Beauty in the breakdown...

"Sometimes the beauty is easy. Sometimes you don't have to try at all. Sometimes you can hear the wind blow in a handshake. Sometimes there's poetry written right on the bathroom wall..."

"Love is a piano dropped from a fourth story window, and you were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"My idea of feminism is self-determination, and it's very open-ended: every woman has the right to become herself, and do whatever she needs to do."

~ Ani DiFranco

Weigh in, holidays and the new plan.

Hello!

Well, i weighed in on the weekend! Heres my stats:

Previous weight: 87.9

Current weight: 86.8

Yay! Loss on 1.1 kilos. My weight in between went as high as 88kilos! However, it was TTOM, so that would have definitely contributed.

Caught up with my best friend on the weekend as well and she said she can definitely notice a difference already!!! It is so nice to hear something like that when you feel like you're putting so much effort into something and not getting any results.

I feel like my overall body shape is much better from the exercise. ie. looking a little more toned.

The weekend was a little naughty - i had a couple of ice-creams, and a bit of greasy meat. However on the up-side, i made some good choices as well, like having some subway before we went out (instead of maccas) and after a big night out, had some yoghurt and fruit instead of a greasy maccas breakfast (which my friend wanted to get!).

Well, i had a bit of a think about my food issues as well, and have decided to kick it up a notch when i get back from my holiday (i'll most definitely need it!)

I leave for my interstate holiday this saturday, and just going to relax a bit. Havent had a holiday for just over a year and dying to relax a little. So i'm treating myself to a full body massage and a couple of new outfits! hehe.

When i get back i'm revamping!! I'm going to lower my calorie intake - to 1250 a day and keep my exercise regime the same. Hopefully this will spur me to make smarter choices with my food and wake up my body a little bit (avoiding any plateau).

So thats the plan, stan. (who is stan anyway?)

p.s. note my inspirational image above - jessica Alba - she is hot!

Oh my, it has been a while

Okay kiddo's.

I need a boost. Not in the exercise department - but food. Up until yesterday i don't think i was eating 'bad' but it hasnt been as good as it used to be.
Yesterday i had popcorn for dinner??? whats with that!?
Ok, i didn't exactly look in the pantry and decide on popcorn - i was out at the movies and it was dinner time, and we got free popcorn! Pretty hard to say no when they're handing it out at the door!!

So i've pretty much got a week until my holiday and i want to get back on track, make perfect decisions and hit the gym. How will i make myself do that?? hmmmmm. Good question.

I am heading to Zumba tonight, but afterward, i am going home, and tackling that question! So sit tight pretties. I will be back with the answer!

fooooood

So i thought i would add a couple of photos of what i've been eating recently.

First up is last nights dinner:

Those Yorkshire puddings were so good!!! (thanks ali) And then todays lunch:

The stuffed zucchini had heaps of vegetables and chicken in it! Was very yummy. Its very rare to find something with a 'homemade' feel in a shopping centre foodcourt!!

Boxing

So.. did a boxing class last night! It was good cos it was something different to what i usually do. I'll give you a quick rundown as to what happened:
When we first got to class, there was about 20 people ready to go in - quite a lot!!
The trainer guy went round and introduced himself to everyone, and he said that he had one rule - if any one of us stop more than once, we must leave the class! And to get ready to work VERY hard! pfft!!! i was freasking out! i was ready to just walk out there and then!

Okay, so my sister dragged me in, and he also added that if her hears us talking, than it would be 10 situps, 10 pushups and 10 starjumps! Who was this guy??

For the first 15 minutes, we were running, doing pushups, sit-ups, all sorts. I was already pretty tired, then we broke up into groups, kind of doing circuit training. Half the time, we were doing combinations of punches and hook punches, then the other half we were doing weights.

To be perfectly honest, i didn't really feel COMPLETELY exhausted and red-faced at the end. The cardio at the start probably worked me the hardest. Also it was hard to say i really enjoyed myself because he was a bit mean. I think he was a little but nicer to me cos i was probably the biggest and most un-fit person in the room!

Anyway, VERDICT: was fun for something different, but probably wont try that class again. Might try a different boxing class at my gym. Although i said i didn't feel properly worked, i do have sore shoulders, and back this morning! So maybe it worked me more than i thought?

Anyway. so lets revise on my goal for the week:


Monday - Gym session (cardio + weights) DONE
Tuesday - Boxing class - sisters gym. DONE
Wednesday - Gym session - 30 mins cardio
Thursday - Zumba class (60 mins)
Friday - Wii Yoga (20 mins)
Saturday - REST
Sunday - REST ( maybe Wii?)

So i'm planning on going to the gym tonight to do my half hour on the treadmill. I'll take a rest from the weights. I've done it for the past couple of days so should give them a rest so my muscles can repair itself.

Also want an early night in bed tonight. Yesterday and today i have been pretty tired in the morning. Its been 2 pretty full on days so i'll get some extra rest tonight!!

I'm invisioning myself going shopping in melbourne and buying a size smaller!!! :)

Checking in - Gym membership, weigh in, and more!

Hi All!!

Well, i haven't posted for a little bit so i'll get you up to speed. I weighed in on Sunday:

Previous weight: 87.4

Current weight: 87.9

WHAT! Okay so before you all freak out - here is my thought process. I had fish and chips the previous night (not the total best choice, but i did have a small serving with a bit of salad too) - and that is very salty. I did drink a whole lot of water the day before so i thought it may have been water rentention.

Yesterday, i joined the gym! I got a 3 month membership (and then you get 1 month free). It cost me $285, but its something i can afford to do now, before i start being a poor uni student. This will get me through till May. I can do all their classes as well, so i'm going to put it to good use!

So i went to the gym yesterday as well and did 20 minute 'weight loss' program on the treadmill (or as fitnessista says: the revolving apparatus of death! hehe). Then i did half an hour on various weights, and then did another 5-10 mins on the eliptical. Was pretty dead after that, i have to say.

Now, i did jump on the scales yesterday too - and it was 86.6!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, dont let the exclamation marks fool you - i'm not getting too exciting YET!

I will save that for next weigh in day!

So this is my exercise schedule for this week:

Monday - Gym session (cardio + weights) DONE

Tuesday - Boxing class - sisters gym

Wednesday - Gym session - 30 mins cardio

Thursday - Zumba class (60 mins)

Friday - Wii Yoga (20 mins)

Saturday - REST

Sunday - REST ( maybe Wii?)

Yes, as you can see i'm trying a boxing class tonight. Boxing has always been my favourite activity on the wii, and wanted to try a proper class out. I just think of all the people that think i can't do this and kick them in the gut (in my head of course). I'll let you know how it goes!

Btw - just before i go, i wanted to let you know, i put on my jeans (that i wore all the time before i started losing weight) and they were loose! Had to keep pulling them up every 2 seconds! yay!

Red Fingernails, Black wine?

Howdy Y'all. sorry, just wanted to sound american.. hehe.

Well i'm at work currently and it must be the slowest day in the history of time! I've already painted my nails RED, been on facebook and had a good look around calorie king. Productive eh?

Now all i've got is the Eskimo Joe song in my head "black fingernails, red wine, i'm going to make you, all mine".

i was planning on going to Zumba tonight with my sister, but we just checked the website and they're closed until next week! ugh!

So, instead i'm going to the sisters gym. Our goal is to do half an hour of Cardio, and half an hour of weights. Should be good. Slight change of plans, but i haven't been to 'a' gym in a little while so at least its something different.

Guess what!? my work pants are feeling a little looser. I mean they were pretty tight before(making some strange fabric patterns on my stomach) - but now, i can move them up and down pretty easily. Feels good.

Lately i have been feeling really good, and although i cant notice any 'big' change, i'm just feeling a bit more slim and even a tad toned (who would have thought!?) Hope i can really boost it even more in the next week.

I want to try and increase the intensity of my workouts. Because we had a power out the other night, all i did was go for a walk. I feel like it would be so much easier if i had a treadmill at home!

Oh well, cant afford it! The only thing i'm considering doing is getting a 3-month membership at the local gym (its not a huge gym, but its something!?)

I'm still not sure.

Start of my weekend!

Just a quick entry!

I stayed at my sisters house yesterday to look after their house while they're away for a couple of days. I bought some yummys for dinner and this is what i ended up with -->


It was delish - just some egg coated Barramundi, with some stir-fried broccoli and garlic. All with a drizzle of lemon.


Well, being in a house away from yours takes you out of your little safe haven i have at home - hardly any junk food i can get my hands on! Haha. However one of my sisters neighbours brought round 6 Krispy Kremes as a gift! I was like WHAT!? I obviously have not eaten any, but it feel that life, once again, is wanting to rub it in my face of all the yummy things i cant eat just yet.

Don't get me wrong, i am not denying myself any yummy foods - i have had a piece of chocolate here and there, but occassionally in my head, i know i should not eat something - and when i have that internal battle, i know that i have to resist! I've come too far!

Didn't do any exercise last night, as wasnt at home to jump on the Wii - plus it was stinking hot last night! But i am going over my dads today to have a swim in the pool. Then tonight, when i'm back home, i will jump on the wii!


SO thats the plan people! Watch me stick to it!

I also just did my resolution/goal board last night, once i'm home, i'll post it for you all to see!

Shish ka-bob!

So as requested, I am putting the recipe up for the delicious shish-kabobs i made on NYE.

Lemon Garlic Shish-kabobs

Marinade

1 bottle of white wine vinegar

2 lemons and rind

5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

4 tbspn of Olive Oil

1 tbspn of mixed herbs (Basil, oregano etc)

Mix the above ingredients together, and marinate the following vegetables overnight:

- Tofu (i bought 1 500gm organic block from Coles - cut into 2cm cubes)

- Red, Yellow and green Capsicum (cut into squares)

- Button mushrooms (cut in half)

- Cherry tomato's (cut in half)

You can also try:

- Zucchini

- Tempeh

Once the have marinated overnight, skewer them up and slap them on the BBQ. Its a real summery sort of dish and the vegetable really soak up the vinegar garlic and herbs. You can also keep the marinade as a dressing for a garden salad afterward.

Delish!

I accompanied the kebobs with a

Holoumi salad

I pan-fried some haloumi, cut in half (so about 4cm in length and 1 cm deep)

Then i fried the following dressing for it:

4 diced tomatoes

1 roughly cut fennel

Half a red onion

Handful of pitted and halved Kalamata Olives.

Herbs

Serve Haloumi on mixed lettuce leave and top with the tomato/olive dressing!

Yummy!

New year, New Struggles, New Achievements.

Hello 2010!! How long we have waited for you!

Well, i am determined to make this year MY year!

Yesterday was quite a day - i managed to get up, go on wii for half an hour, bake a cake, cook and serve lunch for 8 people, ice the cake and sing a good round of Happy Birthday to my mum!

Whew!

I had a pretty relaxing night last night though - just had a quiet one - went out for dinner - and then came home to watch some tv. And i was dragged off to sleep at 11:30pm (am i 23?). However i did wake up again at 11:54pm by our terrified dog scared by all the premature fireworks being let off (Buy a watch people!).

Today i woke up to some very sore muscles, from the weights i did a couple of days ago! My thighs, butt and arms are killing! But its actually good to feel those muscles again - i hadn't felt them be sore in a little while!

Haven't gone on the Wii yet today, i'm a bit scared i won't be able to do all the exercises cos of my muscles - alas - it is the first day of the year though, and i want to make sure i get off to a good start, so don't worry - i will be on there!

SO... my official starting weight for the new year is 87.4!

My goal is still currently 83.5 by the end of January.

Which means i have a little less than 4 kgs to lose in 4 weeks!

I feel like i'm right on target at the moment. And i can't wait till i get to 83.5. I can already see my self going on holiday with a sense of achievement!