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Slimming World results week 5 and 6

- TracyB Leave a comment

After my +1lb gain the previous week after my cousins wedding blow out I got straight back on track. It’s amazing how just that single gain can totally focus you back to the plan!

I decided in my head that I really wanted to get past the 1/2 stone mark this week and had planned to stick rigidly to the plan and even cut down on the ‘free’ pasta/ potatoes and rice with meals and substitute them with things like carrot chips, cauliflower rice ( which is my new favourite thing by the way) and more speedy free veg.

THis is a HUGE bowl of cauli rice mixed with corgettes, mushrooms and tomatoes (all speed free) with 'free' ham on the top!
This is a HUGE bowl of cauliflower rice mixed with courgettes, mushrooms and tomatoes (all speed free) with ‘free’ ham on the top!

I was also able to keep my syns to a bare minimum by filling up on free food instead. The strictness paid off and I had a fabulous 3lb loss! I will be honest and say it gives you a massive boost  when you have a loss like that and it definitely spurs you on for the next week. This loss also took me over my 1/2 stone mark and made my weight loss ( for me anyway) something that I can definitely do, if that makes sense.

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Slimming World week 4- my results

- TracyB Leave a comment

I was away last week and so didn’t have a weigh in.

My previous week I had a gain of 1/2 lb which was disappointing as I had stayed on plan ( apart from an ice cream!) But although I was away with the family I was able to easily stay on plan as I was still preparing all my meals.

The only treat that I wanted when I went was proper seaside fish and chips, which is something we always get at a fabulous fish shop on Herne Bay sea front. I planned this meticulously thinking it was best to have this on the Monday I was missing my weigh in. That way I was on plan all week, had my fish and chips and then went straight back on plan for the next week.

In all honesty, and I can’t believe I am saying this, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would……….totally weird!

Anyway, along came the next weigh in and low and behold I lost an amazing 3 1/2 lbs over the two weeks!! I was absolutely chuffed as this got me within a 1lb of my half a stone before my cousins wedding target. My dress felt more comfortable and less ‘strained’ when I wore it.

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Slimming World week 1 my results

- TracyB 4 Comments

So, I completed my first week following the Slimming World plan, a fairly easy one to work out and follow in my opinion. I was able to be completely on plan all week as I wasn’t really anywhere or had any plans that would throw any major temptation in my way. I am a sociable drinker only so I don’t really sit every evening with a glass of wine ( although I can drink like a lush when I am out in company!). Therefore, for me the syns tallied on alcohol only matters if I go out. In that respect I found that I wasn’t using any where near my limit of syns per day so far.

My weigh in is on a Monday at 5.30pm although I think I my change to the Monday morning club that runs at 9.30 as I found that last night I didn’t end up eating until 8.30pm and took a migraine while I was at the meeting, so I do not want a repeat of that.

I have to say I was actually quite nervous when I was waiting to be weighed, although I knew I had been on plan but I still felt quite bloated ( although I don’t have a period I still have the joys of the bloating and pains) and so I was preparing myself to have stayed the same.

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My decision to start Slimming World

- TracyB 2 Comments

I have been unhappy with my weight for some time, probably for a good year or so and my clothing now all resembles everything loose and flowy (which doesn’t help to be honest!)

The weight has slowly crept on over a long period of time, little by little, until I have gone up a size or two in dress size and now even those are no longer fitting comfortably. Everything I buy is cover up, long, oversized with a vest top underneath to help hold things in. I am on the short side at only 5′ 2″ so any extra weight at all has nowhere to hide. I have felt uncomfortable, fat and self conscious for a while and hate squeezing into clothes that never fit properly. It’s not just the fact I have to go up a size its more the fact I have an awkward shape as I put all my weight on around my middle. This means when I go up a size to fit my middle I end up looking like I’m a kid waiting to grow into my new school uniform!

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The benefit of a bedroom upgrade

- TracyB Leave a comment

With the summer season now well and truly here, (although no sign of any summer weather yet) there is no better time to refresh the bedroom and it makes sense to ensure ultimate comfort for those nights when it is too humid and nothing but the window and fan will let you get some sleep. My bedroom is up two storey’s in a Dorma loft conversion so when the weather does heat up it can get rather humid and uncomfortable.

bed pic for post

Clearly, the main attraction of the bedroom is the bed itself, so this should be at the forefront of any update ideas. It is the type of purchase that only needs to be undertaken every few years, so getting it right is everything, although in all fairness once you have invested in a good bed frame it would normally be only the mattress you change unless you are having a decorative overhaul.

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Amazing how differently your teen is treated by teachers when they find out about his almost certain ADHD diagnosis

- TracyB Leave a comment

Ok so before all you teachers instantly take offence to that I will openly say I do not think secondary teachers are paid enough for what they have to deal with and I could not for all the money in the world even contemplate teaching teenagers!! I appreciate you all have several classes with probably 30 moody, whingy, bolshy annoying teens in every class driving you to complete distraction getting on your last nerve at times…………….. I repeat I COULD NOT DO THAT JOB.

That said, when it comes to your own child and you can see him being persecuted for being fidgety, talking, moving, getting distracted and distracting others. Now I am not a mother who sees her children as little angels, I am fully aware that my 15 year old son is ‘high maintenance’, loud, demanding and can drive me to total distraction on a daily basis, so I do appreciate how that could be a pain in the arse to deal with in a class of 30 kids. So when the said child does not change over the years, finds it hard to focus and is the king of ‘low level disruption’ but is generally a very likeable boy surely some alarm bells would be ringing from the school side of things?

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Time for a teen room makeover

- TracyB Leave a comment

Time for a teen room makeover

My eldest son is about to turn 18 in April. In all fairness his room hasn’t been decorated as such since we had a whole house refurb about 7 yrs ago.

When we did the building work the boys went from sharing a room to having a room of their own. At the time we literally just split their bunk beds to make temporary singles for each room.

We kept the colours neutral so we could just easily change bedding/ curtains and posters or wall art to suit their changing tastes. This has worked very well up until now.

Now, as my son turns 18 we are looking to overhaul his room making it into a more adult looking space. There is plenty of room to fit a double bed which will be our priority. He is no longer a little boy but an almost 6ft young man and needs room to spread out. So definitely time for a teen room makeover.

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Bring Your Home into the 21st Century with Modern Technology

- TracyB 2 Comments

 

My husband and I are forever having this conversation as we notice how high tech everything has become. We were making our teens laugh the other day when they were talking about new tv’s and games consoles and we were trying to explain that we had only 3 channels on our TV and you had to get up to turn the channel over, and before you ask yes they did look at us like we had 2 heads! However, it really does make you think how far technology has come in even the last 30 years. High tech is no longer restricted to computers etc but there is an element of  high tech in almost every ‘normal’ standard item in our homes, just think coffee machines, cooking gadgets, Tv’s and I wont even start on what our phones can do these days.

Most people will upgrade their gadgets and appliances as they redecorate or extend their properties nowadays as we all want to live in a home that is not only comfortable, attractive and practical but is also modern and convenient. One of the ways in which you can ensure that your home is brought into the 21st century is through the use of modern technology, which is something that can provide increased functionality, ease and aesthetic appeal in the home. Technological evolution has changed both our home and business lives for the better over recent years and the availability of futuristic products continues to grow.

There are all sorts of modern devices and gadgets that you can invest in these days in order to help modernise your home with everything from high-tech appliances for the kitchen through to exciting tech devices for the living room or the bedroom.

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My baby turns 15!

- TracyB 2 Comments

It feels like time is just spiralling out of control, there’s no brakes, no way of slowing it down to appreciate what is going on.

This week saw my youngest turn 15, now one of the oldest in his class. To be honest he’s like 15 going on 50 but that’s another story, however, his age now hits hard as he is my youngest, my baby so to speak. It seems like only last week we brought him home from the hospital and felt we had all the time in the world to appreciate him.

So what happens? We blink and they are teenagers, to old to be babied and not old enough to be an adult, yet they are like mini adults with their own personalities and strong views. I am now officially the smallest person in the house with the 2 boys towering over me, making me feel small and old!

Birthdays can make you nostalgic, look back with rose tinted glasses and feel as though you didn’t make the most of the time when they were young. Of course this is never true. They were hard work as babies, they took all of our time, we were up during the nights, nursed them when they were ill, praised every stage of their development and enjoyed all the different stages they have been through.

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The joy of upcycling

- TracyB 2 Comments

Although I upcycled a welsh style dresser a few years ago now for my hall after spotting it in a charity shop and thinking it was just perfect for the space I had and what I needed to store there. It was a real struggle for me physically because of my illness but I was determined to do it myself without the help of anyone and took full pleasure in standing back at the end chuffed with the result and knowing that it was all my own hard work.

Since then I have dabbled with small projects again to do something just for me and also to enjoy doing the whole thing by myself. When most of your days are spent at home it’s nice to be able to have some sort of purpose or job as it were.

So I have done this gorgeous old carry box that was bought for me at a second hand vintage shop by my Mum. After it was hidden away in my junk spare room I finally came across it again after a good ‘ol clear out. Originally I had thought this would be fab painted up in a bright colour with some herb pots in it. But when I rediscovered it again I thought immediately it would make a brilliant ‘work in projects’ box for my knitting and crochet.

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