My vegan failure.

Hey guys!

It’s almost dinner time here and I’m only posting now because I spent the day, again, helping my brother and future sister in law, getting things ready. I saw their new apartment for the first time! It’s pretty neat (the owners made some changes so a lot of it is new) and a bit small, but they’re just renting and it’s just the two of them so it’s more than enough. We basically brought almost all of their stuff. Hard work!

I finally have the shoes I’ll be wearing to the wedding and omg, they’re the most beautiful shoes I’ve ever had. Most expensive too. I’ll have to take pictures to show it to you. Also bought a new coat (I really needed it though, everything I have is huge on me and it makes me look frumpy!) and it’s so pretty and I’m kind of in love with it. Pictures to come!

Today’s food…

Well, let me just start by saying that I really loved Michelles’ and Katys’ idea for Vegan 4 A Day challenge. I really intended to be vegan for the day. And then I failed miserably. But we’ll get to that.

Here’s yesterday’s lunch. It was actually leftovers. There’s some potato, egg, veggies, fish and of course, tomato and onion salad.

My snack was 3 small toasts with queijo fresco and some tea. Also some chestnuts. My god, I can’t resist them…

Dinner was some soup, an apple, 3 toasts with queijo fresco (so original) and two squares of chocolate.

This morning I was all excited because of the Vegan for a day challenge. I used almond milk for the first time!

Yummy banana oatmeal. Always awesome and delicious. Is it me or cow milk is sweeter than almond milk? I didn’t try it by itself so I could be mistaken.

Lunch was stir fry with veggies and seitan and tomato+onion salad.

And that’s where the fail begins. For about a minute I completely forgot about the challenge. I was thinking “What should I have for dessert….”. I was craving something sweet. And guess what I had for dessert? Low fat pineapple yogurt. LOL Yeah, as vegan as they come, right? I put a spoon in my mouth, and it tasted so gooood… and then it was like OH NOES NOT VEGAN ALERT ALERT ALERT. But yeah. I totally ate that yogurt.

I’ll complete the challenge another day because now I REALLY WANT TO DO IT. Failure is not an option!

Anyway, then the afternoon was spent carrying stuff, etc. I had an apple, a walnut, two squares of chocolate. Then my dad came home and brought some roasted chestnuts with him… of course I had like 4 or 5 ahaha
I still don’t know what I’ll have for dinner but probably something quick and convenient because we’re all pretty tired!

Here’s today’s photo of the day! This is my brother and my future sister in law! Very appropriate, I think, since the last few days have been pretty much about getting everything ready for their wedding. This was from their engagement photoshoot. I really like it because they’re so natural and happy.

Hope you’re all having an awesome day!
Cya tomorrow!

I’m back!

Hey everybody!

I can’t believe I haven’t updated in so long! Truth is, the last few days have been a bit busy and crazy. My brother is getting married next saturday so we’re now dealing with last minute details and planning. I wasn’t home almost all weekend, monday was a little crazy and stressing too and yesterday I went to the gym to have a session with the PT and spent all afternoon resting because I really needed it. And the gym killed me, you have no idea. I wasn’t in a great mood and that makes it harder to have a good workout, in my experience. I get really frustrated and pissed off when I can’t do stuff. Pissed off/frustrated with myself, of course.

My eating has been ok. Not awesome and super clean because I’m sort of “blah” most of the time. Can you tell I’m in a great mood? Hmhm.

I’ve also been feeling bloated and haven’t been eating as much veggies as I’d like, but I’ll try to make some changes the rest of the week because I really like the way I feel when I’m eating good foods and more balanced meals.

I haven’t been taking pics of all my meals but I want to get into it again, starting now.

I did take some photos the last few days so here they are.

Veggies and sweet potato.

Oatmeal. Sans banana. It’s good, too!

Simple lunch.

Octopus rice. It’s a portuguese thing. And delicious.

This morning I had a banana oatmeal. With some honey and cinnamon. Holy deliciousness.

That’s it for now. I’ve been reading your blogs but haven’t been great at commenting. I’ll do some of that today.

To make up for the fact that I was away for so long, I’ll share several pics I took during the summer. I think you’ll enjoy them. These were all taken in Portugal.

Have a great wednesday!

Friday the 13th!

Happy friday the 13th everybody!

First of all, let me just say THANK YOU for your comments on yesterday’s post! Everybody’s so nice… It’s times like these I’m thankful I started my blog to share my journey and hopefully inspire/be inspired by other people. You’re all inspiring in one way or another, that’s for sure.

Anywaaaay, yesterday my eats were nothing special. Lunch was fish and green beans, snack was cereal and milk and dinner was two eggs with tomato and toast (and a piece of dark chocolate, cof cof). Very creative, yes? No.
And I’m not that inspired today either. Breakfast was…. cereal and milk.

(This is totally a recycled photo. But it was just like that! Except in a bowl.)

I also snacked a lot. Handful of nuts (walnuts and almonds) and a lot of fruit. It’s just one of those days… but hey, at least it was fruit.

I got something in the mail that I didn’t show you yesterday because I thought the post was already pretty long. One thing I dont really talk about in this blog is my love of music. I wish I had some talent for it… But anyway, I got a package in the mail…

I don’t know if you already know who they are… but let me introduce you to The Strokes, one of my fav bands ever. I was so happy to get this in the mail, you have no idea. I still have to listen to the CD and the vynil (yep, I have a record player in my room) and watch the DVD but I’m sure it will be EPIC.

What’s your fav band?

Back to the food….

Lunch was nothing special. Just some toast with blueberry jam and a cup of tea. My stomach was a bit upset with me (too much food in the morning?) so this was the ideal meal.

That’s it for now.

And finally, here is today’s photo of the day!

No, he’s not mine. His name is Mingau and he belongs to a friend.

Hope you’re having a great day!

This is the before.

Hello everybodyyy!

Can’t believe I missed another day of blogging. Yesterday was such a weird day. I woke up really early, made my awesome delicious oatmeal and went to the doctor.
Well, I have good news! Kinda. I brought all the exams I had done to the gynecologist and she said that everything’s ok! I’m healthy and even my thyroid and hormones are normal. So apparently, the not-having-my-period-for-months thing is simply because… my body’s a little freaked out!
That’s right. The fact that I didn’t really exercise before and that I’ve lost a lot of weight has caused my body to freak out a little.. but everything’s ok. I’m healthy and so relieved.

I was supposed to go to the gym, I even had my gym bag with me but I got out of the doctor pretty late and I was so close to my mother’s work that I stopped by to tell her the good news. She asked me if I wanted to wait a bit so we could have lunch together. Of course I did. The food kinda sucked but just spending some time with my mom was worth it.

The rest of the day was spent running errands and working.

Today for breakfast I made oatmeal again (I’m obsessed!).

I went to the gym, came home and started looking for some photos I had on my external hard drive (one of them…).
I came across some old photos of mine and since I’d told you I was going to do a before and after post I started looking for more. So this is it.

September 2007 (Forget the fact that they’re crappy photos).

I was SO surprised when I saw these. It’s like… Who is that person? This was around the time I started my weight loss journey. I was miserable. Miserable. I felt horrible in my own skin.

October 2007

A month later, I’d already dropped some pounds. And look, I STILL HAD BOOBS.

December 2007

These were taken in the school’s photo studio. Filipa and I were working on a project but, of course, we had some fun and took photos of each other too.

I look at these photos and I just remember how insecure this person was. It makes me really sad that I’ve felt like that and I really do not wish it on anybody.

Don’t get me wrong, that Diana knew how to have fun…

and she smiled…

but she was not happy with herself.

Fast forward to November, 2008.

April, 2009.

June, 2009.

July, 2009.

October, 2009.

And October 28th, 2009.

This is the only full body photo I have right now, it’ll have to do. (I’m totally thinking about having a photoshoot soon. Yes?)

You see, two years. Was this a long journey or what? And I’m still improving everyday. For me, honestly, now it isn’t so much about weight loss. I am at a healthy weight (59kg) for my height (1,64m). I just want to be fit now. I’ve been going to the gym for two months and let me tell you… I haven’t lost a whole lot of weight but I’ve already dropped a pant size. This is pretty amazing, I think. I also feel stronger and I HAVE MUSCLES. I lift weights and every week I challenge myself with heavier ones. Don’t get me wrong, I still have a lot of progress to make… but who doesn’t? Slowly but surely… I will get there. And I’ll keep challenging myself, even after that.

I’m always saying that I still feel like that fat girl and it’s weird not being overweight anymore. Well, after analyzing these photos I came to this conclusion… eff that. Seriously. All of that nonsense.
I’ve worked for this, I’ve worked VERY HARD for this. I’m not like that anymore. I don’t feel like I felt then, I’m comfortable… And I know why I felt weird. Because I’ve always loathed myself. I really did. So I was not used to not hating myself. But I don’t, now. Because I fought for this, and let me tell you… it was worth it.

If you feel like I did then… please don’t stop trying.

Diana wants to cook!

Hey everybody!

I didn’t post yesterday because, honestly, when I got home from the gym I was just exhausted! But let’s start from the beggining…

Breakfast was a weetabix biscuit + plain yogurt. I also had some almonds and walnuts.

I had another session with the PT. We (I!) did the usual weight lifting (heavier and heavier weights, I swear he wants to kill me ahah), and a bit of cardio. Yesterday’s workout novelty was the fact that I started running. Intervals on the treadmill. Nothing spectacular but you gotta start somewhere, I guess. Overall I felt great, my arms were BURNING and my legs are pretty sore today. I really love feeling like I had a great workout.

After the gym I came home and had a quick lunch because it was almost 2pm and even though I wasn’t starving I knew I had to eat something.

Leftover squash + LC and a tomato with a bit of olive oil. It isn’t the most good looking lunch, sorry about that. It was definitely yummy though.

Also had a bit of soup.

And 3 chestnuts (Oh the willpower I had to have to stop at 3. I was proud!).

Snack was blackberry yogurt + weetabix biscuit + banana. It hit the spot!

I didn’t take a photo of dinner but it was grilled turkey with a salad.
Also, look what we bought a couple of weeks ago:

Yeah, we’re crazy. I still haven’t tried it, my father did. But I may try it soon, while I drink some coffee. I hear it’s the best way.

Anyway, today I woke up extra early (6am) and I was huuungry. I spent half an hour in bed thinking what I’d eat and didn’t come to any conclusions. I got up and went to the kitchen to see if I had a brilliant idea. It was pretty cold and I knew I wasn’t in the mood for yogurt or cold milk so I knew what had to be done. Yeah, you guessed it. Oatmeal!

Oats + water + milk + small banana (not as ripe as it should be but whatever) + a bit of honey + cinnamon
I later added some nuts and flaxseed.

This was AWESOME. Oh my god, it tasted so good.
A few hours later I had a pear. And now I’m thinking about lunch. We’ll see.

Guys, I need your help!
I have a tub of greek yogurt that needs to be used! So, does anyone know of a recipe (cookies or a cake or whatever you can think of!) that I can make using that yogurt? I’d prefer to keep it simple because I’m such a noob when it comes to cooking/baking.

Well that’s it for now. I’m feeling productive today (and sore) so I’m going to stay home and finish some wedding photos and other business stuff. Also, I have to say this, I am SO GLAD you like my photos. Seriously, your comments make me smile so much.

Here’s today’s photo of the day:

Taken on a very cold day at the beach.

Hope you all have a great tuesday!

Introducing the squash…

Hope everybody’s having a great sunday! Today was a typical sunday for me. It’s raining outside so I just stayed inside and found ways to keep myself busy.

The rest of yesterday’s eats weren’t spectacular. I ate another sandwich in the afternoon and in the evening weetabix and milk. Yeah, sucks, I know.

Today’s breakfast was coffee and milk and bread + blueberry jam. Guess who’s not eating bread for the next couple of days? I ate way more than I’m used to, this weekend. It makes me feel really full and bloated and I hate feeling like this. Who doesn’t? I love bread but I definitely need a break from it. I also ate a pear some hours after breakfast (didn’t take a photo).

Lunch was butternut squash and a stuffed portobello mushroom. Pretty awesome. It was my first time eating butternut squash like this (I only had it in soups before) and I liked it! I have to find more ways to cook it.

This is my mom cutting it in half (it was hard!)

We just randomly added spices we thought would be good

Veggie mix to stuff the portobello.

The final product!

Dessert was a clementine!

I had a snack at about 5pm. A pear and an apple.

Dinner was soup (yummy) and chestnuts! The chestnuts were even better than last week’s! And there’s leftoveeeeers. Guess who’s eating them tomorrow?

And that’s it! Well, this weekend was pretty indulgent (I ate a lot of stuff just because I felt like it and not because I was hungry) so for the next couple of weeks and until my brother’s wedding (November 21st) I’ll try to keep things simple and healthy. That’s how I feel best.

Hope you’re having a great sunday. I’m going to watch the rest of a movie (totally paused it because I felt like blogging!) and then it’s time to sleep.

Here’s today’s picture of the day. Just to clarify, I took all these photos I’ve been posting (and will keep posting). I do it because I like to show people what I do and I think it helps keep things a bit more interesting.

See you tomorrow ya’ll.

No risk, no reward.

Hey everybody. Happy saturday!

Yesterday after posting and a few hours after I had lunch I totally ate a nive big sandwich with turkey ham + queijo fresco. Man, I was craving the carbs!

I think I also had fruit at one point, probably a pear. Or a plum? I don’t know ahah
Dinner was pretty simple. Some whole wheat pasta + turkey.

It was ok, definitely not spectacular though.

Today’s breakfast was huge. I don’t usually eat breakfast sandwiches during the week, but you know, it’s the weekend and my parents and I had breakfast together. That’s whole wheat bread + turkey ham and coffee + milk. It’d been a while since I drank one of these.. So good.

We went grocery shopping, I didn’t really buy anything new or different this time. It was just the usual suspects (fruit + veggies + cereal, etc).
Lunch was baked sweet potato (SO GOOD), a mix of veggies + a piece of chicken. I also ate a pear about one hour before lunch time. This lunch was reaaally good. I’m full now. Borderline stuffed but not really.

I really have to get some work done today (photo editing) though I’m really dreading it. But whatever. It has to be done.

I’m also preparing some future posts! There will be a “before and after” post, I just have to find some old photos. Also, some people have been asking about my photography and what I do to take my photos/what camera I use/how I edit them, so I’m working on doing a post about that.

Here’s today’s picture. Filipa’s tattoo. No risk, no reward. I think that’s an awesome motto.

Have a great saturday!

Orange tree!

Hey everybody! Happy friday

Finally, finally, the weekend. Not that my weekends are veeeeeery eventful, but I love spending time with my loved ones (who doesn’t?). I actually have work to do this weekend, I have to finish editing some wedding photos. Not very fun, but I really need to get it done.

Lunch yesterday was leftover bean burger, whole wheat bread with queijo fresco and tomato and lettuce salad. I wasn’t feeling very creative, can you tell?

It was good and kept me satisfied though, that’s what matters.

Mid afternoon snack was a big apple.

Dinner was a bit of fish and green beans (with some olive oil for flavor, otherwise it’d be a little boring).

Today breakfast was 2 weetabix biscuits + low fat milk. Also, some walnuts and almonds.
I went to the gym with Filipa, this time we went swimming for 40 minutes. Swimming really tires me! And then we spent 5/10 minutes on the jacuzzi talking. Ahah Awesome.

Lunch was not so good.

Apple with a plain yogurt and cinnamon. I made this and started eating it… but I wasn’t feeling it. So I gave up (I ate about half of it, more or less) and had a slice of bread + queijo fresco and a square of dark chocolate.

My afternoon will be spent catching up on tv shows and whatnot. Sounds pretty good, right?

Before I show you the pic of the day, Beth @ Dining and Dishing nominated me for the “Over the Top Blog” award.
Thank you Beth!

The rules? Answer the following questions in one word:

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Your hair? long
3. Your mother? best
4. Your father? funny
5. Your favorite food? homemade
6. Your dream last night? none
7. Your favorite drink? water
8. Your dream/goal? happiness
9. What room are you in? bedroom
10. Your hobby? blogging
11. Your fear? bugs!
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? N/A
13. Where were you last night? home
14. Something that you aren’t? unhappy
15. Muffins? yummy
16. Wish list item? clothes
17. Where did you grow up? lisbon
18. Last thing you did? lunch
19. What are you wearing? pyjamas!
20. Your TV? off
21. Your pets? none
22. Friends? awesome
23. Your life? good
24. Your mood? ok
25. Missing someone? nop
26. Vehicle? train
27. Something you’re not wearing? ring
28. Your favorite store? none
29. Your favorite color? all
30. When was the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? dunno!
32. Your best friend? Filipa
33. One place that I go to over and over? gym
34. One person who emails me regularly? César
35. Favorite place to eat? home!

Omg, some of them were hard to answer!

Here’s today’s picture of the day:

That’s a branch from our orange tree we have on our property in the south of Portugal. There’s two orange trees and we also have a carob tree, a pomegranate tree, an almond tree, etc. That was taken during the summer so obviously the oranges weren’t in season. But it’s pretty cool when someone goes there during the winter and brings home some oranges. They’re great for juice!

Hope you’re having a great friday!

It’s all about the burger!

Good morning!

First of all, thank you so much for your comments and thoughts on my last post. It’s really interesting and helpful reading your opinions.

Second of all, yesterday, inspired by Mama Pea’s recipe I decided to make some black bean burgers. Now, you all know that I’m a horrible cook so I asked my brother for some help (yep, he cooks way better than me ahah) so we did it together.
I modified the recipe a bit, mostly because I didn’t have some of the ingredients at home. The burgers were a bit on the bland side but still yummy. Still, now I know how to make them so next time I can make more modifications. I like this cooking thing.

Here’s how my hand was after I mixed everything together. Can you tell I’m a newbie? Also, the kitchen was A MESS when I was finished ahah

I ate two burgers, just like they’re on the last pic. Open face burgers, yay.
This kept me fullllllll the whole afternoon, needless to say.

I ate an apple at 6pm and then at 9:30pm ate 2 weetabix + low fat milk. Should’ve eaten just soup but I really didn’t feel like it.

Today I ate 1 weetabix biscuit + plain yogurt + a banana. And a plum a few hours later.
I have no idea what lunch will be.

I didn’t go to the gym yesterday and I don’t think I’ll go today too. I feel a little bit guilty about it, but I’ll be there tomorrow.
Maybe I’ll just do some form of exercise here at home today just to feel better.

Here’s today’s picture.

Have a great thursday!

Conflicting feelings.

Hey everybody! Happy Wednesday! This week is going by quickly, which is awesome eheh

So, yesterday I went to the gym, did the usual thing (cardio + weights + cardio + abs + stretch), went to Celeiro (translation: Barn! – > health food store) and bought a couple of new things. I seriously cannot go to that store.. I end up walking around for 15/20 minutes just looking at everything, deciding what I’m gonna buy. Their stores are never big so that’s a lot of time to spend there ahah

I ended up buying some stuff that I’ll show you in a minute.

When I came home I knew I had to eat something because it had been more than 4 hours since I’d eaten. I had half an apple.

After about half an hour it was time for lunch. So really, the apple was the prelude to lunch.

One of the things I bought at the health food store was this loaf of bread.

It’s whole wheat, no salt. Perfect for me. Of course I had to have it for lunch. More like two slices of it.

One triangle of Laughing Cow Light Cheese. First time eating one of these. I’d only tried the regular one when I was young(er) and I wasn’t really a fan. Now, it’s not my fav but I like that they’re little pieces of cheese so there’s not going overboard there.. instant portion control. And they don’t taste bad! So it’s nice to have it around in case I feel like it. Also, a slice of turkey ham.

A bit of leftover spinach soup. It still tastes amazing.

The afternoon was spent in a near comatose state. I was really tired, don’t know why. I just read blogs, commented, watched a couple of TV shows (MAD MEN IS LOVE).

At about 4:30pm it was snack time. I had the other half of that apple and a lemon yogurt. This is so creamy and delicious.

I ate a plum before dinner. I was really craving carbs (you know, REAL CARBS, like bread and stuff ahah) but a plum seemed like a better option.

Dinner was squid and salad.

Om nom nom. I had a bit more squid than that and more salad.

Today’s breakfast was a novelty!

Greek Yogurt with granola and a small sliced banana.

This was a HUGE breakfast for me. It’s been 3 hours since I ate it and I’m not even thinking about a snack. It’s just not happening

Honestly, the greek yogurt was good, pretty good actually. Not amazing though (high expectations, much?). I will probably buy like 1 container per week from now on so I can have it around for a snack (or several, since it’s pretty big). How do you like your greek yogurt, hm?

I think the fact that this granola wasn’t all that didn’t help at all. I’d never tried granola before, btw. It just didn’t taste good to me. I don’t know if it’s because I don’t like granola (I don’t think that’s it) or if it’s because this brand sucks. I’ll keep trying to see if I find a brand that I like. I’m stubborn like that.

Now, I’ve been thinking about something lately.. it’s been on my mind a lot and I wanted to share it with you guys.

A couple of days ago I was on my way to the gym. I catch the train and I’m listening to music, distracted, as I usually am on public transportation.

I then notice a guy is looking at me. Ok, that’s nice, I guess. I always feel a bit uncomfortable when I see that someone’s staring at me but whatever. It’s a bit of an ego booster too so I just try to ignore it. And then, I notice another guy looking at me. Ok. This isn’t very normal…

That’s when I started thinking:

Why are they looking at me now? Why didn’t anybody look at me when I was… 25 pounds heavier for example?

I caught myself thinking that and I came to one conclusion…

I really resent the fact that people treat me differently now that I’m a thin person (more like average, but you know what I mean).

I know it sounds silly but bear with me.

A year ago, those guys would never have looked at me, I know that. And it’s not just that, I mean, I notice it in pretty much everything. People are nicer, in general. And this should be a good thing, and it is, but why now? Am I a different person? I don’t really think so. I’m the same sarcastic, kinda nice kinda not (depends on the time of the day and my general mood, honestly), with a big sense of humor, kinda self conscious and introvert girl. I’m not a social butterfly in the least. Most people think I’m arrogant (am not!) just because I’m not a big talker at first.

So what changed? My appearance.

I know it’s stupid to still hold onto my “former self”. The past is in the past.. But you know, it was a whole life… A whole life of people treating me like shit, of ME treating me like shit because the world treated me like shit. I cannot forget being made fun of, not fitting into clothes, eating because I was miserable.. It just doesn’t go away like that.

And honestly, I don’t think I want to forget! I don’t want to forget some of the things I went through. They keep me motivated, grounded. And mostly, they made me learn that EVERYBODY should be respected. Skinny, average, fat, tall, short, black, white, poor, rich and everything in between.

So, no. I will not forget.

HOWEVER, I do want to let it go. Not forget it or forget what I’ve learned from that experience… but accept that things are different now. Guys will look at me, people will be nice… and they don’t know that I was fat. So, the issue is really in my head and I’m aware of that. These conflicting feelings are really confusing.

I hope this didn’t offend anybody. These are my experiences (it is my blog, so duh ) and I’m sharing them with you, no matter how silly they seem. I also hope that this wasn’t too incoherent.. Sometimes I have a really hard time expressing myself.

Anyway, on a lighter note… Here’s today’s picture of the day.

Hope you have a great day.