Wednesday:
I saw my GP (general practitioner/doctor) this morning, all good, she just told me what to look out for with infections. Really lovely day outside, I need to get out in it more. I chose instead to stay inside and actually get some writing/editing work done.
I tried to reheat the rest of that broccoli-base pizza for lunch. For some reason I found it disgusting. Nearly gagged after the first mouthful. So I had a tin of tuna and some vegetables instead.
Tree people are coming tomorrow to clear our backyard. That will be interesting.
Showing posts with label pizza. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pizza. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Lucy
Tuesday:
One of the four heavily pregnant women in my family had her baby on Sunday (or Sat night maybe) and we just found out her name is Lucy. We haven't seen her yet, apparently she is a little small, not sure why as she is not early and her mother had gestational diabetes which is more likely to result in a large baby. I don't really have any details. Anyway, she is doing fine but still in hospital and we haven't seen her yet except for a cute photo. Crossed fingers everything works out well.
Another mostly-rest day for me but I did get out and do the grocery shopping and I'm fine really. I've made follow-up appointments with my GP and gyno.
I tried an interesting recipe for lunch - pizza with the base made out of broccoli. It took a long time but I suppose the dough kind does too. I food-processed the broccoli until it was rice sized, steamed it in the microwave, let it cool, mixed in an egg and some cheese, flattened it out, cooked it for 25 mins, added sauce cheese and shredded chicken and cooked it again. By this time it was 2:00 pm and it wasn't really seeming worth it! The crispy bits round the edge were pretty yummy but the whole middle was too moist and fell apart. I'd thought it was dry enough and didn't do the "squeeze the steamed broccoli in a tea towel" step. Silly me! I could get the same flavour by cooking some broccoli with cheese on it in the oven, so not sure if I will go through all that again. Still have half left though to reheat for another lunch.
I'm still going strong on the low carb Mediterranean diet, tonight I had my first square of (70% dark) chocolate for over a week, surely a new record!
One of the four heavily pregnant women in my family had her baby on Sunday (or Sat night maybe) and we just found out her name is Lucy. We haven't seen her yet, apparently she is a little small, not sure why as she is not early and her mother had gestational diabetes which is more likely to result in a large baby. I don't really have any details. Anyway, she is doing fine but still in hospital and we haven't seen her yet except for a cute photo. Crossed fingers everything works out well.
Another mostly-rest day for me but I did get out and do the grocery shopping and I'm fine really. I've made follow-up appointments with my GP and gyno.
I tried an interesting recipe for lunch - pizza with the base made out of broccoli. It took a long time but I suppose the dough kind does too. I food-processed the broccoli until it was rice sized, steamed it in the microwave, let it cool, mixed in an egg and some cheese, flattened it out, cooked it for 25 mins, added sauce cheese and shredded chicken and cooked it again. By this time it was 2:00 pm and it wasn't really seeming worth it! The crispy bits round the edge were pretty yummy but the whole middle was too moist and fell apart. I'd thought it was dry enough and didn't do the "squeeze the steamed broccoli in a tea towel" step. Silly me! I could get the same flavour by cooking some broccoli with cheese on it in the oven, so not sure if I will go through all that again. Still have half left though to reheat for another lunch.
I'm still going strong on the low carb Mediterranean diet, tonight I had my first square of (70% dark) chocolate for over a week, surely a new record!
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Pizza
Tuesday:
Aiden was home sick today. He stayed in bed until 11, watched TV until 2, then rapidly improved over the afternoon and had an enormous dinner. How can such a little person fit in so much food? He certainly made up for not eating all day.
Of course I couldn't go out anywhere today. I managed to get work done while he was resting but once he was feeling well again he was sitting next to me interrupting me every two seconds. He is not a keen reader so he doesn't have the same anti-boredom failsafe the rest of us do.
This evening for no good reason I ordered pizza. Now I need to drink a couple of litres of water before bed to flush out all the salt and carbs! I say "no good reason" but actually I have an excellent reason. It's that time of the month when I crave salt, fat, carbs, sugar, and smacking other people upside the head.
Aiden was home sick today. He stayed in bed until 11, watched TV until 2, then rapidly improved over the afternoon and had an enormous dinner. How can such a little person fit in so much food? He certainly made up for not eating all day.
Of course I couldn't go out anywhere today. I managed to get work done while he was resting but once he was feeling well again he was sitting next to me interrupting me every two seconds. He is not a keen reader so he doesn't have the same anti-boredom failsafe the rest of us do.
This evening for no good reason I ordered pizza. Now I need to drink a couple of litres of water before bed to flush out all the salt and carbs! I say "no good reason" but actually I have an excellent reason. It's that time of the month when I crave salt, fat, carbs, sugar, and smacking other people upside the head.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Twenty three: aquarium
Wednesday:
Today we went to the aquarium with Ping and little Emma. It's quite a long trip in, an hour and half to the city (drive to the station, train) and then a few blocks walk. The aquarium was nice, with glowing jellyfish:
and dugongs (how anyone ever mistook them for mermaids I can't understand! Sea cow is a better name):
and those huge tanks where the fish swim over and under and all around you.
The whole place was enormous and you can't leave halfway through, you have to follow the chain of interlocking rooms until the end. Quite tiring! 8700 steps today.
Food was a real challenge today. When we got to the city it was 11:30 and it was decided to have morning tea. Everyone else had pretzels (the big salty bread kind, not the cute little snacks) from a German bakery, I had some nuts left over from the movies the other day instead. I was a bit worried that everyone else was eating a lot so close to when I would normally have lunch, knowing they wouldn't be hungry again for a while but I would be. We went into the aquarium, and at 1:00 Ping suggested quietly to me that we get ice creams from a stall there but I said no we'd be having lunch soon (I wasn't going to have one either way, but I didn't want to let them fill up again and delay lunch more). I totally underestimated the size of the aquarium. We got out at nearly 2:00. I normally eat lunch at noon! And when you are restricting calories you are generally very ready for your next meal at your usual time.
We went to the first place that looked like it had kid-friendly food. I thought it would be ok for me too. Unfortunately it was either heavy on the carbs like burgers and pizza, or crumbed and deep fried. But it was so late and with three tired hungry children I didn't want to push to go elsewhere. I was still trying to decide what would be most adaptable to my low carb plan when Aiden said he would like pepperoni pizza. There was no way he would eat a whole pizza, even a small café one, so I decided to share it with him. There is nothing about pizza that goes with my food plan, but I ate and enjoyed it and it filled my tummy. I am not disappointed in myself, I think I negotiated some pretty tough challenges today, but I am disappointed that it didn't work out the way I would have liked. Especially since I got down to 79.9 kg again this morning and now I might bounce back up! And also the pizza was nice but it wasn't fantastic for something I was breaking my diet for! If I had my druthers I'd have a healthy lunch and a chocolate éclair! Or just the healthy lunch.
What I am most pleased about today is that I got through to 2:00 without having some kind of food-deprived meltdown. When I was eating junk regularly, there was no way I could have gone that long without panicking. I would have felt like I was starving, my blood sugar would have dropped making me cranky, I would have shovelled in whatever calorific food I could get my hands on. I would not have said no to pretzels or ice cream. Today I was hungry, but I was ok. I was more worried about finding food the kids would eat.
B: chicken, cucumber, tea.
S: raw mixed nuts.
L: pepperoni pizza.
S: tea.
D: veal in mushroom sauce, salad.
Today we went to the aquarium with Ping and little Emma. It's quite a long trip in, an hour and half to the city (drive to the station, train) and then a few blocks walk. The aquarium was nice, with glowing jellyfish:
Food was a real challenge today. When we got to the city it was 11:30 and it was decided to have morning tea. Everyone else had pretzels (the big salty bread kind, not the cute little snacks) from a German bakery, I had some nuts left over from the movies the other day instead. I was a bit worried that everyone else was eating a lot so close to when I would normally have lunch, knowing they wouldn't be hungry again for a while but I would be. We went into the aquarium, and at 1:00 Ping suggested quietly to me that we get ice creams from a stall there but I said no we'd be having lunch soon (I wasn't going to have one either way, but I didn't want to let them fill up again and delay lunch more). I totally underestimated the size of the aquarium. We got out at nearly 2:00. I normally eat lunch at noon! And when you are restricting calories you are generally very ready for your next meal at your usual time.
We went to the first place that looked like it had kid-friendly food. I thought it would be ok for me too. Unfortunately it was either heavy on the carbs like burgers and pizza, or crumbed and deep fried. But it was so late and with three tired hungry children I didn't want to push to go elsewhere. I was still trying to decide what would be most adaptable to my low carb plan when Aiden said he would like pepperoni pizza. There was no way he would eat a whole pizza, even a small café one, so I decided to share it with him. There is nothing about pizza that goes with my food plan, but I ate and enjoyed it and it filled my tummy. I am not disappointed in myself, I think I negotiated some pretty tough challenges today, but I am disappointed that it didn't work out the way I would have liked. Especially since I got down to 79.9 kg again this morning and now I might bounce back up! And also the pizza was nice but it wasn't fantastic for something I was breaking my diet for! If I had my druthers I'd have a healthy lunch and a chocolate éclair! Or just the healthy lunch.
What I am most pleased about today is that I got through to 2:00 without having some kind of food-deprived meltdown. When I was eating junk regularly, there was no way I could have gone that long without panicking. I would have felt like I was starving, my blood sugar would have dropped making me cranky, I would have shovelled in whatever calorific food I could get my hands on. I would not have said no to pretzels or ice cream. Today I was hungry, but I was ok. I was more worried about finding food the kids would eat.
B: chicken, cucumber, tea.
S: raw mixed nuts.
L: pepperoni pizza.
S: tea.
D: veal in mushroom sauce, salad.
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Nine: funeral
Wednesday:
Today was not a great day.
This morning Tim and I went to the funeral of Veronica's father. Veronica is Tim's cousin's wife, part of our close family circle. The one who lives near the beach. I barely knew her dad, but I was there for her. I found it quite emotional as it's been less than a year since my own father died, and my mother a couple of months before that. I struggled quite a bit before the service started, just from sitting in that sad atmosphere.
Once the service started I was ok, because obviously it was all about Veronica's father which took my mind off my own losses. The family gave some lovely memories. But then I started wondering what I would say at Darren's funeral when the time came, assuming I live longer than he does. It would be a small gathering of family and I would find it hard to come up with happy memories. Just "My brother struggled with mental illness all his life..." Maybe I could make the stories where he made life hell for other people amusing. It was a morbid sort of inner conversation I was having with myself.
We stayed for a chat afterwards and I had some cake. I would have liked to have eaten a lot more! It was nice cake. But I was strong (relatively speaking, I know I could have had none at all) and told myself I'd had enough, even when ladies brought trays of food around the room. I could wait to go home and have a healthy lunch. Tim went in to work.
I'd been feeling quite well, physically, but sometime after lunch I started feeling really sick again. It's "just a cold" but it never gives up! I spent much of the afternoon napping on the lounge, or blowing my nose. Once I finally got up I had a tea with sugar for the first time in a week (and it was delicious), and a couple of mini Easter eggs that I hadn't thrown away because I didn't think they'd even tempt me with their mediocre quality Easter chocolate. It was only a small amount but I shouldn't have been having any.
Finally I was determined to cook a proper dinner but when I got up and started I really felt rotten. And is it hygienic to prepare food between nose blows, even if you wash your hands constantly? Though I suppose everyone in the house has already had this germ. Anyway I ordered pizza.
When I just look at the calories for the day, they are only a little over where they should be. I did not mindlessly binge at any point. But too much sugar, too many carbs, not enough real healthy food, not enough self-control. I need to not catastrophize this, forgive myself and move on; but at the same time be accountable and work on doing better. It was a hard day.
What I ate:
B: chicken, cucumber, tomato, tea (no sugar).
S: cake.
L: half a steak, roast vegetables.
S: three mini Easter eggs, tea (with sugar).
D: pepperoni pizza.
Water: six cups so far. I'll try for a couple more before bed (not too close to bed time).
Today was not a great day.
This morning Tim and I went to the funeral of Veronica's father. Veronica is Tim's cousin's wife, part of our close family circle. The one who lives near the beach. I barely knew her dad, but I was there for her. I found it quite emotional as it's been less than a year since my own father died, and my mother a couple of months before that. I struggled quite a bit before the service started, just from sitting in that sad atmosphere.
Once the service started I was ok, because obviously it was all about Veronica's father which took my mind off my own losses. The family gave some lovely memories. But then I started wondering what I would say at Darren's funeral when the time came, assuming I live longer than he does. It would be a small gathering of family and I would find it hard to come up with happy memories. Just "My brother struggled with mental illness all his life..." Maybe I could make the stories where he made life hell for other people amusing. It was a morbid sort of inner conversation I was having with myself.
We stayed for a chat afterwards and I had some cake. I would have liked to have eaten a lot more! It was nice cake. But I was strong (relatively speaking, I know I could have had none at all) and told myself I'd had enough, even when ladies brought trays of food around the room. I could wait to go home and have a healthy lunch. Tim went in to work.
I'd been feeling quite well, physically, but sometime after lunch I started feeling really sick again. It's "just a cold" but it never gives up! I spent much of the afternoon napping on the lounge, or blowing my nose. Once I finally got up I had a tea with sugar for the first time in a week (and it was delicious), and a couple of mini Easter eggs that I hadn't thrown away because I didn't think they'd even tempt me with their mediocre quality Easter chocolate. It was only a small amount but I shouldn't have been having any.
Finally I was determined to cook a proper dinner but when I got up and started I really felt rotten. And is it hygienic to prepare food between nose blows, even if you wash your hands constantly? Though I suppose everyone in the house has already had this germ. Anyway I ordered pizza.
When I just look at the calories for the day, they are only a little over where they should be. I did not mindlessly binge at any point. But too much sugar, too many carbs, not enough real healthy food, not enough self-control. I need to not catastrophize this, forgive myself and move on; but at the same time be accountable and work on doing better. It was a hard day.
What I ate:
B: chicken, cucumber, tomato, tea (no sugar).
S: cake.
L: half a steak, roast vegetables.
S: three mini Easter eggs, tea (with sugar).
D: pepperoni pizza.
Water: six cups so far. I'll try for a couple more before bed (not too close to bed time).
Monday, May 25, 2015
Sad day
Monday:
Aiden is home sick today with a nasty cough. My physiotherapist cancelled as she is sick too. Time for a quiet day at home. We spent most of the day watching TV. I sorted some more stuff and talked to family by phone and email. Sat around feeling sad.
I slept very poorly last night, thinking about dad and also all the things to do attached to his death. Still trying to get in touch with my brother. Need to write a eulogy. My aunty Pat is arranging the funeral since she lives there, so that is a burden lifted, but I'm still being consulted in everything. Obviously we'll be making another trip down there in a few days.
My physical response to grief has been very strong. Firstly that I feel cold all the time. It is nearly winter here, but even with warm clothes inside with the heating on I am very cold. And also I'm not exactly hungry but I feel very hollow and a bit nauseous, and filling that space with food does seem to help for a little while. I couldn't shop today, with Aiden home sick, we had instant noodles for lunch and ordered pizza for dinner. I ate a lot of pizza very quickly. Then put leftovers from my favourite (pepperoni) into the freezer so I couldn't eat any more. I'm not really thinking about my weight right now, but that is no reason to make myself sick with overeating.
Aiden is home sick today with a nasty cough. My physiotherapist cancelled as she is sick too. Time for a quiet day at home. We spent most of the day watching TV. I sorted some more stuff and talked to family by phone and email. Sat around feeling sad.
I slept very poorly last night, thinking about dad and also all the things to do attached to his death. Still trying to get in touch with my brother. Need to write a eulogy. My aunty Pat is arranging the funeral since she lives there, so that is a burden lifted, but I'm still being consulted in everything. Obviously we'll be making another trip down there in a few days.
My physical response to grief has been very strong. Firstly that I feel cold all the time. It is nearly winter here, but even with warm clothes inside with the heating on I am very cold. And also I'm not exactly hungry but I feel very hollow and a bit nauseous, and filling that space with food does seem to help for a little while. I couldn't shop today, with Aiden home sick, we had instant noodles for lunch and ordered pizza for dinner. I ate a lot of pizza very quickly. Then put leftovers from my favourite (pepperoni) into the freezer so I couldn't eat any more. I'm not really thinking about my weight right now, but that is no reason to make myself sick with overeating.
Monday, May 4, 2015
Clean carpet
Monday:
We had our carpets cleaned first thing this morning, so we got up early to move all the smaller furniture off the carpet. Our house is all carpet! Everything was squeezed into the kitchen and bathrooms, leaving narrow corridors to essential locations. Got the kids off to school a little early and I sat in the kitchen putting up with the smell from the detergent warring with the freezing air from the open window. I'm hoping the carpet will clean up well enough that we don't have to replace it, it depends if the stains resurface after a couple of days. Last time we had a professional clean was shortly before we said goodbye to Thor. He was mostly housetrained by then, but not 100%. The carpet always looks beautiful after a clean, but sometimes stains mysteriously reappear.
I really need to get on with organising some minor repairs, either for selling the house or just for us to live here more comfortably. We are not at all handy people, more academic nerdy types. Still, I'm sure we can learn how to replace a tap washer or a door handle. Everything is online these days. We need to replace most of the blinds and curtains too. The only major thing that needs doing is some work on the ensuite bathroom. Unless we renovate instead of moving, then who knows the extent of the changes?
I've been watching various shows about renovating and selling homes, and apart from cleaning and repairing the house the main thing they recommend before trying to sell is to make the house very generic. Nothing that shows your personality. Furnish with a minimum of furniture, no clutter or knick knacks or feature walls or family photos. It seems a little boring and soulless to me, I like a house with personality, but apparently it can make it hard for other people to imagine themselves there. You want a showroom look, not a home.
Seeing my house almost empty of furniture except the beds and big items, I can understand their point. It looks pretty appealing. And much bigger!
I remember I loved this house the moment I walked in, and it has been a great house for us, but I think one thing that influenced me was it was a really hot day when I first viewed it and the lovely air conditioning was on! It has its faults, like all houses, and it's become a bit small for us with two active children, I am ready for a move if we can just work out where.
After the carpet cleaning guy was finished I went out for a walk. Really nice late-autumn day.
I spent the afternoon clearing out my desk drawers and filing cabinet and also going through some paperwork I brought from mum's house, and typing up her Eulogy. That was a bit exhausting, both emotionally and physically - my back was aching from lots of bending. And my brother called and we talked about dad being sick and how worrying that was. The kids didn't get home until 5:30 after French lesson and playing at a friend's house, so I was home alone until then. Long story short, I was feeling tired and sad by the end of the day and couldn't handle the idea of cooking dinner. I ordered pizza. I can't defend that choice. It certainly wasn't on the plan today, or anywhere close.
Report card:
Diet: Poor.
Exercise: Ok. A half hour walk.
Water: Poor. (When I let some of my rules go, I guess they all go.)
Sleep: Good.
Mental health: Poor.
We had our carpets cleaned first thing this morning, so we got up early to move all the smaller furniture off the carpet. Our house is all carpet! Everything was squeezed into the kitchen and bathrooms, leaving narrow corridors to essential locations. Got the kids off to school a little early and I sat in the kitchen putting up with the smell from the detergent warring with the freezing air from the open window. I'm hoping the carpet will clean up well enough that we don't have to replace it, it depends if the stains resurface after a couple of days. Last time we had a professional clean was shortly before we said goodbye to Thor. He was mostly housetrained by then, but not 100%. The carpet always looks beautiful after a clean, but sometimes stains mysteriously reappear.
I really need to get on with organising some minor repairs, either for selling the house or just for us to live here more comfortably. We are not at all handy people, more academic nerdy types. Still, I'm sure we can learn how to replace a tap washer or a door handle. Everything is online these days. We need to replace most of the blinds and curtains too. The only major thing that needs doing is some work on the ensuite bathroom. Unless we renovate instead of moving, then who knows the extent of the changes?
I've been watching various shows about renovating and selling homes, and apart from cleaning and repairing the house the main thing they recommend before trying to sell is to make the house very generic. Nothing that shows your personality. Furnish with a minimum of furniture, no clutter or knick knacks or feature walls or family photos. It seems a little boring and soulless to me, I like a house with personality, but apparently it can make it hard for other people to imagine themselves there. You want a showroom look, not a home.
Seeing my house almost empty of furniture except the beds and big items, I can understand their point. It looks pretty appealing. And much bigger!
I remember I loved this house the moment I walked in, and it has been a great house for us, but I think one thing that influenced me was it was a really hot day when I first viewed it and the lovely air conditioning was on! It has its faults, like all houses, and it's become a bit small for us with two active children, I am ready for a move if we can just work out where.
After the carpet cleaning guy was finished I went out for a walk. Really nice late-autumn day.
I spent the afternoon clearing out my desk drawers and filing cabinet and also going through some paperwork I brought from mum's house, and typing up her Eulogy. That was a bit exhausting, both emotionally and physically - my back was aching from lots of bending. And my brother called and we talked about dad being sick and how worrying that was. The kids didn't get home until 5:30 after French lesson and playing at a friend's house, so I was home alone until then. Long story short, I was feeling tired and sad by the end of the day and couldn't handle the idea of cooking dinner. I ordered pizza. I can't defend that choice. It certainly wasn't on the plan today, or anywhere close.
Report card:
Diet: Poor.
Exercise: Ok. A half hour walk.
Water: Poor. (When I let some of my rules go, I guess they all go.)
Sleep: Good.
Mental health: Poor.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Canberra Show
Sunday:
Today we went to the Canberra Show, where the country comes to the city! Canberra is about a tenth the size of Sydney where I grew up and the agricultural show is proportionately smaller, but still fun.
There was wood-chopping;
There are also sideshow games and rides at the Show but we don't bother with those much. We did look at some cows and sheep and various stalls selling wine and honey and windchimes and "magic" pens (we bought some of those) and sour candy and patted a baby crocodile and made a police badge and looked at local artwork. The kids got a showbag full of lollies each, which they will have a couple of pieces a day from for the next few weeks. This year I didn't buy a showbag but I did have a packet of cheezels and some chocolate as well as pizza for lunch. We were there five hours and I got a lot of steps in!
It was really hot as usual but we had a little storm just before we left and being sprinkled with cooling rain was lovely. Great day, I love the Show!
It wasn't exactly a healthy day, I'll get back into my daily reporting tomorrow.
Today we went to the Canberra Show, where the country comes to the city! Canberra is about a tenth the size of Sydney where I grew up and the agricultural show is proportionately smaller, but still fun.
There was wood-chopping;
a petting zoo (these are alpacas, isn't the baby one adorable!);
jousting is new to the Show this year, we all loved it;
motorbike trick riding (you can see the guy level with the trees in the middle of the picture, probably just finishing a somersault or something equally dangerous);
and Flyball which I think is an Australian sport. Each team of four dogs runs in relay over the jumps to the far end to fetch a ball then runs back to his/her owner. The height of the jumps is based on the shortest dog, so you often have a team with one tiny dog bounding over jumps and then the other three big dogs hardly noticing the jumps are even there. I'm always amazed that the dogs don't get distracted by all the other dogs all over the place, but mostly they are very motivated to get that ball and bring it back!
There are also sideshow games and rides at the Show but we don't bother with those much. We did look at some cows and sheep and various stalls selling wine and honey and windchimes and "magic" pens (we bought some of those) and sour candy and patted a baby crocodile and made a police badge and looked at local artwork. The kids got a showbag full of lollies each, which they will have a couple of pieces a day from for the next few weeks. This year I didn't buy a showbag but I did have a packet of cheezels and some chocolate as well as pizza for lunch. We were there five hours and I got a lot of steps in!
It was really hot as usual but we had a little storm just before we left and being sprinkled with cooling rain was lovely. Great day, I love the Show!
It wasn't exactly a healthy day, I'll get back into my daily reporting tomorrow.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Cheat meal
Thursday:
I've decided that I don't like the term "cheat meal" - which implies you are doing something naughty even though it is a planned part of your nutrition plan. Or "reward meal" which implies you have somehow earned the right to eat junk. If this six month dietbet is practice for the rest of my life, then it will include eating at restaurants, having the occasional dessert or piece of cake, eating an ice cream on a hot day, and some high-quality chocolate given by people who know I love it. None of which is "cheating" or "reward". It's just part of the balance of an enjoyable life.
But half a pizza because I'm too tired to cook shouldn't really be part of a balanced life. I can make better choices than that.
Another bad night left me pretty dopey today. My exercise was a half-hour walk. I did some work on my book then was too sleepy to keep my eyes open. I lay on the lounge and faded away for a while. Once the kids were home I did very little for the rest of the afternoon. I ate way too much, leaving me with only a couple of hundred calories for dinner. I was tired and couldn't face cooking, and didn't have the car, and pizza is about the only thing that delivers around here. I'm kind of ok with takeaway very occasionally, what I am not ok with is me eating half a pizza. And a piece of garlic bread. And a chocolate lava cake. A horrendous amount of unnecessary calories. I wasn't hungry, I was tired.
I'm not sure if I am, strictly speaking, an emotional eater. Neither happiness nor sadness particularly send me to food, although I think stress might. But boredom definitely does. And what I see again and again is that when I am tired I look to food for energy and lose my sense of when to stop eating.
I don't know what to do other than keep working on my sleep, which I suppose means trying the CPAP again. The weather has cooled a bit which should help. But sleep apnoea isn't my only problem, I also have a lot of trouble getting to sleep and have all my life since early childhood. I feel a bit hopeless about it tonight.
Tim is finishing a huge project at work and got home at midnight last night. I hope he's not so late tonight. He doesn't have my sleep issues, he's asleep when his head hits the pillow, but still he must be tired. He'll be working through most of the weekend but then it should be finished and back to normal.
Report card:
Diet: Terrible. Unhealthy salty food and way over my calorie limit.
Exercise: Fair.
Water: Poor. Only half what I should have had.
Sleep: Poor.
Mental health: Poor. Despondent.
Luckily tomorrow is a new day.
I've decided that I don't like the term "cheat meal" - which implies you are doing something naughty even though it is a planned part of your nutrition plan. Or "reward meal" which implies you have somehow earned the right to eat junk. If this six month dietbet is practice for the rest of my life, then it will include eating at restaurants, having the occasional dessert or piece of cake, eating an ice cream on a hot day, and some high-quality chocolate given by people who know I love it. None of which is "cheating" or "reward". It's just part of the balance of an enjoyable life.
But half a pizza because I'm too tired to cook shouldn't really be part of a balanced life. I can make better choices than that.
Another bad night left me pretty dopey today. My exercise was a half-hour walk. I did some work on my book then was too sleepy to keep my eyes open. I lay on the lounge and faded away for a while. Once the kids were home I did very little for the rest of the afternoon. I ate way too much, leaving me with only a couple of hundred calories for dinner. I was tired and couldn't face cooking, and didn't have the car, and pizza is about the only thing that delivers around here. I'm kind of ok with takeaway very occasionally, what I am not ok with is me eating half a pizza. And a piece of garlic bread. And a chocolate lava cake. A horrendous amount of unnecessary calories. I wasn't hungry, I was tired.
I'm not sure if I am, strictly speaking, an emotional eater. Neither happiness nor sadness particularly send me to food, although I think stress might. But boredom definitely does. And what I see again and again is that when I am tired I look to food for energy and lose my sense of when to stop eating.
I don't know what to do other than keep working on my sleep, which I suppose means trying the CPAP again. The weather has cooled a bit which should help. But sleep apnoea isn't my only problem, I also have a lot of trouble getting to sleep and have all my life since early childhood. I feel a bit hopeless about it tonight.
Tim is finishing a huge project at work and got home at midnight last night. I hope he's not so late tonight. He doesn't have my sleep issues, he's asleep when his head hits the pillow, but still he must be tired. He'll be working through most of the weekend but then it should be finished and back to normal.
Report card:
Diet: Terrible. Unhealthy salty food and way over my calorie limit.
Exercise: Fair.
Water: Poor. Only half what I should have had.
Sleep: Poor.
Mental health: Poor. Despondent.
Luckily tomorrow is a new day.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Thursday weigh in - now with added pizza!
Thursday:
Ten weeks.
Starting weight: 85.3 kg
Last week: 81.2
This week: 81.3
Gain: 0.1 kg
Total loss: 4 kg
I gained 0.1 kg this week. I had pizza last night, which would have added some salty water weight, but my weight has actually been pretty stable all week.
Wednesday nights I need to prepare a quick dinner because of karate lessons. I usually get steak and salad. Last night it suddenly occurred to me I couldn't remember buying steak on my Monday shopping trip - no memory of selecting it and putting it in the trolley or of putting it in the fridge at home. I checked. No steak. So I have no idea what happened. I don't know if I forgot to write it on the shopping list or if I just missed it when I was out. I also didn't have the car, so that is why I ordered pizza to be delivered.
My food has been less controlled this week, hence the lack of weight loss, but at least my exercise is consistent. At least 30 mins of very brisk walking every afternoon. When it warms up a bit, I'll increase the morning walk (currently only 10 mins) to another 30 mins. It's generally quite nice in the middle of the day, but mornings and late afternoon are bitter. Well, for Australia anyway. Tomorrow is going to be one of the coldest days I've probably ever experienced, 7 degrees Celsius (44 F) with a chance of snow. Hey, that is cold for Australia ok?
Ten weeks.
Starting weight: 85.3 kg
Last week: 81.2
This week: 81.3
Gain: 0.1 kg
Total loss: 4 kg
I gained 0.1 kg this week. I had pizza last night, which would have added some salty water weight, but my weight has actually been pretty stable all week.
Wednesday nights I need to prepare a quick dinner because of karate lessons. I usually get steak and salad. Last night it suddenly occurred to me I couldn't remember buying steak on my Monday shopping trip - no memory of selecting it and putting it in the trolley or of putting it in the fridge at home. I checked. No steak. So I have no idea what happened. I don't know if I forgot to write it on the shopping list or if I just missed it when I was out. I also didn't have the car, so that is why I ordered pizza to be delivered.
My food has been less controlled this week, hence the lack of weight loss, but at least my exercise is consistent. At least 30 mins of very brisk walking every afternoon. When it warms up a bit, I'll increase the morning walk (currently only 10 mins) to another 30 mins. It's generally quite nice in the middle of the day, but mornings and late afternoon are bitter. Well, for Australia anyway. Tomorrow is going to be one of the coldest days I've probably ever experienced, 7 degrees Celsius (44 F) with a chance of snow. Hey, that is cold for Australia ok?
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Early feels so early
Wednesday:
I started off the day really well, getting up in time to do my walk even though I didn't want to. I also had a super-healthy lunch: a big salad with a few slices of lean lamb and a drizzle of balsamic dressing. But the rest of my day was very sedentary, I spent the whole day working hard getting ready for Uni next week. Going over my unit outlines, reading things I needed to read before my first tutorials, watching an online video. I have to be up to speed in Mathematics to do my Chemistry subject. I was very good at Maths at school - but that was 25 years ago! 1988. My goodness. I did an online diagnostic test, which was essentially "what do you remember from high school 25 years ago?" And the answer turned out to be "about half of it". Now I have six weeks to go through a series of online Maths tutorials and then get 80% in the real test. Phew.
Total steps today just over 7000. Most of that was my walk this morning then to and from the school twice.
At dinner time I went to cook the yummy steaks I had bought only a few days ago. Monday - two days ago! And they were ... euw. Turning green. Had to throw them away. I can't find the receipt either, must be buried under yuckness in the bin. I kept the labels from the trays and I'll see what the supermarket says - four T-bone steaks is a lot of meat and a lot of money! The kids needed something before their karate class so I gave them the other half of the lamb fillet (a tiny bit each) and salad. Then later ordered pizza for me and Tim. Which the kids ate a lot of. I was moderate - two slices of pizza and two pieces of garlic bread. But it still took my daily calorie total a little over my limit. And it must have sent my blood glucose sky high - I just tested it more than three hours later and it's still over 8.4 mmol/L.
Every day I will keep trying to do better.
I started off the day really well, getting up in time to do my walk even though I didn't want to. I also had a super-healthy lunch: a big salad with a few slices of lean lamb and a drizzle of balsamic dressing. But the rest of my day was very sedentary, I spent the whole day working hard getting ready for Uni next week. Going over my unit outlines, reading things I needed to read before my first tutorials, watching an online video. I have to be up to speed in Mathematics to do my Chemistry subject. I was very good at Maths at school - but that was 25 years ago! 1988. My goodness. I did an online diagnostic test, which was essentially "what do you remember from high school 25 years ago?" And the answer turned out to be "about half of it". Now I have six weeks to go through a series of online Maths tutorials and then get 80% in the real test. Phew.
Total steps today just over 7000. Most of that was my walk this morning then to and from the school twice.
At dinner time I went to cook the yummy steaks I had bought only a few days ago. Monday - two days ago! And they were ... euw. Turning green. Had to throw them away. I can't find the receipt either, must be buried under yuckness in the bin. I kept the labels from the trays and I'll see what the supermarket says - four T-bone steaks is a lot of meat and a lot of money! The kids needed something before their karate class so I gave them the other half of the lamb fillet (a tiny bit each) and salad. Then later ordered pizza for me and Tim. Which the kids ate a lot of. I was moderate - two slices of pizza and two pieces of garlic bread. But it still took my daily calorie total a little over my limit. And it must have sent my blood glucose sky high - I just tested it more than three hours later and it's still over 8.4 mmol/L.
Every day I will keep trying to do better.
Monday, December 10, 2012
The one day detox
My clean eating plan went really well yesterday, I ate within my guidelines with fruit for snacks and salmon for dinner. But today, not so good. Maybe because I started the day with butter on my toast? I didn't have morning tea and was starving at lunchtime, my planned chicken and vegetable stir fry seemed too labour-intensive and bland (even though I love it when I have it, it isn't really bland at all) and I ended up having some reheated leftover pepperoni pizza. Then I had a mini Magnum (premium ice cream covered in chocolate) in the afternoon. So basically no vitamins have passed my lips today.
I also haven't been exercising much lately, for nearly two weeks I really haven't done more than short walks. I am trying hard to get some work finished by the end of this week so I can have a break before Christmas (BTW I was wrong about the kids finishing this week, they still have another week after that, but my husband has taken next week off). I know that busyness is no excuse, I have the same 24 hours a day as everyone else and a lot less to do than some. But still, I do struggle to fit in more than a couple of things a day, while the kids are at school. I can do grocery shopping plus editing work, or exercise plus housework, or review a book plus have tea with a friend ... I can't fit it all in. To do my goal of a couple of hours of exercise a day I would have to give up some TV in the evening, or sleep, or playing with my iPhone, or reading other people's blogs or something vital like that. At the moment Christmas planning and shopping has taken up a lot of time too.
Still working on becoming a better me.
picture of pizza by roccospizza
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Low-carb pizza and back on the bike
Monday:
Yesterday I managed to get plenty of exercise in; I cleaned the bathroom -- walls, floor and shower cubicle (and if you don't think that is exercise you've never done it) -- then we all went to the bike park in the afternoon. I am still very nervous on a bicyle, I've probably ridden mine less than ten times since I got it nearly two years ago. I am scared of falling, of going fast, of stopping. But I am gradually getting better. I did about 3 km, which isn't far; I wasn't restricted by my fear or by the level of exertion but mainly by sore bits where the Natalie met the saddle. I am still a bit tender this morning. Tim, who rides to and from work every day, says you toughen up eventually.
Then the kids played while I went for a 2.5 km walk around the walking track next to the bike track. It was smoothly mown grass, very nice and springy to walk on compared to concrete, winding up and down a couple of hills and past a little pond. Moderately scenic, although the views of the new housing estate under construction in the valley were not ideal. I did see four ducks, and two very large kangaroos which stood up tall and watched me intently as I passed.
I felt pretty tired when we got home, which makes my future plans of exercising several hours a day kind of laughable, but I honestly think quite a bit of that tiredness was reaction from the stress of riding my bike. I was probably very tense and surging with adrenaline, which leaves the body exhausted once the time of fear is over.
This morning I walked to the shops again with my mini backpack to get a few things that couldn't wait until tomorrow's proper shopping trip -- like some milk and more Milo oats to which I have suddenly become addicted. This time I managed to fit all five or six items in the backpack. I did want to get some strawberries but they clearly weren't going to fit so I left them behind.
Yesterday I really felt like having pizza for lunch but we didn't have the ingredients to make it so we ordered Domino's and I tried the low-carb base. Yuck. I don't know what it was made from, maybe a non-wheat flour? I had one piece, and then transferred my toppings to a couple of pieces of the kids' cheese-only pizza with the normal base. I won't be getting that again, not that we get pizza that often anymore anyway. Maybe thin & crispy has less carbs than classic crust? I've put the rest of my low-carb pepperoni pizza in the freezer in case of a zombie apocolypse or something. You never know when even grainy cardboard will become precious.
Yesterday I managed to get plenty of exercise in; I cleaned the bathroom -- walls, floor and shower cubicle (and if you don't think that is exercise you've never done it) -- then we all went to the bike park in the afternoon. I am still very nervous on a bicyle, I've probably ridden mine less than ten times since I got it nearly two years ago. I am scared of falling, of going fast, of stopping. But I am gradually getting better. I did about 3 km, which isn't far; I wasn't restricted by my fear or by the level of exertion but mainly by sore bits where the Natalie met the saddle. I am still a bit tender this morning. Tim, who rides to and from work every day, says you toughen up eventually.
Then the kids played while I went for a 2.5 km walk around the walking track next to the bike track. It was smoothly mown grass, very nice and springy to walk on compared to concrete, winding up and down a couple of hills and past a little pond. Moderately scenic, although the views of the new housing estate under construction in the valley were not ideal. I did see four ducks, and two very large kangaroos which stood up tall and watched me intently as I passed.
I felt pretty tired when we got home, which makes my future plans of exercising several hours a day kind of laughable, but I honestly think quite a bit of that tiredness was reaction from the stress of riding my bike. I was probably very tense and surging with adrenaline, which leaves the body exhausted once the time of fear is over.
This morning I walked to the shops again with my mini backpack to get a few things that couldn't wait until tomorrow's proper shopping trip -- like some milk and more Milo oats to which I have suddenly become addicted. This time I managed to fit all five or six items in the backpack. I did want to get some strawberries but they clearly weren't going to fit so I left them behind.
Yesterday I really felt like having pizza for lunch but we didn't have the ingredients to make it so we ordered Domino's and I tried the low-carb base. Yuck. I don't know what it was made from, maybe a non-wheat flour? I had one piece, and then transferred my toppings to a couple of pieces of the kids' cheese-only pizza with the normal base. I won't be getting that again, not that we get pizza that often anymore anyway. Maybe thin & crispy has less carbs than classic crust? I've put the rest of my low-carb pepperoni pizza in the freezer in case of a zombie apocolypse or something. You never know when even grainy cardboard will become precious.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Downward Spiral
Tuesday:
Maybe not tracking over Easter wasn't such a good idea. I haven't been able to get back into it properly since then, my record-keeping has been sporadic at best. Ironically this week's topic at WW was tracking! I have been snacking with the kids, who are home on school holidays, and not exercising very much. Cheese & crackers for supper with my brother-in-law, cake at a cafe yesterday and pizza for dinner tonight because I didn't want to cook. My meals have been pretty good, apart from tonight, but lots of in-betweens.
Each day I vow to pull out of this downward spiral but I have been getting worse not better; leftover Easter eggs, cake at a kids' party, dessert, whatever I want.
So, the two rules are: track everything. Even if it is bad. And drink more water, I've gone back to my bad old ways of only a couple of glasses a day. I'm sure my constant dehydration and my constant snacking are connected.
Oh, and exercise.
Maybe not tracking over Easter wasn't such a good idea. I haven't been able to get back into it properly since then, my record-keeping has been sporadic at best. Ironically this week's topic at WW was tracking! I have been snacking with the kids, who are home on school holidays, and not exercising very much. Cheese & crackers for supper with my brother-in-law, cake at a cafe yesterday and pizza for dinner tonight because I didn't want to cook. My meals have been pretty good, apart from tonight, but lots of in-betweens.
Each day I vow to pull out of this downward spiral but I have been getting worse not better; leftover Easter eggs, cake at a kids' party, dessert, whatever I want.
So, the two rules are: track everything. Even if it is bad. And drink more water, I've gone back to my bad old ways of only a couple of glasses a day. I'm sure my constant dehydration and my constant snacking are connected.
Oh, and exercise.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
A hurdle not a wall
Thursday evening:
I have given up all hope of a weight loss this week. I've steadily felt worse throughout the day, with watery eyes and sneezing, headache and fatigue. Probably a cold. I didn't exercise.
I really didn't feel like cooking dinner but I was determined to resist the urge to get take away. Not the night before weigh-in! Then I found all my lemons were mouldy. So I couldn't make the lemon chicken I'd planned. I'm sure there are a million things I could have cooked with chicken breasts, rice, and vegetables; but I couldn't think of any of them. So I ordered pizza.
So now I am loaded up with salt (and calories). I have eaten all my weekly and lots of my 70 earned activity points. I am fighting guilt and depression which aren't going to help.
My goal for the week? To go to my meeting tomorrow even though I know I am going to gain weight.
I have given up all hope of a weight loss this week. I've steadily felt worse throughout the day, with watery eyes and sneezing, headache and fatigue. Probably a cold. I didn't exercise.
I really didn't feel like cooking dinner but I was determined to resist the urge to get take away. Not the night before weigh-in! Then I found all my lemons were mouldy. So I couldn't make the lemon chicken I'd planned. I'm sure there are a million things I could have cooked with chicken breasts, rice, and vegetables; but I couldn't think of any of them. So I ordered pizza.
So now I am loaded up with salt (and calories). I have eaten all my weekly and lots of my 70 earned activity points. I am fighting guilt and depression which aren't going to help.
My goal for the week? To go to my meeting tomorrow even though I know I am going to gain weight.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Treadmill and crosstrainer and BodyPump, oh my
Monday:
I had time for six minutes on the treadmill before my class, and then I did BodyPump. I am going well with the 1 kg weight on each end of the bar; the only track that really hurts me is the shoulder one where you lie on the aerobic step and do bench presses. I think I will drop back to an empty bar for that one. For other tracks, my muscles could do more but my joints can't.
Stats for Pump: 46 mins, 97% zone 0, 3% zone 1, 80 cal, average HR 89, peak HR 112. I don't know if that calorie count is accurate. It is based on my heart rate, which doesn't go up much for Pump, but I would think I am still burning more calories than if I was sitting in front of the TV. Aren't I? CalorieKing.com will probably say its about 600 calories per hour. Oh well, it's all guesswork anyway.
Then I decided to do some cardio and got on the cross-trainer for 12 minutes, including 3 x 30 second sprints. Stats: 12% zone 0, 20% zone 1, 49% zone 2, 19% zone 3, 53 calories, average HR 129, peak HR 154. I was exhausted and dripping sweat after that, but didn't want to have a shower straight away because I would still be hot and sweaty when I got out. So I got back on the treadmill for another 15 mins to cool down. I went down to the Club Pink tea room and had a snack and a rest, then my shower -- and I was still pink in the face after that!
Total calories burned at the gym: 173.
I had to pick up a book I'd ordered from the Uni co-op bookshop, so I went there next. The only parking spot I could find was a 10 minute walk away. So, an extra 20 minutes exercise. Easy on the way in; but on the way back to my car I was carrying my huge 4.5 kg dictionary up three flights of stairs. More weight-lifting!
Once I have walked up to the school and back this afternoon, I will have done 2 hours exercise today. My legs are pretty tired and sore, which is great!
While at Uni I had pepperoni pizza for lunch. Not so healthy, but yummy. And I only drank water.
Even though it is still winter (for 2 more days), I got a bit burned out in the sun yesterday. So did my daughter, we are both lily-white. Except when we are red. From now on it's hats and sunscreen.
photo by pasukaru76
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