Morning Everyone! What kind of week have you all had? I hope you've all seen some great results this week. If you haven't had a great week, don't lose heart. Draw a line under the week and move on from it. Don't give yourself a hard time but most of all, don't give up! I'm pleased to say, I managed to lose the 2.5lb I gained last week. Although I still wasn't feeling great for a couple of days, I made sure I was eating my three meals a day so that my body didn't store fat.

After my gain last week, I thought about the reasons I became overweight and how unhappy I felt before I lost the weight. I wasn't eating properly and sometimes I wasn't eating anything all day which was having a really bad affect on my body. As I said last week, it was storing the fat as it didn't know where it's next meal was coming from. I'd then be so hungry that I would eat anything that was quick and easy but I would also eat to excess because I was so hungry. I was making myself ill. I am an emotional eater and used to eat when I was upset or stressed about something. As i was a teacher, the stress levels were dreadful so stress and emotional eating was a major problem for me.

If we are to lose weight and continue to keep it off, we need to be aware of our triggers that send us out of control. We can't avoid stress in our lives or emotional events either. I wish we could. We just need to be strong and stay in control. We have to recognise the times when we could lose the plot and find that inner strength to over come temptation. If you do cave in, don't give yourself a hard time as you're more likely to give up altogether. This next week will be a great test for me as it's going to be a very stressful week. I've planned ahead with my meals for the week but I also know those plans could easily fall apart due to circumstances that are out of my control. If I slip, I'm determined to get straight back on track. Would you crumble or get back on track at the first chance? Remember, we're going for gold! One of my favourite quotes is this one; "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain." Life will throw many unexpected things at us, we need to learn to take control of our life. While we're dancing in the rain, we can watch for the beautiful rainbow that will appear as the sun comes out.

Apple Betty

A lady asked me a couple of weeks ago for some ideas for those with a sweet tooth. I found this recipe on the Slimming World Website and thought I would try it when I get the chance. Let me know what you think of it when you try it.

Ingredients

340g/12oz eating apples
57g/2oz sultanas
8 eggs
42g artificial sweetener
2 tsp vanilla essence 
250g/9oz vanilla
Muller light yogurt
Pinch of cinnamon

Method

1. Peel, core and slice the apples. Place into a flan dish and sprinkle on the sultanas.

2. Beat the eggs with the artificial sweetener and vanilla essence. Add the Muller light yogurt and beat again.

3. Pour over the apples and sultanas (allowing the mixture to sink) and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cook in a moderate oven 190°C/Gas Mark 5 until set approximately 30 minutes.

4. Serve warm or cold with sweetened quark. (you could add a few drops of vanilla essence to the quark if you want) It's definitely a recipe I intend to try.

Have a great week and I'll hopefully see you lighter next week, Love Wendy