Stop the grazing. Look aMAYzing. Slenderistas spring into action to lose 7lbs in May

[BitOutOfPractice]

May the force of the Linda be with you as we aim for 7lbs off in a month

Here's a link to the April thread

Niki you sound a bit more positive today and that's wonderful to see.

Do you feel like sharing some goals with us. We may be able to use the hive mind to come up with some ideas to get you going.

I've just been perusing the salads in M&S. you know the posh ones already made up. Blimey the Calories in some of them are outrageous. 500+ some of them!

I caught my self snaffling on Sunday, Low carb crackers, yummy and so moreish but pretty calorific! I was halfway through my 5th one, and I thought "No! I shouldn't be doing this" so I spat the whole mouthful, probs 2.5 crackers in the bin

Do you feel like sharing some goals with us. We may be able to use the hive mind to come up with some ideas to get you going.

I want all the things I had a few years ago but then lost.

Job Im happy in, nice guy, home, enough money to do holidays. I had it all once and I was complacent about it and it now seems miraculous.

I have achieved a goal already which is to lose a reasonable amount of weight.

One of the PTs is running a fitness and cultural holiday abroad. It leaves at the end of the month. I can afford it if I raid my savings or I have a 0% offer on a credit card.

🤔

TV I'm not a darts fan but watching it live looks so much fun - I'm rather jealous

KOKO, look on the bright side - it was a chunk of egg, not a whole egg!! Easily fixed by being extra good for the rest of the day :)

Niki, that certainly sounds tempting. What will it involve?

Beyond Im not actually sure. It all seems a bit vague. But it's £600 for the trip including all excursions and food. Flight is about £400.

Maybe today's mini aim could be to look into it? :)

A little break can never fail to perk up your mood

Do it Niki! You have one life, grab every opportunity that comes your way!

Having a party on Saturday for Eurovision, can anyone think of good easy veggie finger foods? - European twist good but not essential!

Currently serving
Swedish meatballs on skewers
mini chicken kievs
pitta and trio of dips

Pampushky - Ukrainian mini doughnuts
Cupcakes
European biscuit selection
bucks fizz jelly shots

plus nuts olives pretzels etc

Hosting for 14 and there are 3 other veggies plus myself, so need to think of something!

Cocktail menu needs a eye cast over it too.

Niki those are big goals. I think you'd be more likely to succeed and stay motivated if you broke it down into smaller things. E.g. Re the job 1. Get xyz qualification, join an industry body for networking etc.

Hairspray for a modern twist on cheese and pineapple on sticks try a mini mozzarella bell, a basil leaf and a cherry tomato. An insalata tricolore on a stick. Really yummy and easy and colourful. And Italian.

The holiday sounds great btw

Ooh! I love that Boop plus diet friendly-ish
DP has just suggested mini frittata, so I think we are all good to go!

You're right will seriously consider holiday but have to decide now. it leaves in less than 3 weeks.

We did them for mom's party and they looked so pretty and went down well. Apart from with my mom who didn't have one as she was worried it would be spicy

Still plodding along here. Aiming for about 1500 calories today (i.e. Maintenance calories minus a bit)

Niki I think Boop is right, breaking down your goals into manageable chunks is key. In my work we do a lot of self-reflection and goal-setting and we use something called the SMART format. The idea is that to give yourself the best chance of succeeding at your goal, it should be:

S: specific (what exactly do you want to achieve?)
M: measurable (how will you know that you have achieved your goal?)
A: attainable (is the goal realistic?)
R: relevant (is the goal worthwhile?)
T: time-bound (when do you want to have achieved this by?)

It sounds a bit woolly but it's supposed to stop you from setting unrealistic goals and becoming disheartened when you can't immediately achieve them.

Hairspray that all sounds really yummy!

That sounds terrifying Arch! Thank goodness he turned up unharmed. Hope you treated yourself to that medicinal gin!

I was about to suggest the tricolore on a stick too for a veggie canapé!

I am having a party on Saturday with two veggies + my mum who is almost entirely veggie, and I'm making little puff pastry cheese bites and baked arancini.

koko I've done that before too, it's extraordinary isn't it! But as Beyond says, it's amazing progress in itself to be freaking out over a mouthful of chocolate, when if you're anything like me, a while ago you'd have mindlessly chomped through the whole egg before the guilt set in (if it even did)

TV you're only 3 Lindas from your initial goal weight, you're doing amazingly! How's the running coming along? The 10K is soon isn't it? A burst of training might tip you over the edge?

Archie I can only imagine how scary that must've been - it's bad enough in a city park, let alone a big open space with dangerous creatures around I'd have hit the gin hard and instantly.

DH is out tonight so definitely another golden day here. I'm going to make him some lunch while I'm making my own, so that I don't have another rerun of last night...

I'm so proud of everyone smashing it this month - you're all doing so brilliantly!

Hairspray I am so making those peppers next week, they look fantastic! We want to eat more vegetarian food, so that's a great shout!

Any guidance on what colour pepper works best? People always seem to use red peppers for stuffed peppers, is that just because they're the nicest?

Just had lunch - paneer and coconut curry. Yum.

One portion for tomorrow and four portions ready to go in the freezer 😇

Talking of veggie food I've just read (on here) that the Hairy Dieters are bringing out a veggie recipe book. I am so excited it's ridiculous. Those boys are gods chez BOOP

Falafel for veggie food? Goes with your dips etc but gives a bit more substance for the veggies?

My mum is making lamb cooked dinner - I'm taking veggie sausages and not having potatoes 😫

Red or Yellow Quimas they are much sweeter.

Nigella says green peppers should only ever be used by the Hungarians in goulash... I wouldn't go quite that far as I like them chopped very small in tuna mayo!

I did think falafel, but I love it so much I would hoover it up in seconds I was trying to keep it mostly low carb until the desserts so I didn't just gorge on bread like I did at my dinner party.

I think I'll do two types of "Salad on a Stick" one tricolore and one greek - cucumber, feta tomato maybe a little slice of spring onion.

I love hosting parties I get very excited

I've put 1lb back on

Hairspray that's hilarious I like them in stir fries personally.

Green peppers taste like grass - I'm with nigella!

I'm definitely with Nigella on the green pepper issue too

Quim - 10k on Sunday, still only done one 5k run....

I think I will run as long as possible then walk/jog to finish, this will be my worst time ever but I'm telling myself its 6 miles of exercise I wouldn't do on a Sunday morning normally.

The big worry is a half marathon on the horizon at end of summer...eek