Sunday, 10th April, 2010

Weighed in at 95Kg this morning! Another 0.5Kg down. I’ve been reading ‘The Gabriel Method’ by Jon Gabriel and one of the things he says is that as long as your body has reasons for being fat (and these can be largely – hee hee hee – emotional), you won’t have sustained, long term weight loss and healthy weight maintenance. Perhaps, given how rapidly the weight is coming off at the moment, my body has shifted into more of a state where it wants to be thin! How cool would that be!

Entertaining Success

I had a great day yesterday. It involved a bit of running around in the morning in preparation for 10 people coming over for dinner. Then some house cleaning and even time for a little afternoon sleep with the kids. Finally, the friends from University days came over and we had a really enjoyable dinner. The best part for me ….. I didn’t feel pressured into dessert or coffee / chocolates, nor did I feel like I was missing out. That was a huge change from last week. I was comfortable, actually comfortable!
Same today …… the day flowed with ease.

Preparing Salad in Advance

I learnt a valuable lesson though. When I make a salad in the evening, I should make a bigger bowl than usual and don’t dress it (people dress the salad as they put it on their plate). Any leftover salad makes it really easy for me at lunchtime the next day and eliminates the excuse of “not having enough time to make a salad”. It’s a strategy that works well for me.

Who Has Bad Breath? Can’t Blame it on the Dog…

One thing that did come up today was my husband gently letting me know that my breath was smelling ….. and it wasn’t fresh and minty!

Such a feeling of embarrassment even though it was said so lovingly. My dental hygiene is fine – brushing and flossing – so that wasn’t it. I remember reading something a long time ago that bad breath (halitosis) is something that can happen with weight loss. I just Googled it and found that it’s the ketones that form as a result of the breakdown of the fat (process of fat breakdown is called ketosis). So, bad breath is a sign that my body is breaking down fat. YIPPEE!

So, I looked up my “Illustrated Encyclopedia of Healing Remedies” and a couple of the things that might help are chewing cardamon, parsley, mint, thyme or tarragon. I’ve got cardamon and fresh herbs in the garden, so I’ll give it a go. Might put some mint sprigs into my water bottle too.

[Tried chewing cardamon seeds tonight - could only handle a couple of chews before spitting them out. But now, 30 minutes after, I’ve still got the cardamon flavour in my mouth.]

Change in Thinking – Benefits of Early Success and Support

Finally, I noticed a significant change that has evolved in my thinking. Previously my mindset was that weight loss was hard. Now having the early quick success in losing weight, it has allowed a mindset to flourish of “I lose weight quickly and with ease” and “Weight just falls off me”. So, for those embarking on a weight loss journey, having strategies for early success is great in helping to quickly create a more positive mindset.

The other thing that is great is having positive and supportive people around you. For example, I had a loving supportive call from my aunt in Melbourne (I’m in Perth on the other side of the country). She was just so encouraging and gave me feedback on the positive things other family members were saying. My Mum has been equally supportive, as has been my husband and 88 year old grandmother. It makes such a difference. The journey becomes more fun!