I'm baaaaack!I know a few of you will be wondering were on earth I've been; last time I wrote in my journal was back in May before my holidays. Unfortunately, I came back after a wonderful 2 weeks away to find that my laptop was broken. Disaster. It took me a while but I eventually I managed to repair my computer, only to find my internet was broken. Argh! Anyway, finally a nice engineer came to fix my internet and here I am!
A lot has happened since I last updated my journal. I'm now under 250lbs - seems like a big milestone, that one - my clothes are falling off me, I started swimming to vary my exercise routine and I feel
so much fitter it's unbelievable. Overall, I'm still going strong and loving the results.
Anyone who read my previous entry in May will remember that my new fiance and I were travelling to the middle east where we hoped to get my engagement ring made to my own design. I have to say, if you every get the chance to visit somewhere like Qatar you should jump at the chance! The food was wonderfully varied (side note - despite not counting while away I still lost 1lb over the 2 weeks thanks to being mindful of portion size), the sights were like nothing I'd ever seen, and the gold souks were more intricate and overwhelming than words can describe.
Below is my original design and the resulting one-of-a-kind engagement ring - clicky for a bigger picture!
<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v180/Sheona/Food%20and%20FS/?action=view&current=2011-05-05222646.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/Sheona/Food%20and%20FS/2011-05-05222646.jpg" width=275 border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v180/Sheona/Food%20and%20FS/?action=view&current=Theprecious.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/Sheona/Food%20and%20FS/Theprecious.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" width=275></a>
Only downside is that my ring is now very big on my finger due to weight loss. I'm also a cheapskate, so I don't want to pay to get it resized yet. Instead, I've resorted to creative use of an elastic band to keep it from sliding off.
Anyway, In the past couple of months I've also been doing alot of thinking about personal goals and as a result I've written a "bucket list" of all the things I want to achieve in life. These range from losing at least 100lbs to volunteering and helping other's less fortunate than I. Now, I don't believe that anyone should let their weight hold them back from living their life as fully as possible. Having said that, I am aware that some of my goals require a far better level of fitness, so there's plenty of reason to keep up my efforts here!
All this thinking has also lead me to re-evalute my lifestyle in general and I want to pull my life more into line with my personal values and beliefs. For a long time now I have been very interested in alternatives to normal city life, ethical awareness and eco living.
Over the past couple of months I've therefore started to change the foods I eat and where I choose to shop. Not only do I feel that supermarket food is deeply unhealthy and harmful to us but it's also damaging to animals, farmers and the environment. These huge corporate giants have far too much sway over our health and shopping there just doesn't make me happy. So instead I am going to support my local independent grocers more often and try to more ethical in the way I live my life.
I've even considered starting a blog charting my exploration into eco-aware city living, because there doesn't seem to be much out there at the moment helping people find how to balance a greener life with the limitations of urban life. If anyone would like to share their thoughts, please feel free!
Anyway, I'm off to experiment with a new recipe. Hope you're all well and I'm glad to be back!