Tofulicious

Believe it or not, although I'm such a keen cook, I've never used Tofu before. I mean I tried vegetarian sausages, burgers, spreads and whatnot, but never Tofu. Until recently. No idea what brought it on, but I wanted to try an alternative to use in my stir fry, so I went and bought the firm Tofu and got working. To be honest, it's recommended to press it to get rid of the excess water, and I tried it, but I prefer it straight out of the packet, just dabbed until it's dry-ish.

I did a stir fry with spring onions, carrots, green beans, Samphire and Pancit Canton flour sticks with soy/honey sauce, but it goes equally well with Basmati or Thai rice.A sprinkle of sesame seeds and there you  have a perfectly healthy vegetarian dish, quick but anything but boring.
It was rather delicious and the Tofu has a smooth texture, almost like scrambled egg. Very interesting. I'll definitely do that again.

In addition to that it's low in calories, probably one reason why I have lost another 3cm around my tummy. Sunday's the day of truth and I was very pleased to see that I've shrunk again. My guess is that I've lost about 7 to 8kg of fat, but replaced it with muscles. Fine by me. Now I'll have to concentrate on losing fat only.

I don't intent to play Bingo ...

4 pint is approx. 2kg

... therefore I don't need Bingo wings. Yes, it's another post about workout and exercises, but I'm only sharing my progress so that others can see it's possible without becoming a gym bunny, ending up like a stick insect. And more importantly: without having to spend hundreds on equipment.
Last year, we were in the roof garden having a picnic after a great harvest. That by itself wasn't a problem; the pictures taken, however, were. You know, it was a hot day, I wore shorts and a tank top, in short, the right clothes to show off what you have. Or don't have, in my case, that is a fit body.
My legs were fat, covered with cellulite mainly in the back, my tummy was a massive bulge, and my arms were just big and flabby. I hate flabby. It just wasn't a pleasant sight. Despite my voicing my disgust, everyone kept telling me I'm okay and I should stop complaining. Seriously? I mean I'm not one who has her skeleton poking through her paper-thin skin, saying I'm too fat. Quite the contrary: I have a very healthy relationship with my image in the mirror, let alone the brutal reality check those picture had imprinted on me. Photos, if not modified, are as honest as they get. I knew I had to do something, but I didn't. Not until this winter when none of my trousers fitted anymore and even my huge Parka got a little tight around the chest. That was a point I snapped and got my arse into gear. I won't go and repeat what I've done in the past three months, because I've posted about it previously, but I want to offer some motivation to those who aren't comfortable going to the gym or hate hopping about in front of a DVD for an hour or so doing over-complicated exercises.
I'm not a pro, so I have no clue if I'm doing everything right, but I can share what I'm doing and hope you'll try it out.
This time it's bingo wings. A great and easy way is shown in  this video, but because I'm not a sissy, I do it with two 4pt bottles. Ha! 15 reps, three times, sitting on a gym ball, which also engages my core. I'll up the repetitions to 20 and then 25 when the burning goes.
In the beginning, I did ten repetitions twice with only one bottle and it was enough to feel it for days. So I'd say take it slow, nobody's rushing you, right? If you do it twice or three times a week and gradually add more repetitions and weight, you'll feel the difference. Of course only if you're not too big. All the workout in the world won't help if you're not changing your diet, too, and lose the fat covering your muscles. :-)
Oh and you can combine it later with squats to get the wobbly backside back in form, too. Look up some videos on how to do squats properly and try it out. 

Next I'll plan to add triceps dips as shown here: 
For some reason I can't upload the video to watch immediately. But it's worth checking it out. 
I hope, I've encouraged you to do a little bit for yourself at home.

Beautiful pain

My well-used stability ball

There's only one pain I thoroughly enjoy: sore muscles after a good workout. As you know I'm on a journey to whip myself back into shape and losing three stones (roughly 20kg). Quite funny, when I tell people I'm overweight, they look at me with disbelief, saying I look 'normal'. Isn't it shocking that an overweight person looks 'normal' to others in a society with morbidly obese people? I tell you what, big is not beautiful. At all. And I don't believe anyone who says being fat is enjoyable.
Seriously? I call myself fat, although I'm far from waddling and having to stop every few steps to catch my breath. But even then I have (or better had) my difficulties tying my laces or wiping my arse. So, if I find it already difficult being 'only' overweight, I can't imagine that fat people do those tasks with ease. Personally, I don't know any fat person who's never tried to lose weight. Not one. I believe most fat people who say they like being fat are only saying it because they've tried every diet on the planet and failed either at keeping it up or gained their weight back. Not surprisingly, though, dieting is the worst thing you can do if you're overweight. Crash dieting to lose a pound or two, fine, if you're not doing it regularly and have a normal weight. 
Anyway, back to my plan: in order to not only shed the pounds, but also get into shape, I do regular workouts in addition to my daily 1-hour-power walk in the park. Anyone who has a stability ball (gym ball) and Internet can do it. There are vast amounts of videos with easy exercises for abs, upper and lower body. I used to go to physio when I was younger (back troubles) and recalled a few workouts I did back then, plus chose a few from the net and they seem to work just fine. If you're unsure, you should consult your GP beforehand. If those workouts are done wrongly, they can do more harm than good.
This one is an easy one that should work for beginners. It's much harder than it looks, believe you me.

Although I'm cycling a lot, walk quite a bit and take the steps rather than the lift, my abs and back weren't really trained. Only ten repetitions had me aching for a whole week. It didn't take long to adapt again and I've widened the range of exercises to target certain areas (thighs, back, arms). Cardio alone will not tone all areas and I really don't want to be slim and wobbly. I hate wobbly bits.

Home made vegetable curry with couscous

Of course I'm watching what I'm eating, too, but it's not that big a difference to before as my diet has always been healthy. I cut out biscuits (mostly) and eat smaller portions, or replace one meal with a freshly made fruit salad. I use sugar and milk in my tea and still eat chocolate and cake. In general I eat between 1500 to 2000 calories a day. 
Since I started end of January, I've lost about two inches (7cm) around my tummy, which is my main area of concern. I also lost around my arse and legs, which I'm quite pleased with. It's painfully slow, but it's healthier that way. Not sure how many pounds I've dropped; I estimate it must be around twelve to sixteen pounds (6 to 8kg), but gained on muscle, which weighs more than fat. For all I know is that I comfortably fit into my favourite jeans again, which is a start. My aim is 20 pounds (10kg) till May, then further 20 pounds till end of this year. It's doable. I want to say goodbye to my fat arse and wobbly tummy for good and go back to my sexy slim, but still curvy body. Can't wait!