One of my favorite foods is avocado on toast. I have been eating a lot of it lately but I shall have to stop. I'm putting on weight again.

If I put nzd100.00 a month into my EF, it will take me 4 years to get to $10,000. I want it fully funded earlier than that, so I transferred $200 from my House account. The new stove can wait till next year. I like to see quick results and get frustrated if it takes a long time to reach my goal, as happens when I am saving for several goals at once. Something I learned from Dave Ramsey is the power of focus. One thing at a time. Prioritize and work on the most important thing.

Bought:
bread roll .69
bread 1.00
strawberries 2.99
tangelos 1.17
mushrooms 1.94
baked beans .70
nutritional yeast 4.99

Not really hungry today. I had a bread roll in town which tasted pretty bland. The rest of the day I ate fruit. I find I am eating my food more slowly and mindfully.It took me 30 minutes to eat an apple savoring every bite. The strawberries were a disappoinment. They had been speed ripened rather than naturally by the sun and were quite tart. The banana was delicious and the dates pure ambrosia.

Maybe I could start a new career as a food writer?

My prayers have been answered. There has been a complete turnaround. This afternoon DS went out and bought green beans and carrots then asked me where the steamer was. I don't know what the doctor said to him but he is taking it seriously.

I finished my tenth day of fasting. I wasn't hungry and could have continued but the holiday season is coming up. I had an apple. It tasted sooooo sweet and filled me up for the rest of the evening. My stomach has shrunk. The trick now is not to go back to the amount I was eating before. 76 kilos.

Day 7 of fasting. 77 kilos. Waist 35" hips 44" BMI 25.4. I am still borderline overweight and have a lot of belly fat. After meditation this morning they were dicussing the 5-2 diet and fasting. I didn't let on I am currently fasting but chipped in with my own earlier experiences. I think I will go back to regular fasting on Monday and Friday. The traditional Christian fast days are Monday and Wednesday but Wed is not convenient for me. Let's not get legalistic here.

At church morning tea I felt a bit guilty as the preparer told me she'd baked vegan cookies especially for me, but the carnies ate them all. I did really crave a cuppa tea but stuck to water.

The weather turned really bad while we were talking. We had a thunderplump and hailstones. I haven't seen that for several years. The weather here has turned crazy over the last few years. One day will be scorching hot, the next it will be blowing a gale and pouring rain. Looks like climate change is already here.

Day 6 of fasting. 78 kilos. Feeling ok today. My body has switched to fat burning mode which is logical. The body stores up fat for times of famine so when you stop eating it uses those supplies. I walked into town and back with no more rests than normal and bought some groceries for when I break my fast Wednesday evening.
oranges .61
red peppers 3.00
bananas 2.49
popping corn 1.79
pasta .75
can tomatoes .70

I recieved an electricity bill for nzd57.93. It will come out automatically on the 29th.

Day 5 of fasting. Halfway through. The benefits are beginning to show. A friend commented that my face looked better and I look younger. My skin is softer and the the lines are less deep. The caffeine withdrawal headache has gone and I don't feel hungry. 79.5 kilos.

Day 4 of fasting. I felt rather weak doing my volunteer stint this morning and was strongly tempted to have a cookie to relieve the syptoms, but I know it will pass if I persevere. Down to 80.5 kilos.

Day 3 of fasting. I was rather sluggish and light headed on waking, but that's to be expected at this stage. Day 3 is always the most difficult for me. I wasn't physically hungry but mentally wanting to eat and thinking of chucking it in. Drank a lot of water. My weight is down to 81.5 kilos but that is water loss.

Payday nzd289.15. I only had to take out $20 because I am paying my checking account back from misc and not putting any more into medical. So I only needed $20 for food but I'll only be buying grape juice for communion.

I only spent 2.00 donation to Knit Squad. I saw a nice top in Orphans Aid but it was large size and I intend to get back to medium.

I have to stop keeping cookies in the house. I can't eat just one or two, I devour the entire packet. And my weight is up to 84 kilos. No more sugary treats. With the holidays coming up this is not going to be easy.

Although I have only the weekly $20 in my wallet for some reason I was feeling flush today. So I spent $3 on frosted fruit buns and $2 on fries. I will regret it when I step on the scale, but for the moment I have a comfortably full tummy. I also bought for Sunday
hummus $2.69
milk $2.39
bananas $1.21
I have tried bringing various plant milks to morning tea. The younger people accept them but the older ones insist on their cow juice.

Today I took some money from my change dish and bought
sultanas 1.79
lentils 2.15
tomato paste .79
I knew saving change would come in handy.

I also bought a Film Festival ticket for $12.50. There are several movies I'd like to see, but I narrowed it down to one: an Australian documentary about an aboriginal choir.

And I weighed myself. I am down to 79 kilos. I'd like to lose weight a little faster, but they say if you lose slowly it's more likely to stay off.

Payday. One seventh through my year challenge. Also DS's birthday. I offered to take him out to lunch but he spent most of the day snoozng. Hard to believe 35 years ago I pushed out a 9 pound pumpkin. The memory of the pain fades; the joy remains.

My goal for this week is to have 7 NSDs. That's right, a complete no spend week. I passed a couple of op shops today: one was advertising a dollar of everything, the other offered 2 tops for $2. I didn't go in. I already have 65 tops - ok, some of them don't fit but I'll lose weight I promise.


I still have lots of oats, rice, canned beans, cabbage and potatoes. Looks like I'll be eating the same thing everyday but that's ok.

My name is Tina and I am a breadaholic. I bought 2 loaves on Wed and finished them in 3 days, bought another one today and it is already 3/4 gone. I love pbj sandwiches, no wonder I have difficulty losing weight.

Payday. At New World I bought
vege stock powder $2.99
grape juice $2.49
can mandarins 99 cents
flour $1.59
broccoli $1.49
total saved $2.90. The grape juice is for communion. I could get reimbursed by the church but it seems cheap when I get the leftovers.

I went to a farewell afternoon tea today and ate so much grapes and bread and hummus that I wasn't hungry for dinner.

I weighed myself and I have lost half a pound. I would like to lose a little faster so am aiming at 1600 calories a day.

Tena koutou katoa. I hadn't realised how much time has passed since I last blogged. Some changes: I am now on disability and my 60th birthday is coming up, so it doesn't look as if I'll ever work again. It depresses me, but at least I am getting more money now: $269.15 a week. Ds is currently living with me and gives me some money for his share of the power and internet. So things are manageable, but I still Iike to save money tho reallistically I'm not going to get to FI. In fact I'm looking forward to turning 65 when I will get more money from the govt!
With one thing and another my FFEF has taken a hammering and is now down to $1382.86. I want to work on getting it up to $10,000. And both the kitchen and bathroom need work so have to save more into the House a/c, currently at $2,345. I do have $5,000 in the Travel a/c and was hoping to make another trip to India this year, but we shall see.
To facilitate my savings efforts I have set myself the challenge of spending just $20 a week on food and $20 a week on misc spending for a year. I don't know if it's possible to get that low, but I'm giving it my best shot. Today is my third completed week on this challenge and at the moment I have in my envelopes:
food $11
misc $33
change dish $3.50
I also have $6.53 on my bus card and I started with a fairly full pantry so have plenty of food left. I also hope the lesser amount spent on food will result in weight loss. I've become vegan since last writing so that should help.

I am down to 172 lb. a total of 10 lb lost. 22 to go.

Yahoo! I am down to 177 lb. 27 to go.

I am resurrecting this because I have been eating too much, I need to get down to 150 lb. Currently i am 179. I am giving up lollies, cake and cookies, all forms of dessert except fruit, snacks between meals, cheese (pizza!!), fried chicken, peanut butter and juice. I should save some money by not buying these things.

I have lost 2 lb.

not sterling, tho I dropped a fair few of those on my trip. I have been eating a lot of comfort food since my dad died and am now -gulp, 198 lb. So I'm revisiting the weight loss category. No more cheese and cookies. Gotta gat back into that size 12 dress.

Oh I'm feeling rotten. I've got la misery virus. Neverthless I forced myself to go to the interview where I was informed the job had already gone (Gee thanks - you let me drag myself into town to tell me that?) I'm going to curl up in bed for the weekend - looks forward to chocolate on Easter Sunday.

However, I have now reached my goal of 160 pounds - maybe not too much chocolate.

No - not net worth! Weight. I am now down to 161 lb - only one more pound to reach my goal. Today I saw a friend who commented I'd lost weight and looked well. Doing the happy dance.

I have been unwell for what seems like weeks; I'm surprised it's only 10 days. At least I have dropped some weight and am now down to 164 lb. Tho I don't recommend sickness as a way of slimming, I think I will set a new goal of 160. Then I will have lost 10% of weight.

Jumped on the scale this morning and behold! I have lost another pound. Now down to 169. There is something very satisfying about getting below a number ending with a 0.

I have been carefully tracking my food intake on

...this morning and discovered I had lost a whole THREE pounds! Yay for me! They say the first few lbs loss is generally water, but I feel good about myself anyway.

Someone mentioned on the weight loss thread the Basal Metabolic Rate. I worked mine out here

I have taken up on the Weight Loss Challenge and intend to lose 10 lbs. Actually, I want to lose a dress size, so I have a greater range of clothes to choose from at the thrift stores. I don't mind being 5' 10", but I don't want to be a "big, sturdy lass". Neither do I want to look like a beanpole model, as I don't think it's healthy. Somewhere in between with a few nice curves is where I'd like to fit.

While thumbing through a recipe book, I came across this quote by Liz Hurley. When asked how she kept her figure, she replied, "You just have to want to be slim more than you want that piece of cheesecake or chocolate." Basically it's about keeping your goals in mind, and weighing the consequences of each decision. This is equally true for dieting and saving money.

I'm not in favour in very low calorie diets as they're like too tight budgets. They trigger relapses. You can no more cut out all treat foods than you can deny yourself every desire in order to save money. Extreme crash diets are unhealthy, like neglecting house repairs in order to save money. The best way is to simply cut out the waste in both eating habits and money. And be prepared for it to take time. You didn't get overweight or into debt overnight, so it will take a while to come right.

So my plan is to cut down on fats and sugars, by eliminating cakes, cookies and candy, and fried foods. This doesn't mean I can't have a spoonful of sugar on my oatmeal, or saute mushrooms in a little butter, but the emphasis is to be on grains, beans, fruit and veg, and low fat dairy. As it happens, these are the healthiest foods, and relatively cheap.