My health challenge Day 11

Here I am, back again. Though I'm currently feeling hungry still (it is pms week after all), I am deciding to blog right now to remain accountable. 

I'm so darn proud of myself today :) Healthy food, a bit of exercise, and resisting temptation. Hubby came home from our nieces birthday party with a massive, moist, chocolaty slab of cake. I ate none. Yes, you are right, I am awesome :)

I scored a bargain clothes dryer today, right before I planned to purchase a new one next week. This will be perfect for our wet, humid summers, where clothes can take 3 or more days to dry. I found 2 new tops while op shopping as well, and followed it up with an hour long remedial massage before working. 

I should also point out, that while I am not weighing myself through this, I did get up to nearly the mid 60's in weight (kg's) that is. Now, my clothes are already fitting better and not only do I feel better, but don't feel the need to hide in long tops anymore.

Not a bad day all round. See, real food and a little bit of movement works :)

DAILY FOOD

Breakfast: walnut, berry parfait. Coffee with skim.

Morning Tea: medium banana. Coffee with skim.

Lunch: Sardines on low carb bread, some fetta and a side salad. Coffee yet again. I'll cut down one day.

Dinner: 1 cup cooked brown rice with a raw egg mixed through, 1 steamed zucchini, some red capsicum and radish.

Dessert: 2 x 25g colby cheese slices. Watermelon.

DAILY ACTIVITY

15 minute brisk walk.

2 hours cleaning a church.

A sample of today's culinary delights, fibre, healthy fats, vitamin and antioxidant rich.

Feels so good being healthy and eating real food.

There you have it, today's short but sweet success story.

More soon :)

My health challenge Day 10

A bit late on the update once again. Yesterday was a busy, fun day spent with miss 2, who had her first ever bus ride! 

All dressed up and inspecting her pink, fluffy bunny bag while waiting for the bus.

Getting a bit bored while waiting and doing some dance moves.

Standing on tippy toes trying to see if the bus has arrived yet.

The bus was VERY late, but that didn't dampen miss 2's enthusiasm one little bit. Even though the window on the bus was too high for her to see the road, she was thrilled she could see the clouds and tree tops. Seriously, I need that outlook-finding the positive in every situation. Love what kids can teach us.

Our journey home was eventful. It started storming and raining just before our stop. I walked a majority of the 20 minute walk home with a frightened, wet toddler and shopping. My poor arms!

I was positively STARVING for most of the day. I was constantly hungry until going shopping to buy a small present for a niece's birthday. Maybe I needed the extra fuel to cope with the walk home? 

Here is my daily intake...

DAILY FOOD

Breakfast: 1 large banana and a fructose free muesli bar. Coffee with skim.

Morning Tea: Protein shake and a small handful walnuts. Coffee with skim.

Lunch: A quinoa wrap crammed with  a thick slice of paleo bread, 1 medium avocado, tons of veg and fermented beetroot relish. Coffee with skim.

Afternoon Tea: A gloriously fluffy vegemite sandwich on wholemeal bread.  With butter. I heart bread.

Dinner: 2 pieces of fresh sea mullet with steamed greens.

DAILY ACTIVITY

A 20 minute walk home, most of which was spent carrying a 14 kilogram toddler.

I am pleased with the day. I did cave and eat bread-something I'm trying to avoid. But in all honesty, it could have been the chocolaty muffins I made early in the morning for my student. I resisted! Proud of me right now :)

Another day done, albeit a little late. More updates soon!

My health challenge Day 9

Here we are, at the bottom end of yet another day. Not a hard day, but a long one spent mostly at the Community Gardens. 

I've been a bit off today. I've had a spot on my nose that has been of concern. A doctor checked it and said it was a sun spot, a precursor to cancer. Well, today, it started bleeding. So, I'm off to the doctors tomorrow to get this seen too, and hopefully removed.

After a lifetime in the sun, I really shouldn't be surprised. Especially as this isn't my first one. It's a humbling reality that even though I wear 50+ now and really dislike being exposed in the sun, previous sun abuse is rearing it's ugly head. 

All I can do is continue to look after my health now. I'm hoping to age well in this body, so it's kind of important I do!

DAILY FOOD

Breakfast: last of the parfaits with extra walnuts on top. Soooo good! 2 coffees, one with coconut cream. This gave me heartburn :(

Lunch: Quinoa wrap with cream cheese, fermented beetroot relish and low carb salad. Coffee with skim.

Afternoon Tea: Piece of no added sugar banana bread while visiting a friend. So delish!

Dinner: 2 baby carrots while preparing dinner. Miss 2 stole one, so i ate another :)

1 cup of steamed cauliflower topped with a small, saucy serve of chicken spag bol (no pasta) topped with cheese.

DAILY ACTIVITY

Several hours of community gardening, which including much walking, lots of watering, a little bit of digging and some heavy carrying. It also included a lot of sitting while the boys concreted. I enjoyed this part the most, especially after yesterday's training. 

A sample of today's menu :)

There you go, another day, another success. 

I look forward to bringing you tomorrow's update.

Until then, thanks for reading :)

My health challenge Day 8

What a day! Busy, productive and wonderful. Summer is well and truly on the way. So glad I'm embarking on eating well & exercising now.

My day looked like this...Drop miss 2 at daycare at 8:30. Come home, pick up my non teen and drive her to Tweed Heads for a job seminar. Drive back to Kingscliff, water Community Gardens. Drive to West Tweed for training. Walk with wobbly legs to the car. Come home, eat lunch, sit for ten and try to look like less of a beetroot (training was hard!!!). Head to Pottsville for cleaning, and more.

I actually loved today. Despite being quite tired and flat this morning, I picked up as the day went on. Now, I feel fabulous :)

I took this a few nights ago. Miss 2 loves looking out our window at the colours. So blessed to have this view, even though a west facing room is scorching in the summer.

Busy days usually mean I eat better. Sure, I was tempted to overeat this morning prior to training, but as per usual, training woke me up. Exercise is so good for many reasons.

Take a look below to see how my eating went today...

DAILY FOOD

Breakfast: Parfait (pictured below) and coffee with skim.

Morning Tea: 125g punnet of blueberries and a small handful almonds. Coffee with skim.

Lunch: Low carb toast topped with smeared garlic, a little low sugar, whole egg mayo and a tin of sardines. Coffee with skim.

Afternoon Tea: small tin of tuna in mayo.

Dinner: Medium serve of Rogan Josh with brown rice. 

And a lot of water!

DAILY ACTIVITY

30 minutes hard training. I nearly threw up. Go me!

1.5hrs of housecleaning.

Feeling happy with today's progress. I nearly threw up because my PT's interval training pushed my cardio to the limit. Oh, so far to go. 

There you go, another day done well.

Looking forward to sharing tomorrow's triumphs with you :)

Brekky parfait on repeat. One more of these babies to go tomorrow morning :)

My health challenge Day 7

This post would have been put up last night. However, I succumbed to exhaustion. When I say my sweet miss 2 has been keeping me awake, I'm not kidding. After unsuccessful attempts to rid myself of a day long rotten headache, I crashed into bed at 6:30pm, only waking to cuddle miss 2 at 8pm when hubby bought her upstairs for bed. Then, break free, I slept until 5am. Yay! And you know what, no headache!!!

Yesterday was a productive day. Not only did I pass my uni subjects-wooooo!!!! I also went on a major toy/ clothing cleanse. After the zillionth time in a few days miss 2 upturned the entire contents of her toy box, I'd had enough.  

I brutally attacked both inside and outside toys, hiding them away from curious eyes until the council curb side clean-up next week. Then, I attacked all of miss 2's clothes. We have been blessed with so, so many clothes, the pile was growing. As the season has changed, and miss 2 is growing quite tall, I had to be brutal here also and throw out things that just don't fit and put away winter woollies that may possibly fit next year. 

Even though my motivation to start was lacking, the reduction of clutter and organised toys/ clothes is so satisfying.

Now, onto food and activity. Pretty pleased with myself, I must say :)

DAILY FOOD

Breakfast: Berry, yogurt, granola parfait. Coffee with skim.

Morning Tea: Kiwi fruit and homemade, fructose free muesli bar. Another coffee with skim.

Lunch: Another muesli bar, beetroot/ apple smoothy. Yet another coffee with skim-I was tired and headachy!

Afternoon Tea: low carb toast, 1/2 small avocado, I slice tomato.

Dinner: 1 thick slice paleo bread, beetroot relish.

DAILY ACTIVITY

30 minute walk, to and from miss 2's family daycare.

Cleaning, sorting, courtyard rearranging.

All in all, a day done right once again :)

Just look at the colours people! It screams health and nourishment :)

And just like that, another day done and dusted. Looking forward to bringing you another update soon :)

My health challenge Days 5 & 6.

I know, I'm a little late with the daily updates! 

Day 5 was Sunday. I felt pretty tired most of the day.  And it was surprisingly cold and windy. I also not only sing on church band, but make these awesome guys breakfast once a month. Combine tired and cold with temptation...and I succumbed. Why oh why do I make the fluffiest pancakes, and why didn't I choose fruit instead of maple syrup!!!

Oh well. One failure after several days of success.

Yesterday was Monday. Monday was of course day 6. Much better today, but no posting due to a cute miss 2 going through another stage of development. Not only has lack of sleep been a killer, but keeping up with her, and her destruction, is a teeny bit tiring. Still, I did well for most of the day. That evening, we sat down to a delish slow cooked turkey leg, brown rice and veg stew with oven baked bread. That is where I came undone. Healthy food, but portion control fail. 

Take a look for yourself at the day...

DAILY FOOD

Breakfast: low carb toast with 1/2 tsp olive oil, crushed garlic and 1 small avo. Coffee with skim.

Morning Tea: small tin of beans. Coffee with skim.

Lunch: low carb toast with cream cheese, 90g salmon, topped with my homemade fermented beetroot relish. Amazing! Coffee with skim. Too much coffee, I know.

Dinner: slow cooked turkey and brown rice stew with oven baked rolls. Very large serve, and too much bread. Oh dear.

Instead of kicking myself for being slack, I'm just starting again. The temptation is to go, 'oh well, that didn't work, so why bother?' Nothing positive will come from that outlook, even though it does enter my mind at times.

At least I am aware, and eating more nutrient rich food. Celebrating the positive steps forward. 

Here is proof of meals done right :)

All going well when I pick a cute toddler up from family day care this afternoon, you will get Day 7's update on time :)

Thanks for reading :)

My health challenge Day 4

What a day! Mine started at 3:47am. Not by choice. All I can say is this: toddlers! 

Still, I did manage a tiny bit of sleep before heading off to do a Bunnings trip, some Community Garden projects and help hubby finish his sculpture. My role was simple- stop the 160kg thing from toppling over when hubby dragged it into its final position. 

I admit, the gardening part was just so therapeutic. I was pondering while planting. I have never felt such a peace while working, I know I could honestly keep doing this forever. Forever while on this mortal coil anyway. 

Even planting out these simple marigolds left me feeling uplifted.

Gardening is so rewarding.

To create something that brings joy to others is such a thrill. I certainly hope this garden outlives me. 

Now, to food. I think I've done rather well in this department today. Read on and see if you agree :)

DAILY FOOD

Breakfast: Medium banana, 40gm walnuts, Herman Brot low carb toast (1 slice) with small amount of butter and vegemite. Skim milk coffee.

Morning Tea: Skim cappuccino, half a banana.

Lunch: 1 slice low carb bread smeared with garlic paste, tin sardines in olive oil, drained, and some salad. 

Afternoon Tea: decaf with skim.

Dinner: 2 pieces of leftover chicken with some whole egg, low sugar mayo and homemade fermented beetroot relish. Mineral water.

DAILY ACTIVITY

3 hours of light gardening- planting, watering, with a fair bit of walking.

And, as always, lots of water throughout the day.

There really isn't anything pretty about sardines on toast. But as far as healthy goes, it's a winner!

After most of the work was done, we took the girls downtown for a gelato afternoon tea treat. Here is my adorable, cheeky miss 2 with her rainbow ice cream. 

Proud to say, I had none!

Honestly, self esteem feels better than ice cream tastes.

Go me!

Another day done right. Feeling proud. Granted, feeling hungry too. I've eaten ample nutrients today. Nothing more 'til brekky.

I've got this!

Until tomorrow, thanks for reading :)

My health challenge Day 3

Day 3. The day most diets get broken. This is the first day since starting I wasn't busy. I feared today! What would I do when faced with temptation?! You'll just have to read on, won't you :)

The day began with this. 

*Sigh*

Love a glorious morning show.

Other than pottering around, getting a full line of washing off and doing an early morning community garden watering, followed by a quick grocery top up,  today was pretty relaxing.

Then, my big girl came over for a visit, and we ended up at Ground Control for coffee.

Miss 2 made it a memorable event.

After nagging for a holly (lolly), she finally got one, eagerly awaited the unwrapping, licked it and said yuk.

Despite the angelic face of her happily sipping away (above), moments later, the cup was upturned, just because it's fun to watch milk pour everywhere. What didn't soak into the gorgeous green velvet chair splattered all over the concrete.

*Face palm*

As everyone cleaned up my daughters mess I crawled and hid in a corner. Well, in my head anyway.

When the black coffee arrived, miss 2 promptly put her unwanted lolly into it. The creme vanished in a fizzle.

Things went downhill from there.

Take away cup lids it was!

I admit, I was soooo hungry today. Since this is about accountability, here I go...

DAILY FOOD

Breakfast: Last of my 3 ready made bircher museli cups.

Coffee with skim.

Morning Tea: soft boiled egg and 3 strawberries. Coffee with skim.

Lunch: 1 chunky slice of paleo bread (an IQS fave), 3 cherry tomatoes and 2 sliced radishes. Half of miss 2's bratwurst. A skim cappuccino. 

Afternoon Tea: 1 punnet of truss cherry tomatoes.

Dinner: 3.5 pieces of baked, seasoned chicken and a simple garden salad with a hint of olive oil. Dinner was only supposed to have 2 pieces of chicken, but miss 2's leftovers looked so good, as did my fussy non teen's. Argh, temptation! 

Plus lots and lots of water.

In all honesty, it could have been worse. At least I didn't over consume carbs.

DAILY ACTIVITY

Unless taking 5 hours to remove clothes from a line and fold them is considered cardio, not a lot was done today. 

There you have it, another day done. And full of real food too, might I add.

Once again, for your perusal, is a sample of today's menu.

Let's see what tomorrow brings, shall we :)

Community Gardens, week 38

I love spring! It provides the perfect amount of warmth and sunshine to motivate keen gardeners like myself. It also helps when allowed to raid a friends garden and rip out an abundance of plants. Thanks Pete & Dan :)

I am also keenly motivated by the lack of uni assessments due. Yay for free time! I can't believe how much we have achieved this week. In only 2 days, the garden is starting to be transformed. But don't just take my word for it, look on...

Monday was plant collection day. Here is a rather large clump of agapanthus. I expected around a dozen plants from this baby. How wrong was I!!!

I absolutely adore agapanthus group plantings. So on Tuesday, I was so keen to plant out a section beside the pathway, I got a bucket full of separated aggies ready to go.

In between, I planted out some more plants, purchased from Bunnings earlier that day. This little plants, whose name has currently escaped me, are perfectly suited to the garden bed beneath the trees.

Back to the aggies, planted out in their new bed. Now, to keep the water up and wait for the blooms.

Another angle of the same bed. Perfect addition to the path.

Now, we arrive at Thursday. Here, the ride on is having a rest in the shade after once again having the belt come loose. A loose belt means no blades turning.

Thankfully, it was swiftly fixed and went on to mow again.

Here, Mick & Paul are putting the fence together, and doing and awesome job!

The boys all worked hard today, assembling the fence and new gate.

That left me free to garden. Yay!

I attacked the slope and planted some more aggies down one side. 

I also read up on how to plant frangipani cuttings. If I've done it right, the 2 I  planted on the slope will grow in several weeks time.

Until today, I really wasn't sure where I wanted to plant out the remaining aggies. When Ben offered to help me dig holes, I got an idea. And here is Ben, digging hole after hole along the bottom edge of the slope.

The agapanthus baby plants seemed never ending, I must admit. Even though it took some time, each one has found a new home. 

And here it is, the newly improved slope! I've  removed a daisy bush, added several agapanthus and 2 frangipani trees. I absolutely love the new look, and can't wait to see it flourish.

The daisy now lives here, between the trees :)

Look, a new fence! The guys did an amazing job-it looks so good!

The newly planted out flower bed is slowly prettying up. Thankfully, all the flowers have taken well. Regular watering and a bit of rain has helped too.

The aggie slope looks fantastic! Go me, and Ben :)

I have some plants in mind for this. Actually, I have some plants in the boot for this! To edge the slope, these planter boxes will be filled with a simple plant I removed from a friends garden today. Sometimes, simple, inexpensive plants can have dramatic effects.

Watch this space.

There you go, another week of great achievement. I'm so excited to show you what I plan to do with the remaining frangipani cutting and 20 liriopes we have been gifted with. 

So much going on-it's all just a bit exciting!

Until next week, thanks for reading :)

My health challenge Day 2

Day 2, done and dusted, thank you very much.

T'was a lovely day out in the sunshine. I spent a large chunk of it happily gardening away :) See the Community Gardens week 38 post for details.

As I sit back enjoying my chai tea between sentences, I'll fill you in on my day. Before I start, I want to point out-I'm not following a specific diet, not purposely eating low fat (except milk-hate the taste of full cream in my coffee), but rather, just trying to portion control my day, and eat real food. It's that simple.

DAILY FOOD 

Breakfast: repeat of yesterday. Remember, I made 3 serves :) Coffee also.

Lunch: A super thick slice of grainy sour dough, topped with 1 mashed avocado, 1 thin slice of bacon and 3 cherry tomatoes. Followed by 2 soft boiled eggs.

A coffee with skim.

Afternoon Tea: 1 apple.

Dinner: A bit of a throw together...

a small serve of Herman Brot low-carb pasta, cooked with a tablespoon of green peas, sauteed garlicky mushrooms and celery, some diced, raw red capsicum, red onion and lastly, a  boiled, then fried bratwurst. 

Um, yum!

  

For your viewing pleasure, a collage showcasing some of today's delectable food.

DAILY ACTIVITY

Approximately three hours of moderate to heavy gardening. Lots of digging, lots of trips up and down the slope, lots of carrying and planting/ transplanting going on today.

I have to say, a pretty satisfying day. 

There you have it, Day 2. Go me! Feeling pretty darn proud so far. Let's see what tomorrow brings, shall we :)

My health challenge.

Ok, today is the day. It's not Monday, I know. Why not start a new life mid week, I say.

Wednesday is the day of choice because I started my 10 session training plan today. 

I aim to document my daily meals and exercise for the next several weeks to help me shed the 5+ evil kilo's that have crept back onto my person.

With no uni to cram for, a much better sleeping pattern, I really have no excuses. I want my health back!

The posts will be simple, and where applicable, have a recipe or two. 

Take a look at today's success. I was actually too busy to overeat. Woo!

DAILY FOOD

Breakfast: Berry apple bircher muesli, which includes 1 apple, 1 cup blueberries, LSA, soaked chia seeds, cinnamon, oats, a hint of lemon juice and plain yoghurt, soaked overnite (makes 3 serves). Yum! 

A large coffee with skim.

Lunch: Herman Brot low carb bread (1 slice, toasted) topped with cream cheese, 100g smoked salmon, cherry tomatoes.

Another coffee with skim-about 1/2 cup.

Dinner: 200g tabbouleh, 2 soft boiled eggs, cherry tomatoes, 1 small avocado.

Mineral water.

Plus plenty of water throughout the day.

A pic collage of my meals. Honestly, very satisfying, and super healthy.

DAILY ACTIVITY

1 hour of pilates.

30 minutes of strength training.

2 hours of housework.

As far as starting how I want to finish, I nailed it! I'm now in the overweight category for my height. That will be rectified soon, but safely. It took weeks to gain excess lard, so I will aim to eat balanced meals-at least 3 a day, and exercise regularly. 

I can do this! 

Let's see what tomorrow brings!

Community Gardens, weeks 36 & 37.

Here is the latest! Follow the pics to see what we've been up to :)

The epic shed assembly has begun. Not an easy task when some bits weren't in the box, which of course means I have no completed shed to show you.

A new side fence needs is going in, to protect little kidlets from accessing the work area/sheds. 

Hubby and I did an early morning Bunning's run to get the timber.

Mick, and our newest worker, Paul, going hard at it, digging post holes.

Today, I swept the path from the trillion spiky casuarina seed pods, other leaves, and of course, copious quantities of sand. Then I placed the remaining hardwood containers where I wanted a garden edge.

As some kids pilfered a planter box for the bike track, then destroyed it after I attempted to move it, I wanted to use these before they succumbed to a similar fate.

Awesome Ben dug out the edge so the planters could be neatly placed just off the path.

So neat! My planter path is nearly ready. Just need to add a lick of white paint and plant these babies out.

I purchased some humble colour whilst at Bunnings this morn. The bird of paradise has been patiently waiting to be planted after being gifted to us months ago.

After a spot of weeding by me, the boys started dumping real soil onto the prepared site.

If I was brave enough to go near this to give you a scale, I would have. Never before have I seen an ant this HUGE! It came courtesy of the new dirt. Yikes!

Ben and Paul are loading the dirt from an unused section of the property. 

Hubby getting his workout for the day.

Another load of real dirt...

Followed by some more. Great team work, boys.

Once the dirt was down, Mick and Ben started digging holes where I guided them. The garden planting is my domain, the back breaking work is theirs!

Some cow poo, organic compost and potting mix was added to give the plants a little boost. After planting, the boys covered the area with leaf mulch, free from the property. Why spend when you can reuse.

Lastly, after watering in well, I added some seaweed solution.

And here you have it, a $57 new garden bed, filled with vibrant colour and a few transplanted daisy bushes. Cottage charm coming up!

Not much to look at now, but in the coming weeks, this bed will flourish. Thankfully, it has been raining on and off since planting out-I haven't needed to stress about keeping the water up.

There you have it, two more weeks down. There will be much more planting, prettying up and new construction too. Stay tuned!

Until then, thanks for reading :)