Disappointed with myself ... time to set a new mini-goal!

So, as predicted, I did register a small gain at this morning's weigh-in. Only 800g, which is not too dire, considering the amount of chocolate and "treat meals" I've indulged in over Easter...
That said, I could kick myself, because if I'd kept my eye on the longer term project, I might have lost again, or at worse maintained, this week. Now there's almost a kilogram that I've got to lose again, for the second time in a month! I'm looking at the tubs of margarine in the fridge (the BBQ King's, not mine!) and thinking that 800g is actually quite a lot.

The one on the left is full, obviously.

So, time to refocus, and set a new mini-goal (12 weeks can seem a long time away!)...
My interim goal is to go sub-100kg by my birthday on 3 May, which is just under 5 weeks away. I think it's achievable, provided I:

• stick to my 1200 calorie nutrition plan;
• drink between 2 and 3 litres of water each day; and
• keep all chocolate and other temptations out of the house!

I'm committed to achieving this - wish me luck!

10 Easy Ways to Clean Up your Diet in 2016

I came across this great article on the 12WBT blog, which sets out some simple steps we can all take to improve our diet, whether we're signed up to 12WBT or not, trying to lose weight or not. Of course, I'm making mental notes of whether and how well I'm achieving each after only just over 2 weeks back on the 12WBT program.

1. Start with the kitchen: clearing all the junk and temptations out of the kitchen is always one of the pre-season tasks for any round of 12WBT, with good reason. And what better excuse to get rid of all the expired cans, packets etc. we all inevitably accumulate over time? My prime candidates are cans of things like chick peas, which I always think I will use to make my own delicious and tasty hummus, but somehow never do. Also bottles of dodgy flavoured mustards and dessert sauces which we receive as part of Christmas hampers etc., but end up living in the dark back corners of the pantry. There's also nothing quite like the feeling of satisfaction looking at the fridge freshly stocked with all manner of colourful vegies and healthy lunch-makings etc. I use the Tupperware "fridge mates" for vegies (I think we've got three different sets to cover all the size combinations), and they really do a great job of keeping vegies both visible and fresher for longer. (This is not actually my fridge, by the way, it's an image from one of my Pinterest boards - who on earth keeps cupcakes in the fridge???)
   
2. Plan Ahead - this one's about sitting down and working out your menu in advance for the week, doing a single shop (ideally) and not falling into the trap of collapsing in a heap at the end of a tiring day and not feeling up to cooking a healthy meal. I tend to customise my 12WBT weekly nutrition plan (menu), as I'm a bit fussy about breakfasts and don't like certain foods. I know Mish would say "suck it up, sunshine", but quite honestly I'm more likely to stick to the program if it consists of foods I would choose to eat. I also try to cook for both my husband and myself from my nutrition plan - he has a portion of starch and a larger serving size. This is definitely a task that requires sitting down and concentrating for half an hour, to try to match ingredients, achieve variety and get a good mix of protein, vegetables and limited complex carbs. There was a challenge recently for participants in the current round of 12WBT to do a big "cook up", freezing meals in advance for easy meals. I've never really been one to do this sort of thing in the past, as I tend to like to keep a bit of flexibility to work around last minute commitments etc. Something to keep working on...
3. Breakfast - okay, this is an issue for me. I really don't feel like anything but a cup of coffee when I first get up in the morning, but I definitely suffer from the late morning munchies as a result. I found the 12WBT Oat and Berry muffins were great last week, when I made them for the first time. Nourishing and I didn't feel like snacking before lunchtime. I think the sweetness of the fruit worked for me. I do occasionally feel like baked beans on toast, too, if I've got a bit more time to get ready. They're definitely a good "sustaining" food for a busy morning, despite the relatively low calorie count. I don't even miss butter on my toast anymore... (well, hardly at all!)
4. Get Back to Wholefoods - This is all about ditching processed versions of foods in favour of more "paleo" options. Personally, I can't stand brown rice, but I am eating whole fruit now instead of juices and I really like the rule of thumb about filling half your plate with food that comes from plants.
5. Three Meals a Day - my difficulty with breakfast is the major issue here. Unlike other participants in 12WBT, I don't seem to feel hungry while on the program. I tend to snack because of boredom or temptation, rather than because I need a "lift". We also probably eat too late at night some of the time. I've been reducing the amount of starchy carbs (bread, rice, potatoes, pasta etc.) I eat at night for a while, and I think it's improved my sleep, even if I haven't noticed any particular weight loss. Combining that with smaller portion sizes and limiting to 1200 calories a day should hopefully tip the balance.
6. Probiotics - I eat a bit of Greek Yoghurt in wraps, with curries etc., but other than that, I've never really thought much about stomach flora. I do take anti-reflux medication, though, so probably should consider taking some Yakult (yuk!) or maybe some probiotic capsules. Watch this space...
7. Resistant Starch - this was a new one on me. Apparently some sources of starch, including legumes, barley, cold boiled potatoes and banana flour (???) promote the growth of healthy gut bacteria (see above) and protect against colon cancers. Sounds good in theory. I'd better make some legume-based soups as we head into winter...
8. Ditch the Liquid Calories - this is a complete no-brainer for anyone trying to lose weight and/or combat the onset of type-2 diabetes. Soft drinks contain absolutely no nutritional benefit. I'll admit to a predilection for full-octane Coke when it's in the house, it's like I can't stop drinking it. I'm proud to say that I haven't had any at all (or any other soft drink, actually) since the start of the 12WBT round over two weeks ago, and definitely feel better for it. As with other temptations, my rule of thumb is simply "don't let it in the house and it won't be a problem". I don't tend to drink much alcohol anyway, but it's also full of calories, something to bear in mind.
   
9. Adjust your Taste Buds - giving up any habit is hard, more so if you try to do it "cold turkey". My weakness is sugar - I was having up to 2.5 tsp in a café latte - so my aim is to cut down gradually to a much lower intake, or even none at all. I'm having 1.5 sugars in a cup of plunger coffee at the moment, and it's fine. My husband accidently put two in the other day, and it was cloyingly awful, so this process is working. The soft-drink thing I thought would be harder than it is, but substituting plain sparkling mineral water for sugary soft drinks seems to be doing the trick so far. Fingers crossed...
10. Mindful Eating - I'm a renowned slow eater, always have been. That doesn't mean I'm being mindful, however, as I often work on the computer, read the paper or watch TV while I'm eating. One of my aims for this round of 12WBT is to get organised to provide more mindful dining experiences for the whole family, to think about and enjoy the tastes and textures of food and appreciate what goes into the quality foodstuffs we tend to take for granted in this part of the world.

A Healthy(ish) Easter feast...

Just thought I'd share the healthy options I incorporated into our extended family Easter lunch on Sunday. We had both sets of parents (grandparents) over, as well as my step-mother's father. The three of us were the only representatives of the younger generations, due to various expeditions and commitments of others. So, a nice relaxed group of seven adults and one six-year-old.
We started with a beetroot dip and crudités (I ditched the cumin crisps, as I thought there'd be enough other carbs with salads etc.).

Very delicious. The only changes I made to the dip from the recipe (which you'll have to join up to 12WBT to get access to) is that I added toasted whole cumin seeds and some Moroccan seasoning before I blended it up. I really like beetroot as a vegetable, although those with any sort of stomach-acid irregularity (as I tend to have from time to time) need to be prepared for the dramatic colour effects on your ... a-hem ... outputs. Lots of carrot and celery sticks to accompany, very well received.

The BBQ king cooked a whole piece of scotch fillet (beef) on our spit roast. Although not exactly on the 12WBT plan, I limited my portion size, and if you're going to eat roasted meat, this is one of the lower-fat ways to prepare it.

Along with the meat, we had skin-on oven roasted potatoes which my step-mother brought (I had one small one only!), and a selection of four salads, including two made by me. Firstly a salad based around quinoa, which I also really like, but have never actually prepared myself before. Added to roasted pumpkin (I cooked mine in cubes, rather than slabs, for ease of serving), spinach leaves, mint and a tasty lemony dressing, also very popular. This image is actually of a similar salad from Google (I'm really going to have to get better at snapping photos).

The second salad was a roasted beetroot and spinach salad with toasted walnuts, crumbled feta and a pleasant dressing flavoured with citrus and mustard. It was supposed to have roasted zucchini too, but as ours were distinctly mushy when I got them out of the fridge, the worms got those instead, and I really don't think the salad suffered too much from the loss. Definitely another one we'll be doing again.

My step-mother also made a couple of salads, a mixed salad of lettuce, tomatoes, celery etc. to please the traditionalists and also a crunchy quinoa-based salad, apparently from George Colimbaris. Very good also.

We finished with two different cakes, one a Simnel Cake made by my mother in law (fruit cake with marzipan layers traditional at Easter) and some Apple tea cake my step-mother had cooked for the night before. Had small slices only, but inevitably there was also some chocolate consumed...

All in all, I was very pleased with how it all went, menu-wise. I certainly don't think anyone felt that they were being forced to eat "diet food". It's good reinforcement that all of these changes are completely sustainable and I'll probably happily incorporate many of the 12WBT recipes into our normal family repertoire.

And ... I'm back (almost 2 weeks later)!

It's been a busy fortnight, what with the school fair on Saturday 19th March, and Easter this weekend. I've done reasonably well food-wise up until the last couple of days, when I'll admit a bit of chocolate has been consumed. In an illustration of the fickleness of life, guess who won first prize in the Dogs' Homes of Tasmania Easter raffle?

That's right - us! For the first two days (I picked it up on Thursday morning), I barely felt tempted, but over Sunday and today, I've eaten far too much chocolate. As you can see, my daughter's delighted with our win!
Anyway, back on the horse this week. I'm not going to fall into the trap that many (including myself in the past) do - throwing in the towel because of falling at one hurdle. So many metaphors!
I've stayed off soft drinks completely since 12WBT started, and to be honest have barely missed them. I'm really enjoying sparkling mineral water with a squeeze of lime as an alternative. Have also permanently dropped to 1.5 teaspoons of sugar in my one cup of coffee per day, and again it's been easier than I thought to adapt to - I'll attempt another drop to 1 tsp during the 12 weeks. As of last Wednesday, I'd dropped just over 3kg since the first day (14 March), although I expect to have gained slightly this week, which would be only fair.

Day 2 - 14th March 2016

Another busy day, this time making craft items for my daughter's school fair. Her grade is running the plant stall, which has effectively meant that 4 or 5 of the mums (including myself) have pulled the whole thing together over the past month or so. All looking good now though, but roll on Sunday (day after the fair!)...


Again, I haven't quite made the calorie target, but as of almost 8.00pm, I'm less than 100cals over, so better than yesterday. My downfall was the delicious coconut loaf my friend Clare (a fellow school mum) made in her new thermomix. I had one slice - can't find the exact recipe on CalorieKing, but the nearest thing was 442 calories per slice!!! With any luck, Clare's cake contained less than that, which would bring me closer to or within target.


Feeling pretty good. I suspect it may be the drop in sugar intake, which probably means I'm in for a crash later in the week. Still not drinking anything like enough water, but one step at a time... (and no soft drinks as an alternative, so that's a positive).


Here's a photo and link to the recipe for that coconut cake (it seriously was delicious!)

My 12WBT achievement for the morning is to have quickly set up an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of my calories. Here it is!

So, on paper (screen) at least, it doesn't look like I did a great first day, given that my target calorie intake is 1200. But, in context, I'm not too disappointed. I avoided all pre-dinner offerings (chips, biscuits, cheese, grissini) at my parents-in-law's place last night, and with the small aberration of the Lindor ball in the morning, ate not too badly, considering.

Beware the Ides of March...

Today is the day (according to Shakespeare, at least) that Julius Caesar finally bit off more than he could chew. My aim for the day is not to follow his example and try to meet my 1200 calorie target. Incidentally, 15 March was also my grandmother's birthday - Happy Birthday Gran, wherever you are!
The house is in chaos, with the BBQ king returning from his trip tonight, so a busy day ahead. I'm thinking incidental, rather than planned, exercise. Feeling good!

Day 1 - 14th March 2016

A bit of an odd start to my new 12WBT adventure...


I decided to sign up on a whim last night, after seeing the email in my inbox that the new round started today. Previously, I've tried to do the right thing, with pre-season and warm-up activities and all. This time it's more spontaneous, so we'll see.


Feeling a bit flat today - the BBQ king is in Perth attending his uncle's funeral. We're all feeling pretty shocked as said uncle was only 68, had no prior medical history and was just getting going on enjoying a well-earned retirement. And suddenly, life can be over, just like that (he suffered a massive heart attack at home last Sunday morning). He was a wonderful man, with a loving family and so much left to give to the world. The inequitable distribution of life is a big one for me - my own mother died at 56 of breast cancer, which she battled for 14 years before finally succumbing.


Anyway, onto 12WBT. Given my late sign-up, I haven't shopped or prepared at all for the different food I'll be eating. Nor have I told the BBQ king of this change to my (our) lifestyle. I don't think he'll mind - he's keen to lose a bit of weight too, after a recent slightly high cholesterol reading.


So... I didn't do a great job for breakfast. The junior fashion queen chowed down on several slices of sourdough with vegemite, and I made myself a (plunger) coffee as usual. Couldn't find any baked beans in the pantry, which were my breakfast standby in previous rounds, and didn't get any further. One positive - I "only" had 1 1/2 tsp sugar in the coffee, instead of the usual 2. It was fine - barely noticed the difference.


Lunch fared a little better, finished off some beetroot tzatziki, which I noticed is on the 12WBT recipe index now (loving this new improved version, by the way!), on a small pide, and a cob of corn (no butter). Feeling good. Haven't had any water to drink yet - I think I'm chronically dehydrated out of habit.


A trip to the supermarket is in order, after dinner with the in-laws to coincide with the funeral in the West...

The Duchess is back!

Given the evidence below, I think I have to admit the following:

• I'm not a committed blogger
• I fell off the 12WBT wagon pretty soon after I started last round

So, that dealt with, I'm back to have another try, with much the same aims as before - to feel better, set a better health example for my family, and to lose a few kgs too. An extra incentive this time around - my lovely Dad has gifted us a trip to Queensland in August - it'll be the first time I've been since Expo '88! But I don't want to be mistaken for one of the local cetaceans on the beach, so a little less than 5 months out seems an opportune time to take action!


I'm only 1kg more now than I was at the very start of my original 12WBT round, four years ago, and given my diet and lack of exercise during the interim, I think that's something to be grateful for.


Unlike many 12WBT "newbies", I have proven to myself previously that this system works for me and that I can do it! (I just need to stick with it and not fall into the trap of over-reaching exercise-wise, which I have done previously, leading to injury, flare-ups in my fibromyalgia symptoms and failing to finish the round.


This round's motto - stick to the program, take it slow and steady...