Is this week over yet?

Last week update

Weigh in

So last week was a good week, i managed to stick to plan 100% all week which is a first in a long time! I mixed it up a bit doing extra easy and a couple of green days. I'd never done green days before because i love my meat, but i'd stocked up on some free quorn products from ASDA so i thought i'd give it a go and it turned out to be ok! This week my weigh in result is.... Lost 2lbs! And I got my club 10 award! Finally shift the pounds I put on over Easter and a little bit more! 

Switching it up

I started my second slimming world journey on 6th January 2014 at the same group i attended before. Last time i stopped going after 3/4 months and this time i felt it happening again, oh no! Last time i thought i could go it alone at home, boy was i wrong! I ended up putting 10lbs on again, woopsie. So this time when i felt that 3 month itch i decided to do something about it instead of just quitting again. I decided that i could do it from home but what i lacked last time was the online tools, motivation and weekly weigh ins. Group had just got too much for me, my weigh in was 7pm which meant i was starving myself all day on a Monday waiting for weigh in and i'd started to skip group and skip staying to group if i did go. It just wasnt worth it anymore. So i rang the lovely slimming world team and they changed me to an online member and i feel much better about it! I feel more motivated and like its a fresh start again (only this time i never actually stopped!). 

The week ahead

Dissertation headache

This week is a very big week for me. Its my dissertation hand in on Friday, which gives me 4 days left to finish it and i am panicking! Today and tomorrow will be spent with my head in my dissertation trying desperately to get it finished! For anyone who has done their dissertation, i have developed the 'dissertation headache' and 'dissertation involuntary eye twitch' plus a swollen arm from the sheer amount of work i am carrying round with me! Im hoping i can still stay on plan over the next week and i will 100% try my best but i have to remember whats important this week, and thats finishing my dissertation! Meals will probably be quick and easy but slimming world will still be in my mind. Its the final big hurdle of my university life, 3 exams then i'm done! 

Scan Bran Challenge

In an attempt to still stay on plan this week and ensure i remain hydrated i'm going to do the scan bran challenge. This has given me a good loss before, no matter how awful it is! 

The Scan Bran challenge is....

5 scan bran a day for 5 days 

2 litres of water a day for 5 days 

scan bran can be your hexb or 1 syn per piece. 

Scan bran is available in slimming world groups or i got mine from Holland and Barrett. 

Theres loads of recipes out there for scan bran including cakes, biscuits, loafs, scotch eggs and even burgers! But i dont plan to be that adventurous this week with all that i have going on, so will stick to simple scan bran with philadelphia cheese on or with hot milk for breakfast. 

Latest Healthy Extras

Cereal bar confusion

Theres been some confusion this week on instagram over cereal bars being used as a healthy extra b. Suddenly all but two on the list vanished! The apparent reason for this was they were removed to be assessed again, probably due to the Alpen Light saga! There was no word of warning though, which is very annoying! They have since added two more so currently as it stands the following cereal bars can be used as a healthy extra b:

• 1 Weetabix Oaty Bar
• 1 Kelloggs Special K Chewy Delight Bar, Dark/Milk Chocolate
• 1 Morrisons NuMe Chewy Cranberry Cereal Bar
• 1 Weetabix Oaty Bar Rainbow Smashems

Recipe of the Week

This week my recipe of the week has to be Chilli Con Carne! This slimming world version is delicious and I have it over chips and covered in my healthy extra A of cheese. But you can serve it with anything you like! I double up on the spices because i find it a bit bland if i dont, but i'll just put the basic recipe here! I also always do mine in the slow cooker! 

Chilli Con Carne

Extra easy - FREE

Red - 3 syns

Green - 2 syns (add 6 if not using mince as health extra)

Serves 4 (actually only serves two of us!)

Ingredients:

• Frylight
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 fresh chillies, deseeded and chopped
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp paprika
• a pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 275ml stock
• salt and ground black pepper
• 450g extra lean minced beef 
• 1 200g can of red kidney beans, drained
• 1 level tbsp tomato puree

1. Spray a large saucepan with low calorie oil spray and fry the onion gently over a low heat for 5 minutes, until softened and golden. Add the garlic, chillies and all the spices and continue frying, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes. Add mince, stirring until it begins to brown.
2. Add the canned tomatoes, tomato purée and stock. Stir well and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes, until the liquid is slightly reduced. Season with salt and pepper and add drained kidney beans. Heat through gently for about 5 minutes.
3. Slow-cooker alternative: Brown your onions, garlic, chillies, spices and meat as above and transfer to your slow-cooker. Add the canned tomatoes, tomato purée and stock. Stir well and cook on ‘medium’ for 6-8 hours. 45 minutes before serving add the kidney beans

So thats all i have time for now, best get on with my dissertation!

Lots of love, bye for now

Alex
xxx