Day 138

Weight: 12 stone 9 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 2 stone 6lb

Over the past couple of weeks I've not been 100% raw, but I would say I'm probably about 70% raw and this is helping with the very steady weight loss and all I need to do is lose 9 lb by the end of the month!

It's all in my control and I know all I need to do is up the raw and the weight comes off...so when crunch-time comes (and it's arriving pretty shortly, if not already!) I will need to transform into 100% raw to shift those pounds and keep to my target.

Work is great for losing weight...it keeps me out of the kitchen. I take fruit to work and I eat that...then when I get home I eat a salad...or pasta (but I keep it vegan!)

I now go to the gym Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and I started a new programme today which concentrates on CV, keeping my heart rate up and burning the fat which is essential because Thursday - Sunday I sit on my bum most of the day.

This evening I made a beautiful salad of lettuce, cucumber, green pepper, sweetcorn, hemp seeds, beetroot, tomatoes, capers and left-over pasta from last night.

Update on the animals...I still have 7 cats and our recent addition Ollie is gradually fitting into the tribe although he has daily scraps with our oldest cat...but I think he'll settle down as he gets older!

The dogs: Samba is such a part of the family, it's like she's been with us for years and enjoys all the business of the other animals around her...and gets totally spoilt. She even has a 'boyfriend' now...our neighbours dog called 'Blanquito', who's half Mastiff and half Pitbull! (She gets very excited when she meets him in the morning, running round him and wanting to play 'chase me'...but Blanquito's only interested in chasing rabbits!)

Tilly and Samba on the mountain walk

The chickens: we have 3 new additions. I went and bought 2 black chickens who are absolutely gorgeous but so timid and it's taken a long time for them to find their confidence and not hide in the hedge the whole time.

I've also ended up with a cockerel, which wasn't the plan...bit of a long story. I've tried to get rid of him but nobody wants to take cockerels of course and I don't want to give him to someone who's just going to eat him...at the moment he thinks it's his birthday everyday and he's having such a wonderful life that I haven't got the heart to move him on.

So I'm going to keep up the good work with the diet, I have no plans to give up on it and my ultimate goal this year is to be 10 stone by the end of 2014!

Will update you next week.

Hasta pronto

Day 124

Weight: 12 stone 11 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 2 stone 4 lb

As you have probably gathered, I've taken a break from my blog recently...and my diet.

Why did I take a break from my diet? I've got no real reason really, I suppose I just got bored of being on a diet and eating nothing but raw food, which I personally find very difficult to do.

Looking on the positive side...I'm still under 13 stone...I'm still going to the gym, but now I'm going to have to cut the gym down to 3 times a week as I'm now back at work (4 days a week, 12 hours a day).

I'm still confident that I can reach my target and I have just under 2 months to do it in...yes, I like a challenge! I need to get focused again and back on high raw (salads and smoothies)...even fasting once a week - which I find easier to do when I'm at work as I go most of the day with just a piece of fruit and a meal when I get home...

So how do I feel in myself? I have to say I'm feeling great. I got rid of more clothes today. I find that I'm at an 'in-between´stage with my clothes, where I've got rid of all my big clothes and I've still got my old stuff from when I was skinnier, but I just can't quite fit into them at the moment! So, I need to buy some more clothes to get me through this transition stage and back to a healthy weight.

I'm going to go back to weighing myself every day again. On my days off I'm going to start having my smoothies again for breakfast and lunch and a salad in the evening. The 4 days I'm working, I'll just eat fruit during the day,

salad in the evening and fast 1 day a week. This should get me back on track and the pounds should start to fall off again.

I'm going to do a blog once a week to keep you updated on my progress and let's see if I can reach my target of losing 1 stone and 10 lb in 56 days!

Hasta pronto

Day 97 - 104

Weight: 12 stone 9lb

Lost: 2lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 2 stone 6 lb

The weight's coming off very slowly now...but I'm heading in the right direction.

I started a new fitness card at the gym yesterday and I actually found it too easy! So, I'll be adding extra reps and going for longer on the CV machines. I'm so pleased with my fitness now. My legs are stronger and they look slimmer. I've got lots of energy when I'm on the treadmill and it feels great.

I got rid of another pair of trousers today. I was going to wear them for a job interview but they were far too big for me! So, I opted for a pair of trousers that are skin-tight and I haven't worn for 2 years. 

I will be starting my new job next Saturday 26th April working for an Airport Transfer company. It's seasonal work and I have a contract for 6 months, which will do me fine, as then I get 6 months off during the winter! (Don't want to work too hard).

Taking a couple of days break from the norm and heading West along the coast to Tarifa on the Costa de la Luz (Coast of light). We are staying just outside of the town in a 'Posh Hippie Beach Shack/B&B' called Banti (Has wifi and breakfast!). We'll be doing some shopping in the cool quirky shops, frequenting a selected few of the more interesting tapas bars, strolling along the miles of soft, white sandy beaches and even venturing up the highest sand dune in Europe, which is situated down the road from Tarifa in a place called Bolonia (Which also has ancient Roman ruins).

Tarifa is the most Southern point in Europe with only a short stretch of water between Spain and the African continent. It's also the capital of kite-surfing due to the good windy conditions (The Med and the Atlantic sea meet there).

We love this area is it's completely opposite to the Costa del Sol in the fact that it's undeveloped and totally unspoilt, with a relaxed 'Hippie-surfer' vibe.

We'll be posting pictures by the end of the week... along with my indulgences of food.

Talking about food, I've been eating my salads, having my green smoothies and I'm gravitating towards eating more fruit now...it's probably something to do with the warmer weather. The watermelon I'm buying at the moment has a particularly sweet, juicy taste and I've been spooning out the flesh and blending it to make a refreshing drink. It's delish! Try it...you won't be disappointed.

Catch you after the trip!

Hasta pronto

Day 92 - 96

Weight: 12 stone 11 lb
  
Total weight loss since day 1: 2 stone 4 lb

It's good to see that summer has finally arrived in Malaga! Spent yesterday in the garden, sunbathing on the terrace, starting up my 2014 tan. At the moment I can lay out in the sun but come June - August I will be under the parasol as the sun gets far too hot for me!

Over the past week I will put my hands up and admit I haven't been trying very hard to lose weight. However, in saying that, I only put on a pound over the weekend which is good-going and I can easily take that off. 

This week I'm really getting my head down to dieting and I will be mainly raw with lots of smoothies and salads...and of course 4 trips to the gym. Talking of the gym, I had a really good workout today but I don't think my gym has A/C...they just seem to open the windows. It was very warm in there and I sweated loads...no need to use their sauna!

After 3 months of dieting, I can now show you a before and after photo of myself. Just goes to show what a difference losing 2 stone makes to my appearance:

January 2014: 15 stone 1 lb                April 2014: 12 stone 11 lb

It is really like looking at 2 different people... and I've still got 2 more stone to go! When I get to the end of June, which will be the end of my 6 months diet...I will put the 3rd picture in line with the 2 above, so we can really see how skinny I've got!

By the end of April ideally I would like to be 12 stone, but if I get pretty near to that (within 2-3 lb) then I'll be happy. This raw diet has not only helped me lose the weight I need to lose, but it also changes the way I feel about myself, making me feel more positive, younger and fitter.

This year, I will be wearing a bikini on the beach and feeling good about it!

Next blog on Friday.

Hasta pronto

Day 91

Weight: 12 stone 10 lb

Lost: 1 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 2 stone 5 lb

The weather today in the Malaga region was pretty rotten, with lots of rain most of the day, so salad was the last thing on my mind. Instead, I made a lovely vegan vegetable soup which was just the thing for a cold wet day.

I'm still keeping up my smoothies, with my favourite smoothie being banana, hemp milk and strawberries...but today I omitted the strawberries and added spinach instead. The result was a lovely, creamy green smoothie.

I've just started to introduce maca into my smoothies as it's rich in vitamins B, C and E and provides plenty of calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and amino acids. It's also a source of protein.

It's a hormone balancer, relieves menstrual pain, it can help to clear acne and blemishes and it helps to alleviate mood swings and depression.

Maca is a root vegetable grown in the high Andes mountains of South America.

Weather-wise, it's looking brighter for the week and this makes it so much easier to stay raw when the sun is shining. When the suns out and the weather is warm it just gives you that extra incentive to eat more healthily.

My weight's looking good. Yes the weight loss has slowed but that's my own doing and I'm happy with the way things are going.

I actually gave a pair of jeans away to the charity shop as they were looking baggy on me! I plan to gradually get rid of my 'bigger' clothes as this eliminates the temptation to put the weight back on, as this would mean I'd have to go out and buy bigger clothes again, which I have no intention of doing because on Saturday I actually bought a smaller size t-shirt...and that felt great!

The workout programme I have at the gym is getting easier so maybe it's time to change it soon for a more challenging one.

Not much else to report. Things ticking over and going well. Next blog Saturday.

Hasta pronto

Day 81 - 87

Weight: 12 stone 11 lb

Lost: 1 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 2 stone 4lb

I've been taking a break from the blog - as you've probably noticed. Not because I've gone off my diet but because there's only so much I can say about smoothies and salads...and my life isn't exactly 'edge-of-your-seat' stuff so it was getting a little boring to write...let alone read.

For these reasons, I've decided to just do a blog twice a week from now. 

I would like to talk about my diet. I'm still high raw but I have incorporated some vegan  cooked food (including some boiled eggs), which has slowed my weight-loss down dramatically...thus only losing a pound this week, which has been an interesting experiment as if I want to lose weight more quickly, I've discovered that I only have to up the raw and lower the cooked food intake. It's lovely to have that control over your body, which I feel I didn't have before.

I'm off the alcohol...again (!) as this is a real detriment to me losing weight. It totally sabotages my whole being, willpower, thought process and  emotions. So again I have sworn off the alcohol....and this time I mean it. If I drink again then I'm just stupid, that's the conclusion I've come to!

I have the whole of April, May and June to lose 2 more stone if I'm going to hit my target of losing 4 stone in 6 months. This is quite achievable, however I do feel it's not going to be as easy as the last 2 stone, but it's up to me to make it happen.

You will be happy to hear that I have become obsessed with going to the gym, working out 3-4 times a week, doing lots of CV work and lifting some pretty impressive weights. It's amazing how going to the gym makes me feel so much better overall and my body even feels younger. Due to the hard work that I'm doing in the gym, I find that I'm very hungry when I get back home and I regularly consume a hemp seed milk, banana and green leaves smoothie. Every other day I also cook myself some rice and now and again I will boil an egg (which have been kindly laid by my chickens) for my protein and B12.

Today I went off down to Fuengirola to visit my very favourite restaurant at the moment, Vegetalia. We didn't get there until about 2.15 p.m. and the restaurant was packed, with people queuing out of the door! Luckily we only had to wait 15 minutes for a table. It's so good to see a veggie restaurant doing really well and it's nice to see a variety of young and old people enjoying tasty veggie/vegan food.

I have to put my hands up and admit that again I had 3 platefuls but the third plate I only ate half because I was feeling guilty for consuming so much food...so I let my partner finish it off!

Hot dishes today were:

Brown pasta gratin with vegetables and soya

Vegetable 'meatballs'

Rice with almond flakes

Vegetable curry

Hot food selection

Salad selection...and yes I ate both dishes!

Being Mothers Day tomorrow, I'm taking my parents over to Nerja to a bar that a couple of friends of ours have just taken over and they are laying on a Sunday roast which includes my famous vegan nut roast recipe... so Sunday will be a non-diet day, as you've probably gathered! 

Next week as we tumble into April, it will be full steam ahead to start knocking off these pounds and eyeing up the '11 stone zone'.

Next blog will be on Wednesday.

Hasta pronto

Day 78, 79, 80

Weight: 12 stone 12 lb

Lost: 1 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 2 stone 3 lb

Today is the first day this week that I've been feeling a lot better after my cold...so I went to the gym and did 1 hour 15 mins of CV (Bike, rower, stepper, cross-trainer and treadmill) and it felt sooo good!

Being Saturday, I then went off to the organic market in Parque Huelin, Malaga to collect my fruit and veg for the week and before heading home, made a nice little detour for lunch at vegetarian restaurant Cañadú, Plaza Merced in Malaga Centre.

 www.canadu.es

We got there for 13:30 when they open, being the first ones, then it filled up very quickly both inside and outside.

We ordered a lovely and fresh ensalada tropical (carrot, avocado, pineapple, kiwi, sweetcorn, lettuce and melon with a pink sauce.) We also tried a portion of patatas con mojo picon (a milder version of the Canarian mojo pepper sauce we love) and the most gorgeous apple and pine nut croquettes - wow!

Had to try the vegan chocolate cake...would've been rude not to! It was very tasty, fresh and moist!

Vegan chocolate cake, very naughty but nice

I have to say I recommend Cañadú for the variety on their menu...they do plenty of vegan and gluten-free dishes....even San Miguel Eco!

I'm really happy with the way things are going with my weight, I feel fitter and stronger than ever and I just have a general feeling of happiness which I know can be a missing ingredient out of life...just goes to show, if you change your diet, you can change your world!

Hasta pronto