Sometimes dieting sucks. Take yesterday for example. The planned JUICE FAST day as part of the FIT FIX Diet Plan. All good in theory, until I get to this wonderful charity event to play golf – the Token Blokes Day at the Heritage Country Golf Club in Chirnside, Victoria.
Felicity, Anthea, Helen and me at the Token Blokes Day
The brainchild of sports presenter Tiffany Cherry, the event was a triumph, serving to not only put the spotlight on women’s golf and encouraging more of us to pick up a club, but raised more than $40,000 for the Koala Kids Foundation, which helps children with cancer.
Tiffany Cherrry with tournament winner Shura Taft and Catherine Murphy
Once we’d finished playing, we headed inside where the champagne was flowing freely, alongside a vast array of pizza, souvlakis and hotdogs. See that mineral water on the table in the first photo? Yep, that’s mine. That, washed down my green juice which was lunch… Not NEARLY as much fun as hoeing into all the yummy stuff on offer, but it had to be done. Knowing I’m reporting what I eat in this Blog is great incentive for staying on the straight and narrow.
It was also tough at home when I cooked the kids an easy Pasta Bake for dinner with crispy golden cheese on top. Nothing smells as good as warm, melted cheese… I was looking forward to my chocolate almond drink for my ‘main meal’, but I still really wanted the Pasta Bake… I needed something to make me feel better after all this deprivation. The best advice I have for when you’re feeling the same is to focus on something else – like TEA.
Making a cuppa is a fabulously distracting ritual, plus there are now hundreds of new flavours to experiment with. It can take some time deciding which one to brew. Red berry flavoured teas are among my favourites. Hmmm – do I want the Temptation Summer Fruits or the Raspberry, Strawberry and Loganberry?
The other flavour that’s brilliant for squashing sugar cravings is the T2 brand of licorice tea, called ‘Licorice Legs’. It’s best to make a whole pot of this so you can just keep on pouring. Lots of sweet flavour minus the sugar.
With my current tea infatuation going on, you can imagine how excited I was to discover THIS brand in the supermarket on Sunday. CHOCOLATE TEA. Wow – my two favourites combined. It HAD to be a winner. Now was definitely the time to test it out.
Sadly, the flavour did not live up to its name. There’s barely a hint of chocolate in the mix, but loads of over-powering cinnamon going on. And something else that’s just weird… Not on my recommended list. Better off just making a hot chocolate with skim milk!
Now back to the food for the FIT FIX Diet Plan. I gave you the food lists for Monday and Tuesday yesterday, but not the recipes. So if you’re interested, here they are!
(BTW – a small omission on my part – I forgot to add ‘half an avocado’ to the beef salad for the lunch listed today. Oops, sorry…)
TUESDAY DINNER – Stir-fry garlic prawns and veggies
750g uncooked prawns
2 tablespoons chopped mint
2 tablespoons lemongrass (I prefer to use the paste in a tube for convenience)
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 teaspoon lemon rind
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon sambal oelek
I tablespoon peanut oil
I packet fresh baby sweetcorn, sliced
1 bunch broccolini chopped
(NB – for those, like me, also cooking for kids, add a batch of angel hair pasta that you can stir in AFTER serving your own meal, to give them what they want.)
Mix all the ingredients from mint down to sambal in a bowl and add the prawns to marinade for about half an hour.
Heat the oil in a pan and stir-fry the prawns until they change colour. Then add the chopped veggies and stir-fry until tender.
Always keep some Sambal Oelek in the fridge for when you don’t have fresh chilli on hand
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 onions, slice
2 cloves crushed garlic
3 spring onions, sliced
1/2 red capsicum thinly sliced
2 red chillies, finely chopped
2 teaspoons cornflour
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
(NB – again, if cooking for a family, you may like to serve their meal on top of a bed of steamed rice.)
Heat oil in pan and add lamb strips. Stir-fry then set aside.
Stir-fry the onions, garlic, spring onions and chillies for 2 minutes.
Mix the cornflour, soy sauce and stock in a cup. Return lamb to the pan and add the cornflour mixture and cook for about 3 minutes, or until it thickens slightly, then serve.
That’s enough for today. Apart from saying that, yes, I am sticking to the food plans and so far, have not broken the ‘rules’ either. Well, apart from Saturday, but that’s the allowed DAY OFF, so I’m doing okay. And I’m still down to 68.4kg so it IS working! More food plans and recipes tomorrow. Happy eating!
When I look back at how I survived the first week of the FIT FIX Diet Plan, the one thing that stands out is that for the first time in AGES, I had FOUR alcohol-free days in one week. I’m sure that’s a huge part of why I dropped weight quickly in week one. And while that’s been great, I fully expect the weight loss to be a lot slower this week.
I’m having a JUICE FAST day today, which in effect gives me another day off from calorie counting. And cooking! Well, I’ll whip up a pasta dinner for the family, but it is a relief not to have to think about food for myself all day. Just crack open a bottle of juice, down the hatch and we’re done!
Another reason I expect the weight loss to slow this week is that I won’t be able to exercise quite as much as I’d like. Various work and family responsibilities will take priority, so I’ll try my best but there aren’t quite the same gaps in the diary for gym time that I had last week… Even this morning, the scales tipped upwards a fraction after a heavier meal last night with steak, mushroom, onion and broccoli.
But I am looking forward to getting stuck into those juices again. Even though I enjoyed my piggy lash-out on Saturday, sugary food didn’t taste quite so fabulous after a week of being a health-food junkie. And I didn’t feel that great after eating all that sweet stuff, plus it took much longer to get out of bed yesterday morning as a result. Or maybe that was the wine?
Yesterday I stuck to the food plan listed in Friday’s Blog – Keeping It Simple – but substituted one snack item after going to the supermarket and finding this! You may have discovered it already, but it’s new to me. Philadelphia Chive and Onion cream cheese – mmmm… Spread it on a couple of Cruskits (both items meeting the less than 5% sugar rule) and it’s a great simple, tasty snack.
Now let’s have a look at the first few days for this week’s food plan:
MONDAY – Juice Day, (juices from Pressed Juices)
TUESDAY
Breakfast – The Muesli, yoghurt and frozen berries
Snack – hard-boiled egg
Lunch – Cold beef, lettuce and tomato salad
Snack – Tamara strawberry yoghurt
Dinner – Stir-fry garlic prawns and veggies
WEDNESDAY
Breakfast – Berry smoothie (using Swisse Slim Shake protein powder), Greek yoghurt, frozen berries and skim milk
Snack – celery
Lunch – Ham, spring onion and tomato omelette
Snack – Body LoCarb Bites (chocolate protein balls – still under the %5 sugar rule)
Dinner – Mongolian lamb stir-fry
Normally, I would vary the stir-fry options, rather than have a stir-fry two nights running, but for various logistical reasons, Thursday’s dinner will need to be cooked in advance, so that’s the way it’s panned out.
Plus my daughter was nagging me for prawns so I caved and slotted that dish in for Tuesday. And stir-frys really are a great low-fat, tasty food option. More about the recipes later. Right now I don’t have to think about cooking with my favourite chocolate almond ‘milk’ waiting for me in the fridge for tonight’s main course. Yum.
I didn’t post an update for the FIT FIX Diet Plan yesterday, as if was my scheduled ‘day off’ from counting calories and having any food restrictions. So I was pleasantly shocked this morning when I stepped on the scales and saw that despite a day of unhealthy indulgences, I’d still lost weight!
It’s surprising given how much I ate. The day started off with thick cafe-style raisin toast with lashings of butter and a cup of tea.
Then for morning tea, I went all out. For days, I’ve been yearning for a slice of a heavenly cake my daughter baked, so yesterday was the day to tuck in – and I did it in style with two big scoops of cookies and cream ice-cream on top.
For lunch, the kids wanted cheesymite scrolls from Baker’s Delight, so naturally, I had one too.
Two large pieces of dark chocolate for afternoon tea, followed by a night out at a Japanese restaurant with bucket loads of wine followed, so it only seemed logical that I’d face the music on the scales this morning.
But no. Joy, oh joy, the number dropped to 68.4kg. This time last week I was 71.4kg. I can only imagine it’s the result of the cumulative effect of being ‘good’ all week and exercising pretty hard with daily spin classes. (And that wine is very good for you.) Today, I’m back on the program and sticking to my guns. See Friday’s post for today’s food list if you are wanting to follow suit.
Tomorrow, I’m back on a one-day JUICE FAST and looking forward to it. And very grateful there’s a store like PRESSED JUICES to do all the hard prep work for me. Will keep you posted on the rest of the week’s dietary plan tomorrow.
Feel like saving the planet this weekend? Okay, that sounds like I’m asking you to be a super hero, but I’m not. You really can contribute just by visiting the Sea Shepherd ships which are dockside in Melbourne at Williamstown and open to the public for tours this weekend.
Donating helps too. Not just money – long-life food stocks that Sea Shepherd can take on its missions are greatly appreciated because it’s an organisation that relies completely on the generosity of supporters. There’s also a stall where you can buy Sea Shepherd t-shirts and souvenirs.
We went along for a tour of the ships last weekend and it was a real eye opener. Fletch’s fellow Neighbours actor Saskia Hempele and her partner, TV presenter Kayne Tremills also joined us.
Just in case you haven’t heard about Sea Shepherd, these guys put their lives on the line trying to prevent the illegal poaching of protected whales and dolphins. We were also shown a couple of videos of clashes with Japanese whaling ships and I can only imagine how terrifying it would be to be caught on one of their smaller boats, being deliberately rammed by these massive vessels.
The Bob Barker being rammed by Japanese ships in February this year.
We were given a tour of the Bob Barker by Quarter Master Ben Harris who explained Sea Shepherd’s background. ‘It was founded in 1977 by Paul Watson,’ he said. ‘Watson was one of the original founders of Greenpeace but left Greenpeace to found Sea Shepherd because he wanted a much more direct action organisation. We’re a marine conservation organisation but we use direct action tactics to directly intervene in the poaching of whales.’
This ‘direct action’ is heavy stuff. The Australian arm of Sea Shepherd makes an annual pilgrimage to the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary every year. ‘That’s been a whale sanctuary since 1994 and whaling has been banned since 1986,’ explained Ben. ‘But the Japanese whaling fleet continues to whale illegally – under a legal loophole which allows them to whale under the guise of scientific research. They go after either Humpbacks, Fin whales and Minkes which are endangered or close to being endangered.
TV presenter Kayne Tremills with Neighbours actors Saskia Hempele and Alan Fletcher hear about the serious business of saving whales
The Bob Barker played a huge role in the last campaign. ‘We used this ships as a wedge,’ said Ben, ‘because they were refuelling inside the whale sanctuary which is breaking another whole load of rules. But we put this ship between the Japanese factory ship and the refuelling ship. The factory ship is 5000 tonnes and our boat is 500 tonnes. We were nearly squashed but we stopped them from refuelling.’
It was this bravery that made February’s intervention the most successful Sea Shepherd campaign yet. ‘We saved 932 whales,’ said Ben. ‘They had a quota of 1135 whales but because they couldn’t refuel, they cut their season short.’
Was anyone hurt in this campaign? ‘No, we’re aggressive but not physically violent. We’re not out to harm anyone. They’ve never lost anyone and we’ve never lost anyone. The only injuries that have been caused happened when some of our crew was pelted with large nuts and bolts from the whalers. They also swung a grappling hook at us,’ he said.
Next stop was a tour of the dining quarters. If you want to volunteer to be part of a Sea Shepherd campaign, make sure you’re happy to go vegan. After hearing about the horrific slaughter of whales and dolphins all day, it’s something I’m going to have to seriously consider.
Ben says that less and less of the Japanese population eat whale meat now, as awareness about the plight of the whales grows. ‘People have gone off the idea. They’re also aware there’s a lot of mercury in the meat, so they’re getting better educated, but the industry keeps pushing it, trying to get the next generation to eat it but putting it in school dinners. But now less than 4% of their population actually eat it.’
Worldwide support for Sea Shepherd is growing rapidly. It was fascinating to hear how so much has been donated by the US celebrity set. The Bob Barker ship, for instance, is named after the US games show host from The Price is Right, who donated a whopping FIVE MILLION DOLLARS to not only buy the ship, but a helicopter as well. Actor Pierce Brosnan is on the board of directors.
Life’s so busy I barely have time to write this FIT FIX Diet Plan update, which just reinforces to me how important it is to keep the food simple. This probably won’t work for those of you who want to go the ‘all natural, all organic’ route, but for me, it’s trying to balance the hectic with the healthy.
So yes, I do buy some processed foods and commercial brands as well as organic juices and fresh vegetables. It’s all a matter of combining the two, to provide the healthiest, fastest eating options.
Some of you may also find this a bit too basic and repetitive, but the less time you spend thinking about food the better.
DAY FOUR – reviewing Thursday
The outline of yesterday’s eating plan was detailed in the last blog, so let’s take a look at what happened after that report.
I always struggle when cooking, not to sample the ingredients, which again reminds me how important it is to WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN with this diet. Imagine how many more calories you’d consume if you ate half the cake mix when baking but didn’t count it as part of your food plan?
A bit of sampling went on last night while whipping up the Bolognaise sauce, but I made sure to write the bits down, which included a piece of carrot and five Kalamata olives. Not a problem, given I was under my calories quota.
But I did exceed my two glasses of wine… Well, red wine goes into the Bolognaise sauce so I HAD to have a glass while cooking. Which meant another glass during dinner and another later in the evening while watching TV. So I broke a rule, but I still got in under the calories quota and the bathroom scales reading didn’t skyrocket this morning. YAY!
DAY FIVE – FOOD PLAN: Friday
Breakfast – Uncle Toby’s Quick Oats sachet with 125ml skim milk and 1/2 a cup of frozen raspberries
As I said, it’s all pretty simple fare. And here’s a tip about the celery snack. It sounds pretty boring, but if you buy it in pre-prepared packs in the supermarket, it tastes MUCH fresher and crisper, making it far more enjoyable to eat. Plus it gives good crunch factor, which you need if eating a diet which focuses more on protein. Not much crunch in meat, hard-boiled eggs and yoghurts…
A WEIGHTY ISSUE
Time to own up to how much I weighed before starting the FIT FIX Diet Plan. Hmmm. Let’s put it in perspective and remember I’m 172cm tall (just under 5 foot 8). I’m not trying to make excuses it’s just that you might get a shock… About five years ago, my average weight was around 62 – 64kg.
On Monday morning, I weighed in at 71.4kg.
Then I started the 3-day JUICE CLEANSE.
By Thursday morning, I weighed in at 69.4. Which is to be expected, with such a drastic dietary change, and I know such a dramatic drop will not continue. After a day of eating ‘normal’ food, I went up slightly today.
Friday morning – 69.6kg
But still, that’s a drop of 1.8kg in five days, so it’s a great start. My ultimate goal is to get to 64kg.
SUNDAY Breakfast – 1 cup scrambled eggs and 2 rashes of bacon
Snack – celery or carrot
Lunch – Sirena chilli and basil tuna, lettuce and spring onion salad
Snack – Tamara berry yoghurt (small tub)
Dinner – Steak and broccoli
MONDAY – Juice Fast Day
LOOKING AHEAD
I’ve stuck to the diet plan for today and am planning another AFD. Tomorrow is Saturday – my day off! It will be interesting to see how the scales tip after that… I may still pop my food intake into the My Net Diary App, because I’m on a roll, and you may be curious to hear how I piggy I really was. I’m also giving myself permission to eat chocolate but right now, don’t even feel like it. We will see…
