Jump Start

My husband and I have finally found a diet plan that we are both willing to try. Its a vegetarian plan, starts with a 7 Day Cleansing Plan.
Its called CHIP - Coronary Health Improvement Project and is designed by Dr. Hans A. Diehl.

We start on Sunday officially. We did all our shopping today. We have also planned health meals for the next 2 days leading up to the cleanse.

For lunch today we made Portabella mushroom burghers.
Tonight we will have a baked potatoes with tuna and white sauce and vegetables.

The first two days of the Jump Start plan consists of Fresh Fruit and Wholes Grains (Brown Rice/Rolled oats)

Just should help me switch to a low salt and low sugar diet which should not only help me loose weight but also control the symptoms of Meneire's Disease.

Now the question is what exercise will I do today?

4 Day Challenge

For the next 4 days i am challenging myself to eat 2 or more fruits.

I don't unconsciously choose fruit. I generally have a banana in my cereal or on toast, eat a few grapes (not enough for a serving). I need to therefore consciously choose to eat fruit and veg.

So taking one small step at a time.

I will check in later to report.

Looking forward to a good week

Routine is one thing I have found difficult to maintain. I generally can stay focused on project and complete it. Maybe even go on for a month.

The one routine I have maintained is that I routinely try to make and keep a routine.

Its many times a mind battle - not allowing life's challenges to throw off the path you have chosen to follow.

I feel like I am getting into the right "mind space" to keep at making healthy choices.

This past week I took out books, CD's and ipods - for learning French, on Photography, health issues, murder mystries. I have also been working on other projects.

My aim for the next 4 days is to make time for family, for learning, for helping others and for me.

By
1. family worship
2. listening to the French CD's
3. Sending encouraging letters and e-mails
4. Relaxing by reading, exercise and implement one idea from the health book each day.

I am back on with the program

Corbet Lough

If I am one thing, I am persistent. Can't tell how many times I have thought of deleting this blog because I don't seem to be succeeding.
Its become a symbol of something I will overcome - at the moment it reminds me that I need to develop healthy habits and when I have achieved this I can look back at my struggle and proudly say I didn't give up and I will persevere.

So what am I up to?

I have started a one year long swap on Swap-bot called Weight-loss penpal.
I have bought two more exercise DVD's to add variety to my exercise program.
We have started Geocaching as a family, a fun way to get walking done and keep my daughter motivated.
I have gotten the Newry Canal Way map to plan a walking project for this summer.

for the next four days I want to:
1. Exercise for 20min
2. Drink 4 glasses of water
3. keep a food diary
4. Sleep for 7 hrs

REWARD: Self-pedicure - the full treatment.

Project 36 - 4 Days at a time

Tomorrow I begin to implement my wellness vision.

I have decided to call it Project 36 (which means it will last for 5 weeks and a bit - 9 increments of 4 days).

My goal for the next 4 days:

- Get up at 6am
- Spend 20min doing visualization and relaxation exercise
- 5-10 min reading something spiritually engaging
- 10min Journaling
- 10min planning the rest of the day
-10-30min exercising
- Drink 4 glasses of water

REWARD: Buy a hair mask - treat myself to face and hair mask treatment.

NEXT WEEKS REWARD:claim the free pedicure my beautician friend promised

My weight has slipped back up to 110.4 kg according to the new scale that I have bought.

2009 Wellness Goals Visionwork Swap

This swap was originally created by crescendo for The Wellness Workshop group. With her permission I am running an e-mail version with very slight tweaks. Original Swap

"Our physical, spiritual and emotional well being is the foundation for living the life we want to live. Our own health is the thing we often give the least amount of attention to, yet it is the one thing that can interrupt our lives in an instant.

In this experiential swap, we will be setting aside some quiet time to discover ONE health and wellness oriented goal (often called "New Year's Resolutions" at this time of year) that we would like to strive for and manifest for ourselves in 2009. (of course you are more than welcome to do it for more than one goal, not as an extra to aim for hearts here on swap-bot, but to aim for your own personal internal hearts!)

Perhaps there is an alternative or holistic health method that you would like to study and practice. Perhaps you would like to improve your upper body strength. Maybe it is integrating meditation or yoga time into your life, or changing the way you eat. These are just some examples of goals you might think of for yourself, but taking some time to create sacred space for yourself to envision which goal is just right for you is what this swap is about.

There will be two components to this swap:

* Writing a detailed description of your Wellness goal
* Representing visually what successfully reaching
 your goal looks like to you

The visual representation can be any media you choose:

simple stick figures with pencil or crayon; a drawing or painting; a collage made with magazine pictures; a photo you take or use digital scrap booking program or create in powerpoint slide and saves as a jpeg or put in a blog post or a Web Page ...any method you would like to use to illustrate visually your manifested goal.

Answer the following questions to help clarify the written portion of your goal. Do not worry about answering these questions perfectly!! They are merely here to help you brainstorm and free associate with your inner wisdom:

1. Describe in detail what health/wellness goal you would like to manifest for yourself in 2009. How will achieving this goal improve your health/wellness?

2. Describe the specific steps you will take, and the order in which you will take them, to manifest your goal. How can you break down the steps into achievable chunks? What is a reasonable pace/timeframe for you in taking these steps in order to set yourself up for success in achieving your goal?

3. What sort of help, support and/or guidance might you require to achieve this goal? What resources can you use to get this help and support?

4. What sort of obstacles do you envision that might inhibit you from achieving your goal? What can you do to minimize/overcome these obstacles?

5. How can you keep yourself motivated along the way to reaching your goal? List some ways that can help you keep your goal on the "front burner" of your focus for 2009.

6. Will you need to let go of something else in your life in order to make room for integrating this goal? If so, what will you let go of, and how will you let go of it?

7. How will you recognize when you have achieved the goal? How do you define your own personal success as it relates to achieving this goal? Does this goal have a clear cut ending, or will it be a life long change in behavior for you? Pretend it is December of 2009, one year from now. Describe how you are looking BACK on the year and acknowledging yourself for the steps you made towards achieving your goal and the rewards you are noticing.

Since the written and visual vision work you do for this goal setting swap are most likely something you will want to hang onto for yourself to reference throughout 2009, send your partner a scanned/online version of both the written and visual pieces of this swap.

When you rate your partner, give words of encouragement in the comment to help your partner feel motivated to stick with their plan!

Remember, goals give you a direction to steer your life's compass, but you can always review them and modify them along the way to "correct your course" as needed. Do not be intimidated by creating a goal and fearing that it is "cast in stone". Flexibility for change when required is a part of goal setting too."

Update

Hi

I have lost 2cm YAY - this measuring thing is not so bad.

Struggling to get my water drinking done but I will persevere.#

Happy with the fact that I have exercised everyday since last Tuesday.

By the end of today I would have walked over 5km (over 3miles I think).

really happy that my daughter is enjoying making healthy choices and the fact that some of her clothes are getting to big for her!

Goals for the next 4 Days:

1. Watch Water intake
2. increase exercise

reward: hair mask ( I have bought it already!!)

Mind of matter

I have being undergoing an inner struggle with myself. fighting for a focus - fighting to find a plan I can hold onto. fighting the negativity that wants to creep in 0 even as write the post I am still feeling directionless but at the same time I know that i cannot continue to sit on the side lines of life - watching it pass me by. I cannot left go of my dreams and goals - to be healthy, fit and slim.

Thank goodness I have not put on the 5kg that I lost but now it is time to move forward again.

I still don't have my own scale but I wont let that be a stumbling block - I do have a tape measure.
Current: 114cm
Goal: 88cm

Yesterday i walked for 30min.

For the next 4 Days:
Physically:
I will exercise for 30min
Drink 4 glasses of water
Start keeping a food journal

Mentally:
20min relaxation exercises
Read a section from a mental/spiritual enhancing book

Reward myself with long hot bath and a facial.

Weigh In # 6

Progress Report.

Starting Weight: 111kg/244.7 lbs

Current Weight: 108.2kg/238.5 lbs Total loss so far: 2.8kg/6.2lbs

Target Weight: 65kg/143.3lbs

I am very pleased with myself. And to celebrate I walked 3miles/almost 5km in 1hr05 along the Scarva Centre path.

I have succeeded at exercising and eating more veggies. I have also done my visualisation exercises and motivational reading.
I need to work on water-in take and cutting out junk food.

Next 4 Days:
5 glasses of water (managing between 2 and 4 glasses - aiming for 8)
No eating out (make my own meals - will be good on my budget as well)
Maintain 25min visualisation exercise
Reading 42 Day Challenge motivational readings
20-30min Exercise
Do something positive/kind for someone else

Motivational reading from the internet:

Eating Your Way Thin

Cheating On A Diet: Avoid The Tailspin!

posted @8:00am ET on September 2, 2008

Weigh in #5

Well I am done another 0.5kg/1.1pounds.
Starting Weight: 111kg/244.7 lbs
Current Weight: 109kg/240.3 lbs Total loss so far: 2kg/4.4lbs
Target Weight: 65kg/143.3lbs

0.6lbs to go to reach my goal for this week - Before the end of this week I want to put up the 5lbs badge from the Healthy You 2008 Challenge.

What I am going to do to reach my goal?

I have working on and refining a plan.

This morning I started putting it into action.

I did a 25min visualisation exercise with SeeSlim CD
Exercise with Ann Crowther's Fitter Firmer Slimmer in 30 days DVD
I read a passage frm Robin Sieger's 42 Days to Wealth, Health and Happiness.
Drank 500ml (2 glasses of water)

The plan for the the rest of day:
6 more glasses of water
2 cups of coffee
cereal for breakfast
Lunch - I must still decide
Picnic supper - sandwiches with cold meat, salad and carrot sticks

For the next 3 days I want to complete the cycle of starting my morning with
2 glasses of water
20min exercise
25min visulisation
5min reading
5-10min planning/revising the days and menu.

Success is not a matter of luck

I have been playing around with preparing healthy meals and I trying to find a plan that works for me. I try to follow a low GI diet something that has been amazingly more difficult to here than in South Africa. South Africa to seems to be advanced in labeling food items according to their GI value.

What I have been struggling with is to work out a menu for a week that I can stick to. This week I took out two books from the library Joanna Hall's Drop a size GI diet and Robin Sieger 42 Days to wealth, health and happiness.

In the later book he makes a statement: success is not a matter of luck, it is a matter of design.

I think that this book will complement the 4 Day Win approach.

My goal for the next 4 Days is to prepare myself physical and mentally by:

1. Spending 20min reading the two books.
2. 20 min exercise
3. 6 glasses of water
4. 20 min planning

The next 4 days I will put my plan into action and apply the Watch self principle. I will observe myself and see how can I adapt my plan to suite my lifestyle better.

Let's do things in fours

Four Tips for Weight Loss

Four Tips for Weight Loss Motivation

Fours Rules for Mantaining your Weightloss Motivation.

What are your goals for the next 4 days?

Mine are:

6 glasses of water
3omin of exercise
eat 2 fruits and 2 vegetables - Aiming to get my 6-5 servings eventually.
mmmmm wonder if I should add in a 4th goal for kicks
10min visualisation exercise

I realise that while I do not dislike fruit , I also do not choose to eat as a snack. A week can go buy like this one and I see that my family has eaten some and some fruit are threaten to go rotten, but I have not eaten a fruit yet. I have had fruit yogurt and juice, not the recommended way of taking in your fruit.

Weigh-in # 1

I am calling this weigh-in #1 because it is my first weigh in since I have arrived in Ireland and started blogging again.

I have lost 0.2kg/0.4lbs since my last post.

Been exercising - 30min walk yesterday and swimming today.

My goal for the next 4 days:

15min exercise and 4 glasses of water.

Feel like I hurt my knee yesterday so I am going to apply the method of halving my goals - I want to do 30min of exercise and drink 8 glasses of water.

My sinus symptoms have improved but not disappeared. I also need to get my head sorted out - that is get focused o planning interesting yet healthy meals.

Guiltless Cheesecake to go with a guiltless life

I am back from a long break!!!!!
The damage - I went up 2kg - now weigh in at 111kg - my highest weight ever. I have now been in Northern Ireland for 3 weeks and I am starting to settle down a bit.
My daughter has gotten me to watch the biggest loser and she is very determined that I become one. So we have agreed to do our own Biggest Loser at home. She is 7 years old.

I am going to have to make dishes and desserts at least once to twice a month and I love cheesecake.
My husband sent me this recipe. Plan to try it out.

Yesterday we did a walk that left me breathless. Today I have not exercised my sinusitus is pretty bad, I have a lot of flem on my chest, coughing and feel dizzy.
Have a post nasal drip.

I am going to have to look for work if we are going to live comfortably here. I am determine to apply the 4 Day Win plan to my life.So I am going to start at the beginning. Up my intake of water and reduce junk food and coffee.

Yes, you heard me right coffee. That is one bad habit I have started again. Plus the sugar here taste less sweet than South African sugar, so I have been using too much.

I look forward to visiting my friends from the Healthy You Challenge and anyone else who leaves a comment.

Here the recipe:

Yogurt Cheesecake

Contributed By: menfe
California Milk Advisory Board

Cheesecake can be almost guiltless - that is, rich in good taste but low in fat. The trick is to use nonfat yogurt - see recipe below!
Ingredients
4 quarts (8 lbs) nonfat plain yogurt (do not use yogurt with gelatin)
1 cup Low-fat graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp Butter, melted
1 1/2 cups Sugar
3 Eggs
1/4 cup Flour
1 tbsp Vanilla
1 tsp Grated lemon zest
Assorted berries and/or cut fruits in season as desired, for garnish

Preparation

1. Set a colander over a large bowl, supporting it so the base of the colander is at least 2 inches above the bottom of the bowl. Line colander with 2 layers of cheesecloth. Spoon in yogurt.


2. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Chill 12 hours or overnight, pouring off whey as it drains. Scrape yogurt from cloth.


3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


4. In bowl, mix crumbs and butter. Pat evenly over bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven; set aside. Raise oven temperature to 450 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat yogurt, sugar and eggs on high speed for 1 minute. Mix in flour, vanilla and zest just until blended. Pour into prepared crust. Bake 10 minutes.


5. Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees and continue to bake for 1 hour or until center barely jiggles when cake is shaken. Run a thin-bladed knife between cake and pan. Cool slightly, then refrigerate, uncovered, until cake is completely chilled, at least 3 hours. Garnish as desired. Cut into wedges to serve. (If making ahead, cover when cool and chill up to 1 day.)
Nutrient Information
Calories 338
Total Fat 6 g
Saturated Fat 3 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Carbohydrates 59 g
Protein 11 g
Vitamin A 64 RE
Vitamin C 2 mg
Calcium 348 mg
Sodium 267 mg
Iron 1 mg
Fiber 0 g

Weightloss

Hi

I am happy to report that I now weigh 107.2 kg (236pounds) - a Whole 2kg (4.4pounds) loss. YAY.
Also lost 3cm around my waist its now 112cm (44inches)

Goals:
To get to 88cm (35inches) around the waist)

To to lose 10% of my body weight in the next 6 weeks.

How:
Careful meal planning.
Following my plan 80% of the the time , 4 days at a time.

This week I locked in adding veggies to my meals and exercise. Reducing refined carbs and sugar.

New goal cut out refined carbs and sugar completely and re-enforce new habits.

Day 1 of the new cycle

I have done 30min Taebo Workout Basic 2 no.2 . It is bit more difficult I could not do all. But I know I will get there.

Liquids: 1 Coffee (oops I was supposed to stop today)
4 glasses of water (will drink more before I sleep)
1 orange juice


B: 1 apple
S: none
L: 2 slices of wholewheat toast with a little avo
S: none
SP: hard one - my daughter wants the traditionl Afrikaans dish that we have not had for ages.
But its dairy and I love it - Melkos.

Melkkos
(Serves 4)
2 litres milk 300 ml Snowflake cake flour (165 g) 5 ml salt 15 ml butter cinnamon sugar

1. Bring milk to the boil.

2. Sift the flour and salt together and rub in butter. Add to milk and beat. Lumps will form, but keep stirring well.

3. Cover with lid and simmer for 5-8 minutes, until cooked.

4. Serve hot with cinnamon sugar.

I always use 2% milk.

My actual plan was to have fish, veggies and salad mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Day 4

Exercise today was running after children and picking up shells on the beach.

B: Shake with fruit
S: Herbal Tea
L: One low fat burger with egg and cheese and salad
S: Coffee
SP: 1 pita bread with tuna salad and a glass of orange juice

Water in take 5 glasses plus the tea make 6!

YAY that is a 4 Day WIN for me.

Reward:

Get myself something nice for the bath either radox bath salts or oil.

Next 4 Days
Up my water and herbal intake by 2 to 8 glasses a day
Continue exercising - 2 aerobic days, one weight focus day and yoga/stretching day.
Ensure that I have 2 fruits and 2 veg servings everyday (Dietician recommended 3)
3-5 Protein servings
Going to see if I can keep the carb servings at 2-3.
Cut Dairy and coffee out
Continue to record what I am eating

REWARD: A Healthy You NSV badge next Tuesday.

If I get hungry I am going to try looking a the list of free food on Somersize plan or increase the protein.

This weeks progress

Today I did the 30min Taebo II workout.
Drank 3 cups of herbal tea and 3 glasses of water

B: a few grapes and tea
S: coffee and carrot muffin
L: 1 slice of whole toast with egg and cheese
Glass of orange juice
S: none
SP: Avocado pear, Marconi with a tomato & veggie sauce (lots of veggies) topped with a bit of cheese.

3 Day going strong on meeting my 4 day goals.

I have also finally decided on a definite eating plan which I will implement tomorrow. Also added coconut oil to the list of supplements I am taking. It is apparently good for fighting candida and weight loss.

Weigh-in Tuesday

I weighed myself at my friends but I have decided that she must have played an April's Fool Joke on me cause there is no way I could have put on 3kgs in the last two weeks that I did not weight in.







QUOTE: "Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things are yours." ~ Swedish Proverb

Todays Report:
I did a run/walk around the block with my daughter. Going to measure it with the car tomorrow.
Splashed around in the pool this afternoon

Drank 3 glasses of water
3 glasses of herbal tea
1 cup of coffee with sugar and milk

Breakfast 1 apple
Snack 1 medium popcorn and coke (went to the movies)
Lunch 2 slices of cheese and onion bread
Snack Few grapes
Supper 2 slices of toast and butter

Missing Scale

Today I really looked for my scale and it was nowhere to be found. I beginning to suspect foul play but it is not the 1 April.

I have arranged to weigh myself at friends tomorrow morning.

Drank 4 glasses of water today

Did 20-25min if yoga. Felt good afterwards. Did not feel so while I was doing it - I could not do all the poses. Not sure if it is just my weight that is in the way or if I have become less flexible.

Tomorrow I intend on doing some aerobics.

Eating was going well until my husband brought some hotcross buns...........

One of my 4 goals that I have not yet completed is recording what I eat. So goes my next try. Please note that this is not a particular diet but what I actually ate.

M: Glass of water
B: 1/2 Pronutro and 1/2 glass of milk
S: herbal tea and Homemade Low GI Jam tart
L: 2 Burghers and salad
Herbal and more water
S: 2 Hotcross buns with Real Butter and a glass of milk
SP: 2 rolls with cheese ( I gave my family fish, salad and green peas - but I just did not feel like eating that)

Reflection:
I started of the morning with good intentions but as the day progressed I made unwise choices.

The focus this week is to add in good things - not to focus on what I should stop doing.

So tomorrow it is going to be important for me to have at least one fruit and 1/2 veggies and 2-4 more glasses of water/herbal tea.