Real girls eat REAL food

Granted this is not the most flattering photo of me :) (I had just come home from a long run) however I use it to illustrate the point that you do not need to starve yourself, cut out all carbohydrates or eat food that comes prepacked in cardboard boxes from the frozen foods section of the supermarket aisle to lose a large amount of weight.

In fact I don't believe that's normal or healthy. So far I have lost 35 kilos (75 pounds) and I certainly didn't do it by starving myself in any way. Everyday I eat huge amounts of fruit and vegetables, moderate amounts of protein and carbohydrates and small amounts of fats and refined sugars but I am never hungry. Once a week I do have something I want like some french fries or a chocolate croissant and the rest of the time I make delicious, healthy meals that I look forward to eating. The thing about diets is that they don't ever work because in real life they just don't hold up for long and then you gain the weight back plus extra. Maybe some people can live the rest of their lives eating only cottage cheese and celery or never eating bread or pasta but I can tell you right now I'm not one of them.Sometimes I do slip up and eat more than I should of but I lace up my running shoes, get out there and make better choices the next day.

Because I get emails from time to time from people asking me how I did it I just want to say. There is no magic cure. Instead it's all about eating moderately and well. Cut out the white foods and processed stuff from your diet and start drinking lots of water and green tea. Make little changes at at a time and before you know you will look and feel amazing.

At the beginning of last year I was huge, miserable and looked at least six months pregnant even though I wasn't. Below is a photo showing me at the weight I was, not a pretty picture!





This is me now both photos were taken within the last two weeks. I still haven't lost all I want to however I am fit, healthy and I can hold my head up high!

A small break

I haven't been around for a little while and will continue to be away for a little while longer.

While I seemed to be getting better about a week and a half ago my mind just kind of snapped and so I am going to spend this time taking my medication and just focusing on each day getting a little stronger.

I really love this Russian Proverb which I have been focusing on

" Pray to God but continue to row to shore"

A letter to myself

This has been a really hard week for me, in many respects. You know just when you think you're over it? I found on Monday that my husband (and we are still officially married) has a girlfriend and has had one for some time, even when we were together.

When I first saw the photos I felt like I had been punched in the stomach, for the first few days I pretty much just stayed in bed and cried, I didn't eat and I barely slept and it was really hard. I just couldn't think why he chose her and not me.

But then I remembered a few things

Sometimes the relationship you need to rescue is the one you have with yourself

Don't glorify the past

What do I believe about myself that I would think I would honestly deserve someone who lies, cheats , left me when I was pregnant and continues to cause pain and destruction

Leaving Carrie Underwood Cd's on repeat is an excellent idea ;)

Another thing I did this morning is write a long letter to myself from a year from now. So in theory writing about the awesome things that will happen a year from now. I will leave some excerpts from it, but not all cause some of it is kind of embarrassing :)

The point in your life of meeting O was so that you actually learned to live your life, instead of waiting to get married so that your life was complete. And live it you will!!
One day you are going to meet the most amazing man that you wont believe he is actually real. This man opens doors for you, makes you laugh and arranges picnics on the beach at sunset. He loves the Lord, loves Aviva and would willingly die for you both. But because he is so awesome he deserves a whole person and not half of one. And that is who you are going to become, I promise.

So sweetheart get up out of that bed, tidy your room and paint your nails. Because you are only going to regret this time wasted over him one day, he doesn’t deserve it and your life is soon going to become to fantastic that it will replace all the painful times that ever happened to you. Remember that time that that woman wrote to you and told you that the Lord will replace what the Locusts had eaten. Well that was totally a prophetic word to you if ever there was one.

So chin up! I can’t wait until you see what your future brings, The Lord has his own amazing surprises for you! Just wait and see.

I so hope that in writing this that I can encourage one day anyone else going through the same kind of pain. God is so good, and his love truly does endure forever.

Winter soup

I am a big fan of soup, I cook it all the time and in fact it has been a big help in helping me lose weight. It is really cheap to make and I love that you can make it by cleaning out the contents of your fridge! I eat soup nearly everyday for lunch, I make it in a huge pot and freeze it in smaller portions to make it even easier. Also it means if visitors come by unexpectedly for lunch I can whip it out and have it bubbling away in no time.

Below are two super easy vegetarian recipes for soup. They are a good way of introducing pulses to your diet if you haven't eaten many of them previously. In winter I always add extra onions, garlic and fenugreek and to date Aviva and I haven't had a cold or flu in nearly a year (I also think our very low consumption of sugar helps as well)

Split pea soup

8 c. water
2 c. split peas
1 onion chopped (I added a few chopped garlics as well)
3 carrots chopped
3 ribs of celery chopped
1 bay leaf
salt to taste

Put all into a crock pot in the morning on medium high. It is done by late afternoon!

Lentil soup

1 c. lentils
1/3 c. rice
1 1/2 qts. water
1 big can of chopped tomatoes
2 grated carrots
1 chopped onion
Salt & Pepper to taste
Pinch or two of cayenne pepper
1 t. oregano & 1 bay leaf


Cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, then add soy sauce to taste and let cook another 15 minutes.

Sorry there are no photos, something is wrong with my camera and the photos aren't looking very good at all.

A week of surprises

It has been a week of surprises around here! The first one was on Monday when a huge bag of make-up arrived. Here are a just few of the lip glosses...

But also included in the bag was an assortment of nail polishes, bronzers, eye make-up and foundations. And also quite randomly this tea......

I love my Auntie Jendy and the perks of her job! Giving me a bag of make-up is like giving a child a giant sack of sweets ;)

Also out of nowhere I am looking after several children these holidays, which means that I can earn some extra money (even though I would have done it for free). One of the children coming is a little girl who I look after two days a week, having other peoples children in your house is such a great way to teach them about Jesus. R and Aviva get on so well and it also teaches Aviva about caring for younger children as there is a three and a half year age gap between them.

Aviva and R

And lastly I really needed a new vaccum cleaner as mine broke down a few weeks ago, so I prayed hard that I would find one second hand. So I went down today and low and behold there is one there! Also it was brand new and would normally cost $500 dollars, I couldn't believe it! (Actually I could because God is ALWAYS faithful) and so today Aviva has spent it vaccuming the house, I'm hoping the novelty doesn't wear off soon ;)