new routines

Hi all!

Another week has passed, damn I somehow can't manage to blog more than once a week at the moment.

 It's because of work and the household and all these other things that are part of daily life. I have new routines and everything is a bit more structured again now. I love to blog but I also spend my spare time doing martial arts again. It's time consuming but I missed it and really enjoy being back to training. I'm also back to the Weight Watchers Online programme because I flipped the switch and want to go back to my feel good weight.

Let's talk martial arts first.

Some of you might remember that I used to go to Wing Tsun training at least once a week in Germany. Shortly before I came to Australia my trainer decided to move on and learn some more himself, so the class was history anyway.

When I came to Perth I realised how much I missed doing martial arts. I had enjoyed doing it before and it had given me confidence, self-esteem and of course physical fitness. I really wanted all of this back, so as soon as I was financially stable again I started looking for a new challenge.

I eventually chose a Mixed Martial Arts school not far from our house where they don't teach Wing Tsun but Muay Thai and Kali Sikaran.

Muay Thai is also known as thai boxing and focuses on clinch boxing, punching and kicking. Kali Sikaran is a form of Filipino stick and knife fighting combined with elements from kickboxing.

Both fighting forms were completely new to me (resp. still are) but it's fun, a perfect stress release and helps me get in shape again too.

I usually go to the classes twice a week, one day Muay Thai and one day Kali, but I ideally want to go twice a week for each. That means four days a week one hour training after work. I still have to get used to the new routine but after only three weeks I can already see how beneficial it is for my body and mind.

//shirt: new yorker // top: vero moda // necklace: accessorize // bag: ebay // belt: l.a. golden // jeans: only // shoes: minnetonka //

Next let's talk weight!

I have gained a good 3-4 kilos in the last four months (that's exactly the time I've been in Australia now). I'm not even surprised! There were just too many new foods to try and three months of unemployment let the laziness enter my life. The other day I finally stepped on the scale again after ages (we don't have a scale at home) and almost fainted. I decided it's enough now! Some years ago I had lost 15 kilos and now I have gained 10 of them back - no thank you!

I registered with Weight Watchers again because it has worked for me before. I count points, I eat low carb and high protein meals, I am much more aware of what I eat again - and all of this is beneficial for my health too. I have only brought a limited selection of clothing for my year abroad and I don't want to grow out of them because I can't afford to buy it all new in bigger sizes.

So much for new routines.

I sometimes still can't believe how healthy my life is now. No cigarettes, (almost) no alcohol, lots of fruit and veggies - it's the complete opposite of the life I lived at home in Germany.

It's all a matter of attitude and will power, I know. However I have to admit it's so much easier when you make a cut and start from scratch again like I did when I left my old life behind and came to Perth to see what the future holds for me. Crucial turning points in life can be healthy if you take them with the right attitude. I wasn't even aware of this until now that's it's four months later! It's crazy...

Sometimes I miss having beers and cigarettes with my friends like I used to when we went out in Düsseldorf. That was just part of the fun! But then again I have fun here too, it's just a different (healthier) kind of fun.

I can't wait to see where all of this will lead me. It's such an upheaval phase of my life! It's exciting and scary and challenging and uncertain. It will be an adventure to find out what life has planned next for me.

Anyways, I should stop rambling now.
It's getting late and I have to prepare healthy snacks for tomorrow.
Have a good day lovelies!

weight watchers: one year later

Hello everyone!

The other day I noticed that it's February, ha - yes I'm a bit late noticing it, I know... Anyway, the special thing about it is that one year ago, at the 1st of February 2012 I started putting my plans to lose some weight into action.

At this time I had been complaining about my weight and body for some years and finally had enough of it. The years before I had slowly gained lots of weight due to changing from a job in retail (running around all day) to an office job (sitting on your butt all day).

So one year ago I had 80,5 kilos and was really unhappy with it. For the record, I'm not saying it's wrong to have 80 kilos or more, because everyone has a different body and different proportions and a different "feel good weight", but I knew that this was not my personal feel-good weight and that it was high time to change the situation. Looking back I still think that I always looked good and dressed nicely, but still I also remember how unhappy I felt about myself way too often.

Now, after one year I have lost 15 kilos and can proudly say that I have reached my ideal weight and that I feel more than fine with my body in general. Of course there are always little details I'd still change about myself if I could and I admit I'm eager to try losing another 5 kilos only to see if my upper arms and calves might be a little more in shape afterwards, BUT in general I feel very good with 65 kilos now.

To show you the difference I dug out an old photo.

I have to underline that I am the most undisciplined and most unambitious person I know. I love food, I love to eat, also or especially when I'm not even hungry and I hate to work out.

I definitely wanted to lose weight without having to work out that much - yes I'm super lazy.

So here is how it actually worked for me.

For me it was and still is Weight Watchers. But I only registered for the online programme because I was not interested in regular meetings and all that jazz. Here in Germany it costs about 15 € per months, which is cheaper than most gym memberships.

Their online programme calculates a point value for every food and it calculates your personal daily point value that you are allowed to consume (they calculate it based on some personal information like height, weight, age etc.).

This point system is not for everybody, there are lots of people who prefer counting calories or simply go for other kinds of diets, but for me it was perfect. I needed one or two weeks to get used to it, but after that I was "in the flow of things" concerning point values of different foods.

I still have no clue how exactly it worked, but with this system I unconsciously changed my eating habits bit by bit. I automatically replaced unhealthy stuff with fruits and vegetables because they don't have any points at all, so I would rather eat a cup of fruit salad instead of instant pot noodles.

The main effect was losing weight of course, but a very nice side effect is that my digestion got much better and that I had less problems with an upset stomach. Luckily I'm not allergic to any kinds of food, but in the past I sometimes had problems with flavour enhancers or with meals that contained too much oil, cream and stuff like this.

I felt healthier - I had never thought that I would be able to notice these improvements so fast but I really did. I don't get a cold so often anymore and my constantly returning cystitis disappeared completely. Of course I treat myself to pizza, Mc Donald's and other fast food from time to time, but I don't live on microwave food anymore - and the very thought of this makes you feel healthier immediately.

Like I said above: I hate to work out. I'm way too lazy for this crap.

I admit that after a good long workout you really feel better and fitter - but most often I was too unmotivated to drag myself to the gym.

So you maybe won't believe it, but: during the weight loss process I went to the gym only once or twice a week and each time I only stayed on the cross trainer for 30-40 minutes and then went back home. And I lost weight though - so it is possible you disbelievers out there! I think if I had worked out more, I would have lost the weight quicker - okay, but I was not in a hurry anyway.

I cancelled my gym membership a few weeks ago because I simply hate the gym. I go to a 2 hours Wing Tsun (martial arts) class once a week regularly now and sometimes on days when I feel extra sporty I go running for half and hour or an hour, but that's it.

15 kilos less but still a couch potatoe - some things never change!

Oh and by the way, I have managed to maintain my weight for a couple of months now. Thanks to Weight Watchers there were not even the slightest signs of a yo-yo effect because when you have reached your goal you can easily switch from "lose weight" to "maintain weight" in their system.

Now you know my story.

I hope this helped, motivated, made you interested or at least aware of that it can work when you put a bit of effort into it.

I know other girls who had great successes in losing weight with other methods, but I'll stick to this one here because it turned out to be the healthiest and best-working one for me.

Until next time,