Blabber from a Bonkers Pregnant Woman

I think I'm losing my mind a bit... I phoned my Dad to wish him for his birthday - 3 days early...  My husband gave me his keys to keep it safe and dry for him at the beach, and I swore that he didn't, until he took it out of my handbag to show me.... Okay, I think I'm losing my mind - a lot, not a bit.  I can't remember preggy-brain being this severe last time around... eeeeek!

I have been quiet on my weight-loss blog purely for the reason that there's not much to tell, except to keep tabs on my pregnancy weight-gain.  So excuse me for being quiet, I promise this blog is going to be much busier from June 2014 onwards!

At my gynae visit I weighed in on 83.7 with jeans on, and in the afternoon when I usually weigh in heavier.  I was quite chuffed with that.  Prior to conception I weighed in at 85.4, and after Reboot at 82.4.  Then I gained a bit over the week and weekend and weighed in a bit heavier on Monday, but I got my eating in check and this morning weighed in again at 83.5, so I am happy with that.  Just need to focus on keeping unnecessary weigh-gain to the minimum and keep my eating in check!

I'm going through a bit of a fruit stage - I love my summer fruit... just wish watermelons wasn't so expensive at this moment - No matter how I want some watermelon - I'm not going to pay R70 for a small one, that's just ridiculous.  But enjoying some nectarines at this moment.  Last night I only had fruit for dinner, and this week I'm having banana, cacao and coconut milk smoothies for breakfast.

Confession - I need to move more.  My exercise has taken a backseat during this time that I'm so exhausted and that I'm struggling with nausea.  I do feel guilty about it and I know I need to exercise... just need to find the motivation when my body says no... because I know I won't ever regret a workout.

Anyway, that's all fitness/weight news from my side!

High Expectations & Good Intentions

Last week I went through my previous pregnancy's weight stats to see what I have to work with in this new pregnancy.

The first 20 weeks of my pregnancy I remained the same more or less.  Did go up a bit, then down, up and down, and at 20 weeks I was only up by 0.4 kg from my pre-pregnancy weight, where after I gained steadily until I gained a total of 10.6 kg for the whole pregnancy.  Then after Jamie's birth it took me exactly 3 months to reach my pre-pregnancy weight again.

I think I did well way back then, but this means that I have my work cut out for me in this pregnancy, because I want to set my limit at about 10 kg this time around as well.

My intentions are so good - I planned to go on with my workout programme, and eat Lacto Paleo foods only. But then last week the nausea and incredible exhaustion started.  I lived off toast for a couple of days, because that was all I could stomach... I did not exercise, even though I wanted to, I just could not find the strength.  I can't keep my eyes open after nine in the evening, and I feel so drained.

One of my motto's on this journey is "No more excuses", but last week I did use the nausea and tiredness as an excuse.  I can no longer do that, not if I want to reach my goal.  Since I can't stomach eggs which were my previous go-to breakfast, and sometimes even lunch, I made myself a banana smoothie this morning.  My snack will be yogurt, lunch tuna salad and a fruit for my afternoon snack and tonight I will cook chicken with veg.  I will exercise today, even if it's just a 30-minute walk.

I will make this a good week, no excuses - this is too important!

Result-time and my news!

Okay, cool - results are in.  I lost 3 kg and I can see a slight difference in my before/after photos (not posting everything as I have done them in my underwear and the view from behind is just SCARY!)

It's really not major changes, but I am happy with the results nonetheless. Especially since I found out that I am pregnant 2½ weeks ago.  I am thrilled with the news, and have continued with Reboot (besides those two cheat meals - which meant I did not officially complete it).

Although I am pregnant, I'm not going to put my journey on hold - I'm continuing it.  I have decided to go Lacto-Paleo, so will continue eating Reboot-style as much possible, but going to include some full-fat dairy like Greek yogurt and such.  Will also continue with my exercise.

With my first pregnancy I managed to keep my weight-gain low at around 10 kg and I want to do the same this time around.  I still want to go sit and compile some goals for myself and will share them on my blog.

Exciting times ahead!

Winging it

Today should be Day 29 of this version of my Reboot.  BUT I consciously included 2 cheat meals into my programme, so I lost bragging rights of completing my third Reboot.  Both these meals were decided on beforehand and wasn't an unplanned binge.  Cheat meal 1 was on Monday when we went out as a family to celebrate something (more on this a bit later); and Cheat meal 2 was on Friday when Johnathan and I went out for our first evening date since my 3-year old son was born (haha yeah I finally got over my first-time mommy anxiety and let someone babysit)!

Besides these two meals I followed Reboot to the T and will finish (albeit unofficially) tomorrow, and will be leaving on a work trip on Wednesday morning.

I do hope these two meals didn't cause too much damage, but this past week my weight has been fluctuating quite a lot, so hoping that it will stabilize by the time I do my last weigh-in.

Will post details of my weigh-in as soon as I can!

Halfway through Reboot v3

Gosh I can hardly believe we're on Reboot Day 15 already.  My second Reboot was more difficult than the first one, but I must say that the third one is a breeze thus far - even though we try to limit the treats.  Perhaps it is because we are limiting the treats, who knows!

This past week we had another braai and we went to John Dory's with friends and I'm glad to say we were able to stuck to Reboot.  It's great that we have friends that respect and accept our choices in life and not try to persuade us that "one night off won't do any harm".  We also had a trip to my MIL, and my parents as well for the day on Saturday and that went well too.  I just packed our coconut milk for our coffee and our lunch for when we get hungry.  That way there were no temptations.

Training last week went well.  Did four runs (or rather run/walks) and also did my kettlebell exercises daily.  I still get out of breath when I do my minute's run, but the 3 minutes recovery time I had walking was enough so will be decreasing it to 2 minutes this week.  Will see how it goes first and if it doesn't go well, I will try for 2½ minutes or so.  I just try to play it by ear and not be too hard with myself, but also not too slack.

I just put in leave for next week Monday, so with Tuesday being a public holiday we're going to have a nice long-weekend!  It's going to be tough, as this week's challenge will be going to the movies without popcorn and cooldrink, but I'm sure we'll do just fine and come out stronger on the other side.

Reboot v.3 - Week 1 over and done with.

Yesssssss, I have survived the first week and the first weekend especially of my third Reboot.  Good job, Me, and Good job, hubby!  Look, I won't tell you that I have not looked with longing eyes at my toddler's Milk Bottle gummy-sweets, and that the braai on Saturday was easy without a glass of wine or two... but it's over and done with and I am surviving.  It's not that difficult after all, it's just a mindset, and you just have to keep it interesting and have to think it over and prepare in advance.

For Saturday's braai with friends I prepared beautiful snacks with sliced biltong, nuts, sweet potato chips and avo dip to have instead of the usual chips. Drinks was a bit tougher, because it sucks drinking only water so I squeezed out some orange juice, and we had bubbly water.  I made a lovely green salad with our meats, and wonderful, blissful Bliss Balls for dessert.  My friend told me "yuck" when I told her it was sugar-free, dairy-free, grain-free, vegan etc, but she actually loved it when she tasted it.

I'm also trying new recipes.  This recipe is absolutely divine - Paleo Fish Cakes with Tomato Sauce.  So succulent and the tomato sauce is to die for - best Paleo tomato sauce recipe I found thus far!    Today I have Paleo Pulled Pork in the Slowcooker and it's smelling absolutely delicious - can't wait for dinner!

So yes, week one was quite all right!  Over the toughest part already and I'm on the right path...

Well except for my training.  I did not sit still last week - no, I worked out with my kettlebell, but I have not ventured out to continue with my running programme after I was bitten by the dog yet.  I really have to find the courage  now because my friend is joining me for a run on Friday and right now I think I might have lost all the progress I've made thus far.  Eeeeeeek, hopefully I will not chicken out again when I go this afternoon.

May week two be even better!

A bit of an update post

I have been quiet for a bit due to so much hecticness in my life.  Was so busy at work with month-end, and so busy at home as well... plus an unfortunate incident.

I was getting on really well with my running-programme, and last Wednesday I decided okay it's time to move on from 4 minutes walk/1 minute run to 3 minutes walk for every minute's run.  It went well, and after 20 minutes I saw dogs coming out of their yard about a 100m away from me, so I crossed the street to the other side (I was in my minute running time), and kept on running whilst avoiding the dogs, not thinking that I was in any danger.  But they ran towards me, growling aggressively.  The bigger one bit me on my ankle and it immediately started bleeding terribly. The lady from that house just stood outside looking, even though I was screaming to her to get the dogs off me. It was quite traumatic...  I immediately phoned hubby and luckily he was on his way home and he came to fetch me to take me to the doctor's rooms.  They cleaned my wounds and I was put on an antibiotics course and I had to get a tetanus shot.

Luckily I'm on the mend now - the biggest wound (the one in the pic) still needs to close up properly - the doctor said he didn't want to put in stitches because he wants all the bad stuff to swear/bleed out.  That's going to leave a mark for sure!

Started training again yesterday - but just kettlebell. Think I might hit the road again tomorrow or Thursday if I feel up for it.  Granted I'm a bit nervous to go walking/running again.  

Other news is that I started my third Reboot yesterday.  I want to start off Spring on a high note!  With all the birthdays, and then a bit of emotional eating after the incident my weight sky-rocketed...  I feel like I've been stuck too long now, I need the scale to move downwards again.  Hubby is joining me again on this Reboot and he bought himself a kettlebell to start training with me - yay!

Want to make this Reboot a bit more strict and not indulge in too many Paleo treats... if I need something sweet I would rather want to eat strawberries or some kind of fruit.  I will reserve bliss balls, Paleo choc mousse and banana ice-cream for the odd occasion.  

I swear, September is going to be what I wanted August to be and did not achieve - I'm gonna fight for it! Yes!

Run, Debra, Run!

I'm trying something new.  Something that's so completely out of my comfort zone.  I have always admired runners, but I never thought I would even try to do it, because I hate that feeling when my chest begins to burn and I can't run another step, when I get so nauseous and I feel so darn weak.

I took the leap though on Monday and started with 4 minutes of brisk walking, and 1 minute of running, and alternating that for 30 minutes.  Gosh, I thought I was fit - man I can dance fast-pace for an hour without even batting an eye... but after just 50 seconds of running I thought that I was going to die.  I managed the 60 seconds every time though and the 4 minutes walking was just about enough recovering time.

I'm planning to follow this programme - I have just altered the first week to include the minute of running instead of walking slow/fast.

I found a nice app called Runtastic for my phone.  With GPRS it tracks my route, times me and calculate the distance I go.  On Monday I did 3.26 km in about 34  minutes.  An average of 10:23 minutes per kilometer - I think that's a terrible pace, but now I know I have something to work with and I can try and better myself every time.

I'm a bit scared to run on my own, because we live in a new development area, so there's a lot of bush and open area, so I plan to go each day at 16:30 when the traffic picks up as everyone returns home after work.  Also need to get exercise pants with pockets so I can take my pepper spray with me.

Looking forward to tonight to give this a second go!  Excited about this new challenge, I think it's just what I need to raise the bar a bit.

Darn 80's!

Darn 80's wants to keep me here.

Couldn't.get.the.scale.to.move the last two weeks.

Then I fell off the wagon yesterday and had a dinner made up out of junk food and I baked the most delicious Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars and had my fair share of it.  Oh and attended two kiddies parties this weekend too and had treats there as well.

I can't believe that 3 months ago I still had Cheat Days, nevermind a cheat meal and I still managed to lose, now since I started eating Paleo if I cheat, I pick up instantaneous.  And a lot real quickly.  I enjoy the Paleo lifestyle, I enjoy the food, but I still crave some non-Paleo foods every now and again. I still want to eat chocolate some times, I still want to have a slice of pizza every few weeks, I can't be good 100% of the time now can I?  I know for 30 days I can, but a lifetime... I'm not so sure.

Urgh yes, but before I lose the plot of this blog post - the crux of this story is I have not yet broken the 80's, in fact I might have nudged myself a bit further from it. Luckily I wasn't thrown too far from the wagon, so I managed to climb back on, so working on it some more.

Hopefully I will be able to report some good news soon!

Favourite Reboot / Paleo Recipes

I decided to compile a list of all my favourite Reboot / Paleo Recipes - for future reference or if I need to advise a new "recruit" on this fabulous way of eating.

• PALEO DINNER ROLLS
  http://www.ourpaleolife.com/2013/06/paleo-dinner-rolls/
  Lovely recipe if you crave something bread-ish.  I add a teaspoon of baking powder to this recipe.  Have made teeny tiny hamburgers with this rolls and it was yum, otherwise it's a winner with macadamia nut butter, or an accompaniment to curry.
  
• BLISS BALLS
  http://eatclean.co.za/2012/10/01/bliss-balls/
  Absolute bliss, absolutely amazing, a cure for my sweet tooth.
  
• CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
  http://vegan-magic.blogspot.com/2012/09/chocolate-mousse-no-added-sugar.html
  Thanks Jess for this one!  Great dessert, easy, satisfying!
  
• BANANA ICE-CREAM
  http://paleoninjas.com/2013/01/18/paleo-banana-ice-cream/
  I could not believe my eyes when frozen banana turned into soft-serve-like ice-cream.  Rebooters, leave out the honey - believe me it's shweeeeet enough!
  
• TUNA CAKES
  http://www.multiplydelicious.com/thefood/2012/08/tuna-bacon-cakes/
  So yum and easy - can bake it in a muffin tray as well.
  
• SWEET POTATO COTTAGE PIE
  http://paleodietlifestyle.com/lamb-sweet-potato-cottage-pie/
  Only change I make to this recipe is I used mashed sweet potato as a topping, and not sliced.
  
• PALEO MEATBALLS
  http://fastpaleo.com/recipe/paleo-meatballs/
  So goood with sweet potato mash and salad.
  
• PALEO BURGERS
  http://eatclean.co.za/2013/05/08/paleo-burgers-with-paleo-bread/
  This Paleo bread recipe is really rich, so only made it once, but the burger patty recipe is divine.  Can also make it into meatballs or meatloaf.
  
• PALEO GRANOLA
  http://eatclean.co.za/2013/07/16/paleo-granola/
  Oh-Em-Geeeeee, made it for the first time this weekend and it's to die for - so yum!
  
• FAKE FUDGE / FAUXDGE
  http://eatclean.co.za/2013/07/08/fauxdge/
  Another great one to satisfy sweet cravings.
  
• CHOCOLATE BROWNIE BITES
  http://www.ourpaleolife.com/2013/03/chocolate-brownie-bites/
  Almost similar to the bliss ball, but also different. Also comes highly recommended.
  
• FLAPJACKS / PANCAKES
  http://www.thetastyalternative.com/2013/04/3-ingredient-grain-free-banana-pancakes.html
  Have this with macadamia nut butter or almond butter.  And bacon with date syrup (soak dates in water and blitz)!
  
• SWEET POTATO HASH & EGGS
  http://nomnompaleo.com/post/19886925277/sweet-potato-hash-with-fried-eggs
  I cook the sweet potato (yam) in coconut oil, and to make it easy I grate the sweet potato instead of putting it in the food processor.
  
• REBOOT CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
  http://eatclean.co.za/2013/07/08/microwave-mug-cake-paleoreboot/
  I compiled this recipe when a sweet craving hit, so good!

*** I have listed a lot of indulgent recipes, but please note they are also calorie-dense so use caution and only consume in moderation.  I do believe however a healthy treat is far better than a chocolate bar off the shelve :-)

Less Talk, More Do

I've been a bit quiet on my blog lately, but it does not mean I'm not working hard at my goals.  I've set myself a deadline to break the 80's middle August.  I broke the 100's, and I broke the 90's, and so so close to breaking the 80's I know I can do it, it just needs to be done.

So going to weigh in on the 15th and hope for the best!  Let me rather rephrase, because "hoping for the best" does not quite cut it - rather going to work off my ass to make sure I accomplish it!

It's cardio week again this week and I am giving it a good go.  I love doing cardio, instantly puts me in a better mood.  Also continuing with my kettlebell.

I did a bit of damage over the past couple of weekends with birthdays and cravings and lack of willpower, but in between have been eating like I did when I was doing Reboot.  It's far easier to stay on track during the week, but it's when socializing comes into play that it get's really tough.  During Reboot it was easy, because I avoided any social gatherings, but July/August is tough with lots of birthdays etc.  Have 3 kiddies parties in the next 2 weekends, plus a family-do.  Gotta stay strong.

So if I'm quiet - please excuse me, and know I am working at it, haven't lost my way... it's just a case of talking less about it and increasing my input.

Deurmekaar week for me...

My week started off with my 33rd birthday yesterday.  It's quite sucky to have a birthday on a Monday, but luckily I had the afternoon off.  Hubby took me out for a surprise lunch and it was so nice, but then started with a sore throat which was awful, but was fortunate enough to sleep a little until hubby and Jamie returned after work and daycare.

So wasn't able to fit in my workout yesterday, but going to carry on today although I don't feel a 100% yet - still have a post-nasal drip and sore throat, but I don't think it will affect my exercise.

My plan for the rest of the week:

Tuesday:  30 Day Shred
Wednesday:  Zumba & Kettlebell
Thursday:  Dancing
Friday: 30 Day Shred
Saturday: Will do Monday's Hip Hop Abs.

Plan of action for the week ahead

I love having a plan, without a plan, goal or challenge I feel a bit lost.  Luckily a fitness trainer friend of mine, helped me and compile a new exercise program for me with the exercise I like doing.  This week I'm going to focus on cardio and from next week will incorporate the 30 Day Shred again.

The plan for the week look like this:

Monday:  Zumba & either Hip Hop Abs or a kettlebell ab workout.
Tuesday: Cardio Boxing & abs
Wednesday: Dancing
Thursday: Cardio boxing & abs
Friday: Zumba & abs
Saturday: Kettlebell workout with lots of swings.

Looking forward to all the cardio!
Can't wait to see more results, I need to break the 80's really, really soon!

Reboot v2 done and two goals achieved!

30 More Reboot Days done and dusted!  Yay, me!  Did I achieve my goals?  Hell yeah!

I feel so relieved, I am so ecstatic, I'm out of my skin, in fact I feel a bit delirious!  Thank you, thank you, my dearest, most wonderful body for breaking this plateau!  I am down 2.1 kg!!  So not only did I achieve my 20 kg lost-goal, I surpassed it and am standing on a total loss of 21 kg.  It's official, I am no longer obese, no sir-ee, no way, now I'm just overweight and still going to work hard to get out of that BMI category too!

I can't tell you how much it means to me to reach these two goals.  It's HUGE for my own self-worth, my self-image and it's such a confidence booster to know that my body's no longer the mess that it was 19 months ago, that I'm working to be healthy and doing the best for ME.

Thanks for all your support!  It was tough this time around, especially in the beginning, and I felts so hopeless when I did not lose in the beginning, but it just goes to say "quitters don't win, and winners don't quit!"

Wooohooo!

Last 3 Days of Reboot

Day 28 today! So excited that I'm almost finished with my second Reboot.  It really does make me feel so much better, and my body feels so much stronger.

I decided to put a pause on my 30 Day Shred challenge until I've finished Reboot, because I think it's affecting my results... I think I need a more diverse training programme and incorporate more cardio to get the weight-loss going again.  Don't get me wrong - I'm definitely going to finish the challenge, it's just going to take me a bit longer.

I don't really want to say this out loud, for in case I jinx it, but it almost looks like the scale has started to move again.  I'm not asking for much... I know I'm not going to have a 4 kg loss this time around... All I want and need is to lose 500 gram off the weight I was when I finished my first Reboot.  That will help me achieve my second short-term goal of 20 kg.  If I'm asking for a lot, I will be asking to lose 900 gram, because then I will not only reach my 20 kg goal, I will place my BMI under 30, meaning I will not be in the obese class any longer.  Going to work hard at achieving this, this last 3 days of Reboot!  Mentally, it will mean a lot to me.

Let it be a good week!!!!

Reboot Day 22 & 30 Day Shred Half-way *Update

Can't believe I'm so far into Reboot v. 2 already.  Next week Wednesday I would be finishing up my last day!  On top of it I completed my 15th day on the 30 Day Shred workout, so I am half-way with that too.  Time sure flies when you're having fun.

I started the Reboot and the 30 Day Shred challenges on the same day, but I'm going to take longer to finish the Shred, because I allow myself some rest days, and also there are days I prefer to do different workouts.  Like on Sunday I had a mega-dance session and burnt oodles of calories and had tons of fun.  So on average I stick to the Shred 5 out of 7 days.

I am glad I am sticking to my guns and completing both these challenges even though I'm not getting the results I've hoped for.  Somewhere along the lines the weight will start shifting again, and I hope it has happened already without me knowing so that when I weigh in and measure next week that I'll be seeing a difference.  I am determined, I'm not going to be defeated.

Thank you!

From the bottom of my heart - thank you for everyone's encouraging messages yesterday.  It really did help me to get through a very difficult and sad day.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I am not ready to give up, I will keep fighting this fight.

I've been thinking a lot yesterday, trying to figure out if I've gone wrong somewhere.  I've started to think that my body really adapts quickly to the way I'm eating and as soon as I'm starting to lose weight it figures it out and fights me.  Reason why I'm thinking this - last year January I just started out eating healthy and watching portion sizes and I've lost weight, then it slowed down.  Then I started calorie-counting and I lost again and once again slowed down.  I incorporated different exercises, and ways of eating like low carb, low fat etc, and it went and stopped, went and stopped.  Now I've done my first Reboot and I've lost well, had a 6 day break, and did my second one and weight is suddenly not coming off any longer.  Is my body really desperate to hold onto all my fat and being counter-productive to wreck my efforts?  Maybe that theory is a bit far-fetched... I don't know.

Perhaps my insulin resistance?  I'm trying to combat that too - bought myself a new supplement AntaGolin.  Hopefully that will assist a bit...

Then this morning, I found the following someone posted on the Sleek Geek Support page:

How to fix a sluggish metabolism. 
I read this the other day and if you are trying to get into shape this is top priority valuable information. 
Firstly if your metabolism is sluggish, any attempt of loosing weight or dieting will most likely end in failure. Now, this is not new news to anyone but how do you know at your metabolism is to slow.
This is how,First, get yourself a thermometer and check your body temp everyday for a week, the average temp will tell you if you are in the clear to diet, or if you need to crank it up a notch. 
You want to be in the region of about 37C any lower than that and you're metabolism is to slow. Any attempt of fat lose will be to time consuming and may end in failure.
What if you are below 37C?
Work out your maintenance calorie intake and add 300-500 cal on top of it, so it you normally eating about 2300cal you must punch it up to 2600-2800cal per day for about 4 weeks until your are in the 37C zone. Then hold it there for another month before you start your fat loss program.
Now eating more sounds crazy when you are trying to loose weight but your metabolism will be burning up the excess cal intake and you may even start to lean up. 
NOTE: eat clean when bumping up your calories (I know this goes without saying) if you meet this new cal intake with junk food and empty calories for 2 months you will most likely put on body fat.

It immediately made sense to me, because my body temperature is always low in the region of 35.5 degrees and sometimes as low as 34.  But eating so many calories ... I just don't know.  I'm afraid I will pick up even more weight.  But I will investigate further and look for solutions to rev up my metabolism.  I know of certain foods that assists, like chillies and hot foods which I always try and include in my eating always.

Anyway.

I'm fine, still feeling sad and hopeless, but working on it and continuing on this journey!

Halfway through Reboot v. 2!

The subject line of this blog post indicates accomplishment, or almost - halfway through a challenge - excellent stuff!  Those who have read my blog or know me should be well aware by now that I always try to be positive and self-motivate myself as much I can.  Celebrate achievements and set new goals and motivation when not so successful.

But not today.

This time I'm going to bleed and cry all over my blog.  So excuse me for a while so that I can get this all out and hopefully feel a bit more positive afterwards, but I can't guarantee it.

I'm tired.
Of this journey.
Of fighting this battle with my body constantly.
For being kicked in the teeth with terrible results after I've put in the effort.
For not getting the results that I deserve.
It's been a year and a half of constantly trying, and trying and trying and picking myself up off the ground constantly.

Yes, so I weighed in this morning.  Wish I hadn't and just went on with the challenge and only weighing at the end of it.  I'm UP 600 grams since I completed my first Reboot.

After 15 days on my new Reboot challenge, adding a second challenge (30 Day Shred) which is still going well (Day 10 today) and keeping myself absolutely cheat-free, and with less Reboot treats than the first time around.  How on earth could it be possible.  No cm loss either...

My third Plateau???? Seriously, is this happening again?????  My third plateau in 18 months???  Why on earth am I struggling so much when I'm doing so much to combat my weight-problem?  Why can't I just get the break that I deserve... the break I work so hard for.

It's a long journey, I know and I was prepared for it, that's why I'm still going strong after a year and a half.  I just feel my progress is much too slow - only about 19 kg after 18 months.

And don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled for the kg I have lost.  It has made such a huge difference in my life, an enormous difference and I won't trade it for anything.  I'm just thinking about the other 15 - 20 odd kg I still need to lose.  Am I going to see goal weight before I turn 35?  I wanted it before I turn 33, and that's in 3 weeks time, so that ain't happening.

I'm just so tired of this fight with my own body.

I think I'm ending off on this post now, because I see no positivity coming from it.  For now, I'll just breathe and carry on with my two challenges and hope and pray that something comes of it.

I had a dinner roll with my curry last night!

... and I didn't even cheat my Reboot *big smiles*

Great find!  Huge!  Reboot Friendly!  Winning!

I found this recipe on paleospirit.com.  I made mince curry with sweet potato last night and thought that I'd try this recipe out - it would be a big spoil for us to celebrate Day 10.

First off I did not have enough olive oil at hand because I prefer cooking with coconut oil these days, so I substituted.  Also my mixture was very runny, so I had to add more tapioca flour and coconut flour to get it doughy.

The result was great.  Nice and crusty on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside.  And I spread a little bit ghee on it for extra yummyness.   I don't know how, but I resisted and stuck to a small roll along with my dinner.  Hubby was in 7th heaven, because he really miss his bread.

*I love Paleo-cooking!*

One third through Reboot v.2!

I can't believe that today is Day 10 already.  This week is going really well - I have been able to cut out snacking quite a bit, stayed away from Reboot desserts - except for a few strawberries, and I have added two cups of green tea a day.  Luckily I found a Spar brand green tea that's really nice - it's Honeybush Green Tea with berries and I drink it with a blob of coconut milk and then it's pure bliss.

I have not weighed today as planned, because AF arrived just last night and I know that will cause bloat and excess water and I don't want to be disappointed when I stand on the scale.  So I have decided to rather weigh in when I'm halfway through.

Still going strong with the Shredding too!  Today is Day 8 in that department and I'm already dreading Level 2 which I will be starting on Monday with the many plank-moves.  I hate planks with a passion... but that being said, I also have to say that I got great results from the planks last time around, so I will be doing them and try enjoying them too.

Found my groove

Okay at last it feels like I found my groove on this current challenge.  Feeling a bit more energetic today on Reboot Day 8; and 30 Day Shred Day 6.  At last I feel the desire to rock it and complete it and not just going through the motions.

BUT, and this is a big BUT... something is up with my body as I'm showing a HUGE gain at the moment.  Okay the word huge might be dramatizing it a bit as 2 kg can be water retention, but I thought I would have seen a small loss at least, also don't feel a huge difference on my clothes.  Something just ain't feeling right.

So I'm trying to cut out bananas, limit my nuts, and up my green tea intake, and keeping a hawk's eye on my portion sizes.  Will then re-assess on my Reboot Day 10 when I do my first official weigh-in on this challenge.

Hubby also joined me on Reboot again, so proud of him that he is sticking with me, although he asked me if we can be a little less strict, but he respected me when I said we have to do it the right way.  My first Reboot taught me discipline which I lacked previously, so I want to stick with it for now.  One little small cheat, usually leads to a lot of cheating and over-doing it and I need to change that pattern in my life.

I'm feeling optimistic! Yay!  No excuses!

Day 5

Oh I had plenty of reasons this week as to why I can't.  Day 2 I started with a sore throat, and full-throttle lethargy along with it.  Day 2 I was so sore because of the first day's workout, same Day 3, same Day 4. Day 4 I had a terrible headache. Work was hectic, trying to sleep train my toddler, house was in shambles and the laundry kept piling up, pre-pms munchies and and and.

But here I am on Day 5, and I know I can do it.  I know I have it in me, I know I want to.  I just wish life would give me a freaking break and make it easier for me.  Today I feel worse, full on head-cold me thinks, or sinus troubles... not sure.  So taking the day off training, WILL feel better and do it tomorrow.  Sticking to my Reboot plan although hubby already started with "can't we do a little cheat like popcorn".  Nope we can't, because I'm doing this.  I can, because I need and want to; and that's enough reason.  I'm on my way to a healthy me.

Double Challenge

I need to put it in writing and make it public before I chicken out!

I have finally decided to restart my Reboot Challenge today.  I ate crap this past 6 days and now I feel crap; and I must have gained 10 kilograms, or rather it feels like it.  So Reboot number 2 is the only way forward. I have not weighed this morning, I'm going to use my weigh-in of last Wednesday as starting point and hopefully I would get rid of whatever I gained this past 6 days in the next 10 days.

Challenge number two is Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred once again.  This will be my third time and I hope that in conjunction with Reboot it will yield even better results than last time around.  Last time I gained 900 gram, but lost 40 cm, so I hope I will lose weight and centimeters with combining the two challenges.

I am excited.

The Results are in!

I could hardly sleep last night, I was so excited, and a little worried about my last weigh-in too, because with me you just never know!  Woke up at 5 this morning and couldn't get myself to sleep again, so I counted down the time until hubby leaves to take Jamie to school and then it was weigh-in time!

*And I would like to apologise in advance, this post is going to consist out of a lot of exclamation marks*

For the last third of Reboot I am down 1.1 kg. Bringing my total for the 30 days to 4.6 kg, which is the best results I have had ever... like in ever!  Normally I aim for a loss of 500 grams a week, which is sometimes a long stretch, so an average of more than a kilogram a week is fireworks for me :-)

My total weight-loss stand on 19.5 kg - so very close to my mini goal of 20 kg... which I secretly hoped would be reached today, but it was a long shot.  But I'm right on it and that goal will be met very soon, together with my goal to get my BMI out of the obese range.  To date I have lost 19% of my original body weight... so I have lost about a 5th of myself.  Hehe love me some stats!

Did my photo comparison as well, and I am pleased to see my tummy is much, much smaller and my exercise pants (which I bought 3 months ago) is already baggy on me.

Love seeing physical reminders of how my body is changing.  It makes everything worthwhile.

Now I'm just sitting in anticipation, wanting to see how much hubby lost!

When he is back, he is going to weigh-in, we'll have some breakfast and then we have both put leave in for the day so we're going on a date!  Movies, lunch and some shopping.  It's our little celebration for completing Reboot.  Looking forward to it!

Thank you for all the kind comments and support on my blog, each and every comment helped and motivated me to get through this.  xx

*edit
Hubby is down a total of 7kg for the Reboot Challenge.  So proud!

Quickly did my measurements as well - down a total of 24.5 cm which is good, but not as good as my 40 cm when I did the 30 Day Shred.  So tomorrow I'm meeting up with Jillian again :-)

Day 30... I made it!!!!

Here I am, almost halfway through my last day on Reboot.  30 Days since I had any grains or starches, sugar or sweeteners, dairy, legumes, alcohol and most importantly chocolate.  I saw Karin, Roxy and then Jess and so many other friends complete Reboot with awesome results.  I looked at them, admiring them, and thought wow they are awesome, I will never, ever be able to do that.  I loved my "everything in moderation" approach.  And then I struck another weight-loss plateau, I learned I was borderline insulin resistant and that's slowing down my capability to lose weight, and I saw someone on the Reboot support forum saying the following:

"Everything in moderation?  Do you also want your health in moderation?"

No, I certainly did not.  So with little nudges from my Rebooter-friends, I started this 30 day challenge.  I am pleased I did and I feel good about it.

I had so much fun in the kitchen, trying so many new recipes and found so many yummy ones that's keepers.  I learned that I don't need sugar for treats - there's so many things I can make without sugar or starches: chocolate mousse with coconut milk, ice-cream with frozen bananas, the most delicious chocolaty bliss balls or chocolate brownie bites with nuts and fruit, chocolate cake with mere banana, egg and cacao, banana bread with coconut, eggs and bananas - the possibilities are endless.

Okay I had my fair share of stir-fries, eggs, salads and roasted veg, but I will gladly have some more cottage pie with sweet potato, beef, mushroom & veg soup, tuna cakes, almond-crusted chicken, yummy curry with veggie mash, steak with mushrooms and sweet potato chips; and so many more.  That's why it seems so doable to continue with this way of eating in the future as well.

I do miss a couple of things - my beloved tomato sauce, cheddar cheese, warm toast with butter and avo, a bowl of pasta, and I would give about anything for a Lindt ball.  So I am definitely going to have these in the next 6 days before giving them up again.  I want to see if they taste as good as I imagined, I almost hope they don't.

But for now I still have two Reboot meals to get through - delicious chicken and veg for lunch, and tuna, bacon and avo salad for dinner.  Tomorrow my last weigh-in and measurements :-)  Hope the scale treats me well!

Day 29, Life after Reboot & My Hubby, the Rock Star

Holy moly, this past month flew by.  I expected it to drag out and for it to be pure torture all the way.  But no, here I am on Day 29 - my second last day on Reboot.  It went by so fast, and it wasn't so difficult as I imagined it to be, but I'm still thankful that I'll be able to have a slice of toast on Wednesday morning :-)

What are my plans after Reboot?  I'm still not entirely sure, but I'm definitely going to restart the 30 Day Shred.  I feel it has done so much for my body last time around, that I definitely want to do it again.  I hate to admit, but I actually love it.  Then I'm *thinking* about starting my second Reboot on Tuesday the 18th of June after a short break and the long-weekend.  I would finish just in time for my boy's third birthday, and my own birthday a week later.  Don't know if I have the guts to restart it so soon after the first one, but I sure want to have the results, so I might just do it.  Otherwise I'm definitely going to follow Paleo strictly, BUT with the odd non-Paleo treat once in a while.

I just want to take the moment and say what an absolute rock star I think my hubby is.  He stuck with me through out this Reboot challenge, stayed 100% cheat-free, embraced it as a possible new lifestyle (with the odd treat for him as well) and even made me Reboot-friendly breakfast a couple of times, and braai'd for me twice.  Previously whenever I told him he was responsible for dinner or lunch, he would climb in his car and drive to a take-away joint and buy us something, he never ever cooks - so this is HUGE!

So far he lost incredibly well - he started out @ approx 115'ish and after 20 days he was at 109'ish.  He went from snoring constantly, and loudly, every single night to not snoring at all.  So I am unable to stay in bed with him all night and sleep, I'm not taking my pillow to the couch whenever he starts snoring any longer, because it's not needed and that makes me oh so happy.

I can see the difference in his body so clearly, his face is so much skinnier and he is busy losing his tummy.  After so long, he decided he wants to change as well.  I am so relieved, because I want him to be healthy, now I just need to get him to exercise on a regular basis.

Well done, Liefling, so proud of you xx

Update on Day 26 & Reboot-friendly Chocolate Mug Cake

Today is my 26th day on Reboot.  Including today I have 5 days left of this very strict programme.  I wish I experienced it like most of the Rebooters do, but it seems like my journey is much different than what's average.

Where other people really struggled with detox-headaches, I didn't really - I only had a light headache on two occasions - that's a good thing!

Other people experienced a bout of energy after about a week, I'm still waiting for mine, but I'm a full time working mom, so I don't think that's meant for my poor body.

Some say that after Day 18 there's no more cravings and that you will feel like a tiger and do not want the Reboot 30 days to end... I have had my worst cravings this week, and no it's not my time of month, but I would kill for anything sweet.  Yesterday I kissed my toddler boy just after he ate a block of chocolate and I tasted the sweet, sweet chocolate on his lips and it almost killed me... so off I went to make myself Paleo Chocolate Mousse to keep myself sane.  I also made myself chocolate mug cake this week and it's totally Reboot-friendly although a bit calorie-dense. But I had to, just to help me and it did.

I was taking this week easy exercise-wise because I still had a nasty cough, but it seems better today, so will put in a good session today.  The first in two weeks, but I had to take the break with our whole family being sick, energy levels so low and work being beyond hectic.  I feel quite guilty, it's such a long break and I'm sure it did hurt my weight loss efforts.  I'm just going to have to make up for it.

Now the 4th and last Reboot weekend lies before me.  I will keep the cravings at bay, I will put in some great exercise and get calories galore burnt, I will get some sleep and this will be a GOOOOOOOD weekend!  I can't wait!

REBOOT-FRIENDLY CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

There are quite a few recipes on the net.  Most of them made with banana and egg, and adding almond butter, so I tweaked it a bit adding dates for a sweeter taste and using macadamia nut butter and vanilla.

It's absolutely delicious, especially if eaten warm.

1 Small Banana - mashed
1 Egg
1.5 Tablespoon Macadamia nut Butter
2 Tablespoons Cacao
1 - 2 Dates very finely chopped or mashed
A few drops of vanilla extract

Mix everything together in a mug, pop in the microwave for 2 to 2½ minutes on high and VOILA!

Reboot update - two thirds done!

I'm so close to Day 30 I can almost smell it!  On Saturday I had my second weigh-in and I lost another 1.3 kilograms which makes my Reboot total 3.5 kg and my overall total 18.4 - so so very close to 20!

The second part does not show such a great loss as the first 10 days, but it's totally understandable since I was sick and I guess my body didn't perform to it's fullest potential and I did not exercise either.  I am still very, very happy with the result and I will be ecstatic if I show the same type of loss in the last 10 days.

This weekend was my third weekend on Reboot and it does get easier although weekends are definitely the hardest.  I just made sure we have healthy snacks available to us and that really helped, plus I tried making special weekend meals like on Saturday I made steak with a type of mushroom sauce and sweet potato chips and on Sunday we had a breakfast-lunch.

I still don't feel 100% healthy, still struggling with a big of a cough and a runny nose, but I don't know which medicines to take because the pills that usually works to dry me up contains sugar... yeah, can you believe it!  So I only take an antihistamine and a nose spray to help me through,

Hubby is doing brilliantly as well, I can barely believe his success!  This week he is down 2.5 kg which makes his total 6.4 thus far.  It should grate my cheese that he lose so much faster than I am, especially since he does zero exercise, but I really don't mind and am so happy for him.  It took a long time for him to realise he should lose weight and this is the first time he has stuck to it and made that commitment.

Paleo is definitely the way to go it seems.  This is the first time my body reacted so well to a certain way of eating.  Look I still have not found that energy boost everybody is talking about, and I still feel rather crappy because of me not being well, and I still fall asleep in front of the television every night before 9, but I really do feel I would have been off worse if this wasn't the way I was eating.  So definitely going to continue this way of eating after the 30 Day Challenge, there's just a few things I would like to add to my diet in moderation.  It's definitely not going to be sugar, that I can tell you!

Some real progress at last!  It feels like the weight of the world has been removed from my shoulders!  The only real worry now- to replace my old clothes which looks terrible on me!  The majority of my closet is still size 18 - 20, when my new size 16's is already beginning to sit lose on me.  Next stop - size 14!  Oh and I have to have my ring resized - I had such a fright on Saturday when I ran over a street and all of a sudden my ring flew off and rolled over the road!  So I'm officially thinner than the day we got engaged... can't remember when last I was in the low 80's - probably a good 8 to 10 years ago.

I feel so good!  *insert the song here*

Day 18, Coconut milk & Chocolate Brownie Bites

Wow Day 18!  So glad to report that I'm still on the Reboot wagon.  I took a bit of a turn for the worse Monday night when I got much sicker, had a high fever and was unable to get up and function like a normal being on Tuesday morning.  I guess that's a good thing, because I stayed in bed and slept the whole day until hubby and Jamie returned at 5.  I did not bother to eat or anything else, sleep was so much more important.  Looks like I'm on the mend now, still not 100%, but at least I'm able to sit in front of my pc and work!


I forgot to report back last week about the Coconut Milk I made.  It came out great, much more tasty than the almond milk.  I made it by soaking 1 cup of coconut in 2 cups of boiling water for about an hour, where after I put it through the food processor and strained through a tea towel and sieve.  It's so much more pure than the stuff you buy in a can.





Yesterday I needed a little something to get me through the day.  Perhaps because I went more than 26 hours without eating on Tuesday, perhaps thanks to AF cravings, or perhaps I just needed a little chocolate-TLC.  So I discovered this amazing reboot-friendly recipe for Chocolate Brownie Bites.  It's so good, a real treat!

Self-motivation

Just a bit of self-motivation to proof to myself that it IS happening, and what I'm doing / have been doing is working and that I AM making progress.... slowly, but surely... the mirror/my mind might be telling lies, but somehow the camera paints a clearer picture...

Keep going!  You've come a long way.

Halfway through Reboot!

I made this halfway-mark just by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin.  Heavens know what a terrible week I had last week.  Let me try and sum it up for you.  The week started out with yucky sugar withdrawals that made me emotional, it must have affected hubby too, because that fueled a bit of a fight.  Reminded me so much of the time when we both quit smoking together.  Then Jamie started waking with nightmares, and crying though-out last week's nights.  I had so little sleep with that.  Then hubby and Jamie was in a bumper-basher, luckily not too bad, but our car is now in for repairs.  Luckily nobody got hurt, although it did affect Jamie's emotional state which was already not too good with the nightmares.  Thursday some kid stuck bubblegum in Jamie's hair, and that was an episode too.  Work was hectic and had it's own challenges and drama.  Then the weekend arrived and I thought, yay, at last, now I can rest and chill.  No.  Friday night Jamie started with a fever and slept even worse and wanted me with him the whole night, so I had no sleep, except between 6 and 8 when hubby took care of him and Jamie allowed him.  Saturday was difficult with Jamie and I both sleep deprived - you see my child does not sleep when he's sick - he is the opposite; and most meds make him even more hyper.  Saturday night we also battled with fever and had a bad night.  Sunday morning I started with a chest cold, but decided to take Jamie to the doc so he got his meds to make him better... but no.  The stupid stupid pharmacist over dosed my child - he worked the antibiotics dose out incorrectly, so it affected Jamie badly and he threw up since last night at 7 till well after 8.  After some nausea meds he fell asleep at last, but woke up a couple of times during the night and of course mommy was worried and didn't sleep as much she should have.

Luckily it's a new week, I feel slightly better this morning, Jamie's fever broke during the night and he is much better - thank goodness for the Celestamine.  But yes, it's an absolute miracle that I survived this week without breaking down, and it's even more miraculous that I stayed focused on my eating plan.  I reckoned it's the only thing that I'm able to control during this whirlwind week, and that kept me sane somehow.

Now I'm halfway through Reboot and I'm really enjoying this way of eating.  I bet I would be much sicker if I did not cut out the dairy, so I'm thankful for that!  I'm having so much fun with my food - last week I made a yummy beef & mushroom soup, tuna/sweet potato cakes, we had a braai with veggie kebabs and chicken, I made Reboot-friendly ice-cream, had awesome smoothies and even had Reboot chocolate mousse and bliss balls.  I'm not over-doing it with the sweetie recipes though, but the 3 desserts last week helped me to curb the sweet cravings and I limited my portions.  I can't believe I have not had chocolate for over 2 weeks, that's a record!

I'm feeling good, I see a huge difference in my face and the way my clothes are fitting.  I can barely wait until my next weigh-in which is the 20-day mark on Saturday.

Hubby is also fairing well, but if I suggested a cheat over the weekend he would have said yes, let's do it, but luckily I motivated him to stay on course with our eating plan.  He is such a trouper - he does not cook, but he made us bacon and eggs for breakfast Saturday morning and Sunday evening when I really did not feel well he reheated some chicken, made me a avo, tomato & cashew salad, and even boiled me an egg, even though it was a bit underdone, but I ate it, because I was so thankful!  I already see a big difference in him as well.

Now I'm looking forward to a good week, I'm sure it's going to be great!

Reboot Day 10 and a weigh-in

Today is Day 10.  Every day it just gets easier and easier to do.  The negatives are I have not find my energy surge entirely yet, fall asleep exhausted every night before 9 p.m. and that I'm emotionally... well... a bit unstable at the moment, but much better than I was on Sunday and Monday.  That's honestly the only negatives at the moment, because I'm definitely not going to count my desire for All Gold tomato sauce - my home-made saucy helps a bit with that.

Positives:

• Honestly I don't miss dairy, I honestly don't miss starches.  My mindset about food is changing.  I adapted to coconut milk in my coffee; I see Jamie eat yoghurt and it does not bother me that much.
• Physically I feel better, less bloated, definitely stronger.
• I'm having so much fun in the kitchen creating new things, things I've never tried before.  Today I'm making coconut milk.
• My weekend cheating food binges that used to wreck my efforts are under control; and I bet it's even going to get easier.
• My mind is definitely clearer and less cloudy, I really feel so much better mentally.
• I discovered I'm a strong person, that I can accomplish more than I think I could.
• My hubby is a rock star, and discovering the same things I am... well except for the kitchen fun.

BIG positive.  I have weighed in, and my weight is shifting again and I have dropped a mind-blowing 2.2 kg this past 10 days, and quite a couple of cm as well- around 11 cm all over.

That brings my total weight-loss to 17.1 kg and I am so close to my 20 kg mini-goal, I can smell it!

Oh and did I mention I am officially below my wedding-day weight!  Mentally it bothered me so much, when I was over my wedding weight I kept thinking Johnathan isn't married to all this weight, hehe and now he is losing some of me ;-)  But not my heart :-)

Speaking of Johnathan.  He also weighed in this morning and he has lost a BIG, FAT, WHOPPING 3.9 kg.  I am so proud of him.

Bring on the other 20 days, I am ready WOOOOOHOOOOO!

So chuffed, I made almond butter!

I feel like buying an almond farm and open up a health shop with all the yummy nut products!

Yes, today I made another little something something with almonds.  This time it was almond butter, and it's yummy.  (Gosh, I've said yummy so many times throughout Reboot so far!)

Is started out by dry-roasting the almonds at 180 degrees Celsius, for just a couple of minutes.  I started out with just a small portion of nuts, just to see if I was going to succeed with it. Then I blitzed it in the food processor together with a pinch of salt and about half a teaspoon of coconut oil.  It came together quicker than I'd thought.

I think I used about a cup of almonds and I have almost half a jar of almond butter.  It works out so much cheaper than buying a jar @ R80 at the health shops; and I've even seen it more expensive than that.

#almondheaven  :-)

Day 8 and survived the weekend...

It was tough as nails, but we're 1 weekend down and 3 to go.  It started out well on Saturday with a tiny piece of steak, mushrooms, bacon and salad for breakfast. Then we were off for our visits with my MIL and my parents, but I prepared well and packed food and snacks for our meals and they understood that we weren't allowed any other food or cooldrinks or whatever.

Saturday evening we had chicken, sweet potato chips and salad and a relaxing evening at home and I fell asleep just after 8 on the couch while we were supposed to watch movies.  At 9 I woke up and moved to the bed, but then I couldn't fall asleep again, even though I was so tired.  Just as I started to drift away to dreamland, my little boy woke up with a congested nose, and then proceeded to have a tantrum asking for a dummy he didn't use for weeks and which I tossed away.  It lasted for well over an hour and then I struggled to sleep again as well.

By Sunday morning my energy levels was so low I don't even think it existed.  Started out with a breakfast smoothie with banana, apple, nut butter and coconut milk.  Then off to the shops to do my weekly groceries and had a yummy omelet for lunch.  Then the rest of the afternoon was tough - it was Cupcake Sunday.  Every Sunday my boy loves baking cupcakes with me, and this Sunday he insisted as well.  So the smell of chocolate cake baking almost drove me insane, but I stayed strong.  Luckily I decided to bake a Paleo friendly banana bread to satisfy my taste buds!  I thought it was yummy, but hubby thought it was a poor substitute.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, that was the start of a fight, due to me feeling a bit under-appreciated.  I'm working my bum off in the kitchen to prepare exciting foods, and packing him Reboot breakfast, lunch and two snacks every day, doing all the laundry, cleaning the house, taking care of our child, working full time.  The weekend ended with me crying almost the whole night, and that's how this week started as well.

I'm so emotional and down, I'm so tired, and I feel so heartbroken.  At least there's a silver lining - no emotional eating; and I'm staying strong.

8 Days down, 22 to go!

Reboot Day 5 Update

So today is my fifth day out of the 30-day Challenge and I'm stoked at the progress I already made... happy & relieved.  I imagined it so much harder, but it really, really is doable.

I must say I have not had a load of detox symptoms - only two light headaches which was easily cured, and an upset tummy for about 20 or 30 minutes, and last night I started with a bit of a sore throat.  So if I read all the posts on the Reboot Support Facebook page about detox symptoms, I'm really lucky.  My energy levels are so-so.  I had moments of extreme energy, and then I had moments like last night where I was just exhausted, so I'm hoping for some good all-day energy to kick in soon.

The food we've been eating has been really tasty thus far; and last night I even made Paleo burgers.  The type of bun is made out of almond and coconut flour, eggs and coconut oil, and although it was nice to have a bready thing, it was way too rich, and I only managed to eat almost half of it.  The patty though with the salad was divine!

On Wednesday I made something the Sleek Geeks calls Bliss Balls, it's little chocolaty thingies made out of dates, nut butter, raisins, cacao and coconut - OH MY GOSH, that did satisfy every craving I had, and luckily my fellow-Rebooter had half of the small batch over two days, so I didn't have too much of it to be guilty of overeating!

My hubby is also doing incredibly well on Reboot, I'm so very much impressed with him, because I thought I'm going to have a lot of whining from him about being hungry and craving certain foods etc, but luckily not. He is just upset about coffee as he doesn't like it bitter, and he doesn't like it with coconut or almond milk, so that's just a big struggle for him.  He had a business lunch on Wednesday, fresh on Reboot, and I really thought he was going to cheat, but he had dressing-free salad and two slices of bacon - I'm really, really impressed!  And he already looks leaner to me. He gives me a lot of compliments on my cooking, so I guess he likes the Reboot food :-)

I'm a bit scared of what's before me - the weekend.  This is going to be hard; and this is going to be new for me, but I'm going shopping tonight and I will make sure I stock up on Reboot-friendly and yummy foods for the weekend to see us through.  I will feel so much better once I've survived my first weekend.

Exercise.  I thought I'd give myself off for the first week of Reboot, just to get used to the eating-part first and I did enjoy my break on Monday and Tuesday, but on Wednesday I wanted to get into the swing of things, I missed moving!  So Wednesday I decided to do Level 1 of the 30 Day Shred again and I thought it was going to be easy, after just completing the whole 30 Days last week.  Oh boy, was I mistaking!  Yes it was somewhat easier, but it was still a tough workout.  Thursday I decided to do Jillian Michaels' Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism dvd, which is very cardio intense, but combining it with strength as well, and I suffered through the first 30 minutes and couldn't go on.  Today I'm taking it easy and am just going to do a bit of dancing to keep on moving.

Looking forward to the rest of the challenge, and definitely looking forward to my weigh-in next Wednesday!

I made Almond Milk!

Hehe, don't know why it feels like such an accomplishment when it was so easy to do.  It was extremely satisfactory to see the nuts turning into white milk; and then processing the almond meal too!

I started off by soaking 1 cup of almonds in 4 cups of water for about a day and a half. Then I blitzed it in my smoothie maker, strained it through a sieve lined with a tea towel. It yielded exactly 750 ml almond milk. Then I heated the oven to 100 degrees Celsius and dried out the almond meal which I'm saving for...  I don't know yet, but I'll make a plan for it.

Only thing I'm disappointed about is the taste of almond milk.  I love almonds, but the milk tastes a bit watery,  so perhaps I added too much water. Afterwards I read on the net that some people adds a pinch of salt and vanilla to it.  I made it to add to my coffee, but I tasted it and prefer coconut milk, so will try adding it to my rooibos and perhaps that taste will work for me.

Next up going to make home-made mayo with egg yolk, olive oil and lemon juice for hubby, and some sort of tomato sauce for me with tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and try sweeten it with a tiny bit of apple/grape juice.  I'm enjoying trying out new things in the kitchen!

A brand new 30-day challenge!

So yesterday I started a brand new challenge.  I didn't want to write about it yet, I just wanted to get a feel for the first day and see how it goes.

It's a Sleek Geek challenge - 30 days of Reboot.  Their description is to CTRL ALT DELETE your life!  And the challenge involves the following:

• No sugar of any kind, not even sweetener
• No alcohol
• No legumes
• No grains / starches
• No dairy
• No white potatoes.

That's a whole lot of no's!  I'm not focusing on that though - I'm focusing on all the yummy foods that I can eat like meat - roasted chicken, grilled steak, fish, even bacon if you'd like, veggies galore, yummy eggs in any way, nuts, biltong, coconut and coconut milk, fruit (although I limit myself to 2 portions), and cooking with coconut oil which gives an unique flavour to food and has a lot of health benefits.

It does  not come without it's challenges though, because you will be amazed when reading food labels at how much food products contains sugar and grains, so this challenge teaches you to eat clean.

The things I think I will miss the most is:  my beloved All Gold Tomato Sauce, Chocolate of course, Yoghurt and Cheese.  I thought I would miss my coffee which I usually have with aspartame-free sweetener and milk, but yesterday morning I made my coffee with coconut milk and although the first cup tasted really bitter, I managed to drink 80% of my cup and it gave me the caffeine fix I wanted.  Last night I had my second cup and I didn't miss the sweetness and this morning my cup of java was pure bliss.  I thought I would miss potatoes and pasta, but I think I will be all right without and sweet potato is such a yummy and healthier replacement.  So it's true, you can re-train your taste buds!  

My first day went well.  I started the day out with scrambled eggs and tomato, lunch was a bacon and avo salad.  After the salad I was still a bit hungry, so I had almonds and biltong sticks for an afternoon snack and dinner was delicious sweet potato cottage pie with stir fried veg.  When I felt a bit nibblish last night I had a frozen banana which is a much healthier dessert and I still needed my fruit portion so it worked out great.  Today started out with scrambled eggs, tomato and avo, lunch will be cottage pie left overs, and planning a lovely roast chicken, pumpkin and stir-fried cabbage dinner.  So you see, this challenge isn't about boring food, it's not about starving yourself, it's just making better food choices, and they are delicious food choices, so I bet it would yield great results for me as well.

I have so much inspiration to complete this challenge.  Fabulous people who have completed it and inspired me to join the Sleek Geek Reboot Challenge who all succeeded with flying colours and absolutely stunning results.  A couple friends who are even going for a second round of Reboot - Jess & Rox, you rock!  This is a great challenge, one that actually leads into a whole new lifestyle.

The best part of the challenge is that my husband is also joining me on the Reboot.  He is not sold on the idea yet, didn't like his bitter coffee, but he loved his meals yesterday; and I know he is going to love the results, as soon as his detox headache (which started this morning) gives way and he gets that boost of energy everyone talks about.

Looking forward to the challenge and learning new recipes and having FUN with my food!