Rebuilding a Better Me

It has been a busy and exhausting week.  It is Thursday, so still have 3 more days left to the week. I went swimming once this week, as Monday morning was still oncall (and tired from the weekend work) so swam on Wednesday instead, will see how I feel tomorrow (alarms are set but am not sure if I am up for it, as would be going alone). Decided to take a picture after week 1, the start of my journey: Weighed in at work on Wednesday and had good news... have lost again... (so according to the work scale, I lost 1.6kg this week, for a total so far of 2.5kg or 5.5lbs). I weigh in again on Saturday with My WW - so will see what their scale reports for my weight and loss. I am debating on ordering a swimming tracker and was looking at something like this: I had a very nice compliment yesterday... and it may not be one that most people will ever hear, but as I was leaving work one of the guys I work with told me I looked like I was “moving better”... it is a rather ...

This weekend was a bit varied.  I ended up being quite stressed. I worked quite a bit.  I visited with friends, I spent time with family. I got little sleep... and I went to my first meeting.  I may have mentioned in an early post (or maybe not) that I was referred back to weight management by my doctors surgery and so have 12 weeks of meetings free.  However, what I learned on Saturday morning was that they no longer want to be called Weight Watchers, now going by My WW.  The meeting was very enlightening... I came to find a group of people who were aligned well with what I am doing.  They now have 3 pillars behind their focus - Diet, Activity, and Mindset.  They emphasised that the word “diet” is not about losing weight, but what you eat and how much.  They talked about not making huge changes but small sustainable ones.  They discussed NSV - non- scale victories, as in going to a meeting, making a good choice, feeling good about yourself, ...

This is going to be a slightly different post... For those who know me, I love to read.  The written word is so powerful. I have been through a lot in the last few years.  Many days I get frustrated with myself, as previously I could do and did do anything I set my mind to.  I never let the fact that I was heavier stop me... I managed sports camps, travelled, taught and kept up with children a fraction of my age... then one day it felt like I had hit a brick wall (If I was in the cartoons, I would have said someone dropped the Acme Anvil on me) and I fell hard. As I said in my first post, I have always had my hypermobility and was diagnosed with my arthritis in my teens, but they never stopped me; so the year I ended up in hospital twice, very unwell and majorly dehydrated, etc., the year the swelling and pain got so bad I struggled to even do the most simplest tasks, hit me very hard.  I kept blaming myself.  I was angry with myself.  I kept comparin...

A week ago today, I joined my current workplace’s Weight Loss Challenge / Weigh In At Work programme. I was not hopeful as I shop for my weekly food on the weekend, so starting something on a Thursday meant I was not starting at the best time.  And even on the weekend, between being out getting the weeks food and preparing my lunches and meats for the week, I even had a McDonald’s as really wanted to try the Sweet and Sticky Chicken burger. I have posted some of what I have eaten this week, the healthy choices I have made, but did not include the cookie 🍪 I had the other night, etc. I have made a lot of good choices this week and am going to continue to as I am making choices I can sustain.  I am not preventing myself from eating, just shifting my choices and mindset about food.  I could have easily sat this week and polished off the entire package of cookies, and previously did exactly that while watching TV.  However, I wanted one and had been making health...

Today was up extra early so that I could go swimming before work.  I like going to Tollcross International Swim Centre as the smaller pool is easily with a set of stairs.  Although I was only in the pool for 20 minutes, I did 6 laps “running” in the pool, a few minutes kicking my legs, etc.  Usually, on a Saturday, we swim for an hour, but today after 20 minutes I was tired and sore. When I got home, I was craving Macaroni Cheese and BBQ chicken legs... but first off, I don’t have that in the house and second it isn’t a very healthy choice.  So instead, I had turkey meatloaf that I made on Sunday, with a small amount of rice (the only carbs today), and cauliflower.  To help with the craving, I put a very small amount of grated cheese on my cauliflower, and a little dab of BBQ sauce on the meatloaf... just enough of each to taste. It was a long day overall, and I am ready for bed... but am waiting for the washer to finish so I can hang my bathing suit t...

I decided that since this is partly about mindset, it should be about celebrating healthy foods.  I am not going to let foods depress me, they will not restrict me, instead I will share the delicious things I eat and make.  I will share the small changes that I am making each day, that hopefully will lead to a healthier and happier me!  Food plays a large part in the flair-ups of Gout, and the build-up of Uric Acid in my body... as previously mentioned, in yesterday’s post, I need to be careful what I eat.  I always joke that it is easier to list what I can eat rather than what I can’t.  It is hard.  Besides being allergic to aspartame, there are other healthy foods that actually make me ill - onions for example, or red meat.  Fatty foods, like duck, cause my gallbladder to give me grief and so I avoid those as well.  The only dairy products that I seem to be able to tolerate are yoghurt and cheese, but many yoghurts contain aspartame.   ...

Okay, when Week 1 officially started is a little hazy... If it started when I began swimming, well that was shortly after I went off in 2018... I mean, it was an irregular thing, but it’s when I started!? If it was when I decided that I want to love myself again (and not be angry or frustrated by all the things I can no longer do the way I used to), well then that was around the time of New Years. If it was when I decided I needed to lose weight, well... um, yeah... I have lost count of all those times.  But this time, was on Sunday the 9th of February... well around then, at least.  I had been to the doctors that week previous to get my Uric Acid levels checked (basically blood tests, to check everything) and was talking to the nurse - I have been wheezy with asthma, tired, depressed, sore, and so much more.  She weighed me, and it was a shock... 140kg!? She asked me about the weight management programme (which I did a few years back and was not pleased with) and wh...

At the beginning of 2020, I did not set a New Years Resolution instead I made myself a promise... I want to love myself again.  I want to be comfortable in my own skin. In 2018, I felt like I lost a big part of myself - I gave up my profession, and had to make some very challenging decisions.  Let me explain: Growing up you could easily find my hanging from somewhere, usually upside-down; but try to get me to walk and I would complain of my sides hurting or my hips not feeling right or I would fall down for no apparent reason.  My dad will tell you stories of my lying in the grass and refusing to walk.  What we were not aware of until later is that I have joint hypermobility... which at times can be quite painful.  My ankles would roll and I would fall down, which led me to wearing special orthotics by the time I was in high school as I was finding it too painful to stay standing/moving and would find anywhere to sit (even if that meant just sitting on th...