Journey to the Summer: WEEK 8 (07/05- 13/05)

Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the final instalment of Journey to the Summer: a diet and fitness series! 

This final week I was so excited to get into the gym and work so hard to lose those last few kilograms and have a great weight to reveal however, this week did not go to plan. I fell ill on Wednesday (as you will see through the lack of eating) and because of this illness, I was unable to confidently go to the gym this week. Cry with me :(. It's okay because I've still got about 3 weeks left in my university city and finish my exams soon, so I will make up for it in the upcoming weeks, with a possible bonus post! Lets get into it: 

Sunday (1,131 calories):

Breakfast: Special K cereal with Arla best of both milk (243 calories)
Lunch: Chicken kebab mini wraps with an apple (420 calories) 
Dinner: Wholewheat spaghetti bolognese without the egg pictured (468 calories)

• See week 7 for recipe 

Monday (839 calories):

Breakfast:Danish bread toast with a cup of tea (250 calories)

Lunch: Leftover spinach and onion quinoa with 1 chicken kebab (246 calories) 
Dinner: Pan fried sea bass with mixed vegetables (343 calories) 

• See week 7 for recipe 

Tuesday (1,324 calories):

Breakfast: Special K cereal with Arla best of both milk (363 calories)

Lunch: Southern fried chicken breast with bbq sauce and ketchup (297 calories) 
Dinner: Spinach stuffed pesto chicken breast with a small hassle back sweet potato and mixed veg (664 calories) 

• Season chicken breast with salt and pepper and slice a pouch in the middle. Stuff the pouch with spinach and onions. Season outer chicken breast with 1 clove crushed garlic and low fat pesto sauce. Cook in oven at 180℃ for 25 mins or until cooked through.  
• Microwave your sweet potato for 3-4 mins until slightly tender. Pierce with a skewer and run your knife in a circular motion to create spirals. Season with salt, pepper and paprika and bake in the oven at 200℃ for 25-20 mins. 
• Steam mixed vegetables and serve. 

Wednesday (747 calories): 

Breakfast: Plain danish toast with black tea (196 calories) 

Lunch: n/a. 

Dinner: Beef suya with sweet potato and sweetcorn. 

• Beef suya was already made and so was the potato from yesterday. 

Thursday (1,126 calories):

Breakfast: Special K cereal with Arla best of both milk (363 calories) 

Lunch: Tuna and egg salad (324 calories) 

Dinner: Soy BBQ chicken with couscous, asparagus and mixed vegetables (439 calories)

• Season chicken drumsticks in salt, pepper, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, curry powder, BBQ sauce and 1 clove of crushed garlic. Bake in the oven at 200℃ for 25-30 mins or until cooked through and brown. 
• Cover couscous in boiling water, salt and pepper and allow to cook through until fluffy.
• Cook asparagus and sliced onions in a pan with a little salt and pepper until tender but still crisp.   
• Steam mixed vegetables, serve. 

 Friday (1,169 calories):

Breakfast: Special K cereal with Arla best of both milk (243 calories) 

Lunch: Leftover soy BBQ chicken with 1 mini wrap and an apple (450 calories)

Dinner: Soy BBQ chicken with sweet potato mash and asparagus (476 calories)

• See Thursday for chicken and asparagus recipe. 
• Boil peeled sweet potatoes in salt and pepper until tender. Mash with a cap full of milk and serve.

Saturday (968 calories):

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs with a slice of danish toast and 1/4 avocado (300 calories)

Lunch: 1 apple (71 calories) 

Dinner: King prawn stir fry with brown rice (597 calories)

• In 1 tbsp sesame oil and 1 tbsp vegetable oil cook chopped mixed peppers and 1 large onion on a medium heat. Add 2 cloves crushed garlic and 1 thumb size knob of crushed ginger. Season with salt, pepper, chilli flakes, chinese five spice and chilli powder. Add king prawns and 2 tbsp light soy sauce to 1 tbsp dark soy sauce. Allow to simmer and serve hot. 
• Cook brown rice according to package instructions. Serve. 

This is it. We have come to an end! (plays Boyz II Men- End of the road). I think I had done okay considering I was ill this week and I have overall done a decent job at this first proper attempt at a diet. Without further ado, let's see how much weight I've lost and how far I've come on my Journey to the Summer! 

(Disclaimer: I have done a shoddy job at painting on trousers for the picture of the left of both images but I didn't want to bare knicker and all online so work with me!)

The pictures on the left is me at my heaviest (that I have a picture of) and I believe I was about 77-78kg. The middle pictures are of me when i started my Journey to the Summer at 75kg. I am now as shown on the pictures on the right ringing in at 66.7kg! That makes a grand total loss of 8.3kg (roughly 1.7 stone, 1.3 of which was lost whilst on the Journey to the Summer)! 

Guys, this is just me on this particular diet and going to the gym on average 3 times a week. I cannot believe I have done this, lost over 1 stone in my final year of university but where there is a will there is a way! I am so proud of myself for this progress but believe me, there is more to come. I will continue to strive and push until I look the way i'd like... I'm not too concerned with a huge bum but i would like a smaller waist so I shall be working at not only losing weight, but losing fat % and gaining muscle which may well put me at a higher weight but with better physical benefits! I feel happier with myself, and more determined than ever to never go back to where I was. Looking back there were many factors influencing this weight gain over my 3 years at university but I think the biggest factor was lack of self- control. I've definitely learnt that I can still eat foods which are delicious without pigging out and eating huge portions! If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment, or contact me through my various social media (chrissola/chrissola_). 

Concluding thoughts of the week: Happiness is a choice

If there's anything I've learnt from this journey is that happiness is a choice. If you choose to do things that result in your happiness then it will emulate and overflow into your everyday life. I wanted to be happy with my body, so I made the choice to change what I did not like. I used to joke all the time that if I ever go to Brazil my friends will know "what I'm on", but this process has taught me that eating right and exercising to lose weight is not the LONGEST THING that everyone makes it out to be. If you are a foodie like me, of course it will be difficult at first to restrain yourself from eating all of your comfort foods, but if you are dedicated to the process and patient in its progress, it will work. More weight loss for your headtop so watch how you speak on my name, you know? 

I just want to conclude this series by thanking God for allowing me to come thus far, always giving me the strength to preserve and stay determined. Secondly I would like to thank my family for supporting me in this journey, particularly my mum who if you check never fails to comment under my blog posts! In addition Kady, Patience, Chipo, Zarrin, Shardaye, Kim and all my friends who never fail to support and promote every single post. God couldn't have blessed me with greater friends. Finally I would like to thank David over at Freshh Fitness for all of his mentoring, making sure I am keeping at the workout plan, and always checking in on me. 

Thank you all, from the readers to the re tweeters, it couldn't have been possible without you. 

Chrissy's Cooking Chronicles to the World!