Frugal Frump to Fab - 2015

indiepanda

lessonlearned wrote: »

Well I'm just have to come on here and brag.......

week 1 and Ive lost 6 and a bit lbs. I am so pleased to have finally cracked it. What's that old mantra .......

"Persistance pays off".........

I seem to have finally got my head in the right place this time. I think it's the thought of my holiday which is spurring me on.

I know the rate of loss will slow down but it's a good start and a fabulous confidence booster.

Well done, that's a fantastic start.

I've been busy since I got home yesterday morning, did my Fitsteps class at lunchtime and went for coffee with the teacher and another of the class afterwards which was good fun. Went running with my friend Alexa last night - we managed to cancel all our runs due to rain last week so just did an "easy" 5-6k. Not that it's ever that easy - hard to avoid going uphill round here unless you want to keep doing laps of the park (and even that isn't totally flat). Been out to do a 1-2-1 with my trainer in the park this morning - she gave me harder versions of the exercises we usually do and it was gratifying to find them hard but doable.

Quickly squeezing in some fabbing - got a deep conditioning treatment on my hair and face mask on.

Going out for the afternoon to avoid getting under the cleaner's feet. Might go into town and do an interesting guided walk - really enjoy those and been a while since have done one. Got to travel in anyway today as am going to see High Society at the Old Vic later which I am really looking forward to.

maman

lessonlearned wrote: »

Well I'm just have to come on here and brag.......

week 1 and Ive lost 6 and a bit lbs. I am so pleased to have finally cracked it.
Went to IKEA. Didn't manage to find any suitable saucepans - looked like they were re organising that section because the displays were messy and many of the shelves looked rather bare, with just one or two items of ranges left. - I think their sale has just finished. I did buy a new omelette pan for now.

I also bought a new bedside light and that was about it. Still not sure about the sofa so will think about it. DS2 didn't go with me, he's off next week so I might have a mooch round the likes of DFS etc. and then we can go together and make a decision.

Had lunch there. Tried the gravulux salmon platter that you suggested Maman - delicious and very good value at £2.75. and of course very healthy - perfect for a Paleo meal.

:T:T:T delighted for you. That's brilliant!! I'd suggest just looking forward to each half a stone at a time or a new number on the scales (a bit like elephant consumption;)). Glad you enjoyed the gravlax. I think it makes a nice snack with a drink and much better for you than a cake!


I've done the trawling round shops for sofas LL. Decided on Ikea in the end as best value for loose covers. Painter is coming at the weekend (fingers crossed) and then we'll have our new ones. Ikea promise to deliver in days so no point in us storing them. I need to get the room fabbed so painting will only be a start otherwise it'll just look cleaner but exactly the same.:rotfl:


I'd agree with you about stainless steel saucepans. I've had mine for years (BHS but not sure they do them any more) and they come up like new in the dishwasher every time. I have non stick Tefal red dot frying pans and woks but they seem to need regular replacing:(. I suppose it depends how much you want to spend. I think John Lewis do an own brand and TKMaxx is always worth a look.


Done all the basics this morning. Delighted with my hair lately, booking a regular appointment (instead of waiting until it looks dreadful) may be a bit more expensive but it's certainly paying off. Off into the city centre later as have some bits to return that didn't spark enough joy.;) I might look for more skinny jeans (to store) in TKM as I know this brand/size fits beautifully.


Dry and dull here. Rain is promised but as we are on a line between SE and SW it may not reach us.

Floss

LL our stainless pans are from John Lewis, own brand ones, and they are fab. Had them around 7 years now but you can't tell. They were not quite as expensive as branded, we have almost all of the different sizes

lessonlearned

Thanks for all the saucepan advice. We don't have a JOhn Lewis but I could look online. Saw some really nice copper ones in TK 'Maxx but they were a bit pricey. DS loved them though, copper is very on trend right now but they weighed a ton, even when they were empty. I seriously doubt that I could lift them when they are full.

What further adds to the price is we have a fancy induction hob, great to use, but induction friendly pans don't come cheap.

I had my stainless steel pans for 30 years, still perfect but unfortunately not induction friendly. I used to work at Prestige many moons ago - and I made full use of my staff discount....I wish I hadnt kondoed them .....that was daft because I think I will go back to a gas hob when I buy my own house.

I do like the induction hob but I still like the idea of a gas hob as a back up, in case of power cuts.

Well now I had a very successful,shopping trip. one pair of brand new M & S smart walking shorts in beige, a pair of blue Capri pants. 6 tops - each one less than the price of a latte :rotfl:, a long floaty green skirt embroiderd with sequins, short sassy acid green and bright fuscia pink skirt, need tanned legs for that one......and a long floaty posh dress in black and grey. £39 the lot.

When I told the staff what I was looking for we had a whale of a time, them pulling out stuff, making suggestions. The guy was gay and he really enjoyed himself. Apparently his uncle used to work on the cruise ships and he couldn't resist telling me all about it. It was a fun afternoon.

Ive bought clothes in colours that I wouldn't dream of wearing normally, bright acid greens, hot pinks, oranges and purples - sometimes all together in the same garment - but I think they were right - they will look great in the tropics teamed with plenty of white to cool,them down a bit. The sort of colours that you do need a tan to get away with them though.

I'm cooking a Diy Nando style meal tonight. I,will restrict myself to,just two battered onion rings, whilst DS2 pigs out.......:rotfl:

Raining now, it's turned very autumnal here - quite chilly here now - hope that's not it.

Future DILs family are coming at the beginning of September - hope it's half decent for them. Mind September is often calm and settled with warm sunny days. Let's hope we get a nice Indian Summer.

VJsmum

Rowan_moon wrote: »

Rose I'm Interested in hearing more about going sugar free. I really must cut down on sugar - I eat a healthy diet but supplement it with too much chocolate and cakes (my weakness). How do you stop craving it?

I know it doesn't help as advice necessarily - but the best thing is to just .... stop. You will go cold turkey for a few days but then it passes (at one point i could have bitten off a colleagues arm who was eating a Wispa :rotfl:)

I eat a lot of dates - they are super sweet. Dates with nut butter in are extremely moreish.

lessonlearned

VJsmum wrote: »

I know it doesn't help as advice necessarily - but the best thing is to just .... stop. You will go cold turkey for a few days but then it passes (at one point i could have bitten off a colleagues arm who was eating a Wispa :rotfl:)

I eat a lot of dates - they are super sweet. Dates with nut butter in are extremely moreish.

Yes it's better to cut out sweet things rather than reducing slowly, the cravings will pass much quicker that way.

I am allowing myself just one or two pieces of fruit a day, still got lots of raspberries in the garden and then perhaps a nectarine or some melon.

The nectarines are lovely at the moment, very sweet and juicy, and very cheap, they work out at around 20p each, cheaper than chocolate or sweeties and just enough to satisfy any cravings.

I love dates too. I add chopped dates to my PAleo friendly home made musesli instead of sugar.

maman

My DH went cold turkey on sugar a couple of years ago. I was amazed. He has dates chopped on his muesli. I got a largish box of Medjool ones (which he loves) at a good price per kg compared to what I normally pay in Sainsbury's.


Good shopping trip LL, hope all the stuff fits come November when you're a skinny minny!


I didn't buy anything new in the city today. I think a mixture of MK and mse is getting to me.;)

Rummer

Well done LL what are your top dieting tips?

I need to cut out processed sugar as it is my real downfall. In the past I have gone without for months however I have never managed to shake my urge to eat chocolate/sweets and it has been a constant battle. Only 11 months to go until swimwear :eek:

lessonlearned

I am soooo not the right person to ask about dieting tips :rotfl: I think MAman is our resident expert but I'm happy to share what ive tried this week.

for the past year or so I have been learning a lot about nutrition, and links to disease and it is this that has shaped my thinking.

My aim now is simply to "eat for life and optimum health"

I sorted out my stomach problems - it took a lot of experiments and I made mistakes, but I got there in the end and now know what foods suit me best.

Now, having seen what happened to mum, I want to cheat my genetic inheritance and avoid contracting diabetes. Ive been lucky to,escape so far but time is running out. I need to,lose 4 stones (now 3.5 yay) to get myself into the safe zone.

So basically, this week I have "eaten clean" - everything cooked from scratch, no convenience foods, so hopefully no nasties and most importantly no insulin spikes.

I have kept more or less to Paleo. My dinner plate is made up of roughly 2 thirds vegetables and one third protein, meat or fish.

No grains, no white potatoes, full fat everything, ie yoghurt, milk, cream. Have slashed my cheese consumption. I don't have a sweet tooth, so my new no pudding, no cake rule is no hardship, cutting out cheese is not much fun but it has to be.

Ive made a few switches, camomile tea instead of a milky bedtime drink. Ive substituted mashed cauliflower for mashed potato, and sweet potatoes for white potatoes.

Just one half glass of wine this week.

Reduced fruit to just two portions per day, and upped the veg and salads.

Snacks have been a bit of cold meat or one baby bel cheese with olives and/or cherry tomatoes. Today I bought plain cashew nuts, not salted, as a snack on the run. Only had a small handful, not the full pack......

I have tried to think about portion sizes, and have reduced the amount of protein a little.

I am so pleased with this weeks result, however I realise that was the easy bit.

The real,work starts now.... I will be happy with a loss of a steady 1 to 2 lbs a week.

Roseh2104

Hi ladies! I love your page.

I have started my own thread today to show people how you can still look and feel great on a budget. I want to update it regularly with all my new bargain purchases, tried and tested make up and cosmetics. If your interested, please take a look. Only just started it so would be good to hear people's opinions x