It's the new year and we all want to make changes. I've decided I desperately need to ditch the weight I've put on during 2016.
At the beginning of 2016, I had an operation on my foot (bunion removed ouch!) so I was unable to train for nearly two months.
During this period, I started dating Marco and found my attention was on the relationship more than getting my butt to the gym.
Although I've still been active with my cycling, yoga and pole dance I still managed to put on weight.
I've generally weight around 9 stone to 9 and half stone. There was a point, after Dean passed away, that I dropped to 8 and half stone. That wasn't healthy for me, especially not the way I lost the weight.
I've decided I'd like to get back to my 'usual' weight. I hopped on the scales last week and was horrified that my weight has gone up to 10 stone 9 pounds - WTF?!?
It was a huge shock. I knew I'd put a little weight on (I can't blame my washing machine for shrinking all my jeans) but I didn't realise just how much.
So I've worked out I need to lose 23 pounds to get back to how I was before. It sounds like a huge amount of weight to lose but I figured if I can lose 1-2 pounds per week then I should be my ideal weight before I head off to sunny Philippines.
I've been eating a lot more pasta since dating Marco (bloody Italians) and the half glass of red wine each night has empty calories (although they are well received) so I'm sure these have been factors for my weight gain.
I thought I would start the year off with a little tea detox. I bought the Brazilian Slimming Tea for 14 days. There are four different teas to drink during the day. A morning blend, afternoon, evening and night time.
I'm only on day 2 (diets don't start on a Sunday - always a Monday) and the tea tastes pretty good. I have sometimes had a sweetener with the tea but you don't need it.
I like herbal teas so I think the taste of these are all really good. They do taste slightly different.
So far I've not had any nasty side affects. I've done tea detox before and have started being BFF with the toilet. But none of that - so far.
Obviously teas will not work on there own so I've also started to eat a low carb, high protein diet. Actually I hate the work diet, simply food. I've been eating yummy food!
Here's a typical day:
Breakfast: Breakfast tea blend. High protein yoghurt and one teaspoon of oat bran.
Mid morning snack: 3 sticks of celery and cottage cheese.
Lunch: Chicken and vegetables.
Mid afternoon snack: Afternoon tea blend. Sweet and salty popcorn (89 calories).
Dinner: Evening tea blend. Steak and rocket.
Night time tea blend. Protein shake.
I feel like this is a pretty well rounded diet. There's plenty of vegetables, good protein in the chicken and steak and still a little treat with the popcorn.
Diets don't work. If you say to yourself that you can never have a chocolate bar ever again then all you will crave is that chocolate bar.
I've said to myself during the two week tea detox, I will be very strict. I will document everything I eat using MyFitnessPal. I also use my FitBit to track how many calories I burn.
In order to lose 1-2 pounds per week, I need a daily calorie deficit of 500-1000 calories. At first I thought this would be impossible but actually it's not that bad.
If you know you're tracking everything you eat and drink, you'll be surprised how you step away from that extra treat.
I'll keep you all posted with my journey. If you're also looking to lose weight or generally be active and healthy then good luck. Maybe get in touch and we can keep each other focussed.
Let's see how we get on.
Here's a picture of me at the beginning of my journey.
Here's a picture of me at the beginning of my journey.
Much love and positive vibes,
Becky
xxx