no badly taken, badly lit pictures of my slovenly presented wierd food combinations to brighten it up. I'll try and rectify this starting tomorrow. Til then...

Feeling Better Already

Today is my second day of following the Paul McKenna system. I listened to the hypnosis session before work this morning and have managed to stick to the 'rules' so far. Eating slowly is a real eye-opener to how much I must usually over eat, and how ridiculously fast I can make a meal disappear (only for it to reappear on my arse days later).

For breakfast I had one round of wholemeal toast with Pure and Marmite. I ate this so slowly that by the time I'd got through two thirds of it I was starting to feel satisfied and stopped. By 11:30am my tummy was starting to rumble so I s-l-o-w-l-y ate an oatcake, and then another one at 12:30am when my tummy was rumbling again.

I nipped off to M&S at lunchtime to stock up on lunches for the week. I got my favourite Rice, Lentil & Aubergine Salad, the Super Wholefood Salad and a couple of soups - Butternut Squash and Greens. There were some very tasty sounding soups in there but it was really hard to find ones that were vegan as they'd wedged cow milk into everything. I got back to work and left about a quarter of the Super Wholefood Salad. Usually I can wolf this down in five minutes so this was quite a revelation for me. I was hungry again by 4:45pm, and as I had to go into town straight after work I had another oatcake.

For dinner I had one of my Red Thai Curries that I'd frozen as leftovers a while ago and some Straight-to-Wok noodles, simply because they're fast and I was hungry. Once more I took over half an hour eating this and found I was satisfied two-thirds of the way through. This is another meal I usually wolf down in seconds as it's one of my favourites. The best thing about this system so far is that I haven't had a stomach ache for two days. Usually my poor digestive system is struggling under a barrage of constant bulk and fat, or moaning at the fact that it's starving.

So the verdict today is so far, so good. I think I am really going to need to constantly reinforce the rules in my mind each and every day, but hopefully this is where the hypnosis kicks in and helps to make it easier. I think I am going to stick to listening to it in the mornings before work as my boyfriend keeps laughing at me and elbowing me when I'm trying to disappear into a trance last thing at night.

Well, here's to another day of eating consciously tomorrow...

...And Start Again

Morning weight: 9st 7lbs 12oz (133lbs 12oz)

Gain: 3lb 

Total loss: 4oz


Ugh! Well, that was a pretty unsuccessful week. It started with the "Reel Deal" at the Cornerhouse on Monday when we went to see "Enter the Void". The film was good - very original and visually stunning, but definitely made by a man. I have never seen so many different genitals in such a short space of time. The film was also 2hrs 40mins long, so by the time it had finished we were starving. We went back to the bar to get our deal which was a pizza and a beer or wine, plus our tickets for £12. Stupidly I got a pint of beer and some wine, and we also got a portion of chips between us. I completely demolished the pizza, and the plate was spotless by the time I was through. I left the restaurant feeling stupidly full and slightly too tipsy for a Monday night.


I think this Monday "binge" set the tone for the rest of the week, and by Friday I was indulging in a massive curry as we had friends round and I was too lazy to cook. I easily devoured massive portions of Aubergine Bhajee, Pilau Rice, Garlic Chapati and Poppadoms. I also drank a bottle of wine which left my stomach in turmoil for the whole weekend. I had to take several naps during Saturday and Sunday as my organs were in so much pain. I didn't make it to the gym as I was feeling so ropey, so all in all it was a complete disaster. The whole week left me feeling really depressed and disappointed at my complete lack of willpower, and slightly disgusted by what I'd managed to consume.


I started thinking about why I always seem to sabotage myself whenever I've had a bit of success with a diet, and I think the answer lies in the word "diet". I'm sure I must subconsciously be thinking of all the feelings typically associated with diets - deprivation, hunger, being "good", and it gets to a point where I want to do the complete opposite, and when I do, I do it in style.


On Sunday evening I was rooting through a cupboard and came across the Paul McKenna book, "I Can Make You Thin". I'd only really flicked through it before, but I thought as everything else was failing I might as well give it a try. I read half of it last night and it seemed to make a lot of sense. It involves giving up the concept of a "diet" forever, and instead following four main elements:

1. Eat when you're hungry.
2. Eat only what you want, never what you think you 'should'.
3. Eat consciously and enjoy every mouthful.
4. Stop when you even think you're full.

The book also has a hypnosis CD which I'm meant to listen to at least once a day for two weeks. I am also not allowed to weigh myself for two weeks which will be a hard habit to break as I usually do this at least once a day. I'm going to try and put the principles into practice and will update over the next couple of weeks with how I'm finding it. I'm actually really looking forward to my fortnightly weigh-in on the 25th October and really hoping that I will actually reconnect with how my body feels, rather than relying on how many calories a computer tells me I should be taking in.


My sister and her boyfriend are visiting next weekend for her birthday, and as a fellow vegan we usually indulge in a lot of our favourite foods whenever we get together. I'm looking forward to putting the elements into practice whilst out for her birthday dinner, and during our usual nachos and guacamole session. The testimonials in the book are all very encouraging, so I just hope I can trust in the system and that it will work for me...