If you told me a week ago that i would be HAPPILY having Black coffee i would of laughed in your face! 

But here i am up at 6am having black coffee with no sugar.

I didn't think i could do this way of eating but i have to be honest and tell you that i have enjoyed the whole process! There is a lot more cooking involved but it makes you really plan out each meal and the one thing hubby and i have noticed is that we don't have to snack in between meals.

I thought the cutting out of milk and sugar would be the deal breaker but we have found substitutes for milk which have been Almond milk in our coffees and coconut milk in our smoothies. 

One thing i have been notorious for is not having breakfast and i would find if i did have any breakfast i would be hungry at 10 am anyway but on this food plan i have realised it is all about eating the right food. Cereal just doesnt cut it but having a morning frittata or Kumera hashbrowns and eggs makes a huge difference.

Lunches have been a challenge especially in the first few days but once we got into routine we realised that having left over dinner was the key.  

Dinners were a breeze as we usually eat that way normally.

We have still been doing our training as well nothing has changed. I did feel very light headed on Saturday morning when i was at Fun n Fitness and i realised it was because i had no breakfast.  (i used to have no breakfast before training as it used to make me feel sick) So now i know i will need to eat at least a banana before training.

So after a week Hubby and i hopped on the scales and were blown away with our results

Hubby       3kg Loss
ME            2.4kg Loss 

Bring on Week 2!

 
 
We started off with a kick and a roar.... thats right Coffee in the morning.

Photo above is our breakfast. We made a smoothie with our breakfast today because on the first day we were a bit peckish and it made staying on track harder.
That worked out great because i wasn't hungry til lunch.

Both Hubby and i are feeling great. We thought we would really struggle but both of us are doing fine.

Miss 12 on the other hand (who isnt doing this eating programme) is a little upset that there is no Pudding!  We have made a deal that we have pudding once a week (in the past it would be every 2 days)  Of course she feels we are Killing her with no pudding!

Hubby jumped out of bed this morning and weighed himself... he has lost weight. I wont say how much as i will reveal at the end of the week. but lets just say he is one HAPPY Camper!

The only thing that is a little hard is that i have to think ahead and plan our meals. There is alot more cooking involved (thankfully i have a new job and have more time)  Hubby is stoked as i have to cook more (he used to cook most meals) . Though i have planned the meals and i make at least two meals out of one so that i am not cooking for hours every night.

Both Hubby and Miss 12 have enjoyed the snacks i  have baked for them. There is nothing like homemade meals to make your family happy.




 
 
I couldn't sleep last night. I was very nervous. Its silly really but the thought of not having my morning coffee was driving me crazy. I don't think i could cope so i was up late and when i woke up i was seriously in a bad way.... you know those mornings where you cant focus and everything is still blurry!

So my first move was to have a coffee...... with Milk and Sugar  (not a great start) 

With my beautiful coffee Zapping me awake and making me functional i was able to have our first breakfast.

I made Kumera and Courgette Hasbrowns with bacon and eggs on the side!  It was beautiful! 

Lunch was roasted veges with salad.

With this morning coffee disaster i decided to head out and try to find better coffee and Almond milk..... With both on board i rushed home and heated up our coffee to give it a whirl. Both jason and i stood in the kitchen putting our coffee together and slowly we both attempted it.................... No sugar and with Almond milk and we both said " hmmm nutty" It was a funny moment.

So now that our coffee situation is solved we are heading toward dinner like a steam train and we are having Chicken with salad and Cauliflower mash ( i have heard many people rave about this so i am giving it a try tonight)


So day one was a rocky start but we came out on TOP! 

 
 
I have been trying so hard to lose weight. Last year i was counting calories and it drove me nuts! All i would do all day was think about food and how many calories each item had.

Then at the beginning of the year i decided to try Weight Watchers. I have lost weight on WW before but this time i struggled. I think the whole keeping track was doing my head in. So i stopped and since then i haven't lost any weight.

My personal trainer had been telling me about Paelo for a few months but i refused to take it up... it just looked too stressful but over the last month i have been talking to others in the community online and have found so many people that have benefited in this way of lifestyle.

What is a Paleo diet?
Mother Nature has provided us humans with Natural Foods for human consumption. The natural foods are basic to the human biology and digestive system. Natural foods are what make us healthier and maintain a proper weight level. This is the basic philosophy of Paleo Diet.
These natural basic foods are what make up The Paleo Diet. This diet is based on foods designed by nature not a food processing plant or chemical lab. Fatty foods with preservatives and chemicals are not what the human body is designed to eat.. It is getting back to the basic foods our bodies are designed to eat. This diet restores your energy, creates a healthier body and strengthen the immune system. 



NO SUGAR, NO DAIRY, NO PASTA, NO RICE, NO BREAD, NO GRAINS......NO NO NO

Both my husband and i are going to try this. So i will keep you up to date on how we go.

So anyone who has done Paelo please let me know. Any food ideas are great appreciated. 

 
 
Lately our community has been plagued with issues, especially with being amalgamated into Auckland City. 

We are a small community and we are tightly interwoven together and so Micheal Goudie and i thought it was time to bring some FUN back into the Community....... After a long brain storm we came up with the idea of The Hibiscus Coast Treasure hunt!

This Treasure Hunt will be for all the coasties. Anyone on the coast can enter. Firstly you will have to be a member of the Hibiscus Coast Group Page  and you will have to gather your team together. 

This treasure hunt will be over a course of 4 weeks.  Keep an eye out as we will be launching our first clue in 2 weeks!

Keep an eye out for the next Video which will have all the instructions on how to proceed.

If you are a business on the Coast and you want to get involved please email me at PaulineStockhausen@gmail.com





 
 
 
 
As you have watched i am doing Weight watches this year to help me on my weight loss journey.

I will still be working out with my personal trainer as well as attending Fun and Fitness bootcamp and Zumba. I still have my goal of completing the Taupo Bike challenge. 

My ultimate goal is to lose 30 kilos this year! SO BRING IT ON!!!

 
 
Everyone is talking about a doco that was on tv tonight which show cased Child Poverty in NZ.

Talk about eye opener!

Alot of people are focusing on the people living in the houses,  how many children they each had etc.......... no one is really talking about the state of the houses.

Cold, damp with black mold on the ceiling,  walls and window cills.  The question i want to know is are these privately owned houses or are these the government houses?

If they are government housing then i would expect them to be at least insulated! Just your basic living..... houses in general should not be built without insulation. 

This made me start thinking about Government housing. obviously the people who live there need too. They can just afford the basics.

The houses are built for people who cant afford much and yet i see the land around the houses are usually barren.

Here is my idea.

Goverment houses should all have fruit tree's established on them!  Imagine living in poverty in a state owned house,  not having much food but being able to go into your own back yard and have a feed of the fruit that has grown.

I grew up raiding our fruit trees. weeks and weeks of plums, apples, grapes and fijoias. This not only saves parents a bit of money but it also helps children get their fruit intake.

Even in public places like a park having a section of fruit trees for the kids. of course this would be hard to manage but wouldnt it be magnificent being able to play at a park and then grab some peaches before heading home.

This is inline of having a community garden,  which i am sure is a huge undertaking as gardens need alot of work.

What about schools, schools could have fruit trees?

Oh i could go on..... no child should go hungry,  live in sub standard houses especially in a country like New Zealand. I feel ashamed to say i am a New Zealander for this one fact.

What ever government gets in i hope they take this seriously. 




 
 
Well my year is up. In 5 days i will be doing my first huge event.

I have had many challenges,  my biggest has been myself!

I joined the gym in February with my best friend. Its crazy now that i think about it but i wouldnt go to the gym if she wasnt going. If i found out she couldnt make it i refused to go. How silly. Now of course i just go to the gym without thinking about it.

After a few months and small weight loss i decided to try out a Personal Trainer.  I hired Laurinda and learnt my very first session two important things

1. I wasnt working out hard enough the last few months.
2. She is tough and doesn't put up with my bullshit..

Im a complainer............ i would complain about everything! i have no idea how she put up with me. i am pretty sure she dreaded those earlier appointments. i complained and had excuses!

What finally snapped me into place was her telling me if i continued she would fire me as a client!
I couldn't believe it..... Fire me! Who does she think she is..... she couldnt fire me!
It was the fire in my belly i needed. to be fired would be a huge failure and something inside me just clicked and i complained alot less.... 

Laurinda built me up,  helped me achieve small goals and she was tough the whole way through. The best thing i ever did was hiring her and though we now have become good friends,  i would be lost without her. Even though Taupo is in 5 days i have already planned a triathlon in Feburary. Laurinda is doing it with me and we will start our training again 

I havent finished. Taupo is the first step to a healthier me.

Another person who has been there by my side is my husband. He has supported me on my journey and even decided a few months back to jump in and join in! it has been an amazing journey having him along side me. He is a great motivator and he has discovered his love for biking. 

Doing this Journey with him has made us closer,  i didnt think we could get closer.

Without these two people in my life i dont think i could of got through the year. 

And here i am  5 days out and i may not complete the race but that is not the focus. The focus is doing it and next year i will smash what ever i do this year.






 

 
 

When a child is born,  they have a strong cup filled to the brim. Full. 

As years go by and that child gets older situations around them knock the cup around. 
 All big situations effect the cup. 

Parents divorce ............... The cup chips
Parents fight.......................The cup chips

Each chip can be healed with love,  patience,  understanding and time. The liquid inside the cup can be replaced. Chips can be fixed. 

Parent beats child................... The cup cracks
Parent tortures child.................The cup cracks

Parent sexually abuses child.................The cup smashes.

The child cannot fill the cup because every time they try the liquid leaks out. 

There is nothing more painful in a child's life than having a cup that is smashed. A child doesn't have the tools to fix their own cup. 

When i child has nothing  inside the cup they feel lost. They dont know who they are. They have no trust. They are empty and they spend the rest of their life trying to fix the cup and fill it.

As they grow they try different ways to fix the cup,  some try to stick a plaster,  some try to buy a new cup........... but nothing but healing slowly will heal the cup.

Some heal but no crack is fully fixed. Sexual abuse leaves the cup weakened........... the joins can get stronger but there is always bits that never heal.

Sexual abuse is Rampant in New Zealand.  It is a silent killer......... it kills souls~