M is for...

Week two of the Smart for Summer challenge and man are you lot rocking it! I was down half a pound and whilst I was a little disappointed, I nearly rolled my eyes and did the 'ONLY' but once I'd typed up this post I was totally over myself! 

This week M is for 

MEASURABLE
How will you measure your goal? Don't just rely on the number on the scales. This about what you want to achieve with each goal you set, then find a tangible way to measure it! 

Take your measurements... physically! I know I'm always going on about it but your body will change as you lose weight and you'll be smaller in size even though the scale says otherwise.. so take out your measuring tape and do your chest, waist, hips, arms and thighs.. gals do the bust too.. and write them down and every month do it all again! You will be surprised!

Take those tight jeans out from the back of the wardrobe and try to beat them on! We all have THAT pair! Then have a good long look and out loud say..  'I will lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks and these will fit me then' and hang em up where they will taunt you every day because if you put them back in the wardrobe it's out of sight out of mind! Determine an amount of weight in and an amount of time otherwise its vague city!

MOTIVATION
The key to staying motivated is setting small sub-goals that you can work towards instead of one larger one. Aim for the next 7 lbs! A silver 7!  These stages of success allow for some recognition... some satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.. 

I've lost half a stone, I can lose another half a stone! Mentally it sets a positive mindset and once you have that you're on a roll! Find someone who inspires you and stick with them.. to stay motivated you have to surround yourself with people who are motivated or want to motivate you!

MEETINGS
For those of you who do attend a class… STAY AT IT! You've paid your money otherwise its a very expensive weighing scale. Sit down and give yourself the hour you deserve... talk to the person beside you…they're there for the very same reason.. don't pay €10 and walk out having learnt nothing!

They're not all Marjorie Dawes, I promise!!! 

For those who don't have a class.. get yourself a cheerleader! A friend, colleague, mum, dad, sister, brother, cousin, neighbour and tell them you're losing weight and you need a bit of cheering on, someone you know who will support you or you can just chat with when you're having a bad week ... and you'll be surprised at their reaction.. before you know it they'll be doing it too! 


MEASURE

Different from measurable! Portion control people ... Above is the same meal on four different size plates... see how much we eat with our eyes... and make sure you have the proportions correct... 

Half of your plate should be veggies! a quarter is carbs and the other quarter your proteins! 

A good guide is imagine a dinner plate for your greens and a side plate for the rest of your meal...


Have we all weighed out 60g of pasta and rice? no.. well prepare yourselves! You'll probably have a heart attack when you see how small the portions really are! Here's 60gs of brown rice and brown pasta dried and cooked! I've been known this amount of pasta whilst cooking dinner!! The teaspoon is to give you an idea of scale… and this is a normal size cereal bowl... 

wholemeal, dried, 1 medium portion 150g = 6 pp

wholemeal, cooked, 1 medium portion 150g = 6 pp

brown, dried, 1 medium portion 60g - 6 pp

brown, boiled, 1 medium portion 150g - 6 pp

Its easy to get heavy handed with the packets and guesstimate and even with cereals, a little extra can be that 1 PP that's holding you back and keeping you from losing! So grab the scales... get some cheapy freezer bags from Lidl or Aldi and portion out your rice and pasta.. you'll get used to seeing what it looks like and feeling how much it weighs.. its a really good exercise! I leave one of each sealed in my cupboard for when I get a little generous with myself!

MISTAKES

Yep... no one is perfect... paws up.. we've all messed up! We all slip up because we're human! Point things wrong, hit the chipper after a cocktail or three.. hoover the last biccie and pretend it never happened.. the trick is to remember, there are 21 meals a week.. just because you screw up one.. doesn't mean you should give up!    

As over heard by Mr. Q this week - 

“Oh, I’ve already ruined my good eating today. I’ll just eat crap” is like saying “Oh, I dropped my phone on the floor. I’ll just smash it till it breaks.”

SKINNY TANGENT - 

Many of you will know him from the challenges, he's my only male followers not to weigh in in secret.. but Mr. Q this week got his 75lb certificate!!! so standing ovation please!!! He's a true inspiration! AND doesn't he look AMAZING!!!! hubba hubba!

MUSCLES

To maintain your muscles, you've got to do some strength training exercises 2 or three times a week... now there's no gym required.. these kind of exercises can be done with two tins of beans and a kitchen chair! I'll be putting up a full post on them during the week! But the basic 7 are... 

Squats

One-are rows

Push Ups

Shoulder press

Biceps curls

Kick backs 

and the dreaded Plank!

Standing at the kettle... during the ads of your favourite TV show.. you CAN fit them in..

Mmmmmore on these later this week! 

MORNINGS

I'm always banging on about it but for years I didn't eat breakfast.. I just drank coffee till midday and was then starving and ate scones and other bold things thinking I wasn't doing any harm at all! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day... you're sick of hearing it but its true! Its breaking your fast... clue's in the name people! 

It gets your metabolism going and even if its only a piece of fruit, try to have SOMETHING! A smoothie is a good option too! WW are bringing out some new Breakfast Biccies which I'll be reviewing soon.. but there's lots of options.. a little fruit salad.. some wholemeal toast and nutella... hit up the breakfast page on here and try to have something!! Its a good habit to have and all successful slimmers swear by it! 

MEMORIES

Lastly... memories.. some good.. some bad.. so what was it? or WHO was it? What made you step through the door.. and queue up behind a bunch of people all with the same goal of losing weight.. what was that push? Auntie Mary telling you 'sure you're lovely.. such a pretty face' … shame about the rest of you kinda glance! Those photos on facebook that you have NO control over! That skinny sibling who can hoover cream cakes and still be skinny... groan.. 

When you're about to give up.. REMEMBER... why did I start this... all those too tight clothes that don't fit .. the comments .. the looks.. that feeling of dread when you know the beach is coming and there's not enough sand to hide in! Don't let those emotions get you down.. channel them into positive feelings about your journey and how far you've come and how great you feel! 

All about 'M' this week... so stay tuned.. 

The weigh in post goes up every Friday morning so if you could post your losses here that would help... I think I've caught everyones but I don't want you to think I didn't add you for any other reason other than I missed it .. Weigh ins below.. the usual rules apply if I missed you ... please shout! I'm especially blonde today for some reason! 

Doll x