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!
Monday, May 20, 2013
Friday, May 17, 2013
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 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!
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
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!
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!
Monday, May 13, 2013
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:
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!
Friday, May 10, 2013
30 Day Shred Challenge Completed!
I'm writing with so much relief this morning; and so much pride. I completed my 30 Day Shred Challenge this morning. I started out on the 2nd of April; and endured 30 of Jillian Michael's kick-ass workouts and I came out on top. I can not begin to describe how much this challenge has meant to me; how much I've learned about myself. And yes, it's the second time I'm completing this, but the first time was different - I did it, I went through the motions and when I was done, I was done. This time was so much different, because I started out with the mindset that I'm going to change my body for the better, I really worked hard, I've put in my everything in every single workout just because I wanted to be stronger, be fitter and bettered the body I live in.
Big thing I wanted to proof was that the number on the scale did not matter as much as I thought it would or should. For 2 solid months now I did not lose a single gram, in fact - since the beginning of the challenge I have gained 900 grams. But my body has changed. I look leaner, and most importantly I feel stronger. After my c-section I never thought I would ever be able to feel my stomach muscles again, but my core is growing stronger. So strong in fact that this morning I was lying on my back, I lifted my 15kg boy in the air, sat upright and stood up - all with him still being held in the air. So strength training is a definite must in my future. This cardio-bunny has come a long way.
Here's my results for the 30 Days!
Ready for my next challenge Monday - Reboot Detox!
Big thing I wanted to proof was that the number on the scale did not matter as much as I thought it would or should. For 2 solid months now I did not lose a single gram, in fact - since the beginning of the challenge I have gained 900 grams. But my body has changed. I look leaner, and most importantly I feel stronger. After my c-section I never thought I would ever be able to feel my stomach muscles again, but my core is growing stronger. So strong in fact that this morning I was lying on my back, I lifted my 15kg boy in the air, sat upright and stood up - all with him still being held in the air. So strength training is a definite must in my future. This cardio-bunny has come a long way.
Here's my results for the 30 Days!
Ready for my next challenge Monday - Reboot Detox!
Monday, May 6, 2013
It's Monday, but it's okay!
Urgh what a rough time! Last week Monday hubby's wisdom tooth was pulled.. in the dentist chair... pulled... so he was in a lot of pain this week; so much that infection kicked in and he is man down for a whole week thus far. Then I started with yucky sinusses on Friday... getting worse over the weekend, so much so that I didn't feel well and barely breathed this weekend. Between the two of us, I have no idea how we managed to keep it together and still looked after our almost 3-year old. We only almost had a blocked toilet after little mister tried to dispose of a whole pack of wet wipes... and poor Jade, our cat, was fed more than usual... but the good thing is our house is still standing and everyone's alive!
I took this weekend off from Killian so had two rest days instead of only one. I just completed day 26, with a little less vigour than usual, but at least I managed it. If all goes well I do hope that I'll be completing it on Friday. So fingers crossed!
My planning for Reboot next week is going well. I stocked up over the weekend on a whole lot of Paleo foods and researched a lot and tried putting a list together of meal-ideas. This week I'm trying to do a sort of warm-up for the 30 days, and have started with a Paleo breakfast and lunch today. I'm looking forward to the challenge, although I'm a bit scared to tell you the truth!
Then something that has bothered me for a while now... why is it that people generally think that because you're overweight that you don't eat healthy, you don't exercise and you don't feed your family proper, nutritional food. I'm so fed-up for comments from family and friends implying that we don't live a healthy lifestyle. This when in fact that I've already lost a bucket load of weight over the past 16 months, exercise 5 - 6 times a week and if you looked at my food diary you would think I'm a skinny girl... and yes I feed my family the same foods that I eat! I can't help that I lose weight much slower than the average Joe... I can't help that even though I pack my hubby a healthy breakfast and lunch every single day to take to work, and give him a nutritional dinner at home that he eats and drinks stuff behind my back that's out of my control and that he does not exercise. And yes, my boy is a picky eater, but I make sure that he eats at least one piece of fruit or vegetables with his dinner every single night; and I make sure he eats out of all 5 food groups. I'm proud that I have a healthy, active boy with no signs of being over or under weight. So I wish people will just take their assumptions and shove it and concentrate on their own families! *vent over*
I'm going to make this week a good one! I've got a lot to look forward to! Completing the 30 Day Shred on Friday - I'm so looking forward to it. And then on Saturday I'm off to tick two things off my bucket list: 1. Meet my special friend and weight-loss buddy, Jess and 2. See Bon Jovi live in concert :-D Now that's loads to smile about. So the sinus-pains better bugger off, I have no time for it!
I took this weekend off from Killian so had two rest days instead of only one. I just completed day 26, with a little less vigour than usual, but at least I managed it. If all goes well I do hope that I'll be completing it on Friday. So fingers crossed!
My planning for Reboot next week is going well. I stocked up over the weekend on a whole lot of Paleo foods and researched a lot and tried putting a list together of meal-ideas. This week I'm trying to do a sort of warm-up for the 30 days, and have started with a Paleo breakfast and lunch today. I'm looking forward to the challenge, although I'm a bit scared to tell you the truth!
Then something that has bothered me for a while now... why is it that people generally think that because you're overweight that you don't eat healthy, you don't exercise and you don't feed your family proper, nutritional food. I'm so fed-up for comments from family and friends implying that we don't live a healthy lifestyle. This when in fact that I've already lost a bucket load of weight over the past 16 months, exercise 5 - 6 times a week and if you looked at my food diary you would think I'm a skinny girl... and yes I feed my family the same foods that I eat! I can't help that I lose weight much slower than the average Joe... I can't help that even though I pack my hubby a healthy breakfast and lunch every single day to take to work, and give him a nutritional dinner at home that he eats and drinks stuff behind my back that's out of my control and that he does not exercise. And yes, my boy is a picky eater, but I make sure that he eats at least one piece of fruit or vegetables with his dinner every single night; and I make sure he eats out of all 5 food groups. I'm proud that I have a healthy, active boy with no signs of being over or under weight. So I wish people will just take their assumptions and shove it and concentrate on their own families! *vent over*
I'm going to make this week a good one! I've got a lot to look forward to! Completing the 30 Day Shred on Friday - I'm so looking forward to it. And then on Saturday I'm off to tick two things off my bucket list: 1. Meet my special friend and weight-loss buddy, Jess and 2. See Bon Jovi live in concert :-D Now that's loads to smile about. So the sinus-pains better bugger off, I have no time for it!
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Blood Test Results
On Tuesday afternoon the nurse at the doctor's office phoned me telling me that my results are in and the doctor wants to see me - appointment schedule for late yesterday afternoon. It was a hellish long 2-day wait and I was so nervous because with so many tests it could be anything ...
So yesterday I sat in front of the doctor with baited breath fearing the worst, but at the same time hoping he has some answers for me. And answers he did have. All my tests were fine with the exception of one and that is my insulin resistance test- apparently I'm borderline insulin resistant - not quite there yet, but close enough to make my weight-loss journey a challenging one.
After some research on the net I have learned that some of the symptoms are:
So yesterday I sat in front of the doctor with baited breath fearing the worst, but at the same time hoping he has some answers for me. And answers he did have. All my tests were fine with the exception of one and that is my insulin resistance test- apparently I'm borderline insulin resistant - not quite there yet, but close enough to make my weight-loss journey a challenging one.
After some research on the net I have learned that some of the symptoms are:
- Weight gain, particularly around the middle. Hell yes!
- Difficulty concentrating (brain fog). Another big yes
- Lethargy. Yup yup
- Hunger. Yes from time to time
- High blood pressure. Occasionally, but suffered with high blood pressure when I was pregnant.
When the doctor told me about it, a light bulb went on in my head and I immediately told him, well I've got a plan of action ready for it and I told him all about The Sleek Geek Reboot Challenge and I told him that I was toying with the Paleo idea as well. He agreed and mentioned Tim Noakes and said that it's definitely the right approach to take for me right now.
So that's what I'm going to do as soon as I'm done with my 30 Day Shred challenge, right after my special Jozi trip to visit my superdee-duper friend and the Bon Jovi concert coming up. Challenge set to commence 13 May for sure!
After the challenge the doctor told me to phone him and let him know my results and if the results wasn't good enough, he's going to put me on some sort of experimental drug. I didn't ask him more about it, because at that stage my brain was already in overdrive planning.
So dearest blog readers... I can't be a Chocoholic no more! No no no... I don't want to become diabetic and it's still in my power to reverse and that's exactly what I'm going to do.
From now on I'm a Healthaholic!
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