25....and a renewed commitment to this weight loss goal!

I quite believe it, I just celebrated my TWENTY FIFTH!! WOW….a quarter of a CENTURY old already!

I love this style of cake!

I had a lovely birthday with lots of joy and suprises! My man baked my a mint chocolate cake with dark Godiva chocolate and organic sugar, all by himself! What a cutie! He also took me on a suprise birthday trip! My man took my camping at gorgeous Florida springs, and then to a hotel right on Daytona Beach!

our view, and the fabulous rocking chairs I loved!

I also got the perfect persent...a little blue box from Tiffany&Co!

With a horseshoe charm necklace I'd loved for years but had only ever had the imitation version of! There was also a romantic poem in the box that my man had written. I thought it was written by Tiffany's, and he had just signed it, and when he said he'd made it up all by himself I cried! It was just tooo sweet!

So happy!

Looking back over my accomplishments I felt it too, 25 years is a long time! I’ve done a lot ...

I learnt how to  function in the world on my own, going from being a child to a woman (kind of- still feel like a girl sometimes LOL). From 17 onwards I have lived on my own, paid my bills and worked through school...no silver spoon in life but hey, its character building right?

I travelled and lived all over the world- Africa, India, Belgium, Nepal, Tenerife, Australia, England and now I live in the USA. I spoke and read Bengali, and absorbed the cultures of every place I went, fuelling my passion for travel and appreciation for this earth and its people.

 I’ve gambled everything for love, leaving my home of London to move to the USA and be with a man I fell for on safari in India. '

 After being a bit of a gypsy I’ve found a home. Home really was where my heart was, London didn’t feel like home when my heart was in Florida!

I’ve adopted and cared for two adorable dogs that bring me so much daily joy.

I am finally able to afford to pursue my dream of going to college. I also work full time while I do that, and am proud of the fact that I’m putting myself through school and maintain a high GPA!

25 and HAPPY =D

There are still things to do though! Losing at least 10 more pounds is one of those goals! After my birthday celebrations and lots of cake I’m at 134 pounds….My goal is 125 this summer….

I feel like this is the weight that my body will look good. On the beach this weekend I had some candid photos taken while building sand castles (lots of fun btw- I love being a bit of a kid sometimes!!)

 Some angles looked ok, most didn’t, especially from the side! My stomach pooched over my bikini top in a crease, and that is NOT something I want to be worrying about when sitting down! Sure, its fine when I stand up and suck it in, but I don’t want to have to angle for a good photo while sitting!

I have been working on my posture, but I know that having strong abs and less fat are very important too!

That was my goal for this summer, to not have to feel self conscious.

 I feel a lot better, but not quite there…I still have work to do and I know I haven’t been really pushing it- Ive been doing my workout DVD a bit but not putting in sweaty hours at the gym!! And that is really the key to molding a body!

 New goals:

132 by the end of April- thats 2 pounds in 13 days, achievable!

128.5 by the end of May (minus 3.5 pounds)

125 by the end of June

Today’s Food Log:

Breakfast:

280 calories of Green Monster Juice (fruit+spirulina, pre made)

100 calorie VitaTop

50 calories of creamer

 Lunch:

440 calories of whole wheat and soy vegetarian sandwich

Mid-Afternoon Snack:
Cascade Fresh Fruit Juice sweetened yogurt, 130 calories


Dinner:

Recovering from the birthday extraveganza I went light- Spicy Tofu, pan seared + brocolli and cauliflower seasoned with lemon juice and salt!

So about 1200 calories, yay...!

Oh...and then a few pieces of chocolate left over from my birthday but thats allowed right hehe...and some cashews...

Are you sick of carrying around those extra pounds? I am! Goals for 2011..

My Story:

 I've been struggling with my weight since I first moved out of home at 16 and thought that ramen noodles and fries were the two main food groups.

I can’t blame my parents, but they didn’t really stress the importance of healthy eating when I was growing up- my mum, a British workaholic type A personality lived off sandwiches, biscuits and coffee  and tea, and my dad, a chronic diabetic, ignored his sugar levels and drank 2 liter bottles of Pepsi daily while gorging on sweets. I was a slender teen, but that was mainly due to running around all day and having a nice youthful metabolism. Little did I know that it wouldn’t last… :(

 At my peak, I was 5 ft 4, with a slender frame but carrying around 154 pounds! /blur

 I grew up and matured and gained a bit of nutritional knowledge. I started cooking and eating healthy. I trimmed down to a lovely 135 pounds....and then I started full time secretarial work AND part time college = lots of sitting on my bum time! The pounds piled back on, especially in 2009 when I ate all the office goodies at Christmas time and gained a horrible TEN pounds! I was at my desk eating red velvet cupcakes and pizza kinda like this:

 It took me FOUR months of working out and eating right to get rid of the consequences of ONE month of bad eating, and I realized that my body, now its its early 20’s was conspiring against me. It holds on to every single pound, as if urging me to reproduce. /no   nooo!

Recently, I’ve ballooned up to 143 pounds. Why?  Well, Ive been trying to be healthy. I work out on occasion. I eat right about 60% of the time. But its not enough. On week days I lack time (evening college+ 9 hour sitting on my butt work days) and on the weekends I lack self discipline. :(
 I’ve also been falling prey to eating like a man. What does that mean? Well, basically, I live with a man who can have dinner, then a snack, then another dinner of say, pizza, at 10 or 11pm….its REALLY hard to go to bed kinda hungry with delicious smells wafting from the kitchen and hearing his satisfied grunting as he tucks into another meal...not that any of these factors are an excuse -it is time for change!

Why?

Because.

I’m sick of it.

Im sick and tired of not feeling 100% fabulous in my bikini.

I dont want the summer of 2011 to be like the summer of 2010 and the summer of 2009 – not that I loath my body or anything, but I don’t like feeling self conscious all of a sudden, when sitting down to relax in the sand and seeing ripples of fat between my bikini top and bottom…

I want strength. I want to be able to rock climb. I want to be able to carry heavy objects and have the stamina to go on hiking trips with my University outdoor team.

I want to be able to run for ten minutes without needing to stop and take a breath.

I want to have the right body weight for my body frame.

I want my body to be proportionate. I want thighs that are as big as thighs should be……not bigger!

I want my body to be under my control, rather than controlling me

My Goals: Short Term:

135 pounds by Spring Break - thats a 7 pound loss from where I am now

132 pounds by April (Summer here in Florida!)

And long term? 130 pounds, and FIT! And looking like this when I sit on the beach (minus the fake tan and air brushing lol) :

Update:
10/19/2011


Well I have surpassed my original goals! I'm 125 pounds now and working towards 120 and more tone/definition/strength. I have more energy and confidence in my body, and I feel happier not carrying around all those extra pounds and toxins!

 My cheeks arent so big, my skin tone on my legs has improved dramatically from dimply to firm and my stomach has shrunk! The reality of how much it shrunk struck when I put on a pair of shorts that had NEVER fit me, and the fit just fine! :D
                                                               
                                                                  Before and After Pic

October 2011  compared to January 2011

 

Another UPDATE: 6/1/2012- Well I reached my goal of 120!! And I do look better on the beach now :D Im finally FIT FOR SUMMER :D

 

YOU can do it to...be patient, dont expect results overnight (It took me a while to realize that if I did 100 crunches and ate healthy all day I wasnt going to dramatically change overnight haha) but keep at it..because the changes will come eventually if you just keep at it....and when you get to your goal, nothing feels better :D

 

ME on the beach in Australia!