Couldn't blog yesterday...

Something was wrong with blogger.. it would not let me in at all, so I gave up.

So yesterday was a good day again. Food wise and work wise. I was absolutely rushed off my feet but that's the way I seem to like it.

I had a small packet of yogurt coated raisins for a mid morning snack, a banana at mid afternoon and then some chilli with rice when I got home from work at about 10:30. No more than 850 calories for the day tops.

Today I have had a packet of sesame snaps for brekkie and some ravioli with pasta sauce, cheese and mayo for lunch. Its amazing the little I eat. I always want to put amounts, because when I write it, it sounds like loads, but its like a 1/3 portion of a normal adult. Take the pasta today for example. DH had 2/3rd and I had 1/3rd of the packet. Pre banding i would have used 2 packets to feed the three of us. So you can see how much it has reduced. Infact I think the band pays for itself after a while because I have really noticed that we have been shopping less too.

So I have my longest day of work today. Its my top earner, obviously, but I dread it. its because I have 4 pupils all in one house and 1 of them I don't like. However, I cant drop all 4 of them just because of 1 person. They would be mad, so I just need to keep hold of my pride and grit my teeth. I like the big fat cheque at the end of the day, so I don't have much choice!

At the moment, we are quite flush. DH got his redundancy cheque and I paid it in on Monday. Then he just got paid for his last 2 weeks work with them + his holiday pay and days he had accrued. I was well chuffed with that. Means at last we can get some money in the savings. I feel much better when we have a bit of cash in the bank.

So I am off to work now. See ya!

Weight Loss Motivation - Inspirational Quotes

Weight Loss Motivation

What you think you create, what you feel you attract, what you imagine you become.

The whole world steps aside for the person who knows where he is going.

Feeling healthy and feeling good about yourself is not a luxury - it's an absolute necessity.

A change from unhealthy habits to healthy habits will yield extraordinary results.

Failure is only a fact when you give up. Everyone gets knocked down, the question is: Will you get back up?

There is no such thing as luck. Success comes from actually doing it.

If you don't dare to begin, you don't stand a chance of getting there.

Some goals are so worthy it's glorious even to fail.

Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless.

You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.

Take twice as long to eat half as much.

In eating, a third of the stomach should be filled with food, a third with drink and the rest left empty. (Talmud)

Your body is the baggage you must carry through life. The more excess the baggage, the shorter the trip. (Arnold H.Glasgow)

Real Food V: Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is part of a tradition of fermented foods that reaches far into human prehistory. Fermentation is a means of preserving food while also increasing its nutritional value. It increases digestibility and provides us with beneficial bacteria, especially those that produce lactic acid. Raw sauerkraut is a potent digestive aid, probably the reason it's traditionally eaten with heavy food.

Sauerkraut is produced by a process called ‘anaerobic’ fermentation, meaning ‘without oxygen’. It’s very simple to achieve in practice. You simply submerge the cabbage in a brine of its own juices and allow the naturally present bacteria to break down the sugars it contains. The process of ‘lacto-fermentation’ converts the sugars to lactic acid, making it tart. The combination of salt, anaerobic conditions, and acidity makes it very difficult for anything to survive besides the beneficial bacteria, so contamination is rare. If it does become contaminated, your nose will tell you as soon as you taste it.

Store-bought sauerkraut is far inferior to homemade. It's soggy and sterile. Ask a German: unpasteurized kraut is light, crunchy and tart!

My method is inexpensive and requires no special equipment. I've tested it many times and have never been disappointed.

Materials

• Wide-mouth quart canning jars (cheap at your local grocery store)
• Beer bottles with the labels removed, or small jars that fit inside the canning jars
• Three tablespoons of sea salt (NOT iodized table salt-- it's fatal to our bacteria)
• Five pounds of green cabbage

Recipe

1. Chop cabbage thinly. Ideally the slices should be 2 mm or so wide, but it doesn’t matter very much. You can use a food processor, mandolin or knife.
2. Put all the cabbage together in a large bowl and add the salt. If the salt is not very dense (sometimes finely ground sea salt can be fluffy), you can add up to 5 tablespoons total. Mix it around with your hands. Taste some. It should be good and salty.
3. Let the salted cabbage sit in the bowl for 30 minutes or so. It should be starting to get juicy.
4. Pack the cabbage tightly into the canning jars. Leave 2-3 inches at the top of the jar. When you push on the cabbage in the jar, you should be able to get the brine to rise above the cabbage. Try to get rid of air bubbles.
5. Put water into the beer bottles and place them into the canning jars. The weight of the bottles will keep the cabbage under the brine. It’s okay that some of the brine is exposed to the air; the cabbage itself is protected.
6. Let it sit for 2 weeks at room temperature! As the fermentation proceeds, bubbles will form and this will raise the level of the brine. This is normal. You might get some scum on top of the liquid; just check for this and scrape it off every few days. It won’t affect the final product. If the brine drops to the level of the cabbage, add salt water (1 tsp/cup, non-chlorinated water) to bring it back up.
7. Taste it! It should be tart and slightly crunchy, with a fresh lactic acid flavor. If fully fermented, it will keep in the fridge for a long time.

Here are some photos from making sauerruben, which is like sauerkraut but made with turnips:

Inside Mariah Carey's Refrigerator

Mariah Carey is looking very slim again. This afternoon, we can see her interviewed on the Oprah Show. She'll be telling Oprah about her diet and exercise regiment.

And she has let some reporters into her New York apartment to let us see what is in her fridge. You won't find any junk food there, but there are lots of fresh clams, swordfish, veggies, fresh vegetable soup and rice.

See the preview with a brief scene of Carey's kitchen and fridge at People Magazine.

AMAZING RESULTS

Today I weigh

15 stone 13 and a half pounds.

I got on 5 times.

15 stone 13 and a half pounds. Oh my.

I have reached my next two goals.

I have lost 2 stone and half a pound since having my band fitted (28.5lbs)

I have lost 3 stone (42lbs) since starting my weightloss expedition back in 2005.

I am also now in

THE 15 STONE ZONE

Whoop Whoop, Whoop Dee Doop!

Come and look at my pretty things...

*Rubs cold hands together in the half light of a candle*

I feel so Jewish its unreal.

DH has started his new job with avengance. We are now officially in 'business'. He has turned over some serious cash today, and I can hardly believe it!

But... before you think that finally our little family might be getting a little break at last...

THE BLOODY BOILER BROKE TODAY

Yes, thats right, so not only do we have lots of pretty things, but we are definately cold too... I am going to change DH's name to Uria Heap, and mine to Esther and DS can be... um... Mordecai or something!

I seriously don't know how we get it timed so well.

Here is a cute photo of Mary. Pregnancy is starting to take its toll on her and she is getting really really really fat! She is sleeping all the time practically and if not sleeping, she is eating!

Artificial Sugar - Less Calories, More Side Effects

Google "Aspartame Side Effects"
Artificial sweeteners are just as evil as sugar itself. There is an endless list of side effects that you can get from aspartame. Just google "Aspartame Side Effects" and you will know. The best thing to do is to avoid all artificial and chemical sweetener substitutes. Aspartame is the most common form of artificial 'low calorie' sugar. It is found in most diet products and diet sodas. It is also found as a tabletop sweetener for coffee or tea.
Quick Weight Loss Tips