Hello everyone! With the Uk in the middle of its first heat wave of the year, I have to report that I have been pathetic this week, in the extreme. I do not like heat, never have, never will. My walking has taken a complete nose dive. Our home remains fairly cool, however, so I have been stretching my home making muscles cleaning and tidying.
Despite the decrease in outside exercise, house keeping obviously burns a fair amount of calories as I have managed to lose another pound to bring my total weight loss to 16Ibs. It’s still not very, very apparent to me that I have lost any weight, let alone 16Ib. When I do finally see a difference it will be all the sweeter for having to wait for it!
I know Donna will understand my reluctance to walk in the heat. She is dealing with temperatures over 38 degrees C. We’re at 28 which frankly feels unbearable to me. Thirty eight, and I might very well melt. I wonder what the melting temperature of a Claire would be? Anyone? Even though the unbearable heat has prevented lots of walking Donna has still done incredibly well with her clothes feeling looser on her! Well done my friend!
Leah has had small victories of which there have been many which would explain why her tight jeans now zip up and are not so tight anymore. Leah is drinking more water whilst trying to discern between hunger and thirst, eating less ice cream at night and generally feeling much more energetic. Great job Leah!
Lucinda is on the look out for a good pedometer which can be tucked onto a waste band rather than jumping about around her neck. Any recommendations?
Amber popped in to say hi and left some encouraging words. It’s great to have you here Amber! Kris reminded us all that slow and steady is the best kind of weight loss because it tends to be more long-lasting. I think this is really important because sometimes one can put in lots of effort and see little change on the scales. Christy, I hope this encourages you this week. Christy lost 0.2 Ibs. She had lost a heap of weight a few years ago but the last ten pounds have been tricky to get off. You are 0.2Ibs closer to your goal! Well done, you can do this!
Audria has posted on her own blog about her 1Ib loss (yay, keep it up Audria!) and she has also included a lovely tuna and cucumber salad recipe, which would be just perfect for the current heat over here in the UK. Audria’s husband is also joining in with her in her quest to become healthier. I think it is much easier to do something when you are not the only one in the family doing it, not to mention much more fun when you have a partner in crime. Gary and I are enjoying a bit of friendly rivalry which I fully intend to win. Anyone who has seen us play Monopoly will know just how much fun we actually do have ribbing each other and ticking each other off when we stumble! Oh, and Gary? I’m beating you hands down so far……
Jo remains focused on her walking, parking her car further away from her destination to ensure she is walking for longer periods. She has asked if anyone knows of any healthy but inexpensive snacks she can bake with her children. I will be sharing a recipe for whole meal banana muffins at the end of this post, but if anyone has any others please do share and I’ll include them next week.
Francis has done incredibly well this week losing 3Ibs and continuing with jogging. Running seems to be the key to the success of many weight watchers. One day…. That’s fantastic Francis, well done you!
And finally Phyllis has written another useful post on fats as well as reporting about her weight loss. To date she has lost 30Ibs!! Yipideedipidee! If you were here, Phyllis, I would give you a big hug! Well done, well done!!
Over the past couple of weeks I have been doing lots of baking, trying to keep the treats high energy (for the children to have prior to the gym) but long-lasting and healthy. As promised here is my recipe for banana muffins:
Wholemeal Banana Muffins
2 cups whole meal flour
1 cup whole meal flour with seeds (you can simply do three cups wholemeal if you have no seeded flour)
6 teaspoons of baking powder
1/3 cup sugar (this can be left out or substituted with honey or agave or maple syrup)
Cinnamon to taste (I used a lot – couple of table spoons)
1/4 cup oil filled up to a full cup with milk
2 eggs beaten
3 smashed up bananas (I often use more, especially if I have some old ones)
Mix dry ingredients in one bowl
Mix wet ingredients in another bowl including mashed bananas
Add wet to dry and fold to mix
bake for 10-15 mins in a hot oven (180 or so) This definitely differs depending on your oven. My one in Ireland took ten minutes where as my oven here takes 15 minutes, sometimes more.
This is a really forgiving recipe and you get to know fairly quickly what a successful dough feels and looks like. I often add extra stuff to this basic recipe, for example
white chocolate and raspberry
chopped apple and clove (reduce cinnamon)
sultanas
choc chips
really anything which takes your fancy
You can mix cinnamon and brown sugar and pop a spoonful on top just before they go in the oven, or allow them to cool a spread a cream cheese, icing sugar and lemon juice icing on top. Both those options would decrease the healthfulness of an otherwise fairly healthy snack.
I recommend you use whole meal flour because this recipe does not work with white flour. At all.
The recipe makes 12 plus muffins depending on the size of your tins. I don’t know how many calories are in this recipe for those of you trying to lose weight, but they are full to the brim with healthy ingredients which can be made more or less healthy depending on your preferences. Enjoy!
So, over to you! How have you done this week in your quest to become healthier? Do share victories, small or large, tips and recipes.