Sunday, December 29, 2013

The start of another year - January 2014

Happy New Year and a toast to all the opportunities that 2014 will bring.


The start of a new year is such an exciting time and full of so many possibilities - a new beginning and a clean slate.

As we start this new year, I am making a list of things that I want to accomplish during 2014 such as beginning yoga classes to increase muscle flexibility, joining the gym for strength training, looking for some exciting events to see if the yoga classes and strength training make a difference and I will also be thinking about next steps career wise as my current contract is due to conclude in June.

There is also nothing like the shock I got a few days ago to help get things back on track after I found out that what I thought I was eating on my Paleo low carb / high fat diet was in fact a high carb / high fat diet.  High carbs and high fat do not go well together when the aim is weight loss - in fact weight gain is a guaranteed outcome (I am sure we have had this conversation before - but I am a slow learner).  It wasn't until I sat down with my good friend Clara who started punching the 'carb' numbers that reality set in - an apple has HOW many carbs?' oh dear, no wonder the weight loss isn't happening!

I then spent the rest of the afternoon making a list of what I can actually eat so that I am all ready to stock my pantry with low carb / high fat foods for the new year.  It was a surprise to see the number of carbs in things like dates and grapes which I thought would be fairly low in carbs.  I also found out that the number of carbs I need to aim for is approx 50 grams each day (for weight loss purposes).  Its always advisable to know what the goal is (how else can you achieve it)!  The good news is that as a result of this 'understanding carbs' exercise, there will be a lot of cream, avocado and full fat cheese filling my shelves in 2014 - all these yummy items have no carbs at all (or less than 1 gram) - I can't complain about that.  

Anyway, enough about carbs.... I have had an awesome 2 weeks spent in my beautiful little home in sunny Takapuna over the holiday season enjoying being able to spend time with family and friends and enjoy the beautiful beach and clear blue skies - it may sound strange but hanging the washing out in the garden with the sun shining on it has been quite a highlight - its so humid in Singapore that the washing can take a week to dry.  But like all other great holidays, this one is now coming to an end.  As always its been an amazing time and a real bonus was getting to meet Clara's triplets who were born a little earlier than expected on New Years Eve.  They are absolutely gorgeous.

I have tried hard to catch up with as many of my nearest and dearest as I possibly can - but for those of you that I missed this time, I will be back in early April for Soph's 21st birthday, so will look forward to seeing you then.

I fly back to Singapore at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning so will be making the most of my last few days in Paradise (on this trip anyway).

Here is to an awesome 2014 - may all your dreams come true.  Until next time -











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