Weigh In and Update

So I have been back on track for over a week now, and other than 1 day I have exercised when I said I was going to... I think that counts as a win!

 

I weighed in yesterday, but was a little too hormonal to actually come in and update the blog. Didn't think I would have really been posting from a positive place (was freaking out trying to fit too much into one day). Don't get me wrong, I was happy about my weigh in. It was probably better than I expected really due to the time of the month.

 

I was hoping for a loss, but would have been happy to maintain this week. While it was my first week back, I know how my body works, so I was really happy to see a 400g loss on the scales. I am still aiming for a 500g loss each week as my goal, and I do need to remind myself of this sometimes as I often find myself hoping for a much larger loss.

 

Once again, I need to get myself in the mindset of slow and steady and no pressure as well as who cares as long as the number is going down.

 

Food wise I have been doing pretty well. I have dipped into my weekly propoints a little for both weeks. I am trying not to, but it is nice to have that buffer there. I think I will be using them all this weekend when a few of my friends come over to kick off the Tour de Fleece. I have been trying to eat filling and healthy foods, but have had a few freddos to help with chocolate cravings.

 

As for exercise, I have started a 9 week challenge on the Wii (EA Sports Active 2.0), and it's so nice to have a variety.  Yesterday B and Miss 5 (yep - 5 now!!) got home not long after I had started exercising and Miss 5 joined in with me! So cute watching her do squats, lunges and running. She even pushed me along to finish!

 

I am looking forward to next weeks weigh in already.  Lets hope I have another good week :)

Hoping to make a comeback!

Over the last few days I have been thinking about how much I miss blogging.  Don't get me wrong... nothing has changed really, I'm still busy as hell, overthink everything, am too hard on myself and feel like I have poor time management skills, but have really missed being able to lay myself bare and reach out to people.

 

I am still (*ahem* back...) doing Weight Watchers, and I am still really enjoying it and  I have met some wonderful women also doing WW who have really helped me and been a fantastic support. I did have a short break from WW, which was about 2-3 months, but in that time we moved house, I changed stores for work, lost my Nana which I am still grieving and also became quite sick (basically bedridden for 2 weeks) and also managed a trip to the dentist (I have a phobia, trust me, that's significant!).

 

I am very proud to say though, that during that time I hovered around the same weight, so while I was off-plan and not eating very well at all, something must have stuck because I at least don't feel like I am back at the beginning, which has been such a big issue for me in the past.  I am currently sitting at my second mini goal which will get me to a loss of 10kg, I still have 4.9kg to get to that, and I am hopeful for a good weigh in this week.

 

Mentally, I actually feel really at peace and confident that I can succeed.  At the beginning of the week I had a bit of meltdown and fully realised just how truly unhappy I am with my weight and just how much my body image and self confidence have suffered because of it.  I am not saying that weight loss will be the miracle cure to fix it, but I do believe it will be a step in the right direction

 

While speaking with some of the WW girls supporting me I came across some older pictures of me where I was at different weights. Usually I would be horrified and ashamed of what I have done to my body, especially after working so hard to lose the weight in the first place, but now I can look at these pictures and see them as inspiration or goals.

 

 

A few of my friends have been running recently, and I have always had it in my head that "I am not a runner", "I cannot do it"... but recently I have been questioning it.  I love the idea of running, but am unsure of whether or not it is for me... at this point in time I am still pondering...

 

As I am technically on uni holidays (although still studying for deferred exams), I am attempting to fit exercise back into my life. I am hoping to do this through fitness videos, free weights and a barbell set and once again the Wii and Xbox fitness games.

 

Also, to save your guys from the continuous onslaught of gardening and sustainability posts, I have started up a new blog here, where if you are interested you can follow me there too!

 

Hopefully I will be around to post more.  Weigh ins, as always, are on a Wednesday... that's a good place to start! If you are still around and reading, please say Hi... I do love getting comments on my blog and always try to reply to each one!

What to do when life gets in the way....

What a crazy couple of weeks!!!

 

We have moved house, I have a new job (new location at least) uni has finished and I have had news that my Nana has taken a turn for the worst... overall an emotionally charged time!!

 

The problem is... eating has gone out the window.  So much takeaway!!! in 2 weeks I put on 3.5kg!!! OMG!  However this week I have weighed in with a 700g loss, just by trying to be more aware of what I was eating... I was still eating some crap, but at least I was aware of it.

 

I also bought myself a Soup Simple which I am totally in love with!! I tend to make a lot of soups in winter, and this just makes my life so much easier!!! Now I don't need to blend in batches!! So far I have made my fave Curried Pumpkin Soup and today I had Potato and Leek Soup (and, for the record, the potatoes came from my garden!)

 

Might try to make the Roasted Capsicum and Tomato Soup in it next!!

 

I am really looking forward to getting my weightloss back on track, trying to stay positive about it... but I realised the other day that the weight I have gained over the last 2 years hasn't done anything for my mental health... turns out I have a lot of self loathing going on.

 

With uni done (kind of, I had to defer my exams so still a bit of studying to do) I am hoping to do some more exercise, and now with where we have moved to my fave national park is nearby, so I am hoping to get over there sometimes too :) Otherwise I am thinking of going back to the Wii until I can decide on a gym or not... but that's another post!

About time for a weight loss related post...

Seeing as my last few posts have been about my garden, sustainability or the mental implications of losing/gaining weight, I figured it's probably about time that I actually checked in with something to do with MY weight loss!

 

Since Easter I have come off the rails a bit, but I actually kind of expected this and I am happy to say that I handled it much better than I have in the past.  Last year I made myself sick by eating so much chocolate, this year I still ate a decent amount of chocolate, but it was nothing in comparison to recent years.  I really think that the Weight Watchers mentality has really stuck this time, which is a great thing!!! Yes, I overate, not only at Easter, but for the month following, but overall I was only 900g up!  Which is nothing in the grand scheme of things, especially as in the past I have been able to put that on in a week, let alone in 4 weeks. It has really helped having the graph ticker (on the right, under "The Bigger Picture"), as I could see with each little gain, in the bigger picture, it was ok!

 

The truth is, I indulged but tried so hard not to go overboard. And I have come out of it feeling even more confident in my abilities to see this through this time.  Yesterday when I did the groceries I thought I would mix it up a bit and go to the butchers first and plan my meals that way, rather than going to the supermarket, looking at meal mixes and planning that way.  I actually think that by going to the butchers first I have managed to put together a healthier meal plan for the week. 

 

Now, I have just written a bit of a tangent, so I will save that for a new post (look for that one tonight lol) and keep this one focussed on my actual weight loss.

 

This week I focussed on tracking everything I ate, and trying to cook as many meals as possible.  It hasn't been great, but it has been better. I even had some farewell drinks as I was leaving one of my jobs and I am very happy to say that I have actually lost 500g this week! I was hoping to stay the same as I did go over on my points over the weekend, but this is a great loss to see!!

 

Uni is coming up to the exam period, so we will see how my eating goes then.  This time last year we decided to do Lite n' Easy just so we wouldn't have to cook, but  think that overall I am handling the uni side of things better... or at least I hope I am!

 

However, when uni is finished for the semester I will have 12 weeks off! I am so excited about that! I really feel that this time will be good for me to recharge my batteries, but I am also excited as I am planning on getting back into the exercise over this time, so hopefully it will also help with the weightloss, measurements and toning... as well as mental wellbeing! I will be going back to using the Wii again I think, but I am looking forward to setting myself that challenge.

 

I should also let you all know that I have made a slight change in my Weight Watchers journey.  Instead of doing the Unlimited option (online tools and meetings) I have dropped back to just the online tools.  This does save us a little money, but I also found that for me I am in a good space with it all and I have a great support group on a forum I am on. If I find that I do need that encouragement of a meeting I can always go back to the Unlimited option or even just pay meeting by meeting.

 

 

Whirlsie's Roast Capsicum & Tomato Soup

I have been trying to find a yummy tomato soup recipe and this one seems to do the trick!!

Whirlsie's Roast Capsicum & Tomato Soup

ProPoints™ Value: 1
Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 50 min
Level of Difficulty: Moderate

My own recipe

Ingredients

• 1kg fresh vine ripened tomatoes, cut in half
• 2 large red capsicums, seeded and cut into quarters
• 1 medium red onion, quartered
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 4 cup(s) salt reduced chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C fan-forced.
• Place the tomatoes, capsicum and onion, cut-side up, in a single layer on baking tray. Sprinkle with the oregano.
• Roast for 40 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
• Place the roasted tomato mixture in a large saucepan along with remaining ingredients over high heat and bring to the boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat and puree the soup until smooth.
• Return soup to the pot and stir over low heat until heated through.

Achievement Unlocked: Lost 5kg!!

Actually... I have lost 5.9kg!!!

I am so damn excited and proud of myself! Regular readers (from when I was posting regularly lol) will remember me being so down on myself and not wanting to write anymore because I felt like I kept setting myself up for failure...

Taking the time to step back and focus on myself mentally has really helped me.  I feel like I am in control and that I can do this!!!  Which is what I really needed. My first goal of losing 5kg was a way to prove to myself that it can be done.  I had lost weight in the past, but I needed to confirm to myself that I could do it now that my lifestyle is completely different.

The best thing I could have done was to take all of the pressure out of it... for me, while I love that the 12WBT has helped so many people, I find it a little too extreme for myself, and I work much better with little pressure and keeping it all slow and steady.

In fact, "Slow and Steady" has been my motto.  It has taken me 11 weeks to lose that, which fits with my 'goal' of 500g a week. Nice and manageable :)

I have found that if I focus on filling and healthy foods I tend to lose a little more and I try not to use my 49 weekly propoints, but I always seem to dip into them a little lol.

My reward for losing 5kg is to do Ixchel's fibre club, so I will be sending her a message soon to let her know that I am in!  I only have 4.9kg to my next goal, which will mean a total of 10kg lost, I will be under 100kg and almost halfway to my goal of 85kg!

Right now I feel so freaking amazing!!!

Feeling Skinny

About time for an update... don't you think?

 

Once again the thought of posting has been on my mind for the last few days... but that might be because I have an assignment due on Friday... and I am sick of looking at it!!

 

My life is one big chaotic ball at the moment, and the honest truth of it all is that I am not sure if I am coping.  With 2 jobs (yep - 2 now!), uni and a family it's really hard, but right now I am dealing (or not really dealing (or not at all)) with the fact that my Nana has been diagnosed not only with dementia, but also with terminal cancer. I have recently come back from a week in New Zealand to spend some time with her as it is unlikely that she will be with us for much longer, in fact I doubt if she will be here in 3 months time. My Nana is my world, she is the woman who has encouraged me my entire life, who has been always there for me when I have felt so incredibly alone and who has shaped me into the woman I am today. She is the type of woman I strive to be; independent, strong and happy to be who she is. She belongs to no man, lives her life the way she has always wanted and has always helped and supported where she could. I cannot imagine a world without her and our last cuddle together has to be one of the hardest things I have had to face in recent years.

 

However, one positive side to it all was that while I was over there, I didn't put on much weight (1kg) and I have since lost that and more over the last week.  I am currently 300g off my first mini goal of 5kg, I am really looking forward to reaching that as I feel as though it will cement it in my brain that I can lose this weight again. I have also been looking at myself in the mirror over the last few days and thinking to my self that I feel skinnier!  Maybe I am just not as bloated or something, but hopefully it is something clicking in my brain and it is catching up with the weight I have lost.

 

The slow and steady mentality has kicked in again, and for me this is how I lose weight... this is what works for me.  No pressure, just life and trying to get the right balance. Always aiming for a 500g loss works for me, and trying to keep my food as healthy and nutritious as possible seems to be the key.

 

For example, today for lunch I had Curried Pumpkin Soup (Weight Watchers Recipe) and grain toast. So delicious!  It was a favourite of mine when I first did WW over 2 years ago now, and I still love it.  Now that the weather seems to be turning colder, I need to find some more delicious soup recipes, so if anyone has any that they would like to share, please do!

 

While I didn't take an official start photo, I am thinking of taking some for each 5kg I lose, so hopefully next week I can put up a progress pic.

 

Also, a little update on the garden front, I have potatoes in at the moment and I also bought a mandarin tree! I am a total newbie to fruit trees, so if anyone has any tips, please share those too!  I have ordered the compost bins I spoke about in my last post and I am just waiting for them to be delivered! Hope it's soon! I can't wait!!

 

I think that is all for me for now, hope everyone is going well, catch you next time!

I think I'm back?

You may have noticed that I have added a couple of posts over the last few days... I have been thinking about coming back and posting again... but thought I would wait for some kind of milestone... looks like I can't wait that long! lol

 

So, how about an update?

 

I have been keeping things really quiet lately as I really was sick of posting stuff up only to "fail" or at least fall behind. After 3 months or so, I finally feel as though my head is in the right space.  Things seem to be falling into place, at least weight loss and uni wise.

 

Over the last few months I have had a chance to really think things through, with no pressure, no goals and no obligations. It took a fair bit of soul searching, but I have finally come to peace with my new way of life and how I can fit things in/work things out.

 

In early January after a little holiday I signed up to Weight Watchers again, and this time, it's working!  My goals have been simple with my weightloss:

• no comparing myself to others
• taking it slowly
• not getting worked up on "the right way", just doing what works for me at the time
• aiming to lose 500g a week, but not beating myself up if I don't make it (hasn't happened yet lol)

Before uni I was exercising everyday, now that uni has gone back I'm not doing any.  While this isn't ideal, my experiences from last year proved that it's just not going to happen... and that's ok, so my focus will be on my diet.

I am breaking my weightloss down into 5kg mini goals. To me this is much more achievable, as you all know I have struggled to lose 5kg in one hit in a long time.

Rather than aiming for my healthy BMI range weight of 75kg, I have decided to aim for 85kg, as that was a weight I was able to maintain for a long time.  I am even thinking of just maintaining at that weight for 6 months or so, to let my body, brain and mindset catch up.

Anyway, onto the stats that I know that you all want to hear.  Since the 9th of January, I have lost 3.6kg, which is more than the 500g a week!  Pretty happy with that! So far I have even lost 11cm in a month.  I am due for more measurements as of this week.

So, sticking with my no pressure rule, I will stick with updating when I can, with no set routine. 

Hope to see you all soon!

Whirlsie's Banana & Date Muffins

 

Whirlsie's Banana & Date Muffins

ProPoints™ Value: 3
Servings: 14
Preparation Time: 25 min
Cooking Time: 25 min
Level of Difficulty: Moderate

My own recipe

Ingredients

1 cup(s) Coles , Milk, Lite
12 individual fresh dates     
4 medium bananas
1 tbs honey
2 medium egg(s) 
4 serve(s) Beerenberg , Sauce, Apple                
2 cup(s) plain flour    
2 tbs artificial sweetener powder
3/4 tsp table salt, iodised    
4 tsp baking powder    


Instructions

1 - Blend milk, dates, banana, honey, eggs and apple sauce together in blender
2 - Combine flour, splenda, salt and baking powder together in bowl. Mix well.
3 - Add wet mixture to dry mixture until just mixed.
4 - Spoon mixture into greased muffin tray
5 - Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes in a preheated 200 degree oven

Just a little update... well... maybe a long one!

Well, I thought I would pop in with a bit of an update... as even though I will be doing the cleaning/organising challenge and will be blogging about it on here, the  weight loss aspect of my life hasn't stopped.

Don't get me wrong, I actually think that having the house tidy and organised will be beneficial for weight loss as hopefully I won't feel so cluttered and enclosed and will feel a little more 'free' in myself, but I am hoping to also find time to continue blogging about my wins/losses and everything in between.

Now, I do have to tell you all that for the last week, I have been... 'off'... with my eating and exercise habits.  I know I was getting better at it, so what happened?! I hear you say... well... in truth... it was the fact that I was being 'good' and watching what I was eating and everything via the Weight Watchers plan... and I wasn't losing weight... I basically maintained for 3 weeks!  Now, I know it seems silly, but at the beginning of changing to eating healthy foods and cutting down portion sizes and bad foods, you would think there would be some kind of a loss right?!

Nope.

So, while I didn't necessarily throw a tanty, I did just kind of go 'meh' to it all and haven't tracked, counted or exercised... in fact, I will admit to losing momentum.

On the plus side, we haven't really had any take away (except for birthday/father's day celebrations) and I have been aiming to cook every night, so I am actually really happy with this, as I am still pretty determined to live a healthier lifestyle. Looks like something stuck!!  YAY!

Two steps forward, one step back.

With the exercise side of things... I have decided that I will definitely be cancelling my gym membership, so I will be emailing them tomorrow.  I do enjoy going to the gym, but I am really just not in that frame of mind at the moment.  We now have both the Xbox and the Wii set up and as I am at home most of the time I am hoping to get a routine in place for using the games we have for exercise (as I have done in the past)... right now I think that simplicity is key.

Also, when I decided to do WW again, I popped down to a local meeting to pick up a pedometer.  I have actually found it really interesting to see how many steps I do when I am around uni, but mostly when I am at work.  Even on a half day at work I can work up 10,000-12,000 steps!!! CRAZY!!  Definitely means I was right when I initially said that I get a workout at work so would just exercise on days when I wasn't working!! No wonder work is so tiring!!

Uni at the moment is about to start week 4... and somehow I have managed to fall behind... it seems that my 'great plan' has failed as I have been out and about and haven't actually done the pre-study that I wanted to do.  However, I have found that this method really does work well for me... I just need to bloody do it!!  I think the key right now (after I actually catch up!!) is to mark out sections that I want to do each night in preparation and tick those off as a task for each day.  One benefit of uni is that each semester I am learning about how I study best, and then learning to fine tune it.

I have also been meaning to tell you all that I have received the blue dress to the right of the screen for the wedding.  As soon as I finish the shrug I am currently working on I may post a sneak preview of the outfit (I will have to find the shoes first!) The shrug is a mauve colour, and I think it will suit the dress well.  I did make a shrug in a teal/silver, but I really didn't like the look or texture of it.  Maybe I will need to do a photo of each to show you all??

I am feeling a lot better since my emotional outpouring the other day, some of those things are still on my mind, but I am hoping that I can fix them or at least work with/around them.

I have just celebrated my 28th birthday, and I had an absolute blast when I went out last night (there will probably be a gain this week though!!) I was able to celebrate it with friends and family and just being able to get out and relax/have fun/get out of the house was some really good medicine.

There has also been a bit of talk in my family of my mother (who passed when I was 8) and a recent death of a great uncle who was a wonderful man, does bring home the realisation that there are worse things out there, and to try not to stress, to live life, love and have fun.  I am not good at living by this, I wish I was, but at least for now I am trying not to stress and to put some routines in place so that things won't be so overwhelming in the future.

 

I've been meaning to write this post all week!

I keep coming up with topics to blog about, but actually getting in here and doing it is another story!!

The last week has been a little hectic.  I have been off to the doctors to get some stronger antibiotics for an infection that has come back and uni has also gone back, so I have been trying to get ready for that... and attempting to get back intot he swing of things and set up some good study habits... which hasn't gone as well as I would have hoped.

Over the last week I have also been tracking propoints in a half-arsed kinda manner, so yesterday I started doing it properly.  Over the last week though, I have been noticing more of what I actually have been eating... and some of it really suprised me!  Not only what I was eating, but how much!  Portion control people!! lol I have already upped my fruit and veggie intake, which is one of the reasons why I love Weight Watchers, because it really does help me work those in.

Up until last night I had been tracking at home, using all of the books and tools here, but last night I decided to sign up for the 2 week free online trial, to see what will work best for me.  I have to admit though, that while the tracker does look pretty and it can be easier to search for food items, it's really not much different to just tracking at home, so depending on how I feel about it in 2 weeks time, I might just go back to tracking at home.

I have been trying to figure out the best format to do it in, At Home, Online or Unlimited (meetings), my way of thinking at the moment is that it's all pretty much the same... either way it is up to you to eat the filling and healthy foods, exercise and to track it all.  For what I can do at home for free, it does seem a little silly to pay $30 a month to use an online tool (especially when I have access to the forums anyway), or $65 a month to use both the online tracker and to attend 4 meetings. Maybe it would be different if my motivation was gone? What do you guys think??

One funny (or not-so-funny) thing I found out last night is that since my last WW weigh in in July last year I have put on 18.2kg... that's about 1.5kg a month!  I keep having what my friend said to me roll around my head "But... You were so strict!" and right now that is a really big motivator...

I weighed in this morning at 103.8kg, so not the greatest, but considering my half-arsed attempt this week, I'm happy with that 300g lol. The scales are still going down!!

I also went back to the gym yesterday, I did mean to go on Monday, but I had to cancel that due to some funky side effects from the antibiotics, but I was feeling ok yesterday so I just did some light exercising (treadmill, rowing, bike).  When I got home though, I had so much energy!  After the gym I ended up; doing the groceries, cleaning the kitchen, cook lunch, make a loaf of bread, bring washing in and do some gardening!  However... after all that I was pretty exhausted lol!!  But WOW!! It felt so awesome to have all of that extra energy!!!  Go exercising!! lol

I had to share this picture with you all... it's something I need to remind myself of constantly!

Weight Watchers 14 Day Free Trial

Hi All

Further to my post this morning, I thought I would share this page with you for a 14 Day Free Trial at Weight Watchers (Australia (not sure about New Zealand)) for the online stuff.  Just in case you were interested at all, this way you can give it a go :)

Just remember to cancel it at the end of the 14 days so that your credit card doesn't get charged if you just want to try it out.

Feeling a little better...

Well, I think all of those annoying TTOM hormones are now under control again and I don't need to be so damn sooky!

After my outpouring the other night I just felt so much better having getting it all off my chest. Over the last couple of days I have been thinking about what needs to be done, and what can be done to help me more. So, I have pulled out my Weight Watchers books and I have started tracking my eating using this tool.

What I do love about this program is that it's really just like calorie counting and what I have done in the past, but it really puts a focus on "Filling and Healthy Foods" (fruit, veggies, dairy, etc) which are basically foods that aren't processed.  It seems like a small thing, but for me it really does help with my mindset as I have already found it easier to focus on these kinds of foods and look at how to incorporate them in my diet.

It has been different this time around to do it all 'manually', when I have done WW in the past I have been a member and used the online tools (basically a tracking diary online which is really useful - especially the search function! lol), but I have my tracking book that I didn't use last time, so I have started writing in that.  If I had some extra money, I think I would sign up for the Unlimited option again, mostly for the accountability of weighing in there and having that constant reminder once a week (like a bit of a goal I suppose), plus the leader was so lovely and supportive.

In my last post, I asked about forums, well, it turns out I still have access to the forum on WW, so that is pretty cool.  I have already put a post up as an introduction and to ask for support - which I have already recieved in bucketloads! The thing that I do need to do (or try to do) is to actually speak out more when I am upset or worried or something on the forums or even on this blog.  I think that when I am feeling down I do tend to just shut myself off from the world and just bottle it all up, and not wanting to worry anyone. I need to be a bit more out there.

When I first started WW I joined up with a friend (and then we both did 12WBT together too lol), so last night I sent her a message to let her know that I had pulled out my old books again and was going to start again.  Depending on how things go, we might end up doing it together again. In the meantime, she has suggested that maybe we have our own 'meetings' basically where we can catch up and give each other support and ideas.

A few weeks ago I had the idea of counting calories again, in truth... this failed... hopefully counting 'propoints' will be more successful... I'm not sure why, but I just feel a little more confident about the propoints as opposed to calories. Nuts, right?!

Now, I have another confession to make... I have been considering the idea of getting rid of my gym membership.  I love going, but it's just not happening at the moment, and that's $52 a month that could be used towards something else.  Right now, I am not convinced, or should I say, I feel guilty for cancelling it.  I think what I might do though is give it another month and see how much I use the membership.  Uni goes back next week, and I will have pretty much half days everyday.  Hopefully I can get my butt into gear and pack my gym bag everynight and just go to the gym on the way home.  My other option for if I stopped my membership was to exercise at home using the Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 on the Xbox, which I do love! And going for walks (something I admit that I am not good at doing!). One day I would love to get back into bellydancing, but I think that might be a little further off.

Now, I am actually 2 weeks late with my stats, but rather than waiting another 2 weeks, I figure I will just do them now.  I will need to get a photo taken (hopefully I remember tonight!) and I will update the "Progress Page".  This morning I weighed in at 104.1kg, so a little up from last week, but considering its TTOM and I haven't been eating the best, I'm good with that.