Dukan – Day 194 – Well, now, that’s better!

Wednesday was a PV day.

Daily weight loss: 0.9 lb/0.44 kg
Total weight loss: 72.8 lb/33.11 kg

Well, that has me feeling a little bit better! I was beginning to think that I was going to be in a plateau for a week or two. Phew!

For those following the visa saga… it looks like I’ve been granted a 30 day extension. I will get final word next Wednesday, and that’s good enough to get my 2 ladies to their due dates. Everyone is very relieved and a little less stressed šŸ™‚

Breakfast: 2 tea eggs, coffee, lots of water
Lunch: 3 slices of ham and a tea egg, lots more water
Dinner: Stir fry steak chunks with zucchini and onion
Snack: FF (Fat Free) Greek yogurt with flax seed meal and splenda

I did 30 minutes of yoga and 25 minutes of bowling, both on the wii. It was pouring down rain last night and I didn’t want to get soaked while running… hopefully it’ll be drier tonight!

Dinner recipe:
Sauteed 1/2 a red onion and 1/2 a zucchini in 1 tsp sesame oil (ran out of olive oil 3 days ago, none to be found in the little shops, will get some on my trip to Shanghai tomorrow). I added Italian seasoning, ground garlic and cumin. I sauteed for 2 minutes.

Sautee onions and zucchini for 2 mins. in 1 tsp of oil

I then placed those to the side and stir fried steak chunks for 5 minutes, about 2 1/2 minutes each side. I didn’t add any more oil, I did shake on a little Italian seasoning.

I then tossed the veggies back in, simmered together for 2 minutes and done!

Fast, simple, tasty and Dukan Friendly!

Total time to prepare: less than 15 minutes!

I hope you all are having a good Leap Day!

Ciao!

Quote of the day: Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement ~ Brian Tracy

Final word: RIP Davy Jones… you were the silly Monkee šŸ˜€

Dukan – Day 188 – You’re Giving Two Speeches

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 šŸ˜€

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 šŸ™‚ 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: ā€œThose who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illnessā€ -Edward Stanley

Day 187 – Still Runnin’ In the Rain

Wednesday was a PP day.

Daily weight loss: 0.4 lb/0.20 kg
Total weight loss: 71.7 lb/32.61 kg

Well it was still raining… hard, when I left for work. The walk was a bit challenging, but more challenging was wrestling with a lady, armed with an umbrella in the tea egg line. One of the problems I have here is the inability to accept that these people simply have a. NO MANNERS and b. NO COMPREHENSION OF QUEING IN LINE! Seriously. I am Ms. Manners! And I’m not afraid to say something to anyone not following very basic, civilized rules of life. Like notĀ blatantlyĀ cutting in line in front of someone. I asked her politely to move to the back of the line. She actually uttered the ‘F’ word and TOUCHED ME. Oh, touching me, not so good! I whipped my umbrella around to block her access to the tea egg lady, who was watching in utter fascination as to whom was going to win this battle. In the end I DID… MUHAHAHA. As I usually do, when it comes to manners and queing, and in the process of winning, she actually got taken care of 4 people after she would have, if she’d just gotten in line. I marched off, in the pouring rain, feeling like a champion šŸ™‚

Oh, just a small glimpse into what I call my “China Moments”. I could go on for days, but it would bore you and you’d be asking yourself, “Why in the hell does she stay there?”… As I do, daily… but it’s a good paying job and I like the work and the people I work with (most days, like the rest of you).

Breakfast: 2 tea eggs, 500mL of water
Lunch: 1 tea egg, beef slices, 500mL of water
Dinner: Stir-fried beef with onions, seasoned with curry… YUM!
Snack: Yogurt with bran and splenda
Total water intake of the day: nearly 3 liters!

I went for a 30 minute run after dinner and before the yogurt. I stuck with the 7 minute intervals, will try to move up next week to 8 minutes. I hope everyone is having a good evening!

Ciao!

Quote of the day:Ā Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.
Vince Lombardi

I really wish it would stop doing this…

Rain, Rain PLEASE GO AWAY!

Dukan – Day 180 – Lovin’ the Whoosh

Wednesday was a PV (Protein/Vegetable) Day.

Daily Weight Loss: 1.5 lb/0.70 kg
Total Weight Loss: 68.7 lb/31.21 kg

NICE šŸ™‚ My first post-vacation whoosh (not counting the one from last weekend, since I was flying for 2 days on a plane and that truly was water loss). I knew the morning weight in was going to be good, because I snuck a peek on the scale last night and I weight 0.10 kg less than the morning, and that was after a fantastic dinner šŸ™‚

Early in the mornin’: 4 oz cup of yogurt with splenda and bran
Breakfast: 2 tea eggs
Lunch: 2 slices of ham + 2 tea eggs
Dinner: Beef sirloin burger with bacon and a small amount of mozzarella cheese (without the bun) + a salad with tomatoes and cukes with a splash of olive oil and sea salt… yum.

Had dinner at The Vineyard with Kitty, Chiara and Joe. Feels “normal” there because it’s an AmericanĀ restaurant, and I feel a bit at home. I looked at their appetizer of fried onion rings, fried calamari, fried mozzarella and chicken wings and thought how awful that food would make me feel. I did pick up one onion ring and smell it… LOL

In regard to my blog… I am reaching between 150 – 200 readers per day, which is awesome! I am humbled that people would spend time reading my words and commenting. My blog has reached nearly 16,000 views. Makes me happy. šŸ˜€

Well… off to get ready for work. I hope you all are having a fabulous week… mine is looking up!

Ciao!

Quote of the day:Ā ā€œFor what it’s worth: it’s never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.ā€Ā ā€” F. Scott Fitzgerald

Ā 

Dukan – Day 178 – At least it’s warming up!

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! Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  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 Ā šŸ˜€

Power walk back jamming to lots of different tunes, mood lifted, feeling a bit better, shower and facebook and bed… Things are looking up šŸ™‚

Ciao!

Quote of the Day: A photo quote…

Image

Dukan – Day 175 – Back in the Swing of Things

Friday was a PP day 1 of 4.

Daily Weight Loss: 2.4 lb/1.10 kg (the exact opposite of yesterday!) šŸ™‚
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:Ā The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.
~Ā Lao Tzu

You have to look real hard, but you can see the fat snowflakes šŸ™‚

Light Snow

Dukan – Day 142 – It’s Funday Monday… and a WHOOSH!

Monday was a PP Day.

Daily Weight Loss: 0.9 lb/0.4 kg
Total Weight Loss: 61.0 lb/27.71 kg

I have no idea where the whoosh came from, but woo hoo! šŸ˜€ I am 6 pounds less than the goal I set for Jan. 13th! Ā I am very happy with that! I was just reading the blog I linked to earlier in this sentence and had lost 34 pounds at that point, it was Day 64… I couldn’t even fathom having lost 61 pounds. In fact, I’m saying it out loud and having a hard time believing it! This diet really works!

Nice walk to work in the morning… we had a warm up and it was 46 when I left for work! I wore my boots, though I’m not going to be able to wear them much anymore. They are, alas, too big 😦 Ā I am very distraught over this… how do your feet lose weight!?!? These are expensive boots, dammit! I had on my stirrup leggings (no comments!!! they are in fashion here!) and TWO pairs of thick wool hiking socks to prevent the sliding that happens when I wear the boots now and I nearly twisted my ankle. So, I will wear them for looks, but no trekking the mile to and from work in them 😦 Breakfast was 2 tea eggs. I made some of my own and here is how I made them:

Ingredients: 8-10 eggs, 1 tsp. Salt, 3 cups of water, 1 TBS soy sauce, 1 TBS BLACK soy sauce, 1/4 tsp Salt, 2 TBS black tea leaves (you can get this in bulk), 2 pods Star Anise, 1 cinnamon stick.

In a large saucepan I placed the eggs and 1 tsp of Salt. I then covered it with cool tap water and brought to a boil, then turned down and let simmer for 20 minutes. I then put them in aĀ colanderĀ and let them drain and cool for 10 minutes. When they are cool I roll them VERY GENTLY across the counter to form little cracks… DO NOT PEEL šŸ™‚

In a large saucepan mix all the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the eggs. Bring that to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours. You then turn off the heat and add the eggs. Let them steep over night, at least 8 hours. You can reuse the liquid. I put mine in the fridge in a tight sealed bowl and bring back to a boil and let the eggs steep again. I have reused this liquid 3 times, then tossed. Also, you can store the eggs up to 4 days in a tight container as long as you don’t peel them. Mine NEVER last that long, lol, I eat 5 a day.

Tea Eggs Cooking

Tea Eggs finished

The recipe is easy! The eggs are yummy! If you can’t find Black Soy Sauce, you can use 2 TBS of regular soy sauce. The Black Soy Sauce is a bit thicker… nice for sauteing beef and pork in… yum šŸ™‚

Lunch I wandered over to the hospital canteen. They serve some yummy food in there but it’s all laden in gravies and MSG… I had 2 tea eggs and a couple of bites of tofu that was in a spicy chili sauce.

For dinner I sauteed pork chunks seasoned with Trader Joe’s Lemon Pepper seasoning with onions and the last of my garlic stems 😦 Ā I discovered through an expat here that you can actually order groceries on line that are delivered from Shanghai to your door. The delivery charge is 20CNY, which is like $2.60! LOL I was able to get some lovely meat and fat free yogurt!!! I also got some organic milk… My life has changed dramatically with thisĀ new foundĀ information! Anyway, they were out of garlic stems, but had everything else, so tomorrow I will have to hoof it down to the fresh market for garlic stems. I had so much food, that I only ate 1/2 and boxed up the rest for Tuesday. Being on this diet, your appetite is way less than before. I eat a small bowl of food. Anything more than what isĀ equivalentĀ to the size of my fist, makes my tummy hurt!

Fat free yogurt with Splenda and bran for dessert and a nice finish to the day. I have a few people on my mind today, my friend having shoulder surgery today and my mom having back surgery on Friday… here’s a prayer that the surgeons heal you and you’re both up and active in rapid time šŸ™‚

Ciao!

Quote of the day: Your journey has molded you for your great good, And it was exactly what it needed to be. Don’t think that you’ve lost time. It took each and every situation you have encountered to bring you to the now. And now… is right on time! – Asha Tyson

Dukan – Day 123 Long Dinner Out!

Today was a PP day šŸ™‚

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 šŸ˜€ 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 1Ā 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:Ā If your dog is fat, you’re not getting enough exercise.Ā  ~Author Unknown