Day 172 P&V

Weigh In - 13st 13.5llbs / 195.5llbs / 88.67kgs

Lost 1llb. In the 13 stones!!!!! I'm not feeling very excited about it....... It feels like a very hollow victory somehow! No doubt I'll be back in the 14 stones tomorrow! LOL.

Total loss for week 1.25llbs, but seeing as I went up 1.75llbs before coming back down again, I'm fine with that. Really its 3 llbs.......... ;@)

Another awful night, I've got a banging head! I'm struggling to get myself moving, but I must, loads to do!!!!!

I did make Shannon's bread this morning. It was nice, definitely needed toasting, think I may have used too much yeast, I too don't get it and there are no instructions on the packs I have, so I dont know if more water was needed????? I toasted it and had it with a dry fried egg and 2 slices of bacon, it was good, different to oatbran porridge!!!! Glad I tried it, think any recipe like this takes a few attempts before you get it exactly right. I think I may add some herbs / cheese next time. There is a cheese/dill bread on Dukanitout website that I want to try.

Oh and I used baking parchment, in hindsight I should have sprayed it with low fat cooking spray / PAM???? HEHE. There was some stickage!

Hope everyone has a great day xoxo

Day 171 - PP

Weight - 1LLB loss!!!!! 14st .5llb / 196.5llbs / 89.13kgs.

Slightly lower than last Saturday, phew!

Tummy wise, I feel much better today, not quite 100%, but getting there. I am just absolutely exhausted, I dont know how much more of this not sleeping I can cope with!!!!!! She woke up at 2.30am this morning and I just felt so stressed out, my stomach was in knots, I felt sick - maybe this has contributed to my tummy troubles. She didnt settle again until about 4.30am, Tim turned off his alarm and woke up at 8.20am, he has to be in work for 9am - 24 miles away!!!!! Not sure if he made it on time........ OOPS.

Not much planned for today, I'm going to see my sister this afternoon so that will be nice.

Hope everyone's having a great day xoxo

Day 170 PP

Weight - SAME.

I may have consumed more tolerated items than permitted today, but in all honesty, I'm not bothered! If I'm not going to lose weight this week or maybe even next, I'm going to at least make sure I get enough calories in. (I'm feeling a little despondant / sulky today!!! LOL) One thing I did notice though, is that I don't have as much control over myself around sweet things as I would like, although my chocolate muffins weren't sweet at all, I found myself getting that all consuming urge to eat them all, so although they were fantastic, I dont think I will be making them very often. Hopefully the bread will be easier to handle, less emotionally charged than my relationship with sweet things.

I've been keeping on with the peppermint/fennel tea and haven't drunk any carbonated drinks today, I must admit that my stomach feels a little better, thankfully.

I sent Tim out yesterday to buy wheat bran. My oatbran comes in 800g bags (orange packaging) so he called and said the wheat bran comes in 750g bags, how many do you want me to get? I said, get 4, thinking they were going to be a similar size to the oatbran. He didnt mention they were huge things!!!!! Now I have 4 massive bags of the stuff!!!!! MEN.......... LOL.

 Shannons chocolate muffin recipe -  slightly tweaked - I obviously added wheatbran!!!!! HEHE. They didnt turn out sweet enough for my liking but I had them with f/f vanilla yoghurt and rhubarb, it was delicious. Thanks Shannon.

I will make your bread tomorrow!!!


I made some onion crackers yesterday from the Dukanitout Website,
my oven was a little hot so they didnt turn out quite right, but they
were great, it was nice to have somthing that was crunchy & crisp
(other than raw veg!). I ate some today with my taco mince (Charlotte's recipe)
 It was like eating chilli and nachos - MEGA YUM! :)

This is the picture of the soft buns I made from the same website a few weeks ago, they were nice, BUT, if I made them again I would make them smaller or cook them for longer, the insides weren't quite cooked enough for my liking based on their quoted cooking times.





Hope everyone else is having a great Dukan day xoxo

Day 169 (P&V)

Well I ate more yesterday and am now 1llb down, same weight as this time last week, but still up from Saturday - OH WELL!!!!!!

My verdict - I wasn't eating enough and I have trapped wind!!!! Dont laugh!!!! :) I know it sounds funny but it is so painful. I was really starting to worry about it yesterday, then I woke up in the middle of the night and remembered that I had exactly the same thing when I was younger, it felt exactly the same. At the time I went to the doctors then and he recommended a bowl of branflakes! Well I can't do that now, but I asked Tim to get me some wheat bran from the health food shop today and I am going to make some of Shannon's bread and see if that helps. Im also having another P&V day and am drinking peppermint & fennel tea.

Thanks for all the support / comments, I really do appreciate it! 

I shouldn't be surprised - this diet always seems to do this type of thing to me. As soon as I start to feel comfy, like I have a good routine going, I think "I've got this down" and BANG it throws me a loop! LOL.

Has everyone seen Dr. Dukan in the news???? Looks like he may be in a little trouble over his comments on obese school children. Tell the truth and look where it gets you! Try and tackle the timebomb that is childhood obesity and everyone is up in arms - CRAZY!!!!!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/dietandfitness/9169229/Will-the-Dukan-Diet-lose-its-attraction.html

Hope everyone is having a good day. Sun still shining here, well at least until tomorrow! xoxo

Day 168 P&V - Gotta keep on keeping on!

Weigh In
27 Mar - 14st 2.5llbs / 198.5llbs / 90.03kgs ****GAIN 1LLB****
Trying not to panic, I'm not used to scales going in the wrong direction too much!!!!

Not really sure what is going on here. I think its water retention, I dont feel puffy or bloated in general, but my lower abdomen feels very weird at the moment - very puffy / water logged / painful especially on left side. I think I'm ovulating. I also feel strange in the bathroom department AGAIN, its not that I cant go or havent been going but something doesn't feel right.

The past few days I have really lost my appetite, I dont feel hungry anymore at all, I have to force myself to eat so I wonder if my body is thinking I'm not eating enough.

I think I need to try some new recipes and make some more interesting recipes. What are your favourites?????

Today is P&V day, so I will try and eat some more, it is Tim's Mum & Dads 36th Wedding Anniversary, we are going to their house for a family meal tonight. We got them a digital photo frame, and put pictures of Amilee on it for them, they'll love it!!!!! Ami gets so spoiled by her Mimi & Taid.

Last night we went late night shopping and ending up calling in at Pizza Hut on the way home, we were there until nearly 8pm, I hadnt eaten dinner but the food still didnt bother me at all, it felt good, Tim and Ami enjoyed the pizza and the fact we were out as a family was nice. I have really avoided the whole restaurant thing so far whilst on Dukan. I dont think I would eat at a restaurant, its hard to know what is going on with your food, but its good to feel strong enough to go into a restaurant and not feel deprived / miserable because I wasn't eating. GOT TO LOOK FOR THE POSITIVES IN EACH SITUATION.

Hope everyone else is having a better "Dukan" Day xoxo :)

Day 166 (PP) Day 167 (PP)

Hello Everyone, hopy you have all had a great weekend. How lovely is it to have some sunshine!!!!

Saturday I felt great, so I decided to do some weights / stretches and squats (should be called killers!), Sunday morning I was up a WHOLE POUND and aching like no-ones business! Feeling heavy and water logged (partly hormonal aswell I think). Managed to lose 1/4llb by this mornings weigh in but still up from Saturday. Went for a lovely walk on beach yesterday as a family (for about 1 hour) picking up shells/pebbles for Ami, and despite the world and their dogs being on the beach it was quite relaxing LOL. Still trying to get used to the change in time, it has definitely put Amilee's body clock out of sync.

Weigh In
25 Mar 2012 - 14st 1.75llbs / 197.75llbs / 89.69kgs
26 Mar 2012 - 14st 1.5llbs / 197.5llbs / 89.58kgs

I hate having to think so hard about what could be slowing down weight loss, trying to think up solutions to get around it - its tiring, especially when sleeps at a premium in our house at the moment anyway. But hey ho! I'm not going to worry....... I know it'll get a whole lot worse when I'm nearer the finishing line, so I better get used to it.

P.s. I'm having 2 PP days in a row because Im still doing the 3P&V / 4PP days each week at the moment.

Tim is doing an exam today, he is working towards his diploma (it will allow him to be a financial adviser come rule changes next year if he wants) it started 15 minutes ago. EEK! I hope he passes, he's been revising really hard for it, and has been just a little stressed out.

I seem to have got the rough end of this, he even argued with me yesterday about the time I spend blogging! He said I was neglecting Amilee! Definitely the wrong thing to say, like a red flag to a bull. I managed to hold my tongue until I had calmed down and we talked later, I explained how hurtful it was to say things like that, I never take time for myself, even when he takes Ami out for a few hours, I am doing things for the family (shopping/cleaning/cooking/washing) everything I do is for him and Amilee. I also said it was completely unfounded, I spent an hour over the weekend looking at blogs (only 5 minutes of that time was when Ami was awake!!!). Thankfully he did apologise. It just really upset me, but I'm ok now, I didn't  feel the need to turn to food, I am amazed how much better I can hande things now, not that long ago I would have been drowning my sorrows with junk. HOORAY for me!!!!!!! LOL.

Hope everyone's having a great day xoxo

Day 165 P&V

Weigh In


24 Mar - 14st .75llb / 196.75llbs / 89.24kgs (0.75llbs lost - 3llbs total lost for the week)
So close to the 13 stones!

I am definitely pleased with this, I feel like I should have lost more, yesterday the scales were teetering around 13st 13ish, but I did the exercise, so I appreciate this can affect the scales and to be honest I dont think I would trade the feeling I have today for another half a pound loss! My legs feel strong, NO, I feel strong, legs are a little twingy at the top of my calves, but it feels good.

Plans for the day - the usual household things, bit of shopping, cooking (spag bol with courgette "pasta" today - yummy!) washing. The sun is out, it is beautiful. Tim has taken Ami to look at trampolines!!!! I can just tell we are going to end up with the garden completely covered by a monstrous trampoline. Tim showed Ami some pictures of the little trampolines with a bar to hold onto and she said NO, turned the page and said I need to do a belly flop! (Looking at the page with an 8FT trampoline!) She definitely knows her own mind that one! LOL.

Hope everyones having a great day and can enjoy a little sunshine! xoxo

Day 164 PP "This is how I roll"

Weigh In
22 Mar - SAME
23 Mar - SAME

I'm hoping for a loss tomorrow, but who knows, this is how it seems to be at the moment, the scale moves 2 / 3 times a week and for the rest it stays the same with a very occasional gain here and there. This is fine with me at the moment, I would prefer to see it stay the same than the be fighting with continual gains.

I also managed to grab 30 minutes on the Cross Trainer today whilst Ami was having a rare nap. (Bless her, she's so shattered, not sleeping in the day or much at night at the moment! One day! Maybe! LOL)

23 Mar - 30 minutes on Cross Trainer - 2.4km / 70ish cals burned / speed between 4.6 - 5.4km/h.

I was really impressed with myself today, I managed to go at a fair pace (for me - a novice! LOL) and I kept going for the whole 30 mins, I only slowed down twice to have a few sips of water. Last time I was on the cross trainer I took 36 mins to get 2.3km's and my speed was between 3.6 - 4.5km/h, so thats an improvement right there - covering more distance in less time! I weighed 8llbs more last time, I cant believe how much difference 8llbs can make, I dont think my actual fitness levels have increased so it must just be affect of that weight loss! AWESOME. Which means it can only get better.................

News Flash - I have downloaded the C25K app for my IPOD!!!!!! I may be a runner yet!!!! HEHEHE.......

On a funny note, yesterday, I thought I would give jogging a try, a very little try I hasten to add!!!!! It really didnt feel too bad, only one problem - my backside was wobbling around like a bowlful of jelly! It could've bounced me along the path!!!! The shameof it all ........ I was glad no-one was near me, I'd have knocked them out!!!!

Hope everyone's having a great Dukan Day xoxo

Accepting my AWARDS! :)

The Sunshine Award   (Big thanks to Sandi for the nomination)

As part of accepting the nomination I am required to post the answers to the following questions;

Favorite colors:                                  Navy Blue and Red.
Favorite Animal:                                 Dog
Favorite Number:                               Don't really have one, but I always prefer evens.
Favorite Non-Alcoholic Beverage:      Anything Diet with some Fizz! Bad I know :)
Prefer Facebook or Twitter?              FB, don't even know what Twitter is! LOL - I'm serious.......
My passion:                                       Singing and music in general
Prefer getting or giving presents:         GIVING
Favorite Pattern:                                Art Deco
Favorite Day of the Week:                 Friday

Favorite flower:                                 Peonies

Also I have to nominate 10 bloggers I would like to give this award to, I think most of the bloggers I would chose have already been nominated by others, but here is my list, in no particular order!

1. http://flamidwyfe.wordpress.com/ - Sandi is my Dukan Idol! I dont know where I would be without her. She is doing a fantastic job on Dukan having lost 79.4llbs!

2. http://oceannah.wordpress.com/about/ - Anna, another Dukaneer, I love her blog so much! Funny, witty and real. Great Artist also!!! The adventures of JA! Classic! LOL.

3. http://beatlekitten.blogspot.co.uk/ - My initial inspiration when starting Dukan.

4. http://dukandiet-journey.blogspot.co.uk/ - Moonday, another Dukan Idol for me, amazing blog, always there to support / encourage and cheer me up! xo

5. http://ieatchocolateinmydreams.blogspot.co.uk/ - Hanna, an awesome Dukan success story, please support her as she tries to get rid of those last few kgs!

6. http://janiebdukandietblog.blogspot.co.uk/ - Janie, great blog, great recipes.

7. http://keepingupwithcurtandjamie.blogspot.co.uk/ - Curt and Jamie. The most awesome couple doing Dukan together and doing a great job!

8. http://veerukka.blogspot.co.uk/ - Veera, a Dukaneer who shows me everyday that persistance pays off!

9. http://shannsdukandiet.wordpress.com/ - Shannon, a relatively new Dukan blog, her posts always cheer me up and she is doing great!!!!

10. http://mydukandietdiary.com/ - Juliet, 40llbs+ weight lost on Dukan, love her posts, they are so interesting and answer so many of the things that I think about.



Very Inspiring Blogger Award


To accept this Award I have to 1. Tell 7 things about myself that others may not know and 2. Nominate 7 people that inspire me (I will make my list but as with the Sunshine Award I think most of the bloggers I would nominate will have been sent the Award anyway).

1. I am 28 years old. I have been married for 10 years on 28th September. I have a daughter called Amilee Rosine who will be 2 on the 30th March.
2. I have 2 sisters (29 and 23) and 1 brother (25).
3. I am currently on a Career Break from my job as an unemployment adviser for the government until April 2016. (Couldn't bear to leave my baby after my maternity leave ended!)
4. I love anything to do with arts /crafts, and baking.
5. I would love to start my own business, making floral arrangements / doing sugar craft (wedding cakes, etc).
6. I love MUSICALS and wish I could be in one! LOL - don't know if that is something you should admit!
7. I was born in November 1983, in St. Austell, Cornwall and moved to North Wales when I was 7 years old, the majority of my mum's family still live in Cornwall.

1. http://flamidwyfe.wordpress.com/
2. http://oceannah.wordpress.com/about/
3. http://beatlekitten.blogspot.co.uk/
4. http://veerukka.blogspot.co.uk/

5. http://dukandietress.blogspot.co.uk/ - Amazing weight loss story, she is now in Consolidation! Great blog answering many of the FADQ (frequently asked Dukan Q's). She tells it how it is - I love this.....

6. http://dukandiet-journey.blogspot.co.uk/
7. http://ieatchocolateinmydreams.blogspot.co.uk/

All the blogs I have chosen (for both awards) are ones that I read everyday, sometimes many times during a day! They inspire me, make me smile, make me cry and make me feel every other emotion in-between. I can honestly say wihtout a shadow of a doubt that they are a major part of my success.

If anyone is trying to lose weight, I urge you to keep a blog, visit blogs of others who are in the same position, you will be uplifted when you are down and praised when you succeed! Its awesome to have such wonderful people with you on your journey, they will be with you every step, forwards or back. (Im going to stop gushing before I fill up! LOL)

In other words A MASSIVE THANK-YOU xoxo

Day 162 (P&V) Struggling to find time!!!!

Weigh In
20 Mar - SAME
21 Mar - 14st 1.5llbs / 197.5llbs / 89.58kgs. (Loss 1llb)

This week has been super busy, my daughter is no longer having a nap in the day so I have ZERO time for anything "ME" related, at least until she is in bed! But we did go for a lovely 2 hour walk yesterday with my friend, the sun was shining, it was a beautiful day and I felt really relaxed! BLISS........... and Amilee behaved like a little angel, what more could a Mama ask for.

Today I hit my "6 stone lost" mini-goal!!!! Woohoo for me!!!! LOL. I feel more on track this week, the past few weeks have been strange, although my losses have been good, my body has felt like it's been dragging its heels. Then all of a sudden I feel back to the normal weight loss feeling I get, hard to explain really.

My true weight is 180.84llbs, so I have 16.66llbs to go!!!!! Yes I did say 16.66llbs!!!

It feels SO weird to be saying that........ I know that my goal is another 36.5llbs away (maybe more), but it feels good to be getting towards the finishing line, although that too has its concerns and challenges for me, indeed, I think it will be the hardest part.

But onwards and downwards as we say in the Dukan Bloggersphere.................

On another note I would like to say a big thank you to Sandi and Shannon for nominating me for the "Very Inspiring Blogger Award". It means so much to me, and as most people say, it is very humbling to receive such a nomination. When I started my blog, I was unsure if anyone would be interested in my story, I didnt even know if people would read it!!!! Slowly but surely the visits to my site increased. I have made some wonderful blogging friends and I openly acknowledge that without this fantastic support I wouldnt be where I am today.

To accept this award I have to do 2 things. 1. Tell 7 things about yourself that others may not know and 2. Nominate 7 people that inspire you. I will do this in a follow up post as I also have to accept "The Sunshine Award" which Sandi nominated me for a few weeks ago (what did I say about there not being enough time!) Sorry it's late Sandi xoxo

Hope everyone is having a great Dukan Day xoxo

Day 160 P&V

17 Mar - SAME
18 Mar - SAME
19 Mar - 14st 2.5llbs / 198.5llbs / 90.03kgs (Loss 1.25llbs)

Hope everyone has had a great weekend.

I finally got around to buying some decent comfy trainers, here's a pic. I did want New Balance trainers but couldn't get the ones I wanted. I have such trouble with shoes in general, I wanted to be able to try them on. I ended up with some Nike Running shoes. NOW TO TRY THEM OUT........

I have been doing alot of thinking over the weekend about the things I have learnt about myself on Dukan. I was thinking about changes I've noticed good and bad, concerns I have, the things I am looking forward to and also what makes we want to continue with this programme. I will do another blog about all of this later when I get a moments peace...... I don't want this experience to pass me by without me having learnt from it, because trust me, 5+ months in, it does go very quickly!

XOXO

And I'm feeling goooooooood................ Day 157 begins with a WHOOSH!!!!

15 Mar 2012 Weight - SAME
16 Mar 2012 Weight - 14st 3.75llbs / 199.75llbs / 90.60kgs - Wooooohoooooo!!!!!!!!

2 Mini goals met in one day!! Awesome!
- Less than 40llbs to lose (2/3rds of the way through) and,
- Under 200llbs.

As you can tell I'm very excited. LOL. These past few weeks have been tough, not like giving up tough, but, can someone cut me some slack please, tough. I've had 2 nights sleep (apart from a little wake up at 4.30am this morning, I dont mind the change the nappy/diaper kind, I just hate the screaming the house down kind!) so the world is good. I will never again underestimate the power of a good night's sleep! :)

I'm feeling ambitious, the sky's are blue and sun is shining, so we will venture to the beach on a shell hunt!

Big Thanks to Anna for her TCM tips, feeling so much better in that department too! :)

Hope everyone else is having a great one! xoxo

Here's my missing 80llbs!!!!! CRAZY!!!!! Makes me feel a little sick............

Inspired by Athena. Man catches 80llb cod, enough for 135 fish suppers!!!!!!!