Special K Cracker Crisps

Since I've been running 3 miles three times a week, my appetite has increased. There is also a sense of I've done all that exercise so I can eat whatever I want. Sadly, this is not true. I am definitely noticing that my trousers are a little tighter.

I do not want to go on a calorie controlled diet but I am being more mindful of what I eat and if I can make some lower calorie substitutions to get my weight down before the excesses of Christmas, I will.

I was very happy to be offered some New Special K Cracker Crisps from Kellogg's to review.

The bag of salt and vinegar crisps in my larder waiting for me to pick up and eat in a moment of need contains 135 calories and 12%  fat. In contrast, a 21 crisp serving of Special K Cracker Crisps has only 95 Calories and 3% fat. A considerably more virtuous snack. But do they hit the spot or leaving you wanting?

The Cracker Snacks come in individual bags or 100g boxes and are available in three flavours: sea salt and balsamic vinegar, sweet chilli and sour cream and chive.

I was sent 100g boxes of the salt and vinegar and sweet chilli varieties.

I am not a big fan of sweet chilli so I opted to sample the salt and vinegar. It did feel more like opening a box of cereal than a packet of crisps but the contents quickly pushed thoughts of bland breakfast food out of my mind.

The flavour was good and strong as I would expect from a crisp. The texture was much more like mini poppadums, which I really liked. I was surprised how good they were. Unfortunately for my resolve to eat more mindfully, over the course of the day I ate far more than a 21 crisp portion. The open packet was just too tempting!

I am planning to serve the sweet chilli crisps with a dip next time the family are all together. I think they will be ideal for that ... and a guaranteed way to reduce your calorie intake is by sharing!

Find Special K Cracker Crisps in the Crisp Aisle of all major supermarkets and convenience stores for a retail price of £1.99 per 100g box (60p for individual bags)

Working back to fitness with Zumba

This time last year I was a regular at the gym: signing up for classes, running on the treadmill, working out with weights. However, when my annual membership expired, I couldn't quite justify the renewal expense.
Even with the best of intentions, the amount of exercise I was doing steadily declined.

The lack of exercise coupled with bad eating habits that have lingered from Christmas have left me feeling podgy and sluggish. It was definitely time to take action.

I joined a Zumba class.

Last night was my first experience of Zumba.

I had heard lots of good things about Zumba. I already learn latin dance on which it is inspired but I still wasn't sure what to expect. I can honestly say it was the most fun I'd ever had in a room full of sweaty women. There was a lot of hip action and shimmying and influences from all different styles of dance. I loved it.

I was suffering with a bit of an achey back on account of doing a lot of bending and lifting in the garden over the weekend and having rather too many nights of bed sharing with my chicken pox suffering  children. It did make some of the moves difficult for me so I didn't push myself too hard but I could feel it doing me good.

My back is feeling much better today and I can't wait for next week when everything is functioning more as it should and I can give the class 100% effort.

Another happy consequence is that I haven't been tempted to indulge in bad snacking at all today.

I am fully committed to Zumba my way back to fitness.

My Last #MumenTum Post

Completing my 5K Run yesterday was a huge achievement for me and one I could not have conceived of before losing the baby weight and committing to regular exercise. My life really has changed in a very positive way.

With the scales reading 10st 5lbs this morning, I finally felt entitled to claim the last of the incentive rewards that my husband prepared for me back in September when I first decided to tackle my weight issues. I am embarrassed that it has taken me this long! Inside my gift bag was a beautiful pair of Swarkovski crytal earrings and an envelope containing money and instructions to buy myself some new clothes.

The gift was well timed. I am going shopping today with Charis who has decided that at 14years old, the time is right to have her ears pieced. Sensibly, she wants to do it now at the start of the summer holidays so that they will be completely healed by the time she starts back at school.

I really hope I can find some clothes that fit and make me feel good. I usually come home from shopping trips empty handed and feeling like some kind of freak with a body shape unwilling to co-operate with high street fashion. Not good for confidence or self-esteem.

I have every intention of continuing with a healthy lifestyle and maintaining my weight at its current level. If, however, the waistband of my jeans starts to feel a little tight and I have to let my belt out a notch, please be ready to accept me back into the Mumentum fold. In the meantime, Good Luck (I'll be checking in to see how everybody is getting on) and a big THANK YOU to everyone (especially Liska) for your support. I couldn't have done it without you. xx

Reaching the Magic Number

I am not quite ready to leave the security of the MumenTum group yet in case what my eyes saw on the window of my digital scales this morning was a fluke or if in allowing myself to believe that it was true I will immediately relax my attitude towards food and spiral out of control again.

My scales told a story with a happy ending. My scales registered BELOW 10 and half stone.

Nothing magical happened. I didn't look in the mirror and think Wow. I can see I still have some work to do tightening this and toning that but at least I am giving myself the best chance to achieve it.

If by next week I haven't regained the weight loss, I will hand in my Mumentum membership and start my life long Maintenance Program which hopefully can include more alcohol (I'm fed up of turning down the beer and wine!!)

Reasons to be Cheerful

ONE

We were unbelievably lucky with the weather at the weekend for our day out at the Pandamonium in the Park event. I'm sure it would been miserable if it had rained. As it was, the sun shone on the Chinese themed family activities and displays.

The highlight of the day was the concert of music from Kung Fu Panda and other wonderfully evocative movie themes by  Hans Zimmer and John Powell, performed with passion by the amazing orchestra. My personal favourite was the theme from Pirates of the Caribbean - but then who wouldn't want to have images of Jack Sparrow conjured in their mind?! 

I couldn't work out why everyone was so impressed by this Shaolin Warrior's handstand that I photographed because I liked his muscles and orange trousers.

What my bad photograph failed to capture was that the 'hand'stand was actually a two finger stand. Here he is again psyching himself up for the incredible feat of strength and balance.

TWO

After weeks of rehearsals, daughter Charis finally had the opening night of the play "Splash" in which she had a leading role as Preston Parrot. She delivered her lines confidently and sung her solo with the beautiful clear voice that still catches me by surprise. I felt so proud of her and enjoyed spending time with my mum who is a loyal supporter of her granddaughter's theatrical pursuits. 

THREE

My cold which has been sabotaging my weight loss efforts and making me feel generally miserable is retreating. I have no excuse now. Time to get back on track with my diet. I am so close to being where I want to be in terms of body shape and fitness and I am beginning to feel back in control, energised and ready. If I can actually see the numbers on the scale heading in the right direction again, that really will give me a Reason to be Cheerful.

Feed a Cold...

My mum always says "Feed a Cold, Starve a Fever".

I have a cold. I am feeding it.

My mum also says something about whistling women and crowing hens, but I mostly ignore that one.

So, I have a cold and I am feeding it without giving much thought to what that might mean to my longed for weight loss. I do know that trying to restrict food intake when I am feeling rubbish is never going to work so all I can do is hope that I recover quickly and can relaunch my diet with renewed enthusiasm.

In less than a fortnight I will be running my 5K Race for Life and the last thing I want is to be carrying excess flab baggage. Actually, the last thing I want is to feel my wobbly bits jiggling as I run the course but effectively, that amounts to the same thing.

It really shouldn't be such a struggle to lose the last few pounds to achieve my ideal weight. I just need to get organised and get on with it. Now, if I can stop sneezing... that is exactly what I'll do!

1lb Closer

I have not been fantastically virtuous on my diet this week, nor have I had time to fit in much in the way of exercise. However, the scales are now hovering at 10st 9lbs which puts me one small step closer to my target weight. I can only attribute my minor success (if my kids are reading this STOP NOW) to an upturn in the frequency and duration of bedroom activity (kids - I did warn you!!!).

As a weapon in my war against the wobbly bits, sex is definitely one of my favourites.

My new strategy for the coming week is, as well as sensible menu planning and drinking lots of water, to have plenty of early nights.

When Diets Fail

There are so many factors that conspire against my best weight loss intentions - irresistible special offers at the supermarket, being busy and tired and making bad choices, simple overeating. Now I am adding another. The dreaded 'Time of the Month'.

At the moment I feel bloated and sluggish. My skin always suffers under the hormonal onslaught and all I want to do is dress in baggy, shapeless clothes and feel a bit sorry for myself. I know that within a couple of days everything will be back to normal but that doesn't help me NOW.

The very last thing on my list of things I am willing to do is stand on the scales. I just don't want to know. My head tells me that the reality probably isn't anywhere as near as bad as the picture my bloated belly is painting but I feel too fragile to risk it!

I haven't rushed to the comfort of the biscuit tin but then neither have I said no to enjoying a slice of my son's birthday cake this week. I haven't completely lost the plot with my sensible eating plan but deliberately avoiding the bathroom scales means I don't have to deal with the disappointment of no weight loss or worse WEIGHT GAIN.

If it was a friend who was on a diet I would be very encouraging and say listen to what your body is telling you. Don't go crazy but don't be too hard on yourself. Wait till you are feeling ready to tackle the whole diet thing again and don't worry if you have not made progress this week. It is a long term plan - not an instant fix. There will always be little wobbles, sometimes outside of your control, and you just have to roll with them. If it was a friend who was on a diet I would say all this and mean every word. Why then do I find it so hard to say it to myself??

I am trying to give myself the same consideration that I would give a friend in need of a little reassurance and support but I think I am often more of an enemy to myself than a friend. That is SO wrong. Actually taking the time to think about it and write it here is helping me to see how wrong it is.

I hereby resolve
a) not to beat myself up about having a bad week
b) to give myself permission to have a week away from the scales without feeling guilty or like a failure
c) to be back with renewed vigour in time for next Monday's #mumentum weigh in - I might just be pleasantly surprised.

Hedgetrimming for Salvation

Any #Momentum mums reading this will surely understand how easy it is to fall off the diet wagon.

I have been sticking to my menu plan for the week, preparing home cooked, nutritious healthy meals and thoroughly enjoying doing so. However, this did not stop me having a monumental wobble involving a certain chocolate bar famously made in Slough and named after the fourth planet from the Sun. I can't even bring myself to type it I am so ashamed. Curse Morrisons for having them on special offer and curse the children for not finding them in the larder before I did.

To alleviate my feelings of guilt and hopefully undo any potential weight loss sabotage I had decided to put myself through some gruelling gym activity today but as the sun was shining and the garden was desperately in need of some attention , I decided to pay my chocolate, caramel and nougat penance in the form of hedge trimming instead.

My garden has a LOT of hedges.

Sadly none of them lend themselves to anything creative and quirky in the best topiary fashion. The most exciting one is a rough sphere, the rest are... well, hedge shaped. One stretch is waist height - easy. The majority I can just reach by extending my arms as far as I can (which always makes me feel nervous when I am wielding a power tool that would rip through flesh as easy as  it annihilates  thin branches). I have a beech hedge that I can only reach the top of by standing on a step ladder and over extending (even more terrifying) and a monstrous Lleylandi that reaches virtually as high as Jack's beanstalk. I would need to have over indulged on the entire Mars factory output to feel moved to tackle that particular beast.

There is a part of me that hates destroying all the vibrant fresh new growth that is striving to restore natural chaos to my order but then it is oddly satisfying to be the master of your own little world and beating that unruly privet back into neatness and symmetry.

My hedge trimmer is not exactly girlie in design. It has a big old blade and it is HEAVY. I have to take regular breaks to stop my fingers seizing up with the exertion of holding down the slightly awkward 'on' lever and the safety lever. When I stop, I can still feel my arm muscles vibrating at the same frequency as the cutting blades. That feeling can last for a long time after the final hedge has been trimmed.

Is it worth it?

I am not sure if I have worked all my major muscle groups with the right combination of cardio vascular exercise or even used up a fraction of the empty calories that I consumed in weakness, but I do feel less guilty and the garden looks hell of lot better!

A good start, then what happened! #mumentum

After a good start to the week when I had my 'diet head' firmly on, the second part of the week has included beer, takeaways, muffins, chocolate and ice cream - non of which is conducive to weight loss!

On a more positive note though, I did feel that everything was a) in moderation and b) thoroughly enjoyed.

I no longer feel that I am about to commit 'ideal weight' suicide but my conduct has been of a 'maintain' nature rather than about shedding the excess pounds.

Time to take stock (and thank you Liska for this monday linky because it is this which is motivating me to do so).

What went wrong? Why did my good start fail to sustain itself?

I actually have a very simple answer and it is one I can put right.

This week has been a very busy one with people needing to be fed at different times to accommodate their schedules. I have been tired and disorganised when it came to evening meals. If it gets to 6pm and I still haven't even thought about what to make for dinner, I can pretty much guarantee I won't make the best choices.

To make sure this doesn't happen again, I have made a menu plan for the whole week. It is easy enough to scribble a few ideas up on the white board in the kitchen (well it would be if I could find a pen that worked) but for me that could make the difference between being focussed/on track/in control and letting the local Indian provide my calorie intake.

My weight this morning stood at 10st 10lbs so that is 1lb down on last week. I should probably be grateful that there were No Cakes at Blog Camp Manchester!

Hoping you #MumenTum ladies have more spectacular losses to report as I aim to be doing next Monday.

Off to do some VIGOROUS housework now.

Time to Lose

I had a shock when I weighed myself this morning. The numbers on the scale that had been hovering teasingly a little above 10st 7lbs (my target is 10st 5lbs) had crept alarmingly up to 10st 11lbs.

I know I have been working out a lot and there is that thing that muscle weighs more than fat but I don't think I can use that as an excuse for the weight gain. There is a more obvious explanation - I eat too much.

So many of us beat ourselves up for overeating but I think it is completely natural.

Human animals would always have feasted in times of excess to prepare themselves for survival through times of scarcity. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on which way you want to look at it) we no longer have times of scarcity. Food is always readily available. Every single day is a potential feast day. No wonder there is an obesity epidemic.

So once we stop beating ourselves up for doing what comes naturally, how can we adapt to the environmental bounty? How do we turn the plentiful excess that we have available to our advantage?

I suppose it all comes down to making healthy choices. If we can turn our eyes away from the cream cakes and pringles and allow ourselves to actually see and delight in the amazing variety of fruit and vegetables available, we are well on our way.

The key to making healthy choices lies in learning to really enjoy the things that are good for us. A diet that focuses on denial is doomed to failure. I always know I am on the right track when I stop fancying a doughnut and long for the fresh, crisp taste of a juicy apple.

Of course there will always be times when a chocolate cake calls to you so loudly that you can't ignore it. And why should you ignore it? Healthy choices for me must satisfy my mind as well as my body.  There is no reason why indulgent treats can't be incorporated into a healthy lifestyle.

I have managed to achieve this ideal in the past and lose a lot of weight. I have long left behind the size 18 figure of my late teens/early twenties and am now comfortably back into my pre-pregnancy size 10 clothes.

However, I have not yet worked out how to stop the slow slippage back to bad habits - an extra slice of toast (or two) for breakfast because you ate the first two so fast that it didn't register, a whole packet of biscuits with your morning coffee because one after another you just keep shovelling them in, finishing up leftovers just because they are there, eating things you don't particulary want or need simply for the sensation of having food in your mouth. It is scary how quickly these things can sneak up on you with the consequent weight gain and negative feelings that have you turning once more to food for comfort.

I am dangerously close to spiralling out of control with my eating.

Instead of cursing my scales this morning for not showing me what I wanted to see, I am grateful for the early warning.

I am feeling motivated and ready to take back control.

I am going to kick start my action plan with a fruit only day today. Hopefully, this will remind me what I've been missing out on when I grab a greasy, salty bag of crisps for a snack in preference to a bowl of delicious, vitamin packed strawberries. It might also give my body a much needed de-tox and it will certainly set a good example to the children.

Fueled by my banana breakfast, I will be heading off to Morrisons shortly to stock my fridge up with enough tastes, textures and colours to keep me interested (and not forgetting the all important water).

Diets start on Monday and life is good.

A Final Milestone

I feel proud of myself for having lost about 2 stone of baby weight in the 9 months since my son was born but I have been making excuses for the last few pounds that stubbornly refuse to shift, blaming the wobbly bits on my hips and belly on the breastfeeding hormones. Just recently, I have noticed a worrying upward trend in my weight. Only a couple of pounds, but that is how it starts and we all know it is a slippery slope.

Luckily for me, daughter Ivy came home from Uni for Easter with the resolve to reverse the effect that her student lifestyle is having on her waistline. It provides a perfect opportunity for us to support each other and triumph in the battle of the bulge.

Ivy is very similar to me in her appetite and the way she carries her excess weight and she has almost exactly the same amount of poundage to shift. We can sympathise with each other and specifically target our weaknesses and problem areas. Throw into that mix a good bit of pampering, some fun exercise and well earned indulgent treats and I think we have a recipe for all round success.

We have already started our new regime with better food choices, portion control, no snacking, drinking at least 1 litre of water today (we each have our own litre bottle to ensure this) and a 'get moving' attitude. I have done lots of gardening and had a seriously challenging session at the gym with a trainer, focussing on upper body and abs ( I am still feeling it today). Ivy was up at the crack of dawn to do a Wii fit session before the nearly three year old demanded the TV for her daily fix of CBeebies.

I certainly feel better already and Ivy (although she likes to complain that she is hungry) says she does too.

Ivy is home for three weeks which should be plenty of time to achieve our goals and I might finally feel worthy of the incentive gift  that my husband prepared for way back in September when I first started blogging and dieting. I have been delighted by each of the thoughtful gifts that have motivated me and spurred me on to my next milestone but the very last one to mark the 'below ten and a half stone' ultimate goal has eluded me and teased me with its existence.

I feel it is finally within my grasp.

It also happens to be my birthday in three weeks so there is an extra incentive to make this work. I don't want to turn 47 and still feel overweight (even if it is only by a barely noticable amount - I notice it).

This is my three week investment in a fitter, healthier, trimmer, more confident me and I know that with Ivy's help, we'll have fun on the way and succeed.

This WILL be mine 

Tuesday 11th April - 10st 9lbs

Diets always start on Monday...

Monday mornings fail to inspire and motivate me. I 'get through' Monday, plod on through Tuesday, realise the week has reached halfway on Wednesday, try and catch up with myself on Thursday, get excited by the weekend on Friday but wonder where another week has gone without me achieving a great deal.

Today, it is different. Today is one of the rare Mondays when I feel like a week of possibilities is stretching ahead of me and nothing can stop me.

I was up bright and early to make a start with the housework but more importantly, I am ready to take back control of my weight loss plan.

I am really struggling with my diet. Most people say I am looking good, especially since it is less than 7 months ago that I gave birth to my baby boy. I am forty six years old, I have had six children, do I even have the right to dream of a perfectly flat stomach? Should I be grateful that I have managed to squeeze back into my size 10s and leave it at that?

Realistically, I have a paltry 5lbs left to lose before I can say I have reached my target. 5lbs? That is nothing! How hard can it be?

The answer is, it is the hardest part of the whole diet so far! My scales are steadfastly stuck at 10stone 10lbs. Nobody takes me seriously as 'a dieter' because the big wobbly bits have gone but my little wobbly bit is every bit as much of a hindrance to my ability to fit my clothes well and feel totally confident about how I look.

Next month, it will be my 1 year wedding anniversary and in six weeks time I am having a party to celebrate. My plan is to use the next 6 weeks to really focus on diet, exercise and a whole lot of pampering so that I can be the best I can be for my party (and the rest of my life!).

Lots of people have included 'lose weight' in their New Year's Resolutions.

If you have a diet post that you could share in the linky below, I would love to read it. Perhaps together, through the power of blogging, we can all motivate each other and be rewarded with a number closer to our targets next time we step on those scales.

Diet Success

The last time I weighed myself I was infuriatingly close to the next milestone in my weight loss plan which would mean opening the second of my incentive gifts devised by my wonderfully supportive husband. The last time I weighed myself was before the weekend party, before the incredible chocolate birthday cake, before the baked banoffi cheesecake, before the leftovers. Needless to say I have been a little wary of stepping back on the scales.

Today, I plucked up the courage to venture into the family bathroom, activate the digital scale with a sharp tap to the top right hand corner, and step on. I needn't have been so cowardly. The numbers that appeared in the little window told me that not only had I reached my milestone, I had gone beyond it sufficiently to be in sight of the next. It was a happy moment.

My next happy moment was the anticipation of what might be inside the gift box that has been sat in plain view waiting for me to be worthy of its contents. Firstly, there was the little red envelope that contained vouchers for a hair cut in the posh hairdressers in town and then there was the box. I took the lid off and lifted the carefully scrunched tissue paper to reveal an absolutely gorgeous necklace and earring set.   My initial thought was that it wasn't the sort of jewellery that was very practical when you have a darling baby boy that loves to snuggle into your neck - then I thought that as much as love to be a mother, and will always think of myself first and foremost as a mother, sometimes it is nice to take your mummy hat off and wear a different persona.

There is a new indian restaurant opening soon in town. It looks very elegant and I love curry. I am thinking there is an opportunity here to take my mummy hat off, put my delicate, dangly new jewellery set on and have a proper grown up night out with my husband.