Love, Beer & Lawn Bowls

The Beer
Originally uploaded by redjezebel.

I really have no idea how much beer we drunk. All I now is that I somehow had a full glass for most of the afternoon (refilled often) and we were all pretty merry. Sarah looked gorgeous in the dress Tom made her!

Points wise, I guess it would have been dismal but we didn't eat much and we were bowling for 3 hours. That's got to count for something. The main thing is that it was a brilliant day for Sarah and Tom, whoot!

For anyone living in Sydney and looking to do something for a party, I'd highly recommend Paddington Bowling Club. Lawn bowls is hilarious to do with friends and once everyone is forced to kick of their shoes, it really lets everyone's guard down.

Photos of our bowling team... unfortunately I didn't take photos of everybody.

CONGRATULATIONS SARAH AND TOM!!

Maintenance Week 6

Goal Weight: 75-70kg (my 5kg maintenance buffer)
Current Weight: 73.4kg
Loss/Gain this Week: nil

This week I continued to weight train and started to notice a difference in my body. They're very small changes but enough to keep me interested and excited about continuing. Ab workouts are the worst as I have absolutely no strength there but it'll be worth it. I can not wear a black bikini until I'm toned! Can I do it in 2 months for a January holiday? We'll see and I'll certainly try.

Phillipa girl, where have you come from? :-) You've been a great inspiration to me lately. I've been wanting to challenge myself a little further with my exercise. I can't afford to go to yoga classes atm so thanks to you posting about the yoga + pilates DVDs, I ordered some last night. I think I've exhausted the DVDs I already have so change is always good to spice it up.

Below are the DVDs I ordered from Amazon. I'll write a review on here after 2 weeks of doing them.

• Yoga Shakti I love Hatha yoga in the flowing Vinyasa style.
• 10 Minute Solution Pilates I've only done Yogalates (Solomon is so annoying!) so I thought I'd try this. I love the 10 Minute Solution Series and enjoy Target Tone for Beginners. The instruction is so clear and it keeps you moving. You can program the DVDs to play a whole workout (50 mins) or just do the 10 minute segments.

For those that have just come across my site, I want to make a clear point of saying that the bulk of my weight was lost by ONLY walking. I don't like a gym environment but I bought myself an exercise bike in August to compliment walking and my yoga and weights sessions at home. I try to go to a yoga class at Samadhi Yoga when I can.

I'm also not going to entertain the idea of being 65kg now. I heard that Nicole Kidman is 63kg and she looks sickly! Many people have expressed their concern to me over the past week. I am just going to focus on staying on track where I am. Weight training will change the shape of my body and because muscle is heavier yet smaller than fat, I will look smaller at the same weight. Does that make sense? I do think I look good now, even though I still have big thighs and a tummy. I'm a woman anyway. What's a woman without her curves hey and the man likes that ;-)

We're off to Sarah's engagement today at Paddington Bowling Club. Should be a blast because we'll be barefoot bowling LOL and the weather is so fine! Beer, mmmm.

Have a great weekend!!

Spaghetti Bolognese

HEALTHY COOKING CHALLENGE
This week has been a busy one so I decided to make something that I could make a lot of and freeze. I'm also on a budget so I chose something that I had most of the ingredients for also. It's real simple and delish!

The challenge for me was cooking meat. I eat meat occassionally but can't handle preparing it. Mince, well you just throw it in. I would eventually like to erase meat from my diet to compliment my yoga practise but I need to educate myself more on a vegetarian diet first. Any good resource suggestions (classes/books) very welcome.

Thanks for all your well wishes too guys!! I am much better thank you and will be catching up on all your blogs (and emails) tomorrow.

SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE
Serves: 6
Points: 5 1/2 per serve
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 40 mins

• 125g button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 brown onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/4 cup (60ml) water
• 500g lean beef mince
• 1 zucchini, finely grated
• 1 carrot, finely grated
• 750ml bottle tomato pasta sauce
• 2 tbs tomato paste
• 1 tsp dried oregano or mixed herbs
• 1/4 cup (60ml) water, extra
• 360g dried spaghetti
• 1/4 cup chopped flat parsley or basil

1. Combine mushrooms, onion, garlic and water in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes or until onion softens.
2. Increase heat to high and add mince. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until browned.
3. Add zucchini, carrot, sauce, tomato paste, oregano and extra water and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes or until thickened.
4. Meanwhile, cook pasta, drain.
5. Stir the parsley or basil through the sauce and serve with pasta.

Recipe Credit: Basics Cookbook by Weight Watchers

23rd Post, 5th Line

AGR tagged me :-)

The rules are:

1. Go into your archives
2. Find your 23rd post
3. Find the fifth sentence (or the closest one to it)
4. Post the text of your sentence in your blog along with these rules
5. Tag five other people

This is what I had posted:
"I think continuing to exercise and eating healthy is helping me deal with this the best way I can."

Life can be challenging but I think by Week 10, I was starting to get it. It's now Week 32 and I still think this way. Exercise and eating healthier does help you deal with life's curveballs better.

This is who I've tagged:

1. Daniel
   
2. Catesa
3. Sarah (Rosa)
4. Linda
5. Danatasia

No Weigh In

I've unofficially had the past week off because I've been quite ill. It's not as bad as last time but I am certainly not taking any chances. This means no exercise or even Diamanda Galas!! I bought tickets months ago but at least my ticket went to a good friend. It really sucks not being able to exercise because that is usually a great pick me up.

I've been doing lots of thinking and I know this can be bad for me (yep Jesse, I do it too!) but I've had no choice while having to rest.

My goal weight and where to from here....
Reaching goal was a real non event for me and I got to thinking about it this week. I realised, sure I got to my 75kg goal but that's like reaching half way and I still have quite a bit of weight/fat that could come off. I would like to try and see what it would be like to reach 65kg. I just want to see how comfortable it will be. I am comfortable now but I could do with a few more kilos off and lots more tonal definition. I don't want to get crazy about it but I would like to see how I go. If it's too much off, then I know how to put it back on....safely. Either way, I am going to make sure I stay within the healthy weight range no matter what!

My food choices....
I've been falling back into bad habits and I think it's because I am sick. I nearly bought a Dominos pizza yesterday but at 10am (my lunchtime) they were not open yet. So you know what I did!? I went and bought a block of chocolate and salt & vinegar chips instead. I nearly threw up after eating it. I just can't eat that crap anymore. So today, right now, this minute I am going BACK TO BASICS and being good to myself.

My thoughts on weight loss programs...
So WW is changing the program hey. The points system has worked for me and I think it's great if you follow it. I unfortunately think changing the program just gives people another excuse for not really trying with the points system. No matter which program one does, you still have to do the hard yards to get the results. You just have to do it! Too much thinking and not enough action is always the problem with anything we try to tackle in life so with whatever you decide to choose, JUST DO IT!

I'll be catching up on all you lovelies later today. Looking forward to seeing how you are all going!

Sweet Potato & Lentil Curry

HEALTHY COOKING CHALLENGE
This weeks challenge was Indian and it was much easier than I thought. This tasted quite nice. I don't like curry very much but the sweet potato complimented it really well.

JayKay, I know...what is with the rice! My man's got a weird sense of humour LOL.

SWEET POTATO & LENTIL CURRY
Serves: 4
Points: 5 ½ per serve
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 20 mins

• 2 tbs Sharwood’s Rogan Josh Curry Paste
• 3/4 cup red lentils
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 480g orange sweet potato, cut into 2cm cubes
• 1 tbs fresh ginger, grated
• 2 ½ cups chicken stock (made with stock cubes)
• 4 cups cooked basmati rice
• 1/4 cup coriander leaves
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Heat a medium saucepan and add the curry paste. Cook, while stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant.
2. Add the lentils, bay leaves, onion, sweet potato, ginger and chicken stock. Bring to the boil and reduce the heat to low.
3. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until the sweet potato is cooked. Season with salt and black pepper.
4. Place the cooked rice on 4 serving plates, spoon over the curry and scatter with coriander leaves.

NOTE
You may want to soak the lentils a little before adding them. If you follow the recipe exact, they tend to be a little harder and I usually like my lentils softer. Bear in mind they will be boiled/simmered for 20 mins.

Blogger in Joggers

Cath, M and me (l-r). We did it, the JDRF "Walk for a Cure". It was a rather cold and miserable day but it was great to meet up!! I was completely out of my comfort zone by wearing a *white* tshirt and being amongst loads of people but it was worth it. Would I do it again? Probably not the actual event thing (too many people) but catch up with these girls and just go for a walk, anywhere...for sure. It was so easy, like M said, to do this together. It was real nice.

Thanks to both M and Cath for organising this and a big WHOOT for Michelle, Suzy, Jods and all the other Bloggers in Joggers that were doing this in other states also.

Unfortunately I am sick now. I've got an ear ache and my throat is really sore. What is with this stupid weather!? I can't keep up.

Maintenance Week 5

Goal Weight: 75-70kg (my 5kg maintenance buffer)
Current Weight: 73.4kg
Loss this Week: 300g

This week:

• I worked out an eating plan for my new hours
  
• I increased my water intake to 1.5L minimum
  
• I started weight training seriously
  

I've decided to re-jig my blogging habits. I've been reading blogs more often than I should. I can't keep doing this. I'll continue to read blogs but I'll only really comment on those that comment on mine. Fair enough? I've updated my people list to show my regulars :-)

• MONDAY General Post
  
• WEDNESDAY Healthy Cooking Challenge
• SATURDAY Weigh In Day
• catch up on other blogs, these days only
  

My focus has obviously shifted and I'm not really thinking about weight loss anymore. Fitness and weights are my new focus....and my work. This year was about weight loss, the coming year will be about my business.

I hope everyone continues to strive to do their best on this journey and keep it up. It's worth it. Becoming healthier and fitter will and does change your life for the better. You'll meet some fabulous friends along the way too. Our blogging community is fantastic! It's a great resource with real experiences.

Inspired

In the spirit of Suzy...

• I am eager to challenge myself everday.
• I doubt myself when I haven't tried.
• I feel powerful when I have tried.
• I'm proud of myself because I have finally achieved my goal weight (which I thought I never would) and realise I can do anything now!
• My 10 favourite things are family, friendship, laughter, nature, humanity, life, choice, irregularities, technology, photography.
• I am most grateful for my independence.
• I can simplify my life by living without nasty people.
• I feel my mission in life is to do the best I can for me and my family.
• In my wildest dreams, I am not really sure yet?? I just want to keep living and exploring!
• I believe in myself because I have to and then others will believe in me too.

Today's Food/Exercise Plan

Alright, I've done it. Pulled my finger out. I still need to eat a few more points worth of food but I'll work that with my dinner (ie. sauces etc). A typical working day for me now is between 5am and 4pm, a combination of both freelance and employee based work. I have to make sure to fit my exercise in during the day now that I can't kick start my day with a walk anymore.

• Breakfast 3.30am
  250mL water (0)
  200g low fat yoghurt w/ Carman's muesli (4)
  1 banana (1)
• Snack 6-8am
  tea w/ skim milk (1/2)
  250mL water (1/2)
• Exercise 8am
  45 min walk
• Lunch 10.20am
  hungarian salami, slice cheese, tomato, lettuce,
  wholegrain mustard on sourdough bread (4)
  tea w/ skim milk (1/2)
  250mL water (0)
• Snack 11am
  5 prunes (1/2)
• Exercise 12pm
  20 mins bike
  50 mins DVD 10 Minute Solution: Target Toning for Beginners
• Snack 2-3.30pm
  1 apple (1)
  1 banana (1)
  500mL dash ribena in water (1/2)
• Dinner 4-5pm
  Sweet Potato & Bean Burger (4)
  250mL water (0)
• Snack 6pm
  1 cup Jarrah Chocolatte (1)
• Bed 7-8pm
  

Vegies, Water & Skin

My new job and the hours is something that I am still getting used and it's playing havoc with my eating. I am drinking less water and eating fewer vegetables. My skin is now showing the effects of this. For 6 months since deciding to get healthy, I had clear skin. Not a blemish. Now after 4 weeks of this new routine and not getting enough vegies and water into my diet, it is showing in my appearance (thank the gods for Jurlique and their recovery gel!). I need to make a more conscious effort to eat more vegies and drink my water. I don't know why this is so hard but it must have something to do with me eating 2 breakfasts (4am + 9am) and being generally too tired to bother to cook dinner later on. Peanut Butter on toast for dinner just doesn't cut it.

Somewhere along the way, with all the changes I've been going through in my work situation/s, I forgot to plan. I forgot. Can you believe that? It's like I basically forgot how to live these past few weeks. I'm slowly coming out of the jet lagged feeling so it's time to pull my finger out. I really hate pimples and I'm a picker so I rather just drink my water and eat my vegies thanks!

More planning is in order, not just for my weekly cooking challenge.

UPDATE

Thanks for all your suggestions guys! I know it sounds real simple but most of you are right on the brekky front. It's way too early to be slicing, dicing and eating anything other than cereal at 4am. I think I would gag. As for the rest of the day, being a zombie sure hasn't helped. I have to change my thinking about salads and realise they are just as easy and fast as making toast. I've got lots of ideas now that I am keen to try.

Here's what I am going to do tomorrow

• buy a 1.5L bottle like I used to and fill it with filtered water in the morning (refill during the day)
• buy lots of vegies in bulk so I am forced to eat them continually
• make a few meals (like vegie bolognaise) and freeze for my real tired days

Fruit wise, I am super cool with those. I have 3-4 pieces of fruit a day. It's the vegie/water thing I need to get more of :-) I was just getting lazy without realising it and not really looking at what I wrote down in my tracker. I wrote everything down but just didn't really think about it. Until now.

Can you imagine losing 40kg!?

Miss Nicky has done it, whoot! Check out her blog to find out how she did it. She's also a fellow *skinnier feet* person :-)

Kathryn from idiet has also setup a community blog called Absolutely Flabulous. It's dedicated to weight loss and health in general. Check it out!

Skinnier Feet

In the spirit of AGR, I am posting a photo of my new walking shoes. I finally bought my belated bday present on Saturday from my younger sis and bro. A pair of Reebok DMX Ladies Walking Shoes. Notice the operative word is Ladies? I've always been a Size 10 (Aus) and would have to buy Mens sneakers. Not this time baby. My feet are skinnier and fit into these!

So I took them for a test power walk on Sunday morning, especially after seeing that Cath now walks faster than me and I have to be onto her for next week, and was reminded of how important it is to have a good pair of shoes for my favourite activity. When I walk home from work every morning, I am unfortunately in my boots and my old Nikes are kaput.

New Look Blog

Thanks for the comment Bri! I was itching for a change. I should probably let you all know that the design is by the delightful Beccary. To use her templates, you will need to be able to host the images somewhere and do a little html work. Cheers!

Maintenance Week 4

Goal Weight: 75-70kg (my 5kg maintenance buffer)
Current Weight: 73.7kg
Loss this week: .1kg

Points per day: 25 (average)
Exercise: 1.5h/5 days (walking/cycling/weights)

At the meeting today I lost 1.4kg and you know why, because I took off my boots and wore different clothes for the first time. Ha! That's another reason I am sticking with my naked weight now otherwise I'll start confusing myself. I still only lost 100g truthfully this week.

Shift work has really messed up my eating lately. I eat breakfast at 4am and when I come home from work at 9am, I'm ravenous and have another breakfast. Lunchtime at 11-12pm and then I'm peckish all afternoon and do snack until dinner time, which is usually at 5-6pm. After doing this for 2 weeks now, I think I need to really have my dinner earlier but that's still too weird for me. I've got to try it though so I have my 4 hours of no eating before going to bed. I really hate going to bed with a full stomach.

Last Saturday I also got a bit cocky with my success and ate a whole 150g block of chocolate and a 50g pack of salt & vinegar chips. What is with that? I did enjoy it though but the points were 23 just for that! Yummy healthy food is much more satisfying because compensating for that kind of selfish, glutonous eating is just not fun. Gosh, we really are an over priviledged, decadent society where we can complain about crap like this. This is something that is within my power to change and be more conscious of. If I continue to go back to my bad habits then I'm just being a lazy junk eating shit. I know it and I'm not being hard on myself.

I've met some really great people through WW and now I'm getting excited about next Sunday for the meet M is organising. I'm nervous as hell but it'll be really nice to finally meet M, as I have Cath and any other Sydney siders. Do come along if you can. We're all nervous (not Cath though coz she loves meeting new people) and I think you can tell from our blogs, that we're pretty nice people as well. Yeah?? I think so, I hope so LOL :-)

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Wear clothes that make you feel ALIVE

That's what Valentino said to Oprah. Can you tell I've been watching her during the day!? Yesterday she was talking about cleaning out your closet and getting rid of all the clothes you don't wear and never will again. It's great therapy and when you buy new clothes, buy clothes that MAKE YOU FEEL ALIVE! Even with your trackies, buy something a little more stylish to make you feel good.

I know it all sounds a little materialistic but it sure helps me. I've enjoyed buying new clothes since losing the weight and I promised myself never to buy clothes that are plain ever again. This does not mean they have to be expensive!

From memory, the three questions you should ask yourself when cleaning out the closet are:

• Do I love it?
• Is it flattering?
• Will I wear it again (truthfully)?

Some of the blogger girls I know have made some good money from selling their stuff on Ebay/Trade Me (NZ).

Tofu, Vegie & Cashew Noodles

So Week 2 of my Healthy Cooking Challenge and I stuffed it. I just can't do Asian meals. Why? I must have some mental block. This is the remains of the wok and it's not looking too good. Notice I am not putting up a picture of the meal itself because it looked worse!

I think next time I need to make sure ALL the ingredients are ready to go BEFORE I start cooking. I've never worked with Tofu either and the slippery texture kind of freaked me out LOL, but I will learn.

The recipe was taken from the WW Book 2, page 36. I don't feel like posting it right now but if you want me to, give me a day or two to get over this experience. At least the champers was good *one for you JayKay* :-)

UPDATE

Thanks! for all your tips guys. I will definitely be referring to them when I try this dish (or similar) again. This reminds me that I should get a basics cooking book. You know the ones that teach you the real basic stuff LOL. It's not that I don't cook but the things I cook have been perfected over time. The challenge is about trying new things. I can't wait to laugh about this with mum!

Oh Slim One

Love it! This is what my Wednesday boss calls me now, even on the little note he left for me when I came in this morning. I look after his Black & White Lab on a Wednesday so he can do his errands and go for a surf (or golf). It gives me a real kick because he's this amazing 59 year old surfer who I swear doesn't look his age and is so young at heart. A really great guy. Too funny really and I don't mind one bit because I know I worked damn hard for it.

What another beautiful day in Sydney. It's getting warmer and time to shed some wintery skin. For the first time in my life, I am really looking forward to summer. Ha! some goth I am but seriously, I can't wait to buy my first bikini and yes...it will be black ;-) I have not worn a bikini since I was like 11 years old! Admittadly I am not very toned and still wobble but hell, I feel great and love that I didn't lose any of my womanly curves, just a little boob. I'll still seek out a deserted beach/pool though LOL.

Things just seem easier for me now. I feel like I can just do things. I feel much more confident and comfortable in my skin. Most importantly, I feel unbelievably healthy and don't suffer the ill feelings of a bad diet anymore (eg. indigestion, heartburn, constipation, tiredness). To feel this good naturally is just awesome.

I just looked back at my first entry and yep, I did it! I still have to pinch myself.

Blogger in Joggers

Alrighty Sydney people, do you want to meet up for a good cause? M has basically organised a meet up and I am planning to go along also (if nothing comes up family wise).

Centennial Park, Sydney
Sunday 16th October 2005
WALK FOR A CURE
check out M's post

If you would like to make a donation, please go to this link and in Search, type Bloggers (way to go M!). All money raised goes to helping find a cure for diabetes.

Hey Vegas, what's your blog address so I can add it to my NewsFeed?

Maintenance Week 3

Goal Weight: 75-70kg (my 5kg maintenance buffer)
Current Weight: 73.8kg
Loss this week: .5kg

Our treat for today was at the delicious La Petite Pomme (The Little Apple Cafe). A gorgeous little French Cafe at 381 King Street Newtown NSW.

Dan had the pancakes w/ berry compote (left) and I had the French Toast w/ berry compote and yoghurt. We sat out in the courtyard which felt like we stepped into a scene from Alice in Wonderland, whilst listening to the sounds of French composer Yann Tiersen (eg. Amelie/Goodbye Lenin soundtrack). Thanks Cath for recommending this place!!

What a great way to start the long weekend! I hope everyone has a great weekend also.