So here we are...

Another long bank holiday weekend to tempt me into diving head first into chocolate, cake and cookie heaven! So far i've been able to stick to my exercise and healthy meals because I haven't strayed too far from my house, and there's no "crap" in my house, so the only option is too eat healthily!

See, when i'm at home or work eating healthily is a doddle- my fridge, freezer and cupboards are full with all the so-called "good for you" foods, and every night I put some of these "good for you" foods into tupperware boxes and take them into work with me the next day. (Yep, no canteen dinners for me!)

But its a lot harder when i'm out and about as I dont really want to carry a cooler bag of food around with me 24/7! Lets face it, walking down the high street trying to eat a tuna salad out of a tupperware box as hundreds of shopping bags swing from your foreams is slightly impractial!

So, if I know i'm going to be eating out then I of course save my naughty meal for this day. But if its one of those weeks where I have to eat out most days and i've already had my naughty meal for the week, then its all about allowing my head rather than my belly to make my food choices! (Easier said than done when your belly is waaaaaay bigger than your head!)

But to be honest, i'm skint! I just dont have the money for many days out or shopping sprees so i'm often at home or at my mums- where my tupperware boxes of "good for you" food come with me! (And before you ask- no, she isnt offended that I dont eat her cooking/food. In fact, I bet she prefers it! My dad sure does! Means i'm not "eating him out of house and home!")

So here we are, half way through this long bank holiday weekend, and with no real plans in my diary i'm 100% sure that i'll survive! Although there is one little thing in my diary....

My naughty meal!! A lovely, scrummy, 3 (possibly 4 depending on coffee) course meal with my big sister tomorrow evening!

Things are going...

swimmingly! And in more than one way - not only did I control myself beyond belief over Easter (I stuck to my "only one naughty meal a week" rule!) I have also started swimming!

Yep, this Easter the ice creams stayed in the freezer, the biscuits stayed in the tin and the hot cross buns stayed unopened as I stayed well and truly away from all the treats that I, and my belly bulge, love and adore.

But as we all know, I never deprive myself so when BBQ time came I went all out and piled my plate sky high with tonnes of delicious food... burgers, sausages, BBQ ribs, chicken legs, skewers, quiche, pasta salad, garden salad! (Of course, this didnt fit on my plate at once... I went up three times!)

It really was a fab Easter BBQ and I enjoyed myself immensley... which is more than I can say about my first swimming session! You see, I've never been a huge fan of the water- I dont like how it ALWAYS goes up my nose! Plus, i'm useless at swimming!

But when my mum flat out refused to go swimming with my big sister when she asked her, I stepped up! So last Wednesday, I rummaged through my wardrobe to find my "really old, only worn once" swimming costume (which, to my delight, had hidden tummy support! Result!) and spent a good 45 minutes coughing and splurting pool water (and god knows what else! *shivers*) out of my nose, mouth and lungs!

And now its Wednesday again! So tonight, as I've already pre-paid for 4 weeks of swimming/drowning, I will once again don my tummy control swimming costume and spend another 45 minutes attempting the front crawl only for it to develop into the doggy paddle!

So, with having just one cheat meal and adding swimming to my Wednesday evenings, I think its safe to say that I well and truly put two fingers up to temptation over the long Easter weekend!! Now I just have to do the same for this long Royal Wedding/May Day weekend! But surely that will easy... after all, i've done it once so I can do it again right?? (Yeah, i'm not overly convinced either!)

Happy Easter!

Yep, today is Easter Sunday so I wont keep you long as I know many of you, like me, will be hanging out in the sun filled garden with family and friends enjoying a few hot dogs off the barbie!

But I thought i'd spend a few minutes to let you know which idea I went for and give you a quick update on how i'm doing. So, i'll be honest....

.... i'm doing bloody brilliant!

Yep, although tempted, very very tempted, Good Friday and Easter Saturday came and went without a hot cross bun, drop of alcohol or chocolate egg crossing my lips. Not only that but I pumped out an extra circuit on my Friday weight workout and even went for a jog on Saturday, which is normally my day of rest, as I knew I wouldnt be able to do one today! (But before I celebrate I still have today and bank holiday Monday to get through!)

So, idea 2 of having a little treat each day has been binned and lets face it, idea 1 was always no-go as killing the Easter bunny would not look good as I work for an animal charity!

That leaves having a slight cheat day or ditching all ideas and indulging in just the BBQ as my one naughty meal for the week. (Either way, tomorrow will have to be a good day!)

Slight cheat day or naughty meal? Slight cheat day or naughty meal?? Slight cheat day or naughty meal??? Hmmm, I'm sooooo indecisive!!

Seeing as I really can't choose I think i'll just see how today goes! I'll definatley be tucking into the sausages, burgers, chicken, ribs, salad, pasta salad and other delights of the BBQ (they're already looking tasty- and they're still raw in there packaging!) ..... its just whether or not I can leave it at that so its just a naughty meal, or whether I succum to the chocolate, cake, biscuits and hot cross buns that will no doubt appear throughout day!

Either way, i'm going to enjoy this BBQ and we'll soon see what happens....

Long lie ins...

cups of tea in bed... feelings of calm and relaxation... yep, you can't beat a day off work which is why i'm really looking forward to Easter and all those bank holidays!

However, I find it 10 times harder to eat healthily when at home and especially when out and about! Obviously this is not good when you've challenged yourself to eat healthily for 3 months with just one naughty meal a week... and your only 3 and half weeks in!

Of course I do have my naughty meal card to play but this will be used to indulge in the big family roast dinner (or BBQ depending on the weather!) that we have every Easter Sunday to celebrate the occassion.

But I can see it now! Chocolate eggs, bunny biscuits, hot cross buns, little chocolate nests with the mini eggs perched in the middle- all looking perfect, begging to be eaten and chanting my name! (*sighs*) It's going to be hard and, other than locking myself in the cupboard under the stairs until the festivites are over, there's no getting away from it.

So, i'm preparing myself by thinking about damage limitation and have come up with 3 ideas. (Now, you will see these ideas use the word option. Option is a very important word as it means I shall only do this if I really need to! Not because I can or want to!)

Idea 1: Kill the Easter bunny! No Easter bunny = No Easter right?! Okay, not really an option.

Idea 2: Allow myself the option of having ONE little treat each day over Easter. For example, Good Friday is the day to eat hot cross buns lathered with butter and jam so I could treat myself to one hot cross bun on that day.

Idea 3: Allow myself the option of having a SLIGHT cheat day on Easter Sunday. This would keep me on the straight and narrow but giving me something to look forward to on Good Friday and Easter Saturday and would satisfy me through Easter Monday! (The key to this idea will be to keep it as a SLIGHT cheat day as I dont want a repeat of Christmas where I ate waaaaaaay too much and ended up with my head down my parents toilet!)

But whether I allow myself ONE treat a day, a SLIGHT cheat day or keep to my ONE naughty meal a week, I know i'm going to need every ounce of motivation, determination and will power to keep my hungry eyes, twitching fingers and bulging belly away for the hot cross buns... the hot cross buns lathered in butter and jam!... Mmmmm... (*drools*)

A quarter...

… a forth… 25% of the way there! Yep, however you want to say it I’ve done 3 weeks of healthy eating and exercising out of my 12 week target! Hoorah!

And to my surprise it’s not been too bad and I’m feeling pretty proud of myself for sticking to my guns and leaving the takeaway menu’s in the draw!

But while the healthy eating has been good (and delish!) and while the exercise has been good (although at times torture!) there is one thing that hasn’t been so good. And that thing has been me! I’ve upset people… and that is something I’m not proud of!

You see, I’ve never had much, if any, support for my healthy eating and exercise endeavours which hurts more than any amount of squats ever will! They see me my eating and exercising as “unnormal”and if I had a penny for every time they asked me: “Are you eating properly tonight?” I’d have a lot more pounds in the bank! Normally I just ignore it and let the pain simmer through my veins until they subside but this week the pain bubbled over when they screeched at me: “You’re obsessed!”

Needless to say, as this was coming from people who have been eating a few rocket leaves and chicken for every dinner and weighing out grapes in order to shift a few pounds, it was a HUGE pot calling the kettle black situation and podgy Pickle soon became pissed off Pickle!

This led to Pickle saying, well typing, some things she shouldn’t have shared. And for that Pickle apologies... sorry!

Now, just because I’ve said the “s” word doesn’t mean I’m admitting defeat because I’m not! I’m apologising for upsetting people as, as I argued, eating healthily and exercising does not make someone obsessed! If it does then a HUGE amount the population (plus themselves!) best be beware!

I’m not going to go on and on about this as it could well result in another argument… or even worse, another night of deafening silence! *shudders* But I will say this…

Determined? Yes. Motivated? Yes. Obsessed? NO! There is a difference between determination and motivation and obsession and if they can’t see this then unfortunately that’s not my problem.

Right, now that’s out the way, what was I saying…

Oh yes! So, three weeks down and all in all it’s been pretty easy and enjoyable. But after just 3 weeks I wouldn’t expect anything less…. it’s the next three quarters/75%/9 weeks of healthy eating and exercising that will be the real test!

But for now I’m feeling strong, fit and healthy so I’m going to stay determined and motivated (not obsessed!) and continue to eat my salads, drink my green tea, lift my weights and go for my morning jogs…. With or without the support of my loved ones!

I'm a lot of things...

But not stupid! I know for A FACT there is no way I could possibly go 12 weeks without having the odd splurge. So, before starting all this healthy eating and exercise I gave myself a little talking to!

I said: "Laura, you're allowed to have one naughty meal a week."

"When I say ONE meal, I mean ONE meal- not two or three! And when I say one MEAL, I mean one MEAL- not one day!" - Its very very important that I understand this as once I start eating I do have the tendancy to hoover up everything else I find!

Then I said: "If you dont feel the need to have a high calorie, high carb, high fat feast then dont!"

Let me guess... your peeing yourself laughing just as much as I did!? Yeah we both know I love my food waaaaay too much to never fancy a high calorie, high carb, high fat feast! You name it, I love it - alcohol, curry, pizza, pie, cake, biscuits..... mmmm biscuits!... Ooooh, Custard Creams!... I could so eat a Custard Cream right now!... Anyway...

To really prove my love for food, here's a pic from Saturday evening....

Yep, thats me enjoying my naughty meal for last week - a lovely jalfrezi curry, rice, bombay potatoes, onion bajis and naan bread! And that was after I had gobbled my way through my fair share of the starters and poppadums! I can really pack it away when I want to.... kind of a talent really! It was thirsty work though - lucky I had something to wash it down with....

I ate loads that night! And you know what? I didnt feel guilty for one second because it was my naughty meal!

You see, knowing that I am allowed ONE naughty MEAL a week not only stops me feeling guilty for eating a shed load of crap, but it helps me get through the week as I know it wont be long until I can indulge once again.

I have today off work so will need to put this into practice as I find it 10 times harder to be good at home! So, to stop me diving head first into my dads leftover chocolate birthday cake, I will now start to look forward to this weekend when, as usual, the Dominos Pizza menu will start calling my name and wont stop until i've hung up the phone after placing my order!

They say exercise is good for you...

And it is... at bringing pain, aches, lung failure and heart attacks! All of which I found out on Thursday when, as promised, I decided to hit the pavement running.

Before the cold November nights of 2010 kicked in, I had actually started to do okay at running a few km’s first thing in the morning. But my winter break is making me pay the price for opting to hang up my running trainers and snuggle under my duvet instead!

It had all started out pretty well- I was jogging at a nice gentle pace, enjoying the fresh air, listening to a bit of Britney on the iPod, doing better than I thought I would, then BANG!

Horrible, burning pain shooting from my toes to my thighs, and if that wasn’t bad enough my chest started to play up too! Yep, my chest thought: "I think I’m gonna squeeze together really hard so her lungs can’t take in much air and her heart pumps so fast it could explode! Hee hee!"

Luckily, my heart didn’t explode and I was so very very close to running to my target distance and back. But disappointingly, I stopped for a brief 30 second walk just as I was on the home straight! So very very gutting! (I would kick myself for it but I’ve been having real trouble moving my legs since).

Despite the pain. Despite the aches. Despite the fact my butt cheeks feel like they're ripping every time I get on and off the toilet! I will put my body through the torture and run again as there's no way i'm letting my lazy legs and blubber butt beat me in the battle of the bulge this time!

But for now…

It’s Saturday, and I really love Saturdays because it’s the one day of the week I don’t exercise! Hooray! So today, which started with a lovely lie in and a cup of tea in bed (thank you big sis), will be all about rest and relaxation! Oh yeah!

As for the evening, I shall be heading out for a big, fat, well deserved curry with my family to celebrate my dad’s birthday - a nice, little treat after a not so nice, not so little week of healthy eating and exercise!

Its Wednesday...

Aka hump day... aka the middle of week two... aka only 10 and a half weeks to go! Hoorah!

All in all I've not done too badly with the healthy eating (apart from the weekend slip up previously mentioned!) and exercise, but seeing as i'm still at the very beginning you wouldnt really expect anything less would you?!

There is one thing i've been putting off though! Putting off because it hurts...... alot! But I can't put it off any longer - I must once again don the old running shoes and jog my way to beach body beauty!

Now i've tried to start running again, I really have! But last week it was just still a bit too cold for my liking, and my plan to start yesterday was squashed as I just simply couldnt run with it being my time of the month could I?!

But its now time to stop using the weather and my ovaries as an excuse! So tomorrow morning I WILL go for my first jog in god knows how many months, and I KNOW I'll do it because i've put it on here now so I have to!!

And you WILL come back to my blog this weekend, and I KNOW this because you'll want to know whether I survive!!

The first real test...

…and it’s safe to say I totally flunked!

Yep, Saturday night dinner at Zizzi’s went from “choose one of the healthy options” to “sod it! Order the lot!” Starter, main course AND dessert all came and went and as I sat through the brilliant show that was Calendar Girls I did feel a little rotten, guilty and upset that I caved in so easily but hell, the food was deeeeeelish!

Today hasn’t been overly brilliant either… a Sunday roast with the family to celebrate Mother’s Day ended with me finishing off all the roast potatoes, stuffing and having more than my fair share of pigs in blankets. But, it’s Mother’s Day, and the one thing that makes all mothers proud is seeing you leave a nice empty plate! And if you can’t overeat on such a special day like Mother’s Day when can you?!

However, today hasn’t been all bad. You won’t believe it; I can’t even believe it myself, but I totally resisted the gorgeous, sweet, mouth-watering apple tarte tatin and Cornish ice cream that my mum brought as an after dinner treat! Well, I say totally resisted…. I was JUST able to! It really did look and smell fantastic (but what do you expect from a Waitrose, Seriously Fruity Tarte Tatin!) Nevertheless, I’m proud and it’s an amazing achievement as I never EVER turn down dessert!

Not only that, but sitting in the fridge is my supper for tonight…..left over chicken and salad! (Much healthier than the Dominos take away I had last Sunday).

All in all the first week has been pretty good - 5 days of solid healthy eating, 6 days of exercise and I’m feeling pretty optimistic about the week to come!