So yesterday I had a scan and consultant appointment at the hospital. I drove myself there in my car and managed to park even though it was really busy. I was feeling very pleased with myself about that as I … Continue reading
So today I am 17 weeks pregnant and I am feeling fat! Just today have started needing the loo a lot! Think Baby must have changed position and be putting pressure on my bladder? My bump is definitely looking bump … Continue reading
When sorting through my wallet I found our annual tickets for Leeds Castle. They have expired. It has been over a year since that birthday when we took Esther and William out for one of their very first outings. This … Continue reading
So the end of the day is drawing near. The end of Day One of my May Personal Challenge inspired by Tiddlyompompom and I am happy to report that I have not eaten any chocolate today and I have been … Continue reading
In the 80s I was given a challenge in May to learn to dance round a maypole. I was very very bad at it! I undid all the beautiful twisting patterns that the other dancers made. It was the start … Continue reading
Well, I began weighing 9st 11lb and I now weigh 9st 7lb, though I have to admit to cheating along the way and so I am certain had I wanted to I could have lost more. This is my final … Continue reading
This week is my third week on the Jenny Craig Weight Management Programme. I have to say that I am feeling good. I have had two comments on how slim I am looking and I weigh 9 stone 6 pounds. I have lost a steady 5lbs which I am happy with.
Last week my consultant corrected my calorie count to take into account the fact that I am breastfeeding twins. I am now eating up to 2300 calories a day by supplementing my Jenny Craig foods with recommended foods from their Grocery List.
This plan is so easy to follow and allows me to eat some lovely foods. I have porridge with blueberries for breakfast washed down with a fruit tea. This afternoon I used my milk allowance, a banana and a spoonful of cocoa powder to make a delicious dark chocolate milkshake / smoothie. It was lovely and healthy too!
My favourite foods so far are the mushroom and bacon risotto and mushroom stroganoff with rice. I also love the potato snacks and chocolate bars.
As part of the programme I have also made sure that I am more active. I have been out walking most days, with my double buggy, and have been more active in my play with the babies. I am feeling the benefit of this exercise and my bingo wings do seem to be tightening up.
I am looking forward to next week when I will re measure my vitals and see if I have lost inches as I think that I have.
Last week I was asked to reflect on what kind of eater I am. I am definitely an emotional eater. if I am struggling with the babies I eat, if I am bored I eat. I just like to eat, and the great thing about the Jenny Craig plan is that I can eat, I am positively encouraged to eat and still I lose weight. It is great!
But … it is also expensive. I am lucky enough to be writing this review in exchange for a 28 day trial of the Jenny Craig programme, I am not sure that this is something that I could afford to continue myself. What I can continue though are the methods and ideas that I am learnign every day to develop a healthier relationship with food.
I will always now eat little and often. I will refer to Jenny Craig’s free foods and portion control. I will continue to exercise regularly. I will continue to try and have a positive outlook about my weight loss that will remain steady until I reach my desired weight.
Jenny Craig has made me think that my goal might just be possible, and this ugly duckling will become a swan in time for her wedding!!!
Thank you Jenny Craig!
In a week when many people around the world are holding on to hope with their bare hands I feel quite selfish gloating about my cheer. And yet here I am, because this week I do have genuine reasons for cheer and pride. My little miracle babies are doing so well and I cannot hide how I feel about that after the terrible start to life that they had.
My Reasons to be Cheerful this week:-
Esther and William are above average in their general development
This week we had a clinic appointment for Esther and William at the hospital. At this clinic they are weighed and undergo a number of developmental checks that I do not pretend to understand. What I do know though is that the Consultant told us that she is very very pleased with both babies. William is just above the 75th percentile for development and Esther is just below. This is marked against their corrected age of 4.5 months. I was so proud watching them work thorugh the exercises with the physio I thought that I might burst with pride and they did everything with a smile too. The session was topped off when one of the nurses said to us, “We always knew these babies would be clever ones!” Proud Mummy moment!
Esther and William loved their first baby class, Baby Sensory
Today we went to Baby Sensory for the very first time and Esther and William both loved it. In particualr they loved helium balloons and the ball pool. I was so impressed with the class leader, Julie Reynolds, and her welcoming manner that I signed up for 10 weeks straight away and we start next week!! I am so excited!!! I am going to review the session on my blog so please watch this space x
Esther and William have moved into their very own BIG cots!!
After William crawling on top of Esther in his sleep a couple of times we decided that the time had come to move Esther in to a cot of her own. It has only been one night so far but again it is a really proud Mummy moment though I am also sad that they are not sharing anymore. My babies are growing up. Next move will be into a room of their own and no longer with their Daddy and I. That will be a big moving day. This was just a small moving day but a big reason for cheer.
Need more stories to make you smile? Hop on over to Mummy from the Heart’s blog and share your Reasons to be Cheerful.
This morning I had my Jenny Craig consultation with a lovely lady called Claire. We reviewed the week and I admitted to my cheating. We discussed the fact that I am breastfeeding twins and she explained that my calorie intake should not be 1200 calories but 2300 calories so it was no wonder that I had found the need to cheat!
Today Claire is going to send out new, adjusted, menus to allow for the extra calories.
Not sure that I will eat the full 2300 calories but what I will do is continue regulating my portion sizes and being aware of how much salt there is in certain foods. Too much salt leads to water retention which can lead to excess weight!
The main focus of today’s consultation was finding out what kind of eater I am.
There are 5 main styles of eater as identified by the Jenny Craig Programme:
Uninformed Eater; Emotional Eater; Unconscious Eater; Social Eater and Balanced Eater.
I am an emotional, unconscious eater. I miss some meals, I eat food because it is there and I also tend to eat when I am bored and sad.
You can learn more about these eating styles and discover what style you are by looking at the Jenny Craig website.
This week I have been asked to reflect on my eating style and try to avoid eating when and what I shouldn’t.
Today I have so far eaten porridge and a banana, soup and crumpets and a Jenny Craig snack bar. Looking forward to Jenny Craig chilli for tea!
Wish me luck! I will let you know how I get on x
The end of my first week with Jenny Craig is here.
Jenny Craig is not a diet but a weight management programme it consists of a calorie controlled menu, physical activity and lifestyle coaching.
At the beginning of the week I had a 15 minute chat with my Jenny Craig consultant. She talked me through my hamper which had arrived bursting with edible goodness to last me through the weeks ahead. 28 days of breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks delivered directly to your door! In this case, to my door!
Next my consultant talked to me about expectations of the programme and of myself. She said that the programme is designed by a dietician to help you lose weight steadily. Eating six times throughout the day maximises your metabolism and aids weight loss. She explained that each day on the menu was nutritionally balanced and so though you could do the days in any order to follow the programme correctly you had to reach all the foods from each day and not mix and match. She also advised taking a multi-vitamin supplement which I do anyway as I am breastfeeding the twins.
So how is the food? It is a diet after all even if it is part of a programme. The snacks are great. The best part of the diet by far. However, as my best friend pointed out to me there are actually similar amounts of calories in Wotsits and Quavers as there are in Jenny Craig Potato Snacks. The cereal bars are tasty, very similar to Special K bars in taste and calorie content. The chocolate wafers and digestive bars are great ways to feel naughty ad get that chocolate fix. So though the snacks are good I am not sure that cheaper, perhaps tastier alternatives cannot be bought as part of your usual weekly shop.
The meals themselves are fine. I supplemented mine with a lot of vegetables and chillies and this masked much of the taste. The foods do all taste quite similar with something of a faint after taste?? They were not horrible at all and I look forward to tasting more of the options next week but they were not what I would call bursting with flavour. I am certain that they are more than good enough if you are desperate to lose weight and have a lot to lose. They are actually very filling for the portion size given.
I have struggled with the diet this week as I have had a bad week with the twins and I am not sure that 1200 calories is enough when breastfeeding twins but with what I have done I have lost weight.
This morning I weighed 9 stone 8 pounds and I started the week at 9st11lbs. So one thing has to be said for Jenny Craig so far, it works, and if I had been following it religiously I think that it would have worked very well indeed.
One thing that I am certain of is that if I do not continue with this diet afte the 28 day trial I will definitely continue with the methodology particularly relating to portion sizes. I know now that though I eat very healthily I do eat far too much and this is why I was not able to lose the baby weight without this help.
I also feel that the available consultations and support are needed to make the initial weight loss a success and to help keep the weight off. At home I have my mother for support who just keeps feeding me biscuits!!
Anyway, onwards and upwards to next week when I have another consultation and a new menu to explore.
If you would like to find out more about this programme then you can visit their website by clicking the picture below.
