Week 043 - 39.4 kilos ( 86.8lbs) lighter over 43 weeks ! - How I plan to survive Easter


Nice progress this week with an awesome 1.2 kilo loss (2.65 pounds).

I am SO CLOSE to my next major milestone of losing 40 kilos.
So hopefully next week you will see a new YouTube milestone video celebrating that.

I am a tiny bit behind my weekly target (missed it by 100 grams) to reach my major goal of 50 kilos lost in 52 weeks, but I am still pretty much on track.


As you can see from the table above, I need to lose 1.2 kilos (2.65 lbs) each and every week to achieve this major goal.

It will be tough, especially with Easter this coming week.
And like most Australian families, we have family get-togethers and chocolate.

LOTS OF CHOCOLATE !!!

And I love chocolate.

But since my journey to health, fitness and happiness started 43 weeks ago, I honestly can't remember eating any chocolate since.

Sure, I have dessert every night - Peter's Light Cookies and Cream Ice Cream, which has bits of chocolate cookies strewn throughout, but this is counted as a Dairy Unit on the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, not an Indulgence.

So I still get the enjoyment of chocolate, but without the monstrously high fat and sugar content of a chocolate bar or chocolate Easter Egg.

As some of our family live in Sydney, we don't see them very often and they are visiting for the Easter break, so I am sure we will share many meals that aren't focused on the healthy balanced portion controlled foods that I live by now.

But just like Baldrick of Blackadder fame... 




How I plan to survive Easter

Twelve months ago, before my journey started, I was eating at least one chocolate bar at least five days a week (hey... you don't reach 185.5 kilos by eating fruit for afternoon tea) !!!

I would also have a jumbo mocha with two sugars most mornings too (apparently there isn't enough sugar in a jumbo mocha already).

Yep, you could say I was addicted to chocolate.

But since starting my journey, I have banished it from my diet.
And guess what, I haven't really missed it.

But I know that it is my weakness, and if I start eating some, it is highly likely that I will not be able to control myself.... Especially at Easter.

Last year, I would have put my order in with the Easter Bunny, and I would have been rewarded with with a few of the Lindt Easter bunnies (not the one below, even I wasn't that much of a glutton).

Don't worry, I didn't buy or eat it !!!



This bad boy costs $80 !


And is a whopping 1 kilo in size !

This equals an astounding 54.2 indulgence points.
That's nearly two months of indulgences !


As you can see above, the Lindt Gold Bunnies, are an Indulgence - SURPRISE !!! 

As a big guy on Level 3 - I get two indulgence points per day, so this 1 kilo bunny has a whopping 27 days worth of Indulgences.

Anyway, I am sure you get my point.

Chocolate is yummy.
But...
Chocolate will NOT get me to my goal.


--- I haven't come this far to only come this far ! ---


So anyway, here are my five strategies for surviving Easter.
  • Think before eating - Will this food help me achieve my goal?
  • Enter new foods in food tracker BEFORE consuming
  • Be prepared for each and every meal
  • Maintain my current morning walk regime to six days a week for one hour
  • Maintain my resistance band workouts four to five days a week.

Strategy 1 - Think before eating - Will this food help me achieve my goal?
As I already have set menu plans for my week, I already know that I meet my daily food units with a balance of food from all food groups with portion control.

To ensure I stick to my menu plans and not over eat or eat poorly, I will be looking at everything I eat and ask the question - Will this food help me achieve my goal? 
This way, I will be making a clear decision on the foods I consume and help me make the right decision on if that food will bring me closer to my goal, or away from my goal.


Strategy 2- Enter new foods in food tracker BEFORE consuming
It is critical that I know full well of the consequences of new foods that are not in my menu plan BEFORE I consume them.
I need to make an informed decision that if I want to eat that hot cross bun or Easter chocolate, that I know how many calories (and indulgences) I am consuming and those consequences (no weight loss or possible weight gain).

For example, the Food Search shows the following
- Hot Cross Bun - 209 calories - 2 indulgence points
- 15.4g of sugar (nearly 4 teaspoons), which is seven times the sugar of a wholemeal bread roll
- And that's not including the butter that I would want to pile on top

- Lindt Gold Easter Bunny (White) - 567 calories - 5.6 indulgence points
- 54.9g of sugar (nearly 14 teaspoons)
- 35.5g of fat.

Normally, I would eat these without thinking and then be shocked when adding them to the tracker (or conveniently 'forget' to add them to the tracker).

Now I have committed to enter them in to the food tracker BEFORE consuming.
I am planning on this strategy helping me to stick to my healthy meal plans.


Strategy 3 - Be prepared for each and every meal
As we will be having many meals with our interstate visitors, it is highly likely that a lot of these meals will not be conducive to my health journey. For this reason, I will be trying to determine what each meal will be over the Easter days so I can decide if they meet my healthy eating requirements or if I need to prep my meal before and either cook at their home or take it so it can be heated there.

I know this is not very social, but that is irrelevant.
My family will understand that my health is more important than eating what other people eat.


Strategy 4 - Maintain my current morning walk regime to six days a week for one hour.
I know from reviewing the last few months of my journey, that I can and will lose over one kilo a week if I eat follow my meal plan precisely and walk for one hour, six days a week.
If I want success, I need to maintain what has previously worked.

For this reason, I will commit to my morning walk regime six days a week, including Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.


Strategy 5 - Maintain my resistance band workouts four to five days a week.
As above, I know from history that I can and will lose over one kilo a week if I perform my resistance band workouts.

For this reason, I will commit to my resistance band workouts as every other week.

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So there we go guys.
Hopefully this will give you some ideas on surviving Easter.
Enjoy your time with family and friends and I hope you all have an awesome holiday break .

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I'd love to hear from you, so please join my Facebook community page where we can support and motivate each other.

The Facebook group is closed, which means that only members can see who is in it and what they post. Nothing you post will be seen by anyone publicly, outside of the group.

Social media presence - 
Just search for - OzHealthJourney - in YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

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So c'mon and join me on my journey, I look forward to connecting with you via -

Facebook - @HealthJourneyOz - https://www.facebook.com/HealthJourneyOz

Instagram - @HealthJourneyOz - https://www.instagram.com/healthjourneyoz

Don't forget to like, share and comment on the YouTube videos !

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