Weight Loss Wednesday Weeks 5 and 6

Weight Loss Wednesday Week 5 and 6

How far along? 6 weeks

Weight up or down? down... amazingly down..

Total weight loss: so far... 6.9Kg

BMI: 25.4

Clothes:  Tops and pants back to a EU38!!! 

Sleep: Because I've been on medication my sleep patterns are being a bit erratic... either I sleep a profoundly all night or wake up every 4 hours... nevertheless sleep quality is good.

Skin: My skin is looking great... can't really complain. Surgery scar is healing well.

Happy, oh happy dance...

Exercise:

-        Cardio: none. I know I need to be doing more but I was feeling tired due to medication.  

-        General circuit training: two "Arms and back" 55 minutes sessions of P90X

-        Walks: gone for a walk on an average of 3 times a week about 5 km each time. On a Monday we spend the whole day roaming the paths of Kew Gardens with my mother in law (8 hours almost non-stop but in a leisure pace).

Smelling the roses

Selfie in the gardens

 Food plan: No Sugars, No Grains. No milk. Only dairy I'm having is cheese (all sort of fatty cheese) and double cream.

Food journal: Was very bad. I didn't log anything for the past week or so. I n¡know... I will get back to it as soon as possible... like today? 

Saturday treat: Gluten free pizza
(almond flour base and three cheese topping). Delicious.

Sunday lunch: big salad with eggs and tuna steack

Sunday dessert treat: banana and berries home made frozen yougurt
No sugar added!

Food cravings: While in the UK and when my mother in law was around I really crave some cake and finally on the day we went to Kew Gardens I gave up and have a half portion of lemon and poppy seed cake... it was good but not as I expected it to be really... the other craving I've been having is "chipa paraguaya"... so last Sunday and after some search I found tapioca starch and bake this heavenly cheesey little buns and loved every single bit of them... check out the recipe here.

Cake temptation in the UK

The best wedding cake ever! Cheese and more cheese...

Chipa paraguaya... oh delicious chipa..

Happy or moody most of the time? I had ups and downs but it was mostly ups. Went to the most entertaining wedding I've ever been to like ever (Thanks Cath and Steven!), met a lot of new friends and family members, spent some quality time with my DH in London and had been spoiled rotten by my little brother since I came back to Spain.

At the wedding

Day at the beach with little brother and Bilbo

Best moments of these weeks: Cath and Steven's wedding, meeting the "stable boy" at the B&B we were staying who coined the acclaimed phrase of the weekend: "Was it worth it?" after asking me how long I've been with my DH... =) and coming back to Spain and being welcomed by Bilbo and my little brother.

Miss anything? I missed having some cake (not anymore) and drinking "cocido" (a typical paraguayan tea) with my "chipa paraguaya.

Looking forward to: having my mum over for the holidays... I can do some mami-time right now.

Baci per tutti!

Hasta next week!

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Okey. I has been a full month since I have started my #NSNG journey and I can report that so far it has been the best choice I've ever made towards health improvement and checking my food log I've come to realise that apart from the bread and pasta, what I'm eating now is very similar to what I ate when I was a little girl.

If something resonates to your brain as a logical thing, then you have to try it in order to either confirm the fact or refute it. In my case, the postulate that fats are bad for your health and sugar and grains are good it's something I grew up with because it was taught to us in school, the doctors always preached the same thing and you ended up believing it because everyone else did so. But coming from a country with an extraordinary yet not very famous cuisine where meat is ubiquitous and a meal is not a meal unless it has meat in it, I grew up on a healthy and nutritious diet, even though we had sugar and grains in it, they weren't the majority of the diet and we had our fair share of healthy fats and proteins every day.

The benefits I've been experiencing since following the #NSNG regime (it is not a diet, it's a way of life... or so they like to say) are fantastic and there in plain view.

On the physical side:

- I have lost 5.6kg in a month without hunger and discomfort. The biggest weight loss happened when I took away milk from my diet and replaced it with almond milk or coconut milk. I didn't replace all dairy, only pasteurized milk, I still eat cheese, butter and single and double cream.

- I have more energy and I feel satiated longer after a meal.

- My vegetable intake has been greatly increased. I even have vegetables with breakfast now!

- My migraines has stopped, not a single migraine during these 30 days.

- Even though I have reduced my workout time and sessions due to busy schedule, my weight loss hasn't been affected.

- No acne or chin breakouts anymore. Skin is not oily anymore.

- Hair is looking good and lustrous.

- Almost no sugar cravings and when I do give in is with berries and plums.

At Pearl Jam's concert in Milton Keynes (July 11th, 2014)
Happy because I was looking forward to this concert and
because I now fit back into a "S" t-shirt! 

On the psychological side:

- Lots of energy that translates in productivity and feelings of accomplishment.

- Not so moody anymore. Apart from some PMS symptoms that have actually decreased since I started #NSNG, mood swings are been rare which makes me a more tolerant person, which is great for the people around me... :)

- No comfort eating. No comfort drinking. Now I eat because I need to and I drink because I enjoy it, not because I need it at the end of the day.

- More confident dressing up now, not feeling the need to cover up all the time.

- More conscious about what I eat. I find myself checking the labels of everything and making smarter choices regarding food and drinks. Before I thought that because something was expensive it was usually better, and it turned out not to be so.

- More educated, because I needed to find out the truth about this thing that is making me feel better than I did in years which took me to read a lot of books on health, hormones and nutrition.

Happy with my raw coconut water in Covent Garden #NSNG

So, the 30 days are over but now it is not a challenge anymore and it is becoming a way of life. I like it and it does good to my body and mind, even my DH is beginning his challenge into the #NSNG after seeing the results and he is liking it as well.. and my little brother has started taking away sugar from his diet (he is keeping the grains in for the time being) and also seeing the benefits of saying no to added sugars.

I'll keep you posted on this.

Baci per tutti!

Leti~

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Weight loss Wednesday: NSNG Week 4

Weight Loss Wednesday Report

Now I'm beginning Week 4 of my “No sugar, no grains” (#NSNG) month and I've been logging my  food diary  everyday. It is getting easier with the cravings (not many really) but it’s getting a bit more complicated not to get bored with all the meat and cheese, so this week I began submerging myself into the “Paleo Recipes World” and my, oh, my, it is a big world.

I’m not following a paleo diet, paleo admits sweeteners, honey, agave and maple syrup whether #NSNG doesn't, and #NSNG let you have milk and cheese and paleo doesn´t. I think that when I finish my #NSNG I will naturally go towards paleo but I think I will try to stick to the No-Sugar as much as I can.

I've been reading a LOT about the NSNG concept and I cannot recommend you enough to read these two books ”Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease” by Robert H. Lustig, and “Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It” by Gary Taubes. I can bet they will change the way you look at food after reading them.

Give them a go. They won't disappoint you.

This is my week report:

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How far along? 3 weeks, beginning the 4th

Weight up or down? I was 3kg down with the previous regime, kilos I got back during my surgery rest. Weighted myself this morning and since beginning the #NSNG (22 days ago) I have lost 3.5Kg and I went down a pant size.

Total weight loss: 3.5Kg

BMI: 25.7

Clothes: down one size in pants.    

Sleep: I’ve downloaded the “Sleep as Android” app that tracks and monitors your sleep patterns. Been using it for 5 days but I still don’t really get all the date it provides. So far I get that whenever I sleep around 10:30 pm– 11:30 pm it seems I sleep way better than if I sleep later, even if I get the same hours of sleep…

Skin: radiant and clear. No spots or break outs..

 Exercise:

Cardio:  My friend and I began walking up the mountain again but due to the summer heat we changed our walks to 8 am – 8:30 am every day.

Walks: Three times this week with an average of 8km per day.

General circuit training: only 1 time this week so far. Tomorrow I begin week 2 of P90X.

Happy faces after an 8km walk

 Food

Food plan: No Sugars, No Grains. I began diminishing my dairy intake as well and got some delicious Coconut Milk and Almond Milk to help. Only dairy I had this week is cheddar cheese. Not giving up on cheese.

Food journal: logged my food journal every day in MyFitnesspal.com.

Food cravings:  bread. Any sort of bread. My brother has been eating sandwiches next to me and the bread was what I miss the most this week

Any sin? Wine, as usual.

Top right: coffee and coconut milk with banana and cinnamon pancakes.
Top left: Tuna salad and aubergine and zucchini gratin
Bottom right: Bacon, egg and tomato breakfast
Bottom right: octopus with ratatouille and cauliflower mash 

Happy or moody most of the time?  Happy. I've been back to sunny Spain this week and the Summer heat is hitting us intensely.

Best moment this week: Getting back to Málaga and having the most lovely welcome home from Bilbo.

Bilbo running...

Worst moment this week: Having to go to Málaga for some legal paperwork and having to go through the bureaucracy machine on a Summer day.

It's been hot... hot... hot...

Miss anything?  My hubby and some bread.

Looking forward to: Pearl Jam concert next week.

Until next Wednesday!

Baci per tutti!

Leti~

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Weight loss challenge: NGNS week 3

Weight Loss Wednesday Report

I have abandoned this section for a while. I have forsaken my weekly account of this challenge so basically you can say I kind of lost the challenge?... not really...  some circumstances (surgical procedures), a lot of travelling, finishing projects  and a change in my eating habits are to blame for this, but I’m back.

During this hiatus I gained a kilo or two (during the pause period due to the surgical procedure) but as soon as I began to exercise and move about again I lost them but losing weight began to be difficult even though I was exercising an average of 2 hours a day. So by my doctor’s recommendation and some research I began a challenge of not only losing weight but also a challenge to changed my eating habits and that’s how I began my “No sugar, no grains” (#NSNG) month. If you want to know more about this, read my post “No sugar? No grains?”

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How far along? 3 weeks

Weight up or down? I don’t know for sure... been in London for a week now and had no scale no check. I began this #NSNG with the same kilos I left before surgery.

Total weight loss: 3 Kg before I began #NSNG.

BMI: 26.5

Clothes: clothes are feeling better and more comfortable even though we've been kind of feasting with the new eating regime.    

Sleep: sleep pattern is better. Only change is that somehow I wake up earlier in the morning now, doesn’t matter how late I went to bet I’m up at 6 – 6:30am most days.

Skin: radiant and clear. No spots or break outs lately..

According to the professional opinion of my DH my skin is looking "radiant" :)

Exercise:

Cardio:  Only walks and more walks.

General circuit training: only 1 times this week

Walks: every day on average I’m walking about 8Km a day and on the weekend we walked about 12km each day.

  

Some of my breakfasts during this week #NSNG

  

Food

Food plan: No Sugars, No Grains... Yeap.

Food journal: logged my food journal every day in MyFitnesspal.com.

Food cravings:  none really.

Any sin? Wine and cider... several times this week.

Happy or moody most of the time?  Happy – happy. Getting better at this “London” thing. I’m still doing some decoration DIY in the apartment making it look cosy and pretty and I love doing that sort of things.

Painting the new shelves for the bathroom

Best moment this week: Our first real and complete “Tourist Day” in London. We've been to Tower Bridge, The Big Ben, The London Eye and we cruised our way from Greenwich to Westminster on a boat... beautiful day.

Our "Tourist Day" in London

I love this caption we got of The London Eye.

Worst moment this week: This morning... I’m going back to sunny Spain today so we had a great dinner with lots of wine last night so my stomach wasn't feeling very good this morning.

Great Dinner at Kew Grill

Miss anything?  My Bilbo!!!!!! and some nice Italian bread.

Looking forward to: complete my first month of #NSNG and to go back to P90X workouts.

Until next Wednesday!

Baci per tutti!

Leti~

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