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SEEING IS BELIEVING! Week 2 - 8lb challenge!

Week 2 - Weigh in… Hello Dolls!

First mini challenge to keep everyone on their toes.. and its not too taxing… visualize your goal..  yep, it can be as simple as just writing it down somewhere you'll see it every day.. hang those jean in front of you! That dress that's a little too tight.. take a pic of it and use it as your screen saver.. or the icon for your mother on your phone.. every time she rings that dress will pop up!!! Sometimes we need to SEE the destination.. and a visual mood board is brill if you have the patience and space to do one, even on the inside door of the wardrobe .. quotes, favorite clothes, healthy images of women with figures you aspire too… think about it...  put that 'before' pic on the fridge..  stick a little quote that inspires you where you can see it… often … view some of the success stories online from weight watchers all over the world… everyone does it.. we see something and think.. I can achieve that.... from boys building muscles to mothers and their hanging baskets! SEEING that it can be done will reinforce what you've already started.. you're already plotting your own success story on here!
Sample of vision board
Have a google at 'weight loss vision boards' .. .something might spark you off! Having an image recurring over and over again means it stays with you.. trust me every time I go to the loo upstairs that feckin' dress is SCREAMING at me! But its working… it now goes OVER my head and will eventually zip up!! If it was in the back of the cupboard it would be long forgotten!! So get visual gals!

and THIS is the dress!!!


Here's my >>> visual board… its in my little laundry where I keep my weights and skipping rope but every time I go in there.. it reminds me I just want to be healthy and comfortable in my own skin…(apologies blogger is acting up adding pics... meh!)

ALSO…. this week I'm adding an exercise to do .. since its summer and the arms are out, kinda  … sorry kids but its press ups! Now if you can't do the boy ones.. do the girls ones (on your knees) .. and if you are stuck for time.. do them against a wall and be honest with yourself.. if you can only do 10 then aim for 10 every day.. either straight out of bed or before you hop in or BOTH! When you're waiting for the kettle to boil do 10 against the wall! Think of those strappy tops… once the sun plays fair!! AND *spoiler* someone tweeted yesterday its 6 months to Christmas.. I KNOW! AND…. wouldn't it be nice to have some toned limbs to show off against the sparkles!?! Those who are experts at press ups.. push yourself even further.. you do 20 .. this week try for 25 or even 30!

Have a great week.. next week a giveaway!!! YAY! Will update the chart when everyone has weighed in…

Doll xxx

WEEK 1 - 8lb Challenge

So.. here is how this one will work..  Everyone has a flower with 8 petals (what its summer!) and by the end of the week you should have all changed your flower pink or even better be on your 2nd!



Note: Dotty is only 3 lbs away from goal so she's only got three petals to get but she's here to spur the rest of us on! YAY!

First mini challenge... PORTION control!!

Give yourself half and hour with the kitch scales and pack of cheap freezer bags from Lidl and WEIGH everything out... Put them somewhere you can see them when your cooking and learn what size you SHOULD be having.. the first time I did this I realised I was eating a full portion of pasta WHILST I was cooking.. just tasting it!!!! So weigh a portion of rice, pasta, cereal whatever you need to and bag em up and hold them so you know what they feel like and how generous you are being to yourself... Now.. weigh out another set and cook them! See a portion of pasta once its cooked, look into your favourite cereal bowl and see exactly where it should stop!  One of the biggest mistakes in weight loss is portion control... 'sure I'm having brown rice and thats good for me' you wail! But are you having enough brown rice to feed a small family! Bulking uo on the veg is good - yes.. bulking up on the carbs no matter how holy they are.. will just lead you down a merry path.. so I know Lidl and Aldi and most of the supermarkets have tehir own brands of freezer/sandwich bags.. and its an exercise you only have to do once.. Here's some of the other tips..


1• Don't leave a half-eaten birthday cake sitting on your kitchen counter. Wrap up cake and treats and send them home with your guests.

2• Doggie-bag it at restaurants. Their portions can sometimes be extra large. Ask that half of your meal be wrapped up to take home, I have yet to eat in a restaurant that hasn't obliged.

3• Consider ordering kiddie-sized meals at fast-food restaurants. You'll still get that fast food buzz but with a smaller portion.

4• Seek out starters and side dishes at restaurants that serve huge portions. Order two of the smaller dishes for a more reasonably sized meal. I'm a big fan of ordering two starters instead of a starter and main course.

5• Minimize bargain temptations. If you buy big tubs or bags of snack foods to save money, store them on a high shelf so they're not within arm's or your eyes reach. Or, immediately divide them into single serve portions and stash them away in a hard-to-reach place.

6• Learn to eyeball portion sizes, so it becomes second nature, you're homework this week will help with that! A 'normal' portion of chicken, about 3oz, for instance, equals the size of a deck of cards or your palm, NOT including your fingers.

7• Make your own "frozen" dinners. Store the leftovers in single serve containers for portion-controlled meals later on, or for lunch at work.

8• Don't leave the extra portions on the table in front of you..  if half a tray of lasagna stares you in the face while you eat dinner, you may be more likely to reach for seconds. Instead, serve yourself a portion and put the rest away. You can always go back for more, but this way, you may be less likely to.

9• Stock up on smaller plates. A half-empty 10-inch dinner plate spells deprivation; a salad plate filled to the edge seems like a huge meal.

10• Eat slowly! Research suggests that it takes approximately 20 minutes for your body to know that it's full. If you hoover down your food, seconds will be much more tempting.




I'll be first to log in and I'm down 2lbs this week! AND I got my 5% book and sticker (who knew a sticker could make me sooooo happy!!!) Post below and I'll update the board on Friday for those weighing in later in the week.. anyone else want to join in? the more the merrier!

Doll x

EIGHT POUNDS in EIGHT WEEKS!


Ok, so requests have been high to get another challenge underway to keep us motivated.. no falling off the wagons people! so … drum roll please …. its the .....


challenge!

This will bring us up to the August bank Holiday and over half a stone lighter… I'm sure people will be aiming for more and that's fab but minimum loss is 8 lbs!

Fingers crossed the August bank holiday will be hot, sunny and full of summer delights..





 including maxi dresses...


Shorts...



 and swimwear... I'm all about the retro one piece.. its girlie, covers my belly and looks very cute..

So we have to be ready to bare a little flesh and feel confident about out bodies... and we all want to look and feel good.. so at least 8 lbs down by then yes?!?


Measuring tapes out.. menu planners at the ready… and next week - everyone should be down at least one pound!




We can look fab even if the weather isn't!



Check in here if you're up for it! (comment below) The board with all the participants will be up next week… I'll post a blog every tuesday and do the tallies on Thursday.. so lets see if we can make this can be the biggest challenge to date! Mini challenges, spot prizes and giveaways along the way too!

START - 12th June
WEEK 1 - 19/6
WEEK 2 - 26/6

WEEK 3 - 3/7
WEEK 4 - 10/7
WEEK 5 - 17/7
WEEK 6 - 24/7
WEEK 7 - 31/7

WEEK 8 - 7/7

Summer Challenge finale!!!!



Well well well! I leave the country for a week and you all got skinny on me! Before I start to reply to your comments I HAD to total up the weights for the Summer Challenge! MY GOD!! 78.5!!! thats right... SEVENTY EIGHT & A HALF pounds we've lost.. that's at least 2 Victoria Beckams no? Well done every one.. and do we all feel better for it!?! I can definitely say that I'm feeling great.. I'm a dress size smaller and hitting the shops with a little more pep in my step.. I'm still no where near my goal weight but the difference its making by doing these challenges with you all is working on my self esteem no end! Stare if you like lady.. I'm eight pounds lighter than I was six weeks ago... (insert 'tongue out' pose here!) .. I may be developing a bit of an attitude problem... ahem..

So well done everyone.. I'll be setting up another one in the next week or so... something to take us up to the bank holiday in August .. with some more mini challenges, giveaways and heaps of motivation! AND its great to see you all supporting each other too... remember we're all in the lardy boat together.. 3 lbs to someone is 3 stone to someone else.. its all relative and we're all a team here! YAY!

Here's the final scores on the board for those that completed the six weeks on here... there are more dolls on twitter and facebook who have done brilliantly as well! *applause* Doll x


Dear Diary....

Here we are... the last full week of this challenge and again everyone has done brilliantly on the losses! I was down another pound so its all good!!! This weeks mini challenge is a simple one... and one that we all know works... TRACK! From now until next week.. be honest... you're only fooling yourself if you tell fibs ... and write down everything that you eat.. as my leader says.. if it goes in your smacker... it goes on the tracker!


We're so unaware of how much we nibble and taste and 'try' and after a some vino.. well everything is ProPoint free no?! What chip shop?!?! The biscuit tin at work... ever slip your hand in there and forget ALL about it... For the next 7 days stick up your tracker on the fridge... download whatever app works for you... get a fancy little notebook and WRITE IT ALL DOWN! If you know you're going to have a good time then write down - 5 slices of cake... 2 (don't judge!) bottles of wine... then when it comes to the scale.. there can be no.. 'I have NO idea what went wrong?!?'



Writing it down means you learn your triggers, weaknesses and when you're most likely to slip... weekend fall-out anyone? groan... but if you're honest with yourself then you can see where you slip up other than the wagon jumps! and THAT'S when you can make the changes you need to... anyone been watching 'secret eaters' on channel 4.. people are genuinely unaware that every time they have a cup of tea a biccy seems to tag along! Its facinating to watch... lots of experiments to see how people subconsciously eat! like... food in clear bowls gets eaten more than ceramic bowls because we can see it sitting there.. screaming at us! ... I digress.... TRACK... that is all!



I'm away in the UK next week with work, so there won't be a full post unless I sneak out (this may happen!) but I will put up a final 'weigh in' for those on the board and we can see how we've done! Can you believe another mini-challenge is over!? This year is just flying by! Now ... TRACK! I mean it! Doll xxx



Time to get fruity!



Ola amigos.. firstly apologies for the delay in posting... another manuc working week .. but I've seen the losses so far and will update the board by this afternoon for sure! and WOW the losses are FAB!!! and yes its a good week in Camp Doll.. 1. I'm down 2.5 lbs! YAY! I hate being stuck in a rut... 2. My local rugby team who I follow and love are in the Heineken Cup final  and 3. YES.. I got a ticket! watch out London.. Doll is incoming!!! Suffice to say I think the scales may already be groaning for next week!


So.. how are you all? How did Operation Beautiful go? Not as easy as it sounds really is it? Still we gotta love us, otherwise no one else will! A positive word to yourself every now and then will do you good, so try to keep it up..and who's remembering the water... eek!

This week... its about getting fruity! Try a new fruit this week.. and for the die hards.. have a piece of fruit with every meal... banana with your porridge, a snack mid-morning... grapes at lunch... fruit salad for dinner, set some in jelly (delish... but remember pineapple doesn't work!) ... and smoothies.. you can add tonnes of fruit in there with a yoghurt, some ice and a dash of juice or milk... and with it being summer ... all the berries are about to come into their own! Strawberries ahead!


If there's something you've never tried or tried as a kid and hated it... then risk it this week and indulge! Fruit is free for those of us on ProPoints... and its a great way to stave off hunger... an its SO good for us... plus the world is a smaller place now.. you can indulge in Kiwis, mangos, starfruit, lychees, even go for tinned fruit although make sure it's in its own juice NOT syrup... and go a little crazy.... you might find a snack you love and totally forgot about...


Fingers and toes crossed for Leinster this Saturday... and that loud girl screaming on the telly box... that will be me!!!

weights posted below shortly ... seriously people you are AMAZING!!!  Doll xxx

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL! Week 4




If I counted the number of times I criticised myself in a day, I'd have to borrow at least 5 other peoples fingers and toes! No matter how many compliments and positive comments I get about my weight loss to date from my family and friends ... I still judge and criticise myself so badly! This week has been a blue one.. no particular reason... just one of those weeks... and to boot I'm up 1.5lbs too.. and I know why.. I had a great bank holiday weekend.. and the weather had me hitting the couch with the munchies instead of getting out and about, and filling out my tracker!

Today I was tweeting with a girl who is an inspiration! I've never met her but I read her blog religiously and every time she gives me the virtual slap in the chops that I need to make me realise that life isn't so bad and STOP being a drama queen! She has no idea she does this... this lady is, fingers, toes and knickers crossed coming to the end of her very tough and difficult journey with cancer and still she remains upbeat, funny and probably one of the more noble and humble people I have yet to meet! She's a single mum with an awesome attitude and great with the banter... and I can only imagine a fabulous friend to have... This lady is Alex... check her out and send all the good karma her way... http://alex-piecesofme.blogspot.com/  I'm sure we all know someone like this... someone who puts life into perspective.. but sometimes the inner drama queen jumps the queue and we're all about 'poor old fat me' .. little reality check this week laydeeeezzzz!


So it's a fun challenge... we're over half way there on this summer challenge and I hope the exercise DVDs were dusted off... Davina and I are friends again, kinda, and I even borrowed the 'Strictly come dancing keep fit DVD' (I said that out loud didn't I!), I'm sure my neighbours think I'm running some sort of early morning dance class with all the pounding on the floor boards! Nothing like a good shimmy to wake you and the neighbours up! How did you all get on?

I digress.. the challenge this week is ... Operation Beautiful... now if you haven't heard of it..  I've put the link below ... it's a week to give yourselves a big hug.. let the inner beauty shine through and remind ourselves how beautiful we are already!

So .. steal a pad of post-its at work.. blame me, I'll take the rap... and post some compliments to YOU! All over the place... and if you're really going to get into it...post them when you're out and about too and make someone elses day! Why not cheer up some work pals to boot! There's no point in shouting at your thighs and hating them so much that you're down in the dumps... yes, we all want to be healthy... and we're all on that journey.. we're dedicated.. we prove that each week we weigh in ... but sometimes we're so hard on ourselves that it makes the journey even tougher and we feel like its just not worth it... that WE are not worth it ... well breaking news... we are! This is a positive journey to a new and healthy version of us! Lets make it a positive week... we can all be moany Marys next week if you want... LOL ...

The mirror in the bathroom... above the kettle... on the fridge... dashboard of the car... inside your wallet... be a little kinder to you and stick up a note.. you're gorgeous... you're stronger than you realise... you're funny.. you're kind... you're generous... you're amazing ... we have fat ... we are not fat! We will lose that fat.. it doesn't and shouldn't define us... there's a lot more to us that fat! I'll be wanting some proof ... so take some pics and I'll put them up next week! For inspiration check out .. http://operationbeautiful.com/

Here's my fav... 



Here's the blackboard to date.. I've a few more to add so bear with me I'll get to them... Have a good week.. You're all FABULOUS and a massive inspiration to me!!!! Doll x




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