We returned to London on Monday evening of this week, after a nice weekend away, so it was a short week this week. I was a bit worried about jumping back on the scales, as I'd eaten way above my calorie allowance on most days we were away, so I was expecting a weight gain. I was surprised to find my weight had gone down, but it has subsequently gone up again a little.
I think sometimes, that giving your body a couple of days' rest from a disciplined routine of low calorie eating, often does have positive effects. It seems to be the case in my experience. I'm not sure if it was the cold weather that made me want to eat more, but I'm glad it didn't have too much of a negative effect on all my weight loss efforts. I'm now back to trying to stick to my calorie deficit and to continue exercising and on Tuesday, I managed to get to one of my favourite classes again, after a two week absence due to work committments. I was very happy to get back to it and I could try out my new trainers for the first time too.
After the class, I needed to go and do the weekly shop at Lidl and get a few extra bits from Tesco. The allotment has finished providing us with food, so it's back to buying salad items every week. We had a good summer of not needing to buy them and we've still got lots of vegetables in the freezer to use in soups, casseroles, sauces, etc. and some beetroot to pickle.
This last couple of weeks and going forward, I'm focusing on eating down the freezer, so that I have space and can start to buy food for Xmas over the coming weeks.
Job hunting in the lead up to Xmas, hasn't been very successful and I'm beginning to think it might be a better idea to take a complete break from working this Christmas, so that we can travel up to Yorkshire and visit family for the first time in a number of years. OH's father is becoming increasingly frail, and who knows how many more Christmases he'll experience, so it's probably a good time and reason to do this.
OH actually booked us some accommodation in Yorkshire for Christmas this week, which has made the decision more definite. There was already very little left, so we thought it best to book something now. We'll see what happens, we can still cancel without cost if I do get a job, but it has actually put me off looking. I love working in retail in the lead up to Xmas, but it is very restrictive in terms of being able to get away to visit family over the festive period. If I can find a compromise, that would be ideal, but I don't know if this will be possible.
Anyway, this week, I'm enjoying myself staying cosy at home, especially when the weather outside is horrible, working on the binding of the navy quilt and not really thinking too much about finding a job. I just need a break from putting myself under pressure to find one.
In an attempt to be frugal this week, I pickled some beetroot and red salad onions this week to put in my salads. I also tried something called Konjac rice for the first time, which is super low in calories, but it didn't really taste like rice to me as it tasted very gelatinous. I didn't enjoy it, so I probably won't eat it again. Sometimes more calorific food is better, but you have to try these things to realise it.
A bit later in the week, I got a nice surprise, when I got paid for some temp work I did in September. I ended up getting nearly £200 more than I thought. I did go back and check that the number of hours worked was correct and it was. I think I'd just undercalculated how much I was owed. The overage was in part due to the fact that I'd been given holiday pay, which is pretty generous of the employer, considering I'm a just a temp. It's probably a legal requirement, but an extra £70 due to this alone was very welcome. This has put my mind at rest a little, as I will now have enough money to see me through to Xmas. The money I earned a couple of weeks ago will be paid to me in November, so combining these payments, I feel a lot less pressured financially now, but I will still have to spend money wisely for the forseeable.
It has been an expensive month this month so far, what with an 18th birthday gift, an engagement gift and starting to buy Xmas presents. From now on though, it should be just Xmas and maybe part of LB's 21st birthday in January to buy for, but for the minute, I'm trying not to spend any money at all, save for on groceries. Xmas shopping can wait, until I get a list from LB of exactly what she would like.
On Friday night, I finally finished binding the navy quilt for LB's bed, whilst watching a movie with OH. I will post a picture on a separate quilting update post. It felt very satisfying to finally get it finished, just in time for colder weather, although LB is not currently here to use it.
The week ended on a positive note when I went to my usual free gym session, which I enjoyed and then had a protein filled brunch. My weight had hit a new low in the morning, but I don't expect it to stay this low, as there appears to be a pattern of it dipping then going up a little again, and this repeats constantly, with my weight very slowly and gradually coming down. In the last month or so, I've started to plot it on a graph, so I know what to expect. I weigh myself daily to desensitise myself to fluctuations. Here's a picture of the graph:
I love the way you are charting your weight loss. That is a great idea. I agree that not looking for a job over the festive season so you can visit family is just the right thing for you to do at this time.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.