Joke January is a joke (haha) between my work colleagues that centres around the fact that January was a write-off. I know that excuses are always a sign of lack of commitment, but hey, a major natural disaster and big move aren't regular occurrences!
The floods hit us in the second week of January, which meant that my well planned start to the year was thrown into chaos! Certainly we were some of the lucky ones, in that the floods didn't get anywhere near our home, but they did manage to inundate the basement of my workplace... Our team had a lot of work to do and nowhere to do it!
My regular routine was disrupted and in the madness of having nowhere to go to work, my husband and I made the big move into our first 'house' together! Due to the floods, we weren't even sure that we would be able to do that up until the day the move was scheduled for... So it wasn't exactly a stress-free time.
I am still displaced from my workplace. While it's still disruptive, now that Joke January is over, I've really made an effort (psychologically) to turn February into a good month! I'm a bit disappointed that some of my 2011 bucket list has already been put onto the backburner, but I'm sure it won't take much to turn it around.
So, efforts towards a morning workout (either a walk or swim) will be stepped up and our eating habits will definitely improve! We've already joined the local pool as members and found some great local places that sell fresh food. I've started a pole dancing class with my friend (it deserves a separate post!) and found an adult education centre that offers music and sewing lessons!
Here's to February being fabulous!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
What's the World Wide Web saying this week?
Here's some more mainstream advice that saturated fat may not be as bad as we think... Well, duh!
We've all most likely made and already broken new years resolutions and this article explains how our bad habits become ingrained in our brains. Don't give up though, you can get through it!
Among other things, this Birth Psychology newsletter reports on the impact of a mother's diet during pregnancy... It is interesting to consider that we can shape our child's eating habits based on what we do or don't eat during pregnancy. I can certainly vouch for my mum - she ate everything and has produced four children with amazing appetites!
As we warm up to summer, the 'sun smart' campaign would have us slip, slop, slapping all day long. John Herring argues this as another load of conventional wisdom gone mad in his article "The Skin Cancer Myth". I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to getting some real vitamin D!
The fact that this woman's stories continue to get air time is quite disgusting!
Finally some doctors and nutritionists are waking up to the idea that carbs are what's making us fat! Imagine if everyone caught on to this - it would be revolutionary!
We've all most likely made and already broken new years resolutions and this article explains how our bad habits become ingrained in our brains. Don't give up though, you can get through it!
Among other things, this Birth Psychology newsletter reports on the impact of a mother's diet during pregnancy... It is interesting to consider that we can shape our child's eating habits based on what we do or don't eat during pregnancy. I can certainly vouch for my mum - she ate everything and has produced four children with amazing appetites!
As we warm up to summer, the 'sun smart' campaign would have us slip, slop, slapping all day long. John Herring argues this as another load of conventional wisdom gone mad in his article "The Skin Cancer Myth". I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to getting some real vitamin D!
The fact that this woman's stories continue to get air time is quite disgusting!
Finally some doctors and nutritionists are waking up to the idea that carbs are what's making us fat! Imagine if everyone caught on to this - it would be revolutionary!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
A 2011 Bucket List?!?
Can you have a bucket list for just a year? I’m not sure, but hey, why not?! I am hopefully not anywhere near dying, so a ‘kick-the-bucket’ list is a long way off. Still, I was thinking last night about things I would like to achieve this year, so why not make a list?
I have the advice of many wise people floating around in my head too – set realistic and achievable goals. It’s no good saying “I will lose 20 kilograms this year” because, while that might happen, it doesn’t actually verbalise how you will actually do that! It’s much better off to say “I will eat no grains or sugar” or “I will do 30 minutes of exercise every day” which is measurable, achievable and should, if done right, lead to that 20 kilo weight loss!
My 2011 bucket list will not just be weight/health related, though I’m hoping that some aspect of my life will be improved by achieving them (duh, otherwise what is the point!). So, here is my list for 20-11…
- Eat no grains (this one starts on 3 Jan, as my previous post explained my unpleasant start to the year!)
- Learn a musical instrument (at this stage, I think it will be guitar, though I could do always do something really unusual – bagpipes perhaps?!?)
- Take a course in how to use my digital SLR camera (no point having it if I don’t get the most out of it!)
- Grow and maintain a herb and veggie garden (this one can start when we move into our house on 15 Jan)
- Learn pole dancing (I already have a friend on board to do this with me!)
- Get a membership at our local pool and swim at least 3 times a week (our pool at home is not quite big enough to do laps!)
- Start studying for my masters (the jury is still out about what my specialisation will be!)
- Eat seasonally (no more ‘fresh’ strawberries in winter!)
- Take a photo a day with my husband (an idea I read in some relationship magazine – this will have to start when I’ve discussed it with him!)
- Learn basic sewing (this might have to wait until I have a sewing machine!)
- Maintain this blog with at least one post per week!
Notice I haven’t numbered them. I don’t want this to become a tick and flick type list, and create that mental barrier that I have to complete number 1 before I do number 2 (especially since the eat no grains thing is a year-long attempt!).
I’m sure I will add to and/or change this list as the year wears on. I’d like to be able to look back at it regularly to remind myself of what I’m aiming for this year…. It will also be good to reflect on it at the end of the year and identify if any of these goals have led to other positive changes in my life. For example, I’m hoping the eating no grains and swimming will lead to some weight loss. Possibly eating seasonally with a herb and veggie garden, and learning to sew will save us money! Who knows what else this could bring…
Now it’s your turn!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Happy New Year!
Yeah, I know I’m a few days late! Better late than never but… I actually started off the year feeling terrible, but not from what you might think. I had a couple of drinks on NYE but certainly not enough to make me drunk, or sick… I was horrified to wake up at 5am on New Years Day as sick as a dog then! Hubby joked that I’d had too much vodka, but I knew the culprit – NYE dinner and the chicken kebabs that obviously hadn’t been quite cooked…
While it was horrible at the time and not exactly pleasant looking back on it, there was one good thing about it. It cleaned me out! Seriously, I was an empty vessel on January 2, ready to start the new year afresh. I couldn’t stomach anything serious however and unfortunately settled for a small cup of oats with banana and milk. I know, appalling! But honestly, it seemed to balance out my stomach, so at the time I was quite thankful.
Hubby & I had planned to really kick into the 30 day challenge on Sunday, but my physical state didn’t quite allow it. I was left feeling very sore and sorry for myself, and I guess you could call it a fasting day (which is not a bad thing when you think about it!)
By Monday I had perked up enough to stomach a small serving of bacon and eggs for breakfast. Lunch consisted of meatballs and strawberries (served separately!), with chicken and salad for dinner. I knew that my stomach was considerably smaller than it had been at the end of last year, so I took it really easy to make sure I didn’t overdo it.
This led me to thinking that I should really make a conscious effort not to overeat. I should explain, I come from a family of overeaters. It was almost a competition, especially with 2 younger BIG brothers! I know that over the years, I have definitely maintained generous portion sizes with my meals. Why not use this as an opportunity to curb my ways? Combined with primal eating, this must be a good pathway to a healthier weight!
So combined with my New Years Resolution to eat no grains and minimal sugar, I’m adding watching my portion sizes and eating slowly. Defined goals that are achievable. I can’t guarantee that I’ll lose 15 kilos, but I can stick to my ‘no grains and sugar’ mantra!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Mangoes
I have a confession to make... Mangoes are my weakness! I could live on them, bathe in them, eat them for every meal of the day and not get sick of them! I like them in smoothies, with cream, in fruit salad, on pavlova, in a Weiss bar (as a treat!) and most importantly, by themselves!
There could be worse things to be addicted to. But in the Primal Blueprint frame of mind, mangoes should be a 'sometimes' food. They're definitely not one of the lowest carb fruit options available and because, to me, they taste so moreish, it's often hard to stop at one...
In the move up north, mangoes have become a lot more accessible and a lot tastier (not to mention a lot cheaper)! Bowens are my mango of choice. There's nothing better than slicing up a bowen on a hot summer's day and enjoying every last mouthful (and then sucking the seed dry!)
So it seems I have a choice to make. PB is important to me, but is it as important as going without my favourite food?!?!
There's a lot of pathways I could choose to go down. One would be to avoid mangoes altogether, but I have scratched that off the list. Honestly, PB is about eating food as close as possible to how nature intended, and it's not as though mangoes are a compeltely manufactured food! While it might not mean I see great weight loss results, it definitely would mean that I felt like I was missing out on something, which means I wouldn't be able to stick to it anyway!
The options I'm now tossing up between are either:-
a) Forget PB and eat as many mangoes as desired; or
b) Limit myself to one mango per day and moderate my carb intake.
I'm leaning towards option b, but will see how I go in the build up before Christmas!
We bought a tray on the weekend and so far I've been eating between 1-2 mangoes per day. I've tried to be aware of what else I'm eating and limiting other fruit intake accordingly. It hasn't been difficult but I also haven't been actively denying myself mangoes!
I guess what it comes down to is an informed choice. I know that mangoes aren't necessarily the best food to be eating if I want to lose weight, but I also know that if I try to restrict something in my diet that I absolutely love, I'm setting myself up for failure! Seriously, it would be better for me to allow myself a mango than to hold out and then gorge on something like chocolate-coated peanuts or rumballs!
So, I'm going to eat my mangoes. They're only in season during summer, so I have to enjoy them while I still can! After that, I can go back to berries being my fruit of choice!
There could be worse things to be addicted to. But in the Primal Blueprint frame of mind, mangoes should be a 'sometimes' food. They're definitely not one of the lowest carb fruit options available and because, to me, they taste so moreish, it's often hard to stop at one...
In the move up north, mangoes have become a lot more accessible and a lot tastier (not to mention a lot cheaper)! Bowens are my mango of choice. There's nothing better than slicing up a bowen on a hot summer's day and enjoying every last mouthful (and then sucking the seed dry!)
So it seems I have a choice to make. PB is important to me, but is it as important as going without my favourite food?!?!
There's a lot of pathways I could choose to go down. One would be to avoid mangoes altogether, but I have scratched that off the list. Honestly, PB is about eating food as close as possible to how nature intended, and it's not as though mangoes are a compeltely manufactured food! While it might not mean I see great weight loss results, it definitely would mean that I felt like I was missing out on something, which means I wouldn't be able to stick to it anyway!
The options I'm now tossing up between are either:-
a) Forget PB and eat as many mangoes as desired; or
b) Limit myself to one mango per day and moderate my carb intake.
I'm leaning towards option b, but will see how I go in the build up before Christmas!
We bought a tray on the weekend and so far I've been eating between 1-2 mangoes per day. I've tried to be aware of what else I'm eating and limiting other fruit intake accordingly. It hasn't been difficult but I also haven't been actively denying myself mangoes!
I guess what it comes down to is an informed choice. I know that mangoes aren't necessarily the best food to be eating if I want to lose weight, but I also know that if I try to restrict something in my diet that I absolutely love, I'm setting myself up for failure! Seriously, it would be better for me to allow myself a mango than to hold out and then gorge on something like chocolate-coated peanuts or rumballs!
So, I'm going to eat my mangoes. They're only in season during summer, so I have to enjoy them while I still can! After that, I can go back to berries being my fruit of choice!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Back on Track
It's been a month since my last post, and I'm only just now finding a small window of time to sit and write about my experiences (good and bad) since our big move, starting a new job, and aclimatising to Queensland weather!
As I've said before, moving is hard. It's doubly as hard when you move into accommodation that's not actually 'yours'. We have a beautiful apartment in an amazing area of town until we can move into our house, and although it is perfect in many ways, the fact that it's not ours has interfered somewhat with our way of life (pre-move!). An unfamiliar kitchen with certain essential utensils missing; and not knowing where to get the best, freshest food, has been our major hurdles. Not to mention living just up the hill from some of the best restaurants in Brisbane!
All of this has meant that I've been fairly lax in maintaining my Primal Blueprint eating plan. I've tried, don't get me wrong, but it's been difficult!
I've managed to steer pretty well clear of wheat products, and have been impressed with the gluten free options offered at most restaurants up here. There's certainly a greater awareness of offering gluten free menu options which has been good. My slip-up came recently at my cousin's wedding - a cocktail function with canapes. Not many gluten free options available, and I either had the choice to not eat (which would have been disastrous as there was lots of alcohol on offer) or to bite the bullet and try some of the different choices....
This was not a good decision, let me tell you! At least if I had just stuck to alcohol I would have enjoyed the night and been fairly sick the next morning, but would have bounced back pretty quickly. Because I chose to eat, I paid for it all week. I'm not kidding. It started the next morning with a terribly upset stomach and a week later I was still not well. Lesson learned, I hope!
It has definitely cemented for me the fact that Primal Blueprint is the best way of eating for me, if for no other reason than PB food doesn't make me sick! Everyone at my new workplace knows that I'm gluten-free (it's the best way of explaining it to people who you hardly know!) and I have learnt that if there are no PB friendly foods on offer, I choose not to eat! A bit of fasting does the body good!
As I've said before, moving is hard. It's doubly as hard when you move into accommodation that's not actually 'yours'. We have a beautiful apartment in an amazing area of town until we can move into our house, and although it is perfect in many ways, the fact that it's not ours has interfered somewhat with our way of life (pre-move!). An unfamiliar kitchen with certain essential utensils missing; and not knowing where to get the best, freshest food, has been our major hurdles. Not to mention living just up the hill from some of the best restaurants in Brisbane!
All of this has meant that I've been fairly lax in maintaining my Primal Blueprint eating plan. I've tried, don't get me wrong, but it's been difficult!
I've managed to steer pretty well clear of wheat products, and have been impressed with the gluten free options offered at most restaurants up here. There's certainly a greater awareness of offering gluten free menu options which has been good. My slip-up came recently at my cousin's wedding - a cocktail function with canapes. Not many gluten free options available, and I either had the choice to not eat (which would have been disastrous as there was lots of alcohol on offer) or to bite the bullet and try some of the different choices....
This was not a good decision, let me tell you! At least if I had just stuck to alcohol I would have enjoyed the night and been fairly sick the next morning, but would have bounced back pretty quickly. Because I chose to eat, I paid for it all week. I'm not kidding. It started the next morning with a terribly upset stomach and a week later I was still not well. Lesson learned, I hope!
It has definitely cemented for me the fact that Primal Blueprint is the best way of eating for me, if for no other reason than PB food doesn't make me sick! Everyone at my new workplace knows that I'm gluten-free (it's the best way of explaining it to people who you hardly know!) and I have learnt that if there are no PB friendly foods on offer, I choose not to eat! A bit of fasting does the body good!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Mondayitis
Oh man, did Monday come along way too quickly this week! It probably had something to do with the crazy weekend I had, but still, this morning's alarm was not well received (and consequently snoozed for a good half an hour!)
I'm actually really excited about this week. We're moving back to Queensland (the state of sunshine) on Friday and I'm starting a brand new job next Monday, so there's lots to look forward to. There's also lots to be stressed about, because packing and moving is not the easiest thing in the world to do! Especially if you had a 'blow out' on your last weekend!
Most people would consider that a 'blow out' every once in a while is acceptable, and probably required to maintain sanity. But considering I haven't really had one since I started this journey in April, my body has reacted pretty badly today!
I should clarify that my 'blow out' began on Saturday evening at my beautiful friends' engagement party. I'm one of the bridal party, so figured it was as good an excuse as any to let my hair down. And I did. When hubby questioned me as to how many glasses of champagne I consumed and I couldn't actually remember, I knew it was a good one! I think the figure was probably about 20 glasses, but hey, who's counting?!?!
Of course, all this drinking on what was a somewhat empty stomach would have its downfall. I certainly wasn't strict with PB eating when the canapes came around. Unfortunately there wasn't really enough food for me to feel like I'd had a full meal, and so when the rest of the party guests were announcing their intentions to grab some Maccas on the way home, the golden arches had never looked so good to me!
This was probably the point of the night where there was definitely no turning back. 1 cheeseburger & McChicken burger later and I was feeling good! I didn't even give a second thought to how I might be feeling in the morning, especially considering that the last time I had had Maccas would have been over 6 months ago!
Fast forward 10 hours and I was in pain. My body ached and my stomach growled at me. I knew what I had done but I felt so terrible that I couldn't be stopped. I was never so thankful that the staple PB breakfast is bacon and eggs because that's all I felt would get me through! My beautiful husband made me the most perfect scrambled eggs you've ever tasted, and I was feeling better...
It didn't last though! In another few hours, guess what I was craving?!? More crappy food! Specifically, a sausage roll and quiche from the local bakery. Definitely not primal, but I didn't care! I made a promise to myself that I would have some vegies for dinner...
That promise lasted as long as my full stomach did. Then I was definitely NOT keen to go grocery shopping and pick up some real food, and definitely WAS keen to eat some greasy chinese food, including spring rolls and rice.
Let me tell you, after eating this, it wasn't pretty. My stomach which had been growling at me before was now more in writhing in pain. I knew what I had done. It was as if I'd gone on a 24hr bender, with processed food and grains being my poison of choice!
A sensible option this morning was to fast. This would at least give my stomach some reprive. Unfortunately I've still been feeling terrible. I feel like I have constant indigestion. The most I could stomach at lunch was a salad. That just made me feel heavier. If I could take the afternoon off, I would, but it's my second last day at work! So instead, I'm just going to suffer and remind myself of this experience any time I think "Oh it won't be that bad" in the future. Because let me tell you, it is that bad, and worse.
The positive, if you could see it like that, is that I now understand why I am feeling so bad. It's like my body is rebelling against my food choices! I know why my stomach feels like it's in knots and why I feel like I've got constant heartburn. I've eaten more grains in the past 48hrs than I have over the past 3 months prior, so my body has gone into shock! But if this feeling is not incentive enough to not touch them again, I don't know what is.
I'm actually really excited about this week. We're moving back to Queensland (the state of sunshine) on Friday and I'm starting a brand new job next Monday, so there's lots to look forward to. There's also lots to be stressed about, because packing and moving is not the easiest thing in the world to do! Especially if you had a 'blow out' on your last weekend!
Most people would consider that a 'blow out' every once in a while is acceptable, and probably required to maintain sanity. But considering I haven't really had one since I started this journey in April, my body has reacted pretty badly today!
I should clarify that my 'blow out' began on Saturday evening at my beautiful friends' engagement party. I'm one of the bridal party, so figured it was as good an excuse as any to let my hair down. And I did. When hubby questioned me as to how many glasses of champagne I consumed and I couldn't actually remember, I knew it was a good one! I think the figure was probably about 20 glasses, but hey, who's counting?!?!
Of course, all this drinking on what was a somewhat empty stomach would have its downfall. I certainly wasn't strict with PB eating when the canapes came around. Unfortunately there wasn't really enough food for me to feel like I'd had a full meal, and so when the rest of the party guests were announcing their intentions to grab some Maccas on the way home, the golden arches had never looked so good to me!
This was probably the point of the night where there was definitely no turning back. 1 cheeseburger & McChicken burger later and I was feeling good! I didn't even give a second thought to how I might be feeling in the morning, especially considering that the last time I had had Maccas would have been over 6 months ago!
Fast forward 10 hours and I was in pain. My body ached and my stomach growled at me. I knew what I had done but I felt so terrible that I couldn't be stopped. I was never so thankful that the staple PB breakfast is bacon and eggs because that's all I felt would get me through! My beautiful husband made me the most perfect scrambled eggs you've ever tasted, and I was feeling better...
It didn't last though! In another few hours, guess what I was craving?!? More crappy food! Specifically, a sausage roll and quiche from the local bakery. Definitely not primal, but I didn't care! I made a promise to myself that I would have some vegies for dinner...
That promise lasted as long as my full stomach did. Then I was definitely NOT keen to go grocery shopping and pick up some real food, and definitely WAS keen to eat some greasy chinese food, including spring rolls and rice.
Let me tell you, after eating this, it wasn't pretty. My stomach which had been growling at me before was now more in writhing in pain. I knew what I had done. It was as if I'd gone on a 24hr bender, with processed food and grains being my poison of choice!
A sensible option this morning was to fast. This would at least give my stomach some reprive. Unfortunately I've still been feeling terrible. I feel like I have constant indigestion. The most I could stomach at lunch was a salad. That just made me feel heavier. If I could take the afternoon off, I would, but it's my second last day at work! So instead, I'm just going to suffer and remind myself of this experience any time I think "Oh it won't be that bad" in the future. Because let me tell you, it is that bad, and worse.
The positive, if you could see it like that, is that I now understand why I am feeling so bad. It's like my body is rebelling against my food choices! I know why my stomach feels like it's in knots and why I feel like I've got constant heartburn. I've eaten more grains in the past 48hrs than I have over the past 3 months prior, so my body has gone into shock! But if this feeling is not incentive enough to not touch them again, I don't know what is.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)