Moving

I know it has been ages since I posted but I am currently moving house and without Internet at my new flat! I have been to the gym twice in a row, very much needed after all the junk I have eaten in the process of moving! Weight remained stable though PHEW!

Training for the Great North Run will be in full force soon, had a quick speedy run on the treadmill today, next long distance run on Sunday, I think I will aim for around 7-8 miles.

So close!

9st 7lb and 1/4 this morning!! Almost there! We can do this!

Going to pick up THE dress tomorrow.

A question for everyone, what do you do about evening muchies?

Quick update

Got my lovely bursary today, so bought myself some Natural Hemp Protein Powder.

I have been thinking about buying some for a while but didn't know what brand to go for since many of them were really expensive. This one was much cheaper than the rest and it is dairy free unlike many of the others. Oh, and lower in calories. Win! I also treated myself to 2 different protein bars, some vegan mayo and Green Energy Tea. :)

I have really been thinking about going vegan lately, I use soya milk all the time now and vegan marg. The next steps are cheese and ridding the products that contain milk and eggs. I have no worries that I won't get enough nutrients, with flaxseeds, vitamins and fortified foods.

Food wise, well... kinda found out I had 888kcal just at lunch! Ooops. I had stopped calorie counting and started making healthy choices, though it seems that its not really working... Back to the calorie counting tomorrow but with lots of yummy healthy chocies.

Exersize has been good, I have managed something everyday since Monday. A mixture of running, gym and the 30 day shred (on level 2, it is still killing me!)

Hope everything is going well!

Bought this beauty

Size 10. I am currently size 12 on top and 10 on bottom. According to their size guide I'd need to lose around 1.5 inch off my waist.
 I usually don't buy clothes to small as an aim as it usually doesn't work but this dress is AMAZING and it was low in stock. Andddd.... I needed a dress for the other half's graduation,which is in just under 4 weeks.

So I have just under 4 weeks to drop a dress size Until 11th July to be exact. I say that's pretty doable. Lets do it!

On other news I have some new running stuff coming thanks to Nick.  Even more of an excuse to get outside and to the gym more.

My new love.

Well I didn't get the 2lb I was hoping for, it's all down to eating a little much on Saturday/Sunday/Monday. For many reasons, Nick has handed in his final stuff for his degree so I bought a cake to celebrate. Not my best idea. Maybe next time it will be a steak, so I am not tempted to help him eat it!  We also went out for a meal on Monday evening, I had felafel burger. I was soo full. Uncomfortably full. Not good.

I did have a sneaky weigh in on Sunday Morning though after a 6.7 mile run, 9st 6 and 3/4lb!! I was AMAZED! However, I ate a little more than I should have and on Monday morning after breakfast I was back to 9st 10lb. 3lb in 1 day. How?! Id had a little something before my run, yeah it wasn't muesli and tea but really 3lb?!?! I think a closer eye on what I am eating is needed this week!

So my new love, dried fruit. I used to hate it but thanks to graze I have found a new love for them! Graze are amazing, you get healthy snack boxes that are usually £3.49 each but you can get your first one free, or leave a comment and I will email you a code for a free box (yes, that means 2 free boxes!) The boxes can contain this like flapjack, superfoods, seeds, dried fruit, olives (if you like them, I'm not a fan). You can chose different types of boxes too, nibble box - a range of everything, light box - everything is between 50-150kcal and a nutrition box - full of superfoods. I am currently munching on an 'Apple Crumble' box for the light range. Dried apple, sultanas and cinnamon honey almonds. YUM. Best thing? No commitment, you can cancel your boxes at any time (usually weekly deliveries). So give 'em a go :).

So from this, I think dried fruit will certainly be on the weekly shopping list :)

Considering the Vegan Pledge. Being vegan for 30 days. I like a challenge.

Being Healthy

Over the past few days I have been a little too obsessive with my calorie counting. I would complain at myself if it went over 1600 and liked it around 1400. It became more of what food to have within those calories then what nutrients I need.

So my focus will be healthy. It doesn't matter as much if I go over calories occasionally, if it is all stuff that is good for you.

My attitude to exercise needs adjustment too. I love exercise, I love the 'worked out feeling', that is what my focus needs to be rather then it is to burn calories, because that just does not work.

When I think about someone who is losing weight by restricting calories I see lack of energy and motivation. I see disappointment when that 1lb didn't come off after a week of trying so hard.

But with being healthy I see someone who is bright, motivated and energised. That is the person I want to be. If I want to help others as a mental health nurse then I must be healthy. So I stay motivated and energised at work, even during the long shifts. If I want to help people with eating disorders I must be healthy to offer the best advice and help them with the struggles. I will become a good role model.

I will run not just for training for the half marathon but because I enjoy it, enjoy the freedom of running long distances. Then giving my body the right things it needs to recover.

I will eat good foods, so I will reduce the need for a sugar kick, resulting in a sugar low. I will recognise the difference between healthy hunger for weight loss and hunger that needs feeding. Being able to tell the difference between thirst, hunger and boredom too.

Thunder and lightning outside at the moment. I LOVE thunder and lightning.

Monday weigh in

I half expected to have put weight on this week, due to baking cookies and things for the other half. But nope! 9st 9lb, 1lb loss. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Aim for next week: Lets see if I can lose 2lb. I may even put up a sign on the food cupboard door as a gentle remainder to myself.

4 mile run this morning and..dare I say...it felt...nice? easy?

I'd really like to know how long these runs are, I usually forget to look at the clock on my way out. I have been thinking about getting a running watch for some time now. It will need some serious thought and saving but it would be awesome to have one, a little piece of motivation to work that little bit harder on my runs.

New favourite thing: Almond milk. Soo creamy! Only 48kcal for 200ml.

Looking back

Over the past few days I have been thinking back to my old frame of mind when I was 13 stone....

 I had decided that the weight gain was due to being on the pill and although I knew I was eating too much, it never stopped me from doing so. I have always been overweight, even at a young age I weighed more than my friends. I watched countless feel good shows such as Gok Wan's How To Look Good Naked, and other programs telling me that this was who I was and I just have to accept it and learn to love it. I did accept it for a short time but I knew deep down that I really was not happy. Episodes of feeling low due to my weight led me to comfort eating, I'd also eat what my boyfriend eats - he is skinny and can eat junk all the time...grumble. I saw some pictures of myself back in Summer 2010 and I knew I had to do something about it.

It all started when I went to Teesside uni, I bought biscuts and left them on my desk and inevitably much my way through them all. I was a very unsavvy vegetarian and lived on egg fried rice and 9p noodles. Oh yes.. and alcohol...lots of it. I was only there for 3 months (Sept 09 - Nov 09) but I still continued ot pile on the pounds.

I started York uni in October 2010 and after seeing the pictures from that Easter, being top end of 12 stone and 'Obese' I knew I had to do something about my weight. So December that yearI started the Couch to 5k. THE best thing I have ever done. I was determind to do it, my Sister was running half marathons and I wanted to be a runner too. So I bought the gear and set off on my journey. By April 2011 I had lost some weight and I felt thinner, again I was still trying to accept that this was me and I had to live with it. WRONG.

I continued to run longer distances and the weight began to slowly come off. The boy made me a calorie counting app on my phone, so I started to restrict my calories to 1800 and it worked and it was easy! (By this point I was eating meat again). July 2011 I ran my first 10k. There was a lot of walking but I did it. Then in Aug 2011 I ran the Jane Tomlinson 10k and jogged the whole way round, I was so pleased! I was still losing weight but still 'overweight'. I hadn't been the normal weight since my early teens and even then it was only for a few weeks when I dieted. Feb 2012 ran my first half marathon (very much not trained for!) and now I am 9st 10lb, 'normal' weight range for my height. I am so happy and it is taking me a while to realise that I am no where near as big as I was. Even though at times I still feel that way. My goal when I was overweight was to get to 9st 7lb mainly because I had never really seen that weight on the scales! Now I'd like to get to around 8st 10lb-9st as this would put my BMI at around 21-22, a nice healthy number.

So really how have I done this:

• Slowly. Some weight gains but mainly losses.
• Still eating chocolate, pizza, bread, takeaways but less of it
• Counting calories, it's not as complicated as it sounds.
• Increasing running and other exersize.
• Became veggi again in 2012 and having less dairy
• Trying to tell the difference between thirst and hunger and bordum and hunger (hard work)
• Drinking more water during the day
• Remain postive, even in the tough times, reading blogs really helps me.

Coming soon: Timeline in pictures

This morning up and out for a 6 mile run, it has been a while since I completed that distance but it felt goood :) Came back and had a glass of Milo and Almond milk and some brazil nuts.
Later rewarded with a Starbucks Skinny Chia Tea Latte. NOM.

 Weight on Monday was 9st 10lb. Did a cheeky weigh in this morning and it was 9st 8lb WOW. I think I will definatly say I have bypassed the 9st 13lb mark (that I wasn't removing until I was that weight on an evening). As if this is happening. Feeling a little O_O. Not used to seeing single figures on the scale yet!

Small note: trying almond milk for the first time, it is soo tasty! Only 48kcal for 200ml!