from somewhere in my imagination

Weight is Not My KPI

Do you know how much magazine covers like this annoy the crap out of me.  Who cares that Jessica Simpson lost 15kgs in 27 days after giving birth, I'm fairly certain I did something equally astonishing when I gave birth to my first child.  Let the woman enjoy being a mother without putting any weighty expectations on her FFS!

As for the Who cover, all those lovely ladies on the cover have had the bejeezers airbrushed out of them.  I didn't even need to look closely to see that.

I am sick of seeing who weighs what plastered all over the covers of women's magazines week in week out because frankly I could care less...and why do they put them next to the chocolates?  Is it to make you look at a cover and see that movie star X has put on weight so why not buy a chocolate bar and celebrate the fact you haven't?

It is no secret that I have dedicated a lot of effort to my body this year.  Running, weight training, boxing, RPM and a healthy, mindful attitude towards food have seen some amazing changes in my body.  I can tell you I am actually fascinated by it, who knew that a 34 year old mother of four could actually develop visible abs for the first time in her life.  It's been serious hard work and I am proud of what I have acheived in the last six months and looking forward to more changes in the next six.

When I got my arse in to gear and started putting the hard yards in to acheive the goals I had set for myself I had no idea how much I weighed.  I sincerely had not stepped on the scales for at least 9 months.  Weight is not my key performance indicator (KPI) it hasn't been for a very long time and I don't expect it ever will be again.  I'll never know how much I weighed in January but my guess is that I have lost around 8-9kg since then. 

My primary goal is to run a marathon in October and pretty much everything I have done up until now has been in pursuit of that.  Except maybe all the upper body work, that's a bit of indulgence, do you know what a buzz it is to have people tell you how good, hot even, your upper body looks (and not be referring to your boobs)?

At the moment I am following the Michelle Bridges 12WBT Lean and Strong program which requires us to weigh ourselves weekly. Wednesday mornings is the scheduled weigh in time and I have found I start to panic a bit about it on Tuesday night.  Ideally I am looking to maintain my current weight.  It is such a mindfuck weighing myself every week.  I am so glad that the number on the scales has not ruled my life since I was a teenager, when sadly the number on the scales was smaller than it is now but I looked in the mirror and saw a girl who was 'fat'.  I do not want my daughters to ever experience the self loathing that can come of that.

Admittedly I have never been knowingly overweight, although probably much closer to the upper limit of a healthy BMI, so the necessity of knowing that number from week to week has never really been there for me.  I have generally gauged myself on how my clothes fit and how I see myself in the mirror and in photos so the desire hasn't been there either.

Why do women collectively put so much value on that number they see on the scales?  The media and society have so much to answer for on that account.

Fit, strong and healthy.  They are the words by which I measure myself.

I am healthy, my BMI sits within the healthy range.

I am very fit, I ran a half marathon a month ago and I am planning for the full 42.2km in October

I am getting stronger everyday.  I'm not really sure about why I need to lift heavy things but I am amused and a touch excited by the fact that I can.  I am amazed at the human body and the way the muscles work and develop.

I have dropped several clothing sizes.  The number on the tag matters less to me than how they look and feel on but I am excited at the prospect of heading to the US with so many shopping options available to me.

I can run around with my children for as long as they want me to, I often have more energy than they do.

I serve up healthy, yummy food and am instilling good food values in them. 

I am being a positive role model for them there is no conversation about our weight or the weight of others around our table....there might be the odd 'gun show' though :)

These are the things that matter to me when the topic of weight is on the table, not the number on the scales.

What matters to you?  Do you live and die by the number on the scales, analysing each small rise and fall, or are you happy to be within a healthy range?  Do the magazine covers irritate you as much as they do me? I am interested to hear what you think.

Tatum xx

What's For Dinner? - Vegetable Curry

I am loving all the fresh winter vegetables around at the moment, cauliflower has definitely become a new love.  I bought 2 at the market last week and have all sorts of ideas for them.  There is a great section in the current issue of Donna Hay Magazine that gave me a few ideas.

Yesterday we picked up a lamb from a friend and I used all the bits and pieces to make a fiery lamb curry for Monday night's dinner but I knew I wanted something much lighter to accompany it so this vegetable curry was born.  Whilst the lamb curry was delicious I would have been more than happy with a big bowl of the vegies with brown rice topped with a dollop of natural yoghurt and a few cucumber slices all on their own.

Vegetable Curry - Serves 4 (185 calories/serve, add a 1/2 cup of brown rice for another 105 calories)

Ingredients

1/2 cauliflower, cut into florets

250g (handful) green beans, washed and ends trimmed

3 carrots, peeled, halved and sliced on the diagonal

1 medium-large red capsicum cut into chunks

1 brown onion, sliced

About 3-5cm green ginger, peeled

1 long green chilli

100g cherry tomatoes

2 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp tumeric

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2-1 tsp dried chilli flakes (depends on how hot you like it)

200 mL light coconut milk

1 Tbs rice bran or vegetable oil

Method

Pop the ginger, green chilli, garlic, tomatoes and spices into a whizzer and whizz it all upinto a paste, you could use a mortar and pestle if you are in the mood for a good pounding.

Heat a large saucepan with the oil then add the onion and cook until it starts to soften.

Tip in the paste into the saucepan and fry it off a little.

Add the carrots and capsicum and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the cauliflower, beans and coconut milk and pop the lid on for another 5-10 minutes until everything is cooked but not sloppy.

Serve with brown rice and whatever other curry condiments you like.  Mango chutney is always the biggest hit in our family and I'll zap some puppadoms in the microwave, I don't even spray them and some natural yoghurt for dolloping is a must, if you have cucumber...even better.

I'm linking up with Veggie Mama for meatless monday, she is serving up some delicious disney chilli this week!

What's your favourite winter vegetable?  Do you lean more towards cauliflower or is broccoli more your thing?  Or do you just avoid trees on the plate altogether?

Tatum xx

Leek, Broadbean & Chicken Barley 'Risotto'

I love risotto, but I have find that white rice is increasingly playing havoc with my belly.  I stopped eating it completely (hello 3 day reflux) when I was pregnant with J and have never really re-introduced it to our regular diet.

With the 12WBT kick off imminent I have been adapting and creating some new <300 calorie meals and I trialled this one on Wednesday with resounding success.  Sebastian declared it a winner (after I fed it to him forkful by forkful, which is often the case with new dishes).  It is a dish that comes in at 309 calories per serve for the option without chicken or 386 calories per serve with the chicken.

Without chicken it is also super super cheap because leeks are in season right now, it's a meal you can easily bring in under $10 for the no chicken option.

The barley is really yummy, nutty like brown rice is, and unlike traditional risotto you don't have to stand and stir, you could even pop it in the slow cooker once you have your leeks cooked down and add your broadbeans just before serving.

Leek, Broadbean & Chicken Barley 'Risotto' - Serves 6

Ingredients

400g Chicken (for calorie boost option)

2 cups pearl barley, washed and soaked at least 4 hours in cold water.

3 Leeks, trimmed, washed well and thinly sliced

300g broad beans, shelled to give about 200g (I just use frozen ones, leave them to thaw before shelling)

2-3 tsp Olive Oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Thyme, fresh if you have it but dried is fine

1L homemade or salt reduced chicken stock

To Serve

50g finely grated parmesan cheese (or leave it off to drop the calories down to 279)

Freshly ground black pepper

Method

If you are adding chicken heat 1 tsp olive oil in a heavy based saucepan and cook chicken, turning once.

Heat up your stock either in the microwave or on the stove.

Remove chicken when it is nearly cooked (it will be going back in to the pot later so it is better to leave it slightly under done at this point than cooked right through so it doesn't get tough).

Add a further 1-2 tsp olive oil and cook leeks and garlic until they are nicely softened.  Splash in a bit of stock to help scrape the caramelisation off the bottom of the pan.

Drain your barley and tip it into the saucepan while still wet.  Stir it around and get a bit of toasting action going on.  Throw in some thyme followed by the stock.

Leave it to simmer and bubble about 15-20 minutes until barley is al dente (you could tip everything in the slow cooker at this point).  Stir a few times to make sure it's not sticking to the bottom.

Divide between 6 serving bowls and finish with a sprinkle of finely grated parmesan and a good grind of black better.

Seriously delicious.

What do you think?  Will you be adding it to your weekly meal plan sometime soon?

Tatum xx