nevertoooldortoofattogetfit

 I will admit most of my life I've been plump to fat with a few brief spells of slim when the yoyo dieting has stuck for long enough to get there but never sustained.  I've never been massively active or sporty, huge boobs at 12 made it embaressing at school pe with the boys making comments and the girls being bitchy.  And truthfully I didn't like feeling that it's getting uncomfortable stage let alone the gasping for breath. This is me taken in Turkey October 2017, just a few weeks before I was diagnosed with an over active thyroid.  I was about 12 stone in this pic.   This is me taken in London 5 years later, I dont have any taken between the 2 pictures because I was so unhappy about how I looked and felt.  I wasnt at my largest here, I'd been going to the pool for months and had probably lost a stone or 2 by this.  Most of the damage was done during the 6 months after my diagnosis and I'd started taking the meds to lower my levels.  I prob...

 I've always half fancied the idea of doing one of the charity fundraiser for a month thingies when I see them on facebook but the right challenge and the right cause never quite seemed to gel until I saw the Stand Up To Cancers "sweat every day in November" challenge in aid of cancer research.  The idea is to do 30 minutes of exercise every single day in November, seems to be pretty easy but even though I try to get to a class at the gym or kickboxing every day sometimes life just gets in the way or you feel so crappy no amount of cajoling will get your arse off the sofa and into leggings ready to hit the gym.  I've looked back through my fitbit and in the last couple of years there's only been one month that I managed to exercise every day, and one of those days was literally just a 10 minute walk so this isnt going to be as easy as you would assume, specially as I have several things on over each weekend this month.  First one tomorrow is an all day workshop ab...

 I've not really been doing anything much this week and the meals have been pretty boring.  We've made the switch from pork to chicken for most of our meal which hasn't been as bad as I expected but I still think roast chicken is the most boring roast meal going. I've started on my gym instructors portfolio, one programme written for Ade to follow with me coaching him a few times a week and I'll give him his due he's been to the gym 4 times at 7.30am and has done what I've asked of him.  He's also finally stuck to his diet with no cheats at his mums and after having 3 weeks of gains he's managed to lose 4.2kg!  woohoo wtg Ade.  I don't massively follow my weight these days, I just check in now and again and trust that the way we eat isnt going to see me going in reverse and tighten the more calorific things like avocado, cheese and nuts if I'm at the higher end of my comfortable range.  But switching to chicken I thought I'd check it for ...

 Today was one of my favourite gym instructors last day :o(  Lucy is off to pastures new, onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship dancing in their shows. Can't say I blame her, I'd be off like a shot to do similar and it's just starting to get chilly in the uk so even a grotty job cleaning loos in the Caribbean sounds better than a wet and cold British winter. Gutted that she's going, she's been such a source of laughter during the classes, even when I've called her a cow for making us do flutter kicks.  And she's been a major cheerleader for me doing the PT course, even sharing her hint about using chatgpt to explain the medical stuff that goes straight over the top of my head. If you ever read this Lucy, have an amazing time and pop back and visit us when you can. xxx

 Yesterday we did the stupid thing, hit up Costco without having a clear plan for last nights tea.  I knew I needed chicken & haddock plus a bag of almonds for Ade to munch on over the next few months but I hadn't massively settled for tea plans.  I was thinking smoked haddock, spinach, poached egg and possibly a jacket spud to get Ades carb levels up.  In the end I went for their 1kg of huge prawns, bag of broccoli salad and jacket spuds. I sort of looked at the label on the broccoli salad and yes it's high on fat (if you don't know it comes with 2 sachets of onion sauce and a bag of mixed nuts and dried fruit to add to the mix) but we had plenty of spare calories to splurge on so I wasn't too particular and hadn't read that the calories were per very small portion sizes, not half an 850g bag each Now I was thinking a bit when I "made" tea, I saved one of the sachets of onion sauce to use as a mayo replacement to go with the prawns and added a small d...

 This is one of my go to recipes when I can't think what to prep ready to cook quickly after kick boxing on an evening.  Veggie mix is down to preference and whatever is to hand as is the spicing. My usual mix, veggies all peeled and cut into large chunks,  makes 4 portions at this size but if you've added in more veg you'll get more. 1 butternut squash 4 red onions 2 small sweet potatoes 2 courgettes 3 large carrots pack mushrooms pack cherry tomatoes 2 red peppers block of halloumi cheese 1 chicken oxo cube 1 cup orzo 2 tsp pesto siracha seasoning salt & pepper Chuck all the veggies except the tomatoes into a large roasting tin and cook in the oven with a squirt of oil until cooked and starting to brown (I usually cook for about 45mins on 180).  Add toms and halloumi and cook until the cheese is starting to brown.  Add the orzo, pesto and enough stock, (you may need less than 1l) to come up the pan about an inch, give a stir and pop back in for about 15 mi...