Change is here!

I picked up some mason jars today - smaller sized ones. 

Yogurt, jelly, jam, dressings, and other items I plan to make will fit nicely in these! 

It's all part of my big lifestyle change!  One thing at a time, small changes, and waiting until one habit is properly ingrained before moving on to the next!

But where is this change leading?

Here is a list of things I want to be easy and stress free in my life!

Money - the big one!  That's the one everyone stresses about no matter what you're income.  It seems to me that the more money I get, the harder it is to manage.  I have so many random bills now that I never used to have.  From cable tv to gym memberships, to online subscriptions and, of course, the mobile phones!  I think it's time to review what I'm spending my hard-earned money on, and if it is worth it.  Do I really need a meal planner to write up my shopping list?  Is it really easier, or am I justifying a 'new toy' to feed my ego? All my bills need to get this level of scrutiny!

Food - surprisingly this isn't just about what I get at the grocery store.  It's what I can grow in my garden, removing chemicals from my diet, do I want to go full organic?  Can I fit that in my budget?  What about the ethics of the food I eat?  Do I buy eggs based on money, or ethics, or do I sacrifice time to get my own chickens?  How much of this lifestyle could I embrace? 

Health - And then there is the 'fat' issue.  I will admit right here and now that I am not fat.  Borderline overweight? Yes!  At risk due to abdominal fat?  Yes!  Unhappy about how much fat I have on my body?  Yes!  But is fat really the issue?  No!  The issue is the food I eat is making me tired, sick, and unhappy - literally!  It is affecting my mental health and my physical health (really, you can't affect one without affecting the other!).

Resources -  I use a lot of resources.  We try to recycle but I have a lazy family (that includes me, admittedly).  Our power bill is shockingly high, we waste a lot of food, we waste a lot of everything!  I have always thought of myself a bit of a greenie, but the reality of my life is not in any way sustainable.  I even throw our green waste in the wheelie bin!

Me - Yup, I get a category all to myself.  I need, for my mental health, ego, etc, to finish my PhD.  I need to get my confidence back and get that agoraphobia monkey off my back.  It's time to start living again, achieving my goals, and feeling good about who I am!


I've committed to a few things of late.  First is the Commando program.  Not going well!  I have been sick, or had major work commitments the last 3 weeks.  Second is my PhD - I need to get with a full-time program to finish on time.  No more 'optional' box (and yet here I am at home instead of uni!).  to meet this, we bought a new car so that both my husband and I can pick up the kids.  And lastly, I bought a Thermomix!  I don't get it for a few weeks yet, but when I do, I'm changing our food completely!

One thing that I read consistently, is that big changes mean big crash!  Small changes are the way to go.  But I want those changes to count!  I NEED a calm, easy routine to work within.  One that meets all my goals.  One that is kind to me, my family, and fits my lifestyle.

Week Two Monday

The picture is a wee bit blurry.. Didn't have time to get the DSLR out!

The day started off well, had the Bircher muesli for breakfast (not too bad!), the choc brownie for morning tea with a cup of tea, that huge monstrosity in the picture for munch (delicious!) and then around 4pm I had curried egg on a rice cake, and went for my run..

So proud of myself.. I ran the whole 2.5km!  

I've been doing run/walks for ages trying to 'get back into it' but a little shove was all I needed.

It all went to crap after that.. I made cauliflower rice (yum) and reheated the chicken cattitorie, only to find there was still a bit pink.  It crossed my germ-phobe line even though I cooked it more in the frypan.  The teenage man-child was more then happy to chow down!

We did have a quiche cooking for the family anyway but I had to leave for a school concert just as it was coming out the oven (cue Choc Brownie to get me through!).  I had a smallish piece of quiche when I got home, and a sliver of Apple pie that the teenage man child had made at school (mandatory as parent of said child!).

I am not upset or disappointed even.. It didn't really 'go to crap', and I am super impressed with myself for actually taking lunch and eating it, and it was something new as well!

I haven't prepped my muesli for the morning but will do eggs instead.. Much too tired tonight!

Week One Sunday

What a week!

This week has been about "Fundamentals": getting to know the website, trying out recipes and stocking the freezer, and learning the basic exercises that make up the workouts.  There is a lot of information in videos and articles about nutrition, how the program is set up, what you need to have access to, and how to get the most out of the program.

I have to say, this week has also been about finding glitches!  I feel for the technical staff behind the scenes who have also had many 'suggestions' for improvement.  

I've bypassed the meal planning feature on the site as I want to store the recipes and have access to meal planning beyond this program.  I use a site called "Plan to Eat".  It's not free, but hardly expensive.

I've had a pretty full on day, beginning with budgeting, finishing my meal plan, doing the shopping, prepping lunches for the week, doing my fitness test and benchmark workout, and then some more prepping after dinner!

I also did three loads of washing!

I should have some exciting news over the next two weeks.  So excited!

Week One: Wednesday

Excited much!?!

I've got a pretty good set-up going with my home gym now, as well as a gym membership.

Meal plans come out tomorrow.  The recipes so far have looked awesome, and the ones I have cooked have all been really great!  Huge servings for the meals, and great tasting snacks!

Today was good, got out for a run/walk for a total of over 15000 steps for the day.

Food wise not so great.  I had no electricity at home so although I had a good breakfast (eggs, spinach, feta), I had a grilled chicken burger from McDonalds for lunch.  I had 3 cups of tea over the day, 5 spring rolls for dinner (homemade, not cooked in oil), and then a handful of flavoured chips for dessert.  I just had a hot chocolate, and a small tin of baked beans.

Not so great but not horrendous either!

My brain is getting ahead of itself with super plans to do the GCF workout in the morning, running in the afternoon.  That is so not going to work, but it wouldn't hurt to do it occasionally.

I guess I've just realised the time-frame and to get to my ideal weight by my 40th I have to hit a kg per week of weight loss, as well as getting a bit of muscle in the process.  A little unrealistic!  6-10kg would be a fantastic result and I'm hoping for 14kg? 

No matter how much I say I want to be healthy, fact is, I want to look good AND be healthy!

But I do know that numbers mean very little in the real world.  I am going to stick to the plan.  Get as active as possible, eat to the plan, meet my other commitments, get enough sleep, and take time out to relax and de-stress.

I can do this!

Speaking of which.. I need to go to bed!

Week One Tuesday

I was going to start this post with, "I've been a bit slack today, no exercise and take-out for dinner.", but I changed my mind.

I did stay up too late last night.. It was midnight by the time I fell asleep.  No excuses, I stayed up watching a hilarious movie and loved every minute of it.

Until I woke up tired.

Until I realised the kids used the last of the milk for cereal so I couldn't even have a cup of tea!

I had a great breakfast though, spinach and feta in scrambled eggs.

I put in a solid four hours in the lab, even if half of it was a huge fail!

I had a great lunch.. The chicken cattitorie recipe (no cauliflower rice though).

Then I organised school stuff for my eldest, picked up the younger boys, did half an hour of chores, went to school interview for eldest, and sent hubby out for takeout for dinner.

We cleaned up afterward, and I watched a couple of tv shows.

I watched the video for GCF for today - all stuff I've done before and don't have any technical issues with.

While I am enjoying a hot chocolate drink right now, I'm thinking it might be my last for while.  I want to get out of the habit of milky drinks.  So I guess I'm up for a good nights sleep!

Oh, and I'm going okay on the patches still.  Down to level two which I think is a good place right now. I'm still battling that thing in my head that says, "I'm tired, just have one and I'll feel better".  There is always that part of my psyche that wants to stays the same, wants me to relax, to just be me, to take the easy way because I don't need to change.  

I don't need to change, but I want to, because that is who I am!  I'm not changing me, just what I do!

4 days to go!

Thought I would do something different today!

My Day:

6am Wake up
Weigh in at 63.7kg
Shower and Dress
empty bins and take out washing from bathroom
put on load of washing
Make kids breakfast and my cup of tea
Sit on computer for facebook check and start writing this post
Take quick notes on what I need to do today.
Make lunches for kids
empty dishwasher
stack dishwasher
empty dishrack
clean sink
wipe benches
sweep floor
sign permission notes and rsvp invitations
hang out washing and put on second load
collect kids and drive to school (8:15am)
pay bills, medicare claims
handyman arrived to fix stuff
Grabbed a cup of tea and chocolate muffin for breakfast
Work on paper
 * check edits from supervisor
 * add in references
Hang out washing - bring in two loads (folded)
Pack up and head into uni (10am) - put fitbit on (it was charging)
Turn on UV light
Optimise PCR for primer dimers
send off approved ordering
set up PCR and gel tank (11am)
ran down to grab a small serve of fried rice and honey chicken and water..11:30am to 11:45 for lunch and facebook time!
check supervisor meeting notes and go over anything I missed
continue on with Paper
run gel and take picture
print out research papers to read tonight
do emails
pick up autoclaving
more on paper
go pick up kids (2:45)
get home, put dishwasher on,
download tv shows
cup of tea and rest for three hours watching tv until dinner!!  Yey!

Downed half a block of chocolate and tuna pasta bake for dinner while watching two double episodes of Extant!

Make kids beds

Fill washing machine  - sheets

Empty dishwasher

Stack dishwasher

Clean sink
Wipe benches

Read goodnight story to kids

Relax for a bit and publish this post...

Hang out sheets, put on next load of washing

Check alarm is set

Read my romance novel

Go to bed...

Day 17

I can speak.. Sometimes a whole sentence before I start coughing.

Knee deep in tissues, I am wading through a houseful of the lurgy, the kids, the hubby, and me..

Day 13 of Prep: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!

Let's start with the good, on what I shall call Black Sunday!

Lunch.. baked salmon!  Unbelievably easy - a quick 5mins to blend breadcrumbs, basil, parmesan cheese, and some olive oil - coat over the salmon pieces and bake for 30mins!  I did have plans to do an awesome 'just baked' picture using my newly found photography skills however the children smelt it as soon as I took it out of the oven and had helped themselves before I had a chance to grab my camera!  This was the little bit that was left for me!

I spent the day attacking my pile of photographs that I have collected over my 20 adult years (complete with a few stolen from Mum's albums!) and a made a bit of headway with 50 photos uploaded, edited, and details added.  Only a thousand odd left to go!

Yeah, I was a cutie!

The bad.. no weight loss this week.. 64kg so there is a slight increase.  I will blame two nights of alcohol, and a huge excess of carbs in the preceding two days!  Planning is important!

The ugly.. I smoked a few cigarettes!  Blargh!  After getting in twelve good days of not smoking, a bit of alcohol last night was enough to crush my willpower.  Back on the patches tomorrow and a stern lecture to my hubby about how he wants to quit as well!  It's not like I enjoy it, or even get any satisfaction from it!  It's just laziness and boredom and addiction. 

Tomorrow is going to be a challenge and the whole week has the potential to crash and burn on me with the whole family having throat infections and sniffly noses.  I will find solutions, not excuses!  I want to get this whole planning and commitment thing down pat before the program starts (in two weeks!  EEEk!).

I'm totally rocking it already - a few lessons learnt (which are better learnt now then during the program!) and quite a few successes under my belt!

Day 9 of Prep

Balance is one of the hardest things for me - sometimes I feel like I'm juggling a hundred things while walking a tightrope where I go backwards instead of forwards!

Just living a full and healthy life seems like hard work, and then there is actual work on top of that!  Not that I'm complaining.  I am extremely lucky to live in a time and place where education is accessible and flexible!  And even more so that I have been able to get a scholarship to do my PhD!  I love my work, I love being in the lab and running experiments!  My biggest hardships are finding the hours, and containing my enthusiasm for a wide variety of interests... Yes, focus is an issue for me!  I want to do everything right now.. I'm an ideas person!

Yes.. Focus!  I spent today in the lab, and as a result have a massive step count of over 17000!  And I took in and ate my lunch!  And I went for a run!  A totally awesome and wicked day all round!

Day 7 of Prep! Three weeks to Kick Off

Growing some herbs and spinach!

I love Mondays!  A whole perfect unblemished week ahead of me! 

I finished off today by planting up a few herbs (rosemary, oregano, and parsley) and some spinach to start my "Veggie Patch".

And I had a parcel waiting for me when I got home! 

My Tea Tonic order arrived! 

I love their teas and stick to this place because their relaxation tea is the only one that has everything I want in it! And they have chocolate tea!  The teas are organic and a naturopath creates the different tea formulations!  And I always get a few freebie samples in the box!

I have a GLEW (Ginger, Lemongrass, Echinacea, White Tea) tea steeping right now!

These are to help curb my coffee habit that I've developed over the last year - previous to that I had gone 14 years without coffee, and had only been drinking tea again for 3 years.

This week I am trying to get into the habit of packing lunches and snacks for work.  I have tried before and got caught up in the perfectionism and tried to count calories and have awesome photo worthy deliciousness packed each day.  How could that possibly fail?

Instead, I am now packing whatever I can get my hands on!  Today was some rice crackers, chicken with lettuce, and a mandarin.  The lettuce got frozen by the fridge at work.  Not a great start - but a good start as I didn't buy my lunch!  I'm only at work for school hours so only need one snack and a decent lunch, and water.

Once the program starts I can get some prep work done and have a plan for the week for what to take for lunches.

Last night:
I hit the chocolate icecream!  It was quite yummy! :)  And then I was up at 3am and had a muffin to tame a grumbly tummy!
Sleep:  2am bedtime (reading!) up at 6:45am.  I'm trying to get myself up earlier in the morning so I can start morning training once I hit a 6am start time!  An earlier bedtime might help!
Today:
Breakfast was half a coffee (don't seem to need it anymore) and some pumpkin, ricotta and spinach frittata.  Cam ate a fair bit of it, which was just as well because it was a huge serving for my little tummy (which is very unused to breakfast!)
Snack: flavoured rice crackers
Lunch: 100g chicken breast (from leftovers)
Afternoon Snack: Cuppicino - had one of those satchels left and thought I would get rid of it - dash of milk, no sugar.

Day 6 of Prep

I weighed in today.. under 64kg!  I lost a kilo this week and 6cm off my belly!!  That's a good sign my body is liking the changes I am making! 

I had a busy day cleaning up under the under cover area outside and then baking a delicious pumpkin, ricotta and spinach frittata for breakfasts this week!

Last night:
I ended up not having salad with my KFC, having pepsi, hot chocolate, and a peanut butter sandwich before bed. 
Went to bed really late (2am) and woke up at 8:30am
Today:
Skipped breakfast and morning tea (had two coffees)
Had two boiled eggs for lunch
Snacked in the afternoon: a handful of twisties and some flavoured rice crackers with some awesome sweet chilli cream cheese!
Hot chocolate while waiting for dinner
Roast Chook and salad for dinner
Exercise: Cleaning; Steps: over 9000

Day 5 of Prep

I am so on a roll!  This morning I hit the garden as soon as I woke up.  We have a massive yard with lots of trees - palm trees in particular!  They are horrendous for shedding leaves and quite a few of them are very tall, so tall we can't reach to remove dead leaves.

And if the palm trees aren't tall, they are clumping!  See those two small palms near the shed (right side).  We got a full load of green-waste from that today!  We also removed a rather large bush growing behind it which was blocking our access to behind the shed.

You might also notice that at the base of the washing line we now have a large green pot and pot stand so I can grow some herbs and leafy vegies this spring! 

And I love that we are starting to see the grass greening up a bit - even though it will mean mowing the lawn very soon!

I am looking forward to summer this year!  I turn 40yo!  Our yard will be in great shape as it warms up with the amount of shade drastically reduced in the yard itself, while not affecting the shade for the house and entertainment area.  We should be able to have some nice BBQ dinners outdoors by spring time!

I'm excited to think that I will be in shape too.  We have a public swimming pool just down the road from us and I am looking at purchasing a season pass for the family so we can go down of an afternoon to cool off after school and work!  It will be so nice to feel confident in my swimmers, even if I don't have a 'perfect figure'! 

Last night:
had a peanut butter sandwich before bed.
Bad case of restless legs (but then remembered I still had my patch on)
Stayed up late (2am), woke up around 9am
Today:
Skipped breakfast and morning tea but had two coffees
lunch was bacon and eggs
afternoon tea I had flaxseed crackers and salmon
dinner: having a treat meal!  KFC and salad with icecream for dessert.
Exercise:  gardening, steps: 10000.

Day Four of Prep!

It's already quite exciting - I'm seeing changes just from taking advantage of the little bit of information available already.  Sure, it might just be all in my head, but does it matter?  Feeling positive means I am more likely to keep going. I am feeling well, my tummy fat feels looser (yes, that's a good thing!  It means no bloating!), and I am bouncing with energy!

I'm looking ahead now and with most of the month still ahead of me before the program begins, I am torn apart with anticipation!  Okay, so maybe I used a little creative licence there!  But I am super keen to get started! 

I am mapping out my time instead of just waiting around!  I signed up exactly 4 weeks prior to the program start date of September first, and my Day 1 of Prep began the next day - so 27 days of preparation before I begin with four of those days done already!

I weighed in at just under 65kg the day before I signed up and I will weigh in again on Sunday.  If I do that each Sunday then I will be able to see just how much I lost while preparing for the program!  Five kilograms would be awesome, but realistically, if I get down to 63kg then I am on track for losing weight in a healthy way!

My main focus is just working my meal planning and recipes into my weekly schedule without stressing out about it!  Results for me is lasting healthy changes in my diet, not weight loss in itself. 

It will be interesting to see the set-up for the meal planning in the GCF program, but I will still need to adapt it onto my lifestyle once the program ends.  I use an online program called 'Plan to Eat' to keep my recipes and meal plan for the week.  It has been great to use and is certainly helping but it will take a bit of extra work to integrate the GCF meals into it.  But I'm getting ahead of myself!  No need to worry about that until the meal plans come out so I can see how they work!

For now I am winging it!   Trying out the recipes (like the Shepards Pie using cauliflower mash) to see what I like and how my body reacts to the new food.

I am going into this with a strong directive of making it work for me, not just blindly follow the program to get some transformation photo at the end.

Last night:

I was really hungry just before bed so had a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk

Bedtime was about 11pm, 7am wake up

Today:

One egg, prosciutto, spinach and feta

Cup of coffee 

Lunch was leftover T-bone, with the Ceasar salad, I added a bit of feta to that as well.

I had two pieces of the flaxseed crackers and two bliss balls

Shepards pie for dinner
Water: not quite a litre

Steps: 9000

Notes: I was starving most of the day after skipping morning tea, and having afternoon tea so late.  Oddly, I still felt okay, not weak and panicky like usual!

Day 3 of Preparation

Looks good right?  My dinner for tonight!  

Another day off today as I fight off the remnants of this head cold, so I spent the day cleaning, with a bit more cleaning on top of that!  Why?  Because I have a cleaner coming tomorrow morning!  Yes, seriously!  If I want the floors vacuumed and mopped then I need to be able to see said floors first!  

It's all part of preparing for this program.  I don't want to be worried about keeping up with the housework, and I need to reduce my stress levels! 

I am very happy to report that my husband is fully on board and keen to start cleaning up his diet (said while he was eating tomato flavoured crisps!).  He is thinking along the lines of more vegetables, more protein, and less processed food - exactly what we should be getting from the GCF program!  Given that he is usually the person who cooks dinner, this is fantastic news!

A little on my husband:  He is 41yo, 177cm and weighs in around 67kg, this hasn't changed much in the whole time I've known him!  He has naturally low body fat, and builds muscle easily.  His work environment isn't condusive to over-eating, and he finds it quite easy to make changes when he is motivated.  He started setting up a home gym three weeks and has done strength training every second day consistently since.  I am quite proud do him!

He will be quitting smoking tomorrow - he did quit two weeks ago but because I was still smoking, and he had pre-quit patches rather than full strength, he didn't last too long!  Now that I have quit as well, it should be much easier going for both of us!

I am feeling quite healthy even though I am sick.  I don't seem to have any issue with not having  refined grains though I did have two pieces of bread and the muffin yesterday!  And the extra water is always good!  No medication required tonight so hopefully no restless legs keeping me up!

From yesterday:

I snuck in a chocolate muffin before bed!

Sleep: 11:30pm to 7:00 am (restless legs)

Today:

2 coffees

Eggs with spinich and feta

Piece of chocolate

Salmon, egg, with salad and ACV dressing

2 choc Brownies, cup of tea (2 normal sugars and milk)

Half a T-bone steak, cup of veggies and three small potatoes.

Water: 1L

Steps: over 14000.

Day 2 of Preparation!

It's not the healthiest refridgerator, but it's clean!

My cold is still in full force so I tackled my fridge, cleaning all the shelves, throwing out dated food, and taking note of things to use up before the challenge starts.

Having a husband and three boys to accommodate will mean that I will have other foods available, but with proper planning I can introduce the GCF meals and snacks without too much complaining from the men of the house.  They all liked the Brownies I cooked yesterday (I will have to bake up double the recipe next time) which is a good sign that the recipes will be well liked!

I quit smoking yesterday and, as usual, struggled a bit with motivation this morning.  I cannot wear the patches at night as I don't sleep as well so the morning is always the toughest.  I am feeling much better for it though, and this cold is making it a lot easier to resist any cravings.

The weather is warming up quickly during the day so I am eager to get results (results being fat loss!) so I can be comfortable in my summer wardrobe!  If all goes well I can lose a few kilos before the actual start of the program, making my goal weight of 53kg more achievable in the twelve weeks.  My current weight is 65kg, though I had been sitting at around 60kg for the last year.  My ideal is 50-55kg though I could go less given my height and frame.  But I am not expecting to lose weight that quickly.  I am in the process of making big changes to my lifestyle and it is those lifestyle changes that are my true goals, not the weight loss.  The weight loss is my motivation, and feeling healthy!

It will be great to be able to move again.  To get out of bed without rolling off the edge, to be sit comfortably on the floor and be able to get back up again!

And to have the energy to get through the day!

I like that I am starting off slowly, having a cold stops me from going all out and wearing myself out before I even start!  There is no guilt about not doing exercise yet or not getting things done perfectly, I'm doing what I can.

Food today:

Coffee with coconut sugar and a dash of milk

Two eggs with spinach and Parmesan cheese

A handful of grapes, 2 peices of 75% chocolate, and another coffee

Cheats Ceasar salad for lunch

2 small peices of the Chocolate Brownie

Morrocan Pumpkin and Chickpea Soup (le Zuppa) with 2 slices of 9 grain bread

1 piece of chocolate

Water: 1l

Exercise: nil,  just over 5000 steps.