... Ibiza... and the final blog entry from podgy Pickle! (I know, I know. Its a sad time, a very sad time.)
Yep, 12 weeks ago I set out to lose my stubborn, ugly, unloved pot belly and regularly updated this blog to not only entertain you (if there are any "you"'s out there??) but to also keep track of my progress.
I would love to say that the last 12 weeks have been a fun and pleasurable experience but seeing as thats not true i'd be lieing! While I enjoyed the initial success I had in the first six weeks, the last six weeks has been nothing less than a rollercoaster ride!
The first half of the challenge came and went without any mishaps - I ate my planned meals, did all my exercises and kept to my rule of just one naughty meal a week. My willpower and determination during this time paid off as for the first time since I was, I dont know.... a toddler!? I tipped the scales at under 9 stone! (8 stone 11lbs and 3/4 to be exact! A huge achievement for me seeing as I have always struggled to get under the 9 and half stone mark!)
But then I hit "the wall!"
Yep, I got to that point where I thought: "Wow, 12 weeks is a long time! I dont think I can keep this up!" This thinking plus the fact that I had already achieved a lot made me think I could afford to relax a little... but I was wrong!
From the start of week 7 to the present day, I have struggled beyond belief to stay on track with the diet. My one naughty meal a week soon turned into two naughty meals a week... all the way to today where I have had a whopping three naughty meals this week and that doesnt include tonight when I go out for dinner!
Obviously, this is not good and I feel ashamed typing it! But, on a positive note I have kept up with my exercises of jogging 3 mornings a week and lifting weights 3 times a week too- it's easy to do when you enjoy it :)
But as you can imagine, my poor second half performance means I havent got the beach body I wanted and i'm pretty sure i'm back over the 9 stone mark! (I'm not going to weigh myself to see though!)
So, my pot belly will be joining me on the flight to Ibiza! And unfortunately, my pot belly will also join me on the return flight... but it would have grown a whole lot bigger! (*grimaces*)
Saturday 18 June 2011
Wednesday 15 June 2011
They think it's all over...
... it is now! Yep, i'm just a few days away from the sunshine of Ibiza and I have done all I can! No amount of dieting, exercise, breathing in or praying will change the way my belly and I look in a bikini now!
I have to say that this last week has been very very relaxed for me, both in the way of work (I really couldnt be bothered to do anything) and my diet and exercise (I knew losing another pound wouldnt make a huge, if any, difference so kinda thought "sod it!")
I have still been getting up at the crack of dawn to go for my 3.57 mile runs and do my weight routines, but the evening bike rides did stopped- not only because I thought practising the art of eating ice cream and drinking alcohol in the evening would be more beneficial for Ibiza but also because of this darn British weather! So windy and rainy! (Better not be like that in Ibiza!)
In all fairness my diet hasnt been overly bad! I may have had the odd alcoholic beverage and bowl of ice cream but i've pretty much stuck to my "good for you" food for the rest of the time!! I did veer off track by changing a turkey and veg meal to a more satisfying sausage and mash combo- but seeing as sausages are protein, potatos are veg and it was served with a big pile of peas, thats a rather balanced meal in my eyes! (*smiles*)
But now its all off! The 12 week plan has ended as from 5pm tomorrow I am officially off work and on annual leave! Yippeeeeeeeee! And as Ibiza will be just around the corner i'm going to celebrate...
Friday will come, i'll wake up, have a cup of tea, do a workout, drink my protein shake, shower, dry, get dressed, clean the house, pop to Tesco, pack my suitcase, eat lunch, drive to my parents, make chit chat with the folks, wait for my beautician, let the beautician in, have my eyebrows waxed, have my eyelashes tinted, pay the beautician, and then...
The beautician will leave, we'll open the champagne, get the chinese takeaway menu, argue over who's gonna ring up, order the same dishes, order too many dishes, lay the table, guzzle our champagne, warm plates in the oven, look out the window for delivery, finish our champagne, moan there's no more champagne, open some wine instead, check out the window again, sit on the sofa, down our wine, say how hungry we are, have another look outside, pour more wine, listen to the doorbell, rush to the door, pay the driver, take our food, sit at the table, top up our drink, frantically pile food on our plates, and... eat and drink waay more than we should or need!
I have to say that this last week has been very very relaxed for me, both in the way of work (I really couldnt be bothered to do anything) and my diet and exercise (I knew losing another pound wouldnt make a huge, if any, difference so kinda thought "sod it!")
I have still been getting up at the crack of dawn to go for my 3.57 mile runs and do my weight routines, but the evening bike rides did stopped- not only because I thought practising the art of eating ice cream and drinking alcohol in the evening would be more beneficial for Ibiza but also because of this darn British weather! So windy and rainy! (Better not be like that in Ibiza!)
In all fairness my diet hasnt been overly bad! I may have had the odd alcoholic beverage and bowl of ice cream but i've pretty much stuck to my "good for you" food for the rest of the time!! I did veer off track by changing a turkey and veg meal to a more satisfying sausage and mash combo- but seeing as sausages are protein, potatos are veg and it was served with a big pile of peas, thats a rather balanced meal in my eyes! (*smiles*)
But now its all off! The 12 week plan has ended as from 5pm tomorrow I am officially off work and on annual leave! Yippeeeeeeeee! And as Ibiza will be just around the corner i'm going to celebrate...
Friday will come, i'll wake up, have a cup of tea, do a workout, drink my protein shake, shower, dry, get dressed, clean the house, pop to Tesco, pack my suitcase, eat lunch, drive to my parents, make chit chat with the folks, wait for my beautician, let the beautician in, have my eyebrows waxed, have my eyelashes tinted, pay the beautician, and then...
The beautician will leave, we'll open the champagne, get the chinese takeaway menu, argue over who's gonna ring up, order the same dishes, order too many dishes, lay the table, guzzle our champagne, warm plates in the oven, look out the window for delivery, finish our champagne, moan there's no more champagne, open some wine instead, check out the window again, sit on the sofa, down our wine, say how hungry we are, have another look outside, pour more wine, listen to the doorbell, rush to the door, pay the driver, take our food, sit at the table, top up our drink, frantically pile food on our plates, and... eat and drink waay more than we should or need!
Saturday 11 June 2011
New hair, dinner at mums- must mean...
... I'm officially in holiday mode!
Yep, this weekend is all about Ibiza baby! My bank balance is already £70 slimmer thanks to my restyle at the hairdressers this morning, and tomorrow my mum, sister and I will hit the shops for essential holiday wear! (Hence the reason for staying at mums tonight... so we can hit those shops early!!)
I've had a really good week on the diet with no mid week cheats or takeaways so, as I have a lot to do this weekend and wont be at home, i've decided to relax my diet for these couple of days... starting tonight with a girlie night in!
Yep, dad is out playing cricket so its just us 3 girls, some trashy TV, a simple dinner of chicken, chips and beans, tipple of Cava and... dessert! (You've always gotta have dessert on a girlie night in!) And tonights dessert is something I baked as a suprise for my mum...
Pickle's fudge tart... just like the ones from school! (Go on admit it - you want some! I dont blame you- I'm a fab little baker! I even make my own pastry!)
I can tell tonight is going to be a great evening and it wont stop there as tomorrow we'll embark on our fun shopping spree and depending on the weather, we'll either indulge in lunch at one of Cambridge's restaurants or a scrummy BBQ in the evening. (Mmmmm)
So, as you can see the diet is momentarily on hold and will recommence on Monday... for a few days... as from 3pm Thursday I am officially on annual leave and so the holiday really begins!!
Yep, this weekend is all about Ibiza baby! My bank balance is already £70 slimmer thanks to my restyle at the hairdressers this morning, and tomorrow my mum, sister and I will hit the shops for essential holiday wear! (Hence the reason for staying at mums tonight... so we can hit those shops early!!)
I've had a really good week on the diet with no mid week cheats or takeaways so, as I have a lot to do this weekend and wont be at home, i've decided to relax my diet for these couple of days... starting tonight with a girlie night in!
Yep, dad is out playing cricket so its just us 3 girls, some trashy TV, a simple dinner of chicken, chips and beans, tipple of Cava and... dessert! (You've always gotta have dessert on a girlie night in!) And tonights dessert is something I baked as a suprise for my mum...
Pickle's fudge tart... just like the ones from school! (Go on admit it - you want some! I dont blame you- I'm a fab little baker! I even make my own pastry!)
I can tell tonight is going to be a great evening and it wont stop there as tomorrow we'll embark on our fun shopping spree and depending on the weather, we'll either indulge in lunch at one of Cambridge's restaurants or a scrummy BBQ in the evening. (Mmmmm)
So, as you can see the diet is momentarily on hold and will recommence on Monday... for a few days... as from 3pm Thursday I am officially on annual leave and so the holiday really begins!!
Wednesday 8 June 2011
Eating more...
is harder than I thought! I know, I didnt think it would be either! All week i've done my exercises and have been aiming to eat at least 200 extra calories from "good" food a day.
But despite trying i'm just not chomping through enough food and with no naughty meal to re-charge my batteries, i'm now starting to lack energy and feel drained, especially in my legs! This is obviously not good as i'm now finding it a lot harder to...
(1) get out of bed in the morning- especially as I know i'm getting out to do exercise!
(2) get on my bike after work- all I want to do is curl up on the sofa and watch some life wasting TV!
(3) get in the mood to cook- not good when the only other dinner options are a takeaway or munch on crappy snack food!
Totally sucks eh??
But i'm trying to think of possible positives like...
... I'm not actually craving a big, high cal, high carb, high fat meal (even though my body could probably do with one!)
... I'll enjoy my naughty weekend meal a lot more knowing i've earnt it by being good all week.
... if I miss the odd evening workout it wont have a huge impact as my diet is helping to give me the calorie deflict I need.
But I need to do something! So, with just two days until the weekend (which will involve lots of holiday prepping for me! Hee hee!) I am going to try and get the balance right by either making sure I eat more daily calories or by missing the odd exercise session.
My theory is, whichever I do will mean my calorie deflict will be slightly reduced so i'll have more energy?? Well, thats what i'm telling myself anyway!
But despite trying i'm just not chomping through enough food and with no naughty meal to re-charge my batteries, i'm now starting to lack energy and feel drained, especially in my legs! This is obviously not good as i'm now finding it a lot harder to...
(1) get out of bed in the morning- especially as I know i'm getting out to do exercise!
(2) get on my bike after work- all I want to do is curl up on the sofa and watch some life wasting TV!
(3) get in the mood to cook- not good when the only other dinner options are a takeaway or munch on crappy snack food!
Totally sucks eh??
But i'm trying to think of possible positives like...
... I'm not actually craving a big, high cal, high carb, high fat meal (even though my body could probably do with one!)
... I'll enjoy my naughty weekend meal a lot more knowing i've earnt it by being good all week.
... if I miss the odd evening workout it wont have a huge impact as my diet is helping to give me the calorie deflict I need.
But I need to do something! So, with just two days until the weekend (which will involve lots of holiday prepping for me! Hee hee!) I am going to try and get the balance right by either making sure I eat more daily calories or by missing the odd exercise session.
My theory is, whichever I do will mean my calorie deflict will be slightly reduced so i'll have more energy?? Well, thats what i'm telling myself anyway!
Sunday 5 June 2011
Pickle's perfect pizza!
Yep, I did it! I finally found a recipe that not only gives me a low cal, low carb pizza base but also tastes great with a crispy crust! And here's the pic to prove it... 
Yum yum, looks good eh?? And it came in at only 274 calories! But saying that, it was only a small 6" pizza as didnt want to attempt to make a huge one incase it all went wrong and I ended up wasting my ingredients!! But it was delish and now I know it works i'll definately be increasing the inches and adding a few to my food diary!
My pizza triumph isnt the only event of the past few days- this morning I finally conquered the horribly steep and long hill that I've been trying to reach the top of! Yep, I jogged uphill into a head wind for about 4 miles and it took me just 34 minutes! (very proud! *big cheesy grin*)
This acccomplishment probably had something to do with the HUGE 5 course meal me and my sister indulged in last night! Lots of carbs + lots of fat + lots of cals + lots of champers = lots and lots of energy this morning!!
Not only that but yesterday morning I also decided to do something brave (or stupid depending on how you look at it!) ....
... I stepped onto the scales again - just two weeks after the last and very traumatic time!
And why did I decide to do this? To give me kick up the butt! Yep, with my diet being less than 100%, I thought the best way to help me stick to my "one naughty meal a week" rule was to shock myself by seeing just how many lbs my extra, and normally very calorific, meal is adding!
And the result...
...wasnt quite what I expected! In the last two weeks i've managed to shred 1lb with my bodyfat decreasing by .1% - thats nearly the same amount that I lost in 4 weeks when I was trying a hell of a lot harder!
So, there you have it... eating more calories (and being slightly naughtier!) isnt sooo bad afterall if your exercising hard! In fact, its better! I now realise its all about balance and making sure your eating enough calories to fuel your workouts and keep your energy and metabolism high! So, thats what i'll be focusing on for the last two weeks of my plan- eating more calories (preferably "good" calories - not takeaways and biscuits!) so that I have plenty of energy and can give it my all when exercising!
Yum yum, looks good eh?? And it came in at only 274 calories! But saying that, it was only a small 6" pizza as didnt want to attempt to make a huge one incase it all went wrong and I ended up wasting my ingredients!! But it was delish and now I know it works i'll definately be increasing the inches and adding a few to my food diary!
My pizza triumph isnt the only event of the past few days- this morning I finally conquered the horribly steep and long hill that I've been trying to reach the top of! Yep, I jogged uphill into a head wind for about 4 miles and it took me just 34 minutes! (very proud! *big cheesy grin*)
This acccomplishment probably had something to do with the HUGE 5 course meal me and my sister indulged in last night! Lots of carbs + lots of fat + lots of cals + lots of champers = lots and lots of energy this morning!!
Not only that but yesterday morning I also decided to do something brave (or stupid depending on how you look at it!) ....
... I stepped onto the scales again - just two weeks after the last and very traumatic time!
And why did I decide to do this? To give me kick up the butt! Yep, with my diet being less than 100%, I thought the best way to help me stick to my "one naughty meal a week" rule was to shock myself by seeing just how many lbs my extra, and normally very calorific, meal is adding!
And the result...
...wasnt quite what I expected! In the last two weeks i've managed to shred 1lb with my bodyfat decreasing by .1% - thats nearly the same amount that I lost in 4 weeks when I was trying a hell of a lot harder!
So, there you have it... eating more calories (and being slightly naughtier!) isnt sooo bad afterall if your exercising hard! In fact, its better! I now realise its all about balance and making sure your eating enough calories to fuel your workouts and keep your energy and metabolism high! So, thats what i'll be focusing on for the last two weeks of my plan- eating more calories (preferably "good" calories - not takeaways and biscuits!) so that I have plenty of energy and can give it my all when exercising!
Wednesday 1 June 2011
I love surprises...
... and this bank holiday weekend threw up two of them!
Firstly, I was surprised with a very early birthday present from my family- a brand new mountain bike... with dual suspension... and a comfy seat!
I know, i'm a lucky girl! And I have to say, my new bike really is the dogs b*****ks! I went out on it properly for the first time tonight and every crack, dip and bump in the road couldnt stop me and my new bike!
The only downside is I can no longer use "my butt hurts too much" or "my tyres have a slow puncture" as an excuse as to why i'm sat on the sofa watching Hollyoaks rather than doing my scheduled bike ride!
But I really do love my brand new, shiny, blue and white bike and I can't thank my parents and sister enough for surprising me with it!
The second surprise happened when I started eating my homemade Tandoori Hot pizza... and unfortunately it wasnt a good one!
Dont get me wrong the topping was fab (spicy turkey, mushrooms and mozzarella!) but the crust kinda turned out like a very firm omlette which I really wasnt expecting when I took my first bite!
To be honest the "kinda of" omlette base topped with tomato puree, turkey, mushrooms and mozzarella wasnt that awful and me being me (a girl who hates waste!) ate the lot! But, i've brought a shed load of flaxmeal which was not cheap so i'm determined to make a proper pizza base with the stuff! So, i've done some googling and tomorrow I will put my chef's hat back on and attempt to come up with a crusty pizza base!
So, with just a mere 18 days til the end of my 12 week challenge and my holiday to Ibiza, here's hoping my culinery skills can prevail before I cave in and order old faithful.... (Ooops! Too late... Dominos was ordered yesterday!)
Firstly, I was surprised with a very early birthday present from my family- a brand new mountain bike... with dual suspension... and a comfy seat!
I know, i'm a lucky girl! And I have to say, my new bike really is the dogs b*****ks! I went out on it properly for the first time tonight and every crack, dip and bump in the road couldnt stop me and my new bike!
The only downside is I can no longer use "my butt hurts too much" or "my tyres have a slow puncture" as an excuse as to why i'm sat on the sofa watching Hollyoaks rather than doing my scheduled bike ride!
But I really do love my brand new, shiny, blue and white bike and I can't thank my parents and sister enough for surprising me with it!
The second surprise happened when I started eating my homemade Tandoori Hot pizza... and unfortunately it wasnt a good one!
Dont get me wrong the topping was fab (spicy turkey, mushrooms and mozzarella!) but the crust kinda turned out like a very firm omlette which I really wasnt expecting when I took my first bite!
To be honest the "kinda of" omlette base topped with tomato puree, turkey, mushrooms and mozzarella wasnt that awful and me being me (a girl who hates waste!) ate the lot! But, i've brought a shed load of flaxmeal which was not cheap so i'm determined to make a proper pizza base with the stuff! So, i've done some googling and tomorrow I will put my chef's hat back on and attempt to come up with a crusty pizza base!
So, with just a mere 18 days til the end of my 12 week challenge and my holiday to Ibiza, here's hoping my culinery skills can prevail before I cave in and order old faithful.... (Ooops! Too late... Dominos was ordered yesterday!)
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