Wedding Countdown

One month until we fly out for Fiji.
Thirty four days until my wedding.
4 kg to lose!

Ok, I will admit that I'm becoming a little self-obsessed as the date of my wedding to my beloved Glen Fox approaches. I think I can proudly state that I have managed to avoid any 'bridezilla' moments - even while dealing with Glen's recalcitrant and somewhat heartless tailor (who asked him to try on a shirt that was at least two sizes too small for him!) - but I finally made it back to the Breathe last night after the month-I'd-rather-forget and weighed myself on their scales.... 59 kg exactly!
Now, that might not seem too bad, except I'm only 157cm tall and would like to sit around 55 - 56kg normally. That is what I weighed when I first tried on my gorgeous wedding dress and cried in front of the mirror in The Babushka Ballerina because I couldn't believe I would be able to wear such a beautiful thing.
I'd like to look like that on November 3rd, 2014 when I walk onto that beach and Glen sees me in that dress. So, indulge me my self-obsession for the next 34 days as I endeavour to shed those extra four kilos and re-tone my abs and thighs so I can proudly wear not only my wedding dress but also my bikini!

I'm not going to beat myself up too much but to analyse how I ended up finding a few extra kilos, let's just say being vegan doesn't preclude me from eating delicious desserts and cakes! September, as I have already alluded, has been a bit of a shit. We started the month with a funeral - and that kind of set the scene. We thought we would end that day on a happy note so told our neighbours about the wedding that night. Mixed emotions followed though as they were happy for us but not so pleased we had kept it a secret since December 26th, 2013! I had a call from my Dad two days later letting me know that my grandmother had passed away the previous evening. That Friday, Glen flew to Vienna for a conference and passed out on the plane, so I spent the week wondering whether he was going to come home to me. I put the ceremony programmes together for both funerals and that, coupled with a bout of the doldrums meant that I ran out of energy and just couldn't bring myself to face the gym or even my favourite Zama Yoga classes. 

Add into this mix a commitment I had previously made to host a girl's night while Glen was overseas which involved two days of frenzied cooking of vegan delicacies like Margarita cupcakes, Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcakes, cream cheese, soy yogurt, mock cream, maple syrup-flavoured cashew cream, involtini, maple and ginger toasted almonds, banana bread, molasses and ginger cakes, Caprice salad tarts, freshly baked sour dough bread, 'cheesy' scones and zucchini muffins (I'm sure there was more!). Then, of course, after cooking all this delicious food I had to sample it didn't I? Wash this all down on the night with pink lavender lemonade (bubbles supplied by sparkling wine) and Sangria.... hello 4 kg!

So, as of today, the left-over cake has been moved to the deep-freeze where I won't see it every time I open the fridge and I will be planning a healthy, portion-controlled eating regime to accompany a fairly strict exercise programme.

Progress so far
Today I accomplished the following;

• collected 2 loads of water from the pump station
• cut back 1 purple tussock grass so it can re-shoot before our family barbecue on 15th November
• collected 1 wheelbarrow full of weeds from the native gardens
• removed 1 wheelbarrow of waste from the vegetable patch
• Zumba abs workout
• 4 loads of washing
• re-designed my blog

Today I ate the following;

• 1/2 cup oats + gluten-free cereal with 4 blueberries picked from our garden and a small amount of fat-free soy milk
• 1 piece of wholegrain toast with a smear of nut spread (Brazil, almond, cashew)
• 1/4 cup mixed dried fruit & nuts
• oven-baked vegan-friendly Vegie Delights not-burger patti with steamed carrot, beans and broccoli
• chocolate protein shake made with 200ml fat-free soy milk, 2 tbsp home made soy yogurt, 1 tbsp Nature's Way Instant Natural Protein (chocolate) powder (no animal products).
• felafel and salad wrap
• 2 fresh medjool dates

I drank water, 2 cups of black tea with soy milk and 1 cup of coffee. 

The plan is to weigh myself once a week at the gym and give a daily update of my progress. I know this won't really interest anybody else, but it will help me stay accountable.

Let's see how I go!