Get Fit Feel Epic: Week 1 #GFFE

Well after posting my plan last week how did I do? Tonight was my first official Rosemary Conley weigh in since before Christmas, and a chance to see if my week's hard work had undone the damage of overindulging at Christmas....

I am pleased to report that I have managed to lose all but 0.5 pound of my excess baggage! A whole 3.5 pounds in one week. Needless to say I am dead chuffed and it makes giving up the booze worthwhile.

It proves that the Hairy Dieters cookbook does actually work and helped me to stick to between 1200 and 1500 calories a day. The one down side is that many of the recipes take a while to prepare and now we are back to school and work I need to be more organised.

So how do I take the plan into week 2? Being shorter on time means I will have to plan ahead and cook when I can and have things ready to just heat through. Making sure that I take the time to eat a healthy lunch before starting work at 12 is key. Too often I'm grabbing and running which means its often unhealthy or not filling enough. I will have to check out the Hairy Dieters lunch ideas. I know the fruity rice was delicious and filling and would do me for a couple of days. Breakfast is not too difficult so I just need to have my dinners organised... Just in case I still have some Diet Chef meals in the cupboard for speed...

Exercise is also going to be important to maintain losing weight and toning up. Tonight I did my Rosemary Conley aerobics session and worked up a good sweat. I will try out salsacise on Friday morning to see if I like that too. If I keep on decluttering house that will be a good workout too!

So onwards and downwards with my first target of back to before Christmas almost complete its time to head for target two - the elusive 2 stone award that I kept nearly reaching last year. If I keep up the good work I should get there in a couple of weeks!

Watch this space....

Bakerdays personalised cakes

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Before Christmas I was sent a personalised cake from Bakerdays to review. The cake was delivered in a letterbox sized box and when I opened the packaging this is what I found:

The contents were a card, balloons, a party blower and a tin. Inside the tin was a cake that had been well protected against the vagaries of the postal service so it looked perfect.

A couple of days later it was my uncle's birthday party so I saved the cake to take and share as several family members are cake makers! It was only then that I fully unwrapped the cake and saw what it was like on the top:

A lovely girlie choice of decoration and a nice message. The cake itself was a carrot cake and the packaging said it served 3-4 people but we all had a smaller piece just to get a taste. It has a slightly spicy taste and was nicely moist. Some of the testers found it too sweet for their taste. It all get eaten up though!

The basic sponge versions of these letterbox cakes are priced at £14.99 which isn't cheap but it does include first class postage. The carrot cake option is an extra £1.20 there are also fruit cake (£1.80), gluten and wheat free (£1.80) or chocolate versions (£2). If you want a bigger cake then a 8-12 portions start at £26.99 or a 50-60 portion large cake for £45! You can also order a dozen personalised cupcakes from £24.99.

Personally I wouldn't spend that much on a cake but it was very well presented and I enjoyed the cake I ate. If you need to post a cake then this could a good solution. 

Using PKTMNY to learn

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My children have enjoyed the grown up experience of having their own debit cards and being able to buy things for themselves in shops. Once I set my daughter's PIN to something easier to remember she has felt so independent. Their first purchases were at out local Morrisons as they wanted to buy magazines. It was exciting for them to use their cards in the machines on the self service tills!

My daughter is more of a spendaholic than her little brother so is more likely to use her card. When we went to MOSI in Manchester I gave her the card to use in the gift shop. Apparently a few children have been in there with them. It's good for her to be able to see where her money has gone:

At least this shows her why she doesn't have much money left to spend!

My son on the other hand is keen to save up for some Lego as he is an avid collector. It is therefore useful for him to be able to see what he needs to save. We searched online for the Lego he wants and then he set a savings target based on the price:

As he is only 6 seeing it visually makes it more obvious to him. Then he can see ways of earning above his fixed pocket money by looking at his tasks list to see what he can earn:

I have to say my children agreed the rates for all chores! I'm sure they will learn to ask for more in the future as their needs increase.

This post is part of a project with BritMums, sponsored by PKTMNY, highlighting it's launch (http://www.pktmny.com). The new tool allows parents to easily pay and monitor their children's pocket money online, whilst allowing their children to earn, save, spend and manage their money in a totally safe and fun way.

#SilentSunday

My Family Fitness Plan for 2013 - Get Fit Feel Epic #GFFE

This is my entry for the ‘Get Fit Feel Epic’ competition hosted by Kate on Thin Ice

It's always good to try and plan how to get fit rather than just rushing in willy nilly although every year I set out with good intentions and usually fail! This is because I don't stick to the plan... 

2012 was a partial success as even though my weight didn't drop significantly I feel in better shape. So how do I manage to do it better in 2013? I need a workable plan that I can stick to whatever life throws at me...

My Diet

To lose weight I know that I have to consume less calories than I burn off. Its not rocket science but I don't manage to keep my calorie intake down often enough to make a difference. At my Rosemary Conley classes we are given plenty of advice on how having a low calorie, low fat and low GI diet I just need to pay more attention!

January is always the month when I am most successful at losing weight. I am so enthusiastic and determined that I stick to my goals. Its easy to ditch the junk and the alcohol for a month to help maintain the required low calorie intake. This year I'm boosting my chances by using the Hairy Dieters recipe book to provide me with healthy yet enjoyable meals. As its only me eating them I've had to adjust quantities but so far everything has been delicious:

If this is dieting then I'm going to find it much more enjoyable than previously! Tracking my intake through My Fitness Pal makes it much easier to see what I am doing and whether I can have anything else to eat ;-) 

Getting my children on board will help a lot too. This is easier with my 9 year old as she is more adventurous than her little brother. He knows what he likes and getting him to eat new things is too much like hard work. Once they are at school things will be easier as they will be having school dinners so will need less feeding at home! I have told them that I'm not buying any more naughty treats this month. The last of the crisps have gone and they are slowly getting through their Christmas chocolates. If there isn't rubbish around then I can't be tempted. One problem is my daughter is eating all the fruit ingredients I got in for the recipes! Looks like I need to get even more next week...

Exercise

This is something I was starting to get right last autumn. I joined my local leisure centre gym and as I had to go twice a week to get my money's worth I made sure I got there! Having an individual exercise plan from one of the instructors was worth the small extra payment too. Things weren't quite as good when I took on an extra job and had very little child free time to do more than my 2 sessions. 

My other regular exercise is my weekly aerobics which is part of my Rosemary Conley class. Luckily my parents babysit once a week allowing me to go. I did a week of the 30 Day Shred and it was making a difference to my waistline and abs but life got in the way especially when my children keep covering the front room in toys! 

What I need to do is schedule in my exercise to make it more regular. I also need to make sure the front room is clear enough for me to be able to workout at home. There are plenty of DVDs and Wii games that I possess to help me get fitter and burn off the calories I just need to use them. Just hope I don't need to set my alarm for an earlier time in the morning to fit it in as I'm not a morning person... Even just making sure I'm more active when doing housework and going about my every day life will all help.

Getting exercise with the children is also going to be an important part of me getting fit too. We need to get out together walking, cycling or swimming. Let's just hope that the weather in 2013 is drier than 2012! 

Support

It is almost impossible to successfully lose weight without support. I'm gathering as much as possible both in real life and online. Going to my Rosemary Conley classes provide great motivation and group support. Some of us are also supporting each other in groups on Facebook. Sharing blogposts with other people and charting the highs and lows is also very useful. The My Fitness Pal community is also very supportive.

So here is hoping that a) my plan for 2013 is a good one and b) I can stick to it.... Watch this space to see how I go and if I win the FitBit activity tracker and a set of smartscales from Kate then it will help keep me on track to getting fit and feeling epic! This is part of Money Supermarket's “Get Fit, Feel Epic” campaign