Weekly Weigh in and Food diary - Week 1

Hello guys, I've decided to trial a new type of blog post and thought I would share with you my exercise and eating regime and share my progress with you as I try and shift the Christmas bulge I appear to have gained. 

SEE WEEK 2 HERE

I've been trying to officially eat 'healthily' for the past week now after the massive Christmas binge. I actually got to the point where I was bored of eating as crazy as that sounds. I still have a lot of Christmas food left but I am trying to spread it out so I only have one small treat a day but I never deprive myself of anything.

After Christmas I only gained half a pound but I had a number of gains beforehand putting me about a stone away from my target weight and would love to get there in time for the summer.

I originally weighed 14 stone (196lbs) and I already started my weight loss journey a couple of years ago, so I know what works well for me and by no means am I an expert! Here is a before and during picture for reference. This is me 7lbs away from my target, I know I can get there again!

Wednesday

B - I had a banana before the gym then after I had some Porridge Oats and Raspberry's with Chia Seeds.
L - Quorn mince with chopped tomatoes, peppers, onions, spinach, kidney beans and pasta.
D - Pulled Pork, frylight cooked chips, salad and onions.
S -  I snacked on an apple in the afternoon and after dinner I had 5 sweets from my pic'n'mix tub.
E - I went to the gym this morning and did 45 minutes of interval training on the treadmill. I also did 3 sets of 10 reps 70lb leg presses, 3 sets of 10 reps 55lb Hip Abduction and 4 sets of 10 reps 55lb Hip Adduction. 

Thursday

B - I had a banana and 2 slices of small wholemeal toast with ham and raw spinach.
L - Cajun Chicken with rice and salad.
D - Chicken topped with tomato puree, extra light cheese, and a jacket potato.
S -  I snacked on strawberries, an apple and a biscuit.
E - I didn't go to the gym today, but I did have a shift where I walked around for about 5 hours so that's something. 

Friday

B - I had the same as yesterday - 2 slices of small wholemeal toast with ham and raw spinach.
L - Cajun Chicken with rice and salad again. I'm so imaginative.
D - Pizza!
S -  I snacked on starburst. It's a Friday, calories don't count!
E - I did very little exercise today, Friday's are usually my lazy days!

Saturday

B - Bran Flakes, Semi-Skimmed Milk and an Apple.
L - Me and my boyfriend went to spudulike and I had the chilli con carne potato with cheese. It came with free garlic bread - shame!
D - Fake KFC and home cooked wedges with beans.
S - I bought some Montezuma chocolate so treated myself to a few squares of that. 
E - I went shopping in the city so spent a lot of time walking around, my legs and arms ached like crazy!

Sunday

B - I woke up later than usual so just had a snack of a chewy bar and a cup of tea.
L - Chicken, Bacon and veg Quinoa and Bulgar Wheat bake with cheese.. phew! I'll post a recipe for this soon!
D - A Lovely roast!
S - A few squares of galazy and a small slice of Christmas cake.
E - I did very little exercise today! I barely left my bedroom. #LazySundays

Monday

B - I had a chewy bar, some pastryless quiche and chicken. I also had a banana before the gym.
L - The same quinoa bake as yesterday - I batch cooked a few portions.
D - Quorn Shepherds Pie, roasted parsnips and beans.
S -  An apple and a custard cream.. Oh and some chocolate and millions (I blame the boyfriend for those)!
E - I did some interval training on the treadmill (45 minutes) Leg Press 75lb x 10 reps x 3. Chest Press 30lb x 10 reps x 3, Lat Pull 35lb x 10 reps x 1 and 40lb x 10 reps x 3, Ab Crunch 40lb x 10 reps x 3.

Tuesday

B - Bacon and Spinach on 2 slices of mini wholemeal toast and a banana.
L - Lunch was the same again, the last portion from my batch cooked stuff.
D - Tuna pasta bake with chopped tomatoes, peppers, sweetcorn. It was lovely.
S -  An apple and some chocolate of course.
E - I walked around on my lunch break but that was the extent of my exercise.

Total weight loss this week: 2.5lbs

I know there is a lot of room for improvement in my diet, I have way too many treats haha! But one step at a time now! I am fairly happy with how my week went, a few extras slipped in but at least that gives me something to improve on next week.

Thanks for reading this, and if you're interested in these posts I will do them weekly!

GressenHall

A few weeks ago, Norfolk had some Heritage Open days meaning certain places which usually charged admission were open for free. There was loads of places I would have liked to have visited but I just didn’t have the time off. One of the places involved in the open days was Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse. Gressenhall is a 50 acre site with a museum, historic workhouse, farm and a great day out. The main buildings were built in 1777 and you can learn a lot about how things used to be here.

There are some lovely gardens here, they also have a little cottage set up to look how it would have been back in the day.

One of my favourite places here at Gressenhall is the set-up shop. I just love looking at the really old packaging, and find it really interesting. They also had a post office too!

I also love the 1950’s room, filled with retro and vintage items from the 50’s including recipe books, and even a photo album filled with old photos and memories.

Of course, I had to try on one of the hats!

We then looked around the upper part of the museum and saw some really cool and interesting things from different eras.

This doll really creeped me out! I can’t imagine having one of these when I was younger.

I was drawn to this picture as it looks a bit like my sister when she was younger. Spooky!

This story was a bit strange, I’m not sure what to think of it, but the alleyway this sign was down was pretty eerie.

We then took a walk outside through the orchard which interestingly used to be a burial ground.

After that we went for a snack. The café was located in what used to be the itch ward, which was a bit odd. I didn’t get itchy thankfully! I had a coconut flapjack which was really good.

After lunch we popped over to the farm which is across the road from the main museum. There’s a really nice walk here with lots of animals to see. You can also have a ride on horse and carriage and a tractor, but we opted to walk.

Overall, I think Gressenhall is a great day out for people of all ages and really interesting. You can check out their website here. I’d love to hear your recommendations for other places to go on days out!