Tomorrow is my 27th Birthday. I thought it would be a sensible time to reflect upon the last 12 months of my life. I think I can honestly say I've had the best year since I was about 21. I've certainly had some high points and low points regarding my body, but generally it's been one less thing to worry about.
Looking at how my weight has fluctuated this year, this time last year I was 9st 8.5lbs. This was post-honeymoon and wedded bliss weight gain. I finally managed to shift it and this year I'm maintaining pretty much on 9st 2lbs exactly.
I feel way more body confident than I did even just 12 months ago. I have felt confident enough to have my arms on show and wear shorts/skirts that are above my knee line. That said, the dress I wore for my early Birthday party on Saturday I bottled at the last minute because I thought it was too short and it put the part of my thighs I was less confident with on show when I sat down (so I wore a pair of cut off tights).
I am still rediscovering what I look like in photos. The body I see in the mirror is not the body that I see in photographs. I had a picture taken of me on Sunday and I looked pretty good in it. I still find it quite alarming that my brain and my body aren't that matched up, but I am getting there.
Fitness wise I'm achieving more than I was a year ago. I don't have to attend classes at the gym anymore because I can trust my own self motivation to ensure I have a great session. I'm losing inches rather than pounds and looking much more lean because of it. I have had a few set backs in the past 12 months with various illnesses, toothache and a shoulder sublux, but I'm still going!
My diet has had quite a radical overhaul, I'm now one of those people who can be found in health food shops on their lunchbreaks and nearly everything I eat is unprocessed. Infact, tomorrow I'm at meetings in London all day and one of my planned trips is to Wholefoods in Soho for some goodies. I no longer follow any sort of 'lifestyle plan'. I understand what I should and shouldn't be eating and I know I'm making sensible choices - after all I'm maintaining my weight. I still weigh the foods that I know could become troublesome, but thats as high maintenance as my food gets.
Whilst its not something I can take the credit for 100%, Mr H has seen the changes I have made to my own lifestyle and has jumped on the band wagon. As of this weekend just gone he has lost 1 stone! He now weighs the same as I did when I set out on my weight loss mission (which is pretty scary when I think about how tall he is!). He's acheived this by no longer supplementing the food I make for him with sweets, full fat pepsi, etc and he also goes to the gym 4 times a week... I think he's even caught the running bug from me :) I couldn't be more proud of the changes he's made, it means we're both setting ourselves up for a fit and healthy future.
On a personal level this year has thrown up some things that have really helped me put things into perspective. I am thankful...
* that I have a husband who loves me unconditionally, he doesn't care if I'm 160lbs or 120lbs, he just wants me to be happy.
* that I have been in a good position to ride out this recession without any major impacts on my life. Sure we've had some tight times, but we've found a way through.
* that I have an amazing group of friends, this year has been tough for some of them and it's warmed my heart how everyone has helped out where they can.
* for the new friends that have come into my life.
* for the support of the lovely WI girls, your the best set of invisible friends a girl could ask for :)
* for my family, they are always there when I need them and always have an honest word to say. You never get that kind of honesty from anyone else, so I really appreciate that.
* that I am alive, healthy and well.
* that I have enjoyed being 26.
Here's to hoping that being 27 will be everything 26 was... and a little bit more :D
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
Monday, 28 June 2010
Where have you been all my life?
I'm talking about Blueberries. Seriously?! How long have I been missing out on the blueberry goodness? I think I've only ever encountered blueberries in muffins on the plane back from the US of A and 100% dislike these insults to muffins. As a result I've never had just regular blueberries. That all changed yesterday.
We were at a BBQ at Mr H's boss' house in a wonderful place called Bampton. Firstly, the house is seriously dreamy. Embedded in the countryside, surrounded by fields, an extended older propery with a beautiful country garden (complete with veggie patch). It is pretty much my ideal sort of house. It felt homely instantly and I know I'd love spending time there. Incidently, it's also up for sale (Mr H's boss rents). I tell you blogland, I want this house... or one just the same!
Anyhoo, we'd gone over for a relaxed afternoon with the other sales managers in Mr H's team. They are the kind of people that I enjoy socialising with (they are also the same people I was out in Dubai with). There are some people that you work with that you wouldn't miss if you changed your company, these are the sort of people I would miss. It was a cracking afternoon with a fantastic selection of food, mainly South African cuisine. Topped off with a bottle of bubbly to celebrate the England match (before it even started just in case the disappointment proved too much if we lost...which of course we did). For dessert out came a big bowl full of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Being polite I took a huge bowlful away. Feeling a little worried I put the first blueberry into my mouth. It was amazing! I can't believe I've been avoiding them for so long. I'm so glad I actually tried them. I had a 3 course dessert, first course was fruit, second course was my homemade Key Lime Pie and finally a homemade chocolate whippy style icecream cone. Delish!
I got my lunch today from M&S and saw they had blueberries on offer for 2 for £5, so I got a punnet of raspberries along side. I've just tucked into them with a slice of GU chocolate cake which I brought into work today for my birthday.
I'm going to make more of an effort to try some new foods. Maybe picking up something new each week from the supermarket. I guess bearing in mind last week I had the Papaya disaster and this week I've had the Blueberry win, I wonder what next week will have in store for me?
We were at a BBQ at Mr H's boss' house in a wonderful place called Bampton. Firstly, the house is seriously dreamy. Embedded in the countryside, surrounded by fields, an extended older propery with a beautiful country garden (complete with veggie patch). It is pretty much my ideal sort of house. It felt homely instantly and I know I'd love spending time there. Incidently, it's also up for sale (Mr H's boss rents). I tell you blogland, I want this house... or one just the same!
Anyhoo, we'd gone over for a relaxed afternoon with the other sales managers in Mr H's team. They are the kind of people that I enjoy socialising with (they are also the same people I was out in Dubai with). There are some people that you work with that you wouldn't miss if you changed your company, these are the sort of people I would miss. It was a cracking afternoon with a fantastic selection of food, mainly South African cuisine. Topped off with a bottle of bubbly to celebrate the England match (before it even started just in case the disappointment proved too much if we lost...which of course we did). For dessert out came a big bowl full of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Being polite I took a huge bowlful away. Feeling a little worried I put the first blueberry into my mouth. It was amazing! I can't believe I've been avoiding them for so long. I'm so glad I actually tried them. I had a 3 course dessert, first course was fruit, second course was my homemade Key Lime Pie and finally a homemade chocolate whippy style icecream cone. Delish!
I got my lunch today from M&S and saw they had blueberries on offer for 2 for £5, so I got a punnet of raspberries along side. I've just tucked into them with a slice of GU chocolate cake which I brought into work today for my birthday.
I'm going to make more of an effort to try some new foods. Maybe picking up something new each week from the supermarket. I guess bearing in mind last week I had the Papaya disaster and this week I've had the Blueberry win, I wonder what next week will have in store for me?
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Alcohol
A slightly different post from me today and it is alcohol induced. Last night we went to a gig (which by the way was amazing!) and it got me thinking.
To drink or not to drink.
In the past I used to drink alot, it was almost a way of life when I was a student (2001-2005) Back then I'd probably drink most days of the week. During this time it would not be uncommon for me to be able to knock back 3+ bottles of wine in an evening and goodness knows how many pints of beer (not in the same night though as they totally don't mix). I never used to suffer from hangovers either, I'm not sure whether this was because I slept in later or my body was just better at coping.
When I finished University in 2005, drinking was really just limited to social events and maybe a glass of wine with dinner a few times a week.
Around 2006 we stopped drinking at home on a regular basis. I think this was partly due to the pugs coming into our lives and our evenings being taken up with dog walks.
In 2007 we moved over 50 miles away to a new area. This significantly reduced social drinking as we were so far away from anyone to go out with and there was always a lengthy journey to get home.
2008 was when I started my weight loss journey and alcohol was an easy cut for me to make. I wasn't drinking that regularly, but I'm sure it helped me reach my goal.
I don't really remember when I started to experience hangovers, but I'm sure it was around 2006/2007. I do not like being hungover... at all.
For the past year or so I've drank even less frequently than ever and have even managed to go on nights out and not drink at all. It's hard because my friends don't really understand the reasons why I don't drink that much anymore, but the fact is I'm not sure I enjoy it anymore.
That brings me nicely full circle back to this mornings musings. I drank last night. I had 1 pint of Red Stripe and 2 pints of Peroni. For me, this is now considered quite a lot. I know that my speech was a little slurry after this and I can assure you that I feel totally rotten this morning. I should also point out the bag of crisps I stuffed my face with before bed last night too - that can't have been a pretty sight.
I was trying to think why I even drank at all last night. Mr H wasn't drinking because he drove and we weren't out with anyone else, I didn't need to drink to enjoy myself because The Bronx are one of my favourite bands. So why? I've come to the conclusion that in my head it's habitual. It's something I just *think* I should do. To a certain extent, it's a bit like being a social smoker. I'm a social drinker. I quit smoking years ago. I very very rarely get cravings for cigarettes and to be honest it's never an actual craving its more of a 'this is one of those moments I'd enjoy having a cigarette in the past' type things. It's more the memories I can dredge up from when I smoked than the actual smoking that I crave. So why do I still drink socially when I don't seem to enjoy it?
Would I have had a bad night if I'd been drinking soft drinks - no.
Would I have eaten crisps if I'd been drinking soft drinks - no.
Would I have a hangover this morning if I'd drunk soft drinks - no.
I thought I'd try and write a list of reasons I enjoy drinking, and you know what? I couldn't think of a single thing. At a push I guess I could list that I appreciate a decent glass of wine, but I'm not sure if I would enjoy it as such. Again, I think its the habitual element and the 'memories of the good ol' days' that seem to be the drivers for me drinking at all. If I go right back to when I first started drinking, I was underage and of course it was clearly a form of rebellion. The fact that I looked older than I was in an age where you could get into a pub with a fake photocopy of a passport was great. It meant from an early age I somewhat believed that alcohol = a good night out. Of course because good nights out usually involved some sort of alcohol that perhaps became a contributing factor to there being a desire to drink when I went out. Even more so because I only passed my driving test this year, theres not really ever been an occasion where I couldn't drink - so I never really knew what it was like to go out with my friends and not drink.
Having done this a few times in the last 2 years I have realised that no alcohol = good night out. Sure there are the barriers to communication with a group of sh*tfaced people, but in some cases that can be the best bit of an evening!
When I thought about making a list of reasons to not drink, I came up with the following:
* I do not like hangovers
* I do not like the fact that alcohol = bad food choices (immediately after drinking and in the 24-36 hours afterwards)
* I do not like feeling out of control
* I do not like slurring my words
* I do not like memory black holes (which I suffer from even with the smallest amount of alcohol)
* I don't like what it does to my body (yes the TMI part of being hungover)
* I don't like how it makes my skin look
* I don't like it's pocket emptying capability
* I don't like drunken paranoia
So given that the list of negatives far outweighs my empty list of positives, I think it's time to seriously address drinking.
For a bit of research, I checked out a list of famous teetotallers. It made for rather interesting reading to be honest, given how the media often portrays these celebrity types I'd been lead to believe they were living lavish champagned fuelled lifestyles. Looking at that list there are so many people that I admire for their contributions to the world and perhaps it might even be a little bit inspiring.
I'm not sure I could ever go completely teetotal but then again I guess a celebration would still be a special event without the Champagne, a nice dinner would still be tasty without a glass of Wine, a gig would still be awesome without a pint of Beer, summer would still be summer without a pitcher of Pimms....
But would Christmas still be Christmas without a glass of Sherry?
Just as a side note, its now 11:04, this post has taken me ages to write. At time of posting, the room still spins when I look down.
To drink or not to drink.
In the past I used to drink alot, it was almost a way of life when I was a student (2001-2005) Back then I'd probably drink most days of the week. During this time it would not be uncommon for me to be able to knock back 3+ bottles of wine in an evening and goodness knows how many pints of beer (not in the same night though as they totally don't mix). I never used to suffer from hangovers either, I'm not sure whether this was because I slept in later or my body was just better at coping.
When I finished University in 2005, drinking was really just limited to social events and maybe a glass of wine with dinner a few times a week.
Around 2006 we stopped drinking at home on a regular basis. I think this was partly due to the pugs coming into our lives and our evenings being taken up with dog walks.
In 2007 we moved over 50 miles away to a new area. This significantly reduced social drinking as we were so far away from anyone to go out with and there was always a lengthy journey to get home.
2008 was when I started my weight loss journey and alcohol was an easy cut for me to make. I wasn't drinking that regularly, but I'm sure it helped me reach my goal.
I don't really remember when I started to experience hangovers, but I'm sure it was around 2006/2007. I do not like being hungover... at all.
For the past year or so I've drank even less frequently than ever and have even managed to go on nights out and not drink at all. It's hard because my friends don't really understand the reasons why I don't drink that much anymore, but the fact is I'm not sure I enjoy it anymore.
That brings me nicely full circle back to this mornings musings. I drank last night. I had 1 pint of Red Stripe and 2 pints of Peroni. For me, this is now considered quite a lot. I know that my speech was a little slurry after this and I can assure you that I feel totally rotten this morning. I should also point out the bag of crisps I stuffed my face with before bed last night too - that can't have been a pretty sight.
I was trying to think why I even drank at all last night. Mr H wasn't drinking because he drove and we weren't out with anyone else, I didn't need to drink to enjoy myself because The Bronx are one of my favourite bands. So why? I've come to the conclusion that in my head it's habitual. It's something I just *think* I should do. To a certain extent, it's a bit like being a social smoker. I'm a social drinker. I quit smoking years ago. I very very rarely get cravings for cigarettes and to be honest it's never an actual craving its more of a 'this is one of those moments I'd enjoy having a cigarette in the past' type things. It's more the memories I can dredge up from when I smoked than the actual smoking that I crave. So why do I still drink socially when I don't seem to enjoy it?
Would I have had a bad night if I'd been drinking soft drinks - no.
Would I have eaten crisps if I'd been drinking soft drinks - no.
Would I have a hangover this morning if I'd drunk soft drinks - no.
I thought I'd try and write a list of reasons I enjoy drinking, and you know what? I couldn't think of a single thing. At a push I guess I could list that I appreciate a decent glass of wine, but I'm not sure if I would enjoy it as such. Again, I think its the habitual element and the 'memories of the good ol' days' that seem to be the drivers for me drinking at all. If I go right back to when I first started drinking, I was underage and of course it was clearly a form of rebellion. The fact that I looked older than I was in an age where you could get into a pub with a fake photocopy of a passport was great. It meant from an early age I somewhat believed that alcohol = a good night out. Of course because good nights out usually involved some sort of alcohol that perhaps became a contributing factor to there being a desire to drink when I went out. Even more so because I only passed my driving test this year, theres not really ever been an occasion where I couldn't drink - so I never really knew what it was like to go out with my friends and not drink.
Having done this a few times in the last 2 years I have realised that no alcohol = good night out. Sure there are the barriers to communication with a group of sh*tfaced people, but in some cases that can be the best bit of an evening!
When I thought about making a list of reasons to not drink, I came up with the following:
* I do not like hangovers
* I do not like the fact that alcohol = bad food choices (immediately after drinking and in the 24-36 hours afterwards)
* I do not like feeling out of control
* I do not like slurring my words
* I do not like memory black holes (which I suffer from even with the smallest amount of alcohol)
* I don't like what it does to my body (yes the TMI part of being hungover)
* I don't like how it makes my skin look
* I don't like it's pocket emptying capability
* I don't like drunken paranoia
So given that the list of negatives far outweighs my empty list of positives, I think it's time to seriously address drinking.
For a bit of research, I checked out a list of famous teetotallers. It made for rather interesting reading to be honest, given how the media often portrays these celebrity types I'd been lead to believe they were living lavish champagned fuelled lifestyles. Looking at that list there are so many people that I admire for their contributions to the world and perhaps it might even be a little bit inspiring.
I'm not sure I could ever go completely teetotal but then again I guess a celebration would still be a special event without the Champagne, a nice dinner would still be tasty without a glass of Wine, a gig would still be awesome without a pint of Beer, summer would still be summer without a pitcher of Pimms....
But would Christmas still be Christmas without a glass of Sherry?
Just as a side note, its now 11:04, this post has taken me ages to write. At time of posting, the room still spins when I look down.
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Electrify the Night
Mr H got home yesterday, woo! He was bearing a variety of random gifts, fridge magnets from the Cayman Islands and Miami (to add to our fridge of many destinations) and an iron-o
n patch and a sticker of 'Sir Turtle'. Yes thats right, he appears to be a peg-legged swashbuckling turtle. How awesome is that for a national mascot!
Mr H also came home with 3 bags of my most favourite crisps in the world. Cheetos. I don't care how unhealthy they are and the fact that the smallest bag contains 2.5 servings. I ate a whole bag and I enjoyed every mouthful. I guess seeing as I only get to eat them once or twice a year I'm allowed to savour the overpowering cheesiness.
I had a quick look through the photos that he took whilst he was out there, it looked awesome. They had fabulous weather and spent the time when they weren't filming sitting in the sea on chairs drinking beer - sounds pretty perfect to me. He managed to wash most of the fake blood off his clothes but I did notice that his black trainers are still covered in it! He had a great photo of a cymbal splattered with 'blood' wedged into the sand. I gather it was used to decapitate a zombie or something. Nice huh.
Anyway, moving onto today...
Breakfast: 30g Jumbo Oats, 200ml Skimmed Milk, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Berocca.
Mid Morning: Banana
Lunch: Romaine Lettuce, green pepper, cucumber, 3 slices of Camembert (this is the last of it!), and shop bought reduced fat Houmous with added homemade sundried tomato & red chilli paste added to it (this worked out really well, whilst I do like it more roughly chopped for tapenade, liquidising it gives me a whole new range of options of what to use it for) & half a honeydew melon
Mid Afternoon: Grapes and Strawberries.
Dinner: Tuna Steak Stirfry
Today is a rest day from exercise, I've really blitzed the last two days at the gym and my legs are feeling a little tender. I also need to get to town during lunch to get more Protein Powder as I used the last up yesterday and I need to start picking up ingredients for my birthday party cakes/desserts. I'm planning on making a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting, a key lime pie, a chocolate biscuit layer cake and some raspberry fluffy jelly. Hoping to start making them on Friday so they have time for the flavours to develop in time for Saturday night.
We're also off to a gig tonight which starts at 7.30, so I won't have time to freshen up after work (hence why not getting hot/sweaty at the gym is a good idea!). We're seeing The Bronx in their Mariachi alter ego format, I'm soooo excited. I ♥ The Bronx and I ♥ Mariachi. The two combined = genious! Should be an awesome gig. Will report back tomorrow :)
n patch and a sticker of 'Sir Turtle'. Yes thats right, he appears to be a peg-legged swashbuckling turtle. How awesome is that for a national mascot!Mr H also came home with 3 bags of my most favourite crisps in the world. Cheetos. I don't care how unhealthy they are and the fact that the smallest bag contains 2.5 servings. I ate a whole bag and I enjoyed every mouthful. I guess seeing as I only get to eat them once or twice a year I'm allowed to savour the overpowering cheesiness.
I had a quick look through the photos that he took whilst he was out there, it looked awesome. They had fabulous weather and spent the time when they weren't filming sitting in the sea on chairs drinking beer - sounds pretty perfect to me. He managed to wash most of the fake blood off his clothes but I did notice that his black trainers are still covered in it! He had a great photo of a cymbal splattered with 'blood' wedged into the sand. I gather it was used to decapitate a zombie or something. Nice huh.
Anyway, moving onto today...
Breakfast: 30g Jumbo Oats, 200ml Skimmed Milk, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Berocca.
Mid Morning: Banana
Lunch: Romaine Lettuce, green pepper, cucumber, 3 slices of Camembert (this is the last of it!), and shop bought reduced fat Houmous with added homemade sundried tomato & red chilli paste added to it (this worked out really well, whilst I do like it more roughly chopped for tapenade, liquidising it gives me a whole new range of options of what to use it for) & half a honeydew melon
Mid Afternoon: Grapes and Strawberries.
Dinner: Tuna Steak Stirfry
Today is a rest day from exercise, I've really blitzed the last two days at the gym and my legs are feeling a little tender. I also need to get to town during lunch to get more Protein Powder as I used the last up yesterday and I need to start picking up ingredients for my birthday party cakes/desserts. I'm planning on making a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting, a key lime pie, a chocolate biscuit layer cake and some raspberry fluffy jelly. Hoping to start making them on Friday so they have time for the flavours to develop in time for Saturday night.
We're also off to a gig tonight which starts at 7.30, so I won't have time to freshen up after work (hence why not getting hot/sweaty at the gym is a good idea!). We're seeing The Bronx in their Mariachi alter ego format, I'm soooo excited. I ♥ The Bronx and I ♥ Mariachi. The two combined = genious! Should be an awesome gig. Will report back tomorrow :)
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
I want to eat your brains
I've got one pic from the weekend so far (more to come when I get the camera back from Mr H and get some pics from my computer). This is from my SIL's charity tea party.
Mr H arrives home today, I'm quite excited to see him and hear all about his Zombie adventure on Grand Cayman. Hopefully he'll have got rid of all the weird fake flakey bits of skin they attached to him and the white contact lenses. I think that would gross me out a little.
Last night was a little rushed trying to get things sorted in the house. I had a bit of a naughty dinner - a small wedge of camembert baked in the oven with 2 slices of wholemeal bread. I think fate tried to intervene when I dropped it when I took it out of the oven (small ramekin + oven gloves = fail), but I managed to save it and it was lush. I had 2 sliced peaches afterwards before heading to Tesco.
I managed to do a strangely expensive Tesco shop. I did get some Berocca on buy 3 get the cheapest 3 so I've got 45 days worth now! I also spent £6 on tuna steaks, £6 on regular steak and £4 on gammon steaks. A week of steaks for us! I also picked up a papaya and some passion fruit. Neither of which I've ever really had before but I fancied trying something new. When I got home I chopped up the papaya. My first thoughts were that it didn't look like I expected, it had these creepy big black seeds inside that reminded me of spiders bodies. It also wasn't quite as orange inside as I would have thought, whether this is because it infact was not ripe (the label said 'ripe and ready to eat' or what I don't know. Finally, it absolutely stank, the smell made my stomach churn. I had one mouthful and it went in the bin. I think in future papaya might just be for body lotions and shower gels. Has anyone had a better experience with Papaya?
Today food is fairly similar to yesterday:
Breakfast: 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake, 30g Jumbo Oats, 200ml Skimmed Milk (these new oats need more liquid to get soft), 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Berocca.
Mid Morning: Banana
Lunch: Cous Cous, Camembert, Spinach, Green Pepper, Tomato & 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake.
Mid Afternoon: Half a Honeydew Melon.
Dinner: Chicken & Jewelled Moroccan Cous Cous with Salad
I've also got another homemade Banana Choco Oat Muffin for extra if I get hungry.
In completely unrelated news, I've just had a phonecall from the PA of the consultant who's going to take a look at my shoulder. My appointment is on Monday. I'm already impressed at the process of going Private (I get healthcare through my employer). I have an x-ray booked for 5.45pm, then I'm seeing the consultant afterwards. I'm strangely looking forward to finding out what is going on.
Mr H arrives home today, I'm quite excited to see him and hear all about his Zombie adventure on Grand Cayman. Hopefully he'll have got rid of all the weird fake flakey bits of skin they attached to him and the white contact lenses. I think that would gross me out a little.
Last night was a little rushed trying to get things sorted in the house. I had a bit of a naughty dinner - a small wedge of camembert baked in the oven with 2 slices of wholemeal bread. I think fate tried to intervene when I dropped it when I took it out of the oven (small ramekin + oven gloves = fail), but I managed to save it and it was lush. I had 2 sliced peaches afterwards before heading to Tesco.
I managed to do a strangely expensive Tesco shop. I did get some Berocca on buy 3 get the cheapest 3 so I've got 45 days worth now! I also spent £6 on tuna steaks, £6 on regular steak and £4 on gammon steaks. A week of steaks for us! I also picked up a papaya and some passion fruit. Neither of which I've ever really had before but I fancied trying something new. When I got home I chopped up the papaya. My first thoughts were that it didn't look like I expected, it had these creepy big black seeds inside that reminded me of spiders bodies. It also wasn't quite as orange inside as I would have thought, whether this is because it infact was not ripe (the label said 'ripe and ready to eat' or what I don't know. Finally, it absolutely stank, the smell made my stomach churn. I had one mouthful and it went in the bin. I think in future papaya might just be for body lotions and shower gels. Has anyone had a better experience with Papaya?
Today food is fairly similar to yesterday:
Breakfast: 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake, 30g Jumbo Oats, 200ml Skimmed Milk (these new oats need more liquid to get soft), 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Berocca.
Mid Morning: Banana
Lunch: Cous Cous, Camembert, Spinach, Green Pepper, Tomato & 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake.
Mid Afternoon: Half a Honeydew Melon.
Dinner: Chicken & Jewelled Moroccan Cous Cous with Salad
I've also got another homemade Banana Choco Oat Muffin for extra if I get hungry.
In completely unrelated news, I've just had a phonecall from the PA of the consultant who's going to take a look at my shoulder. My appointment is on Monday. I'm already impressed at the process of going Private (I get healthcare through my employer). I have an x-ray booked for 5.45pm, then I'm seeing the consultant afterwards. I'm strangely looking forward to finding out what is going on.
Monday, 21 June 2010
Catch up
Today is the 6th day this month that I have been in the office. How mad is that! This week I'm in all 5 days, its going to be difficult I'm sure.
I've been on leave since Thursday last week. Unfortunately my iphone died this morning so I'll have to add pictures later this week. I attended Ascot Ladies Day on Thursday with my SIL and one of her friends. We had a fab time! I left the house about 9.15am and we got dropped off outside the main gates of Ascot Racecourse at 10.25am, just in time to walk straight through them as they opened at 10.30, talk about perfect timing. We mooched around, checking out the food stalls for later, comparing prices and drinks at the bars and went and looked at the racecourse. At about 10.45, we got a table and some seats in front of the bandstand and started on the Pimms. I think it was just about the best thing to drink, it was £23 for a pitcher and that lasted a fair while. The cheapest bottle of champers we could find was £33 (most expensive I saw was around £120 I think!). I was approached by various people asking for photos, was the first time anyones asked to take a picture of me and my tattoos - was a little weird, but I obliged :) I was also photographed by a 'high street retailer' which I can only assume was M&S as that is where my hat was from. We sat by the bandstand for most of the morning, only leaving when it was time for the Queen to arrive. We walked over towards the Royal Enclosure and when she came through on her carriage, she was literally a few metres away. I got a cracking photo of her. There were various other members of the Royal family there, but I couldn't tell you who they were, I'm going to need to get Mr H's Mum to identify them in my pics. We also 'papped' Bruce Forseyth, who considering he's 82 was in remarkably good shape. We did a tiny bit of betting - but I won nothing! We left at about 4.30pm and got home for a glass or two of champers in my SIL's garden then Mr H picked me up and we went home. The worst bit about drinking in the day was that I started to feel rough before I even went to bed, ergh.
Most of the rest of the weekend (Friday through to Sunday) was taken up with Life Laundry. Mr H is away in Grand Cayman taking part in a Zombie Film, so I figured it was a good time to start going through things. We've been living in our house for a few days over 3 years now and there are still boxes of things that we've not unpacked. Clearly the 3-6 month rule has not been adhered too. I started in the spare room, clearing off a chair we use as a dumping point for all our washed clothes. It was like taking a core sample of ice, except I was taking a core sample of fashion. Right at the bottom lurked a few size 14's. I almost felt a little embarassed that we clearly leave our washing out that long!! I cleared it all off, hung up the bits that I wanted to keep and filled up two bin bags of old clothes that were too big, or just weren't really suitable for my new body. It felt good. Of course as I went through I tried on alot of things, it was quite a wake up call to see how big some things are now. I kept a few of the nicer size 12 things because I'm hoping to get a sewing machine for my birthday and will alter them down to fit. I also sorted our wardrobe (again clearing out things I've not worn in ages) and emptied a cupboard that was full of wedding leftovers. I hope to get to a carboot sale in the next few weeks to try and sell some stuff. I reckon if I could sell everything for a £1 I'd make a small fortune.
I did make it out of the house a few times! On Saturday I went to a Charity Tea Party at my SIL's house. No joke, I ate food from 4pm when I arrived until 6pm when I left. Cakes, sandwiches, crisps, strawberries - it was divine! Needless to say though I had major carb crash in the car on the way home and I didn't need to eat anything else that day.
On Sunday I went over to my Dads house to have dinner. I decided to take the slightly longer back route way because there is a hump back bridge I take great delight in driving over. Also, this time of the year its a lovely drive, lots of open fields, woodland, etc. It really is beautiful. I was about 20 minutes away from my Dads house on a 60mph road and there was something black running around in the road ahead. A car came speeding around the corner towards me and slammed their brakes on and flashed their lights to warn me. I slowed down and it was a dog!!! Of course being a dog owner, I stuck my hazards on and got out of the car. On reflection, getting out of my car on this stretch of road was potential suicide, but I couldn't leave this dog to get liquidised by oncoming traffic. I called him over and he came straight up to me and leapt in the back of my car. I don't know that well but had never really noticed any houses before. I drove to a pub nearby and went in to ask behind the bar if they knew anyone with a black dog. The queue for the bar was awful, so I gave up and just got back in my car and turned back on myself. After driving around for about 5 minutes I found a little side road near where I'd picked the dog up. There was a house not far along that with a group of people standing outside. Once again, I pulled up, stuck my hazards on and took the dog to the gate. I yelled down the driveway and the dog took off, through the gate and back to his owner. They thanked me for bringing him home, but they didn't seem overly bothered that he nearly got hit by a car. I got back in my car and continued on, somehow managing to arrive only 5 minutes late for dinner. We had a roast, followed by strawberries and cream. Yummy! By the time I got home in the evening there was just enough time to make lunch for work and have a quick snuggle on the sofa with the pugs.
That brings me to today! Food for today is pretty standard:
Breakfast: 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake, 30g Jumbo Oats (trying a different variety at the moment - note to self... they take longer to cook!), 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Skimmed Milk.
Mid Morning: Homemade Banana & Chocolate Oat Muffin
Lunch: Cous Cous, Spinach, Rainbow Tomatoes, Camembert (from my Mum's trip to France last week), 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake.
Mid Afternoon: Grapes
Dinner: Omelette followed by a bowl of fresh peaches.
I've been on leave since Thursday last week. Unfortunately my iphone died this morning so I'll have to add pictures later this week. I attended Ascot Ladies Day on Thursday with my SIL and one of her friends. We had a fab time! I left the house about 9.15am and we got dropped off outside the main gates of Ascot Racecourse at 10.25am, just in time to walk straight through them as they opened at 10.30, talk about perfect timing. We mooched around, checking out the food stalls for later, comparing prices and drinks at the bars and went and looked at the racecourse. At about 10.45, we got a table and some seats in front of the bandstand and started on the Pimms. I think it was just about the best thing to drink, it was £23 for a pitcher and that lasted a fair while. The cheapest bottle of champers we could find was £33 (most expensive I saw was around £120 I think!). I was approached by various people asking for photos, was the first time anyones asked to take a picture of me and my tattoos - was a little weird, but I obliged :) I was also photographed by a 'high street retailer' which I can only assume was M&S as that is where my hat was from. We sat by the bandstand for most of the morning, only leaving when it was time for the Queen to arrive. We walked over towards the Royal Enclosure and when she came through on her carriage, she was literally a few metres away. I got a cracking photo of her. There were various other members of the Royal family there, but I couldn't tell you who they were, I'm going to need to get Mr H's Mum to identify them in my pics. We also 'papped' Bruce Forseyth, who considering he's 82 was in remarkably good shape. We did a tiny bit of betting - but I won nothing! We left at about 4.30pm and got home for a glass or two of champers in my SIL's garden then Mr H picked me up and we went home. The worst bit about drinking in the day was that I started to feel rough before I even went to bed, ergh.
Most of the rest of the weekend (Friday through to Sunday) was taken up with Life Laundry. Mr H is away in Grand Cayman taking part in a Zombie Film, so I figured it was a good time to start going through things. We've been living in our house for a few days over 3 years now and there are still boxes of things that we've not unpacked. Clearly the 3-6 month rule has not been adhered too. I started in the spare room, clearing off a chair we use as a dumping point for all our washed clothes. It was like taking a core sample of ice, except I was taking a core sample of fashion. Right at the bottom lurked a few size 14's. I almost felt a little embarassed that we clearly leave our washing out that long!! I cleared it all off, hung up the bits that I wanted to keep and filled up two bin bags of old clothes that were too big, or just weren't really suitable for my new body. It felt good. Of course as I went through I tried on alot of things, it was quite a wake up call to see how big some things are now. I kept a few of the nicer size 12 things because I'm hoping to get a sewing machine for my birthday and will alter them down to fit. I also sorted our wardrobe (again clearing out things I've not worn in ages) and emptied a cupboard that was full of wedding leftovers. I hope to get to a carboot sale in the next few weeks to try and sell some stuff. I reckon if I could sell everything for a £1 I'd make a small fortune.
I did make it out of the house a few times! On Saturday I went to a Charity Tea Party at my SIL's house. No joke, I ate food from 4pm when I arrived until 6pm when I left. Cakes, sandwiches, crisps, strawberries - it was divine! Needless to say though I had major carb crash in the car on the way home and I didn't need to eat anything else that day.
On Sunday I went over to my Dads house to have dinner. I decided to take the slightly longer back route way because there is a hump back bridge I take great delight in driving over. Also, this time of the year its a lovely drive, lots of open fields, woodland, etc. It really is beautiful. I was about 20 minutes away from my Dads house on a 60mph road and there was something black running around in the road ahead. A car came speeding around the corner towards me and slammed their brakes on and flashed their lights to warn me. I slowed down and it was a dog!!! Of course being a dog owner, I stuck my hazards on and got out of the car. On reflection, getting out of my car on this stretch of road was potential suicide, but I couldn't leave this dog to get liquidised by oncoming traffic. I called him over and he came straight up to me and leapt in the back of my car. I don't know that well but had never really noticed any houses before. I drove to a pub nearby and went in to ask behind the bar if they knew anyone with a black dog. The queue for the bar was awful, so I gave up and just got back in my car and turned back on myself. After driving around for about 5 minutes I found a little side road near where I'd picked the dog up. There was a house not far along that with a group of people standing outside. Once again, I pulled up, stuck my hazards on and took the dog to the gate. I yelled down the driveway and the dog took off, through the gate and back to his owner. They thanked me for bringing him home, but they didn't seem overly bothered that he nearly got hit by a car. I got back in my car and continued on, somehow managing to arrive only 5 minutes late for dinner. We had a roast, followed by strawberries and cream. Yummy! By the time I got home in the evening there was just enough time to make lunch for work and have a quick snuggle on the sofa with the pugs.
That brings me to today! Food for today is pretty standard:
Breakfast: 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake, 30g Jumbo Oats (trying a different variety at the moment - note to self... they take longer to cook!), 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Skimmed Milk.
Mid Morning: Homemade Banana & Chocolate Oat Muffin
Lunch: Cous Cous, Spinach, Rainbow Tomatoes, Camembert (from my Mum's trip to France last week), 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake.
Mid Afternoon: Grapes
Dinner: Omelette followed by a bowl of fresh peaches.
I've got to do a Tesco shop this evening as we're pretty low on everything. Means I can make Mr H a nice dinner tomorrow evening to welcome him home. I gather he's been living off chicken burgers and pizzas because the local food is a bit too adventurous for him.
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Om Nom Nom
No real reason for this post, other than to tell everyone about my awesome late lunch!
I had a 2 egg omelette with 3 mushrooms, a handful of spinach and bit of ham, finished off under the grill with a little bit of cheese.
Then I had a piece of really fresh seeded wholemeal bread with sliced local strawberries on top.
This has been my best meal in ages. What has been yours?
I had a 2 egg omelette with 3 mushrooms, a handful of spinach and bit of ham, finished off under the grill with a little bit of cheese.
Then I had a piece of really fresh seeded wholemeal bread with sliced local strawberries on top.
This has been my best meal in ages. What has been yours?
Argh - I need to get out of here!
I'm out of control. Through a mixture of boredom and legitimate hunger I'm eating crap.
I had a dental appointment this morning, so have been at my Dads house for the last 3 hours waiting until I can go and pick up my signed insurance forms. There are so many things that I can eat that I know I shouldn't, but my self control must have been removed by the dentist. Since being here I've eaten 3 dark chocolate digestive biscuit and 2 Cadburys Milk Tray chocs. Not horrendous I know, but for that sort calorific intake, I could have eaten actual food that would have been filling!
I'm still craving more sugar and I'm just thankful that the Dentists re-opens at 2pm so I can go and get my forms and head on home. I need to think about what I'm eating this week as I'm sure Thursday (Ascot) won't be the best of eating days, Friday I'm having dinner at a friends and Mr H is away all weekend filming in the Cayman Islands so I'm sure out of lonliness I'll be more inclined to hit the trashy food.
Am planning a late lunch when I get home to fuel a run after work before Mr H gets home. I'd be pleased with any distance around the 6 mile mark.
I had a dental appointment this morning, so have been at my Dads house for the last 3 hours waiting until I can go and pick up my signed insurance forms. There are so many things that I can eat that I know I shouldn't, but my self control must have been removed by the dentist. Since being here I've eaten 3 dark chocolate digestive biscuit and 2 Cadburys Milk Tray chocs. Not horrendous I know, but for that sort calorific intake, I could have eaten actual food that would have been filling!
I'm still craving more sugar and I'm just thankful that the Dentists re-opens at 2pm so I can go and get my forms and head on home. I need to think about what I'm eating this week as I'm sure Thursday (Ascot) won't be the best of eating days, Friday I'm having dinner at a friends and Mr H is away all weekend filming in the Cayman Islands so I'm sure out of lonliness I'll be more inclined to hit the trashy food.
Am planning a late lunch when I get home to fuel a run after work before Mr H gets home. I'd be pleased with any distance around the 6 mile mark.
Monday, 14 June 2010
A few pics from Dubai
Firstly a montage of a few pics, me and Mr H standing in front of the Burj. Then two slightly drunken photos - I'm assuming that the time is reflecting UK time rather than Dubai time, so our defence at riding little brass camels is that we'd spent the night drinking and it was infact 1.30am! If I'd put the whole picture up, it would have been much funnier, there were 3 camels of varying sizes and in each pic there are 3 of us sitting on them!
Finally a smart pic of us in the Burj for dinner. Not an awful lot of pics to show for a weeks holiday, but its better than nothing!
Motivation Monday
It's a new week, I'm feeling better and it's time to start fuelling my body for some exercise again. It's really suprising how tiring just doing the most minor of tasks is after a week of not leaving the house. I've had to nap after both my outings at the weekend just to keep me going! It's just coming up to 10am and I'm already quite tired. Hoping that getting myself back into a routine will help, what with the getting up early, gym during the day, eating 5 times a day and going to bed and sleeping through, etc!
I decided this morning to wear trousers for work. I rarely wear trousers of any sort. I bought these towards the end of last year and by the time Christmas arrived they were a bit too tight. Then I just couldn't be bothered to iron them, so they've sat in the ironing pile for about 6 months! As I've been working hard lately at the gym, I thought I'd give them another go this morning and of course they fit fine. Phew! Annoyingly it looks like today has turned out to be sunny, so I'm wearing far too many clothes, but nevermind.
Food for today is back on track of what I'd usually have..
Breakfast: 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake, 30g Jumbo Oats, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Skimmed Milk.
Snack: Homemade Banana and 73% chocolate oat muffins
Lunch: Ham Salad with Spinach, Rocket, Red Pepper and Red/Orange/Yellow Tomatoes and a spoonful of Lemon & Coriander Houmous. 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake.
Mid Afternoon: Fruit pot of peaches, strawberries & grapes.
Dinner: Pitta Pizza & Salad.
Exercise wise, I'm hoping to get out on a 4 mile run at lunchtime and do some weights at home this evening. I really need to get back up to long distance runs ASAP, it's been weeks since I've run a long distance. I'm only working a 3 day week, so hoping that I can do some longer distances at the weekend, perhaps Friday and Sunday.
As this post is entitled 'Motivation Monday', I thought I'd list a few things that should keep me motivated for the next few days, weeks and months.
1. Ascot - this Thursday 17th June.
2. My Birthday Party - 26th June.
3. My Birthday - 30th June.
4. A Wedding - 3rd July.
5. 10k Race with a friend - 7th July
6. Girlie Holiday - possibly mid-late July
7. SIL's 30th Birthday and Mr H's Birthday weekend - 7/8th August
8. Bristol Half - 5th September (still haven't entered though!)
I decided this morning to wear trousers for work. I rarely wear trousers of any sort. I bought these towards the end of last year and by the time Christmas arrived they were a bit too tight. Then I just couldn't be bothered to iron them, so they've sat in the ironing pile for about 6 months! As I've been working hard lately at the gym, I thought I'd give them another go this morning and of course they fit fine. Phew! Annoyingly it looks like today has turned out to be sunny, so I'm wearing far too many clothes, but nevermind.
Food for today is back on track of what I'd usually have..
Breakfast: 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake, 30g Jumbo Oats, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Skimmed Milk.
Snack: Homemade Banana and 73% chocolate oat muffins
Lunch: Ham Salad with Spinach, Rocket, Red Pepper and Red/Orange/Yellow Tomatoes and a spoonful of Lemon & Coriander Houmous. 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake.
Mid Afternoon: Fruit pot of peaches, strawberries & grapes.
Dinner: Pitta Pizza & Salad.
Exercise wise, I'm hoping to get out on a 4 mile run at lunchtime and do some weights at home this evening. I really need to get back up to long distance runs ASAP, it's been weeks since I've run a long distance. I'm only working a 3 day week, so hoping that I can do some longer distances at the weekend, perhaps Friday and Sunday.
As this post is entitled 'Motivation Monday', I thought I'd list a few things that should keep me motivated for the next few days, weeks and months.
1. Ascot - this Thursday 17th June.
2. My Birthday Party - 26th June.
3. My Birthday - 30th June.
4. A Wedding - 3rd July.
5. 10k Race with a friend - 7th July
6. Girlie Holiday - possibly mid-late July
7. SIL's 30th Birthday and Mr H's Birthday weekend - 7/8th August
8. Bristol Half - 5th September (still haven't entered though!)
Friday, 11 June 2010
I ♥ my husband
Mr H hasn't really known what to do with me this past week, no amount of hugs or consoling words has really been enough to make me feel better.
He's been up in London today for meetings. About an hour ago I had a phonecall from him asking if I wanted any macaroons from Laduree. I decided against it, even though I have been hankering after some recently.
About 15 minutes later (I presume the tube ride filled this time!) he called asking if I would like a chocolate brownie from Konditor & Cook. Now this shop is one of the reasons I think I got fat! However, since I don't work in London on a regular basis anymore, I couldn't resist.
Bring on 4.15pm when he should be walking through the front door.
He's been up in London today for meetings. About an hour ago I had a phonecall from him asking if I wanted any macaroons from Laduree. I decided against it, even though I have been hankering after some recently.
About 15 minutes later (I presume the tube ride filled this time!) he called asking if I would like a chocolate brownie from Konditor & Cook. Now this shop is one of the reasons I think I got fat! However, since I don't work in London on a regular basis anymore, I couldn't resist.
Bring on 4.15pm when he should be walking through the front door.
I feel... normal
Well as normal as I can! I slept right through last night, only waking up when the phone started beeping as its battery was running out. I'd forgotten to put it back onto its base after using it in the afternoon. At around 7.30am Mr H set off for the train station to go to London and I was aware of something that tasted like the dentist had been in my mouth.
Yup, you've guessed it, that thing on my gum has started to seep. I guess I should be thankful that all I can taste is the antisceptic stuff the dentist put into the tooth, but its still gross! I can barely step away from a sink and a glass of salty water for more than about a minute and its been like this since I got up this morning. Still better out than in I suppose!
In other news, this is what my scales now say. This is what my initial weight loss target was. 2 stones down from my starting weight.
Yup, you've guessed it, that thing on my gum has started to seep. I guess I should be thankful that all I can taste is the antisceptic stuff the dentist put into the tooth, but its still gross! I can barely step away from a sink and a glass of salty water for more than about a minute and its been like this since I got up this morning. Still better out than in I suppose!
In other news, this is what my scales now say. This is what my initial weight loss target was. 2 stones down from my starting weight.
Now of course this is only 0.5lbs down from my start of the month weight, but its nearly 4lbs down from AF bloat which has subsided now. I guess I should be thankful that by my limited food intake in the past few days I've hopefully not done too much damage to the ol' lean muscle mass. Yesterday evening I ate more pasta bake than I think anyone should have, especially when all I'd eaten prior to that was mashed bananas. It was a Homepride Jar sauce and it made me feel so much better. Something about it basically cooking itself when I was feeling crappy really made my day.
I hope that this weekend I can start to live a slightly more normal life, I've got an appointment to get my hair cut tomorrow morning and perhaps on Sunday I'll try a little light weight training - but of course only if I've managed to eat a proper days worth of food before then.
Finally, remember this post? I noticed last night that the advert had changed ever so slightly with this as the last screen shot.
I wonder if they had complaints about the slogan 'because who has time to slim slowly?'.
Thursday, 10 June 2010
Don't read if your squeamish
By 2pm yesterday I'd had enough. I'd managed to get about an hours sleep but the pain just kept intensifying. I called Mr H in floods of tears and left what is probably the most harrowing voicemail he'll have received to date! I then called my Mum who got on the case right away. She called the dentist, told them that they had to see me and at 3pm I had a call from the Dentist saying they'd see me sometime after 4.30pm. I found it a little patronising when the receptionist at the dentist said 'I understand your in a little bit of pain'... A LITTLE? heck lady, I'm sobbing down the phone to you and you think this is because of a little bit of pain?! I'm taking prescription strength pain killers and they are doing nothing, NOTHING!
So anyway, I had a shower and got in the car to drive the 20 miles to my Dentist. I'm still not sure whether I should have driven in the condition I was in, but if relief was at the end of it, it was worth it.
At about 4.45pm the Dentist who actually owns the surgery saw me. I've never seen him before. I got to go to the upstairs room (which means I've now visited all 3 rooms in the surgery, which considering I've been a patient there for about 18 years has taken some time). My how the other half of the private patients live - a flat screen TV on the ceiling, showing Finders Keepers! Result. The Dental Nurse apologised for the viewing and I told her I was quite happy to watch Finders Keepers, though when it came down to it I shut my eyes!!
The Dentist was really understanding, I told him I'd been off work since Friday, was taking 50mg of Diclofenac 3 times a day and I hadn't slept properly since Friday night. He asked what sort of pain I was in, I think 'the worst kind' was my answer.
For the 3rd time in 5 days he opened up the tooth and set about cleaning it out. He managed to clean 2 of the roots out completely, but the third root was a bit of a problem. There is something in it. He said he wasn't sure if it was a rogue piece of root canal filling... or..... a broken off piece of dental instrument... WHAT THE F*CK?!?!! A broken off piece of dental instrument, how the heck long would that have been in there for? 10 years since it was done originally?
I'd imagine the look on my face said it all! He said he didn't want to risk trying to get whatever it was out because he might end up pushing it in further. He then sealed up the tooth, with another good splodge of antisceptic and sent me on my way with a lovely numb face and another course of antibiotics to take along side the antibiotics I'm already taking. I'm must be rattling inside! He advised me that if I was still in major pain tomorrow, he was working and he would extract it. I never thought I'd be so happy to hear those words. It gave me some hope that there would be an end in sight if the pain persisted.
I went back to my Mums house where I managed to eat the first meal I've had in days, I had Baked Beans, Sausage & Mashed Potato, followed by a chocolate mousse. Unfortunately because my mouth was numb, I didn't taste anything! It was good to eat though, specially as I couldn't feel a thing whilst I was doing it.
I drove home and went straight to my doctors appointment for my shoulder. I was in and out in about 3 minutes and he's referred me to a shoulder specialist at the private clinic in Winchester. I should be receiving a letter shortly advising me of my appointment. He thinks its possibly Shoulder Subluxation.
I got home about 7.45 and picked up a text from one of my friends. Despite the fact she knows I've had dental problems, she was inviting me over for dinner. Haha! Talk about missing the point. I gave her a call and explained that although I'd love to consider eating and going out and having a good natter, it is just all too much right now.
Later in the evening the pain started to return :( I had an early night, turning in around 10pm (after Junior Apprentice... what a bunch of weirdos!). The pain during the night was bad again. I managed to sleep but went through a very similar routine to previous nights...
12am - wake up, take pain killers
1am - start falling back to sleep
4am - wake up, take pain killers
5am - start falling back to sleep
7am - wake up, Mr H leaving for work, doze back off (don't know if I took pain killers or not)
8am - wake up, not in any major amount of pain, but I can't remember when I last took pain killers.
Just after 8am I got out of bed. My face felt different. Following a check in the mirror I can see that its quite swollen again. Following a further check in the mirror up close, OMG, what the heck is next to my tooth. Fantastic, I now have a visible boil next to my troublesome tooth. Just in case it subsides, I've recorded it on the camera for Mr H to review. I'm such a cruel wife wanting to share such a horror with him.
Spoke to my dentists again, who eventually called me back at 10.30am. They are happy to let me just get on with things if I'm not in severe amounts of pain. Hopefully the lump should subside with the antibiotics I'm taking. Somewhere deep down, I strangely wanted them to drain it. If the pain gets worse again, I'll have to go back in and have it re-assessed with a view to possibly removing it. Good thing is that so long as I don't open my mouth very much, I'm comfortable. I'm still taking paracetomol to take the edge off the pain and they are working.
I'm still not really able to eat much. I tried eating a banana this morning. It is too sore to open my mouth wide, so I tried cutting it into pound coin thick slices, that was sore to try and chew. So I ended up mushing it up with a fork to eat. I ♥ mushed banana.
Not sure what else I'll eat today, the banana has left me feeling quite full! I guess I'll just eat when I'm hungry and make sure its soft and mushy. I won't be due anymore antibiotics now until around 6pm, so thats really the next time I have to eat. For now, I'm going to try and get a bit more sleep as I've done a bit of work this morning and it's left me feeling exhausted. Got to try and power myself back up for a little bit more work at 3pm!!
So anyway, I had a shower and got in the car to drive the 20 miles to my Dentist. I'm still not sure whether I should have driven in the condition I was in, but if relief was at the end of it, it was worth it.
At about 4.45pm the Dentist who actually owns the surgery saw me. I've never seen him before. I got to go to the upstairs room (which means I've now visited all 3 rooms in the surgery, which considering I've been a patient there for about 18 years has taken some time). My how the other half of the private patients live - a flat screen TV on the ceiling, showing Finders Keepers! Result. The Dental Nurse apologised for the viewing and I told her I was quite happy to watch Finders Keepers, though when it came down to it I shut my eyes!!
The Dentist was really understanding, I told him I'd been off work since Friday, was taking 50mg of Diclofenac 3 times a day and I hadn't slept properly since Friday night. He asked what sort of pain I was in, I think 'the worst kind' was my answer.
For the 3rd time in 5 days he opened up the tooth and set about cleaning it out. He managed to clean 2 of the roots out completely, but the third root was a bit of a problem. There is something in it. He said he wasn't sure if it was a rogue piece of root canal filling... or..... a broken off piece of dental instrument... WHAT THE F*CK?!?!! A broken off piece of dental instrument, how the heck long would that have been in there for? 10 years since it was done originally?
I'd imagine the look on my face said it all! He said he didn't want to risk trying to get whatever it was out because he might end up pushing it in further. He then sealed up the tooth, with another good splodge of antisceptic and sent me on my way with a lovely numb face and another course of antibiotics to take along side the antibiotics I'm already taking. I'm must be rattling inside! He advised me that if I was still in major pain tomorrow, he was working and he would extract it. I never thought I'd be so happy to hear those words. It gave me some hope that there would be an end in sight if the pain persisted.
I went back to my Mums house where I managed to eat the first meal I've had in days, I had Baked Beans, Sausage & Mashed Potato, followed by a chocolate mousse. Unfortunately because my mouth was numb, I didn't taste anything! It was good to eat though, specially as I couldn't feel a thing whilst I was doing it.
I drove home and went straight to my doctors appointment for my shoulder. I was in and out in about 3 minutes and he's referred me to a shoulder specialist at the private clinic in Winchester. I should be receiving a letter shortly advising me of my appointment. He thinks its possibly Shoulder Subluxation.
I got home about 7.45 and picked up a text from one of my friends. Despite the fact she knows I've had dental problems, she was inviting me over for dinner. Haha! Talk about missing the point. I gave her a call and explained that although I'd love to consider eating and going out and having a good natter, it is just all too much right now.
Later in the evening the pain started to return :( I had an early night, turning in around 10pm (after Junior Apprentice... what a bunch of weirdos!). The pain during the night was bad again. I managed to sleep but went through a very similar routine to previous nights...
12am - wake up, take pain killers
1am - start falling back to sleep
4am - wake up, take pain killers
5am - start falling back to sleep
7am - wake up, Mr H leaving for work, doze back off (don't know if I took pain killers or not)
8am - wake up, not in any major amount of pain, but I can't remember when I last took pain killers.
Just after 8am I got out of bed. My face felt different. Following a check in the mirror I can see that its quite swollen again. Following a further check in the mirror up close, OMG, what the heck is next to my tooth. Fantastic, I now have a visible boil next to my troublesome tooth. Just in case it subsides, I've recorded it on the camera for Mr H to review. I'm such a cruel wife wanting to share such a horror with him.
Spoke to my dentists again, who eventually called me back at 10.30am. They are happy to let me just get on with things if I'm not in severe amounts of pain. Hopefully the lump should subside with the antibiotics I'm taking. Somewhere deep down, I strangely wanted them to drain it. If the pain gets worse again, I'll have to go back in and have it re-assessed with a view to possibly removing it. Good thing is that so long as I don't open my mouth very much, I'm comfortable. I'm still taking paracetomol to take the edge off the pain and they are working.
I'm still not really able to eat much. I tried eating a banana this morning. It is too sore to open my mouth wide, so I tried cutting it into pound coin thick slices, that was sore to try and chew. So I ended up mushing it up with a fork to eat. I ♥ mushed banana.
Not sure what else I'll eat today, the banana has left me feeling quite full! I guess I'll just eat when I'm hungry and make sure its soft and mushy. I won't be due anymore antibiotics now until around 6pm, so thats really the next time I have to eat. For now, I'm going to try and get a bit more sleep as I've done a bit of work this morning and it's left me feeling exhausted. Got to try and power myself back up for a little bit more work at 3pm!!
Wednesday, 9 June 2010
Woe is me
Yet another day of terrible toothache. My dentist appointment clearly gave me little relief despite it being the second time they have opened up the tooth in question.
I woke up this morning around 1am when my painkillers wore off (note to self, taking pain killers at 9pm isn't good if it means waking up so soon after going to sleep). I just couldn't get back to sleep! I ended up once again sobbing in the bathroom for about half an hour before deciding to come downstairs and watch some TV to try to take my mind off the pain. I watched all sorts of crap and I also watched Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants... 2! Mr H came down to see me at around 6am when his alarm went off. I finally took some more hardcore painkillers around 7am and put myself to bed, instructing Mr H to call me in 2 hours and if I didn't answer to call me an ambulance! I'm so paranoid that I'm going to OD with the amount of pills I'm taking.
9am arrived and Mr H's phonecall woke me up as planned. I got straight on the phone to the dentists to ask if what I was experiencing was considered normal, the reply 'yes'. Not really what I wanted to hear. After another hour of sobbing on the phone to my Mum and writing an email to my boss to explain that I would actually be taking today off as sick (last two days I've been working from home just checking emails and stuff), I got dressed and headed to the pharmacy.
As I'm seeing my Doctor this evening anyway about my shoulder, they wouldn't give me any more pills. But they did give me some benzocaine numbing gel. Gives me enough relief to hopefully get some sleep.
Food isn't going particularly well at the moment, as a result of the antibiotics and probably the amount of pain killers I'm taking I'm not keeping food in for very long at all. I'm sticking to soft and bland foods. So boiled eggs & toast, bananas and digestive biscuits.
Anyhoo, just thought I'd give an update. I'm going to bed now to try and get some sleep.
I woke up this morning around 1am when my painkillers wore off (note to self, taking pain killers at 9pm isn't good if it means waking up so soon after going to sleep). I just couldn't get back to sleep! I ended up once again sobbing in the bathroom for about half an hour before deciding to come downstairs and watch some TV to try to take my mind off the pain. I watched all sorts of crap and I also watched Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants... 2! Mr H came down to see me at around 6am when his alarm went off. I finally took some more hardcore painkillers around 7am and put myself to bed, instructing Mr H to call me in 2 hours and if I didn't answer to call me an ambulance! I'm so paranoid that I'm going to OD with the amount of pills I'm taking.
9am arrived and Mr H's phonecall woke me up as planned. I got straight on the phone to the dentists to ask if what I was experiencing was considered normal, the reply 'yes'. Not really what I wanted to hear. After another hour of sobbing on the phone to my Mum and writing an email to my boss to explain that I would actually be taking today off as sick (last two days I've been working from home just checking emails and stuff), I got dressed and headed to the pharmacy.
As I'm seeing my Doctor this evening anyway about my shoulder, they wouldn't give me any more pills. But they did give me some benzocaine numbing gel. Gives me enough relief to hopefully get some sleep.
Food isn't going particularly well at the moment, as a result of the antibiotics and probably the amount of pain killers I'm taking I'm not keeping food in for very long at all. I'm sticking to soft and bland foods. So boiled eggs & toast, bananas and digestive biscuits.
Anyhoo, just thought I'd give an update. I'm going to bed now to try and get some sleep.
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
Just when you thought things couldn't get worse?
Yet another night of disturbed sleep! Pain is still horrendous, swelling is still not subsiding. I took some different pain killers yesterday. After the second batch of them I started feeling really bad. It had been just over an hour since I took them and I started to feel really nauseous and dizzy. I decided to go to bed and when I went to clean my teeth I saw my face in the mirror - I was actually grey! Needless to say when those pills wore off at 1am (when I woke up due to the pain), I went back to the others I had been taking. Last night felt like an eternity, when I was dosed up on painkillers I managed to get some sleep, but when I was waking up because they were wearing off the hour until the next set of painkillers kicked in was awful. Around 1am I had a little sob in the bathroom as I felt so terrible, its weird how the pain seems to be much more unbearable at night. I wonder if its got anything to do with lying down?
Anyway, I got out of bed this morning at around 9-9.30am and am not due any more painkillers until around 11am. I called the dentist this morning and they still want me to come in for my 2.50pm appointment. I'm not sure whether they can carry on with the root canal when I'm in pain and have swelling, but we shall see!
Food for yesterday wasn't brilliant, I had a minor indiscretion with a packet of supernoodles and two (yes two!) rolo desserts. I also discovered that the reason for me eating like a horse this past week and my jeans feeling a little tighter was AF related bloating. Hopefully that will subside over the next few days and I won't feel quite as sluggish.
Today will be better, as I did a Tesco shop yesterday and other than the supernoodles and the rolo desserts nothing else bad when into my trolley!.
Breakfast: 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake, 30g Jumbo Oats, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Skimmed Milk.
Mid Morning: Banana
Lunch: 1 slice wholemeal & marmite (want to eat light before my dentist appointment)
Mid Afternoon: At the dentist so will be missed!
Dinner: Prawn Stir Fry with home-grown bean sprouts.
I'm going to try and get in a session of weights at home in the next few hours before I get ready to go to the dentist.
Anyway, I got out of bed this morning at around 9-9.30am and am not due any more painkillers until around 11am. I called the dentist this morning and they still want me to come in for my 2.50pm appointment. I'm not sure whether they can carry on with the root canal when I'm in pain and have swelling, but we shall see!
Food for yesterday wasn't brilliant, I had a minor indiscretion with a packet of supernoodles and two (yes two!) rolo desserts. I also discovered that the reason for me eating like a horse this past week and my jeans feeling a little tighter was AF related bloating. Hopefully that will subside over the next few days and I won't feel quite as sluggish.
Today will be better, as I did a Tesco shop yesterday and other than the supernoodles and the rolo desserts nothing else bad when into my trolley!.
Breakfast: 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake, 30g Jumbo Oats, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 150ml Skimmed Milk.
Mid Morning: Banana
Lunch: 1 slice wholemeal & marmite (want to eat light before my dentist appointment)
Mid Afternoon: At the dentist so will be missed!
Dinner: Prawn Stir Fry with home-grown bean sprouts.
I'm going to try and get in a session of weights at home in the next few hours before I get ready to go to the dentist.
Monday, 7 June 2010
Things to be happy about...
Firstly, I started a batch of Bean Sprouts on Friday Evening - look how well they are doing!
Pic on the left was Saturday morning after they'd been soaking for 24 hours, middle pic is Sunday after they'd been rinsed, and pic on the right is this morning. I think we'll be having these as part of dinner tonight (when I figure out what we'll be eating!). They were so easy to do. I used Aduzki Beans and Black Eyed Beans (the dried versions that you can buy). Soaked them for 24 hours in a bowl of water, then placed them all into an old Raspberry tray (just need something that will contain them with a lid and drainage holes. Then place the container on a windowsill. After a further 24 hours, rinse through with water and place back on the windowsill. Keep going with this process until they have sprouted to your desired amount. Easy peasy!
Secondly, this is the 2nd batch of muffins that I made this week.
I adapted this recipe and I made 14 muffins.
Ingredients
1 cup porridge oats
1 cup skimmed milk
1 cup brown self raising flour (I used Waitrose own)
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
Handful of Mixed Frozen Berries (or filling of choice)
Method
1. Preheat the Oven to 200c
2. Soak the oats in the milk and vanilla essence.
3. In a seperate bowl, mix the apple sauce and egg whites, then add the oat mixture.
4. Add the dry ingredients (sugar, flour & cinnamon) to the wet mixture and fold in. Be careful not to over stir as the mixture will get too tough.
5. Add berries.
6. Spoon muffin mix into a muffin pan (I used regular muffin size silicone baking tray and made half size muffins).
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes
8. Remove from oven & enjoy!
Muffins can be frozen :)
The roses are from our garden ♥ ♥ ♥
Pic on the left was Saturday morning after they'd been soaking for 24 hours, middle pic is Sunday after they'd been rinsed, and pic on the right is this morning. I think we'll be having these as part of dinner tonight (when I figure out what we'll be eating!). They were so easy to do. I used Aduzki Beans and Black Eyed Beans (the dried versions that you can buy). Soaked them for 24 hours in a bowl of water, then placed them all into an old Raspberry tray (just need something that will contain them with a lid and drainage holes. Then place the container on a windowsill. After a further 24 hours, rinse through with water and place back on the windowsill. Keep going with this process until they have sprouted to your desired amount. Easy peasy!Secondly, this is the 2nd batch of muffins that I made this week.
I adapted this recipe and I made 14 muffins.Ingredients
1 cup porridge oats
1 cup skimmed milk
1 cup brown self raising flour (I used Waitrose own)
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
Handful of Mixed Frozen Berries (or filling of choice)
Method
1. Preheat the Oven to 200c
2. Soak the oats in the milk and vanilla essence.
3. In a seperate bowl, mix the apple sauce and egg whites, then add the oat mixture.
4. Add the dry ingredients (sugar, flour & cinnamon) to the wet mixture and fold in. Be careful not to over stir as the mixture will get too tough.
5. Add berries.
6. Spoon muffin mix into a muffin pan (I used regular muffin size silicone baking tray and made half size muffins).
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes
8. Remove from oven & enjoy!
Muffins can be frozen :)
Finally, I really do love Mr H. He's felt really helpless since I started getting toothache - after all theres not really much he can do to make it feel better. After my run yesterday he told me that Edie and Dolly had been upstairs and he thought they might have left me something on my bedside table. This is what they left :)
The roses are from our garden ♥ ♥ ♥
10 rounds with Mike Tyson?
Nope, one round with my dentist. Since Friday I've felt like crap. I was worried about visiting the dentist. I was even more worried when they just got straight to it without giving me anything to numb my mouth. Of course I hardly felt a thing, but the sensation of being drilled and being 100% aware of it all was stomach churning.
The dentist gave me a course of antibiotics just incase anything flared up over the weekend as a result of poking around. On Saturday I was in pain, but this was expected so cancelled all my plans and chilled at home. When I woke up on Sunday morning I felt terrible. As I got out of bed I glanced into the mirror - who the heck was getting out bed?! It was wearing my clothes, and it had my body, but who is it!! My face is swollen... not just a little bit, but significantly swollen. As per the title of this post, other than the lack of bruising, it looks like I've been in a boxing ring.
Seriously, this is not what I need right now. My holiday was tainted with toothache and I've had a good week or so back home with no pain whatsoever. To think that I paid for this pain to return 10x as bad really pisses me off! What I forgot to mention was that when they drilled into my tooth, they discovered that the existing root canal is not going to be strong enough to support the posts for a crown. So they have to root fill again first, then we'll weigh up my options.
They put an estimated figure of how much this might potentially cost on a screen whilst I was rinsing out my mouth. £981, yup £981. Part of me just thinks I should have it out and be done with it, but I'm strangely attached to my teeth even if it is just the second from the back. That includes a new root canal and the £600 crown. I do have dental insurance which is certainly easing the trauma of such a bill, but its still an awful lot of money. With any luck, the new root canal will do the job for the time being and I can hold off for the crown til after payday (25th June).
But anyway, as a result of pain and disfiguring facial swelling, I've been pretty down in the dumps. Infact, pretty down in the dumps doesn't really describe it. I'm a firm believer that up to date in my life I've not experienced pain that gets worse than toothache. It kept me awake all night, even though I'm taking prescription only pain killers. I've not gone into work today because I can barely focus enough to get dressed let alone sit in an office without breaking into tears every 10 minutes because of the pain. It really sucks.
As a result of the pain, etc I didn't really eat 100% good over the weekend. Though to be honest, the worst things I ate were sausages at my Nans on Friday night, 2 slices of hot cross bun loaf and a few homemade muffins (chocolate, banana & oats and summer berries, applesauce & oats). But I think its the fact that I haven't done much exercise and over the weekend especially not leaving the house made me feel really sluggish. As a result, on Sunday evening I went out for a run. I covered just under 4 miles in just under 40 minutes. When I came home I did a weights session too. I felt a little better in myself having done it, but the good feeling soon wore off :(
Reviewing my goals from last week, I didn't do all that well, but in a 'the glass is half full' type attitude, I still managed 50% of them:
1. Gym - 3 days this week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday). FAIL - I went 1 day out of 3.
2. Running - At least 10 miles. FAIL - I ran 5 miles this week.
3. Drink 2 litres of Water a day. Check
4. Leg press 100kg. Check
In terms of goals for this week, I think I'll just have a few:
1. To exercise if I feel up for it.
2. To eat sensibly and try not to use food to make myself feel better.
3. Drink 2 litres of Water a day
4. Have 5 fruit and veg a day.
Food for today will be a little hit and miss. I'm not overly hungry with the pain and I'm struggling to eat things. It took me an hour to eat a salad yesterday for dinner and this morning I've had a bowl of bircher muesli sat beside me for the past hour and theres still loads left.
Breakfast: 30g Porridge Oats, 50ml Skimmed Milk, 50ml Apple Juice, 1 spoonful greek yoghurt, handful of mixed frozen berries, 2 tsp ground almonds, grated apple, 200ml Berocca.
Mid Morning: Protein Shake
Lunch: Porridge Pancake (30g Porridge Oats, 100ml Water, 1 Egg White & Nutella) & a pre-tesco Babybel.
Mid Afternoon: Mango
Dinner: Prawns & Avocado Salad
The dentist gave me a course of antibiotics just incase anything flared up over the weekend as a result of poking around. On Saturday I was in pain, but this was expected so cancelled all my plans and chilled at home. When I woke up on Sunday morning I felt terrible. As I got out of bed I glanced into the mirror - who the heck was getting out bed?! It was wearing my clothes, and it had my body, but who is it!! My face is swollen... not just a little bit, but significantly swollen. As per the title of this post, other than the lack of bruising, it looks like I've been in a boxing ring.
Seriously, this is not what I need right now. My holiday was tainted with toothache and I've had a good week or so back home with no pain whatsoever. To think that I paid for this pain to return 10x as bad really pisses me off! What I forgot to mention was that when they drilled into my tooth, they discovered that the existing root canal is not going to be strong enough to support the posts for a crown. So they have to root fill again first, then we'll weigh up my options.
They put an estimated figure of how much this might potentially cost on a screen whilst I was rinsing out my mouth. £981, yup £981. Part of me just thinks I should have it out and be done with it, but I'm strangely attached to my teeth even if it is just the second from the back. That includes a new root canal and the £600 crown. I do have dental insurance which is certainly easing the trauma of such a bill, but its still an awful lot of money. With any luck, the new root canal will do the job for the time being and I can hold off for the crown til after payday (25th June).
But anyway, as a result of pain and disfiguring facial swelling, I've been pretty down in the dumps. Infact, pretty down in the dumps doesn't really describe it. I'm a firm believer that up to date in my life I've not experienced pain that gets worse than toothache. It kept me awake all night, even though I'm taking prescription only pain killers. I've not gone into work today because I can barely focus enough to get dressed let alone sit in an office without breaking into tears every 10 minutes because of the pain. It really sucks.
As a result of the pain, etc I didn't really eat 100% good over the weekend. Though to be honest, the worst things I ate were sausages at my Nans on Friday night, 2 slices of hot cross bun loaf and a few homemade muffins (chocolate, banana & oats and summer berries, applesauce & oats). But I think its the fact that I haven't done much exercise and over the weekend especially not leaving the house made me feel really sluggish. As a result, on Sunday evening I went out for a run. I covered just under 4 miles in just under 40 minutes. When I came home I did a weights session too. I felt a little better in myself having done it, but the good feeling soon wore off :(
Reviewing my goals from last week, I didn't do all that well, but in a 'the glass is half full' type attitude, I still managed 50% of them:
1. Gym - 3 days this week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday). FAIL - I went 1 day out of 3.
2. Running - At least 10 miles. FAIL - I ran 5 miles this week.
3. Drink 2 litres of Water a day. Check
4. Leg press 100kg. Check
In terms of goals for this week, I think I'll just have a few:
1. To exercise if I feel up for it.
2. To eat sensibly and try not to use food to make myself feel better.
3. Drink 2 litres of Water a day
4. Have 5 fruit and veg a day.
Food for today will be a little hit and miss. I'm not overly hungry with the pain and I'm struggling to eat things. It took me an hour to eat a salad yesterday for dinner and this morning I've had a bowl of bircher muesli sat beside me for the past hour and theres still loads left.
Breakfast: 30g Porridge Oats, 50ml Skimmed Milk, 50ml Apple Juice, 1 spoonful greek yoghurt, handful of mixed frozen berries, 2 tsp ground almonds, grated apple, 200ml Berocca.
Mid Morning: Protein Shake
Lunch: Porridge Pancake (30g Porridge Oats, 100ml Water, 1 Egg White & Nutella) & a pre-tesco Babybel.
Mid Afternoon: Mango
Dinner: Prawns & Avocado Salad
Thursday, 3 June 2010
Popped Shoulder, Power Cuts and Pitta Pizza
Wednesday was quite a good day overall. I ate well during work hours and had a great session at the gym, including getting 100kg onto the leg press - woo! All afternoon I had dreamed of concocting some sort of oaty based muffins for lunchbox treats and was looking forward to getting home. However, about 5 minutes after getting in the house things started to go wrong. Firstly I managed to pop my shoulder again. Its been nearly 3 months since I first did it, this time I was just stretching my arms up above my head. I don't think I've ever screamed so loudly. I think I'm going to have to go back to my Doctor for a second opinion on whether or not they can do anything. Even if they just refer me to someone else, I can't live my life in the fear that I'm going to pop my shoulder out of its socket whenever I put my arm above my head! As a result I'm back to square one in terms of movement. Just fantastic. Then to top things off we had a power cut. After about 30 minutes I called the Electricity company who said that an engineer was not due out until 7.40pm (it was 6.15pm when the power went).
Thankfully we have a gas hob, so after rummaging around for some matches I managed to make fire and I could think about some dinner. I ended up having a pizza pitta as planned, but I stuffed the pittas with the filling and put it inside a saucepan to try and melt the cheese a bit. It strangely sort of worked. I served with a huge side salad and felt quite pleased with myself. Soon after finishing that I had a call from the Electricity company, the engineer was now not due out until 8pm at the earliest. Thinking positively, I grabbed my car keys and headed to Waitrose to get some ingredients for my muffins. I figured I could bake around 9pm and still have enough time for any muffins to cool to pack up before bed. Whilst in Waitrose I grabbed some sprouting pulses for my salads too. When Mr H got back from the gym I had a second dinner. I'm sure it was out of boredom. He made me a bagel with mozzarella, chicken, tomatoes, jalepenos and watercress. He saw the combination in a magazine I got him by Mens Health called Fuel. It was my attempt to pursuade him that everything I've been telling him about food is true. Funnily enough after reading it and seeing that fuelling your body is cool and confirmed by people who write magazines he's been alot more receptive to the kinds of food I give him. Also its been confirmed by a 7.5lb weight loss so far this year.
I'd seriously forgotten what its like not to have TV or internet or music or lights! Luckily I had my iphone to keep me entertained. I couldn't really do anything. I went to get the clothes to put the washing on - but no power. I went to do the washing up - but no hot water. I read a magazine for a while and walked the dogs, but by 10pm I was pretty bored. This made me feel a bit sad to be honest. That said, I'm sure had Mr H been home I'd have been ok entertainment wise, but he was at the gym so I was all alone. We called the Electricity company one last time at before bed and they said it should be back on by 1am. So we called it a night. Sure enough, at 6am this morning the kitchen cooker clock said 6:48, so the power must have come back on around 11pm.
Because of hurting my shoulder last night, I thought it best to not go to the gym today. It doesn't feel like I'm getting much use out of the limited equipment if I can't do a whole workout there. So instead I'm planning on a run this evening. I've got to get used to running in a bit of evening heat as thats what time my 10k on 7th July will be in. I think I'll probably do a 4-5 miler - might even drag Mr H out for a 6 miler if he's up for it. I'm not happy running the 6 miler on my own because it involves running down 2 roads with a national speed
limit of 60mph. Don't like the thought of being hit by a car and left in a ditch somewhere. Speaking of being hit by cars though, I do hope all road runners reading this carry some sort of ID with them when running. I have a little bit of lamenated card that lives in the zip pocket of my capris with my name and an emergency contact number on.
Moving onto today's food, breakfast is the usual combo. Lunch is spinach, rocket, watercress, sprouting pulses and chicken (pictured). Snacks include a Babybel light, raspberries and a Banana. Not sure what dinner will be, haven't really thought about it. Possibly stuffed peppers and salad. Will get in another protein shake after my run too.
Thankfully we have a gas hob, so after rummaging around for some matches I managed to make fire and I could think about some dinner. I ended up having a pizza pitta as planned, but I stuffed the pittas with the filling and put it inside a saucepan to try and melt the cheese a bit. It strangely sort of worked. I served with a huge side salad and felt quite pleased with myself. Soon after finishing that I had a call from the Electricity company, the engineer was now not due out until 8pm at the earliest. Thinking positively, I grabbed my car keys and headed to Waitrose to get some ingredients for my muffins. I figured I could bake around 9pm and still have enough time for any muffins to cool to pack up before bed. Whilst in Waitrose I grabbed some sprouting pulses for my salads too. When Mr H got back from the gym I had a second dinner. I'm sure it was out of boredom. He made me a bagel with mozzarella, chicken, tomatoes, jalepenos and watercress. He saw the combination in a magazine I got him by Mens Health called Fuel. It was my attempt to pursuade him that everything I've been telling him about food is true. Funnily enough after reading it and seeing that fuelling your body is cool and confirmed by people who write magazines he's been alot more receptive to the kinds of food I give him. Also its been confirmed by a 7.5lb weight loss so far this year.
I'd seriously forgotten what its like not to have TV or internet or music or lights! Luckily I had my iphone to keep me entertained. I couldn't really do anything. I went to get the clothes to put the washing on - but no power. I went to do the washing up - but no hot water. I read a magazine for a while and walked the dogs, but by 10pm I was pretty bored. This made me feel a bit sad to be honest. That said, I'm sure had Mr H been home I'd have been ok entertainment wise, but he was at the gym so I was all alone. We called the Electricity company one last time at before bed and they said it should be back on by 1am. So we called it a night. Sure enough, at 6am this morning the kitchen cooker clock said 6:48, so the power must have come back on around 11pm.
Because of hurting my shoulder last night, I thought it best to not go to the gym today. It doesn't feel like I'm getting much use out of the limited equipment if I can't do a whole workout there. So instead I'm planning on a run this evening. I've got to get used to running in a bit of evening heat as thats what time my 10k on 7th July will be in. I think I'll probably do a 4-5 miler - might even drag Mr H out for a 6 miler if he's up for it. I'm not happy running the 6 miler on my own because it involves running down 2 roads with a national speed
limit of 60mph. Don't like the thought of being hit by a car and left in a ditch somewhere. Speaking of being hit by cars though, I do hope all road runners reading this carry some sort of ID with them when running. I have a little bit of lamenated card that lives in the zip pocket of my capris with my name and an emergency contact number on.Moving onto today's food, breakfast is the usual combo. Lunch is spinach, rocket, watercress, sprouting pulses and chicken (pictured). Snacks include a Babybel light, raspberries and a Banana. Not sure what dinner will be, haven't really thought about it. Possibly stuffed peppers and salad. Will get in another protein shake after my run too.
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
Who has time to slim slowly?
What a crock of shit. I took this picture from our TV last night. I think if there was one thing that I learnt when I was losing weight, its that slowly is the way forward. Sure 1-2lbs a week might seem slow, but if you think that can be half a stone a month. Half a stone is enough to make your existing clothes baggy, 2 months and you'll probably need some new clothes. Carry on for a year and you could well be at goal without sacrificing some treats along the way. And the most important thing is that at the end of it all your more likely to keep the weight off because you should have learnt how to feed your body what it needs.Looking back at my weight loss spreadsheet, I started on 28th August 2008. My initial target was to get to around 9st 7lbs. I got to target (which I actually set at 9st 6.5lbs) 26 weeks later on 26th February. 26 weeks to lose 23.5lbs. I clearly took the slow and steady route. Today on week 92 (according to my spreadsheet), I'm a further 4lbs lighter and am healthier and fitter than I've probably been my entire adult life.
When you start out losing weight, the end point can seem so far away. But in reality, you soon get to a point where you start noticing it and then the rest of the journey seems as if it is within reach.
Anyhoo, moving on to today. As I reported yesterday, things went wrong for me. In the evening I got home after a sleep in the car, had dinner, took a long shower and just chilled out. Had a mini lie in this morning, another sleep in the car on the way to work and feel much better. I think yesterday I was just feeling exhausted!
Food for today is as follows...
Breakfast: 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake, 30g Jumbo Oats, 150ml Skimmed Milk, 2 tsp Sweetener, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Flax, 150ml Berocca
Mid Morning: Banana
Lunch: Spinach, Rocket, Tomato, Cucumber, Grape Salad with Ham and a Babybel, 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake
Mid Afternoon: Raspberries & Strawberries
Dinner: Pizza Pitta with Fiery Chilli Pesto on the base and Jalepenos and Ham on the top. Spice central!! Served with a heap of salad.
I will be hitting the gym today and I will be working hard :D
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
Terrible Tuesday
Do you ever start out a day with good intentions and then as the day goes on you lose your way? I think that is what has happened so far today. I know this is the 3rd post I've made today, but I figure that it's important to try and get to grips with days like these.
About 10.30am I had my mid morning snack and it didn't really fill the hunger hole. By the time it got to 11.45am (which is when I would usually go to the gym), I was feeling light headed and dizzy so had my lunch and went to run errands into town.
On the way into town a guy driving a BMW lost control of his car on the wet roads coming towards us. He'd just come off a roundabout faster than he should have been going (what a dick!), the car started to spin out and he tried to correct it (by steering into on-coming traffic, which is what we were), then he saw us, tried to correct the steering again, resulting in a full spin of his car up onto the kerb. What a douche. Thankfully Mr H is a good BMW driver and we got out of the way, but we both ended up with a major adrenaline rush and a good dose of sicky feeling afterwards. Walking round town I felt even worse than before I'd eaten my lunch so ended up over indulging in 8 mini brownie squares. Now I feel better in some ways (light headed feeling has gone) and worse in others (my stomach doesn't really take too kindly to over indulgence in any food group).
Just to top things off, I've had some random sniffles have since lunch. I really hope its just hayfever and not a cold.
I guess perhaps the chocolate brownie incident and the crappy way I'm feeling today could be a result of over indulgence yesterday. As I mentioned earlier today, I drank 3/4 of a bottle of red wine. Considering I very rarely drink I was pretty hammered on that. I also ate rather rich food, lamb shank in a red wine sauce with creamed potatoes and a chocolate/creamy/raspberry pavlova roulade for pud. So perhaps I'm having withdrawal symptoms from yesterday. If that is the case, I hope that the brownies don't make this feeling continue for another day! Hopefully a bit of sleep in the car on the way home from work will power me up for a short run this evening when I get home to try and finish the day on a better note. Or maybe I'll just eat well the rest of today, rest up tonight and start tomorrow how today should have gone.
About 10.30am I had my mid morning snack and it didn't really fill the hunger hole. By the time it got to 11.45am (which is when I would usually go to the gym), I was feeling light headed and dizzy so had my lunch and went to run errands into town.
On the way into town a guy driving a BMW lost control of his car on the wet roads coming towards us. He'd just come off a roundabout faster than he should have been going (what a dick!), the car started to spin out and he tried to correct it (by steering into on-coming traffic, which is what we were), then he saw us, tried to correct the steering again, resulting in a full spin of his car up onto the kerb. What a douche. Thankfully Mr H is a good BMW driver and we got out of the way, but we both ended up with a major adrenaline rush and a good dose of sicky feeling afterwards. Walking round town I felt even worse than before I'd eaten my lunch so ended up over indulging in 8 mini brownie squares. Now I feel better in some ways (light headed feeling has gone) and worse in others (my stomach doesn't really take too kindly to over indulgence in any food group).
Just to top things off, I've had some random sniffles have since lunch. I really hope its just hayfever and not a cold.
I guess perhaps the chocolate brownie incident and the crappy way I'm feeling today could be a result of over indulgence yesterday. As I mentioned earlier today, I drank 3/4 of a bottle of red wine. Considering I very rarely drink I was pretty hammered on that. I also ate rather rich food, lamb shank in a red wine sauce with creamed potatoes and a chocolate/creamy/raspberry pavlova roulade for pud. So perhaps I'm having withdrawal symptoms from yesterday. If that is the case, I hope that the brownies don't make this feeling continue for another day! Hopefully a bit of sleep in the car on the way home from work will power me up for a short run this evening when I get home to try and finish the day on a better note. Or maybe I'll just eat well the rest of today, rest up tonight and start tomorrow how today should have gone.
New Week, New Goals
I can't believe the 3 day weekend is over. I had a really nice weekend though. On Saturday Mr H and I had a mooch around Winchester including Brunch at Maison Blanc (best boiled eggs and soldiers in town).
On Sunday we started out early on a 10k run on a new route we scouted out by car the previous evening. It was a good run, not an amazing time at 67 minutes, but its the first time either of us have done a longer distance run in about 3 weeks, plus we ran the hard way round with the 2k hill section at the end! It's 5 weeks until the Beale Park 10k and I want a time under 60 minutes, so will need to put a bit more work in. Afterwards I went and saw my Mum and we went shopping and I got my outfit for Ascot.
Then on Bank Holiday Monday we went over to Wimbledon to see some friends for lunch... and I may have drunk 3/4 of a bottle of red wine :P
I'm quite pleased with my outfit for Ascot - you just have to love shopping with Mum's. I set out with a budget of £100 to complete my entire outfit. We started off in TK Maxx rummaging through the racks to find dresses that were nice. I had really wanted a strapless dress, but I ended up trying on a pleated style black v-neck dress. It was perfect, a size 8 (though I'm sure thats why it was in TK Maxx, because it was sized wrong!), and the best bit - £19.99! Next came M&S to look for hats. I tried on a few and found 2 I liked. I couldn't decide between them until I woman browsing the shoes behind us said that the red was perfect! So that made the decision for me. It was £29.50, so more expensive than my dress, but I was still within budget :)
Next we went to Debenhams in search of a clutch bag. I found a cute black leather clutch bag with a metal frame clasp. The handle (which you can tuck inside) had come loose so I managed to blag 10% off at the till (in exchange for it being non-refundable), so that came to £36. Still within budget!
Finally, we ended up in BHS looking for a cardi for my Mum, and I found a chunky black bracelet with a price tag reduced from £10 to £3. I figured it was worth a gamble to see if it went well with the outfit, so I bought it. At the till it was actually £1.50!
Total outfit spend = £86.99.
The only thing that I might have a struggle to find an opportunity to wear again in the near future is the hat/fascinator, everything else will get a fair amount of usage.
Moving onto todays food, much the same as always :)
Breakfast: 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake, 30g Jumbo Oats, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 2 tsp Flax, 150ml Skimmed Milk, 150ml Berocca.
Mid Morning: Banana
Lunch: Spinach, Cucumber & Tomato Salad with Slow Cooked Ham, 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake.
Mid Afternoon: Half a melon filled with grapes, raspberries and strawberries.
Dinner: Tuna Steak on Stir Fried Vegetables.
I'll be hitting the gym at lunchtime for 20 minutes Cardio & 40 minutes weights.
In terms of my weekly goals this week, I want to aim for the following:
1. Gym - 3 days this week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday)
2. Running - At least 10 miles.
3. Drink 2 litres of Water a day
4. Leg press 100kg
On Sunday we started out early on a 10k run on a new route we scouted out by car the previous evening. It was a good run, not an amazing time at 67 minutes, but its the first time either of us have done a longer distance run in about 3 weeks, plus we ran the hard way round with the 2k hill section at the end! It's 5 weeks until the Beale Park 10k and I want a time under 60 minutes, so will need to put a bit more work in. Afterwards I went and saw my Mum and we went shopping and I got my outfit for Ascot.
Then on Bank Holiday Monday we went over to Wimbledon to see some friends for lunch... and I may have drunk 3/4 of a bottle of red wine :P
I'm quite pleased with my outfit for Ascot - you just have to love shopping with Mum's. I set out with a budget of £100 to complete my entire outfit. We started off in TK Maxx rummaging through the racks to find dresses that were nice. I had really wanted a strapless dress, but I ended up trying on a pleated style black v-neck dress. It was perfect, a size 8 (though I'm sure thats why it was in TK Maxx, because it was sized wrong!), and the best bit - £19.99! Next came M&S to look for hats. I tried on a few and found 2 I liked. I couldn't decide between them until I woman browsing the shoes behind us said that the red was perfect! So that made the decision for me. It was £29.50, so more expensive than my dress, but I was still within budget :)Next we went to Debenhams in search of a clutch bag. I found a cute black leather clutch bag with a metal frame clasp. The handle (which you can tuck inside) had come loose so I managed to blag 10% off at the till (in exchange for it being non-refundable), so that came to £36. Still within budget!
Finally, we ended up in BHS looking for a cardi for my Mum, and I found a chunky black bracelet with a price tag reduced from £10 to £3. I figured it was worth a gamble to see if it went well with the outfit, so I bought it. At the till it was actually £1.50!
Total outfit spend = £86.99.
The only thing that I might have a struggle to find an opportunity to wear again in the near future is the hat/fascinator, everything else will get a fair amount of usage.
Moving onto todays food, much the same as always :)
Breakfast: 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake, 30g Jumbo Oats, 1 tsp G&B Cocoa Powder, 2 tsp Sweetener, 2 tsp Flax, 150ml Skimmed Milk, 150ml Berocca.
Mid Morning: Banana
Lunch: Spinach, Cucumber & Tomato Salad with Slow Cooked Ham, 200ml Skimmed Milk Protein Shake.
Mid Afternoon: Half a melon filled with grapes, raspberries and strawberries.
Dinner: Tuna Steak on Stir Fried Vegetables.
I'll be hitting the gym at lunchtime for 20 minutes Cardio & 40 minutes weights.
In terms of my weekly goals this week, I want to aim for the following:
1. Gym - 3 days this week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday)
2. Running - At least 10 miles.
3. Drink 2 litres of Water a day
4. Leg press 100kg
Results - Part One
I haven't yet taken my monthly photos because the 1st June fell today, which is a Tuesday. What with being up for work early, I figured I'd do that tonight. However, I did manage to get my measurements in.
All measurements compared to 01/05/2010
Weight - 128.5lbs - down 1.5 lbs
BMI - 21.38 - down 0.25 pts
Lean Body Mass % - increased from 74.30% to 74.44%
Body Fat % - decreased from 25.70% to 25.56%
Bust - down 1" to 33"
Underbust - STS at 27"
Waist (narrowest point) - down 0.5" to 24.5"
Waist (navel point) - down 1" to 25"
Hips (over bone) - STS at 34"
Hips (widest point) - STS at 37"
Thigh (thumbs down) - down 0.5" to 20.5"
Thigh (widest point) - down 1 "to 22"
Calves (widest point) - down 0.3" to 13.2"
Bicep: down 0.5" to 10.5"
Wrist: STS at 5.5"
Total Loss = 4.8"
I exercised 17 days out of 31, which isn't amazing but its still at least every other day. Bearing in mind I had a holiday, I'm pleased with this.
There are a few things to note before I post progress pictures. This month I have seen the first reduction in my bicep size and in my thighs. Not only does the tape measure confirm this, but I can feel it too. My legs noticeably feel less wobbly when I touch them, there is some uber muscle just under the surface screaming to get out. With regards to my arms, for the first time in a very long time I went out at the weekend without a cardigan on and I didn't feel self concious - that scream's progress!
I'm going to hit June as hard as I hit April, I can feel that I'm getting close to that point where I might be (dare I say) happy.
All measurements compared to 01/05/2010
Weight - 128.5lbs - down 1.5 lbs
BMI - 21.38 - down 0.25 pts
Lean Body Mass % - increased from 74.30% to 74.44%
Body Fat % - decreased from 25.70% to 25.56%
Bust - down 1" to 33"
Underbust - STS at 27"
Waist (narrowest point) - down 0.5" to 24.5"
Waist (navel point) - down 1" to 25"
Hips (over bone) - STS at 34"
Hips (widest point) - STS at 37"
Thigh (thumbs down) - down 0.5" to 20.5"
Thigh (widest point) - down 1 "to 22"
Calves (widest point) - down 0.3" to 13.2"
Bicep: down 0.5" to 10.5"
Wrist: STS at 5.5"
Total Loss = 4.8"
I exercised 17 days out of 31, which isn't amazing but its still at least every other day. Bearing in mind I had a holiday, I'm pleased with this.
There are a few things to note before I post progress pictures. This month I have seen the first reduction in my bicep size and in my thighs. Not only does the tape measure confirm this, but I can feel it too. My legs noticeably feel less wobbly when I touch them, there is some uber muscle just under the surface screaming to get out. With regards to my arms, for the first time in a very long time I went out at the weekend without a cardigan on and I didn't feel self concious - that scream's progress!
I'm going to hit June as hard as I hit April, I can feel that I'm getting close to that point where I might be (dare I say) happy.
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