Weekly Weigh-In | January 10th

Hi all,

I had another week of feeling unwell, so the exercise hasn't been happening. The only day I've managed to get out was last Saturday, when I went for a bit of a walk and did some shopping and regretted it soon after. Not only because I felt so unwell once I got home, but also because while I was out I was feeling bad and needed a rest, so my sister and I decided to get some lunch.

I'd decided a couple of days before that I was going to give up gluten (I'll post about this soon), so I had to be careful when ordering, because my go-to at the cafe we were at, would be the American style pancakes with bacon and maple syrup! Not ideal.

So, trying to be healthier in a cafe where the bulk of their menu is paninis and baguettes. I opted to have an all-day breakfast. The virus/flu thing I have has been making me crave salt like crazy and the idea of sausages and bacon was so appealing. What I hadn't thought about was that the breakfast came with a slice of toast and the sausages probably weren't gluten free either.

It was also, a lot of calories! I basically ended up eating back all of the calories I'd burned by walking there and then ended up going 44 over for the whole day!

Monday I wound up going 71 calories over, whilst on Sunday I ate a large Indian meal which I couldn't even bring myself to track. The rest of the week, however, I'd been within my calorie budget, so I wasn't really sure what to expect this week.

I ended up losing weight, which is great! I lost 1.4 lbs and I couldn't be happier. I'd expected no more than half a pound, so seeing that number made me so happy.

The goals for this upcoming week is to completely eliminate gluten from my diet. Stick to my calories every day and try to get a little exercise in, even though I'm still not over this virus. I'm also going to be starting a teatox tomorrow, so check back for my initial post about that.

Until next time,

H.

Working Out In Winter

Hi all,

When it comes to losing weight, we all know that exercise plays a part and for me, it can be tough. I discussed in a previous post, that working out with my health condition is hard. One of the things that I do to keep fit is walking and I live in a beautiful area near the beach and countryside, but in winter, it's not always possible to go out and walk. Not unless I want to end up soaked through and freezing cold.

Keeping up a fitness routine in winter is hard, I don't want to be outside trekking through the wind and rain just to get a calorie burn. Which is why it's times like these that I really miss my treadmill.

For me personally, a treadmill was a great tool that helped me lose a lot of weight. It just wasn't practical to have one in my house, not when there are five adults trying to compete for space.

However, if you have the space then it's an incredible tool to have. It's the perfect place to walk and run inside and there are so many options to choose from.

Treadmills, which could seem monotonous to some, now offer so many different features. Some let you check your email, run along the French Rivera, plan a marathon, and claim a celebrity trainer as your personal running coach. 

But, with all of these features available and so many machines to choose from, where do you start?

Recently I was contacted by a member of Reviews.com, who have spent months evaluating dozens of machines currently on the market.

After scouring expert and buyer reviews, their team personally tested nine top contenders. In the end, they arrived at four top picks. 

• Best for runners.
• Best for walkers.
• Best for training.
• Best for entertainment features.

You can check out their list here.

Do you use a treadmill? If you do, let me know in the comments what you think of it and please share and subscribe if you like this post.

Until next time,

H.

Weekly Weigh In | January 3rd

Hi all,

I wasn't sure what to expect this week. I've had a little bit of an all over the place week where my diet is concerned. I've only tracked about half of what I've eaten and I know that one or two days I would have been over my points/calories. In fact, just with the items, I did manage to track on weight watchers, I was -24 weekly points!

I've also been unwell, not just with my P.O.T.S, but I've had some kind of virus which I'm still battling with. It's been making me feel so tired and my muscles hurting so much that I haven't been able to exercise and the headaches have been so bad that all I've really wanted to do is sleep. I've been pushing myself to keep up to date with all of my blogs and trying as best I can to eat healthily.

The highlight of the week decision wise was last night when I had the option of buying Chinese take-out for dinner, but despite feeling unwell, I opted to cook a roast chicken dinner. Much healthier.

The low point was probably the two times I binged on crackers, which admittedly aren't the worst thing I could have binged on. Only 1 point each and less than 50 calories, but I just ate so many of them and I did it twice in one week. 

Besides that, I had a couple of slip-ups which you can read more about in my Eating on the Go post.

So, after a week full of mixed experiences, I was incredibly happy to lose 2.4lbs. I hadn't been expecting that much because although I felt a little lighter, I thought I'd only manage about half a pound.

Let me know what your week was like in the comments below and please share and subscribe if you liked this post.

Until next time,

H.

Eating On The Go

Hi all,

I don't run into the problem of eating out a lot. Usually, I'm at home, so I don't have to worry about sticking to my diet while out and about, but recently I was out shopping with my sister and parents and it was lunchtime. I got a serious case of 'I need food now' and defaulted to my instant setting of grabbing whatever was closest, which on that particular day, just so happened to be KFC.

So, I wanted to talk a little about damage control and what I failed to do, which I wished I had done at the time.

We live in a technology-driven world. I don't leave the house without my phone which has enough data for me to look things up. So, why when I had that capability didn't I look up the weight watchers points value and calories of items at KFC, before picking something out and guessing the values. Only, to look them up later and be shocked and upset but just how far off I was.

I wound up going over my points and calories that day, because not only did I underestimate my lunch, but also my order at Starbucks.

It would have been so easy to check the calories & points and avoid making bad decisions. I've proved before that I can have a treat out and still stay within my limits, but I can't do it if I'm trying to guess at what the points and calories will be.

I'm still learning. Sometimes it's much easier and more appealing to think I'll just deal with the damage later, but if I'm going to reach my goal weight by October, I need to start thinking and eating smarter and using the tools I have.

Let me know what your biggest hurdle is when trying to control your diet on the go, and please share and subscribe if you liked this post.

Until next time,

H.

My Exercise Routine as a P.O.T.S Patient.

Hi all,

Today I wanted to talk a little bit about my exercise routine. For me, exercise is really important but it's also really difficult. I have a chronic health problem, which you can read more about in my post P.O.T.S: My Story over on my Messy Little Moments blog.

I see a consultant for this problem and he, along with all the research I've done on my own, says that exercise is an important part of managing the illness. But, how do you exercise, when one of the symptoms of my illness, is exercise intolerance?

I do find it hard and I've tried so many different things before, but it's not impossible. The problems I face are exhaustion, muscle weakness, dizziness and collapses. Those are the main factors which make exercise hard.

In the past, I've had a gym membership, which I cancelled because I wasn't making enough use of it with the amount of time I was too unwell to go, and how little I could handle while there. My family and I bought a treadmill and exercise bike so I could workout at home, but in the end it just took up too much space so we sold it.

So, what does work for me?

The first thing I rely on is walking. I can't always do this, on days when I'm unwell I can't leave the house and when I am having a good day, I'm not able to leave alone incase I collapse while I'm out, which happens a lot. This means I'm constantly dragging my younger sister out for walks along the beach and surrounding countryside. I'm not able to walk far and I have to rely on my dad being around to come and pick us up if I get too tired or unwell, but it is a form of exercise that I tolerate well.

The next thing I do is trying to fit in some more intense cardio. I can only handle this in very short bursts. No longer than fifteen minutes is usually the time frame I stick to. Or, I just judge it by how I'm feeling. I tend to do all of this cardio in the safety of my home with my mom or sister around. I have some fitness dvds or I'll put something on YouTube and follow along to as much of it as possible.

Finally there's my go-go workout. Pilates. I like to do Blogilates videos on YouTube, which is a great exercise programme. There are more intense standing workouts for my healthy days, but there are also a lot of slower, floor based routines that I can do if I'm feeling a little dizzier.

Of course, on my really bad days I don't do any exercise, but I try and fit in at least two workouts a week and one walk.

So, that's what I do for exercise as a P.O.T.S patient.

What do you do for your exercise routine? Comment below and let me know and please share and subscribe if you like this post.

Until next time,

Hannah.

Weekly Weigh In | 27th December

Hi all,

This morning I weighed in after my fourth week following flex on weight watchers. I was hesitant because I didn't fully track everything that I ate, and there were a couple of things which weren't on the system so I had to guess (independent cafe items). 

As far as exercise goes, I managed to do a little bit. I went on a few walks but other than that there wasn't really anything else I did.

My diet was mostly ok, other than a few treats like hazelnut hot chocolate, a couple of chocolate mousses and crumpets with chocolate spread... can you see what my weakness is?

So, here's how it went...

Weight Loss: - 1 lb

Lost since starting WW: - 8lbs

Lost since starting the journey: - 1st 6lbs

Left to Lose: 46lbs

2017 | Progress...or Not.

Hi all,

It's been such a long time since I posted anything, but I really want that to change. The year is ending and I'm putting it behind me. What I've had is a year of ups and downs, flitting from one diet to the next and not really getting anywhere. So, I'm leaving that behind and getting refocuses, with my diet, with my blogs, everything!

You've all heard it before, new year, new me! Cliched? Yes. But, it's my current mentality. But first, before the new year starts, I'm going to go back on what happened in 2017.

Start Weight: 11st 10lbs

Highest Weight: 12st 5lbs (November 29th)

Lowest Weight: 11st 1.2lbs (March 6th)

Current Weight: 11st 12lbs 

Basically, I didn't achieve a thing. I've been up and down all year, never getting under 11st and my head has not been focussed at all. Throughout the year I've been tracking on and off with Myfitnesspal. I was on Jane Plan for a while, which I ended up not liking. I exercise on and off, which is difficult for me since my health is a factor but I could have worked harder. 

Looking back at this now, I'm mad at myself for wasting the entire year. I may not have gained a huge amount, but I'm 2lbs heavier now than I was when the year started.

Currently, in an attempt to get myself back on track I've joined Weight Watchers Online. I'm following their new flex plan and so far I'm getting pretty good results.

My first week I lost 8lbs, which is the most I have ever lost in one week before and I did that without much exercise. The second week I lost 1 lb, which was expected after such a good first week. My third week I wound up unwell and reaching for the comfort food. As a result, I gained 2lbs. This past week has been my fourth week on plan and I've followed it a lot better, though perhaps not tracking as accurately as I should have, so I'm a little nervous about my weigh in tomorrow morning.

Looking ahead, I'm feeling like I'm getting myself back into the right head space to lose the weight. I have 47lbs to lose and I want to lose it by October 2018, when I have a holiday booked with my family. It's a manageable goal, which I feel is important. In the past, I've become far too caught up in wanting the weight to disappear immediately, searching out the quick fixes. Lose 10lb in a week...and then keep losing that amount each week, but that's just not realistic.

I want to get healthy, or as healthy as I can with my current health problems. Quick fix diets aren't going to work for that.

For right now, what I'm going to do is follow the weight watchers flex plan, alongside tracking on MFP so that I can keep a track of my portions and calories. My diet is going to be mostly whole foods, with a few treats thrown in to keep me from losing my mind! I don't like to feel too constricted on diets, so it's important for me to have a little flexibility for the occasional Starbucks or chocolate bar.

As far as exercise goes, I'm going to be mostly focussing on walking, pilates, and as much cardio as I can handle. Mostly, I'll be working out at home with fitness videos on Youtube. Blogilates is one of my go-to's when I need a quick workout.

Right now I'm feeling positive, so hopefully, I can keep this up and next December, I'll be writing a much more exciting progress post.

Until next time,

Hannah