WEEK 1 WEIGH IN!

AAAaaaaaaandddd we're off! Miss Doll is - 4lbs so a nice kick off to the year... mind you I was SOOooo good since New Years and I prob put on about 4 over the jollies...

Here's the board as it stands.. 10 weeks.. 10 stars to collect.. keeping it old school and a running total for everyone.. Commit to this for the next 10 weeks... just see the goal as 10 weeks... never mind summer.. holidays.. next Christmas.. just 10 weeks.. and if you can do this for just 10 weeks and be down a dress/pant size for Paddies day...  by the time summer gets here you'll be closer to 2 dress sizes!! The bikinis and flip flops and the dreaded summer wardrobe will be taunting us by then so lets be ahead of it while its still freezing out there.. if you put the effort in now.. you'll be 10 lbs lighter.. so don't look at final goals.. look at being -1lb next week.. that's the healthy way.. any more is a bonus!


Slight tangent - last week I received an email from someone who regularly follows the posts and challenges but never participates... I learned after my little melt down before Christmas there are many who pop by and are getting something out of it but I had no idea! It was such a nice change from the usual spam and nonsense... I only set this blog up to be accountable and to have somewhere to put all the foods I eat in one spot so when I got to SuperValu I wouldn't be there all night with my calculator! LOL So, for those skulking about.. ... I know you're there and I'm posting a 'blank' version of the challenge to print out for your fridges so you can do it along with us at home.. we'll never know! (although secretly we will!)

I know I have more to add to the list so Friday will have more names but here's the starter! Post your losses below and lets have everyone down at least 1 pound next week... 

All those asking about the APP in Mr. Qs post... He will be doing a full post about it in the coming weeks! Watch this space as they say! 

And for gods sake TRACK like the man says.. it works!

Doll x

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Why is it so hard to track?

First guest blog post of 2013 from Mr. Q....

Why is it so hard to Track?

by @quinlivan

We’ve all been there – we’ve all heard of the success Tracking has brought people in losing weight. Be it in class listening to a gold member or talking to a fellow WWer, it does seem the key to successful weight-loss comes with tracking everything that you are eating.

When someone gets a Silver 7 in class, they have to share a tip on how they achieved that 7lb loss. I reckon if you surveyed all the leaders across all classes, they would tell you members say ‘Track – Track – Track’ comes back 8 times out of 10. If I am to be honest with myself, my problem with tracking is that I have always only tracked in the evenings when I get home from work (if I feel I have had a good day) or I conveniently forget to track at all.

What I want you to compare tracking to shopping with limited finances – Suppose you are down to your last €100 - Do you continue to use your laser card for each item you see & want until it is declined? Probably not! Do you look around, see what is available (and at what cost) and then decide where you will spend your last €100? I know that’s what I do!

As it’s January and the December pay packet has been well eaten into over the Christmas period, I’m sure you can relate to the panic one feels when they calculate that it is another two weeks to pay-day and I have little money left in my account.

Tracking your WW points is the EXACT same as watching the balance on your dwindling bank account – you have a small number of points, make them last! We’ve all been in the situation where we’ve closed one eye and wince while the shop attendant swipes our credit card but if you compare spending money in your current account with tracking – it is not possible to go below the balance of your current account! Adopt the same approach with your daily allowance, using your weekly 49 points as your overdraft facility.

Apply the same rules to your daily Weight Watcher points. You have to be realistic about tracking - I don’t think anyone carries their tracker around in their back pocket and fills in everything they have when they have it. I’ve never seen anyone in a café write down their latte, scone & jam on a green tracker. I have never been on a night out with someone who kept going to their wallet/purse/post-it to write down everything they were drinking so they can accurately point their night-out.

Your laser card will tell you when you have used up all your money! Why can’t tracking be the same…

My solution to overcome this tracking nightmare has been really easy – an App. When I started WW back in August, I was tracking the traditional way (on the green sheets) but I found myself getting lazy or leaving stuff out. I’ve also found myself on a Sunday evening trying to fill in my tracker for Friday night, Saturday and Sunday – what use is that? If you have already overspent, there is nothing you can do about it now!

I downloaded an app called ‘My Score Plus’ which I have purposely put in the bottom right corner of my phone. The app can be set to either show you how many points you have used today or how many points you have remaining. It couldn’t be simpler! Seen as I carry my phone around with me at all times, I always know what my point situation is like. As soon as I have a coffee at work, I track it there and then. If I am in a shop being tempted by the massive selection of chocolate bars looking up at my beside the till, I glance at my phone and see if I have enough points that I can spend today on the treat.

It really couldn’t be easier. Having some form of an immediate reminder of the points you have already spent/remaining has often helped guide the decisions I make about food for me. You know one of those evenings you are wrecked out and can’t face making dinner & you think “mmm… maybe I’ll get a takeaway?” – one look at your phone (which you ironically need to phone in your order) will tell you if you can afford it.

Another advantage of the App is that it has a database of foods built-in – so you can search on the go. At the bar? You can track every glass of wine as quick as you would check a text message. You literally have no excuse for not tracking… and not being honest with yourself and your point-spending.

So, if you are to make one new years resolution this year – my advice would be to Track! It’s not easy BUT it seems to be one of the keys to successful weight-loss! There are tools out there to help make it easier - Even the most basic phone will have some notes type application that you can at least type in WHAT you have WHEN you have it. Then track it as soon as you get back home.

Happy New Year – Happy New You!

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!! 2013!!! This year is going to be FAB! I just know it! Looking at where I was this time last year.. its been a tough road but SOOOO worth it! Getting all dolled up over the holidays and peoples reactions to it was the best feeling ever! SO... lets get going.. 


Drop a size... 

This challenge is getting down a number.. and not on the scales.. in your clothes ... I'm all about the Non scale victories... and the scales can some weeks dictate how we feel... so this challenge whilst we'll be weighing in to be accountable is all about your body toning and changing and clothes getting looser ever though the scales says you've stayed the same!! 

I don't officially weigh in until next thursday and I'm actually gonna miss class, as I'm off to see the Queen... well WW HQ in London are doing a 'mini launch' of new stuff happening so I'll be back with loads of gossip and tips hopefully! But I'll weigh in somewhere... 

It's that time of year.. the dark evenings are getting shorter… the Christmas fun is over and easter eggs are in Tesco already! I kid you not! People are already thinking about summer holidays  … weddings.. family dos.. training for the mini marathon.. big birthdays…  dresses hanging on the door in anticipation!!! Those summer days when you just want to throw on a pretty dress and a pair of wedges and feel happy! No ones saying you've got to look like Kate Moss... but wouldn't it be nice to just be happy in yourself without all the drama! Lads, wouldn't it be nice to grab a short sleeved short and not feel shite about your moobs?!?! or get into a cool pair of jeans and feel good about yourself... Starting now when you don't have to reveal all means that we can be ahead of the game once summer gets here.. and its coming.. there's no hiding!

I have such a dress… a very close friend is getting married in May and it doesn't fit! No where near.. so I need you guys more than ever!!!! Let the ass-kicking commence! (can I also add I've got the most AMAZING pair of shoes to go with it... sigh..)

Goal for May!

This challenge is lose 10lbs! 10lbs is one dress size or trouser size for the boys! AND... its 10 weeks to St. Patricks day... so everyone can be down at least one whole size by then… and just remember the next challenge will be the summer one and that's baring skin people, wouldn't it be nice to have at least one size gone before all that drama arrives!!!! 

So take the next 10 weeks and be down 1 lb each week, that's all you need to lose.. 1 lb.. if you lose more all the better but the healthy way to lose it is 1 - 2 lbs a week... and you'll be one whole size smaller by the time Easter even hits the radar!  

Need incentive… get out the skinny jeans… that shirt that's just tooooo tight… the dress that won't zip up… those pants that really aren't flattering.. and take a good look in the mirror! Feel the tightness.. feel uncomfortable.. remember how much you want it! Take a mental picture.. hell, take a real pic for yourself and put it on your phone so everytime you look at it that image is staring you out! and say out loud.. THIS WILL FIT ME! I CAN DO IT!

Add your name in a comment below or tweet me that you're in and comment each Thursdays post or DM me your loss and a new chart with all the losses will be posted on Friday! Simples! 2013 is gonna be the best yet!!!! 

Doll x

PS: All of the dresses bar mine and the rockabilly red one are from http://www.modcloth.com sooooooo pretty! 

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It's Christmas...

Hey Dolls...

A busy run up to the festive season... I hope like me you enjoyed part two of  Mr. Qs journey with weightloss .. For the last post before Christmas, I thought I'd post the lists of Christmas goodies and their PP values..  and the drinkies!!! It might just save you face planting another mince pie!!! Its all temptation out there...

Worth remembering that a tin of roses is 111 PPs!!! You read it right!!!

Enjoy every second with your family and friends and remember those who are no longer with us...
Have a happy, healthy and safe Christmas...

Doll x

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A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

Part two -

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
@quinlivan

If you’ve read Part 1 >> (Am I my own worst enemy?) you’ll know I’ve had a long term (often long distance) relationship with Weight Watchers. It has been in my life for the past ten years and like a wave on a shoreline, it has crashed in and flooded around me with great enthusiasm and then ebb back out of my life without even noticing it slip out from under my feet.

On Tuesday, August 28th 2012… I rejoined Weight Watchers. It was one of the easiest yet most difficult decision I’d made in a long time. It was easy with respect to the fact I knew I had to do something about my weight. It was easy because I knew Weight Watchers had worked for me in the past. It was easy because I knew I would be around people who were trying to get their weight (whatever their size) under control.

The difficult part was in the actual execution of my decision, making it a reality, my reality. Looking at my options, Weight Watchers in Galway [on Eglington Street] run a Men Only Class at 8pm on a Monday evening – this was always the one I had gone to before. Joining this class meant I knew when I finish work at 6pm I would either have go home and back into town again or hang around work/town until the class started. A quick google informed me of a class in Oranmore at 6.15pm every Tuesday evening.

I live in Oranmore and pass the class on my way home anyway. I could be home by 7pm which still gave me the evening to myself and not waiting to be weighed in. My only reservation was that it was a mixed class. I didn’t think I would have any problem attending a class with men and women, but as I sat in work on that Tuesday evening thinking about heading to class, I started to get cold feet for some reason.

What if I knew some of the women in the class? What if my next door neighbour was there? What if my friends mum was there? What if the girl who makes my hot chicken baguette in Spar was there? That’s when it dawned on me… More than likely, they don’t want ME to know they are there either and would probably be as embarrassed as I was that we knew each others ‘dirty little secret’. With that in mind, I decided to still go to the Oranmore class straight after work.

As I stood in the queue, I became aware very quickly that I was the only male in attendance. I thought “Feic it, I’m in the queue I may as well stay for tonight – if I don’t like it, I can go back to the Men Only Class in Galway from next week”. This was the only time since re-joining Weight Watchers that I have thought about my gender. I can’t stress that enough! Ladies, don’t be shy – we don’t bite or anything, so be nice to us if you see us in your class.

Phil (The Oranmore Leader) was fantastic - She welcomed me with open arms and told me she was delighted to see another man at class. She also told me not to worry that there are other men who attend the class, they were just gone AWOL this evening. Standing up on the scales and seeing the giant 19st 02lbs grounded me right back down.

Everyone is here for the same reason – everyone here is conscious of their weight – everyone here has bad eating habits, eat the wrong foods or are making wrong food choices. Everyone here is or has gone through what I am going through right now.

Regardless of what your goal/ideal weight is, everyone attending a Weight Watchers class already have one up on those not attending… We’ve taken the first step! Irrespective of age, gender or current body size, all of us should take pride in the fact we have done something to tackle our weight.

The road ahead may be long and bumpy, the end may seem impossible to get to, and yes we may fall off the beaten track somewhere down the line, but let’s not look forward just yet – look at NOW… at least we have had the balls to turn up at the start line.

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Forget about losing weight!!! Week 9!

You heard me! Forget it!

If Christmas is daunting and you're thinking about just jumping ship.. then don't put any pressure on yourself.. aim to maintain! Don't panic if you put on a pound or two! Its Christmas... and food is all part and parcel of the holiday! You can swing this three ways... either decline every party invite and eat sprouts for the week and be miserable and drag everyone else with you or give yourself free reign until January, eat a full tin of roses and gain 10lbs and head back to the wagon on Jan 3rd (sound familiar!)... or have some fun but don't go crazy and stay the same or gain a couple of pounds that won't take all year to lose! 

Plan! That's your word for the next few weeks... be strategic and plan! Every social event is a battle and you need to work out how you can enjoy it without face planting the buffet! That food will be there? What temptations will you find? How will you deal with them? No ones saying you have to be Norma no mates.. but you can have fun without over indulging and undoing all your good work! There's no need to write off 2012 because 2013 is going to be "the" year! (again familiar?!?!) 

Here's some tips I got from my leader and other members for the silly season, some of them might ring a bell with you... Some of them are great!!!

Eat a huge bowl of porridge for breakfast to line the stomach, sets you up for the day!
Bring Zero Point soup for lunch/late afternoon so you'll feel full before you go... 
Check if there's a menu and go for the veggie option!
Alternate Boozy drinks with water!
If you're tempted with more food.. get up and dance!!! 
Volunteer to be the designated driver...
Practice saying.. that was delish but I'll pass on seconds thanks... 
At a family lunch - get out for a walk.. bring dogs, kids and grandad!
Exercise as a family! Do the Turkey Trot! 
At the buffet fill your plate once!
Tighten your belt a notch! The discomfort will make you not want to eat till you burst!
Don't eat to please others... you're not obliged to eat Auntie Marys Fruit cake!
Stay hydrated! A pint of water before the party will give you that 'full' feeling! 
       (and help the hangover!)
Recycle tins of sweets and biscuits that you get... don't open them!!
Don't over stock! There's not a nuclear war planned.. its one day! 
Shops will be open on the 27th! If you buy them early.. you'll eat them early!
Meet people at your house.. that way you control the food and portions!
Send leftovers home with your guests!
Play with the children and they're new toys! Its all exercise...
Ask for Sporty pressies! New trainers... a bike.. workout DVD.. I've just got Strictlys!!! 
       (cha cha cha!)
Swap crisps and peanuts for breadsticks!
Remove the marzipan and icing from your slice of Christmas cake.. 
If you have pushy friends... develop an allergy!
Use low fat hummus and creme fraiche with garlic as dips...
Buy low fat versions of food.. hide the packets and they'll never know!



But remember.. Christmas is meant to be enjoyed and a happy time to spend with friends and family.. part of that includes food so there's no need to deny yourself.. all yourself some indulgent days... The key is balance and having a 'bad' day can be balanced out with some 'good' days... December is a dangerous time so give yourself, Christmas eve and Christmas day, New Years eve and maybe you're work party day to just enjoy .. and the other days.. be more mindful of what you eat...  Doll xxx

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Beat the buffet! Week 8!

Apologies for the delay... but christmas has come down from the attic and I'm all a bling!

Only a few weeks left! To be honest those few weeks can be 3lbs that you lose in order to gain it back on Christmas day.. so don't lose focus.. We eat approx 21 meals a week.. not all of them have to be blow outs.. keep up the healthy breakfasts and lunches.. and have the extra roastie with your dinner.. and you'll still be on track to stay the same!

This post.. Buffets.. the word fills me with dread.. especially at Christmas!!! The choice.. and you just want a little bit of everything.. when you NEVER would allow a Vol-au-vent through the front door .. there they are calling your name.. all chickeny and mushroomy with cream and yumminess... sigh.. but heres a few tips that might help!

1. EAT BEFORE YOU GET THERE
Have a bowl of Zero PP soup ... toast with peanut butter will fill you up and stop you stage diving into the goodies head on! If you arrive starving.. its all going to go wrong.. so a little planning ahead.. will save you.. PLUS.. save your points for the drinkies!


2. MOVE ALONG!
Don't hover at the table!!!! You know exactly what I mean! Your little paws will be busier than ever if you'll mulling about... Get what you want IN ONE TRIP and move on! Its a not a contest to see who can try everything on the table!


3. CHOOSE WISELY
If you want to keep the halo straight.. then be a little be sensible! Avoid the battered prawns, garlic bread, anything that's covered in mayonnaise or cream... go for the smoked salmon.. chicken skewers.. the cold meats.. breadsticks... salsa... hummus...  you all know its for the best..


4. HANDS OFF
When the waiters bring around those trays of gorgeousness... keep your hands full.. have a camera, napkin, phone and wine glass.. all will keep both hands occupied so you can grab the tray and leg it!


5. CHEESED OFF
If you're a cheeseboard kinda gal.. *raises hand*  then be a bit savvie.. Brie, Camembert and Edam are better than cheddar, Stilton and Roule... Best choice is you're a fan is goats cheese!


No one is saying you're can't enjoy the fun.. but a few wise choices will make you and the scales happier in the long run!

More Chirstmas tips incoming!! Great losses!!!  And fantastic feedback from Mr. Q and his post.. he's officially a regular around here!

This weeks post will be on time! eek!

Doll x

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