Journey to a New Me

[Gigglesza]

hey m.e,

You should join our challenge!!! http://newyouforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=426961

[mesmer_eyes]

Hey Gigglesza!

I have just included garlic for yesterday's dish and I love it.. and thanks for your suggestions!! My consultant specifically said no hot spices - ie. paprika, cayenne, hot chillies.. with paprika at the very 1st so Im being a good girl and staying away from it.

But sweet basil, oregano, parsley, and balsamic vinegar are all coming home with me when i go food shopping. I didn buy packets of stevia.. so that I can probably use.. The balsamic vinegar is mostly for the salads right? hehehe i really never cooked before and I never liked dressings on my salads (if ever i had any)

I had a look at the challenge, and I will join!! see you there

[Gigglesza]

well I'm portuguese and we always cook our food with wine, so I'm using the balsamic vinegar as a replacement for the wine, it really adds an extra yumminess to the meal.

Oh and I've found the light mayo helps to thicken your sauce

[needsunshine]

Yey for overcoming temptations!!! I should list all my temptation demons I encounter everyday, too! Such a good idea.
I am with you in that feeling that work folks are making it harder (on purpose) to get through everyday. Lol. Conspiracy theory at its finest. Haha.

Nicely done, m_e!

[mesmer_eyes]

@ Gigglesza: wow every meal cooked in wine.. i should try portuguese food once im fully used to maintenance..

@needsunshine: yes! u must list this, basically to boost your confidence in making the right food choices! I was just going through the list because I have to add todays addition (yes, it keeps on going! I cant believe this office!) and I seriously cant believe myself.. I am a junk food junkie and a chocolate monster

[mesmer_eyes]

Day 10: Shhhh.. Its all good

"Endorphins make you happy, happy people just dont shoot their husbands."--- Elle Woods

Today, I have done the absolute taboo in the Cohen program. I went for my 2 favorite classes in the whole wide world

I did body pump and body combat, back to back today with my fave instructor. And you know what? IT FELT SO SO SO GOOD!!

I used my existing weight plates and really gave it all during combat. I noticed that I felt stronger and lighter. It must be all that clean eating. Nothing can beat that.

"Eat clean. Train dirty" -- Unknown

Now, for those reading my diary, my consultant had said that I should reduce my workouts so I dont get hungry. Lets put that in perspective, before Cohens, I used to do:

1) Body Pump + Intense Cardio (pump, step, spinning) 3X a week
2) 5KM Treadmill session 2X a week

And being a good girl, I have reduced this to:

1) Yoga 3X a week

Adding this Pump and Combat once a week, is still significantly less.

The endorphin rush was just too good post workout, its addictive!!!!!

For the Cohen part of this day, I still stuck to my meals and crackers and fruits. 20 minutes after my workout, I ate my last meal + 2crackers. An hour and a half later, I had my last fruit from allowance.

Once the effect of endorphins have subsided, I felt the tiredness and slept by 11:30

Its all good Cohenites
---------------

Morning after:

I did feel a little tired from the workout yesterday, but not sore or incapacitated. It has been 2wks since I last did this so I am expecting some pain, but I feel good.

-------------

Daily Temptations List

Day 11: Caramel Popcorn, Baked Cheesecake from a colleague.

uff.. and the list keeps going

[needsunshine]

Wow, exercise!!! As long as you don't overdo it, right? Good job on planning out your yoga. peace of mind and body will do us good.


Hmmm caramel popcorn. Good but thankfully I'm not craving as much sugar it's more of the "i know that's so good and crunchy" thoughts that get to me rather than "i want that now". Hehe.

I have been craving for a good hopia monggo. Lol. Good bye eng bee tin for the year!

[mesmer_eyes]

yah.. i try not to overdo it.. thinking about it, its like a vacation for me and my body.. Im not working out so hard physically.. And yoga fits just right.

I love popcorn- caramel mixed with butter flavor ones sprinkled with salt.. so that one was calling out to me

yesterday wasnt so bad though, just PMSing but DV free.

-------

Today is not.

i tried to sleep early yesterday at 10:30 but I woke up for no reason at 02:30 (i think i was feeling warm) and couldnt sleep since. Plus I felt so parched! It could be due to my clogged nose so I was breathing through my mouth, but I was so thirsty. And by the time im about to wake up, then I felt so sleepy..

I seriously envied my cat. She was sleeping next to me snoring!!

So today, Im PMSing, tummy hurting, body heavy, having the sniffles, AND no sleep!! To top that off, I dont have my multivitamins with me today. So I have to work harder in resisting my PMS cravings.

good luck to me...

Oh! THE SCALE IS MOVING AT A SNAIL'S PACE

[Gigglesza]

EEEEEEK!!!! May the (Cohens) force be with you

[mesmer_eyes]

thanks!!! I need every support today whew.. for the first time in my life I have kept 2 DCs on my desk so I have something to reach and take in that is allowed on Cohens.. I might nibble on the straw though..

[Gigglesza]

Um, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I definitely think the eating of plastic on Cohens is not allowed... ;P

[mesmer_eyes]

@Gigglesza: noooooo it had kept my sanity for the day

Day 11 & 12: Easy Peazy

Day 11 was good but as Imentioned earlier Day 12 is not. BUT I must say I nailed this day!!

I met with the girls today for some ladies night and we started at Timmys and all of them had bagels with cream cheese on it and I didnt touch a thing. I simply sipped on my decaf black.. A few minutes there, ate my last meal..

Afterwards we went to a pub for some 3 free drinks for the chicas, and again I didnt touch a thing, didnt even order diet soda, just good old water..


Whooohooo.. Victory Dance for me!!
chandler victory dance 2.jpg

[needsunshine]

Yey!!!! Nicely done! My friends are more forgiving of diet behaviour than family, so another yey for ladies' night!

[mesmer_eyes]

well honestly, I was quite surprised that they didnt push.. Im glad

and for the slow scale movement I have experienced this week, I think sleep and stress really had to do with it. I was able to sleep straight last night! even if it was for 5.5hrs, it was an uninterrupted sleep. And I just woke up to my fitbit vibrating at 6am and didnt feel sleepy since. I weighed, and boom! down by 500gms suddenly

I guess no amount of meowing could wake me up! my foster cat cries whenever he is left alone in a room (for now he is in the kitchen as proper cat to cat intro has to be done), but once im inside uff he shuts up and purrs and rubs rubs rubs his face on my hands.. sweet boy, just needy!! (NS. i love dogs too but you should re-think about your aversion to cats! they are super sweet, maybe you encountered a feral one )

So I decided to stay in bed a bit and then went on to my litterbox, food bowl, and some petting duties before I cooked my egg brekky and beefy lunch for today (of course after an antibacterial hand soap wash)

Good day people!

[Gigglesza]

Nicely done m.e!!!!!

[needsunshine]

Yey! I almost always have egg for bfast. What was beefy lunch? I have a distaste for beef- i am odd, i know, but i am open to try out different recipes.

Hi to kitty! And the cat in my childhood was not feral, but extremely spoiled, i must say!

[mesmer_eyes]

Hey NS! I always have eggs for breakfast! I love eggs for breakfast every since.. I just had one today, with finely chopped mushrooms, onion, capsicum (adding tomato wouldl be nice too. Cook the veggies first, once cooked, top of with the egg, and keep mixing them until cooked, season with salt and pepper.. yummy

And I love beef! What i usually do is cut them up into small strips (paran pang tapsilog) then i sautee onion, garlic, add the beef strips, add pepper and salt to tast (i love peppered beef) cook until brown, then add a bit of sprite and let simmer til done.. For the veggies, I keep the beef aside and cook the cabbage in the left over liquid fr the beef and sprite, and mix them all together

OR you can make "nilagang baka" - boil big beef cubes in water with onion and pepper corns, once meat is soft, add the cabbage, season with salt.. easy peasy (wala nga lang kanin!!) In your case, you can add a green chilli in it... hayyy i miss my spicy foooddddd!!!

[mesmer_eyes]

Day 13; D

The day went on as usual and I couldnt wait til the weekend. This morning, I just wanted to see if I will fit into my skinny jeans when I was a size 8.. and the jeans did fit and closed up (albeit tight)!! Wohoooo!

I have had that jeans back in my closet for months! Waiting until the day that i will be able to close those buttons.. and today it did.. totally made my day but I didnt wear it to work, i figured I want to wear it when it has comfortable fit. I would enjoy it more

Daily Temptations List

Day 12: None --- wow

Day 13: Cookies and muffins outside the meeting room-- i miss cookies!

[Howling Wind]

You are doing so well mesmer_eyes... keep it up.

[mesmer_eyes]

@HW: thanks! I cant believe it myself.. that I havent had any junk for the past 15days and on top of that, I had cooked every single meal for the past few days

Day 14: Out and About

Too busy today.. too much.. started at 10am:

breakfast>dropped rented car back> met a friend for coffee> dropped a friend at the airport>went to IKEA> went to buy 1wks supply of food> weighed, cleaned, froze my proteins > took my foster cat to the groomers>back home, made dinner > chilled for 30minutes> cleaned house for 3hours!! >>>> ended at 12:10mn

by 12:30, the movie Death Becomes Her was playing so I stayed up late to watch I havent seen that movie in a loooong time...

All meals taken within the 5 hour mark, crackers, vitamins and fruits too..

DV free!!

Day 15: Day Just at Home

Weighed first thing in the morning and found out I lost 2kgs over a period of 7 days! Thats a total of 5.2kgs in 14 days I was expecting 3kgs but hey, glad it wasnt below 2kgs..

We planned to go rafting but the weather here is just acting terrible so we decided to postpone it. Spent it at home lazing in front of the telly, while doing the laundry.. I hate folding clothes though..

I bought another brand of crispbread to try - Finn's Multigrain.. I like it too

DV free today!