Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Wednesday 31 December 2008

7.45am
3 eggs fried in butter

10.20am
Two swiss and salami rolls with a few slices of mortadella - 1.5g

2.30pm
Kebab meat with green salad - 2g

5pm
LC biscuit and lc bar - 11.3g

BBQ to come - more lc satay skewers planned.

Lynn, you will notice I have linked Harry's burrito bowl from yesterday to the recipe for you :)

Sadekat, I think you are absolutely right! I should blog you all the way through this with me :) I can't promise I'll ALWAYS blog in depth but I will do my utmost to do this until I leave for the caving trip. Woohoo! I'm excited!

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Tuesday 30 December 2008

7.45am
3 eggs fried in butter - 1.5g

11am
Harry's burrito in a bowl - 4g

1pm
1/2 SF choc, cream - 4.3g

7.30pm
Lemon butter barramundi - 0g

Beverages
8 glasses of water, one cup tea with milk and two cups tea with heavy cream - 2.1g

That gives a total of 19.6g carbs for today. Which isn't too bad - though I feel I MUST be forgetting something! I'm almost in "pre-fast" mode, which isn't very balanced. Though the strangest thing... it's only psychological. Physically I am not and do not want anything further. No cravings I haven't satisfied. And I've learned enough over such a long period of time that physiology always wins now. So, no gorging for me.

I'm both excited and hesitant to see how the Master Cleanse goes. To begin on 2 Jan.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Monday 29 December 2008

Boy have I eaten some rubbish today! I was just insatiable!!

7.40am
3 eggs fried in butter - 1.5g

10am
Small serving of Harry's burrito in a bowl - 4g

12.30pm
Salted mixed nuts - 4g

4.15pm
Harry's burrito in a bowl - 5.5g
50mL cream - 1.3g
Smoked Salmon - 0g
Brie - 0.1g

8.20pm
Roast beef with a green salad - 3g

9.40pm
50mL cream and SF choc - 3.9g

Beverages
7 glasses of water, one cup of tea with milk - 1g

That gives a total of 24.3g carbs for today. Phew!

Thanks so much for the ideas and support re: yesterday's post. I've been looking into various things - IF, FF, MFF, MC, etc. (I'm just showing off my new-found knowledge of acronyms *wink* - they are Intermittent Fasting, Fat Fast, Modified Intermittent Fasting, Master Cleanse) and there are other fasts like the Water Fast. Now I think that one is a bit past me. Whatever I do, I'll make sure I'm keeping up with the supplements and will stop at the first sign of any issue.

But, who knows, I might only last a day before I'm back to my usual lc.

*fingers crossed* ... at this point in time, I'm thinking of the Master Cleanse. I have tried it before but stopped it and now it's too many years ago to remember why hahahaha.

Here's to a me that can fit through a tight squeeze!! *cheers*

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Sunday 28 December 2008

Challenge Alert!!

11am
Harry's burrito in a bowl - 6g

1pm
100ml cream - 2.1g

2.30pm
1/6 SF choc, mixed nuts - 6.5g

7pm
Social BBQ - two satay beef skewers (which I put together myself so it was totally lc), one hamburger rissole, some BBQ chicken and green salad with dressing I made myself - 3g

Beverages
Four glasses of water and half a black cup of tea. Nearly a litre of pepsi max at the BBQ (better than what they were drinking) - 0g

That gives a total of 17.6g carbs for today.

OK, so, CHALLENGE ALERT!!!

On the 16th of Jan I will be climbing through some caves. Now, Oct of 07 I last tried this cave and embarrassingly got stuck. Ahh!! I had a whole crew of people (well, 3) drag me out with lots of pushing and some rope. I do NOT want this to happen again!

Scary thing is, I'm not much different in weight now to what I was then (I gained after that incident and have lost weight again) so I need a bit of a fast forward. Any suggestions? I'm happy to be deprived for a little while - it's only a few weeks. I also plan to go to the gym a lot to build up my muscle which is metabolically active and will physically help me with all the crawling around.

I was initially thinking maybe a liquid fast like Vadim, but after looking at his stats of 22g carbs and 1350 cals I think I can eat proper food for that. So... I don't know!

The reason this is so last minute, is we were to do a nicer cave on the Sat and some rope/harness work on the Sunday but the vote was taken and the majority would prefer to do a cave on Sunday.... and it's THAT cave!

Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Saturday 27 December 2008

11.30am
Harry's burrito in a bowl - 6g

2.30pm
Two cups of tea with milk - 1.5g

6pm
3 eggs fried in butter - 1.5g
1/2 SF Choc - 2.1g

8pm
Protein bar - 4.7g

Beverages
6 glasses of water

That gives a total of 15.8g carbs for today.

I spent the day today with my drafter for building my new house and it looks like my plans are nearly done! I have a to-do list of research to do such as which type of timber flooring, which tiles, insulation, sound proofing, heating/cooling systems, etc. Yay! This is so exciting!

Friday, December 26, 2008

Friday 26 December 2008

9.30am
1/2 SF choc - 2.1g

11am
Harry's burrito in a bowl - 6g

2pm
Tin of tuna in oil - 0g

4pm
Mini protein bar - 3.4g

6pm
Harry's burrito in a bowl - 7g

10pm
SF choc and a cup of tea with milk - 5.1g

Beverages
Tons of water, it's scorching today. Lost count. Two cups of herbal tea and one black tea - 0g

That gives a total of 23.6g carbs for today.

Comment Reply:

Hi Vadim,

That picture is of Sarah Beeny - host of Property Ladder. I spent the entire day today (since 8.30am - I set my alarm) watching the Property Ladder marathon! hehehe

In amongst that I rearranged my room, put a few items on eBay, a few items out for FreeCycle and painted two pictures. Oh and watched a couple of 1920s movies and that What the Bleep Do We Know? (not too impressed with it) doco.

Oh and I picked out my bath that I want too! Did that during one of the PL episodes I'd already seen hehehe.

What did you get up to today?

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Thursday 25 December 2008

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!

11am
Harry's burrito in a bowl - 5g

1.20pm
BBQ chicken and peppered ham - 0g

7.30pm
Toppings from an Aussie pizza - 3g

9.45pm
Four walnuts, freshly cracked - 4.2

10pm
SF choc and one cup of tea with milk - 5.1g

Beverages
Gazillions of water and three black teas (in addition to the above).

That gives a total of 17.3g carbs for today.

I'm considering doing an all-nighter tonight. I really feel like one lol. And I have days to recover which is nice. Might, might not. There is a Property Ladder marathon on tomorrow starting at 8.30am I'm hanging out for ... sad, I know.

Anyway, off to check out a few (belated) blog entries now. Speak soon!

Wednesday 24 December 2008

10am
Woke up, ate nothing...

4pm
One and a half cups of tea with milk - 1.5g

6pm
Harry's burrito in a bowl and half a cup of tea - 7g

9pm
Skipped the pea and potato soup and the pirags (my favs!) - had the asparagus (heaps), cucumber salad, pork and duck - 7.2g

11pm
Pork crackling and a few sips of some tea - 0.5g

Beverages
Tea listed as above plus 7 glasses of water (or more)

That gives a total of 16.2g carbs for today. Pretty good for Christmas Eve!! Last year wasn't so successful ... I give in way too easily to family around me wanting me to eat their cooking. I remember I ended up having about half of the small bowl of cherries in syrup with cream. :(

Sorry another dash entry as I head off to sleep. THIS time it's nearly 2am! I did Christmas with my mum's family today and got a few candles (which I asked for), this weird stuff called "shower jelly" ...anyone? ...anyone?

And a top and cardigan set. It's nice actually, they fit absolutely perfectly but my Grandma who bought them for me was so worried that we'd have to exchange them for larger sizes. She made me put them on right away to find out! lol. I wont say what the sizes were, because they wouldn't mean anything to anyone that's not in this country. But it was a nice ... medium I guess you'd say.

Missing everyone's blogs :( Will catch up asap. No promises for tomorrow though - it's THE day! Have a fantastic Christmas all and catch you when all the busy-ness is over with.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Tuesday 23 December 2008

7.45am
3 eggs fried in butter - 1.5g

10am
Salami with jarlsberg - 0.8g

1.30pm
Harry's burrito in a bowl - 7g

3pm
Salami with jarlsberg - 0.8g

5pm
2x SF choc - 8.2g

8.30pm
Roast duck with veggies - 2.5g

Beverages
6 glasses of water, two cups of tea with milk - 2g

That gives a total of 22.8g carbs for the day. Good day! Ok, well it could be ideal, but where's the fun in that? Lol not too bad for a realistic diary.

Tired now, it's past 1am. I need sleep! But my commitment says I needed to post quickly here before tomorrow morning.

And one comment about the idea I blogged about yesterday before I hit the pillow, I think we can to-and-fro about it for a little while and do it at the start of next year. It'll probably take that long to decide on something anyway. :)

Will comment more tomorrow, sorry guys. I've been Christmas shopping!

Have a good one.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Monday 22 December 2008

7.45am
3 eggs fried in butter - 1.5g

10.10am
60g cucumber - 2.2g

1.15pm
Left over lamb roast - 0g

2.30pm
SF choc - 4.1g

5.30pm
Harry's burrito in a bowl - 5g

7.20pm
4 strawberries and a celery stick with tzatziki - 9.6g... that's gotta be wrong... right? A tiny bit of swiss and ham I picked out of one of the sandwich triangles. I'm going to count those as zero.

8.50pm
The insides of a meat pie and a green salad - I can't find a count for this as it's always listed with the pastry. With the pastry it would be 37.8g. Phew! Glad I skipped that one! - going to give it 3g

Beverages
6 glasses of water, three cups of tea with milk - 2.5g - one black tea.

That gives a total of 27.9g carbs for the day, which is within my limits.

Stinking hot today... at least it's cooler for the rest of the week to come. Day 2 of TOM (it arrived a little later than expected) and I feel HUGE.

Did you notice yesterday I didn't have any SF choc? Woooo I'm cutting down!!

Spent the day trying to think of other things besides my bf being gone. Like NewVision said - I can choose to make it so he comes home to a slimmer me!

Thank you for all the Comments and support. I really appreciate it.

The lamb roast was great, I had a bit of zucchini and celery on the side too, but didn't get a chance to add it into my blog. I've never heard of NZ Lamb lol. I just get normal lamb and it's absolutely to-die-for. Maybe I get NZ lamb without knowing it? Speaking of which, the "LC Biscuits" I refer to are Kiwi. They are technically called "protein cookies" and here is a link to read more.

OK, so, idea time!

I posed a question in one of my
Comments...

NewVision: Vadim, how about just doing Low Carb with me
Erika: NewVision, is that offer open to all? I'm getting an idea... we could maybe plan a day a week together (or as a group) of food and just follow that day.


Lynn, you reminded me of it. So, I'm going to count you in!! Any other takers? I think this might be fun! And as we don't have all the same shops/products available, I would think whatever we come up with will have to be good, wholesome food. Who's in?

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Sunday 21 December 2008

11.40am
Harry's burrito in a bowl (I tend to have the same thing over and over for a while until I get sick of it - then you wont see it for six months) ;) - 5g

1.20pm
Two cups of tea with milk - 2g

3.45pm
65g pistachios, 100g 'raw delux mix' - 25.4
One cup of tea with milk - 1g

7.20pm
4 eggs fried in butter - 2g

8.20pm
Mini protein bar - 3.4g (I went over and over in my mind whether or not to have this because it's so high in carbs... I waited and had water and everything ... decided I truly wanted it, so I had it)

That gives a total of 38.8g carbs for the day. Ok, so now that I've compared the carb number in pistachios to the nut mix (which was only 8g for a larger portion) I wont be choosing these again.

I have displayed the Goodbye picture today as today is the last time I'll see my Benny until the end of Feb when he returns from the US. Very sad day.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Saturday 20 December 2008

11am
Harry's burrito in a bowl - 5g

4.20pm
130g raspberries - 15.5g

5pm
Harry's burrito in a bowl - 5.5g
1/2 a SF choc - 2.1g

7pm
SF choc - 4.1g
LC biscuit - 2.1g

7.45pm
Lamb roast

Beverages
One black tea, half a tea with milk - 0.5g - four glasses of water.

It's funny. I was thinking earlier about why I'm hungry and want to have silly foods. Only when I listed it here with times did I realise I hadn't eaten anything filling between 11 and 5pm. No wonder!

Friday 19 December 2008

11am
Shepherd's pie and Harry's burrito in a bowl mixed together - 6g

5.30pm
Shepherd's pie - 4.5g

8pm
SF choc - 4.1g

Beverages
5 glasses of water, one macchiato - 3g - two teas with milk - 2.g

Total of 19.6g carbs for the day.

Thanks Vadim and all the supportive blogs of yours, it's helped me get back on track. Must have just been a blip in the radar. :)

Have a great day all! I have a wonderful weekend planned and things are going well.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Thursday 18 December 2008

Gosh, sorry I feel like I've been a bit lacking lately! It's just such a busy time of year. At least I've gotten around to cruising your blogs though, even if mine is just the basics atm ;)

11am
Shepherd's pie - 5g

4pm
LC cookie - 5.1g
SF choc - 2g
Harry's burrito in a bowl - 4g

8pm
Shepherd's pie and Harry's burrito in a bowl mixed together - 6g

Beverages
7 glasses of water, 3 or so glasses of diet pepsi.

Total carbs for today - 22.1g.

Lots of cravings atm. I think there also might be a little saboutage in there. I haven't been able to go to the gym bc of my back and I'm feeling really UNbloated and thin which means my mind is kicking in and mysteriously justifying cookies and chocs and all sorts of other nonsense foods.

How can I nip this in the bud?

Wednesday 17 December 2008

Weird Cartoon12noon
3 eggs fried in butter with a dollop of liverwurst - 1.7g

2pm
SF choc - 4.1g

4pm
Sherpherd's pie - 4g

7pm
SF choc - 2g

10pm
Handful of almonds - 3.5g

Commentary when I get up tomorrow morning.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Tuesday 16 December 2008

7.30am
3 eggs fried in butter - 1.5g

10am
Harry's burrito in a bowl - 4g

12noon
Smoked chicken roulade with green salad and balsamic - 4.5g

3pm
Handful of walnuts - 13.5g (oops!)

6pm
SF choc - 4.1g
Harry's burrito in a bowl - 4.5g

7pm
Salted mixed nuts - 5g

11.30pm
SF choc - 4.1g
Handful of walnuts - 13.5g (oops!)

Beverages
8 glasses of water (or more) and five teas with milk - 5g.

That gives a total of 59.7g. Gosh, that's my highest day in a long time! Darn TOM cravings! I'll have to cut right down tomorrow to bring the average for the two days down a lot. Especially since I can't train atm due to my back injury. Booked in for a facial tomorrow which I'm really looking forward to, and to see the guy about my back which I'm also looking forward to. Fingers crossed I can train again by Friday morning!

No further commentary for today, instead I have continued on from the questions posted and responded to in yesterday's post.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Monday 15 December 2008

7.30am
3 eggs fried in bacon grease - 1.5g

2pm
The best Shepherd's Pie ever - 6g

5.30pm
100ml cream - 2.6g
SF choc - 4.1g

8.30pm
Fillet of barramundi with True Lemon and salt - 0g

Beverages
7 glasses of water, three cups of tea - two with milk - 2.6g

That gives a total of 16.8g carbs for the day.

Thank you to everyone that answered yesterday's questions! I will post them below now for all to see (if you don't want that, let me know and I'll remove it immediately and leave it just in the Comments section):

1. Why are we overweight.
I am overweight because I was 'comfortable' with the way I was. MY hubsband loved me whether I was 120 lbs or 220 pounds.

2. Why are we staying this way.
I was staying this way because I found no concrete need to change. I loved to eat..

3.Why do we want to lose it.
I want to loose weight because my blood pressure was getting too high, and because loosing weight meant I would be healthier.

4. Why are we resisting.
I guess I was resisting because I never really found a diet that works *(and because the first three letters of the word DIET IS D_I_E.)

5. Why is this time different.
Because My doc said I had to find a 'lifestyle' change, or I would be on medications for the left of my life.

By BayouBabe

Thanks for the opportunity to post about the above questions. I tend to be an "invisible" person, so hearing you complain about people being attracted to you seems strange. But I can see where being the center of attention could feel embarrassing or overwhelming. You were probably born with personality, looks, energy that will always attract people whether you're thin or fat. And I think the "human-ness" of fluctuating weight is a good thing-perfect people are quite boring really.

Ok, the questions:

I think I'm overweight because as I got older I became insulin-resistant because of genetics and over-eating carbs all my life. I think all the carbs also accelerated the ageing process, along with loads of stress thru my 40's.

I stay overweight because old habits die hard. I've been making stabs at low carb for a couple years now. But still having lots of binge-ing along with it. It's a PROCESS of changing the way you do your life. Food's been my best friend forever. And it's also that I've ALWAYS loved tons of carbs and could never understand those people who can eat two cookies and not the whole box at one sitting. I think all this is very much a PHYSICAL addiction problem. (Read Gary Taubes.)

I want to lose because I have the apple-shape body (bad) and want to get healthier. I'm a naturally thin person-always was (while eating everything) until late 30's probably. Then I started gaining constantly (insulin-resistance). The natural shape for me would be Audrey Hepburn-boy would I like to look like her too!! Thin, hair
up, long neck. Actually I have a naturally fat neck-that won't go away no matter how thin I get! It's genetic.

I guess I resist because carbs taste so darn good and I have to give them up. I have to watch others eat cake, chips, etc. This time is different because I've been thru all the other stages and it's just time! I'm 51 years old-if not now, when???!

By Lynn


Now, to your questions:

Why are we overweight?I think, for me, it was a lifetime of eating lots of carbs and sugar leading to insulin resistance and then trying all the wrong diets to get the weight off. In addition to the stress of being in a very high demand religious group that really took a whopping on me stress-wise (and a divorce for leaving the group). It was too much to deal with life, much less stick to any kind of diet during that time. I was doing good to get up in the mornings.

Why are we staying this way?Change is hard! It has to encompass our whole life (body, soul, mind) - a true lifestyle change and relationship with food change.

Why do we want to lose it?I just turned 40 and I am tired of my body not matching how I feel. I know it sounds silly but I often forget that I am fat and not that curvaceous young thang I used to be. I also would like to get married again one day and even I would not date me right now.

I want to be healthy and able to take care of myself into my sunset years. Married or not, I do not want to depend on others to do things for me that I should be able to do if I take care of my body now.

Why are we resisting?Change is hard and it *is* embarrassing to have people notice me because of my weight, even if it's because it's going down. I do not like to be the center of attention, like you, I prefer to blend in.

Why is this time different?I am very motivated to be healthy and independent. I now have much more knowledge about the hows and whys of LC, proper diet and exercise. Having that understanding, I think, is tremendously empowering and that much more motivating.

Quality of life! I want to be able to go, do and enjoy without the restrictions that extra weight and health issues puts on me. I am eternally grateful to Jimmy for this opportunity / challenge, to those who read my journal on his forums and the others who share their knowledge: Jimmy's readers, the Eades, Taubes, etc....

Have a great day!

By Solshine

Here are my thoughts on everything you asked:

Why am I overweight?
I think it all stems back to my younger years. As a child I was always tiny, I was very sickly and had loads of medical problems. When I was 9 years old, I had an operation that solved all of my problems. I started growing and I started finally putting on weight to be in the normal ranges. My Mom had always had to force feed me because I was always so sick and didn't want to eat. All of a sudden, I had desire to eat and as a result started growing and gaining weight. My parents were so happy they encouraged me to eat! Then I got really chubby, the sort of cute chubby that kids are. When I went to a new school I got involved in athletics and began running and lifting weights. The weight fell off. I stayed very active for my school years and was eating probably enormous portions of food to fuel all of my activity. When I was 18 I was in a very bad car accident and couldn't resume my normal activites for months because of my injuries. I ate the same way I had been eating and started gaining weight.

Why am I staying this way?
Something happened, I stopped seeing myself. I didn't realize that my weight was out of control for many years. I wouldn't have my picture taken, I refused to be videotaped at family functions. I knew I was a big girl. I am nearly 6 ft tall and since I hit my growth spurt I have towered over most of my family members and all of my friends, even boyfriends.

Why do I want to lose it?
This is a very personal answer for me, not easy to say either. I don't usually talk about it because I get really sad. I want to lose weight so that I can have a baby. At my current weight, the complications I would have are not worth it. I talked to my doctor and he recommended I lose at least 80 lbs before I considered getting pregnant. My husband and I discussed all the concerns and together we decided that is what I need to do. I know there are women my size who have babies all the time, but we want to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby, (I am not getting any younger!). Due to my age and financial responsibilities we will most likely only have one child. We are trying to be smart about the whole thing.

Why am I resisting?
I have to relearn everything! I am learning how to eat, what to eat, how much to eat. I am learning that I can't sit on the couch all day long watching tv and expect the pounds to come off. It takes a while for the brain to switch. I also have had several setbacks (injury, surgury, medical issues) that put me back to square one. Going back to square one sucks rotten eggs big time! Then depression sets in, and the cycle starts all over again.

Why is this time different?
This time is different because I am tired of failing, I am tired of being depressed and I am tired of my life passing me by while I get a bigger ass on the couch. This time I have set up a no fail enviroment with my blog and now youtube videos. I have been lucky enough to find all of the others like me out there in the world who struggle. Who understand what I am going through. I have done my research, I have read the books, I have the support of my doctors. I have the support of my husband, my family, and my new internet buddies. Together we can do it, and if I have to hop on a plane to knock some sense into one of you who falls off the wagon, you'd better watchout, I might just do it! LOL
Erika, thank you so very much for posting these questions <3>

By Sadekat

Why are we overweight?
I've always been overweight. Even as a kid I was overweight. I guess then I just didn't know any other way. I was even ok with it, until I saw a picture of myself over 300 pounds. I then realized how far out of control I really was. I still have that picture. I cried over it for weeks. Why didn't I realize it before the picture? I don't know the answer to that. It was kind of like being the opposite of an anorexic. When I looked in the mirror, I didn't see my fat self. I saw someone who wasn't so bad. That picture opened my eyes.

Why are we staying this way?
I think I came across my answer a few years ago. I have it all. A great husband, a great son. A great marriage. I'm happy. My sister lost her husband to a heart attack at age 39. My brother lost his 2 girls to a drunk driver. My other sister, her husband has always had LOTS of health issues, her children have all spent time in jail. My younger brother, though now has turned his life around, was into drugs and hanging with people who weren't the greatest influence. If I lost the weight, I would have it all. Being fat was MY punishment for having a happy life when the other members of my family did not.
I also have issues with standing out. Not that anyone would give me attention for my looks, but my WHOLE family is over weight. I never wanted to be the one who stood out.

Why do we want to lose it?
Since the picture episode, I've always wanted to lose it. Just could never figure out how and not tip the issues I just listed above. Now that I'm older I just realized I have to do this for ME.

Why are we resisting?
I don't know the answer to that yet. I do know that when I see the scales going down. I usually will sabotage at some point. A few years ago when I got down to 230. Scared the tar out of me when people started noticing that I was loosing.

Why is this time different?
I've been working on not letting others get to me. It doesn't matter now what others think. I'm doing this for ME, no one else...
I also discovered Coconut oil. When I eat more fat I feel fuller. When I was LCing before I kept listening to the dietitians, doctors, and friends that fat was bad for you. So I would always try to cut it down. Which in turn would bring back cravings and the cycle begins all over again.

What am I focusing on this time to make it different - psychologically?
Trying to listen to my body and my needs. I was never a breakfast person. So I don't eat it now. I don't care if 'they' say its the most important meal of the day. If my body says its not hungry than I don't eat. Coconut oil has REALLY helped with this also.
I'm also focusing on -'I do have the right to be happy, what has happened to others is NOT my fault.' When I do lose this weight, it doesn't mean that I will lose what is important to me.

By NewVision



I have some comments I'd like to make on the above posts but my bf is over. He's flying to the USA on the 22nd and I wont see him again until late Feb so I'll get back to you tomorrow with everything.

If anyone else wants to take a lot inside yourself with the questions listed in yesterday's post, you're most welcome. I'll add them here as they come in :)

EDIT:
Just like Sybil, I see myself in all of you. Maybe that's why we're all here. Bayoubabe, my bf loves me no matter my size as well so it makes it hard(er) when looking for motivation. Part of your mind wants to do it but the whole of you needs to or you're just going to go through the yo-yo. Is what the doctor said strong enough for you?

What would your answer be to: What am I focusing on this time to make it different - psychologically?


Lynn, you know how much I think it would be peaceful to go around unnoticed? I wouldn't have mysterious people in shops asking my opinion on things, I wouldn't have people on the escalator smiling at me and my friends always asking if I know that person. And at work, I think the expectations would be a lot lower.

Anyway, that's now what we're here to talk about lol ;)

How is your skin? I always think carbs can age skin a lot more and you said your ageing has been accelerated. If you've always been thin, I would think that it would be easier for you to lose again because you're already in the right frame of mind and adjusted to that. That's the hope I cling to for myself. Say it's true? :) What happens when you actually do begin to lose?

Solshine, I can't believe you've come out of such experiences with the strength and drive that you have. It's wonderful.

"Even I would not date me right now" - completely untrue! You deserve to be loved (and dated) no matter your size. If you put things off until you lose weight, you may never get there because you wont have that added contentment driving you.

Sadekat *hugs* .... *big hugs* ... what are the reasons you can't try for a baby now? Friends of mine have been huge and have had successful pregnancies. They found them more painful than otherwise, but I figure pregnancy is a painful experience overall anyway.

I don't know, I just worry about time getting on. Maybe it's the initiating Aries in me.

I hope I'm not making the situation worse by expressing these opinions.

NewVision, I can relate to you so much. Having a good life overall can sometimes bring guilt. You reason in your mind that it shouldn't - "people make their own decisions" afterall - but then you need to believe it as well. And that's where the difficulty sets in.

Relatives CHOOSE to live the way they do, including at the weight they are. I was one of the thinnest in my family too, but I feel guilty about that. At 5'9" I'm taller than everyone including my male cousin, and to have a symmetrical face and be thinner would just be too much for some of them.

We're keeping ourselves down.

I don't have an answer on how to overcome this, but I really hope we figure that out together. :)

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Sunday 14 December 2008

10.50am
100ml cream - 2.6g

12.40pm
Big breakfast - 2 fried eggs, bacon, mushrooms, spinach, caramalised onions and sliced chorizo - 10g (phew! I thought this was going to be heaps!)

3pm
2 Cups of tea with milk - 2g

7.30pm
Harry's burrito in a bowl - 4.5g

That gives a total of 19.1g carb for the day. I'm really having sugar cravings at the moment though (TOM due any day now) so I may or may not have a sf choc later. It's 8.55pm and I'm still full from dinner so my mind says it's silly to but if my body says otherwise, I'm not going to deprive myself. They're 4.7g carb each.

I just want to briefly discuss a topic that I've wanted to write about for a few days but reading Vadim's latest entry it's brought it more to the forefront.

It's the 'why' issue.

Why are we overweight. Why are we staying this way. Why do we want to lose it. Why are we resisting. Why is this time different.

If you want to, I'd truly love everyone to answer the above questions about themselves. Either in a Comment below, in your own blog, or both.

Be as honest as possible. I really think it will help. :)

C'mon, I'll go first...
Why are we overweight? I believe I'm overweight because I attract attention from people without doing anything particularly special and, from the media, it looked like to me that gaining weight would make one unattractive and therefore able to blend into the background. Wrong.

Why are we staying this way? Because as much as my experience tells me that the above reasoning is inaccurate, I can't seem to 100% believe it. Suuuuuurely a fat girl isn't someone people want to hang out with so much? Maybe I'm not big enough (I tested this theory too - wrong again).

Why do we want to lose it? It's physically restrictive and I'm not getting the results that I'd hoped for.

Why are we resisting? It's hard to unlearn something and change a behaviour you've fully had for so many years.

Why is this time different? Well, I'm hoping against hope it is. I don't like this roller coaster - it's embarrassing. Other people around me notice the weight fluctuations (sometimes when there are none hehe) and, I might be wrong, but I think they might think it makes me seem a bit unstable and that's not what I want at all. Also the longer you're big, the more people around you get used to it so the more attention you get when what they're used to changes.

What am I focussing on this time to make it different - psychologically?
Forcing myself to post each and every single day to a bunch of people I know will be expecting it is a great motivater (and I'm returning the favour - don't think you can get away without posting either! lol). I did Reiki 1 a couple of weeks ago and was told that the attraction other people have for me would increase. Now, I'm sure you could guess how pleased I was with that news (would it be too 90s of me to add a "not" in here somewhere?) ;)

Let me just put a quick disclaimer in here before I continue - by "attraction to me" I don't mean anything drastic. It's mearly being spoken to when I'm in a crowd or sitting nowhere-near-obvious in an audience and being picked out by the host or cars driving down the street stopping to yell something out. It's not always nice, either (although I'm sure they think they're being complimentary), but overall it's just a general 'attraction' or 'attention' issue I seem to have while other people around me don't.

I've been speaking to my Psych-K lady about it for yonks now and I think realising, with Reiki, that people are attracted to my energy and not the way I look is really helping.


Does that sound a bit too hocus pocus for most of you? A few years ago it would have for me, too. I guess experience is the key and when you experience your cat reacting to you differently when you change your mental energy around, you figure out people really do have other connections to each other.


A loose statistic that springs to mind is that before WWI the majority of babies born were female and female death during childbirth was stupidly high. After the wars most babies born were male, then it evened up a bit. Nowadays, with women on the whole living longer than men, most babies born are male.


People really do have a connection, it just takes a looooooooong time for a sceptic like me to see it. ;)

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Saturday 13 December 2008

11.30am
100g smoked salmon - 0.5g

1.30pm
150ml cream and 20g raspberries (last of them) - 6.3g

3.45pm
Harry's burrito in a bowl - 6g (I made a huge batch of this, so you'll see it a few more times until I run out)

6.15pm
Harry's burrito in a bowl - 7g

My Christmas function - I ate not one of the appetisers and instead had two diet cokes.

Totals for the day came in at 19.8g.

So catch up from yesterday:
My totals came in at 31.5g carbs for the day. Somehow I still managed to get up Sat morning and go to the gym 10.30am though so I'm not doing too badly :)

BAYOUBABE and JIMMY MOORE - in answer to your question I have linked my reference above to the Comment Harry left on this blog not too long ago to explain it. In proportions and without the availability of pre-seasoned meat, I make it this way:

600g Minced Beef
Cayenne Pepper
Meat Ball Spices
Parsley
Basil
Cracked Black Pepper

2 tbsp Hot or Mild Salsa - per serve
2-3tbsp Sour Cream - per serve
35g Grated Tasty Cheese - per serve

Cook up the meat with the spices until nice and brown and the meat is all broken up. Then put in bowl, top with the salsa, then the sour cream and finally the cheese.

I have missed the cheese lately (through disorganisation) and haven't noticed much difference so it's up to you whether you use this or not.

By my counts, this entire batch which serves me 5-6 times comes in at:
33.6g carbs; 195.1g protein; 3291 cals.

Thanks Geraldo for your Christmas wishes.

Bayoubabe, you're right - cherries are high in carb. Better than the processed junk I would think, but still something to keep in mind. Good thing your friend let you know so soon!

Vadim, I don't actually know what I lift. Ummmm probably something no where near as impressive as I might come across. It's just I'm proud hehehe.

I think I did 12kg chest presses today. That's the one where you sit on an inclined bench on your back with dumbbell in each hand and raise them from your arm pit out to the ceiling at rough nipple height. I did squats in a machine at 20kg each side too - that was a killer!! I did these funny ones where you hold weights in each hand ... umm I think I'll need a pic for this one.

Vadim, not married just been with my bf about 4 years now. He doesn't eat my cooking though - lives on beer and pizza. Ah well, at least we have Indian food in common hahaha.

Thanks Sonya and NewVision for your encouragement :)

Sybil, really? What's so good about Aussie deli chicken? I've never tried it - looks a bit too foreign to me hahaha. Chickens don't grow squared ;)

Friday, December 12, 2008

Friday 12 December 2008

7.40am
3eggs fried in butter - 1.5g

9.55am
Harry's burrito in a bowl - 4g

12noon
Salted mixed nuts - 4g

2pm
Harry's burrito in a bowl - 4g

7.10pm
Harry's burrito in a bowl - 8g

11pm
Salted mixed nuts - 8g

Beverages
Four cups of tea with milk - 2g - and 8 glasses of water.

I'll have to work out the total and add my reply to everyone's comments (there were tons yesterday! Thanks!) tomorrow. See you then!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Thursday 11 December 2008

7.40am
3 eggs fried in butter - 1.5g

10am
Olive mortadella and swiss rolls - 11g (I ate this over a few hours)

2pm
Half a bbq chicken - 0.5g

5.50pm
80ml cream - 2.1g

8.30pm
The rest of the chicken from earlier

10pm
Cream with raspberries - 14.5g

Beverages
3 cups of tea with milk - 1.5g - two cups of black tea and about 5 glasses of water.

That gives a total of 31.1g carbs for the day. Oops, just a tad too high. I knew the raspberries would do that... but they're in season! I'll get back to normal again with them soon.

My eating was a bit wonky today as I just had soooo much on, limited cooking prep areas, etc. I did the best I could given my resources and I think I did ok. It's 10.15pm right now, I have a 15.5hr day at work tomorrow so I'm going to try and cook up a big batch of Harry's burritos in a bowl to keep me going. Yum!

Wish me luck!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Wednesday 10 December 2008

7.45am
3 eggs fried in butter - 1.5g

10am
60g cucumber - 2.2g

1.15pm
Rest of Harry's Burrito in a bowl - 7.9g

5.30pm
Mix of chicken and lamb kebab meat (huge serve) and a dollop of garlic sauce - 1.5g

Beverages
3 cups of tea with milk - 1.5g, two cups black tea, three cups water (not enough).

That gives a total of 14.6g carbs for the day.

Thanks for all the encouragement guys! I just thought I'd give you a bit of background on me. Looking forward to reading your backgrounds in your blogs too ... *hint* *hint*

Reply to the Comments: Sorry I have no idea why some people are having problems opening up my blog. The only think I can think of is the images I use are just copied off other sites and maybe those sites are restricted on your terminal??

The people at work will unfortunately notice every bite that I eat. Especially when they see me in clothes that fit rather than the giant uniform shirt I wear. They always think I've lost tons of weight, but I haven't. Not as much as they're saying, anyway. They're food orientated people... but I'm much more used to it now. When I say no to cake I don't get anywhere near the pressure I used to which is brilliant. :) There is hope afterall!

Dance, yes I did lose it all on low carb. I lost weight on Jenny Craig not too long ago but it seriously damaged my health - low fat is not for me. My body can't take it (not to mention my sanity). I'd stay on lc even if my weight just stayed the same :)

Bayoubabe, mortadella is sort of liked a spiced ham type slice. A few posts ago I posted a picture of it, maybe you know it by another name? Anyway, I just get a few slices of it, a few slices of swiss and roll them up together. Yum! Jarlsberg is better on the carbs though, but I'm sick of it for now.

Sadekat, I don't cheat on my eating plan, I just either stick within the boundaries strictly or I push them to the limits. But I haven't had a grain, a piece of potato, corn or sugar since last year (excepting for the prep for GTT as I wrote yesterday). I guess I follow more of a food group lc plan, rather than an overall total. I find counting can get obssessive but food groups is something you can do on instinct.

I don't have a recipe for the veggie soup I ate the other day. Firstly, my mum made it, and secondly, I never use recipes for soups anyway. Just cut up a bunch of veggies, add water and some herbs and boil. The one I had had a lot of onion in it :)

Have a great day all!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Tuesday 9 December 2008

7.40am
3 eggs fried in butter - 1.5g

10am
Mortadella and swiss cheese rolls - 4.6g

12.30pm
Mortadella and swiss cheese rolls - 4.6g

2pm
3 eggs fried in butter with a dollop of liverwurst - 1.7g

6pm
Cream - 5.4g

8.30pm
Harry's burrito in a bowl - 6.9g

Beverages
Two cups of tea with milk - 1g - lots of water.

That gives a total of 25.7g total carbs for the day. Not too bad! I was thinking it would be more given the high numbers for each meal, but ah well. I feel fantastic, and my pants are nice and loose. The only thing is when I went to the supermarket I put my purse in my pocket which weighed in down and I had to hold them up. Ooops!

Did good at the gym today, I upped the weights for my legs and I'm showing tone. Yay!

For those using the other system - I weighed about 235lb at the end of last year, and now I'm about 187lb. Aiming to reach 135 (again). And for those on my scale, I was 106kg, now about 85kg and aim to reach 60-61kg or so.

Darn....

I am happy to announce that our party has been relocated to the The Queenberry Room. With the weather so cool and unreliable we will now be celebrating in a beautiful, ornate setting, feasting on:-
· Mini Arancini balls (veggie)
· Mini Bagels with prosciutto, bri and rocket
· Lime cured calamari spoons topped with shredded nori
· Mini noodle boxes with beef and Asian greens
· Pecking duck wontons
· Veggie risotto cups
· Mini morroccan lamb wraps with cucumber dressing and lettuce
· Tempura prawns with Ponzu dipping sauce


Not looking forward to my work Christmas do now after seeing the menu. Everyone else was coo-ing over it and asking me how wonderful I thought it was. Now, I should state right now I haven't had a single type of grain since Nov last year (with one week out in prep for my GTT). I'll have to eat first and brush up on my food refusal skills.

For those that asked - 'bikkies' are 'biscuits', otherwise known as 'cookies' in your part of the world I believe :) Rocket is some kind of green - you've probably eaten it in a lettuce mix and not known.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Monday 8 December 2008

7.40am
3 eggs fried in butter - 1.5g

10.10am
Salted mixed nuts - 3g

12noon
Salted mixed nuts - 5g

2.30pm
Kebab meat (chicken and lamb) with garlic dressing - 0.5g

5pm
Rest of the sf choc ganache, 2 small lc almond biscuits - 6g

Beverages
One cup of black tea, lots of water.

Thanks so much for the vote of confidence, guys!

Well, I didn't eat all that much today but I stayed full (good thing about nuts) and got the last of the less-than-ideal foods out of the house hehehe. Total of 16g carbs today. I swear it should be more! I'm wracking my brains to think of anything I might have forgotten....

Vadim: Ok, ready thses are my embarassing numbers;; My best exercise strenght wise is bench press my max is 295 ponds, dont know in kilos, usually i lift 220 to 280!

Well I'm going to shoot for them anyway, regardless of whether or not you think they're embarrassing. K? ;)

Harry: You weren't so bad at the party! I was expecting tales of you swinging from chandeliers and having the party broken up by the police and what not!

Ahhhh well.... perhaps.... though the police didn't get involved. But I was definitely the life of the party (hangs head) hahahaha

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Sunday 7 December 2008

The thing I hate most about a "loose" day (or whatever you want to call it - it's just when you're not as strict as normal) is I can never get back to normal the next day.

So after my reporting yesterday I had a few pork crackles, more mixed nuts and a whole bunch of vodka with diet pepsi.

Woke up this morning to some gorgeous scrambled eggs (skip the toast) and a cup of tea (skip the bikkies).

Not too bad. So I wouldn't have gone over on my carbs, but def on the cals.

And today, no times to record but I had more mixed nuts, some sf choc ganache, a little more cream (only about 30ml), a bowl of veggie soup (minus the potato), some cauliflower mash and some lc almond biscuits.

Don't know what my carb count would be today, and I don't really want to know.

Plan to get back to normal tomorrow. Wish me luck! This is always my hard difficulty!!!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Saturday 6 December 2008

OK so today I am going to a party and I'm planning to overeat. Is it excusable if it's planned? I hope so.

I started this morning with:

11am
The rest of the salami and jarlsberg from yesterday (it was included in yesterday's counts)

3.30pm
Some heavy cream by the spoon - 1.8g

4pm
3 eggs fried in butter - 1.5g

And I have some cauliflower boiling right now for me to make it into cauliflower mash - I add butter and sour cream to this then mash. I bought a punnet of raspberries today because it was only $5 a punnet!! But I can never stop at just a few so I know I'm going to have the whole thing. On the good side, they're only even that cheap once or twice a year.

I've bought some citrus vodka and pepsi max to drink tonight and bought some pork crackles to put in the serving bowls as I know the host wont have anything snack-y otherwise.

I'm in two minds about whether or not to take my own advice or be a coward hahahaha. Once tonight is over... do I REALLY want to post what I ate? It's going to be terrible, I know it.

Every now and then I'll have a day or two like this. Not too often. It's craving TOM for me right now which is why I had that protein bar the day before yesterday.

So the real question is, should I allow it? Or should I not?



Sybil, I haven't done the Slow Burn Method before - haven't even heard of it! It sounds good though. I always try to do all my reps slowly :)

So that makes two of us Aussies round these parts! ;) I'll be up in NSW (Sydney) in Feb actually. Sad I'll miss the Monet show though. You closer to the Vic border?

Oh and those 'big buff boys' hehehe. They don't worry me, they use "help" to get them where they are I think.

Vadim, I can suggest all my favourite Aussie movies but they might not all be the genre you like (I tend to like the movies that are a little off-beat). This link has a huge list of Aussie movies, but it's by no means comprehensive.

WebFlicks Australia

Sorry, you'll then need to scroll down to 'Australian'. I can't get a direct link.

My favourites, off the top of my head, are things like The Castle, Garage Days, Strictly Ballroom, Heavenly Creatures (mix of Aus and NZ), Dark City (mix of USA and Aus) with Jennifer Connelly. I've never seen Proof, so I have it on my hire list :) Oh and Dirty Deeds! That's a great movie too - and based on a true story. Has John Goodman (from Roseanne) in it if you want to check it out. That might get you a bit used to the accent before you watch a movie which is purely Australian sounding. Also on TV they often tend to exaggerate the accents. When I was in England people thought I was "posh" but really Neighbours' actors go to classes to speak more broadly. Romper Stomper is an absolute classic.

I'm still looking through the list on the link I sent you ... I haven't seen or heard of most of these movies. But Bliss is another good one. Probably as old as your fav Croc Dundee though, but definitely worth the watch. Bit psychological, and very subtle. Boytown is a shocking movie, don't waste any time on it hehehe. I put The Club in the same bag as Bliss in subtlty (sp?). The Craic is good for a nothing movie - I like nothing movies sometimes hehehe.

The Dish is another good one. I think it's based on a true story as well. Gallipoli is a good movie. With Mel Gibson - before he went bonkers.

(I'm only up to G in the movie list, more of the alphabet tomorrow)   :)

But i doubt she can lift more than me. i dont think any woman can, unless she is he or heshe or whatever these guysn are, sorry no offence to anybody. But i do lift qite heavy too and my numbers are quite good!
So, go on Vadim, share your numbers and I'll use them as a goal to work towards :)

Friday, December 5, 2008

Friday 5 December 2008

7.40am
3 eggs fried in butter - 1.5g

9.50am
Salted mixed nuts - 4g

12noon
Jarlsberg and salami rolls - 5.5g
95 tin of tuna in oil - 0g

6pm
Jarlsberg and mortadella rolls - 3.4g

7.50pm
Bowl of asparagus and green beans in butter - 6.7g

9.40pm
Chicken Tikka - ummm 1g?

Beverages
One cup of coffee, two cups of ginger tea, one diet coke and tons of water.

That gives a total of 22.5g for the day. Ohhh and I forgot yesterday to report a protein bar that I have, so add 4.7g to yesterday's total.

Went to the gym, it's just too hot this time of year but I still did my best. :)

Thanks for the comments, everyone! You know I tend to feel self conscious in the boys section of the gym (well, it's actually the "Mixed Gym") because I have big boobs but I kinda like lifting heavier weights than would be expected and even matching some of the guys. It's pretty cool hehehe.

I don't make the BBQ chicken myself, I just pop over the street to get it - without the stuffing that is. Ewwww you couldn't PAY me to eat that stuff!

Paul, a lot of people I know don't count the carbs in eggs. I do ... I guess I don't find them as filling as other people and I can really over-indulge. Does that sound like you?

Harry, I'll give that burrito thing a go! So do you put anything with the minced meat (like some kind of chilli sauce) or purely the ingredients you've listed? It sounds great!

Sadekat, I didn't even miss the deli meats yesterday! But, they were back today. I had to get money out to renew my Personal Trainer today so I needed to buy something. I also bought some Latvian Liverwurst. I thought it was WAY higher in carbs than it is - only 1.5g for 100g!! Have you ever tried it?

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Thursday 4 December 2008

7.40am
3 eggs fried in butter - 1.5g

10.05am
About 25g cucumber - 0.9g

1.10pm
Half a BBQ chicken - 0.5g

6.30pm
Large handfuls of almonds and pistachios (finished them so hopefully they wont be on my list again for a little while) - 14.6g

Beverages
12 glasses of water, 3 cups of black coffee.

That gives a total of 17.5g carbs for the day.

Oooooh notice there are no deli meats on today's menu?! ;)

Harry, I only weigh because I'm trying - loosely - to follow Jimmy Moore's challenge. Ordinarily I only weigh once a month or less and that's why I keep forgetting to weigh in each morning hehehe. I don't trust my scale and I couldn't care about numbers. The last time I let the scales rule me I dropped the weight training and picked up cardio because it satisfied the reading, not because it satisfied me. Not again! I love doing weights, heavy ones, and will keep it up. I like my bulgy arms and legs :)

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Wednesday 3 December 2008

7.40am
3 eggs fried in butter - 1.5g

10.10am
One roll: 2 slices smoked turkey with a slice of jarlsberg and about five (they're much smaller) slices of salami - 2.8g

1pm
Half a BBQ chicken - 0.5g

4.50pm
Handful of almonds - 2.7g

5.40pm
Handful of pistachios, several rolls same as my morning tea roll - 14.1g

Beverages:
Three cups of ginger tea, one cup of black tea, about 8 glasses of water and half a cup of black coffee.

That gives a total of 21.6g carbs for today.

Thanks for all your posts guys!

Lynn, I have put a pic of mortadella on today's blog for you. I just googled 'mortadella'. Maybe you know it by another name? Even if you travel different parts of Australia, the same food is known by different names.

Vamin, for a second there I thought you really did think that was me in the picture! hehehe I can assure you it's not. I like to think I do have that kind of muscle tone.... it's just a bit covered up right now.

Harry, I really don't know if nitrate-free food is available in Aust. I've done lots of searching over the years and even asked people I know would know what nitrates are ... but no luck.

That why it's helpful, IMO, to combine uncured meats with other flavorful and fatty ingredients. I try to accomplish this by making turkey or ham "tacos". But, that's just my wacky solution. :-)
That's a nice idea! I tried the turkey in the rolls today after an idea I skimmed off you (I think) for the turkey tacos. Generally I don't really like turkey but like this it wasn't too bad - and super filling!

I'm not trusting my scales right now - I got on them this morning and it read 86.6kg. This is a 300g increase so I went to the loo and came back. 85.6kg... I very much doubt I pee'd a full litre. So back on I got and 87kg it read the next two times.

It's a brand new set of scales on a flat floor. Urgh, whatever.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Tuesday 2 December 2008

Jarlsberg rolls are just a large slice of jarlsberg cheese rolled up with mortadella (or whatever I choose). Nothing fancy ;)

7.45am
3 eggs fried in butter - 1.5g

9.30am
Mortadella and jarlsberg rolls - 4.4g

1pm
Salami and jarlsberg rolls - 4.4g

8.20pm
Half a bowl of lettuce - 2.4g

Beverages
About 8 glasses of water, two cups of black coffee and three cups of black tea.

That gives a total of 12.7g carbs for the day.

Weight: 86.3kg

It's amazing how much just eating well influences you. I've been energised and at the gym more than usual - getting my stamina back. :)

I think I need to choose my food a bit better though, the deli meats are just high in carbs but probably not very good for me overall. Not sure what I should change to though...

Monday, December 1, 2008

Monday 1 December 2008

7.45pm
3 eggs fried in butter - 1.5g

9.40am
Salami and jarlsberg rolls - 2.9g

2pm
Mortadella and jarlsberg rolls - 3.1g

5.45pm
Handfull of almonds and pistachios - 10g

8.20pm
4 eggs fried in butter - 2g

That gives a total of 19.5g carbs for the day.

Beverages
About 8 glasses of water and three cups of black tea.

Not so warm today which is nice. Trying to up my water intake as I've been lacking a bit today. Bit sore from the weights yesterday and really felt it during pilates today hehehe.

NewVision, no I didn't take that photo. It was on someone's blog. I like having pictures around so I just find ones I think might suit the mood of the day. It's a really beautiful photo though, hey? :)

Vadim, not sure why you've been having so many problems with my blog. Do you think it might be the pics?

Speak tomorrow!