Coaching a friend :)

In the past 12 weeks I have been coaching a friend of mine lose weight, she's really got it all dialled in and to be honest is now her own coach, she doesn't need me but I think it helps her knowing what I have gone through and when you have a lot of weight to lose that is always helpful while your on your own weight loss journey, it's comforting knowing your not the only one. She is doing so incredibly well and has lost 10.8kgs in 12 weeks, completed a 10km charity run event and is feeling amazing, I'm so proud of her and really honoured that she asked me to help her be accountable, she's outdone herself!

I'm doing really well, my business is booming and I love my job, I'm so very happy, I have an amazing husband and really I can't ask for anything more, I'm truly content and don't ever remember being this happy in my life so that is pretty awesome!!

My weight is stable, I haven't lost any but I haven't gained so I think that's great. I do still want to get this little bit off that I have gained and that is still my goal at the moment however I'm not stressing about it as I think that makes it worse. I still live everyday as primal as I can be but I'm not in weight loss mode, just maintenance and that's ok with me for now. I still feel great and can wear my swimsuit this year and fit my jeans so I'm happy. I'm not aiming for perfection and I am stoked that I'm not 107kgs anymore, I may not be 65 but 71 is ok in my book!

I'm still here and a little fatter!

So I have moved house and business and we are finally getting settled in, feeling a lot more normality than it was a few weeks ago.

Although I was eating primally I have been eating too much and gained a few kgs L I’m back in the swing of things though and ready to dial it in once more for some weight loss. I’m up to 71kgs which I’m a little bummed about but I know I can get it off without too much hassle, I’ve really just gotten lazy with the food and been having too many flat whites and dark chocolate and one to many 20% moments, after all I am human!

My all time goal has always been 62kgs, last summer I got to 65kgs and I was super happy with that and to be honest will probably land at that again without too much effort but if I want to get lower it’s going to take some real effort on my part, time to get strict again and start on my exercise route again. I’ll do my best to keep you all updated and hopefully give you some snaps of my food every now and then J

Quick Update

Hi guys, just a quick update, I'm extremely busy at the moment and haven't had one chance to sit down and blog, I'm moving house and business which is occupying all my time. Hopefully I'll get back to blogging in a few weeks so bear with me. I'm still Primal as ever and it's really helping to keep my energy up eating clean. Take Care :)

The Primal Blueprint Cookbook Review

This cookbook was just what I needed, thank you Mark! After losing so much weight I have kept to fairly basic primal fare with the odd experimentation, now I'm not going to lie I have definitely had a few weekends of too much 80/20 which I have talked about previously and many times felt it hard to get on the straight and narrow of primal. It's so easy to get drawn into eating bread, fried foods and sweets and sometimes the willpower of just wanting to eat well doesn't always work.

Enter the Primal Blueprint Cookbook, this book has given me new found motivation to say no to the crap foods that every now and then enter my mouth and keep me from getting to my desired goal weight. I've had my primal blueprint cookbook for just over two weeks and have tried out the Walnut Brownie, which was the first thing I made :) Coconut Icecream, Salmon Cakes, Coconut Pancakes, Almond Crusted Poached Eggs.

I love this cookbook so much, it gives me the much needed inspiration to add some great meals to my diet and you definitely won't get bored with the array of recipes. You can tell how much time and effort has gone into this cookbook, all the recipes have full color pictures and such precise instructions.

I'm so impressed with this book and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone, even if you aren't following primal yet you soon will be once you get your hands on this cookbook, there is no need to eat grains once you've discovered this way of cooking.

Well Done Mark and Jennifer!!

Below are a few sample pics of some of the recipes I've made...

Walnut Brownies

Coconut Pancakes
Almond Crusted Poached Eggs

Salmon Cakes

NZ Nutritionist and Former All Black headline TV3's 60 Minutes

Here's a video of last night's TV3's 60 minutes segment, New Zealand Nutritionist Ben Warren and former All Black Taine Randell team up to improve the health of Flaxmere, a small town in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.

Ben Warren initiated a health programme to 25 people to tackle type 2 diabetes and obesity and has astounding results following a high fat diet. Very Inspiring!

To see the video clip click on the link below:

http://ondemand.tv3.co.nz/Randells-Revolution/tabid/59/articleID/599/MCat/22/Default.aspx

or http://www.mediapeople.co.nz/releases/article.php?id=32271

or http://www.tv3.co.nz/ and do a search

Meatza! Oh yeah!!!

Well here's my first attempt at Meatza and it tasted amazing! Definately a hit with the two men who tried it out one being my husband ;) It has so much flavour and to avoid being over meaty just add tons of vegies and cheese on top.

Here's pics of my first one, I have since made two more, it's a weekly occurence now and one that dh looks forward to! The best one I've done so far is using a cream cheese/ sundried tomato pesto for the sauce base, makes it super creamy and delish!! Enjoy....

The original recipe is here: http://www.thehealthycookingcoach.com/2009/09/paleoprimal-pizza.html

For mine I used:
1 large egg or 2 small
700gms Pork Mince
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
Italian Seasoning

Combine all, spread out evenly and remember it will srink when cooked, bake for 10mins on 450F oven and drain off liquid/fat.



Then top with whatever you please...I used tomato paste, italian seasoning and worchestershire sauce which makes into a BBQ without tons of sugar, caramelized onions, bacon, chorizo, pineapple, green capsicum, cherry tomatoes and a LOT of mozerella

Then grill for approx 5-10mins

PS Sorry about the terrible quality photos, camera phone!

Quell any sugar craving

These are posted on the MDA forum, they are called Batty's Blueberry balls and they are awesome! I adjusted mine a little just to include a little 85% chocolate and ground almonds. Here's the link to the recipe. They are seriously awesome, very rich and obviously you have to like butter. I found they fill you up and hit the spot when you are craving pudding.

Here's the orginal recipe as posted at Marks Daily Apple:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/showthread.php?8256-batty-s-blueberry-butter-balls.-with-b-coconut..

this is a fun and tasty way to get your fat on. beware, these are addictive, and should only be consumed in moderation.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup butter, unsalted
1/2 cup blueberries
2 egg yolks
3 T shredded coconut, unsweetened
1T vanilla

DIRECTIONS:
let the butter sit out until soft. puree your blueberries in a food processor. if they are frozen, defrost them first otherwise they'll give you all kinds of issues when you mix them in with the butter. in a medium mixing bowl, add egg yolk, butter, vanilla, and blueberries. use a hand mixer to combine everything until fluffy and peak-y.

you *can*, if you want, add some honey, but it is absolutely not necessary if you have good quality blueberries and vanilla. you can probably add a dash or two more vanilla, too, to taste.

fold in the coconut until well combined. stick the entire bowl in the fridge and let sit for 45 mins to an hour. you want the mixture pretty solid.

take the mixture out and form into one inch balls. roll in extra shredded coconut to coat.

store in an airtight container in the fridge, otherwise they'll get all melty on warm days.

VARIATIONS:
these are awesome as is, but you can also add ground almonds, walnuts, shredded dried figs, etc, for added texture and flavor. i didn't because i am avoiding that stuff

enjoy!

Food Nazi...

Last month was my 29th birthday and yes I did have many non primal foods including my favourite cheesecake. No matter how many times recently I have had 80/20 moments I have always felt like absolute rubbish!! I somehow have managed to turn 80/20 moments into full blown eat whatever I please becuase I can, well I can't!

I haven't really gained weight but lately when I have these foods I have felt really bloated, tired, unfocused, moody, dizzy and generally just really awful.

I used to be such a food nazi and watch absoultely everything that went into my body and now I have just relaxed too much and I'm paying for it!

So I am recommiting....purely primal and if I am to have any treats it's only going to be for an actual worthy celebration as opposed to every birthday I go to or any weekend treat, I am going to get back to my food naziness as it's the only way that I feel my optimal best and that means more to me than treats, not saying it's going to be easy but it's something I need to do and it's not about weight loss anymore it's truly about feeling the best I can so I can get the most out of my life. Watch for some future recipe posts while I get 100% primal...

Feta and Sundried Tomato stuffed Chicken with White Wine Reduction

Feta and Sundried Tomato stuffed Chicken with White Wine Reduction

This is my husband’s favourite dish and one of my many favourites. I used 3 small-med chicken breasts that I butterflied, lay all flat on cooking paper, top with 125gms Creamy Feta and 6 or so chopped sundried tomatoes, roll it up in the cooking paper and roll again in some more cooking paper long ways and twist at end kind of like a lolly. Bake at 360F for 1 hour. Take out of oven remove baking paper and sear in a little butter in a hot pan then let rest for 10mins. Serve with White wine reduction which is approx 1 part white wine to 3 parts cream and boiled to reduction.

New Link to my TV Interview on Good Morning!

Hey guys here's the correct link to my TV interview I did yesterday, it was an amazing experience and I loved every minute of it. I hope that someone out there is inspired to change their way of eating for life!
http://tvnz.co.nz/good-morning/s2010-210410-michellematangi-video-3481727

TV Interview!!

Hi guys, For any of you New Zealand followers I'm going to be interviewed tomorrow on the Good Morning show about my Weight loss, I'm this weeks Air NZ Inspiring Kiwi, I feel so honoured and very excited.

Be sure to watch if you can, Wednesday 21st April at approx 10:45am TV one, it will also be avaliable on the TVNZ website afterwards at http://tvnz.co.nz/good-morning/inspiring-kiwis-3380840

An updated Picture and 'Cauliflower Pizza'

I had an updated picture on Marks Daily Apple earlier this week, you can view it here: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/where-are-they-now/#more-11899

Most of you have probably seen it already if you are faithful MDA readers like I am, if not you should definately have a look, not just because of my update but because of Griff, he's doing incredibly well and is just proving how powerful Primal/Low carb can be. I think he is so brave for posting his pictures, It can't have been easy for him, I'm sure it will give an awful lot of people real hope.

On another note I made an awesome lunch the other day and it came out beautifully. I have made Cauliflower Pizza before but it didn't come out the greatest, somehow this one did, I could even pick it up and eat it with my hands which was cool.

Here's a picture, it was a Bacon, onion, herb and cream cheese pizza, oh yum!

This isn't something I eat often but it's a great treat! Here's the original recipe for the base: http://cleochatra.blogspot.com/2008/02/i-cant-believe-its-cauliflower-pizza.html

The topping was the following: Softened Cream cheese, Italian herbs, caramelised onions, bacon, mozerella and parmesan.

Maintaining is a Breeze!!

I’m managing to maintain this weight easily and finding it tough to lose more. Well actually I’m not really trying all that hard to lose which is why I’m not I guess, feeling pretty happy at this weight but still have plenty of ‘toning’ to do so this is going to be a slow progress. I’m pretty slack with keeping this blog up to date but I will keep updating when I have a chance so if your keen to stick around and see my slowwww progress then stay tuned…sorry I ain’t more exciting than that right now!

Should you hold on to your fat clothes?

Parting With Skinny Jeans?
Holding onto your ‘skinny’ clothes that don’t fit you anymore can make you feel hopeless that you’re never going to get back there. It can definitely hurt your self-esteem and maybe sabotage your weight loss, they can be a constant reminder that you’re no longer at your ‘ideal’ size. I think this was mostly true for me, I decided after I got married close to 3 years ago I was going to get rid of my really skinny clothes, mostly size 8 because I never felt it was going to be possible to get back to that size, I was a size 16 at the time.

I’m kind of gutted I got rid of them because now that I’m getting close to that size I realise I would have fitted a few of them and that would have been a great feeling. In another way maybe it was a good thing that I got rid of them, I didn’t give myself any pressures to be that ‘size’ again. Even now that I’m close to goal I am glad I don’t have any particularly skinny pair of jeans I really really want to get into, I don’t see that as my motivation, I want to be realistic.

Should you hold on to your fat clothes?
Well I have already got rid of mine, I ummed and ahhed about it for a couple of months and finally decided getting rid of them was a good thing, I decided I didn’t want any “just incase” clothes in my wardrobe and would rather choose which clothes I would hold onto. I have saved a box of size 14 which is my top size I would ever want to be and my current wardrobe consists of mostly 10’s and 12’s.

I have held onto my biggest size pair of jeans, which I'm holding in the photo, these are a size 20!! these are a great reminder that I never want to be that size again.
I have donated all my other clothes that ranged from a 14 right through to a 20 to various family members and the rest to the clothing bins.

Even though I own a clothing alteration and repair company I chose not to really alter anything, I didn’t like the thought of still wearing the same clothes I used to wear only smaller…just didn’t feel right on. Most of my wardrobe wasn’t all that great in those sizes anyway so not really worth the time.

I’m enjoying slowly building my wardrobe, it’s definitely an expense, but one that is very enjoyable. A lot of my clothing I buy second hand from Trademe or second hand clothing shops with the fact I can alter most things, I make a few custom things and buy brand new some favourites pieces.

So what are your thoughts? do any of you who have lost weight got rid of your ‘fat’ clothes or do you have ‘skinny’ clothes waiting for you?

Simple Lunch

Creamy mayo tuna salad with Bacon mmmmmmmmmm super easy!
Just heat up your can of tuna (not in the tin ofcourse ;)), mix with plenty of Japanese mayo aka 'yum yum sauce'. Pop mixture on some mesclun salad and top off with lots of crispy bacon and a dash of tamari. Perfection, super simple and super tasty :)

It just comes naturally

I have noticed if I ever eat a non primal food it just tastes and seems so foreign, eating primally just comes naturally to me now and I love how it doesn't feel forced or like hard work.

Maybe that's when you feel like it's sustainable. I don't think there's anything wrong with eating a few non primal foods as a treat but it can set you up for a host of carb cravings which are not the easiest to deal with.

However if you love eating primal then it shouldn't be too hard to get back on track, here's a few of my vices that I can now say I'm officially addicted to....

1. Bacon - Streaky and the more fat the better
2. Mayonnasie...but not just any mayo, Japanese mayo
3. Dark chocolate at least 70% cocoa content
4. Decaf Vienna or Mochachino

Yes weird I know but since eating primal these are my vices that I indulge in and it just makes eating this way feel natural and normal and like I'm not missing out on anything. I know they aren't all strictly primal but I don't eat huge amounts of them ;)

I'd love to hear from you what your top vices are?

New Year!

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth but I have had an extremely busy little business operating which has taken all my time, I barely have time to read any blogs anymore :(

The Christmas and New Years break was pretty great, I had 2 weeks off and did a whole lot of eating, mostly primal but my fair share of non primal foods. Luckily for me I didn't gain and managed to maintain really easily which is incredible considering I didn't monitor my food intake much at all.

Last week I got back to the gym after the indulgent period and could hardly move for a couple of days after some weight training, feels great though, nothing like massaging a sore muscle LOL

Weight is at 65.3kg so pretty stoked with that. It did fluctuate a little over the break and I think most of it was water when I had eaten the nasty carbs, all my clothes still fit me the same so that's an interesting observation.

Anyway just wanted to check in and say hi to you all, bear with me, I am still here just running short on time to post as often as I used to.