Artslim
 
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Healthy fried rice

Olive oil, 1 teaspoon(s)

Egg(s), raw, 1 42g egg(s), lightly beaten

Shallot(s), peeled, 3 shallot(s), sliced diagonally

Carrot(s), 0.5 small carrot(s), thinly sliced

Broccoli, 0.5 cup(s), chopped

Baby sweetcorn, canned in brine, drained, 25 g

Bamboo shoots, canned in water, drained, 0.25 cup(s), drained and rinsed

White rice, cooked, 0.5 cup(s)

Soy sauce, 0.5 tablespoon(s)

Sweet chilli sauce, 1 tablespoon(s)

Beef fillet, lean, raw, 50 g, sliced into strips

White wine, medium dry, 1 average wine glass(s)

Mixed Nuts with Dried Fruit, unsalted, 30 g, 1 snack pack

Preparation

1.        Lightly grease a non-stick wok or frypan with oil. Pour in the egg and swirl so that the egg covers the base. Cook for 2 minutes or until set. Flip onto a plate and when cool, roll up egg and slice.

2.        Stir-fry shallots, chilli, carrot, broccoli and corn until just tender. Add bamboo shoots, rice and sauces. Stir to combine and set aside.

3.        Add beef strips to the pan with a drop of oil if necessary and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until browned. Remove from pan and serve with rice and vegetables.

4.        Enjoy with a glass of wine and snack on your fruit and nut mix when you like!

603 calories total

TIP: This meal makes great leftovers, so double up the recipe and enjoy for lunch tomorrow!

 
 
 
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I have just had a wonderful weekend with family. I ate too much, I ate what I consider 'junk food', at the theatre with family and enjoyed the once in a while experience and I did not exercise as much as usual.   I did not spoil these activities by feelings of guilt and yes the scales this morning do show the upward results of a weekend off track from physical fitness goals but I am 'high', on emotional fitness, the family had a wonderful togetherness weekend and as far as I am concerned, that is fitness.

I fulfilled a great, ‘family’ feel good time, gaolJ, not that overeating, inactivity or non-nutritious food needed to be a part of this. It was simply an occasionally, fun experience, I was OK with this time.

That is not an excuse however. Weight mastery is about being accountable for ones actions.
This is where I have learnt t observe what I do, see what is working best for me and allowing me to achieve my goals. 

I also observe what I am doing that is not working, and I strive to make adjustments, (not feel guilty), so I can fully focus on and do the actions required to steer me toward my goals.

Today, applying my observations and corrections tool, I see that I am spending an increasing amount of time doing sedentary activities. While these activities are ones I want to do, they will eventually rob me of the fitness gains I have made and are once more, slowing down my gradual excess fat release and muscle and bone strengthening gains.  Therefore, I plan to readjust the way I currently work. I will still do the sedentary jobs I love doing and want to do, but I am training myself to do them more efficiently. The time management rule of working better and not harder.

Today is my ‘new start’ applying my latest corrections for the behaviour I observe in myself. I am focusing on time management This morning I completed three times as much work in half the time and I am now ready to make my active afternoon, count, knowing I did a great mornings work.

Use the tool of praise a lot, J, when you do get things right.

 
 
 
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My exercise yesterday was only incidental activity. Preparing and packing stock and giving it away or packing it ready to travel with us when we tour. I packed all the teddy bears I want to clear, downsizing stock. I only need a couple more good retailing weekends to sell out of these. 

Since I became interested in being fit and exercising more, I have totally lost interest in crafts. I just want to clear the remaining crafts from our small home, complete the downsizing. I still love my art and writing. I have donated all the fragrant soaps and gift boxes to charity. I am assuming I will sell out of the teddy bears that remain in just a couple of retailing weekends.  

When Reg and I had our gallery and exhibited professionally we had a portable EFTPOS machine so we could accept credit card for merchant service, this year I am only planning a couple of shows so do not need a professional set up. I hope to spend most of my time free lance painting and writing and enjoying very active afternoon bush walking and swimming.

We have not decided which direction we are travelling.  

Today Reg and I are going to watch out granddaughter Hannah, perform in the ballet, ‘The Gypsy Princess’. J These, end of year, performances are a highlight of our family life. J. When we get home, I need to tidy up some of the mess I made during the stock sort, yesterday, so one more day of fairly ordinary, incidental activity.  Two days off from exercise so I am reviewing my fitness exercise goals and making a recommitment to begin as from Monday: - Alternate weight-training and cardio workouts for six consecutive days and rest on the seventh day. -:


 
 
 
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Last night in the US, NBC aired another The Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now? episode, where we checked in on 40 former contestants to see how they are doing with their new healthy lifestyle.

Since the US. show's inception, over 18,200 pounds have been lost by contestants. Most have kept off the weight since leaving the ranch; some have gained back a bit of weight. But one winner has gained back almost all of the weight he lost on the ranch.

Erik Chopin of New York was the third season's Biggest Loser. When he first arrived on the ranch, he weighed 407 pounds and had a starting BMI (Body Mass Index) of 52.3, which is the highest class of morbid obesity, "Obese Class III." At the finale, Erik weighed 193 pounds and had a BMI of 24.8, which is the lowest class of BMI and is categorized as "Normal." He had lost 52.58% of his total weight and took home the title of Biggest Loser.

Erik’s  former trainer, Bob Harper  said  that Erik just needs to find a balance for his daily life.

I know how discouraging it is to read or to know people who are able to lose weight on diets and in weight loss programs and also with gastric band procedures who then regain the weight they loose and I want my blogs to contain positive not depressing messages.  What positive message can I add to the above?

I am using an

Observations and Corrections tool

I will explain the observations and corrections tool I use, in my next blog post.

Check out Erik Chopin's personal blog, where he describes the struggles he's faced since leaving the Biggest Loser ranch. Season 9 of The Biggest Loser is set to start airing in early January 2010.

The Biggest Loser Australia: Couples 2 (or The Biggest Loser: Australia season 5) is the upcoming fifth season of the Australian version of the original NBCAmericanreality television series The Biggest Loser. This season will introduce Hayley Lewis as the show's new host and will also see the return of trainers Shannan Ponton, Michelle Bridges, Steve Willis ("The Commando") and Emma Hutton ("Emazon"). The series is set to launch in February 2010.

 
 
Water Workout. 11/26/2009
 
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I was all dressed up to head out too gym to do my weight work when the rain came with a roar, in sheets, of water.  The gutters could not cope and it was towels to mop up as water ran down one internal wall. No damage done; I heard that all my neighbours had similar internal leaks, as the gutters could not handle the volume of water. Once again, the tropics have come to Victoria.

Outside the gutters were swirling in water, which as the gutters filled with leaf, and branch litter washed along the open drain, it blocked them and a flood was rising up over the road in front of us.  I put the computer on and they were predicting flash flooding in our area, it was happening in front of me. Storm damage, in the suburbs too, my former gym, in Narre Warren had an internal wall cave in and it was flooded.

 
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The rain settled but the flood kept rising as water flowed down the drain and banked up where it was blocked.  Then I saw Annie, a lovely senior woman from a few doors down from me.  Annie is more senior than I am, I would guess and not a well woman and there she was with a leaf rake, pulling at the branches and leaves trying to clear the gutters in the rain.  I went and started clearing with her for a while, we had a great chat, J then I convinced her to stop and go home, promising I would finish the job tomorrow when it was not raining.
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I stopped and had dinner; this is when I am glad I have healthy pre cooked dinners in the freezer ready to thaw and heat. Four-minute noodles, chicken, and vegetable stew, lovely.
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The rain stopped, I considered going to gym to do my weights, it seemed more sensible to return to the ditch clearing work, so I did. After I had piled all the leaf litter and branches on the bank, I carried it over to my beautifully soaked garden and piled leaf litter mulch 200cm deep over my entire front gardenJ. This leaf mulch was great payment for my work, that quantity of mulch would have cost me $100. easily and what better quality is there than aged leaf litter. J. A gardener’s dream and an extremely good work out.  

 The gutters are cleared and the water is draining away into Lake Victoria.

I was so hungry, I tucked into a big feed of prawns and cheese on dry biscuits far a second dinner, when I finished.
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Back on track and going to gym again.

 I missed it so much while I was resting for 6 days, while my leg recovered following a freakish accident. I am not doing a lot of walking on it yet so I am working on my 'Tuck Shop arms" and core muscles, exercises that go easy on my leg, for this week.  lol, Note the tuck shop arms are hidden in this T Top, which I just had made up.   It is the positive, "Nothing is Impossible, the word itself, means, I'm possible", quote from Audrey Hepburn and the artwork is my own.
Close up of my almost healed leg.  I will not be walking Indigo past that dog again.

Don't you love the avenue of poplars outside my home :-)?. Beautiful summer shade.

 Thank you everyone who sent best wishes for my leg to heal quickly :-)
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Tips for Guys, "What to give, when"?
Do you like to set fitness and slimming goals to coincide with special occasions?

Do you like to reward goal achievement or is attaining the goal, reward enough for you?

I have applied many rewards to mark special goals, as I find it makes the achievement even more fun and to coincide achieving a goal with a special anniversary is an added happy memory the anniversary acquires.

My husband Reg and I bought our Eco-tourer slipstream caravan, to coincide with our ruby wedding anniversary and a huge downsizing effort of both our home and my size. I decorated the interior of the caravan in soft furnishings with a ruby coloured trim for the 2008 tour, our fortieth, year of marriage. If I had seen the Anniversary Guide in the “Tips for Guys” section of Bella True, web site, I would have made that the home page on my computer, lol J, and added in a few extra hints, as a little ruby ring or earrings had also been on my hope list for the 40th Anniversary.

Reg loves me to plan events and rewards, and he needs more than just a gentle hint. I remember that to make sure I had some fine jewellery, to give me a lifetime of pleasure, for my 50th birthday, I took Reg to the jewellers and showed him a necklace in the window then gently steered him through the door, with cash in his hand, now you cannot drop hints more obvious than thatJ. I still treasure and wear the result of this gentle pointing in the right direction.

My man’s inability to feel at ease, selecting jewellery, is why I loved the “Tips for Guys" section in Bella True, suddenly personal, suddenly you, jewellery, web site, especially the “what to Give When”, section.

I have been thinking of trying to make my goal weight for the 50th Anniversary of Reg and my first meeting and our becoming friends, and asking for a replacement of the wedding ring, I lost over 25 years ago, as the very special significant gift to mark our 50 years of friendship. I am planning not so subtle hints. J I have a year to condition him. lol, J.

I could begin by asking him to proof read this post, lol J. That is a good start. The wedding rings page of Bella True, web site, could be used as my home page on our shared computer and putting a Happy 50th Anniversary of our first meeting and instant friendship, message on our desktop, with a picture of a plain wedding ring sounds like a great follow up plan. 

Then I need to do my bit and plan what I will give my man as his gift. J. A slim fit healthy wife is probably the best thing I can offer a practical man. I know he loves me, and wants to see this, because he wants me to be happy and healthy. Wanting me to be fit and well is the expression of true love, not the rubies or the ring I would love to mark the special occasions.

We are very fortunate to have been friends for almost fifty years and still be in love after forty-two years of marriage. That is worth more than golden wedding ringsJ, which is why I have been content to go without one, for so long, waiting for a very special occasion when we need to find something of significance to mark a very special milestone in our lives together.

 
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“Is addiction in your genes”?

“Why is one persons pleasure another’s addiction”?

“Why can some people do some of the following but rarely anyone can do all of the following”?

Balance work, leisure and rest.

Spend money on what we need and enjoy but never overspend more than we can afford to, or buy things we do not need.

Have a gambling flutter of only what we can afford and are willing to lose.

Manage in a way that does not harm their health, any of the legal addictive substances that are pleasures when used in moderation for many people, from caffeine and alcohol, to gambling and  Dutch Master cigars .

 Eat for pleasure, nutrition and body hunger and not for food addiction.

How can we ensure that habits we enjoy do not become addictions?

How can we manage addictions so that we are in control of our health, our life, our weight?

There are a few things on my list above, which I am not prepared to  even try, least I did like them and became addicted, what’s on your ‘dare not go near’, just in case, list?

Are addictive behaviours linked?

Looking at my own life, I see that the behaviours of workaholism and overeating are two addictive behaviours I need to manage, that for me are linked. When I stopped overworking, I was better able to manage my overeating.

Aversion therapy to overcome addiction.

 I was once quite addicted to my big serve of tasty cheese bread and red wine supper in the evening before I went to bed,  and it took a bit of shock therapy to break me of that. I did this by looking at a sideways picture of my belly, whenever I wanted to eat supper when not hungry.  That sure did the trick for me and helped me lose my first 20 kilo.

Substituting good habits for harmful habits of addictions.

I have found two substitutions that work well for me.  The first tackles my obsessive workaholism at creative and mostly sedentary work.  I take an active afternoon a break from sedentary work. My active afternoon, involves walking, going to gym, gardening or housework.  This commitment to an ‘active afternoon', helps manage my obsessive tendency to working extremely long hours at creative work and this in turn has helped me control my linked addiction of overeating for the pleasure of eating, not for hunger.

I also tackle my addiction to the pleasure of eating supper by substituting one habit that did not help me for another that does. I now have low calorie but still pleasurable, savoury tasting food, steamed vegetables and a 30 gram slice of low fat cheese and a cup of tea with skim milk, if I feel peckish late at night, instead of my former habit of high calorie savoury suppers a large glass of red wine.  if I am only desiring to eat and not hungry I will have a cup of tea with skim milk and about eight to ten nuts. This gives me the pleasure of eating without the weight gain caused by my previous addiction to the pleasure of eating in the evening. 

In searching for some answers I could share here,  I found this interesting and helpful web site,

Dr Phil’s advice,  click to read,->Seven Steps to Breaking Your Addiction.

I do not think many of us totally overcome past addictions. I suspect we simply become more skilful at managing them as we learn to love ourselves and understand our needs.  What do you think?

I would love to receive comments on this subject, from my blog readers.
 
Goji Berries. 11/23/2009
 
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Lycium bartarum - Goji Berries
Small red berries grow on what is best described as a 'vine-shrub'. Increased volumes and larger berries are produced each year. Plants take up to five years to reach maturity.

Sweet, delicious flavoured berries are delicious, eaten straight from the vine. They may be dried for year-round use.  These berries are great for snacks, used in salads, added to stews or baked goods.

Nutrients in Goji Berries

Goji berries are a very rich source of vitamin C. They are also a superb source of vitamin A, and have vitamins B1, B2, B6, E and are a famous antioxidant.

There have been many wonderful things written about Goji Berries, much of it is true.

Unfortunately, because the fruit of the Gobi Berry is a great healthy product, the fraud merchants use it to make false claims of everything from cancer cure to easy weight loss.  The only truth in these claims is that optimum nutrition benefits both health and metabolism but even here, fresh picked sun ripened fruit off your own bush/vine, will be richer in antioxidants and vitamins that a foreign imported ,highly processed or dried product.

Fresh is best and in many areas of Australia, it will be so easy to grow your own, Goji Berri.

Described as a mix between a cherry and a cranberry, I could not resist buying one today, from Garden Express at 470 Monbulk – Silvan Road, Monbulk, Victoria, 3793.

I saw firsthand the Garden Express staff, carefully packing the mail orders, I saw the healthy plants ready for direct sale or transport and they were all of a consistent quality.

 
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I arrived home with my 140 cm pot bush/vine, Goji berry plant and got to work immediately planting it. Our ground has been freshly soaked with rain and I brought my plant home, dug  the roadside bank, beside the  oat crop stubble paddock and planted my Goji Berry and under a poplar tree where it gets morning and afternoon sun but not the midday  heat.  I will be around to water it through summer and I read that these are drought hardy once established.

Because of some exaggerated claims made by some dodgy overseas marketers, promoting dried Goji berries  as a magic weight loss elixir or cancer treatment, over the internet, I am happy to put a link here to the genuine product available from a company I have always felt confident that I can buy healthy plants from.  Garden Express is a company well known as experts in the delivery of live plants ordered over the internet and by mail order.

Note:- I was not paid a fee for this endorsement.

I have not been paid a fee for making this recommendation of a product, I am doing this because I would love to see this healthy berry become a more commonly grown and eaten plant. Berries are nature’s most superb dessert.

 
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I used to believe the myth,:-‘obesity is in your genes’, and I could do nothing about it. 

For sure, the tendency to overeat, rich food in excess quantity to what my body was burning and to be a workaholic in sedentary creative activity was what was in my genes, and that lifestyle caused the syndrome x which leads to morbid obesity followed by more serious lifestyle illness if the cycle is not broken.

We do inherit behaviour and body types but what we choose to do about them IS in our own hands.

I did not always believe I was master of my own weight.

I once believed that I ‘tried’, to lose weight and short of extreme measures, I could not.  I did stick to Weight Watchers, points, twice.  I lost about 8% of my weight doing WW, but I then stalled at or around 102 kilo and I stuck there for months, still sticking to those points, 18 full months on my second attempt, enough to convince me (at the time) that it was impossible and that nothing short of starving myself could help me lose weight. That is how low and discouraged I once felt about my ability to succeed at excess weight reduction.

Concerned about my health risk because at that same time Reg was retired, and mine was the only income, I applied for life insurance and had my application ‘loaded’ due to my being considered high risk, due to my morbid obesity L and family history of early death from lifestyle diseases.  Seeing my own daughter at half my age at risk of developing the same lifestyle illnesses my family had, shocked me terribly. I longed to be able to lose my weight, to show her, it was possible.

In the end, it was her succeeding in reducing weight, by giving up her sedentary lifestyle, joining a gym, becoming interested in participating in a competitive sport and healthy portion controlled eating, that allowed her to achieve a healthy weight. She showed me that it was my lifestyle, not my genes, that caused me to be obese and it would be lifestyle not dieting that would be my way back to good health and weight management.

I’m not going to go on line and offer to sell my secret to losing weight without dieting for money.

I do not plan to sell the book, on how I lost weight without dieting.

Do not think the message is any less valuable because you do not have to pay for it.

Change your thinking before you can change your body.

If your current lifestyle is not supporting the person you now want to be, what do you need to change, in order to be the person you want to be?  No one can sell you a product to make you slim. There is no diet that will give you weight mastery. It is ourselves, our thinking, our lifestyle. 

Forget the diet, forget extremes, it is about a liveable, manageable, loving yourself, consistency.

Does your lifestyle support the healthy happy slim person you now want to be?