Weight Loss Archives

Tag Archives | weight loss

Lifestyle Change

By Mum's the Word on May 1, 2013 in Weightloss.

I’ve resisted writing about this for a while, for two reasons. Firstly, I tend to have better success with weight loss and lifestyle change when I don’t make a big thing of it. Like, sneak up on myself with the healthiness. Secondly, I know hearing someone rambling on and on and on about their body issues can be a bit, um, dull, so I’m trying to hold back a bit. Having said that, there are a few little changes that I’ve made lately which have been fairly small but are making a big impact on not just me but the whole family.

Last week, we invested in Wii Fit and a balance board. It was a great buy actually, we went to a local shop looking for a new one and picked up a reconditioned unit for £15! We definitely need to invest in some rechargeable batteries as we’re using it every day, as a family, once Sausage gets home from school. It’s become a bit of a routine, I collect Sausage and then we spend an hour or two having a family session of yoga or competing against one another in golf, running, hula hooping, archery and loads else besides. It may not be intense cardio but it’s getting us all moving, instead of being sedentary, which is a great start.

Another thing that I’ve been doing is eating a lot less meat. I was very resistant to the idea of going entirely veggie as I worry that I’d get really bored of meals without meat but last week I went five days without eating any meat at all and I didn’t even realise! I’m finding that I can still enjoy meals I like, for instance, I had sausages, mash and peas but subbed out fatty pork for Quorn sausages, which reduced the caloric and fat content of the meal by LOADS.

My car has been spending a lot more time on the driveway this week. Because I’m not working now, I rarely need to go anywhere straight after dropping Sausage off at school, so we’ve been walking instead of driving. Actually, I’ve been walking, Sausage has been scooting, which is brilliant exercise for her and is doing wonders for her balance!

Last Thursday, I went swimming for the first time in about 20 years! Don’t get me wrong, I’ve taken Sausage swimming lots of times, but I mean proper swimming where I get in and swim lengths, not just splashing about in the kids pool. I managed 6 lengths of a 50m pool, which may not seem like a lot but it’s a huge achievement for me. The great thing about swimming is that it’s fantastic as a full-body workout but it’s very low impact, so I didn’t end up with painful joints afterwards, which is something that has stalled my interest in exercise in the past.

So, I’m taking it steady and making progress at my own pace and I’m really confident that I’m making changes for the better and changes that I can actually stick to. Wish me luck!

Commissioned Post

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How A Natural Weight Loss Supplement Left Me Needing Medication for Life

By Mum's the Word on September 20, 2012 in All About ME!, Health, Weightloss.

Kelp

Apologies for the slightly sensationalist title, I felt like a Daily Fail reporter for a second there, but I needed to grab your attention. I know that for every post like this, there’ll be a post extolling the virtues of the very same product, or a person who thinks that we all worry too much and shouldn’t restrict ourselves, but I was asked to share this story by the lovely Lisa at The Mummy Whisperer as she thinks this might help others. She’s passionate about helping Mums to reach their weight goals through healthy living and this post totally backs up her ethos.

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Banana, Blueberry and Walnut Cake (It’s Healthy, Honest!)

By Mum's the Word on July 9, 2012 in Cooking and Recipes, How To, Weightloss.

I start my new job tomorrow so I wanted to do something nice with Sausage today, but while we were getting ready to go out, the sky went black and didn’t fill me with much of a desire to go out and get tiddled on, so I suggested we do some baking instead. The trouble is, I’m trying to lose weight, so I had to find something vaguely healthy for us to make. My friend Kerry (And Then All I Thought About Was You) mentioned that the Slimming World banana cake recipe was nice and low-fat, so I found it online and decided to experiment by adding a few things. It also uses sweetener rather than sugar which, as a diabetic, makes it perfect for me. Here’s the recipe:

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Pies: Running the Weight Loss Gauntlet

By Mum's the Word on March 16, 2012 in Personal

Yesterday, I posted this tweet:

Now, whilst I may have dealt with it in my usual glib, slightly self-deprecating way, the essence of what I was saying was true. I’ve lost weight by avoiding baked goods. You see, I work in an office that’s just off the high street and within a 2 minute walk of my desk there’s a Greggs, an M&S, a Subway, a Tesco, a fish and chip shop…you get my point, right?

I’ve blogged before about having a weight problem, for which the reasons are numerous. Not least of all the fact that I’m both greedy and lazy, a fatal combination when it comes to the size of my arse. But one of my main problems is that I have this enormous, insatiable, compulsive urge to fill my face with shit food. The shitter the better. So, when I pop out to do the banking at work and wander past not one but THREE branches of Greggs (yes, our high street really does have three branches of Greggs) I will inevitably buy not only a sandwich, but also a sausage roll, a steak bake and a bag of crisps. Oh, and a Coke Zero. Don’t forget the Coke Zero, that makes all the difference.

Anyway, the crux of all of this pastry-related rambling is that I thought the hard part of this dieting lark was going to be when I was at work and tempted by the meat-filled lovelies being created around the corner. But no, I’ve found it easy to avoid. In fact, this week’s weight-loss tally is now up to 5lb. Seems a lot in a week, but I’m sure a lot of it is water retention and whatnot.

No, the hard part is right now, sitting at home on my day off. Being busy at work has meant that my mind has been on other things, but as I sit here all I can think about is what there is in the fridge to eat. It’s like I’ve become scared of the cupboards, worried they’ll suck me in and Husband will walk into the kitchen in half an hour to find me laying on the floor in a food-induced coma, with bloody stumps for fingers where I’ve used my nails to open a can of hotdog sausages, face smeared with Nutella and the dog licking peanut butter and cheese off of my chest.

So you see, it is like running a gauntlet, ’cause that one thing I’m trying to avoid – you know, food – it’s FUCKING EVERYWHERE.

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Next week, tune in to find out how I join a gym and died in a pile of sweat. (Not really…)

Sausage roll picture courtesy of extrordinarypiemaster Flickr feed

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Small Steps…

By Mum's the Word on July 19, 2011 in Personal

This is obviously not me....but it will be one day.

So, I’m not going to do what I’ve done before. I won’t put my vital statistics out here for all to see, it’s not productive so it’s pointless. But today, I made a small step toward my goal. I used our new treadmill for the first time, and not only did I do 15 minutes of brisk walking, but I did 5 whole minutes of actual jogging. Now, I’m sure all of you healthy, amazing people who run 5km every day are scoffing at my minor burst of energy, but this is a big deal to me. I am totally unfit, and I surprised myself by even managing to jog for five minutes, I thought I’d manage about 2 before my lungs exploded, but once I found my stride it was easier than I thought it would be.

I also wore my Zaggora HotPants for the first time and I noticed more than one benefit. Aside from the fact, and I’m sorry to have to share this, but I definitely, *ahem* sweated more in the areas that the HotPants covered, which just shows that the fat and cellulite burning magic is in action, one of the other things I liked is that they seem to hold everything in. If you’ve ever been overweight and tried to exercise, you’ll do that there’s an unpleasant and off-putting jiggle that tends to happen if you go over a gentle canter, but the HotPants really eliminated this and gave me the confidence to go for it.

Oh, and a little tip? The HotPants have very specific washing instructions, but if you take them in the shower with you after your workout, turn them inside out and rinse them out with some mild shampoo, then hang them over the shower curtain rail it makes keeping them clean super simple (That’s not endorsed by Zaggora by the way, just my own tip, I’ll probably find out that I’m perishing the material by doing that, when my hulking great ass bursts out of the seams, mid-workout!).

I’m hoping this is the start of something good, and you never know, if I start to see decent results I may just share my new stats with you! (Oh, and if you want some HotPants for yourself, I have a voucher for anyone who wants it giving you 10% off, just comment below and let me know)