Using My Daily Plate to keep an eye on the calories that I consume (and expend) is actually a real eye opener. It have calculated that I need to consume around 1,400 calories a a day in order to lose a lb a week. Based on everything that I have eaten so far today (and knowing what I will be eating for dinner tonight) I will consume 1,600 calories today – this means that I’m way over on my intake so have had to look into their database to see what exercise I can do (and realistically will do) in order to meet the deficit.

Fortunately I had planned to do some cleaning tonight and change the bedding so this should eat up (no pun intended!) around 90 calories, and then I will also be getting hte shopping delivered so will need to do the carrying and putting away, probably another 40 calories. I also started off the mixed fruit last night so I can bake a teabread tonight – soaking the fruit in some tea overnight – apparently baking uses up around 50 calories for 20 mins work.

This leaves me with 20 calories that I need to burnoff, but obviously I need to plan to burn more since this is all probable calorie burn! I have the top that I am knitting for my mum (which was going to be for her birthday but since that’s two weeks away now and I have barely knitted 2 inches that’s just not going to happen so it has now been moved to her Christmas present!) so I thought I could spend some time on that – aparently knitting burns around 80 calories an hour so it will be time well spent on both counts

I’ve been updating my budget recently and although I doing spend excessive amounts of money on food I don’t think that I am spending the money wisely if that makes sense.  I like to think that our family eats quite heathily however I had a shock when I stood on my MIL’s scales at the weekend and found out that I was 129lbs (9st 3lbs) – now I realise that this is not overweight, in fact it is actually alright for my height of 5ft 5ins BUT I have ALWAYS, ALWAYS weighed exactly 8st – no more – no less…

I was diagnosed with an overactive thyroid at the end of December 2008 after losing a stone within about a week (I looked positively awful) and was put on tablets to suppress the amount of throxine that my body produced.  Over the last year or so I have been taking then and now my throxine levels are reducing to I have had my dose reduced with the aim to come off the carbimazole in the next few months.  I have always had a sneaking suspicion that these tablets have been leading to my weight being more than it naturally would be (as they are effectively slowing down my metabolism which has always been naturally quite high) so I can attribute some of the weight gain to the tablets I am on.  Having said that I think that blaming a few lbs on the tablets is one thing but over a stone is just me kidding myself…..

So, along with training for the marathon which is at the end of May I have decided to keep a much better eye on what I eat, so much so that I have joined the My Daily Plate website so that I can track the calories that I am eating so see how heathily I do actually eat.  Some of it is quite shocking it has to be said, it’s only when you actually log that you have just eaten 2 chocolate biscuits that you realise how much fat (and calories) you have just consumed!!

Obviously this has led me to consider what food I actually put in my internet shopping basket as the fewer convenience foods that are in the house, the less I can eat (albeit this goes for my family as well but it would stop my DS from raiding the pantry – I swear that he devours 4 bars of chocolate in one go as he leaves that wrappers as evidence so he can’t deny it!!)

I’ve been perusing the internet for inspiration but admitedly get sidetracked, however I have found a couple of sites which I will refer back to (even if not for the recipes):

Aggies Kitchen

just looks delicious, at the moment she is looking a more vegetable based dishes which apart from being healthy and increasing fruit and vegetable portions, also helps with the budget as I wouldn’t be paying for more expensive meat. I have tried to have 1 veggie meal a week but I am lacking in inspiration and my veggie dish of macaroni cheese has sausages in it for my OH?!?

Jenn’s Menu and Lifestyle Blog

contains photos of practically evey meal that she has ever eaten, I swear… this is a great site as she also gives approx calorie counts.

I need to do some more digging around but at least I have made a start, just need to finalise a list for next weeks meal plans as I have already placed my order for this week!