January 23, 2012

How to magnetize a baby, cheese addiction and week 3 weigh in

Things are going awfully well…

I’m eating lots of food and not obsessing with every single calorie (although I have a rough idea to ensure I eat enough which for me is 2000 cals ish )..

This week I lost 4lb. That makes 11lb since January 2nd. Overall, since 60 Day Fitness Challenge 1 started I’ve lost 41 lb. I’m happy with that!

I pretty much stopped craving most junk/processed foods and meat a couple of weeks into turning vegan and although I still love the smell of anything-that-once-had-a-pulse cooking, the thing I miss the most and still crave on occasions is cheese.

Why is this? Why do I still NEARLY put a cube of cheese in my mouth when making a meal for my daughter that contains cheese and why do I still remember those cheese highs with great fondness?

I began to do research on this… what was it about cheese? To me, pre-vegan, it was my biggest trigger food, I was well and truly addicted to it.

Who do I turn to when I need to find out scientifically researched and proven information to do with food and our bodies? Dr Neal Barnard of course! The one man on TV, is beyond a shadow of a doubt, a truthful and interesting man, passionate about sharing the information he knows..

This is one of the most fascinating lectures I’ve listened to about food and it solved my anxiety about why I had been so addicted to cheese..

And it starts with “How to magnetize a baby”…

ENJOY!

C xxxxx

2 Comments »

January 16, 2012

60 day fitness challenge 2- week 2

11:43 am | 2 Comments » |

I’m down in the mouth today. I didn’t put weight on but I only lost 1 lb which considering the amount of effort put in has shocked me a little. I have to learn to cope with and move on from disappointment and harness the negatives into positives so next week I expect a decent weight loss… I’ll work even harder to achieve that.

And as if there was someone watching over me when I needed it, this morning I crawled into the Irving Gas Station, hard on empty. I went in to hand over my $20 and one of the ladies there grinned at me and said “congratulations”. We chatted and she told me she had clipped last weeks 60 Day Fitness Challenge article in the Progress Bulletin for inspiration. “I used to be 450 lb” she told me. “I had my stomach stapled and went down to a size 8″…..”but over the years some of the weight has crept back on and I need to lose 100 lb”. She told me that “today” the ladies at the Irving were on the first day of their own 60 day fitness challenge.. “no creme eggs now” were her parting words (last year everytime I fell off the weight loss wagon I’d head to that Irving gas station and scoff Cadbury’s creme eggs!)

That was a hugely positive re-enforcement this morning and I am sooo grateful it came

Thank you Irving gas station lady!

2 Comments »

January 10, 2012

Kicking and screaming into the 21st century- frugally of course

4:40 pm | No Comments » |

iPod communication device- finally I am one of you...

I’m not a person who has to have a lot of things… I don’t have an MP3 player, cell phone, cable, satellite, fine furnishings or lots of shoes.

Saying that I will be envious of your clean and tidy house and car, your neatly mowed lawn and your well behaved dog.

I will also be envious of your iPod Touch..

For years now I’ll admit that my eyes have become greener when at the bottom of your e-mail it is signed off with “sent from my iPod”. When I’ve seen you giggling at the gadget in your sweaty palm I’ve wanted to rush over and tear it from your hand and say, what… WHAT? And then of course those funny little digi-squeaks as you catapult yet another Angry Bird and that on Facebook the word “mobile” appears at the bottom of your status updates..

I’m envious of YOU… you being a significant percentage of the population.

FACETIME IS AWESOME!!!

And to make matters worse multiple iPods inhabited my house over the Christmas holidays when my Hobbits generously received a shiny new IPod Touch each from their Dad. Copious amounts of fun apps were shoved under my nose at every possible opportunity and usually at my expense. This was when I discovered a wonderful app built into the IPod Touch called Facetime. It was a real-life Star Trek communicator (only higher-tech) in disguise… anyone else who has an iPod, iPad, MacBook etc can communicate by voice and video freely wherever there is an available wi-fi connection.

And then my wish came true..

My birthday arrived and so did an iPod communicator (grin) from a wonderfully special friend.

I’m now one of YOU! And I’m loving it!!

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January 9, 2012

60 Day Fitness Challenge 2- Week 1

11:04 am | 3 Comments » |

Paula Levy did an article on our 60 Day Fitness Challenge here at Lighthouse Publishing
in this weeks Lunenburg County Progress Bulletin

Well whadda-u-know…. first week back at it and I lost 6 lb… I’m rather pleased with that! That means I lost the 5 lb that accumulated around my person over Christmas (I did indeed eat 10 mince pies in 2 days, drank like a fish and ate huge quantities of vegan cookies that my friend Jana made me) + an extra 1 lb which makes my weight loss journey back on track!

It was difficult not eating turkey or ham over Christmas especially as I cooked this for my girls who were really looking forward to it. BUT it wasn’t that bad, really…. I had a delicious plate full (OK 2 platefuls) of sweet potato, sage stuffing, vegan gravy, asparagus, roasted parsnips, julienne carrots, brussel sprouts, portabello mushrooms, cranberry and mandarin sauce and a fairly tasty grain alternative to turkey!

I was glad to see that my employer, Lighthouse Media Group, started the second 60 Day Fitness Challenge again as soon as we went back to work on January 2, 2012! Lots of people participating again which makes it fun… It’s all done on an honour system and we do not have to share our weight/weight losses as it’s not a contest. It’s more a way to be inspired by the successes other people have. Tina Hennigar once again is brave enough to be the person who stands up in front of us and motivates us with weekly challenges… last week she brought in a great idea for salad in a jar!

We’ve set up a Facebook Group for anyone who wishes to join in from home, anywhere in the world. Click here!

All time heaviest 345 lbs
Weight at 1st 60 Day Challenge 312 lb
Weight at 2nd 60 Day Challenge 282 lb

Weight today 276 lb

C xxxxx

3 Comments »

January 3, 2012

Big girls can belly dance

10:06 am | No Comments » |

I’m putting this up to motivate me- it’s a photo that I dislike immensely. Bleh!
I’m hoping that after losing another 25 lbs these jeans will fit…

We’ve started another 60 day fitness challenge at work and having lost 32 lbs the last time around of course I want to keep on losing the weight… after all there is still WAY over 100 lbs to lose

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE 60 DAY FITNESS CHALLENGE BOOKLET

There is one thing I really hate about my body…. my big belly. After 3 kids (2 of which were 10 lbs when born) and a huge weight gain after the third which saw my weight rise at it’s highest to 345 lb, I’ll never have a pretty belly, even when I’ve lost another 100lb. I’ve accepted it and am coming to terms with it….

BUT being big and wobbly should NEVER stop people doing what makes them happy and now that I’m feeling more positive and getting healthier I’d like to embrace my belly-ness and wobble away the inches, having fun to achieve my next goal rather than telling myself “when I’ve lost another 50 lb I’ll start doing that…”

My goals over the next 60 days will be

a) To lose 25 lbs
b) To walk 30 minutes per day, 5 days per week (it’s just $20 for a months pass at HB Studios Sports Centre)
c) To begin toning waist, abdominal, thigh and arm muscles and improve coordination while having fun and feeling liberated (2-3 times a week)
d) To fit into a pair of jeans again (last time I could wear jeans was over 15 years ago) I bought size 20W jeans back in September and I THINK these may fit after losing 25 lbs..!

I’ve given much thought to how I can start to tone my abdominal muscles. Should I try and do some crunches but the constant repetition of regular exercise would leave me cold.. it has to be fun!

And then I remembered one form of exercise that embraces belly-ness, where soft belly-ness is rather more preferred than sculpted abs, that people of all ages seem to have great fun with and I’m gonna do it..

I’m gonna learn to BIG belly dance…. my goal will be to learn some basic moves in the privacy of my home, using free lessons on YouTube, start whittling away at my big belly and have some damn fun!

REMEMBER…

“Dance like nobody is watching…” WOO HOO!

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December 13, 2011

What do you spend your Christmas money on?

3:19 pm | 3 Comments » |

My parents generously sent me a little money for Christmas and my birthday with instructions to buy myself some “warm boots”..

As much as I’d like warm boots (and I’ll get me some in January for sure) I’ve spent it on something else, a keynote speaker and a rainstick!

I’ve always wanted a rainstick so when I saw one in Bluestone Magik and Enchanted Crystal (this is such a cool shop- especially the back room) in Mahone Bay I grasped it firmly, tipped it and listened. Immediately it started raining heavily outside so it was a sign and now, at home, I have been annoying Hobbits, dogs and cats alike summoning the rain gods at every opportunity. (I will use this in 2012 for watering my vegetable garden)

Two wonderful speeches by Sir Ken Robinson who discusses the very ethos of the importance of creativity in schools- please watch and discuss!

The other thing I bought was a “keynote speaker”..

I’ve always been interested in alternative methods of teaching our children. Not every child thrives in a regular school system, sometimes creativity is a way a child can learn and grow and become brilliant in a sphere that is outside the box.

For some children school = boredom/anxiety or apathy. While some children thrive on structure and academia and have an affinity for these, others will only thrive and show interest/joy and brilliance in computers/art/sports/music/drama in a less structured and creative environment.

My educational hero is Sir Ken Robinson…

When I first heard him on TED.com I finally had found someone who was able to express the thoughts I had inside me in such a wonderful way that it was enlightening.

And now he is coming to Halifax in April and it looks like I’ll be travelling up to enjoy listening to the man himself.

I can’t wait…!

3 Comments »

December 12, 2011

Christmas Spiced Vegan Cookies

3:03 pm | 2 Comments » |

I’m a strange bird. I’d rather mend and make do (no matter how long it takes me) than throwing away something that can be re-used or indeed something I can repair. That’s probably why a) My house has way more clutter than it should (but I’m working on that!) and b) My stove/oven has been out of action for over a year..

Finally I got my act together and by brute force modified the clips on the wires inside the oven to accommodate the larger pads attached to the universal element I purchased many months ago. My daughters jewelry making pliers came in handy to crimp the two together before pushing the wiring back inside and securing the internal plate attached to the element with two screws I borrowed from my cupboard hinges (must remember to replace those)..

A friend had advised me to also replace two large range fuses, which I did and with trepidation and fingers in ears (ok ear) whilst switching the stove on, was delighted to not hear a bang or to witness a plume of acrid smoke rising from the door. Indeed it was a time for rejoicing as the oven cooking element sprang into life … this meant only one thing. Time for a BAKE-A-THON..

A frugal kitchen space saving tip… use a buffet table as your preparation surface! Mine is perfect as a cooking table and is always kept clear between cooking so I can either throw a tablecloth over it or simply fold it up and movie it out of the kitchen in just a minute!

And here is the very first thing I baked and so far, despite their absolute deliciousness I have only eaten four…

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Earth Balance organic soy butter (yes it’s totally yummy)
1 cup of organic light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup water (feel free to add some fresh coffee to that)
1 cup organic flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 cups quick cooking or rolled oatmeal
3/4 cup of golden raisins
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup of glace mixed fruit chopped
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 tbsp of Salba seed (for omega 3- optional)

Preparation:

Cream together the vegan butter and sugar until smooth. Add vanilla and water slowly and mix well.
Add flour, baking soda and spices until well mixed, then stir in oats and seeds, raisins and glace fruit

Spoon 1 1/2 inch balls (flattened) onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees, or until done.

Enjoy your vegan oatmeal cookies!

2 Comments »

December 5, 2011

Cracker snaps- the dirty low down!

1:19 pm | 4 Comments » |

We’ll be making our own Christmas Crackers this year- but we’ll probably have to shout bang…. just like the “Goods” from one of my favourite wayback TV Series “The Good Life” Click here for The Good Life- Homemade Christmas Crackers

I’ve been trying to source cracker snaps in my wish to make our own for Christmas!

You’d think it would be easy right? Actually it looks like to make my own Christmas crackers I’d have to buy crackers and remove the snaps to make my own…

Don’t believe me? Call www.michaels.com and ask them if they sell cracker snaps…

“Hi- do you have cracker snaps at your store”
“No sorry we don’t have them here”
“Oh do you have them at your branch in Dartmouth”
“No sorry, we used to but now we don’t…..we can’t import them anymore as they are now classified as explosives”
SILENCE- followed by rapid burst of laughter from both ends of the phone…….

Not wanting to be thwarted I started Googling and a friend sent me a link to some on eBay! (thanks Adrian!) … this looked hopeful! They would have to come half way around the world from Australia BUT if there was a problem with importing cracker snaps (remembering that they are highly explosive and a threat to humanity) into Canada they would probably not make it through customs.

I haven’t found cracker snaps made in Canada yet. If anyone knows where I can get some I’d really appreciate it

4 Comments »

November 28, 2011

Getting my life and house in order for Christmas

11:04 am | No Comments » |

Operation Christmas Clean-Up..... I've made a start!

This weekend I was busy, I began to de-clutter and clean…

The past 2 or so years my home had come to reflect my mind… MESSY: a jumble of emotions, thoughts, uncertainty, procrastination and no commitment to anything. When your house comes to reflect your mind (in a bad way) it isn’t good for the psyche, you are always surrounded by those feelings that you want to leave behind.

Luckily I have work to escape to, somewhere I can focus my mind and complete things…….

My life has become steadily happier this past year. Beyond the normal stresses of everyday life and family issues there have been moments of pure happiness that have helped enormously.

Committing to losing weight has been a huge step in the right direction for me…. it’s like a huge mental block has lifted and it feels time to catch up on all those things I have left uncompleted.

So this weekend I rolled up my sleeves and began to tackle the issues…. and I started to clean and de-clutter a very messy kitchen and make use of the space I had under the dumping ground somewhere! So I cleared off a moveable kitchen unit, pushed it against the wall and transformed it into a functional breakfast bar area where the kids can no go and help themselves to breakfast and sit and eat it too…

Then I dug out a folding buffet table to use as a central food preparation area in my kitchen. It’s over 7ft long BUT will be ideal for Christmas where there is so much cooking that needs to be done. Although my kitchen is small there is still room to walk around the folding table and sit at it too! It’s also easy to fold up and remove and with a Christmas tablecloth over the top will be a very useful area for a Christmas buffet over the holiday season.

I also moved the computer table and relocated the router (yes we have such a multi-functional kitchen) and now I think it looks much better.

Tonight I work more on the kitchen…. I want to get that finished as I have BIG PLANS for food and some Christmas crafts!

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November 24, 2011

Day 60- Final weigh in and fat arse knickers!

1:18 pm | 9 Comments » |

This is an old photo but my knickers remain humungous..

Today two very significant things happened to me

a) My big old fat arse knickers fell down at the Irving (luckily the crotch in my pants stopped them from slipping to the floor until I could discreetly pull them back up again)

b) I had my final weigh in having completed the 60 day fitness challenge and had lost 32 lbs (eeeeeeeeeeeekkkk!!!! Did I just scream pathetically??)

60 days ago my employer started a heath and fitness initiative at work called the 60 day fitness challenge. We had to commit to making a change for 60 days (such as a particular form of exercise or/and a healthy eating plan etc), stick to it, record all our foods, water intake, exercise and thoughts in a booklet and also take our measurements and weight before and after….

I committed to walking for 40 minutes each day (6 days a week) and decided to follow a vegan diet. My main concern was my morbid obesity and changing my health around as quickly as possible. A vegan, plant based, wholefoods diet with lots of walking seemed to me to offer EVERYTHING I’d needed to quickly see results in lowering blood pressure, increasing my vitality and losing weight.

Instead of my meat, cheese and milk, I’ve had lentils, kidney beans, split peas, nuts and almond milk and instead of butter/margarine I’ve used Earth Balance (an organic soy based vegan margarine). I’ve used Salba most days in my vegetable dishes as an excellent source of Omega 3 and Nutritional Yeast to add a cheesy flavour to foods while adding Vitamin B12 (something vegans can lack). I’ve also averaged around 2000 cals per day but NEVER deprived myself of food…. trust me I eat platefuls!

Above all I’ve pretty well cut all junk/processed food out of my life, I don’t buy alcohol (so rarely drink it) as my budget doesn’t allow it (although I’ll drink all the alcohol I am offered at a friends house and get completely sloshed on just a few glasses!), have eaten huge amounts of fresh vegetables and lots of fruit and generous portions of complex carbs such as sweet and regular potatoes, organic oatmeal etc.

I know this seems like a lot of deprivation, it is I guess, BUT I know myself the person I am and keeping away from trigger foods is the only way I cope with my food addiction… over time I hope to moderate this behaviour but for now austerity works for me.

So the final low down….

60 days ago I weighed in at 312 lbs (work scales, fully clothed wearing shoes)

This morning I weighed in 280 lbs

TOTAL LOSS in 60 days = 32 lbs

BUT HERE IS WHAT IS FREAKING ME OUT!!!!!!

I’ve lost 8.5 inches off my waist (I still haven’t got a waist but there is always hope)
6.5 inches off my chest (I am thinking mostly back fat as my bazookas don’t seem to be shrinking- anyone have a sharp cleaver to hand?)
5 inches off my hips
2 inches off each upper arm
1 inch of each thigh

I’ve a LONG LONG way to go… this is just the beginning BUT just losing these 32 lbs has had a profound effect on me psychologically… I feel happier and brighter as I eat and exercise to nurture my body rather than slowly destroying it as my weight increased.

I’m not going to waffle on anymore about this now (thank you for your tolerance!)…. I think it was a great initiative to have a challenge like this at work, I’ll rise to a challenge and do think this may have very well put me on the right track to giving me a long and healthy life.

Now the hard work continues….!