Healthy Eating | But I Smile Anyway...

Ritu’s Healthy Living – Week 3 #icandothis

23 Aug 2016 22 Comments

by Ritu in Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #icandothis, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Healthy Eating, Update, Weight Loss

Week 3 has been and gone…

It’s been a truly hectic week. I have not been for any formal exercise, except for one walk, when I decided to leave the car and walked the 1.5KM to my in-law’s house. Painting, and decorating, lifting furniture and building flat-packs have been my workouts instead!

And I have tried… oh have I tried… to eat as healthily as I could. But there have been more occasions than I would like to confess to where we have succumbed to takeaways. I have tried to choose the healthier options, but it’s not always possible. And where I have eaten healthily, the naughty snacks have crept in… Chocolate and biscuits… oops!

Here is a small selection of the meals I have eaten, breakfasts, lunches and dinners… They don’t look too bad, but they also don’t include the Egg and Bacon McMuffin we had on Sunday morning, or the Pizza with the kids, or the Chinese takeaway with the family…

I have found a few snacks though that are healthier alternatives… Lentil crisps (yes, really!) and 9Bars with a carob topping to satisfy the sweet tooth.

I thought maybe I need a proper kickstart to this whole weight loss thing. In town, there was a woman selling the Aloe Vera Detox Cleanse. I have heard a lot about it, so I went to have a chat. 9 days. A lot of Aloe Vera juice, other vitamins, a shake and calorie controlled meals, along with 30 minutes moderate exercise every day, and you are guaranteed to lose at least a dress size in that 9 days.

So, how much would this miracle cleanse cost? only…£100! I hid my cough and splutter, and said I’d think about it… Oh, and as a parting shock, she mentioned that the 30-day after care plan is only a mere £200! Maybe when I win the lottery, eh! I have dug out some old exercise DVDs to maybe try next week…

Instead, I have dug out some old exercise DVDs to maybe try next week…

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Bollywood Burn! Sounds fun, eh! and the 10-minute workouts… who can’t spare 10 minutes?! I’ll let you know how I get on!

So, the thing is, did I actually lose any weight this past week?

I did, not a lot, but I did… 0.5lb! I am very proud of me! It’s been on average 1lb a week… I can cope with that!

And I was spurred on to do something physical tonight too, so 20 minutes on my exercise bike, and I now have pleasingly aching legs!

So, here’s to another week of trying to change my living habits, including more exercise and better eating!

Til next week, #healthyritu signing out!

Eat to Live or Live to Eat?

04 Aug 2016 60 Comments

by Ritu in Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Eat to live or live to eat, growing up, Healthy Eating

All this healthy eating… it’s set my mind thinking…

Do we eat to live, or live to eat?

It stands to reason, that the majority of us eat to live doesn’t it? If we didn’t have nourishment, then we wouldn’t be here.

If we lived to eat, we would all be rolling around, obese, and probably dying way before our time…

This only really came into my mind as I was cooking my dinner for today. Hubby Dearest decided he didn’t really fancy anything overly healthy, but I stood my ground and said I would stick to my plan, and then sort him out with whatever he wanted.

As I sat eating my healthy homemade food (Lamb kebab, quinoa stuffed mushroom and salad) he glanced over at it, with a look that didn’t say “YUM!” but rather “Nah, I don’t think so!”

Was it really that unappetising?

Was I making myself eat something awful, all in the name of living a healthy diet? Was I eating to live?

It doesn’t look that bad, does it?

No. Not today anyway!

There have been times though, in my life, where I have attempted to eat things that were not for my taste-buds, but meant to be good for you, so I tried. You gotta live, right? But it felt like I was making myself suffer, in order to look good.

From various fruit and vegetables, to herbal teas, I forced myself. But I couldn’t do it. That time of my life, I think I really did Live to Eat. I was in my prime. My weight wasn’t an issue, Mummy Tummy was a thing of the future, not yet experienced.

I would eat all sorts of rich foods, takeaways, drink soft drinks, and alcohol, without a care in the world. It was a wonderful time! But I guess all good things come to an end.

My metabolism changed with my age. I had 2 children. My body changed. I could no longer eat like I used to. I was unable to exercise in the same way, and even if I did, it wasn’t working like it did before. And I was definitely Eating to Live. I needed energy to cope with these two boisterous children, a job, and general family life.

But I was eating the wrong stuff.

And coupled with my general lifestyle, it was not good for me. So, I piled on weight, and found myself stuck with a jelly belly, wobbly bum, cellulite, bingo wings, and a double chin. No thigh gap visible here y’all!

But the good thing with getting older is that generally, you get wiser. And with that wisdom, I realised that I can try the ‘good for you’ food, and I can learn to love it too.

Currently, I am experimenting with different healthy recipes, some I have tried before, some new to me, but it is different to my recent diet.

And yes, I am definitely Eating to Live now, Eating to Live a healthy life, for my family, my children, and most importantly, for ME!

And as I become accustomed to some new flavours, some maturer tastes, I think, I may be actually Living to Eat too… because I have started to enjoy this good stuff, almost as much as some of the naughty food too!

I believe that in general, we all go through both phases, Eating to Live, and Living to Eat.

Which phase are you going through right now?

Live to Eat

Eat to Live

It all started so well…

08 Apr 2015 14 Comments

by Ritu in Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Being Home, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Healthy Eating

I woke to a beautifully healthy smoothie made by my darling mum!

Somehow my good intentions git waylaid after swimming (still healthy!) when we passed a MacDonald’s… Kids wanted lunch, I ended up with a meal from there too! Later in the afternoon, I had a bowl of strawberries… Good… Then chicken pie, mashed potato and veg for dinner, still good, followed but the largest hot chocolate, complete with marshmallows melting under a topping of whipped cream…! Again it was the kids fault, obviously! They wanted one, they had small versions, what on earth persuaded me to have a big mug, I don’t know, but I’m feeling stuffed, and slightly sick now!!! Oh the joys of being back home!!!