Honestly, I expected this week to be a total disaster. Planning out my meals for the week was terrifying enough, but then to be faced with newly stocked cupboards full of ingredients I had no idea what to do with was something else entirely. I've never embarked on a weight loss programme before that required me to eat real food (aside from a rather pathetic attempt at Slimming World when I was 17) so I couldn't gauge quite how I'd take to it. It turns out that - yet again - I surprised myself by actually rising to the challenge and not really having any real problems. It'd be nice if I could start having faith in myself at some point as this self-doubt is completely ridiculous!
(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.instagram.com/dallasclayton)
I'm sure I've touched upon it before, but I'm a terrible cook. However, as I'm sure everyone's aware, I love to bake. Whether I'm baking a cake I've made a hundred times before and could do blindfolded, or leaping out of my comfort zone and trying something I've never heard of, I am completely unflappable and filled with an unshakable confidence. I know that no matter what happens I can (and will) make it work and the end result won't be too much of a disaster as long as I trust my instincts. On the other hand, cooking is something else entirely: I have no instincts, so I panic, flap and generally burn / undercook / completely ruin everything I try. That's not to say I lived off ready meals and takeaways at university (I genuinely never bought any, mainly as I was too embarrassed to be seen buying them...). I mastered the art of steaming vegetables and cooking meat/fish en papillote to such an extent that I could write a book on it. Anything more advanced than that, though, is well beyond my capabilities.
(GIF SOURCED FROM www.buzzfeed.com)
This time last week I would have put money on me being so out of my depth in the kitchen that by the weekend I'd be in the throes of a full meltdown, and that my mum had swept in to save the day. I feel quite smug now in saying that this hasn't happened. Not at all. Aside from a few tense moments when hot coconut oil spat onto my hand and I nearly dropped everything; I've handled this cooking malarky pretty well indeed. I knew I'd be fine with things like scrambled eggs and omelettes - I'm not that much of a novice - but I've made the likes of Thai Green Curry, Teriyaki Salmon, Thai Beef Stir Fry and Salmon Fishcakes from scratch and they worked! More than that, they tasted amazing. I've spent most of the week sending endless excited snapchats of food I never thought I'd be able to make and being completely blown away by my success. I could never have predicted that I'd be breezing through like this. Who am I?!
It's because I've somehow taken to the cooking that I think the rest of the plan is going so well. The meals are massive - I have to eat most of them in two sittings as they don't fit on a dinner plate - so I'm not remotely hungry during the day and thus have no desire to cheat and grab something off plan. I think I'm finally getting to grips with the portions, although I am concerned that I'm going to start looking like spinach soon as I seem to get through a bag a day. Constantly having the spinach sweats is exhausting.
Plus, the HIIT workouts are growing on me. I hated them at first as I didn't feel like I was really doing anything: the BBG seemed to push me more and I'd grown to really look forward to the circuits (again, who am I?!). I've persevered though, and now match Joe rep/step for rep/step (?) in this video and feel the effects of it. I'm on the lookout for another one as I'm a little bored of this combination of burpees and mountain climbers now, so any YouTube recommendations would be appreciated! I've also started walking again - mainly as I'd fallen behind with my film podcasts... - and love it, so I'm not prepared to give that up. All in all, it's pretty positive.
(GIF SOURCED FROM www.buzzfeed.com)
As far as first weeks go, I'd say this is comparable to my first week on LighterLife in terms of success. I may have put on 2lbs, but my clothes are looser, my ribs more prominent and my fitness levels are better. No complaints from me here!
No comments:
Post a Comment