The old me vs the new me!

Last week I posted photographs of me last year versus me today on Facebook and wow the difference is huge! So here are the pics.

I look at my before pictures and want to cry, I look revolting! When I say that I was sumo sized, I really was it was awful. Back then I had list of ailments that were crippling me and my quality of life was basically well....I didn't have a life!

I had:
- borderline diabetes (taking metformin)
- trouble breathing in my sleep
- bad eczema
- acne
- achilles tendon issues
- plantar fasciitis
- sciatic nerve problems
- numbness in my hands
- radical mood swings
- and an intense feeling of wanting to die and that my life was over!

These days, aside from getting annoyed by things such as stupid posts on Facebook, people not returning messages, towels left on the floor, paint spilled on the carpet, and my daughter saying a curse word here and there, there is NOTHING wrong with me. I take NO MEDS, I eat loads of fresh food, I don't scarf down meat much any more, I move my butt every single day and I feel fantastic!

BUT: I need to get to my goal and I will get there :)

Barbs xx

Time to regroup!

Hi everyone,

Well  as we creep closer and closer to yet another Christmas I begin to freak out over the fact that I still have not reached my target. I did initially tell myself that I will give myself 2 years to get to my goal weight which is realistic but I know that if I hadn't have pissed away this year, I would be a LOT closer to my goal and would've made it before the two year deadline.

Thing is, life does get in the way, it makes living this journey so difficult and I realise that I'm human, however there are ways to keep on track, to stick to goals and to make the result happen.

For the past two months I have carefully monitored myself, yes I know, it sounds a bit odd but I really needed to step back and take note of things that trigger me off into a terrible eating frenzy! It seems that I definitely am an emotional eater, I'm not a food addict any more and I love exercise. Realising that I am no longer addicted to food is such a HUGE MEGA HUGE relief! I no longer think of food every single minute of the day like I used to, it was crippling, depressing and had me crying almost on a daily basis. But it seems having lived a relatively healthy lifestyle for a year, has helped me get out of that destructive mindset.

So here is my plan of attack for the last 70 lbs I need to lose.

1. I am going to document my food, exercise, moods, videos (once I have a new laptop), posts on facebook and whatever else comes up and put them into a nice little folder.

2. Once I have reached my 70lb loss, I am going to publish everything about my journey which does two things, it gives me a documented record of my journey and why I never want to go back there and it hopefully will inspire others to make a change for life as well.

So starting Monday 28 October, I am putting myself through a 70 pound weight loss challenge and anyone else that wants to hop on board, be my guest! The more the merrier.

Come Monday, I will make my first post most probably called something like "Lose 70 pounds with Me" and then away I go, yay!

Am I crazy for starting this so close to Christmas and New Year's? most probably, but those two days can easily be days where I go easy on myself but not to the point of allowing a food coma, hell NO! A few tasty treats fine, a vat of fat NOT FINE!

Anyway that's the plan. It took a lot of planning for me to get this far. Usually when I create challenges, I've done it on the spur of the moment and therefore fail because of improper planning. You really need to answer a few questions to understand what is going on in your head in regards to weight loss for example what your goals are, and how you are going to achieve them. For me, this time for this challenge I am going to run it like a side business, one where I have to follow a clear set of rules or systems in order for the business to survive. And so to keep this 'business like' I will create a separate website.

Well there you go, weight loss a-la-Barbs!

I hope everyone is doing fabulous and I will be back in here soon! Tomorrow I'm off to photograph a wedding and I cannot wait, wish me luck! :)

Barbs x

Day 5: So far, so good!

Well I have made it to day 5 and so far it's been great! I have already dropped a very good amount of weight and I've still got a couple of days to go until weigh in day so there's room to drop more!

For the most part, I have resisted temptation quite well, I did however during the week eat two slices of bread and a small bag of air popped popcorn, which now that I think about it is not that bad!

This week I discovered the wonders of cauliflower rice and I have to say, I love it! It's easy to make and the texture is somewhere between rice and couscous. Needless to say I shall be experimenting with it big time as it's very low in fat, low carb and has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties as well as the B vitamin group. Just be careful not to eat it more than 4-5 times per week as it contains purines which are broken down by the body to create uric acid and too much uric acid can cause gout!

The walks are going well but we are due for some rain as of tomorrow so I shall be working out indoors and I have my hot little hands on a fabulous exercise routine courtesy of a friend and cannot wait to make my body cry! :)

Well that's it for now, until next time, keep smiling and keep moving!

Barbs xx

Super Smoothies!

As requested by my lovely friend Suzanne, I have posted the following smoothie recipes that I regularly drink.

These are just four of the smoothie recipes that I use as ingredients are easily accessible and taste delicious!

I've written these recipes in the simplest form with the cheapest most accessible ingredients available, but you can add superfood extras such as:

- goji berries
- macca powder
- LSA (linseed, sunflower seeds and almonds ground to a fine powder)
- cocoa nibs
- bee pollen
- medjool dates
- acai berries
- chia seeds .... and loads, loads more!


Mango Banana Smoothie

1 frozen banana
1 cup chopped frozen mango
1/2 cup coconut water
2 scoops protein powder (vanilla, banana or strawberry)

Throw all ingredients into a blender and blend well. If the mixture is too thick, add a little cold water to reach your desired consistency.

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Super Green Smoothie! (I drink this everyday!)

2 big handfuls chopped silverbeet (kale, cavalo nero or spinach)
1 1/2 cups water
1 banana
2 apples, cored and chopped
2 sticks celery
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
Juice of 1/2 a lemon

2 teaspoons spirulina

Place everything into the blender except the spirulina. Blend until everything is broken down and combined then lastly add the spirulina and blend a few more seconds to mix it through.

This should make two really large glasses.

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Berry Chocolate Smoothie

1 cup frozen berries
1 frozen or chilled banana
2 scoops chocolate protein powder
1/2 cup cold water

Place all ingredients into a blend and blend. If the mixture is too thick, add a little cold water to thin it out a little.

This is my favourite!

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Peanut Butter Smoothie

1 tablespoon peanut butter
1/2 cup milk
2 scoops vanilla protein powder
1 tsp liquid honey
1 frozen or chilled banana

Throw all ingredients into a blender and blend well. Enjoy!


There you go, enjoy! :)

Day 2: Aside from my mathematical boo-boo, the day went great!

Well day 2 and it was a really good day, well except for finding out I suck at math as mentioned in my previous post.

Today I was so insanely flat out busy that I didn't get much of a workout in except for a run to and from the dairy (corner shop) and the only reason I thumped my thighs along the pavement was because rain was threatening. I do have to say though, I felt pretty comfortable and not fatigued whatsoever.



So due to the fact that movement was minimal, I watched my calorie intake like a hawk and didn't feel hungry at all, just content. I did however see a picture of some delicious popcorn and instantly wanted to wrap my mouth around my laptop screen or even easier, run back to the dairy and get some, but I managed to pull out my willpower and resisted, yay me!

Nothing eventful to write about today except to say that I am on track and feeling fighting fit!

I didn't take any pictures of my food today except for these delicious fresh veges which I combined with a little soy sauce and brown rice. It was so tasty! I have to say though that there was almost a head of broccoli in that dish just for me and while most people will say that beans cause flatulence, I think broccoli also has a tendency to cause mischief ;)

I'm so annoyed that I want to cry.... but I won't because I'm tough!

Well it seems I have made a boo-boo. Most people wouldn't call it a big one but I feel that it's monstrous! In fact, it's as big and as bad as if someone had deleted the world's supply of chocolate! Okay well, maybe not that bad, but bad enough in my book! On Monday I weighed myself and was horrified to be greeted with the rather unwanted number of 109.9kg. I quickly did my calculation into pounds and got 239 pounds. I guess having fat fingers running all over the keyboard on my teeny iPhone screen had me accidentally push a different number because after checking about 20 minutes ago, I am actually 241.7 pounds of overweight blubbery sumo-ness!

Now I suppose I could go find a corner and cry or maybe even shovel down some salted caramel popcorn, but I won't because I'm tougher than that! More than ever I am determined to shatter this extra amount of cushioning covering my bones to reveal a sleek and slender me underneath.

Watch this space peeps because I am NEVER going to EVER crucify my scale or torture my ankles with this excess weight ever again, Amen!

Day 1: done and dusted!

START WT: 109.5 (239 pounds)

Well today was a success! I got in my exercise and no bad foods went into my gob today! I feel so proud of myself and am ready to take on day 2 tomorrow!

I apologise for the lack of video today, I did intend to get one done but never fear, I should have one up tomorrow!

Here is what I consumed today:

Bircher Muesli: soaked oats, walnuts, chia seeds, Greek yoghurt and sunflower seeds

Green smoothie

Sweet Chilli Tuna Salad

A slice of fake low fat cheese (not the greatest choice!)

Tomato, Broccoli and Swiss Chard Fritatta, brown rice and salad, no dressing

Cappuccino


So what's in store for tomorrow? Pretty much the same and I look forward to it! Oh and I must take my measurements tomorrow!