I'm back - and it looks like I'm running too!!

I know, I know, I have said this in the past plenty of times... but I actually am back on it!!

I decided not to start back up again until I knew that I was definitely back with Weight Watchers well and truly...  

So to start off, I thought I would just give you all a quick update on my current weight loss journey...

Week 1 - 7.5lbs

Week 2 -2.5lbs

Week 3 +.5lbs

Week 4 -1lb

Week 5 -2lbs

Week 6 -3lbs

Week 7 -2lbs

Week 8-1lb

Week 9 -1lb

Week 10 +1lb

Week 11 +1lb

Well, I apologise now for the last 2 weeks, but theses have been weeks that have been better than they could have been as I seem to have eaten out lots over these last two weeks so hopefully I will be able to get back on fire with it this week....

Life? What's happening with it at the moment? Lots but I wont bore you all for now with it. But Baby O now looks like this.....

  

And here is Mr O and I last week out for a meal.  

                                            

Why did I decide to get back on it and loose my weight again? Simple. That guy there! I just don't want to be a 'fat Mum' at the school gate! I don't want to be an embarrassment to him. I remember once I had a 'tiff' with some kids at school about them calling my Mum fat and from then on I was really embarrassed about her. I never saw her as fat. I saw her as my Mummy! Maybe it was because I was going through the 'trying to be cool' stage at school? Or maybe it was the turn in me suddenly being embarrassed by my Mum as I was 'at that age'?... I mean, my Mum was working her butt off doing different jobs, bringing up 4 children (all with an age gap of 6 years) and trying to keep us all together. 

Ok, so that is one reason. The other reason is thanks to some awful photos that were taken of me.For example this is me in Australia back over the Easter period.

                                    

No selfie angle can hide a photo that someone else takes off the cuff! There is no excuse now. Baby O is nearly 3 and I can't exactly say it's Baby fat or baby fat anymore!

So, after 8 weeks, THIS has been the difference so far.... The photo on the left was back in June and then the one on the right was taken in September.

If you fancy seeing what I'm eating daily you can find me here...

WeightWatchers Connect: emma-joy89

Instagram: Thelifeofmrso

Bare with me as I also update the recipes on here to SPs and keep an eye out for all the new recipes and foody finds out there that I find... I'm aiming to do at least one new blog post each week. :)

 Here's to a new, healthier, slimmer and fitter me and being a health inspiration to my little boy....

Love, Mrs O xxx

Flash back!

We all have 'that' photo - you know the one I mean - the one where you look awful and is your 'thinspirational' photo. Well up until last week this was mine....

However, thanks to lovely Time Hop (an app on your phone that allows you to see photos of you and your facebook statuses from that day X amount of years ago) this photo came up.....

This photo was taken of me back in 2011 and my word I NEVER wish to go back and look like that ever again! I think I used to be blind as to what I actually looked like! I used to play ignorance and just think I was fine and healthy. Well, I can say now that that is NOT the case!! 

The top photo is still set as my screen saver on my phone but I think I will need to change it to the new one! Or maybe get it printed lots and lots and stick it on every cupboard to stop eating all the naughty stuff or 'just that extra bit of something'....

I was going to post a picture of me 'now, but I can't find one! But I am out tonight at a friend's house for a dinner party and I am sure I will have photos taken then so I will aim to get one up on here next week.

Before the news I know you have all been dying to hear about my weigh in last week I will just catch you up for last weekend....

Saturday I enjoyed this lovely meal from M&S for lunch....

It was really yummy and full of flavor - I'm really enjoying these meals from M&S - they are my Saturday lunchtime treats and they really do fill you up.

When I got in on Saturday afternoon... Mr O had decided to go out with some friends to play ping pong and he left me the most gorgeous bunch of lilies, a stack of DVDs and a little card.....

 

Inside the card he had written a little love note (now a card alone is a shock to the system as I don't even get a Birthday or Christmas card off him!) and then on the other page he had written a riddle which led to this...

So I had a lovely night sitting, watching Films ( I caught up on Orange is the new Black - I so LOVE that programme atm - and I'm slowly watching it all as I am nearly finished the latest season!)

Oh, and that ice cream.... 31 PP! But I sat and ate it all nice and slowly and pointed it all!

On the Sunday we had planned to go on a picnic and go fruit picking after church, but we kind of failed on the picnic part! But we did go strawberries and raspberries picking - once we found them! We literally walked all 4 corners of the fields only to find that they were right by the entrance!! But, it still gave us lots of walking and my, did my thighs hurt the next day from all the funny positions you get into to pick the strawberries!

As you can imagine we over picked the strawberries and we ended up with loads - we still have some left! So as you will find out in a bit I used the wherever I could just to use them all up!!

Now for the moment of truth from this week's weigh in.....

I flipping stayed the same!! SOOOOOO annoyed as I played the game down to the last point! Everything was pointed. And I was a little down when I stepped on the scales and my leader wrote down 'STS' on my chart - But she reassured me that it could just take an extra week for me to drop some. She even texted me the day after some words of encouragement. 

And then I stumbled across this little motivational picture thing (I'm stumbling upon a lot of these at the moment!!)

So what did I do in the end with all those strawberries?....

Well they got put into jelly for work....

Chopped up and put into a trifle....

Chopped up and put into a smoothie

Chopped up and put into a cake (You can find the recipe here...)

So to get myself focused and to keep my eye on the goal I kept pointing EVERYTHING....

4pp lunch - poached egg (2) 10 olives (1) ham (1) salad (0) jelly & the famous strawberries (0)

Lunch - poached egg (2) 10 olives (1) salad (0)

Snack / Dessert with lunch - more of the famous strawberries with fresh peach and a WW 1pp yogurt

I even got my 'instagram' on! This was Friday night's meal....

 

  

Dinner - 8pp (Tweaked recipe from the latest WW mag pg 35) 

4pp Dinner - Chicken kebabs with peppers served with salad and 0pp mayo I made it like this....

And finally this morning's smoothie....  0pp

I even pointed up the Pizza I had on Thursday night in celebration!

(Sorry photo taken from Tesco's website as I had forgotten to take a photo!) This actually works out really well on the propoint front. For the whole pizza it's only 14pp !!

Oh, and why was I celebrating? I found out that the results from my last colposcopy had come back and I had been given the all clear. Ok, maybe that should have been the first thing I spoke about this week?!... 

As I put the phone down after talking to the lady on the phone, I cried! They were tears of sheer joy and utter relief. I well up thinking about it now! My path in life could have taken a completely different direction if those results came back differently. And after a year of being prodded and poked in places I wish were kept well clear of to know that I am ok means that Mr O and I can sleep again after nights of tears, of worries and of sleepless nights - and my, have I slept so peacefully these last few nights!!

Now, as always, I have done a bit of digging around in the shops for you all...

The first ones are from Lidl... 

I was looking for something different for breakfast and I came across these....

Honey Peanut Crunch is 30g for 4pp and the Golden Puffs (like sugar puffs) are 30g for 3pp

Now for the Honey Peanut Crunch you really don't get much at all for 30g! And so I don't intend to buy this again although it is sooo yummy! But with the fake sugar puffs you actually get a lot in your bowl for you points!...

I also came across these in Lidl - much cheaper than Hartley's jelly which I normally buy. These too are 0pp... AND at the moment they are only 23p :) 

Now for Sainsburys.... I bought this as it was on offer (sorry can't remember how much) but I stupidly didn't stand there in the shop and work out the points :( Shame I didn't as it was so not worth the points.... 

It worked out as 6pp for half the jar - yes it tasted nice but wasn't worth it for an evening meal - would be worth it though for a night you wanted to do a fake korma as you can use all that sauce like you do from a take away.

And lastly, ICE CREAM :) from Tesco 

Now, they always say to double check their points against working it out on a calculator... And this is a true example of that.... Tesco are famous for putting the wrong points on their food.... Funny how the other supermarkets can sort it out but they cant!

On the packet they mark it as 2pp per pot BUT they actually work out to be 3pp per pot - luckily I had a spare point floating about! Naughty naughty Tesco!

 

Now although I say all that, they were actually really nice! And worth the 3pp AND you get a little Tupperware pot out of it in the end!

So I now change off food and demand all you women to go and get your smear tests done! Don't delay it! Plus I also want to thank all my friends family in your support to both Jeremy and I over this past year. It's not been easy and lots of things we have had to put on hold. We love you all. 

Today I am trying to eat as little amount of point worthy food as possible as I am going out for a meal tonight with friends (as I said earlier) and although I know they will be cooking it all fresh themselves, I don't want to loose out on having a loss this week!!

Hope you all have a lovely week, Love, Mrs O x

OOOHHHH.... Nearly forgot to post this week's chart....

Week 1 - 5 1/2 lbs

Week 2 - 1/2lb

Week 3 - 3lbs

Week 4 - ?

Week 5 + 2lbs    :(

Week 6 +/- 0lbs - STS

Fruity cake tray bake - 2pp each

Well these cakes didn't last long in our house - and if that happens it's a good thing! I also took some into work for the girls at work that are doing Weight Watchers and they loved it! It's only 2pp per piece...

I found this recipe in this month's Weight Watchers Magazine, but I switched and ditched a few ingredients as I didn't have them and Mr O doesn't like almonds on a cake! In the magazine (pg 76) it's called 'Cherry Tray Bake' - hence why I have changed it to Fruity Cake Tray Bake

Ingredients:

100g Low fat spread

100g caster sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

125g self raising flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

200g cherries, pitted (but I used strawberries instead)

15g icing sugar

1 tsp lemon juice (I used a little bit more to help 'flick' it around better!)

10g toasted flaked almonds (I didn't use)

Set the oven to GM 4 / 180'C / Fan 160'C & Line a 25cm x 20cm tin with baking / grease proof paper - I also sprayed some 'baking' spray lite onto it to double help it not stick (it worked!)

So, let's bake....

1. Whisk up together in a bowl the spread, sugar, egg, lemon zest, flour and baking powder in a large bowl (I sifted the flour and baking powder - habit but I know it helps to stop let it go all lumpy!)

2. Chop up the strawberries / fruit

3. Plop into the lined tin and scatter the strawberries / fruit over the top

4. Pop in the oven for 25mins or until golden - just to let you know, I had to put mine in there for about 35-40 mins - always judge it yourself and not by the times on recipes as everyone's oven is different!

5. Once out of the oven leave to cool.

6. Once it has cooled down you can make the icing to go on top ....

7. Mix the lemon juice and the icing sugar together and then drizzle it over the top. You can then sprinkle over the flaked almonds, but as I said before, I didn't as Mr O is fussy!

8. Chop up into 18 pieces - If you can't work the maths out it's 3 x 6 ! - Look at the above photo as a guide - I was having a real blonde moment trying to work it out!!!

Storage - They say to keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days - I had mine wrapped up in the baking paper and then popped in a tin but not into the fridge. And to be honest, it wont last that long if you all have a sweet tooth!! Oh, and they say you can freeze it too and it will last in the freezer up to 3 months - but you need to out numbers 6 & 7.

9. Sit back, eat and enjoy - and as many people have said, it's perfect with a cup of tea or coffee!!

Love, Mrs O x

2 ingredient cookies

**Edit** These are 3sps for the whole batch without the chocolate chips - just check your own packet of chocolate chips for smart points values...

Firstly, I want to say thank you to my little sister for telling me about these cookies - they are amazing!

You can either just use the 'base' ingredients below or you could add in things like chocolate chips or dried fruit.... The choice is up to you! 

Oh! And just so you know, the 'base' ingredients come up either free on F&H or they are 1pp each cookie if you are pointing... But, if you add 1 tbsp of chocolate chips to the batch it still comes out as 1pp each :)

Ingredients

1 x Banana

1 cup of oats 

What do you do then?...

1. Set the oven to about 200 degrees and mash up the banana in a bowl

2. Blitz up the oats to make it like a flour

3. Mix the 2 together

4. Line a tray with grease proof paper, spray with some low cal spray ... I use this one - it's part of the Fry Light range and is specifically for baking....

5. Pop the mixture on the tray - a table spoon sized amount is about the perfect size.

6. Bake for 12-15 minutes 

7. Voilla! Perfect little cookies

These are perfect for putting in Lunch boxes....

Enjoy! Love, Mrs O x