My weight loss transformation and almost fat free Banana Pancakes

I don't have many photos on me at the moment but wanted to show a little before and after, so this will just be of my face, but even then you can see how much has come off.


January 2009 Me at my very biggest

January 2010 (when my Husband seemed like he was going to move home again)

Actually though I'm really glad he's in both the photos because it shows how much my face has shrunk, in the first photo it's way bigger than his and in the second definitely smaller,

I hated myself when I was that fat.I hated to go in public, I hated that nothing fit me and I hated myself for having so little self control and letting myself get as big as a house. Now I feel amazing. I wear pretty much whatever I want, in fact I love clothes and fashion.

It wasn't easy to lose the weight. There was no magic formula and I worked really hard to get there. It meant long hours at the gym and it was hard, when you're dragging around 60 kilos (132 pounds) of excess weight well everything hurts. I often thought I would faint or throw up (I never did) but as the weeks went by it got easier. It also meant going to parties or events and not being able to eat what everyone else did, no chocolate, no desserts and no fried foods.

But you know what?

It was totally worth it. And as far as food was concerned I never went hungry, I would never be one to starve myself, I love food waaaaay too much. Every week I planned a little treat for myself, so one week it would be a chocolate croissant and the next some french fries. Every day I try to eat four pieces of fruit, three serves of dairy, two to four servings of grains and a truckload of veges, also I'm big on water and green tea. Green tea actually really helped cut my cravings for sweet things. I don't go more than a few hours without eating either.

They say support when you're losing weight is crucial but I didn't have any of that. No friends to act as cheerleaders and my sister and mother weren't exactly helpful so instead I watched episodes of The Biggest Loser on YouTube and believe it or not it really spurred me on.

I also had to deal with the emotional issues for why I ate badly and that's something I'm still working on.

Anyway part of the reason why it wasn't so hard to control my eating was because I had really great recipes to spur me on. I don't eat 'diet' food, I try to eat whole foods. I don't touch things with artificial sweeteners and I stay away with anything that has hydrogenated oils (that includes things like diet peanut butter) I do however use low fat dairy products.

Anyway I'm going to try post some low fat/sugar recipes every week. This is one of my favourites.

I love Pancakes, just love them. However my body doesn't love all the fat, sugar and refined carbohydrates that go with them. Also this recipe is really high in fibre, I have only given enough for one serving so just increase for how many people you are making them for.

High Fibre Banana Pancakes

Ingredients

1/2 cup of Wheat Bran

1/3 cup skim milk

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp vanilla essense

3 egg whites

1/2 banana mashed

Canola oil spray

What to do

Pour wheat bran and milk into a bowl and let stand for one minute, then stir in vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in egg whites and fold in mashed banana. Spray a frying pan or griddle with the canola oil and spoon into pan making five small panckes. Flip after two minutes.

I like to have my pancakes with cinnamon, blueberries and a small drizzle of Maple syrup (the real stuff) not that sugary imation kind.

My last bit of advice. You don't have to be fat on the outside to be fat on the inside.