Ready for a break!

Today was a good day eating-wise for me. I usually start my day with yogurt, golden syrup (or honey) with chia seeds and berries but I didn't want to open a pot of yogurt before leaving for the weekend so I had baked beans on wholemeal seeded toast. I wanted to make sure I didn't get too hungry in case I got stuck on one of the instruments at uni. I had packed wholemeal pasta with a tomato sauce and olives and two tangerines for a snack. Having planned out my dinner in advance, I knew I had enough room for a cookie! And I had sautéed potatoes and salad for dinner. That's more carbs than is recommended for a PCOS-friendly diet but I still stuck to my goal of under 2000 calories for the day. I also walked back and forth to uni, so I got over 10,000 steps on my pedometer.

I had a lot of upheaval with moving flats recently and I think the stress from that is what led to me overeating and getting up to around 145lbs. I'm closer to 143lbs now so that is progress and I feel back in control. That being said, I'm heading down to Manchester for a long weekend to visit a very good friend of mine! We will also meet up with another friend who will be letting me take my bridesmaid dress home with me so I can gauge when it will fit - that's right, it doesn't currently fit! I'm not getting hung up on sizes, but it would be helpful if sizes where more consistent across the board in order to obtain clothes that fit! Oh well, it is a very good motivation to drop some of these pounds before her wedding in March.

I don't plan to track my food this weekend. I know I will hop right back to it when I get back on Tuesday, and I will try to get in lots of walking and make smart choices for food. I know we will have some alcoholic beverages as well so I will try to drink nice and slowly and stick to gin and soda water when we are out. Here's hoping I come back lighter instead of heavier! :)

*It's what you do most of the time that matters*

A little about me...

My name is Amy, I currently live in Edinburgh (Scotland) and am a 31 year-old postgraduate student. On December 26th, 2012 I began my journey to health at 200lbs for a 5'1'' frame. I had spent most of my life uncomfortable in my body, struggling with PCOS, with no chemical solution. About 2.5 years on, I have lost 64lbs and regained 7lbs, am much happier and comfortable in my skin and still striving to make it into my healthy weight zone. I first joined Weight Watchers online and lost about 40lbs that way, then switched to free calorie counting with Spark People and have been with them ever since. I would attribute my success so far to slowly changing my habits, making little tweaks to lower calorie, healthier alternatives, and getting in at least 30 mins of exercise every day (mostly walking!). The Half Size Me podcast really helped to give me hope that change was possible, even for someone with PCOS who had been told since the age of 13 that I would struggle with weight. On that note, Tarryn has a very informative website at pcosdietsupport.com. I will link to all these sites when I figure out how!

I'm starting this blog as a way to hold myself accountable in my remaining weight loss journey, and hopefully interact with, inspire and support others who aspire to a healthier, more fulfilling life! Feel free to post comments and I will try to address any questions in future posts. I will also post photos as soon as I figure out how!

I will just sign off for tonight by saying that even if you have previously struggled to lose weight, it IS possible for you, if I can do it with my apparently "challenged" hormones then anyone can. I may not have reached my goal weight yet, but the difference in how I feel physically and feel about myself is night and day. It wasn't and isn't easy all the time, but it is possible.

I hope you'll follow me as I continue stepping out of the chrysalis!