It's my first year anniversary!

I have had a half lb gain this week which I'm very disappointed about as I have no idea where it's come from but I'm not going to dwell on it and I won't make excuses so it's a case of moving on and trying my best again next week.

I'm writing down everything I eat so that if I gain next week, my Consultant and I can see exactly where I'm going wrong and what's happening. I won't give up no matter how long it takes me to get to my target.

One thing that I do feel I need at the moment, is lots of support. I do stay to my group each week and it helps to talk to others who have also felt disheartened after a gain.

If you've had a gain, please don't give up. I know exactly how you feel and to be honest, I've got that fed up feeling as I type this.

The thing is, it would be so easy to give up but it would mean the past year had counted for nothing. I don't want to end up further down the line having gained all the weight I'd lost and a lot more besides.

I did get over the 7st mark and I will get back there and beyond but I have to keep plugging away at it. If only the weight would come off as easily as went on. If it did, we'd all be skinny Minnies by now. Let's keep going and hopefully we'll reap the rewards next week.

Summer Sun or Summer Washout?

I don't know about you but I'm fed up with the lack of nice weather this summer. I know we've had a few nice days but to be honest, I remember growing up when we as children, were able to play out in the garden all day, every day.

We had the occasional day of rain and the usual summer storm but it certainly wasn't like the weather we're having this year. When the weather is bad, I find that I want the warm comfort foods that we usually have in the winter. This week I'll be trying a new recipe that I found which sounds delicious.

Italian Style Beef Stew

Ingredients

1 Onion, sliced
1 Garlic Clove, sliced
Fry light Spray
300g pack of Beef Stir Fry Strips or Beef Steaks thinly sliced
1 Yellow Pepper deseeded and sliced
400g tin of Chopped Tomatoes
1 sprig of Rosemary chopped
8 pitted Olives. (You can use whole baby Mushrooms if you don't like olives)
1 Packet of Golden Vegetable Rice (Or potato mashed with a stock cube)

Method

1. In a large saucepan, cook the garlic and onion with the fry light until softened and turning golden.

2. Add the beef, rosemary, pepper and tomatoes, (include the mushrooms at this point if using them instead of olives) then bring to the boil.

3. Simmer for 15 mins until the beef is thoroughly cooked (add some boiling water if needed)

4. Prepare the Golden Rice or potatoes depending on what you want to serve it with

5. Stir through the olives and serve with the golden rice or mashed potatoes.

If you get to try it, let me know what you think of it. I must say, I can't wait to tuck into it and the way the weather is at the moment, I'll be having mine with mashed potatoes.

To mash them, I'll be adding a little bit of low fat fromage frais with chives and garlic. Comforting but fantastically low in fat and calories.You could even finish off the meal with the strawberry cake recipe I added last week.

All that's left for me to say is, have a great week and I'll hopefully see you lighter next week,

Love Wendy xxx