Week 14

Hi everyone, 

Just a quick update from me today (sorry for the lack of post last week...I've just started a new job so had to cancel my weigh in as I couldn't fit it in!) however, I am working Mon, Wed, Fri so I will be back on my usual Tuesday mornings for the foreseeable future.

Maggie has her trusty scales back up and running woo hoo! On I hopped and well I couldn't believe what I saw....

5lb off!!

Granted that this was two weeks but it was fabulous!! I am now half a pound away from my 3 stone award!! Bloody half a pound though...so annoying, I did say to Maggie that I don't usually have socks on when its weigh in day so maybe if I took them off it would be that half a pound gone....safe to say I think she thought I was mad!

Now that I have started a new job (after 10 months of maternity leave) I have to get my act together in regards to fitting the diet into my work...there is no blender or anything like that so I decided to try some Tetras so it's a grab and go situation. I have tried a chocolate tetra before and didn't like it BUT I took it out on a picnic so it was very warm by the time I came to drink it. I am going to keep these in the fridge so they are super cold and hopefully, I will find them more palatable.

Anyway, that is all from me this week... :) see you next week where hopefully there will be a picture of me with my 3 stone award xxx

Week Twelve

Well I can't quite believe I have made it to week 12! Granted I have not been 100% the whole way but as I'm sure I have previously said, I have to be able to live as well so there will be odd days off here and there...that is how my journey will be and I am happy with that. I understand that I might not lose the weight as quickly as those who do stick to plan 100% but so far I have been happy with my losses and I know that for the most part I am sticking to the diet well.

I've had a semi good week with my eating but have mainly been doing Step 2 which I thoroughly enjoyed! My meals this week have mainly been a chinesy style dish (5 spice, splash of soy sauce, chili and garlic) with different proteins...prawns have been great as you can have quite a lot for the allowance! I did go on the hunt this week for some Ostrich meat as a lady in a CWP support group I follow on Facebook posted her meal and it looks delish! Again...quite a lot allowance for this meat so I am looking forward to finally tracking some down. We have a farm shop about half an hour away from us in Bordon that we've definitely seen exotic meats in so fingers crossed I can get my hands on some this weekend!

So anyway, back to the weigh in...I woke up on Tuesday morning after a bad night with my baby boy and completely forgot it was weigh in day! I am usually a stickler for not consuming anything until I've weighed in (I am one of those people who makes sure I am wearing the same outfit every week too!) but that morning I had what felt like a gallon of coffee before it dawned on me that it was THE DAY. I only managed to get a couple of wees out before I had to go...oops!

Maggie had had a bit of a scale dilemma as her CWP ones ran out of battery just before I arrived! Luckily she had some bathroom scales we could use but we did mention that they might not be the same as her proper ones (a free pass maybe haha) I hopped on and...

1lb off!

Not the best but considering the last few weeks I am happy, I did think that my weeks of not being 100% would catch up to me but thank goodness they didn't. I've also lost some inches which is fabulous although I have to admit that I do get a bit sad when they come off my boobs!

So now that I have reached the 3 month mark, I'll do a start and current comparison!

Start
Weight: 17st 9lb
Bust: 45in
Waist: 45.5in
Hips: 55in
BMI: 38.4

Current
Weight: 15st 1.5lb
Bust: 41in
Waist: 38in
Hips: 50.5in
BMI: 34.1


Start Photos

Current Photos

I am so happy with my progress so far, I can see the difference and can certainly feel it. I've managed to get into my size 16 jeans which I've not been able to do since before I got pregnant, it was a great victory! I am going to change my outfit for the next photo update as my current one is getting a bit baggy so is not showing off my progress as well as I'd like!

Have a great week everyone, see you next week! xx

A Mid-Journey Restart

Hi everyone, again sorry for the lack of update last week. I've been a bit stressed out and fell off the wagon ever so slightly, I am such an emotional eater...I need to learn to deal with my emotions a bit better than turning to eating the wrong foods. I did try to eat sensibly (prawns etc) but I have to admit there were a few days where I did have what would be considered as too many carbs....

Anyway, luckily it wasn't a disaster this morning on the scales as I lost...

3lbs!

Very happy with this as you can imagine, I've given myself a bit of a talking to and am back in the right headspace now. I'm doing so well on this diet that I would hate to lose sight of my goal and undo everything that I've already accomplished. I'm going to be throwing in a few days of step 2 this week and see what that does to my loss next week.

I'm so close to being in the 14 stone bracket...I cannot wait! One of my first 'mini' goals is to get lower than what I did last year when I was on Cambridge which I think was 14st 2lbs so that's another stone for me to get! 

I've gone for mainly bars this week as I find them so convenient and I really enjoy them so I need to up my water this week. I bought myself a massive bottle so will really crack on.

Sorry for the scatty update, will have more of a structured one next week which will include my measurements :)

Week Nine

Hi everyone, I'm back after a holiday break :)

We went on our first family holiday up to Longleat, Bath and Cheddar Gorge and it was lovely despite the weather being a bit iffy, I did come off plan a little bit more than I had planned as we got about an hour up the road before I realised I'd left my bag of CWP products in the kitchen...DOH!

Food &  drink wise, lets just say I enjoyed myself whilst away - I did have some drinks and some food but didn't go TOO overboard I don't think and we were doing quite a bit of walking everyday so I am sure that counteracted some of it. 

The view from our holiday home

Since I've been back from holiday and getting myself back on track, I have found that doing step 2 has suited me more - I think I will continue to do step 2 on days where I am struggling.

Anyway, back to the details, weighed in this morning and...

4.5lb off!

Yey! This means my 2 stone rosette can now take it's rightful place on my fridge and I can enjoy my new cup woohoo!

This takes me to 15st 5.5 which is lovely jubbly for two weeks off and a holiday thrown in. I'm finding I am getting a lot more comments about my weight loss now, which is great to spur me on!

I owe you a photo update so here they are!

Products this week:
7 x Choc Mint Shake
2 x Oriental Chilli Soup
2 x Chicken & Mushroom Soup
3 x Peanut Crunch Bar
3 x Choc Mint Crunch Bar
2 x Chocolate Chewy Bar
2 x Toffee Chewy Bar

I'll be back on weekly updates now so tune in next Tuesday for hopefully another loss :)

Week Seven

Happy Tuesday everyone :)

Well a good week done woo hoo! I was feeling a bit unwell toward the end of the week, not sure if diet related or just general illness going round - I decided to go up to Step 2 on Sunday and Monday evening as I felt like I needed some 'proper' food. I had the same dinner both nights to use up the ingredients I bought, it was pretty much the recipe for chicken stir fry from the app but I used prawns instead of chicken. It was lovely jubbly and made me feel tons better, I am wondering if perhaps Step 2 would be good for me going forward...I am away on holiday next week for a few days so will be doing Step 2 (or as near as I can do) for those few days as we will be eating out at dinner time. I am going to stay away from the carbs and the mayo...will be having some wine though!

There was a bit of a confusion at my weigh in today...I thought that I'd got my 2 stone award and got my rosette and special CWP cup but then when I came to write this blog, I looked at the notes and realised that according to what I thought my start weight was....I actually still had a pound to go! I texted Maggie and it did turn out that it was wrong and I hadn't quite got there! Looking back over my blog now, there does seem to be a bit of inconsistency with the weight I've lost and the actual pounds adding up (I think due to quarter lbs being used which is a bit too exact for me so I've got myself confused) SO I am going to put my current weight and measurements and go from there, starting afresh as it were:

Weight: 15st 10lb
Bust: 41.5in
Waist: 39in
Hips: 51.5in
BMI: 35.5

Anyway, now that is sorted and I am only a lb away from my 2 stone, I am determined to get that when I return from holiday next week!

Products this week:
7 x Chocolate Mint Shake
4 x Oriental Chilli Soup
3 x Chicken & Mushroom Soup
2 x Peanut Crunch Bar
2 x Mint Crunch Bar
2 x Chocolate Chewy Bar
1 x Toffee Chewy Bar

See you next week :)

Week Six

Well it is safe to say I had a bit of a Bank Holiday blow out!!

I went out on Saturday with my two sisters as one of them has recently turned 18 so a night on the tiles was called for, it has been absolutely ages since I've been out drinking and dancing so I decided to go for it and let my hair down. I was always going to be off plan for this particular evening as I can only be successful with this diet if I can still live life too. I've got a long time to get to my weight target so there will be odd times where I will be off plan.
I made sure I had eaten some carbs a couple days beforehand so that my body wouldn't react too badly to the alcohol but still chose wisely. I drank vodka, cocktails, beer....no shots though thank goodness and danced the night away! I even got a kebab at the end of the night, ate most of the meat but gave the chips and pitta away! It was a fabulous night although getting home at 4am and then waking for the baby at 6:30 was pretty tough going! My hubby made me brekkie the next morning as I was feeling a bit delicate haha!

Sunday wasn't too bad, but to be honest I was so tired that I hardly ate anything but then Monday came around and we went to a BBQ at my mother in laws, it was amazing! I was going to take a bar and have that but when the meat came out I decided to indulge on the promise to myself that once the Bank Holiday is over, then draw a line under and start again on plan 100%. I've not got any social occasions for a couple of weeks now so am determined to get a good chunk of chub off.

I also had a NSV (non scale victory) this week as my neighbour noticed my weight loss! 

Anyway, on to the weigh in, I must admit I did turn up at Maggie's with my tail between my legs as I always dread weigh in when I know that I've not been on plan 100%. In I scuttle, take my jacket off and decide to just get it over and done with so I know what I've got to get off this week....well I couldn't believe it!...

0.5lb off!!

Now usually I would probably be a little miffed with a small loss like this but I was expecting a gain so this is incredible!! Also, it takes me under the stone bracket so I am now in the 15st range...(only just by the skin of my teeth!)

Products this week:
7 x Chocolate Mint Shake
4 x Chicken & Mushroom Soup
3 x Oriental Chilli Soup
2 x Chocolate Chewy Bar
2 x Mint Crunch Bar
2 x Toffee Chewy Bar
1 x Peanut Crunch Bar

Here's to a good week :) some photos below of the night out (I'm in the pink cardigan)...definitely need to get rid of my double chin!!

Week Five

Good morning everyone :)

So, again, not a brilliant week as I went out for an Indian on Friday night, I kept to water but had the surf and turf Tandoor to and it was bloody lovely!! A bit oily but I can't imagine it's anywhere as bad as a buttery creamy curry, it was so nice infact that I would probably have it again even if I was off plan. It consisted of chicken and lamb tikka, shish kebab and king prawns (the prawns were HUGE! One of my friends at the table said they looked more like langoustines). I really enjoyed myself and didn't feel like I was missing out at all.

It was my sisters 18th birthday at the weekend so we went to the pub last night to celebrate, I stuck to soda water and did have a couple of non alcoholic beers, they were nice but very sweet.

Anyway, on to the weigh in...

3lb off!!

Really thrilled with this - again, it would have been amazing if I had been on plan 100% but life gets in the way sometimes. I have a night out this Saturday with my newly 18 year old sister and then hopefully I will have a few weeks to get back on plan 100% and get back to the better weight losses.

Products this week are:
NO MORE PORRIDGE Woo!! I'll probably miss it though knowing me!
5 x Chocolate Mint Shakes
2 x Chocolate Shakes
4 x Oriental Chilli Soup
3 x Chicken & Mushroom Soup
2 x Chocolate Chewy Bar
2 x Chewy Toffee Bar
2 x Mint Crunch Bar
1 x Peanut Crunch Bar

EXTRAS: 2 x Tropical Bonus Bar, yum yum yum - these can be had alongside the plan so extra treat!

See you next week :) 

Week Four - Photo & Measurement Update

Hi everyone, apologies that this entry is a day late - have had a bit of a nightmare recently (not CWP related) so that took up my time yesterday! I've not stuck to plan 100% all week as the Hubby treated me to steak for getting my stone award (I promise no more food rewards after that!) and then whilst bridesmaid dress shopping on Saturday I had Nando's chicken breast with salad and peas. I tried to choose as wisely as possible and kept well away from chips!


I felt quite down whilst bridesmaid shopping. I could only fit into one dress on the whole day, the other ones didn't zip up and were very uncomfortable and I felt so embarrassed. It was motivational though as it really made me want to keep on track and get to target and feel wonderful on the hen do and the day itself :)

So on to the that you want to hear about...this weeks weight loss...

3lbs off!!

It's a good loss for me but I do wonder what could have been if I had stuck to plan 100%.

That takes my total loss to 19.5lbs which is more than my 7 month old baby! Lifting him all the time hurts my arms and back as he feels like he weighs a ton so to know that I have lost that amount is incredible...and a bit shocking that my body had to carry that around.

The Deets

Weight: 16st 3.5lb
Bust: 43in
Waist: 41in
Hips: 52in

BMI: 36.6

Photos:

I think I am starting to see a difference already, especially in my face and neck - still got a long way to go yet though!

Products this week:
7 x Maple & Pecan Porridge (God I am BORED of having this everyday now, last week..PHEW!)
4 x Oriental Chilli Soup
4 x Chocolate Mint Shake
2 x Chocolate Shake
1 x Lemon Yoghurt Bar
2 x Mint Crunch Bar
1 x Chewy Toffee Bar

See you next week :)

Week Three

Hi everyone :)

So week 3 is done and I found this one the hardest so far. I didn't pick the best products so I did struggle with my enthusiasm...plus had to suffer walking around Marks & Spencers food shop so it took all my willpower to stick to plan. I nearly did it....I had a blip on Monday as I went out for lunch and caved...I had an egg salad though so it wasn't like I chose really badly.

Anyway, weigh in has been done and I am so happy to say that the results are:

4.5lb off!!!!

That makes my total loss 16.5lb which means I've got my 1 stone award!!!! I can't begin to tell you how that makes me feel. I'm starting to notice a difference in my clothes, my size 20 leggings are now feeling a bit loose and I feel a strange confidence which is amazing.

Me and my 1 stone rosette :)

Products I've chosen this week

7 x Maple & Pecan Porridge
4 x Oriental Chilli Soup
4 x Chocolate Mint Shake
2 x Toffee & Walnut Shake
1 x Fruits of the Forest Shake
2 x Mint Crunch Bar
1 x Chewy Toffee Bar

I'm also making jelly to have in the evenings if I get a craving for something to eat, it's delicious :)

I'm a bridesmaid next June and we are out this weekend to potentially get the dresses (if we can find them!) I've decided to get a size 14 as I can easily get to that if I stick to plan which I am determined to do. I am so excited about being slimmer at the wedding and feeling body confident.

Week Two

Week 2 is complete, woohoo!

The results are:

5lb loss!!!

I am so happy with this :) only 2lb to go to get my 1 stone award. I feel so motivated by this, I cannot wait to start feeling the difference in my clothes - I've lost some inches, so hopefully this will be sooner rather than later...see my tracker pic below

Products I have for this week are:

7 x Maple & Pecan Porridge (I had to buy a whole box of this so this will be an every day product for the next 21 days, hopefully I like it as much as I remember!!)
1 x Strawberry Shake
3 x Chocolate Mint Shake
1 x Toffee & Walnut Shake
2 x Fruits of the Forest Shake
1 x Chocolate Tetra
3 x Chicken & Mushroom Soup
1 x Spaghetti Bolognese
1 x Thai Curry
1 x Tikka Curry

I'm a bit gutted that the Oriental Chilli Soup was out of stock again as that is a highlight of my week but have been told that they will be delivered tomorrow so will stock up again next week :)

I "treated" myself to a posh artisan water called Voss, it comes in a glass bottle....it's a little bit ridiculous but if I can't have a glass bottle of wine, I will settle for an overly-priced glass bottle of water! To be fair, it was actually quite nice...(I'm a bit funny about water, will only drink Volvic or Tesco's Ashbeck!)

Fingers crossed for another good week 💝

Hunger Strike??

So I'm currently on day 12 and for the last few days I've barely been able to face having all three products a day...before CWP I used to eat ALL DAY but now...I'm not even thinking about food!

I've been round my mums a few times this week and used her Nutribullet to make my shakes - she put loads of ice in for me and it really made a difference! In her opinion (and mine now!), there is nothing worse than a room temperature, slightly lumpy/powdery smoothie! I had my slushie/shake in a posh glass and drank it with a straw just to make it a bit exotic haha

My hubby has very kindly treated me to my own Nutri Ninja so I am a very lucky girl right now, I've just had a strawberry shake in it and whizzing it up so thoroughly with ice certainly makes a massive difference....it also increases the volume because it froths up a bit too, so definitely a winner in my books.

I've also had to go through my Facebook account and unlike about 100 pages....I didn't realise how many food pages I had subscribed to over the years.....the sight of cheesy pizza or some other delicious food is just too much for me to see!

Week One

I did it! Week One is done and dusted!

I didn't find it as hard as I was going to so that is great, I did miss my weekend wine but have to tell myself that this is SO worth it. I enjoyed all my products apart from the Apple & Cinnamon porridge, it was just too sweet for me.

So....the results were...

7lb loss!!

I'm so chuffed! Here's to another good week :)

Products I have for this week:

2 x Original Porridge
2 x Mint Choc Shake
1 x Strawberry Shake
2 x Fruits of the Forest Shake
2 x Butterscotch Shake
1 x Peanut Crunch bar
1 x Mint Choc Crunch bar
1 x Chewy Toffee bar
2 x Chicken & Mushroom Soup
3 x Spaghetti Bolognese
2 x Thai Green Curry
2 x Tikka Curry

EXTRAS: Raspberry and Elderflower water flavourings, Golden Vegetable water flavourings, Mix-a-Mousse



+

The Initial Weigh In

Maggie has taken me back under her wing and it was great to see her. I have put on A LOT of weight since Ike was born and it was a shock to see the numbers on her scales. It has made me more determined though so that is a good thing I guess!

I'll be blogging here every week - most likely on a Tuesday as that is my weigh in day. I'll update my weight every week, photos and measurements will be every month. 

The Deets

Weight: 17st 9lb
Bust: 45in
Waist: 45.5in
Hips: 55in
Height: 5ft 6in

Photos:

I'm starting on plan 1A so that is 3 x CWP products a day plus at least 2.25ltrs of water.

The 21 products I've chosen this week:

1 x Original Porridge
3 x Apple & Cinnamon Porridge
3 x Toffee & Walnut Shake
2 x Chocolate Mint Shake
3 x Fruits of the Forest Shakes
2 x Oriental Chili Soup
2 x Tikka Curry Rice
2 x Green Thai Curry Rice
3 x Spaghetti Bolognese

Update to come on Tuesday :)

My 1st CWP Experience

I approached CWP because of a weight emergency. 

Christmas 2015 - I was on top of the world. There I was, celebrating that I'd not only been engaged for a year but that my wedding was in 6 weeks time! I ate, drank and was generally quite merry for the whole of the Festive Season. The wedding was completely organised, it was just a matter of counting down the days until I got to say "I do" to Dan. It was going to be perfect.


January 2016 - My mum casually drops into conversation that she'd like to see me in my dress again, she says to make sure she knows how to do it up on the morning...I fob her off saying its a zip, it will be fine! However a few days later, I'm putting on my leggings for a day of shopping when I notice they seem a bit more snug than they usually are. I race round to Mum's in a now urgent panic to try my dress on and to my absolute dismay....it doesn't fit. I had splurged to the absolute excess over Christmas and now my perfect day was hanging in the balance. I suspect Mum's casual suggestion was because she was worried too. 

I panicked. Oh my gosh how I panicked. What was I going to do?? I didn't have time to get the dress altered and seriously doubted that I could just not eat for the whole 5 weeks. So I did something I considered drastic, I didn't care that it would harm my body but I decided my only option was the Cambridge Weight Plan. I looked up my local consultant, booked an appointment and kicked myself for being so greedy.

Maggie, my consultant, met me at her front door with such a warm greeting that I liked her instantly. She put me at ease as she explained the plan to me and how it was going to fit in to my life. I started on plan 1a which is just CWP products and headed out the door with determination. 

In the 5 weeks I couldn't believe how happy I was, I lost over a stone, felt like I had more energy, had clear skin and thankfully, my dress fit...even better than it did at my first fitting! I felt so much healthier doing CWP than I had done ever before. I was totally wrong in thinking that it was harmful, in fact it had done the opposite! 

I had a fabulous wedding and honeymoon. I carried on with the plan when I came back but but not long after, we found out we were pregnant and my CWP journey had to come to a temporary end.

So, fast forward to today, its a whole year later and with a newborn in tow....lets see how I get on!

A little bit about myself

Hello!

My name is Alice, I am a married 29 year old mum to a beautiful 6 month old boy.

I have always struggled with my weight ever since I was in Secondary school, I was a big time comfort eater and always loaded up on buttered toast, digestive biscuits and mugs of coffee with 3 sugars as soon as I got home. Then when I turned 18 and had my own money, I had a bad diet of takeaways and wine.

I have tried Weight Watchers, Slim Fast, Slimming World...you name it and although I always get off to a good start, the weeks go by and I find myself only (I know the word 'only' is frowned upon when talking about losing weight but it just wasn't enough for me) losing half a pound at most each week. I got sidetracked, lost my motivation and sure enough my bad habits started all over again and everything I had lost was back on board.

I was always under the impression that the meal replacement diets were a fad and that they were very harmful to your body, that is why I never even considered doing the Cambridge Weight Plan until I thought I had no other choice but how wrong I was!....read on to hear my previous CWP experience :)