Spaghetti Carbonara

So after skimming through Joe Wicks latest book I got for Christmas I really fancied making a Spaghetti Carbonara... so here's my take on it using what I had!

Ingredients
1 chicken breast
2 bacon medallions
Egg noodles (dried - I had no spaghetti)
Light Philadelphia Cheese
Spinach
Garlic granules
Mustard powder
Fry light

Method
Spray a pan with fry light
Slice the chicken and bacon into little chunks
Add to pan and sprinkle with garlic granules and mustard powder along with a little salt and pepper
Boil spinach and egg noodles in a pan
Once cooked drain the noodles and spinach add a little bit of the cheese and mix
Mix the rest of the cheese with the bacon/chicken
Add salt and pepper to taste
Serve
Simple!

What Makes Me Proud

So the #swphotochallengejanuary for today was 'makes me proud'... This might just be a picture of a food diary (from Fox And Moon by the way!) and a SW book to some, but to me, still doing Sliiming World is what makes me proud. It's taken me a good while to get where I am and I'm still a way from where I want to be but the fact that I haven't thrown the towel in when it hasn't gone my way is what makes me proud.

I genuinely love Slimming World, it's changed my life. I love cooking again, I've tried fruit and veg I'd never have dreamed of putting on my plate. I've made friends that I'd never have met otherwise, I'm in a happy place, and I try and help and support anyone else wanting to do the same. The love and support that Slimming Worlders have for each other is amazing and I'm so proud to be a part of that. If I had the time and the money I would train to be a consultant without a doubt. Maybe one day! ❤️

My Journey So Far

I thought it was important to write this. I think a lot of people just expect a diet to help them lose weight and they never think of gaining/maintaining, I know I thought that. I thought i'd be at my goal in a year and be loving it. I probably could have done that if I didn't have a life, or if I'd have been 100% on plan 24/7 for 365 days but who can say that they can physically do that? I know I can't. Here's my graph from SW Online, it shows my losses but it also shows my gains and maintains, you can see how close I came to my target (the purple line) and also the massive gain the week after as I just couldn't physically maintain that weight, I don't think I was in the right mind set.

2016 was a busy and eventful year as you can see, and I finished the year 1.5lbs heavier than what I ended 2015 but in that year I learned a lot.

I learnt to accept that there is no harm in a gain and I also allowed myself to enjoy everything and just get back to plan when I can.

I plan on reaching target this year and I feel a lot more focused now than ever.
I know that it is possible and I feel I'll be able to maintain it this time which I think is down to proving to myself I can maintain a weight which is what I did last year. I'll never be back to where I started - which truth be told is another 18lbs on top of where this started, and I've now accepted that.

I'm confident in achieving my goals this year and I just wanted to write this for the newbies out there or the ones that have lost their way. I lost my way the entire year last year, I'm only human. It just takes something to click and all of a sudden you're back and you're raring to go. So to anyone starting out don't be afraid to fall off the wagon just get back to it as soon as you can, and to those currently off the wagon I hope you find you're way back soon!

A lot of people see weight loss stories and just assume it was all plain sailing and it dropped off just like that, and for some people it does. But for some of us it doesn't and that's okay too!

What a way to start 2017!

So I went to weigh in expecting a gain, and probably a hefty one at that! I was amazed to find out I'd lost 1lb. I lost 2.5lb over Christmas last year and I lost the same this year, I'm quite impressed. It's shown me I can still enjoy myself and lose weight, I definitely wasn't on plan! I also won Slimmer Of The Week, because hardly anyone had lost both last week and this week! The last time I got a SOTW Certificate was 2015, time to start adding some more I think!

I normally have a takeaway treat on weigh day, but I remembered I had some Egg Fried Rice to use up and after a hefty lunch I wasn't overly keen on a massive tea so I just had the rice and some Mayflower Curry Powder (4 syns for 28g) so easy to do and really nice, it felt like i'd nipped to the Chinese! Even better! Here's to a good week and another loss next week!

Spaghetti & Meatballs

So if Slimming World has taught me anything about food, it's that I don't need to rely on a jar of sauce to make something tasty. It is actually possible for me to just experiment and such and get a lovely outcome. The first picture here was Spaghetti & Meatballs made in about 15 minutes. I put the meatballs in a pan and I fried off some onions, added passata and a bit of tomato puree. Added seasoning and some chopped tomatoes and just let simmer whilst the spaghetti cooked.

This second one was actually done in the slow cooker, I spent the day wrapping presents and doing bits round the house so didn't want to have to stand around cooking. I simply added the meatballs to the slow cooker with passata, chopped tomatoes, soy sauce, oregano and 100ml of beef stock and left on high for about 90 mins then added the dry pasta for the last 30 minutes which helped soak up the extra stock etc. i was actually really impressed with the outcome it had loads of taste (despite sounding a little dodgy going off the ingredients) and was dead easy to do. I actually wish i'd made more!

Christmas Party & Weigh Day

So Monday was our annual Christmas Party in London and safe to say I was completely off plan. I haven't been on plan all week and weighed in today with a 6lb gain. I was devastated in all honesty but going off everything i've consumed this week it should have been a lot worse. I'm now 12.5lbs from my target which I know I won't get before xmas now but I'm still going to try my best to get as much as possible off again! I'm so close now and i'm determined not to sabotage it! This photo is from my Christmas Party (left) and the right hand one is one time hop kindly decided to show me from several years ago. I never remember actually being that big to be honest, I think I was in denial. I know a xmas party or a few days off with most likely end in a gain but I also know I will never be back at the weight I was on the right. This has been more about finding a love for myself rather than losing weight. I am finally getting happy with how I look and it definitely isn't about the number on the scales anymore it's more about how I feel in myself and when I can look in the mirror and know that i'm happy that's when I will know to call target; for the sake of SW I have set a target but this could change depending on the above.

Mayflower Curry - Weigh Day

So tonight at group I had an unjustified gain of 1.5lb! I say unjustified... it probably was justified in some way I just refuse to believe it! I had a week off work which meant a week where I should have been planning meals and eating well which transpired to eating cake and living off service station coffee. Oh well! Hoping for a loss bigger than 1.5lb next week to balance it out! Here's my weigh day treat this week, no chippy or takeaway...a FAKEAWAY. It's the Mayflower Curry with some Egg Fried Rice. I really need to make this more! It was 4 syns worth because I used ALL the sauce but its a damn sight better than my other options!

Sensible Snacking

Sometimes I find it really hard to snack wisely when you aren't really hungry. When soup doesn't fill you but a meal would be overkill, so I think it's a great idea using chicken pieces etc to enjoy with some soup, it fills you without making you stuffed. I simple chopped my chicken up and cooked with some soy sauce and garlic and it was so nice! The soup is simple the 'Heinz' imitation soup which I actually prefer now to the real thing!!! Shocking I know, but it's syn free so it saves me a hefty chunk of syns!

Best Voucher

For anyone wanting that bit of help before the festive season kicks in properly, I cannot recommend Slimming World enough, you don't have to go without. I still manage to enjoy all my favourite meals using my syns or just cooking things different. It's amazing. There is a voucher on sale from TUESDAY in BEST magazine that will give you free registration. What more could you want?

I'm looking forward to indulging this Christmas and if I gain a few pounds I know it will be worth it. I know I won't gain all the weight i've lost and as soon as I'm back on plan 100% it will be off. Trying to get as close to target as I can beforehand, 10lbs TO GO! This has by far been the hardest 10lbs to lose, I got down to 3lb from target and just couldn't maintain it but I am feeling a lot more positive this time round and I'm ready to get there!

Miss Slinky 2016

So now that I've got over the shock... I won this at group tonight.
I genuinely couldn't stop shaking I was so amazed to have gotten it. So many incredible people at my group tonight that inspire each other week in, week out. I've had a bit of a wobble recently I'll be the first to admit that so I didn't think I would even be nominated let alone win this.
An amazing taster full of low syn and syn free treats too, loads I want to remake, and my heads back in the game! 8lbs to go to target! Let's do this!

Weigh Day

So I maintained tonight. I was a bit gutted but I need to remember that 2 weeks ago I lost 7lbs (admittedly I gained 0.5lb last week) and that I should be happy i've kept it off.
Onwards and downwards! Here's a THROWBACK THURSDAY just to show how far i've come! Uni Days vs. a few weeks ago! 8.5lbs to go!

Overnight Oats

A lot of people seem to ask how to layer their oats so I took these step by step pictures to show how I do it. I do tend to find the more you layer the better it turns out the morning after, I tend to just make it up as I go along in all honesty. It just depends on how much fruit I have to add to it as i don't like putting in really thick layers of fruit as I find the yoghurt/oats don't really mix as well.

Christmas Wish

So we got our little baubles last night to help keep us on track. It's completely up to us where we keep it, and I haven't decided yet, but I've taken a photo of it so I can set it as a background on my phone if I want to remind me of why I'm doing this. After my big 7lb loss last night I am now 8lb from target which should be completely doable by Christmas if I keep my mind to it!
What's your Christmas wish??

Weigh Day

So after 2 weeks on holiday I finally went back to group tonight. In my head I wanted 7lbs but after not being on plan for about 75% of my two weeks off I was doubtful. Safe to say I was pleasantly surprised to see I'd still managed to get my target! 8lb's to go until I reach target now and I want that by Christmas!

Pulled Chicken - Slow Cooker

This recipe is so easy to do and could easily be done with another piece of meat if preferred. It is quite simply a recipe you can bang it all in and leave it. I find it works better if you mix the sauce and simmer fir a little bit first but it isn't necessary if you don't have the time.

4 chicken breasts
1 tsp mustard powder
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
500g passata
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp of garlic
2 tbsp sweetener
Salt and pepper
1 red onion - I used the ready sliced so I could just throw it in.

Method:
1. Mix passata, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, mustard powder, garlic, sweetener and seasoning. Transfer to a small pan and simmer for 15 minutes.
Layer the bottom of your slow cooker with the red onion.
Add the chicken and the BBQ sauce and leave on low for 6 hours.
Pull the meat apart with 2 forks and mix with the sauce.

Overnight Oats Prep

I am a pain for not prepping breakfast and then having to panic buy something or go without, but prepping a few days of oats gives me no excuse. You can use frozen fruit aswell which means it stays fresher that little bit longer I find. With these I simply layered my oat allowance with frozen raspberries and a muller light of my choice (one was rhubarb, one apple, one toffee) then simply kept in the fridge ready to take to work with me. These lovely jars were only 3 for £1 as well from a local pound shop, always looking out for a bargain!

Face To Face Friday

My face to face Friday submission this week was this. I might be struggling terribly at the moment as I seem to have hit a wall so things like this are spurring me on. 

Transformation Tuesday

Late night Transformation Tuesday. Now vs March 2015. Not a massive difference in weight but a massive change in how I feel about myself ❤️ 

11lbs until target although this might be lowered!

Christmas Target

So has anyone realised how quickly Christmas will be here?

Today is 100 days until Christmas Day!
I currently have 11lbs to lose until I reach my target, I would quite like to lose a stone (to put me 3lb under) so I know I can over indulge over Christmas and still be within target. Does anyone else have a plan? I know a lot of social calendars get booked up pretty quickly this time of year with nights out/birthdays/christmas parties etc. Have you actually looked to see if you have any full weeks on plan between now and then?

I'm struggling at the moment with maintains and very small losses so I know I need to switch it up and try new things if I have any hope of getting to target for Christmas... CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

I'm going to try and be a lot more active on here and on instagram (doylie_sw) as I find it really helps me stick to plan if I'm being honest about where I'm at and what I'm eating!

Would love to know if any of you have set targets for Christmas and any plans of action?

xxx

Woman of the Year Party

So last night was our Woman Of The Year finals, I didn't win but I'm not bothered. It was amazing to even be nominated. I dug these out to take to group and it helped me realise how far I've come. I also got a lovely message from a friend I haven't seen since I left university 5 years ago (I think) and the last time she saw me, these shorts were my best friend. I wore them all the time with leggings and now, well, they fall off. I might not be where I want to be just yet but I'll get there and this has made me even more determined 💪🏻 11.5lbs from my target and then I'll see how I feel! 4 sizes down! 

Also made these coconut macaroons for our party along with the famous cinnamon swirls! But I forgot to take a photo of those so here's an old one! 

All recipes can be found on this blog in previous posts as always.