I am not sure how I come up with the name. It just kind of happened. But when I think into it a bit more, the name makes perfect sense to me, and it sums it my weight loss and maintenance. HUNGRY describes my loves of food - kind of obvious that I love food when you look at my before pictures. The one thing I didn’t want when losing weight was to eat less and give up the foods I loved completely, and I didn’t. In fact, I probably eat more, I just eat the right things. I wanted to continue with my love of food, but just adapt my eating. This is where HEALTHY comes into it. For me, my success has been in finding and making healthier alternatives of the food I love so that I never feel deprived. HEALTHY is also about me discovering how much I love exercise. It gives me a bigger high than any food ever did. I don’t exercise so I can justify eating a huge slice of cake after it, I do it because it makes me feel good, keeps me on track and is helping me see changes in my diet that weight loss did not do. HAPPY is the combination of the previous two. At the end of the day, if you are not happy, you are never going to stick to it. I was miserable for a big portion of my life, and my weight was a big reason for that. Still being able to enjoy food and being the healthiest I have ever been is what contributes to making me the happiest I have ever been. That is something I am not going to give up on.
When I first started losing weight, I couldn't cook at all. I thought I could, but I was just putting frozen things in the oven. So I started slowly and looked online at other people's recipes and bought a few recipe books. I needed some kind of structure to my cooking at that point, so recipes were perfect from me. After that, I got a little more confident and I started adapting other people's recipes and substituting ingredients and adding ones I liked. After that, I realised that I really loved cooking and I became pretty good at it after a LOT of trial and error and a lot of mistakes. I then started creating my own recipes, just throwing things in a pan and seeing what happened and this is how I come up with all the recipes for you all. I usually don't measure anything (except baking, that is more of an exact science), but for the purposes of being able to post the recipes for you here, I work everything out as I go along. I also try to buy seasonally and locally as much as possible, so that reflects in my cooking too.
Not as much as I would like. I would be in there all day every day if I could be, but sadly that thing called work gets in the way. I probably spend about 90 minutes a day in there (I know that is more than some). I get angry messages from people often saying along the lines of "it's okay for you, you spend 10 hours a day in the kitchen preparing your food, you have time to be healthy". I have the same amount of hours in the day as every one else. I have just become very organised with my cooking and planning so I get the best meals for the shortest time possible.
I think finding a balance is important to me. I love food and I enjoy making it and eating it, but I also need to stay healthy so I can't eat fattening pizza and cake all day every day. That is why I focus on making healthier alternatives to unhealthy food. So I can have health and taste.
To me, basically means not eating processed foods, but it means something different to everyone. I fill my diet with fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains and lean meat and cutting out sugary, fried foods as well as refined carbs such as white rice, pasta and bread as much as possible. I don’t drink fizzy drinks and I drink lots of water. I wrote more about clean eating here.
Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. The Chocolate Fudge Brownie one is amazing. I make my own healthy frozen desserts all the time, but some times there is no substitution. We don't buy it very often, but when we do, I enjoy every single bite.
You might hear a lot of pages/websites stating a specific amount you should be having, but the problem I have with that is the same problem I have with most “rules” that the diet industry comes up with, they don’t allow for individual differences. Everyone is different and everyone will need a different amount depending on where they live and how active they are. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think water isn’t important. It is very important to stay hydrated and I only drink water and green tea (apart from the occasional cocktail or glass *ahem bottle* of wine).
Personally, I drink a lot of water because I have hydration problems. I probably drink around 12 glasses a day, but I do work out a lot. I go by how I feel. If I am getting a headache, it normally means I need more water. If I am feeling sluggish or with a dry mouth, I usually need more water. Also, look at the colour of your pee. If it is dark, then you most likely need to be drinking more water. But you also don’t want it to be colourless – it should be a light colour. The best thing to do it experiment with drinking different amounts (but drinking too much can be dangerous), and see what works best for you.
Rebecca
I love this website! I'm so happy I found you lol! This is going to be my inspiration x
Dannii
Thanks Rebecca. Have you signed up to my mailing list so you get all my new posts?
Gill
Hi Dannii,
First of all can I say congratulations on your weightloss journey and this great website.
I am on this journey too and since April last year have lost just over 4 stone and discovered a love of running.
I'm always on the lookout for new recipes to try and you have some on here I will definitely have a go at.
Is there anything you can substitute banana with as I find this is a trigger for my IBS.
Thanks
Gill
christine
Hey, I came across your post here and was wondering if maybe you can help me out. >.< I am wanting to start preparing my meals ahead of time as well, also for a whole week. Where do you start? I found out how many calories I will need to consume each day... so..what is the next step? How much time do you spend figuring out which foods you're going to prepare for your meals and making sure the nutrition is accurate for each day? Any advice you have will be very much appreciated. Simply thinking about doing this overwhelms me so I'm looking for a little guidance.
Dannii
I spend about 30 minutes on a Sunday morning planning what I am going to make, but it is pretty much the same bulk things I prepare, like the chicken, ruce egs, salads etc (all in the link) and then I make different meals with those each week.
Rachel
What workouts would you suggest that I start with?
Dannii
It depends on what your fitness levels are currently like. Walking/jogging is a great place to start, as is swimming because it is low impact.
Will
My wife just showed me your blog as the doctor has just told me that I should really lose some weight and I wanted to say thank you as you have made it look less scary than he did. He mentioned pills and shakes and that is not the route that I want to go down.
Dannii
You don't need pills and shakes and I am glad you see that too. Make sure you check out the recipe section too :)
Kate
I love your blog Dannii. I found it yesterday and I have just got back from the store with everything I need to do some food prep. Planning is my biggest obstacle, but I know that if I have stuff ready made in the fridge, then I won't snack on junk when I get home from work.
Dannii
Food prep will really help you, especially the whole chicken - you can add it to so many meals.
Daisy
So much great information. I am pinning it so I can remember to read it later.
Dannii
Thanks!
Natalie
You are my inspiration Dannii. Every time I think that I can't do it, I read something on your blog and remind myself that I can do it!
Dannii
Thank you. You definitely can do it!
Hayley
I am so happy I have found this. I had loads of questions I wanted to ask you, but this has answered them all :)
Dannii
I am glad it answered your questions. If you have any more, just ask.
Dana
Hi! Love your page and it has been so helpful! I also follow you on pinterest and instagram! I am curious of what age range you are in. I have struggled more as I have gotten in my late 30's with maintaining and losing weight and hear that it only gets worse. Any suggestions??
Thanks,
Dana
Dannii
I am 29 and it has definitely gotten more difficult for me as I have gotten older. But difficult doesn't mean impossible. It is definitely possible, whatever your age.
Miggy
I like your site, I came across it on Huffington Post. You look great and I like your attitude to life.
Sue
Just discovered your website through FB. Very interested to read your thoughts. I had lost 52lbwith WW over about 16 months - main inspiration was my sons wedding. However put about 1st back on over a year and, since about October have put another 10-11 lbs on. My daughter is getting married in The autumn and I would like to lose the weight I've gained and have gone back to WW but am having a real problem getting back on plan.
Having read your Faqs I think I'm gonna give calorie counting a go - I already eat fairly healthily but have added "crap" back into my diet.
Thanks for your inspirational comments, hints and tips! Very well written without being at all "preachy". Look forward to reporting back with some good news.
doug
I just found your website today and want to say there seems to be alot of great info here in 1 place. I was wondering when you spend your sundays in the kitchen , if you have a list of what you put into bags and how much so I can start making meals like you do with prepared packages. thx doug
Tim Stone
Howdy! First thing: I'm DAMN PROUD of you!
Second thing:I know that I can go online & try to find some, but I was just wondering if you had any recipes that were healthy & ok for folks who are allergic to milk products? If you do, could you email me any?
Thanks!! Again, I'm very proud of what you have done & anxious for you keep that strong ass attitude up!!!!(sorry for all the swearing! I must think I'm a sailor!!)
Tim :O)