big fat secrets

How du you du it?

2012-03-05T11:21:00.004+02:00

Duathlon time baby!

Yesterday was the run, cycle, run race from last year which I put on my goals for this year. Race 4 : Roodeplaat Duathlon - check.

I will tell you it was a challenge, firstly it was the middle of summer, no lies people, it started later than expected at 9:30 and it was a freeking frakking hot day, middle of summer I tell you! Last year the race was in June, nice and chilly, the sun was just so lovely an warm, today I am wearing a strapless dress, and not by choice, I think the second degree burns ... though sunscreen!

So aside from being Meteorologic-ally challenged I think I may also have been Geographically disadvantaged too, I am pretty sure there was a tectonic plate shift resulting in mountain ranges that were not there last year.

Possibly I may just be in denial ... but I like the plate shift idea better.

I took my time from 41:34 (2011) to 32:33 (2012) on the first 5k run, yeah baby yeah ... who's a running machine?!
I added some time to my cycle leg from 2:05:59 (2011) to 2:27:01 (2012) ... I may not be as cycling fit as I should be [WHO SAID THAT??] its tectonic shift I tell you. That's my story and I am sticking to it.
My last running leg was pretty much the same, 21:44 (2011) and 21:44 (2012), in fairness I had a bit of a break down and a cry in this leg...

And no medal, can you believe it, no medal?! WTF?? For that amount of effort I want a medal the size of my face!

It was hard, it was not fun, and I never want to do it again. I am glad I did it, I can check it off my goals for the year, but there was very very little enjoyable about it, hot and horrible I tell you, that's all it had going for it.

So whats the point then Gail? I was wondering this as I contemplated getting off my bike at the fist turn around and informing the sad little man with his sad little flag exactly why none was the exact number of f*&ks I planned on giving.

What kept me going? I don't know, ok so I am a finisher, what makes me a finisher and not the 23 people behind me that did not finish? And what about that 21 just the other day when I was one of the 23 who did not finish?

I don't know, I really don't, I asked myself ... "Myself, are you physically capable of finishing this race?" I was, so I said to myself, "Myself, you started it, you finish it, suck it up princess".

But its over, and I finished, 6th from the back, and my boyfriend thinks I am 'n yster, I have second degree burns, possibly tomorrow I will feel more yster :)

It's on - like donkey kong baby!

2012-03-03T19:27:00.001+02:00

Still working diligently on shaking that left over Christmas weight ... Which keeps jumping up and down week after week, I have decided to shift my focus onto other goals. Not giving up, just finding something else to obsess about :)

I am obsessing about races, fitness, and times ... For now.

Today Liefling and I ran the "Sunrise Monster" as I discovered its not the hollow threat I had hoped, yoh! Every uphill in Pretoria, they found it! You know it's steep when they start using concrete on the roads not tar!! And if you missed the concrete hint then the walking downhill for fear of face planting and eating road surface really should really give it away.

It was hard core ok?My running maatjie is back and we finished the 10k in a very respectable 1hour and 30mins, Liefling did the 32k in less than 3hours ... Of course he did.

Tomorrow is the "go Gail go" race from last year. The 5k run, 40k cycle, 2,5k run. The time to beat is 3hours and 3mins. In hind sight that's a pretty dam respectable time, going to be tough to beat but I would like to make it under 3 hours this time round, let's hold thumbs!

Weight Watchers Thursday

2012-03-01T19:23:00.001+02:00

Hello skinnies, today we are talking about fitting it all in;

'I can't exercise, I don't have time'
'I can't track, I forget what I have eaten'
'I don't have time to eat breakfast'
'I don't have time to cook supper'
'I forget to pack lunch'

"What me? Gail I have never said that!"

Liar ...

Ok so here is the action plan, I want you to figure out what you a
battling with, me? I am battling to write a Weight Watcher Wednesday,
on Wednesday! I battle to get in everything I 'need' to do and I
battle (ashamed to say) to track regularly ... Confessions of a weight
watchers tannie!

Problem areas? Got them? Good!

I am going to hazard a guess that the things you battle with are not
part of your routine yet? Right? It's a rookie error people, if it's
not part of your routine it's like a plaster that you stick on, it's
going to come off eventually. If you incorporate it in your life as
part of your routine you will firstly not have to constantly remind
yourself to do this 'new thing' and secondly you will be able to prove
to yourself that your life can adjust successfully to this 'new
thing'.

Do you want to lose the weight, yes? Great. Weight loss is not easy,
if it was you would not need me and I would have to blog about
scrapbooking or baking. Just because you joined Weight Watchers does
not mean that the weight will fall off you, you have to make the
changes to your life which will allow that weight to fall off.

Got that? Changes to your life. If you want something you don't have,
you need to do something that you don't do.

No time for exercise? Make time.
I am all about doing what you need to do to make it work for you, I am
not going to tell you how to exercise or what to do, you do what is
right for you. All Weight Watchers needs is you to get all sweaty
about the temple area and out of breath for20 (beginner) to 40
(intermediate) mins 3 times a week. If you feel like doing more, then
you knock yourself out. And if you don't want to exercise then don't,
but know your weight loss will be slower and you will plateau more
often.

How????
They say, and I agree that morning exercise is best in terms of
fitting into your routine, it's more likely to stick, but it depends
entirely on your working hours. Fit it in where you can but be sure
it's something you can do week after week.

Don't track?
Crisis in a crisis bucket, I know about this one. I have recently been
tracking on my phone with the Nutrition Menu app. It's going well, but
I miss the pen on paper action, I may get a small book to keep with
me. How did it all go pear shaped you asked? I started living out of
two houses, mine and Liefling's, and the freaking tracking book lives
at mine... Lame I know. But it's small things like that which derail a
good thing very easily. Bottom line, want to lose weight? Make a plan.

No time for breaky, forgetting to pack lunch, not cooking?
Haibo Susie. This is the back bone of Weight Watchers, planning,
planning, some more planning, an extra side of planning, and a dash of
planning with a sprinkling of planning to taste.

I will let you in on another secret, planning is what keeps you on the
wagon, and not planning, is what gets you off just as efficiently.

From a Weight Watcher Tannie perspective every single person who has
failed to plan in my class has failed to lose weight, it's scary
people but it is that easy. I can even allow you to plan solidly for 6
days and give you a day off if that's what it takes :)

See this chance? It's yours, take it.

Sent from my iPad

21km of greatness

2012-02-27T22:18:00.000+02:00

This weekend I finished my very first 21k in my whole own life ever!

I did my level best to not hype myself up and freak myself out, I was petrified of not finishing again, the only thing that kept me in check was the 5 hour cut off, I could walk the whole thing ... Slowly ... And still finish. Even when I found out I was flying solo because neither of my running maatjies could run with me, I kept my poker running face.

The poker running face served me well. In fact she served me all the way to the 15km mark, which I reached in 2 hours. After 15k I realized I was in the clear, I still had some energy left, I was not sore ... Well except for some armpit chafing ... I could finish this, I was going to finish this. Aaaaaand that's when the wheels fell off, I had a little cry, not sit on the pavement and howl cry just a little sob, the same cry I had after the 94.7 and the duathlon I did last year.

What's with the crying?

Remember the Telly-tubby cry? When you are so overweight it's not like you sit around going "shew hey I wish I could do the 94.7, but aaaah no I am too fat, of well".

A- that would be admitting you are overweight and it's getting in the way of what you want to achieve
B- it's so far out of my frame of reference that I didn't even own a bicycle, never mind a pair of Trekkies or a sports bra. The sporty spice cry is happy, I have achieved things I never even thought about. Never mind thought about achieving, and it's sad, sad because to get to this point, I had to get to that point first. I had to be as unhappy as I was with myself to push myself onto this journey.

I managed to pull myself together until I found Liefling waiting for me at the 1k to go mark, aaaaaand then the waterworks started all over again. Poor Liefling ran with me the last bit, encouraging me and telling me how proud he was of me. And then it was over, and then I spent the rest of the day napping on the couch in front of the tv :)

Weight Watchers Wednesday

2012-02-23T00:35:00.001+02:00

Hello skinnies! Just as I was pondering what to write about today my
sista blista messaged me to report her weekly weigh-in, she lives in
the sticks, I mean mountains, and is loosing weight via correspondence
:) ... And you thought you had heard everything!

So she messages to report in her new weight loss of about 5kgs over as
many weeks, and wants to know if it's too much?

This week we are going to look at doing it the right way, and when you
are doing it wrong.

Firstly, it's time to be honest with yourself, I don't go home with
you, I can only see what the scale says and hear what you swear blind
is the truth. Take this week to be bluntly honest with yourself - find
the corners you are cutting and try to understand the bigger picture,
are they going to be harmful in the long run or can you get away with
them? Try to remember that before you got all wrapped up in the points
and the creative accounting of your slidie, you joined Weight Watchers
to discover a new healthier tool set with regards to losing weight.

Let's pretend, because that's always fun ...

A- You are eating less than your minimum points and hardly any exercise points.

Hells yeah you will lose weight and fast, but can you maintain it?
Nooooooo you can't, the second you start eating more of your points
you will gain even though you stay under your points quota. But why
you ask? Simple, you are withholding the minimum nutrition your body
needs, you are eating, but you are starving. Your inner caveman thinks
its famine time and the second abundant eating takes place it gets
stored safe and sound on your person - most likely your ass - to
ensure you survive the next famine. kak idea ...

B - You are guessing how many points things are and your portion sizes
are suddenly a bit bigger than they were a few months ago.

Yeeeeeees ... The human brain is a tricky thing, she lies. It's a good
idea to keep a kitchen scale around, you don't have to use it everyday
but try to keep track of what 100g actually looks like on a monthly
basis. And cool it on the guesstimating, you may be right most of the
time, but keep a list of foods you regularly eat up on the fridge
maybe and quit rounding up or down. Try keeping a permanent marker in
the kitchen to work out portion points and sizes and write it on the
packaging - like breakfast cereal or pap. Not the worst idea you could
come up with but it will bite you in the ass on the long run ... No
burgers can NOT be just two points!

C - You track in your head

Yoh yoh yoh ma-we, this is a badie! Be warned. Your brain she is
sneaky, she lies. She forgets garage pies and the short bread bikkie
you had while you were waiting for the air lock on the washing
machine. It's so important to track, keep a book, a spreadsheet, an
app, whatever, just keep it! Great apps are My Net Diary or My Net
Food Diary (I forget) - kilojule based not points - and Nutrition Menu
- not Weight Watchers but is points based. Both take a bit of time and
effort in the beginning but are worth it over the long per run. Now
this really is a kak idea, one of the worst and can only lead to
unfortunate demise.

D - You exercise to hide your cheats

Such a grey area, you see to lose weight exercise alone can not do it,
it must be a two for one special of diet and exercise, however, to
maintain you can get away with it. When you are a baby you develop fat
cells, when you hit puberty, pregnancy and menopause you get put into
a fat cell blender and your fat cells have the chance to cross the
floor so to speak and the tend to rearrange themselves - indeed, your
humps, your humps, your lovely lady humps may move. Diet and diet
alone shrinks these bad boys ... They never go away, without surgery,
but can shrink. Exercise tones the muscles around them moving them or
holding them in place. Exercise is also fueled (after about 60-90 mins
of cardio) by fat, but these fat cells can be filled up again, thereby
not shrinking them. See where I am going with this? To lose weight you
must diet and exercise, to cancel out bad foods you can just spend a
extra hour on the treadmill, but you won't lose weight because of
exercise alone. Not the best idea in the world, if you get injured or
take a break you will see the scale go up and up as you are not
learning good weight loss tools, you are learning weight loss coping
mechanisms.

It's not quite a Cosmo quiz, but did you answer mostly As, Bs, Cs, or
Ds? Identity the dirty laundry that is yours and see if you can spend
this week (Wednesday to Wednesday) doing it right.

If you are not losing right now, or you are not happy with how much
you are losing, take a long hard look at what is going on behind your
own closed doors. And if you think you are losing too much, best you
do the same.

My dirty laundry? D all the way baby, and on weekends C. I exercise to
forgive my sweet tooth ... Oi

Sent from my iPad

Scary waters run deep

2012-02-20T21:27:00.001+02:00

Aside from the mud squelching through your toes, the worst part of
open water swimming is the murky water, yip, it's like swimming in
black tea. I know.

I have this irrational fear of underwater zombies, I did say
"irrational". In my mind's eye I see them reaching their boney ghostly
white hands from the depth of the dam-tea (pun intended) water and
grabbing my foot to pull me under the water and drown me. I said
"irrational" OK??

This usually works to my advantage because I swim a bit faster - it's
common knowledge that underwater zombies can't swim very fast and only
prey on the stragglers.

Except for on Sunday ...

There I was splish splash, swimming an open water race swim in
Midrand, then there it was, I swam into something under the water, it
felt like a round balloon [or a swimming cap on a zombie head] it hit
me under the chin, I swam right over it squealing like a little piggy.

Liefling thinks it was a fish, or a bouy. I know the truth though ...
It was a drowned swimmer busy turning into an underwater zombie.

I was so sure it would've been the headline of every news paper this
morning, but clearly the underwater zombie has not shown itself yet -
oh it's coming, just you wait and see....

Sent from my iPad

What time can cost you

2012-02-20T08:46:00.000+02:00

Harro! Happy Monday - I am so happy the weekend is over, it was such a drag - N.O.T :)

This weekend Liefling and I went looking for a time piece for himself, having graduated from the all purpose Polar running watch to the super duper fancy Garmin computer strapped to your arm for 17 different kinds of sports ... but cant tell the time (I know right!?).

So off we go to hit the malls of Pretoria in search of the time piece to challenge all other time pieces, crisis! I have never in my life looked at so many similar looking watches ... true story.

We found several he liked but none that spoke to him, finally just as I though I may die from over-exposure to Brooklyn Mall there was a watch that said "Hello Liefling", and we went inside to try it on.

He had it on, it was a bit big, he said it was heavy, but that that point I could no longer tell watches apart so I just stood there like a mindless zombie. The sales woman said it cost "one hundred and twelve", I assumed she was verbally dyslexic and meant 'twelve hundred' - obviously so did Liefling.

But no, then she said it again;

"One hundred and twelve ... thousand"

O.M.G for one watch, for that watch on Liefling's arm. O.M.G [I shot him panic eyes that said ...get.out.of.that.watch]

He removed it - slowly and carefully, and we backed out of the store, before they could charge us a fitting fee.

Who pays that for a watch, I mean seriously now, even if you have that kind of cash, would you really put it on your arm? Me I would rather pay off my car ... or a flat. Ok so I wont lie, its been a great story to tell all weekend, but I still cant wrap my head around the fact that there are people in the world who would pay that, not only in the world, people who shop where I shop would pay that - WTF?!

Weight Watchers Thursday

2012-02-16T14:52:00.001+02:00

Hello Skinnies,

Today we are talking about point allocation and what you should be eating.

Look how pretty this thing is that I made for you :)

As we all know Weight Watchers will never tell you not to eat KFC, but you also know that if you eat KFC and are then confined to Tab and salad for the rest of the day you are not a happy chicken - excuse the pun.

Today I wanted to talk to you about getting the most [energy & food] out of your points.

First of all remember that to lose the most weight you can, you need to keep your body healthy and happy, this includes sleeping enough, eating right, eating often and generally being on the lite side of life.

As my beautiful illustration above illustrates, you should be spreading your points out over you whole day, you should also eat regularly. Now don't go mad and eat five square meals in one day...

Lets kick off with brekky, you must get something in your tummy within an hour of waking up, this wakes up your metabolism and gets it ready for the day, its a good idea to go for whole foods, like fruits, toast, jams, etc. If you have time oats or maltabela is great, cereals are not your best option, they are high is sugar and burn up real quick, basically you will be ravenous in an hour or so. If you over sleep then have one of the lower point (woolies or pnp) snack bars to hold you till you can eat.

A snack can be a fruit, or a cup of soup, or some provitas, ryvitas, rice cakes (be careful, they are high GI) and low fat cheese wedges or fat free cottage cheese, some sweet and sour sauce and rocket - or even pop corn.

Lunch can be salad and 1/3 of a portion of last night's food - always an easy and safe option, or just a sarmie. Be very careful of the ready made sarmies, they are bizarrly high in points, in fact, I am not sure where all the points are hidden!

And supper can be anything really, no ideas?? OK, I got you covered, check out my What's for Supper? (click click) page, it has yum things like Vegi Skewers, Cauliflower Fritters, Pork Chops with Baked Potatoes & Gem Squash, Pumpkin Pie, Spaghetti Bolognese and Curried Rice & Vegetables. I add more as I make them, so the page keeps growing, keep an eye on it.

What should you eat?

First of all you should play caveman caveman (its only a game when you say it twice), cavemen could not eat processed food - DUH - you should not be eating processed foods either - except for skim milk and blue marge :)

Seriously, more often than not processed foods are higher in points than whole foods, try to eat as many whole foods - fruits, vegetables and carbs, as you can and go easy on the protein and dairy, and try to lay off the saturated fats as much as possible.

And treats?

There should always be treats! Try to keep it to once a week and keep it in your points.

Happy Skinny days!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-15T08:41:00.001+02:00

Hope y'all had a full on romantic day yesterday? Liefling bought me roses and brownies, the man knows what he is doing ... I got him a jar full of wine-gums, I know right, I am so romantic :)

Bendy like a pretzel baby

2012-02-14T06:36:00.000+02:00

I am off the road & pool & gym & any kind of crazy moves on bent and
broken leave till tomorrow.

Eish wena, my hips have been putting up a big show about how old I am,
being all sore and stiff. Enough is enough I decided and located a new
Cyropractor since all my medical experts are in joburg where I used to
live...you know.

As luck would have it my new Cyropractor is a wrestler! I know right?!
He kept this under wraps until I was already being folded into a
pretzel in his office. I asked if I could tap out - only half joking -
he killed himself laughing and told me it was the first time he had
heard that one (really dude, really?) and proceeded to take a running
WWE Smack Down move at me across the room - ok fine, that's what it
looked like in my brain. He does specializes in sports injuries so he
might actually be good at this once I get past seeing him in spandex
with a cape and a mask...

Anywho, I was pretzeled, I had needles stuck in my bum and strapped up
in bright pink tape, sent home with an ice pack and told to come back
on Wednesday.

I won't lie, it hurt just a bit but I live, eks yster ...

Sent from my iPad

Runnin' & runnin'

2012-02-10T14:36:00.000+02:00

Since my failed 21k I thought I should bring you up to speed.

I cried for most of Saturday, it was devastating, I hate failing,
failing scares me to the point where I almost (old me would not) don't
want to compete, I love a good competition, I don't even have to win,
but I have a paralysing fear of coming last.

I am facing that this year, remember? A challenge is only a challenge
if there is a chance you could lose.

Ok but still it's not cool to lose your very first challenge of the year!

Di - a super suporter of the cause, reminded me that one definition
for success is repeated failure without losing enthusiasm and drive.

Devastated that I had not finished and convinced that my running
career would be lost to DNF (did not finish) for every race after this
... Your brain is a sneaky thing.

Liefling spotted this and agreed to the 10k Irene Lantern race last
night, there were loads and loads of people. Too many people to be
sure, but I finished, I ran like the wind, and finished with a smile
on my face.

I feel much more confident for my next 21k attempt on the 25th. To
boot, I have the most wonderful readers and friends ever, I have had
amazing advice, supportive messages and emails, and to date so many
offers to run my next 21k with me that I could start my own 3hour bus
:)

Thank you, thank you for the support and advice, with such a
supportive fan base who could fail?

Xxx

Sent from my iPad

Weight Watchers Thursday

2012-02-09T22:07:00.000+02:00

Hello skinnies! Well you know, Wednesday, Thursday. Po-tatoes,
Po-taatos, toe-matoes, to-maatos, it's a blurry line at best :)

Anwho, today we are talking about a bit of a weak spot challenge and
good tip from my childhood.

When my sista blista and I were just pint sized our mom, the Sugar
Gestapo, invented 'sweety day' since my dad's family seems to be the
poster family for the Diabetic Council of Southern Africa my mom was
not going to have diabetic children. We were only allowed to have
sweets once a week, on sweety day, we would each get a little
Tupperware bowl with a fizzer some fruity chewie squares, and a
marshmallow mouse, we would smash them into our faces and bounce off
the walls for the rest of the day until we crashed, as one does.

Our friends of course seemed to only eat sweets, for breakfast,
fizzers with milk and sugar, for lunch sarmies with smarties and super
roast jelly babies. Aaaah perception is a bitch...

Fast forwarding 25 odd years, and back with the sweetly day.

I have decided to cut back on the baked goods, my greatest weakness,
cakes, bikkies, scones, muffins, fruit bakes, brownies, and other
seriously delicious things. I am doing this as an attempt to shake the
rest of the Christmas weight which is busy befriending my inner
thighs.

The deal is Monday to Friday for the whole of February - there are 4
weeks - no baked goods.

Note that I am not taking them out compleatly, you can't do that in
order to lose weight sustainably. By cutting out your problem food you
will lose weight, no doubt, but sooner or later that food is going to
creep back into your diet, and you still will not have the tools to
deal with the week point foods.

Let me just point out, that this is proving to be one hum dinger of a
challenge, there is currently a baked goods hole in my soul. Thank God
tomorrow is Friday, somewhere in the world there is a piece of cake
with my name on it!

Part B of your WW sweetly day is that it's only one day, you don't get
to face smash cake for two days solid over the weekend, you get one
day for a spot of the good stuff, plan it, count in the points, and
enjoy it!

Pick the food that you have the hardest time saying no to and confine
it to sweety day. That way it's still allowed in your life but with
rules, and under your control.

Good luck skinnies!

Sent from my iPad

21 ... Not yet

2012-02-05T23:02:00.001+02:00

It's difficult to write this post, it's so easy to share good news,
it's so hard to admit failure.

I did not finish my first 21k run this weekend. Sadly.

I was so nervous that I barely slept on Friday night, never mind the
phantom race babies I dreamt about having on Thursday night. I had
worked this race up to a giant mountain from just a small molehill.
Mainly I was very worried about the 3 hour cut off, I was only 75%
convinced that I could make it.

Basically I started off by pushing too hard and then freaked myself
out to the point where I was really battling to breath. You see I
don't have asthma I have bronco-spasms which means that my chest
closes up, my nasal passages and throat become inflamed and breathing
becomes rather challenging. It used to be triggered by allergies, but
these days it seems to be triggered by stress, anxiety, humid weather
and of course pushing myself too hard in terms of exercise.

After completing 5k in under 30mins - which is lighting fast for me -
I started having a problem catching my breath, thinking I could run
though it (as one does) I was pretty much gasping for air after the 6k
mark.

I was beyond miserable, thank God I was sweating profusely because
that way the tears weren't that obvious. I realized I was not going to
finish and was ready to sit down on the pavement and cry it away.

Then there he was, I looked up and I saw Liefling, walking with
another member of our running club just a few meters away from me, I
was so happy, my whole day lightened up and I was smiling though my
tears, I caught up and found out that he had been as sick as a dog
vomiting from the 6k mark.

We walked arm in arm with our matching running numbers and
span-hempies to the 10k finish and called it a day ... a sad day. It
was his first 21 DNF (did not finish). Mine too - what an anti climax.

I spent the day feeling like a complete loser, I was miserable. i kept
reminding myself that the whole point of a challenge is that you might
not finish, it's not a sure fire thing, if it were it would be too
easy, and to be sure, it would not be a challenge.

One of my best readers sent me the most beautiful email, thank you Di,
she said that it was "ok to come last and not finish, as long as you
go back" and try again, she also said the a good definition of success
was repeated failure without losing enthusiasm. I liked that.

My sista blista says that everything happens for a reason, and if it
wasn't meant to be then it just wasn't meant to be, who knows what
Liefling and I were not meant to do, be or see.

I feel much better now, I have decided to try again and sign up for
the Deliotte 21k on the 25th of this month. I am of course worried
that I won't finish again, and I won't lie, it's entirely possible,
but I figure if I just keep trying sooner or later I will have to
finish just one!

For me the best part about not finishing this run is the wake up shake
up of just how challenging this year is going to be, this is what I
signed up for, sometimes there will be tears, but you keep on, keepin'
on trukkin' :)

Sent from my iPad

Challenge #1

2012-02-03T09:43:00.000+02:00

Since it is the year of challenges, I figure let's kick off February with my very first 21km race ... ever ... in my life

When? Tomorrow :)

McCarthy Toyota 21k

I know right? I have only ever run one 15k race and I nearly died! I had the most traumatic dream last night. I dreamt that I got dressed to run the 21 and before we left to go and run I went to the loo, but my bathroom was a hospital and they told me I was having a baby and I said no I have to run a 21km race now I can't have a baby. I got into all sorts of trouble for not properly looking after the baby and they kept saying "you didn't train enough to have this baby" and "you should have trained harder you are never going to make it". I didn't end up having a baby and kept telling them there was no baby to have and then when they let me go the race was over and I missed it.

It must be said, before anyone gets to exited, that three of the women I work with are pregnant so there are more than enough scan pictures and baby talk going around at the moment.

So you know here we go ... 21k's baby! It's not a challenge if you know you can finish! :)

Sent from my iPhone

Weight Watchers Thursday

2012-02-02T14:54:00.002+02:00

Hello Skinnies!

OK so today, Weight Watchers Wednesday is not belated due to tardiness, no no, its due to a technical malfunction. I was not able to scan or upload pictures yesterday, but today ... oh today, look how fancy it is ...

Check out some goals and, oh wait for it, foooooood!

Today is about planning a weekly menu when your other half is not flying the Weight Watchers flag.

I think the first thing to keep in mind is that no one who loves you would sabotage your weight-loss efforts, but in the same breath you can not expect them to put on the Weight Watchers suite and run the race with you, this is your journey, not theirs, otherwise they would have joined too.

So now what?

As my thinking goes there are two sets of meals to plan, the meals you eat alone (lunch possibly) and the meals you eat with your other half (supper, maybe breakfast).

Meals that you eat alone can be anything your heart desires, free soup, salad, whatever, I find it easier to get my free or low point foods in while I am on my own, as Liefling is not very fond of free meals, he feels cheated if I only feed him salad - me I am ok with that. Those meals are best to keep to yourself :)

The meals you eat together I have discovered work better when there are separate dishes, like a meat, some vegetables, a starch, basically food like you mom and granny used to make, even when it is a big one pot meal like stew or pasta always have salad. This way you can load up on the low point options and just have a smattering of the high point foods.

How to settle on what to eat?

If you are the cooking half, well then DUH the ball is in your court, any slipups you make here are probably going to be of your own doing ...

If you are the non-cooking half then you need to find a way to be pro-active without bullying your other half into submission. Look at what you eat on a regular basis, every home has some kind of routine, which meals are the worst? Can you do anything to them that will lighten them up? Can you help out in the kitchen without stepping on toes?

If you can navigate it without offending your other half possibly you can look at developing a weekly menu, on a weekend set it up, take 5 dishes you eat regularly, ones you know are relativity WW friendly and plan to eat those, that way you can plan lunch accordingly.

When you have that down and you are both happy with planning a week in advance you could try introducing a new recipe somewhere along the line. Do not try to run before you can walk, try for 5 days at first, later when you are better at it take on a Saturday, and eventually a Sunday.

This is harder if you are the non-cooker in your relationship, but either way cooker or not, you need to remember that change is horrible, regardless of who you are, if you are going to switch what, when and how you eat over night it is not likely to stick. Stay with what you know and slowly implement healthier changes, its slower, but its for keeps.

Good luck skinnies! Let me know how it goes :)

The state of the mince pie

2012-01-31T22:09:00.001+02:00

Slowly but surely, back at school back into lunches and planned
eating, last week though I weighed 76kgs, 200g more than the week
before.

My exercises regime is planned for this term, Monday & Wednesday gym,
10 mins of stairs, a super circuit but instead of steps in between I
do a series of squats and lunges (thanks to Mbongeni Squat Lunge
Pants) and 15mins of running. It's a killer you should try it.
Tuesdays I run for the Son, I belong to 'die tee tuin dames span' we
are super fit because we talk and run, and walk and talk, between 4
and 8km. Thursdays I spin at stupid o'clock, for anything from 1,5 to
2 hours. Fridays I clean my house (dam straight that is exercise) and
swim & do a few laps of kick board. and Saturdays? That's race day
baby!

I find that is I plan a weekly schedule around my termly timetable
it's easier to keep my end of the bargain. If I approach it with an
"I'll do it when I do it" attitude it often does not happen. But if I
work exercise into my schedule the odds are more likely to be in my
favor.

Anywho back to my mince pies, what I am trying to say is that I am
totally (mostly) back on the straight and narrow, buuuuuut I feel
bloated this week and may be hormonally challenged right now.

To be safe I put them in the deepfreeze, heaven forbid those puppies
are stale by the time I am ready to smash three into my face with tea
:)

Sent from my iPad

I run for the Son

2012-01-30T21:20:00.001+02:00

And not the one in the sky ...

True story I joined my first running club ever, Agapè. Yes sir-re
bob, I run for the Son. I am sure He is ecstatic, since I am such a
dodgy Catholic anything is an improvement! :)

Anywho the point of my post today is not about running or my faith, ok
a bit about running.

I am guessing that there are a lot of you, who like me, try to run a
bit, started out walking, ran just a bit, walked some more ... You
know the drill. Or just plain want to get off your ass and do a little
something.

So here is a idea.

Why not try a race? Ok so I know the word 'race' is scary, you can
thank 12 years of compulsory athletics meetings for that! But these
races are really not scary, there are almost always 5km routes at all
the races, and there are people who walk the whole way with prams and
old people with walking sticks - the chances are super slim that you
will come last! To boot everyone who finishes gets a medal.

It's just like going for a walk or run in your own neighborhood but
with water tables, and loads of other people doing it with you, you
will chat along the way, look and houses and areas - its a great way
to house hunt!

Plus they are early in the morning (6am) (eeeeeek I know) but then you
are done early - it takes an hour to walk 5km and have a whole day to
take advantage of.

Since its my year of challenges how about you let me challenge you to
just one race. Google "road running races in ..." If you love it ...
You too can run for the Son :) Even if you are not running, find a
cycling or swimming race. Same deal, water points, friends to talk to
and medals.

No time like the present people, Wednesday the 8th of February at
18:30 the Spar Irene Lantern 5&10km. Have a google, nothing like a mid
week evening walk, with water tables, buddies and medals!

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Weight Watchers Wednesday

2012-01-25T23:54:00.001+02:00

So new look blog? What do you think? New year new look! Now see here,
I can't open it on my iPad so ... That's no good, it might be up for a
new change tomorrow ... Keep an eye open.

Anywho, this week we Weight Watchers Wednesday is two parted, firstly
your goals ...

You got them right? You have set baby goals to help you get to the
bigger goals and you have put together a system of bribery and
corruption to help you achieve these goals. Now, you are going to
publicize these goals, you see if you publicize them you are more
likely to achieve them as no one wants to fail publicly. By keeping
goals to yourself it's ok, it's easy to slip up, who is going to know?

Don't forget to have goals in all areas of your life, this blog is
about skinny, for sure, but for your skinny to fit in your life it
needs to find balance - hence goals in other areas of your life.

Since I am awesome and lead by example I am going to complete my goals
for the year under the 2012 page on my blog, keep your eyes open!

Speaking of not failing publicly I have the scale set up for weigh in
first thing tomorrow morning. Will those mince pies be mine this
week?! Eeeeek! Weight in still scares me!

The second part of this post is the "what's for dinner" post. Most of
my members are new to Weight Watchers, and the rest of us are clawing
our way back onto the wagon so I suppose we are new too :)

Mrs X said today that she feels like she is feeding Mr X the same two
meals all week. I have decided to start a new page on my blog called
'what's for dinner?' if you are keen to share your recipes with
everyone that would be great! Email them to me and I will happily post
them.

Next week we are going to talk about making menus. Especially for
couples with only one of you on Weight Watchers.

Don't be forgettin' that if you want us to chat about something
specific on Weight Watchers Wednesday then all you need to do is mail
me ... Consider it done! :)

Happy skinny week y'all!
XXX

Sent from my iPad

Bring on 2040

2012-01-24T13:58:00.001+02:00

I stated work today.

OMG how do people work all day? Work is so hard! I take it all back, I
was never bored, I loved watching TLC all day, I am ok with 4
consecutive episodes of Cake Boss, I will even watch re-runs!

And to think, I still have to survive three more days of this torture!

I plan to retire at the end of the week, Liefling and I will be moving
in with my parents and all our cats... He can fish to feed the cats
and I will bake during ad breaks on TLC, I do not see how my parents
can have a problem with this.

Failing that I plan to count the days till I get to retire in 2040. 10
543 days incase you were wondering. There is a woman in my complex who
is retired, she feeds birds, waters her garden and watches TV, how is
this a bad thing?

Ok fine she lives in a town house in a city with manky lace curtains
... I will need to work for a few more years to afford the good
curtains in my old age and possibly live on a farm with big pots for
making jam and a 5 plate gas stove for cooking said jam. Also a walk
in pantry for storing this jam ...

*sigh* fine whatever.

10 543 sleeps till I am awesome and old

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Why I love taxi drivers now

2012-01-23T22:02:00.001+02:00

Because of my growing hatred for security guards taxi drivers have
started to pale in comparison.

No jokes, these wannabe piggies are rubbing me the wrong way!

I went for a swim this morning and my pool of choice is the Hillcrest
pool in Pretoria, it's a 50m open air pool - it's awesome! I usually
get there early enough to miss the wannabe piggies but today I slept a
bit late :)

Anywho, first I had to explain myself to the wannabe piggy at the
gate, where was I going? (there is only one thing otherside of that
gate ... And I was wearing a costume ... Not clear enough apparently)
What was I going to do? (uuuuum going for a run around the pool in my
cozi?... Again, not obvious enough?)

I get past wannabe piggy one just in time for wannabe piggy two at the
pool entrance, where was I going? (uuuuuum to the invisible circus
just otherside of the pool?) what was I going to do? (well now am I
missing something? Is there more to this swimming complex than meets
the eye ?)

I get past wannabe piggy two after paying my 10 rant to swim at this
fine establishment. Oh look they are setting up for a garla. Back to
wannabe piggy two "So piggy, it looks like they are setting up for a
garla, how can I swim?" Piggy looks over his very important glasses at
me and informs me that they are only due to start in 20 minutes, I can
swim till then.

!!!OMG!!!

Eventually I get my 10rant back and wannabe piggy two informs me that
I can go and swim at LC sports grounds, my old stomping grounds here I
come!

YaY. Wannabe piggy three. Bla bla bla bla could you please let me in
to swim? No, she does not know anything about this garla and I don't
have a student card so she does not think she can let me in.
Apparently she is also not sure about how to tweeze her eyebrows,
actually no you would need waxing or electrolysis to get that carpet
unibrow under control.

!!!OMG!!!

Nevermind, before I flick you on the forehead or jam the ariel of your
walkie talkie up your nose I am walking away.

Seriously! Crisis me in a crisis bucket, what's up with the annoying
wannabe piggies? They are one giant collective pain in the ass!

I think an IQ of 100 and developed fine motor skills should be minimum
requirements for wannabe piggies. ... In my world at least that will
be the rule. Anyone failing to meet those requirements will be sent to
live on a farm.

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Weight Watchers ... Thursday

2012-01-19T11:42:00.001+02:00

You know how they say if you want something done give it to a busy
person? Well the reverse of that is if you have nothing really to do
... Well then WW Wednesday becomes WW Thursday :) whoops

Anywho, last week we got back on the wagon and we set goals. Right? ... Right?!

This week you are going to figure out an action plan, it's no point
designing a pretty 'FINISH' sign if you can't see a way of getting
there :) a system of well placed carrots really.

Take your goal and break it down into less scary bits, if you are
planning to lose 10kgs this year, let's make it a kg a month and two
to catch up. Possibly you can have a series of rewards for every kg,
smaller things leading up to a biggie like a massage or something?

I have three mince pies chillin' (literally) in my fridge, 75, as soon
as I get to 75kgs those suckers are mine! Just to be clear the general
WW rule is that rewarding yourself with food is a bad idea, but every
now and then isn't all bad, as long as its not a whole cake or a dozen
mince pies!

And for the rest of us busy clawing our way back onto the wagon. How's
that going? Most importantly you should be tracking, it's the easiest
thing not to do, but it's possibly the most important part of WW is
being mindful of what you are putting into your pie hole!

Even if you are going over your points initially you need to get
yourself back into the habit of keeping track of what you eat ... And
not in your head :)

Then ... Identify where you are going wrong. Mine? For the love of all
things good and proper, biscuits, cakes, biscuits .... Biscuits,
delicious sugary things. And that is where I go wrong, so wrong!

This week I decided to replace my delicious treat addiction with
fruit, I went to the local veggi shop and stocked up on all the fruit
they had to offer. I am still over my points due to all the fruit
consumption but I figure ... Who ever got fat on fruit?!

There you have it, do what you have to do to get back on your wagon
and ditch those habits you picked up over the festive season. And
while you are doing that put together a plan of bribery and corruption
to get you to your goals :)

Happy skinny days!

P.S. for the record, 57,8kgs, 400g and Christmas did not happen, 800g
and those mince pies are mine! :)

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Happy ending?

2012-01-17T11:28:00.001+02:00

I am not going to lie, I am not back at work yet and I am LOVING it!
What between baking and massages I barely have time to catch up on the
TLC channel.

I have a new vice, Groupon, OMG it's great! They offer a company
exposure and clients and the company offers the most amazing deals
ever in return! I bought a few massages and spa days at the end of
last year for a bargain basement price and realized I had to cash in
on them before they expired.

I booked twin massages for my sista blista and I but the times didn't
work out and try as I may there is a silly little clause that says
only one voucher per person - I even offered to drive out. Stick on a
mustache and drive back in again, but nooooooo some people are just
sticklers for rules.

It didn't take much to convince Swimming Running Lecturer that she
needed a free massage, she was my plus 1.

When I walk in the massage therapist says "will your husband be
arriving for the next session?", rather innocently I say "yes, my
friend".

When Swimming Running Lecturer drove in the massage therapist in that
very quite massage voice says "I believe your partner has arrived". I
had just been massaged for an hour people, it took a while for my
brain to start working again and my eyes to de-squint enough for me to
catch the 'partner' part of her politically correct statement.

Whoops. Oh well some little massage therapist somewhere in Centurion
just massaged her first set of gays :)

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It's almost like Christmas never happened

2012-01-12T23:09:00.001+02:00

Just like the rest of you (unless of course you never fell off) I am
back on the Weight Watcher's bandwagon. I weighed in a week ago at
77.8kgs.

Me and my 2,4kgs of mince pies, boerewors rolls, booze and Christmas cheer.

It was the first time I had picked up that much weight since dropping
a Back Street Boy. I did not freak out, I am so happy with where my
mindset is now in that I can let go, have fun, indulge and KNOW that I
have the tools, the knowledge and the power to lose it again. Weight
Watchers is not a one time deal, its meant to be a skill set that you
can apply to your life.

I am applying, back on the straight and narrow baby. This week?

Ka-chow - 76,8kgs! One kg down and 1,4 to go.

Shew hey I ain't gonna lie it's hard to stop that nibbling after this
eating bonanza hey? I have picked up all my old tricks out of the
cupboard, dusted them off and have them back on the front line once
again.

What tricks Gail? My number one trick is bubbles! Bubbles? You should
go and buy a 6pack of diet juice right now, Coke Zero, Coke Lite, Tab,
Fanta Free, Sprite Zero, even sparking water can do, as long as there
are bubbles. Be careful of Grape/Apple/Pear-tiser they are not free.

Whenever you feel the urge to do something bad - have a can, ice cold. Try it :)

My moment of personal triumph came at Tasha's last night when I
pondered the menu up and down to find a WW friendly meal, ah-HA I
found it, soup! Plus I love soup, plus it was time for some veggies in
my diet, plus soup is usually a safe bet with lower point meals. A win
/ win situation really.

I ask what the soup of the day is, it's butternut or roasted veg. When
ordering soup I have learnt the hard way that one should ask about
butternut and tomato soup as they are loaded with cream and could
become a 20 point meal on their own. So I order the roasted veg.

OMG my soup arrives and is at least 70% cream, no jokes, there is a
soup spoon dollop size of sour cream floating in it, besides that, any
vegetable which landed up in this soup got there quite by chance. It
was horrible even to a non WW freak. One spoon-full and your mouth was
coated in an oily film. OK look it did taste great, but stil!

Uuuuum no thanks, my quest to lose Christmas weight and my respect for
my hard work and planning far outweighs making the waitress and chef
feel bad.

"Sorry I can't this there is far too much cream in there".

I did it! I have never done that before! It was oddly liberating, I
ordered a cup of tea, felt a little hard done by but got over it fast
enough to high five myself on putting me first!

Life is too short to waste your points on something you did not plan to eat.

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Weight Watchers Wednesday

2012-01-11T22:47:00.001+02:00

Hello skinnies! It's that's time of year again, time to revamp, over
haul, clean house and get organized!

I am still formulating goals into achievable units - remember that
setting goals takes more than just a drunken evening at the end of a
year. It's as much about what you want to achieve as it is about how
you are going to achieve it. I know I want to push harder, I am not
ready to sign off on my achievements just yet.

Liefling and I went to visit some of his friends this last weekend and
I was talking to Mr. Friend's wife in the kitchen over a salad (have
you never been to an Afrikaans home? Damit man, men grunt around the
fire outside and women make salad inside - duh) Anywho, we were
talking resolutions and goals, Mrs. Friend says that she takes one
thing every year that she wants to work on, like stretch more or drink
more water or lose weight and spends the whole year working on it, she
says if she does not get it right in month one then she tries harder
in month two.

I liked her philosophy, keep it simple or you are setting yourself up
for failure.

I also am still liking the article from the Shape mag last year this
time which basically said sum up all your goals into one definable
word or idea, for you, this is the year of.... ? What is this the year
of Gail?

I am thinking challenges. We had the year of skinny of 2010,the year
of achievements last year, I am thinking 2012 can be they year of
challenges.

How exactly would a challenge and an achievement differ? Fair
question, ok so in my world an achievement is something you set out to
finish and or to get right. A challenge is something you start with
the faith that you will finish but no real proof that you can.

I have a paralyzing fear of coming last, true story.

Also of failure. This family photo used to include rejection, but I
have since come to terms with that phobia, most-of anyway. Right now
it's mainly a fear of finishing first from the back.

I hear you, it's good not to want to come last, it fuels you to do
better, run faster, study harder, be more efficient. Yes it does, but
it can also stop you from trying something 'unsafe' for fear of
failing or not performing.

A challenge is essentially that, starting something with the risk that
you may come last, you may really suck at it, but hey you tried. In my
running club (I belong to a real running club now you know...But
that's a whole new post!) there is a woman I run with, she says she is
ok with coming last because she has already achieved more than
everyone else who did not sign into the race.

Hear hear,to the year of challenges!

Now I challenge you to come up with some realistic goals, or even just
one can be ok.

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Do not anger the mermaid

2012-01-10T23:11:00.001+02:00

So there I am swimming along, splish, splash, ooooh bubbles, la, la,
la, la, butterflies and fairies, and then;

BAM!

This child (ok he was probably about 20 but still he could at least
have called me tannie) swims into me head on. WTF!?

When I am done drowning while treading water mid lane 'cause I am an
above average swimmer you know, I realise that the child just kept
swimming! Again I ask you with chlorine in my eyes, WTF?!

So I swim to the edge ready to read a riot act or two and there is
this child's BFF, so I say 'hey buddy, what's with Mr. Hit &Swim over
there swimming into me?'

Oh no he does not know, his friend is the swimmer he is just here as
support. OMG, if Mr. Hit & Swim is the swimmer in this relationship I
am scared for the BFF to even be in the same pool as me!

Mr. Hit & Swim (finally) makes it back to the side of the pool where I
am waiting to wedgy his banana hammock, and all I get is, 'hey' and a
nod.

Do not anger a ginger mermaid.

"don't 'hey' me, A you ask if you can share my lane, B only two people
share a lane, C your moral supporting non swimming BFF will have to
find another lane, D stick to that side of the lane and E don't swim
into me!"

With the I snapped my goggles back on *eina* and did a huffy dive into
the water, not as impressive as I had hoped as I was not really close
enough to the wall to kick off and thus did not take off with an
impressive speed ... Also there was no wake or splash left behind.
Damit.

Look you would stick to your side of the lane after that right? I mean
I was scary, and mean, and I swim faster than Mr. Hit & swim. But
nooooooo either he is with a lower IQ or he has a personality disorder
or he is just really a bad swimmer. He bloody swam into me again, can
you believe it? Head on collision again, and again he swims away! I
was pretty much seeing budgies above my head like in the cartoons but
he keeps swimming.

Personality disorder, clearly.

Anywho, 10 laps in and I am sick of defensive swimming, just as I am
swimming back to call it a day he frikkin' comes aiming right at me
for collision number 3.

Do not anger the ginger mermaid.

Nothing to it, I picked up all the speed I had, aimed my downward
crawl stroke into his collarbone kept swimming and kicked him for good
measure, and the swam away, got out and walked away.

Do not anger the ginger mermaid. Take that you aqua-fool! booooooooo Ha Ha

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Jamie who?!

2012-01-05T19:46:00.001+02:00

Since you know ... I am an avid baker and doing my level best to avoid going back to work I have been baking this week.

I made amazing buttermilk rusks. Unfortunately there is no good way to skinny these up, you see in my opinion rusks should be doodgooi and heavy - there is only one way to achieve that ... Flour and buttermilk. Nothing for it except to make smaller rusks and eat only one or two at a go not half the batch.

Then I thought "hey let's make crunchies!" they are healthy right? They have oats and coconut - its basically a vegetable!

OMG no!

Coconut is - Brace yourself. 55 points for 250g - no jokes!! So plan B involves dried fruit, coco, and sweetener. I made two batches. Threw one away and have the highest of hopes for number 3.

When I have perfected them I will share with pics and everything!

Until then ... I bake :) oh and run. I have a cycle challenge this weekend, 42km, that's some Christmas weight right there right?

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Weight Watchers Wednesday

2012-01-04T21:50:00.003+02:00

Welcome to 2012 all y’all skinnies! May this be the year ofhopes and dreams for you. Go get ‘em tiger!

First we are going to kick start this year by getting ontothe scale. Yes you heard me, get off your ass and onto the scale se-ri-ass.

Why Gail? Why? OMG justgive me a few weeks to un-do all the festive merriment.

BAAAAAAAAP wrong answer.

You get onto the scale so that we know what we are dealing with;it makes it easier to form an action plan if we know what we are up against. YipI got onto the scale this morning, and this afternoon just to be sure, in casethe first reading was wrong you know. It wasn’t.

I am the winner of 2,5kgs of festive merriment. Yip thereyou have it, I said it, I owned it. What’s your number?

Second, organise an action plan, how are we going to shakethis extra tyre?

Make sure your action plan is realistic, otherwise it’s notlikely to happen. Aim to lose a maximum of 500g a week. If you are closer togoal weight you could be looking at 200g-400g a week.

One point less every day, don’t forget that part of thedeal. If you had say 20 points per day, now you have 19.

I have started off slow with my 19 points, I still have asix pack and a half of mince pies in my fridge (they were on sale OhKay….) Iremembered some of my favourite tricks which I plan to re-implement this month.

A cup of tea instead of a peckish snack, an ice cold Coke Zero instead of adelicious snack. And Ixnay on the pizza-ay, oh and the bloody beer! Lastly its timeto start tracking again. I know … I stopped over Christmas … How bad!

Third, reward time, find a treat maybe a rather expensivedress, a pair of shoes, a massage, whatever. Something you would buy foryourself anyway, but now you hold off buying it until you breakeven with thisspare tyre of yours. I am feeling like an expensive dress just for the hell ofit.

When we breakeven we will move onto your goals for thisyear. Maybe think about what you want this year to mean to you while you arebusy busting spare tyres.

This is Miss Spare Tyre T minus 2.5 and counting signingoff.

Till next week people, and I want to see improvements!

2012 has technology problems too!

2012-01-03T10:57:00.001+02:00

Running into the new year

2012-01-03T10:51:00.001+02:00

Happy 2012 skinnies! I hope this year is everything you need it to be,
fully of laughs, lost kilograms and fulfilled dreams.

I have a hate hate relationship with New Year's Eve, between Hollywood
and romance novels it has been placed on a pedestal which it's never
managed to live up to. But in my twenties I spent every year trying to
make the perfect memories to carry into the new year, I have tried it
on the beach, on a jumping castle, I have tried it drunk I have tried
it sober, nothing. Nothing, nothing but a hangover and a feeling of
exhaustion. Oh what fun.

I have given up, New Year's Eve is more over rated than Valentine's Day.

This year, well last year, when faced with the "what to do" question I
twisted Liefling's arm into running a 24 hour race. Yep. No it just
sounds more hard-core than it is, basically there is a 500m lap and
you need to do 5 laps before midnight and 5 after. We set up camp, but
between a comedy of errors our mattress was too big for our tent, so
we ended up squatting in our friends' tent.

They were selling boerewors rolls, everyone got a trophy and there was
a pool, how could this be a bad thing?

I didn't take the baking sun into account, or the serious runners!
Crisis there was one mad man who ran nearly 200km - who does that? I
think he has a personality disorder, I am just saying, he should have
that looked at.

I found a friend who loves tea just as much as I do, so I retreated
out of the baking sun, pulled up a camping chair and had several cups
of tea!

Liefling ran 75 laps, I cracked nearly 30 :)

True to form at about 10pm a massive thunderstorm hit - I took that as
a sign and slept though midnight. I woke up on the 1st of January to
the footfalls of Mr. Personality Disorder, had a cup of tea and a rusk
in my pjs on a camping chair with sunglasses on. Rested out with no
hangover.

I can honestly say that that was the best New Year's Eve I have had in
well over 10 years :) true story.

Hmmmmm it's not letting me publish a picture- I will email it as a separate post :) so many of solutions!

Sent from my iPad

Little Miss Over Achiever

2011-12-29T19:52:00.003+02:00

Festive year end greetings to all ya’ll skinnies!

Hope that you had a fantastic festive season and spent moretime enjoying what was important – your friends, families and traditions, andless time berating yourselves over what you ate and what you did [not] eat& finish. After all that’s what January is for :)

Remember way waaaay back at the beginning of the year Isummed all my goals up into one idea, the idea of achievement, 2011 was goingto be my year of achievement, and oh em gee was it! The big difference betweenbragging and celebrating is that if I were bragging my achievements would makeyou feel bad about yourself, but since I am celebrating my achievements shouldinspire you to achieve your own goals.

This is my celebrationof 2011

In 2011 I wanted to …

- = Maintain my weight loss

- = Run 5, 10 & 15km races

- = Complete a triathlon

- = Kick bum at work

- = And the hum dinger … to let myself be loved, forreal and for proper

In 2011 I did …

Weight Maintenance

The 9^th of December was my two year mark forjoining Weight Watchers, it took a year to lose about 42-ish kgs and another 6 months to shake thelast few. I have been at goal weight for about a year now – well … let see whatthe scale says after my festive season :)

The star is for losing 10% of your joining body weight, thekey is for hitting your goal weight and the key ring is for maintenance over aperiod of 6 weeks – when you become a [free] lifetime member.

Aaaand I became a Weight Watchers Tannie with two of my veryown successful classes – which by the way I love doing, even if I have to makesense of loads of paper work and get home extra late two nights of the week.

Run my ass off

I know right? Have you ever seen so many medals?! So many infact I don’t even remember which races belong to which medals, I can onlyremember the memorable ones :)

The 10km trail run which I did with Swimming RunningLecturer up in the mountains. This is a great run, you should enter it and makea weekend out of it, my mamma and papa would love to have you over for supper!

My first date race with Liefling, it was a 6km trail run inPretoria …. Let’s not forget that I still lived in Joburg, I think I woke up atlike 3am to get there on time! Completed it looking as fabulous as one can in asports bra and ski pant, trying not to sweat.

Mother trucker, this medal should have been platinum – the 94.kick my ass-7. I think the most difficult thing I did this year, I will do it again for sure, but this time around I will go in knowing what I am getting myself into!

My first and so far only 15km race, I damn near died,seriously, I needed a nap and some food afterwards. Turns out that there arenot a whole lot of 15s up for grabs, but I am keen to try another one. Lieflinggave me his silver medal in exchange for my bronze one in celebration of it beingmy first 15. I know, right …

The Ebenezer mile – my first swimming race ever. Aerial isnot the only ginger mermaid.

The Spirit of Flight 10km – the single most boring race thatI ran this year. It was at some air field in Pretoria, we looped around alanding strip. I have never wished for scenery and uphills (every uphill has adownhill, you will soon learn that) as I did that day.

The second and third hardest thing I did this year didn’t havemedals – I mean really? Who does that? Clearly people who have personality disordersorganise sporting events without medals. My mamma gave me this rosette, it says“winner” (I know, right) its my in-lieu- of,

Second to the 94.kick my ass-7 was the duathlon atRoodeplaat dam, it was the Olympic distances (hells yeah) 5km run, 40km cycle,2.5km run.

And the third princess was the triathlon I did inNaboomspruit, it was the sprint distances, a 750m swim, a 20km ride and a 5kmrun.

Bum Kicking at work

Also a check, I was made head of my department and I becamea permanent employee after 5 years of contract work – yeeeeeeeHA. The photo was from our final year graduation earlier this month.

And the hum dinger

Part of why I was so overweight was the protection itoffered against rejection especially in the romantic sense, you see if you arerejected in a romantic sense it’s all about you, it’s someone standing in frontof you looking at you and going “naaaah, no thanks”. You can reject my work, myfood, my jokes, my fashion sense, my driving skills, but if you reject me forbeing me, well, it just does not get rawer than that.

‘Tis true, I worked through a lot of that while I wasworking off my weight, I had to to keep losing weight – or I just would haveturned back and put it all back on again.

I wanted to try dating this year, I went speed dating, andjoined online dating sites, I never intended to meet anyone serious, I onlyhalf thought anyone would date me anyway.

And then there was Liefling.

Liefling and I have been together for about 6 months, wecould not be more different, from how we were brought up to how we live. We arequite literally from different worlds, and yet somehow it works. He scaled thewalls which I had built over years as if they were just picket fences, from theday we met he never let me put him in the friend box, I hyperventilated a fewtimes at the beginning of our relationship and probably would have bolted atthe first chance, but I didn’t, and I am so glad.

What we have is real, it’s the realest relationship I haveever had, he can hurt me – but he doesn’t, and I assume the same is true inreverse. One morning I woke up having had a dream that his ex-wife dropped offa child whom he ‘forgot’ to tell me about – I was angry with him for two days.

I am not saying he is Mr Gail, I am not saying that he isnot, I am saying that I love him, and I am in this relationship with no guaranteeof how it’s going to play out – let myself be loved for real and for proper –check.

WoooooowaH

Wasn’t on my list, didn’t see it coming. I bought a house! It’sa fixer upper to be sure, but it’s going to be beautiful in a year or two!Excuse the laundry in the photo … it was laundry day :)

Now for real people are you still not taking me seriously on this idea of goal setting? Comeon, can this be your year, can 2012 be the year of setting yourself goals? Let’sdo it … come on, it will be fun!

What if I fail? You won’t, not if you set realistic goalsand are mindful of them thought the year. Ok fine, sometimes we all fail, butpish-posh you dust yourself off, set more goals and get on with it.

Now I am going to spend a few days thinking about what mygoals for 2012 are, I know I want to do the hardest 3 on my race list again tocompare times. I have signed up for the Two Oceans 21km, and am toying with theidea of the olympic distance triathlon … I said toying.

Wishing you all the skinniness you can handle in 2012 and whateverelse your heart desires. XXX

Computer says no

2011-12-15T10:10:00.001+02:00

Have you ever seen Little Brittin? Aside from it being brilliant,
there is one skit where someone, a man or a woman, I forget, is
basically dying in the reception area of the hospital while the
receptionist tries with what can only be likened to the enthusiasm of
a Checkers checkout tannie, to check the dying person into the
hospital. But the computer keeps giving her an error so instead of
helping the dying person any way, she replies with "computer says no".

My brain says no.

The busiest time of the year, and my brain say no.

Our college closes today for about 3 weeks, every one else is working
frantically, me? Naaaaaa, brain says no.

Seriously, not for lack of a mountain of work, not for lack of
deadlines, not for lack of wanting a holiday. It . Just . Says . No

It's going to have to start saying yes next week or we could both be
in trouble come the new year.

I did some fairy god child duty this week, I baby sat. I have a new
respect for parents, I love her dearly, but wow .... 4 year olds are,
um, challenging. Thank God I have cats! They occupied her for a large
percentage of the time, I armed her with a Tupperware full of ham,
every time one of them looked like they had had their full of kiddie
torture she bribed them to endure just a bit more with some ham :) genius.

I also attended graduation this week and our awards evening, last week
was our year end function. The year she is officially over.

I can not write a Weight Watchers Wednesday this week in good confidence as
A- its Thursday and,
B - I had a cup cake and tea for breakfast ...

I have some super posts left for 2011, just as soon as my brain starts
saying yes I plan to end the year on a blog high!

Sent from my iPad

Look what I got!

2011-12-09T11:09:00.001+02:00

Did you see that? Average speed 19.11km/h yeah baby YEAH! :)

Happy weekend!

I have T-rex arms

2011-12-08T12:52:00.001+02:00

I did some weight training for the first time in a long time yesterday. You see before the 94.7 I basically abandoned my entire workout schedule in favor of spending every waking moment cycling. I have the sexy short tan to prove it :)

Anywho yesterday I decided it was time to squat-lunge-pants myself.

The bums survived, I wince a bit when I sit down or climb stairs, I went for a run this morning and tried in vain to convince my cats to carry me up the stairs when i got home. But the arms ... OMG I have T-rex arms, i cant lift them above shoulder height, I threw shampoo in the general direction of my wet hair this morning and hoped for the best, it was all that I could do really.

I typed this post with a pencil in my mouth - true story. I have the highest of high hopes that my shoulders will stop hating me and let my arms out of the hostage negotiations!

Weight Watchers Wednesday

2011-12-07T10:02:00.001+02:00

Hello skinnies! :) This week i am 31 ... So you know I am older and
wiser. I am just saying.

This week I want to talk about the impending holidays, they are
bearing down on us, there are mince pies around every corner, and
every time I sit still long enough I find myself putting my next meal
together in my head - no jokes.

I may have said this before but I will venture forth and say it once
more, pick your holiday dates, you only get two weeks to pick them
wisely. Mine is the week of Christmas and the one after. During those
weeks I don't expect anyone to stick to their points, it's true this
WW Tannie gives you permission to fall off the wagon.

Say what now??

There is method to my madness, hear me out and bide by the rules and
everyone will live to see another day.

The Rules ...
1. You only get TWO weeks off
2. You need to be on the wagon for the rest of the time
3. You should make the best decisions you can during those two weeks,
let's role play this one, so Gail would you like ice cream and
chocolate sauce and a mince pie? Hmmm sounds tempting, but I am so
stuffed, how about tea and a mince pie? Easy peasy hey? Remember it.
4. January and February you get once point less every day to fast
track shedding the Christmas weight we gained until you break even
then you can go back to your full point quota.
5. You MUST get back on the wagon on your chosen date

The Reason?
When I started Weight Watchers in 2009 I had one weigh in and then I
went on holiday, I was too scared to eat anything, I lost 5kgs but I
felt completely spare and self concious all holiday. In 2010 I had
lost 40kgs and was completely petrified that I would gain it all back
over the festive season. I ate a fair amount but I ran everyday and
constantly berated myself for eating anything bad.

I spent both holidays with my family who love me so much that I could
be the size of a mouse or a house, I could run every day or veged on
the couch and their love would be unwavering. For the last two years I
have been so obsessed with the food, the points, the exercise that I
missed the best part of the holidays - my family.

This year I am not with my familie, it's just Liefling and I and some
maatjies. This year it's about relationships not food, or points.

And remember no good stories start with remember that great salad we
had last year? Or this one time I had the most amazing vegetables and
coke zero. See?

That's my rationale this time round, obviously weight loss,
maintenance and healthy living is important. But does it trump
relationships? I don't think so ...

Get out your calendar and find your two weeks, make the most of them.

Go be skinny you skinnies!

Sent from my iPad

Happy Birthday Gail!

2011-12-04T20:43:00.001+02:00

Guess who’s birthday it is tomorrow? MINE!!!! :)

Liefling and I had a birthday / housewarming / Christmas braaiwith my fairy god child, her mamma and papa and Mr & Mrs X today.

First of all we had to buy a braai, so it was technically abraai warming party too.

Oh and my Christmas tree had to go up – I conform to retail festivity dates, in my house Christmas starts on the 1^st ofDecember.

Melktert birthday cake? Well I always say "When in Rome ... "

Fairy god children are very good at helping to blow out 31 candles :)

Weight Watchers Wednesday

2011-11-28T20:55:00.001+02:00

This week I thought we would lighten things up a bit, Bak en Brou Woensdag.

I am rediscovering my love for baked vegetable tarts, they are perfect for lunch with a nice big salad. If you are brave you can have a go at them without a recipe and with a dash of trial and error. Your basics are always the same, you need a vegetable, like baked pumpkin or butternut, creamed corn, steamed cornflour and broccoli ... you get the picture. The recipe is pretty standard, it needs some form of starch, some dairy, some eggs, spices or sweeter depending on where you are taking it, maybe some cheese, some bacon bits.

I made a delicious pumpkin one the other day and I took it down the sweet route with nutreen (liquid sweetener super for baking) and cinnamon - YUM

Today I have a recipe which one of my WW class attendees asked me to lighten up, so here goes....

1x can creamed corn (about 3-3.5 per can, Woolies is 3)
7.5ml Backing Powder
2 eggs (3 points)
25ml sugar / sweetener equivalent (1ish points if you use the sugar, free if you use the sweetener)
25ml flour (1ish points, whole wheat is better to use)
15ml olive oil / grapeseed oil (0.5 points)

Call it 8 points (without sugar), 4 lunch servings easily, can you say hello to a 2 points with a free salad lunch? Yeah baby!

Last week's WWW really hit a note for me, I didn't even realise just how dustbin dogish I was being, but since highliting it, I have become aware of a whole lot more dustbin dog behavior which needs attention. Luckily identifying it is halfway to ending it, and I can proudly say that I preempted more dustbin dog behavior this week than gave into it.

Happy skinny corn bake lunch y'all!
XXX

Another year bites the dust

2011-11-28T20:16:00.004+02:00

The very very worst part of the education sector is that every year the students stay the same age, every year I get older. Good times.

My third years started their final project presentations yesterday and by this afternoon they will be all grown up and passed (hopefully *fingers crossed*), its bitter sweet really, I do get so attached to them, then they gradate ... and I have to get all re-attached to the next group.

5 sleeps till my birthday :)

They grow up so fast

2011-11-28T20:04:00.001+02:00

Buying a house is one thing, growing up is another! I earned some more big-people stripes this weekend, I had upholstery made for my new day bed, got blinds fitted in my windows and got my very own very first DSTV.

Exiting no? Liefing says its diet-DSTV because its the compact version for half the price but no Super Sport 1. According to himself its a travesty. I am OK with it.

It did not take more than a few minutes for Sargent Pepper for figure out that the new couch was actually bought just for his exclusive use.

94.what's my name bitch!

2011-11-24T15:48:00.001+02:00

Its photo time! So this is us at the start, can you see the thousands of ants???

So much of fresh and smilie at the beginning!

Can you see that uphill behind me?!?!

That smile is fake - can you tell? That's the last 30km...

Weight Watchers Wednesday

2011-11-23T22:34:00.000+02:00

Every year when my blista and I were younger we would get packed up as
all good Vaalies do and go away for the annual family Christmas
holiday.

You know ... Come on, holiday food is always way better than regular
food, for one there are mince pies and regular pudding, also there is
usually gammon and a fridge full of left-overs, practically a-beggin'
to be eaten.

My blista and I grew up in a home with dogs, dogs are excellent scrap
and left over disposal machines ... But they don't usually come on
holiday with you. We found it difficult to throw food away but also
reached a point where we had eaten so much ourselves that we could no
longer be the human left over disposal machines.

We invented the dustbin dog. The dustbin dog is a handy kitchen
fallacy which allows you to throw food away without any associated
guilt.

Over the years the dustbin dog connotations have evolved, in it's
current form the dustbin dog connotation has grown to include anyone
who will eat any scrap or left over regardless of appropriateness,
quantity, freshness or simply hunger value - just for the sake of
getting rid of it.

Today ... We are taking about your dustbin dog behavior.

So do ya? Do ya? Omg I do. Self confessed dustbin dog right here.

Why just last last night I found myself force-feeding dear Liefling
dinner he was not hungry enough to voluntarily eat in the first place
just to stop myself from eating it.

A little dodgy no? Damn straight that's dodgy behavior right there!

Action plan ... Operation keep dustbin dog in the dustbin where he
belongs, not in my clothes disguised as me.

I plan to:
- make a conscious effort this week NOT to eat left overs just to
make them disappear,
- not to eat food just because it's on my plate and
- watch my portion sizes
- remember that's it's OK to throw food away, there is a hobo who is
going to find it ... And eat it ... And love it

You are not one with the dustbin dog ... Good luck! Be skinny!

Sent from my iPad

... Get set - GO!!!!

2011-11-20T18:52:00.001+02:00

I did it. I really really did it! I won't lie to you, it's hardcore, this is no walk in the park.

Rumors at the start line had us at 25 000 cyclists. Insanity - sheer madness. I must take my hat off to the organizers, it was brilliant, they managed to co-ordinate all us without any havoc.

I was in block AA and we got going at 8:10 - heaven help you if you missed your starting block, you started stone cold last!

The route is amazing, there is not a part of Joburg you don't cycle through, there is support all along the route, loads of awesome water points and a bar-one drive through ... I liked that one :)

My groin muscle (yes you have one there) cramped quite badly in the first 20km, I must have been sitting skew because just as I was pondering the logistics of getting deepheat rub near my who-ha without getting too close to said who-ha without knickers under my riding shorts (yep no knickers = no chafe) the cramp went away. Just like that.

My chain came off and I had to butch up and fix it at about 40km to go.

I fell off my bike twice, once as part of a domino effect at the water table and once I slammed into the water table showering everyone with powerade - whoops.

On the last uphill with about 3km to go painted huge across the road from one end to the other was "10km to go". That was it, the straw on my donkey's back, the cherry on my top, I started crying and pulled off the road ready to phone Liefling to come and pick me up - I had nothing left to give, I was completely done. Luckily one of the guys riding close to me judged my situation as dire and let the cat out of the bag. Turns out the do it every year as a joke on the newbies ... I still fail to see the humor.

Anywho I remounted my bike and finished the race with sweaty tears streaming down my face - it was the ugly cry even!

I finished in 5hours on the dot and we raised R3000 for kids with dodgy kidneys - thank you sponsors!!! Everything hurts and I have a very sexy cycling short tan :) oh and I walk funny ...

Sent from my iPhone

On your marks ...

2011-11-19T18:51:00.001+02:00

Last night I had a nightmare that I got the date mixed up and I hadn't
realized that I had missed the 94.7, I arrived at 6:30 in Sunninghill
all by myself plastered in sunscreen (as all gingers do), without
another cyclist in sight.

I woke up in a cold sweat and googled the 94.7 date and confirmed the
calendar date. Shew. Went back to sleep.

Then I dreamt that I got there at the right time, on the right date,
but forgot my bike ... At least I was not naked.

Oi. I woke up and set a reminder to remember my bike.

Alrighty then, here we go, it's time to get my 94.7 on. Here I go!

Crisis.

Sent from my iPad

Weight Watchers Wednesday

2011-11-16T23:56:00.001+02:00

Today is all about keep on keepin' on truckin' ...

My I.T.Laaitie is having a problem keeping himself motivated. To be
honest I might be too, but for different reasons. He is trying to fit
WW into his life, I am trying to eat healthy, maintain my weight,
training for a "94.what the fak were you thinking" insane race, losing
the plot from time to time and smashing all the wrong kinds of food
into my face.

The force of motivation is weak this time of year isn't it?

We have two options;

A- we ignore it, it's a slippery slope folks ... I still feel
imaginary double chins and have nightmares that I wake up weighing 120
kgs all over again.

B- we put systems in place so that even a monkey could follow the programme.

What kind of systems Gail?

Planning ... Planning ... Planning

Gail's plan of action will take full swing from next week some time
after that reeee-donk-u-lus cycle challenge on Sunday. However, your
action plan, when does that start?

This action plan should include a menu, what do you want to eat for
breakfast, lunch and supper for a week? Be strict about your planning
for a week and chill out a bit over weekends.

Currently my downfall is dinner, I seem to make my worst food
decisions after dark. For me the best way to combat that is to know
what I am having for supper, also .... Cooking for one isn't so much
fun, especially now that I wash my own dishes!

You need some safe 'go to' meals that you can make in a flash without
too much effort, like beans on toast - YUM. In winter soup is dead
easy, but in summer it gets a wee bit harder. Thankfully I have no
problems eating leftovers! I am good with making food when I have time
and eating it for dinner during the week - what's your take on left
overs?

This is great but it's just going through the motions, we still need
to get focused on those goals.

I am assuming you have goals right? How can you go on holiday if you
don't know how to get there? Sure you are going to Cape Town but how
on earth will you get there?

Baby steps people, it's the end of the year, we don't need to solve
world hunger, let's make it a pants size or a couple kilos. Or 100 odd
km race ...

The very best part of goals is that when you achieve them you get to
reward yourself. Yebo people you read that right, I am not above
bribery and corruption even on my own self!

We can do this y'all. Time to finish this year on a skinny note.

Sent from my iPad

6 sleeps ...

2011-11-14T12:20:00.000+02:00

Six sleeps! Now if only I could keep my front tyre inflated for further than 30km ...

Have you sponsored a ginger yet? You know its the right thing to do.

S*P*O*N*S*O*R A G*I*N*G*E*R

Feline Fugitives

2011-11-10T18:40:00.000+02:00

So it turns out that Her Feline Gestapo is the caretaker in my new
complex. My new furkid additions bring my total brood to three. OMG
one over the legal limit!

Look people I am not a rule breaker, generally I am the kind of person
you want living in your complex I don't have barking dogs, screaming
children, an abusive spouse and my car does not leak oil. So I figure
my oldest fur child does not count, Jessica Fletcher, but you can call
her Jess. She is at least 13, she does not leave upstairs unless
escorted into the garden and can't jump higher than my bed - so she
could not escape the confines of the garden even if she wanted to.

Now in my head she does not count as a pet, maybe an aged relative -
but not a pet, pets are things that wonder and wee on other people's
things, my other two fur children do that, they are pets!

Annnnnnyyyywho so Her Feline Gestapo finds out I have 3 furkids, how
you ask? Good idea - hire a maid. Kak idea - hire Her Feline Gestapo's
maid.

I tried to reason with her, I tried to fight with her, I even stooped
to extortion. Nothing. She was adamant that I get rid of a pet.

Only solution ...

Step 1 : Let the maid go, wash my own floors and iron my own clothes -
I will be wearing only spandex from now on.
Step 2 : Lie to Her Feline Gestapo and tell her one of my cats has
gone to live with Liefling.
Step 3 : Brief Liefling on the web of lies he is now apart of.
Step 4 : Inform Sargent Pepper and Lieutenant Ashton that their names
are now Sargent Pepperstien and Lieutenant Ashlowitz
Step 4 : Sit Pepperstien and Ashlowitz down and teach them the secret
knock and make sure they understand that we don't open the door for
strangers even if they are from the feline census department...

FYI if you out me to Her Feline Gestapo it's over - I harbour
fugitives I am already transgressing the law, what makes you think I
will stop now? I am dangerous people don't cross me!

Sent from my iPad

A belated Weight Watchers Wednesday

2011-11-09T22:22:00.001+02:00

I still have about two hours of Wednesday left ok ... It's not Weight
Watchers Thursday just yet!

Today my post is about having your cake and eating it too! No jokes! I
love cake - duh. Currently my best cake is a flourless chocolate cake,
basically it's butter, eggs and cocoa - love it. But oh so un
WW-friendly!

Then low and behold I stumble on this recipe on an iPad app (I know
right - you really should get one!). The original recipe goes like
this;

1 can drained and rinsed chickpeas
4 eggs
2 slabs of melted chocolate
3/4 cup of sugar
1/2 a teaspoon of baking powder

Purée the chickpeas and eggs in a blender, add the melted chocolate,
baking powder and sugar. Put (there is no pouring, this is one solid
mixture!) into a cake tin or muffin tins and bake. Let it cool and
dust with icing sugar before eating.

I know right, you are thinking, "chickpeas - ew" but i swear blind you
will not know its in there, it tastes a wee bit funky raw and smells a
smidge odd initially when baking but Liefling ate It with a smile on
his face (he still has no idea about the chickpeas, ixnay on the
chickpay). It's amazing, it's going to change your life and as far as
cake goes it's pretty low in points.

However, then I made it again, this time I replaced the melted
chocolate (20 points) for 100g cocoa (nestle = 6 points). It's even
better, it does not have that cheap Becan melted chocolate taste, it's
more bitter and smudgy (be sure not to over cook it).

Then I got adventurous, I though I would try a diabetic version, can
you imagine if I present my sweet-toothed-dad with the only cake in
the world that would actually lower his blood sugar? I may stand it
inherit more than my sister! Totally worth it!

So I replaced the sugar with Nutreen the sweetener for baking - no
kids you can't bake with gewone sweetener - I made it about 1,5 points
per slice (12 slices) buuuuuuut I was not happy with the texture, it
became bouncy, though having said that my students wolfed it down, but
then students will eat anything...

I think version 4 will be 1/3 cup sugar and the balance sweetener, if
it's still bouncy I can go with 1/2 a cup of sugar.

If cake is your thing, please feel free to have your cake and eat it this week!

Sent from my iPad

The vicious cycle of eating

2011-11-08T10:46:00.001+02:00

The vicious cycle of eating

12 days ... Tick tock

The 94.7 is with me, I spin, I cycle, I just bought the most expensive
cycling shorts and sports bra, I don't think I have ever spent that
much on nice pants and bras!

These pants are so amazing it's like cycling with a Granny Goose duvet
under my bum! This bra is so good these puppies are going nowhere! :)

Aaaaaaanywho, the thing I want to blog about today is my wierdo eating
habits. I am hungry all the time, largely I pack to feed this hunger,
with good foods, I am eating more protein and carbs, yay fine whatever
that is not the problem. The problem is my insatiable cravings for
sugary fatty foods, more sugary than fatty actually.

I assume this is due to the excessive training, I thought it was in my
head so have been pulling out my best WW tannie tricks to try and curb
it, but when I woke up and 2am standing in front of the fridge eating
a hunk of nougat I realized ... Maybe these cravings are not all in my
head.

The good news is when I worked out the 45g bar of chocolate coated
Sally Williams nougat points this morning over breakfast it was only 3
for the whole bar! YAY

Weigh in tomorrow will tell me if my recent
street-child-at-free-buffet behavior has done damage - more like how
much damage it did!

Sent from my iPad

Sausage Surprise

2011-11-03T12:54:00.001+02:00

My IT Laaitie is a connoisseur of sausage, no jokes. It started
innocently enough as students with hotdogs and viennas, as most things
do it escalated to the point where I believe he has a well stocked
sausage selection of rare delicacies in his own home. Crest fallen he
nearly gave up on Weight Watchers when he found out how many points
sausages were! Being an awesome WW tannie I decided to make a plan.
Here liewe maatjie is my plan.

This makes 5 positions (lunch Monday to Friday, or dinner for two -
two double portions - and a lunch). First off substitute the
frankfurters for your sausage of choice, the lentils lower the GI but
you can eliminate them if you must. For dinner I would add potatoes,
just maybe one bigish one or two smaller ones diced to the same size
as the sausage.

2 Frankfurters - 8
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil -1
1 Punnet of Mushrooms - 0
Some green beans - 0
1 Red Pepper - 0
A handful of Cherry tomatoes cut in half - 0
100g uncooked pasta -5
210g Canned Lentils - 3
1 Tablespoon Ina Paarman Coriander Pesto - 1
Cajan spices

Boil the pasta till it's how you like it, I hate sloppy pasta so mine
is always half raw. Drain and rinse pasta and toss in the pesto until
the pasta is coated, add the rinsed lentils. If you are serving this
as a cold dish let it cool otherwise time it so that the pasta and
sausage is done at the same time.

Dice the sausage into cubes about 1cmx1cmx1cm, chop up the mushrooms,
pepper, beans and tomatoes, toss in olive oil and cajan spice. Put
them on a low shelf in the oven and grill them from about 15-20 mins
until the veg is done the way you like it and the sausage smells
awesome.

Add them and toss well. Total the points and divide by how ever many
portions you divided it up into. (So here is a handy tip, go and buy
at least 2 sets of 4 cheap plastic containers at PnP that way the
tupperwares are the same size and so are your portions)

If it's lunch allow to cool and eat with a huge-mungus super duper free salad.

If it's dinner finish both up at the same time and serve hot with a
smaller equally super duper free salad.

Yum yum!

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Weight Watchers Wednesday

2011-11-02T14:47:00.001+02:00

This week Weight Watchers Wednesday is based on the two comments from last weeks WWW. This week we talk about weekly meetings and motivation.

Why should weekly meetings be important? If you have the literature (look hard enough its all available in bits and pieces all over the internet) and lets face it the success of WW is not due to any big state secret, why oh WHY then is it so hard to go it alone? You should right? Technically you should be able to do it?

Most of us are overweight due largely (excuse the pun) to a lack of self control, so do tell me, in which parallel universe did you think you would have the self control to breeze though losing 20kgs at home? Sure its possible ... but is it probable?

Lets look at some other examples, have you ever enrolled into a distance learning course and never finished it? I have - Feng Shui for beginners. Have you ever been expelled from the gym for not going often enough? I have - Virgin Active loves me. Have you ever suck a pie ... or two ... from the garage on the way home while no one was looking? I have - Exel has the best pies ... in case you were wondering.

Have you ever enrolled for a course where you had to attend classes and graduated? I have - Masters degree baby YEAH. Have you ever woken up at 4:30am to meet a personal trainer at the gym at 5am? I have - Squat Lunge Pants how I miss you! Have you ever polity nibbled at the finger snacks wishing you had some alone time with that buffet table? I have - OMG miniature food, come now people, its too cute not to eat!

You picking up any pattern here? I will give you a clue, it starts with an A...

Accountability, the second you are accountable for your actions the very way you approach a task changes. Think about it, week 1 of WW if you are going it alone and you are faced with a pie opportunity, you could easily think "Oh go on, who will know?". What if you have a Gail to answer to when you get on her scale and face those blinking red numbers (they do blink and they are red), then what will you think?

Sure it costs more to come and get onto my scale, sure you have to leave work early or work late, get someone else to pick up the kids and fight traffic. But please don't tell me you cant afford to come to meetings, the honest truth is you CAN NOT afford to miss them.

I promise you that if you eat all of your points, no more, no less, and you come to weigh in every week that WW will work. Some weeks you will lose more than others, some weeks you will lose less, but so help me you will lose.

That in a nutshell is why you need to come to meetings.

The second half is about motivation, the comment on my WWW post last week was about when you get derailed and fall off the wagon. Firstly it is important to realise that WW is not a diet, a diet implies that it is not sustainable. WW is about equipping you with the tools to make over all healthy choices about diet and exercise.

Alcoholics Anonymous has an amazing saying, it struck me, it made sense and it stayed with me. If a recovering alcoholic falls of the wagon and drinks half the local pub, is s/he doomed to a life of drunken alcoholism? Nope, they put their sober panties on and they get right back on that wagon.

So you have a fight with your husband, you fail a test, your dog runs away, you get rat raced on chocolate cake and you follow it up with a brownie chaser. Is it all over? are you doomed to live a chocolaty life of smudgy goodness?

NO you put your skinny girl panties on and you get back on that wagon, you make better choices tomorrow and deal with why you fell off in the first place.

WW is not a diet therefore if you slip up you are not doomed to fail.

I will never forget the day I fitted into my first pair of size 34 jean pant from Woolies, I squealed like a little girl at a Justin Beefcake concert, for reals. I treasure this moment, I remember it fondly when chocolate cake is whispering sweet nothings at me and trying to wear me down. Most of the time the size 34 happy dance wins, other times I eat the cake. :)

Hold yourself accountable, and remember to get back onto that wagon, its a life long journey, its never too late and you are never too far gone.

Sponsor a Ginger

2011-10-31T17:13:00.000+02:00

A few months ago I went a bit crazy and signed up for the 94.7, I know
right, what was I thinking? I was not thinking, or for the time it
took to sign up I managed to forget that I had never cycled more than
40km at any one time.

So you know here we are on the cusp of a 'WTF were you thinking Gail?' moment.

I have an action plan, fear not people, this ginger will finish or at
the very least know that I tried my very very best!

Here is where you become part of this post. I am riding for charity, I
have chosen the Kidney Bean Trust (www.kidneybeanz.co.za) they offer
assistance to children have kidney problems (failure, cancer, just
plain dodgy kidneys etc). I took a liking to them due to their
wholistic approach to the assistance of these children, they help them
medically but also non medical assistance like therapy, help with
school work, help at home and for the rest of the family too.

Why would you care, hmmmmm, let's see, you would care because you want
to know where your money is going of course! Duh ...

Here is the deal, you don't need an extra pair of shoes this month,
and one day of take away sushi you can take lunch to work. There are
children with dodgy kidneys that could really do with that money ...
Think about it.

I need as many sponsorships as I can get per km, remember that there
are 94.7 of them! (R1.06 x 94.7 = R100 / R2.11 x 94.7 = R200 etc)

You keen? Why wouldn't you be?

You need to deposit the money into the Kidney Beans Trust account and
mail me the proof of payment (there are other riders doing this too,
so it's up to the rider to know how much has gone into the account on
their behalf)

Banking Details : ABSA Bank
Branch Code : 632005
Account number : 4070318291
Payment Reference : Cyclist - Gail B
Fundraising Number IT253/07
Proof of Payment : big.fat.secrets@gmail.com

What if you don't finish Gail?

Really? You would take money from a child with dodgy kidneys? Shame on
you! I will finish, and if I don't you may berate me, publicly, and I
will buy you lunch, deal?

Sponsor a ginger people, it's the right thing to do.

Sent from my iPad

Things you never see coming

2011-10-30T06:57:00.000+02:00

Liefling and I have started running races on weekends again. We fell off the wagon due to the World Cup Rugby... We are back on. We ran a race in Hatfield this weekend, I did 10 he did a 21. We then napped after :)

Anyway lack of stamina aside, you will never believe who (quite literally) ran into me. First let me tell you the story it's much more fun!

The race started at LC de Villiers (the university of Pretoria's sports grounds) and ran past where my sista blista and heavy used to live. Past where I lived with Mrs Australia Besti and newt door to my Beautiful SSK. Past where my IT Laaitie used to live and along the road we walked a million times to go to class. Past my residence building where I lived when I first started university. Past where I used to study, roads I had driven a thousand times, but never not once, not in my wildest dreams had thought I would have a race number pinned to my front and be running - full on running very little dying - down those self same very roads.

I know right? Like that is not enough of a punch in the stomach guess who came running - full on running very little dying - up behind me? No you cant guess because that's how surreal it is. Mrs JSE, for real. It is understandable how in this life that may happen, we both date runners.

But in my before life, no way no how.

I think that's mainly why it was such a moment for me. Remember that post of my fairy God child and I?

big-fat-secrets.blogspot.com/2011/01/thing-about-life-is-its-bittersweet.html?m=1

It's the same feeling, I am still me, but I'm not. I wish I could have woken up sooner, but I know I could not have. I feel sorry for Tellytubby Gail - but she is still me. She scares me too sometimes.

I am on the train to Joburg to join Running Swimming Lecturer in a 8km walk at Zoo Lake. Have a super Sunday ya'all. If you have a Tellytubby dont hate her. She is still you.

Sent from my iPhone

Weight Watchers Wednesday

2011-10-26T21:57:00.001+02:00

This week was study and exam week in my world ... YAY ... I studied - a bit - mostly I baked 'once upon a time' biscuits, they are never the same twice, it's a basic biscuit recipe with just about anything you have in your cupboard - Swimming Running Lecturer introduced me to them :)

Oh and I procrastinated mainly!

This week Weight Watchers Wednesday is a blast from the past. You see in my new classes I have mainly new members, sometimes I forget what's it's like to be freshly on the band wagon, so I thought ... Du-du-dum, I went back in the history of my posts. This post, I had been on the programme for about 3 weeks at this point.

Some ah-ha moments

Welcome to my first post of 2010! To be perfectly honest with you I have been doing precious little! Really ...

I have watched an immense amount of TV, when I ran out of TV to watch I watched old movies, once I had done that I got cracking on some series’ that I have stock piled, still working my way though them. I am a HUGE sci-fi fan – true story!

In-between my viewing schedule, my fur cousins remind me twice a day that they need walking. You would swear they have a tiny garden – not true! They seem to think that two walks a day is enshrined in the K9 constitution. It’s such a drag really, as in I get dragged.

Between the fur cousins and the sci-fi there have been a few ah-ha moments...

1. My till slips have the most # signs I have never seen outside of excel! For those of you who don’t know, and I did not, a # sign is a tax free item, most fresh foods and milk and eggs I think are #-ed. When I signed onto weight watchers, my boss lady told me I had to start eating better, indignantly I told her I ate just fine thank you, and clearly there was something else wrong with me. Sorry boss lady you were right! I was eating OK, but it’s the slab of chocolate which I would devower on the way home from the shop, or the pie that would disappear in the shop, or the left overs I inhaled while planning dinner.

2. My fridge is too small! Fresh fruit and veg take up a lot of fridge space! Did you know you have to buy lettuce about twice a week? Hectic bru! And oh now bread lasts longer than a week :(

3. Being that there is one of me and most recipes feed about 4 people, food lasts me forever, usually I would make it disappear in 2 sittings, now I am tired of it come sitting number 4! This highlights one of my biggest problems, portion size. Eish, do I subconsciously think I will starve? Why the huge portions? My kitchen scale has never worked so hard!

4. Then there is planning, you can’t just wing it, can’t just pop out and snap up something for lunch, well I suppose you could, but it’s dangerous country that sister! This is a huge problem for me, I very seldom used to practice foresight, and working the hours I work you basically need to pack about 4 meals to take to work. Luckily I have ridiculously supportive friends, so when I visit they all eat Gail friendly food. You rock guys! xxx

5. Lastly, I really don’t need as much food as I think I do – who would have known?

Food is my drug of choice, screw society for making it so socially acceptable! When I stopped smoking I could do just that, stop smoking, you can’t exactly stop eating, well unless anorexia blows your hair back! :) Weight Watchers for me is more of a re-education of what’s OK and what’s not, to boot I was not a total food idiot to begin with, it’s not exactly a walk in the park, but I am rocking these 30kg, just watch this space!

Finally I want to leave you with my 2 point chocolate muffin recipe, one should NEVER take chocolate away from a girl, even under the guise of a diet – its that simple! (Gail and food channel hybrid)

100g Self Raising Flour
15g Coco Powder
½ tsp Bicarb
50g Brown Sugar
1 Egg
100ml Skim Milk
25g Chopped up Dark Chocolate

Mix it all up, spray and bake the muffin trays, it should make 6, 2 points a pop. YUM!

Happy brand new skinny days ya-all!

Purple purple purple!

2011-10-24T07:01:00.001+02:00

A full circle

2011-10-24T06:59:00.000+02:00

Pretoria is purple. I was a student when I left ad will you know it by George I am still a friggin student now that I am back.

Since I don't know when everyone in Pretoria knows if the Jacaranda are blooming and you haven't started studying yet you are as good as screwed.

I realised this on Saturday as I was hiding from the sun under a Jacaranda tree in full bloom - yesterday was study day :) Today I write my first exam and another one on Wednesday.

Next time I come up with a hair ball scheme to study further please smack me up-side the head!?

This weekend Liefling's running club hosted a massive run in Pretoria, I was the most awesome marshal. I was just two pompoms short of being a one woman motivational team I tell you. I think my enthusiasm was lost on the serious runners but the rest of them really appreciated it I am sure! Liefling refused to stand next to me. Apparently I was embarrassing ... Whatever - He love it ...

My payback for being such a fantastic marshal is that I am a little roastie. Next year I will remember a hat and some factor SPF1000, as gingers should.

Hi-ho-hi-ho it's off to write a friggin exam I go. Oh did I mention I had to drive to Randburg this morning from Pretoria??!!!? Oi ...

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Out of control Thursday

2011-10-20T19:57:00.001+02:00

I am spinning off from yesterday, I thought it needed more type-time.

I once watched an Oprah forever ago where she said your clutter is
making you fat. I was on board, all like; " yeah baby! Oprah says
chuck the junk". I chucked it mind you, half my house I took to the
hospice,they thought it was Christmas! But I didn't lose weight, WTF?

I didn't understand why my clutter was making me fat or how ditching
the clutter would make me skinny, I also didn't notice that it only
took a few months for me to re-clutter.

Pick an over weight friend, pick a skinny friend, who's the hoarder?
Yes there are exceptions to every rule, but generally speaking its the
fat girl right?

What's that about?

I had a look at my own habits, I shop incessantly, I am only happy
when my kitchen / toiletry shelf looks like Dischem or Makro.
Whaaaaats that about???

I guess clutter is also something to hide behind like fat was, it's a
barrier between you and everyone else. I guess people, I don't know.

Part of the clutter for me is also a form of control, I will never run
out of toilet paper or hair mouse - heaven forbid. This crops up in
every area of my life, not one part of you is disconnected from
another part ... unless you are a psychopath ... Which I am not.

I have been so ridged about lunches and planning my food that I have
killed it, there is no fun left. We may be bordering on obsessive
compulsive behavior here. I am just saying.

So what if I pre-cook 5 lunches on Sunday and they suck? So what if I
chuck them and make a sarmie and salad for lunch, will I die? Will I
pick up a thousand kilograms? Not likely but the panic it sends me
into one may think it would.

Somewhere some how this has got to play into Oprah's clutter idea -
no? I am sure of it. What's with all the clutter? In my kitchen, my
wardrobe, the bathroom?

Here is an interesting fact, and this is how I am almost sure it's
linked. After losing all this weight and dealing with so many of my
issues that were hiding in the fat throwing things away when I moved
just the other day was so much easier than it has ever been. Sure I
still ended up packing a lot of junk but it was so much easier to turf
things which I had held onto for so long ... For just in case, in case
of what Gail? In case someone needed it and you didn't have it? ...
They will get over it!

And so?

I am going to let go, ok who am I kidding it's not that easy, I am
making a conscious effort to not obsess over things, go with the flow
so to speak. It's not easy mind you, I found myself wondering the
isles of Spar just yesterday needing cucumber (cause you know salad is
just not salad without cucumber) and walking out with 6 buns - I live
alone - more shampoo - one can never have enough - olive oil - it was
on special - an iron - I really did need that, my new cleaning lady
starts tomorrow... No cucumber.

I know parts of this behavior will stay, but I aim to keep it small
enough to be a quirk and not large enough to be who I am.

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Weight Watchers Wednesday

2011-10-19T14:05:00.000+02:00

This week I have been spending more time thinking about something that
I think might be a booby trap for most people when it comes to weight
loss.

Weight Watchers meet the real world, real world I would like you to
meet a good friend of mine, Weight Watchers.

When I started Weight Watchers I was single and living alone. It was
easy enough to control each and every last bit of anything that I ate,
partially that's what made it so successful for me. My biggest
challenge was to fit my social life into my eating plan, for the most
part it was easy, I chose salad off the menu and if there was a boozy
party ahead I packed vodka and some sort of diet juice as a mixer.
Done. Easy peasy Japaneasy.

Then I moved in with my cousin and aunt, still it was not such a
problem as the hours I worked had me eating alone and when we did eat
as a family, and I was not cooking generally it was healthy WW
friendly food. Done. Easy peasy Japaneasy.

And then there was Liefling, I am mad about him, make no mistake, but
he brings with him a whole lot of WW obstacles, obstacles which I am
sure most of you have to deal with on a regular basis and have not had
the luxury of dieting in isolation.

Swimming Running Lecturer and I have spoken about this ... At lengths
... Boys are diet hurdles - dam them!! :)

I am busy working this one, at this stage it is a work in progress -
at best. Cooking for other people is challenging in that they are not
always as happy to eat your zero point food as you are, or will chose
cream cheese over fat free cottage cheese, or have delicious things
like rusks and ginger bread people lying all over the house. Or will
say things like "if you feel like cake have cake" WHO SAYS THAT? ...
Sorry I may have been projecting a little ...

Dam other people and their incessant temptation! Dam them!

So what's the alternative? Live like hermits with complete control
over the food that surrounds us and which we consume?

I think not.

Ok I have rationalized this as best I can. For me life with other
people is worth the tea parities and the unplanned cake, it's worth
the incessant rusk trap, it's worth pizza Tuesdays. So no what?

There is a word that crops up often, in this post in other posts, in my life :

Control

I know, self confessed, I have control issues. WW played into that
part of me perfectly, I could control what I ate down to the last
point. I can't always control what I eat when I am with Liefling, in
your life it's your husband, it's your kids, it's your friends. Now
what?

Now I let go, I trust that I have learnt enough from WW and have the
tools to a healthy skinny Gail and hope and pray that a weekly weigh
in is sufficient to keep me on the straight and narrow. I make an
effort to eat well when I am alone and make good choices when
confronted with food I have not planned. I chose not to fall into the
rusk box when it greets me in Liefling's kitchen, and I don't eat the
left over pudding in my fridge just because it is there.

My thoughts on this may change - as I said I am new at this :)

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Catch me up catch you down post

2011-10-18T08:18:00.001+02:00

Hello and welcome to your weekly gautrain post :) this is turning into a bit of a regular feature!

So guess what I did this weekend? I did grown-up things! I bought furniture!! Yebo!

I bought a beautiful 8 seater dining room table and an amazing day bed. Both need sanding and some TLC and a good dose of varnish / sealer but wow they are going to look be-ee-a-utiful! I will do butch DIY posts when they get a fix up :)

I also got other adult things like two new fur children!

Meet Lieutenant Ashton

And Sargent Pepper

Pepper would not stand still long enough for a photo so Liefling had to pose him. He is only 4 and Ash is 10.

They come from a kitty shelter where they lived in a cage for over two years! In all fairness it was a nice cage, but still, no mom, no double bed with cotton sheets, no grumpy sister hiding in the cupboard ...

Ok so my first born fur child is pissed, she did not order siblings and is in denial about their existence - she is imagining them, they are not real. Any day now she will be an only child again. It's all a bad dream.

I have told them that no one is going outside until they have learnt to get along, I hope they get along soon, my house smells like a littler box!!! :)

The last adult thing I did this weekend was find a cleaning lady - she starts on Friday, thank the Lord! I was not made for house work, I am destined to have staff - I know I am a brat, you are not the first to figure this out ... She has two weeks probation, I live in high hopes of her filling Super Sam's shoes.

And that - in a nut shell was my adult weekend.

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Knowing your own limits

2011-10-13T08:03:00.001+02:00

Limits? Whaaaat?

Oh how I miss Mbongeni squat lunge pants! It hurts - literally...

I don't know where my limits are, has anyone seen them? I may have
broken myself at gym yesterday, I allow myself some leeway in terms of
time because with squat lunge pants I was monitored and could not loaf
so for an hour I was doing solid good training, when left to my own
devices I tend to slack off, watch TV, day dream and wonder around the
gym looking for dumbbells. I figure maybe an hour and a half Gail
pace?

Except for yesterday, I think I did squat lunge pants pace and Gail
time... I broke myself, I spent the whole day in a half zombie state,
wishing I was napping and hungry enough to eat own arm off!

The day was a blur and I was in bed by 9 last night. I could not face
a swim this morning when my alarm clock went off, so I went back to
sleep. Bugger. Oh well try again tomorrow!

Moral of the story? Know your limits people, and if you don't pay
someone who does, and if you buy a house and can't afford that someone
anymore, leave your cape at home and exercise like a normal person!

Sent from my iPad

Weight Watchers Wednesday

2011-10-12T13:34:00.001+02:00

No such thing as a free lunch? My lily white ass!

Here is what you need ...

Some leaves, remember that iceburg lettuce makes you fart ... I am just saying. Some tomatoes, cucumber, pickles like gherkins and peppadews and ching, just like that you have a salad - a free salad!

eeeeeeeeew I can't eat my salad without a dressing!

A - Stop whining, if you hadn't done something bad or are saving up points to do something bad you would totally have points to spend on dressing.

B - Balsamic reduction, unless you drink the whole bottle can be free :)

Then you must add roasted vegetables, this is best done by chopping free vegetables into a roasting pan, sprinkle (not cover or drown) in olive oil (not sun flower oil). If you use 5-10ml we can still get away with calling it a 'free' lunch, provided you do not drink the olive oil post roasting ... Add some salt, sea salt is best and maybe some fresh rosemary or if you don't have fresh then you can add some spices you have lying around.

Be weary of baby marrows & patty pans they roast well but go mush quite easily. Be sure you don't forget the butternut its free and you are going to need a bit of carbs to keep you going on this free lunch.

You can put the hot veg onto the salad or you can do it the night before and take it to work cold, its quite nice at room temperature. You should consume a fair amount, don't try to be all lady like with your little tupperware, its free for a reason, you are going to be hungry in about 3 hours!

ooooh and it keeps you regular - I am just saying :)

If you have a few points to add to this I like to add some roasted mixed seeds and or some feta (be careful of feta its about 5points per wheel). Cold chicken, I suppose any cold type of roast meat, maybe not fish ... it just does not seem right. Or eat it with bread or some cold pasta (like shells or penne) tossed in olive oil.

Happy free lunch day ya'll!

Baaaaaaaad blogger I know ...

2011-10-11T08:18:00.000+02:00

I know I know ... I have been a shit blogger, I am sorry! what is
there to say ... I am happy there is nothing to whine about -
bwahahahahaha, only funny 'cause it's true!

So in my life I am nearly completely unpacked baring like 3 boxes and
it still looks like my furniture still needs to be delivered. My
bicycle has it's own bedroom! True story!

My order of my DIY list keeps shuffling, currently patio furniture and
new floors down stairs are on the top - but you know every time I use
the midget stove and cook midget food I bump the kitchen up the list
:)

Down the road from my new house is a (wait for it) road-house. I
wonder if you can truly appreciate how my sister and I feel about road
houses ... It's my dirty secret, I get cheap thrills from the window
trays they put on your car and there is something about eating in the
front seat of your car - it's a bit like the drivein. What can I say,
it appeals to the Komin in me :)

Anywho, I lasted 10 days, TEN days people, then I cracked and had a
burger on Sunday, but, I managed to say no to the chips and milkshake,
it's the small victories really that I pride myself on. Oh em gee it
was good, dirty, cheap, and oh so satisfying!

Tomorrow Weight Watchers Wednesday is all about a free lunch - who's keen?

Now if you excuse me I plan on taking my place as a number on the
Gautrain as myself and half of Pretoria commute to Joburg.

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Finding my (exercise) feet

2011-10-06T12:30:00.000+02:00

Oh kay, so one week into my new life as a coeksister, I am still finding my way around my new life.

I had not realised what creature of habit and routine I had become, I suppose my life facilitated it, but between the move and Liefling my life, not to mention the routine that I held so (unbeknownst to me) dearly, has been turned upside down and plonked unceremoniously down on its head!

I am still living the Bohemian lifestyle small furniture big space syndrome and a large portion of my life is still in boxes. It will come with time - this is what I tell myself.

This week I tacked my exercise regime with determination, if I was going to sort one thing out this week that is what it would be.

On Monday I hit the Menlyn Virgin Active for a spinning class which I was late for and it was NOT a 75min class it was a 45min class. I did some Gail spinning to make up, it was not too bad. Tuesday I ran with Liefling's running club at their time trials, I ran 8km, not too shabby I think. Yesterday I trained myself for the first time in nearly a year - and before that I didn't train so I trained myself for the first time in since forever. OMG I miss squat-lunge-pants! I think I can do this, but it's going to take some getting used to and a wee bit of practicing. Today I had a swim also OK. Tomorrow I train again ... I may be a lazy girl and just do a super circuit ... I am still trying to slot the pieces of the Jenga tower to fit in a weekly yoga class, but not this week I think the tower may collapse!

Today is my first new Weight Watchers class in Rosebank, I live in high hopes that it will not just be me ...

Weight Watchers Wednesday

2011-10-05T15:31:00.000+02:00

How to 'cheat' and live to talk about it

YAY a less serious topic and something I am extremely knowledgeable about - if there is a corner I have cut it!

First off, Weight Watchers by its very design is NOT A DIET, if its not a diet its not prescriptive therefore you cant cheat. However you can stuff up and go over your points, lets talk about that.

Option 1 : The Banking Scheme.
You should know by now that WW offers a banking scheme which allows you to save points and carry them over for up to week. By saving two points a day Monday to Friday you have 10 big ones to burn over the weekend. This option takes time, planning and foresight. But its sweet because that cake is 100% guilt free.

Can't plan ahead? There is also a pay-back scheme, if you 'accidentally' eat a piece of cake you cant 'pay for' on say Tuesday, you can spend the next four or five days paying back two points a day. I know all about how much cake 'costs' trust me. Slightly less guilt free but you get that same high-five feeling when you are done paying it back - much like when you bring your credit card's balance to R0.

Option 2 : Be Smart
For this one lets look at why we cheat, I cheat when I feel deprived or when I am disguising my emotions as food and eating them. Both times I can actually be satisfied with just about anything yummy, not necessarily high in points. Avoid anything with cream and butter in it, bikkies, pudding .... But wait there is hope. Make your own! Who needs cream when you can fake it with Orley Whip Lite?

Look I am not going to lie, it is not cream, but really, who can 'afford' to eat cream? And lets not forget Flora blue margarine, and even this time I will not lie to you, its not butter, it tastes nothing like butter, it may even make you glow in the dark ... but hey, its the lowest point margarine in the shop!

Make treats! I take normal recipes and replace ingredients with lower point options, Gina's website is awesome, and if its a flow try again with other quantities. Also try taking your slider to the shops and checking out all of the potential snacks, yes it could take a while, but imagine how happy you will be to discover a biscuit that is half a point each?!!

Option 3 : Sweetie Day
When my blista and I were small my mom was like the sugar Gestapo, we had one day a week when we got sweets, I think it was a Saturday? We each got a bowl of sweets - to be fair I don't think it was ever more than kids get in party packs. And what we did with it was up to us, I of course tried to save mine but within an hour had consumed all of them and was bouncing around like a popple (remember those?!).

Plan one day a week when you treat yourself, and if you can plan that far in advance you can also plan how to treat yourself!

Option 4 : Regroup and Put Out Fires
I know, sometimes you just fall off the wagon and eat a whole pizza - there is almost no coming back from that. Sometimes I have two pieces of cake, what can you do about it? I do have a super sneaky shortcut, but you have to promise me you won't abuse it ... It only works if you don't over do it - OK?

What is it Gail? You run OMG you run and you run and sweet baby Jesus you run some more. If you don't run then you swim, or you cycle, but like you have never exercised before.

You must understand how this works to see why it cant work all time. The more you exercise the higher your kilojule demand is for that period, so you could technically exercise the 'cheat' food off, but this can not be your long term action plan. Exercise alone will not lose weight. WHY? Healthy eating shrinks your fat cells, exercise builds muscle that lives off the fuel from fat cells, that's why you need both exercise and a controlled eating programme to lose weight - see? (The bad news is that fat cells don't really disappear, that's why you always pick up weight in the same place)

Lastly when you have over-indulged spend some time getting to know your vegetables and salad - remember they are free! I know they say that there is no such thing as a free lunch, but so help me, I can make one!

Have a good 'cheaty' skinny week!
XXX

Melktert anyone?

2011-10-03T12:52:00.000+02:00

My very first post from this side of the Boerewors curtain :)

Die Groot Trek happened on Thursday, I love movers, they are my new favorite service to pay for, and so far only two broken glasses.

I am not going to lie it was not all peaches and rose petals, I had a full on cry in the car on the way to Pretoria. Moving is stressful people, so is buying a house. But crying is OK, at least it was tears and not cake. But to be honest since landing in PreSNORia (very cool blog, check it out) there has been a fair amount of emotional eating, but that's OK, its a new week, a new month and a new start.

Liefling came over on Thursday and brought lady beer (anything alcoholic, pink and in a bottle is lady beer according to him) and watered my garden. I seem to have lost any and all moving momentum I had the second I opened that first beer, I have an unpacked kitchen, a partially unpacked bedroom and that's about all. I am going to the bohemian brown cardboard cream wall look. I figure if I need it it will get unpacked eventually or I can just chuck the box as is - as I clearly did not need it :) My house needs an excessive amount of work (and furniture!) but for now its livable and its mine - really that's all that really counts.

On Friday night I took my rite of passage and ate a borewors roll on the pavement of Loftus before going to watch a Blue Bulls game (but I had to sms my dad to find out who 'we' were playing so I didn't look like a complete nana). Yeah baby I totally hung with the locals.

Liefling nearly sliced his middle finger in two this weekend so I am sans washing machine and with leaky taps until the finger grows back together - I know right? Its a bit excessive to get out of fixing a tap and cutting out a kitchen cupboard I think ...

I am busy trying out gyms (you must have right gym, its a bit like dating) to find my new local. Today I had spinning at Menlyn Virgin Active, buuuuut it could have been better, my search continues.

Part of affording a bond and moving to Pretoria was giving up Mbongeni Squat Lunge Pants, now I have to train like a normal person by myself as of this week. I have found this workout, I am going to give it a go on Wednesday and Friday, come on, do it too, it will be fun, we can be cripple together :)

Weight Watchers Wednesday

2011-09-28T22:11:00.001+02:00

Staying on the skinny and narrow 101

Our WW request of the week belongs to a lady we can call A (you never know people she could be wanted by Interpol and I bust her cover ...) A says that she has successfully lost 10kgs on Weight Watchers and has another 20 to go, she says she has lost her oomph and feels like she can give up, and has before. This is the 4th time she has joined Weight Watchers.

She has done every diet in the book and feels like if she has something to work towards she can meet a goal but when the goal is just weight loss then its harder. Oh and she is a self confessed emotional eater.

Sound like anyone you know? ooooh I don't know, YOU? ME? ALL OF US?!

Why Gail WHY? Why are we so predictable? I think the answer to this question is the same answer to why we are overweight to begin with. My answer may be different to your answer, but they end up with the same result - a fat ass!

For me its a multi faceted answer, most of my paternal family is 'big boned' the odds are slanted if you are from a big family, they teach you the habits that got them into the big seats, know what I am saying? I am / have become an emotional eater. I hid my insecure self-esteem behind kilograms and kilograms of weight - heaven forbid the world saw me for me and rejected me. There you have it, learnt habits and emotional insecurities equal one 120kg ginger.

So I asked myself, what kept me going, how did I get all they way here, so many people only get half way here - what made me do it?

I won't lie initially it was a 'diet', after about 6 months it became a habit, after a year it was a way of life, I think I had time to adjust, and I had time to sort my head out. Which I think was the most important part for me, throughout the most (emotionally) scary part of my journey I had help, help that I didn't even realise I had until putting my thought work into this topic (I don't write these overnight people...).

Who remembers HGB (hot gym buddy)? When I had lost about 20kgs and was bridging the gap between invisible and visible (the really overweight are invisible to society, that's what makes it so safe) HGB was there and he (being all shew-wow and intune with his emotions he is like an emotional tree hugger) made me think about certain things. How I felt about being seen? How I felt about remarks that people made? If they hurt why? Crisis we talked and talked, I had never thought that hard about what I was feeling, I just ate it. Then when I lost about 40kgs and bridged the gap from visible to viable (guys see chubby girls but don't always turn around to take another look) HGB was there, I went from hiding behind food to hiding behind him. We were always just friends, but he put some good distance between the world and me. And we talked oh crisis me in a crisis bucket we talked. Why did I micro manage every situation? Why did I turn everything into a competition? Why did I date losers? What did I want in a man? Yadda yadda yadda

We have had a sizable fall out since then, but as a result I have had to learn to deal with the world by myself, getting judged and rejected, and not eating those feelings. I cant say I did it because of HGB or that I would have failed without him, but I am eternally gratefull for the role he played in making me see myself for who I am not for the layers and layers of fat I hid myself under.

For me understanding the emotional side of my weight gain was the key to losing it, well that WW and exercise, duh!

I can't tell you how to find the key, but maybe you can spend some time looking at yourself, look past the food, past the fat and see what's inside there. Maybe its not emotional insecurity, maybe its something as tangible as portion control or seeing WW as a 'diet' not a lifestyle choice. Maybe its useless friends and un-involved husbands who won't support you.

So how do you deal with those? Make up your mind - nothing is impossible - and develop an action plan. Weigh your food (yes i know this is not Weigh Less but come now, desperate times, desperate measures), print pictures of how big your portions can be, draw on your plate with permanent marker. Stop thinking of WW as a diet and wondering when you can 'cheat' and when you can go back to being 'normal'. Come now people 'normal' is what got you here in the first place, you don't get to go back to 'normal'. Put the whole family on WW, and tell your friends to stop being such b!tches threaten to trade them in - or am I the only one who speaks to my friends like that :)

You have more self control than you realise, but this may be a matter of pinpointing your weakest link in your journey to the island of the skinny b!tch.

I leave you with this photo, the things you find when you are packing ... There is a fat girl somewhere and she is walking around pant-less.

Little boxes, little boxes ...

2011-09-27T22:55:00.000+02:00

Day two of the packing down, and one kitchen and office closer to Thursday :)

So far (touch wood) so good, I have not fallen to pieces again and turned to shortbread for comfort, there may have been a brief tryst between me and a scone earier today, but there were no tears, so I think that was more of a gratification move than an emotional eaters move! I think between the move action plan and the concious effort to become a happy mover something may have worked. Ok let's not unpack our boxes before they have been moved, (see what I did there? Smart ne?) we still need to survive Thursday.

A little bit of a long catch-you-up

2011-09-26T22:15:00.001+02:00

Helloooo y'all, best you get a cup of tea, this could be a long one.

This past week was peppered with madness and a bit of mayhem, as the end of term usually is, but every year I get better at it and I fall apart less and less.

So the thing I was less prepared for was the Meet the Parents weekend, yebo yes this weekend Liefling and I hit the road home to meet and greet the familie. Nothing says welcome to the family like a weekend long visit to the mamma, the papa, the sister, the heavy, the granny and the fur kids right? Yip, I am all about chuck 'em in and let 'em swim, survival of the fittest style!

Thank God Liefling can swim - he did just fine. He even seems to like me parents, and he cracked the nod for a return visit, success all round baby - YEAH!

All of Saturday was a golf day, Liefling and I were on a team with my sister and heavy. Not just any team mind you, no no no, team WINNER is what team we were on, we won best team of the day award. I won't kid myself this win had nothing to do with my playing skills, more to do with Liefling and heavy having prior golfing knowledge. And maybe a smidge to do with the other teams playing particularly badly...

But hey, who questions a gift bearing gift horse in the mouth? I am all about winning free sh!t :)

After the golf there was a game drive, yoh yoh yoh when ever did you see lions this close? Aaaaaaand I totally touched a white lion, aaaaaaaaaand I saw the feline movie star of Ghost and the Darkness (eeeeeek) and Narnia, ja-ha.

Today I embarked on my last drive home from Pretoria to Joburg. No doubt I will drive that road again, but home will have moved from one side of the boerewors curtain to the other!

I have come up with an action plan for moving, I figure the better I plan this the less likley I am to break down face first into shortbread and tears again. Today I packed up my study, 13 boxes, a fan and a bicycle later it's ready to move. Tomorrow is the kitchen and Wednesday is the bedroom. Thursday is Die Groot Trek.

This move may turn out to be the most enjoyable yet, my fur child has no idea of the move, she won't see any boxes until the day before we cross the Jukskei river. She was so bad with my last move I had to start medicating her about a week before hand and sedate her on the day of the move - still not sure who was more traumatized by all this me or her!

Have a super week y'all!
XXX

Weight Watchers Wednesday

2011-09-21T13:20:00.001+02:00

I have run out of topics y'all, anyone want to talk about anything in particular? Drop me a mail.

I have decided to talk about what took me an hour to figure out in the pool this morning. I know we spoke about cravings last week, but today I want to talk about getting to the bottom of what really is causing that emotional eating. Emotional eating is something as you may have picked up that I really really battle with, if I'm happy or if I'm sad, if I am celebrating or stressing, you name it, I will eat.

I am still not able to subconsciously escape the desires to eat my emotions but I have become pretty good at consciously noticing when I am eating my emotions and when I am eating for real food reasons.

This is until yesterday ... Yesterday I completely freaked out on the treadmill, had a full on asthma attack (I have allergy and stress induced asthma - this one was all about the stress) I gave up on the gym and retreated to my car and cried (that's how I know it had nothing to do with allergies). If that's not bad enough I inhaled between sobs half a packet of shortbread ... So much for pudding ... Whoops! when the tears dried I bought brownies, which I did eat for pudding! ... And liefling's one that he did not want (who doesn't want brownies??) I ate that too. I know ...

Swimming is awesome for thinking, just don't try to count lengths and think at the same time :) I am beyond freaking out about this move, why? I am not sure why, I used to be good at moving, I used to move every 6 months when I was in res, and I moved pretty much every two years since then for the last decade. The last 3 moves it some how just gets worse and worse.

I am so exited to live in Pretoria, to have so many friends that I hardly ever see just down the road, to be warmer, to own my own home, to have my own kitchen, to walk around naked, to have people over, to water my garden, to plant shit. (I don't have very green fingers, could you tell?)

Yet here I am crying in my car shoveling in shortbread, knowing that this shortbread is going to make it all ok. WTF?

This is where I pull myself towards myself, enough is enough, if I don't manage this now I will fall apart and who knows what I will eat. Today I bought boxes (if you are thinking of telling me I can get them for free then best you go hang around the back end of checkers and pick some up for me ok?) and confirmed and paid a moving company that will move everything excluding me and Jess (you think I don't move well?? My fur child needed to be sedated last time! She stops purring the minute I put the first box together). The move happens on Thursday morning at 10. No not tomorrow, omg that would send me over the edge, no next Thursday. Packing commences on Monday.

Why put this in WWW? Emotional eating is very common, you are in fact abnormal if you have never turned to food for comfort not even once, but sometimes just sometimes emotional eating can be the smoke before the fire, the dead budgie in the mine shaft. When you find yourself shoveling in the pudding before you even get home or face smashing the entire cookie box, take a moment and try to figure out what is driving the excessive emotional eating?

Most people who have a lot of weight to lose also have a lot of issues that they will need to work through while losing and after the weight is lost. You won't even know what those issues are, that how good you have been at hiding them from yourself with food.

Sometimes, like now for me, managing the reason for the excessive eating is more important that managing the eating itself.

Confessions of a shop-a-holic

2011-09-18T16:58:00.001+02:00

It's true, I have always ... Well when there is expendable income that is :)

Ok I will confess, when I stopped eating excessively, I started exercising and shopping (excessively). I have thought about this, and I decided that until I start spending money I don't have or exercising until I miss a period (G.I.Jane style) these new addictions are better than my old addictions!

On the subject of that addiction have you ever been onto Bid or Buy? Oh em gee! Not only can I shop from the comfort and convenience of my couch and iPad but most of the good stuff is on auction, which means you can get it for dirt cheap and there is that competitive nature of an auction which speaks to my highly competitive personality (disorder). It's a recipe for disaster I tell you. This weekend alone i have managed to buy ...

This granny broach for just twenty rants

This set of 25+ 'material unknown' granny necklaces for sixty rant

And this pair of granny earrings for only one rant!!!! Ja ... That 50 cents per earring!

Massive, huge, hideously exiting, mind boggling, life changing news ...

2011-09-15T11:48:00.002+02:00

Yes, this really is that big - are you ready?

Are you sitting?

I bought a house!

But wait there is more ...

In Pretoria!

OMG Gail why Pretoria? First of all I lived there for 6 years while I was studying, second of all roughly 75% of my social circle is there, I do work there 3 times a week, it is on average 3 degrees warmer there every day, they have milktart, a Gautrain, oh and look at that a Liefling :)

I hear you, I hear you, Gail how can you uproot your life for a maaaaaaaaaaan? I reason it like this, even if my heart ended up shattered into tiny pieces and we broke up, I would not be unhappy about living in Pretoria. I know right? Turns out some wisdom does indeed come with turning 30!

Wanna see???

See the potential ... no I don't get the dog or the baby swing, damit and I was so sold on those two! I will refrain from interior shots, it is safe to say the walls are beige, the floors are beige tiles that cost R45/m2 from CTM and and the ceiling is in need of a good paint job. I see potential, that's why I am such an amazing lecturer and cheap home buyer. :)

Anywho, I have amazing grand plans for the interior, but for now ... and the next three years I will be drinking government juice (water doffie) and eating grass cuttings from my new garden, I think once a week I will put the electricity on and make grass stew.

My bond has been approved and registered, the BoD (Bank of Dad) is kindly supplying bridging financing at what I hope will be a competitive interest rate [nudge nudge wink wink]. I have the negotiation skills of a killer negotiator and have negotiated myself (verbally ... we await this confirmed in writing) R3000 / month occupational rent from the 1st of October.

If all works out I will be Mev Melktert in 2 weeks - now if you will excuse me I am going to fish out those brown paper bags and continue hyperventilating.

Weight Watchers Wednesday

2011-09-14T15:52:00.003+02:00

The art of craving

Today we are going to talk about cravings, this topic started as a request from my beautiful SSK for help on PMS eating, but the more I thought about it then more it turned into cravings, whether driven by hormones, your brain, your stomach whatever, those urges to eat things you should not be eating and driven by nothing short of desire and though you know better its like you forgot how to let your brain do the thinking.

Yes I know those moments, I know them so well.

Lets just clear one thing up, cravings come in different degrees, there are cravings you can distract yourself from, there are cravings that can be avoided for days and settled with a compromise a week later, then there are cravings where all logic fails, you go temporarily insane and swim back into consciousness licking the glazing off an empty cake plate in Doppio Zero making sex noises ...

Those happen too.

Just yesterday I had an incident when I went to the post office and ended up buying R100 worth of biltong - I know right, totally unrelated, I don't even know what possessed me. But there you have it, I came to with a piece of droewors stuck behind one ear and biltong crumbs in my cleavage. Sexy I know ...

I am a big believer in the idea of picking only the battles you can win, in my life (maybe not yours) there will always be these moments of insanity [they are not just food related, how do you think I bought a DSLR camera?]. Lets not forget that people plead insanity and get away with murder, literally, how much damage can I do with a little edible break down from time to time? I am happy to let them slide, but don't kid yourself, I am not going to believe for a second that you black out once a day every day at tea time - that just sounds fishy!

Its those other cravings we can deal with, if you can control those cravings these 'outbursts' you experience from time to time should go noticed - unless you eat the whole cake, then I cant help you, maybe the medical fraternity can :)

Lets say you just feel like something yum, do NOT wonder into the kitchen and open the fridge, that's just asking for trouble
Distract yourself with a cup of tea
Tomorrow is a great day for a treat, if you just gotta have a kit kat then tell yourself tomorrow, if you get there and you are not dying from desire then move it to tomorrow again, see how far you can push it. I see every day you move the goal posts as a day you didn't succumb to desire
If for whatever reason you are harboring the food creating the cravings in your home - GET IT / THEM OUT. Its a simple people, its an act of war, if you keep them you are going to eat them, its just a question of how long its going to take, and how much you are going to eat at every sitting. Think about the bad food and your ass, bad food, ass, bad food, ass, see? Put it in a bag, and find a hobo. Cant find one? Throw it away, a hobo will find it, your rubbish gets dug though, I promise.
This is my favorite trick, I am quite proud of it, I have developed it all by myself, when you get to the point that you must eat this craving, take it on a date, make it special, work yourself up to it for days, use the good plates, light a candle, put on some mood music, sit down, eat it, YUM! Make sure you do it at night, that way you are not triggered to spend the whole day eating badly (and you spent the whole day looking forward to it) and it was an amazing treat. Not like a dirty lust affair you had with the garage pie in the car three days ago ...

There is only one thing that rings true to me when I am faced with these incessant cravings. Its war, its my ass (ok my middle as I am apple shaped) or the food. Spare tyre. Food. Spare tyre. Food. Spare tyre. Food.

Most times the threat of converting the craving into extra weight works and I am talk myself out of it, sometimes I can't. Just make sure you are stronger more often than you give in and you should be OK.

Good luck, and I promise with this one, I am with you ALL the way!

The weekend that was

2011-09-13T16:52:00.000+02:00

Hello! Yes I know its Tuesday ... :) whatever

This weekend my blood totally turned green! Are the boks trying to kill me? OMG one point, ONE POINT, sweet baby Jesus could you have cut it any finer? Jeeeees how stressful was that game? I watched the whole game, I understood at least 50% of it and I even left finger nail imprints on Liefling's palm and I thanked the skies above that they don't make good kickers in Wales!

I know right ... who's a rugby supporter?! Also where there is rugby there is usually a boerie-roll, my new favorite thing to eat. (I have just graduated from dodgy vegetarian to SUPER dodgy vegetarian, in fact I may be one boerie-roll off of non-chicken and lamb and some beef eating omnivore)

Aside from watching rugby, this weekend I also ran a 10k race that was roughly 95% uphill and 5% plateau, there were no downhills I swear, not one... I did this feat of amazement in an hour and 12 minutes - boooooooJA b!itches :) will you believe that this race starts with cannon fire, I am not joking, for reals, a real cannon, firing a real cannon ball and everything, you could even feel the air vibrations, I may have run the first 5k on fear adrenaline alone.

When I was not running from cannon fire or dying from rugby induced heart failure Liefling and I went to a Wii and pizza (there was salad ... what a killjoy) day with Mr&Mrs X and the mother and father of my Fairy God Child. The child herself has got to be the most beautiful 4 year old in the whole wide world, they don't come cuter ...

When I was not shoveling pizza into my face, crashing Wii cars or winning Wii sword fights, running for my life from cannon fire or suffering a bok induced panic attack, I had a lovely weekend with my boyfriend :) (we can call him that now, I have put the brown bags away no more hyperventilation)

ooooooooh look at my new shirt - their target market has got to be pretty small, I am just saying ...

Let them eat cake

2011-09-09T13:19:00.001+02:00

Marie Antoinette got her head chopped off for being totally oblivious to what was going on around her as she lived an enchanted life. Don't be Marie Antoinette ...

What on earth are you talking about Gail?

I have been following a debate which is heating up on my Weight Watcher's Wednesday post this week. In the left corner you have The Chantal, weighing in as a self-confessed life long average weighter and in the right hand corner we have Anonymous (who might be my mom, she is not technologically inclined sufficiently to post as a named person) weighing in as a self-confessed active loser of weight.

Yesterday I was at this conference", who's acronym I am not sure what it stands for, and a colleague said to me as a joke that one of her friends had joined over eaters anonymous, I could see she wanted me to die laughing but instead I said, "Hot diggidy dam, when and where, can I have her number?''.

There is a huge misunderstanding that exists between naturally averagely weighted people and those of us who sunk the titanic*. I understand for all y'all 'normal' people it can be hard to comprehend that I didn't want to weigh 120kgs, I didn't want to shop in the big girl section, and I was so insecure I hid behind smiles and laughs. See when I see a heavily overweight person I wonder why, what are they hiding from? .... I could be wrong because I am looking at them with my eyes from my world. Just like when someone who has never had a weight problem in their lives assumes that it's easy for everyone to lose weight ... your eyes your world.

For me cake will never be just cake, snacks will never be just snacks, cake is happiness, its security, its acceptance, and comfort. Losing weight has never just been healthy eating and exercise, for me it was about facing all those emotions that I hid behind food and letting the world see me for real, and judge me. Crisis in a crisis bucket if it had been that easy don't you think I would have done it years ago?

For the life of me I can not wrap my head around Liefling and his relationship with food, he being one who has never had a weight issue in his life and me being the queen of emotional eating. I have stopped trying to understand why when we go to the movies he does not feel the need to eat popcorn to create an 'atmosphere'. Jaaaaaaaaa I can't understand, now I just accept.

Ok now take your old eyes out, walk a mile in a fat pant and another mile in a skinny jean. Have a super weekend y'all!

XXX

* Remember that people are overweight for different reasons, this is written from my perspective, the perspective of a life long emotional overeater.

The value of a bad run

2011-09-08T09:17:00.001+02:00

I have waxed lyrical for ages now about how fantastic exercise is and how I am such a machine and how fantastic you feel and how amazing your body is and bla bla bla. For the most part its true, except for when its not.

Today was one of those days, I trained with Mbongeni-squat-lunge-pants and then hopped on the treadmill to get my Tuesday/Thursday 5k run in, its become a bit of a habit and tends to happen on auto pilot now. Except for when it doesn't, and today it didn't.

OMG I nearly died, it was like my legs had forgotten how to run, my hips were rebelling and my feet were made of lead. Bugger that, I thought, I am outahere. Then skinny bitch brain kicked in and I remembered how hard it was to get to the point where 5ks was something I could do on auto pilot. How had I had to work gasping for breath to run for two mins.

And there I stayed, I whined ... audibly, I walked (I know right, when last did I do that??), I said ugly things to myself, I watched every meter of the last kilometer tick away, I secretly swore that the runners all around me looking like frikkin' spring bokkies. But I finished all 5ks of those kays.

Today is the day you remember that some days its harder, some days you don't want to and some days you just don't care to. Those are the days where you try harder and you take yourself though the motions, and the light at the end of the tunnel is that next time when you least expect it 5ks will be done and you will feel remarkably like that spring bokkie.

Go get em tiger! Even when its hard, 'cause Lord knows sometimes it is.

PS. Yoh Yoh Yoh, check it out, Ms JSE has her own blog (shameless punting I know).

Weight Watchers Wednesday

2011-09-07T20:47:00.001+02:00

Ladies who lunch

Today is Yummy mummy's turn, she mailed a few weeks ago asking about my lunch ideas, so let's talk about my second favorite time of day (number one of course being bed time). In the life of Gail pre Weight Watchers I was not much of a planner, I would literally not eat until I was madly hungry then wolf down all the wrong kinds of foods and proceed to make even dodgier food decisions as the day wore on.

Weight Watchers taught me, and it's been a process let's never forget that, that I need an action plan if I wish to succeed. With my working hours this plan had to include lunch.

Let me walk you through the chronological development of the lunch of Gail. But the lunch conversation goes hand in hand with the points allocation conversation, so let's do both.

In the early days my lunch was a 2 point salad, mainly leaves and tomatoes. However this didn't fill me up and I was starving come dinner time which would lead to me eating way more than I intended to.

When I figured this out my salads became more intricate, 4 point salads, with cold pasta, baked baby potatoes or tuna with seeds and olives. This worked well, for a while until I upped my exercise and realized that I needed to eat more during the day, I stated packing snacks like fruit and a fat free yoghurt.

This was perfect ... Until winter then salad is fun for no one! I traded in salad for soup. Be so careful when buying ready made soup, the points values can be crazy high. Home made soup can be super filling and low in points, you can make up points by adding pasta or potato, or (and this is my best!) paint a pita, or 3 mini pitas in olive oil and grill them, take them for lunch with the soup, soooooooo yum!

At this present moment my "Engen one stop" lunch box looks like this (keep in mind that aside from my 20 daily points I also need to eat about 3 extra exercise points per day) breakfast muffins for pre gym at 4:30, post gym tastee wheat or toasted low gi bread with jam and mozzarella cheese at 7:00, two apples for a mid morning snack 10:30, lunch at 12:30, and yoghurt for an afternoon snack at 15:30/16:00.

That is pretty solid Monday to Friday, dinner is about listening to my body, if I am hungry which isn't often after all of that then I will eat whatever lunch is for the week or if I am not hungry I will have a rusk or two with tea or toast or crackers and fat free cottage cheese. On weekends I am not nearly as strict but I make dam sure I don't go crazy monkey with food decisions.

Let's talk about breakfast muffins. I make bran muffins either from scratch or with the muffin mix, but, I do not use sunflower oil, I use grape seed oil, it has lower points and I never use more than 60ml, I add oats, raisins, and any fruit I have at home, apples, berries, peaches, whatever, just makes sure you put them in the microwave for about 2 mins to pre cook them a bit. I usually add extra bran for good measure.

My lunches at the moment are about 75% veg and salad, my favorite is curry, any spice shop will have a selection of curries you can try, or Woolies has loads of curry paste, be sure to check the saturated fat content, I use that too, either way, mix that with a small tub of fat free plain yoghurt, coat the veg and put them in the oven for an hour or so, how easy!?!? If you are going to Thai route, stay away from the coconut cream, if you must use low fat coconut milk, and then only a cup, but it really is not necessary, plain fat free yoghurt does the job.

I add pasta or cous cous or mash or baked potatoes and salad and voila lunch of champions! Also when you are bored of curried veg grilled veg with rosemary is also awesome!

I make about 6 lunches on a Sunday and between lunch and dinner they all get eaten during the week, I don't freeze them, I keep them in consol jam jars (no jokes) they seal with a vacuum if you close them while the food is still warm - that's what they are designed to do, and they don't leak! Just don't drop your lunch ....

When you are planning your daily eating plan keep in mind that you should consume about 50% of your points by (and including) lunch time, which means, 4 to 6 points should be a main meal (any more or any less and you are either feeding your body too much or too little in a meal) and up to 2 points in a snack. And listen to your body!!!! If you are hungry in the morning eat more then than you do in the evenings, or visa versa. They say you should eat more in the morning, but let's be honest no two people have the same body.

I hear you, "I can't pack lunch I do this, I do that, I bla bla bla..." all I am hearing is problems people, I want to hear solutions. Weight loss is anything but easy, let's not forget that. 3 words people, MAKE A PLAN. You do what you have to do to stick to your plan, make the system work for you, the important part is that you have a plan, and it does not have to be my plan.

I am going to leave you with my lunch time story of today. I am at a DEFSA conference (something somethings design education, my strong point is not acronyms) for two days, starting today, of course it's catered, when last was a conference not catered?? Standing in the kitchen last night I was faced with the do I / don't I dilemma. Then I thought why? Why should I risk / waste my precious points on mystery surprise food? Why wouldn't I pack a lunch box? Scared of being the only kid with a lunch box? Then I remembered, oh ja, I grew up ginger, totally used to being the odd one out! I packed my lunch box, I was the only one with lunch, I got some looks, mostly they were jealous because my lunch was better and I had bigger balls than they did :)

My inner koeksister

2011-09-06T08:49:00.002+02:00

Its Tuesday? Are you sure? When exactly did that happen? eish ...

This weekend my inner koeksister was put to the test, Liefling's friends came over for Sunday lunch, I know right? No pressure ...

I nailed that sh!t out of the park, one time, my lanie, no wait that Lenasia speak, lets try again, ekke het daai groente goed vas gevat! :)

I made mushy beans, pumpkin pie and grilled vegetables, then I mentioned to Liefling that he might want to braai as skat (thats me) was not very good at cooking meat, unless of course they wanted mince, or a ready made chicken from Woolies, then I was their girl! Lunch was a hit, I even made apple crumble which was kinda crunchy ... I maybe left it in a bit long, but everyone was too polite to complain. I love the Afrikaans culture!

Oh yes and there was a 10k race on Saturday which I did in an hour and 10 mins, I am getting closer to that hour marks people, I can feel it, any day now! I may have to reserve a room in my future house for all my medals, the light above my bed is starting to take strain :)

On your marks, get set, HAVE A TUESDAY!

The crazy ginger strikes again

2011-09-02T13:50:00.000+02:00

Will you believe it? I drove to Pretoria by mistake today, after gym this morning I ever so casually hopped onto the M1north, sipped some coffee, listened to Highveld and even sang along to some tunes. It took me until I was in Midrand to realise that I was meant to be on the Gautrain! Midrand people, that's basically in Pretoria - oi!

Whoops

Going commando

2011-09-01T21:44:00.001+02:00

As you may have picked up by now I wake up at like midnight and go to
gym at like 3am ... I am that freak queuing outside the gym before
it's open in the morning. This is not something I pride myself on, but
it is born from the one truth in my life, gym has to happen before my
day gets into full swing, otherwise life will get in the way.
To facilitate this madness I pack my gym bag the night before,
sometimes I forget belts, sometimes I forget shoes, this one time I
forgot a bra and another time I forgot a skirt. Yesterday tops it all
and is thus far it is my most impressive gym bag faux pas.
I wake up, roll out of bed and drive to Pretoria in my pajamas on a
Wednesday, I get there by 6 and am in the pool by 6:30, then I pretend
to be a mermaid for an hour or so, shower and go to work. Only
yesterday, low and behold, after my shower, no underwear, nothing, not
a sausage, no knickers no bra. Can you believe?.....
What was a girl to do? I went commando to the closest Mr Price, which
only opens at 9 by the way ... You wonder around Menlyn for 45 mins
without underwear on, then we will talk again!
Anywho, I was the first person in the store, selected some emergency
underwear (I love Mr Price, matching bra and broeks for R60, have you
ever?) and then had to explain to the change room attendant that I
knew one could not try on knickers by I was going to buy them and the
bra and wanted to put them on, she says "what about the ones you are
wearing?" to which I replied "I am not wearing any", the eyes got big
and all I got was a "YOH"
Can you imagine what she told her friends that day? Crazy ginger white
woman got dressed and forgot to put underwear on before she left home?
... Crazy gingers I tell you, someone needs to keep an eye on them!
Have a superb weekend y'all. Liefling and I are doing dinner club with
the friends this weekend again and I believe there is a 10k run
somewhere too.
Sent from my iPad

Weight Watcher's Wednesday

2011-08-31T17:24:00.001+02:00

Let's start at the very beginning, its a very good place to start ...

Like we said yesterday today's Weight Watcher's Wednesday is all about getting started. Maybe its time for you to get started, maybe you got started and this one time and fell off the wagon, maybe you got started forever ago but looking back is going to be great to help you remember what was important to you then and to see if possibly your goals have changed?

If you are just getting started, oh I know, lets say you got on the scale and it started screaming at you in German ... It may be time to take this bull by the horns. Lets be objective here, life happens, everyone has a weight problem at some point in their lives, sure maybe not everyone flirts with obesity maybe its just 5kgs but no one is exempt from having to get back on the wagon at some point in their lives.

Here is how you get started ..

After your freak out moment, get off the scale / put the photo down and make yourself a cup of tea, then you sit down and you think, you may want to take notes;

Why you want to lose weight? Is it for you? Are you unhappy? Are you miserable in your own body? Or is it for someone else? [As a Weight Watcher's Tannie I can tell you that you will be more successful if this is about you and for you ... I am just saying]
How much do you want to lose? This ties into the why, if you want to be healthy maybe you just need to come close to your BMI, if you want to be a bikini model then maybe its on the far side of your BMI
What do you want to achieve? Did you know that 90% of people never achieve their goals, but then only 12% of people set goals .... think about it ... did you get it yet? List your goals, realistic goals people, marrying Brad Pitt is not really a goal. You wanna lose 10kgs that's a goal, you wanna be a size 14 that's a goal, you wanna run 15km that's a goal.
How are you going to do it? Think of it like buying a house, you need an extra R5000 to cover your bond, where is that going to come from? No clothing shopping, no holidays, its tangible, you can see it. You want to lose weight? You need to eat less calories, what does that mean to you? It means, no scones at work, no chips in the car, no garage pies on the road, no full cream milk, no deep fying. (I have had one pie in the last 20 months ... you don't understand, I love pies) The point I am trying to make is that just like R5000 is not going to materialise because you want it to, 10kgs is not going to drop off your ass because you saw a fat photo, cried and hated yourself. There are sacrifices people, can you do it? Are you willing to take that life style cut?

Ok so you started, but then you fell off ...

Why did you fall off? Oh OH oh pick me, I know the answer!!!!

Life got in the way

Life happens, think of all the responsibilities you maintain, you work at your relationships, you raise your children with manners and values, you pay your bills and you study to further your education. Now please tell me in which parallel universe did you think weight loss would be easier to maintain than any of those? Weight loss is a bitch, no one ever said it would be easy, but I suppose in the end it boils down to just how badly do you not want to be fat?

Inspiration is what gets you going, motivation is what keeps you going, I can inspire you, but I can not motivate you, that is something you need to do on your own, and you can, its just a matter of finding the right buttons to press and then keep pressing them.

Ok so you telling me you started, you fell off, you got back on again and now you are driving the wagon, well done, high five and welcome to my world. When I got to this point in writing this post I went back and found these two posts, the first two on my Weight Watchers road, have a read;

I discovered some very interesting things when i was re-reading them;

Firstly, skinny people are not threatened by fat people losing weight, that's just how it looks to the fat people, everyone is threatened by the idea of fat people losing weight, because if you lose weight, copius amounts of weight, you take the biggest brightest highliter in the pack and you highlite the sh!t out of their own lack of commitment, see if you can do it they could too, they may not be prepared to make the sacrifice and commitment it takes.

Secondly, you can not rely on other people to support you, doing that puts your chances of success in someone else's hands. No sir Bob, you are the only boss hard ass enough to drive your own weight loss. If you are doing it in tandem with someone else you are able to justify cheats based on someone else's bad behavior ... really are you willing to place that bet?

And lastly, my how priorities change, this all started with the single goal of not being the fat girl at my own 30th birthday party, just look what it has turned into, not in my wildest of dreams could I have seen this coming. If you work that backwards, it tells you that it does not really matter what your goals are to begin with, just set them already. Your life changes, and so will your goals, but lets first make sure that you have them!

Are we ready? On your marks, get set, GO DRIVE THE SKINNY BUS!!!

Please apply within

2011-08-30T12:53:00.000+02:00

I had this thought the other day, who about YOU give ME topics for Weight Watcher's Wednesday.

Yummy Mummy (her blog is here) requested that I do a Weight Watcher's Wednesday on lunches, my beautiful SSK has asked for PMS eating and the mother of my fairy god child had a crisis scale moment last night and she needs a getting started post.

I think we need a getting started post on Wednesday, followed by lunch and PMS eating.

What would you like that is not on this list?

Mail me any time and I will make a post for you! My address is big.fat.secrets@gmail.com

I call it blog on demand, well just on Wednesdays you know.

:)

Just tri me baby!

2011-08-29T12:50:00.001+02:00

Who is ready to be shocked and astounded with new levels of awe and amazement? You? Ok good, 'cause you know, I am about to shock and astound you with new levels of awe and amazement.

Why Gail? What did you do Gail?

This weekend y'all, I totally kicked triathlon butt. I know right? For reals. I completed my very first triathlon in forever since my whole own life this weekend in Mookgopong (Naboomspruit). Liefling and I packed up and headed to the Limpopo province for the weekend, we found a very nice little game farm (well I use the term loosely, all we saw was a mommy pumba and some babies, two ostridges, a giraffe and lots of buck droppings, oh and a swimming, cycling, running ginger :)

I was out of the water after a 750m swim in less than 15 minutes, let the record show that it was friggin freezing and there were dead fish in the dam. I checked under the duvet last night, but I did not glow. I was one of the fastest swimmers, BoooooooJA, Ariel is not the only ginger who can swim!

Then I lost about 10 minutes in the transition area as I could not get my pants on! I now understand the value of the sexy one-sies. Triathlon shop here I come.

The cycle was awesome, 20km in an hour, thank you spinning, I was so worried that I would have forgotten about balance since I have not been on a real bike since June - k@k loads of spinning though! I wasn't fast, but it was great, I loved it, it was a relativity flat course ... no real up-hills, but then that also means no real down-hills ....

The running was 5km and took about half an hour (that's faster than I run on some gym days, lets just point that out). I did the funny straight leg hop run for about a km, then I had a good run for about 3kms and that last km, sweet baby Jesus that was like pulling teeth, I had lost all sense of humor, breathing was not longer an involuntary reflex and I think towards the end there I even went a bit squint ...

But there you have it people, remember those goals? The 2011 year of achievement?

Triathlon you say?

C.H.E.C.K

My little bit of shiny

2011-08-25T20:20:00.000+02:00

When you are just a wee little poppet you watch movies that involve knights in shining armour and blond princesses in distress. He of course rescues her and they fall madly in love, they have carbon copy mini replica babies of themselves, her figure bounces right back and the whole family sings and dances remarkably well, given that she was raised as a peasant (but is a princess) and he is a prince.

Those movies are designed to f@ck you up.

You spend the rest of your days looking for the man who will drop everything to rescue you, then you realise that first for women, chub and the AA are only a call away.

Yesterday I ran out of petrol for the first time in my whole life, it turns out that my reserve tank only allows for 30kms and should not be taken to task. Thankfully I ran out of petrol right outside where I was meant to be, but still, a girl’s got to get home.

So I took a gamble, I messaged Liefling to find out if he was busy, he was, there was some crisis which he had to deal with, my heart came crashing down to reality as it dawned on me that he has a real life job too and can’t be at my beckon call when I do chop head things like run out of petrol, what exactly was I thinking?

Two minutes later he messages back to say he will be there in 15mins.

And there he was, my little bit of shiny, equiped with 5 litres of petrol and sawn off coke bottle. With a hug and a kiss he sent me on my way. He might not have been wearing a full suit of armour (it is Pretoria people that would have been far too hot) but he was shiny enough for me.

Turns out the world still has some shiny left after all.

Weight Watcher's Wednesday

2011-08-24T17:34:00.000+02:00

Food enjoyment 101

Weight Watcher's taught me a long time ago and I have spent the last few months slowly forgetting that food is so much better when you enjoy it. When I first started Weight Watcher's I was firstly horrified that I was expected to eat breakfast and practically mortified when my boss lady suggested two slices of whole wheat toast with a smidge of margarine and fish paste. Just strangle me now, this is no fun.

Luckily I am nothing if not resourceful, lets not forget that ...

OK now try this, older and colder toast (it takes more chewing and seems like WAY more food than fresh toast collapsed under butter) just a hint of marge, LOAD on that fish paste, its free! Add thick ass tomato slices and rocket leaves, a bit of salt and black pepper, on a pretty plate with a cup of tea with skim milk and sweetner. Oh wait, don't forget to sit down to eat it, breath it in, OMG it smells good, taste it, chew it swallow it YUM! BoooooJA bitches, now that's a good breklky, no? Hells yeah.

Do not microwave things and inhale them in the kitchen, its fulfilling your physiological need for nutrients yes, but what about your head? Don't you feel cheated? Eating is both physical and emotional, you need to make sure that you enjoy the food which you are eating otherwise you are going to make silly decisions and find that enjoyment elsewhere. You will have an extra-dietary affair ... And no one wants that.

What did you eat today? Did you look forward to it? What did it taste like? I had a deliciously tart breakfast muffin before I went gym this morning and a cup of coffee, after my swim I had an English muffin with blue berry jam and cheese, WOW - so good. I had two apples and a naatrjie, some fat free black berry yoghurt and more tea. Then I had such good green curry vegetables and coes coes with chick peas, I wished that my food would make babies with itself so that I could just keep eating all day, I was upset when it was over. Now its tea time again, I love tea.

That right there that's the relationship one needs with food, I have perfected the art of food enjoyment Monday to Friday from 4:30am to 7:30pm. I, as they say in afrikaans 'hak uit' over dinner time and just eat whatever I can find in varying quantities. My biggest current downfall, I forget my own good food manners in the evenings and on weekends. Damit.

Time to get on the conscious bus, not only are you tracking what you eat, but you are now savoring it too.

You can practice bad behavior every now and then, but lets not forget that more often than not you need to be on best behavior, this includes making sure your emotional needs are fed as well as your physical needs.

on your marks

get set

GO [enjoy your food and] BE SKINNY

O . M . G .

2011-08-23T09:06:00.000+02:00

Gimme a B

Gimme a A

Gimme a D

Gimme a F

Gimme a R

Gimme a I

Gimme a E

Gimme a N

Gimme a D

What have you got??

BAD FRIEND!!!

Ooooooh right, ok, I see why you are lost, so the question was;

What am I?

I am a baaaaaaaad friend, and apparently a bad blogger*. It was Mrs JSE's ~~31st~~ 21st birthday yesterday and I forgot, geeeeeeeeees I mean its not like you turn 21 every year you know. Sorry buddy! Hope you had a fantastic day and that your runner (she has one too, we have so much in common, except hers is not a liefling, maybe more like liebling [that's German people keep up]) spoilt you rotten! Much love friend!

For those of you who don't know Mrs JSE and I were paired as room-mates in res in first year - the most unlikely of duos I am not going to lie. But our friendship survived, now she is one of my ~~oldest~~ most long standing friends whom I love dearly, and you know from time to time I may forget things .... but that does not mean I don't care :)

HAPPY [belated] BIRTHDAY FRIEND!!!

* apparently a girl can't play boy-boy and be MIA for a while and everyone notices ...

Hello world

2011-08-22T22:48:00.002+02:00

My I.T.Laaitie is a daddy! Mrs I.T.Laaitie gave birth earlier today to
the most beautiful little munchkin ever.

Welcome to the world Baby Laaitie! I am never sure if I can publish photos of people's newborns on my blog ... It kinda like their prerogative as parents to first introduce their child to the world of cyber identity theft. I am just saying ....

Sent from my iPad

Dear reader its been forever ...

2011-08-22T11:39:00.001+02:00

YAY yay its MONDAY! ok so I feigned the enthusiasm there ... could you tell?

I have been reprimanded from all sides on my lack of bloggin'. Come on guys I am busy trying to fit in all the rugby Liefling expects me to watch ...

I have much to blog about, this post is coming, just as soon as my students leave me alone for long enough, see another good reason to make me a housewife, time to blog :)

Weight Watcher's Wednesday

2011-08-17T16:35:00.001+02:00

This week I thought I would take a step back, stop being so serious and pay some attention to all y'all who are in the middle of your weight loss journeys. Today is ....

Things Weight Watcher's has taught me day;

Planning
Moderation
Motivation
Exercise
Shortcuts

The very fist thing I learnt on Weight Watchers was to plan, everyone's lives are different, but to fit in with my life this had to become part of my routine, every night I'd plan the following day, I started packing lunches then snacks, I started cooking in advance because I realised I was doing the most damage between coming home starving and sitting down to eat dinner. This way if there is a fancy dinner planned for the weekend you can totally save up extra points and have a blast - a fair and square legal blast!

Then I figured out that Weight Watchers is all about moderation, the fact that cake and chocolate have points and are 'affordable' tells me one thing, Weight Watchers wants me to eat cake and chocolate. Who am I to disagree? You can diet to lose weight, but can you diet forever? AAAAAAAH hell NO. But that's the best part of Weight Watchers, it has never ever professed to being a diet, nope, they call it an eating plan, and it is, its a lifestyle, it teaches us (me) that cake is OK, half a piece a week, with loads of fruit and veg, but a whole piece every day, its not OK.

Then there was motivation, this is all about you baby, this part it unique to whatever drives you. Maybe its new jeans, maybe its massages, maybe it's running 15kms, maybe its a holiday, whatever it is, you need to identify that carrot and hang it loud and hand it proud sister, 'cause Lord knows the time is going to come when people are mean, you hit a plateau in your weight loss, you pick up for no good reason, those scones were just too dam tempting, all six if them ... You need to have something in place ... oh I don't know, say a giant carrot? ... that is going to keep you going, its not plain sailing all the way, that I promise you!

Crisis in a crisis bucket ... exercise ... eeeeeewwwww. I am with you, make no mistake, this Gail, she used to be the most un-sporty ginger ever, I bunked school on compulsory athletics days .... no jokes. The soul reason I rejoined the gym was to prove my Weight Watchers boss lady wrong, what did she know? Exercise would never help me to lose weight. I can not emphasis this enough, you DO NOT have to turn into a ginger tri-athlete, you can just walk the dogs, in fact, Weight Watchers is designed for you to just walk the dogs or jump on the trampoline with your kids. Do me one favor, I don't care how much you weigh or how old you are, get your heart rate up three times a week for 20 mins at a go. Done, that's all you need to do. Walk the dogs, sweep and mop the floor, park on the other side of the mall. And don't eat your exercise points! If you do exercise more than about 30 exercise points a week you might want to be eating just less than half of those.

Hey look, you don't play the game for 18 months without learning a few cheats ..

Start using skim milk - stop whining, how badly do you want to lose weight? You WILL get used to it
Flora blue margarine is the lowest point marge on the market, stop using butter right now
Sweetener will start to taste like sugar eventually I promise
Do you really think that only diet coke gives you cancer? Plaeeeeeze, full cream coke is just as bad for you!
Use cold pressed extra virgin olive oil for savory food and
Grapeseed oil for baking ... put that sunflower oil away no good can come from it
EAT BREAKFAST, you really want a faster metabolism, it burns away bad food faster :)
Don't get hungry, you do stupid things when you are hungry, shopping hungry is about as effective as driving drunk.
Instant meals and take aways are not worth the points they cost, you thought buyer's remorse was bad? Just wait, eater's remorse is way worse! (Woolies cheese&tomato sarmie = 8points, garage pie = 10points)
Include chips (like crisps) in the above point. You may want to include biscuits there too, but I firmly believe good biscuits are always worth the points they charge!
Be careful of things like energy bars, they usually have quite high points values (Oastli is good, between half and one and a half per bar) (Jungle is like 5 for the chocolate bars and 3 for the lite ones)
Your body does not know the difference between hungry and thirsty, no jokes, if you are hungry have a cup of tea / coffee / water if you are still hungry, then maybe your body was right the first time ... but its safe to check!
This is my favorite website ... Gina's Skinny Recipes ... because you can look them up based on points values down the right hand side. If you don't know what something is then google it, Americans call things by different names. If you can't get it google "what can I replace bla bla bla with".

on your marks,

get set,

GO BE SKINNY!!!!!

High 15!

2011-08-15T08:12:00.002+02:00

This weekend I completed my very first 15km run ever, no jokes in the
real world the furthest I have ever run is 10km and on the treadmill
it's 12.5km. Booooooo-JA bitches! 15km take that running fraternity!

Speaking of the running fraternity liefling ran the same race in half
my time :) no jokes, he did it in an hour and 2 mins I took an hour
and 55 mins.. Please note people, I finished in under two hours!
Liefling gave me his silver medal and took my lame ass brass one ... I
know right?

We are breaking the liefling media gag for wee bit ...

I sorted my head out and realized that liefling was not sabotaging my
diet, it was me, once I got my head around that I realized that he is
just a man and happy to eat whatever I feed him. We bought apples,
plenty of salad and low gi bread. And in terms of eating we had a
pretty successful weekend.

My sista blista (a very wise woman you know) has always said that
relationships are not meant to be hard work all the time, you
shouldn't have to constantly be on your toes or in a fight. I thought
she was mad... or my brother in law was super patient and tolerant. So
far in the world of Gail every relationship / man interest / crush
whatever has been fraught with drama, angst, snippy fights,
assumptions, general personality disorders and mayhem.

And then there was liefling.

I am in a boy coloured haze and find myself wishing the weeks away so
that I can spend more time with him on weekends, it comes so easily (i
mean - spending time with him - you dirty hobags) I don't spend one
minute wishing I were somewhere else or doing anything else ... I
think I may be walking around with little hearts in my eyes. My
students are loving it, everyone gets 100% just for trying :)

Also I am in love with the gautrain. I have realized that there are a
whole 45mins of usable time on the gautrain where I am not driving!
This blog post is proudly brought to you from the Centurion station
and Gail's iPad.

Sent from my iPad

Off the rails ...

2011-08-10T18:44:00.000+02:00

. O . M . G . Crisis management Weight Watcher's Wednesday

Diet meet the biggest hurdle you will likely ever encounter : liefling

I am not joking, this boy is wreaking havok with my weight watcher's life, seriously. He eats once a day, all he eats is braai and pizza. I can feel my metabolism falling apart and my body is virtually screaming for vegetables. Trying to explain to him that I am not really a vegetarian as I sometimes eat meat but don't actually eat meat was very tricky, I am giving mince a bash, I figure its a good half way point, I can partake in braais without actually having to bite into flesh ... that's the part that freaks me out, just a little.

I think its time for ground rules, his house needs to have things like apples and vegetables to make it Gail friendly.

Now aside from that I also need to learn how to pick myself back up again. After a whole weekend of back and forth had ripped my diet to pieces I fell apart last yesterday, I found myself inhaling ciabatta bread like it was 'free', climbing into creamy pasta and thinking dirty thoughts about rusks and tea. I think I lost control there for a while. In fact last night I was craving everything bad that I had in my kitchen. [I have recently started keeping bad things again as a now and then treat because I am(was) better at controlling myself these days] Even post teeth brush and lying in bed I was lying in bed fantasising over delicious things.

Enough was enough I stormed out of bed and put ALL the offending delicious food into a plastic bag and threw it away ... I told myself a lucky hobo would find it and be happy inside ...

Ok so here is the question, how do I let go, have a boyfriend friendly weekend, and not freak out?

I am super strict during the week, I exercise like a machine, we run races on weekends for heaven sakes. But the freakout she still happens. Then I thought that the reason I was freaking out is maybe because I cant trust myself to be normal? But that is a whole different blog series for another time, right now I need an action plan ...

Action Plan : Be Normal

How does this apply to you? (obviously my own issues are where I get most of my material from these pep talks, DUH, come now people - keep up) This applies to you because real life happens some times some of you are married, real life is happening in your house, some of you have work functions, real life is happening at work, some of you (like me) can lock yourself away in a Weight Watcher's bubble and control every last point, but sometimes real life gets into that bubble.

Real life she is inside your bubble ...

Action Plan : Be Normal while eating out

You cant always be the girl who orders salad on a date, at some point you are going to need to order real food, make the best of a bad choice by ordering something that they cant hide points in;

Butternut / tomato soup ... bad idea, loaded with cream
Pasta with a tomato based sauce ... good idea provided it does not say 'creamy' in the title
Pizza loaded with veg ... good idea if you only eat half and pay the car gaurd in take-aways
Burger ... good idea if it comes with no cheese and you eat like 5 chips and feign fullness
Pudding ... do-able idea provided you share it and there is no cream

Action Plan : Be Normal at Liefling's (insert the name of your BF here) house

You are such a bachelor (bat eyelashes appropriately), look at all this lovely fresh fruit and vegetables I brought for your house, I am worried you may get scurvy.

Apples ... great idea, also handy for making 'safe' pudding with
Salad stuff ... super idea as most of it can survive until you are there next week, just buy new lettuce & tomato PS-iceberg lettuce makes you fart, try watercress or baby spinach
Fruit Juice ... good idea mixed with water since all he drinks is coke ...
Winegums & Bilting ... good rugby snacks, go easy on them though

Action Plan : Be Normal during the week

Naught bru, this part of my life I still have control over, I am not ready to drop that structure just yet. Monday to Friday 5pm is still Fraulein Gail time.

Ok so now think about it, what is threatening to derail you? Is it your children's uneaten lunch-boxes? End of term teacher presents? Evil work colleges? (I hope not this one but...) An unsupportive family?

Got it? OK now its time for develop your own action plan, believe me when I tell you it helps to write it down, if we could be normal without trying we would not be here - duh.

That's your home work. Happy Weight Watcher's Wednesday :)

All aboard !!!

2011-08-08T22:37:00.000+02:00

I Gautrained guys, several times this weekend, I am virtually an expert! On Friday my IT Laaitie caught it with me on my maiden voyage, so that I would not have to go it alone, I know right? That's my guy! Then we got off in Hatfield, hopped on a bus, hopped off and walked for about 10ish minutes to college. One pair of tekkies and a wheely bag later, I am totally kitted out for this Gautrain business baby, YEAH! I ordered a backpack laptop bag so come Friday;s trip I will be 100% good to go!

Watch this Ginger train surf people, see me go!

First of all it starts with appropriate footwear, and the right attitude, also beneficial if one has a travel buddy,

The worst part? The parking, the train is awesome, the busses are OK, I daresay there are some kinks that need ironing out, but sweet baby Jesus, his donkey and all three of his wise men, I can't fathom that parking. Twice now (I have only parked there 3 times ...) something has malfunctioned or something did not read something and I could not get my car out of the parking lot. The we-don't-know-what-the-f@ck-is-going-on-here default charge looks like its R160, if something goes wrong you need to pay R160 to get your car out, no ifs, ands or buts. It is so very annoying, luckily, I am quite annoying too (I apologise if I caused the traffic jam that you were stuck in on Saturday or earlier today ... but you must understand I had a point to prove) and eventually both times they just let me go :)

In other news, Liefling seems to have survived not only being thrown in the deep end but being held underwater for prolonged periods of time, this weekend I managed to introduce him to dinner club, my aunt and cousin who I live with, my cat and my sister, oh and a Sunday morning skype group chat with my Beautiful SSK and Mommy Besti. He survived, and still seems keen on me, so you know, YAY :)

I watched more rugby this weekend, will you believe that the Lions beat the Bulls on home ground nogal, didn't see that coming hey? I for one was shocked, but if you think about it, it really makes sense, you see the Lions have lost hardly any players to the Springboks, but at least half of the Bulls team is off being Springboks, so duh people they are playing with their B side. [I know right???? Check me out I am totally talking rugby and even I nearly stayed awake for an entire game - nearly, bar like 20 mins]

To infinity and beyond

2011-08-04T14:57:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow is my very first trip on the Gautrain to Pretoria ... 'cause you know, I am a person on the move. I am so exited! My IT Laaitie and I are departing from the Rosebank station at 9am - I will be sure and take photos :) I am even planning my outfit around the occasion, since I will have to wear tekkies for the large amount of walking we will be doing.

And guess what? Tomorrow is Friday, YAY! I am taking Liefling to meet the friends (Mr&Mrs X, and the mother and father of my fairy god child, amongst others) (I believe the child herself with also be there). I have issued the friends with strict instructions to be on best behavior and not to embarrass me. I figure he has already met me, how much more embarrassing can they be?

Let you know how that goes ...

Weight Watcher's Wednesday

2011-08-03T18:57:00.000+02:00

I think maybe Wednesday should become my Weight Watcher's day, see as a Weight Watcher's tannie I need to prepare a little talk (yes they supply topics but crisis me in a crisis bucket they are hardly very inspiring) beforehand so that we can have a little talk in class in on Thursday. I figure I should bounce it off you first - no?

Ok here goes, lets try Weight Watcher's Wednesday. I was thinking this week I wanted to talk about bad ass food, Weight Watcher's calls them Frankenstein foods, but I am not so sure ... I don't get the connection. Bad ass / Frankenstein foods are foods that once you start eating them you either cant stop or they throw you such a curve ball that you continue to make the most ridiculous food decisions for the rest of the day.

A ... How do we manage these foods? and then
B ... How do we crisis manage these situations?

For me these foods are biscuits, rusks, and cakes. I know right ... *sigh* Anywho, moving swiftly along. Can you avoid your Bad ass / Frankenstein foods? I can't, I run for cake, I swim for rusks, I cycle for biscuits, no lies. I could get myself into a lot of trouble, but I don't ... how?

I figure that my eventual goal is a normal relationship with food, I have been in food rehab (18months of Weight Watchers) now I am at that stage when I am trying to re-adjust into my 'normal' life with my new habits. 'Normal' people eat cake and a biscuit so maybe I can too, no? Yes you can Gail!.

Watch the 'normal' people, they talk while eating cake, they don't even eat the whole cake, they send it away half eaten, they eat only one biscuit even though the whole plate is in front of them. This behavior does not come to me easily, but I have learned to fake it quite well :)

I eat (and I enjoy) half a piece of cake, I send back the rest and assume (it makes this step easier) that the kitchen staff will be posting it to the starving children in Africa. [Please note that this is very hard for me, I really battle to stop at half and I battle just as much with the idea of throwing the other half away]. When I open a packet of biscuits I take two out, I close the packet, I put it away and I remove myself from the situation, if I can see the packet I will eat it, no questions asked. If we are out and there is a plate of biscuits in front of me I send it down the table, if it comes back I go to the loo and I sit somewhere else ... yebo yes, I have that little self restraint.

*Note to self, at this point its really easy to become a feeder, don't force other people to eat the food you don't want to eat but can't bring yourself to throw away ... if they wanted it they would have ordered it or opened it...

Ok, so you could not get away from the biscuits and the only thing you could do was eat them all, it was you or the biscuits, I get it.

Ok, so you slapped the waiter's hand after he took your half eaten cake away and proceed to lick the plate while claiming to be a starving child in Africa - I am not judging we have all been there ...

Now what? Now you get back up, you put your big girl panties on, you write the points down for the whole cake, you maybe have the k@k no-points soup for dinner and you try better tomorrow. You DO NOT give up and smash another piece of cake in your face. You breath in, get over it, and move on. Absolutely no good can come from agonizing over the cake, you cant agonize away the calories and truth be told it was good right? Of course it was [you should never waste time on bad cake ... please] now move on, you don't get off this bus that easily ...

What do you think? I can use that in class right?

Catch me if you can

2011-08-01T14:33:00.000+02:00

Heloooooo-HA, good weekend? Mine was super! My bobotie was a massive success, thank you Ina. On Saturday we had our second date run, it was a 10k Liefling ran with me the whole way, even though he could have finished a 21k in the same time it took me to finish a 10k (no jokes), I ran so fast, it was so cold, I nearly died! But we finished in an hour an 8 minutes ... my fastest 10k ever :)

Then I feigned interest is the rugby again. But this time I hinted at the fact that I was feigning interest, like this;

"I am feigning interest"

I think he appreciated my honesty ... but I ended up watching anyway. When it eventually came time for me to depart my world of boy-infatuation my car would not start (Murphy's friggin' law), just as I was running though my plan of action in my head; phone the AA, what about first for woman, I could phone the father of my fairy god child... Then there was a Liefling at my window;

Liefling : "Did you decide not to go home?"

Me : "My car won't start"

Liefling : "Well open the bonnet let's have a look"

I was standing watching this man jump start my car and I realise that there is space in my life for someone, maybe Liefling, maybe not, but someone to be sure. I don't have to be my own everything, I can let someone else into my life and into my space, not at the expense of being me.

And boys and girls this is where the blow by blow accounts of Gail and Liefling end, indeed from time to time there might be a highlites package post, but for now this chapter of my life has just been re-filed under the unblogable.

Dear reader ...

2011-07-29T13:11:00.000+02:00

It's been 3 days since my last post.

Ok so I know, bad blogger! So many things to blog about, right, go get some tea, a rusk maybe, or a cookie whatever blows your hair back.

Ready? OK go!

First off, its my sista blista's birthday, only the best older sister in the world, whom I love with all my heart and soul! My sista blista has blog phobia, but I thought just this one time I would include a photo of her, so here goes;

Happy Birthday small fry!!! ok ok ok I am the oldest, not her, but its still fun to introduce her as my older sister :)

Next, I have changed Polly Shorts' nick-name to Liefling. I had a long serious sit down talk with myself, a lifetime of being the fat, capable, independent, single girl has conditioned me to being the number one untouchable feature in my own life. If you cast an eye on this here list of goals for 2011 you will see that the most unachievable one of the lot is letting myself be loved.

OK lets not go jumping to conclusions, (that is not a very successful form of exercise mind you ...) I am not saying that I love Liefling, but you have to enter the race, maybe even run a few before you can win, no?

What does letting someone love you entail do you think? Here is what I have come up with so far;

Step 1 : Don't call them condescending nicknames.
Step 2 : F*ck Hollywood, they set ridiculous presidents which only serve to complicate your life
Step 3 : Put the brown-paper bags away, stop over-thinking this and just let it be
Step 4 : ... still under construction, I only stopped hyperventilating yesterday.

I am not joking, this is the most scary thing I have had to deal with in years, a triathlon starting in 20minutes I would be more equipped to deal with.

I am cooking Afrikaans tonight, bobotie and Malva Pudding - wish me luck. Tomorrow we have a date race, thankfully we are not running together, I am still not ready to reveal exactly how slowly I run, I still, at this stage, prefer to hint at it. I am doing the 10k he is doing the 21k (there are medals, I checked!).

And lastly, it was Weight Watchers last night and we spoke about congratulating yourself on things you have done well and good decisions you have made. If your BFF joined Weight Watchers and you went out for lunch and instead of her usual she ordered a salad or a soup or whatever you would say, I am so proud of you, well done, that's a great decision, you would praise her. If she fell off the wagon and inhaled a piece of cake what would you say? Don't worry, water under the bridge, tomorrow is a new day, don't beat yourself up, but we never say that to ourselves, nooooooo, you are such a failure, no wonder you cant finish anything, why do you even bother? see ... Isn't it about time you played nice with yourself?

Now you are caught up and I promise to be a be a better bogger next week - have a super duper weekend!

P.S. Liefling knows not of the blog, so ixnay on the blogspay.

It started innocently enough ...

2011-07-26T21:56:00.002+02:00

The most scrumptious tea and cake shop just opened in Emmarentia, it's called Victoria Bean. You must MUST must go there. This one time a whole bunch of faries got together and Victoria Bean magically realized out of their energies.

This one time a fairy and a magical miracle unicorn high-fived and Victoria Bean appeared a second later as if it had always been there.

Dating Race - the new high speed dating.

2011-07-25T17:54:00.000+02:00

OK lets bring the unblogable out, well some of it ...

Di, one of my favorite readers, 'cause you know, she emails! Come on people I am easy like that, mail me :)

Polly Shorts and I had a running date on Saturday, this you know, and it went well! I have three rules when it comes to races and sporting events;

You must finish
You must not be last
You must not be on the safety bakkie

Check, check, check, to boot I even got a medal! (I am all about the free shit and the medals ok?) I ran that race as fast as I humanly could, heaven forbid polly shorts figures out how slowly I really run when left to my own devices ... remember people this man runs the comrades!

Then we had showers, separate uninterrupted showers. Then he made me watch the rugby, crisis I nearly died ... but I managed to feign remote interest, I channeled Mommy Besti from Australia, she is a hectic avid rugby fan, I have witnessed things being thrown at the TV scream - no jokes! I managed a "I am here to watch rugby man not pansies on ice - man up you babies", also I didn't scream "TOUCH DOWN" so you know ... that was good.

Then we had lunch, watched a movie, had coffee and I went home. A whole entire day of dating and dating.

I am not going to lie, I am a bit scared, I have been single longer than most grade 1s have been alive, the thought of sharing my life with someone is daunting. I made myself a promise this morning to not over think things, I enjoy spending time with him and right now that's all that should matter. One month. No over-thinking, no crazy decisions, just dating and getting to know each other.

Now, if you will excuse me, polly shorts and I have a dinner date :)

I would really rather not ...

2011-07-25T17:22:00.000+02:00

Its been busy, I am not going to lie, but maybe its time to push pause and take my own advice. No? Yes.

I am now a Weight Watcher's tannie as of two weeks ago, part of this is an alarming amount of paper work and the other part is to come up (yes they give you topics but come now...) with topics to discuss. On Thursday we spoke about why we were overweight. ok so I am not overweight anymore but the psycology part of why I was overweight, that is still there, yes there are issues that I have dealt with and no there is not one reason why I was overweight but it is still important to recognise those, for you too, but now its time for me to take my own advice.

Part of me being overweight was not identifying and dealing with feelings and emotions, it was burrying them under food and forgetting about them. How I dealt with this? I started writing, and I wrote and I wrote and I wrote. I have a "Dear Universe" file on my computer, some of it makes it to my blog some not.

When I find I have blog malfunctions its usually because there are all sorts of issues that are bugging me. Some blogable, some unblogable. But either way I am avoiding them. Not making time to write is a tell tale sign that there are things I am avoiding in my head.

I know right ... who says you cant teach an old dog new tricks? :)

When I find myself in these write-less spells I start like this;

"Today I would really rather not write about ..."

List them and write about them. You should try it.

Safe to say mine for the most part are unblogable today.

Good idea, bad idea, kak idea

2011-07-20T16:40:00.000+02:00

Good idea ...

Register for internet dating, somehow miracle of all miracles have dinner with the most beautiful, most normal most non crazy man I have met in ages, seriously, and hot people, sorry did I mention hot? I don't listen to him speak, I just stare and drool a little. No lies. I got lucky on the first date, and not in the dirty fun sense either. Divorced no kids, this side of 40, just the right amount of baggage, not too much. Pinch me, is this real? Its too good to be true right? He messages after dinner to tell me how lovely I am and how glad he is to have met me. I know right? Did the universe get it? Is that pay-back for all the dodgy okes I have had to hide from in the past?

Today he messages at like 6am [we both wake up at about 4:30 ... i know] [we established this as we were both yawning our heads off at dinner on Monday night] to ask if I am in Pretoria today and would I like to go for coffee. I know right?

He touches my knee and I nearly pass out. I know right?

Our 3rd date is a trail run on Saturday, he entered me and sent me directions. Gail friendly directions even. I know right?

**[did you ever watch the episode of Sex in the City where Carrie is dating this perfect guy and she is hell bent on finding out what is wrong with him before she got attached and too far into the relationship, in the process she ransacks his house, pries open a locked box and is caught mid-insanity act by the perfectly sane young gentleman ... needless to say, relationship ended]

Bad idea ...

Discussing your dating life with co-workers over morning tea. Your boss is friends with his boss and phones to make sure he is not a crazy-chop-up-your-ex-wife before we get too far into this relationship.

Kak idea ...

His boss tells him. ding-dong hello you are dating the village's only crazy ginger

(I have not been thrown to the wolves yet, we are still on for Saturday ... lets hope I can keep the craziness under wraps long enough for me to endear myself to him)

Mountains and molehills ...

2011-07-18T10:51:00.003+02:00

Hello and happy Monday! So guess what I did this weekend?????? Guess ... Here is clue ...

OK was the picture enough of a clue? :)

Swimming Lecturer, who needs a new name because well as you can see there was no swimming in the above picture ... So Swimming Running Lecturer and I run up and down a mountain this weekend. True story. My first trail run ever. We finished the race, not last and not on the safety bakkie, and to boot we did not even fall off the mountain either. This time there were medals! I had to take mine off to run on the treadmill this morning, I might have knocked myself out ... [lets not forget that there were no medals for my duathlon, I now only enter sporting events that have medals :)]

Ok now back to my run, it was 10km up, down and what felt like around the Iron Crown mountain, roughly the same size and Kilimanjaro ... put your eyebrows down, of course they are the same size! You run it then we will see ... Did you see my beanie and gloves? Arctic conditions I tell you, that girl in front of me with her jersey over her shoulders clearly was mentally unstable and must have a personality disorder.

The best kind of active is proactive

2011-07-15T09:15:00.000+02:00

TV pants and I have signed up for internet dating. Yip, speed dating is just not enough you know, when you are putting yourself out there and leaving no rock unturned, I find it best to cover all your bases. You have got to be in it to win it, tata ma chance ...

Ok so I just need to take some time to point out guys, that its not ok to;

put up a photo of yourself that is 5 years old - and date stamped
put up a photo of yourself arm in arm with your ex[current] girlfriend/wife
crop yourself out of aforementioned photo ... I can still see that blond hair and I know its not yours

Come now guys are you actively trying not to get lucky? In my next life I am coming back as a man, and I am going to be so good at it! I will be the guy others guys hate and all women love, just you watch, even if I come back ginger!

Anywho, at this stage I have more dates lined up than there are nights in the week next week. I might have to start double timing them on weekends. How do people have time for anything else? I think dating should be my new hobby ...

On other matters not related to anything date like or even slightly resembling a boy, I have a little matter of a 10k train run tomorrow. I am off shortly to buy a beanie and gloves, maybe even a scarf! This afternoon we leave for the mountains again - yes I was home just last weekend, jet setter I tell you, well more like master of the N1 :)

In more unrelated matters I thought the winter solstice meant that was the turning point of winter and things were meant to get better, its unraveling people, its getting colder I tell you, there is no hope, in a month's time we will be Eskimos. I am just saying...

Have a good weekend y'all!

Hey you duck there, come on, get in line ...

2011-07-12T22:26:00.001+02:00

School holidays are super sneaky, you know its never really a holiday, but you have convinced yourself that you need to take some time off - because well you deserve it. OK sometimes you do :)

So last week I did nothing constructive, lots of fun things, like cell phone up-grades and sleeping late, but constructive, not so much ... This week is all about being constructive, so far so good! Aside from that I had bendy pretzel class tonight, I think last week my saving grace was that I was new to bendy class so I got yoga-lite poses, but today, crisis in a crisis bucket, I was trying to lotus my inner warrior while finding my inner cobra and upside-down dog.

Aside from all that, I have developed the number one breakfast of champions, and it only costs 4 points, who's ready? 1/4 cup of Taystee Wheat, 1 cup of water, 1/4 cup of skim milk, and cinnamon with a smidge of salt; cook it in the microwave stirring every 30 seconds. Chop up an apple, sprinkle with cinnamon and add a bit of water, cover and microwave for about a minute. Add the apple water to the Taystee Wheat. Put the Taystee Wheat in a bowl, put the apple on top, add about a teaspoon of honey and about 100ml of fat free yogurt.

Yeah baby, who's ready for a brekki that will last you all the way to lunch time? Tis true, I have been on Weight Watchers for so long now that I can successfully feed an Asian family of 4 in under 4 points :)