Time for an update on my Little Black Dress Challenge!
I didn’t want to post loads of progress reports on this, because personally I find them quite boring myself, but its now two weeks into my eight week challenge, so it seems about right to do one now.
Shops have started to put up their decorations, the temperature’s dropping and I’ve seen the Coca Cola Christmas ad, which can only mean the party season is fast approaching and it won’t be long before we all have to slip into those frocks and shine.
Think of this as a pre-emptive strike for all the empty calories you’ll be indulging in over the break.
I won’t be holding back then (I’m a firm believer that you should have whatever you want at Christmas!) so by doing this before the break, I can abandon myself to gluttony for a few days without feeling too terrible.
So, how did it go?
WEEK ONE
Got off to a flying start. I did much better on the diet front than I expected.
Every day, I used the MyPlate app to monitor my calorie intake, and something about being accountable for it really helped me stick to the plan and actually do better than I first thought.
I managed to overcome my boredom eating and really stick to my goals. My willpower is shaky at best so I was really impressed with myself!
My exercise was average, nothing earth shattering – just the standard walking in to the office, walking or running home, and then a couple of gym visits for good measure. I also did some training at home – sit-ups, lunges and that sort of thing.
It could have been better, I wasn’t absolutely caning it, but I know that 80% of weight loss is down to diet, and I was doing a bit, so I didn’t feel too bad.
To my great delight I lost three pounds, which was so much better than expected. I was hoping for one pound if I was lucky.
I normally find it really hard to get my weight down, even if I’m being really good so I was delighted. I actually felt lighter and trimmer around the middle, even if that was me imagining it.
A great confidence boost to know that my plan was working.
WEEK TWO
Unfortunately, last week I have to confess it all went wrong.
Its no excuse but things really kicked off with the house move and it all got incredibly stressful.
A couple of bad days turned into a bad week, and I didn’t stick to my diet plan.
I’m sort of an all or nothing kind of person, and sometimes that backfires, because when things start to slide I have a tendency to let them go rather than trying to turn it around.
I just seemed to be super-hungry all week. Normally, I can get to 11ish without feeling any twinges but I was literally waking up starving.
It was much harder than the previous week and I didn’t rise to the challenge at all!
I am very disappointed to say I put a pound back on.
Even the thought of getting into my LBD wasn’t working, and my motivation just disappeared.
LAST WEEK
Instead of giving up completely, I’ve decided to refocus and really give it my all now.
There are only a few weeks left in my plan (six weeks til Christmas itself – scary – and only four weeks until my parties start) so I need to get back on the wagon in a big way.
Everything I’ve been doing has been working well, I just need to keep at it. To give me a boost, I’ve decided to add on a few little extras:
LBD CHALLENGE PINTEREST BOARD
To keep my motivation up, I’ve updated my LBC Challenge Pinterest board with some fresh images of girls looking amazing in their LBDs.
My theory is that I can whip out my phone and have a look whenever I feel the urge to cheat on my diet.
A few pounds can make all the difference, after all.
SUPPLEMENTS
I’ve also added in a few supplements to turbo-charge my efforts and try and guard against energy slumps that attack my shaky willpower.
I don’t need much temptation after all. So I’m also using:
Optisana Vitamin C Effervescent Tablets
These give me a definite energy boost and help kick start me into drinking water throughout the day.
I’m weird with water, I know I don’t drink enough, but its almost like if I don’t have any, I don’t want any, whereas if I start the day with some, I get thirstier and drink more.
Having a vitamin c drink in the morning clears my head and starts me on enough fluids, plus its much needed protection against all the cold and flu germs going around at this time of year – after all, there’s no point getting slim for the party season if I’m going to be too ill to enjoy it!
YourTea Tiny Tea Detox
We were kindly gifted a 14 day ‘teatox’ kit at the blogging event I went to this weekend, so I thought I would add in the teas to my routine.
The teas contain a blend of herbs based on traditional Chinese medicine that are supposed to help your weight loss journey.
Its meant to increase energy levels, decrease bloating and speed the metabolism.
I must confess I’m a little sceptical, but at the very list its making you drink more water, which can only be positive. You drink three of the teas a day, one before each meal. I’ll be trialling them and reporting back!
Xenca Five A Day Plus
This is such a great company and they do a range of wellness supplements that are very good indeed.
I mentioned in my last post that I’ve been using their Collagen Capsules for a while, so I’m really excited to start this supplement as well.
Basically, this is going to absolutely super-charge my diet. It’s a powder that you add to water or fruit juice and it contains the equivalent of five portions of fruit and vegetables.
I like to think I eat a fair amount of the green stuff, but did you know five is the bare minimum and most health organisations recommend up to 20 portions a day?
I’m not even sure how you would do that, so this seems like a neat solution. Its claimed that this boosts energy, helps detoxify the body, and improves concentration.
It actually tastes pretty pleasant – green and fresh. It sort of tastes healthy, so you feel virtuous drinking it.
I’ll have to report back on how I find it. I like to think that when you’re limiting your calorie intake, this will go some way to ensuring that you aren’t missing out too much nutritionally.
Active T5 Fat Burning Supplements
These little capsules are supposed to help your body to burn fat more efficiently and help reduce your appetite, which I definitely need help with after last week’s downward spiral.
Of course, these things don’t work unless you are controlling your diet and exercising as well, but as I’m doing both I’m hoping they’ll just give me a helping hand to stay on the straight and narrow.
These are the best selling supplements in the UK, so hopefully that means people are coming back for more after finding them effective.
I actually bought these a while ago and forgot about them, but seeing as I’m having an extra push over the next two weeks, I dug them out again and here’s hoping they help.
That’s my little update. It will probably be a couple of weeks until my next one, then I’ll report back on how everything’s working.
What are you doing to prepare for the festive season? Any tips for me? Share them below!
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