Miserable yet motivated Monday

I’ll start by saying that I’m trying not to moan too much! If I lead with that I may actually stick to it!

So I had a dreadful night of sleeplessness due to hormones (gotta love that Prostap!), a really sensitively achy back and my partner snoring like a chain saw.  Today I woke up with a sore throat (the reason for the chain saw snoring) and feeling pretty bloated and yucky. It was not the ideal start to a new week and I tried to shake it off.

Deciding that I was not going to lose any weight or feel better by crawling onto the sofa with my knitting I threw a cup of coffee down my throat and put the Wii on and did a 30 minute workout with the EA Sports personal trainer. It’s been a long time since I did this and boy could I tell! I had it set on medium and I may have been a little over enthusiastic with that!

Enjoying my post workout buzz I had a quick shower and got dressed in proper intending-to-leave-the-house clothes as the Doglet needs to go for a run. As I set the blender running with my smoothie I started to feel a bit more odd. Sitting with cup of coffee number two and my smoothie I felt even more odd. Now if you would like to skip the too-much-information part, skip the next paragraph.

Prostap as I have mentioned before is evil incarnate. It is useful diagnostically and has stopped the pain from the ovarian cysts but it does such awful things to your body in the process. I got a touch of cystitis from it last week and did the usual of drinking loads of water and taking a double dose of cranberry extract. Very clever, you are looking after yourself nicely I hear you say! No. I am a stupid stupid idiot because what did I do the next day? Yes, I got horribly drunk and dehydrated. In fact I stayed pretty dehydrated the day after that too…and for those two days I totally forgot to take my cranberry extract or do anything sensible at all. So not surprisingly, today I have RAGING cystitis. I am peeing acid about every ten minutes and in a ridiculous amount of pain. Yes I have drunk loads of water (two litres so far today) and taken cranberry but it’s not getting any better and I have a sneaking feeling that the odd back ache that started last night might be the start of a kidney infection. I am hoping that this is hypochondria and putting it to the back of my mind. The treatment is the same anyway.

So, feeling generally icky and needing my facilities close by, I have spent the day knitting after all…but at least I got a workout in first!

Tonight’s dinner will be Salmon baked with lime and fresh coriander and pilau rice. I swapped out all the rice in the house for brown so am feeling extra virtuous. Last night’s dinner, in case you’re interested, was Roast vegetables with pumpkin seeds and feta. Very tasty it was too. The vegetables were sweet potatoes, celeriac, butternut squash and beetroot.

High point: Enjoying feeling like my muscles have worked and reacquainting myself with the post workout buzz.

Low point: Failing to walk the Doglet and well the whole of the TMI paragraph!

Measurements: Today’s opinion on the measurements that I still haven’t managed to take is – there’s not a lot of point! As soon as I had the Prostap injection I bloated up. The measurements wouldn’t be a true picture of results and progress. So instead I’ll just track how wobbly I’m feeling – for example, today whilst doing the running on the spot part of the workout, there was a disturbing level of movement in the top of bum and tummy flab area. It really shouldn’t hurt on the downward movement should it!!! So we are now aiming for less movement there. A firming of muscle, increase of stamina and reduction of what looks like body fat (as opposed to what looks like bloat!) Oh dear, I hope that makes sense! Roll on the post-op me where I can hopefully see a reduction on the CFS symptoms like never getting to the bloody point!

 

Hanging on or just hanging?

The planned day off after the injection was (again) not as restful as it should have been due to Doglet needing to be walked. Over all it was probably a good idea as last night dancing excursion was not as calorie burning as it should have been! When a night is promoted as Soul and Funk, I really didn’t expect it to all be from the 1980s! Only managed to find my groove for a few songs but the drinks were flowing so I doubt that I managed to dance off what I drank never mind any extra.

High point: (Naughty) Espresso martini! (Healthy) drinking half Coke and half soda as a spirit mixer – no sugar substitutes just less sugar and no furry teeth after two drinks.

Low point: Hmm was it drunkenly deciding that a good snack would be gluten free cocoa pops with full fat milk and Kaluha…or waking up at 5.30 this morning needing to drink all the water in the world. Oh or right now, my head, right now .

It’s sunny, I may try to walk Doglet later but my expectations for today are very low indeed!

Stretch and splat

Well Day two came and went rather uneventfully. I kept my fluids up, ate healthily and tried out a new recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty. I tried the chickpea and bread stew with fennel. It sounded lovely and I’d hoped that the fennel would add something interesting to the flavour but I was quite underwhelmed. It was yummy but not something I’d strictly follow a recipe for again.

Anyway, it wasn’t until I came home at about 10 pm and started getting ready for bed that I realised that I hadn’t done anything that I could call exercise! So since I was tense and achy I did a 20 minute yoga workout app (the same one I’ve mentioned several times before). It is gently challenging and loosens my joints without straining them so is perfect for bedtime.

The results were a good nights sleep and I woke up feeling that I’d worked my muscles yesterday! My levels of inactivity have been remarkable lately so even small workouts have a large impact on my body.

Today was my ‘rest’ day. So, I was up at 7.30, pouring coffee down my throat and out of the door early to go to hospital for my next Prostap injection.  It should have been a quick visit but they were amazingly disorganised and I was in there for ages (doesn’t bode well for the operation next month does it!). I had planned to come home for a leisurely breakfast but since they took so long I dashed in for a quick cheese sandwich and bottle of water before I had to pick up my son for his hospital appointment. Before I knew it I was ‘popping in to get a few things’ and ended up sat in the car outside the house with a boot full of shopping and no energy. The Prostap had kicked in and I was feeling heavy headed, achy back, crampy stomach and mouth tasting like medical metal. Splat! Excellent!

Thankfully, the cavalry came to the rescue and helped carry the shopping up the stairs and put me in the bath to wash the whinging off.

My son made dinner tonight:  Chicken ceasar salad. He makes his own dressing and croutons from scratch too! Not exactly low calorie but delicious and full of leaves! We’ll just skim over the bowl of bananas and custard that I had afterwards. Let’s talk instead about the film we watched: Conan the Barbarian. Wow, utter rubbish! Unless you like the look of Jason Momoa, in which case it’s quite easy on the eye, lots of boobs and muscles, just don’t expect any acting from any of them.

So, not exactly a rest day today, I’m shattered after all the driving, walking and shopping. Tomorrow I think will be the rest day with a bit of Just Dance in the evening in preparation for Friday night out dancing – proper dancing!

Apologies for the boring post today – full of meds and uninspired.

A shaky and soggy start

After being good and putting myself to bed straight after Downton Abbey, listening to a sleep meditation and doing all the right go-to-sleep-and-stay-asleep things, I was hoping to get a good early start on the day. Unfortunately despite getting to sleep with less than the usual trouble, I spent the night alternating between waking up hotter than the fires of hell due to night sweats and waking up freezing cold after throwing the blankets off and being soaked in sweat. So this morning was a groggy affair. I did manage to make and drink a breakfast smoothie. My favourite so far:

• Kallo chocolate coconut milk (not the stuff in tins, the litre cartons)
• a banana
• dessertspoon of peanut butter
• two scoops of vanilla protein powder

Actually my favourite is plain Kallo coconut milk and chocolate protein powder but this is close enough. I’d like to try using peanut flour instead of protein powder so that it’s not so full of crap and isn’t milk protein. First I’ve got to find the peanut flour or alternative! Suggestions welcome.

After stumbling around trying to wake up for a while my brain seemed to notice that:

1.  The coffee wasn’t working
2. I had been blowing my nose loads
3. I was freezing
4. I felt really queasy
5. I had a dreadful headache
6. I had spent the day before sneezing constantly as had my son

Oh no! Not a cold!

Deciding that I was going to make a concerted effort not to give up hope and crawl onto the sofa with my knitting, I got dressed and took some colds meds with caffeine in. As I was setting the GPS thingy on my phone it asked for my weight which reminded me that I’d hadn’t done my weights and measurements. One quick weigh later and I was out of the door to stumble through the rain with the doglet. We got caught in a couple of huge downpours put kept on trekking along. In total I walked 3.14 miles, far more than I usually walk by far and I was struggling on the way back up the hill as my hip joint really started twinging. I kept remembering to engage my core so my abs feel like they’ve had a workout too! I’m glad I made myself go and didn’t wait for the car to come back to go to the shops but I hadn’t factored in the rain and carrying the shopping on the way back. I didn’t even buy that much.

So day one went ok over all. I’ve done some exercise, done something I wouldn’t usually, eaten healthily and drunk loads of water. Now it’s time for dinner – red lentil and peppers sauce with spaghetti. No cheese on top for me. I’ll have Engevita instead as it’s full of B vitamins and tastes like cheese without the grease!

I’ll decide what I’m doing exercisewise tomorrow when I know how I feel. I need to do something tomorrow as Wednesday is going to have to be a day off. I start the day with a Prostap injection into my stomach and they always make me feel pretty grotty.

High point: I bought new yarn!

Low point: pain in my right hip joint on the way back up the hill

Starting weight: 67.6 kg/10.6 stone

Measurements: I’ll try and do them later and add them in.

Meals:

1. Breakfast smoothie (recipe above)
2. a roast potato (rubbish I know but I wasn’t hungry, just grazing)
3. Lentil and peppers sauce with spaghetti

About to begin…

Tomorrow is the first of October and the start of my countdown to my operation. In preparation for getting fitter and toning up I have had a weekend of excess and sloth. Delightful.

Friday I made Chinesey barbecue ribs with my son and we gorged ourselves in front of some films. Dinner without the things we usually eat because we have to…like carbs or vegetables 🙂 Caveman dinner is our favourite. We followed that with a huge chunk of ice cream and lots more generally lolling around.

Saturday I went out to eat for my friends birthday and had a curry for the first time in years. It was delicious and I completely overate, along with drinking full fat Coke and a couple of overpriced cocktails. I had planned to dance this off but we all ate so much so the just sat outside the very noisy bar and talked. My excuse is that there was absolutely nowhere to dance! It was packed to the walls with tiny overdressed young people. If I’d tried to dance I’d probably have sent hoards of them crashing into the walls. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking with it.

Today we are completing our lolling around tryptic by wearing pyjamas all day and cooking a lamb roast dinner with far too much food for just the two of us. We have a loose plan to follow this with something smothered in custard but I have a sneaking feeling that we may have no room.

So I feel like I have fully loaded my body with all the things it absolutely doesn’t need in order to start losing weight. Win!

I am however nicely chilled and have had a lovely weekend of indulgence so am mentally prepared to do what I need to do without feeling like I’m punishing myself.

Tomorrows plan:

• Weigh myself and do my body measurements so I have a starting point to compare the end result with.
• Walk the dog to the shop I need to go to. Usually I would drive there. If I get totally knackered, I can always get the bus back.
• Plan the meals for the next two weeks.

Starting small so I don’t break myself too early 🙂

Banana nut maple grits

Last night the wind howled and the rain lashed the windows and this morning wasn’t much better. I woke up needing something warm and filling like porridge. Every autumn I get this longing for porridge but oats make me ill. This morning I had an inspired moment. I bring you

Banana nut maple grits

1/4 cup of grits (cornmeal)
1 cup coconut milk (or the milk of your choice)
1/2 cup boiling water
1 small banana roughly chopped
1 dessertspoon peanut butter
3 dessertspoons maple syrup

Put the grits, water and milk into a small pan, bring to the boil stirring constantly. As it thickens up add the peanut butter and stir through. Simmer stirring constantly for 1 minute. Stir through the banana and maple syrup and allow to cool for about a minute.

The banana just starts to cook and lends a delicious sweetness to it. So nice to have a warm gluten free breakfast that kept me feeling full for hours.

Move-ember #MoveEmber

Ok, so since I’m doing this and I’m a sucker for peer pressure I’m trying to rope in as many other folk as possible so:

I had a fabulous time last year doing Juneathon and found it very inspiring. I think I was one of the least able being doing it and my totals stats were hilarious in comparison to those folk who can actually do running 🙂 Don’t get me wrong though, it was immense for me and I am still proud of my achievement a year later. The more I talk to people about it, the more intimidated I see people are. Maybe I just know a large number of unfit, unwell, unwilling or disabled folk! So drawing heavily on the fabulousness of Juneathon and setting the bar at an all time new low I am introducing Move-Ember.

Move-Ember is:

• For people who need some personal space in their close personal relationship with the Duvet and the Sofa.
• For people who think that setting exercise goals would be exhausting enough, never mind actually doing them.
• For people who can do lots of tiny things and avoid the bigger picture (the bigger picture is the end result, not yo ass!)
• For people who feel that reading about fitness really should burn more calories than it does

So during the month of November all you have to do is MOVE. Not tricky really. Just commit to doing one thing per day that you normally would avoid doing. It can be as small as you like:

• take the stairs instead of the lift
• walk an extra lap around the park while walking the dog
• vacuum the house properly!
• Challenge the cat to a dance off

or the beginning steps to change you want to make:

• go swimming
• try yoga or pilates
• walk to the shop rather than drive
• walk/jog/run/stretch

Then tweet it (using #MoveEmber), blog it or comment here so we can spur each other on. No judgement will be made on the amount of movement you do whether you just about managed to change the TV channels manually or you ran 5 miles. The only person you are competing with is yourself.

Who’s in?

 

Having just had a couple of hours to think about this…it has just occured to me that I will be doing this in October 😀 Doh! Well, it’s good practice eh and I can keep it up in November  Move-ember too!