Yerba Mate

I have been trying and trying to like this drink with no avail....until (please imagine angel chimes and cherubs in the air )

I can tolerate this mint flavor...in fact I may go as far as to say that I like this flavor.

Progress has been made in the caffeine department and hopefully (with the aid of Guayaki), I may be able to survive these NYC days and nights

did some exercise

Did a 10 minute workout with the 10 minute ab buster dvd I have.

I really have set myself up to fail. I cant find my sports bra or measuring tape to check waist size and have no exercise mat.

I did about 7.5 minutes of the tape which I though was pretty good considering I have never done it before.

Saturday Food

pizza breadbowl thing from Dominos (no cheese)

bowl of cherries

2 mini mince pies (200 cals)

salad with fried tofu

fries

3 woo woo cocktails

2 mini apple sauce things (200 cals)

I think that was it

Sunday (today)

2 mince pies (200 cals)

fresh pineapple (whole foods tub)

roasted butternut squash (1/2)

2 cheese filled quesadillas

can of coke zero

2 apple sauce mini tubs (200 cals)

6 white chocolate squares (large ones)

God why cant I get motivated to shift the weight?

Ate today

Breakfast- oatmeal with apple sauce and raisons

Lunch- spinach and cheese filo wrap thing and blueberry scone

Dinner- noodles and sweetcorn

I must stop eating processed food and make the time to prepare my meals myself

Exercise- 20 minutes walking

This is getting worse instead of better.

Any tips to get back on track again?

Looking thinner thanks to professional help

This was the final choice of headshot .

Taken by Robert Kim, I just love it.

Thanks Robert

So still the same weight

This is getting annoying.
I currently have a vomiting bug so hopefully some weight will drop off.
Have been having the oatmeal for breakfast and salads, soups and sweet potato a lot.
Also stopped buying dairy products in a hot that would make a difference.....nothing as of yet.

Sigh

Halloween Candy

Oh God,
So after eating way too much candy today I decided to measure myself.

Waist: 50 inches
Hips: 50 inches
Breats: 55 inches
I now feel very very sick and want to vomit.

I am twice the size a human should be

Walk dogs tomorrow and gotta work out more

Nantucket food adventures

Sorry I have not written recently, but I was kidnapped by little island called Nantucket. I was very tempted to stay forever, bu decided I needed to return home to feed the cat!!

One morning whilst visiting on said island, I returned to my hotel room to discover a little package on my bed.

What could it be I wondered to myself?


After what seemed like a lifetime of guessing (about 10 seconds), I opened up the little package to discover 2 little chocolate whales.

One was gobbled in a second. It was only once I had bitten its head off that I decided to take a picture (apologies dear reader)

Probably the closet I will ever get to kissing a whale in real life.

I just love small surprises like that. Even when I go to a shop, I ask to get things wrapped so that I can enjoy pulling all the fancy ribbons and bows off and getting to the "gift" underneath. Yes I know I already know what it is but there is still a lot of fun in unwrapping something.

Have you ever received a nice wrapped surprise on your hotel bed?

Is it just me that turns into a 5 year old at the sight of unwrapping something?

Have your cake...

Dear reader, please try and refrain from killing me or telling me I have been a naughty girl by giving into temptation, but I confess......I have eaten from the forbidden fruit and by God did it taste good.

I know technically whilst on a diet, dessert is restricted to fruit and water, but I have found an alternative. The Raspberry Oat Bar by www.haveyourcakeltd.com is possibly the most incredible sweet I have tried in a long time.


I apologise for the fact that my pictures do not do this raspberry and chocolate oat bar justice (I couldn't wait to take a picture before my first bite. sorry)


This is quite simply the most incredible 150 calorie bite I have ever had. The bars come in a container of 4 and are only 150 calories per slice. I know this is not ideal to eat everyday(nor is any sweet treat) but are far tastier than the "diet" bars of 180 calories.

Thumbs up Have your Cake. I love you guys

Curb Appeal

So my new obsession in NYC is checking out the outside of peoples apartments and wishing I had enough money to live inside them. Have a look at the little collection I have picked up.

I am a sucker for ivy growing up a house and I think it frames the windows beautifully (makes you look past the bins at least)

I don't usually like window boxes without flowers in but I think the shrubs look beautiful here

Now climbers in window boxes are right up my alley. And the huge lavender plants below the windows make this exterior decor simply divine

I love love love this house. It is a registered building hidden away on 18th street and I want to move in so much. The front garden is simply huge. As it is a dark and sunless garden, shade loving plants such as ferns would thrive here.

Those are my favorite so far. What do you do to add curb appeal to the front of your house?

Farmers market creations

So this is what I made with my farmers market products.

The left is asparagus and courgette simply steamed with spices, and the right is char grilled corn which I intended to have as a started but added it to various beans I found in the cupboard and red peppers. I put them in a big casserole dish with veggie stock and chili flakes and a pinch of paprika and let it cook for about 2 hours. It was simply sublime and lasted till lunch the next day. yum yum.

How does anyone else cook their beans? I get stuck for ideas

So I went to the farmers market this morning and went a little mad trying to find some food for my dinner tonight. As you can see from the pictures, I was spoilt for choice.

The carrots were amazing raw (I munched on one as I walked around the market)

The flowers were just incredible. I dont think my awful photography skills do the colors justice.

I have never seen black runner beans so am quite excited to try these out.

I think I bought pretty much everything in this picture. The farmers were so friendly and told me where and how everything was grown. I cant wait to see what I come up with.

Speak soon

9/11 remembered

Obviously the entire world knows of the fall of the twin towers and most people I know remember where they were on that fateful day.

This year I was in NYC. It was a very mournful day (even the weather joined in the crying) and very contemplative.

I know of at least 8 people who had lucky escapes that day (their metro didn't arrive on time so were late for work in the towers, the line in the bank inside the towers was too long, the bread machine broke down in the restaurant so a delivery for the 20th floor was unable to be processed, they had gone outside for a smoke at the exact time the first plane hit, etc)

From my roof, I could see the above pictured lights and thought about the family and friends of the 2000 + people that died 8 years ago.

The emotion the day caused in America (especially in NYC) was overwhelming and for the first time in a long time, I didn't feel like eating.

My thoughts go out to every single person across the world who were affected by 9/11

Farmers Market feasts

So the farmers market was at Union Square today and I could not resist the fresh produce.
Above is the portobello mushroom ravioli I bought with a homemade fresh tomato, basil, garlic and mushroom sauce which took me about 5 mins to prepare and cook.

I wish I had pictures of all the stalls at the market but I had already started shopping before I whipped the camera out!

Labor day weekend is going to be interesting as have several BBQ's planned so am going to try and be good and just have salads and veggie burgers.

Have a lovely weekend everyone

Just witnessed a horrific accident

Just saw a cab flip over in NYC. It was like something from a movie. I hope the driver is alright. Bloody scary stuff.

I have not been to the gym again today as I feel sorry for myself with this cold. I have however been taking Zinc Lozenges, Sambucol and Airborne which combined together have turned int0 the holy trinity of cold relief and I am on the mend.

I am going to go to the gym tomorrow and take my camera so I have photographic evidence of my workout- its going to be a fun filled day.

Today I have mostly been eating cherry's and figs. They are my favorite things at the minute and pretty good for you (I believe).

I promise my posts will get more exciting....I really need to get more of a life I think. lol

Ciao

Day 2

Well the day started well (NOT).

I overslept and missed my Dancing with the Stars celebrity workout. I am so gutted as I had my outfit prepared and everything.
The fault lies in the various medications I took last night to try and unclog my nose, stop my throat hurting and remove my headache. The result was an amazingly deep sleep that made me sleep through my alarm clock. Such a disappointment.


When I finally arose, I had a nice healthy breakfast, a 200 cal snack later on, a protein shake in between classes and another snack after class (3pm). It all went downhill from there....I went shopping!!!

Now let me make you clear about one thing about me: I have a very addictive personality!!
If I want to spend, I will spend, and spend, and spend. Ditto applies to eating.

So I was dragged to Sephora with a friend today and before you know it, I had a loaded shopping bag of cosmetics I need but don't need to spend that much money on), 2 bags from Pret A Manger, and a trip to Juniors Cheesecake shop.

It was a disaster of a day (very delicious day, but a disaster none the less)

I then got a cab home as my feet were hurting.

I also have an audition in an hour and I can hardly speak. I hope I can blag this on personality alone.

Repeat after me

"I am the greatest actress in the world and your size does not dictate your talent"

Stay tuned dear reader


P.S On a positive note, my camera has been fixed so I can start taking pictures of my weight loss adventures.

Day 1

Has not been good so far.
I honestly feel like crap and would much rather have spent the entire day in bed than performing in class!!

I don't know whether there is a psychosomatic link to the fact I decide to change my life and then get ill, or if it is just an unhappy coincidence???? Who knows

Being ill did lead to the comfort eating which consisted of a huge plate of Eggplant Parmesan....and by God did it taste good. It must have tasted as good as the first cigarette a smoker has after years of quitting. (slaps wrists). I will be good.

Tomorrow I have a dance class with the stars from Dancing with the Stars and the Broadway show- Burn The Floor.

Now this is not something I usually do or can afford. However, my gym was offering the first 100 people free entry to the event. Lucky me. I already know I will be the biggest girl in the room, but I hope that my West Indian hips will show the skinny girls how to move (wishful thinking)

Logging out

Me

This picture was taken on vacation in Cuba approx 2 years ago.
I would like to boast about how much weight I have lost since that holiday, but I cant. If anything, I have put on weight.

This goes to show how I am always full of good intentions. I vowed after this picture was taken, that I would become fit and healthy and run a marathon.
All hopes and dreams have vanished and I am bigger than ever.

I was the fattest person on that island and I promised myself I would never be embarrassed like that again.........another lie to myself.

I am making another promise. A public promise that ....

I will lose weight
I will become fitter
I will be able to do a running lap at the gym
I will ignore my current craving for pizza
I will stop spending money on take-out
I will go to the gym at least 3 times a week
I will become the person I dream of becoming

Logging out

I do enjoy a good drink

Now let me get one thing clear- I am not a beer drinker. I have tried, believe me I have but I just cannot stand the stuff. I wish I enjoyed this socially acceptable drink but I can't, therefore I like to use the calorie content as an excuse not to consume one. Crafty I know.

However, being true to my half West Indian heritage, I have a rather worrying addiction to rum....not any old rum mind you. It has to be dark rum. The darker the better. The darker, the better, the more calories!

The only thing I find worrying about my rum drinking habits, is the mixer that I choose to go with it. Coke! Now as all you dieters and health freaks know- Coke is full of empty calories which are fine if had occasionally or as a treat but are not really ideal for a long night out!

Do not fret my calorie conscious friends, I have found some "lite" replacements to the regular calorific cocktails

Mojito

Bring on the rum (white), sugar, mint and soda,and mix into a delicious cocktail.

Calories per tumbler glass: Approx 250

Gin and Tonic

One of my mixology friends has told me that the lower the proof, the lower the calories. I don't know how the proof changes the taste of the drink but it is defo tip worth knowing my friends

Calories per glass: Approx 150

Sangria

A personal favourite of mine

Mix the red wine, fruit (citrus to keep calories low), sugar (try Stevia- it works), and soda.

Many recipes call for Brandy to be added which makes the above mix sublime, but also adds on calories. Try and avoid it if you can

Calories per glass: Approx 280

Now, the calorie content of the above mentioned drinks are still pretty high. But as the odd treat, and as long as you work them into your calorie content, you should be ok.

Since embarking on my weight loss/ get fit plan, I have only had 2 drinks. This is because I would rather know that I can have a slice of cheesecake as a treat instead of a glass of wine.

Introduction

My name is Kimberly and I am addicted to food. I have been addicted to food all my life and am now finding help for my "little" problem.
I am writing this so that I can inspire, become motivated and finally find a life where food is not the answer to everything.

I am British born, but am currently living in NYC (so please excuse the spelling if it changes about a little bit)

I have had a problem with food all my life and have finally decided to take a stand against the demons that have got me into this situation.

I want to prove to you (the big bad world) that weight loss can be achieved by a real person, without much money, and in a safe way.

I want this blog to become an inspiration to you and to me and show that real results can be achieved in real time.

Welcome to my journey