:: Day 167 - Summary ::

Holding steady 160. Phew. Just one more feast to get through tmrw!!!

8am: 1 apple

12pm: Turkey broth with veges at MIL's


Main meal @ home
MIL came over for dinner so I whipped together a few asian style dishes and she brought a "ti pang" over. (pork shoulder?)
Garlic broccoli, chawan mushi (steamed japanese egg custard), sweet ginger tofu (baked)

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:: Day 166 - Summary ::

Yay!! No weight gain after TG Dinner! The planned worked!!!

Activities: Hmm...I think a movie with the husband is in order!

11am: 1 apple

2pm: Bowl of wheat germ soup

5pm: Dinner at the Higgins, clean up TG dinner leftovers
My plate and some fruit

My sliver of apple pie

Incidentally, this is my favorite thanksgiving dish... chinese sticky rice!

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:: Thanksgiving Day! ::

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Activities. None. Rolled up in bed. Tummyache. :( But I did spend 3 hours this morning cooking for thanksgiving diner.

8am: 1 apple, a few macadamia nuts

11am: Bowl of clear homemage vegetable broth, few spoonfuls of tomato baked beans soup

Thanksgiving Dinner
Our contributions: Nikki's Sweet Potatoes Recipe, Firecracker Cornbread (Heidi Swanson), Tomato Baked Beans Soup, Golden-crusted Brussels Sprouts (Heidi Swanson)

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:: fresh off the press! ::

Remember my partner-in-crime, Aylin? She started off her journey at 156 lbs. After the biggest loser competition, she was at 140ish. Its been 3 months since she's been back at Berkeley and now she's at 130.5 lbs. I could not be more proud of this girl!!!

Her strategy, in her own words:
Nutrition - Warrior diet on the weekdays, more fruits and veges in general.

She's now finding that she just eats less food in general. :) Go Aylin!!!
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:: Holiday Anti-Weight Gain Plan ::

For both TG and Christmas holiday weeks
-exercise every day

On big-eat days (TG, Christmas eve, Christmas, NYE etc):
- ABC juice in the morning
- Starvation mode in the day with access only to a handful of nuts
- Big eat dinner starts off with a medium salad and then followed by 1-2 tbsp of each dish. I am allowed to repeat until I am full
- Avoid fillers like bread and mashed potatoes
- Dessert ideally should be shared and avoid the ice cream
- Say NO to leftovers being taken home except for lean turkey meat and turkey/ham bones for broth

On post-big-eat days:
- ABC juice in the morning
- Soup in the afternoon
- And soup and salad for main meal

Got any tips?? Please share!!!
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:: Day 164 - Summary ::

This has gotta be the best diet plan ever! I eat light fresh live organic stuff during the day and then get to enjoy gourmet meals for dinner! I don't even feel like I'm dieting! Life is good - 160!
I went to Costco a couple of days ago and picked up a size 8 pair of pants. In my mind, I willed myself to fit into it. Got home and hurrah, it fit like a glove. Small victories. Now I just have to figure out how not to gain weight over holiday season.


Activities: 7am KB, 36 mins, 381 cal, HRa 150, HRm 168 I feel like these days with more 12kg work, its testing my grip more than anything. I wonder if those dragonball bells with smaller handles would help this problem?? Susan?
40 2-hand swings, 12 kg, 1 min
44 2-hand swings, 12 kg, 1 min
48 2-hand swings, 12 kg, 1 min
44 2-hand swings, 12 kg, 1 min
40 2-hand swings, 12 kg, 1 min
Rest = 1 min
6 sets x 6 mins = 36 mins

8am: ABC juice blend

12pm: Small bowl of cauliflower and cabbage soup

Main meal @ home
Toasted Wheat Germ Soup (Heidi Swanson)
Caramelized Fennel (Peter Berley)

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:: Day 163 - Summary ::

7am: ABC Juice, blended with 1/3 banana

12pm: Bowl of cabbage potato soup.

Main meal @ home with Derek
Risotto Barley with Winter Citrus, Pan fried organic potatoes, sweet potatoes and apple puree

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:: Day 162 - Summary ::

8am: ABC Juice

12pm: leftover vege soup, leek base

Main meal @ home
Spring white wheat risotto

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:: the life changing moment

You know why it's so hard to lose weight and be healthy? Because you have not experienced the life-changing defining moment in your life yet. The motivation is... just not there yet.

For me - it was when my dad had a stroke and I started to witness what it could be like to leave your loved ones before, especially my 4 year old sister. I didn't want to be an irresponsible human being and I wanted my family to be healthy. Stepping on the scale at my largest ever, 200, didn't help either.

What could the moment be for you? Sky-high cholesterol levels? Constipation? Not fitting into any of your clothes anymore? Whatever your moment is, I hope you don't wait too long for your moment and bypass all the signs that come your way. In some cases, it can be too late.
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:: 1-step grain-ola ::

My husband is a heavy heavy consumer of cereal... yeah the extruded kind. His argument is that "it's organic" and is a healthy snack option. I guess if you compare it to chocolate, cookies and cake, it is a better snack option. But...look at the flowchart below.



That is what the corn needs to go through before it is spat out in it's cute donut shape. Do you seriously think there could be any nutrients left and think about the harmless toxins that could've gone in? That is the prime reason why I follow super natural cooking ... I want all the nutrients I can get and minimal toxins as possible!

Today, I made 1-step grainola for Mikee. Mix it all together and bake in the oven at 300F. I am hoping he will fall in love with this heidi swanson grain-ola and forget about his cute extruded cereals. It is also 100% organic and best of all... super natural. All that his body needs! Contains: rolled oats, sunflower seeds, raw walnuts, dried cranberries, orange zest, unsweetened shredded coconut, agave nectar, coconut oil.


For those who want to research more,
http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/dirty-secrets.html
http://www.schaaf-technologie.de/breakfas.html
And of course the movie, King Corn, is very educational!
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