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being fit & healthy, going to the gym & eating right.

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March 03, 2008

reached my goal weight! - 06:37 AM

after starting my diet a few months ago (can't remember exactly when i started. maybe november last year?) i weighed myself this morning after the morning wee & before breakfast & i've reached my goal weight of 50 kg (about 110 pounds)!

i've weighed myself up to about 54 in the last week or so, but some variance is quite normal. i might go this morning to get weighed officially on the scales at the betty baxter booth at the chemist just to confirm my weight since i know those ones are accurate. my home scales are good ones, but obviously they won't be as accurate as ones which cost about $2000. lol!

so now i just have to mantain my healthy eating to keep the weight off. i won't be aiming to lose any more, because if i was at 50 kg all the time, it'd actually be an unhealthy weight for me.

i'm very pleased with myself. i haven't been down to such a healthy weight for about six or seven years. very pleased, indeed.

comments (4)

November 16, 2007

coke *is* healthy! - 06:03 PM

after looking at their website, make every drop matter, i've totally changed my mind & now i really believe that not only can coke & other soft drinks be healthy for you, but that the coca-cola company's biggest concern is for the health & well-being of humankind.

</sarcasm>

for crying out loud. please tell me that people aren't actually sucked in by this garbage.

comments (8)

October 26, 2007

need another notch - 09:29 AM

i'm going to have to get another hole punched in my belt.

last week, beginning only a few days after i'd started on betty baxter, i had to move up a notch on my belt occasionally because my pants were starting to hang a bit low. this week, i haven't had to move back to that first notch even once. the last couple of days i've been having to hitch up my pants because they're getting looser & looser.

when mum heard about my diet, she offered that when i reach my goal, she'll go shopping with me & buy me a new outfit. i said thank you, but that i didn't really need any new clothes (most of what i wear is just t-shirts, you see). however, i may have to take her up on that offer after all & get a couple of new pairs of jeans. i seem to be moving down a size. woohoo!

comments (4)

October 21, 2007

one & a half kilos - 08:21 AM

yesterday i went back to the betty baxter booth at the chemist up the road to have my first weigh-in since i started on the diet one week earlier.

i've lost one & a half kilos! (that's about 3.3 pounds.) i'm really pleased!

after just a few days last week, i found that i had to tighten the belt on my jeans, but i thought that surely i couldn't have been losing weight that fast, so i figured maybe my belt had stretched. but nope, 1.5 kilos gone, just like that. woohoo!

i also lost 7.5 cm (almost 3 inches) off my waist. very happy, indeed, with those results.

comments (4)

October 14, 2007

hungry this morning - 09:49 AM

after starting yesterday on the road to healthier eating & feling quite satisfied & not hungry at all by the end of the day, this morning i do feel hungry after my morning shake. it's not even 10 am i'm already thinking about my morning tea.

quite a few years ago, shroom & i went on a diet together by eating the food from lite & easy (or one of those companies where you buy full meals from them. i can't quite recall who it was now). the first week or two—since the portion sizes were much smaller than the oversized portions we were used to eating at the time—i felt hungry every day & spent much of my time trying to resist eating the unhealthy snacks which i'd made a habit of eating daily. once the first two weeks were over, my body was used to eating the much more suitably-sized portions & i didn't feel hungry anymore.

let's hope this phase goes quickly. at least with this healthy eating plan, it's up to me to choose from the good variety of foods suggested to make up the other meals of the day. that is, the ones that aren't the meal replacement shakes.

when i spoke to the lady at the chemist before buying any of the shakes, i made sure that the shakes didn't contain any artificial sugars. i don't like that stuff at all. even before they became really popular & all sorts of urban legends (true or otherwise) started spreading about them, i disliked it. it tastes terrible & like chemicals.

if you're serious about losing weight, then surely it's far better to limit your intake of foods & snacks that contain sugar & fat, than it is to replace it with something that fake & unnatural. swap the unhealthy food with healthy, unprocessed, natural foods.

excuse me while i go through a food obsession phase over the next week or two. lol!

comments (1)

October 13, 2007

time to lose weight - 07:40 PM

after my entry a month or so ago about getting fat, i haven't made any changes to my diet. i've seen billboard after billboard around for the betty baxter weight loss systm. when i walked with smiley up to the post office this morning, i saw they had a little booth set up in the chemist, so i went in to take a look.

it's mostly based around meal replacement drinks, but it's also got a handbook for what to eat for other meals & snacks.

i've decided that i really need something like this at this point in my life. i need a day by day guide to help me get back to some healthier habits. once i've established a better eating pattern, it'll be easier to continue eating well.

the meal replacement drinks are actually filling, which is amazing. they taste quite nice, too. well, i know the chocolate one does, anyway, since it's the only one i've tried so far.

i've been good with making sure smiley eats well, with lots of fruit available (& he likes fruit) but when it's come to making my own meals, i've been slack & just 'making do'. time to get tough.

after three quarters of a day on the eating plan, i've not been hungry, so it's all good so far.

comments (3)

September 22, 2007

getting fat - 07:34 PM

i've been eating way too much crappy food lately, & my body is showing me just how much. i'm getting a bit tubby. it's time to start eating better.

tonight i'm having grated carrot & zucchini lightly fried with just a bit of butter. it's yummy.

comments (2)

August 01, 2007

delicious almost vegetarian meal - 07:29 PM

i just finished making a really yummy meal made to a recipe given to me by a friend. it's like a shepherd's pie (not sure what american's call that) but instead of the meat at the bottom, the bottom is made with lentils, lots of other vegies & a bit of bacon. the mashed potato on top is makde with half & half normal potato & sweet potato.

it's absolutely delicious!

angie gave me a vegetarian recipe book as a gift for having her here, so i'm keen to try some of the recipes in there, too.

i really like vegetarian meals. i do eat meat, but i can just as easily go without it as well. i should try to eat more vegies, anyway, so vegetarian meals are a perfect way to do that.

comments (4)

January 15, 2007

laptop lunches - 02:20 PM

something i mentioned in my recent post about finding the right child care place for smiley was that one place provided lunches & another didn't. this probably isn't a big deal to most people, but it actually did have some sway with me. it wasn't because of the cost of providing food for smiley's lunch. it's because i hate packed lunches & actually doing the packing of lunches about as much as i hate ironing.

i've hated eating & packing packed lunches ever since i was old enough to have to make them myself. i like sandwiches, but not packed ones. no matter what you've put on a sandwich, by the time you're ready to eat it, it's either warm or soggy or both. best case scenario, even if your sandwich is still fresh & at a normal temperature, is that you don't feel like eating that particular thing anymore once lunch time comes around.

my favourite foods are ones that go on a plate or in a bowl, generally not things which are easily packed for lunches. that's the other pain in the bum thing about packed lunches: choosing something which will travel well, then finding a way to pack it so that it will travel well!

there are heaps of options with portions of things such as yoghurts or small packets of biscuits or fruit sticks & the like, but i'm not keen on feeding smiley such processed products as a regular thing. also, i'm not happy about the sheer amount of waste that's produced from each meal with all the packets & wrappers which then have to be thrown away.

i believe i've found a solution. it's laptop lunches. these lunch boxes are designed with different sized inner containers that fit perfectly inside the larger one. the idea is that the individual containers can be taken out to eat from, or to heat the contents, if need be. the lid of the outer container fits flat against the top of the inner containers so that dry foods are held inside without the need for extra lids. one of the inner containers is lidded for wet foods, but the rest come wthout lids.

seems like a simple concept & i suppose it is, but having read really good things from individuals who use them, i'm convinced. they aren't cheap at all, but i've seen the prices of good quality plastic containers in the supermarket & to buy six individual containers would cost close to that, not to mention how much trouble i'd have trying to get them to fit together into one neat little package. i know i'm not keen on plastics, but there are times & places where it's useful & packed lunches is one of those.

there are several reasons why using this system makes packed lunches easier to prepare & more likely to be eaten. firstly, they look great. secondly, no lids, except for the one for wet food. kids open their lunchbox & instantly see a brightly coloured selection of yummy things to eat. apparently, the no lids things makes a real difference.

for me as the packer of the packed lunch, other reasons are that i can very easily pack left over dinner into the containers to be ready for the following day. i don't have to dig around for containers which might be too big or too small. another reason is that when the lunch is being put together, i'll be able to see plainly see what healthy things are in there already & how much more room (or not) i have left to fill for a good sized lunch.

all of these things are only little issues on their own, but if not sorted out with a great solution such as this, they add up to me hating packing lunches & being terribly uninspired to put anything decent & fresh into a lunch for smiley.

the people who have used these successfully for years have found that it makes such a difference not only to them being happier to prepare lunches, but to what they put in there & how much of the lunch is eaten by the kid. i've even found a flickr group or two dedicated specifically to lunches packed into laptop lunch boxes as well as one that covers kid's lunches in laptop lunch boxes as well as other lunch box styles.

i'm really excited about making nice lunches for smiley. i want to foster good eating habits for him .. & me being happy & inspired about packing his lunches will help a great deal.

comments (4)

January 06, 2007

the law of attraction - 09:37 AM

just lately i've been reading & hearing about the law of attraction. it's not a new concept, it's been around for a very long & time & is well proven in many fields.

as a related example, in the sporting field, top players will visualise their play/run/shot before they go out there to perform it. the brain doesn't seem to differentiate between visualising the action & actually doing it, so going through it in their mind first means that they've already, in effect, practised it again before they perform it.

the same goes with telling yourself something over & over. if you're constantly telling yourself that you're bad at maths, then you'll never become good at it. if you're always telling yourself (or if someone else is telling you & you believe them) that you're ugly & useless, then you'll be ugly & useless.

what you surround yourself with or immerse yourself in, that's what you become. that concept is a feature in almost any religion or philosophy you can think of.

so last night, i made myself a list of things which i want to confirm to myself. some are things which are already true, some are partly true & some aren't true at all, but if i keep saying them to myself, believing them & acting on them as if they are true, then they will become so.

i figured that somebody else might benefit from this list, so i'm putting it here on my site. if you want to use it, please do. i've also made it into a word doc which you can download if you like. it even has proper capitalisation!

whether you pray it, meditate on it or write it on sticky notes & cover your walls with it, the result is the same. if you believe it to be true & act on it, it will be.

so this is my list, in no particular order of importance:

- i have more than enough money for everything i want or need.
- my body & mind are healthy, happy & whole.
- i sleep deeply & soundly & am well rested.
- i am surrounded by people who love & support me.
- i actively show love & support to those i care about.
- i promptly start & finish jobs i need to do with joy, efficiency & care.
- i love & care for my body & mind by feeding them healthy things.
- i radiate joy.
- i affect those around me in a positive way.

i dare say i'll add to this list & include other aspects of my life (such as how i care for smiley & that sort of thing) but this is a start with things which are directly related to me.

comments (4)

the law of attraction - 09:36 AM

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November 15, 2006

sitting better now - 05:44 AM

my legs are recovering since i wrote about not sitting right the other day. now that i have a proper computer desk, complete with pull out keyboard & mouse tray, i'm actually sitting properly. the chair still isn't the ideal computer chair since it's not padded (it's got a kind of woven wicker seat), but as far as height goes, it's actually perfect. eventually i'll get a rolling computer chair that can be raised & lowered, but that can wait for a bit longer.

comments (1)

November 10, 2006

wrong seat or maybe posture - 07:15 AM

ouch! when i've been sitting down on at the computer on this dining chair which i've been using while i wait to get a proper computer chair, i've noticed that the back of my legs are bruised! not visibly, but i can definitely feel it when i sit.

mind you, it's not really the chair's fault, because my computer is currently set up on top of a sewing table cabinet instead of my new computer desk workstation. i still have to get an extension cable for phone line so the adsl will reach across to the other side of the room. once that's done (perhaps monday, possibly earlier on saturday, hopefully) then i'll be able to sit with a bit better posture.

actually, it's partly bad posture on my own part, too, because i tend to sit forward on the chair, resting right on the back of my legs, rather than sitting back in the chair so the pressure is spread evenly across the back of my thighs & my bum. something i'll have to work on, i suppose.

comments (2)

November 08, 2006

avoiding plastic - 09:40 AM

i was talking to jade recently about storage for food, especially leftovers & the like, & how since i'm having to buy pretty much everything from scratch again, i wanted to avoid getting plastic.

there are a few reasons for this. firstly, i'm not sure that plastic is all that healthy for us. there's information out there about how certain gases are released from plastics. i can't give you any links or anything, but just as one example, have you ever opened a big box of plastic kitchen items that have been in storage for a while? the smell is something to behold. it's not any food smells which have soaked into the plastic, either, it's a pure plastic smell & it's awful. i'd hate to think of those chemicals going into my food.

secondly, i don't want to use plastics all the time & become a consumer to add to all the non-bidegradable wastage of stuff that everyone's using all the time. most plastic storage containers don't last very long & aren't even designed to last all that long (tupperware is an exception, but since i'm trying to avoid plastics for other reasons as well, then it's not an option) so i don't want to encourage the companies to keep making the stuff. as long as one more person keeps buying plastic, they'll keep making more of it.

one other reason is that plastic always ends up getting smelly or stained from the food that's stored in it. since it's so porous, it's almost impossible to get the smell out. once you've used them for something like spaghetti in a tomato based sauce, then you'll never get the red colour out.

there's always the option of using crockery & simply putting cling wrap over the top of it, but since i don't want to consume plastic every day or have the food touching the plastic, then that isn't ideal.

so glass is a good option for me. one of the things i've been spending money on for the house is glass storage containers. they're not cheap, but at least i know that they'll last a long time. i also really like the look of glass. since it's clear, then you don't have any trouble seeing what's inside & you don't need labels. it doesn't degrade & it's easy to clean. if you get the right type of glass, you can even boil it to sterilise it if you're inclined that way.

so i've been buying some lovely little spice bottles, various sizes of jars with good rubber seals & metal closures on them for the pantry & some pyrex storage containers for the fridge & freezer.

i'm really loving my pyrex storage containers. i'd not seen them the last time i was in the market for kitchen stuff. i've always known that they make great casserole dishes & the like, but i'd never seen these with the air tight lids. i know they're plastic, but in most cases the plastic isn't touching the food since the food is down inside the bowl. they're also built to last so they won't break easily & hopefully i won't have to be buying more lids any time soon.

they come in a great range of sizes, & even better still, they stack two high perfectly in my relatively small fridge, so i can use the space well. i've bought two of almost each size as i've seen them available at the supermarket or kmart or big w. about the only sizes i don't have are the large & the small rectangular dishes. the meduim one is about right for me at the moment, but i may end up getting one of the large ones at some stage. i've got three sizes of the round dishes, i think it's the largest round one i don't have.

they're not cheap, but i don't mind spending money on quality products which will last me a lifetime. pyrex have been around for so long. my mum's had pyrex measuring jugs for as long as i can remember & they're still in perfect condition. i do so love a good quality, convenient & well thought out product.

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October 17, 2006

self esteem - 03:53 AM

this is amazing. girls, boys, mums, dads, brothers, sisters, anyone, pass this onto your loved ones:
the dove self esteem movie.

no wonder girls these days don't think they measure up. nobody looks like that. not even the model looks like that!

comments (2)