#Mumentum - New directions...

OK I admit it, I have cheated a little this week - I went and read Liska's post before writing this. And I am glad I did as Liska has summed up perfectly what has been on my mind since the beginning of the year...

Like many, many other people I spend a lot of time thinking and talking (whinging) about how crap everything is - no money, bad health, a constant stream of bad luck and, more to the point for us #Mumentum ladies - no weight loss.  With all this focus on the negatives is it any wonder there is no room in our lives for positives?

 My previous job (before being a mummy kind of took over!) was managing an alternative therapies and gift shop. Whilst there I learnt a lot about so-called New Age therapies. Much of it has no scientific basis whatsoever and many people find it easier to put it down as nonsense or even go as far as to claim practitioners are little more than con artists out to rip-off gullible, vulnerable people with a load of mumbo-jumbo, and I have no doubt that this was the case on many occasions, BUT I did also see many people who were helped in a positive way by, basically, changing their thinking and allowing their inner selves to shine through and attract more positivity into their lives. By concentrating on the positive they were allowing the positive to make itself known. And while it may be true that we cannot 100% control what comes into our lives, how we DEAL with it is entirely up to us!

Focus

Liska has suggested we refocus on the positive - what we wish to be - our Inner Truth - rather than dwelling on, and therefor attracting, the negative - or what we do not wish to be.  there was a link on her post to a Kundalini Yoga lesson that has much relevance and that I read with great interest. Yoga has been a part of my life since my early 20's and the deep breathing and meditative practise carried through to my Shaolin Kung Fu training, but it has all fallen by the wayside since the Little Man came into my life. This lesson has reminded me of the power of deep breathing..





So this week I will be concentrating on rediscovering the fire in my belly

With all this in mind Liska has also proposed a new name for our Monday linky...

The beautiful thing about this is that it opens the linky up to everyone!  So if you want to embrace the positive and embark upon a journey to find your Inner Truth, why not join in? If you want to add your post, or read others, the linky is here

#Mumentum - A Week Off

I spent most of last week at my mums which meant portion control pretty much went out of the window.
My parents like to eat - although, to their credit, they do eat a lot less than they used to! They like BIG meals, usually meat based and in much larger quantities than we are used to.
As a grazer who prefers to eat little and often, I find the traditional eating three meals a day thing quite difficult. I find I simply can't manage the plate load put in front of me, and certainly don't have any room for pudding afterwards but a couple of hours later I am ready to eat again (while they are dozing). I also realised that I drink a LOT more than they do. And I am not talking about alcohol here. At home I virtually chain drink tea and coffee, although I am trying to alternate with water now. Whilst there I find myself flicking the kettle on and ending up making tea/coffee for the multitudes... (I should explain both my brother and sister still live at home. There is some rule that states whenever one wants a cuppa one MUST make a cuppa for everyone else in the house too. Which is probably why they don't drink nearly as much as I do...)

The weather wasn't brilliant either so, apart from a Friday morning bimble around town (which included a very lovely crafty purchase) there was not much exercise to be had, but I did manage to get to bed at a reasonable time and the Little Man was good and didn't wake up too early so I got a decent amount of sleep!

I am also proud to say I was able to turn down a (repeatedly) offered doughnut - I honestly don't think my mum believed me the first time!

Last night I did my first Wii workout for a week using the 'Combine Routines' function for 30 mins of varied exercise followed by a 20 min jog. After a week of nothing I noticed a definite drop in performance but it felt good to be back on it again.

And as for the scales - my new BFF - they neither frowned nor smiled. No change.

#Mumentum - Weighty Matters...

 The scales are not my friend...

Or you could say they are my very best friend as they are honest and they tell it like it is without sugar-coating the truth. Unlike a good friend, however, they don't offer hugs and a cuppa to ease the pain of bad news (and they are a bit of loss on the gossipping front to, if I'm honest...).

After last week's post full of positivity my confidence is back on the floor. You see, despite spending best part of an hour every day jogging, hula-hoop-ing, boxing, yoga and pretending to be a Jedi knight with my light sabre on the swordplay section of WiiResort; despite clocking up a couple of hours and 15km on the exercise bike whilst watching Eastenders; despite sweating like a pig in my Zaggora Hotpants; despite there being barely a cake, biscuit or packet of crisps in the house because money is tight again; despite all of this the scales show no change...

It's frustrating to say the least.

Friends have tried to reassure me that aren't showing weight loss because I am building up muscle mass thanks to all the exercise and although I am losing fat, muscle weighs more. Etc. Etc.
Problem is my scales are clever. They show me how much of my body is fat (a scary 38% at the moment!!) and how much that fat weighs (you really don't want to know).
The numbers are exactly the same as they were at the beginning of January...

I am clearly not doing everything I could/should so this week I am going to really concentrate on what I am eating, portion control, getting plenty of water and  ABSOLUTELY NO SNACKING.

#Mumentum New Year, New Me (blah blah blah)

It's been a while since I last did a Mum-en-tum post and, well, nothing much has changed.
December brought the usual round of over-indulgence - I blame the fact that mince pies and brandy cream are only available for 2 months of the year. I have to get my fix before they disappear from the shelves until next November...
But, that said I entered 2012 10lbs lighter than I was at the beginning of 2011 so there must be some progress being made!
Now back in the old days (read early 20's) shifting a stone after the party season was not a major problem. A few weeks of soup, salad and chocolate hobnob abstinence was usually all that was required to shift the winter weight. But it is true what they say about it getting harder as you get older.
Last week I celebrated my 38th birthday (with Chinese food and chocolate cupcakes) That's officially 'late-30's'. Nearly 40 even. If I stand any chance of getting rid of those excess pounds stones for good, this is the year I have to make it happen or else a  life of floaty tunics and elastic waistbands looms...

No dieting here though.
I detest that word... instead I am looking a bit more carefully at what I eat and, most importantly, my portion sizes. I have been researching some low fat, healthy recipes and trying to create meals that I can enjoy with the LM. I am looking for recipes that are intended to serve only one or two (not as easy as you might think) so that over-eating is not an option. If  I find some good ones I will share if you like :-)

The gym or exercise classes are still a non-starter for me. Even if we could spare the cash I can't get to any of the darn things! The exercise bike, however,  is finally being used as it was intended - ie: it's not draped with coats, bags, ironing etc and my lovely OH picked up a second hand Wii complete with Wii Fit for me for Christmas which we have all had lots of fun with through the dreary month of January. I am just starting to get into a routine of sorts and it is actually very good fun and the daily body tests are pretty motivational! I will let you know how I get on with that and how much of a difference it makes...

In the meantime I wish all you lovely Mumentum ladies a (slightly belated) Happy New Year. Lets make 2012 the year we all achieve what we want! xx

Don't forget to visit Liska's blog NewMumOnline and check out all the other Mumentum posts this week...  (for some reason my lovely new blog template won't let me add the the linky tool to this post)
 

I'm not pregnant, I'm just fat, ok?

Morning MUMENTUM ladies - hope you are all well and have enjoyed the summer 'break' (I use that term in the loosest possible manner as I know it's not really much of a break for many of us!)

It's been a while since my last MUMENTUM post ( about 6 weeks to be exact!) and to be perfectly honest not much has changed. I managed to not put back on any of the weight I lost through that *food poisoning* episode which is a bonus. But that's it.

The Thinking Slimmer Slimpod frankly didn't do for me what I had hoped it would do. That's not to say it had no effect whatsoever. It gave me a much needed boot up the jacksy and made me re-evaluate how I spend my day. I have become more organised and have achieved much more because of it. My appetite has definitely dropped, I am eating less (although that is partly due to financial constraints on my food budget as much as anything...) but there has been no further weight loss. It's quite depressing.

Last week I was wearing one of my favourite tunic top/dresses over leggings. A gorgeous retro 70's print, A-line with little cap sleeves and a cute double frill hem. I love it - makes me come over all 'Barbara Goode'. And it's very flattering. Or so I thought.

Whilst flitting about town (as you do) not one, but two people asked me if I was pregnant!!!
You know how it goes. "I don't mean to be cheeky but are you expecting again?" "No!" says I. "Oh I'm sorry, didn't mean to be rude!" "That's ok - it's just this top!" Inwardly seething - how bloody rude!! - and considering burning favourite top. "It's just that you look really well, glowing even..." Trying to cover tracks now and avoiding any possible accusation that she has just called me fat, quickly followed by "I love that top. Covers a multitude of sins!" "Thanks!" I mutter and quickly leave the shop before I burst into tears in front of her and further compound the embarrassment.

But the truth of the matter is, despite having lost a little weight (I can see it in my face and my legs) I still have the MUM TUM. It's getting in the way. It means none of my clothes fit properly. Hell,  I look more pregnant than my sister-in-law who IS actually 5months pregnant....

I know what I have to do (uncover the exercise bike that is hidden behind a stack of ironing/toys/random crap and actually use it) I have the motivation. Now I just need to find the time...

#MUMenTUM Losing weight the icky way...

Hello ladies - it's Monday, so it must be time for some MUMenTUM catch-up!
This past week has not been the best week ever - read this post here to see all the reasons why - in fact there were moments when I actually lost track of the hours/days and curled up in a little ball under a duvet on the sofa and prayed that it would all just go away... (especially the energetic toddler who insisted on using mummy as a bouncy castle)
Food poisoning is not a nice experience. It completely sapped my energy ( I guess not eating for four days can do that...) and reduced me to tears of frustration and pain. Not pleasant.
On the plus side I lost over half a stone. A couple of pounds have gone back on since I have started eating again but hopefully that's it.

#MUMenTUM - Things they are a-changing...

Good morning ladies -  I hope you are all well and feeling positive!!

I am now into the second week of using the Slimpod and although I haven't shed masses of weight (3/4lb at weigh-in on Saturday morning) I am beginning to notice a change in the way I am thinkng about food and eating. My portions are definitely getting smaller and my food choices are getting better.
A case in point -  yesterday I went to the Tewkesbury Medieval Fayre with my MIL and SIL. We go every year, usually the whole family but the OH really didn't feel like it and the Little Man was happy to stay at home with Daddy and watch World Superbikes and F1 on the TV. This year it was packed to the gills and by lunchtime the queues out of the food tents were ridiculous so we found ourselves a nice refreshing fruit juice slushy (which was yummy!) and decided to carry on shopping and get food on the way home. Which meant McDonalds...
After ordering strawberry shakes to take back for the boys I surprised myself totally by going for the Grilled Chicken Salad Wrap and a bottle of water. No fries. No coke. No McFlurry.  I think the messages ARE getting through!*
The changes are not only food related. Looking back on my week of success log enteries and I see that I am feeling a lot more relaxed about what I can and cannot do and ultimately I seem to be achieving more each day because of it! My creative mojo seems to be returning AND I seem to be finding it easier to keep on top of the housework as well.
It seems there is more to me being the me I want to be than just simply losing weight...

*just in case you are interested you can work out the nutrirional information of your McD's meal by going to their UK website and adding your meal items to a list that adds up total calories, fat, sugar and salt. It's an eye opener!