My Top 10 Fudge

• Peanut Butter Fudge
• Chocolate Orange Fudge
• Creamy Chocolate Fudge
• Chocolate Fudge
• Toffee Fudge
• Vanilla Fudge
• Million Dollar Fudge
• Red Velvet Fudge
• All butter Fudge
• Salted Caramel Fudge

Reasons to Diet #22 - Fed up of being fed up

Number 22: 

This reason for sticking to my diet is because I am fed up of being fed up about my weight and my body. I go on a diet, lose a bit, go on holiday or to the wedding - whatever the event that prompted the weight loss.

I pile it on again, and it all starts all over again. I never maintain - I only ever lose or gain. The more fed up I get, the harder I try, but then when I get to the end of the path, I go overboard everytime. I put it on and I feel fed up. I eat what I want, but then I feel fed up when I am fat.

So, that's reason number 22 - I do not want to be fed up about this anymore. It is just ridiculous and it has to stop.

My Top 10 Old Fashioned Sweets

• Aniseed balls
• Humbugs
• Barley Sticks
• Butterscotch
• Chocolate limes
• Kola cubes
• Mint imperials
• Pear drops
• Sugared almonds
• Chocolate eclairs

My Top 10 Jacket Spud Fillings

• Cheese and Onion
• Veggie Curry
• Cheese and Beans
• Chick Pea Dahl
• Chilli Con Carne
• Sour Cream and Salsa
• Feta, garlic and olives
• Sausage and Cheese
• BBQ Chicken
• Cottage cheese and spring onion

My Top 10 Best Beaches

• Gran Canaria - Maspalomas
• Fuerteventura - Correlejo
• Mexico - Riviera Maya
• Brittany, France - La Baule
• Fiji - Natadola Beach
• Lanzarote - Playa Del Carmen
• Menorca - Arenal del Castell
• Zante - shipwreck beach - Navagio beach
• Mexico - Puerto Vallarta - Majahuitas beach
• California - Coronado Beach

My Top 10 Milk Tray

• Salted Caramel Charm
• Orange Truffle
• Strawberry Temptation
• Apple Crunch
• Fudge Duet
• Truffle Heart
• Perfect Praline
• Surprise Parcel
• Hazelnut Swirl
• Caramel Softy

Reasons to Diet #21 - I Want to go to Posh Restaurants

Number 21:

Reasons to diet 21 - I want to go to posh restaurants!!

What I mean is, that I want to get dressed up in glamorous clothes looking amazing and go out to posh restaurants. I do go out, to lovely places, but I always feel frumpy.

I end up overeating- starters, mains and puddings, washed down with wine. Calorific? Hell yes. Taste good? Damn right!!

The problem is the getting ready and how I feel about me. I want to look nice, to feel confident. I do not want to look like the person who orders everything on the menu!! I want to be that person that people look at eating a three course meal thinking where does she put it, rather than blimey she should rein it in a bit!!

So that is today's reason, so that one day, I will look like the person I want to be :)

My Top 10 Buffet Food

• Sausage rolls
• Quiche
• Chicken goujons
• Pasta salad
• Nachos and dips
• Crusty bread
• Cheese selection
• Cupcakes
• Potato skins
• Mini pizzas

My Top 10 Fruits

• Strawberries
• Banana
• Blueberries
• Watermelon
• Apples
• Grapes
• Cantaloupe Melon
• Cherries
• Raspberries
• Pineapple

My Top 10 Cheese

• Mature Cheddar
• Double Gloucester
• Wensleydale & Cranberry
• Feta
• Brie
• Blue Stilton
• Austrian Smoked Cheese
• Marmite Cheddar
• Creamy Lancashire
• Mexican spicy cheddar

My Top 10 Bread Loaves

• Crusty white bloomer
• Poppy seed bloomer
• Tiger loaf
• Tiger cheese bloomer
• Wholemeal seeded loaf
• Farmhouse white loaf
• Walnut loaf
• Multigrain farmhouse
• Granary loaf
• Rye bread loaf

Reasons to Diet #20 - Scales have not dropped

Number 20:

Today's first reason to stick to my diet is that the scales have not dropped much on recent weigh ins. It makes me really fed up. Sometimes, the weight staring back at me is so harsh, that it puts me in a bad mood for the day.

Sometimes it doesn't bother me what I weigh, as sometimes I can block it out. Then I weigh in and see it, and realise I have been kidding myself that I have been dieting, kind of half halfheartedly trying instead of really trying, but the scales do not lie.

When the scales have dropped, it feels great. When they haven't, for any reason - sometimes it just doesn't budge when I have really tried, its a horrible feeling. My reason to diet is that I want the scales to drop so that I can get that good feeling, instead of the scales not dropping and how that makes me feel. 

Reasons to Diet #19 - counting down to Holidays

Number 19:

This reason is simple. I am counting down until my next holiday. I have to make each day count!!

Some nights I could easily give in. The last thing in the world I want for my tea is diet measly portions. But I have to do it. Why? Because I want to be the best I can be when I get on that plane.

Ok, so miracles don't happen, but I can at least be unbloated and more streamlined than if I pig out at this point!!

Reasons to Diet #18 - I want rid of my muffin top!

Number 18:

Today's reason to stick to the diet is that I want rid of the muffin top!!

I am losing weight, I am sticking to the exercise and yet still, that unsightly bulge over my waistband when I sit down remains. I don't know how slim I will need to get to in order to get rid of this damned bit of flab, but I am determined.

So that is today's reason. No more muffins - either the food variety or the overhang!! :)

My Top 10 Dips

Houmous

Tzatziki

Salsa

Sour Cream

Guacamole

Pesto

Yoghurt and Cucumber

Onion and Garlic

Cheese and Chive

Creamy sweet Chilli

Reasons to Diet #17 - I want to drink wine!

Number 17:

Reason to diet number 17 - I want to have some wine!!

Yes, when I reach goal weight, or holiday, whichever comes first, I can finally have some wine!! But only, and I repeat, only, if I get under that stone mark!! I have to earn it.

So there is another reason. Bribery. Works a treat with me :)

My Top 10 Crisp Flavours

• Cheese & Onion
• Smoky Bacon 
• Flamin Hot
• Sweet Chilli
• Roast Chicken
• Mature Cheddar
• Sour Cream
• Black Pepper
• Steak
• Paprika

Reasons to Diet #16 - Toned Arms

Number 16:

Today's reason for sticking to my diet - I want toned arms.

Yep, I want rid of the bingo wings and the armpit fat. Even when I'm not that big - probably somewhere between a size 12 and a size 14 at my lowest, like a 13 if there was such a thing it still resists my efforts!!

However, I want my arms to be defined, to be toned, to get rid of these annoying flabby bits so that I look nice in dresses and am not worried about the hammy area at the top of my arms. I just need to get that bit lower in body fat, and that bit more muscular in the arms.

Diet alone won't shift this so I need to up the ante on the weight front. So that is reason number 16.

Reasons to Diet #15 - I am Not Getting any Younger

Number 15:

Today's reason to stick to the diet - I am not getting any younger!!

Right - its that old saying that as you get older, you generally thicken out, and gain a few pounds. Now, if this is the case, having entered my 40's, it sure is not going to get any easier battling against my body.

If age does slow the metabolism, all the more reason to lose the weight now, before biology starts to tick against me!!

So that is today's reason to motivate me, and as reasons go, this one seems to be pretty powerful!! :)

The Greatest Love Songs (in my humble opinion )

• Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You
• John Legend - All of Me
• George Michael - I Can't Make you Love Me
• Norah Jones - Come Away With Me
• U2 - With or Without You
• Take That - Rule The World
• Robbie Williams - She's The One
• Adele - Make You Feel My Love
• Ed Sheeran - Shape of You
• Foreigner - I Want to Know What Love Is

Reasons to Diet #14 - I want to look good in lingerie

Number 14:

Today's reason to stick to the diet - I want to look good in lingerie.

Yes, its that female enjoyment of wearing beautiful underwear. The problem at the moment, is that my underwear is tending to be functional rather than beautiful. This must change.

I want to wear gorgeous lacy things, delicate items - not boulder holders!! So that is today's reason to stick to the diet. :)

Reasons to Diet #13 - Lazing on the sofa won't make me bikini ready

Number 13:
Another reason to stick to the diet - lying on the sofa won't make me bikini ready!! And yet I am having one of those days when that is all I want to do.

I just want to put my head in those cushions, lay back, still a film on and be done with it. But I can't. Well, I could, but then there would be no point when I am looking back on holiday in beating myself up and feeling fat. If I choose that option, I deserve to look crap on the beach.

So, reason number 13 is that lying on the sofa will not make me bikini ready. So that has to be a start to get me up and active today and stay away from the chocolates!! :)

What was the first song you remember loving?

My other half's daughter asked me what sort of music I liked when I was young. When I stopped sobbing (when i realised how many years)  I thought about it.

Here are my top 10 songs from when I was mainly in single digits:

• Summer Nights (yes from Grease!)
• NKOTB - The Right Stuff
• Karma Chameleon - Culture Club
• Every Breath She Takes - The Police
• Buffalo Stance - Neneh Cherry
• How Soon is Now - The Smiths
• Push It - Salt N Pepa
• Get into The Groove - Madonna
• The Boys of Summer - Don Henley
• True - Spandau Ballet

Actually not the most embarrassing list (bar the odd one in there!). It was quite fun thinking back to come up with my top 10. 

So what was the first song you really remember loving, and what is your top 10? 

Reasons to Diet #12 - Cheekbones

Number 12:

Reasons to stick to my diet and exercise plan number 12 is that I want to see my cheekbones again. I am very lucky to possess good bone structure - I have been told many times.

Many times that is, when you can actually see them, unlike now!! My face is the first place weight seems to go from when I lose it. Unfortunately, its also the first place that it goes back on, which is what I am rocking or sadly not, at the moment.

So, another reason is to rediscover them bones them bones them dry bones. Cheekbones that it is :)

Reasons to Diet #11 - Toned Pins

Number 11:

I have never been one of those women that throws on a pair of shorts in summer. At a push, I will don a pair on holiday where noone I know is likely to see me but I don't have the pins for shorty shorts.

I would love to have toned pins so that I can - so that's motivation to get the weight off, plus exercise and eat healthily = toned pins :)

Acts I want to see or wish I had seen

Acts I want to see / wish I had seen

Oasis (seen Liam solo)
Ellie Goulding
Rihanna
Beyonce
Adele
Maroon 5
Elton John - tickets booked!!
David Bowie
Kylie
Whitney

The Walking Dead - Words for Zombies

Today's little bit of the world of the Walking Dead is focusing on the words for the Zombies themselves. Some from the Walking Dead, and some from general zombie-isms - is that even a word?

So here we are then:

• Walkers
• Biters
• Walking Dead
• Living Dead
• Creeper
• Cold bodies
• Floaters
• Lame-brains
• Roamer
• Rotter
• Infected
• Reanimated
• Undead
• The Damned

Reasons to Diet #10 - I want a trim middle

Number 10:

As a woman, and turned 41, the area around my middle is a problem. Always has been if I'm brutally honest, but now it bugs me more than ever!!

So, my reason to diet and exercise is this - I want that middle trimmed down and not bulging over the top of my waistbands!!

Its also a reason to do a lot of abs. :)

St Maur liqueur and cocktails hamper worth £140

St Maur liqueur and cocktails hamper worth £140: St Maur is a hand-crafted premium elderflower liqueur from the Heart of England. A versatile, award-winning drink, it is perfect for both sipping and mixing.  A beautiful aperitif on its own and subl...

Top 10 Places I want to go

I've travelled a fair bit in my time, but there are still so many places I want to see and explore. (once the world gets better again) Here are my top 10:

• Paris, France
• Nova Scotia to see the Northern Lights
• Venice, Italy
• Hawaii
• The Bahamas
• Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns, Australia
• Maine, New England
• Monaco, France
• Croatia
• The Maldives

Reasons to Diet #9 - Reaching Goal Weight

Number 9:

I want to get under the stone mark. I am sick of almost reaching goal, then never quite getting under that stone mark!!!! I never actually reach the goal, as getting under one particular stone just never quite happens.

I have quite a bit of weight to lose, and I have done so many times before, but I always hit the same point and can never get below it.

So my reason to Diet Number 9 is to actually reach goal weight.

My Top Picks - Atmospheric Must Watch Films

• Wind River
• Old Boy
• No Country for Old Men
• Heat
• The Revenant
• Fargo
• One Hour Photo
• The Dressmaker
• The Remains of the Day
• The Bourne Identity
• The Big Lebowski
• O Brother Where Art Thou
• The Shawshank Redemption
• Insomnia
• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri
• Collateral
• Seven
• Gangs of New York
• The Grey
• The Edge
• The English Patient
• The Shining
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
• Sunshine
• Unfaithful
• The End of the Affair
• The Hurt Locker

Reasons to Diet #8 - I Am Too Hot

Number 8 :

When I am overweight in the summer when its warm, it makes me feel even more hot and uncomfortable. I lose weight to go on holiday abroad, and it feels so good being able to wear bikini's, shorts and skirts.

Unfortunately, when I get home to the UK, I gain weight and then when it gets warm here, I am not able to wear my summer clothes. This is ridiculous. So I am changing the pattern this year and I am going to be slim for the summer here for once!!!

I want to be cool, and look cool, not hot and uncomfortable!!!

Top 10 Oscar Winning Films

I thought I would take a look back over previous Academy Award winning best films of all time.

Here are my top 10:

• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - 1975
• The Silence of the Lambs - 1991
• The Hurt Locker - 2009
• Million Dollar Baby - 2004
• The English Patient - 1996
• Argo - 2012
• American Beauty - 1999
• Braveheart - 1995
• A Beautiful Mind - 2001
• No Country for Old Men - 2007

You can see my movie reviews here. 

Three Degrees of Separation - how films are linked #1

Casino stars:

• Robert De Niro
• Joe Pesci

Home Alone

• Joe Pesci (De Niro was first choice apparently)
• Macaulay Culkin

My Girl

• Macaulay Culkin
• Anna Chlumsky

The Good Guy

• Anna Chlumsky
• Alexis Biedel

The Brass Teapot

• Alexis Biedel
• Juno Temple

The Other Boleyn Girl

• Juno Temple
• Natalie Portman

Heat

• Natalie Portman
• Robert De Niro

And I'm back to the start :) 

Reasons to Diet #7 - Mirror Issues

Number 7:

Ok so number 7 is a bit different. This reason is a bit of a phobia I seem to have developed. I have a real issue with facing the mirrors at the gym. When I am working certain exercises, I am supposed to check my technique in the mirror. Not me, no way, never!! I will face the other way, or if I have no choice, I will look anywhere but at that damn mirror!!

In general mirrors are becoming a problem. I used to love getting ready to go out whereas now its an ordeal. Finally squeezing into something to "make do" then facing the inevitable disappointment in my reflection is dismal to say the least.

So reason number 7 for sticking to my diet is to reach a weight where I am comfortable seeing myself in the mirror.