Tupperware, Weight Watchers, Shopping, Eating & Running

Last night I picked up my Tupperware from my party a couple of weeks ago.  I got so much stuff.  About half of what is shown here, I actually got as hostess gifts, so it was all free.  I love it all and can't wait to start using it.

This morning I jumped on the bike and headed to my first Weight Watchers meeting.  It was pretty interesting.  I like the concept of the points.  They are based on kilojoules and saturated fat.  Plus there are some 'free' foods.  They also identify a lot of 'filler' foods which are foods that are deemed to be quite filling based on their points value.  They give you quite a lot of information in your first week.  I have sat down and read it all.  So the decision is that I am going to give this a shot for a couple of months and see how I go with it.

I got weighed in when I first got there.  Fully dressed, with shoes, after drinking water.  I weighed in at 1kg more than my starting weight for this year, so I am behind the 8-ball for the year already.  I have put my scales away and will go by the WW weigh ins.

During the meeting part of the meeting they talked about a few things, but 2 things stood out to me.  Firstly, they talked about tasting your food.  Not just eating it or shovelling it in, but actually tasting it.  Slowing down, and enjoying each mouthful.  One suggestion is to use a smaller fork so you can't pile so much on.  Also things like sucking nuts one by one instead of throwing a whole handful in your mouth.  Things I will need to work on.

The other thing was portion size.  This is, and always has been, one of the biggest problems I have.  I always fill up my plate.  A suggestion was made to use smaller plates.  My plates are massive.  So after I got home, Ross & jumped in the car and headed to the local 'House & Garden' store to see what they had in the way of funky looking side plates.  I decided I wanted a bunch of mis-matched different sized plates.  They had a sale on Maxwell & Williams, so I picked up these 2 little ones.

Ross then suggested we check out the local Salvos store.  I got a few different plates there.

A couple of small bowls.

As well as this Maxwell & Williams single serve baking dish for only a couple of dollars.

On the way home we had to stop at the supermarket, so I ducked in to the Cheap As Chips next door.  I found these gorgeous little dessert dishes.  I only got 2, but I think I will go back and get another couple as they would be great to serve up to dinner guests.

So after sitting down and working out the Weight Watchers Points values for some of my recipes, I was over the moon to discover that my Mexican Lentils were only 3.5 points per serve.  So dinner was baked potato with Mexican Lentils and light Cheese.

With a side salad - which is a completely Point-free salad so I loved that!

I have also made a decision on my running.  I am not pushing myself enough so I am going to attempt C25K again.  I downloaded the tracks and will put them on my mp3 player at work on Monday.  So 3 days a week as of Monday, I am going to run.  And hopefully in 2 months I will be able to run for 30 minutes.

Tomorrow marks the end of my 3 month trial of vegetarianism.  I have a lot of thoughts about it so I will check in sometime in the next day or so and let you know whether I have decided to stick with it.  Till then...

xox

Things I am Thankful For...

Swayerm over at A Day in the Life Of… asked us to make a list of 5 things we are thankful for. Here is my list


1) My husband. I am aware how corny that is, but I truly am. This is my 2nd marriage. The 1st one was terrible in oh so many ways. So I truly do appreciate being with someone who obviously loves me and cares for me and treats me with love and respect.

2) My family. Ross & I had a very difficult year last year and we were incredibly blessed to have our families around to be there for us and support us through.

3) My ability to work. This might sound weird, but the fact that I can and do hold a reasonably decent job is something I am truly thankful for. If I couldn’t work and support us I don’t know what I would do.

4) My health. I know I have mistreated my body quite badly, and my health is not brilliant, but it also isn’t too bad. My body has held up under years of abuse and is still going okay. Although I am starting to feel the ravages of age (40 seems to be approaching at an alarming rate) I am doing okay.

5) My friends and support network. Many years ago nearly all my friendships were completely dysfunctional. I made a conscious decision to cultivate and develop good strong friendships with positive people. I feel that I have done this and I am so grateful to have these amazing people in my life.

xox

Thinking about things...

I got posed a question in the last few days.  It was on a weight loss forum I visit.  We were talking about success - or lack thereof - with our weights in 2009.  Then this came up....

"What are you doing to make 2010 different to 2009?"

It got me thinking.  What AM I doing different this year?  The answer - Not a whole lot.  My eating is still all over the place, my exercise sporadic at best. How on earth am I doing to achieve my goals and become the person I want to become, if I repeat the same behaviors over and over?

I need to DO something.

One possible answer...

I am going to go to a meeting this weekend and see if this is for me.  I know that the point system is pretty much the same as counting calories - I get that.  The difference is going to a weekly meeting.  Being with others who have been there or are there right now.  Listening to the information presented.  And having to front up each week and get on the scales in front of someone.

Maybe this is what I need right now?  Only way to find out is to go and give it a shot.  Wish me luck!

xox

This & That

The last few days have been nice and relaxing.  Friday Kayla and I decided to have a day in.  Kayla was keen to do some baking.

So we made some M&M cookies.

They are basically the Mega Choc Chunk Cookies, except we took out the nuts and added M&M's.  They were absolutely delicious, and I made sure she took ALL of them home with her.  Other than the cooking, the only thing we did on Friday that required any energy, was going out to pick up my bike from the bike shop.  It was well overdue for a service and the bike shop did a sensational job.  Plus it was a lot cheaper than I expected so I could afford to get a new helmut to replace my old one (all the lining on the foam has come off and it is itchy).  The new one is also pink.  I love it.

Yesterday, after Kayla got picked up, I got to ride my bike for the first time since the service.  It was SENSATIONAL!  Like riding a brand new bike.  Now more clunks, or squeaks, or wobbles.  It is beautiful.

I rode the bike to meet fellow blogger Em from Zee Food & Frog Blog.  It was wonderful to meet her.  We had a great afternoon and discovered lots in common.  I also got my Cinnamon Vanilla Surprise Massage Balm from Bee Calm Balms. 

Em makes these balms herself.  The scent is absolutely devine, and the massage balm is beautiful.  If you use massage oils I strongly suggest you give these balms a try as an alternative.  They are really well priced and feel fabulous on your skin.  She has other products as well, so please take a look.

Last night some good friends came over for dinner.  I had planned to my a vegetable lasagna based on this one by Ali.  When I woke up yesterday morning I suddenly remembered, my friends are eating low carb.  Buggar.  There goes my lasagna idea...  So I gave it some thought and decided that I could still do the lasagna, just with no pasta.  So I came up with my very own Pasta-Free Vegetable Lasagna.

It actually turned out really well, and everyone asked for seconds.  I served it with Baked Tofu, which I had never done before either.  But it was delicious.

The dishes went really well together and I would make both again.  Plus it was great to see our friends again and we had an awesome night.

Today is going to be a relaxing day.  We were going to go into the last stage of the Tour Down Under, but we are both still sore from getting sunburnt the other day so have decided to have another chilled out at home day.

I know I haven't mentioned running in the last few days.  I haven't been out.  I broke our contract.  I have no excuse.  But I will get back to it tomorrow.

Until then...

xox

Tour Down Under

I got my first official fix of the Tour boys today!

We got there early and saw several of the riders up close, like Stuart O'Grady

Jens Voigt

And Cadel Evans.

It was awesome.  After the riders were gone, we headed to the pool for an afternoon of swimming, fun, and laughter.  We had a ball, but came home when we realised that despite reapplying sunscreen several times, we were all burnt.

For dinner we decided to make pizzas. 

This one is mine.  I used Refried beans as the base and topped with tofu, capsicum, mushrroms, sun dried tomatos and spinach.  Ross went spicy and added ham and chilis, and Kayla went basic with ham and pineapple with a tomato base.  We all loved them.

Not sure what tomorrow will hold.  Hopefully we will get to the TDU Village in the afternoon.  Other than that, I will let Kayla decide.

xox

Start of the Long Weekend

First things first.  I wonke up this morning, ankle feels fine.  Had a hot shower, ankle feels fine.  Rode to work, ankle feels fine.  Worked all day, ankle feels fine.  Rode home, ankle feels fine.  YAY!  I am happy.

Tonight my sister brought my niece over to stay for a few days.  She is 12, which is such a cool age.  In the last 6 months she has switched from being a little kid to an 'adult in training'.  I can have adult conversations with her, we SMS, she is on Facebook.  But we still have fun times and play board games and muck around.  My sister and nephew stayed for dinner then left 'the girl' with me.  We have some cool things planned for the next few days and I am really looking forward to it.

I forgot to take my camera to work today, so no food photos from the day.

For dinner I did another new recipe I have been thinking about.  I wanted a light pasta sauce but needed something with a bit of protein.  The main 2 ingredients are lentils and tomatos.  Check out the recipe here.  It turned out great.  Absolutely delicious and 2nd helping were dished out.

We had it with rice noodles and parmesan.  It really was great.

The plan for tomorrow is to go and watch the start of Stage 3 of the Tour Down Under, then go for a swim at the local pool.  After that I need to drop my bike off at the doctors (aka the bike shop) for a service and some minor repairs.  Depending on how we feel we might go into the Tour Village to see the bikes and perhaps catch a glimpse of some of the lovely young things in lycra (aka cyclists).

Till then...

xox

Tuesday, my Hump Day

This morning was a bit of a late start for me.  I was planning on going swimming but I slept through the alarm.  When I did get up I realised my ankle wasn't hurting.  YAY!  I jumped in the shower, and after about 2 minutes in the hot water my ankle started to ache.  BOOOOO....  I got Ross to drive me to work so I had time to ice my ankle before heading off.

Breakfast was the usual, oats with rice milk, nuts & honey.

Work was busy today, to the point that I missed morning tea.  Now that NEVER happens!  I was doing well with the Pepsi Max thing, but then my boss went to get everyone morning tea as a congrats for an award we won last week.  Because I am being good and said no to the donuts on offer, he bought me a 600ml Diet Coke.  But hey, it's better than a dount.

Lunch was Cruskits with cottage cheese followed by blueberries & a banana with vanilla yogurt - which is my 2 servings of fruit.

 

Afternoon tea, which I don't always have, was my morning tea, 2 Salada Lites with cheese.

Since I didn't have the bike I had to walk home.  Ross has gone to a friends for dinner and was going to his Mums for a while first so I was on my own.  It is about a 35 minute walk.  I took off and my ankle was feeling okay.  After 5 minutes it was hurting.  Not good.  I changed footpaths and it felt ok again.  The path I was walking on was sloping to the right, and the slope was enough to cause some pain in my foot.  By the time I got to the park, although it was still a little sore, I decided I could try running.

Note to self - running with a backpack loose on your bag is awful...

I lasted 30 seconds.  It was swishing from side to side and banging against my back.  So I tightened the arm straps and pulled out the tummy strap and did it up tight.  Next run, only 60 seconds before I started to feel pulling down my left hamstring.  Third run, 60 seconds before I felt it in my ankle.  Time to stop.  But, I gave it a shot.  I stuck to my exercise contract (thank you Em and Swayerm for co-signing it) and now I feel good that I did my best.

So now I know, the ankle is related to the hamstring and hip issues which is related to my back.  At least I now have a fix.  I will see the Chiropractor again soon.

I got home and ate a vegemite sandwich

With my foot up with my makeshift ice pack while I watched the days highlights of the Tour Down Under. 

After the Tour it was time to find something to eat.  It was just me so I wanted something quick.  I looked in the fridge.  Tofu and lots of green veggies (I seem to have eaten all the other coloured veggies).  OK, tofu and veg stirfry. 

 

To the tofu I added garlic, spring onion, spinach, bok choy, capsicum, broccoli, snow peas and mushrooms, and mixed in some oregano, parsley & hoi sin sauce.  I was planning on serving it with rice noodles, until I saw it all together and realised how much I had cut up.  So I just had it as is and it was delicious!  And incredibly filling.  Calories for today are spot on.

Tomorrow is my last day of work for the week.  YAY!

xox

Challenge Update, Exercise Contracts & Pepsi Max

As per my post from earlier today, I didn't go for my run today.  I have spent the evening with my foot up and ice on it.  Tomorrow I will go swimming in the morning, then if it's feeling better tomorrow night I will do tonights run then.

Last weeks challenges were okay.  My healthy habits challenge completely went out the window over the weekend.  Again.  My running challenge I did 1 out of 3 runs.  Not good enough.  Time to get strict.  I have read about making an exercise contract with yourself.  I think this is a good idea.  It is a simple idea.  You write out a contract that you sign, have co-signed, then are obligated to stick to.  I would like to ask all of you to co-sign my exercise contract. 

"I, Kylie, commit to sticking to my running training for the remainder of the timetable set out (barring injury).  I will run 3 times a week with the goal of being able to run 1km at the end of the challenge."

Week 3 of my Healthy Habit a Week Challenge sees me introduce a new challenge.  This weeks challenge is to record my food.  I still have to drink my water and eat my fruit as well as recording the food.  Today went well.  Now for tomorrow...

On to other topics....
Pepsi Max.  Oh how I love thee Pepsi Max.  I love thee bubbles.  I love thee caffeine.  I love thee taste.  But it is crap.  It is turning my teeth brown and it is filled with yucky nasty chemicals.  I suck it down all weekend and don't drink any water.  My sleep is disturbed, my tummy always bloated, and it makes me hungry.  It is time.  I will not go cold turkey.  I don't have time for a 4 day migraine.  I am going to slowly cut back and replace it it tea and coffee.  When I am off the Pepsi (and over the withdrawls from the chemicals) I will then cut back the tea and coffee.  Today went well.  Only 3 glasses (I normally drink 2 litres). 

Food for today was okay, although I did go over my calories.  I am PMS'ing - although I have been for about 2 weeks, my bad food has made my cycle extra long this month - and I am always starving when I am PMS'ing.  I did okay though and made some good choices.

Breakfast was the normal - oats with rice milk and some seeds/nuts and a squirt of honey.

Morning tea was 2 Salada Lites with cheese.  I forgot to take a pic so here is the box.  :o)

Lunch was a big green salad with 2 eggs and a dollop of cottage cheese.

Followed by watermelon & rockmelon.

Afternoon Tea was another Salada with cheese.

When I got home from work I decided to be naughty and have one of my Mega Choc Chunks.  I say naughty because I worked out the calories and these suckers are over 400 calories EACH!!!!

Dinner was egg noodles with the last of the Mexican Lentils that I thinned out with another can of tomatos.

With Bread

Now there are rumours that after dinner my have contained another naughty biccie, but this is something I can not confirm or deny...  :o)

Fingers crossed my ankle is feeling better tomorrow.

xox

Swollen Ankle

My left ankle is swollen and sore. Just above and slightly to the front of the bone that sticks out to the side. I have been looking forward to my run but now I am not so sure if I should go out. I didn’t do anything to hurt it, it was just sore this morning. I keep hoping the pain will go away but it seems to be getting worse. :o(


Not sure what I should do…

xox

Today's Thoughts

This morning we got a late start.  I am not used to being up so late and it was about 1.30am before we turned the light out.  So heading out for a morning run was not going to happen.  It was moved to tonight, but Ross is feeling ill and my back is twingeing today.  Not seriously, but I have had back issues since I was 5 years old (I was hit by a car) so I take certain twinges seriously.  This is one of them.  It should be fine by tomorrow though.

This afternoon I had my Tupperware Party.  We really did have a great afternoon.  I put my food out (pics to come) and it went down a treat.  The good news is that I got lots of freebies that I was not expecting.

My food has been a little odd today.  We started with a late breakfast of vegetarian "bacon" with eggs and mushrooms. 

The "bacon" was Sanitarium Bacon Style Rashers which is a soy based product.

I had been wanting to try them for quite a while, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.  They do carry a certain bacon flavour, although you can tell they are made from soy.  Would I get them again?  Sure.

Since breaky was so late I had a small lunch before the party of a melted cheese sandwich.

Followed by a Chocolate Shortbread.

For afternoon tea I put out some M&M's.

The plate of Mega Choc Chunk Cookies

And the Mexican Lentils with corn chips.

I had a little bit of everything.  The cookies and the Mexican Lentils went down a treat, and were really enjoyed which made me very happy.  :o)  For dinner I just had another sandwich as I really wasn't all that hungry.  Tomorrow I am going back to counting calories as I am determined to shift this weight.  So I will give a total calorie count with my food pics.

xox

Cooking, Cheese, Food & Awards

I have quite a lot to say today.  It's nearly midnight and I am just getting to this, but that's okay.  I have had a varied but good day.  I woke up this morning not feeling too well.  A bit of the old 'bubbly tummy'.  But I had things to do, so up I got.  I decided to postpone the run and get my shopping done, hoping I would feel better after that.  While I was out I went past a Newsagent that had one of those book sale tables out the front.  I found 2 great books for a total cost of $8.  I was pretty impressed.

By lunchtime the 'bubbly tummy' was still there, so I cancelled my afternoon plans.  I was meant to meeting up with fellow blogger Emz and I was really bummed that I wasn't going to be able to make it.  Not only was it the first time we were to meet, I was going to get some of her Bee Calm Massage Balm that I have been really looking forward to.  But I am sure we will meet soon.

It got me wondering about why I have been getting the tummy pains again in the last few days.  Then it hit me. 

Cheese...

I love cheese.  Really love it.  But I have always had a problem with too much.  When I first switched to vego I was horrified to discover that most cheese is not, in fact, vegetarian.  It contains something called rennet which is an animal product.  I have found a couple of varieties that are rennet-free though.  My favourite is Nimbin Natural.

However, rennet-free or not, too much cheese still makes me ill.  Unfortunately I did not work out this was the cause until later in the day when I had consumed more...  So, now I need to really start cutting back again, or maybe even avoiding it altogether.  I have gotten used to having no tummy pains and would like to go back to it.

Since I was staying close to home for the afternoon I needed to do something.  I decided to make some cookies for my Tupperware Party tomorrow.  I made my Mega Choc Chunk since I had all the ingredients handy.

Throughout the day I have been thinking more about being accountable to myself.  Yes, I am aware I sound like a broken record on this, but it is still in my head.  Now I know that the only person I am accountable to is me, and I am good with that.  My exercise I can look after, but where I am still falling down the most is my food.  So I have decided to photo blog my food each day.  If I have to actually stop to photograph the food, I will stop and think about the food.  The theory behind this is that I will hopefully give more thought to what I am putting in my mouth, rather than just shovelling food in.  I didn't decide this until lunch time.  So here goes for today.

Lunch was some Sanitarium Not Burgers on toast with cheese and avocado.

Followed by some ice cream with Milo mixed in.

Not a great choice considering my tummy was still playing up, but it was what I felt like.  Also not a great choice calorie-wise.

Snack was one of the yummy biccies I made.

For dinner I finally perfected a new recipe I have been working on.  I wanted to do a lentil recipe with a Mexican flavour, and have been playing with the mix of spices.  Tonight, I nailed it!  And I got to use my Mortar & Pestle to grind the cumin seeds which was very cool.

I have called the dish Mexican Lentils, and tonight we had it with toast and avocado (was about to go bad so had to use it).  It was a delicious success and can be used for heaps of different dishes.  I have chilled the left overs and will be serving it as a dip at the Tupperware Party tomorrow.

This was followed by half a cookie and more Ice Cream with a few M&Ms

After dinner a couple of friends stopped by.  Luckily I had made heaps of cookies so we had some nibblies.  Aside from the sore tummy and missing out on meeting Em, I had a good and productive day.

Last, but definitely not least, I got a very pleasant surprise today.  I received a "Beautiful Blogger Award" from Dreaming of the New Me. 

I am feel so honoured to have been selected for this.  I am glad my blog is making interesting reading for someone.  Thank You.

So what I am meant to do now is to share 7 things about myself, then pass this on to 7 other bloggers who I l are Beautiful Bloggers.

7 things about me...

1)  My little toe nails are shaped like claws and if I don't keep them very short they get hard enough to wear holes in shoes.

2)  I feel like my life really started when I turned 30 and finally had the courage to leave my first husband.

3)  I was knock-kneed when I was little and had to wear corrective shoes.

4)  I climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge about 5 years ago and began to conquer my fear of heights.

5)  Despite quitting dancing nearly 20 years ago I can still do the splits.

6)  Until 8 or 9 months ago I could only cook about 3 different dishes.

7)  I used to hate outdoor sports and being outside for long periods, now I can't get enough of it.

Now for the hard part, choosing 7 other bloggers.  I read lots of blogs every day, so I hope I do not insult anyone by leaving them out.  But these are the ones I comment on or read the most.

 - Mel

 - Amanda

 - Ali

 - Swayerm

 - Spunkysuzi

 - The Shrinking Violet

 - Em

If you haven't stopped by these blogs, please do, they truly are inspiring.

Sorry for the long one.  It's now nearly 1am so it is time for some zzz's

xox