Feeling BLAH today...

Some days I just feel blah...and today is one of those days.

I feel like a sausage stuck in a very tight skin...goodness, such a unique image...

Had to get into my comfy pants today.

I need to have a cleansing week. Yes, a cleansing week.

I met up with my two sister-in-laws this morning and over a sugar-filled "high tea" at Eurolounge, I was inspired. One of my beautiful sisters told me that she spent the week away from processed sugar and felt so much better! (Now, both my sister's in law are my ideal weight, so it's a little eye-opening to see that even skinny people need to be on a diet...constantly!)

So I too shall go SUGAR free this week.

Hmmm...should I get in some sugar before the weekend is over?

Tip of the Week

Bite sized naughtiness!

I know in advance that around 3pm every afternoon I want something naughty, and who are we kidding it would definitely be chocolate!

So, the best are the bite sized treats that you find in the supermarket. Sometimes you don't need a whole bar of chocolate, you just need the sweet smooth taste of chocolate in your mouth.

So cure your craving in moderation and portion control!

Weigh in Day...

No exclamation mark can be given to the title of today's post.

I have put on 1/2kg this last week.

Combine stress and long hours of work...oh and the chinese take out over the weekend, and voila! A recipe for weight gain.

However, I did lose 2 kgs in the previous two weeks, so +1/2 kg...or 500gms...not THAT bad.

Need to commit to more exercise this week...blah!

Quick and Healthy in less than 5 mins!

I'm going to share with you a quick and healthy lunch idea.

Ever had a day where you just didn't feel like actually eating anything for lunch, but you knew that you had to eat something to avoid being hungry in the afternoon?

Ok, I know, strange question...but hear me out. Today is quite a warm day and I am not feeling like going to much effort.

Here's what I just had for lunch. I made a smoothie! I put in some yoghurt, frozen berries, soy milk (of course you can use lite milk), one small banana and blended it all together...wooshka! A healthy less than 5 min lunch!

Truth be known, I've had this as a breakfast smoothie (without the banana sometimes).

Go on, try it.

Snack Idea!

Oh my gosh! Snack idea!

Water crackers and the little pot of Philidelphia cream cheese (the light version!).

Don't wait for a pre-made, pre-packaged snack idea. Enjoy the simple treat and hunger-filler.

PLUS, I just threw the box of crackers and the little container of Philidelphia Cream Cheese straight into my handbag, so no preparation. When it came time to eat, you use the cheese as a dip. Voila!

Weigh in Day!

Wow, these weigh in days come around too quickly!

I am another 1/2 kg down. Thank goodness for the hair-cut...hey! As long as the reading on the scales is less than last week, I'm cheering! Down is good!

Could've been 1 kg down...damn cheesecake

Momentum

I'm finding that I'm in a momentum of diet thinking. Now that I've lost 2 kgs after my last plateau and the numerous comments I've had about my weight loss, I am inspired and motivated to keep going!

I find myself eating smaller meals, opting for water rather than soft drink and generally thinking healthy!

So, my conclusion, you really need 2-3 weeks to get the momentum going.

Of course, I haven't managed to do it by sacrificing everything. Everything in moderation!

Hair-Do...Do it!

I had a shampoo, cut and blow-dry today. So worth it!

I was too lazy to wash my hair last night, and so my blah-hair went back in a pony tail. Of course all morning I regretted not washing my hair as it made my whole body feel blah!

On these days, I don't care what I wear, I don't care about wearing make-up...but inside I DO care because I feel blah!

So I went to the hair dresser and now I'm feeling fabulous! A perfect accompaniment to losing a few kilos!

Boot season is coming!

I've always loved the look of almost knee-high boots and a knee-length skirt. 

The furthest I have ever been able to go is a knee-length skirt, why??? Well, if they made boots like ski boots then I could fit my calf in them!

I need the adjustable latches to squeeze all my "muscle" (come on, did you really want me to say fat?) into the boot!

I have in the past settled for ankle boots. This works of course under jeans, but with a skirt? For some yes, for those with thigh sized calves? I think not.

Now, brace yourself, because I can hardly hide my excitement! 

City Chic (don't worry, they ship internationally!) have just launched their new boot range!!!

City Chic is my very favourite store. It has clothes and accessories that have been made especially for the plus sized woman. This is not just tent clothing or a skinny person's clothes with extra fabric! They have designs especially to flatter the larger woman.

I will feature some other clothes etc in future blogs, but I am SO excited about the boot range!

Look at what they have designed...

Hello! Fabulous!

Yummy Hot Cross Buns!

As Easter is approaching we need to face the facts that Hot Cross Buns will be part of the menu.

Firstly, it is essential that the buns are of excellent quality. There is no room to waste calories on eating anything sub-quality. This is absolutely essential!

Secondly, be prepared to cut back on other treats during the day (don't forget, it will be worth it). For example: You could have a warm, lightly buttered hot cross bun for morning tea, but skip dessert in the evening.

Mmmm delicious!

The Ultimate Motivation...

Today as I walking through the office a very good, wonderful and genuine friend that I work with said...and I quote "oh my gosh, you look fantastic! You can really tell that you've lost weight!"

These words are the ultimate motivation for my weight loss journey!

Suddenly I find myself walking with more of a sway in my hips. I re-apply my lipstick more often. I smile at everyone I see. Why? Because I believe that they too think that I'm looking mighty fabulous!

Ahhh, the magic of compliments!

Weigh in Day!

Great news!

I'm down another 1 kg!

SOOOOOOOOO excited!

How did I do it this week?

It was about portion control and healthy eating. Healthy snack options like vita-wheats and weight watchers treats.

I have to be honest, I didn't do a lot of exercise this week, nor did I drink enough of he what that I should have. As a result I'm feeling more tired than I should be.

This coming week will be about getting that water consumption up and exercising!

I want to look HOT!

If I had to name my biggest motivation for losing weight and if you wanted a real answer...I want to look HOT!

Most of my life I have struggled with my weight. In around 2002/3 I lost a whole stack of weight and I looked great! (All modesty aside of course!) I could fit into a size 10-12 pants which I can hardly believe now. I am annoyed that I allowed myself to gain weight again and blossom to my state today.

Before I get all depressed again, I have to remember that I did use to be 10kgs heavier than I am today, so at least I am not where I used to be and I have a goal for where I want to be!

I want to be able to wear clothes from Witchery, Country Road, Ojay, Portmans  and all of those other gorgeous brands that only really fits people up to a size 12! I want to be able to wear a shirt tucked in! I want to be able to wear a belt! A dress! A skirt! Things other than black! I want to be able to wear something sleeveless!

Ok, so say you walk into an apparel store. You avoid all the clothes that are for tall people (oh, did I mention that I'm also 5'1?...I know vertically and horizontally challenged!), so now we're down to 75% of the store. Next we have to avoid anything with a "cling" to it, which takes us down to 50% of the store. Our next items to avoid or walk straight past are all the light coloured items - especially white, cream, beige, so now we're down to 25% of the store. All dresses and skirts - OUT, so now we're at 10% of the store. Prints, horizontal stripes, patterns...gone...gone...gone...now we're at 2%.

Out of the leftover items, out of the 2% of the store...what's left? Size 8 and accessories! PUH-LEEZE!!!!

Breakfast

So unless you live under a rock, everyone knows that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

For me, my metabolism needs as much as help as it can get, so I make sure that I have breakfast every morning.

The difficulty I faced for a long time was finding the time to make sure I had breakfast. As I'm not a morning person and because I love my snooze button, I don't have breakfast at home, I have it in the office.

I take a tub of yoghurt (low fat) and I already have cereal (raw muesli) at work. As soon as I get in I mix up the cereal and yoghurt and of finish it off with a soy cappuccino, voila! Easy, healthy breakfast!

When I want to be a little bit wild I replace the yoghurt with low fat milk or soy milk. Mmmmmm delicious!

Tips for Grocery Shopping on a diet

When on a diet I find it extremely challenging to do the grocery shopping. Why? Well, it's because everything that I shouldn't be eating calls out to me!

Yesterday I went shopping for the week's groceries and I managed to stick to everything I planned to buy and I followed these steps:

1. I planned out my meals for the week. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. As a budget saver I planned out the meals using as much as I could of what I already had in the pantry. I have so much in my pantry that every time I close the cupboard I do a "shove" and "quickly close" move.

2. I made a list. I took a look at the weekly specials in the Woolworths brochure online, this way I KNEW what was going to be highlighted as "sale" items and I knew what I could get and what I needed to stay away from. I don't know about you, but quite often if I see "buy one Dairy Milk chocolate, get one free "I tend to rationalise why it should be in my shopping trolley!

3. When I was in the shops I avoided any aisles that I didn't need to go into (i.e. the confectionary aisle, the biscuit aisle).

4. If there was temptation to buy something horribly delicious, I asked myself THREE times whether I really wanted it. I would say...YES...yes...NO...and put it back.

5. I set myself  a time limit as to how long I would be at the shops. This is to make sure I wasn't going to wonder the aisles and look at things I shouldn't be. I stuck to the list!

6. At the checkout, I didn't even look at the chocolate bars that could easily fall onto the conveyor belt, I moved away.

Simple things...but it is essential to make everything a deliberate decision.

One thing that I found really helpful was looking out for Weight Watchers products. I knew that I would want snacks and desserts, so I bought the Weight Watchers treats and sweets so I know that I could control my portions and fat intake. The range is quite impressive and covers many categories.

1 kg down!

Weigh in day and I'm down 1kg!

Whilst I need to keep it in perspective (i.e. I put on 2 kgs after my last trip)...I'm still 100% inspired!

I'm thinking exercise, I'm thinking salad...I'm thinking NO CARBS!

Most importantly I'm planning out the day with a commitment to eat healthy. It's now a mind-set. It's like starting all over again every day, resetting my thoughts for the day...

I cannot lie...I still have evil thoughts of carbs...chocolate...oh my gosh...things I just need to stop thinking about!

Today I'm eating from the bottom of the triangle only!!!