#icandothis | But I Smile Anyway...

Ritu’s Healthy Living – Week 4 #icandothis

30 Aug 2016 53 Comments

by Ritu in Health, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #icandothis, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Diet, exercise bike, Healthy Eating, Weight Loss

We’re starting the last week of the school holidays… Goodness knows what will happen to my attempts at healthy eating and living once term starts!

But I have managed at least 4 weeks, through the holidays, with kids eating all sorts, and I survived decorating, and still carried on with my mission. And there is one more week until the rigidity of school commences once more.

Granted, I haven’t lost as much as I hoped, weight wise, but I think I have made great progress in changing my eating, and introducing some exercise into my lifestyle, and as they say, slow and steady wins the race!

So, what have I been eating this week?

I have had a request for recipes for some dishes, so when I get a chance I will try and post!

And I am still drinking lots of water, and herbal teas throughout the day.

I haven’t attempted any of the exercise DVD’s yet, but I have finally got on my exercise bike and am trying to do 30 minutes moderate speed cycling on it most days… but the speed and calorie counter don’t work, so I am guestimating how fast I am actually cycling! Whatever the speed, it sure is making me sweat! That’s gotta be good!

I’m thinking of investing in a Fitbit to help track my activity and heartrate too!

And to be a little bit more proactive, I have started to publish the odd health tip, found under Health in my header menu! I’ve had some great feedback so far, and if I give information that helps another, then all the better!

I post these, alongside foodie pics, on my Instagram account, if you wish to follow me on there! @phantom_giggler.

Now, the all-important question… what did the scales say today???

I had lost 3 lb so far last week…

This week another

2lbs!

That makes 5lbs in total, and I have broken the 11 stone barrier and am 10 stone something now!!!!

Woo hoo!!!!

Ritu’s Healthy Living – Week 3 #icandothis

23 Aug 2016 22 Comments

by Ritu in Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #icandothis, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Healthy Eating, Update, Weight Loss

Week 3 has been and gone…

It’s been a truly hectic week. I have not been for any formal exercise, except for one walk, when I decided to leave the car and walked the 1.5KM to my in-law’s house. Painting, and decorating, lifting furniture and building flat-packs have been my workouts instead!

And I have tried… oh have I tried… to eat as healthily as I could. But there have been more occasions than I would like to confess to where we have succumbed to takeaways. I have tried to choose the healthier options, but it’s not always possible. And where I have eaten healthily, the naughty snacks have crept in… Chocolate and biscuits… oops!

Here is a small selection of the meals I have eaten, breakfasts, lunches and dinners… They don’t look too bad, but they also don’t include the Egg and Bacon McMuffin we had on Sunday morning, or the Pizza with the kids, or the Chinese takeaway with the family…

I have found a few snacks though that are healthier alternatives… Lentil crisps (yes, really!) and 9Bars with a carob topping to satisfy the sweet tooth.

I thought maybe I need a proper kickstart to this whole weight loss thing. In town, there was a woman selling the Aloe Vera Detox Cleanse. I have heard a lot about it, so I went to have a chat. 9 days. A lot of Aloe Vera juice, other vitamins, a shake and calorie controlled meals, along with 30 minutes moderate exercise every day, and you are guaranteed to lose at least a dress size in that 9 days.

So, how much would this miracle cleanse cost? only…£100! I hid my cough and splutter, and said I’d think about it… Oh, and as a parting shock, she mentioned that the 30-day after care plan is only a mere £200! Maybe when I win the lottery, eh! I have dug out some old exercise DVDs to maybe try next week…

Instead, I have dug out some old exercise DVDs to maybe try next week…

20160823_202507

Bollywood Burn! Sounds fun, eh! and the 10-minute workouts… who can’t spare 10 minutes?! I’ll let you know how I get on!

So, the thing is, did I actually lose any weight this past week?

I did, not a lot, but I did… 0.5lb! I am very proud of me! It’s been on average 1lb a week… I can cope with that!

And I was spurred on to do something physical tonight too, so 20 minutes on my exercise bike, and I now have pleasingly aching legs!

So, here’s to another week of trying to change my living habits, including more exercise and better eating!

Til next week, #healthyritu signing out!

Ritu’s Healthy Living – Week 2 #icandothis

16 Aug 2016 39 Comments

by Ritu in Challenges, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #icandothis, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Diet, Exercise, Weight Loss

So it’s been another week since I attempted to eat healthily, and live a generally healthier life…

Did anyone tell me how hard it is to eat healthily or incorporate any exercise into your day when decorating?

I have been half good, half naughty this week.

I tried to have good breakfasts, and relatively good lunches. Dinner has been a little hit and miss.

Then figure in a day trip to visit my best friend so we had lunch out, and dinner at the services on the way home… and after that, Friday through to Sunday my whole eating plan, went out of the window, with me concentrating on moving furniture, and painting. I guess that counts as some exercise though eh! And we have ended up eating convenient food, and take outs, rather than cook, as by the time we sit down, we are hungry and exhausted!

I did start the week by digging my hula hoop out and did 3 days of 20 minutes hula-ing. Actually, on the third day, I actually did 30 minutes continuously! I managed one proper walk… but no more than that.

And for all my sins… this is the result this week…

1lb down!!!!!!!

So still a little loss! I’m happy!!!

Ritu’s Healthy Living #icandothis – Week 1

08 Aug 2016 46 Comments

by Ritu in Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #icandothis, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Lifestyle Change, Map My Walk, Motivation, My Fitness Pal, The Keen Peach, Weight Loss

I don’t profess to be any sort of lifestyle expert, but last week, when I got the ‘Shock of my life!’ (slight exaggeration!) I decided I had to do something.

I was fed up with looking in the mirror, depressed by what I saw, that double-chinned face looking back at me, that stomach that could pass for 6 months pregnant. I hated the fact that so many of my clothes weren’t fitting well. I didn’t like that I was feeling so low in energy all the time.

Something had to give.

So I looked back on an old eating plan I had when I was following the Juiceplus+ diet a couple of years ago. No, I wasn’t going to fork out lots of money on the shakes and vitamins etc, but they had a great detox plan, which really helped me strip back unnecessary food, and encouraged clean eating.

Some of my breakfasts

Lunch examples

Some dinners I made

Water. I have been drinking lots of water, and herbal teas too, at least 3 litres every day! (Yes, you do wee a lot, but hey, if it helps!)

Another thing I have tried to do is not eat after 8pm either. And I have managed that every night, except tonight. It is 10.30pm and I am eating now! But there is a long story behind that one! At least it’s healthy!!

I downloaded the My Fitness Pal App, and set it up on my phone It is a calorie counter, but if you input your details, and tell it what you want to do, be it lose weight maintain, or put on weight, it will give you a calorie goal. You can tailor your nutritional requirements if you want to aim for more protein, or carbs, or fat, or lower the percentages too. You can then enter the food you eat, either manually, or by scanning a barcode. It is even possible to make your own recipes which are then ready for you to enter whenever you make them!

Then, I decided I needed some form of exercise. Again, I have tried lots of things over the years, but simply walking was not something I had concentrated on. So I found an app called Map My Walk, which you can set to record your walks. It tells you speed, distance, steps and calorie burn.

We have the playing field moments from the house, so every morning, during the holiday, I get up and I go with Lil Man, or with him, and Lil Princess. They play football while I do my circuits, listening to music as I go around. It’s even better as the family are getting involved too! Yesterday we even went to a local country park, and hiked around for an hour, and I built up another 3km on my walking app!

The best thing? It links to the My Fitness Pal app so any exercise you do, creates extra calories that you can eat, if you want, without jeopardising your weight goal!

The analysis reports of my walks. It’s amazing that in a week, I have managed to increase my pace per KM by over a minute!

I will weigh in, in the morning, but to be honest, I am not going to cry if I don’t lose lots of weight straight away. I am already feeling so much better, and the weight loss will be a great boost!

I must give a little mention here to someone, who has been extra supportive… All of you who commented on my original post last week are amazing. You really spurred me on to make sure I try my best and do this!

But I have been following a blog for a while now, Amanda at The Keen Peach. She is amazing! Despite being pregnant for, as she describes, 3 years, she has been eating well, keeping her fitness up, and is trying various healthy diets, to be in as best form as she can be. Every day she posts about what she eats, as well as any exercise she may have done, and encourages others who follow to do the same, giving commenters a really motivating reply!

Oh, and I started ~~flooding my Instagram~~ posting some foodie pics on my Instagram account (@phantom_giggler) which have been liked by a few (possibly self-professed!) healthy eating experts out there! A few extra likes are always a plus!

My hashtags for me personal life revolution? #icandothis and #lose2stone

I guess what I want to say really is, if you want things to change in your life, you need to be that change! Several of you mentioned that my thoughts and determination had motivated you to think about your lifestyle. I’d love to know if any of you were really spurred on to do something like I did!

Have a wonderful night/day Peeps! Love my Blogily 💗