An alternate weight loss gauge

As regular reader will know, the scales at my exercise physiologist are not as friendly as the scales in my bathroom. Her scales say I have only lost two kilos in the last eight or so weeks and now weigh 68 kilos. My bathroom scales are more generous and tell me I am 66 kilos.

But I have another gauge.

Behold my skinny shorts.

Three months ago I couldn’t get into them. Two months ago I could get them on but I couldn’t do them up. Now I can do them up. Just.

They’re a little tight. Well, not-fit-for-public tight. So I am being loose with the truth when I say they are a little tight.

The fat has to go somewhere. These shorts push it up to a double muffin top.

But they are my gauge for weight loss. I know I have got to gorgeous in weight when I can fit into these. And be willing to be seen in public in them.

What’s your skinny clothes gauge?

Just looking…

It’s been nearly a year, and I haven’t bought any clothes.

But oh, dear Great Wardrobe Diet supporters, I have started looking. I won’t weaken, not now that I am so close to the finishing line, so don’t fear. But I have seen some clothes I would like.

What about these dresses? Even the name of the company,Bombshell, appeals to me. I could see me in any, and all, of these.

And you know my one weakness is a unique coat. What about this one?

OK, I am heading into summer and would have no call to wear it for many months, but it is so different and classically gorgeous. Just my style, something that isn’t “on trend” and so never dates, and something so unique and beautiful it will attract comments.

Same with the dresses. But my more frugal self is telling me I don’t need any of these. I have enough dresses and coats. Why would I need another?

Today’s dress for work was an old one but in my new svelte self (well, on the way back to my svelte self) I had comments at work (“Nice dress, Miss”).

OK, so I won’t buy dresses (well, maybe one) but I will be on the look out for some tops come January.

But while we’re on frivolous shopping, I’ve found a new scent I like, and will buy shortly. It’s quite a strong and long-lasting scent. Florabotanica by Balenciaga.

Do you switch perfumes or stick with a favourite scent?

I’m a switcher.

(Side story from earlier in the week: little unfortunately, I was on my way to a meeting at an alternate office and, having to park in the local shopping centre, I sprayed myself liberally with the new, wished-for scent as I walked through the department store. Opps, I forgot that there was a lady in this office who has an extreme chemical sensitivity/allergy. Luckily I didn’t cause any anaphylaxis. As the hip youngsters currently say, “Awkward.”)

PS: here’s another view of today’s dress. It was worn by Keli Lane during her trial. To say I was shocked she had my dress on is an understatement. OK, if I was a more sensitive, less shallow person, I would be equally more shocked about the actual case. Awkward.

Weather more suited for Poirot

What is going on?

Two weeks ago it was blisteringly hot. Humidity was zero. Now we are flooding. Luckily my suburb escaped the hail. When will the frogs and locusts appear? (Uh oh, we’ve got cicadas. Do they count as locusts?)

I know I am getting old but I really wanted to stay home, snuggle on the lounge and watch Poirot, and maybe some Jeeves and Wooster. But this was not to be. (I know Poirot died last week on British TV. Please don’t distress me with the details. I don’t want him dead. Anyway it will probably be years before ABC TV plays it here.)

But back to today, I headed off with Mr Sans to a get together with old friends.

I made these:

VEGETARIAN CURRY FRITTERS

1 onion, diced
couple of crushed garlic cloves
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp cumin powder
1tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp chopped chilli
1 X 400g can butter beans – drained, rinsed and mashed
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups SR flour
1 tsp bicarb soda
2 eggs, lightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Fry onions, garlic, ginger and spices in a little oil until onion is transparent – set aside. In a bowl, combine milk,flour, bicarb soda, eggs, salt and pepper and beat well until combined. Add onion mixture and mashed beans and mix until combined. Fry heapted tablespoonfuls in hot oil, turn once bubbles appear and fry until cooked through.

Serve with garlic sauce made from Greek yoghurt, garlic sauce and mint.

Didn’t take any photos. Not only because I am a crap photographer but because they were not the most attractive fritters. But they were yummy and went quickly.

I also took some cherry tomatoes in balsamic vinegar, cherry boccochini and grilled capsicum.

Here is where we were:

See that little shed thingy next to the pool? We were in there. A lovely view, no? Pity it wasn’t hot. Swimming right next to the harbour. Heaven.

We were sitting here:

But I have cheated. These photos are stolen borrowed form the web. Our hosts live in the apartment next to this one. They are both teachers. They’ve done quite nicely. Not too shabby at all! But Mr Sans could never be convinced to live in a flat. And as we are a noisy family, I think we’d get voted off the island quick smart.

And as you know, there was no sun. There were showers (absolutely pouring down showers) and drizzle and mist. But no sun.

Still it was lovely to catch up with friends.

And I did get enough TV on Friday night. I had the home to myself. My own music, a glass of red and dancing in the lounge room. Then…

Thunder storms. Rain. Lightning. Perfect for watching Miss Fisher in bed. And oh, Miss Fisher and Detective Inspector Jack singing a duet of Let’s Misbehave.

“We’re merely mammals, lets misbehave.”

And the rain on Saturday evening allowed more guilt free TV. A documentary on the lead singer from the Sunnyboys whose life was not so sunny.

And Keating being interviewed by Kerry O’Brien. What an amazing man Keating was! So erudite. And of broad tastes. But so focused.

But the mundane calls. Ironing. Pfft. I need a live-in lady’s maid. Oh, that’s right. Wrong century, wrong family, wrong life.

Leopard print is a neutral

Let’s get back to the more trivial.

Ten years go you would never have seen me dead in even a hint of leopard skin print. Tacky, tacky, tacky.

Well, either my opinion on leopard print has changed or my attitude to being tacky has changed. Now I embrace, neigh celebrate, my inner tacky.

Of course, one large piece with leopard print at a time is enough, or two pieces with some detail in leopard print.

Purrrr! Here’s my pieces.

My first leopard print item. A top. This is the one that broke me in.

A little clutch in a glow-meshie type of material. Glitter and leopard print! What more could a gal want?

A bag with a little detail.

My jacket. This is unbelievably soft and has an amazing weight to warmth ratio; it is so warm but weighs nothing.

And maybe my favourite item. My shoes which I shared in a previous post.

OK, the next item isn’t leopard print but is still from the big cat family. Lingerie. Oh la la.

And finally, my absolute favourites. Cats’ eyes sunnies.

6 items. Too much? No! I am after more. A pair of shoes with a heel. But we know how fussy I am with shoes!

Incomprehensible

When we had the bushfires here a little while ago, the loss of 200 homes seemed massive. Of course, we were lucky to lose no lives.

But how to comprehend the loss of 10,000 people? And the massive destruction of areas of the Philippines? The wiping out of homes and livelihood of those who had very little in the way of possessions to start with?

My daily dramas, well, these bigger events call for me to have some perspective, perspective people.

Even though I feel powerless to do much.

A colleague at work has called for clothes and footwear. She has family in the Philippines and a container is being sent next week to her brother who still lives there. He is OK and will use his home as a relief centre.

So those items I ummed and ahhed about are going. Why would I hang onto clutter, that I probably won’t wear, that I definitely won’t miss, when someone else needs it? I know it is as if nothing, my little donation a drop in the immensity of loss, but what else to do?

Nine tops and two pairs of thongs.

I will raid my sons’ wardrobes tonight. And ask a couple of neighbours.

A peaceful weekend

Weekend after weekend of blue skies and warm weather may sound like bliss but let me tell you Sydneysiders are desperate for a bit of rain.

Of course, we want rain to douse the fires.

And we want rain for our gardens. Everything is so dry and we are now so conscious of the need to save water that sprinklers are the memories of a different childhood.

The weekend started with a catchup with friends on a friend’s back verandah. Dinner, drinks, conversation. It was warm and rain threatened. A few drops fell but come Saturday it was warm and dry again. Will rain ever fall again?

I want rain for more frivolous reasons. Watching an Agatha Christie DVD is something I enjoy doing with my husband when it is cool and raining. This Sunday we got our chance. So we whipped out a bit of Poirot.

The setting, a place for dreams.

And then time to read a book while curled up in bed, with a bit of rain an excuse to not do more adventurous activities. (Opps, not one of the books I said I’d read as part of reading down the house challenge. But a new release I bought recently. Murder in Mississippi by John Safran.)

Of course, there was time for my slow weekend breakfast on both days with a pot of tea and my Wedgwood crockery, reading the papers and doing the Suduko.

And a walk on both days. So much easier when it is not so hot. The bird life looked happier on the Sunday with the cooler weather too. I get to see some lovely birds and saw a few Crimson Rosellas this weekend.

Last weekend the cicadas were deafening. Not to be heard this Sunday. I did see a big, fat green one on my walk. Which is unusual as you don’t normally see them, only hear them, especially not sitting on the footpath. Looked much like this one:

I did a few chores but I am happy to say I procrastinated more chores than I did.

Good but bad but good but …

With my feminist sensibilities I shouldn’t even care.

But I can’t help it. I am contradictory. Although that places me in good company.

So, it’s good that I’ve lost weight.

But it’s bad that I haven’t lost as much as I thought and it’s bad that it takes so much “giving up” to lose the little weight that I did.

But it’s good I’m being healthier and still losing the fat.

But it’s bad I even care. And it is bad that I care that I haven’t lost much weight.

And it’s good that, considering I went to the exercise physiologist for recurring back pain not for weight loss, that I haven’t had any pain for 5 weeks. (Only a niggling hip for a few days.)

Anyway, enough with the dilemmas.

I am 68 kilos. (But 67 on my home scales?)

Dropping half a kilo a fortnight. So bloody slow!

Still at least I am in the healthy weight range again.

But …

Opps. Enough with the dilemmas!

[Applaud now!]

My exercise physiologist says 67 kilos is doable on my current eating and exercise but any lower will either mean a much bigger change to my eating or stepping up my exercise to something I have no time or inclination to do.

Another self?

OK, maybe thinking about your future self isn’t working?

You still want to eat those biscuits with your cup of tea. And as you’re an adult and you want the bikkies, you will eat those bikkies. Godddamit. Why not? You deserve it! Hard day at work an’ all.

(Even though you’ve had a gazillion biscuits in your life and these are nothing out of the ordinary, But, hey, that’s besides the point.)

So, think about someone important to you. Your child. Your parent. Your partner.

What would your advice or direction be to them?

“Darling, you’ve had enough junk today. Wait for dinner. Don’t eat that. You’ll spoil dinner.”

“Muuuum. Why don’t you just stop eating that shit and then you mightn’t need to take all that medication with those side effects you complain about.” (OK, maybe it’s just in my family we use such abrupt language between mother and daughter.)

“Man. Why are you eating that? I need you healthy enough to work for at least another 10 years so we can pay off the mortgage.”

So give the same advice to yourself!!!

My future self

Here’s a thought to maybe help you resist that piece of cake or that Mars bar:

Think about your future self!

Right now you want gratification, you want to satisfy that craving. Or you forget that you are eating healthily and, out of habit, you reach for that chocolate bar.

But how will your future self view your consumption of that gooey chocolate bar?

Will your five-minute-from-now self feel guilty that you ate it?

Will your one-week-from-now self regret the message on the scales?

Will your one-year-from-now self fear what the doctor revels about the cholesterol and blood glucose tests?

For your future self, say no to the sugar and bad fat!

This thinking has helped me resist the left-over chocolates from Halloween. Happy to report I haven’t eaten one of these.

Happy to report the packet is empty but not from my efforts.

Unhappy to report that my sons have left the empty packet in the pantry for the house elves to drop in the bin.

Just another binge?

I started this latest regime of exercise to protect my back. And it seems to be working. I have had nothing, not even a twinge, for a few weeks.

Now to keep on doing it!

Have a told you before I am more your book reading, TV watching sloth?

In the past I have started an exercise regime, seen results and then, without any notice, just stopped. I seem to be a binge exerciser. All out for a while, and then nothing for a longer while, nothing.

But thus far, I am still exercising! I think keeping the exercise log, and the memory of the back pain, is stopping me stopping!

Here’s the 7 days following on from my last exercise log.

Day 1: 4.2km walk.
Day 2: My set exercises. And 55 minute walk.
Day 3: 30 minute walk and one hour working bee at local school.
Day 4: 30 minute walk.
Day 5: 1 hour Pilates.
Day 6: My set exercises.
Day 7: Nothing! Thursdays seem to be my no exercise day! This was a late day at work, a community meeting and Halloween.

I love silly memes, and here’s one of my new favourites, just to finish off this post.