just a tip of the hat...exercise

Sad but true, I try to exercise every day. Its become my routine to do a workout when I get home from work.

I don't love exercise, I really don't. So I make sure I have a few options always on the go. I tend to have a rough plan about which I'm going to do on any given day. And I do try really hard not to be all-or-nothing about it, if I miss a day its not a big deal.

from: overthesea

Bike with a show

This is my basic option, when I don't feel like anything else I'll watch a show I've "recorded" (totally legally, always :) ) while I wile away. I've come to realise exercise equipment is always going to be part of my family, I've lost the majority of my weight so far by spinning the wheels of a bike or crosstrainer, when everything feels too difficult the exercise bike is like an old friend who will ride a couple hundred calories with me. A good show also helps - the rule is nothing is too trashy for me and the bike :)

Exercise video

I probably do a video twice a week - Jillian had me at hello, so I do one of her multitude on offer, trying to live up to her high expectations.

Walk

The bff and I know how to pound the pavement and get through some serious talk-therapy while we're at it. Its good to walk with her, I really look forward to it, it goes fast because are so busy scrutinising te world and it schedules my exercise, which I like :)

My pals at Two Fit Chicks also make terrific walking companions via podcast. And Mr C and his super long legs make for a terrific exercise session too, and we always have the most remarkable things to talk about.

Mixing it up

Earlier this year I was working a job 10-14 hours a day and I was way too exhausted at the end of the day to exercise. Fortunately I was on my feet all day, hustling around so I got lots of incidental exercise. I decided rather than struggle with trying to fit in some extra exercise I'd give myself a challenge to not use the lift for the last 6weeks - I used it going "down" a couple of times, usually because I was with colleagues or the doors would spring open as I rushed past, but I never used it going up.  

just a tip of the hat...lunch

I work five or six days a week. I'm currently on a cushy version of my job but that is very temporary and usually I'm flat out all day. To be honest, I'm sometimes stressed out too. So something good to eat is essential for me, as silly as it might sound I look forward to my food and knowing I've packed something that fits the bill for my lunch makes my belly smile.

from: cuehappiness

I usually make my lunch for the next work day at the same time as I make my dinner. I'm in that "food preparation" zone and it make sense to get it all done together :)

Lunch is usually a salad of some description - tomatoes, capsicum (or peppers to you crazy americans) and baby spinach primarily make the base with one or combo of egg/tuna/potato/pumpkin/chickpeas/cheese/beetroot lumped on top - that part might from a can or be left overs from dinner.

Without giving it too much thought I guess its consistently vegies-and-some-kind-of-protein mixture. I went through a stage of only having vegies and I'd be flat within a few hours. And have too much gas to-boot :)

When the supermarket is just too much for me to bear and the fridge has slim pickings I take cheese and crackers with a V8 on the side - its luxurious enough for me to look forward to it and avoid the cafeteria (which inevitably always has sad soggy sushi or hot chips to offer) and its good in terms of calories and nutrition.

Mr C and the bff (and even the bff's mister) tell me original V8 is actually disgusting to everyone else on the planet, they all like the fruity versions though. I always have a couple of small packs in the fridge and I always, always, always have cheese in the fridge. Its not even a fridge to me if it doesn't have cheese in it. My favourite cheese de jour is this one.

And when that fails, you know I always have eggs handy and I make an omelet with (frozen) peas and feta/ricotta/cottage cheese (or whatever I do have) and take that in - reheated or cold its great.

I'm not a sandwich person at all, but I have been known to shock the pants of everyone with a sandwich - usually boring boring boring with vegemite/jam/cheese&pear/egg. Mr C loves sandwiches - thank goodness opposites attract :)

I might have mentioned before that lunch needs dessert for this girl. Its usually yogurt or dried fruit - if someone brings in morning tea I have to convince my stomach that dessert was had before the main event; a mint is good if it continues to struggle with the concept.

I usually have fruit sometime in the afternoon or in the car on my way home. Apples, bananas, pears, kiwifruit - I try not to discriminate. Not big on oranges or mandarins though; sorry, citrus fruits.

just a tip of the hat...the days to come

I'm not about to claim I know all the secrets in the world about weight loss but I have a couple of things that I try to do to make sure I stay on the straight and narrow and they seem to help me. So I thought I'd do some posts* about my version of Preparation.

I can tell you're excited :)

I'm a typeA personality, things are ordered, colour coded and listed whenever possible, it makes me calm and looks nice too :) The healthy changes I've made in my life remain a work-in-progress - they seem that little bit harder when I don't have things organised.

from: explosivegummybears

* This series of posts started out as a simple list of things, then I realised the list had some clear "categories"  - so living up to my self proclamation above, before I even knew it, I had reshuffled the list. So over the next couple of days I'm posting each category. Its riveting isn't it :)

things I'm loving...

A couple of years ago some friends and I were sitting around having a general moan about life and circumstances. It was all quite cathartic and meaningful, with lots of agreement amongst us about how annoying things were.

One of our group piped up and suggested we all proffer something we love, we were all the mood for some sharing of feelings and although this somehow seemed more revealing that whinging, we gave it a shot; a surprise letter in the mail from a loved one, the smell of fresh laundry, waking up thinking its a work day to find its a day off, Mum's roast and on and on we went, before we knew it we were interrupting each other to share our "happy" thoughts and there was a general feeling of sunshine in the air.

I often think of that discussion when I'm gloomy and dark and try to challenge myself to think of the more positive things in my life, and there are a-plenty people!

from: cuehappiness

So here's some things, all food naturally, I'm loving at the moment;
1. Prunes: The bff is a huge advocate, I've been on the fence saying dates are better but I'm a recent convert - love them
2. Pears: I've recently re-discovered my love of the humble pear, bananas are crazybucks in Australia at the moment so I've been broadening my usual apple and banana habit, I'm a big fan of pear and cheese sandwiches
3. Chickpeas: On pretty high rotation in the House of Landsoftly - if this recipe doesn't do it for you, you be crazy
4. Oatmeal luna bar: sent from my special supplier, thanks Mr C!
5. Tuna: love this one, in oil with chilli, on my lunch salad, the oil acts as my salad dressing too
6. Amaretto biscuits: there is no reason to explain - marzipan in a biscuit, delish!
7. Brussel sprouts: love them steamed with a dash of butter and sprinkle of salt
8. Flat white: I have to put this on the list, after realising how good Australian coffee is, I shall never take thee for granted again
9. Arnotts Royals: don't judge me, I know they are rotting my teeth, brain and stomach with their simple sugar stupidity, but who can resist a biscuit topped with jam and marshmallow all dipped in chocolate? not me, love love love
10. McVities digestive: I'm just getting it all out there, I'm a biscuit and tea lady, I blame a fellow fibre lover for getting me addicted to these, the crumbly texture is just devine, they are even better when dipped in chocolate (but what isn't)

So there you have just a few of my gustation obsessions. Hope you're all well out there.
R xx

fresh...

Ah people, well tell me, where have I been?

Well, I did get three weeks with Mr C during May - during which everything and everyone else got politely ignored. Those weeks were ahmazing, people.

from: cuehappiness

Otherwise, its more of the same that you all have going on in your lives - work, rest and play.

My weight has been pretty stable since my last check in - no down, but no up either. I'm on a cush-y job at the moment and have time a-plenty to get my exercise done and organise my food. I'm not overly concerned about it but I'm hoping to see some downward direction on the scale again soon.

Its winter in Adelaide at the moment and it is fresh out there; it has made outdoor exercise a little tough but my old pal Jillian Michaels and I have been busting some moves inside. And the BFF and I brave the cold sometimes to share our thoughts of enlightenment from the week, usually garnered from The Kardashians or Oprah; we spend quite a bit of time communally whinging about said cold weather too :)

Anyway, this is short and sweet - expect to hear from me more regularly again.

R xx

what a dish...

As most of you know I am living solo currently. An ocean is currently between me and Mr C while our tectonic plates merge together. This is an actual ocean, I'm not being metaphoric :) There are many many downsides to this state of affairs but there is an upside that I experience pretty regularly, and that is my indulgence is eggs.

Mr C will eat eggs, he enjoys them in fact, but he is not an eggmanic like me. I will gladly and greedily eat them with almost every meal. I discovered the most amazing little device that helps one cook the perfect boiled egg. I ranted about it so much at work one day someone thought I was selling them as some kind of side business. I would you know, I love this device so much I would gladly encourage anyone to buy it.  But I'm not selling them. Actually, they are such a wonder they should be free, like fresh air, sunshine and education. I imagine its some kind of faux paus to show it on here. But none the less, if you have come to the blog today on a mission to find the perfect egg boiling device then look no further. Ta-Da.

taken by moi at breakfast with my family on easter saturday - I had scrambled eggs with truffle oil and chorizo

Many of you know my home town of Adelaide and you know it is a place that abounds with cafes like no other. You won't be surprised to know I love to meet for breakfast as this combines all the fabulousness of Adelaide, cafes, eggs and good company. My favourite places understand my love of the egg; you'll have me "one good egg dish" but you'll never get rid of me with "how would you like your eggs cooked".

I have taken to recreate a dish I had with the BFF recently. Grainy toast with avocado on ricotta with mint and chilli, and I added a poached egg on the side. The waiter was clearly impressed with my choice and told me what a divine dish I'd just created and it did not disappoint; my stomach told my brain it was very happy and would like more of the same, please.

In my home edition I boil the eggs - learning to make poached eggs is something I'm saving for retirement, along with growing roses and origami (yes, my retirement years are going to be a hoot) - and forgo the ricotta for good old butter and a decent squeeze of lemon. It isn't so much becoming a staple meal but becoming the only thing I eat.

I hope you're all well out there,
R xx

a lesson...

I work in a job with constant education, I kind of love it and feel pretty lucky that teaching and learning is part of my everyday. Sometimes we have teaching sessions where we create mock situations or use each other to demonstrate how to perform certain activities, like lion-taming or boxing, for example :)

So the other day I got to work and ran head first into a teaching session. I was running late though and the only seat available was right next to the teacher. I was wearing an "i love teach" t-shirt and had a gift apple with me, so it was all very seemly.

Until I realised the session was about how to examine a knee. While a knee is not as personal as some other parts of our bodies it is most definitely not a joint I wish to flaunt or, indeed, have examined with twenty of my colleagues looking on.

Naturally teach could not see past my t-shirt and was so enamoured with the apple that my attempts to squirm away did not register. My knee was examined. In. Front. Of. Everyone. And I was wearing new jeans that I had not entirely convinced myself covered my entire butt appropriately.

The session was taking forever. I was so aware of The Knee, which was exposed in all its glory and had taken on a life and personality all of its own. The Knee was clearly unrefined, class-less and dare I say, rather unattractive. I am ashamed to say I shunned The Knee, like a geeky neighbourhood friend you only play with out of school.

To be fair, I was also quite concerned how much of The Butt was covered with denim. But, it was mostly The Knee. And it was clear to everyone The Knee belonged to me. It began to feel like my life was trickling by and I would forever be in this session having my damn knee examined with my butt hanging out and my colleagues looking on and, no doubt, thinking this was a terrible state of affairs.

I couldn't even make eye contact with anyone in the room. I knew I'd see scorn of The Knee. I knew they'd judge The Knee. And you know, that poor knee needed someone to love it. What did The Knee ever do to deserve this? The Knee needed a body that was proud of it. Even the uglist knee needs love. And who the heck was I to not oblige. The Knee actually did alot for me. It deserved my love and gratitude.

The class ended. I gave The Knee a rub, told it what a good job it had done and stood proudly with it, ready to bear the taunts and ridicule. Me and The Knee. The Knee and Me. We made quite a pair. We could conquer the world together.

Teach was chatting away, telling us that we would be unlikely to examine many young, fit knees like this one. This One? This Knee? Young? Fit? Well, rhhhheaallyy, I scanned the crowd and thought "you bunch of judgy judgers, this is a young fit knee, and you were all poo-pooing it, shame on you".


And, so you see, a moral is discovered on LandSoftly.

Hope you're all well out there.
R xx