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.

=======================================

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.

=======================================

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!

=======================================

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!

That's it, that does it, it's time for a SIX WEEK CHALLENGE!

It's the night before I start my new Six Week Challenge and I feel pretty good. I have no desire to eat nasty food, I don't feel a sense of doom and gloom about not being able to eat what I want for the next six weeks, all I am feeling is a strange sense of calm.

Weight loss challenges can be hard especially when you follow a challenge that is not for you and this is why I have come up with a plan that suits me and I know I can handle. During the last challenge I completed it became apparent that bread and sugar are my weight gainers! I tend to gain weight quickly whenever I eat  fresh baked goods so, out the door they go along with every other nasty that I like such as all junk food and anything fried..... sob, sob!

Every day for the next six weeks, I shall be writing what I ate and how I spent that energy through movement. This will enable me to keep track of what works and what doesn't and then hopefully once and for all I will end up with my magic formula because let's face it, we are all different, there is no magic one way solution for everyone, well that's what I think anyway!

THE PLAN

So here's the deal, for the next 6 weeks, I will do the following:

1) No sugar - except what already exists in fruit and yoghurt

2) No bread, no yeast products, no crackers, no baked goods NONE!

3) No treat days - it's only 6 weeks, it's not going to kill me!

4) Exercise at least 5 days a week, I will most likely do 6

5) Weigh in once a week, measure once every 3 weeks

6) 7-8 hrs sleep - this is a toughie for me!

7) At least 10 glasses of water per day!

8) Portion control! I hate doing this but I am going to weigh all my food!

9) No alcohol!

10) 6 small meals per day, incl. 2 green smoothies, 1 protein shake, 70% raw diet and reduced meat consumption (no more than 3 days per week)

There you have it, just 10 little rules to success

So here's to tomorrow the start of Day 1 and finally, a video!

Barbs xx

So tired of it all!

Well yet again I am at the point of 'I don't give a crap any more!' I have been feeling so blah, bleh, meh, ugh, about the whole weight loss thing and I think one of the reasons is because I had someone I could talk to one on one about this trip but as of a few weeks ago, they have stopped communicating except a wee post here and there on my facebook. I don't know why I let this affect me so, perhaps mostly because it was nice to be able to chat to another adult who understands what this crap is all about and could make me laugh in the process. Oh well, shit happens I guess so it's back to being my own cheerleader and getting the job done which is how I lost the first amount of weight, I did it once, I can do it again!

So what is in store for me? well for one thing I have a wedding shoot coming up which I am seriously excited about and secondly, I have a firm idea on what my cookbook will be all about. I tell ya, I have changed my mind on this book a million times and it's nice to finally settle on ONE idea and go from there.

I have a HUGE problem with snacking and when I am in the mood for a nibble or two, I tend to gravitate towards the nasty stuff, chips, cookies, chocolate, you get my drift right? So one day I decided to go through all of my recipes that I have written and  recipes I modified from the internet etc and created a list of snack foods that have helped me and that I think will help others to be able to have a treat without breaking the calorie bank balance. I have a working title called "Survival Snacks" and most likely will end up changing this title a hundred times while writing the book and eventually settling on this very title! lol! My mind works in crazy ways!

So there you have it, me as of today, oh and as of today I have gained 1.5kg! yes I am pissed but also glad that I did weigh because now I know I REALLY need to pull the blinders off and get busy and so far so good for this week!

Well, I shall love you and leave you with this recipe I created last week, I hope you enjoy it!

COCONUT & CHOCOLATE CHIP ENERGY BALLS
1 cup coconut
2 cups dates, chopped
1/2 cup choc chips
2 T cocoa
2 T chia seeds
2 T sunflower seeds


Place the dates into a food processor and process until the dates form a sticky mixture.

Grab a large bowl and throw in the coconut, chocolate chips (or cacao nibs), cocoa, chia seeds and sunflower seeds and mix to combine.

Add the sticky date mixture and combine everything together with your hands until all the dry ingredients are mixed in with the dates and the mixture is stiff enough to roll into balls.

Roll into balls and enjoy! For storage place in an airtight container and refrigerate.

Makes approximately 12 depending on the size, Enjoy!

Barbs x

Boo, guess who?

Hi everyone, I know I promised a while back that I would be back more often to post but as per usual I let life get in the way.

On July 24th (I think) I finally finished my Diploma in Photography and I have passed and earned the diploma. I cannot tell you how relieved I am because the final paper was incredibly tough and had me working so hard that I neglected quite a few things including this blog. My diet during this period was on a roller coaster ride yet again of lose, gain, lose, gain.... oh so annoying and as of today I am sitting at 108kg (around 237lb) which is extremely annoying! Since finishing the diploma I have now had to work my tail off to earn some cash and so I am starting my photography business and of course I'm feeling the strain a bit due to having to do everything myself such as facebook page, website design and publishing, creating legal forms, administration, gear purchasing and finding the money to purchase the gear, grant applications, marketing, oh boy, you name it, I am having to do it and it's madness!

On the 25th of October, I have my very first wedding photo shoot and I am NERVOUS, but I think it'll be fine. I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist and since photography is a never ending learning beast, I always feel that I don't know enough which of course is ridiculous!

So this means that in 9 weeks time, I will be shooting this wedding AND I want to weigh 10kg less than I am now. I have ordered two tops that I want to wear in a size 16 NZ (USA size 14) and in order to achieve this I have constructed a plan of attack!

The tops I have ordered, made of organza and gorgeous!

Every week I have set a walking target of no less than 50km (31 miles)

Mon/Wed/Fri     =  8km walk plus 30 mins weights session
Tues/Thurs/Sat   =  8km walk plus 30mins boot camp type exercises
Sun                    =  rest day - more than likely I will go for a walk but not a rocket up my butt speedy walk!

The Sunday stroll will make up the extra 2km per week plus incidental walking :)

As for diet I am going back to 80% raw, no sugar, no bread, no processed foods and only one cooked meal per day. Loads of eggwhites (ugh!), smoothies and protein shakes. I will also be making a lot of raw snacks not only for myself but also for my girls.

So there you go, that's me in a nutshell as of today!

As for posting on this blog, I will be blogging as much as I can at least a post a week and that's a PROMISE from the bottom of my heart! I also have a facebook page where I post daily if you are interested in seeing what I am up to day to day, Here is the link: New Bod in Progress

I will leave you all now with a current photo of me and how I looked when I first started this journey. Have a safe and happy weekend!

Barbs x

I'm a bit miffed!

So today I read a post that kind of well, let's not sugar coat, it pissed me off!

I follow a page on Facebook that is about this guy who's lost quite a chunk of weight and at first I thought, this is going to inspire me so I hit the 'like' button and started reading most of which was good content, but lately I have noticed that this person is hell bent on just being noticed.

Today he wrote about how he'd had a hard time trying to get his story on a multitude of tv shows, magazines, newspapers etc and how annoyed he was that none of them wanted his story, but the fact is, there are so many stories just like his, this stuff is old news. My question is this why does getting into the media matter? He has a Facebook page with a HUGE readership, everyone praises him and spend time on his page so why did he feel the need to to use his weight loss as some kind of fame gathering exercise because that's the message I was getting from him. It's a shame, but he's not the only one, I have found a few pages like this and it's sad, it's almost like they've lost their weight and now because they've done it, they want to be rewarded for it. Isn't being healthy reward enough? He goes on to mention at the end of the post that he has given up his pursuit of getting his story into the media and will just post on Facebook.

I'm getting pretty annoyed by people who use their weight loss purely to get famous. Why can't they be satisfied with their FB pages, or blogs, why not write a book, even a recipe book of the food they ate while losing the weight, that's the information I find extremely useful. The problem with trying to align yourself with mainstream media is that the second they've had enough of you and you've sold enough advertising slots for them, you're gone!

I myself am in the process of writing a cookbook for three reasons, I like to photograph food, I hope that the recipes I put into the book are helpful to others and I've always wanted to do it. I don't care if nobody buys it, I don't care if I don't get recognised or rewards or anything like that, I just care that I do it because I'm the type of person who will start a project and not finish. Having a project or a hobby to focus on is a great way to keep you busy and have you concentrate on something other than weight loss, find your passion and get to it and whatever you do, lose weight for you.

Rant over! xx

I've nearly jumped ship so many times!

I cannot believe it's already July and so far this year, my weight loss has not been crash hot, in fact it's been a bit of a disaster. I have lost and gained weight more times than I care to remember. In the past few months I have let my focus slide backwards and have caught myself eating the wrong things again. This was always going to happen at some stage. After reading a post that my beautiful friend wrote tonight about her struggle, it made me re-think why the hell I started this in the first place, what was the reason for doing it because lately I have lost my mojo!

So after reading her post three times, I sat down and wrote a reply and read what I wrote about my reason for losing weight and here is part of what I wrote:

"I want a better life, a healthier life more than anything in the world, I don't care about clothes or looks or money, I care about my life and my place in the world. When I am on my death bed the last thing I EVER want to be thinking is "I wish I had lost the weight, things could've been so different" that thought terrifies me!

After writing this it was like a huge church bell rang in my head and now I'm ready to continue. I am no longer going to put time limits on my goals I am just going to keep on keeping on. Yes I could've lost all my weight by now, but what is the point of dwelling on that except to make myself feel like a failure and go eat a cheesecake! I don't want that, I don't need that. As long as I give myself permission from time to time to have something that I really want BAD such as today, I had a burger, then I will never feel deprived.

I have lost 30kg, there is nothing to be upset about that, I am not a failure, I am slowly winning this, it's only now that I realise that I am doing a good job, I am changing my life, I can do this! All I need to do is make a few tweaks here and there to my diet because my workouts these days are quite strenuous so I cannot survive on rabbit food any more, I must refuel properly or else I will be diving for that cookie jar, which has been happening.

Exercise has been my saviour! I love it and do it every single day without fail! If I do not move my butt at least once a day, I will not sleep well and be the biggest grump on the planet in the morning!

So starting in the morning, a new revitalised and school assignment free Barbara will once again punch this weight loss in the ass!

Always remember your biggest motivator is yourself because you are the only one who can really make yourself do what you need to do and as your see changes taking place on your body and within yourself emotionally, you will gain so much drive you'll be unstoppable! 

Take charge of your life today, I am! :) xx

Apologies, yes I know it's been a while.

Where do I begin? it's been quite a while since I wrote my last post I cannot even remember what I wrote last!

Over the past few weeks I have had a few struggles with my personal life and although I have said many many times that I don't let things like that steer me away from my goal, that is in fact what happened recently. I gave in to negative annoyances and was led astray for a little while.

A few weeks ago, I weighed in at 105kg (231lb) then last week shock horror, I hopped onto the scale and saw the awful number of 108.6kg (239.5lb) OMG!!! I had gained 3.6kg! So over the last week it was time to focus and get busy! I ate well most of the time, managed to get in 12 workouts and after weighing on Monday this week I am down to 107.2kg (235.8lb) yay! So now it's just a matter of keeping up the good work!

I have started vlogging again but this week I cannot make a video as I am very busy with my portfolio for school. This week is my final week and then hopefully, I will have earned my Diploma in Digital Photography. Here is one of the submissions for my folio, I am creating it in the style of Weston and am using vegetables and I love the textures.

Next week I will definitely have another video for viewing and hopefully some good news on another good loss for the week.

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by!

Barbs xx

I'm so tired of hearing excuses, you either want it or you don't!

I've written about this before but today I'm kind of pissed and so here goes...

This morning I decided that I felt well enough to go for a 5km walk because having lost almost three weeks of exercise due to bronchitis, I was really going nuts! I threw on a heavy jacket, a scarf, my sunnies and set out for a chilly frosty walk in the wind,  it was nice and sunny too so it wasn't all bad.

I made my way to town feeling good about myself and happy that I went but once I got in I was dying of thirst and needed something to drink so I opted for, yes you guessed it, a coffee! Not exactly the best thing I admit it but it was warm and toasty just what I needed, drinking anything cold at this stage in my recovery is a no go and I wasn't feeling like downing boiled water.

Where am I going with this.... oh yeah...while I was waiting for my coffee at a cafe, a couple came in and went to the counter to order. She was a rather large woman and he was average sized and quite a good looking guy. Anyway, they were asked what they'd like to order and he said he'd like a coffee and scone and she said a chocolate brownie with cream and a mocha. Her partner looked at her and instantly she got angry and said "today is my cheat day!" and he said "but you said your cheat day is in the weekend", then she said "I need this I'm not having a good day" and he said "you told me to tell you NO when it's not your cheat day, and to not accept any excuses", and she said "what excuse? why do you do this to me, I'm sick of you judging me and telling me what I can and cannot have, you're an ass!" I was so embarrassed that I had to look away and was making eyes at the barista to hurry up, stop milking the cow and give me my drink! Then I heard the poor man say to his partner in an barely audible whisper "I'm only doing this because you said for me to and because I love you and I want you to be happy", and she just stood there with the most vicious look on her face, I wanted to go and give the man a cuddle and smash the brownie in her face.

So this brings me to my BIGGEST most annoying frustrating peeve EVER! Excuses, I loathe excuses with a passion in regards to weight loss and I used to be the biggest excuse creator on the planet. Every single time I would reach for some nasty crappy food, I always had an excuse which I felt was valid but now looking back, I was just pathetic and stupid! Excuses for not exercising or eating well, drinking enough water, you name it, I had an excuse for it.... "oh my back hurts, I cannot concentrate without chocolate, I get highly agitated when I sweat" ugh! so pathetic! So now whenever I hear a large person make up some bullshit bogus excuse as to why they cannot lose weight and get healthy, it makes my blood boil when they complain about it.

Do I ever make excuses for things? sure I do, I make excuses for why I cannot go to bed early, when the real reason is simply that I don't want to go to bed early, I love my quiet "me time" when the kids are asleep, so I stay up late because I want to. I know I need to get to bed, but I don't WANT to.

Which brings me to the difference between want and need in weight loss.

Here's the thing.....YOU CAN ONLY LOSE WEIGHT IF YOU WANT TO!!! that's right you have to WANT it, not need it, not wish it, you have to WANT it, because when you finally make up your damn mind that there is no food or excuse that matters more than your want to lose weight, then you will lose weight. It's so damn simple, it's painful!

August 5th 2012, was the day I finally decided I WANT THIS!

So come on, really think about this, do you want to lose weight or not? seriously really, really think about it, how bad do you want it? are you prepared to give up the necessary things you need to in order to lose the weight? ARE YOU? because if you are not, then you are not ready, it's as simple as that. You hear everyday of people who lose loads of weight, then they lose momentum and fall right off the wagon and put it all back on and more and why? I think it's because they were truly not ready. How do I know? because I have been there countless times!

Most people want the magic pill, the super weight loss powder, the wake up and you're skinny system and there simply is no such thing. Corporations are making mega bucks out of all of us with these "magic potions of bullshit" when the only true way to shift the weight is through the basic formula, eat less, move more, acceptance of what needs to be done and the time it will take and bags and bags of positive thinking. It's taken me decades to accept this and now that I have, it's come so easily, yes it's hard work, but once you accept those facts it becomes routine and you don't think twice about it.

Another popular excuse that pisses me the hell off is "I haven't got the money" BULLSHIT! Let me tell you something, I live on the most meagre budget on the planet, I raise two kids on that meagre budget and yet I have lost 30kg in 8mths with no gym membership, no personal trainer, no car, no fancy schmancy foods or tablets, only 1 bag of protein powder that I haven't finished, and I eat mostly raw fruit and veges and a little meat for protein and iron. So please, the I haven't got the money for healthy food and exercise excuse is 100% BULL CRAP! Fitness doesn't have to cost a cent, I walk my ass off 7 days a week and then do exercises I found for FREE off youtube!

So, here's Barb's magic formula:

1. WANT IT BAD! and accept that it will take time and patience. Also accept that you will stuff it up, shit happens!

2. Clear your mind of the fact that you can dump loads of weight quickly, you can, but watch it all come back on. Weight loss is for LIFE it is a lifestyle change not a quick fix.

3. Throw excuses in the trash with all the shitty food in your pantry

4. Train your brain! Find some mental tactics to help you keep a positive attitude and don't let anyone derail your progress with their negative crap.

5. If you need extra support, find a support network that is NOT going to put up with your excuses!

Well that's my rant for today, be happy, decide what you WANT and go for it and remember ..... work hard because the day will come when you don't have to suck it in! - I read that on a post this morning in Facebook!

Ciao,
Barbs xx

Sometimes you've just got to get a pair of balls!

I wasn't sure about what to write about today until I had to do my assignment this week for my photography diploma. This week I had to emulate Cindy Sherman, a famous photographer who took self portraits which look like scenes from movies, she didn't copy actual movies she just took shots to look as if they'd leapt out of the silver screen.

Which brings me to my photograph for this week.

I decided that I was going to not just take a boring "selfie" where I hide every single flaw I can think of and then manipulate the photograph to the max, no! I decided I would step right out of my comfort zone and boost my self confidence at the same time, do I care if anyone thinks I look like a buffalo in my photograph? no, I don't give a crap because I look at the photo and I see someone who is healthier, fitter, beautiful and is about to become the person she always wanted to be, a slim confident woman with bags of energy and a high self esteem! So anyone who wants to say anything nasty, do your worst, I don't care!

So here it is, my assignment for the week, a shot of myself in my bed, half dressed and looking fab! So why not do something similar or do something that you've always been afraid to do before. Empower yourself and set yourself free, honestly it's seriously liberating!

Be Mindful of your Weight Loss Spend

So today I mentioned on my Facebook Page  that weight loss this time around hasn't cost me more than a few items of clothing, two pairs of New Balance shoes, and around $50 groceries per week in the last 10mths.

Four years of weight loss spend from 2007- 2011 cost me $21,643!!!! that's enough for a very nice car! Shocker! What freaks me out even more is that the first two years which include VERY expensive gym memberships barely got used, what an idiot!

Well it just goes to show, you don't need to spend big bucks to lose weight because I have only spent around $2500 over the last 10 months and that includes groceries, shoes and workout gear!

I am not only losing weight but gaining one heck of an education in the do's and don'ts of weight loss. DO work your ass off and DON'T waste your cash!

What a Week! Time for a New Plan of Attack!

Hello lovely people, first I want to apologise for being M.I.A for the past week. Friday last week I was hit with a terrible cold, then a few days later I thought I was okay and decided to go and do a 5km walk then ended up with a mild dose of bronchitis! So it's been a week of achy body, stuffed up nose and no taste sensation what so ever! Today is the first time I have tasted food in a week and wow! food is fabulous once again!

Even though I hate being sick, I managed to handle it meds free, just a few panadols and a little cough syrup AND I got to finally understand why it is VITAL to get healthy, here is what I wrote on a facebook post this week:


Why it pays to eat clean, lose weight, get fit and get healthy!
My Facebook Page: click here 

I have found out that I have bronchitis not a cold. I spent last night finding it hard to sleep because all I could hear was the rattling in my lungs from all the mucous build up, funny thing is, even though I have this I don't feel really ill, just a bit achy, snotty and pissed off. My former sumo self never handled sickness very well at all, I would spend almost two weeks in bed and at least three of those days I would be feverish (this time around I was feverish overnight) and almost unresponsive which was pretty scary, AND I would be jacked up to the eyeballs on antibiotics, ibuprofen, you name it I had it. 

This time around 30kg lighter and a million times fitter, I have been drinking loads of soup, green smoothies, ginger, lemon and honey tea and eating really well even though I cannot taste anything. If by Friday I still have the rattles going on in my lungs (it's only a little at the moment, but still annoying), I will go and get checked up just in case.

So there you go, if you are contemplating getting healthy DO IT, DO IT NOW! It really does pay off in more ways than one!


So there you go, a huge lesson learned I just wish I had've done this so many years ago!

Okay enough of that, there's no point dwelling on the woulda, shoulda, coulda right? Let's just get stuck into the here and now and speaking of which I have a new master plan of attack for my next round of weight loss!

BARB'S NEW MASTER PLAN TO SHRINK MY GUT & REDUCE MY BUTT (hehe)

Okay, here goes:

FOOD

Breakfast: 1 of the following
- green smoothie + 8 raw almonds + 2 kiwifruit
- soaked oats with Greek yoghurt + nuts & seeds

Snack: 1 of the following
- Peanut Butter Protein Bar (that I make myself)
- Fruit
- Greek yoghurt with nuts if I haven't had it in my breakfast
- Nuts
- Trail mix
- Air popped popcorn
- Rice crackers

Lunch: 1 of the following
- Spinach & feta wrap packed with veges and 20g edam cheese
- Giant salad, no dressing with half cup of cooked brown rice + 100g baked or grilled chicken
- Spinach and cheese egg white omelette with a huge salad, no dressing

 Snack: same as the snacks above

Dinner: 1 of the following
- Omelette with huge salad, no dressing
- Baked potato with a tiny blob of garlic butter, shredded carrot & cabbage + dollop sour cream
- Fish fillet  or baked spicy chicken with huge salad
- Bolognaise sauce on brown rice + huge salad no dressing
- Spicy Soup with beans and stacks of veges

Snack: same as the snacks above

So that's basically the food part of it, as you can see it's mostly clean and mostly non-processed foods!

EXERCISE

I will be moving my butt 7 days a week

Monday/Wed/Fri/Sat - 8km walk + 30mins calisthenics
Tues/Thurs/Sun - Interval training + weight training (90mins total)

If I am knackered or have DOMS really bad then I will have a day off, it's no big deal

.... and that's my master plan put into action as of tomorrow 18 May 2013!

So what about cravings and the odd special occasion I hear you say. My take on this is this, if I have a craving I will wait two days and if I still want it bad, I will have it. Usually by the second day I am over it and then don't need to eat the offender, but sometimes I do and it's not the end of the world!

As for celebrations, going out etc, I just make mindful food choices or if I really want to taste everything, then I just try a little bit, there really is no need to gorge yourself on a special occasion or miss out, just have a bit of control otherwise you have to work twice as hard to correct your mistake!

The trick I have learned throughout the last months of my weight loss journey is to relax my mind and not get so worked up about numbers, sure I still want to see the number on the scale jump down to double digits asap (NZ), but it's much better to think of the tremendous health benefits you are receiving from your efforts. How you look and weigh should be secondary to this and a happy bonus rather than the be all and end all!

- Barbs xx

Another Milestone Completed!! 30kg gone bye bye!

I was cleaning my lounge this morning and happened to find the batteries to the scale. Now I know I am meant to be weighing only once a month but today I felt lighter and a bit more pulled in so I decided to chance it and step onto the scale. Even though I had made my way through half a box of grissini last night and a shortbread cookie (I'm not perfect), I have lost weight and reached my first big target of 30kg lost!!! That's 66 pounds or 66 blocks of butter which is huge!!!!

Words cannot explain my excitement but I hope the neighbours didn't think someone was being murdered in my house as I screamed when I saw the number! I got on and off the scale to be sure and yes, yes, yes, 30kg gone!

Now the old me would've celebrated by having a feast of some sort but today I'm going to treat myself to a nice walk along the waterfront at a much slower pace, breathe in the fresh air and listen to music that doesn't make me pound the pavement at an athletic pace :)

Celebrate your victories, no matter how big or small they are you should always acknowledge your hard work, you deserve it!

Barbs xx

The Beats I Pound the Pavement To

So the other day I was asked what I listen to when I go for my walks which is a very hard question because it changes frequently. One day it could be my Aussie Rock playlist where I get to relive in my imagination my teen days of liquoring up at Boardriders listening to Hunters and Collectors, Hoodoo Gurus and the like, or other days it's house music such as Alice Deejay, Sash, David Guetta, Calvin Harris or depending on my mood it can even be the Bee Gees, yes I said it, and it's the truth! The important thing about music selection for me is that it needs to have a regular beat or melody that helps me to walk in time with the music, pretty simple really. As for today's playlist it was a bit of a mixed bag so I made this little graphic which is one of the playlists I listened to today :)

It's the Little Things that Count

Sometimes while travelling on this weight loss journey I forget about the little things, the little victories that put a huge smile on my face because it's something I've achieved through hard work and determination. For the past couple of weeks I have been thinking about this on and off, all the things I am now able to do, the changes in my body that I can see, the difference in how I feel not only physically but also emotionally.

So what are my little victories so far?

• I can stand and bend down to touch my toes without wanting to pass out
• I can sit on a chair and lower my chest to my knees, a while back my stomachs would have gotten in the way
• I can do seated Russian twists with a medicine ball! My stomachs (yes two of them)  used to get in the way.
• I can fit on the swings at the park without my ass overlapping the seat and without pain. No more deep marks left on my legs from the chains that attach to the seat!
• I love myself more
• I've gained confidence in myself 
• I believe in myself
• The radical mood swings have gone
• I can feel my ribs and hip bones!
• My anxiety level has lowered, I can talk to people in the eye, that is a huge achievement for me!
• I can say no to tempting foods without feeling left out
• I can run around with my daughter and not want to either pass out or vomit after five minutes
• I can easily walk 15km with speed and not stop!
• I sleep better and leap out of bed in the morning excited about going for a workout!
• and much, much more!

It's important to take note of the little things because it helps to keep on track. We all get so caught up in the number on the scale that we don't appreciate these non-scale victories which are just as important.

So take the time to discover and realise your little victories and embrace them!

Barbs xx

It's been a glorious day!

So today, I made a boo boo, I promised left right and centre that I would NOT touch the scale and well, I failed. There is however a gigantic plus side to this tale and that is that when I arrived home from my 8km this morning I felt lighter, so I put the batteries back into my scale, hopped on them and WOW! Since Monday, I have lost 1.2kg (2.7lb)!!! I am stunned! On Tuesday I was 108kg, then yesterday I decided to weigh myself for my 1st of May weigh in and I was 107kg, then today goodbye another 200g! Holy crap, it's flying off me again yay!

So what am I doing to facilitate this latest push in weight loss? Well, no longer am I just eating a garden of food, I have embraced meat again, but only three days a week and I have welcomed egg whites big time! I am the omelette making queen, and I love them. They're so filling, packed with protein and so low in fat, brilliant! Teamed with a giant no dressing green salad, I am fuller for longer and don't seem to want to snack anywhere near as much!

Today I was feeling so fighting fit that I whipped myself out of bed, accomplished my 8km then at around 5pm this evening, I went into my garage, blasted the stereo and worked my butt off with weights, resistance bands, kettlebell and calisthenics exercises for an hour. When I came out I had serious quivering muscles and litres of sweat pouring out of my pores. I felt so alive, I love exercising!!

So that's pretty much how my day in weight loss land stacked up. I am finally back in the same head space that I was when I started this back in August 2012, I feel fighting fit and fabulous!

Barbs xx

Holiday over, it's back to business!

Gisborne sits on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand, it has a warm almost tropical climate, pristine beaches and feijoas in abundance and boy did I take advantage of savouring the delectable sweet fruit!

I was able to spend some time with friends who I haven't seen in quite some time and of course my family and them not having laid eyes on me in a while were shocked to see my smaller figure. It was the most uplifting experience to see their excitement for me and it made me feel like all the hard slog is absolutely worth it!

One of my gorgeous friends Saina is also on a weight loss journey and told me about a woman who was quite large but then was in a car accident and packed on so much weight that she ended up being over 200kg! (440lb). She ended up in a wheelchair and needs surgery to correct her spine but operating on a person so large is very dangerous so she went on a weight loss mission and has lost over 100kg from her wheelchair! She exercised every day and even wheeled her wheelchair backwards up Kaiti Hill which is very steep and full of tight turns! Now that really does giving meaning to NO EXCUSES!!!!

Well I am back into it again starting this evening with a 5km and I am so pleased to say that I am once again 100% off bread and sugar! Life is great, I feel fantastic!!!

Barbs xx

Back in the Land of Feijoas

I apologise for taking a while between posts but I have been frantically busy trying to get my assignments done before coming to my hometown for my sister's birthday.


I am currently in the land of fruit trees galore! My parents have tangelos, grapefruit, & lemons and they're fantastic! A friend of hers at work gave her loads of feijoas and I am in heaven! Feijoas, also known as pineapple guava in South America, are a delectable sweet fruit. They're green on the outside and you cut them open, scoop out the flesh and throw them in your gob! I can eat and eat them but, too much of an indulgence will have you racing to the loo! Feijoa trees are abundant in New Zealand and yet, to buy them in the supermarket costs a fortune! $7.99 per kg, it's outrageous, so as you can imagine, I am getting my fix while I am here :)

As far as the weight loss goes, I am sitting at 108kg (237.6lb) and will not be weighing again until May 31st for two reasons:

1. I am addicted to the scale, I will get on and off that thing three times a day given the chance so I need to stop doing that.
2. I can't weigh myself anyway because the batteries in my scale are dead .... yay!!

Well that's it from me for now, I hope you are all having a fabulous week and are getting your burn on!

Barbs xx

When I cannot be bothered moving, I think of the man with two walking sticks

Last Tuesday, I really really REALLY didn't want to go out on my walk, I was feeling very lazy and wanted to sit on my butt and do something completely meaningless like play Bejeweled, but I managed to force myself outside with a crap look on my face, a bad attitude and began to pound the pavement.

I was walking along Marine Parade which is a pathway right next to the beach that stretches for 2.37km from where I start at Ellison Street all the way to Browning Street in the city. As I got near the aquarium I spotted a man who looked like he was in his mid 50's, he had two walking sticks and was dragging his body along that pathway. I watched him for a little while and the look on his face just changed my whole mood, he was smiling, it was like he was smiling because he was able to move his disabled body down that path, and even though he was going at a snail's pace, he was out there and he was doing it. Well, I can tell you that changed my entire way of thinking right then because if that guy can get himself outside in the blazing sun on his two walking sticks with a smile on his face, sweat pouring everywhere then what right do I have to complain about having to do exercise? Simply I don't, I can move, I have no injuries, I have no worries what so ever, so why the hell do I think I can be a lazy slob and do nothing?

This is the kind of thing that I want to say to a lot of people who complain to me that they "can't" lose weight or they "can't" do exercise, really when you think about it, it's a total cop out. If people would just put as much attention and energy into doing the exercise and eating right than finding pathetic reasons not to do it, they wouldn't have weight issues, it's so simple, it's painful!

I don't know why this makes me mad, I think it's more than likely because I can see the potential in people and I hate to see them throw their lives away like I did for so many years, so many years I will never get back.

So if you are reading this and fall into that habit of reasoning yourself out of doing something good for yourself, think about it, just think about how easy it is to turn the tables and be more loving to yourself, get out there and move, it's not hard!

Couscous and I can no longer be friends :(

This is devastating! I LOVE couscous, but I have found that each time I eat it, I get the worst stomach pain ever! It's like each grain is exploding in my stomach and right now I am typing this post feeling rather uncomfortable.... burp!

I have been progressively deleting foods from my diet to see how my body reacts without them and wheat being one of the things I am clearing out of my system, I'm thinking a deposit of couscous is possibly a bit alien to my digestion and therefore is paying me back with pain, dammit!

So I guess, even though couscous can be dressed up in so many amazing ways to create wonderful dishes and be the perfect side dish for my Moroccan Chicken, I cannot have it, no longer, no more, no can do boo hoo! :(

Photo A Day: April - Days 1 - 5

Here are the first five days, I seriously need to do some catch up :)

Day 1 - Play

Day 2 - Blue

Day 3 - Something beginning with A, Apps

Day 4 - This happened today, demolition

Day 5 - Something good, coffee!

Photo a Day

I have been a bit of a slack ass not posting my photos and the reason is that I haven't been taking many lately well that was until recently. I am now doing the Photo A Day by FatMumSlim so this being the month of April she has compiled subjects for every day of the month, here are the subject themes for each day.

This is a really great way to keep practising with photography and gaining more skills and techniques. Most people just shoot things in relation to the topics, but I try and stretch it a bit creatively to really get the creative juices flowing, so I will post my pics both in here and facebook for you all to have a look at.

Why not do the challenge yourself, dust off that camera and get snapping! it's great fun!

The scales are travelling down again!

Well thank heavens, the scales are on the down slide AGAIN! It's a great day! I must apologise for my lack of posting lately as I have been busy trying to get my cookbook written, which I have been doing for the past two years, yes that's right two looooooooooong years! So what has been the hold up? Well it's like this, I go through fits of being focused and onto it and then the drive fizzles out, story of my life really, and this has to stop!

Recently I purchased a book by Tim Ferriss called "The 4 Hour Work Week" and it's brilliant! I am absolutely loving it especially because I am at the part that totally makes sense to me, it's all about 'information overload'. I am so guilty of exposing myself to loads and loads of information on a daily basis all from a 15 inch rectangle plugged into the wall and sucking in info from around the globe, if it's not that, it's my overly priced iPhone or even worse, both running at the same time!

So my task this week is to try and ignore it all, just simply, switch off. I know, I know, but how, how am I going to do this? I don't have a tv any more so all my entertainment and information sources are via my laptop or phone. I will be cut off from the world, ignorant as to what's going on out there. His theory is that, as soon as you talk to someone, they will tell you everything you need to know and skip out all the crap in between, I guess this makes sense when you think about it. Am I going to do this? I don't know, maybe I will try one day a week and then two days and go from there. He says that when you do this not only do you have enough time in the day to be more productive on your projects, but you also have enough time to spend with your loved ones, quite logical really, and let's face it, a lot of us have our laptops on when the kids are home so that we can check what's happening on Facebook every now and then right? If you say no, you're lying! How do I know, because most people I know, do it.

So for the rest of the week, I will no longer have Facebook running in the background while I am trying to write my blogs and cookbook, I will log in once in the morning and once in the evening and that's it, this is going to be extremely hard, but hey, I need to do it! So expect more posts from me :)

As for the scales, I am back down to 238 pounds, woot!

Barbs xx

It's Easter weekend and I am sick... boo hoo!

This morning I woke up and felt like I'd been hit with a truck, I felt achy and extremely tired. Instead of leaping out of bed I decided that today, I am lying in and reading my book "Reflected in You" by Sylvia Day, it's very much like "Fifty Shades of Grey" what a lot of people call mommy porn, I don't care, I love it! So anyway, I get to the end of the book and find out there is another book after this one but it's not out until JUNE!!!! June! I cannot wait to see what happens between Eva and Gideon until June! How can Sylvia do this to me! lol! So I picked up another book I have been reading "4 Hour Work Week" by Tim Feriss and I LOVE it! I haven't got through much of it yet but I love his style of writing, he speaks from personal experiences and he's quite funny too. But basically the book gets you to think about breaking the rules which of course anyone who knows me knows that I love to do that. So he speaks about leaving the drudgery of the 9-5 job and finding something you can do instead that can not only finance your life, but enhance it. So I am hoping that I can get some great ideas about making money without having to spend of a lot of time doing so. He is a believer in outsourcing and so am I. Once I get through more of the book, I will let you all know what I think and how I am going about designing my own life.

So all in all, even though I felt like a dog's breakfast, a day resting and recouperating is exactly what the doctor ordered, I need to learn to relax more often and get my butt to bed much earlier so that my body can heal itself after the crazy workouts and calorie reduced lifestyle.

Happy Easter xx

Why I have felt like a teletubbie in a coma....

I have it, the answer I completely forgot that Aunt Flo was coming to town and she has arrived. As much as I loathe the inconvenience of the monthly cycle, I am so glad that it is nothing more than that, I seriously thought I was cracking at the seams but instead, I just had a momentary lapse of memory in regards to my female bodily functions. Today, I feel fantastic! After stuffing my body with protein, iron, a trough of water and a good multivitamin, I feel amazing AND I had the best sleep!

Yay for small but definitely welcome victories!

Have a fab day! xx

Oh boy, I've really got to get it together!

Well last night I felt like I was in dire need of a workout after swallowing a much needed shot of iron from a medium rare steak and once my stomach had settled, I threw on my work out gear.

I didn't really want to do it, but I knew I had to, I needed this food to work through my body faster as I was feeling so uncomfortable :(  A few months ago I decided that I was going to cut down on my consumption of meat because it makes me feel sluggish and bloated after eating. The problem with this is that I am iron deficient and rather than pop a ton of iron tablets and other supplements, I try to use food to get my needs.

Yesterday however, I felt so dead and lifeless I felt a much needed steak was in order and an egg. Sure enough I felt better afterwards and then 30 minutes after that ugh...... uncomfortable....gluggy....blah!

So then I worked out and I felt fantastic! I pushed and pushed, jumped and lifted, twisted and crunched and 45 minutes later dripping in sweat I finally finished, dove into the shower and relaxed feeling so much better. This morning however, the thighs, the thighs are burning, my squat session has left my muscles rather tender. Last week aside from walking, I never lifted weights or did my calisthenics so today I am paying for it with pain, great pain, fantastic pain, but pain nonetheless.

So a lesson learned, find another iron source to consume and never, NEVER become lazy about lifting weights, just do it!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake and Happy Conversations

Last night while rummaging through the fridge I came across 6 of the most sad looking zucchinis I have ever seen. I'm not one to waste food so I knew I had to cook them otherwise they were to be destined for the bin, and what was the first recipe you think jumped into my head? yes that's right, a sweet treat dammit! Never mind, at least the girls could take some to school over the next few days and even I could have a little bit especially since I shaved off a lot of the sugar, flour, and oil, viola!

But before I give you the recipe for this, I have to say, absolutely DIVINE cake, I shall tell you about my lovely day with my eldest daughter. Havana is 17 years old this year, it blows my mind that the time has flown by in a flash and before I know it, she'll be leaving home. I am so excited for her, but I am a little sad for me as I will miss her around the house. We will still be living in the same city as we will be moving to Wellington with her as the only reason I am living in this teeny town is because of her finishing high school. So we walked to town (4km's) and had a good chat about her career choices, universities she wanted to go to and after a few hours we had narrowed it down to a university in Wellington which has a brilliant photography programme (way better than the one I'm doing). Moving to Wellington will serve all of us as I will be able to start my photography business and re-ignite my career and my youngest daughter will be able to get into a decile 10 rating school (which is the highest rating), as she is very smart, she is only 6 years old and has to do her phonics class with 8 year old children! She got top for reading and maths last year and is one of those kids lucky enough to absorb information very easily, I am in awe of her sometimes! Moving also means I can easily let go of my soon to be 17 year old because we will still be in the same city so that I am there in a flash if she needs me, and if she wants to come home for some good home cooking, I'm right there!

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE

Okay so this is not exactly "sugar free" but I have cut it down dramatically, I swear! This cake is soooooooooooo moist and chocolate-laden that I have to not look at it as I will get very tempted to wrap my lips around a piece and then suffer the remorse and guilt....... nah not really!

The cake stores well in the fridge and I could easily say that it's good for a few days, but I doubt it will sit in there that long :)





1 cup flour
1 cup almond meal
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cocoa
1 cups low GI sugar (or raw sugar if you cannot get low GI, or you can use an artifical sweetener)
3 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup low fat yoghurt (I used a natural un-sweetened yoghurt)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini (I made sure to stuff the cup with zucchini to the brim!)

Preheat your oven to 350F (180C)

Place all the dry ingredients into a bowl.

Beat the eggs and add the oil, yoghurt, and vanilla and mix to combine.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix in the zucchini.

Grease (spray) a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and pour in the cake batter. Bake for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick pricked into the centre comes out clean, alternatively you can do the spring back test by pressing lightly onto the cake, if it springs back, it's done.

Cool and serve with Greek yoghurt, low fat whipped cream or low fat icecream, enjoy!!!

NOTE: you can also cover the cake in chocolate or cream cheese frosting, but that's adding more calories! :)

Enjoy, Barbs xx

Super Simple Trifle

This trifle is basically for someone on a weight loss mission who wants to eat a sweet treat. I had a look in the pantry and fridge and thought, mmmm I bet I can make something pretty good with minimal ingredients and satisfy my sweet tooth.









Blueberry & Almond Trifle - serves 1

2 sponge finger biscuits (savoiardi Italian biscuits)
1/2 cup low fat Greek yoghurt, I used plain but you could use vanilla, mango or honey flavoured
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
1/2 cup blueberries
8 raw almonds chopped in half
8 blueberries to decorate

To make this extremely simple dish, all you need to do is layer the ingredients. I used a glass tumbler for this.

On the bottom of the glass place about a tablespoon of yoghurt. Break one sponge finger in half and place on top of the yoghurt.

Top the biscuits with half the amount of blueberries and then add 1/4 cup of the yoghurt on top.

Break the final sponge finger biscuit in half, place on top of the yoghurt followed by the rest of the blueberries then top with the rest of the yoghurt.... phew!

Finally top with the 8 blueberries and almonds, then pour the maple syrup over the top.

Store in the fridge for around 30mins for the sponge fingers to soften or if you cannot wait, just eat it now!

If you want to add a coffee flavour to this, dip the sponge finger biscuits in cold black coffee, yum!

Enjoy :)

Photo of the day: Pineapple in an apple?

I thought this was kind of cute. I bought some apples and noticed that this one looks as if it has a picture of a pineapple in it, mother nature has some funny ways :)

You know winter is on it's way when....

... you start getting annoying things like ear aches! I woke with one this morning and boy was it aching. But was I going to let this pain in the ear stop me from working out today? almost did, but I kicked myself up the butt and went out anyway. I walked my daughter to school and as soon as the sunshine hit my face, I started to feel better, then I carried on in my usual high paced almost a jog speed and made it to town in only 17 minutes, holy crap! I headed to the supermarket, loaded up my bag with groceries, flung it onto my back and decided to catch the bus back because I was feeling a little giddy, damn ear ache! never mind, even though I only managed half a walk (4k) at least I moved my body today. Important lesson, listen to your body, you only get one so treat it with respect!

Photo of the day: a shipping crate!

This crate is used as cover for people walking near a construction site, the footpath is closed as the mall is being built so this crate is there for that purpose. I love it because it's gritty and dirty and how much would I love to do a fashion shoot in here, I would love it BIG TIME!

I'm putting on my chef hat today!

I love, love, love veggie burgers but I have yet to find one that really rocks my world so tonight for my dinner I am going to make a veggie burger using chickpeas as a base and then just throw a whole lot of spices and vegetables in and see how it goes.

I make up loads of recipes all the time and I also modify recipes that I find online and in cookbooks. It seems to me that we are STILL eating bags and bags of sugar even when creating food from scratch. I tend to cut the sugar amount in recipes by half or substitute using apple sauce I make myself. I think our children are eating way too much sugar and white flour these days so, my kids are from now on getting a major reduction of these things in their foods, actually the white flour is completely gone! It is the devil ingredient as far as I am concerned.

I'm a photographer, surely I should be shooting!

Okay so yes I am a photographer and I really should be shooting photographs everyday so what is my problem? Well laziness to be exact. After a work out the last thing I feel like doing is trying to be creative but I need to get on with it and get those creative juices flowing! How can I expect to be an expert without the practice, I can't. I still have a bit of a learning curve with my camera too, so Barbs needs to get off her backside and get clicking and today I started. I shall take one photo everyday and post it in here, I should've started January 1st but hey, better late than never!

Heart Shaped Pepper - taken via iPhone

When it's a struggle to get moving.

The last few days I have been feeling a bit lethargic and achy. I work out almost every day, never less than 6 days per week and I feel like my body is saying 'enough already take a break!' The problem is, I get scared that if I have a day off, I will like doing nothing and then find it hard to get back into it again.

Then Saturday rolls along and I wake up, it's 8:30am, plenty of time to get a work out in before it gets too hot, and I go to lift myself out of bed and it's hard, really hard, my body is so tired even though I've just had 8 hours of blissful sleep. No matter what I try, I can't seem to get it together, so I just have a day off and I tell you what, I felt great the next morning!

So Sunday morning comes along and I am feeling fighting fit and away I go. That night however, sleep does not arrive very easily and I am up four times in the night to go to the loo because I've started drinking my water again. Come Monday, I can't seem to manage moving again, crap! But you know what I did? I am so determined and so focused to getting this fat off my body that I walked my daughter to school with thoughts all the way there of not going for my 8km walk, then I leave through the school gates and tell myself I have to do it, I have to go, I have no choice and so I go and I sweat and I pray for rain which does not come. It's 31 degrees of baking heat beating down on my already weary body and I struggle, but I keep moving because why? because I am focused on the result, I need to get this weight off, I need a better life, I need to take control and even though there are really tough days, I have to push through and fight!

Today I feel a lot better and I realise that I need to take a break in the week to recharge and give my body a well earned rest. I used to go to bed at a crazy time, 2am but now I turn off my computer at 10.30pm, read and zone out for an hour then hop into bed at 11.30pm. I'm still not used to it, I still have good nights and bad nights, but the good nights are now outweighing the bad ones and I feel a lot better, more relaxed and best of all happy :)

Barbs xx

Muscles on fire!

Has it been a week since my last post? Well since I last wrote, my fitness regime is going strong! I am having trouble losing weight at a rate I feel acceptable (I know, I should accept any loss shouldn't I?), so I have had to re-think my food and exercise. I've upped my protein and am getting enough now and to be honest, I do feel so much better, food is fuel and I need that fuel to help my body burn fat properly. As for the fitness side of my plan, I have done loads and loads of research so with the info I have gathered plus the years of training through personal trainers and gym memberships, I have designed a programme to keep my body guessing. This week every second day is a 16km walk broken into a morning and evening session so as not to be to arduous and every other day is a 6-8km walk plus upper or lower body workout using weights and resistance bands. So far so good, I feel fantastic even though my muscles are burning! Sitting down onto the loo is somewhat of a challenge and even though my thighs are screaming HELP, I cannot stop laughing and feel a huge sense of achievement!

Feeling good, feeling great and I'm seeing awesome results, loving my life! <3

When you get that feeling

Today I went for my usual daily walk and it was so hot outside AGAIN! we are on our 7th day of Autumn and yet the cooler weather has yet to show up! Anyway I went and pounded the pavement for 6km's then came home and designed a few more products for my Zazzle stores. Then this afternoon, I got this feeling like I had an immense amount of energy that I needed to expend, so I grabbed my iPhone speakers, took them into the garage where I have set up a little workout area, cranked up the music and burned some serious calories off my body. It was intense, I used the exercises I learned from youtube, plus the pump routines that are ingrained in my brain from years of going to pump classes and a circuit that I have in a book I am currently reading. So after all of that, I was dripping wet again, my pants were even wet ewwwww! but a good eww! Now I'm sitting here waiting for my brown rice to cook and I still feel like I could do more, how weird is that?

Barbs xx

Back into the swing of things....thank god!

Well yesterday I did my usual 8km walk which is more like a jog since I was seriously fast and my legs were burning, I wanted to quit but I just couldn't do it, I had to go on because I can't give up, I've come so far and it would be criminal to go easy on myself so, I sucked it up and carried on and you know what? when I got home, I was so grateful that the angel on my left told the devil on my right to piss off and let me get on with it.

Once I arrived home, I had a sudden burst of energy and decided to do some butt exercises I saw on a video on youtube the night before. So I'm down on the floor, legs into a kind of lunge position and arms in the air following the trainers and while sweating like crazy I didn't feel that the exercise was working. Fast forward 4hrs later and my ass was on fire! After sitting down for a while, I went to get up and wow, pain, pain, fabulous workout pain, I love it! So if you are wanting some killer butt exercises here's the video, give it a shot, you'll love it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEHS8XPObyo&list=PL74C51C2109232BC4#aid=P9Aw0bPBbf4

Well that's it for today, take care!

Barbs xx

Where the hell have I been?

Well, it's been a  looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooog time since my last post and really I have no excuse or reason except that life has been a bit busy and I have been a bit lazy. This does not mean though, that I have given up all together, no way, no chance, no how, I am still in this for good!

So where am I at? Well I decided that it's high time I posted a before pic of myself, and as horrifying an experience as this is, I will do it, I have posted this already on my personal Facebook and I will also post it on my soon to be released Facebook Page called "Motiv8ted, no b.s. just weight loss" where I will post daily pics of my food and what I am doing exercise wise, cool things I find and the tees and other stuff that I am creating through Zazzle.com and my ebook I am working on which is loaded with recipes of the food I'm eating, and will be for sale on etsy.com, my facebook page.

Okay so before I get completely off topic, here are my before pics, I hope you are not eating!

This is me at 136kg (299lb), I had been this weight for years and years and years!

I had shortness of breath, couldn't cross my legs, had terrible skin, bad sleep patterns, was seriously addicted to every bad food imaginable and therefore was borderline diabetic, yeah pretty scary!




Now I cannot post just before pics can I? So here is what I look like now!

 

I am now 109kg (239.8lb)!!! I haven't been this weight for years! In fact I think the last time I weighed this much I was around 18 or 19 years old!

So there you go, that is where I am at, I've lost a total of 59.2lb!!!

I hope you are all doing really well and are living life to the full, sweating your butts off and getting enough good nutrition, take care and I will post again very soon, meaning, next week at the latest!

Take care

Barbs xx