Taking Charge: The Challenges

Moving towards a healthier lifestyle has its challenges: there are days when I don’t feel like exercising, eating healthily, where I’m feeling demotivated… I can deal with these but I have found that my biggest challenge is eating enough protein.

I know, right? I can just see your looks of puzzlement and surprise. How can I, a self-confessed carnivore, have a problem eating enough protein? Well, it’s harder than you think. With my new eating plan I’ve had no problems reducing my carb intake, but eating protein has proven a challenge especially as I have high cholesterol. It has been out with fatty meats - not that I ever ate much because I prefer lean meat but I do miss bacon! Red meat is a rarity as I only like the good cuts (read pricey and out of my budget) and I’ve therefore been eating a lot of chicken and fish. And then I went of chicken (it just tastes weird).

So what options am I left with? Not much it turns out. Beans and pulses are not an option for me because they are very starchy. Tofu is revolting and belongs in the same category as brussel sprouts and beetroot. I don’t eat eggs and there is only so much cottage cheese or ricotta anyone can eat. When my dietician told me how much cottage cheese I should eat in a sitting I thought she must be mad: a quarter to half a tub!

I’m starting to think that my disinterest in meat may be due to the fact that I am tired of cooking. There is nothing more demotivating than cooking for one person. No wonder single people live off ready-made meals. Woolworths knows what it’s doing.

On a positive note though: I’ve reached an incredible achievement in that I do not actually beat myself up or feel guilty if I don’t stick 100% to my eating plan, or if I decide to not go to gym on a gym day. I think that not feeling guilty is not only good for the soul but it can help me achieve more because I do not view the slippages as failures any more. For someone with ingrain guilt complex, that’s major.

Now to get my taste buds back into gear.

Taking Charge: The Wellness Journey

Last month one of my decisions was to find a health and fitness buddy. Lucky for me, my friend Kerri told me that she also wanted to improve her health and fitness. We therefore decided to go on a Wellness Journey together. Part of this journey is to motivate each other on a daily basis and help each other through the tough cravings and the lack of motivation. We decided to call it a wellness journey because that’s the ultimate goal to be healthy and fit and to feel good in our own skins, physically as well as emotionally.

In order to not lose focus we’ve set ourselves a bunch of targets which we would like to achieve.   My aim is to become fit, have automatic healthy eating habits, reach my 70kg goal weight and drop from a 36 top to a 34 and from a 40 bottom to a 36. I will achieve this by:

·         Sticking to my eating plan. This means:

o   Preparing meals in advance.

o   Drinking 2 litres water / day.

o   Eating out as little as possible and then only having healthiest options on the menu.

o   Not exceeding my 2 cheats a week.

o   Logging everything I eat.

·         Hitting the gym 3 x week:

o   When running I will gradually increase running time intervals. Currently two 5 minute intervals in a 20 min treadmill session.

o   Get a strength training workout from the gym.

o   Alternate between classes and strength training.

·         Walking for at least 1 hour once a week to train towards the 702 Walk the Talk.

·         NO CALORIE COUNTING BECAUSE THAT’S GOING TO MESS WITH MY MIND.

So far I’m not doing too badly. I’m going more regularly to gym and one of the trainers has been very generous to show me exercise sets that I can do. Full body workouts that just kill me but I actually am starting to enjoy them and the feeling of accomplishment that comes with it.

 

This is me lifting 15kg (The trainer only told me afterwards how much it was.  Sneaky!)

Last night Kerri sent me an email asking if I would be keen to do the Tougher than Dirt Run in November. My first reaction was “You have got to be kidding! Are you mad?” and then I thought about it. This is the year where I’m setting myself new challenges. After all, I decided to do the 15km 702 Walk the Talk. I’ve even started to attempt running, and I’m not coughing my lungs out when I do. So I said yes. It hasn’t quite sunk in, but crickey, yes, I’m going to do this and finish it.

See you at the finish line!



Taking Charge : Part 2

My friend Kerri sent me a link to a very interesting website: coachcalorie. It’s full of good advice on healthy eating and exercise.  Here’s a list of things from one of their posts that should help me on my weight loss journey.

Control Portion Sizes

In our super-sized food culture, portion sizes have gotten out of control. Eating portions the size of your fist is a good start towards controlling your food intake. Also, don’t feel like you always need to finish off all the food on your plate. Leaving a couple bites will teach you self-control.

Be Consistent

No one is perfect. We are all going to make mistakes. However, successful people are consistently living a healthy lifestyle. Over a period of time, they are eating healthy 90% of the time, and they are exercising several times a week.  Make exercise and healthy eating part of your everyday routine and soon it will be as second nature as brushing your teeth.

Plan

A healthy lifestyle takes planning. Most mistakes occur from a lack of a plan. Plan your meals in advance so you know what to buy every week at the grocery store. Only buy what you plan on eating, and try to cook your meals ahead of time. The simple nature of reheat and eat makes it much more likely that you’ll stay on track.

Get Active

Nearly everyone who lost over 50 pounds added in some form of physical activity. Even if it was just a little bit, the fact that they were more active helped them lose the weight. The trick is to find an activity you enjoy. Not everyone likes the same exercise. Find an activity you love to do, and then push yourself out of your comfort zone. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Don’t Beat Yourself Up

You’re going to mess up. We all do. Successful people don’t beat themselves up over it. They get right back on track. They don’t wait until tomorrow to do so either. Their healthy lifestyle and weight loss continues to move forward and make progress because they allow themselves to make mistakes, learn from them, and then end up stronger as a result.

Surround Yourself With Positive People

We are highly influenced by the people close to us. Many successful people had to move forward with their lives and leave old friends and lifestyles behind. It was a hard decision to make, but they understood how important it was to surround themselves with people who believed in their dreams.

Stop Making Excuses

Successful people made the shift and realized that the reasons for why they weren’t reaching their weight loss goals were actually just excuses. It was a hard idea to accept, but once they were honest with themselves, they spent less time making excuses, and more time finding ways to accomplish their goals.

Stay Positive

Negative thoughts lead to negative results. You are the result of what you think. Keeping a positive outtake on your weight loss journey increases the odds of your success. You will learn a lot about yourself during your lifestyle transition. There will be many challenges and difficulties, but it’s important to understand that even though it might not be easy, it will be worth it.

Don’t Try to Be Perfect

If your goal is to be perfect, you’re already setting yourself up for failure. No one is perfect. Even the people who seem to have the most perfect bodies didn’t get there by being perfect. Perfection is something many strive for, but ultimately something they will never achieve. Do your best!

Never Give Up

Weight loss happens the moment you don’t give up. Many people don’t realize how close they were to achieving success. There comes a time when things just click, but that doesn’t happen until you’re ready to throw in the towel and call it quits. The longer you stick with it, the higher your odds of success. Keep moving forward, and don’t ever give up!

Hanging on to the Bandwagon

I trust and respect myself and deserve to satisfy my inner needs!

(Thank you to Clemma for this cute pic that made my day)

The last couple of weeks have been interesting, between going to the DRC for work, getting ill and eating big doses of antibiotics (dear Augmentin manufacturer, please make your pills smaller so that they are easier to swallow), and starting my first project managing role.

I have managed to lose some more weight and cms since my last weigh in 3 weeks ago, so I’m definitely getting my carb / protein ratio right. I will not pretend that it has been easy. Being ill made it even harder to be disciplined. The last thing I’ve wanted to do is cook. I did manage to make myself some soup for lunches last week, but suppers have been opportunistic and far from being a healthy choice at the best of times. I’ve also not been to gym for 2 weeks and I’m craving it! My lungs are finally clearing up so I should be able to slowly get going again.

I realise that I need to make a bigger effort to have home-cooked supper meals readily available. As my housemate is only home 2 or 3 nights a week, cooking for one is rather tricky. And I’m utterly not in the mood for cooking these days. There are some unidentified frozen dishes lurking in the freezer. I think it’s time to investigate them. Toss out what shouldn’t even be in the fridge. The sad thing is that there seems to me more condiments in that fridge than anything else (mostly my housemate’s. Do we really need that many? There are many variations on the chilli theme. I think she forgets she has that stuff and I don’t go near it, I like my taste buds). Once I’ve done that I need to be really prepared and disciplined.

It’s very hard to do this solo. Last year I did a challenge with Sean and it worked well until he bailed out on me. I need to find someone who is determined to get healthy, who will not sabotage the process, and who will rise to the challenge.

On the positive side of things, I am making more time for me. I have stopped accepting every invite that is being sent out. I am getting back in contact with my dear friends with whom I feel I have not been communicating enough. I’ve realised how much I miss them. I’m watching less TV, reading more and spending time in my garden. I’m also trying to look after my skin better: no more skipping on cleansing my face at night; I make sure that I treat my nails and cuticles every night; applying hand cream after every time I wash my hands; moisturising! This is all part of the Looking After Gerlinde Plan: pampering (without breaking the bank) and giving me some much needed love.

So here is the plan for the coming weeks:

1.       Find a health and fitness buddy who will not bail out on me.

2.       Make more time to see close friends.

3.       Sort out the fridge and toss anything unhealthy / old and manky / mysterious.

4.       BE DISCIPLINED AND PREPARED!

5.       Plan weekly meals.

6.       Get back to gym (at least 3 times a week) and start training for the 15km 702 Walk the Talk.

7.       Eat out not more than once a week, preferably not more than twice a month (my finances will be grateful too).

8.       No take-outs or convenience meals (happy waist and wallet).

9.       NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER SURRENDER!

Taking Charge

This year I’ve been struggling to loose weight. Even though I've been following the weigh-less eating plan, which workined so well last year, this year not a gram came off. I therefore decided to see a dietician to determine where I was going wrong.

It turns out that most of my eating was correct but I was eating too many hidden carbs i.e. milk and yogurt. That came as a surprise as I’d always considered those to be proteins. The dietician has put me on a plan where my breakfast and snacks are very different. I need to eat a protein at breakfast and preferably some in the afternoon too. It’s been quite the adjustment to give up my cereals for rye with cottage cheese.

At my first weigh-in I had l lost some weight and cms. I was elated. Then I went on holiday and the weight popped back on because it was harder to make good eating choices, and with easter eggs and hot cros bun temptation... Need I say more. Things went pear-shaped from there. I was trying to keep the amount of fat down while increasing protein intake in my meals. I found myself reaching for chocolates and crisps even though I knew I shouldn’t and that I would feel ill afterwards. I kept finding excuses for not going to gym. I kept finding excuses for everything.

It got to the stage where I felt desperate and weepy all the time (I shouldn’t feel that way as I’m on anti-depressants). I took myself to the shrink and had a big fat chat about everything that had been happening in my life. A light went on when I realise that I was emotionally running on empty. I’ve been giving a lot of my time and energy to my mom and some of my friends who were in dire need of it (you just don’t abandon friends and families in crisises). So much so that my reserves got depleted and I did what I always did: reach for food to fill that gaping hole in my soul, even though it didn’t satisfy the need.

I also spoke to the dietician who forbade me to count calories in any shape way or form. She said I could continue logging what I ate but that I must not even look at the nutritional information (unless I was buying ready-made meals). The good thing of that visit though was the fact that I had lost weight and cm, which has motivated me.

I now need to do the following :

1.       I need to write a daily affirmation. If I can write 3 affirmations in a row then I must treat myself to something. I realise that is going to have to be something not money based as I’ve been doing the same thing with money as with food: buying things to fill the gaping hole. This will be tricky but I’m sure I’ll figure something out.

2.       I need to stop and analyse how I feel every time I reach for comfort food. This should help me identify if it’s boredom, emotional, hormonal related, as well as help step out of the vicious circle of using food as means of comfort.

3.       I mustn’t beat myself up over bad food choices.  This feeds into the analysis of why I reached for the bad foods. I should strive to do better every time I lapse. Starting the moment after the slip-up (not “tomorrow I will do better”).

4.       I should decide what my 2 cheats for the week are going to be at the start of the week.  That way I can look forward to them and hopefully be less likely to slip-up.

5.       I need to make time for me, to allow myself to re-eneregise. This means I have to be a bit more selfish. This doesn’t mean that I stop giving the support, but rather give it out in controlled quantities.

I AM MY NUMBER ONE PRIORITY! I AM IN CHARGE OF MY LIFE!

Road Tripping

Tomorrow is a public holiday (Human Rights Day) and the start of a nice week and a half long break. I have been looking forward to this break since December when I booked my plane ticket to go visit my friend Jen in Port Elisabeth.

I have been threatening for ages that I would go visit and I just never got around to it. Finally I decided to be spontaneous (It's amazing what a bonus will do) and I'm leaving on a jet plane on Friday.

I'm so excited!

I've never visited PE. The only things that I know from that area are the Addo Elephant Park, St Francis Bay and Jeffferey's Bay. Jen has promised to show me all the hidden gems, and when we are not traipsing around we'll be chilling by her house overlooking the sea. When they say seafront property, Jen's place is what they have in mind: sea, coastline, house.

This Saturday we are going to Tsitsikamma to do the Canopy Tour and then on to Knysna, where there happens to be a Literary Festival that very weekend. We are lucky to have some free accomodation in Knysna thanks to a friend's mother who lives there. I've never done the Garden Route and am quite happy to finally be exploring some of it.

I am equally looking forward to seeing Jen and catching up on everything that's been happening in our lives.

Bring on the Holiday Road Trip!

PS: I will be posting about my adventures, don't you worry.

Ponderings on Urges

I read an article today on Women24 (yeah, not THE greatest source of literary writing but fun nevertheless) where the writer pondered on the lack of sex women seem to be having. She mentioned how pre-marriage people tend to shag like bunnies and then it dwindles (is this true my dear married friends?), most often the cause being having children, which I can understand as they do take up a lot of time and energy. Then she went on to say “Maybe ladies need to take their cues from men – don’t over evaluate or examine sex. In other words, don’t look for a reason, just a place!” And another article I came across talked about how to have a guilt-free one night stand.

Now I have been single for almost 2 years. I also have not had sex in 2 years (and I have not had mind-blowing sex in 4 years). Am I sexually frustrated? More than  anyone can imagine!   I however refuse to have sex with total strangers just to satisfy my urges. Sex for me is deeply emotional. Also in this day and age of rampant STIs and HIV/AIDS, do you really want to get hot and steamy with someone who’s sexual history you know nothing about?

Over the years I have confirmed that the majority of single guys out there only want one thing from a woman. And shagging willy-nilly will not help anyone (man or woman) find a long-term partner. If a man is serious about a relationship, then I firmly believe he will wait a few months before jumping in the sack. Think of Sex and the City. Were the girls ever satisfied with their random encounters? Of course not.

Am I an old-fashioned biddy? I don’t think so. When I was an insecure student I did have a few one night stands. I didn’t enjoy them and I felt used afterwards. It took me a long time and many unsatisfying encounters to realise that I’m worth so much more. I grew developed self-respect. I have not always made the best choice when it came to dating. Some men I ended up with because I was at a desperate stage, thinking I would never find anything else. They are the men I regret dating the most.

So even though my libido is through the roof, I will not head off for the nearest guy for a shag. I refuse to give in to our society’s propensity for instant gratification. I have come to terms that I am likely to be single for the rest of my life, as men feel threatened by smart, tall independent women (by the time you reach my age, the guys who aren’t intimidated by such women are all happily in relationships with said awesome women who were lucky enough to get to them before the rest of us). I am luckily not the type of woman who needs a man to feel happy. As a single child I learnt to be happy by myself. I don’t want someone to complete me but to complement me. I have my family, my friends and my cats. So I’m content. Yes a relationship would be lovely but not a necessity.

And until I meet a man whom I’m attracted to physically and intellectually and who feels the same about me (highly unlikely as it may be), my sexual BFF remains my trusty rabbit.

Around the World in 80 Meals: Saigon

We went to eat at Saigon in Rivonia. I love Thai / Vietnamese food so I was really excited as my all time favourite restaurant, Cranks, had closed down due to very shady happenings (attempted murder, cover-ups, scandal!).

We had quite a large turnout, around 20 people. Once everyone arrived we waited quite a while to place our orders. Having arrived at 7, ordering around 8, we only got our food at 9, after inquiring numerous times as to where our food was. Now I understand that we were a big table. But 1 hour? And later, after most people had left, deserts were ordered which took almost 1/2 hour to arrive. For 3 deserts! I mean really.

The food itself was okay. But I've had nicer food elsewhere. Many people have raved about Saigon but I will certainly not recommend it. You'll have a nicer selection, and tastier food at Kai Thai or 2 Thai 4. And most definitley better service!

Movie Review: Les Misérables

And herewith another movie review. I need to catch up on the lack of posts.

LES MISÉRABLES

For those who do not enjoy musicals this movie is not for you. Some friends complained that there was too much singing, but being a musical, singing is to be expected. I’m a fan of opera and I’m guessing that this would be the reason why almost continuous singing does not disturb me. But let me get to the review.

A solid performance was given by all actors. I was quite stunned that Russel Crowe could really belt out and I felt he even had a much better voice than Hugh Jackman. But great acting from both of them and from the rest of the cast too.

Spoiler alert: Set in early 19th-century France, it is the story of Jean Valjean, a burly French peasant of abnormal strength and potentially violent nature, and his quest for redemption after serving nineteen years in jail for having stolen a loaf of bread for his starving sister's child. Valjean decides to break his parole and start his life anew after a kindly bishop inspires him to, but he is relentlessly tracked down by a police inspector named Javert. Along the way, Valjean and a slew of characters are swept into a revolutionary period in France, where a group of young idealists make their last stand at a street barricade.

I had never heard the musical but I knew the story, having read the novel written by Victor Hugo. It’s an incredible story about love, obsession and redemption. The music has some good anthems but it did not wow me like Phantom of the Opera did.

If you go watch Les Misérables you will need to bring a big box of tissues with you. Be you man or woman you will succumb to the sniffles and snot fest. I’m not kidding. It will jerk your heart strings. The entire cinema, including myself, was sniffling and snorting by the end.

My only gripe: the lack of a steadycam. Continuously moving camera bouncing up and down makes me nauseous. When I look at the world my brain acts as a steadycam and I therefore don’t understand why directors use that technique. It does not give a more “realistic” feel to a movie. It’s just annoying.

But overall, do watch Les Misérables.

Movie Review: Argo

With the Golden Globe and Oscar season come and gone, I have watched a couple of the nominated movies. First one on the list was Django Unchained. Next came Argo and Les Misérables.  

ARGO

As we know it won Best Picture at the Oscars. And for very good reasons. It is an extremely well directed film (well done to Ben Affleck for showing the world what he’s seriously capable of, and thank you to Clooney for producing and having the faith that Affleck could rock the world’s socks).

Spoiler alert: In 1979 the Shah of Iran fled into exile to the USA as the religious fanatic Ayatollah instigated a coup. During this time, protests happened all over Teheran and the American Embassy got besieged. The rioters broke into the embassy and took the embassy staff hostage. During the break-in, 6 staff members escaped and took refuge at the Canadian Ambassador’s house. Argo tells the story about how a CIA agent (played by Ben Affleck) concocted a completely hare-brained idea to get those 6 people out of Iran. The idea was to pretend that a movie director was location scouting for a sci-fi movie and had decided that Iran would be an ideal location. The embassy staff would be members of the directing team. The name of the movie: Argo. The Iranian government bought the story hook, line and sinker and the people were rescued. The embassy staff taken hostage were eventually all released after 444 days.

The movie is well paced, full of suspense that will have you on the edge of the seat. If you don’t find yourself egging on the plane to take off and get into international air space then there is something very wrong with you. The acting is excellent and what I appreciated is how closely the actors resembled the real people, without a mountain of make-up.

Beside the good acting and well directed film I enjoyed the fact that they recreated historical events with great accuracy. Also, the synergy between Alan Arkin and John Goodman is wonderful.

I wholeheartedly recommend Argo.

Fucking Predictable

I've fallen hook line and sinker for a guy who is not available.  I suspected it but my heart wouldn't listen to my brain and I feel hard. And now my stupid ticker is paying the price.

Story of my fucking life. And I'm utterly mad at myself for letting that happen.

Round of applause everyone!  I'll be here The rest of my life.  Thank you!  Thank you!

Mies Julie: A Review

Last night I went to the Market Theatre (for the first time) to watch a remake of the 1888 play Miss Julie.

The play has had numerous interpretations in the last Century, but I think this one will remain the most powerful. It was presented at the Endiburgh Fringe Festival in 2012 and was chosen to be amongst the best plays that year.

The South African playright and director Yael Farber, reinterpreted the story, setting it in a kitchen in a karoo farm, 18 years into the new South Africa. It deals with the relationship between a young woman, Mies Julie, (played terrifyingly well by Hilda Cronje), a young black farm hand, John (outstanding performance by Bongile Mantsai) and Christine, John's mother (achingly haunting) who brought Mies Julie up as her mother dissacociated herself from the world. And throughout the story floats the ghost of an ancestor.

It deals with ancestry, race, freedom, sexuality in a fiery intensive way. "The storm is coming. It will break soon" is repeated a few times and centers the theme of the play.

I came across The Guardian review, which encapsulates so much of what I felt watching the play.

It runs until 24 February and I recommend you go see it. It is NOT for the faint of heart. Emotions will run hard and you will feel uncomfortable at times. But the intensity of the performances will blow you away. You will ache, you will cry, you will feel emotionally confused and will struggle to take sides.

I loved it!

Around the World in 80 Meals: Troyeville Hotel Review

I have recently joined a Meetup Group called “Gauteng Expats”. One of the events that are organised regularly is called “Around the World the World in 80 Meals”. The aim is to meet new people and discover new restaurants that are not your run-of-the-mill places. I'm going to do monthly posting on the places we visit, that way you, dear reader, are also inspired to explore our lovely city.

Last saturday we went slumming in Troyeville and trotted to the Troyeville Hotel. It really is in a dodgy part of town. I came via Joe Slovo Drive but next time I will come via Bruma. It might be a bit longer but it’s less dodgy.  The area might not be salubrious but the restaurant and bar were packed. I guess all the locals from Kensington know about this little gem.

The restaurant at the hotel served really good Portuguese and Mozambican food. The menu was not extensive, but what was served was really good and very reasonably priced. I had the L.M. Prawns. Nice big ones. The manager was welcoming and came to give us the specials and his recommendations, the waiters were friendly and efficient, the food came fast and was excellent.

All in all we had a great night. I met some nice new people and I’m looking forward to more Meetups.

Troyeville Hotel Address

25 Bezuidenhout Street Troyeville Johannesburg 2094 South Africa

Telephone: +27 11 402 7709 Fax: 086 509 4584

 

Chalk and Cheese

I have spent the last to days in the tiny town of Kathu in the middle of the Northern Cape. The only reason the town exists is due to the very big iron ore mine next door. I refer going to site as going to Mars.

Because I was staying overnight I was booked into a guest lodge used by my company. I have to say that if ever I have to stay overnight in Kathu it will not be at Lidikwa Guesthouse. For the following reasons.

I arrived at the house around 5:30 after I had left the mine. There was nobody at reception. There was no envelope with my name and a pair of keys in it. I eventually found a gardener who was washing cars and he went off and located one of the helpers who in a very surly manner gave me some keys.

I found my room. Not big but clean and that's all I really need for one night. After a dip in the pool I took a shower. Luckily that I ALWAYS pack shower gel when I travel because there was no soap or shower gel provided. I mean, don't people wash their hands in this town?

Next I planned on charging my phone. Not one two-pronged plug to be found. I eventually unplugged the TV and precariously perched my phone as the plug was way up.

In the morning I rock up at the breakfast nook. No one in sight. I had been told breakfast was served between 6 and 8 and I got there at 6:45. A sign tells the guests to please help themselves to the lovely selection of cereals, fruits and yogurts. By cereals they mean Rice Crispies, Corn Flakes and muesli that has seen better days. No sight of fruit or yogurt. Nor milk for that matter. I finally located the kitchen to find milk. Then the urn for hot water was stone cold, clearly never having been switched on that morning. Although I called out to see if there was anyone, no one responded and I ended up getting a muffin and coffee at Wimpy.

And this is the place our company uses. I intend lodging a complaint. I don't want to hear excuses about how it's a one horse town and standards are different etc. I've had better service in the middle of seriously nowhere.

By comparison, last week I slept over in Polokwane at a stunning B&B called Victoria House. Superb service, friendly staff, spacious charming room (with all the essentials), royal breakfast. The owners even recommended restaurants where they have an agreement that the restaurant bill is spent to them to be added to the B&B bill. We ate at Rhapsody's where we were charmed by excellent service and great food.

I will certainly stay at Victoria House again. Lidikwa guesthouse? Not a chance!

Getting Started

With a new year come resolutions and these are generally adhered to for a few weeks and then get ignored for the rest of the year. Last year I did pretty well but this year I intend to excel!

I started on Weigh-Less just over a week ago and I shed 2kg, even though I was away on site visits and there were a few birthdays I attended. I feel that is a fantastic motivator to continue!

But to feel better here are 7 simple rules to get you kickstarted. They don't involve a detox because detox diets out there are more likeley to do you harm than good. And they are quite simple methinks.

1.       Cut coffee down to 1 a day and drink more herbal tea.

2.       Drink ginger tea. It’s really easy to make at work and you can drink it all day, it’s a lovely metabolism booster and body cleanser. Or make your own ice tea without sugar (if you need the sweet use xylitol or stevia).

3.       Cut out all junk food (that includes soft drinks). You can do it! It’s actually quite awful stuff. Mostly made of cardboard with seasoning and oil.

4.       Buy fresh ingredients and make your own salads and veggie dishes. You can add some lean protein on the side. And eat fruit twice a day.

5.       Leave out the carbs at supper time (or keep them to an absolute minimum, like a crumbed chicken breast or crumbed fish). It’s simple: you just don’t need an energy injection a couple of hours before you lie down to sleep.

6.       Try not to drink alcohol during the week and do some exercise. These go hand in hand for me. I always feel so great after I’ve had a spot of jump-up-and-down, I don’t feel like drinking... most of the time. And on weekends when you want some alcohol stick to a light white wine. A pinot noir is a very nice option. There’s a gorgeous one from Simonsig (available at Woolworths only) that will not make your wallet cringe.

7.       Water water water! Still or sparkling. Don’t go for flavoured as it’s full of sugar and other nasties. You can add mint, lemon verbena or lemon to your water for a refreshing flavour. And avoid fruit juices as they’re sugar traps. Get yourself a 750ml bottle for work and make sure you drink 2 of those while at work. Have a few large glugs every time you think you’re hungry. You’ll find that you probably only thirsty.

It’s all about breaking the habit. Try the 21 day rule. If you can break it in 21 days, you’ve done it. And then stick to it for the rest of the year!

Ginger Tea

This makes 2 cups

2cm fresh ginger

2 wedges of lemon

Peel the ginger and chop it into thin slices. Place the ginger and lemon into a container and fill with just boiled water. Let it steep for five minutes before drinking. You can make a large jug and keep it in the fridge once it has cooled, but make sure to make a fresh one each day.

Kick-starting the new year

2012 has predominantly been a good year. I achieved quite a fw things on my bucket list, I got to go to the UK for the first time and had a blast, I lost weight (though some came creeping back), I enjoyed my work and I met many new and interestng people.

Yes my grandfather died and I was diagnosed with stress and anxiety induced depression, but's all part of life. I miss my grandfather very much and there is a bif sore hole I walk around with. I will never stop missing him but with time the pain will lessen. AS for the depression, happy pills make life much easier and te ones I'm on don't affect me like othe anti-depressants would. I actuall sleep well, something quite novel to me, and my libido hasn't taken a dip. I accept that this is something I will be living with for the rest of my life and I'm okay with that.

As for 2013, I think it will be a great year. Or at least, I plan to make it great. There are a number of things I am looking forward to: Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Metallica live in concert, and a trip down to PE around easter.

Then there is my bucket list, which is so much fun! I can't believe I waitedso long before putting one together. I guess I had to be in the right frame of mind.

I'm already starting the year 2kg lighter than when I left on holiday (thanks to insane temperatures in the kruger that made me live off water and a salad because it was too hot to eat anything else). My cousin Verena and my friend Lia's weight loss has inspired me to get back on board with weigh-less and to get fit again. I had done really well last year and then I got really ill over winter, that coupled with an overseas trip and my grandfather's death had a detrimental effect on the weight-loss and I piled on a couple of kgs. This year's aim is to loose 20kg. Fingers crossed. Healthy eating has started as of today and I know how hard 2 weeks of no coffee is going to be. That's the only part of weigh-less I don't like.

So here's to 2013! Bring it on! And who knows, I may meet the man I deserve this year ;-)