The big Taboo

If I'm honest I am struggling. I am struggling with motivation and resolve and I am struggling with sticking to things, so I am back on here to use it as a place to record and keep myself accountable.

A little history I used to have chronic fatigue, I had it for a very long time and I was very sick. Now... well now I am fine, I no longer consider myself to be a sufferer but I do consider myself to wear the scars of this illness everyday. Let me explain... I hold down a fulfilling full time job ( my job although flexible is stressful, I have a lot of responsibility and most of all I LOVE IT) but I sleep 9-10 hours a night and i still feel tired a lot of the time. I cannot digest most food... over the last few years I have repeatedly gotten stomach infections to the point of almost hospitalisation.I have now not been affected in over a year but have just been skating through and using powder etc to ensure regularity. I was helped by a nutritionist who diagnosed with FODMAPS intolerance but it is such a catch 22... I have the energy to exercise and eat well but if i slip up I get ill and infected and I don't absorb anything and then am exhausted and it is hard to get back on the wagon. I rarely drink, I cannot tolerate it and it messes up my system. I no longer hurt all the time I am just a little tired all the time. As soon as I clean up I notice vast improvements. I now want to heal myself.

I want to lose weight, I tried body trim ( hence the name of the blog) It worked... BUT with the extra restrictions placed by FODMAPS I had to miss more food, I caved and got infected. Last year i spent 5  months exercising regularly with a personal trainer, I worked hard, I toned but only lost about 5kg and I have plenty to spare. On a trip home with my mum we had a chat and she observed it is strange.. strange i am this size given what I eat etc and it is. one problem, i feel, is that i set my sights to high and then fall off the wagon. Another is totally associated with this Adrenal Fatigue. I was diagnosed with this a while ago by a fantastic naturopath and started taking tablets to help. They did. I was still working away and they cant fix you by themselves. It was too many changes to make at once. I moved and stopped seeing her.

Fast forward 2 years and many of the suggested changes I have done, I have done gradually by myself and I am happy for that.. I am on the right track. I have found another naturopath who also works for metagenics ( i really like their products) and tonight I am off to see her. I am ready to mend. I will check in here soon.

Further to the discussion with my mum I am cutting myself a blog. I am trying to move for at least 1 hour a day, but it will be low impact exercise ( yoga, pilates, bodybalance, walking or swimming). I have determined what seems to work for my body (don't hold me to this as I may need to tweak it as I learn more). I am not trying to run the marathon I put too much pressure on myself.

Each morning body brushing seems to help
lemon and vital greens with water ( gross but seems to help)
porridge with water and an egg ( today I try with maca and also coconut oil)
low carb, real protein ( fish, meat and eggs) meals.
NO FRUIT ( I hate this but it seems to work)
No caffeine
I have been drinking Kombucha ( i am unsure if this helps or makes it worse... it helps my energy levels, my tummy is a bit dodgy)

some whole grain carbs with brekkie and then none later in the day seems to work so i am sticking with this for now.

I lack motivation when I am not feeling great.. I am using this as my motivator. I will post daily and weekly. Weekly posts with my goals for the week ( diet based, personal projects etc as well) I will post daily with what I ate and did ( probably as a list) and then I can post longer ones about things which are important and with recipes.... welcome to my personal to do list and recipe book.

Thoughts

The jet lag has finally passed. The last few days, whilst I have indulged in extra coffees, biscuits and also choccie it has brought home a desire to start on the plan. I have also been eating some very healthy meals alongside this.

I have booked in for bootcamp twice a week in the morning, starting on monday, also signed up for yoga classes twice weekly as part of my relaxation shedule. This year I want to enjoy life, actively rest and relax and do things for me not just be work focussed.

Tomorrow I start the protein only detox and all I have in sight is the end of those 3 days when I can start experimenting with cooking and meals each night, both for dinner and lunch.

I really want to try-

Green soups ( with a side of protein of course)
Raw sushi ( with veggies instead of rice) for lunches
Kombucha

I have found somewhere I can get a Kombucha starter ( mother ) from and am going to try brewing this elixer and taking it daily to see if I can feel any benefit.

Green smoothie for the week

2 large handfuls spinach
1/4 banana
1 scoop sunwarrior
almond milk
1/2 cup frozen mixed berries.

BLEND!

Wish me luck for tomorrow... I will start to photo the food I eat over the weekend and document the food I am eating and exercise I am doing.

This will also be a great place for me to store my recipes for meals I like.

I'm back

Back from a fantastic trip home which I loved. No major binging episodes which is nice, but lots of carbs and treats so I need to start up again. The last two days I have just been surviving as the jet lag has been so bad... Now I am ready to start.

Goals this year
1. lose 25kgs
2. Run either a full or half marathon
3. Either start a Msc ( part time) or change work to further myself.

Firstly I am making a food and training plan. I think that maybe with all the hard training I was doing prior to xmas I built a lot of muscle and my body was a little stressed. This year I am planning jogging 3-4 times per week ( 5km at a time to start), 30 mins boot camp twice a week and 2 body balance sessions a week. I would also like to walk as well but more as a nice thing to do than exercise.

Food wise, I know that bodytrim works. I know that some aspects don't work for me. I am tweaking it to make it fodmap friendly and whole food orientated.

I will do the 3 day Protein only detox as recommended ( Friday to Sunday this week)

After which my rules are....

1. Hot lemon to start the day and body brush
2. breakfast- either poached eggs on sprouted spelt bread or a green protein smoothie
3. snack- handful of nuts or chicken etc with veggie sticks ( not processed meat such as ham after I have used up my supplies)
3. lunch- veggies ( 2-3 serves) plus lean protein
4. snack- if needed as before
5. dinner- veggies ( 2-3 serves) plus lean protein.

I really don't want to have to eat snacks if I am not hungry though. I am also planning on giving up the sweetener ( aside from stevia) once and for all, getting creative with my cooking and kicking the worst fodmaps to the curb. For me the worst are definitely lactose, gluten/wheat ( sprouted spelt is fine!), garlic, legumes, fructose, sweetener... so I shall be controlling this. At present I seem to be fine with most veggies even cruciferous ones such as cauliflower.

I plan to make a high protein veggie soup as well to kick start things along which I can have for dinner. I also want to incorporate lots of veggies, whole foods and raw food where possible. I plan to dust of the dehydrator and have a bash with that too!

Budget... all of this needs to be done on a reasonable budget and as part of this I am aiming to provide all meals from scratch from home...

Big asks I know but this is the year of saving and with the extra time from less eating out etc we can hopefully finally finish off the house we live in.

In the weight loss phase of bodytrim you get a free day and I will be filling this with healthy grains, higher fat whole foods and raw vegan treats and possibly a bit of alcohol! Instead of using this day as a binge which makes me ill I plan to use it for intensive nourishing with foods which I am avoiding regularly for weight loss.

Wish me luck.. I shall photograph the foods I eat, post the recipes and workouts and keep you updated and myself accountable on the progress...

As an aside the marathon is in end of August/ Start of September. I would love to have shed most of the kg's by then as well so after that I can focus on my other resolution... further learning!

Making Steps

Well the last day of work for me for 2011 is now officially out of the way! YEAH! Actually I love my job and am fortunate that I do something I trained for and (mainly) enjoy. Still I am absolutely looking forward to a break and some rest and recuperation as well as catching up with the family. I am now blogging, doing laundry and chilling with finishing packing.

Today I had a pretty poor eating day, but in general I dont mind because it was a lovely meal and not a binge in any way shape or form. Although the cheesecake for dinner was an error because we have run down the food in our fridge before we leave.

am- 2 meatballs
lunch- garlic prawns and 1 piece of garlic bread, grilled fish and a potato, pavlova! YUM
Dinner- cheesecake ( oops)

Tomorrow I will try and Protein only (PO) until I land, I am also wanting to do a long run or bike ride so I am exhausted for the plane.

Update on the budgets for next year-

I have discovered that lululemon offers free after work classes which always change and is a great way to do some different activities. often  they are yoga based which is fantastic as my gym doesnt offer yoga.

http://shop.lululemon.com/home.jsp

I first heard about lululemon as a friend was working for their blog whilst working for them and she seemed so happy and fulfilled I looked on the website and it seems to be such a great and positive company. I also have some running trousers, a top and sports bra from there and they are so fantastic well worth the money.

I have also ordered a yoga dvd and am turning the sleepout into a yoga room for me. Our sleepout/third bedroom is too small for a double room and a tiny single. It has a bookshelf and also a built in wardrobe. I have been planning to renovate early next year and had previously thought that I would put a desk in there but a nice space, wioth scented candles etc for me to chill out and stretch in would be fantastic! The walls and ceiling are ok but I want to paint the shelving units as they are a nasty chipboard and organise everything.

Enjoy the weekend.

Blogytrim

Well here I am starting a blog so that I can keep accountable and finally achieve my goals for the next year. I do read a lot of blogs and like the fact that they capture periods in peoples lives. They also introduce a level of accountability which means the people I read about are achieving their goals like its nothing.

My goals for the coming year:

• Lose 25kg whilst following the bodytrim diet modified slightly for my dietary requirements (more on this in a mo.)
• Exercise 6 days a week.
• Run city to surf in September
• Run a marathon
• Save, Save, Save and be frugal.

I am trying to save as we are saving for a wedding in just over a year ( part of the slimming time frame to) and also for a house deposit. I think we can get there by living wisely, frugally and saying 'no' to some invites which come our way. By saying no to some social occasions hopefully I can also stick to the diet more successfully.

A little history my weight has fluctuated since I was about 18. In my late teens I had chronic fatigue syndrome which I am fully recovered from but has left me with a slightly dodgy digestive system. Last year after a whole lot of stomach infections and antibiotics I was diagnosed as allergic to FODMAPS...

I also have a passion for healthy living and whole food so will be trying to incorporate this into the plan as best I can. Bodytrim has worked for me, so far I have lost around 5kgs through a combination of bodytrim and working out with a personal trainer so now I have another 25kgs to go.

I have long pondered over my plan of attack and I work really well with short term and long term goals. Long term goals are detailed above. In a few days I head home to England for 3 weeks and I know that it would be so easy for the diet to go out of the window as I will not be able to stick to the plan completed. So, I have devised a series of goals and rules to modify the diet for me for just that period in the hope that I maintain or maybe lose a bonus kilo or two.

• Each day run or walk 5km
• 30 mins toning exercises 3 x a week ( I dont want to lose the good work I have done to date)
• No unhealthy junk food, or limit to 2 treat items per week
• I will omit the carb portion with breakfast to allow some lee-way with the other meals
• Carry a handbag with low carb high protein convenience food ( such as bars)
• Spread the free day over 2 meals; so twice a week i can have a treat e.g. cake or mince pies.
• Give up diet coke

I feel like if i can stick to these goals I will be doing well and if i try that is a great start. To give myself a head start I am going to try and do protein only for the next 3 days until I arrive as it destroys any cravings. Although, I do have 2 meals out in that period so will just do my best.

In January I am pimping the program....I have read about acid/alkaline balance, detox, raw foods and taking FODMAPS into account and the plan is...

• Again, work out 6 days a week with 3 strength training sessions
• AM- hot lemon water, body brush, exercise
• NO DIET COKE
• NO SWEETNERS
• bodytrim compliant food which falls under the following rules above.

I will be testing lots of recipes etc and blogging about that as well as weighing in (eek). Other mini goals are by May I need to be running 5-10km 3 times per week to be able to start the training program for city to surf which I have downloaded. Personal Training is too expensive for a frugal plan so I have purchased bootcamp sessions through a group buying website for next year and I have signed up to the local gym which is a bargain.

If you wanna join me come along for the ride