Saturday 27 April 2013

Normal service is resumed

Well, if by normal you mean drinking way too much and going to the footie! I should be dieting sensibly, exercising and keeping away from days out on the beer but I'm just not.

The good news is that the house has sold in time to leave me a modest but decent wedge. The bad news is that, having been dragged out of my nice, comfy team at work into the v stressy legal department, and having had the carrot of promotion dangled in front of me by way of consolation, I didnt get the job.  There was a monumental "jobs for the boys" stitch up which didn't just shaft me but several others.

I'm gutted to be honest cos I know I could have done a good job but now we have a chocolate teapot "political" appointment running the team. Well, that's it, no more Ms Nice Lawyer. Cooperation withdrawn. Easy life reinstated. Not the way I wanted it but I'm going to hunker down and just do MY job as well as I can for now.

Today I'm chuffed that we are off to the football. Peterborough away.  A big day out and hopefully I can put the disappointment behind me Wish me luck peeps.

Tuesday 23 April 2013

Hi again

God I'm a rubbish blogger at the moment.  A bit like my dieting and exercise efforts; my blogging efforts are sporadic, disjointed and somewhat half-hearted.  Whoops!

However, I'm really feeling as though I'm getting back into the mood for having another go.  For one thing, I am a lot healthier.  For the first time in weeks I do not feel sick, am not coughing or phlegmy.  Yay!!

For another, my house has finally sold!  What bliss.  It all went through on Friday so that pressue is finally lifted.

For a third, spring is finally springing so to speak.  It's not exactly tropical or anything but it's nice to feel a modicum of warmth in the sunshine even if you are being blown over by the gale force winds!

Work is still heavy but no longer manic.  The current reality is that I just have too much on every day and will never catch up at this rate but it's the same for all of us and nothing is going to change despite our pleas for assistance.  My team and I have therefore decided to do what we can and hang the rest!

Weight wise, my sickness inspired low weight has not persisted.  What a shame.  Once I got my apetite back and stopped being so dehydrated, my weight reverted back to around the 14.9/14.10 mark.  This means that I've gained a few lbs from my lowest and am less than a stone down from my starting weight.  Grrrr.  But no real damage done and it's not out of control by any means.

I have not been running for weeks but I've been to 2 sessions of personal training last week and this evening so the exercise is beginning again.  I'm playing golf tomorrow morning (likely in the rain....) and working from home from my parents on Thursday so am planning a "starting again" run in Lincolndshire (flat, see).

The key thing diet wise has GOT to be cutting back on carbs and snacks.  Too much bread and too much eating between meals.  I've made a start this week at reducing noth but it's not proving easy.  Must. Try. Harder.

So, once again, peeps, wish me luck and see you soon. L xxx

Tuesday 9 April 2013

Beginning again, again

So, I'm not better but I'm slowly getting better.  This is not the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning.  I hate being sick.... I sulk.

But, so that I don't let anothe week pass un-acted upon, I stepped on the scales yesterday and saw 14.8.0.  My new starting weight.  Not too bad, would have preferred lower but there you go.  I'm going to concentrate on reducing the carbs which have unaccountably crept back into my average day and, eventually, getting back to doing regular exercise.

It is a good time to start again.  My old marital home is about to sell (should be completing in the next week or so).  It has been cleared and is totally empty now.  It was quite a liberating experience seeing the last remnants being loaded up onto the house clearance firm's van and driven off.  Part of me kept thinking "I could do something with that.  I could use that."  But another part thought  "You've done enough.  Let it go."

It has spurred me into action on the ebaying and selling off front too.  It feels like a positive thing to be doing; giving nice things a new lease of life and making a bit of cash from them to go towards lovely holidays and trips out with my lovely man.

So, hopefully I'll be reporting in with tales of dropped blubber, exercise and trips out very soon.

Friday 5 April 2013

Listening to my body

Because I've been poorly sick, I've been trying to listen to my body about what it really wants to do - both in terms of activity levels and also in terms of what I eat.  For the first couple of days I didn't eat much at all anyway but the only things I fancied were fruit, sweet stuff (I ate half a bar of chocolate each day) and cereals.  Then yesterday I wanted to eat more and went for savoury meals of egg fried rice and later a stir fry for supper as well.  So clearly yesterday I wanted salty soy sauce based meals!

I have been all over the place being alternately dehydrated (the morning on the scales when I saw 14.4.8!!) and drinking like a horse all day thereafter.  However, I am definitely on the mend now and my weight seems to have settled down at roughly where it was before ie. 14.6 or 7.  This means that I can start again (on Monday as is traditional) from a decent level and hopefully make progress towards the elusive 13's.

In the meantime, I'm being very good foodwise and have this morning reinstated the cold showers and black coffee routine which I suspended while feeling so grim. 

I know that next week will be a struggle as, although I'm much better, I'm not actually well.  Breathing in is a rattley, sore affair  and I'm still achy and a lot tireder than normal.  Exercise will not restart for at least another week.  However, I think I did the right thing taking a week not exactly off work but working from home and taking it easy.  Hopefully I will have averted a longer spell of poorliness...

There is nothing else to report really as I've hardly done anything recently.  The house sale is going alright and should complete soonish so our house is full to bursting with stuff.  I'm ebaying away trying to create some more space and create a holiday fund.  We're off for a walk soon - flat and gentle, the only way to go!

Tuesday 2 April 2013

Silver Lining

Hi all.  Here are yet more snowy pics taken over a week ago now when it was deep and crisp and even.  We still have plenty left although it's mostly in heaps on the side of the road or in strips in the fields.

Bradwell Church.  I must take some pics from inside and find out more about it's age and history etc.


Rebellion Knoll.  No idea why - once again, I must find out more about it.



Richard throwing a snowball for Shelagh.  She loves chasing after them an then heading off into the field to bury them.  Weird!



It was DEEP.


The poor pooches really had to work to run in it.



More snowball throwing.





Minty's technique is more destructive - she pounces on the thrown snowball to the point of disintegration - no need to bury it then, see.

 Man down, man down..





Well, poorly as I am, even I can see the silver lining.  I have been making myself stand on the scales every morning for a week or so now.  It's part of my "getting back into the swing of dieting" push.  On occasion in the last few days it has been a very disheartening experience with 14.11 and even 14.12 registering.  However, I suspect that seeing those numbers helped me to rein back and drop a few.  (I suspect also that those extreme numbers were temporary TOTM leaps too).

That said, being sick has really helped the cause.  I have not been hungry and not drunk booze all weekend either so I was very pleased with 14.6.8 yesterday.  Even more pleased with 14.4.8 this morning!!

This feels like a real Brucie Bonus.  One that I should capitalise on.  This has taken me right back to my lowest weight in this dieting cycle (well, not quite but near as dammit - the actual lowest was 14.4.0).  Although I know that it has come from being ill, I also know that there is no reason why I cna't take it and build a decent loss from it.  I am so much closer to the 13's now.  I can almost touch them. 

So, my main priority now is getting rid of this horrible lurgy (it is going - I feel better than I did yesterday although still very weak).  THEN, I am going to be straight back into a PROPER push to drop some lbs.  Not just going throught he motions but actually cut down on carbs and booze, do more exercise and get into those 13's - for summer and for good!

Monday 1 April 2013

Sooo poorly...

I have the flu. Proper shivery, achy, feverish, cough-ridden flu. The sort where even lying down hurts and making a cup of tea seems like it might kill you.  I have had it for 2 full daysnow and have had to cancel a family Easter lunch yesterday and a trip to Bristol for the football today. I haven't been this ill for a couple of years and I do NOT like it.

In other news, amazingly my weight is steady. 14.6.8 this morning so a lb down on my last WI. As soon as I feel better, I'm going to start a proprr push to get down into the 13s for summer. I feel ready now. So I just need to get rid of this lurgy now.