Dukan – Day 130

Posted on December 29, 2011 by flamidwyfe

Wednesday was a PP day.

Daily weight loss: 0.4 lb/0.20 kg
Total weight loss: 56.6 lb/25.71 kg

So as the day progressed things got a bit better… Poor Kitty was a good sport taking my bad day and smiling through it… She’s such a trooper. I had a very productive meeting with the CEO and finally got my OWN office, with the room to put all the manuals that I’m creating with new policy, protocol, clinical safety guidelines and competencies. YAY!

I also got a new work coat today, because my other was baggy… Pic below!

Breakfast: 2 tea eggs
Lunch: 2 eggs and the last of the leftover turkey… Tempted to make another just for the leftovers!
Dinner: pork stir-fry with onions and garlic stems

I had a nice walk/run circuit… 4.5 kms (3 miles) in 35 minutes… I know I’m not going to win any races, but I’m winning my own 😀 And boy was it a great way to erase the rest of the stress I had from the last 2 days… That and a nice long Skype chat with someone who cheers me up 🙂 Stress all gone!

Ciao!

Quote of the day: It’s my life, it’s now or never, I ain’t gonna live forever… I just wanna live while I’m alive… It’s my life! ~ Bon Jovi … Sorry into music this week… I crank this up when I’m running!

Dukan – Day 127 Christmas Day!

Posted on December 26, 2011 by flamidwyfe

Christmas day was a PV day.

Daily weight loss: +0.4 lbs/+0.2 kg
Total weight loss: 55.2 lb/25.11 kg

Merry Christmas! What a long day Sunday was! I gained less than half a pound, so I think I did pretty well 🙂 I stuck to Dukan with the exception of about 3 oz. of yummy white wine. I didn’t, however, leave my house at all, so I got no exercise in today and I didn’t get my water in, either (maybe 500 mL).

Breakfast: 2 tea eggs and 3 slices of ham

Then off to the baking. First recipe on the list today, Dukan friendly Pumpkin Pie Crisp that I got from Jamie at LosingCurtandJamie… I also made Dukan Cocoa/Espresso cookies. I will upload both of my versions of these recipes this week from my laptop… Too much to do from the iPad. Here’s some pics from both desserts. Warning, the cookies don’t look that great, I thought no one would eat them, they were GONE IN MINUTES!!!

I used real pumpkin 🙂

A thumbs up on the Pumpkin Pie Crisp 😀

I then had lunch: a can of tuna in brine with my homemade mayo (Dijon mustard mixed with FF cream cheese) and added diced onions and celery.

Play time with Alessandro…

And then time to start the turkey! My turkey is very simple… 1 bird. Stuff with 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped apple (wedge size chopped), 1 chopped pear, 10 crushed cloves of garlic and some chopped celery… That’s it. I then hand coat the bird in olive oil, grind on some coarse sea salt and pepper and stick it in the oven at 350F for 15 minutes per pound. I don’t bag it, cover any parts in foil, just put the naked bird in the oven…

A very small oven!

And about 30 minutes before the bird is done I turn on the broiler to really brown the top. I am always pleasantly surprised when my turkey turns out juicy and yummy 🙂 Check out this hot bird:

I didn’t even have to make gravy… It made it’s own. Mmmmmmmm!

So dinner for me was: Turkey, cauliflower, cabbage stew brought by Velina and made totally Dukan friendly (just for me!), green beans and a teeny wedge of parmesan.
Dessert: Dukan Pumpkin Pie Crisp… It was delicious and everyone gave a big thumbs up.

What a lovely day spent with new friends from across the world. Merry Christmas 🙂

Reena, KaKa, Kitty, Joe with Alessandro, Velina, Lucy, Chiara, Me and Silin.

Ciao!

Quote of the day: Life happens fast! What are you waiting for?

Dukan – Day 126 Christmas Eve

Posted on December 25, 2011 by flamidwyfe

Saturday was a PP day (I had to stop and think!)

Daily weight loss: 0.4 lb/0.2 kg
Total weight loss: 55.7 lb/25.31 kg

Happy Christmas Eve! I had to work today… mainly because they schedule Childbirth Education for Saturdays when more people can come… only 3 came 😦 But I enjoy teaching it anyway. It truly is my favorite part about being a midwife… that and snuggling babies!

Breakfast: 2 tea eggs
Lunch: 2 tea eggs and a tin of tuna
Dinner: Stir fried sirloin with onions, garlic stems and garlic cloves…
I said to Lucy, “I could eat this every night!” and her response, “Actually, you do!”
LOL… well I do use different spices… hehe
Snack a teeny, runny yogurt with bran and splenda… couldn’t find any greek yogurt.

Shopped for the rest of Christmas Dinner. There will be 11 of us. A motley crew made up of Americans (me), Brits (Lucy and Robin), Bulgarians (Velina), Italians (Chiara) and Chinese (Silin, Vivien, Kitty, KaKa, Joe) and one itty bitty Chinese-Italian (baby Alessaundro)… should be a fun Christmas dinner!

Well off to finish prepping while the house is still quiet!

Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noël, 圣诞快乐 , Buon Natale, Весела Коледа!

Ciao!

Quote of the day: Breathe in Joy and Strength… Breathe out Wisdom and Peace ~ Unknown

Dukan – Day 123 Long Dinner Out!

Posted on December 22, 2011 by flamidwyfe

Today was a PP day 🙂

Daily weight loss: +0.4 lbs/+0.2 kg
Total weight loss: 53.7 lb/24.41 kg

Have NO idea where that 1/2 pound came from… but hakuna matata! Had a chilly, but nice walk to work, temp was 38 when I set out, but I’ve learned to layer and it’s not so bad. I’m burning calories shivering 😀 I got to bath babies again this morning for an hour… It really is a lot of fun and relaxing!

Breakfast: 2 tea eggs
Lunch: A broiled fish with garlic and onions and peppers on top (i pushed off the peppers) this lunch was YUMMY!
Dinner: Mexican! I had fajitas minus the tortilla and green peppers… so basically meat and onions, but it was yummy.
Snack: FF Greek Yogurt with bran and splenda… had a panic attack because I only have one container of bran left and I don’t fly home for 3.5 weeks… calmed myself down by remembering that the other two containers lasted an ENTIRE 4 MONTHS… LOL. I think I freaked because I can’t find it here, at all. I will have to make sure I stock up on it when I’m in the States in Jan/Feb because it isn’t available here… anywhere!
I got in all my water and had 1 2 coke zero(s) and 2 cups of coffee. A long 40+ minute walk home from the Mexican restaurant where Lucy and I had dinner with some new friends who are just awesome to hang out with…. I looked at my phone and couldn’t believe 4 hours had gone by!!!! Very long, but enjoyable evening!

I hope everyone is gearing up for the holiday! It’s very Christmassy here in China!

Ciao!

Quote of the day: If your dog is fat, you’re not getting enough exercise. ~Author Unknown

Dukan – Day 121

Posted on December 20, 2011 by flamidwyfe

Monday was a PP day 🙂

Daily Weight Loss: 0.0 lb & kg
Total Weight Loss: 53.7 lb/24.41 kg

So no change on the scale which is fine by me… staying the same is better than gain! Back to work today and don’t feel like I had a weekend off. Because of a schedule change I had 1/2 day Friday, worked Saturday and off on Sunday… but I had running around to do, so after the massage I was off to the mall and didn’t get back until nearly 6 p.m…. then my next day off is Friday!!! Anywho… it was a nice day at work. Got 3 policies written and edited and sent off to Kitty for translation, so I feel accomplished 😀

Breakfast: You got it… 2 tea eggs
Lunch: Beef slices with cilantro and garlic stems and a bowl of CHICKEN SOUP… oh my gosh was it yummy and oily… LOL I left the carrots and ate the rest. The broth was so good!

Chicken Soup from the halal restaurant

Dinner: Stir fried sirloin with onions and garlic stems and I threw in 1/8 cup of low-fat mozzarella… it was kind of like having a philly cheese steak w/o the bread!
Snack: FF Greek Yogurt with Splenda and bran

All in all a good day. A couple things in there that may have influenced my lack of scale movement, but I’m not worried. I drank 1.5 liters of water and walked to and from work (a mile each way). The best part of the day was getting a picture from Danee Daniels with her and my niece Charity in it… I have no idea where they were or what they were doing, but they were together (with Dana, as well) and those have to be 3 of my favorite midwives in the world 😀 Thanks for posting, Danee!

Danee and Charity... hanging with Dana 🙂

Ciao!

Quote of the day: “If you wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down.” ~ Toni Morrison

Dukan – Day 115

Posted on December 13, 2011 by flamidwyfe

Tuesday was a PV day.

Daily Weight Loss: -0.7 lb/-0.3 kg
Total Weight Loss: 51.1 lb/23.21 kg

Well… I seem to be stuck in a rut! I’ve been playing with the same 1 pound for a week! This morning I am evaluating what it is that’s going on and I think it’s a combination of a few things… I’m still consuming more coffee and tea than usual (Lucy is visiting and makes me a cup… how can I say no??). And I am not getting in enough water. Otherwise, my food intake has been great, as has my exercise.

The one thing that I really like about the Dukan Diet is that you weigh yourself daily and this gives you the opportunity to reflect on what could be affecting your weight and you can correct it.

Breakfast: 2 tea eggs, coffee
Lunch: Fish and garlic stems, tried to get water, but it had sugar in it 😦
Snack: Coffee
Snack: Earl Gray (when I got home from work)
Dinner: Stir-fried tofu, broccoli, onion and garlic stems.
Snack: Pot of FF Greek Yogurt with Splenda and bran, Earl Gray tea (anyone seeing a pattern here???)

So today I’m going to commit to one cup of coffee this morning and a cup of Early Gray tonight and that’s it… the rest is water… wish me luck 🙂

Ciao!

Quote of the day: Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.
Dalai Lama

Ooops, yesterday was really Dukan – Day 111

Posted on December 11, 2011 by flamidwyfe

Saturday was a PV Day

Daily weight loss: 0.4 lb/0.2 kg
Not sure, in Shanghai for weekend

So did a marketing event for the hospital this morning, had a meeting with CEO, which left me feeling a bit confused, and then headed for the train station for a few days of R&R in Shanghai. I also have to do my work visa stuff here on Monday.

Breakfast: 2 tea eggs
Lunch: chicken leg at train station.. LOL, seriously 🙂
Snack: Chai latte with Splenda… BUT, realized this morning that it’s got sugar in it! 😦
Dinner: Vietnamese style sizzlin’ steak, with 2 pieces of broccoli and a thin slice of carrot
Snack: 2% Greek yogurt (store was out of FF) with Splenda and bran

Walked and walked and walked in the cold… Had a nice afternoon and evening walking and shopping in Shanghai!

Ciao!

Quote of the day: Weight loss is like hiking, it is hard to get started & is hard along the way, but once you reach the top, YOU WILL NEVER REGRET THE JOURNEY!

Dukan – Day 106

Posted on December 5, 2011 by flamidwyfe

Sunday was a PP (Pure Protein) Day… I will do 4 of these in a row to kick my butt back into ketosis after 4 PV days in a row 🙂

Daily Weight Loss: 1.1 lb/0.50 kg
Total Weight Loss: 49.1 lb/22.31 kg

After 4 days in Hong Kong, it was nice to sleep in until 8. Didn’t have to be at work until noon. Yay! I took a 15 minute walk in the cool (41F) air, then picked up tea eggs for Lucy and I. So for breakfast I had 2 tea eggs and 2 small slices of ham… yum!

Then a walk to the hospital where I saw a patient and then over to the International Hotel where I was to give a marketing talk about our LDR (Labor,Delivery,Recovery) Room… OK, so no one told me this was basically black tie!!! I’m in trouser with blue and white stripes, my favorite dark blue wool hiking shirt with a sleeveless white top with blue embroidery and my black boots. I feel a tad bit OK about it since Winnie, Mickey, Minnie and some pink Pig are roaming around, as well. I also didn’t get the memo that there would be about 250 – 300 people there! There was beautiful music, a 4 string quartet, a solo pianist and a jazz sax player (who was awesome!)… and then 2 presentations, mine and the head Dean of the hospital, who talked about water birth… then we auctioned off a water birth package and I gave out books. Fun day! I drank 2 750 mL bottles of water during this 3 hour event 😀

Afterwards, Lucy, Kitty and I start looking for a taxi so that we can get to the grocery store downtown. I have no groceries in the house, at all! They are all full and after 30 minutes of trying, I get frustrated because I’m hungry RIGHT NOW, and if I don’t eat I may stray! So we abandon the idea of shopping and go to the steak house… where I get “Australian Baby Cow”… LOL, I presume this means veal raised in Australia, but who knows…. it was yummy and came out on a sizzling cast iron plate.

Walked home and before bed a pot of FF (fat free) Greek yogurt with bran and Splenda and a nice warm cup of Earl Grey Tea while Skyping and then off to bed…. Nice day J

Ciao!

Quote of the day: To explore what it would mean to live fully, sensually alive and passionately on purpose, I have to drop my preconceived ideas of who and what I am.

– Dawna Markova

Dukan – Day 104 – Hello 48!!!

Posted on December 3, 2011 by flamidwyfe

Friday was a PV day.. Of which I’ve done too many in a row!

Daily weight loss: -0.6 lb/0.3 kg
Total weight loss: will post tomorrow when back with the spreadsheet.

Today it’s my birthday (Saturday) and I had a lovely celebration with my girlies here in Hong Kong!

Breakfast: Fat free Greek yogurt with bran and Splenda & 500 mL water & coffee with Splenda and skim milk.
Snack: Starbucks cafe latte, skinny (with skim milk) and Splenda… Lucy is a bad influence, will be glad to get back to Hangzhou where this isn’t easily bought!!

We took the subway to Central and then a 1 km uphill walk to get to the Victoria’s Peak tram station.

The view from up there is amazing!

After looking around we headed to the top floor and had lunch at Bubba Gumps!

And had a burger with no bun and a salad… 2nd time in two days, but hey… I can’t get a decent burger in China and it’s my birthday… Low carb, but not low fat! It was, however, yummy!

After lunch we took the tram back down and raced to the embassy to get Lucy & Ethel’s visas. Sadly, Ethel wasn’t approved 😦 We then headed back to Troy, the amazing travel agent, and booked her a flight to Manila. Lucy has decided the next time we’re in Hong Kong we’re going to a. Pop in and take a photo of said Troy for my blog and b. Ask him out for a drink 😀 Sounds like a plan!

We then headed back to the South Pacific for the girls to take a short nap (I never nap, I’m afraid I’ll miss something!). And then we got ready for my birthday dinner. I actually put on make-up (a bit of eye liner and mascara!) and that little black dress I’ve been talking about, with my black tights and black boots… Feelin’ groovy about turning 48!

Then off for the 1.5 mile walk to Ryan’s steakhouse for dinner. We had a great time! Where I ate another bacon, bleu cheese burger and a salad… Believe me, I’ve got my fill now 😀 Oh, and I had a glass of wine, which of course is not Dukan, but maybe my 4th alcohol drink this year, it was nice to relax with friends.

Lucy being cheeky…

Ethel being Ethel…

And they all sang Happy Birthday and the cake was my FAVORITE!! Carrot cake!

Do you think I had some?? Not a chance! Not worth the feeling of being bloated and YUCKY!

Then a hike back to the room. What a great night out with friends! I am SO excited to see what my 48th year has in store for me. Although the 47th was like a roller coaster, I rode the ride that was intended to get me where I am today. I can only imagine that 48 will be just as awesome a year!

Ciao!

Quote of the day:

Dukan – Day 102 Up, Up & Away… Again!

Posted on December 1, 2011 by flamidwyfe

I’m actually sitting on the plane waiting for take off. I was suppose to fly to meet Lucy & Ethel tomorrow, but the hospital needs me for marketing on Sunday, so I’m flying a day early. I can’t wait to surprise them at the airport!!! In one of those cool things that happen in life, our flights are at the exact same time today, so they are also sitting on an Emirates plane in Dubai, probably also ignoring the safety video, but probably not blogging 🙂 Their flight is at 1005 UAE time and mine is at 1405 Hangzhou time… I get there 5 hours before they do 😀

I brought the scale with me, but I didn’t upload my weight spread sheet to my iPad, so will have no clue until I’m back on Saturday on total weight loss, but will keep up with daily loss.

Well, the plane has just taken off, I think I’m going to eat a couple boiled eggs (airplane food is definitely not Dukan friendly!!) and then take a little nap… Will do more blogging later.

OK… Fast forward… I took a bus from airport that took nearly 2 hours to get to hotel. We’re upgraded to a suite because of my birthday… How cool is that?

The toilet is a Toto and has some pretty interesting buttons that individually clean your bottom and the seat warms up when you open the lid… Very posh!

Then I had to take the subway and train back to the airport to get the girlies. They were very surprised to see me 🙂 Here’s the sign I had…