A Right Pain in the Grass

I've found a new & very organic way of exercising. Gardening. Honest to goodness, after my very green, very energetic weekend of battling with the lawn my bum, thigh and arm muscles feel like I've climbed Kilimanjaro. It was, by no means, low effort, high impact (my favourite type of exercise) but it was most certainly effective. I'd recommend it if you are a glutton for punishment.

What you need:

Being Mrs Muscle

So, as well as having a quasi obsessive interest in my weight I'm also semi OCD about cleanliness in my flat. Fun ey? Just spare a thought for my boyfriend.

When I lived at home, my mum was always a complete tyrant when it came to picking knickers off the floor, organising the dishwasher in a very specific manner and plumping the sofa cushions...even when someone was sitting on them. And whilst I rebelled at the time, now I have my own flat, home doesn't feel like home unless there's a faint whiff of Jif in the air.

New balls please

Last week I was a bit lax with my exercise routine and finished the week with a massive night out during which I drank an entire bottle of wine. The day after it was weigh-in day and, as it was also Election Day (shake head as you note which is first in my order of importance), I headed down to the polling station. My altered state of consciousness (read heavy, horrid hangover) led me to stand for 20 minutes in the wrong borough’s polling station before realising that I live in Camden, and the residents of Brent really didn’t care about my political inclination. Stumbling over to the correct side of the road I mused regrettably about how easily I was swayed to neck that bottle and to stray from my well-thought-out slimming plan.

Not so porky pork

A fave of mine for Sunday lunch is the following recipe for Marinated Pork Tenderloin on a bed of apples. It's really delicious &, obviously, a relatively low fat option. I've worked it out at about 6 WW points plus another 2 for the potatoes

It's the endorph the world as we know it

It has been said again and again that exercise is a fantastic way to cure the blues and, to be fair, for the most part that has been my experience. It's not such a struggle to get myself upright in the morning, I'm more proactive when it comes to menial tasks such as hoovering and polishing, and even more lively with less menial tasks, like my job.

Sushi's All That

J & I had a couple of friends over & I, true to form, wanted to make something low fat - something that wouldn't wreck my dedication to 'the cause'. Luckily for me, J is the King Prawn of sushi making - in my completely unbiased opinion, his Nigiri puts Pret, Boots, Marks' & even Yo to shame. AND it's a relatively low cal option.

KickaBoxa Glory

Never have I felt more feminine as when I came out of my first kickboxing class last Friday. This, as you can probably imagine, is not the intended result. However, as perhaps anticipated, I kick (and punch, and lunge, and thrust, and jab etc...) like a big girl’s blouse.

Et in Virgin Active Ego

Firstly I have to say that, having been a dedicated (albeit largely absent) member of Fitness First for about 5 years, walking into Virgin Active was like stepping into some sort of fitness enthusiast’s Arcadian dream. Situated on the top floor of Oxford Street’s Plaza, my NFP (New Favourite Place), and the home of the Latino craze ‘Zumba’ is bright, clean and contains more changing rooms than you can shake a maraca at.

Low Fat Thai Chicken

A little suggestion for some low fat munching is the following recipe for Thai Fish Sauce & Lime Chicken which I found on tinternet a while ago and have since adapted to make a quick, easy and delicious meal. If you're following Weight Watchers, this will add up to 5 points (6.5 with the rice) and if you're calorie counting it's approximately 520 calories.

Flower Power for the twenty first century...

One of my biggest problems is that, when it comes to food & booze, I have real issues with saying no. Even when I have the best of intentions, I end up proffering my plate or glass and uttering those immortal words "ooo, go on then, just one more..."

The thought that an holistic remedy might harness and control my will power might be a bit airy fairy for some but, for the sake of my waist-line, I'm willing to give it a shot.