At least, I think it will be the last post for today!
After C left, I spoke to my Gran, then slept for a bit - longer than expected, I think! - and had mackerel and salad with a beef tomato for dinner. Still thinking about the possibility of a sweet, or supper. Have just worked out that dinner probably cost about £2. Could probably have done with a couple of potatoes to finish it off, but I'm quite enjoying this slightly rumbley tummy feeling! Eating just not enough to feel full. Might have a bagel and honey later on.
Otherwise, heard from H (yeah!), spoke to Dad, watched some of the Proms on TV while eating dinner, and have been on the internet for a bit. Not too long! Think I might have that bagel then go to bed earlyish with a good book (The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde) and read for a bit. Early start tomorrow for church, then I think I'll walk to the Tower of London. Maybe. You'll find out tomorrow!
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Day Three - continued
Well, my cousin has just left, and we had a lovely time. Lots of chat, sharing photos, and eating!
Lunch - I made a lentil curry, featuring onions, plantain, courgette, cauliflower, broccoli, aubergine and lentils, with a veg oxo cube and some curry powder. I added a spoonful of natural yoghurt to mine after I dished it. We had it with brown rice. A very filling and tasty dish - as C said, it tasted healthy! For pudding we had mango and blueberries - again, I added a spoonful of natural yoghurt. We each had a glass of white grape, pear and apple juice. The whole meal probably cost about £1.20 a portion. Makes you think ...
It's now 3pm, and I need to decide what to do next ... I must have lots of energy after that meal! Perhaps I should go out ... but it would also be nice to relax in my nice clean room, with my feet up and a good book ... !!
Lunch - I made a lentil curry, featuring onions, plantain, courgette, cauliflower, broccoli, aubergine and lentils, with a veg oxo cube and some curry powder. I added a spoonful of natural yoghurt to mine after I dished it. We had it with brown rice. A very filling and tasty dish - as C said, it tasted healthy! For pudding we had mango and blueberries - again, I added a spoonful of natural yoghurt. We each had a glass of white grape, pear and apple juice. The whole meal probably cost about £1.20 a portion. Makes you think ...
It's now 3pm, and I need to decide what to do next ... I must have lots of energy after that meal! Perhaps I should go out ... but it would also be nice to relax in my nice clean room, with my feet up and a good book ... !!
Day Three - So Far
I know you are not supposed to weigh yourself every morning, but as this is a two week experiment, I thought I better keep tight records! So this morning, I was 10 st 10 lbs! That walk up to Tesco's yesterday was worth it then!
For breakfast this morning I had a fruit smoothie. One banana, one mango, a handful of blueberries, a couple of spoons of low fat natural yoghurt and a splash of white grape, pear and apple juice. Delicious! And quite filling too.
I have managed to throw away another couple of black bin bags this morning, finished sweeping and hoovering the floor, cleaned (most of) the bathroom, the kitchen floor, dusted a bit, and have put on some atmospheric easy listening music. It's now 10.45am and I am awaiting my cousin, who is visiting this morning after her morning jog. I plan a lentil curry for lunch. Will tell you how it goes later ... !!
It's a beautiful day - might go for a walk later.
For breakfast this morning I had a fruit smoothie. One banana, one mango, a handful of blueberries, a couple of spoons of low fat natural yoghurt and a splash of white grape, pear and apple juice. Delicious! And quite filling too.
I have managed to throw away another couple of black bin bags this morning, finished sweeping and hoovering the floor, cleaned (most of) the bathroom, the kitchen floor, dusted a bit, and have put on some atmospheric easy listening music. It's now 10.45am and I am awaiting my cousin, who is visiting this morning after her morning jog. I plan a lentil curry for lunch. Will tell you how it goes later ... !!
It's a beautiful day - might go for a walk later.
Friday, August 07, 2009
Day Two
I think I've made slightly better progress today - although I couldn't have done it without yesterday, and I still have quite a bit to do!
I woke up around 9am this morning, with my alarm - no bright sun to open my eyes today! No, it was bleak, overcast, damp and cool, and remained so for most of the day (until I left around 7pm to go shopping, when, very kindly, it cheered up a lot and was a pleasant summer's evening!)
I have swept and hoovered about half of the room, and cleared most of both desks. I have just now been to the shops and stocked up on vegetables.
Breakfast - poached egg on toast
Lunch - carrot and coriander "healthy eating" soup with toast
Snack - banana
Dinner - small slice of cheese and onion quiche and some boiled veg. Cabbage, courgettes, carrots and cauliflower in a veg stock cube. I should have added some celery, as I bought some of that as well! Hadn't realised until now that they all began with C!
Drinks - lots of water and a cup of lemon and ginger tea
Exercise - sweeping and hoovering, and walking to the shops (I took the bus back, because the three bags were so heavy!)
I spent just under £30 at the supermarket, which may have been a bit more than I had hoped, but I hope to use all the veg and fruit wisely so it should do me for some time. Hopefully. Wondering just now whether to make C Soup from the leftovers, or if I should just eat the rest of the veg as they are ... ???
My cousin is coming round tomorrow, so I have decided to make lentil curry. As I have never made this before, it could be interesting!
I have just paused for a short while to turn the leftover vegetables into soup - very nice and thick it is too!
I wanted to keep a record of my shopping to see how much I spend on each meal.
I woke up around 9am this morning, with my alarm - no bright sun to open my eyes today! No, it was bleak, overcast, damp and cool, and remained so for most of the day (until I left around 7pm to go shopping, when, very kindly, it cheered up a lot and was a pleasant summer's evening!)
I have swept and hoovered about half of the room, and cleared most of both desks. I have just now been to the shops and stocked up on vegetables.
Breakfast - poached egg on toast
Lunch - carrot and coriander "healthy eating" soup with toast
Snack - banana
Dinner - small slice of cheese and onion quiche and some boiled veg. Cabbage, courgettes, carrots and cauliflower in a veg stock cube. I should have added some celery, as I bought some of that as well! Hadn't realised until now that they all began with C!
Drinks - lots of water and a cup of lemon and ginger tea
Exercise - sweeping and hoovering, and walking to the shops (I took the bus back, because the three bags were so heavy!)
I spent just under £30 at the supermarket, which may have been a bit more than I had hoped, but I hope to use all the veg and fruit wisely so it should do me for some time. Hopefully. Wondering just now whether to make C Soup from the leftovers, or if I should just eat the rest of the veg as they are ... ???
My cousin is coming round tomorrow, so I have decided to make lentil curry. As I have never made this before, it could be interesting!
I have just paused for a short while to turn the leftover vegetables into soup - very nice and thick it is too!
I wanted to keep a record of my shopping to see how much I spend on each meal.
- Still water - £0.93
- Fresh milk - £0.45
- Lentils (tin) - £0.40
- White vinegar - £0.45 (I have been using vinegar lots recently as a cleaning product!)
- Bean salad - £0.46 (thought this would go nice with veg in a curry or stew)
- Potatoes - £1.98 (very versatile! And these should last for a while)
- Lychee juice £0.79 (I bought a different brand from my favourite Rubicon. Hope it's okay!)
- Brown rice £1.23 (thought I'd try some while H is away!)
- Plain bagels £1.15 (the last time I was on a diet the magazine recommended these a lot, so I ate them a lot!)
- Blueberries £1.00 (want to have them in smoothies)
- Blackberries £1.99 (ditto)
- 3 beef tomatoes £1.74 (3 for the price of 2, so actually £1.16)
- White cabbage £0.68
- Spring onions £0.59
- Leeks £0.57
- Broccoli £0.76
- Cauliflower £0.78
- Courgettes £0.50
- Twin Sweetcorn £0.66 (reduced)
- Plantain £0.31 (reduced)
- Ground cinnamon £1.40 (hmmm. Sure it said £1.23 on the aisle ... only just noticed ...) (Bought it to put in smoothies)
- Prepared salad £2.00 (rocket, watercress and spinach, my favourite)
- Smoked mackerel £1.68 (thought I should have some oily fish!)
- Celery £0.50
- Cucumber portion £0.33
- Mushrooms £1.08 (3 large flat ones)
- Bananas (5) £0.60
- Plums (punnet) £1.00
- Natural yoghurt £0.68 (for smoothies in the morning!)
- Carrots £0.42
- Aubergine £0.84
- Onions (3) £0.51
- Red onion £0.19
- Pear £0.20
- Quiche £0.31 (reduced)
- Seasons best £0.66 (not sure what this is though! Will need to go and look in the fridge!!)
Thursday, August 06, 2009
The End of Day One
It's now 10.15pm, and I am about to go to bed. I will check my email first in case H has sent a message - but it was nice to hear from him earlier on that he has arrived safely at his first destination!
I spent too long on the computer during the middle of the day - about 2 1/2 hours I think, but that was interspersed with phone calls and doing a bit of work. I have finally managed to go through all the filing, I think, and have almost filled a second bag.
For dinner, I cooked a meal in the wok which consisted of cubed potatoes, aubergine, spinach and cheese. It was very tasty, and quite different to the stews I would normally have. I ate at 6pm, and watched Captain Corelli's Mandolin. It is not as good as the book - at least about half of the story lines are missing! - but it wasn't as bad as I feared it was going to be, according to many of the reviews I read at the time. Passed a good couple of hours. Another hour tidying, and here I am.
One desk is almost cleared - well, there is a space in the middle, anyway - and I will attempt to plough through the papers on the other desk (H's desk) tomorrow. Then my aim is to dust everything and sweep and hoover the floors. I'll also have to go shopping, as my cousin is coming on Saturday and I'd like to cook her lunch. Also want to buy some more white vinegar, which really is marvellous for cleaning things! Used the last of it to descale the bottom of the kettle today. It's all shiny and bright now! But could do with some more so it descales further up ... I've already used it lots for glass and mirrors. The only problem is it makes the house stink of vinegar! I quite like it, but H isn't too keen, and it does get wearing after a while!
Right. Off to bed. Goodnight! (Wonder if I'll wake up as early tomorrow?) (Oh, and I've just eaten a banana - hadn't wanted to eat anything after 6pm or so, but I really felt hungry and I haven't had any fruit today. I have, however, drunk lots of glasses of water, which did a good job of filling me up until the banana, but it has also slowed me down because of the frequent comfort breaks!!)
Anyway. Goodnight!
I spent too long on the computer during the middle of the day - about 2 1/2 hours I think, but that was interspersed with phone calls and doing a bit of work. I have finally managed to go through all the filing, I think, and have almost filled a second bag.
For dinner, I cooked a meal in the wok which consisted of cubed potatoes, aubergine, spinach and cheese. It was very tasty, and quite different to the stews I would normally have. I ate at 6pm, and watched Captain Corelli's Mandolin. It is not as good as the book - at least about half of the story lines are missing! - but it wasn't as bad as I feared it was going to be, according to many of the reviews I read at the time. Passed a good couple of hours. Another hour tidying, and here I am.
One desk is almost cleared - well, there is a space in the middle, anyway - and I will attempt to plough through the papers on the other desk (H's desk) tomorrow. Then my aim is to dust everything and sweep and hoover the floors. I'll also have to go shopping, as my cousin is coming on Saturday and I'd like to cook her lunch. Also want to buy some more white vinegar, which really is marvellous for cleaning things! Used the last of it to descale the bottom of the kettle today. It's all shiny and bright now! But could do with some more so it descales further up ... I've already used it lots for glass and mirrors. The only problem is it makes the house stink of vinegar! I quite like it, but H isn't too keen, and it does get wearing after a while!
Right. Off to bed. Goodnight! (Wonder if I'll wake up as early tomorrow?) (Oh, and I've just eaten a banana - hadn't wanted to eat anything after 6pm or so, but I really felt hungry and I haven't had any fruit today. I have, however, drunk lots of glasses of water, which did a good job of filling me up until the banana, but it has also slowed me down because of the frequent comfort breaks!!)
Anyway. Goodnight!
Day One - so far
I woke up about 6am. As I was not getting back to sleep, and there was no reason for me to stay in bed, I eventually decided to get up. After breakfast and a shower, I was ready to start work at 7am.
Since then, until about half an hour ago, I have been destroying old documents. This has filled up the first of my bin bags, and has made some room in our filing cabinet so I can now file the documents that are cluttering up my desk because I couldn't fit them in the filing cabinet before. I have also booked a dental appointment for October, have spoken to my Auntie, and have had about half an hour on the internet on an occasional basis to break up the day. I've made plans to get a new oven as well, so the day has been going well so far. Although looking around the room, you wouldn't exactly notice any difference from yesterday - yet!
I have decided to keep a record of what I eat, drink and do during the day, and to record any weight loss. So this morning, at 6.15am, I weighed about 11st (give or take a lb).
Breakfast - cereal with milk (full fat)
Lunch - meatballs (leftovers from yesterday) on toast with a slice of cheese and a dollop of coleslaw
Drinks - so far, one large glass of water and one medium glass of white grape and apple juice.
Exercise - ripping up pieces of paper for hours on end. Surely, that must do my flappy upper arms some good?!
Since then, until about half an hour ago, I have been destroying old documents. This has filled up the first of my bin bags, and has made some room in our filing cabinet so I can now file the documents that are cluttering up my desk because I couldn't fit them in the filing cabinet before. I have also booked a dental appointment for October, have spoken to my Auntie, and have had about half an hour on the internet on an occasional basis to break up the day. I've made plans to get a new oven as well, so the day has been going well so far. Although looking around the room, you wouldn't exactly notice any difference from yesterday - yet!
I have decided to keep a record of what I eat, drink and do during the day, and to record any weight loss. So this morning, at 6.15am, I weighed about 11st (give or take a lb).
Breakfast - cereal with milk (full fat)
Lunch - meatballs (leftovers from yesterday) on toast with a slice of cheese and a dollop of coleslaw
Drinks - so far, one large glass of water and one medium glass of white grape and apple juice.
Exercise - ripping up pieces of paper for hours on end. Surely, that must do my flappy upper arms some good?!
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
My 2 Week Challenge!
H has gone abroad for a couple of weeks on a work trip, so I am going to make the best use of my time here. It's the holidays, and I have a lot to do. I think I sometimes work best when I have a list and a goal, or a challenge, so I am going to outline some of my plans below. Also, I have decided I am going to try and eat as cheaply and healthily as I can over the next two weeks, and keep a record of what I spend/buy/eat etc. I also hope to do a bit more exercise, by walking rather than taking the tube or buses (we'll see how long that lasts!!), partly in the hope that I can also lose some weight before H arrives home! Then I'll see if I can keep it off!!!
I have started by spending £3.60 tonight on six eggs (£1.55) and some bin liners (£2.05). The bin liners are important, as you will see in my list of things to do, below.
Things to do:
I have started by spending £3.60 tonight on six eggs (£1.55) and some bin liners (£2.05). The bin liners are important, as you will see in my list of things to do, below.
Things to do:
- Thursday 6th August - Throw away as much as possible. Old bills, bits of papers, old shoes, broken/torn bags/clothes etc - if it can't be mended, and is no use to anyone anymore, it has to go. Hence the bin bags!
- Friday - Good clean of the whole apartment. Dusting, cleaning, hoovering - this is my day for it. Want the house gleaming by Saturday.
- Saturday - My cousin is coming to visit in the morning, hopefully will stay for lunch. So I'll need to plan something nice for that. Take it easy day.
- Sunday - Church, then any more cleaning etc that needs done. Eg bedroom, bathroom, kitchen. If I didn't manage it on Friday.
- Monday - I have lots of computer stuff to do for school. This would be a good day for that, if I have managed to finish tidying the house by then.
- Tuesday - One of my friends will have arrived back from overseas by then and hopefully I'll go and see her today!
- Wednesday - Probably will go into school today. I still have some windows to cover up and some filing to do. As long as I have an early night and get up bright and early (and take a packed lunch of a homemade sandwich!) then I should have plenty of time to get everything done that needs to be done. Hopefully.
- Thursday - I'd like to visit my Auntie. This would be a good time to do that.
- Friday - Hopefully at my Auntie's. Obviously, I'll need to phone and ask her first!
- Saturday - Might leave Auntie's and go and visit another friend and former colleague of mine on the way home.
- Sunday - If I stay over with colleague, then I might still be driving home today.
- Monday - I think H is planning on starting his return journey home around now. I'll try to get some more planning done for school, putting stuff on the internet etc. Would love to have everything up and running by the time I get back, and I'd also love to make the most of H not being around to do that. Of course, if I didn't manage to finish tidying the house, then that's what I'll probably be doing!!
- Tuesday - Think H will arrive back today. Hurrah!
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