WL Progress

I have a lot to say today - coming clean about Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Overall, the carbs and protein split is getting easier although I have to get creative about breakfasts when it's protein time. It gets really really boring eating an omelette, as well as not helping cholesterol. I just can't bring myself to eat an egg white omelette. Anyone know if they taste any good?

Friday
Breakfast - ham, mushroom and onion omelette
Snack - smoothie and fruit
Lunch - peanut butter and celery
Snack - none
Dinner - veggie curry, naan, cauliflower, candy

Gym - none

Saturday
Breakfast - spinach and feta cheese omelette and ham
Snack - banana, blueberry and peach smoothie
Lunch - peanut butter and celery
Snack - Jello and coolwhip
Dinner - Steak, stir fry veggies, jello and coolwhip

Gym - pilates

Sunday
Snack - 2 100 calorie cookie packs
Breakfast - bacon, onion, mushroom, egg
Lunch - samosa, some candy
Snack - peanut butter and celery
Dinner - left over veggie curry, rice and naan, yogurt, small ice cream tub

Gym - none


So, I've grown used to eating so many eggs and peanut butter. I might try and eggwhite omelette tomorrow morning, just for a change. The Smuckers natural peanut butter is awesome. It also means that I have to have lots of veg and fruit in the house.

I've started looking at low carb recipes - just to get some ideas. Apparently you can grate cauliflower and it tastes like rice.....no idea if it's true but i thought I'd make a chilli and then try it out.

No idea if I'm getting thinner....I'm goin to try and pitch the morning snack this week.....

On the gym, I was lax ove rthe weekend - I bailed out of my yoga and muscles and abs class. So, back on the straight and narrow tomorrow. They've taken pilates off the week day schedule which is crap, but I'll do spin and yoga instead. It's kind of weird to think of myself as very fit, but I am. I did the pilates class on Saturday and I didn't even break a sweat. I find it peculiar that I need to do a kick ass cardio class as well as something else just to feel like I've worked out. Never in my life did I think I'd turn in to one of those geeky gym people - but I'm there....

Here's to getting thin.....!:)

New TV Programs

Once again, I'm on my own again for a Sunday night. Trev's off to Dallas until Wednesday. I really hate the fact that he's traveling EVERY weekend right now.

OK, so you have to check these two programs out. Both are on BBC America - Doctor Who and Torchwood. Both deal with aliens and the supernatural - but what's really cool is that they're intertwining between the series. Blinking brilliant. Have to say I'm completely hooked.

On the American side, I did watch the Bionic Woman...it's OK. Nothing to write home about although I'll tune in for a second viewing just to check. I also watched Cane. Now, I'll be the first to admit I wanted to see it coz Jimmy Smits was in it...and it was OK. Reminded me of a 21st century Dallas. Again, not sure.

On the reality show side, I'm watching the finale of Top Chef this week but the best show to come out this season is Tim Gunn's Guide to Style on Bravo. Check it out....he deals with lots of women, with lots of different issues and makes them fashionable. I have to tell you that tonight I was ruthless with my closet and have got two bags of stuff full to give away...because it doesn't fit the rules. I haven't yet done the two tubs of stuff under the bed....I'll leave that for another time.

the best bit about the weekend was that our new bed arrived last Friday....it's a Westin Heavenly Bed. Beautiful.

WL Progress

I had energy issues today - I know that's normal a few days into a diet, so am working through it.

My eats for today:
Breakfast - egg omelette with spinach and ham (protein)
Lunch - salmon roll, tuna roll sushi (I cheated - protein AND carb)
Snack - peanut butter and celery (protein)
Dinner - leek and potato soup, 2 slices bread, yogurt (carb)
Treat (yum) - sweet candy bar [drum stick]

Gym - 1 hour with Billy weight training, 45 min spin class (quite impressed myself actually!)

I had a rough day today. I had a crap day at work yesterday and it started badly this morning with another bunch of whiny people. I didn't really get time to eat - however what I was proud of myself for was not even being tempted by the muffins that I provided for breakfast. Haha - how cool is that?

I found this afternoon though that I was quite lethargic - probably because I combined carbs and protein at lunch. I can't resist sushi, so it's the one place where I can't eat carb and protein separately. Mind you, if that's the only thing I cheat on, it's not that bad.

I did get lectured tonight by Billy as he now thinks I'm not eating enough....that's hardly true, although I was late tonight I didn't get to find some food to eat between the training and the spin room.

We'll see. Hope you're not all getting bored with me babbling about eating and exercise. I don't want to be a bore, but I have to offload somewhere. I'll be so excited if I actually manage to turn myself around.

One last post for today

I made a point and went and figured out my credit score to see how it was doing.....and I'm now "excellent" with a score of 674.

Talk about impressed! Never been that good before:)

How NYC Are You? This was pretty accurate:)

You Are 56% NYC

You may call yourself a New Yorker, but there's no way you're a native.

How NYC Are You?

WL Progress

I'm trying to do this daily. I found it hard today because I had a lunch date - and the one thing I love to eat at lunch is sushi....rice and fish - carb and protein.

Today's eats
Breakfast - missed it (bad I know, but didn't get time)
Snack - celery and peanut butter (protein)
Lunch - sashimi sushi bento box (primarily protein...a little carb)
Snack - remainder of celery and peanut butter and some almonds (protein)
Dinner - leek and potato soup, slice bread, banana and blueberry smoothie (carb)

On the bus.....I ate about 5 mentos. I got a free pack in the street and just couldn't resist.

Exercise - nil

Tomorrow I'm hoping to have a better outlook - i certainly have a lot planned at the gym; that'll make me feel better. I need a new job....I just have to find one:)

Exhausted

I've just pulled a 12.5 hour day. I'm sooooo tired. For whatever reason today I felt that everyone was yelling at me for stuff, and I just didn't have the answer. It was awful. Just sometimes....it would be nice to have time to think. I stayed late tonight so that I could finish up a few things and it's made me feel much better from an organizational standpoint....but it leaves me tired.

Tonight I didn't go to the gym (as I was at work) - I think I prefer leaving work early and putting myself through the ringer:)

WL Progress

So I promised that I'm going to post the weight loss progress on here - it'll keep me honest. I'll post under the same title so if you don't want to read it, don't. I have to dump somewhere - and this is where I've chosen.

My last post detailed the alternating protein/fat food vs. carb food. Here's me being honest...

Monday
Breakfast - 2 slices of ham, (Protein)
Lunch - vegetarian indian curry, rice and naan with a bit of salad (carb) - it was Rach's b'day, we were celebrating!
Snack - peanut butter and celery (protein)
Dinner - pasta and vodka sauce (carb)

Workout - 20mins stairmaster

Tuesday
Breakfast - omelette with ham and spinach (protein)
Snack - fresh fruit (carb)
Lunch - steak salad (protein), sugar and fat free jello
Snack - grapes, a kashi granola bar and a homemade banana and blueberry smoothie (carb)
Dinner - vegetables and some left over lamb, sugar and fat free jello (protein)

Workout - 20mins stairmaster, 1hr w/Billy the trainer, 1 hr pilates class

So, I've only had cravings for chocolate a couple of times. The sugar free jello is a godsend - there's absolutely nothing in it so i don't think it counts. I've not even thought about chocolate in over a week (except for last Saturday morning when I wanted a PIMS cookie - uk peeps think jaffa cake - as Trev was munching on the WHOLE box). I managed to abstain. Very very proud of myself:)

Today is going to be harder as I'm meeting someone for lunch and I agreed to meet them at a sushi house. The question is, if I'm eating healthily (like a sushi roll) does it really matter if I then get straight back on this diet. I really really really don't think I could give up sushi...

Good website I've found for understanding both calories and protein/fat/carb content of food http://www.hoptechno.com/nightcrew/sante7000/sante7000_search.cfm - it's great. Search for a food, then click a link and you get a complete breakdown. This is really helping me with the protein vs. carb thingy.

I've yet to stand on a set of scales - I'm really more interested in dress size and whether my wobble bits disappear.....but I may have to in the end. It would be nice to see progress.

Diet

OK, so as you know, i've made my declaration. This past week has been good and I've cut out chocolate. Not as bad as I thought.

Billy the Trainer has given me this diet...I'll cut and paste the email he sent.

"When you combine carbs, proteins, and fat, what your body does is store the carbs and fat on various parts of your body then it usem\s protein for energy. As you can see nothing is going towards muscle repair. Since our bodies were not meant to take in all three nutrients at the same time no matter how much you diet you will always gain the weight back because of combining all three.

The body was meant to use proteins and fats together and carbs alone. When you separate and eat in this manner, proteins/fats are used for muscle repair and carbs (the bodies preferred energy source) is used for just that, "energy". When all the nutrients are being used properly nothing is left to be stored as fat. That's why this diet works, because you are not combining. As long as you follow these two rules, separate and alternate you can lose all the fat you want and gain all the muscle you want. When I say alternate, I mean alternate between a protein/fat meal and a carb meal.

Example Diet:

- Meal 1- Egg Omlette (protein/fat)
- Meal 2- Bagel with nonfat cream cheese (carbs)
- Meal 3- Chicken or Tuna Salad w/flaxseed oil (protein/fat)
- Meal 4- Pasta w/sauce (carbs)
- Meal 5- Protein shake w/all natural peanut butter (protein/fat)

From this example you see how we keep the carbs separated and we alternate throughout the day.
Once you know the rules you can create a meal plan you like. Rice and beans for carbs, tofu burgers for your protein/fat, or bacon, ham and eggs for protein/fat meals etc. Since you don't have to cut out fat or carbs like most diets, you are only limited to your own imagination.

I recommend no more than 2 carb meals per day if you are trying to lose fat as fast as possible. However, you can have more than 2 carb meals per day and you will still lose weight if you are following the rules. "

So, what do you think? Is it doable? Today for Rachel's birthday I went to the local Indian restaurant for lunch with her. It wasn't too bad eating no meat - in fact I revelled in the fact i could eat as much rice and naan as i wanted to.

We'll see - and i will keep you posted

Emily's wedding

I promised to upload a picture from Emily's wedding. Here's Chris and Emily Dancer and their brood. Chris is holding Jack, and Chloe's the only girl. I hate to say it, but can't remember the boy's names.

This is a GREAT family pic.

I declare...

That I've decided to lose 30lb by Christmas. I haven't yet figured out the details, but I'm on a roll. After my over indulgence in the UK last week, i've decided the following:

1) No alcohol unless it's a Friday or Saturday (not that I usually drink in the week, but I wanted to call it out)
2) No chocolate until Thanksgiving at the earliest (very difficult as I just brought craploads home)
3) Nothing fried - at all.
4) The gym - have at least 6 organized hours in the gym each week*

* right now my schedule is
Billy (the trainer) - 2 appointments
Pilates/yoga - 2 or 3 appointments (my pilates teacher's dad is sick so no classes right now)
Spin - 1 or 2 appointments
Explosive muscles and abs - 1 appointment

That is in addition to any of the 15-20 minutes sessions I do on the stair master etc. So, a pretty good plan, right?

I figure with that I should achieve my goal - whaddayathink?

And BTW - I'm on day 4 of this regime......and I don't even miss the old stuff. The big thing will be this coming weekend. I'll let you know how it goes.

Did you miss me?

It seems absolutely ages since I've posted here - in fact, it's been sooooo long I've taken two days prevaricating over what to write. Now I've decided writing here is better than actually working....so here goes.

First things first - read this article. It's from a UK newspaper, it's about a guy living for a week as a woman. Quite funny...http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=482767&in_page_id=1879

My trip was great - I had such a good time - I'll post pics of my cousin Emily's wedding at the weekend. I need sometime to get the pics on the PC and in a fashion I can post.

I had a great week in England - saw lots of friends, drank and ate way way too much but had a fantastic time. Only bad part was the journey home, but hey - I got there in the end.

The decision that I've taken after my over indulgence is that I'm giving up chocolate until Thanksgiving. I'm hoping this will result in significant weight loss, especially as I'm back to the spin class tonight. We'll see....but here's hoping.

i've been saying it for years....but I mean it this time (yea yea I hear you say!).

The Ultimate Taste Test

Take this test to find out about your personality - I definitely found it accurate:)


1. Which groups of fruits do you prefer?

a) oranges, bananas, grapes
b) eggplant, corn, tomatoes

Analysis: if you prefer the first group, this indicates a strong minded, ambitious, aggressive, dominant individual, who is a natural leader. if you prefer the second group, this indicates an introspective, self-searching person who is senstiive to the needs of others. you tend not to be impulsive in your decision making processes, but rather weigh all the laternatives in question before making your decision.

2. Of these pairs of fruits, which do you prefer? (must choose one of each pair)

a) apple sauce or fresh apples
b) pineapply chunks or pineapple glaze
c) creamed corn or corn on the cob

Analysis: if at least two of the above are the first choice, then you are a passive, easy-going, agreeable sort, who tries to solve problems without raising a commotion. If at least two of the above are the second choice, you tend to be an aggressive "go-getter" who will not take "No" for an answer. You work hard and play hard.

3. Do you like spicy pickles?

Analysis: If yes, you tend to be pessimistic. If no, you tend to be optimistic.

4. Do you like

a) bananas
b) boiled fish
c) fruit
d) honey
e) tapioca
f) celery
g) nuts
h) hot curry

Analysis: If you answer 5 or more "yes" you are a natural optimist and view life through rose-colored glasses. You are a pleasant co-worker and would make a good friend. If 5 or more is "no", you tend to be pessimistic. Before being involved in social intercourse, you tend to be careful, doubting others' intentions.

5. Which do you prefer?

a) green olives or black olives
b) pecans or almonds
c) pickles or cucumbers

Analysis: If two or more are the first choice, you tend to be assertive in your relationships and enthusiastic in all endeavours. Although anxious at times, you are a decisive, resilient person, prone to action. If two or more are the second choice, you tend to take responsibility for your actions. You are self-confident and a natural leader.

6. Which do you prefer?

a) lemons or oranges
b) potatoes or yams
c) grapefruit or tangerines

Analysis: if two or more are the first choice, you tend to be reserved, quiet, and contemplative. You usually are not impulsive. You tend towards introspection. If two ro more is the second choice, you tend to be an outgoing, gregarious person who enjoys a sound relationship. Many consider you to have a good sense of humor. You would make a good disc jockey, used care salesman, or politician.



Interesting eh?

On the other side of the Atlantic

I'm taking a week on vacation in England to go to my cousin Emily's wedding on the 16th. I'm hanging out with Tim and seeing friends here and there. I've been here less than 36 hours and have had a bad restaurant experience....but in true British fashion, we complained once and then sucked it up when the food was still bad. Oh well...to be expected.

Was supposed to work today - did a bit, it picked up later in the evening which was a bit of a bummer and now it's nearly midnight and I'm wide awake. Think I'm going to finish something for work....

I need some exercise....it's been 3 days and I'm going nuts. i think I need a run or something...didn't bring stuff with me though. I may just need to walk or something. Lardy food and not any moving at all (other than up and down the stairs...and that doesn't count).

Ladies "rude" area...:)

OK, so I did a spinning class last night again......OMG - it's not just my ass that hurts, it's the whole area. A little delicate one might say.

I have to say that this HAS to be good for you as it's hard work and you're puffed out. My theory is that this has got to melt away pounds as I would NEVER EVER do anything cardio for 45 minutes without it. Phew! I am in awe of those people in the class who do everything the instructor says. I'm not sure I'd ever get to that point.

In two weeks, hopefully that delicate area won't be quite so sore...:) Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained right?

Weekend

Doesn't time fly by? We've done so much in just a few days. Let's take each topic one by one.

Gym. So, after my mammouth session on Thursday (an hour's training with Billy then a Spin class) I did another hour with Billy. Long story, but I like to get two training sessions in a week and I'd had to move my usual Wednesday class. Talk about over-doing it. I spent the whole weekend going "aaahhh" and "ooohhh" when I moved my back wrong. It was dreadful. Trev has historically encouraged me to get fitter (it was a long haul) but this time I was lectured. Apparently I was doing too much and needed a rest. Now, there's a first. Luckily we were away at our friend Melissa's in Connecticut so I took a full three days to recover. Tonight there was no Pilates so i did a 45 minute Spin class. Oh my.....that whoops your butt. I have to tell you 45 minutes of hard core cycling definitely burns calories. As I've said before....I'm hoping this is the secret to weightloss. (note, if I didn't eat bad things this would not even be a statement...but I like bad things and life's too short....therefore we have to find a way to burn more calories than I eat).

Trev. Husbands. What to do with them. I was off to the UK next Monday for a week - to hang out with Tim and friends (Mum and Dad are in Turkey which is a shame, but seen them lots recently so not too bad) and also go to my cousin Emily's wedding. I'm flying on the Monday so I can spend the weekend at home. Imagine my surprise when I find out my darling husband is flying out to Vegas on the Saturday morning at 9am - FOR WORK. He didn't say a flipping thing.....I was soooooo mad. I wouldn't have minded but I didn't pick him up from the airport until Saturday at 1pm on the holiday weekend as he was flying back from the a business trip. Oh yeah, and the previous weekend he'd left on a Sunday. That means that he won't have had a full weekend not working for over a month. Sucks. Anyhow, I channelled that madness - and I paid $300 for the priviledge of changing my flight to Saturday night. Thank goodness Tim can pick me up on Sunday morning instead. I'll "work from home" Monday and Tuesday in England which will save some vacation. I'm sure I can find something to do in London with my global colleagues:) Yeah! That said, I'm now worries that Trev and I aren't spending any time together at all....that can't be good. We seem to function way to well independently - I guess the question is "is that a healthy marriage?"

Weekend. After I picked Trev up from the airport we came home, packed, and then drove up to Glastonbury, Connecticut to spend a bit of time with our friend Melissa and Lily the beautiful black labrador. It was a momentus thing for Trev and I - I was so mad (see above) that I convinced Trev that we could leave our laptops at home and survive 48 hours without access to a computer. Now, we do both have Blackberries....but that's besides the point. It took a bit of convincing but when I said "I'll leave mine at home if you do" I got my way. It did us the world of good - even though we watch a lot of TV at least we were together on the same sofa - and not worrying about the latest and greatest emails:) Anyway we arrived Saturday and didn't do much. On Sunday we went to Lottie's for breakfast - nothing fancy just a great diner for food. Yum. Sunday afternoon I went with Melissa and her friend shopping and left Trev at home with Lily. Now, I did feel a little guilty for leaving Trev alone - but quite frankly - he needed the break. On Monday we came home early after a little drama with the car - it wouldn't start. Thank goodness for the AAA to get us started.

Work. I didn't do a stitch of work all weekend. That felt sooooooo good.