What I eat

I've put a lot of thought and invested many, many hours over the past 10 years into investigating the relationship between nutrition and health. The knowledge I have gained from this and my awareness of how my own body reacts to different foods has influenced my food choices and definitely impacts my menu planning. My diet now consists of foods that help to reduce inflammation; protect against cancer (or have been shown to actively fight cancer); don't trigger fatigue; and that make me feel good.

Fruit and Veg
I eat a wide variety of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs. I try to include different variety throughout the day and within each meal. For example if I have strawberries or blueberries on my breakfast cereal, then I will choose a different type of fruit later in the day. Freshly made fruit salad is a great way to get a variety of nutrients and digestive enzymes in one hit. With veg I try to have some raw (salad) and some cooked each day. When I make a salad I focus on including lots of variety and lots of different colours, the more colour the better. I do the same with our veg and always include green. Eat lots of green. I tend to use lots of garlic and fresh ginger for their health benefits and the flavour that it gives food. I try to include other fresh herbs daily whether sprinkled through a salad or over roast veg, or even included in marinades, casseroles etc. I generally make plant based foods to be the main part of each meal. I usually buy seasonal produce and the best of what is available and affordable to me.

Protein

Most of our protein is eaten in the form of skinless chicken breasts. They are extremely versatile and they taste so different at each meal as I prepare them with different herbs, marinades and prepare them in so many different ways. All chicken that we eat is skinless unless I am roasting a whole chook. I buy free range, organic where possible. We also eat quite a bit of seafood that I also prepare in lots of different ways, using herbs, citrus, spices etc to create variety. Red meat is always lean and we eat it infrequently. We also eat vegetarian meals a few times per week where our protein comes from legumes, lentils. I make a mean dahl! Eggs are another fantastic source of protein and nutrients.

All foods are cooked in non-stick pans or in pans with a spray of extra-virgin olive oil.

Grains, Rice, Pasta
As with all of my other food choices I include a variety of these in our diet. Rice is nearly always a mix of brown and wild rice. If I use white rice it is always a low GI version. When I make risotto I use either arborio rice or substitute barley as a nutritional substitute. Pasta is either whole grain or gluten free (I am on a low gluten diet). We also eat quinoa, couscous....and I can't think what else. Rolled oats and steel cut oats. I LOVE oats and they are so good for you.

Dairy and alternatives
I react poorly if I eat too much dairy so I mix it up a bit using rice milk, soy and the like in baking and smoothies. I sometimes use cold green tea as a base for my smoothies too. I eat low fat dairy always and try to include 2 serves daily in the form of yoghurt, keffir (fermented milk), cheese or plain milk in my food intake.

Oils
I use small amounts of extra virgin olive oil, sometimes use coconut oil. I also get natural oils from eating avocado and nuts - once a gain a variety. I eat the nuts in their natural form, not salted.

Processed Foods
I really limit processed foods as I have reacted quite badly to certain additives at certain stages throughout my illness. I also find that I don't really need them as I use herbs, spices and variety to create flavour. It's tastier, healthier for you and significantly more affordable. I do have tinned tomatoes, legumes and fish. I also usually have a commercial indian marinade in the fridge - just been too lazy to make my own!

I NEVER eat artificial sweeteners. During my research, I read enough on them to freak me out and now consider them to be poison. I'd rather eat real sugar and simply have a smaller amount. I drink very little soft drink (perhaps 2 or 3 times per year and can only drink about a cup). It makes me tired and sore. I prefer to drink water, tea or coffee. If I want a change with my water, I add lemon or lime slices to it or even some herbs such as mint.

I also avoid high fructose corn syrup, trans fats and saturated fats.

Other than the above mentioned artificial sweeteners nothing is off limits. If I want a piece of chocolate or a packet of chips I will let myself -if it fits in with my points and if I really want it. I keep the portion small and indulge infrequently. I want to be able to eat well in the real world and not be a difficult guest or dinner companion. One meal won't kill me if it's not super healthy and I have the power to make the best choices available or even offer to bring a dish so that I have something that I know I can eat. I know for some people eating like this can derail them but for me fortunately I can just deal with it and move on. People tend to come here to eat anyway (they seem to think I'm a good cook:)), so I have pretty good control over social eating.

Hopefully this is of help to you and I haven't left too much out. Does it make sense? Do you need and example of my daily food intake or a copy of my weekly menu plan? Let me know what will be of benefit to you and I'll do my best to help. I think I still have my notes on the foods that are like hitmen for cancer or are considered to be superfoods, I can do a post on these too if you're interested.

Love to hear about how you all eat! Stay well and healthy.

Weigh in day

Hello ladies! Just a very quick post to give you a progress report. Today was weigh in day and I achieved a loss and a couple of milestones along with that. I achieved my 5kg loss (total) and reached my 5% (lost from starting weight). Woohoo!! My loss for the week was 0.9kg.

As I had lost 5kgs I thought I'd get the tape measure out again and see what a 5kg loss looks like.

Chest
Week 1 113.5cm
Current 104cm
Loss of 9.5cm

Waist
Week 1 101.5
Current 93
Loss of 8.5cm

Hips
Week 1 119cm
Current 109cm
Loss of 10cm

Total cm lost 28cm! That would probably be more if I did my legs and arms today too. That's almost a foot!!

Little happy dance.

Upcoming posts (that I may get out today). A little natter and chatter about "The Stress Eater Diet". Finally! A post on what foods I eat, my attitude towards food, how I try to make my decisions when making food choices. Oh, and a post on my weekly walk. Goodness, I'd better get typing...

Hope you are all well.

Reflections on how I got here

I've put a lot of thought into how I managed to gain 30 plus kilos. I thought about it while gaining. I thought about it while preparing myself to do something about it. I continue to think about it while putting things into action and finally losing. Fortunately all of this mental ruminating has brought me greater clarity and with greater clarity comes greater control. Contributing medical conditions and treatments aside I've come up with the following so far.

• Starting life with my husband saw my food habits change. We ate out more often, my portion sizes slowly increased (particularly if Jeff served). Foods that were seldom in my home as a single person suddenly became normal to have around as Jeff enjoyed them. I of course ate them because they were there - not lots but all of this added up. Not blaming my sweetie here, just observing!
  
• Stress - oh my, was I under a LOT of stress in the first years of our relationship - work and other life circumstances, not the relationship. Stress creates physical changes in the body, raising cortisol which creates cravings, stress eating and belly fat. Oh enter the belly fat. I'd always gained weight around my bum and boobs but suddenly I developed a belly.
  
• Around this time my mobility and ability to exercise was compromised by health issues. So, my food intake was going up and my movement was taking a monumental nosedive. I realise now that the fact that I had always been active and exercised controlled my weight. Yes, I generally ate well, but 'treats' and any transgressions weren't noticeable because I moved enough to make up for it. I also realise that I used my exercise to deal with stress in my life. Suddenly, I had lost the ability to move and my main avenue for dealing with stress, emotional upsets etc.
  
• As my health deteriorated and my fatigue grew I think that I started to eat for energy. My mind was in a fog and I remember waking from afternoon naps and eating before even fully awake. Didn't work. I was still tired and just got fatter. I was also nauseous most of the time and now remember that I used to buy boxes of Jatz biscuits or Salada and I'd nibble on them to ease my tummy. I'm sure that all of this added up too.
• As my health deteriorated so did some of my food choices. Because I was not well enough to spend 5 minutes making my usual salad for lunch, I'd have a peanut butter or vegemite sandwich. I ate like this with greater frequency and my sick body needed nutrients desperately. Maximum nutrition was essential and I didn't have the energy to deal with it all the time. Bread also made me tired which made things worse.
• Since joining Weight Watchers I realised that the oil based supplements I was taking added up to a quarter of my daily points intake. How CRAZY is that! Needless to say I've made some changes there.
  
• The "Latte Effect". Living with fatigue and burnt out adrenal glands, and a coffee loving husband what did I do.....increased my coffee intake. All my coffee is milk based so that upped my daily intake of calories too. I've made changes there too (it's been easy, I'm not addicted and have had no headaches etc as a result).

All of these little behaviours that can quite insidiously enter your life and combine with health issues to create such a huge change to your weight, your health and wellbeing. Because the majority of my food choices were good - fruits, vegetables, salads and balanced meals - I found it bemusing that I was putting on so much weight and struggling so hard with it. I think I kept looking at the fact that I didn't binge or eat large amounts of junk. Portion size changes, extra treats, less activity slip under the radar and have a big impact. I've had to learn new ways of dealing with stress and emotions that didn't rely on me getting out and going for a walk. Thank goodness I was already committed to journaling, where would I have been without that?

Do you know what has contributed to your weight gain or are you as lost as I was? Have you found that understanding gives you greater control? What do you struggle with?

I've nearly finished reading "The Stress Eater Diet" (I confess to getting sidetracked by...many other books) and will endeavour to get the review out to you over the weekend. Sorry for those who've been waiting.

Today was weigh in day. I'm down another kilo which is a total loss of 4.1 and a current weight of 86.1. Only 500grams to go and I reach my 5% goal so if all goes well I should achieve that next week. Woohoo!

Hope all is well in your world everyone. You ladies out there in Blogland are a constant source of inspiration. Thank you.

Big Day Out. Part 2.

A few hours after returning home from our Big Day Out Part 1, Jeff decided that he was going to take the dogs up to the dam for some exercise. I was still feeling good (no fatigue, yippee!), after our morning walk in the rainforest and started to consider going along for a second outing. We were both concerned about it being too much, on top of my previous walk, but in the end I decided to give my body the extra push and go. We figured if I crashed I could sit and wait for Jeff and the girls to come back.
Here the girls are on the causeway, reading all the interesting news that has been left for them to sniff up. Sophie is at left, Jess is at right with the blue collar.
We found this spot halfway through our walk and it reminded us of images we've seen of the Florida Everglades. We hope they are safe from that horrible oil spill. No chance of an oil spill here.
Here are my girls running to me. So cute. There's nothing like the total love and devotion of a dog.

We walked for about an hour in a very leisurely fashion. By the end I could feel my body becoming tight and uncomfortable, and my knees were beginning to protest. I felt good though, no fatigue whatsoever. It is now Monday morning and I still feel good. I could weep with relief! This is the longest remission I've had from fatigue in probably 9 years. I've also had the best quality energy this time around and this has enabled me to start this new part of my journey to wholeness and health. I'm hoping chronic fatigue syndrome is OVER, not just in hibernation.

I shall try not to become overconfident and do too much (as I'm known to do). Yes, I know who's reading this and what you are thinking! :) It's nice to feel a bit excited and sassy about it all though! Hopefully I walked a bit of size off my backside while I was at it.

Wishing Lynn over at Lynn's Weigh a love filled, successful recovery from surgery. We are all thinking of you and wishing you well!

Big Day Out Part 1

We were having a slow start this morning so decided to head up the range for brunch and a walk at one of our favourite spots, Mary Cairncross Park. Almost nine years ago Jeff and I were married here in an outdoor ceremony (obviously!).
This is the view down towards our home in the mountains. Aren't they lovely? I always so LOVE to have my first peep of the mountains upon my return from any long trip away. This was the backdrop for our wedding ceremony. Not bad eh?
Here is my sweetie reading the paper and waiting for our order to arrive. We were married right there almost at the end of the table - which obviously wasn't there for the ceremony! :) Even the wildlife attended with a scrub (brush) turkey doing a streak through, jumping on a table and knocking some glasses down. A flustered looking park worker scurried through after him. We just stopped the proceedings and got on with it again when all had settled down. Interestingly, one of our gifts was a piece of original Aboriginal art done by an artist I know, the topic of which was the scrub turkey.
After a delicious and slightly indulgent breakfast, a second coffee and much pouring over maps of the Pacific Northwest in preparation for our trip, we headed into the rainforest for an amble. It was pleasantly cool, not too busy and we got to see and hear some wildlife. The cat birds were very vocal although we didn't spot a one. They make a sound sort of like a baby crying. Tried to get a photo of a paddymelon for you but wasn't successful sorry. We did the full walk which I've not been able to do for at least 10 years. It took about 45 minutes I suppose. GO ME!!

A brilliantly chaotic strangler fig. These trees absolutely rock.

An eerie valley of palms.

Progress Report

Yesterday was weigh in day, and I'm pleased to report that I'm down 1kg this week after less than impressive results over the past fortnight. That's my biggest loss since week1. There were quite a few big losses at weigh in this week with about 6 of us losing 1kg or more. I felt thinner but was surprised to discover that I'd had such a good loss.

For those of you who LOVE numbers....

Starting weight: 90.2kg
Current weight: 87.1kg
Total loss: 3.1kg
Time taken: 6 weeks

Measurements.

Chest.
Week 1. 113.5cm
Currently 107cm
Loss of 6.5cm

Waist
Week 1. 101.5 cm
Currently 96.0cm
Loss of 5.5cm

Hips
Week 1 119cm
Currently 114cm
Loss of 5cm

R/L Upper Arm
Week 1 36.5/34.5 cm
Currently 33/32cm
Loss of 3.5/2.5cm

R/L Thigh
Week 1 63.5/63.5cm
Currently 57/59cm
Loss of 6.5/4.5

I think the tape measure is my new friend! Far more impressive than what the scale is telling me. Also explains the Simon and Garfunkel undies (Slip slidin' away).

'Snacks' was the topic for discussion this week at WW and we compiled lists of favourite snack foods then arranged them into three categories. It was very interesting to see how many things like biscuits, lollies, chocolate, chips and other such foods made their way onto the lists. This led to a quick look at how the advertising and marketing industries skilfully convince consumers that these items (and many others) are snack foods. Just head down to the 'snack foods' isle in your supermarket and see what they think a snack is. I bet next to none of it will fill you up, give you slow release energy and stabilise your blood sugar! There is no nutritional value in any of it.

These are the things I snack on...

• fruit
• nuts (limit of about 8 per day)
• low fat yoghurt
• cheese stick (not an everyday snack, but ok for a couple of times per week)
• ricotta with blueberries and cinnamon
• smoothie of berries, perhaps some other fruit, spinach (I kid you not, you can't taste it), flaxseeds, and in a base of either water, keffir or some kind of milk - cows, rice, soy.
• ryvita or with tomato or cucumber and a protein e.g. philliadelphia cheese, slice of smoked salmon or ham/chicken
• vegetable sticks and hummus

Once a week or so snacks

• home baking (I have some lower fat recipes, like baking and at least know what's in the food if I make it)
• scone with a cuppa out at the shops.
• hmmmm, can't think of anything else

Treats that aren't really snacks at all

• the occasional mini chocolate (usually with PMS). Luckily I'm not a big chocolate fan. I know, there is something seriously wrong with me!
• potato chips

I used to crave potato chips with something close to a manic intensity a few times per month. I would scoff them (with the manners of my dogs) and once I'd finished the packet I'd not need or think of them until the next craving. Interestingly some blood work found that I was iodine and sodium deficient and my GP prescribed iodised table salt. I now use that on my meals and have not had one craving or one chip since. About 12 weeks and counting now. Just not interested. Obviously my body needed something.....the salt!

What do you snack on? I'd love to hear some healthy ideas.

Michelle and Julie

Hello ladies. Have tried to connect to your blogs via your comments but haven't been able to access them. Would love to pop in and say hi to you and see what's going on in your worlds. If you are happy for me to have a peep, let me know your details. You could put it in the comments with a 'please delete after reading' if that's how you'd like to contact, (very Maxwell Smart, although in that case my computer would probably blow up rather than simply delete!). If you have a more sensible alternative to passing on your details I'm open to it! Thanks.

Hope everyone out there is living healthily!