Went for another run today! This time is was intervals: walk 2 powerpoles, run 2 powerpoles. Doing it this way I managed to shave a whopping 4 minutes off my run time. Which leads me to believe that I will actually be able to do the 1.5km next run, which will be either tomorrow or Wednesday, depending on how I feel.

Here’s a picture of me after my run, with my afternoon snack:

I’m a bit pink in the face but it’s winter, so I cooled down quickly and am not nearly as red as I was when I first got in. The jumper is one that my Mum knitted for my Dad years and years ago.

Other awesome news is that I’m currently on track! Had a big bowl of cereal for breakfast, for lunch had vegemite and cheese on burgen bread, and dinner will be vegies and San Chow Boy (or is it San Choy Bow? I always get confused…). While I’ve been studying I’ve been snacking on fruit and sunflower seeds, and my drinks have included green tea, water and I’ll probably have a Berocca. And of course, at the same time I’m monitoring my fibre intake, which is also going well.

It’s funny how accountability really does change your mindset. My leader wants to see my tracker this week, so I am determined to do well. I want to loose weight, but I was praise, dammit! Apparently it’s to do with a ’social contract’ and we consider it a social obligation and don’t want to lose face.  But it works, doesn’t it?

Posted at 6:52 am | 1 Comment »

I like cereal. I really do. I grew up in a household where cereal was beloved by all. We had it for breakfast, for dessert, I even had it for dinner sometimes. It has been the go-to food my entire life. It’s a snack food and it’s also, for me, a major comfort food.

Which is why it had to go. It doesn’t fill me up, I just like the taste of it. If I eat at 8, I’m peckish by 10. And let’s not start on the nutritional value of carbs and milk for dinner. So, despite a lifetime of being a cereal breakfast girl, I’ve swapped. I still can’t handle toast for breakfast and I’m not a cooked fan, but I do grab toasted english muffin with some ‘light’ peanut butter. Then I add a banana and a glass of milk. It’s a point-heavy breakfast — about 7.5pts, all up. But it fills me up until about 1 - 2 o’clock, without making me feel stuffed full.

It’s also, would you believe, cheaper. Cereal here costs between $5 - $8, depending on the size of the box. If I’m in a snacking mood, I can go through that (and a 2L bottle of milk) in about 3 days. That’s $13 in three days! By comparison, I go through the English muffins in 6 days (because there’s 6 in a bag). So for me, that’s $3.50 for 6 days (plus extra for milk and bananas etc.). It stills comes out cheaper. Much cheaper. And then I don’t have to eat such a large lunch. So it’s win-win all round, really.

…

The other thing I’ve been thinking about (I know, I think to much, especially since I’m supposed to be doing an assignment in another language.) is food. Or nutrition, more rightly. I’ve been getting sick a lot this year. Just little illnesses, enough slow me down and make me crabby. And yes, I had my wisdom teeth out and that took a lot out of me, but I feel like I’m missing something over last year. So I’m going to invest in some Barocca and some multi-vitamins to help boost my nutrition count. I already try to eat enough vegetables but sometimes it just doesn’t work. I’m also attempting to swap out my snacking on crackers and chocolate for snacking on sunflower seeds and apples….we’ll see how that goes. I quite like sunflower seeds, and when 2tsp is only 1 pt, it can take me a while to get through them.

But yeah. I guess the point is that I’m regaining focus on the ‘whole picture’ of health, rather than just the weight-loss issue.

…

I weighed in today, for the first time in a while (maybe 2 weeks, I think. Or it could be 1 week and I just don’t remember). Regardless, it was a few days late and a WI at home. I’m normally a Friday weigher, simply because there’s a meeting on near where I live. But I haven’t been able to lately because I’ve been getting called into other commitments. I’m looking at changing the day anyway because the meeting is at 12:30 which is right in the middle of my day off. I’d much prefer it to be in the morning.

Anyway, the point is that I lost 1kg this week, which brings me down to 88.4kg. This is nowhere near the level that I used to be at (check out where I was this time last year on my progress page), but I’ve realised I have to concentrate on where I’m at now, rather than feeling bad for getting here.

Current Stats
Current Weight: 88.4
Loss/Gain This Week: -1.0
Total Loss: 11.9

Posted at 1:41 am | No Comments »

So I’m doing well so far! My baby steps are going well. I walked today; not ‘a walk’, but rather I walked to the supermarket and then back with my groceries. I was pretty buggered by the end, because I was a silly shopper and bought all sorts of heavy things I didn’t need.

But while I was there, I picked up some ingredients for dinner. I was originally going to try Greens with Tahini because I love-love-love sesame seeds and I was looking for something new, particularly since I’m not a salad fan. I figured if I liked it, it would be awesome. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any of the ingredients, and I couldn’t find Tahini. So instead I just found some greens and figured I’d wing it.

I’ve had potatoes in the pantry for a while so I need to use them, thus mash. And I’ve been wanting salmon for a while, sooo…voila. This was my dinner tonight!

Salmon with Garlic Wilted Greens and Mashed Potato

Please excuse the dodgy photo. I was going to take a picture before I started eating (in fact, you can see the camera cord in the upper corner), but my camera isn’t working. Then halfway through I realised that I could take a picture with my computer.

My favourite part of this dinner was probably the wilted greens. Mash isn’t exactly exciting and I think I could have done more with the salmon to flavour it.

Ingredients
1 Salmon fillet (This one was 180g, and actually a little big for me, I didn’t finish it)
3 garlic cloves
2 big handfuls of greens (This pack was just from woolies, I grabbed ‘Cottage greens’ accidentally instead of the one I thought I had, because I’d never tried kale before)
2 medium sized potatoes
lemon juice
salt
pepper
low-fat milk
a squidge of margarine
balsamic vinegar
olive oil

Salmon
Crush the garlic (about 1 and 1/2 cloves) and heat in a pan with a spray of olive oil. Then I added some lemon juice (about 1/2 tsp, probably) and waited until they were heated and the garlic was ‘fragrant’ (I learnt about this the first time I made soup, and it is a great way to cook). Then I just added the salmon skin-side down and left it there for a few minutes. Once it was cooked halfway, I put salt and pepper on the top and turned it then let it cook the way through. I added another squirt of lemon juice and that’s about it.

Garlic Wilted Greens
Crush the garlic (1 and 1/2 - 2 cloves) and heat in a pan with a spray of olive oil (can you tell this is my starting point for almost everything?). Then add a wee squirt of lemon juice. Once that’s heated a little, throw in the handfuls of greens and stir until they’re just nicely wilted — not soggy and gross. This happens really quickly, by the way. In total, I would say it takes about 3 - 4 minutes, including cooking the garlic that little bit. About halfway through, I added a little bit of balsamic vinegar because I love it, and I loved the smell coming up from them. Then I took them off the heat while I waited for my salmon to finish.

Mashed Potatoes
I’m pretty sure everyone can make these, but in case you can’t:
Peel the potatoes and stick into a pot. Heat on the highest level until the potatoes are cooked. You can tell when they’re cooked because if you stick a knife into one and lift up, it will fall off the knife before the potato leaves the water. Then drain the water and after that use a fork/masher to mash up. Add a smidge of milk (I’m not even going to say 1/4 cup, but it really isn’t much) and a smidge of butter. Season with salt if you want to — I didn’t. Put on the plate!

…

Simple and yum. As I said, the greens were my favourite and they will be on the menu again soon. I may have found a new favourite for my with-meat food, since I am normally not a meat person and I don’t know what to do with it. For the salmon, next time I think I would add some Moroccan spice. My Mum has this spice at her place and I am obsessed with it. I haven’t bought it yet, but I want to add it to everything, and I think it’d give the salmon a nice zing. What was lovely was the lemon-y taste on the skin of the fish. It was like it’d been absorbed into it and it was just lovely.

What I love most about this meal is that it’s the first real art I’ve made since I’ve moved into my new house. Heck, it’s the first since I left Edinburgh. I truly believe that you should make food into something more than just food. I hate eating on the run. But I’ve been doing it for almost 9 months! And so sitting down and making something I can admire for taste and for beauty makes me so happy. It finally feels like I’m getting back on the right track.

Posted at 10:13 am | 1 Comment »

Eating well is not cheap.

…If you shop at Woolies or Coles, at least. It costs way too much money for way too little food. Especially the fresh food section. If Woolies are the ‘fresh food people’, then why do they charge so damn much? I bought a capsicum the other day. Just one. (Red, if you’re interested.) It cost me 2.18. For a single Capsicum. How ridiculous is that?

Since then, I’ve discovered my local grocer. It’s a little Asian-owned fruit and veg store, but it’s wonderful. I bought my entire fruit and veg list (sans bananas, to be fair, because I take a while to eat those and they looked a little brown) for a week for $9.50. My entire list. This is including my attempt to eat 5 vegetable serves a day. $9.50! (Just had to repeat that, still couldn’t believe it.)

It costs much, much more to eat out. And there are still things I have to purchase from Woolies; deodorant and pasta, for example. It turns out that eating well and being healthy is better for you, tastes nicer, and is cheaper. Where is the downside to this?

. . .

The other thing is that I’ve decided I want motivating for my running. So that I’m not just running because I think it’d be a cool thing and that feeling just before I die hits: I’m not just running for fun, I want to run for training. God, I get a shiver every time I think about it. For training. I have never been the type to train for anything. Nothing. I don’t train. I don’t compete. And now, the idea of training for an event and then running in it is wonderful, and I want to do it so badly!

A couple of people suggested the Mother’s Day Classic, but it’s not very far away at all. I’m not confident that I could run all or even part of the way. The other problem is money related, as I’m waiting on a scholarship which comes in April, and until that point money is incredibly tight.

So instead, I’m going to sign up for the Sydney Running Festival Bridge Run. It’s 9km and it’s in September. This means that I a) have more time to sign up for the event, and thus find the $50 entrance fee, and b) have more time to train for the event.

I’m so excited, and it’s still months away. But I just want to compete in this race, to be a runner, to be a competitor.

Posted at 3:37 am | 1 Comment »

Woke up at 10ish (a well needed sleep in) and then had some weetbix for breakfast, got dressed and headed for the gym. I hit the treadmill and managed to do the C25K, Week 4 Day 1. I thought I was going to die from the stich I got halfway through, but I just turned the speed down a little and kept going. Then I did my weights and power plate and now I think my arms will be screaming in pain tomorrow, argh.

I also weighed myself. This week, I lost 1.3kg, one of my biggest losses to date! It just goes to show what happens when you’re in the right frame of mind. Last year I struggled with food. Because I struggled with food, I never got the headset for exercise. And now? No problems. I get it.

I did have a bad night on Friday, but it was because I forgot that I wouldn’t be back at home for dinner. Ended up having pizza. And drinking a lot. And the next day, I had chips for dinner and just veged. But it was just a day. No big deal.

Am going to my sister’s tomorrow, and we’ll see how I go. Neither of them track or watch their weight in a real way (my sister may occasionally talk about it and do more exercise, but never food-based), but they do eat a lot of vegies, so hopefully I’ll fit in somewhere. Just up the exercise and it’ll be fine, right? Right.

Current Stats
Current Weight: 85.5
Loss/Gain This Week: -1.3
Total Loss: 14.8

Posted at 2:21 pm | No Comments »

So, didn’t go to the gym (this is getting to be a habit, one which I don’t like.) Sister was unfortuately not in a fit state to go, so even though I’d organised guest passes etc., we ended up not doing much. We did walk everywhere on Saturday, but since we had pizza and bruschetta on Friday night, as well as some other appalling choice, I think the two are cancelled out.

Do you ever have those experiences where you just go, “I used to be that person”? I was talking about how we’d eaten terribly this weekend and I’d need to do some exercise, but my sister pipes up and says, “I think I was actually quite good.” And I realised that once upon a time, I was like that too, in my pre-tracking days. How easy it is to forget the bacon and egg muffin and hash brown, and the cheesecake, muffin, far too many hot chocolates when one doesn’t need to justify to oneself why you did it. I’m not judging her, and I wasn’t going to argue with her - what’s the point? - but I did have a little smile to myself. I did eat poorly, and so did she, but sometimes you just have to get over it.

So I am attempting (again) to get back on track. Doesn’t it just sometimes feel like this is a cycle I go through once every two or so weeks? It really annoys me. I just want to get it together and be good at this. But I’m not, so I just keep working.

Posted at 4:02 pm | 1 Comment »

50 posts! That’s 50 times I have made a conscious decision to record, to make myself accountable, to distract myself and to mentally ready myself to lose weight. It feels good. Really good, actually. I’m quite proud. It should continue in the future, maybe even progress.

So today I found my local greengrocer, and got my vegies for the next week - perhaps even the next 2 - for under 8 pounds ($16). Then I hit up the butcher and got about 2 weeks worth of meat for 16 pounds ($32), and finally I went to Tesco’s and got the Other Stuff. For each thing I went to the store, walked back to my flat, and then walked to the next place. My flat is up three flights of stairs — my butt better look damned good by the end of six months!

Tonight I had sausages and mashed potatoes (or ‘Tatties’ as they call them here). The sausages were from the butcher and they were the best meat I’ve tasted in a long time. They were honestly amazing. So delicious. I’ve got 6 more in my freezer (portioned out — see I have been busy), and I know that I’m going to enjoy them. The other thing about the meat is that it’s all been portioned for me. While I don’t have scales, and I don’t know the exact weight, I can tell by looking at them that they are around the right size (steak = palm, etc.) It’s fantastic that I have a place so nearby that does good quality, good serve food. I’m really excited about it.

I’m also coming across recipies, and I kind of want to share them as I try them. I’m not sure about recipe copyright, though? Will look into it and see. There’s a great recipe for Easy Beef Wellington that I really want to try.

Life is so exciting — this whole being grown up thing can be hard, sometimes, and scary and also annoying, too. But it’s also fun, exciting, and definately makes me feel like I’m the one in control. Which is kind of cool.

(Oh yeah, and I also had Ben and Jerry’s Half Baked Ice Cream — Vanilla, and chocolate swirl ice cream with cookie dough and bits of brownie…it was goood. My special ‘Welcome to Edinburgh’ treat. After this, I think I’ll move back to the frozen yoghurt, though.)

Posted at 6:07 am | No Comments »

England! The land of (huge amounts of) tea, food that is baked, boiled, and imported, and incredibly cold, cold weather. And for some reason, I love it.

I flew in yesterday morning at 6am. I was lucky in that I got about 6 hours of sleep at the end of my last of 3 flights. It was enough to push me into being awake for the day, although I did end up going to bed quite early indeed.

My sister picked me up and at about 3pm, in an attempt to stave off the need to sleep, we decided to make pasta. My sister is an absolute inspiration; a whiz in the kitchen who just kind of wings it and manages to make it good. A very large amount of what she makes is homemade, simply because she likes the taste and because it’s cheaper. So we made Ravioli from scratch. It’s very easy, although time consuming to use the pasta-stretcher. But it does taste fantastic.

So we had ravioli filled with spinach and (full-fat) ricotta, since that’s what was in the cupboard. As a sauce, we took a can of tomatoes and mixed in some capsicum, mushrooms and zucchini and let it simmer for a while. Maybe one day I’ll take a picture and do some recipes, because it was delicious and felt so light.

Then today she and I went for a run. I started the C25k week 3, Day 2, but it just didn’t work. My body isn’t used to the cold, and my lungs just couldn’t deal with the knife-edge of the frost. So I think i’m going to drop back to week 2 and hopefully build up again. It’s frustrating and it felt almost like I was being betrayed by my body — but I’m still determined. And it feels so good when it works.

I’m really quite excited about being here. It’s such a change and the people I know here live so well. My sister is incredibly inspiring, so naturally healthy and it will be wonderful to embrace that. I only hope that I can continue it once I get to Scotland (tomorrow), and I’m pretty sure that I can — which is a funny but reassuring feeling.

Posted at 12:48 am | No Comments »