Back to life, Back to reality!!!

Do you remember the song back to life, back to reality by soul to soul?  It used to be quite a hit in my day or shouldn't I say too much as I will be giving away my age ;-)

Anyways, after coming home and the nice relaxed feeling you get upon returning from a holiday has worn off, I have slammed right back into reality.  The thing is upon getting home I had over 30 letters waiting for me mostly bills and they were all saying to me you can run girl but you sure can't hide for too long (sigh)



Since returning home, I have suffered a bit of jet lag which has made me mostly tired and lazy.  I am still trying to get my body back to it's normal routine, though I must say that I am feeling sooo lazy that the last thing on my mind is working out.  To make matters worse, I stepped on my scale and it said I had put on 10 kilos OMG!!!  Can you believe that after just 3 weeks in the states one can put on 10 kilos??? I am convinced that my scale had a bad morning so I will try to weigh myself again tomorrow morning (deep sigh). Though hopping over to ihop for those nice brekkies and spending the rest of the day on buffets and the like and eating all I can, should it really come as a surprise?  I really feel for those living state side as with all the abundance of nice food it must be quite hard to lose weight there.

On the other hand, if my scale still insists that I have put on weight then it means that this is the heaviest I have been since I made an appearance on this place called planet earth.

So I guess its time to get on the program and start working towards those fine Michelle Obama arms and cool Jillian Micheals abs!  I have decided that tomorrow is the D-day.  I have gathered all the tools of the trade that will be needed for this exercise, namely:

- weights
- resistance bands
- mat
- my videos.

Now I don't have any more excuses and I better do something really fast or else I will soon not recognize myself in the mirror, blimey!

Nutrition wise, I have some whey protein (yummy strawberry flavored) , stocked up on some fish ( tilapia), some oats for breakfast and  tomorrow I'm off to get my salads and fresh fruits from the market.

I'm ready to rock and roll!

How about U?  Have you started your workout for 2013?  Have you got any tips or tricks you wanna share?

That's all for now folks!!!

Elle


The picture above was copied from www.ptsdforum.org

2013 The Year To Be Fruitful

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!

I hope you had a great time with your family and friends.  I must say that despite the fact that I'm unemployed and as a result was dreading the holidays, I have had one of the best Christmases ever.  To God be the glory!   I was blessed to spend Christmas day in both London and Washington (I traveled to Washington on Christmas day) which was pretty cool, though I did get a colic from overeating.  Time with family and friends is always golden and much more precious than silver and gold. 

I still happen to be in the states on holidays and with time on my hands, I have been pondering on my wishes for this year.  They tend to be numerous each year and in most cases I do not get to fulfill them  therefore I have decided to keep it simple this year.  They are as follows: I intend to get the job of my dreams,  fulfill my weight loss goals and God willing pay off my debts.  Oh and something close to my mum's heart is to find  the man of my dreams.  Next week happens to be my birthday, earlier family members will give me subtle hints about there being more to life other than a fulfilling career.  Now that I'm heading towards the big Four Zero, I am being told to concentrate my energy on settling down.   So that has been added to my goals for this year, hmmmm  lets see how that goes.  

I went to a watch night service on the 31^st of December and we were told that 2013 is the year to be fruitful.  

My wish for each of us is that we fulfill our goals and aspirations for 2013 and that we are all blessed with long life, prosperity and good health.

Stay Blessed everyone  xoxoxo

Elle

So far not so good

I  have been away for a while now because life has been really giving me a hard time. 

It is always good to start with the good news so here goes, I got my steroid injection.  The picture below is of my hand a few hours afterwards.

I did not know what to expect but all that I can say is that it was painful and my hand got swollen for a number of days.  It is now healing perfectly so hopefully I will be able to start exercising soon Yay!!!  I have another appointment with the specialist on the 19th of this month, hopefully I will be given the green light to exercise.

Ok now to the bad news, my mum has had flu for the last couple of days and I have been really worried that she was gonna infect me.  So I have been taking all the necessary medication but to no avail as  I developed a severe sore throat that got worse as the days went by.  On Thursday evening I had this horrible throbbing sensation in my right ear which was not getting any better and by midnight I was in A&E.  Don't you just hate going to the emergency room?  It took 3.5hrs to see a doctor and the pain was just out of this world!  I now have  an ear infection and have been given very strong antibiotics and pain killers.  The pain killers make me quite drowsy so im spending most of my time in bed. 

I listened to one of Joel Osteen's latest preaching which said to either be positive or be quiet therefore though it's hard I'm trying to follow this principle and not complain or moan about my situation.

I just know that I will get well soon!!!!

As we all start preparing for Christmas, wishing you and your families the best  for this holiday season.

Happy Shopping.

Elle

Week 2- Making Choices

This week has been really good, I didn't count calories, I exercised and didn't actually feel like I am on a diet. I did not deny my self treats, which is what normally frustrates me about diets, the restrictiveness....
Elle is right, this is a lifestyle change.

So I haven't weighed myself because am trying to curb my attachment to my scales, I will weigh myself once a month so I should have some results about my weight in 2 weeks.

There isn't really much to report to be honest, just that, I feel good about my food choices and actually feel great after my workouts at the gym this week.

Found this really cool picture on pinterest.  Life is all about choices we make, "choices are the hinges of destiny"-Edward Markham

Week 1- Weigh-In

It's already been a week! Time really does fly. Well last week was ok, I managed to go to the gym 3 times and tried to eat healthy. I reduced my carb intake too, my meals were never really balanced. I always had twice my daily portion of carbs. Not good

So results are in!

Week 0 weight = 80kg
Week 1 weight= 80kg
Weight loss = 0!!!!

I am beyond disappointed. Instead of giving up like I normally do I looked back over the week. I actually thought I did well. I was having stir fries for dinner and salads for lunch, I replaced sugar for sweetener, I even gave up rice! So what was the problem????

Well, after much self analysis, the conclusion is, although I replaced my food with healthier options I was still eating the same portions. Result is a net effect, I didn't gain weight but did not lose any either..

So this week, am tracking my meals. I already have an account with myfitnesspal (www.myfitnesspal.com) which helps track daily exercise,food and weight loss.

Hopefully week 2 will be much more successful. No treats either...have to focus.

Jay xx

What is this myth called a Healthy Lifestyle?

Ok, so I had a chat with a very disappointed  Miss Jay who has worked out diligently 3x this week and there is no weight loss, as in zero zilch!

I found it amusing to see how quickly we want to see results, but since I am not the most patient person on the planet I can relate with what she was saying.  Therefore I thought I will share a few tips on some of the Do's and Don'ts of this game based on experience.

First and foremost  if one thinks they are losing weight they get obsessed with the figures on the scale, instead why don't you see it as maintaining a healthy lifestyle?  In so doing you will not be obsessed with the figures on the scales!  Instead of weighing yourself ever too often, why don't you limit it to once a month?  I know this is hard to do but lets resist!  
Coming to think of it, after a month when you jump on the scale and see that the figures have dropped you will be sooooo excited.  I am sure that after a month of working out diligently and eaten healthily you will see a difference, so why don't you give it a go?  A word of caution at this point is to note that when one builds muscles it  manifests on our scales as  if we have put on some weight so do bear that in mind.

Another thing to note is portion control! 
This is easier said than done as most of us see weight loss as being on some crazy diet we detest.  No wonder a few weeks later we put on twice as much weight!  This is mainly due to the fact that we have starved ourselves by eating rabbit food!  Our body also understands this starvation mode so when one starts eating normally it will decide to store the food  just in case you decide to stave yourself again.  I refuse to starve myself as I love my food a but too much :-).  Instead why don't you try to reduce  your portion size and eat 4-5 times a day.  Try to eat every 4hrs if possible and ensure that after 7pm next to no carbohydrates  are eaten as your body may not get enough time to break it down before you go to sleep.  Another good tip is to drink a glass of water before eating, this also helps in you achieving the 1.5litres  one is supposed to drink per day.  I saw this interesting plate  that one can use as a guide below:



Another good tip is to take your multivatimains as well as Omega 3,6 and 9.

Finally be consistent!!

As the saying goes Rome was not built in a day and so with time you will eventually get there.

Good Luck peeps xoxox

Elle

ps: the diagram above was taken from the following website:
http://www.goldsgym.com/healthy/newsletter/2010-04/controlling-portion-sizes

Week 1- Day one

Its official, the journey has officially started. My gym bag is packed, after work am off to the gym to get the sweat on. Actually, I planned to go to the gym in the morning but who am I kidding? I am not a morning person, never will be either lol! 

I feel mentally ready, now just to tackle the physical side. To help me I’ve downloaded the Couch to 5K app on my IPhone and will workout to that. The plan is designed to get just about anyone off the couch and running 5km in nine weeks. Considering running for the bus is a feat on its own, I cannot wait to be able to sexily jog 5km all by my wholesome :)

My starting weight is 80kg. Next weigh in for me will be Sunday 18th November. 

Here we go..........

Jay x