Bumble Bee Sunflower

Ah man - it's the 2nd of July. 

I had wanted to dedicate July to fitness and health (accumulating KMs on my neglected Strava app) and work myself up to being able to run 21ks and get myself a pretty shiny medal like my sister-in-law has.... (I like pretty shiny things ha!)... 

But alas I am still spluttering, coughing, sneezing and sniffing from the blasted flu. 

A painful amount of money spent on anti-biotics all for nothing. Gah! 

I'm trying to be as proactive as I can be though... I say while zipped up in my onesie in bed at 8am... ahem......  

I've been up since 3am applying for every job I can find that sounds bearable... in the meantime I'm helping out at the family business which is in dire need of some TLC. It doesn't pay much but I get to sit in an office and that alone is a step up from where I've been the past few weeks.

I'm also trying to figure out a way to get this car I fell in love with yesterday.

I've already named her... yip.. it's that bad. 

Her name is Bumble and I'm sold.... sadly she's not due to lack of funds... BUT I'M WORKING ON IT!!! 

I figured if I can hop onto a cruise ship or a yacht just for a few months and earn some euros I'll be able to pay back a loan for a car and have extra left over to play with and figure out the rest of my Godforsaken life. 

So that's the plan... now just to have some wonderful person hire me. 

Tick tock.

I'll also need to save up for some roof racks as I don't like my chances of squeezing one of my surfboards in Bumble... but I think she suits me SO MUCH. She's bright, tiny and a bit rickety just like me.  

In the meantime, Camp Nanowrimo started yesterday and I have started writing my 2nd thriller novel which possibly has the best name imaginable: The Book With No Name. 

A lovely and very generous friend of mine is currently helping me design a cover for it which is very exciting. There's something about having a cover made that gives me the motivation to crack on with writing. 

This is just a brief mock-up... there's a few more ideas floating around and of course font etc will all be changed but I'm liking the direction the covers going! 

I ADORE that feeling of holding the first draft of a book I've written. 

Right now I'm only a few chapters in but I'm really happy with my idea and eager to carry on creating! 

What else is there to say? 

The keto diet is SUCH a flop in South Africa. SO MUCH STARCHY FOOD HERE. It's impossible... I try to eat keto but I'm really not succeeding. At all.

I'm starving. Intermittent fasting is going well for the most part - except when I find Cinnamon Bun Cappuccino's which I HAVE TO HAVE IMMEDIATELY. That cocks up my 16 hour fast... but sometimes I like more than a black coffee OK! Not sure where my weight stands at the moment. Last I checked it was 52kg. I'm still working on toning back up again and flattening my stomach... so I've decided to start this 30 day plank and squat challenge. I tried day 1 just before I got sick and then I pretty much died. I will start over again today now that the worst of my flu has buggered off. 

Think I'm going to take my dog for a walk now... don't quite think I'm 100% up to running just yet! I can't even walk up a flight of stairs without huffing and puffing. This flu has seriously knocked me around! 

I'll update soon about jobs, cars, books and anything else I fancy sharing with you at that particular time... not that anyone actually cares.. but HEY.

My Keto and Intermittent Fasting Diary

Keto Day 4 – Thursday 30^th May

08:47am -

Sitting behind my desk at work with puffy eyes but feeling pretty darn proud of myself for the following reasons:

• I stepped on the scale this morning and in 4 days despite my cheating I have managed to somehow lose 2kg's!! 
  (I'm putting it down to more the intermittent fasting??)
  
  
• I previously mentioned I had some personal stuff going on (hence the puffy eyes...).
  
  Well, I have put myself out there, been true to myself, admitted my wrong-doings, removed toxic people from my life, spoken from the heart in the nicest way possible and overall just tried my hardest. I've realized how much I have grown in the last few months.
  While I may still not be quite strong enough to hold in the tears because hell man, life is hard sometimes....
  I've matured and become a version of myself I am really enjoying and respecting.
  I guess the problem is that some people will just never give you the chance to prove that...
  But that's their business.
  Especially when I have tried so hard to show them how much I've grown. 

Oh yeah… pie and wine update… sadly I didn’t even get to indulge in the filthy frozen pie last night or the steamed broccoli.

I was in such a state I couldn’t eat. 

It’s hard feeling like you’ll never be good enough or people will never give you the chance you need… 

so I basically wallowed in self-pity with two glasses of wine and maybe a sneaky Ferraro Rocher... then cried myself to sleep….

Silver lining was the 2kg weight loss this morning! There’s always a positive somewhere….. 

it may just be hard to find sometimes.

10:17am -

I just got electrocuted. 

My days just keep getting better!!

I'm also hangry... and just down in general.

10:21am -

Just found this and really liked it so thought I'd share it with whoever is actually reading my rambles.
If you are... please say hi in the comments.
It's nice to know someone out there, you know?

12:18pm -

Just hard boiled two eggs - one of my greatest talents is shoving them in my mouth and eating them in one go. Fun fact! 

Been through torture the past 15 minutes as there's an event at work and I had to plate up delicious looking sandwiches, rice paper rolls, cake slices and more... my stomach was in physical pain at the sight and smell of it all! 

But just ate my eggs... 

Jade: 1

Cruelty: 0

14:47pm -

Cruelty: 10,578
Jade: -10,579

My Keto and Intermittent Fasting Diary

WARNING... THIS BLOG POST CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT! 


Keto Day 2 – Tuesday 28^th May

What a fail.

It started off well!

I precooked a keto omelet as shown in my previous post and waited till the clock struck twelve to gobble it down. So I stuck to the intermittent fasting of 16 hours which I was honestly so proud of!

BUT THEN….

I caught the train home after work and went straight to a bottle of South African red wine.

I was feeling homesick and upset about a couple of personal issues that have been going on in my life.

I uncorked the bottle and poured myself a generous glass.

Bliss.

I accompanied the wine with a bag of already opened packet of salt and vinegar crisps…… the large packet.

But hey – in my defense if I didn’t eat it the crisps would have just gone stale!

Sacrilege!

Anyway…

I’m just not the kind of person that can have one glass.

I either drink or I don’t… hey, at least I’m honest!

M came home a bit later – interrupting my girly session on the sofa watching The Bachelorette episode 3! But he had good news and poured himself a glass of wine too.

He had an interview for a new job and it went really well so we munched our crisps and celebrated with our wine then quickly cooked up some basa fish fillets with asparagus spears and green beans with some butter.

We didn’t finish the bottle but it’s open now so I guess I’ll be having a glass tomorrow, too! But if I just have one glass every evening until the bottles finished that’s still acceptable….. I think.

Like I said, I’m not really the kind of person who can just have one glass so this will be a challenge.

Still waiting for my copy of The Alcohol Experiment by Annie Grace to arrive so there’s no point in starting the 30 day challenge without that book as a guide yet anyway!

Keto Day 3 – Wednesday 29^th May

10:40am – I’m ravenous. I have got to find a way to stop looking at the clock and waiting for it to be 12pm…. I’ve had two green teas and am now sipping on a peppermint tea trying to get by before lunch. I’m having leftover basa fillet with asparagus and green beans but it’s not a full portion so I’ve also got some almonds to munch on before dinner.

10:42am – I have to admit I’m looking forward to that glass of red later…

12:15pm - Ahhh that was good. Now time to make a black coffee...

12:31pm - Geez it's cold in Brisbane now that winters coming. 
OK - I know I'm being a woos... it's 22 degrees Celsius! 
I love the cold weather but I always forget to pack warm things for the office (which is freezing!). 

I have my hands wrapped around my mug to warm them up and an earphone in my ear. 
I'm listening to The Good Girl by Mary Kubica on audible.... again. 

I've had to restart this book a million times already. I just can't seem to connect with it at all. It's odd because I LOVE thrillers / crimes / mysteries... and I'd heard great things about this book. 
Maybe it's the constant switching between past and present tense that's throwing me off - but then I've enjoyed books like that in the past! 
It's about this girl that disappeared and it flits between her mother finding out she's missing to when she's back home but obviously very traumatized and it also has more alternating chapters between the investigator and the abductor.... it's a bit sporadic for me I think. 
BUT then I haven't really been getting into audio books much at all lately... 
I enjoyed Bridget Jones Diary by Helen Fielding (because that woman is like my spirit animal) but other than that I've been going for more non-fiction lately.

Some I've read recently include:
The Gifts of Imperfections by Brene Brown (5 stars)
The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape (5 stars)
Attached by Amir Levine (3 stars)
This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay (5 stars)
It Burns by Marc Fennell (5 stars)
Chase Darkness With Me by Billy Jensen (5 stars and more if I could!!)

I keep getting lost with The Good Girl... such a pity.

12:44pm - Asked Mark what he feels like for dinner considering we don't have much in the fridge at the moment besides some broccoli. 
He said he's happy with a frozen beef pie from Coles that's in our freezer and steamed broccoli.... great.
Keto will NEVER work for me! 
Hahaha

13:50pm: Munching my almonds and chatting to fellow keto people on this great group I discovered on Facebook called Filthy Keto! 
It's the most non-judgmental, honest, fun group of people trying out keto while still having cheat days, swear and occasionally talk about the nutritional value of semen... 
These people sound RIGHT up my street!

I asked them on a scale of 1-10 how bad would it be if I had that frozen pie tonight and one of the responses was: "It would honestly be really bad BUT tomorrow is a new day!"

This is a great group for people who like me can't commit completely to keto and stuff it up - cheat and indulge sometimes on the big no-no's.... and they understand you, support you! The power of the internet. 

15:18pm: I was being so good!!! 
I was still feeling peckish so had half a stick of cucumber and another peppermint tea.... then my manager offered me some plain salted crisps..... since I'm already having a glass of wine AND a filthy frozen pie later anyway..... why not??? 

So my calorie count for the day is now 592. 

It DOES say that these potato chips in particular are low in saturated fats, though......
I'm just going to pretend I know what that means and continue to play Words Against Friends. 

I gave up on The Good Girl AGAIN and am now listening to a podcast by Carly and Jade from The Bachelor! 



They just released their new podcast called Mommies Tell All and I'm loving it right now! Considering I want to be pregnant when I'm 30 (2 years to go...eeek!) if the world finally goes my way, this is a pretty fun and interesting podcast to listen to. 
Their current topic of conversation is naming their partners penis's (Pen-I??? Hahaha) and when they stop having sex because their partners think their dicks will hurt the baby..... which I don't think is possible.....?? 

But then what do I know...

Back to the keto-ish / diet blog.... 

Fairly positive after the wine, pie and most likely more wine I'll be over my calorie limit for the day. 

I'm managing to stick to the intermittent fasting (with difficulty.. the hunger pangs are real!) but will I ever be able to diet properly!?

Trying Out This Whole Keto / Intermittent Fasting Thing.....

Holy crap... I didn't think I could do it but I did!

I have survived 33 hours and COUNTING on a diet.

I've decided that keto for the most part perks my interest because I mean.... cheese, bacon and certain alcoholic beverages are acceptable. Yes!!

Look, not having my evening shiraz is going to be rough... but lately it really has hit me that my drinking needs to be tamed. I guess to be honest I've been self-medicating with wine to help me through the rough times lately and with my family history of alcoholism I really want to get it under control before it's too late like my mother. 

I'm waiting for my copy of The Alcohol Experiment by Annie Grace to arrive from the bookstore. 

No idea how it's going to be but thought it would be a fun way to gain back some health and document it along the way. 

So look, I'm not giving up drinking or junk food entirely so I'm probably doing this completely wrong but I'm just navigating my way through this my own way and I'm interested to see the results.

Yesterday I had a black coffee, 23 almonds, and celery with a hummus dip during the day and then in the evening I had a keto omlette including 3 eggs, diced bacon, sliced brown mushroom, chopped asparagus, a red birds eye chili, grated cheddar cheese and freshly chopped chives from my herb garden. 

Supposedly that was just over 700 calories for the day which is below the minimum requirement to be healthy so I thought I was off to a good start but apparently not! 

I'm having the same keto omlette for lunch today. I made it this morning and have packed it in a container to take it to work. 

I'm THAT motivated to lose the pouch I've formed around my stomach that while testing out keto I am also doing intermittent fasting. This is PETRIFYING for me because I am a nibbler. I get anxiety if there isn't food close by. 

The 16 hour intermittent fasting plan seems to be the easiest one I could potentially commit to. Basically you skip breakfast (daunting!), and limit your eating hours between 8 hours. 

I've chosen to eat between 12-8pm because I always eat relatively early anyway! 

It's currently 10:30am and my stomach is gurgling.... probably going into shock from the lack of food but I've had two cups of Slim herbal tea which suppresses your appetite and am chugging a liter of water down. 

1.5 hours to go until I get to eat my omlette..... but hey... whose counting???

Supposedly a nice dry cab sav is alright every so often but the more common drinks include vodka with soda water and a slice of lime, gin, rum... the pure stuff that's far too strong for me haha.

If there's anything this research has taught me it's that the alcohol itself isn't what I love. 

I don't necessarily have the craving for ALCOHOL... 

I just love wine. 

I would never drink as much as I used to if I was only allowed vodka or gin. 

They're ok every now and then but it's just not what I enjoy. 

Wine to me is a bit more indulgent and romantic in a sense.... vineyards are far more beautiful to gin distilleries. 

A wine glass feels elegant and classy rather than a tumbler. 

It's a personal preference and it's been interesting getting to know myself through this research really.

I'll admit keto is never going to work for me 100% of the time. 

Hah! 

I wish I had the motivation to cut potatoes, rice, proper pasta and wine out completely but they are things that make me happy! 

I know there are substitutes... cauliflower etc but it's not the same for me! 

So everything in moderation is the way I'm going to look at it and hey, if my body gets used to the lack of filling carbs it's used to then fair dinkum as they say here in Australia! 

I definitely couldn't limit myself to the recommended 1 glass of wine if you want to have a drink though!

Pah!

Have you met me??? 

Instead I'm just going to try and cut it out during the weeks except for special occasions and enjoy it on the weekends while trying to monitor the amounts more closely... perhaps have a cut off but Australia is a very social country and drinking is bigger here especially on the weekends. 

Anyway - so that's my update.

I did a lovely charcoal purifying face mask last night and had a chamomile tea while reading a historical romance novel and believe me NONE of that is the Jade everyone knows. But it felt good.... so maybe there is hope for me after all.