I know how important discipline is when I'm watching my ProPoints on a daily basis. If somebody offers me a plate of biscuits, I either refuse one, or if I know I have the points I'll look for the one with the lowest ProPoints value.
In order to have a 'balanced' diet, as we're constantly reminded to do, I think it's important to cut back on calorific food sometimes. It's easy enough to feel you need to reward yourself, weren't we rewarded with a sweet treat when we'd been well behaved as a child? "I've had a hard day at work and I've got a cold, I deserve a takeaway", "my head hurts I deserve a chocolate cake" and "this week has been tough, I'll open a bottle of wine". I think we can all say we're guilty of doing this from time to time. One thing I've found really helpful is to plan my ProPoints for the week, that way I don't tend to stray too far from them. Or if my husband suggests a takeaway I can look back at what I've planned to have and see if I have any weekly ProPoints that can take a hit!
This week I've been snowed in! We've had 7 days of constant snow and it's now so deep I can't get my car up the driveway without my Dad towing it up with his 4x4. So I can't really say I've been too affected by an overloaded environment in the sense that I can reach out and grab chocolate and pay for it within minutes.
What I have noticed however is how the foods I see on the television affect my hunger! This week my Mum and I have been watching "Great British Bake Off: Celebrity Comic Relief".
Now she hates sweet food; chocolate, cakes, biscuits (and the word hate is not an understatement). However even though we'd both eaten our dinner and felt satisfied, an hour later and whilst watching the programme the two of us found ourselves craving sweet food! I sat there saying "that's hedonic hunger for you!" My Mum usually fancies a biscuit once a month! So it really drew my attention to the fact that we'd both been driven by the sight of the food we saw on the television. My Weight Watchers app came in very useful as I found myself reaching for the biscuits! Luckily I had a number of Weight Watchers products to choose from and gave in to a rich toffee bar for 2 ProPoints and an After Eight Mint for 1 ProPoint.
The trouble with sweet treats and hedonic hunger is that it's usually something that catches you off guard. I was recently in Reading and as always when I'm in a city I like to visit Starbucks. My nearest Starbucks is about 70 miles away from where I live, so it's a city treat (weird I know!)
So there I am faced with the sugar laden coffee's and brownie/muffins on offer. But I chose not to look up or down, look straight ahead at the cashier and order a cup of tea. My treat was to have soya milk instead of dairy milk. Now and then I do like a change, so for me that was my "treat". I felt so smug and proud of myself as I sat with my soya tea! Of course I could have been heavenly and had a Peppermint, but I'd have felt a bit deprived!
This week my "space" has been the house and the house alone! Hugo (the dog) and I are getting a little cabin sick and we both want to get out for a walk! One good thing about this cold weather is the delicious soups and casseroles I can make. I tend to prefer a nice hot soup to a cold salad in this weather!
Chicken & Vegetable Soup
Beef Mince Casserole
Butternut Squash Soup & Twitter!
Chicken, rice & vegetable salad
Weight Watchers Ham Salad Sandwich
My routines this week have been to make sure I get PLENTY of sleep! I've somehow got into the habit of going to bed really late and waking up early, ultimately I feel tired all day! I find when I'm feeling tired I tend to reach for high calorie foods like biscuits. I'm feeling so much more alert and energetic since introducing this into my routines. Another contribution to this could be that I'm drinking a lot more water. I find this rather difficult however with the weather being so cold (although I am aware I could drink it warm). But what I've noticed is if I have a full glass of water next to me it's gone in no time! I'm surprised when I reach for an empty glass!
Next week I'm aiming to walk a lot more, it will benefit Hugo immensely too. Since his operation he's in need of regular walks.
I wanted to walk him this week, but I've had to clear areas of snow for him to walk on. He kept slipping over, which after his spinal surgery is not good! So unless I was prepared to clear the pavements of snow, we didn't dare. Luckily Mum & Dad have a few acres for him to wonder around and there's no chance of him escaping either because it's all fenced off. Hugo and I will get some fresh air & improve our exercise regime together!
