Vegetarian month starts tomorrow!

With February being a short month, this had kind of crept up on me! I realised earlier today that 1st March is actually tomorrow and this is the month I made a pledge to myself to eat only vegetarian food.

With my husband Chris being a pescatarian, i.e. he is a vegetarian who eats fish, I didn’t need to do too much food planning. We never eat red meat, as I have more or less adopted his diet in recent years.

I did however realise that if I am to be a vegetarian for a month, I wouldn’t be eating any fish either…

My first small challenge arose when my mum invited us for dinner next Saturday… she proudly told me she had organised a vegetarian option for Chris and a vegan option for Zoe (my daughter)… I had to tell her that I too will be a vegetarian throughout March. Thankfully on this occasion it was fairly easy given she had already planned veggie/vegan meals and said brightly “That’s fine, I’ll do a vegetarian option for you too”.

I do feel conscious that if people are kind enough to invite me for dinner, I don’t want to put them to any trouble… it will be interesting to see what happens throughout the rest of the month…

A snowy Switzerland weekend

Another 50@50 activity for my half century celebration year was to have a snowy weekend away!

My husband Chris and I returned yesterday from a weekend of snow hiking in Switzerland… and little did we know that we would arrive home to a week of snow and freezing temperatures in the UK thanks to a weather system known as ‘the beast from the east‘ which has seen temperatures plummet across Europe. Even the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Capri have seen snow!

I’ve produced a full Switzerland trip report which is available on frombluetogreen.com, our joint travel blog…

Maldives 50th birthday celebration trip

Trip number 2 of 2018 is now complete! Yesterday Chris and I returned from a week in the Maldives, a relaxing break taken just before my 50th birthday tomorrow.

I’ve produced a full Maldives trip post which is available on our joint travel blog. This was quite a different kind of holiday from our usual active and at times intense holidays.

The trip was more of a healthy retreat rather then a typical holiday as the entire week was spent doing yoga, swimming, snorkelling, kayaking, cycling and going to the gym. And eating lots of different organic fresh fruit and vegetables and virtually zero alcohol!

All of this has fitted well with my objective of a fit and healthy start to my new decade!

February weigh-in

Progress update…

A little late for my February weigh-in as I’ve just returned from the Maldives, a special holiday to celebrate my 50th birthday which happens to be tomorrow! As I didn’t have any scales with me I was unable to weigh myself on 1st February, i.e. the first day of each month being my planned 2018 weigh check days.

Throughout January I remained highly focussed and committed to achieving my goal weight of 9 stone (57 kg or 126 pounds). I did extra exercise when possible and stuck to an average daily calorie intake of 1100 – 1200 calories. Some days I burned an estimated extra 600 – 700 calories, for example, by walking 5 miles in addition to spending an hour at the gym. On these days, rather than eating more I stuck to my 1100 – 1200 calorie regime which I think must have accelerated my weight loss.

Almost every day I either went swimming, went to the gym or walked for several miles. When I went out for meals I chose salads or low calorie dishes and mostly had either no wine or one glass of wine. Rather than drinking cappucino’s I now drink fruit flavoured tea when in coffee shops.

So a huge effort was exerted throughout January… I even managed to have a healthy holiday! Rather than a complete blow-out I went to the gym, did yoga, went snorkelling and swimming every day and was careful to eat healthily for example by sticking mainly to proteins, vegetables and lots of tropical fruit. I also had 6 alcohol-free days!

These are the results…

Weight on 1st January 2018: 9 stone 10 lb (62 kg)

Weight on 9th February 2018: 9 stone 0 lb (Hurrah! Bang on and just in time for my big 5-0 birthday tomorrow!)

Preparing for my vegan month

Throughout our year of travels in 2016, my husband Chris and I got a real taste for vegan food. It can be difficult to stay healthy while on the road long term particularly as we mostly stayed in budget accommodations. Often breakfast would be a piece of cake and a coffee! We discovered many vegan restaurants, often in unlikely places, and always offering delicious healthy food!

For example, the above picture was of a delicious meal served in the vegan Cafe Vida in La Paz, Bolivia. As mentioned in our La Paz blog post, this delightful little cafe was, according to Trip Advisor, the then number 1 of 324 restaurants in La Paz! Incredible for a country well known for being large consumers of meat.

We found other amazing vegan cafes and restaurants in places such as Peru, Prague, Thailand and Cambodia. They were all able to create delicious vegan masterpieces without the need for a single animal to be involved.

So, while I already have a taste for lovely vegan food, I haven’t yet committed myself to trying a full month of being a vegan.

I’ve missed Veganuary, a concept which has a website with loads of information to help people to try a vegan lifestyle in January. There are recipes and a list of popular restaurant chains who offer vegan food as part of their menu which will be really helpful.

I’m planning to try a vegetarian month in March, then a vegan month in April. I’m really looking forward to both!

Roll on ‘Vegapril’

Pondering… why become a vegetarian for a month?

For the last few years I’ve gradually eaten less and less meat. The more I see awful videos of the abuse suffered by animals the more I’ve gravitated towards a semi vegetarian and vegan diet. I’ve also been influenced by my husband Chris, who has only eaten organic chicken (rarely) and fish since I’ve known him. And my daughter, Zoe, who became a vegan in 2016. Zoe has a point when she says “there are so many alternatives so why do you have to eat an animal?”

Many people become vegetarian for health benefits although as Harvard Health explains, you could eat a diet full of pizza, ice cream and cakes which is still technically vegetarian but not the healthiest!

So I have decided to try a vegetarian diet for the month of March just to see how things go and to consider whether this is right for me. Will I miss eating fish? Are there plenty of alternatives? Will I end up eating too much cheese and gain weight? Will I be sick of vegetable lasagne by 1st April? Will report back in due course…

Week 3 walking progress

Progress:

Total for week 3 = 39 miles
Average per day for this week (39 / 7) = 5.57
Running total = 46 + 39 = 85 miles
Miles left to walk in 2018 (1050 – 85) = 965

I’m pleased I managed to walk 39 miles this week which is quite a psychological boost as it has given me a few miles in the bag towards my target. As well as 2 x 5 or 6 mile treks in Portugal on Monday and Tuesday, I did two walks at the weekend; an 8.5 mile local trek with a group of friends (in the rain) and a 10.5 mile trek with a local walking club (in the snow).

Week 2 walking progress

Rather than listing every time I walk anywhere I have been keeping a separate record and will just update the progress in order to keep track.

Progress:

Total for week 2 = 21 miles
Average per day for this week (21 / 7) = 3
Running total = 25 + 21 = 46 miles
Miles left to walk in 2018 (1050 – 46) = 1004

Keeping such a record and being conscious of this challenge has had quite an impact on my motivation to achieve this. I am constantly looking for opportunities to clock up these miles which is having a positive impact on my resolve to get fitter!

For example, offering to accompany my father when he took his dog for a walk every morning in Portugal recently and making a point of refusing lifts to and from the station from my husband!

Week 1 walking progress

This is a newly added challenge… as I enjoy walking and trekking I decided to add a walking challenge for this year!

A personalised walking challenge…

Many people pledge to ‘Walk 1000 miles in a year‘ for various reasons but probably mainly for the excellent health and wellbeing benefits you achieve by regular walking. These include:

Burns extra calories
Builds stamina
Strengthens your heart
Reduces the likelihood of many serious diseases
Keeps you active
Improves your mood
Its free

My spin on this is to walk 1050 miles this year… an extra 50 in my year of turning 50…

This is an average of 2.88 miles a day or 20.16 miles a week

I don’t have a fit bit or app or anything to calculate this accurately so I will just estimate the extra walking i.e. where I have chosen to walk rather than drive or take public transport or any specific walking or trekking I undertake.

For example, week 1:

Mon: (New Years Day = couch potato = 0)
Tue: walk to and from train stations (work journey) = 5 miles
Wed: walk to swimming pool and back = 1 mile
Thu: walk to town centre and back = 2 miles
Fri: walk to and from stations = 5 miles
Sat: walk to town centre and back = 2 miles
Sun: organised walking club walk = 10 miles

Progress:

Total for week 1 = 25 miles
Average per day for this week (25 / 7) = 3.57
Running total = 25 miles
Miles left to walk in 2018 (1050 – 25) = 1025

Detox update…

A quick update…

Following the tweak on Day 1 where I decided 800 calories is too low and I also found the effects of cutting out coffee were worse than just drinking it (when coffee is almost the new super food…) things have gone well so far…

I’ve been eating super healthy food and so far have consumed no alcohol, processed food or junk food since Wednesday. I am genuinely starting to feel more energetic, positive and healthy… all good stuff!

My diet today (Saturday: Day 4):

Breakfast: smoked salmon and fried egg (I’m rubbish at poaching so fried the egg in a tiny bit of olive oil)
Snack: handful of blueberries
Lunch: avocado, hummus, tomatoes, rocket, red pepper, raw carrot with a dressing of balsamic vinegar
Dinner: home made broccoli and stilton soup (we’re having a bit of a craving on this at the moment…)
Snack: handful of unsalted nuts (walnuts, cashews and macadamias)

Estimated at around 1100 calories

Just 3 more days to go…