Hello Fresh: The Verdict

Food Diary: 13/05/17

Right, my Hello Fresh delivery came on Monday, and on Tuesday, I made one of the recipes: Balsamic Steak with red cabbage and potato wedges.

Here is how the ingredients came:

How did it go? Quite well. It took a little longer than the recipe card suggested (35mins), but that might have been some bad timing on my part, but nothing disastrous. 
How did it taste? DELICIOUS!!!!!! 
Is it good value? Undecided. Here's why:

I have been wanting to try Hello Fresh for a while now, and I was excited to try it out. It was great to cook something without worrying about if I had all the ingredients, and had enough of them. There was also enough for two people, as I had ordered (but we ended up with enough leftover cabbage to eat with tonight's meal). And it lived up to the name; everything was fresh, which made the meal so enjoyable. 

We also enjoyed two more meals this week, Nutty Crusted Haddock, and Gnocchi Bolognese. Our favourite, I think, was the steak.

(Not quite like the picture, but close enough. I cooked our steak quite rare, rather than the medium pictured on the recipe card. And I put too much water in the sauce, hence you can't see any.)

It's the price that bothers me about this subscription. I'm paying £35 (rounded up) a week for three meals for two. Which works out to almost £6 per meal, so £3 each. Which isn't actually that bad. If I shop savvy for the other four days, we shouldn't have a problem. In one sentence I have changed my own mind, ha! Think about it, how much would it cost for all these ingredients in the supermarket? I had a look, and it came to more than £6. 

Tell you what though, it's nice to have everything portioned out for you so you don't waste anything, to have fresh ingredients, and to have a good variety of choice, because it's easy to get stuck in a rut with mealtimes.

I'll give it another week, and we'll see how we get on.

Overall, Hello Fresh is not bad. Not bad at all.

I Hate Hormones!

Food Diary 10/05/17

Sorry to be gross, but it was my time of the month last week, and I hated myself. I had awful cramps, and an even more awful diet. 

When I'm on, my stomach turns into a bottomless pit, and my emotions are all over the place. I've been crying over the smallest things, even BGT got me sobbing, and I don't normally. 

And Sunday I was looking forward to a nice pub lunch with friends, but after waiting in the pub for an hour with no word, hubby and I decided to come home and do some jobs. And I was more upset than I should have been about it because of my bloody hormones!

And my Zumba class has come to an end for reasons I won't go into, so it's not been the best weekend. Apart from last night's Chinese takeout with mum and the stepdad. That was delish! 

On top of the emotional turmoil, I also want to eat nothing but crap. I crave it at times. Things like fried chicken, burgers, crisps, chocolate (that especially), and my stomach turns into a bottomless pit, I can eat, and eat, and eat and not feel full. So a diet goes completely out of the window. I tried to be healthy, but I didn't try hard. Because of all of the above.

And I know I'm not the only one.

What we females have to endure twelve times a year, to remind us of our fertility, only we can understand. Luckily, my husband sympathises with me when I have cramps and offers to buy me a takeaway as he knows I feel crap. At the same time though, he's glad he doesn't have to go through it.

I have a bit of sympathy for him though, as our dog is a bitch, and more often than not, she'll go into season about the same time as I go into mine (as it were). At least she only has one twice a year. But poor hubby, having to deal with two females in the house acting out of sorts, however temporary.

Still, all in all, as much as I want to stay healthy while on my period, I also just want to stuff my face with pizza and donuts till it's all over. 

So, next month, I will make a conscious effort to keep to the healthy stuff. I've typed it, so I've got to stick to it.

I Did It!!!!!

Food Diary: 21/04/17

I was officially weighed yesterday instead of Monday (long story) and I haven't lost as much as I thought I did, but I'm not bothered. I have managed lose 7 1/2 lbs! So I will get my money back! Not that I cared much, I was more bothered about reaching the target. 

As I'm typing I'm sitting waiting for Zumba class to start. Just waiting for mum to show up. It's so nice to have someone to exercise with. I think it has something to do with support. Mum comes to support me with my weight loss, and I'm encouraging her to do some exercise as well. 

I enjoyed Zumba a few years ago when classes first started in my home town. I was the only one of my friends who went, but I got to know the other ladies a bit, although I didn't make any new friends. So this time round it's nice to go with someone I already know. And I love Zumba. It's a proper workout, the music is so good, and it's the only exercise I've ever done that I can say I love. And to introduce my mum to it was the best thing because she loves it too. This class gives us both a boost when we've just finished work and really all we want to do is go home and put our feet up.

Each class I try and push myself a little bit harder to use up a bit more energy and hopefully lose that little bit more, particularly in the abs and glutes area. If I don't put in the effort, then I won't get very far and just plateau with my weight loss. 

Right, Mum's here, time to party!

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19:25

I had a good workout. I bounced a bit higher (and various body parts bounced along too), straightened my arms to maximum, and my calves don't know what hit them.

And I feel good!!!

And hungry.

And I'm not getting a takeout, even though it would be so easy for me to go online and order a nice pizza. I'm having a frozen pizza instead.

I know, it's undoing all my good work, but one small one isn't going to hurt. It'll have less calories than a 12" Hawaiian from my local pizza place. Not by much, but still. It's Friday night and I've got no work tomorrow, so I can chill and do as I please.

Speaking of food, I've decided to give Hello Fresh a try. For those who don't know, it's a subscription service that provides you with a certain amount of meals each week and they give you all the fresh ingredients you need and recipe cards to make the dishes. 

The purpose here is to bring a bit more variety into my diet, and having everything home cooked can only be a good thing. (I'm also hoping it might get hubby to try new things too.)

So once pay day is here and my first box arrives, I'll let you know if it works.

Easter Eating

Food Diary: 16/04/17

I've definitely eaten the wrong things today. But it's Easter, I'm allowed to indulge on a holiday, right?

Of course I am, however, I didn't go too silly. I didn't stuff myself till I was fit to burst, but I do NOT need any more to eat today.

I enjoyed a delicious roast lamb with all the trimmings cooked by myself and my dad, I had a small slice of cheesecake, one chocolate egg, a small bag of peanut M&Ms, and an incredibly naughty Snickers bar. And I had a yogurt for breakfast. So not a good day diet wise.

Do I feel guilty? No. I enjoyed what I ate, and I now have leftovers to get through. 

The key thing is to get back on track tomorrow! So I might have another yogurt for breakfast, and something with lamb for lunch. Dinner I don't know yet, but I can worry about that later.

Tomorrow is also the big weigh in. I find out how much I've actually lost since Valentine's Day. I'm a little nervous I have to admit. But whatever the outcome, I must stay focused.

It's difficult dieting on holidays isn't it? At both Easter and Christmas, chocolate and big dinners play a big role, and with all the TV adverts leading up to the event, it's impossible not to get sucked in and tuck in to a minced pie or a packet of mini eggs. I'm certainly one of them. But I'm trying to be conscious of how much I'm having and how often. Last year, I made a packet of minced pies last a month! And though I had three eggs this year, I've only had one today. Easter eggs are not going off in a hurry, so I can have a small piece as a treat while watching Disney World vlogs. And believe me, it's going to take a lot of will power to have just a small piece of the Aero egg that's sitting in front of me.

But no more chocolate tonight, I'm done eating for a good while.

So keep your fingers crossed for me for tomorrow. I hope it's a good result!!

Beginning at the End

Food Diary: 14/04/17

It started as a bet. I had to put in £20 to bet that I could lose 7 lbs in 8 weeks, and I'd get it back if I achieved this. If not, my money went into the resident fund at work.  A few of us signed up to do this, so it was supposed to be a bit of fun.

Now eight weeks is almost up. Should I really start a diary at the end of my "journey" (sorry I couldn't think of a better word)? The answer is, yes, because this isn't the end. The bet might be, but not my weight loss.

Now, I should tell you about myself and why I'm writing a public diary. So, here's a brief history:

I've been overweight since I was a child and was put on my first diet aged 11 by my mum. It wasn't that I was eating crap all day, every day, but I wasn't a very active child outside of compulsory PE classes at school. But, food was the starting point. And since then I've been on and off when it comes to dieting. But as a teenager, I just wanted food, and I do remain to this day what is known as a Foodie. And for a time, the diets worked, I'd lose a healthy 2lbs every week, but then eventually old habits kicked in, and being nagged by mum wasn't helping.

Then, at the tender age of 21, I met my husband, and I gained weight as I settled into my new relationship. And my contraception helped me gain even more. So, I found an alternative. That summer, a friend asked me to join Weight Watchers with her, so I did. I kept to the programme till Christmas that year, and then I fell off the wagon and didn't climb back on properly. I kept going to meetings as often as I could, which wasn't very often as I had a job as a waitress with crazy hours. Then I moved into care work, which was more regular, but still crazy hours, so by then I couldn’t attend meetings at all.

Then I got engaged.

You'd think I'd diet like crazy to fit into my dream dress. However, I was advised by my friend and dress supplier not to lose too much as then the sizing of the dress would be all wrong and I wouldn't fit. So, I managed to maintain my weight till I got married. Since then, I've slowly gained more weight, and had another job change. And then this bet happened.

So now you're all up to date. And believe me that was a brief history. In summary, I've been trying to diet for a long time now, and nothing has stuck.

But this time is different. My only goal has been to lose 7 lbs, no matter how I lost it.

And I'll admit, the last eight weeks have not been smooth sailing. I'm human, so sue me!

I've been going to the gym when I can; at first it was twice a week, but due to other commitments I've only been going to Friday evening Zumba classes for the past few weeks, but I’m hoping to get back on track soon.

I've been watching what I'm eating as well, having two small meals and one large meal a day. This can consist of a large lunch, small dinner, and a banana for breakfast (sometimes consumed once at my work desk), depending on what’s going on with me that day. I've also been drinking at least 2 litres of water a day.

I have been watching my carbs as well, because my husband, who is diabetic, has just been given a low carb diet and insulin by the hospital. So I've had to think outside the box a bit to find foods we both enjoy and are healthy.

But most importantly, I have denied myself nothing. That's right, I've stuffed myself silly, I've had takeaways, had not-so-healthy options at restaurants, I've had crisps, chocolate, cheese, you name it I've probably had it. I've not always stuck to my 2 litres a day either. And yet, I've still lost weight.

By getting more active, making conscious decisions about what I'm putting in my mouth, lowering my caffeine intake to no more than two cups of tea or coffee in a day, and not snacking in between meals I've lost roughly 9 lbs in eight weeks.

And I'm going to keep going. For the first time, I'm in complete control. No one is telling me what to eat, I'm not getting weighed every week, and I have more support than ever. Which brings me onto something almost completely different: Fat Shamers.

I’m aware there are people out there who like to put people down just because they’re overweight. Well, to those reading this and thinking of typing hate messages, I want to say that this blog is a safe space and there is only room for positivity. I am trying to better myself, for myself, no one else. And my purpose here is to let people with the same issues as me know that you CAN lose the weight, and it’s okay to have a pizza every now and then.

I'm an adult, I know what's good and what's bad for me. What I eat is my choice, so if you see me tucking into something like a Chinese buffet, let me enjoy it! I know what I'm putting into my body, and I don't need the obvious pointed out to me. Food is to be enjoyed, it's not supposed to be a chore, nor is it meant to rule your life.

But at the same time, I don't want to be fat any more. I just want to be healthy. And this time, I'm determined to succeed.

So join me through the ups and downs to come as I continue on my weight loss crusade.