Eat Sweets????

I've been spending a lot of time reading up about different eating plans online and going through my eating plan books, to see what the common denominator is amongst them....

So far MOST say SUGAR IS THE NO 1 ENEMY

I found a book called THE X DIET which I bough about 10 years ago, this book was written by a registered dietitian in South Africa, so to me this had to be a good eating plan.

When you look at this book you can see I've read if from cover to cover as it has lots of stains on the pages as well...

What this plan was all about was....FAT...keeping that as low as possible in your plan

I read this from the book

EAT SWEETIES!

AS A GENERAL RULE, SEE-THROUGH SWEETS (AND MARSHMALLOWS ) DO NOT CONTAIN FAT, AND YOU MAY EAT THEM FREELY ON THE X DIET!

KEEP A SUPPLY OF JELLY BABIES, WINE GUMS, MARSHMALLOWS AND BOILED SWEETS ON HAD FOR QUICK ENERGY BOOSTS.

BEWARE OF CARAMELS AND TOFFEES AS THESE OFTEN CONTAIN HIDDEN FATS.

Now trust me while I did this plan, this gave me a free passage to eat sweets and I did.

I filled a Tupperware container with sweets and my hands would often be dipping into the bowl as this was fat free!!

Lets remember that fat free is ASPARTAME FILLED...

I was very excited when I went to teach the group of ladies I teach on a Tuesday evening that they have decided to have another 10 sessions with me once this 10 are finished, and then again another 10 from September before I leave to Cape Town on my Christmas holiday with my family.

Last night I taught 4 ladies from my street, we meet every Wednesday evening, gave them a hard workout, but did feel very alone before and afterwards as they were speaking German to each other at a very fast pace and I had no idea what they were saying. As I'm not hearing the German language being spoken from one Wednesday to the next I'm finding it really hard to feel part of this group.

The last photo is of me and my five grandchildren....taken in November while on holiday to Cape Town...I went home to be at the birth of my 5th grandchild, who I'm holding...she's my little Nunu that one!!!

My son has three children...My Princess, Super Dude, and Beautiful boy ( blogger names for them)

My daughter has two.....Clever boy and Nunu....

I'm really blessed but wish I was able to spend more time with them as they in Cape Town and me in Germany!!!

I'm all dressed and ready to do a run today...but so chilly outside...

Have no idea if I will get out today....lets see.

FEB going well...

Yesterday I went for a much needed haircut and hi lights...so here I am with my new Spring style, perfect for me as I find my hair is always such a mess after I've had a workout!!

This style is the old me....the me that used to teach for a living...back in the days.

I went out for an outdoor run yesterday as the sun was shining, the sky was blue and the temp was 4 degrees,....Yes, still chilly but lovely to get outdoors instead of being in the stinky gym where I struggle with my breathing.

I did battle up the hills as have been training since January on the treadmill and only using incline of 2....so when it came to the hills I had to walk. It took me an hour to complete 7.45km as I walked the hills, ran the flats and downhills in a pace I felt comfortable at, which at the moment is slower than my pace towards the end of last year...but thats okay...while running I thought to myself that I have so much to be grateful for. I was diagnosed with MS a year ago and I have no symptoms and that here I am running and fit...It could have been such a different situation for me had I allowed it to get me down...but NO, I picked myself up and told myself I can beat this....so running is a huge victory for me.
This is my plain yogurt I eat with my muesli daily....( going to change things up soon )

Its from an organic range at a certain shop in Germany, very low in sugar which is something I am trying to cut back on with making good food choices ~ not always easy, but am doing a lot better now with the kinds of foods I was eating a year ago. No Greek plain yogurt have I found as yet, so far only ( and bought ) was Greek yogurt with honey and nuts...( high in sugar ) which is not good, but will finish it, then not buy again, saying that, it does taste good!!

This evening am going to teach my Tuesday night group of ladies, they have 10 sessions with me and tonight is our 4th class together ~ am wondering if we going to continue for another 10 after these 10 session, or else thats the end of my teaching career and I will be very sad...but will accept and move on...life is all about moving on!!

Now off to make Butter Chicken for dinner.....

P.S I did do 200 sit ups this morning while watching The Biggest Loser UK...

First Week of FEB report back

I did mention briefly the other day that I FEAR the scale at the moment.

I dislike being in this space, a space that comes from getting out of the habit of weighing in at least 4x a week and a very long holiday with a slight loss of control eating wise and no training for 6 weeks.

I know if I climb on the scale and its up I am going to feel worse than I am right now...

So one of the reason's I'm staying off as I'm really struggling with feelings of depression, lack of motivation etc, that I'm trying to avoid all things that will make this period harder, the scale is one of them...

I stand in front of the mirror ( naked ) and take a good look at myself and honestly, I like what I see...I ask myself WHY I AM FEARING THE SCALE cause I look good and have not gained the amount of weight ( if any ) that would depress me.

I feel fantastic in my clothing....nothing is tighter.

The size small jacket my hubby bought and was sure it would be too small just by holding it up in the shop, fits me perfectly!!!

So I have decided to give my eating plan, and training ( but struggling here ) my all for the month of February and then on the 1st March I'm going to weigh myself and report my weight here for everyone to see and by doing this I will break the fear of the scale that currently has taken over me.

This is my first FEAR of the scale and wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience.

I have not been very good this week in the training department

Here is the report back for the week.

Monday ~ Taught a class

Tuesday ~ Taught a class

Wednesday ~ was my official off day

Thursday ~ Indoor cycle for 18,5 km

Friday and Saturday ~ Lazy and de-motivated, no other words.

Sunday ~ Treadmill run for 6.48 km

Did 3 sessions of 300 sit ups

Did 25 km this week

Burned 1652 calories

I intentions are to improve in all area's this coming week.

Plain Lazy ~ That's ME!

Two days have past without me training...

Now those who know me well will know this is not like me at all.

I'm struggling with motivation right now

I'm forever having this internal argument with myself but still not getting off my butt and sweating.

I'm such an ALL or NOTHING kind of gal that not doing anything for two days makes me feel like a failure.

Tomorrow will get to the gym as hubby is going so easier for me to get dressed and get going.

I know its winter and the cold that is causing me to feel like this...

so being kind to myself even thought I don't like this * lazy * me.

Eating wise I'm on track.

As you know I'm watching my sugar intake so stopped doing the WW program as the fruit is free so full of sugar...for the month of FEB I'm counting calories while eating clean and keeping my sugar low. I'm allowing myself 2 fruits a day, and fruits with lower sugar. ( No banana or grapes for me at this time )

Once I have finished my muesli I'm going to change my breakfast to an egg on toast with 20g grated cheese and mushrooms and every 2nd day will have oatmeal with flaxseed and Tsp peanut butter.

I'm giving up bread from Monday to Thursdays ~ a change I've made and am coping as I love my sandwich for lunch time.

I've included a GREEN shake into my diet every 2nd day so far and really enjoying it very much.

I am thinking of increasing it to a Green shake a day....today I added a few celery to the shake and one kiwi instead of two oranges while still keeping the main ingredient to Spinach as very high in iron. Iron is something I need for my system right now as was diagnosed with anemia a month and a half ago and since have take iron tablets daily.

This week I have had a few *BAD* foods....

Thursday we took a visitor from South Africa out for dinner and I had a glass of RED semi sweet wine.

Friday night we had the visitor over for dinner so I had a Beer mix drink and a mini magnum ice cream.

So far that was my * BAD * foods for the week.

3 more weeks till I weigh in....

Ready for changes

I'm feeling very motivated since Monday ~ am on top of my game as far as food is concerned, but when it comes to training I'm just not motivated...

I do the self talk all day.....and when I look half the day has gone and I haven't done anything.

Yesterday was my off day, but today once again the battle is on.

My intention is to finish this entry and set up my indoor bike, cycle while watching Oprah's recorded on the PVR.

My intentions!!

Today I was shocked....For breakfast I made Instant Quaker oatmeal with 200ml 1, 5% milk

Added 1 Tsp of flaxseed and 1 Tsp organic peanut butter..

Wow the calories added up to over 500 for that 40g serving and the sugar in the milk was 10g

10g's of sugar in 200ml 1.5% milk!!!!

As we should only eat 15% sugar a day I had most of my sugar in my breakfast.

Later I made a Green shake with spinach, 1 orange, 4 strawberries, 100g plain yogurt and ice

Orange has 10.6g of sugar and strawberries 5.1g

So there goes my 15g's ~ I'm way way over and have not had late afternoon snack, which is an apple 11.8g of sugar.

I also noticed that the coffee I drink...three cups a day

has 4.8g of sugar per cup....x 3 thats really a lot of sugar and I'm no longer adding honey or organic sugar to my coffee...

While in Cape Town I was put on a month of no ( low low ) sugar and saw how the weight fell off ~ then when I returned home I had guests for a month. I ate whatever was going, sugar was in the back of my mind, but not something I worried about I had decided I was going to allow myself to have a good time and eat whatever was going, of course within limits, as with my new lifestyle never again will I lose sight of good and BAD foods...Never did I eat a takeaway while the rest did for example, but I did eat ice cream with the rest of them........and a few chips, pizza and a few glasses of wine...:)

I have spent days reading up about the effects of sugar on the body, no longer can I ignore the truth about how bad it is for our body. I'm re-reading the book called FROM BELLY FAT TO BELLY FLAT by C.W Randolph,M.D.

I was sent this book about 3 years ago from a friend who now lives in the USA, I had complained about how I had developed a tummy, a real old ladies tummy. So she sent me this to read...I opened the book and closed it again as I didn't understand it at all.....My eating plan was so far from the one the book recommended that I know now I was far from ready to understand, but after two years of growing in this area I am now ready to make the changes,....

I saw on Twitter that The Doctors Show had this author on their show yesterday...did any of my USA readers watch this show???

Sugar!!!

Feb challenge going well...

Thanks to A Journey to Thin I made my first ever GREEN shake yesterday.

Monday I went out to the shops to buy the spinach, oranges and yogurt

I left out the Splenda which she said was optional and instead with 1 Tsp of flaxseed

It tasted good...I'm going to include these shakes into my eating plan every 2nd day, the day I have oats for breakfast.

If you have any healthy shake suggestion, please drop me a line as would like to add more shakes into my eating plan during the summer one's.

They must be healthy shakes :)

Today is my 3rd day on my new plan...Eating wise I am scoring good points, but not in the training department.

Monday and Tuesday evening I taught a class, but really struggled during the cardio section with my breathing due to the flu I have been suffering with....both times I only burned about 400 calories as I did spend a lot of the time walking around correcting the attendance technique. You have no idea how badly bad most people's technique are when working out....but I do believe when you stop the music show them the correct technique they have a better understand and know how and where to put their bodies.

The reason I love teaching!!!!

I'm counting calories again and really enjoying it...BUT WITH CLEAN EATING FOODS

I'm only going to count them till the end of Feb as I have a personal challenge for myself to lose weight gained over the last year....slowly, oh ever so slowly the weight creeps back....There is no ways I want the weight lost back on my body, so the few kg's ( pounds ) gained have to get off before the summer months. I have a new wardrobe of clothing which I am NEVER going to pack away!!!

Monday and Tuesday I kept my calories to 1 250 ~ I do not believe in eating less than 1 200 calories per day and my highest allowed will be 1 400 per day ~ I plan to keep my calories at the lower end during the week and the higher end for the weekends.

I'm READY

Woke up this Monday morning READY to go....

No, not to train as still feeling a little flat from the flu and have a class to teach this evening so will get to train today

But READY to start my FEBRUARY challenge

I'm not going to wait until tomorrow to begin

I'm beginning my FEB challenge TODAY.

It will be back to TRACKING 100%

Weighing my food

Drinking 8 glasses of water per day

Watching my portion sizes per meal

No bread Sunday to Thursday

No chocolate, cheese or biscuits

No processed foods

Eating one meal per day without distraction

Chewing each mouthful 20x or more

Run 4 days a week

Tone 2x a week

Teach 2x a week

One rest day a week

200 sit ups 3x a week

Stretch

My aim is to lose 5kg's ( 11lbs ) by April

I will weigh in and mention my current weight on 1st March

I have not weighed myself since October and know I have gained weight

Not lots, but a few kg's ( lbs ) and want to drop it

I now fear the scale so am going to give 100% to my plan for FEB and then 1st of March will be my official weigh in day.....

Flu and Guilty Feelings

Thursday and Friday I really felt grotty so didn't train

But guilt got the better of me each evening before I climbed into bed.

I would find myself on my bedroom floor in front of the tv doing sit ups, Pilate's and lying legs workout.

Doing that mini 30 mins workout made me cope with the guilt feelings, as I am doing a challenge with my online group were we have to train for at least 30 mins 6x a week and I had already taken Monday as my off day...

So far for January I am on track...and not prepared to fail right at the end.

Today when I woke up to a beautiful blue sky ( but frosty cold ) I decided that today was the day I took my camera and headed out to the forest for a walk...I also needed fresh air as have been indoors since Wednesday.

I put on my HR monitor, got my Ipod ready, camera slung around my neck and out I headed in my warmer running gear up into the forest.

I managed in the beginning but on route the road made a folk and I decided on the spot to take the shorter route as my legs were freezing, my hands wanted to fall off...I was cold. Had I been running it would have been okay, but walking I just never got to warm up. Certain sections of the route I ran slowly as had my camera in my hand....and did feel good...but my HR shot right up so knew that I was not ready to run as yet...

It did feel good to get out a little today, if only for 36 mins...

Let's see what tomorrow ( Sunday ) holds in store for me training wise.

Monday evening I know I am back to teaching my neighbors a class as most cant make it on Wednesday evening this week...my one neighbor is going away on a skiing holiday for a week tomorrow morning early...( Rather her than me, I don't enjoy the cold )

Slower days

I'm trying very hard not to feel guilty about not training yesterday and today

I'm listening to my body and taking time off...

But the guilt keeps creeping in ~x

I woke up yesterday with a sore throat, then started coughing and sneezing.

Today I feel the same, I was hoping to feel better...

If the feeling was in my head I know from research it would be okay for me to train

But the feeling is in my chest...so therefore going to listen!

And REST....

Last night before going to bed the guilt was SO bad that I did 350 sit ups and then legs where I could lie down...for about 30 mins....now is that not crazy.....:)

I keep telling myself that at least I was not doing anything strenuous.

This morning I have been cleaning windows...and doing odds and ends so that I at least don't spend the whole day sitting on my bum in from of the tv or computer...so off I go to clean my bathroom...yes something I do daily, ( toilet, bath and basin ) but today a * Spring Clean * is going to happen...