Don't forget to check out what I'm doing over at A Mothers Ramblings too!
The End Of The First Week
The first week of my Gym membership is almost over and I've survived. It may only have been a week, but I feel fitter, I feel energised and I know that I'm going to carry on working towards my goal of losing ten stone and as a side benefit get fit.
The week was fairly easy when I think about it, all but that first five minutes of that first work out, when I wanted to give up. This is what I did in the end;
Tuesday - I went for my Induction or as it is otherwise known, a half hour of Hell.
Wednesday - I went Swimming, 30 lengths of 25m in 30 minutes.
Thursday - I went to Aquafit in the evening, I know now this to be 45 minutes of Hell.
Friday - 30 minutes of Gym and a 30 minute bike ride. And a 45 minute walk, a 30 minute swim of treading water.
Weekend Off being A Mothers Ramblings.
Monday - 30 minutes of Gym followed by ten minutes of Swimming.
I discovered this morning that despite feeling ready more more exercise after a thirty minute workout on various machines in the gym I can't swim afterwards. I managed to do 125m before almost drowning. Still, at least I know now and I know that if I try again in a month it will be a good measure of how far I've come.
A comment left by HMS on a post this past week was about a quote that she had seen somewhere. I knew what quote she meant as I read it as I'd seen it on Pinterest a hundred times in the past and ignored it, because for me then it didn't apply. Anyway I decided to create a visual of the quote in my new colours (you noticed I have a new design right?) here at Pippa World.
I am so proud of myself because I've started lapping those who sit on the couch.
The week was fairly easy when I think about it, all but that first five minutes of that first work out, when I wanted to give up. This is what I did in the end;
Tuesday - I went for my Induction or as it is otherwise known, a half hour of Hell.
Wednesday - I went Swimming, 30 lengths of 25m in 30 minutes.
Thursday - I went to Aquafit in the evening, I know now this to be 45 minutes of Hell.
Friday - 30 minutes of Gym and a 30 minute bike ride. And a 45 minute walk, a 30 minute swim of treading water.
Weekend Off being A Mothers Ramblings.
Monday - 30 minutes of Gym followed by ten minutes of Swimming.
I discovered this morning that despite feeling ready more more exercise after a thirty minute workout on various machines in the gym I can't swim afterwards. I managed to do 125m before almost drowning. Still, at least I know now and I know that if I try again in a month it will be a good measure of how far I've come.
A comment left by HMS on a post this past week was about a quote that she had seen somewhere. I knew what quote she meant as I read it as I'd seen it on Pinterest a hundred times in the past and ignored it, because for me then it didn't apply. Anyway I decided to create a visual of the quote in my new colours (you noticed I have a new design right?) here at Pippa World.
I am so proud of myself because I've started lapping those who sit on the couch.
Possibly The Best Wife In The World
There are lots of reasons why I am possibly the best wife in the world, but for the last two weeks I have been the best wife in the world because I have given up my Sunday lay in. My lovely long luxurious, only me in the bed lay in.
We split the weekend lay in's in this house, with Flyfour getting the Saturday and me getting the Sunday. It works for us and means that we each get some quality one on one time with the children and a good long lay in, but of course on special days that fall on a Sunday it does mean I get cheated out of my lay in.
Last week was of course Fathers Day and so as well as getting up on the Saturday, I got up with the children on the Sunday. We don't need to go into detail of how I didn't feed the children anything other than fruit and managed to convince Flyfour that we should go for a McDonalds breakfast for us all and we don't need to explain that I sat in the den playing a computer game with the children for a large part of the morning, the point is I gave up my lay in without a qualm.
I'm very giving me.
Then yesterday, Flyfour decided that he would give BB and I a lift to the train station so that we could spend the day with Dairylea and AMR Blog friends. This meant that his lay in was tragically cut short and so in a moment of guilt I decided that I should give up my Sunday lay in to make up for this. Like I said, I'm very giving.
We of course will extend the courtesy offered to me about my silence over what I did last Sunday morning and won't say anything about how Flyfour spent the vast majority of yesterday on the PC, with Tops playing in the den on the PC and watching a film after all he did do a couple of loads of washing to make up for that. We won't say anything about how he went out and brought some special treats for himself and Tops for lunch as I did get a rather lovely buffet out with Dairylea and we won't say anything about him buying Top Ender a new mobile phone (It's a Samsung Galaxy Europa) because he did let me join a gym this week.
Let's just not forget that I am possibly the best wife in the world as I gave up my lay in for the second week in a row.
We split the weekend lay in's in this house, with Flyfour getting the Saturday and me getting the Sunday. It works for us and means that we each get some quality one on one time with the children and a good long lay in, but of course on special days that fall on a Sunday it does mean I get cheated out of my lay in.
Last week was of course Fathers Day and so as well as getting up on the Saturday, I got up with the children on the Sunday. We don't need to go into detail of how I didn't feed the children anything other than fruit and managed to convince Flyfour that we should go for a McDonalds breakfast for us all and we don't need to explain that I sat in the den playing a computer game with the children for a large part of the morning, the point is I gave up my lay in without a qualm.
I'm very giving me.
Then yesterday, Flyfour decided that he would give BB and I a lift to the train station so that we could spend the day with Dairylea and AMR Blog friends. This meant that his lay in was tragically cut short and so in a moment of guilt I decided that I should give up my Sunday lay in to make up for this. Like I said, I'm very giving.
We of course will extend the courtesy offered to me about my silence over what I did last Sunday morning and won't say anything about how Flyfour spent the vast majority of yesterday on the PC, with Tops playing in the den on the PC and watching a film after all he did do a couple of loads of washing to make up for that. We won't say anything about how he went out and brought some special treats for himself and Tops for lunch as I did get a rather lovely buffet out with Dairylea and we won't say anything about him buying Top Ender a new mobile phone (It's a Samsung Galaxy Europa) because he did let me join a gym this week.
Let's just not forget that I am possibly the best wife in the world as I gave up my lay in for the second week in a row.
Aquafit - It's harder than it looks!
A few months back for Big Boys birthday we went swimming. Whilst we were there I got to watch an Aquafit lesson and I tweeted that as soon as Big Boy was at School I was going to join this class. It looked fun, there was plenty of Disco music being played and whilst it looked easy I could tell that it was a good work out. Plus who doesn't want to hang out with a group of old women in swimming costumes for an hour each week?
When I joined the gym earlier this week, the chap getting the commission suggested that I join a couple of classes as they are included in the price of membership. The chap suggested that I should go to Aquafit and a spin class. I thought it must be fate, there I had been only a month before thinking of joining the class and here I was being told that I had already paid for it!
So yesterday evening I went to my first Aquafit class. I tried talking to a couple of women, one just plain blanked me (I think she didn't actually speak English) and another gave me that half smile that I give people when I don't want to talk to them... soon enough though we were in the water and we didn't have time for talking.
For the next 45 minutes I swear that all I heard was;
JUMP HIGHER!
FASTER!
PUSH THOSE ARMS TOGETHER!
IF YOU WORK HARD YOU'LL BURN AROUND 800 CALORIES SLACK AND IT'S ONLY AROUND 300!
Eventually we got a brief breather and one of the other women and I exchanged grins, names and a few other details. I made an Aquafit Buddy! It was a very long 45 minutes, but I felt really invigorated afterwards and even my legs didn't feel as stiff as they had before the class. I'll definitely be going back to the class next week and when BB goes to school I'll be joining the Tuesday morning class too. I want to hang out with the old ladies!
When I joined the gym earlier this week, the chap getting the commission suggested that I join a couple of classes as they are included in the price of membership. The chap suggested that I should go to Aquafit and a spin class. I thought it must be fate, there I had been only a month before thinking of joining the class and here I was being told that I had already paid for it!
So yesterday evening I went to my first Aquafit class. I tried talking to a couple of women, one just plain blanked me (I think she didn't actually speak English) and another gave me that half smile that I give people when I don't want to talk to them... soon enough though we were in the water and we didn't have time for talking.
For the next 45 minutes I swear that all I heard was;
JUMP HIGHER!
FASTER!
PUSH THOSE ARMS TOGETHER!
IF YOU WORK HARD YOU'LL BURN AROUND 800 CALORIES SLACK AND IT'S ONLY AROUND 300!
Eventually we got a brief breather and one of the other women and I exchanged grins, names and a few other details. I made an Aquafit Buddy! It was a very long 45 minutes, but I felt really invigorated afterwards and even my legs didn't feel as stiff as they had before the class. I'll definitely be going back to the class next week and when BB goes to school I'll be joining the Tuesday morning class too. I want to hang out with the old ladies!
Swimming and Playlist Suggestions Please!
Last night before I went to sleep, I set my alarm for 5:40 am. I figured that would give me enough time to get out of bed, brush my teeth, get dressed and head to the Swimming Pool for the 6am opening time. It felt too early so I gave myself a five minute lay in and snuggled into Flyfour before creeping downstairs and heading off.
Getting into the pool I was ready for the swim, my legs were sore from the night before but I knew that the swimming would do them good and I'd loosen up. I swam a couple of lengths, going faster than some of the people in my lane, slower than others, smiled at a few of the other women in the same lane as me and looked at the time. I worked out that if I kept going I could do 30 lengths (each length is 25m) in 30 minutes and so I started chanting that to myself. Whilst it isn't going to set the swimming world on fire, I figure it's a good place for me to start. Who knows maybe in a few months I'll be swimming 60 lengths in 30 minutes?
I'm already getting lots of support from everyone on Facebook and Twitter and Paul has reminded me that I need to create a playlist to listen to whilst I'm working out to encourage me, motivate me and help me not think about what I am doing but to just get a move on and do it.
So I need suggestions of music to do just that. What should I include? What would you include?
Getting into the pool I was ready for the swim, my legs were sore from the night before but I knew that the swimming would do them good and I'd loosen up. I swam a couple of lengths, going faster than some of the people in my lane, slower than others, smiled at a few of the other women in the same lane as me and looked at the time. I worked out that if I kept going I could do 30 lengths (each length is 25m) in 30 minutes and so I started chanting that to myself. Whilst it isn't going to set the swimming world on fire, I figure it's a good place for me to start. Who knows maybe in a few months I'll be swimming 60 lengths in 30 minutes?
I'm already getting lots of support from everyone on Facebook and Twitter and Paul has reminded me that I need to create a playlist to listen to whilst I'm working out to encourage me, motivate me and help me not think about what I am doing but to just get a move on and do it.
So I need suggestions of music to do just that. What should I include? What would you include?
The First Workout
I went to the Gym this evening for my induction. I was scared and worried, but I knew that this first workout was important. Getting one workout done means I would be ready for the next and the next and the next and the next and before I know it going to the gym will be a habit and not one that I want to give up.
For the first four weeks I've been put on an easy introduction to gym workouts. It's roughly a 35minute workout concentrating on a cardio workout with a little resistance thrown in too. I'm really recording it here so that I remember how I started, so in a few months I'll be able to look back and see how far I've come.
I started off doing ten minutes on the cross trainer. I hate the cross trainer. I hate the cross trainer with a passion but I was told that was all the more reason to get on it. After four minutes my legs were aching, my heart felt like it was going to explode and I wanted nothing more than to get off the blasted machine. I knew thought that I couldn't. I knew that I had to carry on and suddenly just like that the pain was gone. It was able to carry on. I might have been out of breath and turning a shade of red, but I did that first ten minutes at the speed I was supposed to and survived.
We moved on to the treadmill, where I found the pace to be really too slow and asked if I could increase it. Look at me, my first work out and already trying to make it harder! Even at the faster speed I was able to tweet that I was at the gym and keep in stride. Every 30 seconds I had to increase the incline and after a while the instructor came back to check out how I was getting on. The instructor stood on the back of my machine and after a while asked if I was okay. When I said I was fine he said he was surprised seeing as how he had been standing on the back of the treadmill to make the incline steeper. I hadn't even noticed!
I was taught some basic resistance using a medicine ball and a stability ball before I moved on to the bike. The last ten minutes of the work out, were really easy, I know I was supposed to be cooling down and getting ready to go for a shower, but I felt like I could go on for longer.
I was advised to mix it up. To do things in a different order each time I went so that my muscles didn't get used to doing things in a certain order and adapt to that. As I left, as I came home I felt excited. I felt good and ready to go again. I almost did, when I walked into the living room and found Daddy ready to eat a bowl full of buttery popcorn!
It's only now, a few hours later that I'm starting to feel stiff and sore and thinking that maybe going swimming in the morning isn't as good an idea as I thought it would be! I'm going though. I'm not going to give up after one visit and waking up early to go swimming is my new morning routine too!
.JPG "Day One. 20st 8lbs")
.JPG)
For the first four weeks I've been put on an easy introduction to gym workouts. It's roughly a 35minute workout concentrating on a cardio workout with a little resistance thrown in too. I'm really recording it here so that I remember how I started, so in a few months I'll be able to look back and see how far I've come.
I started off doing ten minutes on the cross trainer. I hate the cross trainer. I hate the cross trainer with a passion but I was told that was all the more reason to get on it. After four minutes my legs were aching, my heart felt like it was going to explode and I wanted nothing more than to get off the blasted machine. I knew thought that I couldn't. I knew that I had to carry on and suddenly just like that the pain was gone. It was able to carry on. I might have been out of breath and turning a shade of red, but I did that first ten minutes at the speed I was supposed to and survived.
We moved on to the treadmill, where I found the pace to be really too slow and asked if I could increase it. Look at me, my first work out and already trying to make it harder! Even at the faster speed I was able to tweet that I was at the gym and keep in stride. Every 30 seconds I had to increase the incline and after a while the instructor came back to check out how I was getting on. The instructor stood on the back of my machine and after a while asked if I was okay. When I said I was fine he said he was surprised seeing as how he had been standing on the back of the treadmill to make the incline steeper. I hadn't even noticed!
I was taught some basic resistance using a medicine ball and a stability ball before I moved on to the bike. The last ten minutes of the work out, were really easy, I know I was supposed to be cooling down and getting ready to go for a shower, but I felt like I could go on for longer.
I was advised to mix it up. To do things in a different order each time I went so that my muscles didn't get used to doing things in a certain order and adapt to that. As I left, as I came home I felt excited. I felt good and ready to go again. I almost did, when I walked into the living room and found Daddy ready to eat a bowl full of buttery popcorn!
It's only now, a few hours later that I'm starting to feel stiff and sore and thinking that maybe going swimming in the morning isn't as good an idea as I thought it would be! I'm going though. I'm not going to give up after one visit and waking up early to go swimming is my new morning routine too!
.JPG "Day One. 20st 8lbs")
.JPG)
Can You Help Me?
I have asked those who follow me on Twitter and who talk with me on Facebook, and now I'm asking those of you who read A Mothers Ramblings and Pippa World to help me if you can.
As you all know I thought about joining a gym, I then joined a gym and now I have to go to that gym at least four times a week so that I can make the most of my membership, so that I can lose the weight I want to, so that I can become fitter and healthier and be an example for not only my children but those who find my story on the internet. People who are far cleverer than me suggested that I explain why I want to go to the gym, not only to help it fix in my head, but also to give them reasons to tweet me and ask how my weight loss and gym adventure is going. So here it goes.
I am so overweight it isn't funny. You know those charts where they show you what your BMI is? I'm not even on the chart. I thought I hid it well, I thought that people looked at me and saw someone over weight but not morbidly obese but then I saw a woman in the supermarket who looked about my size. I asked my Mum if I was right, and told her to be honest she told me that the woman in the supermarket was about my size. She was a different shape to me, but she looked so bad. She looked like I did and I don't want to look like that any more.
I saw a woman last night who picked up a size 12 bikini. She was buying it for herself, but when I had looked at her I hadn't thought of her as a size 12. My body image is so screwed that I thought she was a size 14 possibly even a 16. I have the opposite problem with me though. I look at me wearing a size 24 and think I'm a size 18. I need to adjust this and I think the only way I can do that is by changing my own body. I want to be a size 12.
I want to be able to run
I'm fed up of being out of breath walking up the stairs, I'm fed up of making excuses with my son that I don't want to chase him round the garden, or to the School, or around the park. I'm fed up of being on the sidelines. I used to run, I loved running long distance, but as I got more and more unfit I made up more and more excuses. I want to be the one that runs and enjoys it again.
Right now give me the option of going for a walk or sitting on the sofa and I'll take the sofa. I don't want that to be my life, I want to think hmm shall I go for a run or shall I sit on the sofa and I want to choose the run. I want to be able to say to my family, lets go for a game of football up the park, I want to go for walks with them, go on bike rides and just be active together.
I don't want Tops and BB to struggle with their weight. I want them to understand from an early age that exercise is important, that working towards a goal is important, that taking care of yourself is important. I don't want Tops or BB to look at me and think "Well, Mum's fat so it's hereditary. That's why I'm fat". I want them to look at me and know that I work at being in shape and that they do too.
This is a hard one to tell you all about. I love my husband so much, but I don't understand how he can find me attractive. I don't understand how he can want to have sex with someone who looks like this. I think if I feel better about myself that I might understand why he loves me and I think that then I might see the benefits in my sex life too.
I'm not even sure if this is true to be honest, I'm not sure if my family is complete or not. I do know though that I'm getting older and getting older increases risks in pregnancy. I know that being older and being over weight increases those risks even more and just in case we aren't done I need to be healthy.
I'm at risk for so many things. Diabetes, heart disease to name just two. If I'm overweight I am increasing my chances of other risks. I'm not ready to die, my children, my husband, my family need me and at the moment I'm the only one who can make the changes I need to.
So there you go, straight off the top of my head the reasons I want you to tweet me, to facebook me, to text me (if you have my number), to tag me in posts asking me how I'm doing, to ask me to my face when you see me when I last exercised, when I'm next going to exercise, how much weight I've lost, what dress size I'm in. Anything you think that might encourage me to do this and to do it properly.
Please can you help me?
As you all know I thought about joining a gym, I then joined a gym and now I have to go to that gym at least four times a week so that I can make the most of my membership, so that I can lose the weight I want to, so that I can become fitter and healthier and be an example for not only my children but those who find my story on the internet. People who are far cleverer than me suggested that I explain why I want to go to the gym, not only to help it fix in my head, but also to give them reasons to tweet me and ask how my weight loss and gym adventure is going. So here it goes.
I want to lose ten stone
I am so overweight it isn't funny. You know those charts where they show you what your BMI is? I'm not even on the chart. I thought I hid it well, I thought that people looked at me and saw someone over weight but not morbidly obese but then I saw a woman in the supermarket who looked about my size. I asked my Mum if I was right, and told her to be honest she told me that the woman in the supermarket was about my size. She was a different shape to me, but she looked so bad. She looked like I did and I don't want to look like that any more.
I want a better body image
I saw a woman last night who picked up a size 12 bikini. She was buying it for herself, but when I had looked at her I hadn't thought of her as a size 12. My body image is so screwed that I thought she was a size 14 possibly even a 16. I have the opposite problem with me though. I look at me wearing a size 24 and think I'm a size 18. I need to adjust this and I think the only way I can do that is by changing my own body. I want to be a size 12.
I want to be able to run
I'm fed up of being out of breath walking up the stairs, I'm fed up of making excuses with my son that I don't want to chase him round the garden, or to the School, or around the park. I'm fed up of being on the sidelines. I used to run, I loved running long distance, but as I got more and more unfit I made up more and more excuses. I want to be the one that runs and enjoys it again.
I want to enjoy exercise
Right now give me the option of going for a walk or sitting on the sofa and I'll take the sofa. I don't want that to be my life, I want to think hmm shall I go for a run or shall I sit on the sofa and I want to choose the run. I want to be able to say to my family, lets go for a game of football up the park, I want to go for walks with them, go on bike rides and just be active together.
I want to be an example for my Children
I don't want Tops and BB to struggle with their weight. I want them to understand from an early age that exercise is important, that working towards a goal is important, that taking care of yourself is important. I don't want Tops or BB to look at me and think "Well, Mum's fat so it's hereditary. That's why I'm fat". I want them to look at me and know that I work at being in shape and that they do too.
I want a better sex life
This is a hard one to tell you all about. I love my husband so much, but I don't understand how he can find me attractive. I don't understand how he can want to have sex with someone who looks like this. I think if I feel better about myself that I might understand why he loves me and I think that then I might see the benefits in my sex life too.
I want another child
I'm not even sure if this is true to be honest, I'm not sure if my family is complete or not. I do know though that I'm getting older and getting older increases risks in pregnancy. I know that being older and being over weight increases those risks even more and just in case we aren't done I need to be healthy.
I want to be healthy
I'm at risk for so many things. Diabetes, heart disease to name just two. If I'm overweight I am increasing my chances of other risks. I'm not ready to die, my children, my husband, my family need me and at the moment I'm the only one who can make the changes I need to.
So there you go, straight off the top of my head the reasons I want you to tweet me, to facebook me, to text me (if you have my number), to tag me in posts asking me how I'm doing, to ask me to my face when you see me when I last exercised, when I'm next going to exercise, how much weight I've lost, what dress size I'm in. Anything you think that might encourage me to do this and to do it properly.
Please can you help me?
I joined a gym
Oh crap.
Finally after what seems like years about moaning about my weight, after countless diets, exercise fads and general procrastinating I've joined a gym. I have to say that it was in the most thanks to my lovely husband, who after seeing me at the outdoor gym at the weekend suggested that really the fee for joining a proper gym with all mod cons wasn't that much in the grand scheme of things.
And I wouldn't get letched at by the drunk on the bench any more either.
I gave my husband 24hours to back out of agreeing to spend a huge amount of money before deciding I was going to do this. I called a few gyms, spoke to the sales team, asked to speak to a fitness instructors and then made appointments with the ones I thought I got on best with. A little over four hours later I had signed on the dotted line, been handed my new all access gym pass and was buying some clothes in Asda suitable to work out in.
Oh crap.
My induction to the gym is this evening at 7pm, I know what my goals are and I know what I want to do to lose it but I know that the instructor I'm meeting will be the one to listen to.
I want to lose ten stone. Scratch that. I need to lose ten stone.
I'm going to do it slowly, I'm going to get there in time for my 35th birthday which is May 2nd 2014.
That's 682 Days away or 97 Weeks and 3 Days. I can do that right?
It's over £1000 in gym membership away. Bloody hell, that's a lot of money.
Oh crap.
Finally after what seems like years about moaning about my weight, after countless diets, exercise fads and general procrastinating I've joined a gym. I have to say that it was in the most thanks to my lovely husband, who after seeing me at the outdoor gym at the weekend suggested that really the fee for joining a proper gym with all mod cons wasn't that much in the grand scheme of things.
And I wouldn't get letched at by the drunk on the bench any more either.
I gave my husband 24hours to back out of agreeing to spend a huge amount of money before deciding I was going to do this. I called a few gyms, spoke to the sales team, asked to speak to a fitness instructors and then made appointments with the ones I thought I got on best with. A little over four hours later I had signed on the dotted line, been handed my new all access gym pass and was buying some clothes in Asda suitable to work out in.
Oh crap.
My induction to the gym is this evening at 7pm, I know what my goals are and I know what I want to do to lose it but I know that the instructor I'm meeting will be the one to listen to.
I want to lose ten stone. Scratch that. I need to lose ten stone.
I'm going to do it slowly, I'm going to get there in time for my 35th birthday which is May 2nd 2014.
That's 682 Days away or 97 Weeks and 3 Days. I can do that right?
It's over £1000 in gym membership away. Bloody hell, that's a lot of money.
Oh crap.
Choccywoccydoodah!
I'm a huge Choccywoccydoodah fan, I love watching the TV show and the new series is about to start on Good Food (weeknights at 9pm from Monday 2nd July and it's on series link and record because I don't want to miss an episode) and then I watch it again on Sunday afternoons with Tops and BB who love looking at the cake creations, but fast forward the rest of the show.
I personally love the relationships between the staff (I know they live in and around Brighton, but really? Are they really not playing up for the camera?) and I've learnt how to do a few different cake designs thanks to them too... don't worry though the dog poo cakes were my own creation. I didn't learn that from them.
The only complaint I have (other than they are too far away from me being in Brighton) is that they can't sing.
Good job they have their cake skills to fall back on.
Esther Rantzen Needs To Look In Her Bloody Fridge
Budgeting is a huge part of my life and I've gotten quite good at it. I plan the meals in advance, I plan lunches in advance, I plan how to save money for holidays, Birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Days Out and rainy day treats. You get the idea. I go food shopping every week with my Mum and when I saw a post on MoneyWise by Esther Rantzen about being punished for eating alone I was interested as my Mum lives alone and I'm only too aware of how unfair supermarkets are to singles but the post actually just pissed me off. To me it smacks of I'm old and famous so listen to me denounce supermarkets and food manufacturers whilst not placing any blame on myself!
I can identify with the post to start with, yes packs of food are sold to families rather than singles, there are multi buy offers which you feel you are being ripped off on if you don't take advantage of, a lot of ready meals are designed for more than one person to eat and this can lead to a lot of waste but Esther takes the stand that this is the supermarkets fault and not hers. Esther claims that her freezer is full of "corpses of salmon and casseroles, rock hard and covered with a thick layer of snow" but that isn't her fault of course, it's the Supermarkets for only selling Salmon fillets in packs of four. I'm pretty sure Supermarkets can stand up for themselves but seriously Esther you're famous for talking no nonsense and here you are talking a load of bollocks. How hard is it to look in a freezer before you go shopping to see what you do or don't need to buy even if you are 71?
Esther claims that her fridge gets full of leftovers that she throws away because she doesn't use them, or food which isn't as tempting looking the day after it's been cooked gets thrown away. WHAT? Seriously she's going to bitch how a roast chicken she cooked one day looks dry the next so she is going to throw the whole bird away and this is the Supermarkets fault for not selling things in single packs?
Here's a few suggestions for you Esther that might help your grocery bill be reduced and they will work for "normal" people too.
1) Look in your bloody freezer and fridge. See what food you have in there and plan your meals around them. It's what the rest of the population do, it's what sensible people do, it's what you should do.
2) Invite another single friend to go shopping with you. When there are multi pack deals split them with them. You know if you buy oranges on a buy on get one free deal give your friend the free oranges. She can do the same to you with the free potatoes or whatever. Or here's a suggestion, you know that food bank at the local church? Give your extra canned goods to them, find out if there is a food bank that takes fresh food, donate it to the woman that lives down the road with the kids that scream too loud when you're trying to watch a TV programme, find a homeless shelter and give it to them! There is always someone grateful for food.
3) Invite friends round for dinner. Maybe on Monday it could be Moaning Esther Mondays and you serve a group of friends a Roast Chicken and extras. On Tuesday you could go to your friends house and have Salmon Fillets with new potatoes and on Wednesday you could go to another friends and have Casserole... you get where I'm going with this right? Yeah, it requires a bit of planning, but I'm sure you can handle it.
4) Cook a meal for four and portion it out in the freezer. Look at that you can have one of those meals a week for the next four weeks and it's, wait for it, just like a ready meal!
Don't get me wrong, I actually like Esther Rantzen and she does have a point, there should be more affordable food in individual portions but until Supermarkets work out a way to make money out of it she should do something more constructive than contribute to the food waste.
To end on a funny note, here is one of my favourite comedians talking about the same thing.
I can identify with the post to start with, yes packs of food are sold to families rather than singles, there are multi buy offers which you feel you are being ripped off on if you don't take advantage of, a lot of ready meals are designed for more than one person to eat and this can lead to a lot of waste but Esther takes the stand that this is the supermarkets fault and not hers. Esther claims that her freezer is full of "corpses of salmon and casseroles, rock hard and covered with a thick layer of snow" but that isn't her fault of course, it's the Supermarkets for only selling Salmon fillets in packs of four. I'm pretty sure Supermarkets can stand up for themselves but seriously Esther you're famous for talking no nonsense and here you are talking a load of bollocks. How hard is it to look in a freezer before you go shopping to see what you do or don't need to buy even if you are 71?
Esther claims that her fridge gets full of leftovers that she throws away because she doesn't use them, or food which isn't as tempting looking the day after it's been cooked gets thrown away. WHAT? Seriously she's going to bitch how a roast chicken she cooked one day looks dry the next so she is going to throw the whole bird away and this is the Supermarkets fault for not selling things in single packs?
Here's a few suggestions for you Esther that might help your grocery bill be reduced and they will work for "normal" people too.
1) Look in your bloody freezer and fridge. See what food you have in there and plan your meals around them. It's what the rest of the population do, it's what sensible people do, it's what you should do.
2) Invite another single friend to go shopping with you. When there are multi pack deals split them with them. You know if you buy oranges on a buy on get one free deal give your friend the free oranges. She can do the same to you with the free potatoes or whatever. Or here's a suggestion, you know that food bank at the local church? Give your extra canned goods to them, find out if there is a food bank that takes fresh food, donate it to the woman that lives down the road with the kids that scream too loud when you're trying to watch a TV programme, find a homeless shelter and give it to them! There is always someone grateful for food.
3) Invite friends round for dinner. Maybe on Monday it could be Moaning Esther Mondays and you serve a group of friends a Roast Chicken and extras. On Tuesday you could go to your friends house and have Salmon Fillets with new potatoes and on Wednesday you could go to another friends and have Casserole... you get where I'm going with this right? Yeah, it requires a bit of planning, but I'm sure you can handle it.
4) Cook a meal for four and portion it out in the freezer. Look at that you can have one of those meals a week for the next four weeks and it's, wait for it, just like a ready meal!
Don't get me wrong, I actually like Esther Rantzen and she does have a point, there should be more affordable food in individual portions but until Supermarkets work out a way to make money out of it she should do something more constructive than contribute to the food waste.
To end on a funny note, here is one of my favourite comedians talking about the same thing.
When I Was Fifteen
Nicki over at Curly and Candid has been baring all about when she was 15. She asked for stories about when others were 15, I don't really remember a lot about that age, I think I've blocked them all. It was before I went through a rebellion and turned into what I could only describe as now as a "troubled child" but I remember a few things.
I remember being lonely as I stopped hanging around with one group of friends and didn't have another group to belong to.
I remember that I didn't need ID to buy cigarettes or alcohol and so was the one everyone always asked to buy it for them.
I remember thinking that my life was crap and that there was no point to it all.
I remember thinking I knew it all.
I remember being skinny.
I do remember.
I wish I could go back to the me of then and let me know that things turn out okay. That the friends I thought I needed I didn't, new ones would come. Ones that would text me when I was sad, ones that would invite me to their weddings, ones that would be special and wouldn't understand just how special they are.
I wish that I could go back and say, look life is sometimes a bit shit but if you didn't have these bad times how would you ever know the highs of the good?
I don't really wish I could change anything, if I did then I wouldn't be me and despite all my flaws I'm rather lovely. There is nobody else just like me.
I guess to sum it up Justin Bieber was born the year I turned 15. That says it all really doesn't it?
I remember being lonely as I stopped hanging around with one group of friends and didn't have another group to belong to.
I remember that I didn't need ID to buy cigarettes or alcohol and so was the one everyone always asked to buy it for them.
I remember thinking that my life was crap and that there was no point to it all.
I remember thinking I knew it all.
I remember being skinny.
I do remember.
I wish I could go back to the me of then and let me know that things turn out okay. That the friends I thought I needed I didn't, new ones would come. Ones that would text me when I was sad, ones that would invite me to their weddings, ones that would be special and wouldn't understand just how special they are.
I wish that I could go back and say, look life is sometimes a bit shit but if you didn't have these bad times how would you ever know the highs of the good?
I don't really wish I could change anything, if I did then I wouldn't be me and despite all my flaws I'm rather lovely. There is nobody else just like me.
I guess to sum it up Justin Bieber was born the year I turned 15. That says it all really doesn't it?
She just doesn't want to come to dinner does she?
My sister had such an eventful week last week, it was almost like if something was going to go wrong it would go wrong. So when she called me in the middle of the day last Thursday I joked as I answered the phone "What disaster has happened now?!" she said that my Mum was being rushed to hospital with a suspected Stroke. There is a family joke that when I ask my Mum to come for dinner and plan something special that she becomes ill and so I thought at first my sister was winding me up, but I realised that she wasn't.
I was in the middle of making Top Enders Friday Lunch, a Star Quiche, when I got the phone call. I posted a tweet about what was happening (because that is my support system), phoned my husband and then went back to making my quiche. I didn't know what else to do, I couldn't go to the hospital as I didn't know what hospital it was that my Mum was going to and if it was the one I thought she was going to I needed to know what I was facing as the last time I was at this particular hospital, was when I went to say Goodbye to my Gran. I agreed with my sister that if she went with my Mum to the hospital I would go the next day, what would have been my Gran's birthday what is my Niece's birthday.
I had texts and DM's from friends checking I was okay and asking if there was anything they could do and letting me know that they were thinking of and praying for my Mum and my family. They meant so much to me, as did the little pep talk that Vic gave me via text message the next day when I was at the hospital having made a fool of myself and not thought about visiting times and so having turned up before visiting hours had started. I did eventually get to see my Mum and it's been confirmed now that it wasn't a stroke but she has Bells Palsy.
Today my Mum should be coming home and I'll be picking her up before bringing her straight back to my house to have dinner. If for some reason she isn't discharged I might just have to kidnap her from the hospital. She isn't getting out of coming to dinner again!
To leave on a happier note though, my Mum was going to be babysitting for my sister on the Friday night, so I bravely agreed to step in for her. As many of you know my sister has four children under the age of five and I've only ever babysat for two of them at the same time (admittedly with my two so I was looking after four under five too) and so I was worried but I wasn't going to tell my sister that! Luckily though my nieces were all complete darlings as this beautiful picture shows;
Here's to this week being a better week.
I was in the middle of making Top Enders Friday Lunch, a Star Quiche, when I got the phone call. I posted a tweet about what was happening (because that is my support system), phoned my husband and then went back to making my quiche. I didn't know what else to do, I couldn't go to the hospital as I didn't know what hospital it was that my Mum was going to and if it was the one I thought she was going to I needed to know what I was facing as the last time I was at this particular hospital, was when I went to say Goodbye to my Gran. I agreed with my sister that if she went with my Mum to the hospital I would go the next day, what would have been my Gran's birthday what is my Niece's birthday.
I had texts and DM's from friends checking I was okay and asking if there was anything they could do and letting me know that they were thinking of and praying for my Mum and my family. They meant so much to me, as did the little pep talk that Vic gave me via text message the next day when I was at the hospital having made a fool of myself and not thought about visiting times and so having turned up before visiting hours had started. I did eventually get to see my Mum and it's been confirmed now that it wasn't a stroke but she has Bells Palsy.
Today my Mum should be coming home and I'll be picking her up before bringing her straight back to my house to have dinner. If for some reason she isn't discharged I might just have to kidnap her from the hospital. She isn't getting out of coming to dinner again!
To leave on a happier note though, my Mum was going to be babysitting for my sister on the Friday night, so I bravely agreed to step in for her. As many of you know my sister has four children under the age of five and I've only ever babysat for two of them at the same time (admittedly with my two so I was looking after four under five too) and so I was worried but I wasn't going to tell my sister that! Luckily though my nieces were all complete darlings as this beautiful picture shows;
Here's to this week being a better week.
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