Find out more about this project and my weight loss goals here

What a cracking first week this has been… I never thought I’d find a weight loss plan so enjoyable to follow. I wonder if that’s because it’s me making the rules? I never did like being told what to do…

Anyway, let’s get into week one’s ups, downs, learnings and statistics…

This week’s stats

Weight loss goal: 0.5kg
Weight lost this week: 1kg
Current weight: 98kg
Weight lost total: 1kg

Daily calorie goal: 1,750
Average daily calories consumed: 1,650
Water goal: 14 litres
Water consumed: 13.5 litres

Step goal: 35,000
Steps achieved: 44,562
Distance walked: 26.71km
Heart points achieved: 263
Longest walk: 5.25km

On the menu

This week’s menu was a learning curve for sure! Going into this project, I knew I wanted to ensure we had more nutritious breakfasts, snacks and lunches – and despite trying to plan the menu to not overstretch myself in the evenings, I still managed to overshoot it, and wasn’t able to keep up with the planned prepping. However, with a slight flex to the plan, I still managed to consistently achieve under my calorie limit, considerably increase our protein consumption, and not rely on any convenience foods, which felt great! Most days I actually found I was considerably under 1,750 calories without feeling at all hungry – particularly when you account for the calories burned during exercise. I’m taking this as a sign I’m choosing the right foods!

I actually found coming up with the menu – balancing calorie, protein and fat goals with using what we have in the fridge – a ton of fun, which surprised me. We scored a few reduced bargains this week too, including a pack of two courgettes in our local Co-op for 62p, as well as a huge stack of fresh salmon in Aldi, all at 50% off. Maybe it’s odd to get excited about things like this – but it reminds me of when we were at university, when our meals would often be dictated by what I scored in the reduced section! These days it’s unpractical for me to go shopping every day, but by shopping in the evenings I still get my bargain-hunting fix.

Kitchen learnings this week

• Don’t over-plan meal prep in the evenings – planning to prep three items plus dinner in the evenings was far too much to handle, left no time for other responsibilities, and even got me a telling off from my husband for assigning myself too much time in the kitchen! In future I’ll limit evening prep to 1-2 simple items (like fruit or salad), take some time on Sunday afternoons to prep for the week, and focus on evening meals that can make leftovers for the next day.
• Protein yoghurts are ESSENTIAL – as well as being a tasty and convenient snack or on-the-go breakfast, it was brilliant to be able to reach for a protein yoghurt when I could see I wouldn’t reach my protein goal for the day!
• Keep it simple for the best results – after working all day, tackling housework, and going on long walks, there simply isn’t enough energy for hours left in the kitchen. The simplest ideas were the biggest successes this week – like our Tuesday high-protein breakfast of two boiled eggs, two slices of ham, and some cherry tomatoes, which went down a treat.
• The MyFitnessPal recipe feature is amazing – this feature lets you add a recipe, the number of servings, and then auto-calculates the calorie and macros for each serving. I found it particularly useful for baked goods this week.
• Smaller can be better – this week I made a slightly adapted version of this Pumpkin and Blue Cheese Scones recipe I’d made last autumn – swapping the pumpkin for roasted butternut squash, and using a mix of leftover stilton and wensleydale with cranberries for the cheese. The recipe states it makes 8, but by using a smaller scone cutter, I made 23, so each worked out at only 141 calories each, and I’ve popped lots in the freezer to make them last longer. Honestly? The mini versions were even better! I took them to work for a larger sample size and was advised they were “lovely and light“, “very cheesy“, and “the perfect size“. What a win!

New recipes

This Chocolate Chia Pudding was a hit with me (if not my husband, who didn’t like the texture). I think it needs a smidge more honey or maple syrup, and a little salt, to be at it’s best – but a great accompaniment to fruit for a chocolatey dessert. I also adapted this Crustless Broccoli Quiche recipe – shrinking the quanitities slightly, and baking them in muffin tins instead of whole – for a filling, high-protein breakfast.

New food discoveries

Out and about

The weather on the whole was great this week, making keeping up with my step goal easy as pie. Most days were dry, and even the one wet day was only a drizzle, so I still went out for a walk – albeit in my raincoat. I also took a water bottle each time and it was an easy way to drink 500ml.

Some of my walks this week were tacked onto an errand, like picking up milk or posting parcels, but the majority were just walks for walks’ sake. It’s been nice to look back on Google Fit and see the distance, speed or time for my walks improve throughout the week, too! For most of the week I was doing my walks alone – usually at lunchtime or the very end of the day – but towards the end of the week I invited my husband to come with me in the evenings, which was lovely.

Ways I moved more this week

• Took the stairs at the office (it’s 4 flights up to my floor)
• Parked at the opposite end of the work car park for a longer walk in
• Hung out lots of laundry
• Spent more time tidying and cleaning the kitchen and living area
• Took evening walks with my husband
• Enjoyed a leisurely, multi-location in-person shopping trip
• Parked at the furthest end of any store car parks I visited

How I’m feeling

Mentally and motivation-wise, I’m honestly feeling fantastic. Between upping my water intake, learning to select better foods, walking 5,000+ steps a day, and keeping track of everything in MyFitnessPal, I think I’ve given myself just the right amount of things to work on to keep me occupied – without being overwhelmed. Going outside every day does wonders for my mental health, and I’m eating well without going hungry.

I went for a country walk around my village every day except one – on Saturday, I had a haircut booked, so tacked on a bunch of errands and ‘fun’ tasks around Nottingham to make the most of it. Between parking in the multi-storey, walking to the salon, hunting for books in three charity shops (at the risk of sharing all my secrets – Oxfam, Bookwise, and this Salvation Army Donation Centre where all the books are 5 for £1), checking out the new Nottingham Central library, filling up my car, wandering around Morrisons for a few bits, and buying cat food and easter treats to send to family in B&M – I easily hit 5,000 steps and had a lovely day talking to myself, strangers and battling both Nottingham’s confusing road layouts, and the wind – with my oversized golf umbrella. All that said, I was particularly pleased with my book haul, which included a lot of science fiction (notoriously hard to come by secondhand) and came to less than £25.

Upping my water intake had me peeing constantly for the first few days, but I’m pleased to confirm my trips to the toilet soon settled to a much more normal level! Having been a consistently dehydrated girlie for almost my entire life, I’m assuming this means my body is happily adapting to having the amount of water it needs for healthy turnover. I’ve also noticed my acne has quietened down a LOT – this had already seen signs of improvement this year, which I’d attributed to a reduction in refined sugar, but cutting this back to almost zero this week and drinking more water has really made a visible difference. Even my hormonal acne has stayed quiet this month!

I’ve also been waking up earlier – way before my 7am alarm, and often before my husband’s earlier alarms. When I do wake up, I feel much more refreshed and alert than I used to, to the point where I actually feel I can get out of bed immediately, which I have honestly never experienced before! A few weeks ago I switched from caffienated tea to decaf, in a bid to cut my caffiene intake – partly inspired by my mum, who went cold turkey on her black coffee addiction last year, and says she feels so much better. I was having 6-8 cups a day before, which at 47mg a cup, is right at the limit of the 400mg advised maximum; worse on the days where I had a latte at the office. I now have one cup of caffienated tea in the mornings, and all others are made with decaf tea (and many fewer now as I’m drinking so much water instead). Having said that, while I did see some improvement in my sleep quality after the drop in caffiene, this waking-up-feeling-refreshed is a new thing this week! I’m chalking it up to the regular exercise and perhaps my increased water intake.

I did notice some upper back and neck soreness this week, which I usually find occurs when I’m on my feet a lot with not enough cushioning against hard floors – I bought a memory foam mat for my standing desk for this exact reason. It wasn’t caused by the walks – I have some great walking boots and socks that mitigate this – so it must have been the hours in the kitchen and doing housework. To alleviate this, I’m going to invest in some memory foam slippers, like the true old lady that I am…

‘Til next time,

Alli xx