Week Eight
Nahid off-roaded!
I am starting week eight from a dark and bloated place. I had a very trying week. It's the end of year audit, I had to get my head involved in it as well as running a business with its daily challenges. I just about made it through the week, with the help of the Good Vibes team, but it still had me reaching for sweet AND salty things - sometimes at the same time.
I completely gave in to all my cravings and nurtured a hard core coffee habit to boot. I never seem to do anything by halves - it feels like I have undone all the good work of the last 7 weeks. I even bought a large fries from McDonalds on the way home late from a last minute shift cover (!) I haven't stepped into a fast food place for 25 years for health and ethical reasons. Yep...that trying a week. Well, I never said I was consistent.
A crucial part of this course is to review where you've been and then work out where you want to go. I didn't keep the diary to hand, that would have helped me. Writing down what you eat as soon as you eat it makes you think about your behaviour. I would have spotted the erratic eating, filling it out after 2 days from memory is ineffective, you need to adjust your behaviour as you go along otherwise you are merely cataloguing your downfall.
Although I have been juicing vegetables in the evenings. This acts as a liquid three hail marys for every bad thing I had during the day. Last year I bought a super-powerful juicer - you could put leather through it and still get a drink. My favourite juice is beetroot, ginger, carrot, orange and celery. I also love sharp green ones with spinach, lime, celery, cucumber, broccoli and apple to sweeten. It makes me feel virtuous. More juicing recipes here.
My pattern for slipping up on the food front is always the feeling stretched too thin, the too little sleep and I have let my during the week calming yoga habit go - mid-week yoga always makes me feel centred and I'm a fool, a fool I tell you, for allowing it to be the first thing to go out of the window when life steps up a beat.
I must pull my DDS leg warmers up. My pledges for the week ahead are to:
- Let more yoga into my life - I will pre-book my classes at the start of the week
- Book in a boxing class - didn't do one last week, my body feels less used
- Make a lunch box of fresh vegetables to nibble on throughout the day. I am VERY excited about the frozen edmame (pre-soya beans these are at the green stage) that my local health food shop now stocks - you just blanch them and pop them into a lunchbox with a squeeze of lime juice. They are a good source of protein and rich in Vitamins C and A and they taste good on their own or as a part of a salad or with other greens stuffed into an omlette
- Deal with newly acquired heavy black coffee habit - I will have one only if I really want one, as opposed to getting one every whenever on automatic pilot
- Jump into different trainers' Power-Plate classes throughout the week - doing it on my own is just not as effective. Each trainer brings their own flavour to the sessions to keep me challenged. To have access to the machines and great instructors was the whole point of setting up Good Vibes after all!
If you need a bit of motivation to see you through the last few weeks please do get in touch. We can help you stay on track on the phone by email or in person, email us here to book. Sometimes we all need a firm hand.
Rachel thinks before she gives in
February, being the most depressing month of the year, has made me want warm stodgy food and red wine, which is odd as I hardly ever drink red. Apart from eating a bit too much white bread, I’ve actually been quite good and resisted the urge for big bowls of mashed potato. Instead I’ve been having yet more butternut squash. I made balsamic roast vegetables, one of my Mum’s recipes, it was good but somehow it’s never as good as when my Mum makes it. Why is this always the way? Adding chilli to everything definitely helps, it warms you up like a good whisky.
Whenever I am trying to be healthier I start craving chocolate, which is strange because I really don’t have much of a sweet tooth. I haven’t tried to steer clear of it, I just have a tiny bit of the darkest I can find and that keeps me happy. That makes me sound quite restrained. I’m really not. I am however, learning to be conscious.
I’ve found that the best way to stop myself from eating or drinking the wrong things is just to think about what I am doing, instead of mindlessly putting food into my mouth. Before eating something that isn't as nutritious as it should be, ask yourself if you really want it, then wait 10 minutes to make absolutely sure. I have put a post-it note by the toaster to remind myself to do this... just to
make sure.
Kate's crudities
This week has been a struggle. I have felt a bit down in dumps and the added stress of all my university work was just icing on the cake. On Thursday I really needed of a few glasses of wine, another Drop a Dress Size participant was happy to join me.
The course has taught me not to deprive myself, so if I wanted a drink (or certain food) I let myself have it but do keep an eye on how much.
I plan my meals for the week and this helps with any cravings that come up. If I do get a craving I tend to eat raw vegetables and houmous, that usually deals with it. I am all for raw vegetables and find they are really working well for me and form a large part of my diet. My theme for next week will be fruit. I am concentrating on eating raw vegetables so much so that my fruit intake has suffered. I'll include a range of different fruits for the next couple of weeks to balance it out.
I ate very cleanly over the weekend which means that I'll start
week 8 with a bit more energy. Three weeks to go!
Steph's G&Ts
Where do I start with my cravings? As soon as you say to yourself you're going to cut down on a few things, you become obsessed by them! For me this has mainly been sweet things. Almost everyday. I think it is programmed in me to have these little cravings mid-afternoon when the 'full' feeling of lunch has long gone. Cakes, a chocolate bar, biscuits; my afternoon coffee just needs an accompaniment. When I really really can't resist I'll maybe have something small, or even better someone hopefully offers me a sweet; I get my fix without having the temptation of having a whole bag of them on my desk.
I have also been craving big stodgy meals after long day at work, mainly big, buttery bowls of pasta. It's such a nightmare where I live as I don't have an oven or grill and only have one hob to cook on. I usually wiz up one-pot soups a lot. I've tried to swap the pasta for couscous which makes me feel lighter afterwards. I add lots of of spices and vegetables to it. Earlier on in the course I banned bread, I've had to compromise a bit and have allowed myself wraps - you can't deny the practicality of a sandwich.
The alcohol has been cut down and if I must, must, must then I'll have a gin and slim line tonic which is a lot better than wine or a sneaky half. I'm quite proud of myself as although I haven't completely ruled some things out, I've managed to be satisfied with a small amount. One of the DDS rules involves knowing when you're full and to stop eating, I've really taken this on board and you know what? It's working - so many people have told me how much better I am looking and my skin is so much clearer.
5 Tips for managing your cravings
- Drink water - when you get a craving drink a large glass of water first, it might be that you were thirsty instead of hungry. Drink lots of water throughout the day it is important to keep yourself hydrated.
- Wait 10 minutes to decide whether you really want that craving. Often a craving is way to procrastinate from the job in hand. If you are stressed, go for a walk to clear your head. If you are feeling overwhelmed with work or life, take a moment to gather your thoughts, write a list in order of priorities and then calmly tackle them.
- Eat little and often – if you suffer from a mid-afternoon slump, choose healthy snacks instead of sweets. Good snacks are fruit: strawberries, blackberries, pears, cherries are all easy fruit options; plain yoghurt sprinkled with seeds; small handful of raw nuts: walnuts or hazelnuts or sticks of raw veg. Be prepared!
- Don't buy unhealthy snacks, if you don't have them around you, you won't eat them.
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