No truer words than these. There have been days during this journey where it would have been WAY easier to throw in the towel, but instead I stuck it out and persevered. The only good thing I ever quit, was smoking cigarettes… Quitting Dukan? Ain’t gonna happen…
Stop quitting!
When I started the Dukan journey on August 20, 2011 I didn’t think that I would be nearing the 170’s in February. I thought about what a daunting task losing 90 pounds would be. And that 90 pounds would only bring me to Dr. Dukan’s “Ideal Weight” for me, not MY ideal weight.
But, start I did. And what a fabulous journey it has been. I’m down 67 of those 90 pounds already. That is more than 30 kgs! I’ve lost more than 25% of my body weight in less than 6 months. And I’ve done it by eating WELL and eating RIGHT. That is one of the things I love about the Dukan diet over any other program I’ve been on. It’s a LIFE TIME plan. It doesn’t take you to your ideal weight and leave you there. It’s a change in your life style and it helps to get you there and stays with you. It is also healthy eating. Low fat and low carb. A perfect life time diet for me, as I’m committed to staying off of wheat and gluten for the rest of my life.
So no matter what your future plans are… losing weight, learning something new, taking on a gym program, complete the Couch 2 5K… the year will pass anyways, whether you start and/or accomplish your goal or not…. So take a chance and be in it for the long haul!
Tuesday was a PP Day.
Daily Weight Loss: Stayed the same.
Total Weight Loss: 67.1 lb/30.51 kg
It’s a new morning and although the sun isn’t shining (still)… I played the song “Here Comes The Sun” on the walk to work to cheer me up! I have heat lamps with UV lighting in my guest shower and spent a couple extra minutes basking in it this morning, as well 😀
Breakfast: Tea Eggs
Lunch: Steamed fish with onions and chili peppers and spicy spices!
Dinner: Stir fried sirloin with lots and lots and lots of Italian herbs on it and garlic stems.
Water: A little more than 2 Liters.
I wore my new Levis “skinny” jeans that Terri talked me into buying. I’m not use to wearing clothes that hug my body, but with the pinches and pokes I received today from the doctors (they’re all ladies) I think I pulled it off… LOL. It is very cool wearing “normal” sized clothes. I believe it was the late 80’s the last time I wore clothes smaller than size 16 (for those of you that aren’t from the States, size 16 is an 18 UK, and the first “big girl” size).
I taught a class today in the afternoon… International Patient Safety Goal #5: Reduce the risk of Hospital Acquired Infections. It was well received and most of them paid attention. Challenging teaching people that don’t speak your language. I have to trust that my personal assistant Kitty is translating what I say. I do, for the most part.
I am still trying to get over the jet lag, I’m now able to stay awake to nearly 10 p.m. Woo hoo! I hope everyone is having an amazing day!
Ciao!
Quote of the day:
Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
~ Buddha
I saw this saying today and it really struck a chord! It is so easy to give up and much tougher to see the light at the end of the tunnel and stay on track.
Months ago I would think “Well, I’ve lost 25 pounds, but I still have 65 to go” and think of excuses to not carry on. But I persevered and kept going and today I’m proud to say I’ve lost 67 pounds and ONLY have 23 pounds to go! Don’t make excuses! Don’t give up! You are 1 pound closer to your goal and tomorrow you’ll be even closer!
Today was a PP day (Pure Protein).
Daily Weight Loss: 0.4 lb/0.20 kg
Total Weight Loss: 67.1 lb/30.51 kg
Woke up in a bit of a funk, but happy to see that the temp was actually over 40 degrees!!! Yay! After the walk to work and handover, I had 2 tea eggs for breakfast. I also drank nearly 1000mL of water with grapefruit Crystal Light in it. I’m really enjoying having the flavored water. I find I can drink down half the 1.5 Liter bottle and refill with water and it’s still tasty!
Meeting with the CEO mid-morning and then a walk to the halal restaurant for lunch. Beef slices with cilantro and garlic stems with chili pepper… phew they were hot!
Afternoon filled with writing policies and PowerPoints and then on my walk home I decided to walk to the mall to pick up a few items at the grocery store. I was in the elevator, having an OVERWHELMING urge to pop into the PIZZA HUT for a pizza… seriously, this is the FIRST time I’ve craved carbs in nearly 6 months!!!! when my iPhone rings and it’s Velina and she’s inviting me to dinner at the Mexican restaurant… divine intervention, for sure! So I walked the further 1.3 miles down to the restaurant to meet them… I had Beef fajitas with extra onions and without the fajitas… crisis diverted. I know it’s about wanting comfort food, and DAMMIT I will not fall into that trap! I’ve been gluten free since August 20th and plan on staying that way 😀
Power walk back jamming to lots of different tunes, mood lifted, feeling a bit better, shower and facebook and bed… Things are looking up 🙂
Ciao!
Quote of the Day: A photo quote…
Sunday was a PV Day. It was suppose to be Day 3 of 4 of PP days, but I had lunch with friends at a restaurant… More on that later 🙂
Daily Weight Loss: 0.4 lb/0.20 kg
Total Weight Loss: 66.7 lb/30.31 kg
Morning started off better as I slept until 5 a.m. And that made me happy 😀 I had a pot of yogurt with bran and Splenda and a cup of coffee to start my day. Then off to work in this lovely (not) rainy, dreary, cold weather. A stop to pick up my daily allotment of tea eggs. My 1 mile/1.5 km walk is now down to about 12 minutes. When I started walking everyday to work, nearly 5 months ago, it took 17 minutes. I work on the 4th floor of my building and after clocking in I take the stairs up. I realized yesterday that I’m no longer out of breath AT ALL by the time I reach the top… How awesome is that?
After morning rounds I did some lactation consulting (just when I give up on helping women here breastfeed, there always seems to be a couple of women who request it, funny how that works… I’m not a quitter, but so passionate about breastfeeding, that sometimes I must take a step back, throw in the towel and not allow the circumstances here consume me!). Both ladies were very grateful for the help.
I then had a lovely 6 hour prenatal visit with Velina and Robin 😀 Just like the old days when I was a home birth midwife. They came at 10, we lunched from 12 – 2 and they left around 4. It filled my day with some sunshine 🙂 Lunch for me was T-bone steak, broccoli , cucumbers and raw red cabbage.
Then the bad news of the day – Whitney Houston died. She’s MY age, born a few months before me, how does this keep happening? What demons cause these remarkably talented people to head down the path of drugs, alcohols and bad behavior?? I sobbed watching the video of her singing The National Anthem at the Super Bowl in 1991. What a waste of amazing talent.
Dinner: Chicken chunks stir fried in soy sauce with cumin and garlic cloves.
To bed at 9, trying to shake the blues, fighting the urge to pack up and go home, come on sun, I need ya buddy, the grey skies are wearing thin and I need some sunspiration.
Ciao!
Quote of the day: I believe that children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside. – Whitney Houston
Pic of the day: Robin, Velina & Me
Saturday was a PP Day 2 of 4
Daily Weight Loss: 1.1 lb/0.50 kg
Total Weight Loss: 66.2 lb/30.11 kg
Happy to see the scale continuing to drop. I’ve been drinking more than 2 liters of water the past 2 days to help flush out the water I’m retaining from 21+ hours of flying.
I was up at the unGodly hour of 303 a.m., having crashed around 800 p.m. Friday night. This wouldn’t be so bad IF I didn’t have to work and think. It’s nice getting up 4.5 hours before you have to work, I got a lot done 🙂
I had a pot of yogurt with bran and Splenda before I left for work and picked up tea eggs at the vendor downstairs. Before getting dressed in the morning I always check the temp outside to see how layered I’m going to have to dress. This was the forecast this morning…
Shouldn’t there be a rule that you update the weather when the low is actually 5 degrees lower than the forecast?!?
I then picked up my tea eggs and took this picture of the dreary morning…
I then promptly fell on my not so cushioned anymore ass! See the black shiny tile? What a great way to start my morning! 😀 At least is was a graceful fall and I didn’t hurt myself, nor was it witnessed by anyone… LOL
Work was work, bathing babies, seeing prenatal patients and assisting women with breastfeeding.
Lunch at the halal restaurant with some friends was sliced beef with cilantro and a couple of mushrooms and a tea egg.
Afternoon creating a power point, posters and policy for reducing the risk of falls (ironic given my fall this morning!) and at 3 pm I felt like I had hit a brick wall. Jet lag is no fun, seriously! I did some yoga and jumping jacks to infuse some energy and finished the day with a walk home in the cold rain.
Dinner was beef stir-fry with curry and cumin and garlic stems. I have no onions and miss them. I will order food online for delivery on Thursday and be stocked up, once again.
I busied myself with downloading iOS 5 update for my iPad and went for a walk to keep me up until at least 9. Bed at 915, left the update running 🙂 Still working on getting my bearings again. Missing home a lot after this visit for some reason. Trying to reason savings plans for the future vs. being at home with family… I’ll be better when the sun comes out, inshallah 🙂
Ciao!
Quote of the day: Picture Quote…
Name 5 songs on your play list in the comments, I might add them to mine!
Here’s 5 of my favorites, currently on my play list:
1. How To Save a Life – The Fray
2. One and Only – Adele
3. Numb – Linkin Park
4. Conspiracy, Time To Reflect & Endurance – Trevor Jones – G.I. Jane soundtrack
5. Chasing Cars- Snow Patrol
Come on… Tell me what yours are 🙂
Friday was a PP day 1 of 4.
Daily Weight Loss: 2.4 lb/1.10 kg (the exact opposite of yesterday!) 🙂
Total Weight Loss: 65.1 lb/29.61 kg
So yesterday I completed Day 1 of 4 Pure Protein Days to kick start me back in to ketosis after a fabulous vacation. I had my first day back at work, and it was a breezy day, I saw snow for the first time in Hangzhou (the snow waited for my return!) and I went to bed, once again before 8 p.m…. UGH!
4 a.m. Small cup of FF yogurt with 1/2 TBS bran, 1 TBS flaxseed meal and splenda.
Early to work given I had been awake since 4 a.m. and had nothing else to do at my flat. Raining hard during the walk, but that just made me walk faster. I stopped at the tea egg vendor and picked up my 5 tea eggs for the day and was so excited I ate one of them while walking in the rain!
Handover and then bathed 2 babies… got to sing “The Rose” to one of them, as this was on the classic piano CD… the babies love my singing, as off tune as it is. Pretty much caught up on emails and planned out my education presentations for the rest of the month, and had my 2nd tea egg around 10. My darling personal assistant, Kitty, returns on Saturday… can’t wait to see her. Vivien and I had a quiet day in the office, and that was nice. At around 830 Vivien starts yelling for me to come out of my office… it’s snowing. Big, fat snowflakes. Nothing stuck, since it was just above freezing, but everyone in the hospital was happy to see it. I have no idea why… I really despise the cold and the snow… LOL Quite the contrast to the weather in Florida this past week.
Lunch at my favorite halal restaurant was sliced beef with cilantro and some garlic stems and a tea egg. Yum!
Slow afternoon… I had a hard time staying awake. Ate another tea egg for some energy and then left work to walk home in the SNOW. The SNOW! As I was walking in the SNOW I kept thinking that I couldn’t believe I was living where it SNOWED. Last year this time I was living in Abu Dhabi, where it’s WARM and SUNNY all the time. It’s quite a difference.
Skype chat and a catch up on emails, dinner was stir-fried pork seasoned with cumin, curry and lemon pepper (quite a nice combo I might add) and garlic stems.
At 745 I was tying up my running shoes and falling asleep while doing it. I thought if I went out for a run it might wake me up… instead, I took my shoes off and went to bed. There is no sense in fighting it.
Ciao!
Quote of the Day: The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.
~ Lao Tzu
You have to look real hard, but you can see the fat snowflakes 🙂
Light Snow
So a quick update since I’ve received numerous emails about not blogging 😀
I’ve lost weight. I met and exceeded my goal to lose 70 pounds by February 11th. I’ve stayed true to my Dukan life-style during my 16 days so far on vacation, with the exception of a glass of wine x 2 and a bit more bacon than I should be eating… LOL
I’ve been walking with a friend nearly every morning before sunrise, which has been awesome, it’s cool, dark and quiet… About 4 miles or so.
I’ve seen just about everyone and have really enjoyed my visit home. Trip ends in a few days and I’ll be back in China and back on my tea eggs and back to daily blogging.
Ciao!
Quote of the day: You can always take the easy way out & give up but real strength comes when you decide to keep pushing no matter what the circumstances are. ~ Unknown
Early morning drive from Gainesville back to Stuart…
Early morning view after morning walk…
My niece Aja serving drinks at the Seafood Festival…
Lunch in Miami with some birthing buddies, including my niece Charity…
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