Liska Life

The reason for my silence :-)

2009-11-21T23:59:00.000Z

We are pregnant :-)

So now you know what I have been up to the last few weeks. Lots and lots of early nights and not much time on the computer.

Been busy growing our little bean. This scan was done 19th November (Thursday) when s/he was 11 weeks 3 days and measuring 2 inches head to "rump".

Bye for now,

Liska (excited and pregnant)

xxx

Still here

2009-11-10T21:15:00.000Z

My friend sent me the above via Facebook and I think it was a hint that I am no longer updating my blog. Can't believe I am doing so right now, as I am on a Yoga Course this weekend and have THREE things to prepare for it (1) a presentation (2) revise for the exam we have Sunday and (3) practice a class I have to be assessed teaching.

So, with all of that said, I am off to work on the aforementioned presentation.

Promise I will be back with a bang soooooooon.

Liska (still alive and well)

xxxx

Happy Birthday Emma

2009-09-15T22:36:00.000+01:00

To my Dearest Emma, on your special day.

Happy Birthday!

Sorry I have been rubbish

2009-09-14T19:56:00.000+01:00

Hi All

Was about time I came out of blog hibernation LOL. Realised it today when my friend Emma texted me to ask why I had not been updating...

Haven't weighed myself in weeks, so can't update on that score. Went to circuit training today. It's fab. But was well hard, as I do it with 2 of my colleagues and as neither of them could make it, it became a 1 to 1 personal training session. HARD. Will be aching next couple of days. And then circuits again on Wednesday. And again I will be on my own.

Very busy at work. Business Planning for whole of 2010.

Spent Saturday with friends and it was fab. Siobhan and Fiona and Siobhan's gorgeous little boy Ferran.

Sunday was a bit odd. After food shopping and cooking lunch I fell asleep on the sofa for hours. Was lovely, but meant I did not get the housework done :-(

Bye for now, Liska

xxxxxx

Krakow

2009-08-26T19:20:00.004+01:00

Hi

In the absence of any decent photos (my digital is broken) I am uploading a not so good one, so you have an image of me in a Shopping Centre in Krakow :-)

I did go back to the old days, and resorted to buying a disposable camera, but have not had those developed yet, so this is from my BlackBerry :-)

Yes, photos developed, doesn't that sound quaint.

Well this photo shows how mumsy I look, still carrying my 13.5 stone around with me, but at least it is no longer 14 stone thanks to the Yoga Festival :-)

Can't write more at the moment........ so goodbye for now and hope you are all very well.

Liska x

Time Traveller's Wife

2009-08-16T09:30:00.004+01:00

Went to see this movie with my husband last night because I read the book years ago, and LOVED it. Anyway, in the UK it came out on 14th August.

I loved the movie so so so much. It is the first time a film has done a book justice. Made me cry so many times.

I had not seen the trailer before I saw the movie. Just watched it on You Tube now and it RUINS a couple of the things that kept me on the edge of my seat so DO NOT WATCH IT.

I am going to Poland today. Then that'll be all my annual leave gone until January 2010.

Week in Portugal in January. Week in Ireland for the wedding. Week in France for Yoga Festival and now week in Poland.

The first 3 were not with hubby, so this is us on holiday, and he wanted to go to Krakow. Couldn't help that these 3 weeks are close to each other, but wedding and festival are pretty fixed dates :-) and this was the week hubby has off.

Anyway, not sure if I will blog from there so thought I would jump on even though I am meant to be packing.

Bye for now girls. Big hug,

Liska xxx

OLD..........Fit on the inside& fat on the outside

2009-08-11T17:53:00.003+01:00

Hi

Some funny funny stories from late............. today my boss said she'd heard that from all the circuit training I was fitter, and she was perplexed as she said she couldn't tell....

So I went on to say, "well, I used to hold the railing on the flights of stairs up to the office, and now I can run up them", to which she said, "Oh, you must be fit on the inside and fat on the outside"............

I laughed and laughed and laughed as it was so funny the way she said it. I ran to tell a few people in the office, none of who could understand why I wasn't offended. But it was just SO funny I couldn't be.

While in France I asked a girl at the festival how old I look and was VERY disappointed when she said 37, so all the signs are there, that I need to change things.

Anyway, I finally have a photo from the wedding I can share, as the ones I previously shared (of the black dress) were from the DAY AFTER the wedding........... So now I share a photo from the wedding in Ireland 17th July 2009.

The shoulder bit is not part of the dress. It is a 2 tone scarf that just happened to match exactly, that I practically glued to my shoulders to cover my chubby upper arms.

It is not the most flattering of photos, but good enough to share :-)

Bye for now folks. Hope you are all well :-)

Liska Life

xx

Back with a tan, and half a stone slimmer

2009-08-09T10:58:00.005+01:00

Hi All

I got back Wednesday evening but was so so sleep deprived going on the computer was the last thing on my mind. There was a train strike so I had to be up for work at 5 a.m. Thursday and Friday (and after getting up at 4 or 3.30 at the festival........).

I have finally worked out that I lost half a stone while there. My tummy is a quarter of the size it used to be. I have to be careful as in just these few days I can see it starting to resurface :-)

The theme of this year's festival was the 9th body = the subtle body, so the vibe of the festival was indeed very subtle and very gentle, so all the emotions also were very gentle.

I stayed in a small dorm, 6 girls total and they were all lovely. For the first time (this is my 4th festival) I stayed in a top bunk, so it was exercise getting in and out of that :-)

We had glorious weather. Must have been 30 degrees every day - see the photo. We only had 1 day of rain although I think there were a couple of nights when it rained.

Every morning I did the Shakti Dance workshop and every afternoon I did the all camp workshops followed by the evening Gong Workshop which is pure bliss. I think I only did the evening yoga once...

A lesson I can take from there is that while there I made a real effort with my clothes every day which made me feel really divine, radiant and feminine..... I need to do the same here, but would you believe I have not unpacked yet.................... Yesterday I slept till 2 o'clock and apart from having a manicure I vegged all day....

So I do need to get off this computer and do alot today.

But that is a point, how does your wardrobe effect your self-esteem. My wardrobe contains size 12, 14, 16 and 18, and it is cluttered, over-full and uninspiring...... yet my yoga clothes were all beautiful. I bought quite a lot of new stuff before I went (cheaply in Southall) as I knew alot of the clothes from last year would no longer fit)...

I don't often buy nice new clothes as I do not want lovely clothes in large sizes, so since January I have been telling myself "when I lose the weight, I will buy some new clothes"...... but since January I have been 13.5 stone and in recent weeks was 14 stone. THANK GOD I lost that extra half a stone in France. May it stay there. Sat nam.

So now I need to get cracking lowering the weight from what it was in Jan, when the new year's resolution was meant to have begun.

But I would like to take pride in my appearance here the way that I did at the festival.

I will head off for now. Oh and I got a lovely tan there too.

Best wishes,

Liska xxxxxxx

Bye for now xx

2009-07-27T20:57:00.001+01:00

Getting ready (well... once I get off this computer) to go to the Yoga Festival tomorrow.

8 days of vegetarian food, yoga and meditation.

Will touch base with you all when I get back.

Must go and eat and pack.

Very early start for my Eurostar. Bye for now.

Liska xx

Ireland - target weight NOT made by target date - little black dress

2009-07-23T19:44:00.004+01:00

So, I was supposed to lose weight for this MUCH anticipated large family wedding on Friday 17th July 2009. I did not achieve it.....

I don't yet have photos from the wedding as my camera was broken.

BUT I have the below 2 photos from the BBQ that was the following day (18th July). I took below at about 1 a.m. at night after getting home from the BBQ. So technically it was 19th July. Took below on BlackBerry so I would have a photo record of my dress :-)

I did take a couple of photos on day of wedding (with BlackBerry) but stupidly I did not take any with me in, but my Uncle has promised to email me some.

The below photos really prove that what you wear can make a HUGE difference. I think the dress below is much more slimming than the one I wore for the wedding.

If I was a stranger looking at below I would not believe I am 14 stone..... That's probably what makes me stay off the wagon, because occasionally I do scrub up well :-)

I am not being big headed, just love this dress and was very happy with what my little cousin did with my hair. You can't tell in photo but the front was back combed behind my head band

:-)

Anyway, on Tuesday I am off to the yoga festival, so will get super healthy there.

Bye for now, Liska

xxxx

In Ireland

2009-07-17T00:47:00.001+01:00

Hi

Took a moment to go online, as I am checking in online to fly home.

I feel like I have lost a couple of pounds here as I have been eating salads all week.

Anyhow the wedding is tomorrow, and my toe nails and finger nails look FAB and my fake tan looks gorgeous, so all I have left to do is hairdressers at 9 a.m. and then wedding at 12:30.

There'll be 370 at it, so will be great. Wedding will go on till about 5 am and then there is a BBQ the next day.

Anyway I am off to get some zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

See you blog world and I hope you are all very very very well.

Lots of love and light,

Liska Life
xxxxxxxxxx

Recap on the day

2009-06-30T22:44:00.006+01:00

I had a relatively healthy day.

Had a cappuccino on the way to work but I figure I am off them from 1st July as my alchemy of turning coffee into circuits twice a week starts tomorrow...

At work I had my usual porridge...

and nothing apart from a handful of nuts until lunchtime which was later than normal.

On way to work I had bought all the ingredients for a Vita-mix soup so I made that for lunch (raw ingredients mixed with hot water and blended).... delicious.

And for once I did not have it with bread... I was crunching on celery with a pot of humus to dip it in and had about 3 spoons of coleslaw.

Then the only thing I have eaten tonight is what I ate at the gym cafe after a swim which was a pasta salad with feta cheese and sun dried tomatoes. BUT with it I had a cafe mocha large, and a large cookie.

But the above is all that has passed my lips all day, so not bad. Oh but I have only had about 2 glasses of water all day today, and it has been 30 degrees which is HOT in LOndon - trust me..... so I shoulda been guzzling. Dr Robert O Young would recommend 6.5 litres of water a day, given how much I weigh!

And the twice a week circuit training starts this week and is booked for Wednesday and Thursday, urrrggggh and then I have a Race for Life 10k to walk and run on 5th July - double uuurrrgggh :-)

Liska Life (off to bed)

P.S. the soup contained:

2 stalks of celery

2 carrots

2 organic on the vine tomatoes

a piece of ginger

1/3 bag of greens

half a red bell pepper

an avocado

a table spoon of bouillon and 4 cups of hot water

Before you say my ingredients don't match the photo, I got the photo from Google Images...

Opening UP

2009-06-27T18:00:00.003+01:00

I normally "sleep in" on Saturday and Sunday, but today, I was in the Supermarket at 8 a.m. Victor and his lovely wife Emma, and two gorgeous daughters were due to arrive at 11 a.m. and I wanted to make them a beautiful dinner.

I was up at 6, as even though I had a half day off work Thursday, still more housework needed to be done. I always either work hard, or relax on sofa, or swim in gym, or sleep, hence I get behind with housework so lots needed doing.

When they arrived Victor was quite hungry so I did a thrown together lunch to keep us going till dinner. We went for a long walk along a canal, and I'd planned to cook dinner when we got back. Thinking that walk would rustle up an appetite.

BUT when we got back, they needed to go so they'd be home at a reasonable time, so there was no time to make dinner, so I said can I at least fast forward to dessert. I issued dessert but as it was so so so hot (we have thunder and rain now, so it was the sticky heat that precedes that) I also gave them lots of water melon to hydrate them after the walk and for the long drive home.

Anyway, my lesson learned is that BEFORE we went for the walk, even though one little lady was asleep on the sofa, the other little lady did not fall asleep despite Victor rocking her in his arms for 30 minutes, so he asked if he could lie her on my bed (away from distractions). With head held low I had to admit that my bedroom was too messy for her to go in there. OH MY GOD, you could have dug a hole a 100 feet deep and I would have climbed right in. It wasn't about pride, and shame about my housekeeping skills - it wasn't! It was me... denying a 2 year old her afternoon nap. It struck like a knife in my heart, and I cannot get the wound out of my head.

Hence, I will tackle the bedroom like a demon tomorrow.

But what is odd is that I don't like to tidy the bedroom. When my Mum is coming at Xmas, I will spruce up the WHOLE flat, and always do the bedroom last, like out of obligation.... whereas I enjoy to do the rest of the flat.

I think the problem is that it has the decor we inherited from the previous owners and I DON'T LIKE IT. The only thing that motivates me to do housework is knowing how good it will look when finished.

I LOVE how the sitting room, kitchen, bathroom, and toilet look when spring-cleaned, but my bedroom I HATE.

So, I need to tidy it tomorrow, to cleanse my emotion of today and then, I need to plan a refurb.... I have been postponing a proper refurb as I am trying to be sensible in the run up to us having a ............. baby (yes, we are trying),,,,,,,,, but I cannot cope with how much I hate the bedroom anymore....... yuk yuk yuk.

We love everything about the flat (which is why we bought it) but the only room where I really don't like the ....... wallpaper...... is the bedroom and I don't like the carpet...... and I don't know if I like the BLUE colour scheme (it might not suit my feng shui - I must find out) AND we kept their wardrobes x 3 and dressing table and to be 100% honest, they are not my taste. BUT we moved in in August 8 years ago and got married in the same October, so we were glad for whatever came with the flat (newly decorated throughout). I can't replace something "for the sake of it" but EIGHT years later I think I SHOULD!!!

A bedroom should be a place you can get away TO not FROM.

Growing up, my bedroom was always my SANCTUARY - I was an only child and my Mum always made sure my room was gorgeous, BUT she packed it up while I was at Uni, because she was moving to Ireland. So although it had always been my safe corner of the world it was GONE in the blink of an eye without chance for a good bye.....

Yes it is an open wound. Given that my Mum went to Ireland in 1994, it is a wound I need to GET OVER.

Anyway, sorry this blog post is like me spilling my guts out on computer, but it was about time I did..................

If you have read as far as here, you must be mad........ no! seriously! thank you for reading........

Byeeeeeeee.

If I am here updating tomorrow it should be AFTER I tidy my bedroom!

Liska Life

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Housework, working from home and self love or self-ish?

2009-06-25T18:02:00.008+01:00

Hello, is there anybody there? Got no comments yesterday so thought everyone had run away or gone into hibernation? ;-)

I worked on Saturday morning (went in for a Customer Focus Group) and then dashed from there to a baby shower so it was a pretty intense day and I got home very late. Was meant to spend whole of Sunday doing housework but just vegged out all day - shattered like a zombie.

Anyway, my Mum was always a martyr when I was growing up, and always put others needs before her own, and this rubbed off on me, and into my psychological make-up and DNA. She is not like that now, BUT she has lived in Ireland since 1994/1995 (where she was brought up - she moved back there after bringing me up in UK). Anyway, I haven't been sufficiently exposed to the new her....... (due to her in Ireland) so I am still influenced by the her of my upbringing........... this means I am inherently reluctant to do anything that could be remotely deemed selfish, and when I do, am easily thrown off course, or get defensive............

As this sounds like rambling I best give examples. If my paperwork at work builds up, I never take time out to get on top of it, as I feel like I should be in "service" mode at all times.... The other day, I thought I can't carry on like this, I need to go through my piles... file some things, shred some things etc..... Anyway I must have had a guilty conscience about it....... because although I was "selfish" enough to delve into my files in work time (normal me would normally stay late to do it if at all), the minute my boss said: "what are you doing?" I said: "that is exactly why I never do this, because I know someone will challenge me on it".......... she was like "where on earth did that reaction come from, and no need to be sooooooo defensive!".........

then we bickered a little, and then I said "please let's not row, I don't need a row" and she changed the subject and we ended up having a normal, cheerful conversation........

Anyway, on another similar note, because I offered to go into the Customer Focus Group I wasn't going to ask to take the time back, but because the early start meant I was shattered Sunday and got no housework done...... I emailed my boss yesterday and said tomorrow, can I work from home in the morning and then have the afternoon off as "time back" - she was like "yep no problem" but she emailed me to ask for a list of what I'd do at home in the morning...... I knew she was half joking but I duly emailed her the list AND kept her updated this morning on my progress.

As I have lunch with Victor everyday, he challenged me the other day when he heard I'd be taking time back today. He said "but you went to that Focus Group of your own free will" - I got defensive, but inhaled it and simply replied "Victor, I come to work everyday out of my own free will" - he said "good on you, I come for the wages" :-)

Anyway, after I did my morning working from home, strictly till 12:10, I then jumped in the shower and got dressed (I'd worked in PJs) and then walked, in the gorgeous mid-day sun to the supermarket to get the healthy ingredients I would need for a healthy dinner for me and hubby.

On the way to the supermarket, I stopped into a nail bar (the weather is amazing at the mo and I can't wear sandals due to state of my toes) and booked a pedicure and manicure, but for 2 o'clock.......

I knew I could go do the food shopping and come back, but I knew that would not take till 2, so I thought no problem, I will sit in somewhere for lunch, and then buy ingredients for salad dinner, and then come back to the nail bar.......

Anyway, the other day when Victor and I had our long walk to Moorgate (for him to pay in a cheque) we passed a cafe, with the smell of all day (fried) breakfast coming out....... we resisted temptation but the memory of the temptation and smell stayed with me, so this afternoon even though I was on my way to buy healthy food which I did buy, I did first of all order and eat a cooked breakfast, with ALL the trimmings...

It made me feel sluggish and SO thirsty. I had to drink 2 litres of Evian (water) to recover and can't wait for my healthy salad which I must now go and make..... I did later make it (here is the photo.... which I am adding on to this post at 21:25 - it was yummy - husband and I both enjoyed!)

This post was meant to be about all the housework I have done this afternoon which was such good exercise. As the weather is stunning I have all the windows flung open.....

But, yes, this self love versus self-ish, is a huge issue for me......... I feel the need to reply to emails, rather than keep my inbox and sent items tidy, I feel the need to serve others rather than myself........ I feel like when I was manufactured, the "to serve" function was given too high a listing in my make-up.......

I really hope someone out there can relate to me on this one......... BUT asking to work from home today and taking the half day off was a major thing for me as silly as it sounds....... and walking down the street, in the mid-day sun, on a week-day, when I should be at work felt like bliss (but there was a slight knot in my stomach saying: "Liska, you rebel!").

Bye for now, Liska LIFE!

xxx

My relationship with coffee continues.........

2009-06-24T20:35:00.001+01:00

....... but the alchemy, where my coffee a day becomes an increase in circuits from once a week to twice a week, starts on 1st July so I haven't broken any promises..... yet ;-) When I blogged about it previously, it was on the day we negotiated the deal (£60 for July and August and £80 from September onwards). So from end June it is bye bye Virgin Active. In the UK Virgin Active is a chain of health clubs by the way.......

Breakfast was a cappuccino at 7:30.......... at my train station....... then I had a horrific journey to work............ so stopped into a cafe and got a LARGE LATTE and a croissant containing ham and tomato....

BUT lunch was a healthy salad: lots of mixed leaves, avocado, sun dried tomatoes, olives, 2 half eggs, etc......

Now, I am in Virgin Active on their computers, having had a swim, jaccuzzi, steam room and then sauna. I am munching on a very large salad from their cafe, (but I also ordered a cafe mocha).... and a small 35g bar of organic Green & Black's chocolate (don't know if you have it in the States).

I am "working from home" tomorrow, so that should be very very interesting from a food point of view.

I am sorry, this is another boring food recap on my day............

Okay, for something non-food related.... I spent the afternoon interviewing and we "made someone's day" by offering them the job. I know she is the right one for the role, and that's a lovely feeling. I like it when good things happen to good people :-)

Today's progress - get back on the horse tomorrow

2009-06-23T21:42:00.004+01:00

So I started the day with porridge (which I think I forgot to mention on yesterday's post). Yesterday I had the porridge at home, but then also had a bowl of fruit salad (as a 2nd breakfast when I got to work)... But today I had nothing at home, and had porridge with Victor at work, when I got in.

For lunch I had a long walk to Moorgate and back, followed by a healthy salad with a buttered jacket potato (even though it was a very very hot day - and then evening - I wanted something warming). Sounds funny but salad felt a bit like deprivation (don't get me wrong I normally LOVE salads). The mood I was in, it was like comfort food meant something warm.... I hope someone out there can relate to that.

I drank a few cups of peppermint tea again today (but I DID have a cappuccino on the way to work, and also had a cup of chai - which contains black tea - with my porridge when I got in).

Okay, so now for the confession:

On the way home I felt like getting off the train and buying a take-away of veggie burger and chips. I resisted temptation (in my head), but then phoned husband to let him know I'd be home early, only to be told he would be at his Mum's house all evening...... It was such a glorious evening this evening I was GUTTED when he told me that, but I resisted again (in my head). Got off the train and started to walk home, at which point one of the roads home was blocked by a scary dog! so I thought @£$K! this, it felt like the final straw, and I went and got the take-away, but it felt like I just needed an excuse.........

Anyway, after that sort of roller-coaster eating the food is normally an anti-climax and you normally wish you hadn't gone with temptation but I can honestly say, I enjoyed every mouthful........

So I will get back on the horse tomorrow and will not berate myself. Oh I did have a Pepsi with it even though I know the baddies that sodas contain!

Oh and husband is STILL not home yet which I am quite sad about. I have been home for 4 hours.

Liska x

Healthy Day

2009-06-22T20:06:00.003+01:00

Recap on today.

I got a cappuccino from the coffee trailer on my train platform - yes I haven't 100% cut back yet, but have drastically reduced - once the £60, and then £80 a month for circuits starts I will be 100% off coffee (I am even going to try from tomorrow).

On way to work I bought a large fruit salad, so that was my first food consumption of the day.

At lunch time (12:30) Victor kept his promise (from his comment on my blog) and took me to Tesco (he had read my blog post "an interview with myself" and could see 11 and 3 were my difficult times).

At Tescos I bought celery, carrots, humus, a bag of spinach & rocket, a tub of coleslaw, a lovely ripe avocado, a red sweet pepper, and my colleague gave me a pita bread to have with it. I also bought a bag of mixed nuts.

So I mixed all of that on a plate and it totally satisfied me.

At the 3 p.m. that normally stumps me, I had 2 stalks of celery with humus. I also had a handful of nuts.

Oh, when I got in, there was salad in the fridge left over from the big huge bowl of salad I made for me and husband yesterday. So I made cous cous (which is a fab trick as it takes 5 minutes). I mixed the salad and cous cous and it was so delicious.

As I have had NO BLACK TEA all day (only caffeine was the coffee on way to work) I had a mug of yogi tea tonight. As a result I feel lovely and sleepy so I think I will have a lovely early night.

Sorry above is quite a boring post, but I wanted to proudly type up that I have stuck to things for a day.

Liska x

When things don't make sense, it is because... they don't!

2009-06-21T14:25:00.004+01:00

I ended up working on Saturday morning (we had a consumer focus group with 10 of our customers). There was 1 lady throughout the session drinking from a water bottle, the contents of which were green. I went up to her at the end and said are you drinking Super Greens, to which she said yes (as there are a few brands I wasn't sure what the answer would be). Anyway, she said do you drink it. I felt shamed into saying no (I am never this size when I do). Of course she said if you know it helps you keep slimmer why don't you drink it. I said oh it is because I get up rush to work, work, and then rush home and I just don't stop and make it and drink it. She said well, if you had a tub at home and a tub at work that would soon solve that problem. Imagine her shock when I said I DO HAVE one at home and one at work. She was like, I don't want to be unkind.... but I don't understand..... She really looked perplexed....

It is so silly, when I am not drinking it, I crave rubbish food and when I am drinking it, I crave water, veg and salads. Anyway she was very slim and radiant looking and I currently am neither.

It just really struck me, that I felt totally comfortable with explaining how I don't have time to stop and think and prepare it and drink it, but when you say it OUT LOUD it sounds like complete an utter nonsense!!!!!!!! If I have time to blog..... I should have time to sort my life out toooooo (as my boss was quick to point out)........ So after I write this post, I am going to go and have a glass of Super Greens.

If you want to know more about that way of eating (which when I do it, does work) read this e-book.

Oh and then after the Customer Focus Group I had to go to a Baby Shower. We were in the garden it was such a lovely day (apart from one half hour where we temporarily went in when it rained)......

At one point, Zoe made us give a word for each of us (those of us that were colleagues).

I wrote down the words my colleagues gave me as I thought they were interesting (more self-exploration for me).

Zoe said I am: generous
Banasa said I am an open book (and that she always knows where she stands with me)
Taniesha said I am childlike (not sure how to take that one, but I can be very naive)
Anna said "loopy unique" (she elaborated by saying "down to earth and intelligent but yet somehow loopy") I'll take that one Anna (it was her baby shower) xxx

So, that's all for now, as I have to go and have my glass of greens, finally start being alkaline and make me and my wonderful husband a healthy lunch.

Those who have been reading my blog for quite some time will remember that I spent a few days being alkaline in January (before I went to Portugal) and I lost a few pounds immediately. Even though that was 6 months ago I have not done it since (yes I am my own worst enemy).

Liska xxxxx

Nutrition Knowledge and Weight

2009-06-18T22:31:00.004+01:00

Just logged on to share this article with you.

It is about how the:

lack of basic nutrition knowledge contributes to overweight and obesity.

I particularly like this paragraph:

Perhaps the answer lies in allowing everyone the right to choose their path, be it the ride down the river of denial or the jogging track to health. We should respect their reasons, be they right or wrong. Maybe we all need to pay attention to our own journey, and wish our fellow travelers well no matter what their chosen road. We can never know all the reasons someone else stumbles or fails. We can only offer compassion, and our hand to help, if they ask.

Liska x

Emotion and weight loss

2009-06-17T20:29:00.004+01:00

I am not going to write anything, as I have been stunned into silence by the eloquence of Holly ALP's post today, over at My Peace.

She talks about visiting memory lane, as if it is a place (hence the photo above). I can really relate to that as I often reflect on my biggest times and my slimmest times.

Holly take the floor...... over to you...... folks, read here.

Silent Liska xxx

An interview with myself......!!!!

2009-06-15T20:41:00.004+01:00

I want to interview myself....

1) So Liska, what usually sabotages you?

Unhealthy snacks, such as muffins, biscuits, cakes, goodies on the filing cabinet at work, nibblies that hubby puts in our cake cupboard.

2) What is it that makes you reach for these things?

Lack of availability of healthy options.

3) So what is this lack of availability caused by?

Lack of organisation and planning on my part.

4) When does this problem usually occur?

10.30 a.m. / 11.00 a.m. at work when hungry and same again at circa 3 p.m. Also, when just in from work.

5) Why does it strike at these times?

Because I am hungry between breakfast and lunch, and between lunch and dinner, and when I get in until dinner is prepared or ready.

6) Okay Liska you are usually a rational & logical person. Apply this logic to your eating... What really is the problem here?

It's easy, lack of preparation...

7) Okay, so IF YOU WERE PREPARED, what would your ideal situation be?

Okay, I love healthy stuff, I could much on almonds, or stalks of celery all day, ALL I need to do is buy them and have them available (N.B. Liska regularly buys celery and leaves it in the fridge AT HOME, when it needs to be at work and then only discovers it when it needs to be binned - this pattern repeats itself again and again and again...... yet Liska has the audacity to nibble on her bosses celery whenever she has the opportunity, much to her bosses disdain!)

8) When you have felt at your slimmest, best, and most energetic what have you been doing, in the past?

Drinking SuperGreens, doing MORE yoga, and eating healthily. Also, bread, alcohol, and tea & coffee free!

9) What stops you doing now what you KNOW has worked for you in the past?

Well....... I keep putting it down to stress, but the odd hour, or odd day, when there is no stress, I find distractions (T.V. etc....) so that I can distract myself from.... myself....!

10) So you need to have a good hard look at yourself in a mirror then?

YES.

xxxxxxxx

I have performed ALCHEMY - find out how

2009-06-13T13:21:00.001+01:00

Today I (and my friend Banasa) have performed Alchemy.

I have turned a cappuccino a day into circuit training twice a week - yyyyyyyyyeaaaaaaaahhhhh!

How?

Okay, so here goes. 3 or 4 of us at work have been going to circuits every Wednesday for nearly 3 months. The chap who owns the gym (it only does private PT) now tried to sell us a package, of paying once a month by standing order (I don't think he likes the fact that the £10 we pay for circuits is only guaranteed on the weeks that we come: which for me is every week, but the other 3 tend to fluctuate)...... anyway, we would pay a monthly fee but we did not want to pay as much as what was being asked (we have gym memberships to pay for toooooo) so we made a new deal which would involve paying £80 a month for group circuit training twice a week. It is as good as a PT session as there is only 4 of us....

Anyway, I have worked out I can afford it if I give up my morning cappuccino that I purchase every morning. Because we are going from spending £40 a month to £80 a month and the cappuccino costs me £2 a day (only get it on work days).

Oh and what I didn't say, is because I have 3 separate weeks off spanning July and August, he will do it for £60 for those 2 months, and when it goes up to the £80, it includes us being allowed to go in and use their machinery, hence me feeling confident I can cancel my gym membership. I will really really really miss the pool, jaccuzzi, steam room and sauna though!!

Anyway, I think it is quite poetic to turn a cappuccino into a workout, hence my use of the word ALCHEMY........!

Doing circuit training once a week doesn't seem to be making me fitter but I really believe doing it twice a week will, and my gym membership expires in July so I will cancel that and concentrate then on circuits, yoga, wii fit, wii active, and my pilates machine that I never use :-)

That's my update for now.....

I am going to try and turn the computer off and get some housework done.

Liska xx

Wordle

2009-06-12T22:01:00.007+01:00

I got the idea of going to Wordle from blogger "Perfect in our Imperfections". If you go there and type in the domain of your blog it will turn the words you most commonly use in your blog, into a collage of them.

I LOVE IT and quite happily attribute the image to http://www.wordle.net/.

Images of Wordles are licensed

Lemons, limes, salt, and how they aid weight loss

2009-06-11T19:55:00.008+01:00

I had a very very very late night last night - work night out - so I kind of fell off the diet wagon. I am sorry guys, but I just had to be honest with you.

The thing about me is, that losing the 1 stone I want to lose by 17th July, would be REALLY easy if I did what I know works (i.e. follow Dr. Robert O Young's PH miracle guidelines) but as you have probably gathered what holds me back, is self-discipline.

Anyway, I just flicked in one of his books that I own, and thought I would share a snippet with you:

Lemons, limes, and grapefruit are very low in sugar (3%, 3% and 5% respectively). Although they are chemically acid, they have an alkalizing effect when metabolized in the body. Squeeze some into your water throughout the day to help maintain your body's delicate PH balance.

Liska again: guys these are wise words. When we are acidic all sorts of things go wrong..... one being, the body stores fat!!!!

Sorry, I just found another diamond bit that I also just have to type up:

You probably blame water retention for some of your excess weight and, in turn, blame the water retention on too much salt. BUT your body retains water because it is dehydrated, to dilute acids. When you are retaining water, it is a signal that your sodium is being converted into potassium in the body to balance your PH, and you actually need more water, and alkaline salts, like sea salt (e.g. celtic salt, or RealSalt, from the Great Salt Lake). The problem is, Americans in general get way too much salt in their diets - the wrong kind of salts. We salt just about everything we prepare, then keep salt on the table to add even more. Just about all prepared and processed foods are extremely salty. Table salt, and the salt added to just about all processed foods, has itself been overly processed, destroying its electrical potential. It has no electron energy. So while you do actually need to cut out all regular added salt from your diet, you then need good salt, electron-rich alkaline crystalline salt, like RealSalt or Celtic Salt. I (Robert O. Young) recommend at least 3 to 4 grams a day.

So that is the truth regarding salt........ Interesting eh?!?!?!?

Sorry, found one last thing I want to quote:

Foods that are themselves acidic, or have acidic effects on the body once they are digested, are better avoided if you wish to reach your ideal weight - and stay there. Be aware of the following acidic foods:
* Animal protein (includes meat and dairy products)
* Sweeteners
* Peanuts
* Corn (contains 25 different fungi, including recognized carcinogens)
* Yeast
* Fermented and malted foods
* Alcohol
* Caffeine
* Coffee (research has shown that cancer cells can live indefinitely in coffee!)
* Soft drinks
* Chocolate
* Mushrooms
* Monosodium Glutamate (the thing that makes chinese take-aways taste so good)

Sorry if I bored you with all of that, but it helps to inspire me to read it again and even more so, it sinks in more as I type it up. I know avoiding that stuff works...... I avoided most of it in 2001 for Candida reasons (and due to terrible IBS) and as a result I lost 3 stone and looked FABULOUS in my wedding dress if I do say so myself :-) Back then I hadn't heard of Robert O Young (or Super Greens), so I just knew that stuff was bad due to 2 books I read about Candida, and it was my Chinese Herbalist who diagnosed the Candida at the time. Oh, I am going down memory lane now.... I just remembered there was a girl I worked with at the time, who asked how I did it (back in 2001).... she had been dieting on and off for years and lost nothing, so I leant her the 2 Candida books and she went from a size 20 to 14 in a few months. It changed her life and her self-confidence....... I did not stay in touch with her when I changed jobs, so I don't know if she is like me (i.e. a few years later put all the weight back on....plus a stone)......

I just need to sort the self-discipline and stress out and I can do it again.

Liska xxxxx

Read this article and my update

2009-06-09T21:32:00.005+01:00

Perfect in Our Imperfections mentioned this Oprah article in her blog post yesterday and I just HAVE to share it as I can relate to it so so so much - don't ask me which Lisa I am :-)

Please have a read....... Keep clicking through so you read all 7 pages.

Recap on my day, which I was trying to avoid with the above:

* I did have a capuccino on the way to work. But it is strictly one a day now, and I have given up the porridge and all the cups of chai (spicy black tea) that I used to have throughout the day

* When I arrived at work (because I was so early: 7:50 a.m.) my boss gave me a salmon and cream cheese bagal, BUT

* I still ate my fruit salad but it was tiny (just mellon and mango).

* for lunch I had a pasta salad and a bag of raw carrots with humus dip.

* Hubby made dinner and it was cous cous, sauce, pasta, and egg.

OH, I forgot the SIN. At 11 a.m. I was in a really bad mood and went and bought a hot chocolate for Victor and I. But while I was waiting for Pret a Manger to make them, I shovelled a pain au raisin guiltily down my throat.

But I drunk more lemon juice and hot water today, and kept my water intake up, and caffeine intake down (apart from the capuccino and hot chocolate).

Yesterday and today, I have had less wheat/yeast than normal and NO MEAT......

I definitely feel like I am heading in the right direction and I went for a good swim tonight, jacuzzi, steam and sauna afterwards :-)

Bye for now, Liska x

Success and a dose of honesty

2009-06-08T21:18:00.007+01:00

Just wanted to post an update. If you've been reading you'll know I wanted today to start:

* no wheat

* no dairy

* no meat

* no caffeine...

* no fizzy drinks

* no junk

So, I started the day by having my usual cappucino on my train platform. The poor excuse as to why was that I have a loyalty card and I had earned a free one, so I thought I will have that and start tomorrow....... good progress is that I had NO tea or coffee during the day, not even my ever so favourite chai which I normally have with the finance team. In the late afternoon I had 2 cups of green tea with my MD, and I know green tea contains caffeine, but I thought easy stages, why not. Not good to go cold turkey.

On the way to work I went to M&S to have some healthy food with me (ended up spending £11 in there and it is all gone - spent another £4 in there tonight!).

So instead of my usual ready brek (quick porridge) I had a bowl of fruit-salad with half a large carton of organic, plain probiotic yoghurt mixed in.

All throughout the morning I had lots of glasses of water with lemon juice squeezed in.

For lunch I had (1) half a bag of rocket to create a bed with (2) a M&S superfood salad on top - was delicious with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, pomegranate, cous cous et... etc.... and (3) a beetroot side salad. With the 3 things, it was a taste explosion in the mouth but that was what I wanted so I wouldn't feel hard done by. I just need to prepare better so I make it rather than buy it as these ready made salads are far too costly and even more so if from M&S.

Then during the afternoon and morning I had nibbled on a bag of cashews. Mita came up to me and said eating nuts is not good if you are trying to lose weight to which I said: "in 2001 I lost 3 stone and I ate nuts every day". But after she walked away I looked at the packet = 650 calories - oooooooops and I DID finish the packet as much as I tried not to.

Then in evening Victor asked if I wanted to go for a drink (he'd had a bad day). We only had 1 glass of wine, but I had to go and order crisps with it.

So tonight I could beat myself up or think about my successes:

* water intake heavily UP

* caffeine intake heavily DOWN

* meat intake = zero

* wheat intake = zero

* cakes = zero

* biscuits = zero

* dairy = minimized but progress needed

* alcohol, although present was limited strictly to one glass.

I know I will be 100% tomorrow...... and I am not going to use 1 day's shortfalls to be an excuse to throw the towel in.

Nope, it is onwards and upwards and I feel great. Ate alot of fruit and veg today and my system feels good for it - the increased water intake suits me too.

On the way home I went to M&S and got another Superfoods salad, so that is what I have had for dinner tonight and I feel 100% satisfied, and I am here still drinking water. Remember you have to drink a litre of water for every 30 pounds you weigh, so for me I have to drink 6.5 litres of water a day if I hope to lose weight.

The reason I chose the photo I did, is with a mixed bag of success like I have described above, I feel like I have found the KEY to success, rather than the success itself, which eludes me, but WILL find me tomorrow

:-)

How are all of you?

Liska xxxxx

EA sports active - Wii

2009-06-07T16:48:00.007+01:00

I just reset the 30 day challenge on the Wii Active game. I will now count today as day 1. I had a pretty intensive workout on it and it said I burnt 140 calories. Seems quite small, probably because I chose medium intensity.

I think tomorrow I will try doing it in the morning.

Anyway, it's really good fun, and a great addition to the Wii Fit.

Spoke to Mum this morning and she reminded me that the wedding in Ireland is in a few weeks, and am I detoxing???? .... I get the impression she would be mortified if I went there at my current weight/size, so I have to be good now, finally..... use all the self-discipline I have.....

If she was in the same country as me today, and I said "does my bum look big in this?".... she'd be the first to say YES! I think if she'd stayed in the UK and not moved back to Ireland (in my final year of Uni)... I probably would never have got this big in the first place.

Bye for now, Liska x

Say no to fizzy drinks

2009-06-07T10:09:00.003+01:00

My muffin in my previous post may have been "innocent", but fizzy drinks, in particular cola, are not! Read this interesting blog post by Dr Robert O Young.

Drop those fizzy drinks from your life, and that of your children's.

Say no to fizzy drinks!

Good morning,

Liska x

INNOCENT - chocolate muffin

2009-06-05T22:43:00.003+01:00

Well Victor has now started the chocolate muffin debate, so I feel the need to defend myself. (See his comment on yesterday's post!).

So let's be like the press and call it "Muffin-gate!"

Carrie, from Finance, left an innocent muffin on my desk this morning. Her way of saying, you may not sit with Finance anymore, but we still remember you (4 of us used to snack and drink tea together down there). If you read about my desk move you will understand my nostalgia.....

So, I had already started the morning with healthy porridge with organic milk followed by (an hour or two later) a bowl of salad (mozzarella, basil, and cherry tomatoes) and a banana.

So it took me a while to notice the muffin's absence as I was not hungry. Then, somehow I noticed and said "who stole my muffin" - I wasn't hungry but was perplexed as to its whereabouts. I was convinced my MD ate it as she has a sweet tooth and is the "food police". So I challenged her, and at first she denied all knowledge and then begrudgingly said: "if you are that desperate it is under the franking machine on the posting scales". That belittled me sufficiently, that when I found it, I put it on HER desk - again relying on her sweet tooth (even though she is a fitness fanatic and a healthy eater). Anyway, Victor saved the day and said OKAY I will eat it.

Unfortunately, during the minutes when I thought it was AWOL, I sent an email to the girl who gave it to me, and Cc:d my boss saying "My MD stole my muffin". The girl who gave it to me responded by putting another on my desk. She thought it would get one over on my boss for stealing it.

Then Victor thought what was the point in me taking it, if you are going to eat that one, so YES he did try to snatch it off me, and yes, I did wrestle him for it, but I thought it is not fair on Carrie, if she gives me TWO and I eat neither of them.

Anyway, the good thing is, I got the same foggy funny (sugar rush) feeling in my head that I got yesterday, when I ate the biscuits AND what Victor did not say, is that I once again had soup for lunch.

And TODAY IT WAS DELICIOUS!!!!!

Ingredients:

2 on the vine tomatoes.

1 stalk of celery

2 carrots

tablespoon of bouillon

1/4 bag of rocket

4 leaves of basil

1 spring onion

half a red pepper

a dash of tabasco

(I don't think I have forgotten anything).

So I am being much healthier than normal.

From Monday I will be no meat, no dairy and no wheat/yeast.

Victor and I exchanged some texts tonight about his mean blog comment and he has now said he will donate £10 to cancer research if I stick to my goal of a stone by the Ireland wedding.

He knows I am good at sticking to things if I am challenged or dared, so I said, he has laid down the gauntlet and I will accept the challenge.

In my old job, people saw me drinking super greens EVERY day and regularly sticking to detoxes, yet in this job, people don't know I can stick to a detox. I just need to prove them wrong and Victor knows that challenging me on that level is the one thing that might entice me to stick to it.

If it works... fair play to him......... Let the loss of a stone commence :-)

Liska xxx

Day 01 - countdown to lose a stone by 17th July 2009

2009-06-04T21:32:00.006+01:00

Well I am now on Prior Fat Girl's challenge, as recommended by Holly ALP at My Peace

Yesterday I moved desks at work, which takes me from being in the same room as the finance team, to being up a floor in the open plan office, just outside the MD's door.

So this morning on the way to work, it felt like a new day (new desk) so I went to Tesco on the way to work and bought all the ingredients for soup (I make raw soup in my Vita Mix which I permanently keep at work). Anyway that was an achievement in itself as I have not used it in ages. I also bought two lemons, so during the course of the morning I drunk mugs of hot water with lemon in it and it made me feel VERY good. I also had my usual bowl of ready brek with Victor.

Anyway during the course of the morning Zoe said "cup of tea Lis?" and I said yeah. So I had normal tea, with 2 biscuits and it gave me a cloggy groggy feeling an a fuzzy head, so I know what suits me......... (need to stay strict now).

Then at lunch I made the soup and ruined it (first time I have done that in 2 years). Basically I put too many basil leaves in. Too much avocado. No ginger or garlic (forgot to buy it), no bouillon ... etc... etc... BUT I still ate 2 bowls of it (plus 2 slices of toast) and it did keep me full for hours.

After work, me and Magdalena went for 1 pint (and as I haven't drunk in weeks it went straight to my head). The place we went to does really good food, so I had a thai vegetable curry and rice. So I came home full full full and for once will have fully digested my food before bedtime.

So my achievements today were:

* drinking lots of water

* drinking mugs of lemon water

* having soup for lunch

* acknowledging that the biscuits made me feel like poo

* and just a general feeling that I have indeed started something. The mental hurdles are as much a part of it with me!

I am going to try and have an early night tonight to follow My Peace's example..... so will sign this off shortly.

Bye, Liska

xxx

Stress and Weight Gain

2009-06-02T20:14:00.005+01:00

In the past I have given up coffee twice, each time for 8 months. In the 3 years I have been in my current job I have been unable to.

In the past I used to do a minimum of 2 detoxes a year. In the 3 years I have been in my current job, I have done 1, which was as recent as errrrrrr...... 2006! (Yep, shortly after joining).

When I started this job I was a size 14 in jeans - I am now a size 18 (although I like to think of myself as being a size 16, but 3 different fitting jeans confirm I am an 18).

Anyway, I know there is a link between stress and food, or at least in my case. And I also confirm what the web says... i.e. that when stress is the cause of weight gain, the gain tends to be around the middle! I used to be pear shaped and now I am a pear and an apple (as confirmed by this post).

BUT every year (for the last 3 years) I go to the Yoga Festival. 8 days of yogic food. And yet I do not cheat... other people smuggle in nuts or biscuits and I never do. I find it easy to do the yogic diet because I enjoy eating healthy food. I could crunch on celery sticks or pieces of water melon all day every day, but in a work environment noooooooooooo!!!!!

So, given that I cannot be in a yoga festival environment all year round, I need to break this link between stress/work/food...

Tonight really brought it home. Between 5 and 6.4o p.m. was quite stressful to say the least, and when I walked to the station, to get my train, the first thing I did was buy a baguette and a latte, even though I know caffeine makes sleeping difficult if I have it in the evening, and even though I am lactose intolerant (I think I like the warm internal fuzzy feeling a capuccino or latte gives me).

I find it incredibly easy to eat healthily on Saturday and Sunday..... but roll on Monday, and I have a problem......

I need to have a healthy JUNE as I am going to a wedding in Ireland on 17th July and I have to be trimmer then than I am now!

I am half a stone heavier now than I was on 1st Jan 2009.

Anyway, I just read this and I can relate to so so so much of it.......!

Anyway, have a read (click on "this" above) and let me know what you think. If you have beaten this battle and have words of wisdom for me, then please break the silence of yesterday and let me know...........

I am awaiting all of your advice and can't wait to hear your opinions on this.

Best wishes

Liska x

Silence

2009-06-01T19:09:00.004+01:00

Diversity - winners of Britain's Got Talent 2009 - worthy winners!!!

2009-05-30T21:56:00.005+01:00

I am so happy. There is justice in the world. The winner of Britain's Got Talent 2009 is Diversity and what worthy winners they are.

If you don't live in Britain you have to watch them on You Tube. Watch (1) their audition (2) their semi-final performance and (3) their final performance of tonight which stole the show.

I have wanted them to win and I am so so so so happy right now.

Well done guys - you so so so so so deserve it - I wish you future success.

Liska xx

I feel cleansed and decluttered

2009-05-30T21:40:00.004+01:00

I want to focus on the blog posts that I do regularly read and benefit from, so I have had a bit of a "blogs I am following" cleanse and feel detoxed :-)

I really felt like the list of blogs I had to read was endless, so I have done a bit of weeding, to suit my personal taste.

Anyway, I guess it just replicates my day. I had friends coming around at 2 (they arrived at 3.30 due to train problems)... anyway, in readiness for them coming, I got up at 7.30 to do housework and have a declutter. It made me feel cleansed. Then I made the 3 of us a delicious lunch (HEALTHY don't worry) but I did then make a chocolate cake.

Anyway, it is the first day of full on Summer weather here in the UK; it was simply a gorgeous day - warm, with a clear blue sky.

So I guess I have now decluttered my blog as well as the flat, and I feel all the better for it.

So for the bloggers who remain with me, I will be able to dedicate my focus to you, without being side-tracked. Thank you for keeping me company in blog world, and helping to justify my recent purchase of a laptop :-)

Bye for now (watching the final of Britain's Got Talent)

Liska xxx

Modern versus history

2009-05-29T22:29:00.007+01:00

This photo was taken by me on 17th February 2008 when I was in Newcastle.

It struck me that we have modern on the ground floor, and history above.

Look at how far we have come, or rather how backward we have become.

From the beautiful stained glass windows, you can see what the store used to be, and clearly in not removing that piece of history, someone else clearly likes it as much as I do. Click on the image and make it full size and you will be able to see what the store used to sell.

But we seem to have turned into a plastic fantastic world. We rave about recycling when all of our pop is in plastic bottles. When I was little I didn't even know what recycling was, but all my pop was in glass bottles, which I could get money for returning. My toaster was fixed rather than replaced, and my shoes were repaired rather than binned.

Anyway, look at my photo and see if it speaks to you, the way it spoke to me. I wasn't even looking at the shops, and I definitely wasn't looking up at 1st floors, but it somehow grabbed me. Maybe there was a story there, just waiting for the story-teller and the camera!

Sorry I know this is meant to be a weight loss blog but we all need a little light relief. I could do with being "lighter".............

Since my New Year Resolution I have gained half a stone (yes my weight loss ticker is out of date).

I am now 13 stone and 13 pounds, which the scales tells me is 88.4 kg, so I am back to 88 (which in BINGO they say is "two fat ladies" - how very appropriate!)

I have been here before........ and if you click there, you will see it was 20th October 2008! yes, 2008................ I have put the weight ON and turned the clock BACK.

I really really really have to start sorting my life out......... (so I got back onto the subject of weight loss after all........... but alas, it is pontificating about it, rather than doing something about it!)

Liska Life off to bed.......... zzzzzzz. ...........xxxxxxx

Saladmaster - healthy cooking and eating - LOVE IT

2009-05-27T21:49:00.004+01:00

This is my favourite piece of kitchen equipment. (One of my Saladmaster pans).

They cook without fat, and without water.

Very healthy way of cooking and then eating.

This photo was taken by myself on 29th April 2008. All those veg are cooked in that one pot, with lid on. A vaccum is created and they cook in their own steam.

I have the full set, so can do salmon in another and potato in another etc...

What is even more amazing is the veg in this pot do not effect each other's flavour AND there is no smell. So you can cook brocolli and cabbage etc... without fear of the sweaty feet smell.

You can even make a cake in one of them.

Oh and the set includes an electric skillet.

LOVE IT!!!

Liska x

Big Ben at Night

2009-05-27T21:26:00.008+01:00

I keep looking at blogs with stunning photos so I just went through mine (taken by yours truly) and saw gorgeous Malta photos but decided to share this one with all of you, given that I live in London.

Photo taken on 13th November 2008 - the night I went to the House of Commons.

Enjoy. Liska xxx

Aegis Training | London Personal Trainers - Fitness News and Views: Take The Stairs, Get Leaner

2009-05-26T20:45:00.002+01:00

Aegis Training | London Personal Trainers - Fitness News and Views: Take The Stairs, Get Leaner

When we start to find stairs difficult we think about doing exercises (well do we...? sometimes...!)

But why go to the gym to help you combat stairs, when you can tackle the stairs themselves.

Don't go round in circles, like this photo. Turn the stairs into a piece of training equipment. Click on the subject line of this blog post and it will take you to the fab Aegis you tube video...

Good sound practical advice from Aegis.

Look at the video it is super, as is their blog.

Bye for now,

Liska x

New Laptop and Wii Active

2009-05-25T00:25:00.002+01:00

Sorry I have been away for so long but I have been without a laptop so I bought one today and am on it now - very happy with it. It is after midnight but it is Sunday (well... I haven't been to bed yet). On Saturday, which I am classing as yesterday, I bought the new Wii Active and it is absolutely super. Great 30 day challenge on there and some brilliant personal trainer style posture work like squats etc... Comes with a Physio Type resistance band, which really works. Was on it for 30 minutes yesterday and it really brought me out in a full on sweat.

If you love Wii, please try it, you won't regret it. I wanted to do the 30 day challenge as an every day thing but didn't get chance today.

Must go to bed in a minute so bye for now.

Liska x

Fatter, heavier, but alive and happy :-)

2009-04-09T20:40:00.003+01:00

Here I am.......

I am on the Apple, in my Virgin Active gym. When I swiped in, I asked the lovely person on the desk, "when was I last here?"..... he said 6th Feb........! At £110 a month THAT IS NOT GOOD.

When I used to come here really often (before Xmas) and used to blog a lot about it, it was all only swimming, jacuzzi, steam and sauna, but tonight Josephine, I did 20 minutes on tread mill, then kettle bell, then Swiss Ball, then rowing machine, then sauna.

I am now sitting in the cafe with a LARGE salad and a Cafe Mocha.

I plan on being super healthy over the next 4 days (the 4 day Easter Break from work).... I plan on doing loads of housework, loads of Wii Fit, digging out my Pilates Machine from the spare room, etc.... I am going to try and lose 4 pounds in 4 days :-)

Most of the New Year I have been 13 and a half stone but that is now 13.75 stone which is insane, given that a couple of months back, I lost a few pounds and I thought 12 stone something was within my sights, especially given that the Wii started to call me overweight rather than obese. Well..... that was a couple of months ago, and I have been a pig and a slob since then, hence my enduring silence (sorry guys).

My laptop at home was a work one, and due to 2 work laptops dying (not mine) they (I.T.) had to recall all spares to circulate them to people who needed them during the day, hence another reason for my silence...

Anyway, I am back and I'm proud... (remind you of a movie??? :-))

Even though I have not been here since 6th Feb, I have been circuit training every Wednesday for the last 3 weeks at my friend's gym, and did go on an active weekend to the Peak District (20th to 22nd March). BOY WAS THAT EXERCISE. WE CLIMBED MOUNTAINS, and it was so so so so active. GOSH!!! I will share some photos at some point.

I must leave in a moment to catch my train.

I won't leave it as long again... sorry guys.....

Liska xxxxxxxxxx

Happy and THANK YOU my blogger friends x

2009-03-03T20:10:00.003Z

I am so so happy. I had salad for lunch yesterday, and just ate salad just now for dinner. I did have lunch out today but it was just poached eggs and salad and hollandaise sauce.

I stayed away from the cappuccinos yesterday and today (yes, despite giving up for over a month I had been back on them last week - another reason for my deathly silence).

But I feel lighter and brighter and happier this evening.

Logging on just now and seeing the 4 lovely comments to my blog post below, just simply made my evening. For anyone reading this (silently) I have pleasure to inform you that not one of the below is a friend (from outside of cyberspace) i.e. they are not mates going on giving me support. They are REAL fellow bloggers, on the same path with similar weight loss goals. True fellow blogger friends, shining a light of support. That light that makes this cyber space a lovely homely place to touch base with.

The comment that we have to ignore unsuccessful weeks, or days or months is so so so true. Each moment passes as we take each breath, and another new moment is there to be savoured, and honoured. Each new minute and each new day is an opportunity to BE the person you want to be. For anyone out there needing a pep talk, just read those comments on the post below - they are SUPER.

Anyway, thanks so so so so much.

Liska xxxxxx

Onwards and Upwards

2009-03-01T21:06:00.004Z

I haven't weighed myself in ages, and haven't been on the Wii Fit in ages. I am definitely NO slimmer and NO lighter than I was beginning of January, so we can safely say I was not on track Jan and Feb, and haven't achieved my biggest New Year's resolution, so now MARCH is my month. I won't say much, until I have something to say. I need to start saying what I have done, rather than what I set out to do; that's the plan.

I am really really sorry for the break in transmission. I know when a frequent blogger stops blogging I do worry. This last week I was in Birmingham Monday Tuesday and Wednesday, but that only explains 3 days. My husband kept saying why aren't you blogging, and I said because I have nothing to say, nothing to be proud of, and he said why don't you go on and say THAT, but I couldn't bring myself to, but I think I needed this low to bounce back out of, but again, I am not discussing plans. I need to start doing!

Anyway, I have read read read for the last couple of hours so am fully up to speed with where you all are. Let's do this guys.

Welcome back to me. I will stay in touch this week, with good news :-)

Liska Life xxxxxx

Determined

2009-02-15T10:07:00.007Z

I have to counteract yesterday's bad news blog post with some good news.

Well I already started last night, as I wrote a comment below the other kind comments (thanks Guys) where I confirmed that I was able to rescue the salad stuff in the fridge, even though the cherry tomatoes were very ripe, as were the avocados. So yesterday evening I wrote myself the following comment:

I went to the fridge with trepidation. The romaine lettuce was eddible, as were
the very very ripe cherry tomatoes, the organic cellery was still crunchy and
perfect, the avocado (inside) just had to have a couple of brown bits cut off,
carrots (because they were in fridge) were still perfect so I shredded two.....
so I just made myself an enormous salad, added two teaspoons of pesto sauce and
drizzled it all in avocado oil. Was a big plateful and incredibly filling, and I
feel super now. I am so glad that even though I bought the stuff a week ago
today, that it was all still, luckily, okay.......There was a whole iceberg
lettuce in there that did tonight go in the bin, but I don't know when I bought
that..... it's a sin what we throw away.Anyway, thank you so so so so much for
the comments above. I promise you I will stay on track this week. I plan on
making lots of healthy soups for lunch in my Vita Mix so I really hope I pull
that off. Also plan on going to aqua aerobics twice this coming week, and drinking lots of water.

Today I have weighed myself again on the Wii Fit.
To recap:
on 7th Feb it said 13 stone 3 pounds,
8th Feb it said 13 st 6 pounds,
on 13th Feb it said 13 st 11 pounds,
on 14th Feb: 13 st 9 pounds and
now today 13 stone 8 pounds.

Considering that I started this journey on 2nd January, on a weight of 13 stone 7 pounds, it is like the calendar of time is moving while my weight stays still (well if you class couple of pounds Up down Up down Up down as standing still).

Not acceptable considering I know how to do this. I lost 3 stone in 2001 when I was getting ready for my wedding. I started then in 2001 in February and had lost it all by June. I know what to eat and I know what to give up. When I give up bread, sugar, etc........ the weight falls off. I just need to do it again.

I was sad yesterday when I read this blog, as this lady is doing exactly what I want to do, a steady weight loss of 2 or 3 pounds a week, meaning she is now 12 pounds lighter than how she started the year. I want to duplicate that.

Anyway, I am going to keep my head down and really get on with it this week. Drink lots of Super Greens, eat lots of fresh VITAL food, no sugar, no bread, no muffins, lots of exercise, lots of walking (I aim to walk in lunch breaks) and 2 sessions of Aqua Aerobics.

I aim to have good news by this time next week. I wish you all the same, my blog friends.

Oh and on my blog I have completely ignored Valentine's day which is naughty of me, given that hubby bought me a beautiful bouquet, gave me breakfast in bed, and a beautiful card.

Liska xx

Bad news

2009-02-14T17:59:00.003Z

I am not going to hide the bad news by calling it anything other than just that: bad!

I went on the Wii Fit last night and it told me I hadn't been on it for 5 days........ (first alarm bell as from 1st to 8th Feb I had only missed one day, and had thought I would carry on like that).

Then it told me my weight was back up to being classified as OBESE, and that I had put on 6 pounds since it last saw me / weighed me.

I started my "time of the month" on Tuesday, and ate like an absolute pig every day. Yesterday I bought a 6 pack of Mr Kipling lemon slices and ate 4 of them.

It is crazy because when I eat rubbish I feel rubbish and I feel super when I eat healthy. Some people feel like a rabbit when they eat salad, but not me. I love fresh food, I love cellery, so why oh why oh why don't I eat more of it.......?

The way I was going (losing 5 pounds last week) I thought I would soon be 12 stone something rather than 13 stone something, but that right now seems like life-years away.

Crazy, as I went food shopping last Saturday and only bought healthy food, so I had a healthy lunch Saturday, followed by a healthy dinner and same again Sunday. It seemed to all go out the window on the weekdays (work days).

I am dredding going to look in the fridge now, as I am scared that there is healthy food in there that I have allowed to go off, uneaten. I know there are 4 avocados in there and I just pray they are still okay, because they were the ones that are ripe when you buy them (dearer for it too). I know I had a bag of rocket in there tooooooooooooooooooo.

I used to be so good at detoxing, I don't know what's wrong with me. Beginning of January, I thought I'd lose all the weight by April, and here I am now, nearly mid-February.

Well this week will have to be a good one - that's all I can say!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bye for now, cross your fingers and toes for me. My favourite bloggers all seem to be doing very well, so I guess I just need to catch up with all of them, and be inspired, and BE the change I want to see :-)

Liska xxxxxxxxx

Victoria - prayers needed.

2009-02-09T22:22:00.004Z

I have been following what is happening in Victoria, and it is devastating. If you read this times online article, the comments at the bottom have a heart beyond the mere article itself.

Victoria is nearly as large as the UK.

Please if you are reading, spare a thought for those people. I will not say anymore as words can't express how I feel right now.

Liska Life xxxxxxxxx

You just have to read it - trust me - no quick fix

2009-02-09T21:20:00.003Z

This is just a post to recommend another post.

It is so good you just HAVE to read it.

Enough said!

Liska Life
x

Don't get caught out as Ryanair try to get another 30 pounds / euros out of you at the departure gate

2009-02-07T22:23:00.010Z

Read here about how Ryanair are now charging if your duty free does not fit in your hand luggage, which let's face it, it does not normally...

Passengers unable to place items into 1 bag and who refuse to make the additional payment at the departure gate will not be allowed to travel.

Yet another charge from the company that finds new and ingenious ways to make revenue out of us.

The Guardian here says:

It could be the most expensive bottle of asti spumante you'll ever buy. Ryanair has confirmed passengers will be charged £30 if they cannot fit their duty free purchases into their single piece of hand luggage............... Under the hand luggage rules, any passenger who attempts to board with more than one piece of hand lugage will be charged £30 at the departure gate. If they refuse to pay the extra fee, they have the option of dumping their purchases at the gate or missing their
flight.

Back to me again: When Ryanair agrees to fly out of an airport, it often gets the airport to subsidise this. The only way they can afford to is due to the profit they make in their stores. People won't buy if they have to pay further for the pleasure, so the airport suffers. When Knock airport on the West Coast of Ireland started to lose revenue when duty free started to only apply when travelling outside Europe, they had to introduce a departure fee of 10 euros per person payable to the airport itself. They really rely on revenue from their shops, and Ryanair made sure they really relied on THEM, which is why for years and years there was no other airline flying out of Knock. When an airport is brand new and small, Ryanair hold the bargaining chips.......

The Irish World dot com says:

"Ryanair operates a policy where passengers can only carry one item of cabin
baggage on board. Previously, passengers adhered to the rule while checking in
and going through security, but often accumulated other bags with
last-minute duty-free purchases. Now it appears that even a humble box of duty free chocolates could cost passengers €30 if it will not fit inside the one item of permitted carry-on luggage".
It's funny my mum told me 60 euros, and she heard about it on the radio. I then go online and it turns out to be £30, now I am reading £28.50, below. I guess until I next travel I will never know for definite. The following sounds a bit more accurate, and is from the Telegraph:

"Under the new arrangements, which came into force at the start of the year,
passengers must fit whatever they buy at an airport duty free shop into their
one piece of hand baggage. They also have to be able to close the bag with
the duty free items inside the bag which can weigh no more than 22lbs (10kg) and
be no bigger than 21.6 x 15.8 x 7.9 inches. The policy is enforced by Ryanair's staff as they check boarding passes at the gate.
Anyone found to have an extra bag – perhaps containing a box of chocolates or bottle of wine – will be given a choice if they cannot cram it into their carry-on bag. They can either leave it at the airport or alternatively they can have their existing piece of cabin luggage put into the hold, and take the duty free on board.
For this they would have to pay the £28.50 Ryanair charges for checking in a piece of luggage at the airport. According to an airline spokesman only a few passengers have been forced to surrender duty-free so far".

The Telegraph also shows how the charges have steeply gone up over the years:

Ryanair's rising extras
Check in one bag £5 2006 yet £30 2008
Paying by card £3.50 2006 yet £10 2008
Sport/music equipment £31 2006 yet £60 2008
Excess baggage per kilo £5.50 2006 and now £15 2008
Flight changes £30 2006 and then £50 2008
Name changes £70 and then £100 2008

Don't get caught out. Make sure you only have one piece of hand luggage or be prepared to dig deep in your pockets.

I wish I'd found this before I wrote all of the above. Ryanair put a news release on THEIR website on 20th Jan 2009. I don't know why it's only become common knowledge early Feb, with alot of the links above being Feb and my mum only having just heard about it on the radio. Anyhow, to save all of the interpretations just read the official news release.

Liska Life xx

Wii Fit - how long will it last?

2009-02-07T18:26:00.006Z

Given that I am loving my Wii Fit, I thought I'd Google "Wii fit + weight loss" and this article came up, and it seems it was written on 30th January 2009.

Says that people normally give up on it after a month.

Well, given that my thighs are weak, and it gives them SUCH a good workout I am going to try and stick at it. When I was on it Sunday 1st Feb for whole day, I could hardly walk on Tuesday and Wednesday. I guess it's that that makes people shirk it. It is a game but it is WORK.

Given that I had an old fashioned weighing scales with a needle (analogue I think they call them) it is very refreshing for me to have the digital weight I get from Wii Fit. Love the graph it produces too. It is superb for tracking, and even tracks BMI.

It's funny, but the games that are hardest on my thighs are also the ones I am determined to beat to get a better score, i.e. the bubble down the stream one, and the Ski Slalom... So my addictive personality is helping me get fit for once :-) They are actually my favourites, despite the aches. I also absolutely love the step game, although I can imagine it will eventually get boring.

What I am absolutely amazed by is that there is a delayed reaction between your brain wanting your balance to shift on the board, and it actually happening, but I read in Dr Robert O Young's book today that bouncing on a rebounder for 15 minutes a day helps with that. Only trouble is, although that gives you the gift, what tells people that they are lacking it in the first place, before it is too late???? Well the Wii Fit certainly does, along with the age it gives you. I have varied from 30 to 60 years of age on it .............

Given that I am guilty of playing with things for a couple of months till the novelty wears off (haven't used my Vita Mix nor my IPOD in ages) it will be interesting to see how long the wii fit lasts. Victor always tells me off for buying gadgets I don't use for long.

Anyway I am signing off now, as I have an urge to............ play with my Wii Fit :-)

Liska Life x

Happy with the scales and the Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

2009-02-07T12:47:00.003Z

Hi, I weighed myself on the Wii Fit at 11:39 and was delighted to find that I was 13 st 3 pounds, so I am down to 185 pounds, which is 84.09 kg.

It gave me some high readings last week as there was two days in a row when I had late take-a-way dinners and weighed myself an hour or two after - silly me! That was 3rd and 4th February, and mainly because of birthday........ by 5th it had me back down to 190 pounds but now today 185, which I think is a true reading.

I have been to aqua aerobics twice this week and they were both punishing fab workouts. It is not your typical gentle aqua, as there are all these props that she uses, it is like doing a weights workout but in water - love it.

Anyway, being heavy wasn't spurring me on, but seeing this weight loss is! I think reverse psychology works on me :-)

The other thing that's making me mega happy is that up till now the Wii's been measuring me as OBESE, but for the first time today it said simply OVERWEIGHT, yyyyyyeeeeaaaaah!

So the amount of weight left to lose is now below 40 pounds (gone from 42 to 38) on my weight loss ticker. The BMI has gone below 30 which now means overweight instead of obese, and I am getting much closer to 13 stone. My next milestone is to be 12 stone something....... Very happy today.

Anyway, going food shopping now for some healthy bits and pieces so bye bye.

Liska Life
xx

Weight loss Summary, Yo Yo, and time to get real

2009-02-05T18:00:00.012Z

On 20th October 2008 when I wrote this post, I was "two fat ladies" (bingo) 88 KG. I have just calculated that is 193.6 pounds.

On 2nd January 2009, when I wrote this post I was 189 pounds (85.91 KG).

On 14th January, when I wrote this post, I was 186 pounds and over the moon (84.55 KG). That was because I had been on Super Greens (by Innerlight) on the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

On 25th Jan, back up to 189 pounds when I wrote this post.

These last couple of weeks, I have been nowhere near what you would call a detox, and my new Wii Fit nicely tells me I am OBESE :-) I am going to turn it on right now to see what weight it thinks I am today :-)

Today, 5th February 2009, the Wii Fit reckons I am 190 pounds (which is 3 pounds less than what it said yesterday). I have to find a time, that is the same time, that I weigh myself every day. Although both of those, yesterday and today were both evening; yesterday 20:35 and today 18:22. I have weighed myself every day (1st to 5th Feb) on the Wii Fit and it is hilarious the way it goes up and down, so it is advisable to weigh weekly, otherwise you'd drive yourself mad.... I am going to weigh on it daily though, as I think I need it as a kick up the bum at the moment and I am addicted to my Wiiiiiii at present.

I am gonna get serious with this whole weight loss thing now. Gloves are off, Spring is coming and birthday is behind me. I wanna look trim when I receive those red roses on Valentine's Day :-)

Yo yo dieting really contributes to the above up and down, so I need to get real now and stick to the program (ideally being alkaline).

Liska Life xx

London - functions in Blitz, but snow too much to deal with! Obvioulsy ran out of salt too!

2009-02-03T22:44:00.010Z

As you can see from the photo London had some pretty deep snow, starting Sunday 1st Feb (my birthday) and really picking up Sunday night to cause a transport disaster for millions on Monday morning. The headline in a lot of the papers is that London can cope with the Blitz at wartime, yet cannot cope with snow....... the excuse being thrown around is that we haven't had snow in these volumes in 18 years!!! I can understand if buses (yep the great RED London bus we all know and love) were not running in certain areas but NO! a central decision was made to have NO buses in the whole of London yesterday......... At least a lot of snowmen were made and kids had two days off school (pros and cons to that) and there were a lot of fun snowball fights....... but really........ how embarassing that London came to a standstill like that.

Even though most people couldn't get into work yesterday, my route was unaffected so I was at work by 830. Some transport resumed today (like the buses) BUT as the snow became compacted from people walking on it, and grit still wasn't being put down ... and temperatures were still low, the pavements which were lovely and crunchy and picturesque yesterday, were like ice rinks today.

I watch Dancing on Ice on a Sunday, I don't practice it to and from work thank you :-)

I slipped 4 times, but lucky did not fall.......... But gosh when I was younger London DID used to cope with snow and you would see salt everywhere. They didn't even bother to put any on my station platform....Salt was obviously in short supply yesterday and today. They obviously some years ago sold our snow ploughs to the highest bidder... are you telling me they sold our salt tooooooooooo??? And that was probably the action of some bright spark trying to make their excel budget look good...........

Across London more than 1,000 colleges, nurseries, primary and seconday schools closed for a 2nd day today. Ice on the roads (you know the ones WITHOUT salt) made the school run dangerous...........

It's like someone did an order at a dehli and said:
Heavy on the snow and hold the salt!

I love what I read in the london paper tonight:
"Boris is happy to take the credit when things go right; he should show some leadership and take some responsibility when they go wrong".

As I said in the subject heading the buses did not even stop in the BLITZ! The entire bus fleet was suspended yesterday - a measure not even taken during the blitz. 10 out of 11 tube lines were either completely or partially suspended.

And back to Boris (oh Mayor of London - bring back Ken Livinstone!) he was photographed on the london paper tonight jogging and cycling this morning....... oh how VERY dare he! He is jogging ON THE ROAD, on the black bits where the tires clear.......... a clear admission that the pavements were like ice rinks! What message does that send..........? London take to the streets..... stay healthy and keep up your daily run, but do it on the road where you can get knocked over....... or be hit by a car skidding on black ice (there was LOTS of that this morning).. But no....... his road was clear as it was probably covered in camera men! How very contrived and fake and not the least bit endearing.

Boris I would have preferred to see you with a shovel in your hand, talking to workers struggling to get to their offices....... Also the caption under his photo had the audacity to say "true grit" when the WHOLE problem with London is we have not seen one bit of grit...........

And how embarassing that it made International News, so that the whole world now knows we can't cope with 8 inches of snow........

There endeth my rant......... for now.......... Oh and in the photo, I am the one on the left.

Wii Fit and Goodbye to January

2009-01-31T14:10:00.008Z

It's my birthday tomorrow, and I already know my hubby has got me the Wii Fit that I asked for. Can't "weight" so I went to HMV yesterday after yoga and bought a spare control as I know the Wii only comes with 1 (oh yeah forgot to say, I don't have a Wii, so poor thing, had to buy a Wii toooooooooooo). Anyway, I bought the control, and the game that's just come out, "My Fitness Coach" in anticipation of getting my gift tomorrow.

I just googled Wii Fit in Google Images and the above image came up. That's got me ready to expect to see a screen like that! Oh dear, I bet it will say I am obese, as my weight loss ticker (on my sidebar) tells me my BMI is 30.5. Other resources have told me it is 32. Whatever... it is definitely more than in the image above....... Still can't understand that classes me as obese though, as I am only a size 16 (UK size). Although I suppose I am comfotable at 10.5 stone and I am currently 13.5, so that is obviously sufficient to make me obese.

A blogger a few weeks back (can't remember who) said that she saw herself in the mirror and she was bigger than she thought. I always have that problem. Because if I really really really knew inside, how I look outside, I WOULD do something about it. People reading this will say but YOU ARE doing something about it......... aha .......... well I ate naughties in Portugal like chocolate biscuits etc........ and it hasn't stopped since I got back.......... This week I have even had a few glasses of COKE, and a few years ago when I was mega healthy circa 2003-2006, I would not have even touched coke............ I have eaten a lot of bags of crisps this week, I have had pasta several times, which has not agreed with my stomach AT ALL...... Wednesday night I went food shopping, and the leaks, celery, and 2 cucumbers I bought are STILL in the fridge uneaten........ it's like I have gone into a gear this week, where bad tastes good and good tastes bad. Due to my supergreens knowledge I KNOW exactly what THAT means........ it means I have been acidic all week, which means I crave acid........ whereas when I eat salad, eat veg, drink greens, and drink lots of water I go alkaline, which means I crave veg, salad, and water..... With me, once I flip the switch from acid ON to acid OFF it is actually quite easy, it's just an acid day, so easily turns into an acidic week!!!!!!!!!!!

So I have to say goodbye to January, knowing that I leave it the same way I entered it. Such a shame, when people like Carol Vorderman have proved (with her famous 28 day detox) how much can be achieved in a month. That just reminded me that I have her DVD, so as I am in the sitting room I have just turned it on, so it is now in the background to give me some much needed inspiration. STUPID thing with me is that I enjoy healthy food, so I just have to get better with the self discipline. Monika and Keyur regularly have sticks of celery on their desks and I always grab a couple and munch on them, with the same enjoyment some people would save for chocolate.......... so as long as I make time to be healthy, to prep the food, to buy the food and don't grab naughties when stressed, I would be fine,........ oh and also obviously very important to flip that aforementioned switch so that I am in the right GEAR and craving the right things........ In a blog a few weeks ago you will remember I lost 3 pounds in a few days, due to being alkaline......... yeah I put it back on but at least I know how to do it. I need to just do it AGAIN and this time build up a momentum AND sustain it.

With having gym membership I should not need a Wii Fit, but I just know it will be motivating for me as I am a bit of a techie and ALSO very visual, so if the above screen is anything to go by, I think it may do just the trick. People at work say it gives you your FIT age! I hope mine is not too old, but at least you have the motivation of watching it come down.

I have wanted one for ages, but was also spurred on by Heather's review at Setting Her Free.

Once I am up and running on it, I will write again. Really excited.

Liska Life xx

Health, weight, link to blog post worth reading

2009-01-30T23:34:00.004Z

Read here, for the blog that contained the following words:

"Maybe we should start wearing cucumbers and avocados around our necks
to ward off the pandemic of acidic FAT that is killing more people than The
Plague. Metabolic and Dietary acidic Fats build up in the body and are stored in
the body fat. Cucumbers and Avocados, together with an Alkalarian Lifestyle,
neutralizes excess acid in the body and prevents acid accumulations and deposits
in the fatty tissues. Excess Acidic Body Fat is the Plague of our generation,
and proper alkaline food intake is the answer to the dis-ease of Acidic Fat,
just like Garlic was the answer to avoiding the acids that caused The
Plague".

Robert O. Young regularly blogs about the benefits of an alkaline lifestyle.

Approach is, lose acid, lose weight, and it works. I need to get back onto it, desperately.

Going to bed, so that's all I have to say for tonight.

Liska Life x

Chocolate is not ALWAYS worth it!!

2009-01-27T20:20:00.007Z

I bought a Cadbury's Creme Egg on the way to yoga on Friday night. I just had a craving (not for chocolate) for a sugar rush. I felt depleted and lunch seemed so long ago, and I knew it would be too long before I ate again (what with yoga and all). Well an organised dieter has snacks in their bag (don't they). No such luck with yours truly.

So I popped into Tesco Express, bought the aforementioned sin, and ate it. Within a couple of hours I had a spot, which now, 4 days later is like a little boil on the side of my chin.

I had forgotten all about the egg, even though the spot hurts, but it all came flooding back when I just read Busted, at Pasta Queen.

So I just posted the following comment there:

"I bought a cadbury's creme egg on Friday (on the way to yoga) and ate
it! Realised my mistake when I got a spot a couple of hours later, which now
even today, feels like a boil on the side of my chin.I have heard of a second on
the lips, a lifetime on the hips, but now we have "days on the chin" hee
hee. Actually, that's so funny, I think I will post it. Although the spot is not at
all funny".

So yes, another reason not to give in when the chocolate beckons. A fellow blogger - Belinda - recently said "Remember it doesn't taste as good as skinny feels". Good motto I think.

Liska Life

Time to get real

2009-01-25T20:27:00.001Z

On 14th Jan 2009 I proudly updated my ticker to show a 3 pound weight loss.

On getting back from Portugal I soon discovered that I was back to 13.5 stone.

Well I just weighed myself again and still 13.5 stone. So the scales don't lie, but for the last few days my ticker has been so I sadly just updated it to reflect the fact that I once again have 42 pounds to lose and am once again up at 189 pounds.

I didn't take Super Greens with me to Portugal and have not drunk them since I returned, so I am now off to the cupboard to dig them out and drink a gallon :-) as the days I lost that weight, I WAS drinking my greens. When something is working, you don't stop doing it, unless you are as stupid as me.

So target for 2009 was to lose weight, and here I am 25th Jan, at the same weight I was at Xmas.

I need a big fat kick up the bum.

Bye for now,
Liska Life :-(
x

Stress and eating

2009-01-24T22:26:00.002Z

We all know there is a huge link between stress and eating.

Well I just found a very very informative and comprehensive blog post about the very subject:

http://www.kundaliniyogablog.com/-2007-09-15-stress-reducers-yoga-and-a-balanced-diet/

Read it all the way down, as it is quite long but well worth a read.

Liska Life x

Today

2009-01-24T21:51:00.003Z

I spent the day at White Tantric yoga today - it happens once a year in London, always in January. Wanted to sweeten the post with a photo and found this image here.

It was a surprisingly gentle day. And the vibe was very very mellow. None of the kriyas were particularly tough. There was a happy atmosphere which was spot on as Yogi B mentioned the happy word in his opening paragraph today.

Anyway I just had a hot bath to make sure I won't ache tomorrow and I am now off to bed to sleep incredibly well.

Liska Life x

Back on UK soil

2009-01-22T16:40:00.006Z

Hi

Well, I am back from Portugal.

Having spent so much time with 2 beautiful girls over there (Kristina and Tatiana), daughters of friends: Victor and Emma, I just read Barack Obama's letter to his two girls and it really is beautiful.

I hope the wishes for a better future that we all send to him, spur him on to achieve everything we hope he will. I know one man can't be Superman, but anything is an improvement on George Bush, and Barack Obama is so much more than just change for changes sake. I have faith he will do some great things while at the helm.

With that in mind, I hope I do some great things with my weight loss - back on the wagon tomorrow :-) Holiday over. That is the trick I guess... to focus as if a nation is depending on me.... :-) To be accountable and responsible. Set objectives and targets, and steer back on track if the ship is going off track.

So I am off this computer soon, to unpack, make a very healthy dinner of salmon and veg for hubby and I, and generally get ready for work tomorrow. Bit of input, and the output is always better :-)

Bye for now
Liska Life x

Scales can lie?

2009-01-21T23:18:00.001Z

I was convinced I had lost some weight in Portugal as my tummy feels flatter :-)
But Emma just leant me her scales and I was heavier than at my heaviest....... so rather than think it is the consequence of holiday eating, we have decided that the scales must be faulty :-)
So I will go on my trusty scales in my funny socks, when I return tomorrow.
Shame to leave this lovely place and my friends, and the 2 gorgeous little girls.

Bye for now, Liska Life x

A great blog

2009-01-21T13:59:00.001Z

I just love this post.

Basically, writing a "Dear John" letter to food. What a great idea.

If I did that though, I would have to find a new friend. Hee hee.

Bye for now, Liska Life x

Barack Obama's Inaugural Address

2009-01-20T21:48:00.004Z

I was probably one of the few people on the planet who did not watch the inauguration today, but I have just read the beautiful Inaugural address at:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stateupdates/gGxHZR

Quite an interesting article from the Telegraph here.

George W. Bush left his office with an approval rating of only 22 per cent, making him the most unpopular outgoing president since polls began......... So for Barack, the only way is up...

... and we are all behind him, cheering him on. Right now, I think he is exactly what the world needs.

Here's a toast to the 44th President

Liska Life xxx

Worth a read - Chronic Malaise and the "cure"

2009-01-20T12:20:00.002Z

This post from Dr Robert O Young is really worth a read.

Liska Life (still happy in Portugal) x

Our funny lives - where we are today

2009-01-19T19:03:00.002Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIG2NM-EieI&feature=channel_page

This video says a lot about where we are today. The economy of now. Worth watching.

Liska Life x

In the Algarve - Portugal today

2009-01-17T18:32:00.001Z

On holiday in Portugal now to see Victor, Emma, Kristina and Tatiana.

Lovely weather today, but very very early start.

Liska x

ooooooooooh so tired

2009-01-15T23:41:00.003Z

Ooooooh I have been up since 5.30 a.m. and am absolutely shattered. So off to bed. Got a horrible head cold. Can't wait to have a rest at the weekend. I ate alot of naughty things today if I am honest - but here is the place to declare it, to incentivise myself to get back on the wagon
:-)

Lost 3 pounds and very happy

2009-01-14T11:52:00.004Z

Got on the scales very late last night and was delighted to discover, now that I am alkaline and on the right track, I have lost 3 pounds.

So very happy about that.

Yiiipppppeeee

Target weight and Google

2009-01-13T21:37:00.003Z

Google's fitness tip of the day is:
Set a target weight for a specific occasion such as a vacation or family reunion.

Well the date I choose is 6th April and the target weight is 10.5 stone, meaning a loss of 42 pounds.
Note I haven't said a year - hee hee.

Oh go on then - let's make it 2009 :-)

Liska Life x

On the right track and ever so happy

2009-01-13T17:55:00.003Z

I just wanted to pop on here and say for the last 3 days, I feel really happy and really feel like I am on the "right track".

A couple of posts ago I mentioned being inspired by Metro 15 and NyceNoelle. I continue to be so, and the ripple effects from Sunday's inspiration are still there, i.e. the housework led to Xmas decs being boxed up, beautifully, which led to hubby putting them ever so promptly in the attic.

All that made the flat look beautiful so we had a lovely dinner in a lovely flat last night.

And because I had been food shopping it was of course beautiful fresh salmon and fresh vegetables.

I have drunk about 4 litres today so far - half water - half Super Greens and had porridge with rice milk for breakfast and a huge salad for lunch.

I feel gggggggrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeat and I cannot wait to report some weight loss.

Liska Life xxxx

Google's Fitness Tip of the Day - spooky

2009-01-11T21:07:00.002Z

I was just about to turn the computer off - I promise, when I scrolled down and noticed Google's fitness tip of the day is:

Surround yourself with people and things that remind you to live a healthy lifestyle.

That is so so so so so in the theme of my post, that I just wrote. So it was "in the air" to have that frame of mind.

This is the point of having a community of bloggers that touch base with each other.

The universe is with us :-)

Liska Life - over and out - for today x

Getting on with it, being inspired and getting out of that Egyptian river called Denial

2009-01-11T20:18:00.009Z

3 blogs have inspired me.

During the week I could tell that where I had gone wrong was my lack of planning.

Reading a post from the final 15 made me realise my mistake. Metro 15 started planning her cupboards back on Saturday 3rd: http://metrofinal15.blogspot.com/2009/01/plan.html

That day (3rd Jan), I got up early to go to the hairdressers, as one of my new year's resolutions was to use a Toni & Guy voucher I got for Xmas last year. Then when I came back home I took my Mum to a local hairdressers so she'd look nice for going back to Ireland and then we ended up having our nails done :-) Anyway, next day was taking her to the airport, and doing loads of housework once back, but I continue to be inspired by Metro 15.

Then yesterday, I went to "blogs of note" and stumbled across:
http://lifesfreetreats.blogspot.com/2009/01/letters.html
I immediately felt my heart open to leave a comment, about the fact that I felt inspired to write a letter to my Mum. Then today, I thought, yes.........later......

but here comes the 3rd bit of inspiration:

I was reading Nyce Noelle's blog at http://nycenoelle.blogspot.com/, when I discovered that she said:

I really appreciated the blog about letter writing. It gave me the courage
to finish a letter that I was wanting to send...

I thought Liska, get on with it, write that letter, so today, I finally wrote the letter to my Mum, as during weekdays, I am not very good at getting anything done, as I tend to do long hours at work. So it was today or never.

That wasn't the end of Noelle inspiring me though, as in the same post:
http://nycenoelle.blogspot.com/2009/01/i-can-do-this.html

She said:
I feel a little bad because I meant to Blog however I have been so busy
accomplishing my goals I set out to do I did not have time!!!

This made me realise that I got fat because I was in denial, and I do nothing about it because I use avoidance tactics and I realised that my blog has BECOME another of life's avoidance tactics, so at just after 12 o'clock this afternoon I turned the computer off and organised things, so that me and hubby could go food shopping and since I got in, I have done loads of housework, which is such good exercise. So Noelle, thank you for inspiring me to get off my butt; it's meant I can eat healthy this week with all the right food in.

Hubby took me food shopping this afternoon, so I would have the right food in (that was my mistake last week) and the cupboards are finally clear of remnants of Xmas. So this afternoon I spent £80 on veg, more veg, brown rice, buckwheat, lemons, limes, salad etc........

In the last 3 hours I have drunk 3 litres of water. First litre and a half was with fresh lemon juice squeezed in and 2nd was with Innerlight Super Greens in. Trying to make sure I am a little alkaline ready to start big style tomorrow.

To put the above in perspective I will type a bit from "The PH Miracle for Weight Loss":

You must commit to getting all the water your body needs to be healthy, and at a
healthy weight. To that end, take a minute right now to figure out how much water you need, and plan how you're going to get it... Every day you need 1 litre of alkaline water for every 30 pounds you weigh. Thus a 210 pound person needs 7 litres a day.........

For anyone who has the book that is from page 191.

Last time I did it my skin felt fabulous, so I can't wait to be healthy again, and as I am on a strict time-frame, I think this is the healthiest and quickest option for me. Plus when I am being "green" I have alot more energy which could really come in handy. I have spent the last few months tired all the time. In September and October there was 5 weekends in a row where I spent at least one day (sometimes 2) completely vegging in pjamas.

Bye for now, I am going to turn the computer off soon and make myself a very healthy dinner.

Liska Life x

PH balance, alkaline, lose weight

2009-01-10T20:48:00.009Z

I just read, that if you follow Dr. Robert O. Young's program (I have all his books), you can lose your weight in # of days where # is 2 times the weight you want to lose.

That means, as I want to lose 42 pounds, it will take me 84 days. So if I were to start again, but strictly this time, I could start on Monday 12th January, and be done by 6th April.

That would be *super* and may just have given me the incentive I need.

His plan is tough though, but maybe I just need to cut the mustard and get on with it.

Means digging out my supergreens which I haven't drunk in months, and eating an alkalarian diet.

Dr. Robert O. Young's New Biology, most simply stated, is that the
over-acidification of the body is the single underlying cause of all disease. In
contrast, the old biology, based on the work of Louis Pasteur in the late 1800s,
stems from the idea that disease comes from germs which invade the body from the
outside. Dr. Young has found that when the body is in healthy alkaline balance,
germs are unable to get a foothold.
Fat is an Acid Problem!Perhaps one of Dr. Young's most well known discoveries is his theory of the cause of overweight. He has shown that fat is actually an over-acidification problem. What does that mean? The body creates fat cells to carry acids away from your vital organs, so these acids literally don't choke your organs to death. Fat is saving your life! Fat is actually a response from the body to an alarming over-acidic condition.The solution? Alkalize and Energize™ beginning with SuperGreens and Prime pH.
Source of the above text: http://www.greensandlean.com/RobertYoung/Alkalarian.htm
Liska Life x

The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl

2009-01-10T14:41:00.003Z

My book arrived Thursday and I am sitting on the sofa today reading it. It is a very good read and you feel like you are reading a novel, rather than a weight loss journal. Really enjoying it so far.

Liska x

Maintenance and weight loss

2009-01-08T23:17:00.002Z

Diet Girl continues to be an inspiration and now about maintenance. I have lost alot of weight on 2 ocassions, so maintenance is important, as it would have avoided my need to lose weight once again.

This time... once I lose it, I must keep it off :-)

Liska Life

Great book

2009-01-08T23:02:00.003Z

I am reading a great book at the moment - Skinny Bitch. They seem to share alot of my philosophies, some of which I took from Anthony Robbins, and they do acknowledge him. So they have similar opinions about our over consumption of protein, and the evils of dairy consumption. It's a great book, (what I have read so far). I am also reading The Spend Less Handbook and waiting for The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl to arrive.

Liska x

Today, Thursday 8th January 2009

2009-01-08T22:44:00.002Z

Exercise today:
Nia class. WOW it was truly amazing. I have blogged in the past about my experience of the workshop at the Yoga Show. Even though that was months ago, I today kept my promise to myself to find a class and try a class. I booked it in my diary before Xmas, and invited some colleagues. I told them I would shout them to the class as their Xmas present (I didn't do much Xmas shopping this year). Anyway, we went tonight and it was SUCH good exercise. Really gentle (i.e. you don't jump up and down like 1980s aerobics) but wow, you use those deep muscles, and you use your core muscles, and you feel so graceful and so feminine, you don't even realise you are working so hard. And the movements are so mindful, you concentrate so hard, that you feel like you are in a meditation, and breathing correctly feels more important than looking at a colleague. I think it was 20 mins into the class before I looked over at anyone.

Meditation:
None

Meals today:
Breakfast again was Hot Granola from Pret a Manger.
Lunch was at Boots (for those not in UK, it is a chemist), where I got a browm bread sandwich with tofu, rocket etc... in it plus a small packet of vegetarian sushi.
After Nia one of my colleagues wanted to chat about something so we went to a Tapas bar. I ordered tapas and a pineapple juice, as the one thing I really have stuck to this week is no alcohol, as well as no coffee. THEN her sangria arrived and I have never seen anything like it. The minute I saw it I said I am having one of those. So as I knew I had so many deviations this week (even today, sandwich! I don't eat bread when on a true detox), I ordered the Sangria and enjoyed every delicious mouthful.
I was just posting this post and remembered, on the way to Nia, my 3 colleagues wanted to stop at a sweetshop and I got a bar of chocolate. I ate it and it gave me a headrush - NOT a nice feeling at all. That told me 2 things. (1) it will be easier to resist the next temptation of chocolate as I now (in NLP style) associate it with a BAD memory (good) and (2) it means my body is already a little cleaner as it is only when I am detoxing that chocolate gives me a headrush. That's probably the benefit of a few days without caffeine.

Weight today:
Didn't weight

Gratitude journal:
For the Nia. Was special and great exercise,

Fit Bug steps (in MBTs):
Lots of MBT steps but the Fit Bug still not set up.

Learning point:
That I will not beat myself up for doing this half and half this week. I will get there. I know I will.

Confirmation of nil consumption of latte or cappuccino:
Proudly I can confirm this. And feel better for it too. I actually feel tired when I should as I am NOT wired on caffeine.

Liska Life x

Wednesday 7th January 2009

2009-01-08T22:32:00.002Z

The Daily Declaration

Exercise today:
None I am afraid

Meditation:
None

Meals today:
Porridge, take away, from a cafe near work again. (I know, I must start getting up early enough to make it at home).
Lunch (okay this WAS naughty). Me, our Bookkeeper and our Credit Controller went on a kind of team lunch, to celebrate something and we ended up in Wagamamas. BUT I had the vegetarian Katsu curry, and a raw juice (includes carrot juice etc...). So it wasn't the unhealthiest of lunches.
Then I promised hubby I would come straight home to have a lovely evening together, now that we have the flat to ourselves again. He has had Wednesday, since he was little as "chips day". His Mum's idea. SO he arrived home with chicken and chips for me and I ate it............
So I think I can safely say I am starting this detox properly next week.

It is funny, I have STUCK to the no lattes, just because of that picture I did on the blog of "my last latte" so between now and next Monday I need to publicly list on here what I am not allowed, so I feel some accountability to stick to it. Years ago, I was soooooooooo good at detoxing. One of the reasons I have put on so much weight, is because I haven't done a proper detox since Summer 2006.

Weight today:
Didn't weigh.

Gratitude journal:
The lovely lunch we had at Wagamamas. I am grateful for some wonderful colleagues :-)

Fit Bug steps (in MBTs):
I go everywhere in my MBTs but still haven't sorted out the Fit Bug.

Learning point:
That I will be up and running next week and that this week is a dry run.

Confirmation of nil consumption of latte or cappuccino:
With great delight I can confirm that I have stuck to this every day.

Byeee, Liska Life x

Tuesday 06th January 2009

2009-01-07T20:15:00.003Z

The Daily Declaration.

Exercise today:
Walking to and from station on way to and from work. That's a total of 34 minutes walking, and in MBTs.
But the highlight is that Catherine and I went to AQUA AEROBICS in our lunch break. It was truly awesome and amazing. A 45 minute session in Virgin Active. We expected the regular aqua aerobics like I did in Malta, but this was full on. Our arms hurt, our bingo wings hurt, our legs hurt, tummy muscles hurt, AND we were out of breath. This was hardcore and I am aching today, which means tomorrow I will be more sore........ but we LOVED it, and aim to go again. It is so so so good and the instructor uses load of props including these foam dumbells that look like liquorice allsorts which is not good when you are trying to take your mind off food :-)

Meditation:
Again none :-(

Meals today:
I had a scone before I left the house - there was one left that my Mum did not eat - oooops.
I add the following sentence on 8th Jan: I have just remembered that when I got to work I bout hot Granola (with soya milk) from Pret a Manger.

Due to doing aqua aerobics in my lunch break, I did not have lunch. Lack of prep meant I did not have lunch with me (ooops). So at 4.40 I could not take it anymore and was so hungry I had to dash out to Pret a Manger. The only thing that had kept me going till then was a yoghurt from a colleague and a satsuma from another colleague - thanks mates. At Pret I was supposed to get a salad but hunger meant I fell off the wagon and got a swedish meatballs wrap. I knew I was so hungry it would not fill me up, so I also got popcorn. Now this was funny. I wanted crisps but thought NO! I am meant to be on a detox, so I told myself popcorn is healthier. I looked at the sweet one and thought sugar is more deadly than salt, so got the salt flavoured one and fair play to Pret it did not taste greasy at all so I would think it is very low in calories.

Then I met my husband and friend from University at 8.15 p.m. that night and we ended up in Momos (London, just off Regent Street). I always drink alot with that friend so I thought THIS is the true test. I could not find alcohol free cocktails on the menu, so tentatively asked the waitress. Yes, we do Virgin cocktails she said, and I was delighted. I had 2 and can't remember what they were called, but they looked as green as a Mohito, but weren't limey like that. Truly delicious and it meant I didn't look like the odd one out drinking water, orange juice or coke. BUT we had mezze, and it included little sausages and pitta bread, but I made sure I ordered falafel also. Anyway, I am normally hardcore when I am on a detox, but I have not done a decent one since 2006 and it SHOWS. I do not eat meat when on detoxes, so I am clearly not in the zone yet.......... Preparation is the key and I think that's been what has been lacking..... so I have to get rubbish out of my cupboards and get some good things IN.

Weight today: N/A as did not get near a scales.

Gratitude journal: Thankful for the aqua aerobics and Catherine's HUGE smile every time I looked over at her. We had so much fun. Oh and the instructor was thoughtful, helpful, fun and fab.

Fit Bug steps (in MBTs):
STILL haven't charged the FitBug yet - sorry.

Learning point:
That I clearly needed to build into this. Which is VERY ironic, given that I bought Holland & Barret's magazine Healthy on Saturday, and there was a bit about spending 2 weeks gradually giving up things in the build up to a full detox. I read it with arrogance and thought that's not me. I will start on Monday 5th Jan full steam ahead.......... hhhhhhhhmmmmmmm life is NOT always THAT straight forward :-)

To those reading, good luck. If you have found me, you are probably on the same journey.

Liska Life xxxxxx

Monday 5th Jan 2009

2009-01-06T18:24:00.006Z

The Daily Declaration.
Exercise today:
Only walking to and from station to go to work I am afraid.

Meditation: None :-(

Meals today:
Got frozen on the way to work (a 40 minute journey took 2 hours - long story).

So, the minute I got to work I had to buy porridge as a breakfast to warm me from the inside out (so that put non-dairy out the window). All I had at home before I left was a half glass of cold water and lemon juice and a half mug of hot water and fresh lemon juice. That did revive me though.

Then lunch was a goat's cheese salad, with drink as carrot and apple juice.

Home for dinner was the problem. Hadn't been food shopping and prep is everything!
So I had to go to a kebab shop and buy salad in pitta bread!
Was delicious but did not fill me up.

So here are my honest sins:
I had 2 brioche rolls - they were winking at me, and left over from Xmas (Mum doesn't like them anymore).
I had 2 bags of these special wholewheat baked crisps (healthy but not really detox food).
That was it I think, but that felt naughty enough!

Weight today:
N/A as did not get near a scales.

Gratitude journal:
Thankful for the train friends who kept me company at the station while we waited IN THE SNOW on a cold platform for 1 hour 10 minutes waiting for a train.

Fit Bug steps (in MBTs):
Haven't charged the FitBug yet - sorry.

Learning point:
That it doesn't all happen 100% straight away as hard as you try.

Confirmation of nil consumption of latte or cappuccino:
YES! Top of the class :-) During the day at work I had 2 peppermint teas, and a green tea. Then at home that evening I had a further green tea.

Housework - now THAT'S exercise

2009-01-04T22:00:00.005Z

Since arriving back home from the airport (my Mum flew back to Ireland today - sniff), I have done hours of housework.

Blogging has been my rest :-) Didn't realise I'd end up on the computer for 2 hours though :-( Was 8 p.m. when I got on and 10 p.m. now - how on earth did THAT happen.

Anyway, I have made up beds, ironed, hoovered etc....... and I can confirm it is bloody good exercise.

Must do all that a lot more often :-)

Last latte and Last Mince Pie

2009-01-04T21:46:00.006Z

Well this is a picture of my last latte and my last mince pie - sniff.

RIP fattening, sugary, artery hardening food.

Better you RIP than I.

Let the detox commence. Count down.

Book on the way - The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl

2009-01-04T21:19:00.005Z

The Amazing Adventures Of Dietgirl

For anyone in the UK, who has had the same trouble I have had getting hold of it, (out of stock in Amazon.co.uk and Waterstones branches)...

I have just managed to order it from:

www.dietandfitnessresources.co.uk

They do have it in stock, and I have just successfully received my order confirmation.

I will write a review on here once it arrives, and once I have read it.

I already know it'll be a good read:

The author even has read in her name, albeit spelled Reid
The title has the word "Amazing" in it... now that has to be a good omen.
You just can't hear enough good things about this book on Shauna's blog. If you want to have a read before you buy the book, there's lots of great stuff on the blog and a whole network of people, like a community, regularly commenting on there. Makes weight loss sooooooo much easier when I can feel there are other people up to the same thing.

I can't "weight" to add my photo to the gallery of readers once my book arrives and I put my feet up to read it.

Liska Life x

Santa's Army

2009-01-04T00:33:00.003Z

Well, I already know that my problem will be self-discipline, when this detox commences on Monday 5th January. So it kept going round in my head, whose army will keep me on track, then tonight we were taking down "some" of the Xmas decorations, to take some of the pressure off tomorrow, and I noticed that I have 4 santas, so I put them all together posing behind our window lights to illuminate them, and now this is the army that'll keep me on track.

I will have nightmares :-) about an Amry of Santas chasing the fat Santa, so fast and so hard, that she RUNS, until she becomes that slim Santa from 2004 (see earlier posts to know what I mean)... Hee hee.

Cute image and it is not from Google like so many of the others - this one I took myself with a BlackBerry.

Bye for today, Liska Life x

Detox 2009 - the format

2009-01-03T19:55:00.006Z

Dear all, I have decided that I need a consistent way of tracking my progress. Plus it keeps me on the straight and narrow if I have to be public every day.

So I have done the format below that will be a daily feature on my blog.

Plus it means I can at least put something on, on busy days when I don't have time to write. Last day at work was 23rd December and first day back is 5th January. I know full well I may not blog every day once back in the full flow of work, so like my new commitment to weight loss, I will have to commit to completing the below, like a daily journal.

I know I sleep better when I give up coffee so I am looking forward to that. In readiness, I bought Barley Cup in Holland & Barrett today.

Exercise today:
Meals today:
Weight today:
Gratitude journal:
Fit Bug steps (in MBTs):
Learning point:
Confirmation of nil consumption of latte or cappuccino:

So, the format above goes live as of Monday, 5th January 2009.

Bye for now.

The scales don't lie

2009-01-02T19:21:00.007Z

Hips don't lie has to be one of my favourite songs, but today it is the scales that don't lie.
As you can see, I am currently 13.5 stone.

As I cannot manage to get my tickerfactory.com weight loss ticker to appear on my blog (tried everything) I have resorted to taking a photo of me on a weighing scales :-)

I simply can't "weight" until I can post a similar image, with a much lower result. I can plot the progress over time I suppose. Speaking of time, my Mum asked what my deadline is, and I said I don't know. (She must know about goals being S.M.A.R.T. eh!?!?).

I will see what I lose in first few weeks and then think of a healthy goal...
When I say goal I mean deadline, for the weight loss. As I already know my goal which is 10.5 stone - meaning a weight loss of 42 pounds!

Good luck to all those other weight loss folk out there. I know at least in January there are a lot of us on the same path, or the same treadmill :-)

Liska Life, Bye for now..........

Love is

2008-12-31T23:07:00.008Z

I googled "Love is..." in Google Images and this was what I found.
Quite ironic as my intention was to say in 2009, Love is:

Honouring oneself and taking care of oneself to assure a more positive self image and weight loss.

Ironically, the image that came up is about taking an account of things, which is what I will be doing, with regards to monitoring exercise and food intake.

It is also a good one considering the current financial crisis and reduced credit, which means it is also a good idea to take account of expenditure.

Anyway, however you interpret it, it is cute. Let it speak to you in whatever way it must.

Last blog for 2008.

Liska Life over and out. x

Santa in the year 2004 - Xmas

2008-12-31T21:52:00.003Z

This photo shows that there is another way - I just need to get back to where I was.

This was me - Santa - in Xmas 2004.

Get back to that in 2009 and I'll be sorted.

Let the vitality and detox commence.

Bye for now, Liska Life
x

Fat Santa and 2008

2008-12-31T21:21:00.007Z

Well, to show I am serious, about the aforementioned blog and the New Year resolution for 2009, I attach a photo of me - the fat santa.

This is what I plan to leave behind in 2008.

So it is appropriate that I post the photo when there are only 2.5 hrs left of 2008.

This photo was taken on 25th December 2008.

Let the weight loss, vitality and detox of 2009 commence.

To anyone else out there in the same laden down boat as me, see you in 2009, as we become more slender, toned, fit and healthy. As the clock strokes midnight let's toast the new us, while we honour and forgive the current us. After all, all that food eaten was delicious and those lazy days, with no exercise, were ever so restful...

Here's to 2009 and all the exciting things it has in store for all of us.

Ignore what the news and the papers say :-)

Liska Life 2008

Over and Out.

New Year Resolutions 2009

2008-12-30T20:02:00.007Z

Hi

I have just been on Google and checked out New Year Resolutions which took me to Wikipedia, and below are the ones that they list as the "most popular goals".

So on my list I have no.1 firmly in place, which of course includes no.6 and no.7 and given that alcohol is FULL of calories, it obvioulsy also encompasses no.9. Due to the whole cortisol and stress, weightloss around the middle link (that I have blogged about before), then it also includes no.11 (less stress). I am sure my Mum would appreciate it if I also gave some attention to no.14 - hee hee.

Wikipedia's top 14 "most popular goals" below:

Lose weight
Gain weight
Pay off debt
Save money
Get a better job
Get fit
Eat right
Get a better education
Drink less alcohol
Quit smoking
Reduce stress
Take a trip
Volunteer to help others
Be less grumpy

Just did a bit more "googling" and found out that the microwave was invented when someone walked passed a radar and their bar of chocolate melted - there's a reason not to have take-a-ways any more. I was once told microwaves are banned in Russia but don't know if it's true.

I am tempted to plot my progress losing weight online in the New Year, but I'd have to be very brave to do that - might do though.

AAhhhhhhhhhhhhh I am inspired to do it online now. Click here and read what I just have. That's certainly given me food for thought.

It's funny, I have recently been comparing myself to a type of 80s computer game. You know the ones. You pick up things that help you later in the game. You pick up a bomb, or medicine, or weapon, or food and you build up all these things and use them when appropriate. I was thinking of this analogy with regards to weightloss and I was brainstorming about the things I would have in there.

On the bottom of the screen I would obviously have the things I own already:

MBTs (lots of them).
A Fit bug (great pedometor that connects to the computer so you can plot your progress and see how many steps you do, even by the hour).
A Vita Mix (best detox blender you could EVER own). It'll set you back £300 plus but it is the best money you will ever spend. Makes soup, smoothies etc... I have blogged about it once before.
I have a set of Saladmaster saucepans. They make amazing dinners, without the need for water or oil. You can use ONE pan for loads of veg. I fill it with brocolli, cauliflower, carrots, parsnips etc... and they steam in a vacuum using their own juices. Healthy, nutricious cooking and much quicker than the traditional methods.
I have a FAB pilates machine called "Ellen Croft's Supreme Pilates". Need to dust it down and use it again.
I have a rebounder.
I have all the famous January weight loss DVDs - yes I am a sucker.
I have a water filter machine - a very special one.
I have lots of Kundalini Yoga DVDs.
I have Virgin Active gym membership.
Lots of books about PH and green diets.
Innerlight Super Greens.
and the list goes on..................

On my want list that my computer character would pick up would be:

bottles of Evian.
Some self discipline!
a decent health food shop near my house
and I think that'd be it, as I am in a good position - if I can sort the self-discipline out!

Anyway, for me, New Year starts from the Winter Solstice, i.e. after 21st December. Only reason I can't adhere to that, is all the festive eating, which makes it easier to follow the crowd and start being healthy in January :-)

Wikipedia gives a brief explanation of Winter Solstice and says: "Worldwide, interpretation of the event [Winter Solstice] has varied from culture to culture, most cultures have held a recognition of rebirth".

So off I am to eat, drink and be merry, knowing that those days are numbered - soon: let the detox commence!

Liska Life,

Over and Out.

Xmas in Folkstone - 2008

2008-12-27T18:20:00.001Z

This year Xmas was in Folkstone by the beach. Drove up there with Mum and hubby on Xmas morning.

Dinner was in the Metropole with Robert and family. Stayed one night in the Burlington.

Boxing day walked down to the beach, from the hotel with Mum, which was like being in a dream. To get from the hotel to the beach you have to go down quite a few steps which is fun and picturesque on the way down, but bloody good exercise on the way back up...

Then before going home, we strolled around Dover College (check out the photo of Mum outside the Headmaster's office - I thought that was quite appropriate given that Mum went to boarding school in Ireland and was always naughty while there).

We also walked around the White Cliffs of Dover. I will have to get those photos from Rob. Walking along the cliff edge was quite scary and windy but there were lots and lots of walkers there doing the same. With dogs and buggies. Mum and I had the added instability underfoot of MBTs :-)

Xmas by the beach was beautiful. Good healthy sea air, and amazing food & drink.
Thanks Rob.

Today I am having a day in PJs to relax after such a busy week. Mum watched "On Golden Pond" today and now she is watching "The Graduate".

xxx

Alexandra is the winner

2008-12-13T22:51:00.003Z

Alexandra just sang Hallelujah again after she was announced the winner and it was so full of emotion it was simply beautiful.

Well done Alexandra. You have been my favourite to win for quite a few weeks now.

Xfactor and Hallelujah

2008-12-13T22:32:00.003Z

Well, I am watching the final and it is a very close call. All week my money's been on MY favourite Alexandra BUT........... I am a massive fan of the song Hallelujah and I have to say JLS's version was better. Sorry Alexandra, you did it with soul and passion, but you are one voice, and they had a blend that was beautiful and Aston sung his little heart out.

There are now ALOT of people talking online, some of whom think Hallelujah is a Jeff Buckley song, but he himself also covered it, albeit very very very well. The song is originally by Leonard Cohen. To listen to Jeff Buckley's version go to You Tube, where, if you are hearing it for the first time, you will quite frankly be blown away, especially if you have only had the XFactor treatment so far.

The following is what Wikipedia has to say:

"Hallelujah" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen originally released on his 1984 studio album Various Positions. A live recording of the song from 1988, containing additional lyrics, appears on the 1994 album, Cohen Live. While "Suzanne" is his most covered work to date, "Hallelujah" has experienced great popularity more recently and has now been recorded more than 170 times for release and has been featured in the soundtracks of numerous movies and television shows.[1]

Qype: MBT Concept Store in London

2008-12-12T22:52:00.003Z

London
Having been in Harrods since 2005, MBT has now opened a Concept Store (concession) on the 5th floor, which now brings the full range of MBT physiological footwear to Knightsbridge. So if you often have trouble finding the anti-shoe of your choice you now know where to go. MBT experts will be on hand to serve you, and fit you in the style of your choice. Don't miss out on that Introsession which will give you all those valuable walking tips.
Check out my review of MBT Concept Store - I am SatKirtanKaur - on Qype

Britney Fiasco at HEAVEN.............

2008-12-04T12:38:00.001Z

My comments about Saturday night have been posted on Marie Claire's website. The comment I wrote on there is word for word below:

Dear All,
I was there, at Heaven and she did not perform. We were all incredibly disappointed and they acted for over an hour like she was coming on stage, so we all cramped into the main room, and stayed like that for far too long till they finally admitted that she was not coming on stage. But before that, they cleared the stage of audience members, and lots of high vis security patrolled the stage as if they were getting it ready for her... They teased us for over an hour...
Crowd control was a huge issue and it was NOT in any way safe. The crowd moved every now and again and you felt like you were going to lose your footing and get trampled. Two fights broke out and several people passed out. They had to start chucking bottles of water from the stage and eventually the Police were called.
Britney apparently refused to come on stage........
Very disappointing....... but they said she was in the building at the Island, wherever that is.......
Comment by Liska Life on December 01 21:13

Fat around my middle!

2008-11-26T23:34:00.001Z

I went to a nutrition talk tonight. It was at Aegis Training. The speaker was Graeme Marsh. I took it all onboard and will try to make some changes to my diet.

My main take home message was that since I have been stressed I have been putting weight on around the middle. The whole cortisol situation. The problems then that follow with insulin resistance, etc... The link to lots of sugar and lots of carbs! I am an open book and tick all the boxes.

Anyway, Graeme's talk was super and inspired me to do further research this evening on the laptop, and I came across this piece. Click here to read.

Tells me all I needed to know, and in a lot of detail. Now I really know exactly WHAT I need to do next, so again for the millionth time, let me say, watch this space......... :-)

Hopefully I can finally shift some pounds.

Btw, I have not been swimming in weeks. Too busy being stressed. Working too hard and producing further fat around the middle :-)

Portugal - Faro

2008-11-21T00:13:00.004Z

Hee Hee
I booked last night to go to Faro on a taxes only cheap Ryan Air flight.
Part of deals they are doing now if one travels Dec 08 or Jan 09.
Going over to see old colleague and his wife and 2 gorgeous girls, for 5 days.
Will go on 17th Jan returning on 22nd Jan.

ONLY trouble is that they have a dog and I am scared of dogs, so I have to meditate on this photo that they emailed me, until I can get used to him. Then maybe have some hypnotherapy :-)

I'll be fine.........

My husband does like the smell of strawberries

2008-11-20T00:02:00.003Z

Those who read this who know me, will know exactly what I mean by the subject heading of this post. Nuff said.
But Body Shop is the best place to go. I can recommend the strawberry and the vanilla oil burning oils, and the scrub, and the body butter. All delicious.

Sibs and Fi

2008-11-15T14:30:00.003Z

I am doing this blog from Sib's house, where I will teach yoga to Sibs, Fi and Felipe. Right now Fi is holding Ferran who is simply GORGEOUS.

And Sibs is making lunch.

What a lovely Saturday afternoon.

Oh my God - a smart car that is not smart!

2008-11-12T23:50:00.002Z

Our neighbours have just bought a RED smart car and have tonight insisted on parking it in the front garden between the bush and the wall.
I have never ever seen anything like it, in my life.
And there was a perfectly suitably spot on the road, just the other side of the wall...!
Excitement at having their first car, it needs to be close to home... but we are just talking about the difference of 4 or 5 feet. Inside wall Vs outside.
5 people guided the car in and nobody will be there when the girl who owns it is driving it out, so I can imagine a call to the Buildings Insurers when the wall gets hit... Last time that happened was 6 years ago, and we never knew what caused it that time.

Liska

2008-11-12T23:23:00.003Z

I typed Liska into Google Images and this came up. I just had to have it, so copied and pasted. Forgive me whoever owns it, but the link to the website it comes from was not working so I cannot even acknowledge the source. So universe, thank you :-)

Emotionomics

2008-11-12T23:13:00.003Z

I am reading Emotionomics at the moment and it is a thought provoking book to say the least. It is like it documents alot of things that I have intuitively known. BUT backed up with examples, case studies, statistics, etc... Super!

Have a read if this subject area interests you.

Once I have read a little more, perhaps I do my first ever book review, on here :-)