Saturday, 18-09-21 and a ponder

 Good morning.
It was a maintain at SW yesterday.   I'm OK with it as there's a definite pattern to all of this - three losses and then a maintain.  I can live with that quite happily as long as the overall trend is down.
It can't be period/hormone related as I'm way too old, it is just One Of Those Things.  And it's not just my imagination as Jen noticed too and commented on it in group.

I've been pondering my 'treat meals' and whether they are effective, coming to a few conclusions.

During the week, from time to time, I have strong urges to overeat on certain kinds of food that are not healthy, not good for me and certainly would create an unwanted weight gain if I gave in to them each time. However, I can tell myself that if - IF - I still fancy it on Friday evening, then I can have it.  Just on Friday evening, not any other time.
Of course, by the time Friday comes along, most of those urges have died a natural death and there are just one or two that remain.  Some I can incorporate into my Friday dinner while some I have as extras.

While it would be wonderful to eat well and healthily all the time - every day, every single meal - realistically that simply isn't going to happen, is it?  This way, it is just one meal a week.  A big meal, sure, but just one out of twenty one, 5%.  That's a price worth paying for a way to deal with those other urges/cravings that just do crop up from time to time.

Yes, it probably is slowing down my weight loss but not by all that much really.  I know that might sound odd given the maintain this week, but it is a strategy that works on different levels.  It takes away the 'guilt' that seems to come if I'm not very alert and aware and guilt is very destructive.

And if it is planned and taken with my permission, it isn't out of control; it's a strategy that, right now, is working for me.

Now it is back to Slimming World principles backed up with knowledge of calories for the next twenty meals!  :-)

What do you do to control and contain your eating?

Yesterday's photos:

These went down an absolute treat.  Pancakes with some crushed raspberries (they got squidged in the fridge) mixed in, more raspberries mixed with some 0% yogurt and a few strawberries to garnish.  Oh, and The Sauce!!
Ooooh, it was tasty!

My tomato and red pepper soup is really nice but not terribly filling on its own.  However, with some added chicken, it was lovely and satisfying.  I finished off with an apple and an easy peeler.

You will have gathered from the waffle above, however, that dinner didn't go according to plan.  In fact, by the time I'd enjoyed those few 'extras', I didn't fancy a big meal so didn't have it.  One good thing is that I just can't eat as much as I used to be able to manage.
That's OK - I'm good with that.

The chips (which I had already prepped) and the fish won't go to waste though.  See dinner today, all SW-happy!

Today's plans:

B:  tomatoes on toast

I'm still working through the garden tomatoes so breakfast will be a tomato overdose!   I love them slow fried with just some spray oil and a little pinch of garlic granules until they are all thick and unctuous.  Nicer with a good dollop of bacon fat but we can't have everything!  Delicious!
I will spray one side of the bread before toasting - that way, it doesn't go soggy when I put the tomatoes on

SW:  half a healthy extra B for one slice of toast

L:  bean and veg couscous salad; fruit
I saw this (or something similar) on Tracy Mouse's vlog.  Look it up, it's great - no gimmicks or flashiness, just a lovely lady vlogging about her journey, first to lose weight and now to maintain.  Here's the link to her channel but not to the specific vlog:   https://www.youtube.com/c/tracymouse/videos

This is what I intend to do.
First rehydrate some couscous in some chicken stock.
While that's going on, chop onion, pepper, baby corn, cucumber, radishes and tomatoes in spray oil.

Rinse some mixed pulses - I bought a couple of cans from Aldi on Thursday
Taste the couscous and season, if necessary.  Mix the beans and veg into the couscous and serve on a bed of leaves with dressing of choice - I will use some balsamic vinegar, I think.

SW:  assuming the dressing is SW free, this should be no syns, otherwise count the syns for the dressing.

D:  fish and chips, corn on the cob; chocolate apple yogurt

More or less what I had planned to have yesterday, as far as the main course is concerned anyway.
Yesterday, I stewed some cooking apples.  Instead of sugar, I added some butterscotch skinny syrup and a quarter tsp of my apple pie spice mix (another idea I got from Tracy Mouse) and it's absolutely delicious, it really is.  As I didn't have what I'd planned for dessert yesterday, I think I will layer it with some natural yogurt, maybe flavoured with something, and have a drizzle of the chocolate and orange sauce on top.  Sounds nice, doesn't it?

SW:  the cod is ten and a half syns (which is fair enough) and just under 300 calories.  The chips and the corn are both free.
According to SW, one should syn cooked fruit but I don't.  However, for some reason, stewed apple is on the healthy extra B list so I will call it the other half of my B choice today.
The sauce will be two syns for 10 mls

E:  Not sure but I will probably do some work on the exercise bike and some of the core exercises I was given at PT last Wednesday.

Summary:

no healthy extra As today

one healthy extra B

twelve and a half syns