Gain: Resources or advantage acquired or increased, profit . The act or process of gaining. An increase in amount, magnitude, or degree.

So, it’s #slinkylinky Friday; nearly a whole week after I have come back from a very indulgent holiday where, if I’m honest, I had a bit too much to eat. (no surprises there!) I mean I was on holiday, so it was ok right? It was quite liberating to not have to count calories and feel guilty for eating things I knew I shouldn’t be. I wasn’t a complete pig, but just having a glass or two of wine every night which I don’t do at home, was enough to add weight on. And the food in France is so tempting. I love hot buttered toast for breakfast, but French bread is something else. And it has to be eaten with proper butter…and jam!! We didn’t eat out much, but when we did we soon discovered that the portions in the restaurants were gigantic. I ordered a salad one day and when it arrived there was easily enough on my plate to feed an entire family for a week, in dressing alone!

So I knew whilst I was away that I’d put weight on without a doubt, the question was…just how much. It’s easy not to care when you’re on holiday and you are relaxed and in a different place with no access to scales. Wearing loose summer clothing that never feels too tight round the waist, no clue to the inches that are building up. And then you come home, try and put your jeans on with no luck and come crashing back down to reality. I made the silly mistake of getting on the scales on Sunday night, a few hours after I’d got home, and the result wasn’t pretty. 11stone 9pounds. A whole half a stone more than when I left. I wailed, had a small tantrum and had a brief moment of anger at myself for being so careless over the last couple of weeks. And then I got a grip (there was plenty to grip onto) and put it in perspective. It was a holiday. An amazing holiday. One that was much needed and every pound that I’d put on meant more food and more of the holiday that I’d enjoyed.

But now I am back, and back on the slimming #slinkylinky wagon. I’ve been quite good this week and have been back to some of my old eating routines, eggs for breakfast…not too much bread and NO cheese! I promised that I would weigh this morning and post. Needed to kick myself up my lardy arse and the scales said…11stone 5 and a quarter pounds. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Phew. That was better. Sometimes I think with me that the quicker I put it on the quicker it can come off. And I’m quite lucky like that. I’ve had no alcohol either which must’ve helped.

After weighing I decided I needed a plan for losing some more as I’m still classed as overweight thanks to my BMI and I’m still stupidly unfit, I really need to exercise more. Earlier in the week I bought a Weightwatchers magazine for some recipes and in it there was an article about the ’40 best ever weight loss tips.’

I have chosen 5 that I am going to stick to this week and thought it might help to share them with you…

1) Be prepared! I am so much better if I write a weekly meal plan and stick to it, less opportunities to eat too much! I like a plan!
2) Eat slowly! This one will be tough as I am always wolfing down one meal as I’m so busy, but in the evening I must do this, it does help!
3) Stop blaming yourself! Apparently it’s not willpower that let’s us down it’s being surrounded by the wrong sorts of food, there are adverts, fast food outlets, billboards all around tempting us to eat rubbish! And I’m also not going to have that stuff in the house, then even if I’m tempted I can’t do anything about it!
4) Talk to someone! It says that when you’re having a bad day to talk to people going through the same thing, on Twitter for example! Perfect for me!
5) Play with your kids! Now I do obviously do this already, but could do it more. Instead of watching my daughter jump on the trampoline in the garden I could actually get on it myself. And before we went to France we were going for bike rides in the evening which we could start doing again. I definitely need to be more active.

So, those are my five things for this week! I feel quite positive about it all at the moment and am pretty focused. Let’s see how long that lasts! *starts making a meal plan for next week* 😉

Thank you as always to @ladyemsy and @Mrsfinn86 for the inspiration and support!

A few weeks ago I was contacted by the lovely people at My Pouch asking me if I’d like to review their fab pouches for food on the go.

This idea was new to me as, even though I used the well known pouches in the shops with my second child when we were out and about, I had never heard of pouches in which you could put your own food. What a brilliant idea! I love creating and cooking for my children when they are weaning and so the thought of being able to take this food with me in an easy package was very appealing. I am rubbish with Tupperware and constantly have bowls with no lids or lids with no bowls and even now I have three children am no better at taking home cooked food out with me.

The Reusable Food Pouch is a convenient way to store home cooked food. It is very durable, and can be put in the dishwasher and the freezer. BPA free it’s also very safe and has a cap which cannot be swallowed, very child friendly!

Now my third child can be a pickle when it comes to food and very rarely would take anything puréed from a spoon, so I was interested to see how the pouch would work with slightly lumpier textures. Spaghetti bolognese, a firm favourite with all three of my children, was something he would eat and could with his hands, and something that I didn’t feel the need to purée to a pulp. In short the pouch was fantastic. The wide opening made it easy to fill with the lumpier texture and it was also extremely easy to get out at the other end, perfect!

Also in the hot weather I have been mixing fruit and yoghurt, putting it into the pouches and then freezing them to make a lovely cooling snack. I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve also eaten a fruit smoothie out of a pouch…it was very refreshing!

As a mum I wanted to give my child home made food wherever possible, and now whether I’m in the park, at the shops or at the seaside I can!

I would recommend these pouches to use when you start weaning, not only are they brilliant for their very first foods, but they also make useful storage for snacks when they get older. A very convenient way to get healthy food into your children where ever you are!!