Shrinking Lily

Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

Have spent the afternoon cooking for the week and thought I would write up my chicken tortilla soup.  I fell in love with this soup whilst in San Diego and then in Mexico last year.  One back in Melbourne I played around with it and now it is my go to soup which I love! 

Ingredients: (fills my slow cooker)

• 4 chicken thighs
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• I can of crushed tomatoes
• 2 chopped fresh tomatoes
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 mild green chilli
• 1 can of sweetened corn
• 1 can of four bean mix
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped coriander
• 1 1/2 packs of taco seasoning mix
• Sour cream
• Tortilla chips 

Combine chicken, corn, beans, tomatoes, taco mix, broth, onions, garlic, salt, and pepper into slow cooker and cook for 6 hours.  Then take the chicken out and pull it with a fork until it it is shredded.  Throw the chicken back in and cook for another 1-2 hours.  

Then serve with chopped coriander on top, break up some tortilla chips and top with sour cream. 

Deleted photos and lazy weigh in but still I am here

So about four weeks ago I deleted the before pics off my phone. Decided that I am me and do not have to be the girl who lost half of her body weight but can just be lily.

So all goes well and then Xmas comes and the opposite to what used to happen happens. I used to put on weight every Xmas. Now this Xmas that would have been ok as I am on the thin side. Instead I lose weight. I jumped on the scales at 50.8kgs today which throws me in underweight. I know it is due to forgetting to eat multiple times a day and being out of routine but grrr I just want to scream. Why can’t this just be easy? Why do I now battle to put on weight? It is some cruel trick my body plays on me.

So from now it is back to multiple small meals a day and focussing on eating well.

The journey “battle” continues

Tagged: weight losslapbanddietfat

Goal reached - 5 kilograms put on

Yes strange post I know.  I have been battling to put on weight recently and dropped down to 49kgs which had me underweight.  I wanted to put on weight through strength not just through crap and fat.  So I started Krav Maga and upped my dairy and slow slowed down my eating.  Andrew also helped reminding me to slow down and eat more but slower.  

Today I can say I am back to 54kgs and healthy weight again.  Bring on further strength and muscle!  

Yearly check up

So today I got my yearly blood results back.  For no real apparent reason I was more worried about these.  I have copped a lot of flack from a decent amount of people for being *too thin* and how unhealthy this is.  I guess this stuck with me and had me expecting the worst when it came to bloods.  So I put off the blood tests for 2 months but bit the bullet Friday and then spent a bit of the weekend playing out risk assessment scenarios around anemia, high cholesterol etc.  You name it I googled it :0) 

It was obviously playing on my mind as I mentioned it in a work meeting today and someone said to me “surely you would know within yourself if you were not well?’ and in hindsight they were right.  My surgeon rang me and had a giggle about my paranoia.  All my tests came back not just fine but improved on last night.  My iron levels were low but higher than last time, cholesterol was slightly lower, the only issue was a slight vitamin D deficiency where it is 68 and normal levels are 75.  This news made me beam for a few reasons:

1. I get to once again reinforce to people that thin doesn’t mean unhealthy the same as overweight doesn’t automatically mean the same.  I am so over comments about being thin and thus sickly.  I am healthier than I have ever been, I have more energy, had no illness and feel great yet more and more people seem to feel it is their duty to tell me how unhealthy being thin is. 
2. I get to relax and focus on my goals of increased strength without worrying about diet deficiencies.
3. It is a good reminder to take iron and get some more sunlight for Vitamin D

So today I got to celebrate and it was a wonderful reinforcement on why I do not predict situations and play scenarios out in my head.  Whatever happens happens and as long as you know yourself well then all will be fine :)  

Tagged: weightlossdietexercisefathealth

Why I chose Krav and an update of course

Long time no post! If it is any positive I have had less time on the couch and more time exercising so my blog has not fallen to extra TV watching.  The last two weeks I have been playing health checkup catch up.  Been to dentist (all good) doctors and blood tests (results pending) however I feel great.  However due to increased activity I have still been losing weight.  Today I went in to see my doctor to have another .25ml out of my band as weight hit a new low of 49kgs.  I want to be up at the 55kg mark so this was an important visit.  He wasn’t too worried but just wanted me to be wary that my new increased activity means increased food intake so make sure I eat.

Increased activity I say? Yes well I have started Tactical Krav Maga and after my first week I can say I am loving it in spite of the bruises.  What the you might ask?  Tactical Krav Maga provides you with the skills to protect yourself against common real scenarios. For me it provides that perfect mix of usefulness and fitness.  The fitness aspect is not enough for me anymore, I already am relatively fit but what use would that be if I was attacked besides being able to run?  I felt the need to mix my fitness with useful skills in defending myself.  So far I love where I learn at Guardian Defence in Brunswick for a few reasons the main one being it is not a female only environment.  I never really understood female only self defence as chances are if I ever was in a situation where I needed to defend myself there would be at least a 50/50 chance I might be up against a male.  

So tonight I am off again to Krav class albiet with some ripper bruises on my shins but I welcome any questions you have about this or about the band. 

A woman’s week at the gym - source unknown

Oh how I relate to this :)

Dear Diary,

For my birthday this year, my husband gave me some money so I purchased a week of personal training at the local health club. Although I am still in great shape since being a Baseball cheerleader about 20 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try.
I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Christo, who identified himself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear. Friends seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.
________________________________
MONDAY:
Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Christo waiting for me. He is something of a Greek god— with blond hair, dancing eyes, and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!!
Christo gave me a tour and showed me the machines… I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring!
Christo was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!!
________________________________
TUESDAY:
I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Christo made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. His rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT! It’s a whole new life for me.
_______________________________
WEDNESDAY:
The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn’t try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot.
Christo was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members.. His voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning and when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying.
My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Christo put me on the stair monster. Why would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Christo told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. He said some other crap too.
_______________________________
THURSDAY:
Butt face was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn’t help being a half an hour late— it took me that long to tie my shoes.
He took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom. He sent some skinny witch to find me.
Then, as punishment, he put me on the rowing machine— which I sank
_________________________________
FRIDAY:
I hate that jackass Christo more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic, anorexic, little aerobic instructor. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it.
Christo wanted me to work on my triceps. I don’t have any triceps! And if you don’t want dents in the floor, don’t hand me the darn barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich.
The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn’t it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?
________________________________
SATURDAY:
Satan left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing his voice made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel..
________________________________
SUNDAY:
I’m having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my husband will choose a gift for me that is fun— like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!

Tagged: fitnessgymweightlossdiet

Scales and catch up

Apologies for the lack of posting. I suppose it has been a good internal sign I stopped blogging and a bad one. The good part was for about 11 weeks now I haven’t looked at the scales except for one doctors appointment. I am blogging today because well I succumbed to the temptation of it all and got batteries for the scales today. 53.8kgs this is good it is nearly 4 kgs up and it was a good mental reminder that I am not 80kgs like I feel Somedays.

Will write some more this week but thought I would say hi.