Finally, movement

Image: Ti H20

It's happened people, the number has moved, there must be something in this eating slower thing because I got on the scale this morning for my monthly weigh-in and I'd lost 2kg (4.4lbs) Yippeeee!! I'm trying not to make a big deal of this, trying to remember all my pledges to not get caught up in the numbers, but it's still a pretty sweet feeling to see that number getting smaller. So I deemed it time for an update of the numbers and here they are.

Starting point 13/11/08
Weight: 109.9kg
Bust: 115cm
Upper Arm: 36cm
Waist #1 (narrowest part): 95cm
Waist #2 (at belly button): 114cm
Hips: 127cm
Upper Thigh: 76cm
Knee: 49cm
Calf: 46cm

Today 31/03/09
Weight: 105.6kg
Bust: 109cm
Upper Arm: 34cm
Waist #1: 89cm
Waist #2: 104cm
Hips: 120cm
Upper Thigh: 71cm
Knee: 45cm
Calf: 44.5cm

"I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking"
Derek Zoolander

Tea for two

I decided it's all about having yummy things at home to keep me satisfied and entertained. Tonight I indulged my love of iced tea. The whole iced tea experience really hit me on my travels through South East Asia. Each country I visited had it's own style involving some kind of black tea, limes or lemons, ice and a healthy dose of sugar syrup. Don't even get me started on the iced coffees with sweetened condensed milk, oh and the pearl teas of Taiwan...... ahhh beverage heaven.

This one was pretty easy to make and is a great distraction when you're pacing the kitchen looking for something, anything.

Ingredients
1 tea bag
Juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon of honey
Fresh Mint leaves
Water

Steep the tea bag in 1/2 cup of boiling water until desired strength is achieved.
Add the lemon juice and honey, stir until honey dissolves.
Top up with cold water.
Add mint leaves- I find adding the fresh mint once the cold water is added prevents many of the tannins being released and keeps the tea tasting fresh and minty.
Add ice if desired and serve.

For this brew I used Manuka honey, which has strong antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties as well as being a great adjunct treatment of Helicobacter pylori. I don't bother straining the mint leaves, and usually chew on them as I drink the tea. Mint is great for digestion and soothes and relaxes the colon, being a great aid in alleviating IBS symptoms as well as nausea and vomiting.

There is much talk of the health benefits of green tea and it can be easily substitued for a milder flavor. Black tea, however, also has a myriad of health benefits including reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and lowering cholesterol absorption. Black tea also contains high levels of antioxidants.

I had a go at baking these delish yet healthy treats, and they turned out really well. Tea and cakeish type things, I'm feeling pretty stocked up for the week, prepared, ready to face the world.

"If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty"
Japanese proverb

5 Things I'm Proud Of #9

Image: harold.lloyd (well I declare)'s

Hmmmm, Friday came around awfully quick this week. Was there even time to be proud?

1. Meeting with The Terrier for the first time, she's small, she's muscly, she's energetic and she sure doesn't take no for an answer. My thighs thank her in some strange sadistic way.
   
   
2. Doing a 10min jog today. The physiotherapist advised 'testing' my knee out to see if we've made any improvements. I could have easily not done this, but I did, I'm impressed, and keeping my fingers crossed.
   
   
3. Recognizing that somedays it's OK to just let yourself feel a bit sad and bliss out in front of a movie, rather than push through it.
   
   
4. Keeping at the eating slow thing, it's harder than it looks, and sometimes I totally forget until I have one mouthful left, but as the wonderful Ms Netherlands says, I'm trying, and that's what counts.
   
   
5. Stepping out of my comfort zone. I won't bore you with the details but let's just say, it involved me, a receptionist and a lost appointment time. I stayed true to my niceness, but I ain't getting pushed around no more no more no more.

"Jogging is very beneficial. It's good for your legs and your feet. It's also very good for the ground. It makes it feel needed"
Charles Schulz

Exercise update

Image: Diego Cupolo

You know that road I talked about yesterday? Well it might be time to start running on it again. Over there somewhere on the right in the About Me section I talk about good health professionals being worth their weight in gold. Well I think my physiotherapist is well worth that and maybe even more, she's tiny.

After some truly agonizing massage and not so exciting exercises, she thinks it's time for me to start jogging again, slowly. I'm all about the slowly.

I'm excited, nervous and a little bit like fantasizing about my long lost running career. Ha! Well more like hoping that I can include some regular laps around the park in the Wonderful Workout Experiment. Here's hoping.

More news on the exercise front. The girls and I met up with our personal trainer last night. She's like a little terrier, a total ball breaker, and I love it! When she left we were like " yeah bye yeah we feel great, thankssomuch, see you next week" smiles and waves. As soon as she got out of sight we collapsed to the grass and discussed how at various points during the session we had all thought we may pass out/vomit from the exhertion. All in all an excellent first meeting.

"Fitness to me isn't about a crunch or a push up, it's about taking your power back"
Jillian Michaels

Musings, or random stuff from in my head........

Image: Jasmic

I realised things were changing, when last night I found myself tucked up in bed flicking through Women's Strength Training Anatomy by Frederic Delavier. Here I was, me, lying in bed after making myself do my cardio and arm work-out, reading a book about exercise. Can you believe it?

At times this road seems very long and even monotonous, the same scenery goes by day after day and my destination seems not to get any closer. The scale is moving very, very, VERY slowly, some days I wonder if my engine is even switched on, maybe I am 5 years old again, sitting in my Dad's truck pretending to be careening down the highway at full speed, but in reality I am sitting in the driveway with the door open and my dog asleep on the ground below.

But I am getting somewhere. Picture it, me, this time last year, night shift, food as a way to stay awake, no exercise except walking the corridors like a zombie doing my rounds. When I think of this I can see the wheels are turning, I am moving forward.

There are so many ways to measure weight loss, many of them have nothing to do with actual weight lost. In the last few months I feel like I have found so many new ways to travel on this road, sometimes I gain speed and turn a corner, feel the wind in my hair, and other days I stop and rest under a tree, have a little snack, a snooze, and watch everyone else zoom on by.

The best bit about being where I am on the road right now is that I'm on the road. I'm not planning the road, thinking about the road, ignoring the road, I'm here standing in the sun, looking ahead at the twists and turns to come and back at the mountains and hill's I've climbed, and it is here I realise I've made it to my destination, the place I'm meant to be.

"All journey's have secret destinations of which the traveler is not aware"
Martin Buber