Going ... going .... (waiting for the gone!)

Well blow me down with a feather, I am 42.6 kg's this morning.

Just a few days back on CRON and such a quick weight loss?

Such a struggle for 3 months to get my eating back under control and my body kindly rewards me for my healthy eating and exercise regime again by rewarding me on the scale.

OK I do know this is simply just a "trick" because you cannot possibly loose fat so quickly. I know that I need to continue this for a good few weeks before we get back to my clothes fitting better again.

Which brings me to the quick fix fast diets that do the rounds usually in Spring / early summer. Most people loose a few pounds with a healthy or some times not so healthy diet and then think *whoot* I can go back to eating just the way I did.

And what happens? Voila in just a few short days / weeks they pick it all back up again. That is simply because the scale has a way of tricking you into thinking that you lost the weight when actually all you lost was a bit of water and some times muscle mass. So to actually LOOSE weight permanently one really needs to eat healthy, have a variety of foods and up your exercise permanently! However once you are a little under your Goal Weight you can start to add more calorie higher foods like cheese or bread to the low calorie diet, to ease your body back into a higher calorie but still keeping the healthy habits.

I have to admit though I am not terribly good about this ... I tend towards the all or nothing so either its healthy low cal or way too much of the other stuff. Though I must say I do still try to at least have my wonderful organically grown vegetables from my garden at least twice per day (even when I am binge eating).

*sigh* oh well let's see how it goes I am feeling pretty positive and far more in control again. Even though this weight loss was over my period ... I do still feel a bit bloated and it's taking a while still to get my energy levels back up.

Anyhow ... happy spring to me! My body rocks, I am grateful that it has given me this little boost of self confidence to get me started back on CRON and healthy eating.

Ohhhhh so thats why

That time of the month arrived ... it always comes as a bit of a surprise, as I am so irregular and don't use contraceptives.

Again this is a very good reason for the weight gain, a little water retention, chocolate cravings and a general feeling of funk HA! So although I have been pretty good keeping my calories around 1500 my weight has remained stubbornly at 43.2kgs (95pounds). I think it should go much better after as I usually loose my gigantic appetite and cravings.

So I guess technically the diet starts on Monday ... well the serious "I have to get rid of the flab". I hope too that I will get more exercise in. I really really want to turn the flab back into muscle. So far I have managed a fair amount of Tennis on the Wii so that has been good. I really want to start walking again in the mornings. Although the weather has been pretty good the flu is threatening a re-run. I have been taking my multi-vits, drinking loads of water and I got some extra sleep this morning. I usually sleep 6 hours a night but managed 8 which I think my body really needed.

It astounds me how quickly ones body can loose it's shape with out working on it constantly. Just a tiny little break and I feel like crap!

Keeping it real

So I have been keeping it around 1000 - 1500 cal per day for the past few days. Trying to keep my balance between protein, carb & good fat ... seems to have worked.

Firstly my period arrived so probably a really good reason for the "blues" that have been affecting me for a week or so.

Secondly the constant better eating has definitely improved things ... I feel so much lighter, the sweating at night has stopped and I just feel healthier, with out any weight loss though which is important. I feel energised again, shew it amazes me how bad eating can affect one. The other thing is how much better hubby & I are actually getting along now that I am feeling so much better.

Anyhow on some thing completely different ... I sit here with a glass of champers and orange juice in front of me. This morning we went on an hours private jet flight, wow ... all I can say is wow. So this is how the rich and famous feel huh? It was like sitting on cloud 9 ... hubby & I were the only passengers in a US$17 mil plane. We felt like royalty ... what an experience.

As I have mentioned before I no longer drink but sorrrrrrry this deserves a little glass of bubbly to celebrate!

Back to routine

It seems my binging is now over and I am back into my routine. After over 3000 calories yesterday (we were out to lunch with family) I simply am not even hungry today. I forced down fruit & yogurt. My binging and period *time* seem to coincide, wow what an epiphany Ha!

Our local health shop is having issues with their yogurt supplier so I have been looking into making yogurt myself. I am just finishing up some yogurt that I had to buy from the supermarket and then I am going to try my hand at making my own ... I like this recipe:

This is a basic recipe for homemade yogurt using commercial full fat milk.
INGREDIENTS:
1 quart of full fat sheep or cow's milk (pasteurized)
2 tablespoons of previously homemade yogurt or plain unflavored yogurt at room temperature
2 tablespoons of full fat milk (same type) at room temperature
PREPARATION:
Heat the milk just to the boiling point and pour into a non-metal container.
Let cool to lukewarm (100-105F). A skin will form on top.
Mix the 2 tablespoons of yogurt (homemade or commercial) with 2 tablespoons of milk.
Add to the lukewarm mixture, carefully pouring down the side so that any skin that may have formed on top is not disturbed.
Cover with a clean dishtowel and place on another towel in a warm, dry place for at least 8 hours (or overnight) until it thickens.
Note: 8 to 12 hours is best.

I will probably try it with fat free milk and see how it comes out. All yogurt recipe's are pretty much the same. The only thing I found different was if using fat free milk then the addition of fat free powder milk is a good idea, also makes the yogurt thicker in the end. I would need to take a look and see what the difference in calories would really make should the addition of powder milk be done. Perhaps lower fat but higher protein?

Bloated

Ewwww I feel really horrid at the moment. I think my period is on it's way, I just feel so heavy and lethargic.

I had a bit of a binge yesterday (Chocolate mouse) and with the high fat & calorie intake I feel absolutely horrid today. I really need to learn that these high fat binges just do not work for me, ha! The funny thing is that following a high calorie day I naturally swing to lower calorie days with loads of water and a bit of exercise and with in a few days I am feeling back to normal. I actually crave rawer lighter meals. I am actually very impressed that my body is naturally moved into a more healthy mode. I no longer mentally have to restrict, my body is into the grove and simply just asks for a more balanced life style.

I have upped my calorie intake and my weight has basically remained the same. I like the weight I am at presently. Even though at the moment I feel really ewww and heavy I am actually on target with goal and maintenance. I have kept my vitamins & nutrients up with a well balanced diet (Protein / Carb / Fat) ... I think perhaps I should increase my protein and bring down my fat a bit just looking at my report for the past 17 days. I need more protein to build muscle and ummm less fat to stop this lethargic heavy feeling.

Just out of interest I found this article on eating disorders: http://www.edsupport.co.za/Blame.asp
I found it very poignant ... if you know of some one suffering from an eating disorder I highly recommend you read this ... I saw a huge amount of applicable truth in what I read there.

Ok, what the heck?

So after two weeks of bitc'in, complan'in, grumbl'in, moan'in bad moods, tantrums, sulks and general disappointment I give up on my stress over weight and food. Both yesterday and this morning I get on the scale and I am down to 94.5 pounds (43kg's). I know it is not the lightest I have been but I am not far off again with less than a pound to loose to get back there.

I have not really been terribly strict on myself recently, have been watching calories but not exactly starving myself or over exercising and voila back to a weight I can cope with again. My skinny jeans fit me comfy and I have a huge grin on my face, feeling confident and happy.

Hubby and I went to an office warming of a client's last night. I was pretty good considering the wonderful yummy (read that as disgustingly fattening) food they had. I stuck to the smoked salmon and cream cheese on potato pancakes which rang me up a total of around 600 calories *gasp*. They were oh so worth it though ... absolutely delicious and some thing I certainly will incorporate as a nice dinner in future, hubby loved them.

Some thing that came out of last night that I found interesting. When hubby mentioned that I was on a "diet" people commented: "But WHY you are so small??". Firstly I am not on a diet, I watch my weight and yes I hope to loose a few pounds yet but I consider CRON a way of life, of eating healthy for my health. Perhaps I am a little obsessive over it but just remember that this blog IS specifically about this side of my life so what I write here is naturally obsessive about the subject. However this comment strikes me as rather amusing as I HAVE to work on my body daily to look the way I do, if I didn't well then I would be a lot heavier, so why make that kind of comment. Obviously I have to watch my calorie intake, exercises regularly and keep a check on all of this to look the way I do. It is a work in progress just like body builders or gymnasts or ballerina's or athletes are obsessed with their diets and exercises. It's not like I can walk into a shop and purchase a certain weight. So just because I am not one of the above mentioned and just a "normal" person I do not have the right to look the way I do? That working on my body is in some way wrong?