Mab

Okay my lovely, here is the basic recipe: 2 tbsp oil for frying 1 onion peeled and chopped 2 cloves garlic peeled and squashed (or if you don't have fresh garlic use 1/8 tsp garlic powder per clove) 2 tsp chopped fresh ginger (leave it out if you don't have any, don't use dried ginger) 1tbsp curry paste 1 sweet potato peeled and cubed 14oz can tomatoes (400g) 300 ml water or stock 225g mushrooms - I use chicken instead, or whatever mixed veg I have in the fridge - carrots, peppers, aubergine, green beans, corn, anything really! 225g spinach roughly shredded 4tbsp peanut butter So, heat your oil and fry your onions, garlic and ginger together for 5 - 10 mins, add the curry paste and fry another min. Add the sweet potato and chicken if using, cook 5 mins. Add tomatoes and stock/water and simmer for about 10 minutes Add the mushrooms or mixed veg and simmer until they're all cooked through, maybe another 10 mins Mix a few spoons of the liquid from the pan with the peanut butter to soften it, then add it all back to the pan, stirring thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper Add your spinach to the pan, stir until it's wilted, and then eat We have this with rice, or bulghur, or sometimes I make it really runny so it's a bit like a thick soup, and have it with bread for the juices if it gets too thick just add more water until it's a consistency you like. If you have any fresh coriander this is also nice added with the spinach. This makes about five or six servings. Enjoy!

Ooh you have some nice vegetables there! Do you have any peanut butter in the house? If you've got some I can give you a good sweet potato and spinach north african style curry recipe which is dead easy

Hey hey lady, Get you with the good progress! Shovelling snow - brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr is all I have to say. What on earth are hollow bodies and Russian twists?! Give yourself a gold star for maintaining your momentum, looking forward to your pics

Hello! Blimey, it sounds like you have a lot on your plate As someone who struggled with depression for years I can say it is only the support of wonderful family members, such as you are doing for your wife, that managed to help me through it. Mucho respect to you, and all good wishes for your Mrs. And good luck with your challenges! 100 pushups, I'm going faint just thinking about it! Wishing you every success with meeting your goals and getting your promotion

Bwah-ha-ha-ha!!! This really made me giggle

Thank you for the suggestion cherub, I shall do that!

Aaand good morning again chickens! Thank you all so much for your comments about food before workouts, it's really useful to gain some different perspectives and it's good to know that I'm okay doing what I'm doing. Perhaps as time goes on and I start doing more and more I will need to eat breakfast beforehand, but for now I shall continue as I was So, how is everyone? Here's a picture from yesterday's walk - I've not managed to capture just how beautiful the clouds were over the mountains, but maybe it will still perk up all of you who are shivering out there! I have decided that I'm going to walk on my own in future - just me, my tranquil surroundings, and a bit of Megadeth to keep me going. I was talking to my friend as we were ambling along yesterday; I'd sent her the link to the beginners bodyweight work out and she was all "Ohh, I tried that thing you sent me, it was far too easy, hardly worth bothering with, I didn't even break a sweat" and then proceeded to write on FB that we'd walked 4km instead of 3km. I'm really pleased for her if she found all of the routine that simple, but I want the kind of good, honest motivation and support that is offered here - and I don't want to say I've done more than I have! In other news, I am going to own up right now to eating a piece of Christmas cake yesterday. I had a truly horrible, horrible email that upset me and sent my stress levels through the roof, so I sat and I cried and I ate cake. I should have done what @The Real Syl Mil suggested and put the cake in the freezer! Which leads me to the next questions -do you think it's okay to freeze it if it's covered in marzipan and sugar paste? And, what kind of things trigger you to eating/drinking something you're trying to avoid, and how do you work with it? So, that's enough of me being a whingebag - thanks for listening! Today I still have said email to deal with but am in a much more calm frame of mind - and I had the random news that I won a free go on the lottery, so happy days peeps! Here's yesterday's food diary: Breakfast - Boiled egg, tomato, cucumber, beyaz peynir (bit like Feta) Snack - Tangerine Lunch - Vegetable curry and wholemeal bread Snack - Nuts and a slice of cake Dinner - Cottage pie with potato and celeriac mash, brocolli Hope you all have a wonderful day Mabatron xxx

Day 2, and all is well! I hope everyone else is having a great day I did the Beginner's Bodyweight thing again this morning; I managed to keep going despite a moment of mortification mid star-jump (Jumping Jacks to you US types).Note to self, buy more supportive bra, or shut the curtains when the gardener is around... My mate/former boss has decided she's going to come with me on my walk tomorrow which will be fun especially as she'll be bringing her Rottweiler puppy - she did sound a mite hesitant when I mentioned 7am but I'm sure she'll make it! I made a good start on getting into a proper work routine; I've planned what I'm doing for the week and I've also (nearly) worked out how to fit everything into my day. I even managed a phone call with the UK tax authorities and DIDN'T lose my temper despite the lack of cake, so I'm counting that as a major win I kind of lost focus around half three, my brain seemed to go fuzzy and I couldn't concentrate - this is typical for me and is usually when I give up working and start looking at crap online. I'm going to keep an eye on my food diary and see if there are any days it doesn't happen, and if so what I eat on those days. Anyone else get like that? Here's what I've eaten anyways... Breakfast - slice wholemeal toast and butter (ran out of time to cook eggs as I was determined to start work by half nine) Snack - banana Lunch - Tuna salad made with wholewheat pasta Snack - A random boiled egg I found during a fridge rummage, with mayonnaise and cayenne. Then peanuts and raisins Dinner - Chicken and vegetable curry with rice Ohh another question - I did my exercise before I had my breakfast, is that an okay thing to do, or should I be sure to eat something a while beforehand? Love and licks peeps xxx

We normally have Turkish style breakfast - I'm just starting with all this and trying to lose weight so I'll have maybe 1 boiled egg, sliced tomatoes and cucumber, and nor cheese or hellim. My OH is really in shape but wants to bulk up, he'll have protein powder shake with banana, peanuts, milk and cinammon; egg white and tarragon omelette, cucumber, tomatoes, olives, Nor or Hellim, and then usually wholewheat bread with pekmez and tahini And vast quantities of coffee

Good morning! How's it going with the walking, have you tried the Bodyweight routine yet? How did you find it? I rapidly discovered I cannot do a push-up (even a knee push-up) but someone suggested doing them off the kitchen counter and that was loads better, be interested to hear how you're finding it Look for FlyLady! http://www.flylady.net/ She doesn't have an app (though there is an unofficial one) but her website has the most amazing organisation and routine on it, it's just not interactive. I'm currently in the process of making it into lots of beautiful spreadsheets Ohh I just seen there is an app but for iphone only in the US, not sure where you're based!

So, today has been my first official day of the challenge! Normally New Year's Day for me would involve eating and drinking all of the leftovers in the kitchen (in preparation for a diet to start on the 2nd ), followed by an afternoon lazing in the pub watching the football with my friends and copious amounts of ale. But! Today I have been very well behaved, even though I have almost an entire Christmas Cake left over, and a box of liquor chocolates lurking in the cupboard. I have had my perambulation along the sea front (sulky Turk in tow, who thought we were going out for a short walk and a coffee), and I have not had sugar or cake, or sweets of any variety. I will say Turkish coffee without sugar is going to take some adapting to, but I can do it - I can, I can, honest I can! I'm actually going to modify my challenge a bit as I discovered the beginners Bodyweight thing and had a go, and now I want to do it all the time (she says having done it twice and her legs hating her afterwards). So instead of my walk five times a week I'm going to alternate walking with the BW circuit every other day. I'm also going to use this as a bit of a food diary, more as a reminder for myself: Breakfast - Turkish breakfast light - cucumber, tomatoes, boiled egg, Nor cheese (skipped the olives, never liked them anyway, and the bread and honey) Lunch - Lentil, bulghur and tomato soup with a slice of wholewheat bread Dinner - Tuna pasta salad (which I'm not happy about, but the OH turned his nose up at the curry I was planning) Snacks - Coffee, Turkish coffee, the last of the cheese thins (biscuit things) that I baked for the holidays, red vino. Now repeat after me... the Christmas cake will keep, the Christmas cake will keep...

Hey!! Happy New Year, and good luck with your challenge Are you new to lifting weights, or is this something you've done for a while? I'm just starting out with bodyweight training but want to move onto weights eventually, be interesting to hear your story!

Hello! How did today go (or how is it going, I'm crap when it comes to time differences ) I hope you managed to regain your momentum! I'm of a similar mindset I think, if I don't do anything, even if it's technically a rest day, I start to feel guilty and then think "What's the point, I failed today, I'll start again Monday!" Maybe on rest days you could take a stroll somewhere with your husband, bit of light exercise that is also good for the soul. That said when me and K do that we usually stroll to a bar... Keep up the good work!!!

Good advice, thank you! It was just muscles so I did the circuits as much as I could again this morning, and whilst my legs are still protesting they're certainly not worse and they did loosen up Thank you for this! I tried using the counter and it was brilliant, mucho appreciation for the recommendation

This appeals to my inner accountant, if you were my client I'd give you a pat on the head xx **Snorts** Good luck with your challenge! Have you seen the Beginners Bodyweight thing? I'd not heard of bodyweight training til I started looking on this forum, but like you I've decided it is the way to go - although I did some squats the other day and now my thighs hate me. Be interesting to hear how you go on with it, let us know if you find some good books!

Good evening! I'm really hoping you people might be able to help me out here. I decided to try the Beginners Bodyweight Workout - and trust me, the emphasis here is certainly on "Beginners!" So, I watched the video, then watched some other clips about the proper way to do things, and very very rapidly realised as I was having a go at the different exercises that I have absolutely no strength in my upper body whatsoever So I have a few questions because I really want to do this, and I'd appreciate some advice from experienced folk: 1) With the squats, I should be getting my thighs parallel to the floor or lower right? 2) I can't do push ups. And if I try a push up on my knees I can sort of do it a bit, but can't get my chest very low, like, only just below my shoulders. I saw a clip about starting with wall push-ups, then ones with a box, then the knee ones and then eventually full push-ups, does that sound sensible? Or am I best persevering with the knee pushups and just gradually trying to get lower to the ground? 3) I managed a few reps over everything once round the circuit, and managed a few more for half the second circuit, then my legs were like "Er, no. We're done thank you"." I was pleased with myself and actually it was a lot of fun, but today, I ache like a bitch. Is it okay to try again tomorrow? Or should I wait until my thighs don't scream when I go to sit down? Please pardon my lack of proper terminology I hope you all understand what I'm talking about but I'm very very new to this thing! Cheers Mabs x

Imma send my OH to you for lessons Good luck with your goals, your plan sounds great (not that I really know much about this thing). What's a "5x5 programme" ?

Hey Diego, really good to read your intro, you sound like you have a curious mind with everything you've tried! What's the course you're going to start? Good luck with it, and with your challenge!!

Hello! Sounds like you've had a busy few years, congratulations on your Masters! Do you already belong to the gym, and you're going to go more often, or are you joining up for new? I'm toying with the idea of joining the gym but the thought fills me with absolute panic Good luck with your challenge!!!

Good evening my chickens! I hope you've all had a tip-top Saturday; we have my OH's son for the weekend, so this is the first time I've moved out of the kitchen all day... It's so great to have such welcoming comments, thank you so much all! Here's my replies to your questions Oh yes... nom nom nom. Have you ever seen that video of how they actually make that shit? Even that didn't put me off eating it. I'd take any kind of gummy candy over chocolate any day... Quite by accident My parents retired here, I came for a visit and fell in love with the place. Because the country is still not recognised by the international community (except for Turkey) it's kind of like being stuck in the 1970's - for example most shops are small, family owned, there are no big international chains such as McDonalds, Starbucks, Coca-Cola and so on. Which is perfect because it means the focus is still very much on family and community. I had a high pressure job in the UK and thought "Fuck it, I'd rather be a waitress for a pittance in a country like that, than earning a fortune and having no life in the UK." much to my mother's horror I must learn more of this thing!! I bake a lot, but Little K will eat cake non-stop unless I hide it, I need to find lower sugar versions of things for him to eat. Example, I made cornflake/mars bar cakes last night, and he's eaten them all in 24 hours. There were 4 mars bars in that lot! That's not good for an 8 year old. Lavender lemon sounds amazing... Thank you! And awww... if it makes you feel better it feels bloody cold right now, even though it was 17C outside today. Here's a picture to cheer you up, please feel free to send me some pictures of cold... Thank you! And urgh, work... In an ideal world I would be working 35 hours per week. But, I'm easily distracted, because although I am good at my work, I find it remarkably dull So yes, I guess you hit the nail on the head! It's been so nice to read all of your comments, and I'm really enjoying following everyone's individual threads - what a fortunate rabble we are to have found each other! Love and licks xx

Hmm, snappy dresser! I'm assuming the button now closes?! Maybe this is a girl thing, or a me thing, but in the past I've bought things slightly too small. Mostly I never got into them, but then I accidentally lost two stone and hurrah! I had things I could get into because my other crap was too big. But, on a deliberate note... I found a perfect dress the other day, which was sadly 1 or 2 sizes too small. Yes I can get in it, but I have to breathe in. Bought it anyway and... now I'm on this site trying to get into it! Gimme two months and I'll post a picture!

Awwww congratulations!!!

Hey hey, food is pretty much my life so I'm happy to share some recipes and stuff with you - I was thinking I'll stick a few in my thread as I'm reporting in so if you like i'll let you know when I do

I'm with you on that one! And good luck with your challenge

Thank you so much for the welcome, and words of wisdom - it's a refreshing change to be called sane