Tag Archives: dukan success

Sensational Sunday

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Wow what a Sunday I had! And the sun even peeked out for a few hours through the smog!

I started out early with Kitty meeting me downstairs and the driver taking us out of the city to a TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) doctor. Something I’ve found funny and ironic is that China is the birthplace of acupuncture, but damned if I could find one! I personally know 4 acupuncture physicians in South Florida, none of whom are Chinese, and it would be far easier to get it there, than here!

Well, it was worth the early wake up call on my day off and the drive there! In the course of 90-minutes he gave me massage, acupuncture, acupressure, chiropractic, cranio-sacral AND reflexology treatments all done on a massage table waterbed! The bed was HEATED and had the cut out for your face. I have never been so comfortable face down on a massage table. Worth it and a great way to start my day!

After the treatment, Kitty and I met Vivien at the bus stop and I rode the PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION system here in Hangzhou for the first time. And it wasn’t bad and it’s CHEAP. Vivien and I hopped off the bus to get a cafe latte…

Riding Public Transportation


Yummy Cafe Latte at 35mm Coffee Shop

Then off to the end of Gudun Road to pick up the trail! There is a gate next to a gas station that leads to as set of stairs that go up, up, up, up the mountains and then the trail takes you across the top of the ridge… we decided to walk for an hour and turn around and walk back… it is up and down for most of the walk and the views, while not so great in photos because of the smog, was spectacular. Steps taken going up, prior to leveling off 3754! Total walk that we did was 2.67 miles in just under 2 hours. It was awesome and I can’t wait to do it again!

After our nice hike I had a lovely dinner with one of my favorite families and play time with my buddy Soren… 2-year old wonder child! I then walked the 3.5 miles/5.6 kms home at a pretty brisk pace 46:17.

I took 2 days off from running and miss it. I think mountain hiking made up for it 🙂

Nice Sunday… I hope your weekend was as nice 🙂

Ciao!

Pics of the walk:

Have to have a shoe pic!




The views were stunning through the smog... LOL



ViviMokaLaka


Dukan – Day 202 – Lime Shrimp Recipe

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Cleaning up my blog and found a few posts that never went through… This one from February with a yummy recipe!!
Update post by the afternoon 🙂
Sandi

Thursday was a PV day.

Daily Weight Loss: 0.4 lb/0.20 kg
Total Weight Loss: 75.7 lb/34.41 kg

I only had to work half a day on Thursday because of International Women’s Day… which was kind of cool. I got to take the morning off and worked the afternoon. I got a promotion at work, which is kind of cool. I have been asking to do the work I will now be doing since I got there in September.

Walked home from work and straight to the gym across the lane from my building. I can see the people working out from my bedroom balcony, but didn’t want to start there too soon in my weight loss. Besides, I’ve been doing my own stuff, C25K, the swiss ball, wii yoga and the exercise bands. I tried to do C25K on the treadmill, but that ain’t happening. I felt confined and not in a good pace. So I did the machines and worked on my pecs, the back of my legs and my triceps.

Then home to make dinner. I thought I had chicken to make the Lime Chicken and Shrimp, but I didn’t, so I just made it with shrimp… Yum!

1 Tbs olive oil
As much shrimp as you want
1/2 onion, I chop mine in biggish pieces
A handful of fresh mushrooms
1 lime, cut in quarters
1 small chili pepper, diced small
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
A dollop of Fat Free Greek yogurt

I threw all of the ingredients, except the lime and yogurt, in a hot pan with the olive oil, stir fry 1 minute and then squeeze the juice of all 4 quarters of the lime on the cooking food. Throw the lime rinds in to the mix and stir fry all of it another 3 minutes. Remove from heat and plate. Take the rinds and squeeze the rest of the juice out of them… mmmmmmm, and then put a dollop of yogurt on top… YUMMY!

Lime & Chili Shrimp Stir Fry

Lime & Chili Shrimp Plated

After dinner, went out for a 35 minute run… in, you guessed it, the cold friggin’ rain… LOL

Ciao!

Dukan – Another milestone Bites the Dust

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Wednesday was a PV day…

Daily Weight Loss: 0.9 lb/0.44 kg
Total Weight Loss: 75.3 POUNDS! 34.21 KG

OH MY GOD! I screamed out loud on the scale… I got on, I got off, I got back on, I got off, I got BACK on and it said the same thing… I rushed out to my trusty weight loss spreadsheet created by Charlotte and put it in and there it was 75 pounds… GONE 😀

I am also under 180 pounds for the first time since 1988 AND I put on a pair of Size 12 pants that I have been holding off trying on… and they SLID RIGHT ON! I’m so happy I have no other words… glad I told you guys what I ate by posting recipes 🙂 I will say that it has washed the raining for a month blues away… I hope that lasts! So happy, I’m going to run extra tonight!

Ciao!

Quote of the day: Fall seven times, stand up eight. ~Japanese Proverb I’m standing up for good!

Vivien took some shots of me and my happiness today 🙂

The Sunshine Award

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Words cannot even express how humble I feel by being nominated for the Sunshine Award by Olive. Olive is a brilliant writer and can her blog can be found here http://olivetwist.wordpress.com. I found her site recently and work myself through a couple of posts an evening. Her writing is from the heart and I love that!

As part of accepting the nomination I am required to post the answers to the following questions 🙂

Favorite colors: Purple and Green (ironically those are also Olive’s favorite colors!!)

Favorite Animal: Cat

Favorite Number: 13

Favorite Non-Alcoholic Beverage: Skinny Cafe Latte

Prefer Facebook or Twitter? FACEBOOK

My passion: Lowering infant and maternal mortality through education

Prefer getting or giving presents: GIVING

Favorite Pattern: Circles

Favorite Day of the Week: Pajama Day 😀

Favorite flower: Gerbera Daisy

And now the hard part… choosing 10 bloggers to pass this on to. Oh My! I read SO many amazing blogs! This is a real tough one for me… I didn’t like to have to pick teams on dodge ball!

http://wwangel.wordpress.com/ Mel keeps me motivated to get out and run.. and she has an adorable dog to boot!

http://charlottesdukandiet.com/ Charlotte is the first Dukan blog I followed… I love reading her quippy posts and her honesty about struggling to stay on this program!

http://dukandiet-journey.blogspot.com/ Moonday’s Philosophy is permanently attached to my fridge!

http://soniadukandiet.blogspot.com/ Sonia has done an amazing job on the Dukan diet!

http://dukandietress.blogspot.com/ I also follow this amazing blogger who has great advise about Dukan and her success!

http://thechunkygoddess.com
Cyn tells it like it is… I’m new to her blog, but loving it! She says what we’d all like to say, but are afraid to say it… LOL

http://lipomachia.wordpress.com
She has some fabulous recipe ideas on her site… her Mega-Power omelet is amazing!

http://apetcher.wordpress.com/ Have Bag, Will Travel
Lots of great travel writing and PICTURES here!! I have just started to enjoy this blog and I’m glad I stumbled upon it!

http://thesandytongue.wordpress.com – Warning, some may find his stuff offensive… I find it raw, funny and he speaks his truth!

http://hapacouple.blogspot.com/ And although they haven’t posted in a couple of weeks, this blog has some of the best Dukan friendly recipes on it. The pictures, descriptions and instructions make cooking delicious Dukan foods easy!

Olive… again, thanks!

Dukan – Day 190 – Awesome evening walk

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Saturday was a PP day.

Daily Weight Loss: 0.4 lb/0.20 kg
Total Weight Loss: 71.7 lb/32.61 kg

Truly… the water makes all the difference in the world! I got in 2.5 liters of the stuff and I lost. Went into work 90 minutes later than usual, which was nice because I got a couple of loads of laundry done and the linens changed on my bed… left the house feeling as if it was fresher!

Breakfast: 2 tea eggs and 500 mL water.
Lunch: 2 tea eggs and 3 thin slices of ham and 500 mL water.
Snack: 1 tea egg (listen… I had my cholesterol checked and it’s lower than ever!!! LOL) and by the time it was 4 p.m. I had completed another 700+ mL water.

After work, I walked 2.6 kms (1.5 miles) to the MySweet cafe for coffee with Velina. I had 2. Which amped me up BIG TIME. On the way home I speed walked, with the Black Eyed Peas “I’ve Gotta Feelin'” blasting over and over and over in my head set for 61 minutes. I did just under 5 kms (according to my pedometer it was 3.03 miles). Not bad for a walk. The pedo says I averaged just over 3 miles per hour. I didn’t slow down for a second, and my pulse rate was 132 when I arrived home…. It felt great!

Dinner: Curried pork stir fry with onions and 300 mL water.
Snack: FF Greek yogurt with bran and splenda and a cup of tea.

Lovely day, I feel accomplished and happy. I hope everyone has a fab weekend! I’m off on Sunday… YAY!

Ciao!

Quote of the Day: Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.
~ Dalai Lama
Take Action!!! ~ Sandi B.

Dukan – Day 188 – You’re Giving Two Speeches

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Today was a PP day.

Daily Weight Loss: 0.4 lb/0.20 kg (4th day in a row that I’ve had 0.4 lb loss, strange!)
Total Weight Loss: 72.2 lb/32.81 kg

So off to work I go this morning… no confrontation at the tea egg line, this is a good thing for me and you can see the relief on the lovely, smiling faces of the tea egg ladies 😀

After morning rounds I am told that I’m going to help with bathing babies as they are short of staff (for new comers, I’m the Quality Manager for a maternity hospital in China, helping them improve to international standards and I’m a midwife by trade, not practicing here (or at least that’s what it’s suppose to be… LOL). Anyway, bathed a lovely baby boy while the marketing department snatched dozens and dozens of pictures of him for the parents. He also had a swim in the tank, settled when I sang him The Rose (my go to song to make babies stop crying) and then I gave him a lovely massage. Taking my time so I’d only have to care for one bambino!

After that, Kitty (my personal assistant) and I went back to our office and she comes into my inner office with a 4 page document to show me which events next month I have to attend and which ones I’m speaking at. Speaking at?? “Yes, she says, You’re giving two speeches”… “What do they have to be about”, I ask. And she replies, “Oh, don’t worry, they will make for you”… Lovely. So someone will write my speeches in Mandarin and then Kitty with translate them into English for me, then I will read them out loud in English and Kitty will translate verbally to the audience in Mandarin. I love this place. I am their marketing doll and I really do enjoy it! I have to do very little, but show up, look pretty, speak and smile. I imagine this is kind of like being a beauty queen 🙂 Kitty has informed me that this is all in honor of our hospital being open for 1 year and we will be celebrating from March 3 – April 4th… The Chinese know how to party it up!

Lunch at my desk, 2 tea eggs and 3 slices of ham.
Dinner… funny thing, I forgot to take meat out of the freezer, something I rarely do, and ended up stopping at the street vendor on the way into my apartment complex. She sells what looks like chickens and I thought I’d get one, sans the head (they serve it with the head here), and have that for dinner. She explains that they are free range ducks, this is why they are smaller than what I’d be used to from the U.S.. Well, ducks and Dukan don’t go together because of the fat content, but I need to eat so I buy one. She expertly shaved the meat off the bone and presented it to me in 2 little containers. It.Was.Yummy!!! Really yummy! But my tummy felt heavy for about an hour after I ate.

I went for a run, did 35 minutes and 17 seconds in the pouring rain, but I’m really starting to enjoy it. Kept up my 7 mins. run/2 mins. walk ratio and it seemed easier this time around.

Yogurt with bran and splenda for snack and off to bed… trip to Shanghai on Friday!

Ciao!

Quote of the day: “Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness” -Edward Stanley

Eat to Meet

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It is so easy to talk yourself into eating something you shouldn’t to satisfy an immediate need. It is heroic to say NO! If you don’t have the crap in the house, you won’t be able to eat it. Throw it out. Don’t wait to start your diet until you’ve eaten it all… donate it, just get it out of your house. You’ll feel good about it… I promise you 🙂

Dukan – Day 184 – Six months in and Feeling Awesome!

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Sunday was a PV day.

Daily Weight Loss: 0.4 lb/0.20 kg
Total Weight Loss: 70.9 lb/32.21 kg

So it was six months ago today that I began my Dukan Diet journey. And I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am that I did! By sticking to this diet and by not straying (with the exception of a rare few times) I have managed to nearly lose 71 pounds in 6 months. I feel GREAT! Great doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel. My knees don’t hurt. I bound up and down the stairs at work. I use the stairs everywhere I go (like in the Shanghai subway yesterday). I walk 1 mile to work, clock in and take the stairs to the 4th floor. In August, I would have been winded before getting to the 2nd floor. Now… no problem!

Yesterday I woke up early, caught a ride to the train station and spent the day in Shanghai. It’s a 42 minute bullet train ride and worth it. I had lunch with Federica and Will and did a little shopping. Picked up a couple of pair of jeans (one size 12, one size 14) and then coffee with them and the trip back. Makes for a long day. Makes for a short night of sleep, but through the yawns this morning I feel as if it was worth it. Worth it for my mental health and worth it to get a couple of pairs of jeans in normal size for a bargain 🙂

Speaking of jeans… I promised before and after butt pics. This first picture was what really made me realize I needed to do something immediately about my weight. This is at my 30th Class Reunion in August 2011, a couple of weeks before I started the Dukan Diet… I’m in the purple sweater… Good Lord!

Oh My!

And this was this morning… We took a couple of shots from a distance but because I’m wearing all black, they just didn’t show anything. Vivien insists I use this one… it’s a close up, but I’m loving my waist definition. And… in the pic above my hips were 56″ (cringe)… they are now 44″… that’s TWELVE INCHES LESS! And my waist has gone from 45 1/2 inches to 35 1/2 inches… TEN INCHES LESS… All I can do is 😀 So here’s my close up… LOL…

Dukan Diet = Smaller ass and waist 🙂

I have received so much encouragement from family, friends and fellow bloggers that I am amazed and humbled on a daily basis. It really is what has pushed me to continue down this amazing path of wellness.

Again… thanks for all the encouragement and for those of you on this journey… YOU CAN DO IT!

Ciao!

Quote of the day: It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect it’s successful outcome ~ William James

Dukan – Day 126 Christmas Eve

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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!

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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