Healthy Girl 365, Day 6 - An Eating Out Challenge!

One thing that I find super-tough about trying to live healthily is eating out. I'm a total foodie, and the temptation to pick the biggest, most indulgent-sounding meal on the menu always overcomes me. I'm not one to order salads, or grilled fish with steamed vegetables, or vegetable medleys. And as I said the other day, it's OK to indulge once in a while without hurting your health. Last night I went to a wedding and I ate exactly what I wanted (though I was careful to eat a light breakfast and lunch in preparation). Today I had lunch in the Swan Valley with some amazing ladies, and I was faced with a pretty exquisite menu - chicken saltimbocca, lamb in puff pastry, creamy pasta... I was drooling. But I was also conscious of the fact that everyone knew I was on a health kick, plus I'd had an indulgent meal the night before, so I found the strength to order the bruschetta. Now, it came out with feta and pancetta and shaved parmesan, but not a large amount of any of these so I was happy with my choice (it totally fit into my Weight Watchers points for the day). Also, it was served on two chunky pieces of white bread but I'm not at the stage where I'm avoiding white bread yet!! No, this wasn't the most exciting meal on the menu but it was tasty, and after I'd finished eating it, what did that matter? The meal was finished, and I was just as satisfied as I would have been if I'd ordered the creamy pasta (but much less bloated-feeling).

I can definitely see eating out to be an area that I need to be very disciplined in, so I'm counting today's lunch as a win. This evening I've been googling ideas for choosing healthy meals at restaurants and found this article pretty good - it includes a basic list at the bottom of healthy and not-so-healthy options for a variety of cuisines.

Healthy Girl 365, Day 5 - Ladies Who Walk

This morning while the sane were sleeping, I forced myself out of bed at 6.30 (yep, on a Saturday. There was whimpering) to meet my friends Ali and Bec for a walk. We met at Bibra Lake, which is kind of central for us, and walked around the whole lake (a total of 6km!) I had such a great time! We talked the entire way around the lake, which I'm sure burns extra calories, right? Ha! The hour seemed to go by so quickly! When we reached the end, I felt great. Then I got in the car and both my feet seized up with cramps. Currently I'm in a fair amount of pain but am already keen for my next walk with friends. It's a lot more motivating than walking by yourself, though I was worried about slowing them down with my terrible fitness level! We've decided to meet up weekly and encourage other friends to come along too.
After the walk I downed my second green smoothie for breakfast. Yum! Now I'm off to wash my hair and get ready for a wedding. There's something so good about exercising and washing your hair in the morning - I'm all set to feel great today!

Healthy Girl 365, Day 4 - Weightloss Tools 101

I'm a bit of a veteran Weight Watchers member. I've attended numerous meetings in my time and have picked up all kinds of ideas - some good, some not so much - from other members during the discussion time over the years. I've forgotten most of them - but this one handy little trick has stuck with me, and tonight I employed it. I'm one of those people who won't eat anything once they've brushed their teeth - it makes everything taste bad, and it destroys the carefully executed cleanliness of my mouth! Tonight I was being tempted by a rich, gooey chocolate caramel tart that some friends left with us after a dinner party last night. Straight after dinner, it was all I could think about. I opened the fridge door, stared at it, and in a fleeting moment I realised that I wanted to have a small victory, not an indulgence. Now don't get me wrong - I believe that a healthy lifestyle can totally incorporate the occasional indulgence, even when you're actively trying to lose weight. You can strike a healthy balance. However, tonight wasn't one of those times that I felt good about indulging. Without giving myself a chance to think twice, I slammed the fridge closed and high-tailed it to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I have to admit, the idea of having this little victory to blog about was a huge motivating factor! Since starting this project, I've received so much encouragement from people and have even inspired a few people to focus on their health. My blog has been averaging 100 hits per day since January 1st. My friend Bronwyn has even started blogging her own journey! These things keep me excited and motivated to do what I'm doing, to show those supporting me that I'm not all talk and that I can commit to this long-term. So if you're one of my friends who's been encouraging me, or even just reading my blog each day, you're already a part of my long-term success and I'm grateful for you! Thank you :)

Healthy Girl 365, Day 3 - The Green Smoothie

Yum! My sister Hannah recently put me onto the idea of green smoothies. Basically it's a fruit smoothie, made any way you want, with spinach added. I gave it a go for the first time this morning - mine has banana, peach, yoghurt, a bit of honey, a splash of milk, and a few mint leaves, plus a handful of spinach. Not only is it completely delicious, I've been doing a bit of research this morning and I wanted to let you know of some of the health benefits:
- Spinach reduces the risk of ovarian, bladder, liver and lung cancer
- Spinach has loads of Vitamin K in it, which is really good for your bones
- Spinach decreases your risk of heart disease and high blood pressure

Because I'm a green smoothie first timer, I don't think I added enough spinach so if you try one yourself, aim for it to be a bit greener than mine! (Google Image "green smoothie" for a better idea) Don't like spinach? Don't worry, because you can't even taste it!

For more in-depth info on the benefits of green smoothies, I found this site helpful.

Healthy Girl 365, Day 2 - The exercise. It begins.

I hate Summer. I hate being hot, I hate sweating - it makes me pretty pathetic. This morning I had plans to see a lovely friend for coffee at the local shops, and I did something that I've not done before. I walked there. I braved the heat (which I admit was milder than it has been the last couple of weeks!), stuck on my running shoes (that I forgot are a little too big for me and I normally wear much thicker socks with) and I walked for the first time in months. I came home sweaty and with crampy feet. I can't say I enjoyed it but I can say it feels good to have done it! One thing I love about exercise is that it inspires me to eat right the rest of the day - no point in wasting all that effort, right?!

Healthy Girl 365, Day 1 - Oh look. It's me.

I hate having my photo taken. I never thought I would be 'that girl' who hides away from cameras, but in the last few years that's exactly what I've become. I should clarify - I like super duper close-up photos of my face, that I have carefully taken myself and have edited to look a little artsy. But anything more than that, I hate. Anyway, day 1 of each month of this year's 365 is going to be a selfie, so just know that I am really challenging myself here! Chris took a bunch of awkward photos for me this morning, and while I much prefer the blurry one on the right (blurriness = distracting. Right??), I've sucked it up and posted the one on the left too. I'm going to optimistically say that today, I am the unhealthiest I'll be for the rest of the year. I've dusted off my Weight Watchers Online subscription, I've made a whole bunch of plans, I'm feeling inspired. I'm also really excited to discover that a bunch of my friends are focusing on their health this year too! Here's to 2013 being a year of amazing change...

Coming in 2013... a different kind of 365

Hey guys... am I the queen of dropping off the blogosphere or what? I mean, it doesn't really matter or anything. It's just been a while, and I have clearly not kept my end of the bargain when it comes to posting weekly recipes. Ahem. Life, hey?

Anyway, with only a few days left for 2012 I wanted to take the opportunity to let you know my plans for 2013. Some of you might remember that through 2010-2011 I started a 365 project which I blogged about - I got up to 264 days (I think?) before getting distracted and giving up. Lame. Since then, I've been itching to try again. The project helped to inspire me to pull my camera out more regularly, kept me blogging constantly, and gave me a way to look back and remember the wonderful little things that would most likely be forgotten about months later. It helped me realize that the key to happiness can simply be to notice and enjoy the little things.

Next year, I'm embarking on a 365 project that I'm calling Healthy Girl 365. Anybody who knows me at all doesn't need to read this blog post to know that my lifestyle is anything but healthy - I have plenty of weight to lose, I don't exercise, I don't take care of my skin or hair, in fact I don't take care of myself at all. I severely want to, but although I've attempted to sort myself in the past nothing has stuck.

I've been developing this idea and making plans for the last couple of months. To be honest I wasn't sure whether I even wanted to document it all publicly, but what the heck hey? The point of my 365 is to keep me accountable, and to document the changes I'm making. If it helps one of my friends start making their own changes, or if it helps someone understand me a little better, then that's even better. It won't just be a collection of photos of vegetables, fruit and running shoes - I'll be making sure that each month I include a self portrait, a commitment to give up something (in January I'm giving up coffee. Aaauuurrggghhh!), a commitment to a new habit, and at least one healthy recipe/snack idea, as well as smaller day-to-day things. Of course there'll be days where all I can think of posting will be another photo of a footpath while I'm out on a run, but I'll give it as much variety as possible.

Throughout this project I'll be researching for ideas to keep the project going, but I'm also going to welcome suggestions from my friends - if you have a healthy habit that you swear by, please message me and let me know! I want to finish the year as someone who is committed to her health - and I'm not just talking about losing weight.

So that's where I'm at, guys! Bring on January 1st!