Sam's Red Dress- end of Week 2 Progress Update

This is how I looked on 1st January this year in the tunic dress which my son said made me look like a fat jellybean!

Well, it is nearly two weeks since the start of the New Year and two weeks since I started my new health kick.  I started off with such enthusiasm and everyone was giving me such great support and encouragement.

Now two weeks in, I am beginning to wonder why I even started. My pre-menstrual hormones have kicked in big time, I just want to eat ANYTHING and everything.  I have not even bothered to weigh myself because my clothes feel as tight as ever and I know that I will be upset when I read what the scales say.

So what went wrong?  Read on to find out how I got on last week.

Day 8- Tuesday 8th January 2013.
My usual porridge for breakfast, followed by a morning at work which passed by very quickly. I was able to eat a banana with the children during snack time. I came home to a delicious warming bowl of New Covent Garden parsnip soup and a bread roll before a long dog walk.  I felt brilliant and stuck to my plan of cooking sweet and sour chicken for dinner.

Day 9- Wednesday 9th January 2013.
Today was a busy day, work all day including teaching in the afternoon.  Porridge for breakfast, fruit snack, lunch was a bowl of tomato soup and a bread roll.  Even though there are loads of chocolates in school kindly bought by parents I have managed to resist them, even the large tin of Celebrations sitting looking at me every time I go into the school office!  Dinner was spaghetti carbonara, I dry fried the bacon and cut the fat off. It didn't help I was tired. It was meant to serve 4 but my daughter was out so I shared it amongst the three of us.  I should slap my wrists!  My hubby opened a packet of Brie and some crackers, I looked longingly but said no!

Day 10- Thursday 10th January 2013.
The day from hell, work was fine in the morning but came home and after walking the dog had to sit down and finish off my accounts.  I was absolutely ravenous when I came out of work and instead of waiting to get home and eat lunch I stopped off at a local post office and bought a locally made Cornish Pasty and a packet of cheese and onion crisps. I just wanted to eat something there and then and not have to worry about cooking when I got home. Big big mistake, although the pasty tasted yummy a couple of hours later I could have eaten something else.I am not good with figures and I soon ended up with the mother of all headaches, even a large strong coffee didn't help to wake me up to concentrate.  I ended up raiding the cake tin and helping myself to a slice of leftover Christmas cake. Afterwards I thought "What did I eat that for?"  It took me ages to sort out the accounts and I ended up with a different dinner to the one originally planned.  It was marinaded chicken using some Old Bay seasoning, jacket potato, broccoli and peas. My hubby opened a bottle of Pinot Grigio, I had a large glass, and then another... Oh no!

Day 11- Friday 11th January 2013.
I managed well up until about 4 o'clock with my porridge, soup and roll and fruit. I even resisted the chocolates at work again!  When my children arrived home from school my son asked if he could have a couple of Jaffa Cakes- fatal!  Once they were open I ate 4 and felt sick afterwards as they were so sweet but I felt I needed something.  An apple just wouldn't hit the spot.  We went out for dinner before going to the pantomime in Harrogate where my daughter was dancing. We chose Prezzo which had a lovely specials menu with lighter options.  I had some chunky tomato and basil soup which was warming, delicious and full of flavour, followed by a vegetable flatbread.  It was great to have a low calorie option that actually tasted good too.  I did have a small glass of red wine though.

Day 12- Saturday 12th January 2013
I woke up feeling fat, bloated and lethargic.  PMT symptoms have kicked in with a vengeance.  Although I stuck to my porridge for breakfast, today it did not feel enough to keep me satisfied.  At about 11am I had to nip up to our local Morrisons for bread and milk. I was starving by the time I got there and was tempted to go and get a coffee and cake in the cafe.  It didn't help that the bakery smells were particularly inviting today. I bought myself a ready made low calorie wrap and a can of pea and ham soup for lunch. I ended up eating them straightaway as I couldn't wait until my hubby and son came back in. By mid afternoon I was hungry again and ate a slice of Christmas cake!
Dinner was a small portion of meatballs and pasta with a tiny slice of olive bread and a small glass of red wine.I forced myself to stop and left a meatball and some pasta on the plate. Instead of frying the meatballs i baked them in the oven.

Day 13- Sunday 13th January 2013.
Have really blown the diet today.  My hubby very kindly let me have a lie in and I woke up to the delicious smell of a cooked breakfast wafting upstairs. I ended up eating sausage, bacon, egg, tomato, baked beans and toast with a large mug of strong coffee. I did feel very full after that though and didn't eat any lunch at all. For our Sunday roast we had lean roast pork, stuffing, roast potatoes, carrots, broccoli and ended up  making a lemon cake for pudding. I had a small slice of that and did not have wine with my meal, I had a diet ginger beer instead.  After dinner I caught sight of myself in my bedroom mirror from a sideways view and had an immediate downer, my stomach stuck out as much as it did when I was pregnant.  My fingers have all swollen up too, so much so that my wedding ring is really tight. I hate all these time of the month symptoms!

Day 14- Monday 14th January 2013.
Today started off well, porridge for breakfast, a pear at snack time in school with the Key Stage one children, an Ainsley Harriott cup a soup for lunch with a pack of Nairn's oatcakes to nibble on.  By the time I got home at 4.30pm I was ravenous and raided the cake tin. I scoffed down a slice of lemon cake, followed by a cranberry and white chocolate muffin. I felt guilty, disgusted with myself and ashamed. Why did I do it? I should have taken an apple with me to eat in the car before setting off for home but the first thing I do is to stuff cake down my gob like there's no tomorrow.  No wonder my clothes are feeling as tight as they were at Christmas!  I am feeling really irritable and snappy today, I started crying when I was trying to make the dinner, this is ridiculous! Get a grip, Sam!

So what has gone wrong?  I've lost sight of my goals only two weeks into the plan. This is because once I'm back at work everything goes by the wayside. I have not listened to my Paul McKenna hypnosis CD or my app at all or filled in the success diary.  I am determined this will not happen this week so watch this space to see how I get on!

How I want to look on holiday this summer- fit, healthy and slim . This was me in August 2009 on holiday in Mallorca.

This is THE red dress I would like to fit back into.  Pictured wearing it in October 2009 as part of a Hallowe'en costume.

Love Sam xx