Clean 9 days 3-4 - eating actual food!

So, days one and two went by fairly smoothly. Withdrawal headaches aside, I've noticed no side-effects other than needing to go to the loo more often, but with the amount of water I'm drinking, I'm not surprised! 

I weighed myself day one and my starting weight was a frighteningly high 13st3.5. I took measurements of my waist, wip, bust, thigh and upper arm, plus Scott took photos from front, side and back. I haven't seen the photos yet, but may share them if I'm feeling very brave on day 9/10. 

So yesterday was the start of phase two. For the remaining 7 days I have the same pattern each day - breakfast; 2 Garcinia tablets, 20 mins before 120ml of Aloe, lots of water and a chocolate milkshake meal replacement, made with 300ml skimmed milk and one scoop of chocolate Forever Ultra Light. Mid morning snack is two bee pollen tablets and more water. Lunch is the same as breakfast. Dinner is where it gets exciting (for me, anyway). I can have a 600calorie meal!!! Yes, actual food!!!

Dinner last night was halfway between a stir fry and a paella - brown rice, diced chicken, peppers, tender stem broccoli, spring onion and mushrooms with a little splash of olive oil and some chilli. Seriously, I don't think I've ever looked forward to brown rice so much! I even had some fresh cherries for pudding. I used "My fitness pal" for the calorie counting, and weighed everything. I was surprised at how full my bowl of food was, certainly not a small meal. 

My evening was plagued by another headache, and I didn't really get the amount of exercise I should have had, but I did take Flo to Frankie's Fun Factory in Romsey, avoiding the tempting coffees, snacks and meals, opting instead for bottled water. So all in all, a pretty successful day.

This morning, day four, Scott has started his Clean 9. I weighed myself today and I have lost 7.5lbs already. Incredible! I just hope I can maintain the healthy eating for us all once the programme finishes.

Anyway, there you have my first few days of detox. Let me know if you want any info :)

A year on... A stone on!! And a fresh start...

I've let things slide lately, and I am not proud of that fact. My weight has crept back to just over 13stone, and I've started to feel uncomfortable in some of my clothes. A telling sign is that I no longer wear button-up shirts. Ok, so not the cheeriest start to my blog post, but hey, things can improve, right?

A little over a week ago I was perusing the wonders of Facebook when a before and after pic caught my eye (and, perhaps more importantly, Scott's eye). It was of a young chap with, let's face it, a bit of a tummy. He was a similar build and shape to Scott, and, like Scott, had a gut. Not nice, but true. The "after" photo caught our attention, because the gut was noticeably smaller, and he looked far healthier. He had just gone through the "Clean 9" detox. An old school friend of mine is a distributor for the Forever Living company, suppliers of "Clean 9" so we asked for some prices for both of us. Now, it is not a cheap fix, easy-win solution, coming in at over £200 for the two of us, but we both felt very much as though we were stuck in a rut, with Scott going to the gym two or three times a week and me... not going to the gym at all. So we decided to give it a try. And at that price, we are not about to let each other fail.

Essentially, the "Clean 9" is a nine-day cleanse or detox, using a combination of Aloe Vera gel drinks, protein shakes and some supplements. Scott is at Sonisphere on Friday, so is starting his on Saturday, whereas I am off work for a week following our trip to Cornwall, so I have decided to start my cleanse today, so here it is...

Day One. Measurements have been recorded, "before" photos in a suitably matching underwear set have been taken, and instructions have been read through thoroughly. I have set myself some targets, most notably around some daily exercise. 

Flo has preschool today, so I have to get her ready before I start off my detox. First I take two Garcinia gel capsules. I really don't know what each thing specifically does, but these are duly swallowed with some chilled water. These are taken 20minutes before my first dose of Aloe Vera gel/juice, so I take Flo to preschool in the interim. I come home to drink 120ml of Aloe. Oh. My. Goodness! This stuff is vile! It is lumpy, gloopy and bitter-tasting, and after the third sip I am ready to throw it back up. Instead I gulp down half a litre of water until the foul stuff is gone. This had better be worth it. 

My mid-morning "snack" is a couple of "Bee Pollen" tablets. These are chewable, and taste like the worlds tiniest digestive, sweetened with honey rather than sugar. Not bad, but hardly a meal. 

Lunch is definitely the highlight of Day 1 as it involves a chocolate protein shake (Scott gets the vanilla). First I take two more Garcinia capsules, then another dose of Aloe. After that, the milkshake feels hard-earned, but is suitably tasty, if a little powdery. Could do with a dollop of ice cream ;)

I've yet to feel really hungry, so I head on through the afternoon with Flo, doing some crafty gem sticking, and make it through to her dinner time without any real hunger. I make some cheese and tomato pasta for her, resisting the urge to do a bit extra for me, and prepare for my penultimate shot of Aloe, this time with Garcinia before and Bee Pollen after.

I head out for a short bike ride, as daily exercise is part of the plan. Arguably, going from a largely sedentary lifestyle to one with some exercise is going to help my fitness even without the detox, but looking at the bigger picture here, if I can do this for nine days, it will feel more like a habit than a chore by the end, and should therefore be easier to maintain. 

One final shot of Aloe before bed sees the end of day one. I will confess to using some Robinsons Squash'd to make the last two doses of Aloe more palatable, but purely because the leaflet in the Forever Living box says it's ok to add cordial or fruit juice. The difference is remarkable, and I didn't even gag on the last one :) 

So here we are. I'm in bed at the end of day one with a bit of a headache, but a glass of water by my bedside rather than my usual squash. Tomorrow is going to be a good'un, I know it!

Day Two. Still a bit of a headache this morning, but I published day one of my blog to keep me motivated. Aloe Vera gel for breakfast, with another preschool drop-off set me up for the day. Much less inclined to "do stuff" today, so I finished watching Grimm on Netflix. Lazy, I know, but "me time" is a rarity. 

I was slightly daring today, and took my Aloe with me when I picked Flo up, as we were heading into Hythe to meet my brother Mike and his little girl Izzy. I decided to leave my shake until I got home... This ended up being 4pm! I still didn't feel particularly hungry, so my appetite must be changing.

One thing I've noticed with this programme is the effect on my attitude to food. I resent others eating, which is obviously not good. Scott made himself an omelette for dinner, and I loved hearing the sounds of good being prepared. I was very tempted by Flo's left-over pasta, more because I hate waste than because I actually wanted it. Thankfully Marmite stepped in and finished the lot, so temptation was gone.

This evening I have felt quite down. This is partly due to post-holiday blues, but largely down to missing the social side of eating. I'm so looking forward to sitting down for dinner with Flo tomorrow night. I will probably spend most of tomorrow planning my 600cal meal. 

Oh, and watching Masterchef is actually torture when you are on any diet, but more so when you are not eating at all!

I will end on some positives: weighed myself this morning, and have already lost 4lbs (and I know this is water, but water takes up space in my body, making clothes tighter, so I'm happy!). Still not hungry! Had a good walk around Hythe, feeling more energised. So excited about eating actual food tomorrow I might pee!

Eggs-ellent opportunity for a treat (or two)

Easter.

Not my favourite holiday of the year - way too much temptation around for my liking. With payday just before, a long weekend and a toddler in the house, there is a natural inclination to over-indulge. I had planned to decorate our spare room so that Flo could have the bigger bedroom. This is great from a weightwatchers perspective, as it involves lots of activity. Plus, with Mr C on shoots from Friday to Tuesday, I knew I'd be decorating alone. This suits me fine, as I am the world's worst control freak. If I had to watch Scott put up wallpaper, for example, I know that I would tut, criticise and ultimately take over, so it's probably best that he keeps away.

Flo is a funny child. She loves vegetables, meat, fruit, etc, but is really not interested in chocolate or sweets. Having four Easter eggs in the house in peril of going mouldy at any moment is a real test of my willpower. I am fine while they are in boxes, but once the egg is unwrapped I willingly and whole-heatedly succumb. I will hereby confess to having eaten about 2/3 of a cadbury's egg (ridiculous number of points due to the increased sugar content of Easter egg chocolate).

Another diet-wrecker I associate with DIY is the takeaway. Most weeks we have a takeaway after weight watchers (like tonight) but on a DIY Weekend (like on a fight night in a Vegas casino ) this can double or treble. So yes, I ordered takeaway pizza Friday night. One positive is that I only ordered a medium each for Scott and myself (old me would have ordered a large) and I ate 2/3 of the pizza, leaving the rest for a cold lunch the next day. Oh, and the good people at Dominos saved me a few calories by omitting the chicken, leaving me with a pepper, sweet chilli and mushroom pizza. Yum. Ish.

I guess what I'm really trying to say here is that I really deserved to put on weight this week. Oh, and did I mention mum's bank holiday Monday tea, with sandwiches, pizza, quiche, cake and nibbles. So, it is with a large amount of shock, glee and, dare I say, guilt, that I have lost another 1.5lbs. I know, ridiculous, eh?

So far my weightloss now stands at 34.5lb, nearly 2 and a half stone! I weighed in this evening at 12st 3.5lb. I served one of my former teaching assistants at work today, and she remarked at how much weight I've lost. I still can't really see it, but I enjoy the comments at least :)

That's it for another week. Thanks all! Night night!

15% off, and finding my weight loss mojo!

Sorry for the radio silence. I had a couple of weeks of "maintaining" which is a cop-out way of saying I didn't lose any weight. Somehow the sunshine and promise of spring have inspired me, spurred me on, whatever you want to call it, and my approach is way more positive now. This week I managed to lose another 2lbs, bringing my total weight loss to 2st 4.5lb, more than 15% of my original weight!

The past couple of weeks have seen some pretty harsh reality checks for friends and family. The one most relevant to my journey is that of a friend who had become slightly complacent with her diet. Without naming names, she has lost a huge amount of weight, and in the same way that I shrug and say "it won't hurt if I have this as long as I behave better tomorrow" she lost focus and put on weight. Seeing the pain and sorrow on her face last week at the meeting highlighted for me the fact that I will never be able to go back to my old habits.

Don't get me wrong, I don't WANT to be the first in the queue for the food at every party anymore, returning two or three times for refills. I don't NEED to drink the whole bottle of wine when a glass will do. And believe me, I don't want to look back in three years time and say, "do you remember when I lost all that weight?" I even justified putting weight back on saying I had looked "ill" when I was a perfectly healthy size 12, ignoring the fact that in the particular photo I look back at I was suffering a nasty flu bug and actually WAS ill. It had nothing to do with my size.

In other news, I have bought myself a skipping rope on the recommendation of one of the guys at work. It is great, because I can skip for free out in the garden. I will be getting the push bike back on the road in the coming weeks too, in an effort to tone up the wobbly bits.

Oh, and if any of you catch me lying to myself about looking ill, please feel free to reference this blog and wallop me one on my still healthy-sized, in no way ill-looking backside.

Hurrah! No longer "obese"!

There are several ways of monitoring weight, health etc. One that you hear mentioned often is BMI, or Body Mass Index. While not 100% accurate in terms of assessing fitness etc, it is a good guide to healthy weight. When I started on my weightloss journey my BMI was around 33, or Stage 1 Obesity. Not good. Having lost another 3lbs this week I thought I'd look at my journey so far in terms of BMI, weight and measurement.

Ok, so here are the figures. My BMI has gone from 33 down to 28.8, so now in the "overweight" rather than "obese" band. My weight has gone from 14st 10lb down to 12st 7.5lb, a whopping 30.5lbs off! Now for the really weird bit; my measurements. My arms are 6cm smaller on the bicep. My thighs are 7cm smaller. My bust is 8cm smaller (the one bit I'd happily have maintained given a choice!). My hips are 10cm smaller, so 4inches. Finally, and most shockingly of all, my waist is 18cm smaller! That's more than 7inches!

I'm not going to say any more, other than thank you all for reading this. It helps keep me motivated when you all comment and chivvy me along, and your support means so much to me. Thank you all x

Two stones lighter!

It's official! I have now lost two whole stone! Yes, now I am at 12st 10.5lb. I still have another stone or so to lose, but bloody hell, I'm proud of myself! I've been back to making healthy soups, which are a life saver on cold days. Flo even asked to take some to nanny's this week for her lunch, so they must taste good too!

Center Parcs last week could have been disastrous for my weight as there are lots of lovely places to eat and drink. Somehow with all the walking, swimming and spa time I managed to stay motivated enough to make healthier choices. One evening I even shared a pudding with my husband (trust me, this is not something the old me would have contemplated; it would have been more of a "are you finished with that?" before swiping a half-finished pud from him after already finishing my own).

Shopping news now, and this week sees the purchase of a pair of size 14 jeggings from M&S. think leggings crossed with jeans. I went for the tougher, standard fly-fastening sort rather than the tempting but potentially problematic elasticated waist ones. I worry that I would happily munch my way through a Henry VIII size banquet in my too-comfortable waistband and not realise that I had put on the whole two stone in the course of one meal! Lol! So fixed waistbands are a must.

I've also been more adventurous with my footwear, and have been seen teetering about on some rather gorgeous 4" heels with my skinny jeans. Can I just use that word again? Skinny. Ooh, I love it! I know I'm not even close to being skinny, but the fact that an item of clothing which had heretofore been a definite no-no in my clothing repertoire is now not only accessible, but actually pretty comfy too, is flipping brilliant.

In true Jeanie style, I am of course going to celebrate my milestone with a yummy curry. We have kept takeaways as part of our diet because I don't want to live feeling I can't enjoy something naughty occasionally, and certainly don't want to reach my goal weight, eat a curry and put on half a stone. That is not going to be me. In the meantime, I'm off to put on my elasticated trousers for an evening of gluttony, DVDs and perhaps a teensy glass of vino.

Some very rare time off...

Sorry for the lack of recent posts; I've simply been far too busy and important, lol! Weight wise I put on a pound and a half over the past couple of weeks, but still seem to be getting smaller, so I'm not complaining. Currently weighing around 12st 12lb, so still 22.5lb lighter than in September.

The reasons for posting on a Saturday rather than my customary Wednesday are three-fold... 1, we've been away for a few days at Center Parcs, 2, I was lucky enough to go to Joe Black's House of Burlesque at the Kings Theatre, Southsea yesterday, and 3, Flo stayed at her nanny's last night so I am able to type unhindered prior to collecting her at 12.

So, a midweek break at Center Parcs in January may not sound like much, but it is a holiday I look forward to every year. This year we stayed in a 3-bedroom executive lodge with Mike, Tammy and Izzy, my brother, sister-in-law and niece, and had a wonderfully relaxing time. The rain didn't stop us enjoying ourselves, and we even managed a morning at the Aqua Sana spa while Flo went to a colourful creations class. We ate lots, walked loads, and laughed till we cried (if you haven't played "Cards against humanity" and have a sick/twisted nature, I suggest you put it on your shopping list!)

On our final afternoon at CP we took Flo for a splash about at the sub tropical swimming paradise, where she usually clings to one or other of our necks in spite of wearing a float suit, refuses to go on the toddler splash slide and generally gets cold rapidly and asks to leave. I'm not sure what happened to change this now-accepted state of affairs, but while we were in the indoor wave pool, Scott took a chance and managed to prise Flo's fingers from his neck, and let her go, knowing she would sort of float but would need to work a bit to do so. And Flo? She kicked her legs underwater, treading water brilliantly. She added some paddle hands and managed to propel herself, albeit slowly, to me! She continued to go from one of us to the other for at least twenty minutes, going farther each time. As a nervous swimmer myself I have to confess to shedding a tear or two (mercifully disguised by an over-enthusiastic splash by a passing child) as Flo even went back into the water for another go while the waves were in motion. Her confidence has really stunned me! A superb end to a holiday, I'm sure you'll agree.

Yesterday we returned home after the customary frantic morning of packing and eating left-overs. This was only a very fleeting visit, as we had planned for Flo to stay with mum for the day and overnight as we were off out again. This time, Scott and I would be heading to sunny Southsea for the spectacle known as The House of Burlesque. As most of you know, Scott is a photographer (and a mighty fine one too, I might add). Usually he shoots alone as he doesn't need an assistant, so I am pretty much redundant, and only get involved in the admin side of his work. Yesterday however I was very lucky and was allowed to tag along and arrived at the theatre before many of the performers. I headed into Southsea for a bit of a mooch, hoping to find the perfect skirt to go with my steampunk outfit for the evening. Turns out Southsea has precisely ONE charity shop, accompanied by perhaps half a dozen "vintage" outfitters. Basically the same skirt in the latter will cost £30 and still smell like your gran. I returned empty-handed.

I spent a fair amount of time in the Theatre kitchen meeting very friendly and heretofore unnamed performers and their partners whilst drinking coffee. Some people are effortlessly elegant and graceful, but never have I seen such a beautiful, pocket-sized bundle of energy as graceful as Rio. She is a belly dancer who combines this immensely watchable art form with burlesque, to stunning effect. I saw her perform five times during the day; twice in the technical rehearsal, twice more in the show itself, and once more in the curry house after the show!

Other incredibly funny, friendly and welcoming performers I met include Kitty Ribbons (a very naughty ballerina automaton), Heidi Bang Tidy and Crystal Tips (face-achingly funny burlesque double act), Kitty Klaw (who does things with the Union Jack that would make your mother blush), Josephine Shaker (with an amazing light-up tap dancing costume and shoes), Piff the Magic Dragon, Alfie Ordinary, Arran Shurvington (the kindest, most loveable young man in high heels ever!) and of course Joe Black, who was more relaxed than I've seen him before a show.

Needless to say, I had an amazing evening, made some wonderful new friends and had a few very kind compliments thrown my way by people who've not seen me in a while. My small corset fitted perfectly, I had to take 6 inches of fabric out of my steampunk coat I first wore in June, and my bosoms remained firmly ensconced in their steel-boned contraption. It was awesome to see Vie, Tyrone, Ruby, Daniel, Paula and Darren too. (We won't mention me falling off my 5-inch platform heels onto my considerably less-padded arse whilst trying to kick Darren up the bum). All in all a superb evening with fabulous people, topped up with probably the worst curry of my life with the best company (thank you Kirsty and James). Oh, and a lie-in today!