This is my penultimate week of Stoptober, but technically my last full week of doing it. I’m off work both this week and next week, so I thought it would be interesting to see what effect that had on my Stoptober goals!

Monday – I can’t tell you how pleased I was to be off this day… and the whole week really. However as I was wanting to apply for a new job, I actually spent majority of the day procrastinating and avoiding actually doing it. Though I did quite a lot of blog stuff, I do feel like I let myself down on the being organised aspect, but in the end – even if it was 8pm till 11pm at night, I did get my CV and cover letter all completed. With regards to food, I was pretty good. I had toast for lunch and chicken korma with the girls for dinner. Even when Chris came home from work and had a glass of wine, I didn’t – though I published my post on Sunday before admitting to having a glass of wine that night!

Tuesday – Another great day that felt very positive. I’d sent over my CV and cover letter to my mum who was on holiday, for her to read. I woke up to a lovely email from her, telling me she’d hire me without even interviewing me, just from reading my cover letter. That felt very good and while I’m sure she’s a bit biased, she’s also a big critic too. The day then just continued to get better with a card waiting for me downstairs from Chris (as we’d been together 2 years), a lovely Lush bath with a cup of tea after I’d taken the girls to school and then an unexpected surprise of fitting into my size 14 jeans! With regards to eating – I wasn’t especially good but I always knew I’d be breaking all the rules on this day, especially with Chris and I going out for dinner. When I popped into Chris’ work in the morning, I pinched two segments of his chocolate orange. We later went out to the cinema but we resisted the lures of popcorn, knowing we were going for dinner afterwards. We went to the Handmade Burger Company and I had a cheese and bacon burger, while Chris had a peppered burger with extra cheese. We also ordered chips and onion rings. I did have all of the above but I stopped as soon as I started to feel full though. On top of that I had a bottle of apple cider, breaking yet more “stops”. Otherwise I was very behaved!

Wednesday – As always, Wednesday was Weight Loss Wednesday day and I was REALLY pleased to have actually lost 2lb this week instead of 1. With squeezing back into a pair of size 14 jeans the day before it was just the reward I needed. I finally handed my application form in for the job I was wanting so that actually felt like a weight off my mind. Sadly I didn’t hear anything back all day – which I wasn’t really surprised about but it would have been nice. I spent the majority of the day with Nat at my house, we had salad for lunch and then were a little naughty when cakes and tea arrived in a huge box that we just HAD to try. However for dinner I just had a fried egg sandwich and other than lots of tea, that’s really all I had all day.

Thursday – What I didn’t mention for Wednesday, is that I was going to go in to town, mainly to go shopping to Primark. However at the last minute I changed my mind with the option to postpone to Thursday. In the end I realised that I really couldn’t afford it so cancelled altogether. While it isn’t exactly the same as my spending ban, I am being conscious of not spending money I don’t have. As well as that, Nat and I spent yet another constructive day together. We had salad for lunch and then later I took Lily to Pizza Hut but only had 3 slices and a diet pepsi. Otherwise it was a fairly uneventful day!

Friday – This was the first day of our weekend away. It was a crazy mad morning (largely down to a busy week and lack of organisation… my bad) but eventually we got off and on our way. For lunch we’d taken a pack up, but we did also stop for Costa Coffee on the way. In the evening I had Scampi and chips so while it wasn’t a BAD day, it wasn’t great either. I also managed 6000 steps so I guess that helped work some of it off!

Saturday – We spent the whole day Saturday in Edinburgh. We headed to the castle, then we walked around shopping. We had lunch at The Elephant House which was just a panini and we had dinner at Hard Rock Cafe which was burger and chips. I don’t imagine any of it was particularly healthy but the 17000 steps definitely made me feel a little better about it! Spending wise… well let’s just say it was an expensive weekend that wasn’t aided by eating out, a trip to the Disney Store and a pop into Lush!

Sunday – This final day of our holiday felt fairly organised. We were up early as we didn’t benefit from the extra hour in bed and so all four of us showered and got packed straight away. Chris nipped to McDonalds to get us breakfast but I only had one McMuffin (that’s good for me, I assure you!) and then we packed up the car and headed to Amy’s. For lunch we went to Wetherspoon’s and I had a Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich and a few chips. The cheese didn’t actually come on it and wasn’t very nice either, so I convinced myself that was a saving of a few calories haha! We then drove home but we did stop for coffee again on the way back. That said, I didn’t eat any dinner when I got home as I was still full from lunch.

It’s not been a cheap week, but it was also expected as the first week of my half term. Hopefully next week won’t be too bad, though I know it won’t be that cheap either. Unfortunately I haven’t felt very organised this week and don’t seem to have got on with half of the things I’ve wanted to do. That said I have been on top of my blog all week so small victories right?

Monday – Dreary weather again and the week felt like it was off to yet another slow start. This was to be my last week of work before two weeks off and so while its definitely feeling near, its just not near enough! At work I had a tiny bit of lemon cake (again for trying purposes) and otherwise I was pretty good. I did have about 6 sausages at lunch time but they were only small and in the end I didn’t have much dinner. That wasn’t helped by Chris mind you as he offered takeaway AGAIN and I had to resist. The evening was fairly constructive, a mixture of getting blog posts done and relaxing, but then Chris and I had an early night as unfortunately the miserable weather definitely has a way of making you feel tired!

Tuesday -This week was dragging, no lie. I’m sure its because I was so desperate to finish work, but waking up Tuesday morning I was filled with “how is it only Tuesday?” thoughts. The weather was miserable yet again and this also gave a tired feeling. I’m starting to really hate British weather! Anyway, I managed not to cheat at all today. There were no cakes, no chocolate, no nothing – despite making chocolate brownies at work again. I had a very light lunch of two rolls and some coleslaw, followed by a bacon butty for dinner. The evening was spent getting organised – writing up a blog post, replying to several outstanding emails – but also having a bath. I was itching to get back to my sewing still but I also knew there were other more important things to do first!

Wednesday – A rush to get up and get off, but thankfully not a stressful one. Megan and Lily were both feeling organised so perhaps its rubbing off? A stressful day at work meant that I almost gave in to cake, however I took one bite and realised I really didn’t want it – actually spitting it out. Otherwise it was a very positive day with a weight loss for my weigh-in and good food/dieting all day. The evening was spent with a headache though unfortunately, but I still felt fairly productive with the things I did.

Thursday – I had a rough day emotionally but luckily that didn’t seem to effect my eating. I didn’t break any of the rules, even though I could happily have drunk my way through a bottle of wine and munched through a chocolate bar. I had a fairly relaxed evening, where I concentrated on online stuff, but also watched TV and finished reading my latest book – Insurgent.

Friday – This was my last day at work for a couple of weeks and honestly it couldn’t come soon enough. The whole week felt like it dragged so I’m glad I’ve been on this positivity kick or else I might have fallen apart. I was good with pretty much everything – but while it doesn’t break the rules technically – I did succumb to three pieces of flapjack at lunchtime and another two on the way home! Tut tut, I know! However I did bring a bottle of wine home with me from my mum’s and didn’t touch it, so that’s something to be proud of. Majority of the evening was spent cooking or making a cake but I did manage a little bit of sewing for the first time all week.

Saturday – This was a good day. I had work to do on the cake I’d started the night before, but I didn’t have any of it while I was. Even when we took it to Chris’ Gran, I didn’t even have a slice. We came home to have lunch and I just had sandwiches, while later that evening I just had mushrooms on toast. While I did have a sip of wine (Chris had a glass when he got home) I was otherwise good all day. I also felt very organised – starting on a new sewing project and also helping Megan with a writing project we’re both starting on soon.

Sunday -For lunch I had a salad from Morrisons and for dinner I just had three slices of pizza that the girls left from their dinner. The rest of the day was spent with the kids – catching up on TV, going out and doing the food shop for the week and doing some sewing. I also got on top of all my blog posts for the week so I could concentrate on other things during the actual week.

Overall I’m feeling even more positive than I was at the start of the month. There were hard days, especially during the week with work, but now – at the end of my work week and the beginning of my two week break – I’m feeling more positive than ever. I just hope it continues on till the end of the month!

As for the kids, they’re doing great too. You might remember from my original post that they both wanted to participate in Stoptober. Megan gave up sweets altogether, while Lily gave up sweets after dinner, as snacks etc. Both girls have done so well and are really sticking to it. They have a calendar in their room which they tick every day and I also allow them to move one spot up the reward chart for every day they successfully complete. Also, overall, at the end of the month – I’ll give them £10 if they manage for the whole 31 days. I’m very proud of them both.

It’s the second week of my Stoptober and strangely I’m still feeling quite motivated (though realistically not as much as the first week). Sadly the weather wasn’t helping, with two days of solid rain at the beginning of the week and then on and off rain for the rest of the week.

Monday – The beginning of the week and I was back to feeling motivated. I’d spent Sunday night getting organised so I jumped into the week – ready to go! I had no trouble sticking to all my “stops” on Monday and I was incredibly grateful there was nothing at work to tempt me! I spent the evening finishing off a dress I’d been working on (I managed to get to Boyes for more material after work), before my brother came around and we caught up on TV. Constructive of sorts at least.

Tuesday – Work had banana cake which was both great and awful. Great because I don’t like it and therefore didn’t eat it – and awful because, well I don’t like it! With it being the second day of rain and quite a busy/crazy day to boot, I was feeling quite tired by the time I got home. I genuinely think that this is the first day (7 days in) that I would have considered takeaway. However, while the idea occurred to me, it was never actually a consideration – even when Chris and I went to the freezer and cupboards to find there wasn’t really anything. Instead I just rallied and threw some pasta bake into the oven. It was easy and I could walk away while I got on with other things. The evening I spent writing a few blog posts, so that I knew I could have a night or two away from my computer!

Wednesday –  This was both a good day and a bad day. Wednesday means weigh in and this week I lost one pound. I’ll admit I was actually a little disappointed because I thought I’d done incredibly well to have none of the bad things I would usually had – especially takeaway. However I didn’t take it as an actual knock, instead I just let it motivate me more. It was passion cake at work (which has bananas in it) so that was no temptation and I managed to be good all day. The evening I spent sewing, sorting out my Disney account (for our dining reservations) and replacing a whole light fitting in the lounge (don’t ask!). It was very productive and that’s the main thing.

Thursday – I woke up feeling ill which wasn’t a great start to the day but did at least subdue my hunger for the day. I had a biscuit with my tea at work but otherwise everything I ate was pretty healthy – including the soup I had for dinner. Sadly though, I was clean out of energy by the evening so the only constructive thing I could do was have a bath and relax for the evening.

Friday – At work I had to sandwich together some brownie mix I’d made the week before and had frozen. I will admit to eating some of it (breaking both the chocolate and possibly cake? rules) however it really was just to try it and honesty it was quite sickly so I didn’t eat much. I did later have to try a bit of ginger cake but didn’t manage more than a mouthful as my tastebuds were so gone with having a cold that it was totally pointless. That night when I got home from work, I was really exhausted and still not feeling well. Chris offered takeaway and I refused – which I felt very proud of. In the end he made himself spaghetti bolognaise and offered me a bacon buttie which I accepted. After finding some energy, I managed to finish off the first “princess dress” of many, making me feel more motivated towards the others.

Saturday -The kids were at mums so Chris and I had our first lie-in, in forever. While it seemed a little lazy (and the opposite of what I am trying to achieve), it also felt much needed so I just tried to relax and enjoy it instead of worrying too much and getting up. When we did eventually get out of bed, I carried on sewing and finishing off the next dress so again I felt productive. I also put on some washing as there was quite a bit to crack on with. Lunch I was a LOT bit naughty as Chris offered Burger King and after some persuasion I agreed. While technically takeaway, it also wasn’t really what I meant when I said cutting out takeaway, however the tiny bit I did have came to over 1000 calories! Luckily dinner was light as I only had soup and the rest of my day was very productive with regards to sewing dresses – completing number two.

Sunday – Today! The only thing I did today that was bad, was eat a Rolo. Megan gave me her “last rolo” and while she knows I’m cutting out chocolate, it seemed rude to refuse it. Besides if thats the only chocolate or sweets I eat in a day, then its not really so bad. My whole day I spent sewing, in between spending time with the girls and Chris too. I started and (almost) finished dress number three and I’m feeling really good knowing I have a whole week coming up soon where I can sew all day!

Overall I’m really pleased with how this week has gone. I think I’m pretty much on top of all the “to-do” things I have been meaning to do and I’ve also been SUPER organised with my blog – making a list of what posts to make and sticking to them. This week I’ve also done a menu plan for every day of the week and then went shopping for it all today, to make sure we stick to it. Sadly I wasn’t organised enough to remember my 52 Project picture this week so that will have to wait till tomorrow.

Spending Ban

My spending ban has completely gone out of the window this week. While I resisted till about Wednesday, I then realised I needed several things before the end of the month and others from places like China, that meant they needed ordering now. Sadly I think I need to concede defeat on the Spending Ban “stop”.