The House of Gastro

I haven't been up to much lately, but I am thinking of submitting an idea to the yearly show for another horror attraction. I would call it The House of Gastro!

Apparently Christmas has come early this year..............

"Howdy Ho"

Thankfully it hasn't been me that has been effected by the dreaded poo bug, but the kids - all 4 of them!  To make it worse, they get it one by one.  Why can't they get it all at the same time and it all be over in a week?? WHY????

There have also been a couple of throat infections in there as well causing fevers and vomiting - it has been such an awesome few weeks, I just love it.

Apart from my lack of exercise, my food choices have been really, really bad so yesterday I went grocery shopping and have now filled the house with healthy foods.  I didn't buy any chips, sweets, chocolates, biscuits etc. much to the disgust of my husband.  I told him if he wants softdrink and biscuits he can buy it himself and eat it at work.  I don't want it in the house and the kids don't need it to be here either.

Today I have swapped this.............

For this............

AND I am making it a permanent part of my life.  I know that if I keep a healthy kitchen, I will keep a healthy body.  I don't care how much the kids and hubby complain that there's "no dessert" or "softdrink" in the house, I refuse to buy it from now on.  I mean what sort of example am I setting for the kids by having it in the house anyway?  Plus, it is so, so easy for me to just grab a biscuit instead of making myself a salad.

Even though I enjoy the salad just as much as the biscuit, the difference is the convenience of the junk cause it's pre-made.  Now instead of grabbing a biscuit, I can grab an apple which is 1000 times more satisfying anyway - I am such an idiot, why am I just learning these simple, healthy lifestyle tips now?  I can't believe how long it has taken for it all to finally start sinking in.

I do owe my epiphany to a good friend of mine (Me from My Journey - Am I There Yet?).  Thanks to a conversation between us the other day, she made me realise something extremely significant which has greatly been effecting my attitude towards food that I didn't even know was happening.

Thank you so much Me, I love your support and the encouragement you give me to make myself a better version of what I am now xx

Please tell me if you have had a complete brain and kitchen overhaul.......

• Did / does your family complain about the changes to the food?  
• What's something you have given up and never looked back?
• How do you cope with your new lifestyle changes when cravings hit?

 

Shelving the Scales

That's right!  I am putting the scales away for a few months.  I am a daily weigher, sometimes more than once, twice, three times a lady and it is getting me nowhere.  I have decided to give myself a 12 week challenge starting next Monday (9 April) and I am only allowed to weigh myself 3 times in the entire 12 weeks. I will weigh myself in weeks 1, 6 & 12 and will also be taking measurements in weeks 1 & 12.

The reason I have decided to do this is because that I am finding myself more and more reliant on what those stupid scales say each week and I thought that this 12 week hiatus will allow me to focus more on what I should be doing rather than what the scales will be saying each Monday morning.  

I am hoping to will be focusing on healthy food choices with the occasional treat or Mexican meal here and there and I will be more focused on moving my body for fun, instead of exercising to see a reduced number on the scale the next time I get on there.

I really, really enjoy exercising.  I love my swimming and my treadmill and the other day I took a Zumba class for the first time in about a year.  I think I laughed the whole way through it - I had forgotten how much fun it is to dance around while looking like a total fool.  

I am also enjoying eating healthy foods.  I had pizza the other week and it was horrible, I didn't like it at all and I could feel it just sitting in my stomach for the rest of the night.  I was wondering though whether it was just badly made, but over the next few days (after the pizza) I made some bad food choices and I didn't feel good at all.  My tongue felt like it needed a shave from all the extra sugar I had eaten and I just felt blah.

All of this is good news for me cause it tells me that I am making progress and even though it's extremely slow with one step forward and 100 backwards, I am getting there.  I am changing my lifestyle to a healthy one and the best thing of all is that I am enjoying it.

Speaking of exercise, healthy foods and weigh-ins, here are mine :

*Weigh-in*

Up 2.2 kg since I last weighed myself on the 19 of March, I am back to 98.7 kg.  I was down to almost 95 kg.  All I can say here is boooooo to me.

*Workouts*

This morning I went to the pool nice and early and completed 2 kms in just over an hour.  I would have shaved 5 mins off my time, but I was too busy talking to the lady in my lane.

Last Sunday (1st April) I dragged my butt to the gym and did a Zumba class followed by a nice 30 min swim completing 1 km.  I was surprised at how many people were at the pool cause it wasn't an overly hot day.  

*HRM Stats*  For Zumba 

• Duration : 58.54 mins
• Calories : 525
• Average HR : 145
• Maximum HR : 171
• In Zone : 29.48 mins
• Distance : -

After this morning's swim I indulged in a smoothie.  Well, a smoothie isn't really an indulgence, but when it tastes like banana ice-cream it feels indulgent.  

*Banana Cinnamon Ice-Cream Smoothie*

Into the blender :

• 1 cup Almond Milk
• 288g* frozen Bananas
• 1 tsp Cinnamon Sugar
• 1 tsp (7g) Honey

*There were 2 average sized, frozen bananas used*

The total calories for this smoothie were 333.  I actually had to eat it with a spoon cause it was so thick and creamy from the bananas.  Here's a picture to get you into the smoothie mood.....

still in the blender

in the glass ready for my tummy

How do you get your groove back.......

• What motivates you to exercise?
• Do you find that a sugary treat can make you feel awful?
• How do you get back on track after falling off the wagon?

Blog Awards, Backs and Jelly Beans

Oh my goodness!!  I am so excited to receive my very first blog award thanks to Sammy from Happy Family, Healthy Family.  It's called the Liebster Award.

The idea behind this award is to recognise and share blogs with less than 200 followers.  What you have to do is :

• Post the Award on your blog
• Choose 5 other blogs to pass on the award
• Leave each of those (5) blogs a comment
• Then as Sammy says "enjoy and share the love"

I come across so much inspiration, motivation, encouragement and laughs that I think choosing just 5 blogs will be a hard task, but here goes :

• The ME I want 2 B! - This blog is written by Erika and I absolutely love it.  Erika has recipes and so many inspiring ideas that I just can't get enough of her blog.

• Yumma Mumma To Be - Bec has made some fantastic progress with her weight loss which I find extremely inspiring, but another thing I really admire about Bec is that she isn't afraid of sharing her emotions.  Like the rest of us, Bec has ups and downs, but even when she is having a down day, she still manages to make me laugh by suggesting she "bring the dip" to her own "pity party".

• Bec's Adventure - Bec (another Bec) has been having a rough time of it lately, which almost anyone who has ever been on a weight loss adventure can relate to, but the thing about Bec is, that she never, never gives up.  She is a true inspiration with her desire to keep going.  Her desire helps to spur me along as well.  

• Ladybug Beauty ~ My Life after Sugar - Lorne has been doing an awesome job with her new life style.  She has not only given up sugar (something I don't even have the courage to attempt), but she has started a running program and has been doing a fantastic job with it.  

• My New Ending - Leah is a champion!  She has lost over 40 lbs and is looking fantastic.  I love reading her blog and following her journey.  I find her blog full of motivation because (like so many of us) whenever Leah may be having a hard time with her weight loss journey, she always seems to be able to put a positive spin on it.  Somehow, Leah always manages to turn things around and find herself a solution.

I would also like to give the award to Sammy, but she gave it to me.  Her blog is full of recipes that are so, so delicious and I think she is learning that she isn't allowed to post pictures without the recipe.  Sammy does her best to eat as healthily as she can and she teams it up with fitness.  I love her blog and always, always get a laugh out of it.  Thanks so much for my award Sammy! I can't tell you how excited and honoured I am to have received it.

*Back update*

I am a little upset about my back, it has been nearly 3 weeks now and isn't much better.  Twice now I have been on the mend and thinking "great I can get back on the treadmill" (I love and miss my treadmill so much) and then both times I have woken up in pain because of the way I have moved during my sleep and it has put me back to square one.  I have another doctors appointment Tuesday week (he is away this week) and hopefully he can shed some more light on my back.  I am beginning to think that it isn't just muscular????? 

I'm not a doctor or any sort of medical professional, but I do know what muscular pain feels like and I don't really feel it.  I can stand or sit down with little to no pain, but when I move or get up, that's when the pain hits. It just doesn't feel like sore muscle pain - stupid back, stupid hat.

*Jelly Beans*

When the kids have been really good and cleaned up all the mess they have made, picked up their toys, put them away, put any rubbish in the bin, pick up any bits of food off the floor etc, etc I give them a jelly bean as a reward.  The thing is that when I give them A jelly bean, that's right just 1, I eat about 6 of them without even thinking about it.  As part of my Health Blitz I have told myself that I need to be more aware of what and when I am eating (week 8) - no more mindless eating for me.  So today when I gave the kids their jelly bean I made a conscience effort not to have any.  It worked, I didn't have a single jelly bean - yaaaaaay, small victory for me :)

The Sneaky Pepsi

Today I used my list. The lounge is a mess, there are toys and shredded tissues (I don't understand the obsession with shredding tissues) everywhere and I have asked the culprits to clean it up 1000 times and it doesn't get done.

I decided that they only way it will get clean is if I do it. I went in to tackle the tissue and found son #2 with framed photos trying to remove the frames from the pictures, not an easy task for a 3 year old, but he was giving it a good try. He has already smashed a photo frame and glass doesn't really make for good playing companions.

I decided to make myself a cup of tea before cleaning the rest of the room and while I was getting the milk I spotted a bottle of Pepsi.............the list came out!

10 Things I Want More than Pepsi :

1. I want to succeed in my Soft Drink Free Quest
2. I want to rid my body of the chemicals in the soft drink
3. I want to be healthy
4. I want to feel good about myself
5. I have been 15 days soft drink free and I don't want to start at day 1 again
6. I want to prove to myself that I can be strong
7. I want to believe in myself
8. I want to get to my goal weight
9. I want to eat healthy calories not drink empty ones
10. I don't want to lose control and binge on rubbish

I will succeed :)

A New Month brings New Challenges

While exploring a Blog Hop this morning, I came across a wonderful blog called The Adventures of Goober Grape and Monkey Man written by a gorgeous woman named Stephanie. During my exploration of her blog I came across her weight loss story which inspired me to get up off my ass, away from the computer and workout. And that's what I did......

The B.I.G. news is not that I worked out but I actually did the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD which has been sitting on my shelves for a good 12 months, well, probably closer to 18 months. Although my arms were burning, then my legs were burning and sometimes my arms and legs were burning simultaneously for 20 mins, the best thing is I SURVIVED!!

I have been putting this DVD off again and again despite making promise after promise to myself that I would do it because I was scared. Scared of how unfit and unhealthy I am, but today thanks to Stephanie I did the DVD :)

"On the other side of Fear is Victory"

*HRM Stats for Shred DVD*

It actually took me a little over 28 mins to do a 20 min DVD, that's because I'm a little slow! No, only kidding, well sort of. No, it's because one of the kids needed to do a poo, another needed a drink another needed something else, they stole my hand weights and I had to find them and so on. Just a few little interruptions when doing DVDs, but they make great waterboys/girls when I am on the treadmill :)

Because I knew my legs would already be spent after the 'Shred' and because it only went for 20 mins, I decided to do an incline workout on the treadmill to up the time and burn some more calories. The interval workout looked like this :

Then I also added on a nice, relaxing 10 min cool down..............

*HRM Stats for Tredmill*


*HRM Stats for Total Workout*

All in all, I had an enjoyable afternoon. The kids were really good today when I was on the treadmill, only 2 items flew past my head, landed behind me and went for a ride. I think they are getting used to it now and the novelty has worn off a bit for them, which is even better for me.

Thinking about Food, Food and Food

I have decided that when I start thinking about food and what I can eat next, I am going to have a light snack. This is because I have discovered that if I don't eat something quickly that is tasty and low in calories (or points) I will end up just eating whatever is closest and easiest like the biscuits or ice-cream.

Because of my total slackness at not having any food prepared for today, when my mind started to wander around the kitchen for food, all I could think of was fatty stuff. Although my 10 Things list is great and works really well I didn't want to use it. I shouldn't have to use it every time I want something to eat. I KNOW from experience that if I deny myself it will end in a huge binge that throws me out for the rest of the day (or week).

The first thing I did was drink a glass of water to make sure I was hungry and not just thirsty, next, I threw out the croissant that was sitting near me........

.....then made myself a snack of 2 Rye Cruskits with Sour Cream and Chives Cottage Cheese.

As you can see, I used my Winnie the Pooh dinner plate - I love having a full plate of food :)

No Lamingtons for Me

I have to say that I am loving the 10 Things I Want More idea. I got out my list this morning because of the 24 lamingtons sitting in my kitchen. I mean who doesn't want a soft and fluffy vanilla sponge covered in a chocolate syrup and doused with coconut?? They are so yummy and I was about to eat 1 (or 2 or 3) when I remembered my list.

I grabbed my list (which I have laminated - very sad, I know), grabbed my whiteboard marker and before I knew it, I had 10 things listed that I wanted more than a lamington. I couldn't believe how easy it was for me to think of 10 things. I honestly thought I would have trouble finding 10 reasons not to eat the lamington. This just means more lamingtons for my husband, he's the one that actually got them.

I hate him coming to the supermarket with me. We always spend at least an extra $50 on things that he wants. It's not that I don't like salt and vinegar chips, party mix lollies, lamingtons, choc wedge ice-creams, Arnotts iced biscuits and so on, but I don't buy these things when I go shopping because I don't need the extra temptation in the house, but thanks to my list, I think I may have beaten the temptation monster :

The Temptation Monster - he's in my kitchen

The list was easy and I feel really satisfied with myself, which is much better than the feelings of self-loathing I get when I give in and eat things - like lamingtons or donuts. I must also remember - A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.

Who would have thought that I would be happy not eating a lamington? Certainly not me!


*Tiny Triumph*


My list looked like this :

1. Get to my goal weight
2. Wear my Mr Men underpants (I put a pair on and the seam ripped down one side - ooops)
3. Reduce my body fat
4. Reduce my cellulite (sorry, what? Who said that? I don't have cellulite)
5. Be truly happy
6. Drop another dress size
   
7. New Shoes - I need new feet first
8. Look nice
9. Feel good about myself
10. Make peace with myself
    

*Drab 2 Fab*


As part of my Drab 2 Fab 'quest', had trouble there for a moment, I didn't really know what to call it. I first thought of challenge, but it's not really a challenge, it's a life long change I suppose so I think quest is probably a little more appropriate.

Anyway, I actually left the house yesterday and I stayed true to myself. I did my hair and make-up. My husband asked me if I was wearing make-up and then he told me "you look beautiful, but you always do" as usual I just pulled a face at him while thinking to myself, how can this look beautiful.

I did feel good about myself for a change. It was a nice feeling. The kids thought it was great - "what's that?, what are you doing?" It made me realise just how long it has been since I have done that to or for myself - the twins are 3 so it has to be at least 2 years since I have made an effort with myself, they have never seen it before or they couldn't remember seeing me do that.

I am going to continue on with my appearance and have decided that I am going to create a 'beauty' routine for myself. I am going to wash and moisturise my face twice a day (morning and night). I am going to use all the expensive creams that are just sitting in the cupboard waiting to be used and I am going to give myself a mini facial once a week - that is, do a face mask once a week. To make it even more interesting, while the mask is on, I am going to use my foot spa and soak my sore feet - the poor things, imaging having to carry around this much weight everyday.

Cheers to new changes and a better life :)

10 things I want More .........................

I got this great idea from Becky over at Bringing Becky Back about making a list to help overcome the current temptation. I've had most of this post drafted since March, but I always seem to get distracted and write about something else. Today though I thought was the perfect time to start using this idea as part of my *restart* journey.

The idea is to list 10 things that you want more than.....chocolate, cake, ice-cream or even just wanting to plonk your butt on the couch when you know you should at least be making some sort of effort to exercise. If you can't think of 10 things you want more than sitting on the couch with a bowl of ice-cream smothered in chocolate topping, then you can give into your temptation. I have a feeling that I will always be able to come up with 10 things that I want more.

Here are my first 10:

1. See the scales drop at my next weigh-in
2. Get into my dream outfit
3. Be healthy
4. Not to crave sugar
5. Obliterate my unknown food allergy
6. Feel good about myself
7. Be a wife my husband can be proud of
8. Feel happy
9. Get to my goal weight
10. Break my food addiction
    

101 things in 1001 days - #92

#92 Hold a snake

Fortunately for me when the family and I were at a local street festival yesterday, there was a stall called Snake Busters. I knew that holding a snake was on my list so I used yesterday as an opportunity to cross off one of my *things*.

As unflattering as my current photos are I like it because it's proof that I have done something that I never thought I would ever do in my life, hold a snake. I am not very fond of snakes of any kind and I think this little sand python picked up on this . Just after my hubby took this photo of me smiling and talking at the same time "quick, take the photo", this little snake turned his attention to me full force.

He started to turn and navigate his head towards me. I was quite happy with him facing away from me, but all of a sudden I think he wanted to give me a kiss. I just kept putting my arm under his body and moving it away from me, but he kept coming back closer and closer. I was fine as long as his head wasn't near mine, but he just wouldn't take NO for an answer. It was like on TV when you see the snake slithering around and the person just keeps moving their arms so the snake has something to slither on - that's what I was doing but in an attempt to keep his little face away from me. Eventually I was rescued and the little sand python made his way onto some other shoulders.

I feel as though this *thing* is a small triumph for me because I proved to myself that I can do things that really put me waaaaaaay out of my comfort zone.

BIG Meringues and SmallTriumphs

This is what my husband bought home from the shops for me, for the woman who is trying to lose weight and still has close to 40 kilos to go. A beautiful big white meringue covered in sprinkles - a girls dream right? Well, even though it is, it isn't!

What is he trying to do to me? I am trying to be soooooo good as I am really trying to focus on my weight loss at the moment and he (husband) is always making little niggling comments about my weight more specifically about what I eat, so why on earth would he bring me home something like this???????

I am sure that he is trying to sabotage me sometimes! Does he really want me to lose the weight? If he does why doesn't he help me by not bringing me things like this?

Anyway, I was very tempted and I did really feel like something sweet, especially since it's been nearly 3 months since I've had any chocolate so I had a couple of bites and then threw it in the bin. I even took a photo as proof and also to remind myself that I am stronger than any sugar urge, that I can beat the cravings and that I will WIN!!!!!!

This is definitely a non-scale victory for me - yaaaaayyyyyyy!

Secret Weapon against Chocolate

In my last post I mentioned I was doing a No Chocolate till Easter Challenge and it has been going great, but sometimes I get these really bad sugar / chocolate cravings so I get my secret weapon and it really helps. My Palmer's Lip Butter in dark chocolate and peppermint flavour. They also make a dark chocolate and cherry flavour as well and for under $5 a tube, I feel it's well worth every cent.

The only reason I can think that this works is because taste is 70% smell, well that's what I've been told anyway. Therefore, when I put my lip butter on, the smell is going to my brain and tricking it into thinking that I have eaten something sweet that I have been craving. This made be a load of poop, but whatever the reason is, it is working for me so I will continue using it until it doesn't work anymore.

Crazy Lady Says What???

I could not believe myself this morning, but a small miracle happened! See that crazy face over there well that's exactly how I felt this morning. I am tired cause I have been awake since about 3am and when I finally started to get back to sleep at around 7am the kids came in so any hope of sleep was gone, plus I had to get up and get child #1 ready for school.

I got back from dropping #1 at school and #'s 2, 3 & 4 were all sitting at the table waiting to get changed and have breakfast while husband is doing whatever it is he does in the morning while not helping me. He thinks because he has to go to work that he shouldn't have to change kids etc - that's a whole other post, maybe I should call him husband #1!!

Anyway, I finally got clothes and food ready and then #'s 2, 3 & 4 decided they all needed to go to the toilet at the same time so there was fighting, screaming and crying about that. We do have enough toilets for them all, but 2 of the toilets are upstairs and they are not allowed upstairs by themselves because I am sick of finding things in the toilet - for example, whole rolls of toilet paper, toys, marbles or my mobile phone just to name a few.

Now, the toilet downstairs is attached to the laundry and after doing 2 loads of washing this morning and the weather not being the best I had to use the clothes horse to hang certain items like my husband's work shirt and my son's school shirt. With kids still in the toilet I hear #3 calling for help and I discover that he has done a poop and while doing so he has forgotten to aim properly and both shirts have been given another wash by him, not to mention the floor!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Eventually I had them all sitting quietly after another massive screaming fight about which show they would watch this morning - The Fairies, Lazy Town, Johnson and Friends, Bananas in Pyjamas and so on. With breakfast the kids have milk. My husband bought these new cups home yesterday with lids that are really easy for the kids to open so you can imagine how I felt after 3 cups of milk ended up all over the kids and the floor. That's me over there the one crying on the floor. I felt like I was going mental!!!!

The DANGER here for me was that I hadn't put away the breakfast stuff yet, so the bread, butter and jam were still sitting on the bench staring at me, inviting me to eat them and when I feel like this, what's the first thing I do? TURN TO FOOD! I stood at the bench just looking at the bread and imagining how nice a hot piece of toast with lots of melted butter and jam would be. I took out 2 slices of bread, but I knew if I had those 2 I would go back for more, at least another 2 maybe another 4 - this is where the miracle sets in. I put the bread away and I actually asked myself WHY was I going to eat all this toast? I must be going really crazy cause I even answered myself out loud with "Why would I eat that? It doesn't make me feel better, it just makes me fat" I was shocked that I had said this to myself - I have finally admitted to myself that my current, yet changing behaviour is what has made me fat. It's one thing to think it, but to actually say it out loud to myself is another.

I was amazed at how easy it was to stop myself from scoffing down 6 pieces of toast. Instead I made myself a cup of "magic" tea and got myself a bowl of grapes to snack on so instead of blowing my daily points plus most of the weekly points in one go I used up 1/2 a point of milk instead in my tea. I call it my magic tea, not because there is anything strange in there, though on some days I wish there was, but because it has a calming effect on me. I think it is because when I have tea I sit down and do nothing else but drink it, I zone out and just think about whatever comes into my head. All the thoughts about having to re-wash the pee off the shirts and having to mop the floors again today because of the milk when I mopped them last night before bed and all the fighting over toys and the complaining because I gave someone the wrong plate or bowl or the wrong coloured straw - all of that just goes away - I feel calm, well for a little while anyway. Then it's back to the storm. 

It has actually taken me about 2 hours to write this post because of all the other stuff that goes on, but I have finally finished it. It is a long one today, but I just needed a vent as well as sharing my minor miracle of putting the bread away, I like to call this my NO Power, ie, the power of finally being able to say no to things I never would have dreamed being able to say no to.

Today I was able to say NO to........

This is a HUGE small victory for me!

Normally I probably would have just eaten these things and counted the points, but I am trying so hard to not eat this rubbish and have points left for more healthy, filling options.