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...

Taking back control

I worked out last night, did level 2 of Jillian's 30 Day Shred as I tried level 3 the other day but still cant quite do ALL the moves, whereas level 2 I'm stronger at and can actually do everything :D

Another picture of amazing food and sunsets on vacation!!

It felt great to work out, its an action I can take to empower my weight loss!


I need to work on issues of control- I know that self-control and discipline are the keys to weight loss in eating and working out but I have a rebellious spirit! Part of me feels like eating perfectly is tooooo controlled, I cant be having fun in life...I need to realize that healthy eating can be fun too! There are so many healthful and delicious dishes that are more satisfying than a bag of chips!




Breakfast:

300 calorie Mango/Banana Naked Juice

Lunch:

290 calorie Amy’s mashed potatoes

2 110 calorie snack bars – south beach

810 total so far + 90 for coffee creamer = 900


Dinner:


150 calories of dessert-  a cup of fresh chopped strawberries mixed with New Zeland Happy Cow strawberry yogurt and a teeny sprinke of granola on the top


Soy 'chicken' scallopini by Gardein (made with quinoa, kamut etc!) They are SO good, I need to experiment more with them

I cooked them in Braggs, then I wilted two handfuls of spinach, a large chopped tomato, a few tablespoons of leftover bean and barley mix, a chopped onion, bombay seasoning + salt+pepper+lemon juice = a delightful chicken stew of goodness and only 170 calories!!


Total-  320 calories


1220 calories total, and the fact that I spent time making a healthy dinner paid of later as when my man made himself a late night snack of hash browns and cheese I didnt want any, despite the great smell! :D Success for me!


Workout:


I RAN all around the block, a full mile- I wouldnt have been able to do that without Jillians help, for sure! My lungs actually gave out before my legs did, they are stronger than my lung capacity!