new blog!

new blog people! (no idea if anyone reads this still.. LOL but JUST IN CASE!
this one is more about my life :)

http://inlovewitlife.blogspot.com/

please visit!

TGIF =]

i am very excited about tonight - finally! i get to venture to kings cross :) LOL I KNOW - might sound a lil sad, but hey, I'm a 19 year old girl who likes to club, so I feel deprived! however, tonight's visit to the x is not because of a club (although I reaaaaaally wanna see SoHo! see what all the fuss is about) - its because of Japanese food! haha. Maria is dragging me to JuJu's? (yay! Janine is coming too now!! =]) I'm really not a big fan of sushi (as much as I try to be, would be so much easier & cheaper when it came to take away meals!) - idk, its just.. not filling enough for me? I can have a tuna roll, but I'm always hungry afterwards and I'm not a huge lover of seaweed. I'm planning on getting teriyaki chicken, or some other chicken & rice dish probably :) i am pretty open to trying new things though, so we'll see how we go. the restaurant looks really pretty too :)

went to the gym last night, didnt give it 100%, was feeling pretty tired but I knew i was going to walk home (something I've never done before, a good 40-50 min walk I say?) so it didn't bother me that I wasn't going hard - burned about 200cal so that's good enough. It was nice walking home actually (except for my inappropriate-for-walking handbag! lol hurt my right shoulder sooooo much - must bring backpack next time *& look like a total dork but i dont care!* LOL) - took a different route, up near Strathfield House of Chambers - sooooo many pretty, really BIG & expensive houses! so jealous. I took a foto of the one i liked most :) (trying not to look like a stalker - so many cars driving past haha)

Isn't it pretty :)
Anyway, I got home around 630 - I actually like getting home at that time, because if I get home between 430-530, that's when I snack like crazy, watching afternoon tv, lol. Started cooking dinner, made pasta with mince, tomato paste, onion, garlic, brocolli & capsicum - was really good!! Mum really enjoyed it too - served it with parmesan cheese on top of course, only a little. Also had that for lunch today *just finishing it now* mmm. nom noms!


I'm very proud of myself actually! Every Friday at my work is lunch run - where we pick a place to get take out from - today was Subway, and I resisted!! I was close to getting something but I thought no, I'm trying to save money here AND lose the extra kilos.. so yeah, i didn't give in :) I've actually gone off Subway now - I was obsessed with it for a while but not anymore - idk, it's better fresh anyway, not like when we get it @ work, sits there for an hour or so (coz I don't eat until 1, and we go @ 1130) ..

so yeah.
My lunch on.. Wednesday :)
Tuna salad, very colourful! still enjoying my mustard, mayo & vinegar dressing -idk, salad just isnt my favourite lunch.. not very exciting. I think I might add chicken instead of tuna - i LOVE chicken. lol.

My nachos!! Seeing all these people's great nachos/nacho salads on other food blogs motivated me to make my own! In the past when I have, I've been quite lazy, never doing the mince or beans, just sticking with the other ingredients, but you really need both to make proper nachos :) & it definitly made a difference - so yummy! I used organic corn chips - taste 99% the same as Doritos! & a teeeny bit of cheese :)

My dessert Wed night :) how cute does it look! lol i loveeeeee 100s&1000s! please note that this is about HALF of what I'd usually consume - be proud!


Leftover nachos for lunch on Thurs - also very nice - annoying to transport to work - had to put the chips, salsa and sour cream in different snaplock bag thingys, but it was worth it (otherwise everything would mush togethor, and u need to have the salsa and sour cream cold, not heated up with the rest) - I had 1/2 avacado leftover from Tuesday's salad so I mixed that with the sour cream - SO GOOD. wayyy better then the quacamole I make at home (with Philly) - definitly using sour cream from now on! (weight watchers, so it's sort of healthy ;) .. healthier!)

My breakfast yesterday - cold milo & yoghurt with fruit again.. :) becoming a regular thing - yummy tho :) *reminder - must buy more Milo* I've used a small can in a week! Gives u energy right? and a chocolate hit =]
Hot milo - I've been having one of these the last few nights before bed - I find it removes that ... really hungry when trying to get to sleep feeling. I know it's probably not the best.. but it's nice to have a hot drink before bed.. and at least I don't have 2 biscuits with it like I used to.. speaking of late night snacks.. I must try and not buy a massive bag of gummi bears! LOL sooooo addictive.
How cute are these 'white cherries' ?! They're not as ... flavoursome as normal dark ones, but they're so CUTE! LOL. mum bought them yesterday, gna have some as a snack soon.

oo I better go finish credits :) will report back with pictures from tonight! Jap food is usually really pretty!! =] xox

*yawns*

omgosh.
i am so tired!

i walked to the gym yesterday & did about an hour of cardio & thankfully, mum picked me up :) i really didnt feel like cooking, so we decided to have thai - we shared a chilli & basil beef (yes, not chicken =P) with rice. my iphone was almost dead, so i couldnt take a photo :( was okay, beef was a lil tough (which is why i usually stick with chicken lol) but lots of veggies! mum thought it was heaps salty (ima lil worried about salt now, coz apparently it makes your metabolism really slow? i used to add so much soya sauce to my rice! lol) but it tasted okay to me :)

anyway, i was all ready for bed by 930, started watching White Chicks (has some really funny bits, but is mostly annoying?) & reading a few new blogs I've come across :) & i was so falling asleep! but then a friend rang me, only spoke for 10mins or so, but just enough to like totally wake me up! LOL it was fine coz it was still early, but I knew after 3 days in a row @ the gym, I needed my sleep.

Anyhoo. Long story short, I didn't get to sleep until like 1am! BECAUSE idk! I was just so awake! & seriously, SO HUNGRY. ive noticed that the last few nights! I think it's because I'm not eating any food really, after 8pm (which is something thats really hard for me, it was quite common for me to eat 2 scotch finger biccies (love love loveee them - basically just shortbread) & a glass of milk before bed a few times a week) - but it's almost like hunger pains? it sounds silly, but idk, makes it hard to go to sleep! I don't think I could ever starve myself on purpose. LOL. anyway, I didn't wanna go downstairs so I just had a few gummi bears (ONLY a few, probably around 6?) just to give me that buzz & the pain did go away :) Finally fell asleep, listening to 20/20? some American 60mins-like program - they were doing a story on this preacher who killed his wife or something? So scary, was gonna turn it off but couldnt be bothered getting up. lol.

Woke up at usual time, 5ish - woke mum up (she said she's been not hearing her alarm lately, so she wanted me to make sure she was up getting ready for work) & then I went back to bed until 630 - & yeah, my eyes were just reallyyyyy heavy & they still are (& its 11:06am as I type this) & my body is sooooooooore. But I'm trying to stay positive :) This is good! My nose was a lil iffy last night, and my throat doesnt feel right? I'm really hoping I'm not getting sick (so not fair! i just started working out!) SO I'm gonna get some OJ (or some actual oranges?) this arvo when I go shopping, stock up on some Vitamin C! I'm seriously contemplating taking Vitamin C tablets, but they're so pricey!

Anyway! Had yoghurt & strawberries & blueberries for breakfast - really not a big fan of the blackberry yoghurt I bought from Harris Farm - definitly going to stick to the passionfruit flavour from now on. It's weird, again, at night coz I'm so hungry, it's like I can't wait for breakfast! But then in the morning, when I wake up, I'm not that hungry? Like I really don't feel like anything? Hrmm. I think I need to work on having more filling dinners. Thinking about trying a taco salad tonight! Got it off "Amy's quest to Skinny" blog LOL - the pic she posted looks really good! Gotta buy some lean mince, kidney beans & some sour cream. See how I go :)

Photo timeeeee!!

My b/f this morning - wasnt much milk left :( so only had half a glass - maybe that's why I'm feeling low on energy? Didn't eat all the yoghurt either, jst wasnt hungry? I've been snacking all morning at work though;

Water & some dried apricots (I've had 3 now) - soo sweet. I also tried some dried mango @ Harris Farm yesterday - quite nice also!
Spicy rice crackers - these are extremely yummy & definitly have some bite to them! Picked up at Woolworths the other day; only $2 for a huge pack! & really low in cal - all them for 100 cal :) Good way for me to drink water too (trying to get my water intake up! diet coke intake DOWN LOL) - you definitly need a beverage of some sort with these!
Lean Cuisine Green Curry Chicken - okay now I know this blog is meant to be all about FRESH & healthy eating, but I had this in the freezer @ work since just before Xmas & I really didn't feel like a salad for lunch yesterday, so I thought why not! It's just a small bowl, and only 270 cal! Chicken's wasnt the best, but it's a frozen dinner so that's expected.
Mocha cake? - proud to say, i DIDNT eat this! work was celebrating a girls' bday so they had this coffee cake - just LOOK at all the fat & oil that's leaking onto the napkin from the icing! It was made easier because I'm not a huge fan of coffee flavoured food - if it were chocolate cake however... might have been a different story =P

Today for lunch I have a tuna salad :) Should be nice, mum buys this really yummy tuna with a lime & pepper dressing? & I mixed up a nice dressing myself, mustard, tiny bit of mayo & white vinegar :) Much less fattening then a big dallop of mayo or caesar dressing.

Exercise for today - probably not much. might go on the treadmill @ home for 10-15mins, or do some jump rope. It's rest day! :)

xox

Welcome!

Hey everyone! oo!! First blog! How exciting. I've been meaning to make one for ages, just never got around to it. I've been so inspired by all the weightloss/food tracking blogs I've found (especially TrulyJess, who's on Youtube too - she's so cool=]) and I've been wanting to get back into blogging for months now, so here I am! It's not gonna be like my old blogs (ohhh so embarassing LOL, but i LOVE reading over them - memories!) - more of a tracking tool for me, so I can actually stick to my new healthier .. lifestyle. haha. how corny is that, but it's true! I was thinking and realised that basically.. all of 2009, I ate whatever I wanted, without much exercise. Yeah, I had phases, where I'd walk to work for a few weeks straight, or go for runs 2-3 times a week, but nothing major. Not quite sure if anyone will read this blog, but if it's some random, I better explain my .. weightloss journey (ahhh journies.. advanced english memories! ew ew ew) - in 2005, I was at my heaviest - topping the scale at 90kg (I think the last time I weighed myself was at the doctors, and I think it was 89? Like most overweight people, scales are quite scary objects lol) - my mum likes to take credit all the time saying how her & the doctor sort of.. told me I had to lose weight now otherwise I would become obsese. I was on the borderline, my BMI was 29 something I think, & I believe 30 is when you hit Extremely Overweight? or Obese? Not exactly sure, but I KNOW it isnt good. lol. Here's a photo of me at my heaviest;


2005 - Year 10 formal. I wore the shortest dress too! I think I was in denial still. At least until I saw the photos.

Anyway, I remember leaving the doctors office (good old Dr Gergus Maria! lol) totally upset, crying.. but I knew then that a change had to be made! To be honest, I'm not quite sure why I was so overweight. I think it was just lack of exercise, because I was a healthy kid! Yeah I enjoyed my fast food probably a bit more then recommended (working at McDonalds for 3 years probably didnt help the situation) but I also loved my veggies! and good food! I think portion control was my biggest struggle, and it still is, to this day. Anyhoos, I decided to try Lite & Easy! & obviously, it worked :) Was so easy, everything prepared (I'd be the best spokesperson, I wanna be on tv! LOL) lil costly, but not too bad. I remember not being a big fan of the breakfast options - I hated the brown/wholemeal/seedy bread rolls that would come with soups and stuff (still do! trying to change that though, i wish i did! but idk.. white tastes sooo much better!) & I hate oats! and like those fibre cereals. But breakfast is pretty easy to change up, so that was fine. Most of the dinners were soooooo yummy, and some lunch options were quite nice (I remember loving the burger?) so it wasnt that hard. I also joined Fitness First, had a personal trainer for a month or 2 (that got way tooo expensive though! like $60 a pop. But he taught me what I needed to know (his name was Truc - cool lil asian dude). I kept going to the gym, probably once or twice a week, enough to lose the rest of the weight. Here's two recent photos of me;




My lowest weight on the scale was 61.9kg. I remember that so well because I used one of those BMI scales in a chemist (mum made me take one with her lol) - right now, I stay in the 64-67kg range. Not sure why, but it's been my goal FOREVER to get to 58kg. Again, no idea why, I just like that number. Like I said before, I really put no effort into my eating or exercise habits last year, hence why I've gone back to higher 60s. :( Annoying. But I did enjoy eating whatever I wanted for a few months I must admit =P

I know I'm not overweight.
I know I dont need to lose a dramatic amount.
I just want to achieve the following things;

*insert 2010 goals here* lol.

- get down to 58kg (aim for 1000-1200cal per day - this was my cal limit on Lite & Easy)

- exercise at least 3-4 times a week (something that will be quite a big change for me, like I said before, hardly no constant exercise last year, so hopefully should make a big difference with the last few kilos)

- tone up legs, arms & stomach (this is where I might need to use my 3 free personal trainer passes I got when I joined the gym, as much as I don't want to have a PT *idk, I'd rather work out alone?* but I know I probably will need to, to learn the exercises I'll need to do to achieve this.) I want to feel comfortable wearing shorts, singlets and of course, a bikini =P

- be generally a healthier person. Now I've never been a huge health-nut, and I definitly don't think I could ever be a vegan or 'totally clean/raw foods' eater (I love certain foods too much lol) but never say never! Again, I follow a few people on Youtube (especially Antishay & Tbossbone) and for example, Antishay aims to eat mostly raw & clean foods (no idea HOW, sounds extremely hard) but she does, and you can see the effects come through in her videos - at first your body reacts in a sluggish/tired way - it has to adjust to change - but once it gets used to GOOD food, you reap the benefits :)

(I'm writing this @ work so I apologise if my post is all over the place LOL)

Anyway!
I wanna try & post pics of my meals, to keep track and make myself accountable to something AND just generally use this blog to talk about food, exercise & health :)

It's Tuesday, and I went to the gym Sunday, yesterday & am also going tonight. I also walked to the gym from work yesterday, and then from the gym to Strathfield (probably half hr walk all up) & THEN I walked to work this morning (40min) - tomorrow I'm going to give my body a rest (maybe do my legs & abs dvd) & then maybe the gym again on Thurs (although that's my late night shopping night! hrmm, and I'm thinking about making it my cheat day - mainly coz I'm craving Indian =P) - we'll see. I'm definitly alot more active then last year that's for sure so things are off to a good start!

Time to post some pictures! :)

Pho.
This was my lunch on Sunday & dinner last night -(with Maria, @ Saigon Bowl, in Strathfield - my favourite Viet place ever!) - was very yummy. I never ever finish it though, wayyy too many noodles. The soup is sooo addictive though, just can't stop! I don't think its uber bad for you (isnt it just broth?) but it definitly makes you feel bloated afterwards (hence why I gained 0.5kg when I weighed in this morning - disappointing, but I have to remember that I only just started exercising). Vanilla yoghurt with strawberries & blueberries.
Very yummy. I had this for breakfast today & yesterday also - very easy to prepare & so low in cal! only 6cal per strawberry :) basically all of 2009 my main breakfast meal was 2 pieces of toast (butter&vegemite, or butter&honey, sometimes peanut butter) and a big glass of milk. Cal total for that, probably around 600-700! That's crazy for only breakfast. With my yoghurt, I often have a cold Milo, just to give me that extra boost.

One piece of toast with vegemite (little butter), 3 strawberries & a hot Milo.
This was.. Sunday's breakfast.. one slice is better then two!

Baked dinner (cooked by mum)
Very small portion compared to what I'd usually consume - I loveeeeeee baked potato & pumpkin (who doesn't!) but I felt satisfied. Had some leftover lamb in a salad the next day.


6 blocks of white chocolate & a diet coke.
Only 4 blocks in the picture coz I couldn't resist =P So good! So high in cal though for so little. ahhh white chocolate <3
Nachos.
Had these in Newtown with my mum last week - not the best, but still yummy. I love mexican food - but I always find it better when I make it? The nachos at Georges (in Burwood) are really good, but yeah, really fatty I spose. I LOVE salsa. Can eat sooo much of it (gonna have some tonight I think - bought some organic cheese chips @ Harris Farm on Sunday - I tried one, they taste ALMOST the same as Doritos!) =] But yeah, these were made with black beans? Hrmm. not a huge fan. I prefer kidney beans.

Waffles with banana, strawberries & icecream.
@Max Brennar. All my close friends know that I LOVEloveLOVE waffles. & the icecream they use.. *dies* its sooo creamy and jst SO GOOD. I had this TWICE last week (once with mum & once with the girls) .. again probably why I gained! oh well :) I enjoyed it! haha. definitly only for special occasions (like when my boyfriend gets back from Thailand! xox)

Gym!
Proof! LOL I take photos everytime I get off a machine to track how many cals I've burnt so I can write them down later. I really have to work on staying longer on machines, but I get so bored after 10-15mins! No idea how ppl can stay on them for like an hour. But they say, mixing it up is better generally.

Anyway! That's all for my first post I think. :)

xox