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Thursday 20 October 2011

The Christmas countdown begins and my diet is ever-improving!

So 9 weeks to Christmas eh?! Cue hysteria! I'm still unemployed so Christmas is total panic-stations with money! Luckily I don't have many presents to buy but the social aspect doesn't come cheap. It really doesn't help that two weeks beforehand I'm going to Holland for 5 days to visit my sister who's studying there! Do NOT have a clue how I'll do this. I've a grand total of €60 saved! Oh well- I'll do it somehow, I'm sure!
I've also got a Christmas panto to look forward to (in January for some reason)! I was badgered into auditioning for a singing part but really nervous about the thought of singing solo, though I love singing at home and when I'm drunk! I think it's a little different to the karaoke I'm used to from my Korea days! So while it'll be exciting if I get the part, it'll also reduce me to a nervous wreck! I'm enjoying being involved regardless!
As far as health goes, I have another cold this week! >:( I've a huge appetite when I'm sick and I comfort-eat like a mo-fo! I was under the illusion that exercising while ill was, ahem, ill-advised! :P However, a spot of googling has informed me this is not strictly true so I'll be hitting up the gym later and then making Jamie Oliver's Chicken Madras (with a few adaptions, such as adding potatoes- LOVE a spicy curry with potatoes)! This will probably be followed by an Aero mousse (new addiction and around 100calories each) or two!!
9 weeks to my deadline for the 10stone mark. I doubt I'll be there but just gonna keep plodding on. The goal-setting is really just to keep myself in the mindset. End goal is still 9stone 12 or maybe 10 but once I'm around 10 stone I'll be chuffed to bits. As it is I'm doing well. I'm getting into size 10s (sometimes).
The pictures are from a HILARIOUS Friday night out a couple of weeks back. I'm wearing a size 10 dress from ASOS with an ASOS belt that in hindsight did not fit right! Such a fun night- they were playing 'back in the day' tracks. The highlight was undoubtedly Eiffell 65 'Blue Dabadee'! Hilarity!
Also, hit up Hop House, Parnell St, Dublin last week and had some mad good Korean food and booze with a friend from my Korea days! Soju and Hite! Eating Korean again after making MAJOR diet changes was such a revelation. I was at the height of my unhealthiness back in Korea and I missed out on so much yummy food because I was ridiculously picky. That was why my weight just ballooned- 90% of the time I ate the Western food that was available which was mainly fried or cheesy or both!
I'm still a fussy eater but I've come so far- I'm much more adventurous with food now and I'm really pleased with myself for that. I spent a year in Korea and the smell alone of kimchi put me off. Last week I ignored that and tried it. I can't say I loved it but it was ok and I ate bits of it throughout the meal just because! Major progress!
I'm now at a stage where I'm introducing new foods to my diet all the time. For example, a year ago I hated onions in any shape or form and now I use onion in my cooking almost daily! I've a long way to go to being a true foodie but I cook more and am waaay more open to trying things. I'm not always overly concerned with the calorie content of foods because, I think, the true path to healthy-eating lies in variety and openness and that's what I'm striving for! Onwards and upwards! I know I'm a healthy weight now and goal is inevitable whether it be sooner or later. For now I'm embracing new, ever-expanding varied diet!

Friday 14 October 2011

Diet Myths debunked

 I found an interesting piece on diet/fitness myths on Livestrong. To read it click here.

Thursday 13 October 2011

A to Z

A. Age: 26
B. Bed size: double
C. Chore you dislike: anything involving grease
D. Dogs: nope
E. Essential start to your day: something healthy
F. Favorite color: Purple
G. Gold or silver: both
H. Height: just a little under 5'6
I. Instruments you play(ed): I learned bits and pieces but never got any good at them and lost patience
J. Job title: currently none!
K. Kids: None
L. Live: West of Ireland
M. Mothers name: Helen
N. Nicknames: none that have stuck long term
O. Overnight hospital stays: Yeah- twice- when I'd my tonsils out and when the stitches burst a week later (was horrible)
P. Pet peeves: People who don't say please thank you or excuse me- simple words that are just common courtesy!
Q. Quote from a movie: none spring to mind.
R. Righty or lefty: Right
S. Siblings: 5 sisters
T. Time you wake up: usually 11pm-ish- gotta love not workin!
U. Underwear: I love french knickers and boy shorts. t-shirt/ plunge/ lace bras
V. Vegetables you don’t like: lettuce, turnip, parsnip and some other ones. I tend to like veg people like to cook eaten raw- eg raw carrots, raw mushrooms, raw broccoli. Think that's why I eat most my veg stirfried so it's just barely cooked.
W.What makes you run late: my total lack of organisation!
X. X-rays you’ve had: my broken front tooth and my busted ankle
Y. Yummy food you make: salt/chilli chicken, spag bol, butter chicken, chicken madras- yeah I like chicken-ha
Z. Zoo animal favorites: meh, dunno. elephants and monkeys are quite cool. havent been to a zoo in yeeeeeeears!

Moving the right way :)

Finn.x
Last weigh-in, on Thursday, I weighed 10stone11lbs! Woooo!!! Since then, however, I've been fairly relaxed about my healthy-eating and I'm away all week minding Finn which means I can't hit the gym and also means I will inevitably eat badly! Case in point= the last two nights I've had really bad indigestion which I attribute to white bread- which I dont even particulary like! So lets just see what the next weigh-in brings. Ten stone by Christmas- gonna aim for 9stone 12 but 2lbs out is acceptable! Ha! You always hear that the last stone is the hardest but think I've been doing really well of late (excluding the last couple of days obviously). Think I can do it?!!
Cheeeese

Sunday 18 September 2011

Hi hi! Weight/ fitness updates continue..

So I'm still firmly at 71kg. Not too pissed at that cos I know it takes a bit of a jolt to get stuff moving. I had a good week. I went to the gym 6 days out of the 7- Mon= cardio and legs, Tues= cardio and arms, Wed=cardio, Thurs= cardio, legs, Fri= cardio, arms, Sat= cardio. Also did various Swiss balls excercises throughout. I didnt restrict my food too much, though I was eating 'gym-aware' so had lots of protein, fresh veg and 'good carbs'. Sunday was a total BLOWOUT though! I've eaten pizza, Chinese, crisps, cake, jaffa cakes, Super Noodles, a big cookie and drank copious amounts of wine. :O
Normal services shall be resumed tomorrow!! I think I'm gonna get a bit strict on the food this week- wholesome dinners and  fuel for the day! Problem is the half-jar of Nutella in the cupboard! :(

Tuesday 13 September 2011

September- where I'm at

I'm baaaack!!
Hi all! So here we go- time for an update! The weather is miserable out there but I'm taking it as a positive.... all these dark days mean it's coming up to Halloween aaaand.... Christmas!! So after the Summer that never was, I'm looking forward to Christmas and it's only mid- September!! Haha!! But, with Christmas, comes my goal weight.... or so I hope. Under 10 stone or broke dudes!!



Sooo... my weight at the moment is 11stone 2lbs. I've re-joined the gym and am gonna go hell for leather on that front, hopefully!! I'm pretty happy with how my body is looking most of the time but I'm jiggling more than I should be after my gym hiatus! I'm really enjoying cooking at the moment. I'm not bothering with calorie counting for the moment. I may get more strict with food in a couple of weeks but, for now I'm just gonna work on getting my fitness back and eating fairly healthy foods and then get tough with the diet side of things as needs be. I tend to eat better when I'm working out anyway, generally.


Photos show the reason for the lack of weight-loss!! Haha!! Pints through straws, Chinese takeaways and Italian food- gotta love Milano though!!
The starry dress and green velvet jacket from the first pic are oooold Primark. I've used a hair doughnut for the updo with a pearl bracelet wrapped around- shame you cant see but it looked very cute!
The polka-dot dress is also Primark. It's my mates and she bought it months ago!! Love it! My leather jacket is a hand-me down. The red striped top is, surprise surprise, Primark!! Pink sunnies too! Nail polish is Collection 2000 Hot Looks in 'Button Moon'.
I've been helping out with the five year olds at my local primary school and researching primary teaching postgrads here in Ireland. I'll have an interview in January. If I dont get a course I'm just going to do another English teaching course and continue the TEFL route.
So, yeah life is good. I hope to be updating my blog again soon with weightloss updates and maybe some recipes. We'll see what happens! ;)

Wednesday 17 August 2011

Jane Russell Looking for Trouble

Love it! Love her! RIP Jane.

Monday 15 August 2011

I suck on many fronts


I have totally been neglecting the ole blog- though, to be fair, I don't have much to report. I haven't been working out and my weight has plateaued at the 11stone mark. I haven't been trying at all and my only concern has been maintainance. But now it's time to get back to normal. I'm starting some fitness classes next week and going to start cooking good meals again! I want the last 16lbs gone by Christmas! I'd say Halloween but that may be a tad optimistic!




Aside from the weight update, I've been busy minding Finn- I went to Scotland for a week with him and his parents in July and this week and for the next two weeks I'm in Dublin playing nanny since his mum just went back to work. I also had friends visit from the US and UK for a mini Korea reunion so we did a lot of drinking that week!

Til next time peeps!


Sunday 12 June 2011

Red

Decided to go red. I loved being blonde but was too much upkeep and far too damaging. Some people can work the roots thing but, for me, it looked ungroomed or scuzzy or something. And my colour in daylight was kind of off. I missed having shiny hair too!

The red will fade like a mother but at least the roots will be less upkeep. I love it! I was apprehensive because I kept hearing/reading that everyone's going red and I'd hate to fall in with the trendy peeps but then I realised that, at least where I live, it isn't THAT popular. And besides, if I can work it then who cares?! So, yes, I like!

Body-wise, I've working on my stomach and loving the results. It's getting much more toned looking and I'm getting rid of the love handles! I've also started working on my arse as it seems to be slowly disappearing into a saggy/flat mess! :( So I've been encorporating bum exercises into my workouts-lunges with weights and squats with a fitness ball against a wall while holding weights. Buns of steel shall be mine!!! Weight is hovering around 11stone 1 or 2. I amn't so pushed now that I'm NO LONGER OVERWEIGHT! I'm focusing more on how I look and getting toned.

I miss checking out everyone's blogs! Throw me a comment or two guys!

Sunday 29 May 2011

So close

I now weigh 11stone 1 lb!! That's 13lb to goal! That's no longer overweight! I am now a healthy weight!! So pleased with myself!
So I've decided that goal is no longer 10stone 4lbs. I'm going to aim for 9stone 12lbs by my birthday in August. Bring it on! :D

Thursday 19 May 2011

Quickie

(Primark dress. I paid 15 euro a few weeks ago. It's now selling for 7! Grrr!)
I have been on antibiotics for the last week and ill for 4 days before that so it's been 2 weeks since I set foot in the gym. I'm away for a few days so will probably be Tuesday before I get back into my routine. Weight is the same if not a few lbs up. I have been eating like a mo-fo to make up for feeling like crap!
It's less than a month to my Irish exams and I'm screwed. There is so much to do!!
Loving my new apartment. So warm and cosy. Really missing the internet though! I miss blogging! I'm going to try and get photo up more often and get some proper blogs going again!
(Yes I'm aware there's a toilet behind. We thought it was funny. I'm trying to show off my hair but you can't see my lazy updo- I used a hair doughnut.)(This dress is really cute. Don't have a proper pic. I borrowed it from a friend. I love stripes!)

Been doing 'Take Me Out' nights at a local nightclub recently- so much fun and loadsa free drink! Nice!
Finn was christened at Easter. Was a great day. I loved my A-Wear dress. Such a cool colour! :D
(Me and the ladies of the family! I look like I need to pee! Could prob have found a better pic but computer is slooooow at uploading so can't be bothered.)

Ok so all updated! Talk soon!! x

Friday 29 April 2011

11stone4lb

I have a stone to go!
No longer have internet at home so updates have been few and far between. My bad!
My nephew Finn's Christening was on Sunday and it was a lovely day. I reached my weight target (albeit at top end).
I'm still size 12-14. I'm feeling good and looking forward to getting the next 14lbs off and reassessing my weight/fitness goals as needs be. Hoping that will happen by my birthday in August. It seems like a lot of time but I'm not rushing things. I've definitely realised that forming sustainable habits is more important than reaching dramatic weight targets. That said- I've lost almost 3stone and 3 dress sizes since last Summer which is no mean feat!
With longterm weightloss in mind, I'm not being very strict on myself when it comes to food but just trying to keep the bad stuff to a reasonable volume. That's where I wanted to be all along- to have a lifestyle in which Iwould be just as likely to eat something healthy as unhealthy. I genuinely enjoy healthy food now- almost as much as the yummy unhealthy stuff!
Gym is going well on the days I get there! For example, yesterday I hadnt been in a week so I did 2 hours and a half hours between warm up/ cool-down, fitness ball, an hour of cardio and an hour of weights and then went for an hour-long walk afterwards. Then did an hour of cardio today. Will get there tomorrow for 2 hours and then will be off for the weekend's shenanigans and unhealthiness! Probably back on track Tuesday! That's the usual pattern anyway! As with the food, I really enjoy working out. Some days I can't be bothered but once I go I get red and sweaty and really challenge myself and ignore the pervy lads who like to look at my arse while I'm doing my cardio!
Anyway, there's your update! I have loads of photos coming when I get a chance. Promise!!
Bye for now!

Tuesday 5 April 2011

I miss the internet

So we moved house! Yay! Our new place is pretty and homely. Problem is- no tv and no internet! :( It really sucks! To be fair, though I should be glad to have less distractions when it's a week til my Irish Oral Exam. Unfortunately, age has not improved my motivation or inclination to study. I'm not too worried though because I remember quite a bit, vocab-wise, so just need to review grammar and learn some phrases. It's less than 3 weeks till Finn's christening so I need to get a little more strict on what I'm eating. I'd originally aimed to be at 11stone-ish by then but that's just not happening! I don't mind though as I'm still seeing progress in the mirror! I lost a pound last week so will try to be good this week and hopefully lose another couple before Easter. Oh and food of the week- raspberry smoothies with peanut butter. Yum!

Tuesday 29 March 2011

I had a very naughty weekend

Weighing myself tomorrow and hoping for a loss. However, after a fairly angelic week, my weekend was terrible. Lots of treats and alcohol! Trying to back to normal from today until the weekend rolls around again. We're moving house on Friday so hopefully I will be too busy for over-eating.
And now for a lot of photos:
Saturday night:

We went for a drive to the beach on Sunday but it was cold so we didnt go down walking. My maxi dress is Primark and I'd been wearing it the night before. For night I wore it with wedges, denim jacket (Primark), gold bangles (Forever 21), pewter clutch (primark I think) and a skinny belt (primark). The next day I wore with orange gladiatior sandals (primark), gold aviators(primark) and an orange cardi (Dunnes Stores).

The purple earrings are from a market in Spain.I love this dress. It's a hand-me-down from Dunnes Stores. My sister lost weight and it didnt fit her properly anymore. Lucky me!
I can really notice the weight loss recently. I have a collarbone and my legs are noticeably thinner! Yay!
MUFE HD foundation, lipstick is Maybelline Color Sensational in Midnight Plum, eyes are 88 matt palette and Guerlain Bronze Dore 481 quad, and I'm wearing Benefit Coralista blush.

We had quite the sing-along!
I'm wearing clothes. I just pulled my straps down for the picture! Haha!


Saturday 26 March 2011

Right in Two lyrics - Tool - 10,000 Days

30 Day Song Challenge Day1. My favourite song: Tool: Right in Two. It isn't a happy song but but the darkness is negated by how beautiful and clever it is in it's construction! A song about evolution where the music evolves as it goes on, getting more complex and violent. "Monkey killin' monkey killin' monkey over pieces of the ground".

Beware of artificial sweeteners!


  • I just had a close call. Ate some sugar free sweets again, forgetting about the mint-cident. Luckily I was home this time!! Artificial sweetener ain't a friend! I didn't eat that many sweets either but, I suppose I'd been eating a few over the last couple of days so it probably just all got too much! Glad Diet Coke doesn't have this effect because, though I know it's terrible for me, I regularly drink 2litres in a day when I'm hungover!
  • Just did a spot of Google-ing and it appears this is common. I don't know if everyone is lucky enough to shart though! "Sugar free mints and chocolate often contain 'sugar alcohols' (e.g. sorbitol, mannitol or xylitol)."
  • Anyhoo, in less gross news, after yesterday's talk about not getting to caught up in weigh-ins I will tentatively say what I'm about to say/ type! Did an hour of sweaty cardio today and weighed 75.5kg- down 1lb. Whether this for real remains to be seen. My real weight will be recorded on Wednesday. Right now, my official weight stays at this Wednesday's figure of 76kg. Pretty sure I ate well enough and exercised enough to deserve a weightloss this week but, long as I'm on this roll I won't get to bogged down in the figures!

Friday 25 March 2011

Change of direction and life update

  • 3 posts in as many hours. Sorry! Promise it's the last!
  • I am looking at the oul blog and thinking it is so shit! All I ever post about is weightloss and healthy living mentality accompanied by pictures of my unhealthy activities of a weekend! I'm forever thinking of interesting things to blog about and never actually writing the posts! I think I'm gonna bring back makeup posts and start getting some outfit posts going now that I no longer hate my body. I'm considering sharing more personal shit too. I have yet to receive anything but positive responses for anything I've posted so I feel a little more brave! I have more imagination than to have such a boring blog! More effort is required. I'm using this as an online journal- something to look back on so it fits that I should be more personal!
  • I have a few ideas for future posts that may pique the interest of some and bore others to tears so be patient while I figure out what I'm at!
  • I have busy times ahead. Oral Irish exam in just over 2 weeks. Moving house AGAIN next week because the place we've been living in for the last 6 months sucks monkey balls almost as much as our landlord and agency! Have to go househunting again tomorrow though I'm pretty sure we saw our future place today! With tomorrow in mind, it was probably not my brightest idea to stay up til 4.30am! Ooooops! The weather here is gorgeous at the moment. Sunny with very little chill in the breeze. Edel and I are already making big plans for the beach and barbeques for Summer.
  • So, yeah, next few weeks= argh! Moving, oral exam and working out like crazy so I can look as good as possible for the giant photo op that will be my nephew's christening on Easter Sunday! I also need to save for a gift for him and find an outfit to wear! €€€

I suck


I blow at Blogger! I am not a computer whizz and have nooooooo idea how to format shit as I'm sure you all may have noticed! Any suggestions for a dumb blonde like me? Be nice! :P

Continuation and update

  • Last post was about dieting and hunger! A friend read it and asked if I was talking about them and I just dismissed it with a simple, confused 'no' without thinking why they asked til later. I came on just now to update and reread it and was like 'wtf?!.. if you think that's about you then bitch you be starvin yourself!' :P However, I'm sure, if I elaborate, everyone who has ever seriously watched their weight will see themselves!!
  • I HATE the word diet. I hate even saying that I'm on a diet. I always judge people when they say that. I don't think the word diet, or my definition of it, is positive. It just makes me think deprivation, rules, limitations and hunger. Strict, scary, horrible!
  • Rules are not for me. The only rules I can ever follow are the ones I make because they are so flexible! There are certain limitations that need to be in place in my life but, ultimately, I live to be happy. Obsessing over every last calorie and every lost pound is NOT happiness to me!
  • That's not me dismissing diets or the approaches to weightloss that work for other people. My housemate is losing shitloads of weight on Unislim (Similar idea to Weight Watchers) and looking damn hot! And that shit ain't easy! The thought strikes fear in me because of the regimentedness. Numbers and targets and weighing foods and rules, even the fact that you have to be somewhere at a specific time and place every week!
  • I am NOT saying that my housemate or people who go to Unislim or WW or whatever are too hardcore or whatever, though I definitely think my hobag housemate could cut herself an occassional break on the exceptionally rare weeks she doesn't achieve yet another giant weightloss! (She reads this and knows that I am calling her a hobag in an affectionate way... that and she's a bitch! :P) My problem with the regime part, is the failure aspect.
  • At various points in my weightloss, I got really into weighing myself! That's what I consider being 'on a diet'. When you are rating your progress on numbers there is always a slight feeling that if you don't lose weight every week you are failing or setting yourself back or whatever. And that's the problem where I'm concerned- the pressure of it spurs you on when you do well and the negative shit that brings into your mind- I didnt lose weight this week/month. I suck. I am going to eat only grapes or whatever. I would not be able to do that but ya know what I'm getting at.
  • You cant ignore the numbers. You would be quite the fool to do that! I still weigh myself to check which way I'm moving. But I HATE getting obsessive about the weighing part. I hate doing that when I know I eat well 80% of the time and I really enjoy working out! Some weeks the 80% dips to 50% and then I give myself a talking to and get back on track! I know that's not an approach for everyone but it stops me getting bogged down in feeling like I suck when I 'fail'.
  • So, scratch that....when I wrote last time, it WAS about you, all of you, anyone who thinks it applies to them- it probably does. It wasnt AIMED at anyone though- nobody but the monsters in my mind. It was a general reference to shitty habits that don't solve anything long-term. Shit that loads of people do. It was me having a word with myself over feeling crappy for barely losing weight in 2011 when the important thing was that I was looking better and living better. I wasn't considering starving or whatever I refered to. I was talking myself out of falling into a pity party and likening pity parties to all the other shitty 'diet' habits that exist! Which is an important talk to have with myself considering I AM NOT ON A DIET!

  • AND NOW FOR THE UPDATE:

  • I'm back at 76kg! Hhahaha! Such a plateau number-wise! However, I think I'm proving myself right here- SIZE 12! Kinda proves the point right?! I'm still a 14 in trousers but my 14s are roomier than they were a month ago. I tried on stuff today in the shop- sizes 14 and 12. I walked out with only 12s. So negativity, obsessive weighing and forbidden foods can suck my balls! Weightloss is ultimately about your own self control. Have your cake (or chinese food in my case), eat it too, then don't have cake again til you REALLY want it (Sometimes it may be 2 days later but it happens.) and then enjoy it all the more! It seems to be working for me even if that dick of a scales won't agree! :P

Tuesday 15 March 2011

Starving ain't my bag baby

I am still on plateau and I dont even care!

I refuse to be an obsessive dieter. I'm not going to constantly beat myself up over the things I eat for enjoyment and not nutrition. So actually I'm not going to be a dieter! I don't want to be on a diet for life. How many people can make that a success? Real success in weight loss, from what I've heard, involves an overhaul of your habits and does not happen overnight! I am not going to hang around the place feeling hungry just so I can say a weigh a pound less! Who the fuck cares?! I look better and I'm changing my lifestyle to make myself happier. I'm cutting out my bad habits slowly and building new ones but I'm not going to cut things out or go to bed starving or barely eat for a couple of days because I ate 300 calories too many one day. It's not a race to lose weight.

I know I'm going to hit goal this year- it's not even a question in my mind because I'm not going back. Some days I eat shitty and then I reach my quota and eat healthily for a while again BECAUSE I WANT TO! I don't physically feel good if I eat too much grease or sugar so, if I do it for a couple of days that's enough and I get back on track! There is faaar too much negativity surrounding the whole diet/ weight loss thing and I don't think it's ok. You shouldn't torture yourself- mentally or physically. Life is way too fucking short!!!

So, so fucking what if I don't lose weight this week.. or next week... or next month. I know what direction I'm moving in and that's REAL progress.

Thursday 3 March 2011

Weight/fitness update

***
Since my gym membership ended in mid January I've gone to a few circuit training classes and tried to keep my overeating and naughtiness to a mininum. However, I weighed myself today and I'm 77 kg- 12 stone 2! Grrr!!! According to compliments recently, I am looking thinner in the last few weeks. Goddamned scales just needs to catch up!! Ha!!After my shitty weigh-in, I worked my ass off in a kettlebell class. Fook, that shit is hard!! Re-joining the gym tomorrow for another three months. I have a huge target set for myself too... My nephew is being christened on Easter Sunday, April 24th. I want to be in and around 11stone. So I'm aiming to lose 14-16lbs in 7 and a half weeks. 2lbs a week sounds doable but will mean curbing my treats, working out 5 times a week and cutting back on my daily intake of calories. The official count will begin tomorrow so get ready for a lot more weight-related updates!
***
The first pictures are from Dublin and Wexford! My nephew in Dublin is adorable and I'd a great weekend in Wexford with my cousin and his friends. The other pics are from this weekend at home. I was wearing a really cute high-waisted floral skirt but didnt think to get a photo! I haven't cut my hair btw -it's just pinned back.
Ok so that's about it on the update-front. Feel free to comment! And wish me luck!!! :P