Thursday, October 21, 2010

Dukan Diet - another small loss - almost to 8kg!

I was working toward an 8kg loss by yesterday - but still not there this morning. Currently 7.8kg. I missed the gym yesterday as I went to a Rotary breakfast (tried to choose low-fat options) and also had a small Thai meal on Tuesday night with Jasmine.

John and I went to the pub for dinner last night - I had a 300g eye fillet, grilled, and salad and stole four chips from John's plate! However - I headed back to the gym early this morning and did a really hard cardio workout which left me hot, sweaty and heroic!

Planning a very healthy day today - with lots of protein and minimum fat and carbs - so with luck I will hit my target tomorrow morning.

In addition - I am heading to a gorgeous health retreat in the hinterland called Gwinganna tomorrow afternoon for the weekend, with my friend Susie. We will do thai chi, walking, aqua aerobics and all sorts of healthy activities. The meals will be low-calorie and nutritious AND I have booked a massage and facial while there. Total pampering, girls weekend! With luck I will lose a kilo over the weekend and maybe start Monday 9kgs down (will I make it a goal?)

Just over two weeks to my birthday and I want to break the 10kg mark by then. I plan to celebrate a little - perhaps a glass of champagne? And, once the 10kg target is reached I want to buy a couple of outfits .... shopping should be much more fun these days!

Wish me luck!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Dukan Diet - another loss, yay!

Despite an overnight stay at the beautiful Sheraton Main Beach on Friday night - including seafood buffet dinner and totally delicious buffet breakfast - I still managed to lose weight over the weekend.

I have now lost 7.7kg in 91 days - with 11.3kg and 46 days to go! My goal is to hit 8kg lost by mid-week.

We also went to an Indian restaurant for dinner on Saturday night- but I was careful not to over-indulge and we had a really healthy day yesterday with a very light dinner.

I had a great cardio workout at the gym this morning, which I am sure helped too!

I saw a recipe in the Sunday papers yesterday for grilled chicken on silverbeet, garlic & pine nuts - it looks healthy and John has an abundance of silverbeet growing in the backyard - so I am cooking this tonight.

Oh - the haircut last Thursday - not so good. The colour was wrong - a little lighter but not what I asked for - however it looks OK. But the cut - I ended up with a mullet (nothing like I asked for) and had to go to another hairdresser on Saturday to get it fixed - which also meant going much shorter than I would normally be comfortable with. However although short, it is a good cut and will grow out quite nicely.

We spent a couple of hours at our neighbours house yesterday afternoon, having a few drinks (water for me) and chatting and John pllayed guitar a little. Lots of fun. The nicest bit, however, was PJ telling me that I looked great, much slimmer, and she LOVES the short hair (told me I looked younger). However, I will temper this by saying she may have had a glass of wine at this point! It still left me with a warm glow!

Will hit 8kg loss this week!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Dukan gal does pilates

I had to write a quick blog today to tell you about my very first pilates class last night. I learned a lot:-
1. I am not very flexible
2. My lower back doesn't work the way it is supposed to
3. I have no chance, ever, of doing the one where your left leg is bent and your left foot is somewhere near your right ear (if I could do that John would be the happiest bloke in town!)
4. When I think of this during class I get the giggles, which gives Emily the giggles, which gives her friend Pip the giggles - which mildy annoys the teacher.

My weight was the same today as yesterday - but that happens quite often.

Heading to the hairdresser for new 'do' after work - going lighter and maybe shorter. There could be tears.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Wow! Another 400g weight loss in 3 days!

Good Morning! I was so excited this morning when I weighed in - that I had to write another blog today! I was down 400g (.4kg) this morning - so now 7.4kg lost in 86 days, with 51 days and 11.6kg to go!

It seems that my morning carbs and protein, followed by protein and salad or vegetables the rest of the day is working. So is going to the gym each day. I was hungry before dinner last night, so I had a small mandarin, just to 'tide me over'.

No gym this morning as I attended a Rotary breakfast - I was careful to choose fresh fruit followed by one egg and grainy toast. I have rice crackers (about 20) and a small portion of hommus for a snack this morning, followed by lean silverside and fresh salad. I have another mandarin and a low fat yoghurt for the afternoon - as I am planning to go to the gym after work (I may attend my first pilates class with daughter Emily) - then I will just have a small vegetable soup after gym for dinner.

I'm a bit worried about the pilates class - I am so un-coordinated that I am scared I will embarrass myself. Emily tells me we can stay in the back and just go at our own pace. However, she has been doing this class for weeks ...

Oh ... and I need to tell you about my pants. (Have any of you seen Eat Love Pray where they mention 'Big Lady Pants'? - think of me!) My favourite work pants (Liz Jordan) black pinstripe, size 14 and have always been 'snug' are now so loose that they :- 1. drag on the ground even in my highest boots because I have less 'booty' these days; 2. are so loose that I can take them off without undoing them.

John saw me getting changed after work yesterday - I just slid the pants off - and he is now pestering me to buy 'interim' pants as he is worried they may just 'fall down' at work! I have been wanting to wait until I reach my goal to treat myself to a new wardobe - but I may have to concede and buy a couple of outfits for work.

Having fun, feeling good and well set to reach my goal of 8kg lost by just after the weekend (if not sooner).

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Small diet success - 7kg lost!

I had a great week and weekend of dieting and gym - and reached my 7kg target on Sunday morning! Yay! So, still 12kg to go and only 52 days - at my current rate I will lose another 5kg by D-day. However - this is still a great result and I will keep going - set new targets - to get the remaining weight off. And I haven't been totally 'good' and sticking to it. The odd piece of chocolate on occasions and I had a sliver of birthday cake at the office yesterday (my first in 12 weeks) as it was mid afternoon, I didn't have anything for a snack, and it was there. I thought it was better to have a small piece and not go home starving.

I find I have more energy and less hunger or cravings, even though I eat less than I used to. More frequently, but smaller portions. This journey (12 weeks so far) has also made me think differently about food - or perhaps LESS about food.

I had Uncle Tobys nutty oats for breakfast and one slice of burgen bread with a scrape of butter. I just have trouble getting protein in at breakfast some days (eggs are great at the weekend, but I don't always feel like them during the week). Carbs first thing seem to help me get started - then I stick to protein and salad for the rest of the day, generally.

John only came twice to the gym last week - he is just not motivated to do it at the moment. No point me nagging him to join when he's not totally into it. I admit I'm a bit disappointed - it would be fun to go together. However he is watching me getting results and I think he will start walking or swimming when the weather warms up - plus we need to get our bikes out again on fine weekends.

Next target - 8kgs - by this time next week.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Not so Dukan Diet - 6.7kg lost in 78 days!

I can't believe it is two weeks since my last blog! Currently 6.7kg lost in 78 days - 59 days to go and still 12.3kg to lose.

Why have I been so quiet? Is it because I have only lost 300g (.3kg) in the last two weeks? Perhaps. And work has been busy. And my personal life has been hectic.

Only 300g in two weeks ... I hear you mutter. Well .... during this time I gained almost 1kg - only to work hard to lose it again .... and a little more. I stopped following the Dukan Diet to the letter. I've developed my own diet that IS working for me. The weight gain was due to a couple of nights out where I even ate dessert (shock! horror!) However, I think I needed a break - I had been so strict that I felt I deserved a little relaxation on the diet. We shared a packet or red rock chips over two weekends of football AND I had some dark chocolate this week too. It was a treat and I am over it now, which is great!

Now, the good news. Getting the extra kg off, plus some, took only a week when I focussed on it. I am making great use of my mornings at Fenix gym in Nerang - now doing cardio 3 mornings and weights 2 mornings. John came with me yesterday (amazing!) because I organised a 'free' week for him to try the gym. He didn't come this morning but tells me he will come again tomorrow. There is no point pushing him - he shouldn't join if he is not motivated.

Now to the diet. Contrary to Dukan law - I DO have carbs in the morning. At the moment one serve of Uncle Toby's nutty oats with a tablespoon of bran and light milk, followed by one slice of grainy bread or muffin with honey or a smear of butter and vegemite. Alternate days I have two eggs and one piece of toast. It stops me feeling light headed in the mornings.

Then for a work snack I have been bringing in celery sticks - sometimes by themselves and some days with a small amount of hommus. Lunch is either tuna in springwater or a green salad with protein. John made a great meatloaf last night - so I have brought that in for lunch - plus the celery for a snack. My afternoon snack is generally a small no fat yoghurt. As John is starting to watch his diet and is moving towards starting his own weight loss journey, we have been having lighter dinners. Minestrone or tomato soup (home made). John has a bread roll with his. We have a cup of tea later (I usually have a herb tea at night). With the four small meals already during the day, I am finding it easy to eat a wholesome, nutritious but calorie light dinner. If I'm hungry after dinner I have another yoghurt. And water - I am drinking more water.

This seems to be working for me. If we do go out for dinner (apart from the two nights I ate a dessert) I generally have grilled fish or eye fillet steak with green salad. We don't have soup every night - but, like last night, we had the meatloaf John made with green vegetables. He also had some mashed potato but I noticed he had less on his plate than usual ... good for him!

My goal this week is to reach the 7kg LOST mark. By Saturday. Next stop 8kg.

Back to work now ...

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Dukan Diet - is it just me, or is it getting easier?

Good morning - again, sorry no blog for a few days - I have been under the pump a bit at work and the weekend was super busy.

Weigh in results today : 64 days and 6.4kg loss - now 74 days and 12.6kg to go!

I actually hit this milestone on Saturday morning (6.4kg loss) and was REALLY excited! However the weekend was tricky - with a BBQ dinner on Saturday night. John barbecued steak (eye fillet for the girls) and I made two salads - one of them a pasta pesto with cherry tomatoes and pine nuts, a green salad with olives, semi dried tomatoes and avocado AND crunchy roast potatoes. While I did not have a dinner roll (like John and our guests), I DID have a small portion of potatoes and pasta salad as well as some of the green salad. After that the strawberries soaked in mead with creamy ice cream seemed OK, as well as a glass of red wine AND a Baileys on ice. VERY NAUGHTY, but delicious!

I should not have been surprised when my weight went back up 400g on Sunday morning. I made a lovely vegetable omelette and crispy bacon (for John) - but sneaked a piece of bacon myself. Then off to a Rotary lunch at the Marriott Hotel. One glass of wine, small portion of main course and a little fresh fruit for desert. I avoided the petite sweets ... just.

It gets worse - Sunday night John barbecued some lean beef sausages which we had with the left over salads (again with the pesto pasta ...). I had TWO sausages followed by a herb tea.

So yesterday I went to the gym at my usual early hour and did a big weights session - came back to a 100g loss (yay!) Had a great day yesterday, food wise. Stuck to the attack menu - including Dukan meatloaf last night (which I have for lunch today) - and after a big cardio session at the gym this morning I am back to Saturday morning's record breaking weight loss!

Despite all that - it isn't actually that hard. I don't beat myself up if I have a little slip up or treat once a week or so - and seem to be able to shift the weight a bit easier too. I am hoping that I will increase my weight loss ratio, per week, over the next few weeks. Logic tells me that the diet and gym should be helping to kick-start my metabolism, so in theory it should get easier/faster for a while. I know that when I get closer to my ideal weight it may get hard again.

I read another interesting thing the other day - if you have been at a consistent weight for a few years - which I have - initially your body wants to keep taking you back to that weight. But after a while it gets re-programmed to accept the lesser weight as 'normal' .... I love this theory - lets see how it works!

Feeling pumped - planning to hit the 7kg loss mark by the weekend. I have to be careful - as I am taking my daughter Jasmine to dinner tonight (seafood, which is always a good choice) AND I am catching up with gal pals Susie and Irene to see a play at the Arts Centre on Thursday night titled "Often I find that I am naked" and we are having dinner first.