Alive and Kicking

I have been so busy this week that I have had no time to even get online and blog. I have been doing Dukan all week but I have missed the comments and encouragement so even though it is really late I am making myself do it.

I have not weighed again but I can feel I am losing inches. My clothes are hanging on me and I have a huge bag of stuff that I have packed up to be given away that is too big for me. My cupboard is getting trimmed down which is great as it was way too full of things that I never wore.

I have been finding it a real chore to eat breakfast. I was doing so well at it but lately it jis just one more thing that I don't do.

So here is what I ate today:

Breakfast - Fat free prune yoghurt and Oat bran(I like this flavour although many people say ugh)

Lunch - Left over tossed salad with left over broccoli in it and turkey ham with a balsamic dressing

Supper - Roast chicken and cucumber sticks with carrots

I have been better about eating and when I am better about eating I lose weight - kind of a weird thing!

We started play practice today and we are doing Pygmalion this year. We showed the kids My Fair Lady this afternoon at Drama and they loved it! Audrey Hepburn was so beautiful!!!

It was fun watching their faces as they saw their characters on screen. The hall was filled with the smell of chips - salt and vinegar is my favourite and they were offering left right and centre so it was VERY hard to say NO. However I managed to not eat 1 chip - pretty pleased with myself.

OK well I have missed you all and I am going to try catch up on everyone's blogs now.

have a good day tomorrow.

xxxxxxxx

Day 83 Weigh in

Starting weight - 73 kg

Current weight 62.5 kg

Total lost 10.5 kg

Still have 6.5 kg to go

My Weight Chart:

Bobotie Recipe

This recipe is a South African one and can be tweaked perfectly to become Dukan friendly.

There are a lot of ingredients but once you have them - the spices I mean - you can use them again to make more bobotie:-)

2 medium onions diced

3 cloves of garlic chopped

no fat spray

500 g lean mince meat

grated carrot/baby zucchini

Spray the pan with no fat spray and cook the mince until it is crumbly. use a fork to break up large bits. Add the onion and garlic and cook until it is soft. Add the carrot/zucchini(I use a bit of both as you are not supposed to eat too much carrot)

Add these spices:

2 t curry powder

1 t coriander

1/2 t ginger

1/2 t dried herbs

1 t turmeric

1/2 t cinnamon

1 t sweetener(I use Sweet n Low)

pinch of red chilli

Cook for a short while to develop all flavours.

Season with:

1 t salt(i usually don't put that much in)

1/4 t black pepper

1 T wine vinegar

2 T Oat bran(the recipe calls for bread soaked in water, Oat bran works well and I add a bit of water as the bran soaks up all the liquid)

Spread the mixture into a flat oven proof dish and put a bay leaf or 2 on top. At this point, if I have made extra I usually freeze it.

If you want to eat it then you need to make the final bit - the egg sauce to go over the top before you bake it in the oven.

1/2 cup of zero fat yoghurt

1/2 cup of skim milk

1/2 t salt - again I usually don't include this

pinch of pepper

2 eggs

Beat all the above together and pour it over the bobotie/mince mixture in the dish. bake uncovered at 190 degrees/375 F for 35 minutes until the topping is firm and golden brown.

This is delicious and for others who are not on Dukan you would serve it with yellow rice/chutney/sliced banana/coconut.

Make a tomato and onion sambal/salad with some vinegar and Dukaners can have that too

This is yummo and really filling. Plus the whole family or guests can eat this modified Dukan bobotie and enjoy it as well. You can tweak the spices. My kids find even this too spicy - so they normally eat rice and veg when I make this! the combination of mince and egg may sound weird but I have not met a single person who after trying this did not really enjoy it.

Enjoy!!!

Day 81 Cruise

Breakfast - Oat bran porridge with cinnamon

Lunch - left over salad and crock pot beef

Supper - bobotie(SA dish) and a few carrots and salad.

I ate loads today. Lunch sort of went on for a few hours and I was def not hungry by late afternoon.

I must post the recipe for bobotie as it is the perfect dish for Dukan. A mince dish that has curry spices and when you bake it in the oven you put egg, milk and yoghurt on top which sort of goes golden and yummy.

We had guests for dinner and that meant dessert! It was lemon cake and chocolate cake. Surprisingly I was majorly stuffed from supper and so did not even feel at all tempted.

I walked up the stairs a fair few times today and believe me 4 floors is nothing to laugh at!!!

The electricity was on and off tonight..........what a pain!!!

Thanks to everyone who has been so encouraging over the last few days.

xxx

Day 80 Cruise PV

Breakfast - 2 fried eggs

Lunch - left over crock pot beef

Snack - 1 biscuit

Supper - grilled meat and chicken with fattoush - a type of Lebanese salad

Snack - 2 sour worms and a brownie

OK I almost did not confess that snack but who am I kidding? If I can't admit that I ate that, then I have come no where in the last 2 months.

Weird how these last 7 kg seem a higher mountain than the first 10.............

It is all very quiet on the blog front, hope everyone is ok and that spirits are high..............

It was so hot today and the humidity was very high. Unbelievable that we are in October and getting weather like this. Come on winter...........hurry up!!!

Day 79 Cruise PP

Breakfast - Oat bran porridge

Lunch - left over crock pot beef

Supper - some beef stew and 2 slices of turkey ham

Snack - 2 slices of turkey ham with light cream cheese.

Oh thank goodness this day is over! I am in a bad mood for no apparent reason and I hate that.

I have started worrying about whether I will be able to maintain this lifestyle long term - which just shows you that I am in a bad place right now. I am wondering if I will ever be able to eat pizza or potatoes or pasta without worrying that I will put it all back on again.

I know I have 7 kg to go but now that I am over the halfway mark I find I am worrying about things that are probably inconsequential.

I keep telling myself that I will eat potatoes on Christmas Day but that is the time I probably should be careful as there will be so much food around that I should not eat.

Will I ever be able to eat without worrying again? Or is this my life now? Do I want this to be my life??

As you can see I am having a down patch. I am probably thinking about things that I should not worry about.

I am so grateful for you guys out there that read my blog and comment. Your encouragement is what keeps me going and what I credit my weight loss to. Somehow being accountable to you all really helps me think about what I am putting into my mouth.

OK I am done being maudlin and pathetic! Hope that everyone had a more cheerful day than I had today!

Day 78 Cruise PP

Breakfast - Oat bran porridge

Lunch - nothing substantial, a crab stick and?? I can't even remember

Snack - a bit of cookie dough and a laughing cow light cheese wedge

Supper - Crock pot beef in a yummy sauce. Also some green beans - I know it's PP but they slipped in.

Snack - well I had to taste one of the biscuits didn't I??

May daughter and I made sugar cookies this afternoon. We had fun and flour went everywhere. She cracked the eggs and held the mixer so she was very happy.

I even let her taste some raw cookie dough which I normally have a real thing about as it has raw egg. I, of course, also tasted it:-)

We made the cookies and used animal cut outs which she thought was so cool.

And then after supper I ate one. My kids ate about 3 or 4 each and I managed to stop at 1. they were yummy though

I am doing this "hardly eating thing again" It is not on purpose I just don't have too much Dukan stuff ready and I know the key to this diet is being prepared.

Oh well tomorrow is another day so I can start again with the best intentions..............

Day 77 Cruise

What an incredibly busy day - oh my goodness! So much for Sunday being a day of rest. You need a rest after a weekend in our house!

Breakfast - nothing(1/4 of a glazed do nut - better than nothing, don't say a word!!)

Lunch - BBQ chicken and garlic sauce, cucumbers and tomatoes. We were out for lunch and there was not much in the way of Dukan food. There was coleslaw and when they brought out the other veg I was very happy as I thought I would just have to eat chicken.

Supper - Oat bran porridge.

All in all a shocking day food-wise and not good as I was starving most of the day. I drank quite a bit of coffee so that helped fill the gaps.

I am looking forward to a PP day tomorrow. Need a few PP days as I have been having loads of PV days as usual. Planning a crock pot meal with beef tomorrow so that will be yummy. Plus I am planning to try the muffins again as last time I forgot to put the skim milk in so they were a bit weird tasting! I ate them but did not really enjoy them.

I am feeling so desperate to eat some carbs - have no idea where this craving is coming from.

Hope everyone had a GREAT weekend!!!

Enjoy your Mondays....................

trying to stay sane with no water..........

Day 76 Cruise

We had NO water today. aaahhh the joys of living in Lebanon. So we have been having showers and brushing our teeth at our various friends houses. Praying we get some by tomorrow!!!

Breakfast - Oat bran porridge

Lunch - a health bar

Supper - lasagna mince with no pasta and a HUGE salad.

The best part of today was the 2 hour sleep I had this afternoon and the coffee at Costa with my girlfriends tonight. We laughed ourselves silly - sometimes you just have to be crazy don't you.

I weighed again this am and I def weigh 63 so that is great. I have lost 10 kg - yippeeee

I am now just hoping I don't lose my motivation. Stil have 7 kg to go!!!

Hope it was a great day for everyone.

xxxx

Day 75 Cruise

What a crazy day today. It is weird having a day off in the middle of the week. You always look forward to it but it very rarely ends up being relaxing and restful.

Brunch - 2 eggs and 2 pieces of Dukan bread with light cream cheese

Snack - some veg sticks and a bit of onion dip

Supper - Grilled meat and chicken

Snack small piece of baklava.

I really felt in urgent need of sugar tonight - hence the small baklava.

I also weighed myself this morning and I weighed 63 kg. That means I have lost 10 kg in total. I will re weigh tomorrow because I could absolutely not believe I had lost .5 kg in a day. I did do a lot of walking yesterday and loads of going up and down 4 flights of stairs!!!

It is also my TOM so I felt a bit bloated. We will see what the scales say tomorrow.

xxx

Day 74 Cruise

Well I not get to sleep too late but it was better than my usual wake up of 6:15. It was a weird day, having no school it felt like a Saturday.

I was pleased after weighing myself, that I have dropped another .5 of a kg. Amazed because I have really been slacking off lately. It seems once you start allowing a little of this and that - the flood gates open and I don't seem to be able to say NO the way I used to.

I am kind of disappointed in myself as I really thought I was going to go on being strong all the way through but it seems I have reached a point where the weight loss has slowed down - of course it does not help that I am eating bad things every now and then, slowing it down even more!!!

Breakfast - Oat bran porridge

Lunch - salad and Guacamole - a weakness, I LOVE it.

Snack - almost a whole chocolate croissant(supposed to be my daughters)

Supper -Left over meatballs baked in the oven

So 2 really bad things today - croissant and Guacamole. Well not bad, just not what I am supposed to be eating right now.

Hope everyone had a good day.

xxx

Day 74 Weight Update

Starting weight - 73 kg

Goal weight - 56 kg

Current weight - 63.5 kg

Weight Lost so far - 9.5 kg

Day 73 Cruise PP

I was in the mood for a new look hence the blog changed it's look. I feel like change so it might change again.

Oh I weighed myself and true to form, just as I had expected the scales flickered slightly below 64 so because my scales are not digital I could not be precise and so I will keep my ticker at 64 kg.......

Breakfast - 2 eggs

Lunch - Turkey ham on Dukan bread with a small amount of light cream cheese

Supper - 3 sausages and some meatballs

I really find that when I don't have Oat bran for breakfast I feel sort of nibbly and hungry all day. I put my oat bran in the meatballs and I had some Dukan bread so I have had more oat bran than I should have today.

I have been drinking loads of coffee and tea now that the weather has cooled down. I also have a coffee date with hubby tonight so that will be another cup!

We have a day off tomorrow as the Iranian President is coming down South for a tour. I am really excited about the day off, I am already planning to sleep in.

How are the rest of you Dukaners and non Dukaners today???

Day 72 Cruise PV

Weigh day tomorrow am so we will see how this week has been. I tried on a pair of black trousers that I bought at Christmas in SA. I am usually a size 14 - well I have been for a few years now - and one of the reasons I started this diet was that even 14's were becoming too tight and I refused to buy 16's. Anyway I tried them on today and I was really shocked at how big they were. They were not big around my waist but around my bottom and thighs. They flapped.

I am now fitting comfortably into most of my 14's and a few of them are too big. I have really been enjoying wearing my jeans with ease and I have some smaller pairs that are waiting. I suppose the most rewarding thing about dieting is the fitting into clothes.

Well this is what I ate today:

Breakfast - Oat bran porridge cooked with cinnamon(cooking it is def better than adding it at the end)

Lunch - left over crock pot beef

Snack - a few bites of my daughter's croissant - oops - just a few bites really!!!!

Supper - chicken with salad and 5 crab sticks

The other thing is that based on people's comments and stuff I have read I have decided to change my goal weight to 56 kg. I realised that my weight watchers assessment was a LONG time ago. Pre children and pre 30's..............I read that for every child you can add on a kg(I have 2)For every 10 years you can add on a kg or so. Not sure how accurate this is but I have seen it in a few places. So I decided to add 3 kg on to my goal weight.

I have not even been 64 kg for ages, so when I get to 60 kg that will be amazing!

Sorry it was a very long posting - just needed to get my thoughts on paper so to speak..............I will shut up now.

Hope everyone had a good day.

xx

Day 71 Cruise PP - What to do??????

Breakfast - Oat bran porridge

Lunch - 3 slices of Dukan bread, with cream cheese light and turkey ham - I know I had double the oat bran today but I felt like it!!

Supper - Beef slow cooked with delicious sauce

Naughtiness - 1 Lindt ball.....argh I am losing it HELP!!!

I did a bit of walking today and drank loads of water/tea/coffee. In fact I think I am having too much coffee. Need to keep motivated - it is amazing how your mood changes from day to day. One day you are on fire motivated and the next you are tempted to slip up and break the diet. I wonder if the protein/veg combination is getting monotonous - do I need a change???

Do I take a day or 2 off and hope that I come back more motivated? What do you guys think??? Those of you who have taken weekends of etc does it make it harder getting back on???

Looking forward to hearing what you all have to say...........

Day 70 Cruise

Breakfast - NOTHING, Josh was running in a race so we up and out the door early!

Lunch - Chicken salad and 2 slices of ham

Supper - 3 slices Dukan bread and cream cheese - the bread came out great. I made a double batch and it will be great for those mornings when I have to dash out of the door.

Snack - some biscuits

I knew that this would happen - the moment I start feeling good about the weight I have lost I become complacent"oh a bite of this won't harm, a little cake here and there"

Before you know it I will have not lost all that I need to lose and I will be putting it all back on again. Having said all that I don't miss those foods terribly but sometimes it is just easier!

Especially with Christmas coming up - baking which I love - all those cookies and cakes.

I am trying to be more creative in the food that I make so making the Dukan bread yesterday was good. Honestly what I miss the most is something to nibble on with my tea.

Like cookies that are not just fluff and air.

I wonder if one could make meringues with sweetener and how that would taste???

Day 69 Cruise

Breakfast - Oat bran porridge

Snack - Oopsie rolls

Lunch - Crab salad from Dunkin Donuts

Supper - cauliflower, few carrots and few bits of chicken

We went out this afternoon and it was so fun. A new mall has opened up about 45 min away so we decided to check it out!

They have some pretty cool shops and we did some window shopping!

So does walking around the shops count as exercise???

Day 68 Cruise

It rained today - yippee it cooled down and actually as I type I am snuggled in bed and it is raining outside. Kids are watching a DVD next to me and it is a nice family moment...........well minus dad who is out at school.

Breakfast - Oat bran porridge - this is the best breakfast in my opinion as it keeps you so full.

Lunch - left over cauliflower, a few carrots and roast chicken

Snack - 2 biscuits

Supper - lettuce and chicken salad and a few left over beef sausages.

Hmm the weather has cooled down and I am eating like mad! Is this a bad sign?? I am hoping it was just a hungry day!

Several times up and down the 4 flights of stairs today so some exercise, but not enough.

So glad it is the weekend..................need to relax tomorrow;-)

Day 66 Cruise PP and Day 67 Cruise PV

I seem to be getting into this bad habit of posting every 2 days lately. It is still crazy at school although most of the Nursery have stopped crying.

I had to check I was still 64 and it was really still 64. It didn't flicker or anything!!

Day 66 -

Breakfast - 2 fried eggs

Lunch - Oat bran porridge

Supper - Grilled meat and chicken with garlic sauce - yummo

Day 67 -

Breakfast - Blueberry oat bran muffins and tea

Lunch - Turkey ham and left over grilled chicken

Supper - Roast chicken, cauliflower and Carrots with cinnamon.

For those who are interested Dukan said my Goal weight was 56 or 57. It changed when I updated my stats/

A few years ago I did weight watchers and they told me that my weight could be anywhere in the range of 49 - 53, so I have kind of got it in my head that I want to be 53 kg. That would make it that I have 11 kg to go. What do you guys think? Even though I am short my bone structure is not small - well that is what I think anyway!!!

Looking forward to hearing what you all think.

Day 66 Weigh Day

Starting weight - 73 kg

Current weight - 64 kg

I was so excited when I stood on the scale and I was 64. that means 1 more kg until my mini goal of 63 - which will mean 10 kg lost.

This was just the motivation I needed. Thanks to everyone for their encouragement - 2 weeks stuck on 65 was difficult!!!

Day 65 Cruise PV

Breakfast - piece of steak and 2 Oopsie rolls

Lunch - 2 Crab cakes with chili

Snack - a chocolate cupcake..........oops

Supper - crab salad and some Turkey ham.

Dessert - Vanilla moist cakes - to get my daily Oat Bran - except I did them blueberry as I do not have vanilla yoghurt - they were tastier than I expected!!!

Well it has mostly been meat but we are always out for supper on a Tuesday. Everyone else is eating baked potatoes which I adore but they have also thoughtfully included salad in the meal.

Last week they ate lentils but again there was salad, so I did not have to sit there feeling deprived.

So because I am eating out it is salad tonight.

I loved the Oopsie rolls, they are so easy and taste so good. I made savoury ones with chives and I think I will make some more tomorrow with parsley, mint and Chives - yummy!!!

I wonder if sweet ones will be nice??? I can't imagine sweet because they are a bit souffle like and very eggy in my way of thinking.

I had a bit of a blip with the cupcake. I love baking and my whole family has sort of been missing the cakes and biscuits. I decided to make cupcakes this afternoon and I was really good until I ate a little bit that had spilled over the casing - that was it, I just had to eat the rest of the cupcake. Glad I made cupcakes and not a whole round cake - imagine losing it with a whole cake........eeeeekkk

Weigh day tomorrow...................he he then we will see how much that cupcake affected the scales. There has not been much movement on my scales for a while so hopefully it will be encouraging tomorrow am.

Day 64 Cruise PP

Breakfast - Oat bran porridge

Lunch - Crab cakes and 2 Oopsie rolls and piece of steak

Snack - 2 more oopsie rolls

Supper Baked chicken and zero fat yoghurt

You may notice that I ate LOADS today - well loads for me. I have decided to have some major protein days for a while to try kick start that weight loss again. I have been reading up some websites and I realise that the meds I am taking probably do not help me lose weight. In fact i suppose I should be pleased with what I have lost so far.

Weather here is so lovely in the early mornings and the sky is pink and cool. It got me thinking that I should start trying to get up early again and going for my walk along the sea promenade. we are fortunate enough to live overlooking the Mediterranean so I guess I should get out there!!

Hoping everyone else had a great day too.

xxx

Day 62 and 63 Cruise

I am sorry but I am posting 2 days in one as I was sooooooo busy yesterday that blogging just fell by the wayside.

Day 62

Breakfast - Oat bran porridge

Lunch - Grilled fish, meat and salad on beach

Supper - wedding and only salads and meat eaten.

Day 63 -

Breakfast - Oatbran porridge

Lunch - 1/2 a kaak - bready thing that was bought for me - oops

Snack - Turkey ham

Supper - Chicken caesar salad without creamy dressing or croutons. Made my own dressing - mustard, balsamic and a bit of oil.

Has not been a brilliant weekend exercise wise although dancing the dabke at the wedding certainly gave my right leg a workout!!!

This week coming up is going to be a return to basics and only Dukan foods - no tolerated ones even!!!! I will weigh myself on Thursday am and hopefully will be over this hurdle. I am not stopping and I am not giving up! I have had people tell me to stop, that I look great already - who cares etc etc. Sometimes your friends can be the ones who sabotage you the most.

When people have told me to stop, I have told them that one of the reasons I am on this diet is because I feel so much better eating this way. It is not hard most of the time and I am only pleased that it has taken 2 months for me to get to a plateau or hurdle.

However long it takes, I will not give up.

Day 61 Cruise PV

Breakfast - Oat bran porridge

Lunch - I forgot to eat!!

Supper - Salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, olives and I had some frankfurter.

Snack - Turkey ham

Another busy day at school and I have now had 2 people point out that I am not eating very much. I think I am not eating the best Dukan foods so from Monday it will be back to basics. I need to make sure I eat as if I don't it does not help and I am sure it is not good for me.

I also seem to have a funny tummy today, so am not feeling on top form with my cold and tummy!!

I am plodding along on Dukan at present but don't really feel supremely motivated. What is motivating me more than wanting to lose weight is that I know I will not feel good if I eat non Dukan food. I suppose that is a good motivation but I seem to have lost the initial excitement now after 60 days.

I can't believe I am still doing Dukan - I am not sure I have ever stuck at another diet for so long!!! I hope my fellow Dukaners had a good day.