Its OWL time! I should have studied

After the first week on Atkins Induction, I was pretty concerned about my weight, so I decided to switch to the second stage of Atkins, known as OWL (Ongoing Weight Loss). OWL allows me to eat nuts, seeds, berries, soft cheese and yogurt in addition to the Induction list of foods. I still have to eat less than 45 grams of carbohydrate each day, but that number seems so much bigger after having spent a week on 20 grams per day. For the last week, I have dined on full-fat greek yogurt for breakfast, snacked on raspberries, and devoured roasted almonds on every break in between my classes.

I felt like a kid in a candy factory, as in a crazy, magical, chocolate-river, sugar-teacup kind of place. Just being able to eat these three foods made me ecstatic. Add to that the ability to drink beer (which is allowed in moderation) and Im feeling the best I have in days. My weight loss has slowed, and Im a bit less cranky. All that said, Id like to share what has become one of my favorite meals in the last two weeks, an Atkins-friendly version of a tuna salad. 

Sriracha Avocado Tuna Salad

7 oz. can chunk light Tuna in water, drained

1/2 Haas Avocado

1/2 c. chopped Cucumber

1 stalk chopped Celery

1/2 tsp cumin

1-2 Tbs lemon juice

1/4 tsp Sriracha chili sauce (or more depending on how hot you like it... rawr)

salt and pepper to taste

Mash the avocado in a large bowl, mix in tuna, cucumber, celery, lemon juice, spices and Sriracha. Grab fork. Eat.

nom nom nom... halfway gone

The only downside to all of this OWL wonder is that it have become increasingly annoying to exercise, in particular to get out and run. My body has completely depleted its reserves of glycogen (the stored form of glucose, one of the most readily available forms of fuel in the body) and is now using mostly ketone bodies from breaking down fat. Running feels like hell, particularly after a mile or so when what little glucose I have in my blood has been used up. Ketone bodies are a decent form of fuel for many of the bodies organs, but not as much for the brain or for the muscles. That runners wall that I normally hit after three to five miles is now coming up much sooner. I do not like it. Ive been using it as an excuse to be lazy. 

Im looking forward to Paleo, which as a part of its athlete-friendly program, encourages a higher consumption of carbohydrates and demands a much higher level of physical activity. I have one week until the switch. No more being lazy for me. 

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Did you hear that I went to THE OLYMPICS You have now!

There are very few moments when this blogger is speechless, but as Im sat here watching the Olympics on TV, all I want to do is cry with happiness and  pride over the achievements of our athletes.  Since the opening ceremony last Friday, there has been so much to celebrate.

And yesterday evening I was there, in the Olympic Stadium on Super Saturday, where I witnessed one of the greatest sporting events in history, the night that Jessica Ennis, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah all achieved gold medals for Great Britain, helping to celebrate the most successful day in British athletics for over 100 years.

My husband and I were guests of London 2012 sponsors Coca-Cola, a thank-you gift for launching and judging the recent Sustainable Games blogging competition, the results of which I was pleased to announce on the companys website a couple of weeks ago.

Along with our corporate hosts, we were accompanied by competition winner Lucy along with winner-in-reserve, Laura, who received the news of her ticket as a last-minute surprise, when one of the other finalists had to pull out at short notice. Here we are, in high-spirits with our men-folk, in the stadium taking in the excitement of the athletics!

As well as the once-in-a-lifetime chance to watch some amazing sport, it presented a great opportunity to finally witness the background recycling infrastructure that Coca-Cola has helped to create, including the fabulous bins about which Ive waxed lyrical for what now feels like months!  As we waited to go into the stadium, I couldnt resist the chance to familiarise myself properly with these colourful beauties, which are there to help visitors easily pre-sort paper, plastic packaging, food waste - and even ponchos - from non-recyclable materials.

And to make it even easier for Olympic supporters to work out which receptacle to use, and to minimise contamination levels, the packaging was colour-coded to show its intended destination.

But as I think back to the atmosphere in the Olympic Stadium last night, I dont want to just talk about rubbish!

Goodness no! And I know many of you will now fall off your chairs to such news, but surely you wont be that surprised!  This was the Olympics and no way was I going to hang around the bins all evening!

All I really want to do now, is what I have been doing all day, and thats to relive the astounding evening that resulted in athletes dreams being turned into a reality.

An amazing evening that distinctly made British sports history!

And the evening when I realised that I was most definitely one of the luckiest women alive.

I have had many exhilarating moments since I started The Rubbish Diet, and last nights Thank You present was most definitely the highlight of my time as a blogger.  Frankly, its going to be a tough one to beat!

The atmosphere in the stadium was electric and highly charged wth emotion.

And sat in the thirteenth row, just behind the discus net, I could no longer hold back the tears of overwhelm and national pride as I watched Jessica Ennis complete the 800m stage of her gold medal Heptathlon.

With every stride she took, she was met by the tremendous cheer from thousands of spectators who knew the gold medal was already hers, a cheer that simply grew louder and louder as she closed in on the finishing line.

It was one of the greatest moments in sporting history, which left me feeling very humble at such amazing talent, yet proud to be amongst the 80,000 spectators that witnessed such an achievement, a victorious feeling for the athletes and country.

And the night just got better, with the news that Greg Rutherford had achieved another gold for Team GB in the Long Jump. The music and cheer just kept the beat of Olympic success pulsing throughout the stadium.

That pulse then became faster and faster as we watched Mo Farah put his strength and stamina to the test in the 10,000 metres!

With only three laps to go the commentator urged us to build the cheer and shout for Mo, but we didnt need encouraging at all.

We were already on our feet, waving the flags to the sound of  tremendous roars of support, straining our necks to watch the progress on the large screens when the leading athletes were out of our range of sight and applauding with all our might as Mo Farah sped towards the finishing line!

And forgive me as the tears roll down my cheeks again at that all encompassing memory of being in the right place at the right time to celebrate yet another proud moment for one of Great Britains athletes, achieving his dream and making another moment of Olympic history!

When I first entered the Olympic Park yesterday, I could not even have guessed at the excitement that would come and the feelings of pride, hope and cheer of simply being there!

London 2012, Team GB and sponsors Coca-Cola have created an amazing experience that is really out of this world.  Every element of yesterdays sporting extravaganza went like clockwork, from the efforts of the athletes, the helpfulness and humour of the Gamesmaker volunteers and the organisation of Londons transport facilities.

And the international spirit was alive and kicking too, as illustrated by this group of Belgian supporters who distracted me to record a message of support for one of their own athletes, a hockey player... delivered in French, to tell him he was king of his sport! 

 

Well, I hope thats what the message said and that they didnt take advantage of my good humour....!  Despite their wigs, they look innocent enough...er... dont they?  Then again, those cheeky smiles may prove otherwise and somewhere on YouTube there could now be a bizarre video of me repeating a potential Belgian double-entendre in my very best Anglo-French accent!

The photo of these strangers typified the atmosphere yesterday, with smiling faces everywhere I turned.

But the photograph that I love the best, is this one, which demonstrates that  it’s not just my geeky interest that prevails when it comes to recycling, it’s rather the olympic spirit of other visitors that were putting the facilities to good use. And this chap was such a good sport for letting me take this picture!

I hope LOCOG achieves its aims of processing at least 70% of its waste through recycling, composting and reuse. Through streamlining its packaging, material choices and provision of the relevant recycling processes Coca-Cola has set some solid foundations that can be replicated elsewhere. As soon as the waste data streams are available, I can’t wait to find out the relevant statistics.

But most of all, at this moment in time, I’m looking forward to more fabulous outcomes from the wonderful athletes and enjoying such great memories for many decades to come.

To witness Jessica Ennis receive her gold medal last night was a tremendous experience that I will never ever forget, and it can only be matched by watching the victory ceremonies for Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah on TV tonight and reliving the events of last night as I typed up this blogpost.

If there is one thing that I took from the experience, it is the appreciation that nurturing a passion, talent and an individuals determination with the right amount of support, coaching and direction, it really is possible to achieve something incredible.

As a mother whose real passion is to create a foundation that helps her children to achieve their own dreams, whatever they may be, it is already evident that the London 2012 Olympics will inspire them in many ways.

And as a rubbish blogger, I am now more determined than ever to aim as high as my own abilities will stretch, to encourage more goal-enthused innovators to push towards that ultimate goal of zero waste.

The tears of emotion have stopped now, temporarily.

And as for being speechless, I think Im now over that!

Clearly!

Good luck Team GB for the rest of the Games!

I know I will remember London 2012 for many decades to come!

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A good dilemma to have clothes shopping

Image by StreetFly JZ via Flickr

Well, I am officially 43 lbs lighter than when I started.

I cant believe it... I just cant believe it!

I was feeling so silly at work last week. It was Monday morning, and I pulled out some pants - light size 14 capris, recently purchased - appropriate for my back-to-back meetings slated for the day.

I slipped them on, and I stared as they hung like a wet paper bag.

Here I was only two weeks previously, shopping at MEXX, and jumping for joy that I could slip into a size 14. A little snug in the hips (of course) but good in the waist. However, here I was, my pins floating in the pant legs, and searching for a belt (no loops) to keep them from slipping down and looking baggy.

No luck - I looked like such a shlub!

I chuckled with my colleague who suggested I get them taken in. Normally I would, but the amazing thing with this diet is that literally every 2 weeks, youre dropping down a full size.

I just added them to the next clothing stack of things that are waiting to pass along to friends or to take to Value Village. Ill be packing up my winter coats too.

So - I brought my daughter shopping right away that evening, to replenish my wardrobe with some pants for work. Of course, I had to bring her to Mrs. Tiggy Winkles after she endured a good chunk of time for my needs. Actually, she had a great time critiquing my selections.

What did I come away with? Two pants in size 12 and one in size...10! The first time since I was 25 years old - geez - memories of 16 years ago. I also bought a bikini (size L, instead of XL or 1X!) Yes, a bikini.

I also had to buy new bras (again) this week. Ive gone down from a 40DD to a 36C.

They dont mess around with the inches, I tell you. I can easily button up a very expensive jacket I bought last year in Toronto (which was far too tight, but the material was just gorgeous) to now it fitting comfortably, elegantly and properly.

I didnt want to buy too much because I still have another 20-25 lbs to lose. Luckily the summer collections are on sale now, making room for the fall collections.

Its a nice problem to have...but I feel like Ill need a part-time job just to afford a whole new winter professional wardrobe Ill need at my final weight.

Here I come Montreal - shopping!!!

(I wonder if they still sell those tight Jordache jeans with the embroidery on the back pocket...)
;-)

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If it werent for you meddling kids Id have gotten away with it

Toasthenge on Beans

Now that Ive packed them off to school,  I have to confess that I can finally breathe a little easier when it comes to Zero Waste Week.

Of course (and for the first time without even a hint of sarcasm) I am already missing my little darlings.  Theyve been great company over the summer, but geesh do they sometimes give me trouble on the food waste front!

And most people with kids will know the battle.

Take the other day for instance, I thought I was onto a winner by serving up Toasthenge on Beans - my historically successful reversal of Beans on Toast, in which they are guaranteed to eat the crusts.  A throw-back to when the kids were little, its success has been proven time and time again and even at the ages of 9 and 11 its still an easy favourite and a guaranteed zero waste coup...

.... until...  the moment when I served up lunch on Tuesday and my 9yo announced that he wasnt actually hungry because hed only gone and helped himself to a chocolate spread sandwich just 30 minutes earlier.

I admire his self-sufficiency... but AARGH!

Id already had a full plate of beans with toast, his brother had his own Toasthenge and my husband turned his nose up saying... "well, you know its not my kind of thing!"

No way was he bending his baked bean phobia to become my Zero Waste hero.

So, I took a page out of my mothers book!

"If you dont have it now,  youll eat it at dinner," I grumbled, then remembered dinner would be a much more delicious home-made fish pie with vegetables, so my threats instantly felt like an own goal!

Trying to reduce food waste when youve got kids is a challenge, especially when they go through their fussy stages, and I remember from my own childhood how I hated breadcrusts and many of the vegetables that the adults liked.  Mealtimes used to sometimes feel like an endurance test, especially with my late mothers waste not want not mantra, which she regularly served up with a full plate of nosh that looked like it was meant for climbing not eating.  I could never complain that we werent well fed and am now very grateful for her dedication to home-cooking.

Maybe thats why I find myself more flexible these days.  I want my children to enjoy everything they eat and balance it to their own appetites too, trying to offer a healthy range of meals, which they can serve themselves and have seconds if they then wish.

But I also want them to be adventurous in their tastes and approach to food, and unless managed carefully this can easily become an enemy of zero waste ambitions, especially with a pre-teen who has his own thoughts about how adventurous he wants to be and sees fruit and vegetables as the adversary to his happy status-quo.

Now you can imagine my evil joy last Halloween when he saw me making pumpkin soup.  As he looked on with intrigue he immediately turned his nose up at it, saying he really didnt like the look of it.  However, several hours later, and without complaint, he lapped up a bowlful... which Id served up to him and his brother as a pasta sauce.

So, when it comes to encouraging kids to join you in your zero waste ambitions and maintain a healthy diet, there is some hope!  I cant claim to be an expert, more of an intrepid explorer, but if its of any help, heres whats worked for us.


1. Keep offering up those vegetables, but tell them to help themselves rather than filling their plate for them with something that they may not be likely to finish.  Whats left in the serving bowl can then be used as ingredients for other meals.

2. Soups are fab for hiding nutritious veg.  If they dont like soup, serve it as a pasta sauce or mix it up with rice.  Stir fries are good too, especially as they introduce exciting flavours.

3. Smoothies and milkshakes are a great alternative for picky fruit eaters.

4. And have you discovered Fruity Pasta?  Use up grapes, apples and even chopped up orange segments to add to pasta.  Grate over some cheddar cheese and youll have yourself an instant taste explosion that even adults will like.

5. Finally, be creative and follow in the footsteps of the marketeers, which can be particularly helpful for the younger ones.  Pirate Island - featuring mash, gravy and a variation of veg and diced meat - was always more appealing to our younger diners than the more unadventurous sounding  Sunday Roast.

We still get some plate waste but much less than I think we would if we didnt move with the ebb and flow of their changing appetites.  I also think its important for them to know why what they eat is so important.

While my husband reminds them about the importance of the five-a-day message,  I will occasionally throw in the economical and moral issue of food waste - not in a nagging parental ambush kind of way, but in a way that enables them to at least understand the wider context.

So, yes,  if it hadnt been for those meddling kids - or rather the one who helped himself to a sandwich - I wouldnt have had any food waste this week.  That Toasthenge would have been eaten, as planned and without grumble.

But thankfully stuff like that doesnt go to landfill.  Oh no! I made a sad attempt to rescue the cold beans when I returned from a late meeting that evening, but I couldnt bear the soggy cold toast, so Ive since fed that serving of Toasthenge to my wormery, along with a couple of slices of defrosted bread that suddenly developed a case of mouldy measles in yesterdays humid heat.

And of course, that bread would have been used up for Beans on Toast, if Mr C had welcomed that for lunch.

So, I suppose I cant put all the blame on the kids.

And as for that bread, I should have just left it in the freezer just that little bit longer.

When it comes to our food waste tally, we are definitely all in it together.

____________________________

More information about Zero Waste Week 2013 can be found at www.zerowasteweek.co.uk.  Do sign up and make your pledge.  In return, youll get some great tips.

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A recipe for disaster but I have to try

Well, since my last post, I was able to get to 160.  A very good result after 1 month being on the program.

Sure enough though, as my work travel increased, and the dreaded temptation of the hotel restaurant and post-negotiations tipple at the bar, I couldnt continue on strict.  I just couldnt bear packing a weeks worth of hard boiled eggs and protein shakes to sustain myself on the travels.

What a lame excuse though.  I was two blocks from a Loblaws, and three blocks from a Benstein clinic.  What was wrong with me!!

So here I am, two weeks before Christmas and going to enrol back on strict.  I still have one months prepaid credits sitting waiting to be used, and I crept back up 10 pounds.  I just cant seem to resist certain foods - but I have to drop this weight.  My skinny clothes were not just relegated to the far-end of my closet, but have now been returned to my daughters closet so I can get down the 4 sizes (yes, Im in 14 and need to get back to my size 8) before I can bear to have my skinny jeans in my presence.

I have to do this though.  I just dont like who am "fat."  Its just not me - the flabby inner thighs, cottage-cheese arms and fleshy-gut.  I remember just loving the zero-back-fat, slim, no double chin and sexy self at BMI.  Why cant I just be her full-time? 

How do I let red wine, peanut butter, carbs and sugar come between me and my size 8 JCrew skinny jeans and happiness?!!

If I cant do this during the season when I would risk increasing yet another 10 pounds, then Im doomed.

This is it - 2012 is going to my year - all year!

That is my gift to myself.  Plus, I bought myself (courtesy of my daughter) a gorgeous size 10 silk JCrew blouse that I get to unwrap on Christmas morning. Damn it, its going to flow off my slim frame by February if it kills me.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to me!

Heres to a happy and healthy holiday to you and yours. xo

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The one that doesnt yet have a name

 

Take some toasted ciabatta and add a delicious topping of grated parmesan, some over-ripened Suffolk tomatoes, Essex onions, red pesto and local organic free-range chicken and youve got a mouth-watering lunch made especially for me.

Yes, its Day 2 of my mission to pick up some inspiration from Saints Cafe for National Zero Waste Week and I have to say, I could get used to having my own personal chef.

Engin would have normally used these ingredients to create a fabulous house stew, but this Zero Waste Week is giving Saints a great excuse to test out some new ideas...and this dish is so new it doesnt even have a name.  Could this be an opportunity for suggestions on a postcard?

Im really enjoying this Zero Waste Week and am beginning to feel totally pampered.  Having already indulged in a facial this morning, followed by another lunch of great local zero waste food, Im also enjoying the company of some great friends, who will be both joining me at the screening of No Impact Man this evening at the Abbeygate Picturehouse Bury St Edmunds.

So do say hello to the lovely Lucy Middleton, who is a Marketing and PR Strategist, specifically working in the eco sector and the fabulous Alison Plumridge, winner of two Green Suffolk awards for her work as Director of the Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery, soon to be renamed Smiths Row.  (Update: in my excitement, I almost forgot to mention that Alison and her colleagues are this week kicking off a scheme to swap excess supplies of home-grown produce in honour of National Zero Waste Week.  I bet Mrs Green at MyZeroWaste will be chuffed to hear that).

More information about National Zero Waste Week can be found www.myzerowaste.com and if you fancy joining me at Saints this week, do pop in even if you are at risk of appearing in a blogpost.  If youve never had the joy of visiting before, you can find all details at their website www.saintscafe.co.uk.   Of course, if youre at the local screening of No Impact Man tonight, which starts at 8.30pm, please do say hello at the post movie Q&A session that Im delighted to be hosting (MyZeroWaste are also hosting the one at Oxford, so if youre in the vicinity, be sure to give them a huge wave too).  Information about all screenings can be found at http://gonoimpact.dogwoof.com/

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