Day 6

28. 3. 2016.

Today's lunch - radishes, green onion and turkey

Today was a day to take a loooong walk with a friend, which felt very good. I feel like my body needed it, and even the cold wind didn't stop me from enjoying it. If I were alone, I probably wouldn't have felt as good, so that was a plus.
It is also time to bring back my eating in control. By that I mean no more cakes, except for once or twice a week. I'm not saying that because I believe cakes are the root of all evil as far as my weight goes, (totally not), but because the cakes I've baked had 20 grams of butter in them and a lot of milk. Luck would have it that I'm somewhat lactose intolerant, meaning that my nose clogs up like I'm having a constant cold if I go overboard with cheese, milk and other dairy products. Having a small nose doesn't help either.

Thus, my body needs detox from all that butter. Namely, more fruits and radishes. The problem is that I've been picky about radishes for so long, that I can't get myself to eat more than three big ones in a meal. I know that in time I will be able to eat more, but so far my stomach closes up when it's had enough.

I've decided to measure myself every eight days, so I have two more days to go before I see the progress. I resisted the urge to step on the scale because I don't want to be frustrated if the numbers are going down slower than I think they should.  
Besides, sudden loss of weight is the one thing that I don't want. I want it to go down naturally, without diet pills and other creative weight loss ideas. 

And even though it is very early to tell, I already feel lighter, and that is the most important thing.

Day 5 - food issues rise to the surface

27. 3. 2016.

Happy Easter everyone! Or whatever is left of it, depending on your time zone :)

Turkey dish

Well, today was a 50-50 successful day. On the positive side, I didn't overeat, not by a long shot, but on the downside I didn't exercise either. If cleaning the kitchen isn't considered as exercising, of course.
Our whole family had gathered at our place, and we had turkey and all sorts of side dishes, such as green onions and radishes.

Both green onions and radishes were the types of food I was refusing to eat for the longest time. I didn't feel repelled by the look of them, but I didn't feel that I would enjoy them either. Only about ten years ago have I told myself, ok, go ahead, taste it. I can't say that I'm 100% enjoying them, because both of these are peppery on the tongue, but I am eating them, as much as I can.

There were so many meals on the table which I couldn't get myself to eat. For example, corn. I just don't like the look of it, in any combination, and my stomach cramps a little bit at the mere thought of eating it. No, I don't know why, and yes, I would love to change it. Maybe someday I will.

Mayonnaise, all kinds of salad dressings, all processed foods such as pickles are on my no-no list. Yeah, I know, that seems like a lot and weird to so many of you, but these are just some of the foods I'm extremely picky about. During the recent years, however, I had discovered that I could cheat a little bit.

For example, I am perfectly willing to eat beetroot only if it's not dressed with anything. Only if it's home-cooked. Same goes for salad. I'm not that opposed to salads, surprisingly, especially leafy greens such as crystal or rucola, but they must be completely free of all the dressings. Otherwise my stomach does that weird thing.

Cabbage is another thing which I like fresh, in its natural state, although when I tell some people that I'm eating it completely clean, they reply by: "what are you, a rabbit?" No. Just the idea of seeing cabbage swimming in liquid of oil and other salad dressings makes me want to get away from the table. 

What I'm realizing more and more is that I am some sort of a control freak when it comes to food. I need to know the exact way the food was made, and in majority of situations I need to do it myself. 
I'm not saying that I don't trust other people who cook, far from it, but I always feel anxious because their idea of the same meal is usually different to the one I'm having. 

I think it's some form of a social anxiety, and I'm finding it hard to explain that my stomach turns to the size of a raisin when seeing a salad or corn. But it does. And the only way I CAN deal with it is to cook something from scratch and eat it completely clean. 

I also don't like the idea of mixing vegetables in one bowl, salad-wise. No. Just, no. 

I am wondering how many of you out there are experiencing the same thing. Let me know down in the comments and I'll see you tomorrow. 

Day 4

26. 3. 2016.

Today was a day focused specifically on baking a bun cake and other delicacies for tomorrow, which counts as exercise because I did all the kneading myself, without the mixer. I swear, my every muscle was in action today. 
Also, a lot of vacuuming and dusting was involved.

My breakfast was a fruit salad made out of a banana and a pear. For some reason it made me feel more satiated than an apple and a pear, so I think I'll stick to bananas. No pun intended. 
Lunch was simple today. Tomato soup, and after that fresh cheese and cream. I'm lactose intolerant and my nose clogs up,  but sometimes I need to give into my cravings! 

As for exercise, I did the 5 Tibetans. They may seem like a joke when you look them up on Youtube, but I still can't get past the 5th one without getting queasy after the 6th repetition. I have a long way to go to reach 21 in a row.

My dinner was a thin slice of bun cake, three hours before bed. Yeah, well... it's the day before Easter, and not eating what I've made is simply impossible during these two days.

Tomorrow I will talk about one of my eating-related problems, which is one of the reasons for my pickiness.

Day 3

25. 3. 2016.

Yesterday morning after breakfast I realized how much I've missed eating fruit salads. For some reason, I only ever make them during winter, around Christmas and New Year, with bananas, kiwis, and canned pineapples and peaches.
But my dad had bought pears, and I knew I had to use them today, along with apples (one of each). Of course, a big cup of coffee with some milk and tiny bit of sugar, and a pinch of cinnamon was also a must. It's one guilty pleasure I am not willing to get rid of. I love it too much.

I wasn't cooking today, because my grandma had made codfish. She always cooks it for fasts. Codfish is one of those types of food that I'm picky about. I used to avoid it like a plague, but I started eating it about five years ago. I generally like fish, especially trout, but the combination of fish and potatoes and onions in what looks like a soup (but it isn't, it's mainly olive oil and water), makes it look unappetizing and the taste is too intense*.

So, do I eat it? If I must. Can I live without it? Absolutely!

When I felt peckish between breakfast and lunch I ate a mini pretzel and a banana.

My exercise today consisted of the 5 Tibetans, a long, fast-paced walk on my way to meet a friend for coffee, sit-ups, elbow planking, and exercises to reduce the back fat.  




* Because too fishy sounds just wrong :p

Day 2

24. 3. 2016.

The day started with a bowl of fruit salad, which consisted of one apple and one banana, and a cup of coffee with a few drops of milk. This is a small plate. A couple of hours later I had schmarn with three coffee spoons of jam. Three hours later I still felt satiated.

Schmarn 

One of the reasons why it's impossible for me to weigh the ingredients to keep track of calories is because I'm cooking for the four of us. I just make sure that the plate isn't overloaded with food, because when I eat all of it I feel sick. Moderation is the key for me.

Lunch was tomato soup and a bigger-sized trout. Trout is by far my most favorite type of fish. I usually put it in cornflour, but we are out of it so I used regular flour, the kind you use when you want to make crispy foods.

As for the exercise, our boiler is broken so we have no hot water, so I couldn't get too sweaty because I had some errands to do in the center. That's why I focused on these exercises to reduce back fat. They might seem like nothing but I could hear the fat complaining :) I also did planking, sit-ups and push-ups and walked (fast-paced) for about a half an hour in the center.

Dinner was herbal tea, again. I find that I can fall asleep better if I don't go to bed with a full stomach. Less chances of a nightmare, too. 

Day 1

23. 3. 2016.

I've finally decided to take proper measurements of my body, so that I can keep a better track of my progress. I am aware that the number on the scale doesn't mean too much, but the decreasing centimeters on body parts - they matter. So here goes the list: 

 Kilos:                                                                73.8
 Bust measurement:                                           111
 Chest measurement:                                         100
 Waist measurement:                                         96
 Hips measurement:                                          106
 Midway point between waist and hips:            49
 Thigh measurement:                                         90
 Knee measurement:                                          40
 Calves measurement:                                        37
 Upper arm measurement:                                  28
 Forearm measurement:                                      24

I've found two local websites which suggest that I shouldn't eat more than 1150 calories a day, and one of them has a very extensive list of foods and their calories per 100 grams. I'm using it as a guideline, rather than a strict rule. For example, I'm not measuring every single product by weight. 

From time to time I will put up a photo of the amount of food that is on my plate. Although I will make sure that I eat within the calorie limit, I will not completely throw out "bad" food such as occasional pancakes or a thin slice of bread with a piece of bacon. 

Instead, I will focus more on exercises and generally moving my body more than I used to. Today I was on Orbitrack for 45 minutes, and then additional planking (it's not easy as it looks!) and working on reducing back fat by lifting weights. 

My food for today was:

Breakfast:
 
2 bananas
2 slices of bread
2 slices of ham

Lunch:

Rice
Turkey breast 
Peas 

Dinner: 

Melissa tea with orange juice (didn't have lemon) without sugar.