I tackled the clutter again today, kind of like I did 6 months ago when I revamped my house to utilize some feng shui principles to help me energize my home and lifestyle.
I've re-subscribed to the swimming pool, but have yet to get up there. Perhaps tomorrow will be my maiden swim (again!) - work is quite demanding this week, lots of deadlines and little time to create everything that has been asked for. I am in the business of achieving work miracles however, got to keep my reputation up :)
Food today has been really good:
bacon & scrambled eggs on one slice of buttered toast, and a slice of toast with butter & lime marmalade
loads of cups of tea
a couple of pieces of buttered toast with pate, lettuce & tomato for lunch
more cups of tea
a couple of home-made scones with butter & blackcurrant jam,
plus lots more tea and a nice conversation with a friend who dropped by (I sent her home with a couple of the scones!)
dinner was two slices of toast with a tin of sardines in olive oil
250 ml cider
Veggie-wise I haven't made my 5 a day, but I have eaten normal portions of everything which is great. I think scurrying around the house with the damp duster & the vacuum cleaner has done me and the house the world of good. I've been occupied, active and busy - ergo no time to think about food.
Yesterday was very tired after long work day and feeling morose, so dinner was pate on toast with lettuce & tomato plus a big Twix and a whole carton of sour cream & chive Pringles. I don't feel guilty about that though I am concerned that I ate so much salt & preservatives. Maybe I've gotten the junk food craving out of my system for a bit now and can concentrate on eating good-for-me foods for the next few days.
Tuesday 19 July 2011
Wednesday 13 July 2011
Checking in back into the real world
I've been awol for the last couple of weeks - lost in the fantasy world of fiction. I do this from time to time, when I get down and cannot cope with stuff - just check out of real life and disappear into a book :) In some ways it is quite like an addiction. I read novels rather like I used to chain-smoke! However this time I am noticing that I am checking out, and tell myself that the real world IS waiting, and when I am back it IS a good place to be. Foodwise in the last two weeks, I have over-eaten, and am back up 4 lbs. Some of that might be natural fluctuation so I'm not going to worry about it.
So yesterday I finished Book 5 of Earth's Children - The Painted Caves. Engrossing story and it inspired me to try out a different method of cooking. Instead of frying my onion and then making a stew, I imagined being some Pre-Historic cook, and boiled everything all at once. The rosemary lamb & lentil stew turned out great, and as a plus I didn't use any oil at all. Next time I make this I will use leaner meat and see if it is just as tasty.
This morning I saw a job ad which I'm thinking about applying for. All my insecurities are rearing up right now, all my negative self-talk. I'm going to spend some time working on those issues with some EFT and positive thinking this morning, then I am filling in an application. Don't ask, doesn't get after all. The worst that could happen is that I get a rejection letter and I will be in the same situation as I am now. But the best, I get an interview, and the job, and a whole new work situation, new people to interact with and a great new reason to wake up every morning!
Back on the fresh start every day theme: I'm starting good this morning. Little successes every day contribute to the good feelings that I want to continue. The kitchen clutter is finally conquered! And breakfast today is fresh melon and grapes. I might have some weetabix later on. If I feel hungry. Goal for today is to drink plenty of water and go for a walk. Oh yes, and to check back into this very real world!
So yesterday I finished Book 5 of Earth's Children - The Painted Caves. Engrossing story and it inspired me to try out a different method of cooking. Instead of frying my onion and then making a stew, I imagined being some Pre-Historic cook, and boiled everything all at once. The rosemary lamb & lentil stew turned out great, and as a plus I didn't use any oil at all. Next time I make this I will use leaner meat and see if it is just as tasty.
This morning I saw a job ad which I'm thinking about applying for. All my insecurities are rearing up right now, all my negative self-talk. I'm going to spend some time working on those issues with some EFT and positive thinking this morning, then I am filling in an application. Don't ask, doesn't get after all. The worst that could happen is that I get a rejection letter and I will be in the same situation as I am now. But the best, I get an interview, and the job, and a whole new work situation, new people to interact with and a great new reason to wake up every morning!
Back on the fresh start every day theme: I'm starting good this morning. Little successes every day contribute to the good feelings that I want to continue. The kitchen clutter is finally conquered! And breakfast today is fresh melon and grapes. I might have some weetabix later on. If I feel hungry. Goal for today is to drink plenty of water and go for a walk. Oh yes, and to check back into this very real world!
Monday 4 July 2011
Sowing seeds and sneaking extra activity into my day
Yesterday, Sunday, I pottered around the garden for a couple of hours. Planted a couple of barrels with 5 Charlotte and Arran Pilot potatoes each. I'm ultra proud of myself that I used this as an opportunity to build an extra bit of activity - the seed potatoes are upstairs, so instead of taking them all downstairs at once, I did two lots, so I went up and down the stairs twice - yay!
So. Back to my pots. 2 down, another 13 more to plant! I might cheat and fill three big planters with 10 potatoes each, and find various sized other odd receptacles to plant the rest, or stick a few right into the ground. This spring I had all these plans to plant a load of potatoes of all sorts in the allotment. But I gave it up, and there are all these potential seed potatoes bursting to sprout into lovely viable plants...I feel obliged to at least give them the chance to prove themselves! So it looks like I will be growing veg in the back garden and the front.
I feel all excited now at this prospect. Let's see what I ordered: 10 Charlotte, Arran Pilot, Rocket, Kestrel, Rooster, either Anya or Pink Fir Apple; then some blight resistant varieties: 20 each of Sarpo Mira, Sarpo Axona and Blue Danube. Theoretically I will be bursting with potatoes for a good few months! I think I will go look for some cheap receptacles from somewhere and plant a few as gifts for my friends. ;) I know it is everyone's overriding desire to grow potatoes...!!
I also plonked in a few seeds in the garden. I hope they will grow. Nasturtiums in the lily pots, chives & lemon coriander in the new flowerbed I created in April. That bed is now full of rampant raspberries! Amazing what a couple of months of sun and decent watering can do. I'm hoping for a nice little autumn treasure from them. Heh - in financial terms that would be called a decent return on my investment of time, effort and cash.
Sitting in my garden is always a joyful thing. I am surrounded by my successes! And the garden underscores for me the importance of doing. Doing stuff as in planting the seed. Watering the seed. Making sure harmful things are kept away from the ensuing plants. Moving them to better positions if necessary or possible. Feeding them with good nutrients. Removing competition so they get good nutrition. Trimming back dead and superfluous portions to allow the plant to concentrate its energies. And I am rewarded with beautiful flowers, and delicious fruit. Everyone is pleased with success like this. And I can see and appreciate parallels in my quest to becoming a fit, healthy, active person.
I've been selecting and planting all sorts of thought seeds in my head. Nurturing a few growing plans and desires. I've been removing the harmful influences and practices that constrict my growth and abilities. I'm now at the stage of putting those seeds into practice, by nurturing myself with good nutrition, hydration and positioning of my body in places where it can heal itself like in the swimming pool and walking. And just being more active every day. Every day is an incremental change. In a few months or a couple of years or so, I will be rewarded with the sweet glorious tangible success of being FIT, HEALTHY and ACTIVE.
That's definitely a good return to be aiming for!
Yesterday's food:
brunch: red rice salad, 2 quorn Cumberland sausages, 2 quorn Southern-style burgers
late tea: 2 courgettes, 2 slices bacon, crumbled feta cheese, a few pinenuts - stirfried in a little peanut oil
snack: sunflower and pumpkin seeds, grapes
very late supper: steak, madeira gravy, cup of petit pois
Sometime today I'm going to clear the detritus from the stairs to the attic and get up there. My lovely ex set up a weights bench there for me, so I have a home gym! I know I have a yoga mat and a contraption that helps me do abdominal exercises lurking somewhere too. And if I put the radio up there too it will make working out fun. Yay! Isn't it amazing? I already have everything I need to help me in my increased activity quest. Big grins. :D
So. Back to my pots. 2 down, another 13 more to plant! I might cheat and fill three big planters with 10 potatoes each, and find various sized other odd receptacles to plant the rest, or stick a few right into the ground. This spring I had all these plans to plant a load of potatoes of all sorts in the allotment. But I gave it up, and there are all these potential seed potatoes bursting to sprout into lovely viable plants...I feel obliged to at least give them the chance to prove themselves! So it looks like I will be growing veg in the back garden and the front.
I feel all excited now at this prospect. Let's see what I ordered: 10 Charlotte, Arran Pilot, Rocket, Kestrel, Rooster, either Anya or Pink Fir Apple; then some blight resistant varieties: 20 each of Sarpo Mira, Sarpo Axona and Blue Danube. Theoretically I will be bursting with potatoes for a good few months! I think I will go look for some cheap receptacles from somewhere and plant a few as gifts for my friends. ;) I know it is everyone's overriding desire to grow potatoes...!!
I also plonked in a few seeds in the garden. I hope they will grow. Nasturtiums in the lily pots, chives & lemon coriander in the new flowerbed I created in April. That bed is now full of rampant raspberries! Amazing what a couple of months of sun and decent watering can do. I'm hoping for a nice little autumn treasure from them. Heh - in financial terms that would be called a decent return on my investment of time, effort and cash.
Sitting in my garden is always a joyful thing. I am surrounded by my successes! And the garden underscores for me the importance of doing. Doing stuff as in planting the seed. Watering the seed. Making sure harmful things are kept away from the ensuing plants. Moving them to better positions if necessary or possible. Feeding them with good nutrients. Removing competition so they get good nutrition. Trimming back dead and superfluous portions to allow the plant to concentrate its energies. And I am rewarded with beautiful flowers, and delicious fruit. Everyone is pleased with success like this. And I can see and appreciate parallels in my quest to becoming a fit, healthy, active person.
I've been selecting and planting all sorts of thought seeds in my head. Nurturing a few growing plans and desires. I've been removing the harmful influences and practices that constrict my growth and abilities. I'm now at the stage of putting those seeds into practice, by nurturing myself with good nutrition, hydration and positioning of my body in places where it can heal itself like in the swimming pool and walking. And just being more active every day. Every day is an incremental change. In a few months or a couple of years or so, I will be rewarded with the sweet glorious tangible success of being FIT, HEALTHY and ACTIVE.
That's definitely a good return to be aiming for!
Yesterday's food:
brunch: red rice salad, 2 quorn Cumberland sausages, 2 quorn Southern-style burgers
late tea: 2 courgettes, 2 slices bacon, crumbled feta cheese, a few pinenuts - stirfried in a little peanut oil
snack: sunflower and pumpkin seeds, grapes
very late supper: steak, madeira gravy, cup of petit pois
Sometime today I'm going to clear the detritus from the stairs to the attic and get up there. My lovely ex set up a weights bench there for me, so I have a home gym! I know I have a yoga mat and a contraption that helps me do abdominal exercises lurking somewhere too. And if I put the radio up there too it will make working out fun. Yay! Isn't it amazing? I already have everything I need to help me in my increased activity quest. Big grins. :D
Sunday 3 July 2011
Garlic love and a fresh start every day
I made red rice salad today. Have been attempting to rein in the unhealthy eating pattern I've indulged myself with over the last few weeks. A few too many pizzas, chocolate bars and pork pies! However it seems I haven't done too much damage, weight-wise. But I DO feel less energetic compared to May, when I was generally eating well and swimming 3-4 times a week.
Yesterday I started off quite well, but succumbed to a mug of cocoa & a pizza on top of all the healthy foods I had consumed. An extra 1325 calories - yikes! Never mind, today I have done better - yay! Red rice salad (mucho garlic in that) with a couple of quorn sausages and quorn southern style burgers I found lurking in the freezer. The rice salad is stuffed with good things - chickpeas, tomatoes, grapes, hazelnuts, peanut oil - lovely and filling. Heh - I'm still fuming out wafts of garlic!
Yesterday's healthy foods - lots of protein!
2 rashers back bacon, 3 scrambled eggs and a grilled tomato for breakfast
a cup of strawberries/raspberries/currants from my garden (yesss! I am so proud of my gardening skills this year, hehe) with a tablespoon of sugar mid-morning
chickpeas in balsamic dressing for lunch
the pizza/cocoa carb-fest (eek!)
dinner of steak with dijon mustard and a cup of petit pois
very late supper of penne pasta, tomato sauce with crumbled feta and grated cheddar.
I've been having tiredness spells for a while now, being prone to dropping off for a nap after eating large amounts of carb foods. My doctor had warned me that my fasting sugar level was on the high side. There is a predisposition to diabetes in my family, as well as high blood pressure. I do know I am a lot less agile and flexible than I used to be, and my big stomach just gets in the way All The Time! Intellectually I know all the stuff to fix this. Subconsciously I'm still blocking. I think I'll start listening to my Louise Hay tapes again, do some EFT every day, and just keep on doing little changes. Eating garlic is certainly a good start ;) Anyway, I picked up a book from the library last week - Magic Foods for Better Blood Sugar, published by Reader's Digest. I'm heartened to realise that I already do lots of the stuff they recommend in there - yay!
Loretta from Loretta's Journey from 460 to 199 mentioned that it takes time adjusting the skewed portion size perception that a habitual over-eater has. I have to accept that for me this may be a long long road back to being an active healthy individual. It took me 2 years to put on this extra 4 stone - it may take just as long to get it off, and more years to get down to my 150 lb ideal. I think even if it takes 10 years to become that idealized version of me in my head - the me that is fit, active, toned and healthy, it is worth it.
Every day is a new day. Every day is a fresh, hopeful new start. Staying positive. Drinking lots of water. Keeping busy so I'm occupied. Doing a little more exercise every day to build my activity up. Keeping in touch with my loved ones. Finding happiness in all the small things I do and experience everyday. This is what will help me succeed.
Hmm - dinnertime now. I know there are some lovely courgettes lurking in the fridge waiting to be turned into something delicious for dinner! Courgettes with crumbled feta & red rice salad? Yum. And I know there is a lovely Solero for pudding too.
Yesterday I started off quite well, but succumbed to a mug of cocoa & a pizza on top of all the healthy foods I had consumed. An extra 1325 calories - yikes! Never mind, today I have done better - yay! Red rice salad (mucho garlic in that) with a couple of quorn sausages and quorn southern style burgers I found lurking in the freezer. The rice salad is stuffed with good things - chickpeas, tomatoes, grapes, hazelnuts, peanut oil - lovely and filling. Heh - I'm still fuming out wafts of garlic!
Yesterday's healthy foods - lots of protein!
2 rashers back bacon, 3 scrambled eggs and a grilled tomato for breakfast
a cup of strawberries/raspberries/currants from my garden (yesss! I am so proud of my gardening skills this year, hehe) with a tablespoon of sugar mid-morning
chickpeas in balsamic dressing for lunch
the pizza/cocoa carb-fest (eek!)
dinner of steak with dijon mustard and a cup of petit pois
very late supper of penne pasta, tomato sauce with crumbled feta and grated cheddar.
I've been having tiredness spells for a while now, being prone to dropping off for a nap after eating large amounts of carb foods. My doctor had warned me that my fasting sugar level was on the high side. There is a predisposition to diabetes in my family, as well as high blood pressure. I do know I am a lot less agile and flexible than I used to be, and my big stomach just gets in the way All The Time! Intellectually I know all the stuff to fix this. Subconsciously I'm still blocking. I think I'll start listening to my Louise Hay tapes again, do some EFT every day, and just keep on doing little changes. Eating garlic is certainly a good start ;) Anyway, I picked up a book from the library last week - Magic Foods for Better Blood Sugar, published by Reader's Digest. I'm heartened to realise that I already do lots of the stuff they recommend in there - yay!
Loretta from Loretta's Journey from 460 to 199 mentioned that it takes time adjusting the skewed portion size perception that a habitual over-eater has. I have to accept that for me this may be a long long road back to being an active healthy individual. It took me 2 years to put on this extra 4 stone - it may take just as long to get it off, and more years to get down to my 150 lb ideal. I think even if it takes 10 years to become that idealized version of me in my head - the me that is fit, active, toned and healthy, it is worth it.
Every day is a new day. Every day is a fresh, hopeful new start. Staying positive. Drinking lots of water. Keeping busy so I'm occupied. Doing a little more exercise every day to build my activity up. Keeping in touch with my loved ones. Finding happiness in all the small things I do and experience everyday. This is what will help me succeed.
Hmm - dinnertime now. I know there are some lovely courgettes lurking in the fridge waiting to be turned into something delicious for dinner! Courgettes with crumbled feta & red rice salad? Yum. And I know there is a lovely Solero for pudding too.
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