Feeling rubbish

I have a cold :( I am not long over the flu (less than a month) and laryngitis (about two weeks) and now this.

I am sick of always being sick. I am forever getting headaches, colds, feeling tired or simply feeling like rubbish in general.

I am sorry for the mini-rant, but honestly these last two months have been a joke.

I am sorry for whinging. I am feeling a bit sorry for myself at the moment.

Several people in work commented on how ill I looked. So that was nice.

I have a big work thing next week (I am doing my manager's job for a few days whilst he's away) and I *really* can't be sick for it, so i bought some effervescent multivitamins, cold and flu tablets, an iron supplement (for low energy levels) and fruit & veg.

I don't really believe in multivitamins and hate the thought of relying on them (i honestly think we should get all we need from a good balanced diet) but I obviously need a boost, and hopefully it will help.

I also have had a few problems in the past with my iron levels, and apparently people who exercise need to make sure they get enough iron, so I am hoping it'll help with my energy. I am only going to take the iron for a month, so I'll see how that goes.

Today's food intake:
A nutrigrain bar & a black coffee;
A small bottle of tropicana orange juice (vitamin C!);
A kitkat (feeling sorry for myself at this stage);
A BLT&a smoothie ( hoping the smoothie would help pack in some extra vitamins);
A small bowl of strawberries and natural organic yogurt.

I had a mug of green tea somewhere in there as well. I know it's not much (apart from the kitkat, which really DID NOT help me feel better lol), but I have no appetite.

In weight news, I apparently weigh 46.9 Kg now. WTF? I did not lose a kilo in a day. I think the scales are off, or maybe I was retaining a lot of water or something. Who knows. That is why you shouldn't weigh yourself every day, it messes with your head lol

Also, the weather is awful. *sigh.*

Where did the sun go???

FFS, today is my first proper day back and it's been bucketing down! Ah well, the joys of living in one of the wettest counties in the UK ;)

I had a really nice time away and my friends commented on how well I looked, which was obviously very flattering (they hadn't seen me since last summer). Apparently even my complexion has improved, which was an unexpected comment.

I weighed myself this morning and I am coming up at 58 Kg, which is quite annoying actually. I did eat mostly healthy stuff but didn't exercise at all (apart from walking) so that's disappointing. I will probably go back to the gym tomorrow evening and start afresh.

1 Kg is basically 2.2 pounds so it's not a massive amount in the grand scheme of things, but it still looks a lot considering it's only been a few days. *sigh* I usually don't obsess over numbers and I am not planning in starting now, but I think it's good to have a place (i.e. here) to record these things.

I also get paid tomorrow so I'll be able to get myself some nice food for the month, can't wait!

I hope everywhere else the weather's still holding up :) I am off now to nosey at all your lovely blogs!

S. Xxxxxx

I'm back!

Back today, after a great couple of days. The weather's been fantastic, and I got a little bit of tan which is always nice.

I won't be able to weigh myself until tomorrow, but I don't think I'll have put on too much weight as we actually managed to be fairly healthy for a change!

I am really tired from all the travelling but I had such a nice time, I am a bit sad it's all over. The nice weather definitely helped.

Hopefully this is fairly coherent, I promise I'll have something a bit more substantial to say by this evening or tomorrow at the latest!

S. xx

Eating disorder item on This Morning

I was watching "This Morning" today (it's a morning program in the UK, they usually have a mix of topical interviews, fashion and food), and they have just finished talking to a couple who lost their 19 year old daughter Bethany Wallace to bulimia and anorexia. Very sad.

She contracted glandular fever at 16, and due to that she was very fatigued and couldn't eat properly. Her parents reckon this is what kicked off the disordered eating, as she lost a lot of weight because of the glandular fever and when she got better she didn’t want to put it back on.

By the time she was 18, according to her parents she recognised that she had a problem and had started therapy, but she kept losing weight and, one evening, her organs shut down and died in her sleep.

She was a beautiful young girl. This is her at 18, about a year before her weight plummeted and the illness claimed her.

Be safe.  Xx

Sunbathing

What a beautiful day today was. I spent a lot of my day outside, hopefully I got a bit of tan.

I will be without Internet access for a few days from tomorrow, so I'll not be able to update this blog or read the blogs I follow.

Unfortunately I'll also not be near a gym or my own kitchen either as I'm visiting some friends, so I'll definitely not be exercising much (apart from walking) and a takeaway or two might feature as well.

BUT it should be a fun few days, and I can't wait!

I thought I should take a pic of what I look like now, and hopefully in the next few weeks/months I'll be able to post up an update and there will be a noticeable difference.

The weird bar below my stomach is just a feature of the mirror in case you were wondering. As you can see, I still have a right bit to go.

Disappointingly, all this weight loss has led to my boobs becoming virtually non-existent too, so that's nice (not).

Here's what someone 164 cm (5.38 feet) tall and 57 Kg (approximately  125.4 lbs) looks like.

My thigh has a circumference of 53 cm (20.9 inches), and my waist is 77 cm (30.3 inches).

I am extremely apprehensive about posting a pic of myself on the internet so I may have gone a bit overboard with the whole "anonymity" thing.

Bye for now xox

Lovely Tuesdays

I usually hate Tuesdays, but today went really well.

The sun was out, work was actually OK, I didn't over-eat and kept it fairly healthy (only 2.5 portions of fruit and veg though, ugh), and I killed it at the gym today.

Now I am chilling on  the computer whilst my boyfriend plays some online game - is this what modern domestic bliss looks like?

Tomorrow I am hopefully meeting up with a friend of mine, and weather permitting we'll probably go for a walk or something so I am looking forward to seeing her.

I must say, ever since I started this blog things have been going (mostly) well, and my mood has been positive too. Fingers crossed it lasts eh? LOL

Below is a very crude diagram of my current train of thought (I have a lot of time on my hands at the moment, and art was never my strong point). I hope you like it :)

57 Kg it is

Mini-post for now, but I just wanted to say:

Yep, the scale doesn't lie. Still at 57 Kg, I am chuffed!

Gym tonight, I am going to try and do a mini-circuits thing and alternate between weights, sit-ups, the plank, push-ups, other misc exercises. I wonder if I can do it. It'll be interesting to say the least.

Thanks to Lottie and Isobel for your comments :D I think I have now added the correct feature for people to follow me (tbh I didn't even think about it as I know I am not exactly rivalling Shakespeare here, but it means a lot to know you guys want to follow me).

I personally use the "add blog" link in my dashboard, I am assuming it's the same thing?

I am making a conscious effort to eat well today. It’s going OK so far (could be better – sausage roll for breakfast – ugh) but everything else will be nutritious.

Will probably be able to check in properly later.

Xx 

57 Kg

My weight

This was a shock. I honestly didn’t expect to be below 59 Kg, but since I was at 58 Kg at the end of last week I suppose it makes sense (though still surprising).

I am bit confused though. Whilst I have been exercising quite a bit, I haven’t been cutting down much on what I eat either, and I’ve actually had at least one day where I had too many carbs. This much weight loss is unexpected to say the least.

I will see what the situation is tomorrow. I’ve been at 59 Kg for so long (since Christmas) that I convinced myself this must be my “happy” weight. I didn’t think I’d lose much more than that.

I am not complaining. I am just baffled. Two kilos of weight loss is a lot for someone my size. This 57 Kg must be a fluke or something.

Food intake

Today wasn’t a brilliant day food-wise at all. Healthy eating is always a struggle for me, if I don’t micro-manage all my meals then I start lagging behind.

Walking

In other news, today was a beautiful day, so on my lunch break I went for a walk. My place of work is near a lake and I took a walk down to it. It was very peaceful being surrounded by the green of the trees and grass and the gentle breeze from the loch. By the end of the day I will have walked over an hour (to and from work, plus that walk on my break), mostly at a moderate to fast pace.

How are things going so far?

This blog is really helping me so far. I know it’s not exactly a riveting read, but writing down my thoughts on this matter is actually quite cathartic. Thanks again to everyone that’s taking to read.

Tired

I was slightly hungover this morning, but I got over last night's self-pity of being flabby and unfit.

I went to the gym and managed 15 mins on the elliptical, which is a record for me (I hate the elliptical sooo much).

I then did a few arm, leg and ab exercises. My walk home was all uphill (I took the "scenic route", which is through a nice housing estate and it's mostly uphill) so that was my cool down.

I was honestly wrecked afterwards, and I still am, hours later. I have eaten plenty -no junk, very healthy- so it's not lack of food or correct nutrients, or dehydration. I think it's mainly down to my drinking last night, hangovers are a bitch and I am a lightweight.

Hopefully I'll be back in the gym on Tuesday. Since last Wednesday I've been going every two days, so I want to keep it up.

I will weigh myself tomorrow, so I'll know if I'm still below 58kg or if I've gone back to my normal 59kg weight.

I do think my waist is a bit trimmer, but tbh I don't actually expect any weight loss since muscle weighs more than fat.

As long as I'm not at 60kg I'm happy (I've sort of decided that 59kg is my ideal weight for now, but I'll probably need to reassess that as I -hopefully- get fitter and lighter).

Tonight

Three whiskeys and three chocolates. I look like a fat mess.

Too many carbs and empty calories today.

Hectic day

I had a massive lie in but then spent pretty much the rest of the day doing housework, which as you can imagine was the height of fun.

I managed to go for a walk around the shops though, so that was a nice break to the day.

This eve we are having friends around, which I didn't know about until now. They what to have a Chinese. I am not touching the stuff, not a chance. I can't undo all my good work.

I even cancelled on my friend this eve so I wouldn't have an excuse to drink and eat junk, and now these other people are coming round so that's the end of my master plan.

The only saving grace is that I have been on my feet for most of the day, but my meals had a lot of carbs which is bothering me.

It's my own fault though. I cooked the meals, so it's purely down to me.

Fingers crossed tonight doesn't end up being a disaster food- and drink-wise...

Weekend!

My weekend has officially started, I am so happy.

After work today I met up with a friend for coffee, and then I went to the gym.

I asked the guy at the gym to give me some advice on what exercises I should do to tone up my arms, and he was very helpful. He showed me how to use five different machines and use the free weights (I must admit that going into the weights room surrounded by burly men was intimidating to say the least, but now that I know what I’m supposed to do I will have more confidence to go there again).

Now my arms are killing me, I can barely type. But it’s all good. My stomach muscles still hurt from Wednesday, so I only did the plank for my core and avoided sit-ups; I don’t want to overdo it.

I will hopefully be back in the gym on Sunday too.

Food intake has been a bit high, but that’s because I tried to up my protein intake for the day after the gym. I am hoping I’ll not be too sore tomorrow, and I am planning in eating light (I’ll have a nice veg soup or something).

 

A friend of mine has also asked me to call up to hers’ tomorrow night, and whilst I want to, I am worried of all the empty calories I’ll inevitably take with drink and nibbles, so I don’t know what to do.

Overall, today was a very good day. I would highly recommend going to the gym to anyone, you honestly feel really good afterwards.

Does this pic put a smile to anyone else's face? I don't know why, but there's something quite cute about it! (I am a bit weird, I know...)

The day after the gym...

I am actually posting from a PC now, woo hoo!

I busted my ass off yesterday at the gym and I am feeling it today! I usually don't push myself as hard but I saw three girls that I hadn't seen in years (from school) and they were mostly standing around chatting amongst themselves and trying to get chatted up (I never liked one of the girls especially, I always thought she was very fake and a poser), so I just thought I'd work extra hard to show them how it should be done.

It doesn't usually bother me when people go the gym and not work out properly, but because I knew them their behaviour really irritated me.

I’ll have to thank them next time I see them though, because I am definitely sore today!

My page views spiked up yesterday so thanks to all who are taking to read :)

Me weight is a bit crazy at the moment, at the start of the week it was close to 60 kg (which is on the high side for me) but now it’s actually below 58 kg… even if you take into consideration the “time of the month” it’s still a big jump, so I am worried I haven’t hydrated enough after the gym and I have lost a lot of water weight.

I’ve been sipping at water all afternoon so if that is the case everything will hopefully go back to normal. Will let you know.

Back from the gym

And I feel great! I haven't been in weeks, so I tried to work really hard today even though I am pathetically out of shape.

Also, (**TMI alert!**) the reason I had a fat stomach earlier is because I was due my period, and now that it's started the bloating has gone down so I'm pleased about that.

Not that my stomach is flat to begin with lol

Today food intake was fantastic, really healthy, I had probably 7.5 potions of fruit and veg in total plus a good amount of protein.

Hopefully I can keep this up :)

PS this (like most of my posts) was sent from my iPod so apologies for any spelling mistakes!

Lazy Sunday

And boy, was it lazy!

I had a massive lie in and pottered about all day. I also ate very well, I had about 4.5 portions of fruit of veg today, if I have another mandarin I'm there. So I am happy.

I am getting conscious about my stomach again, I really need to get back to the gym.

This eve I am having a pampering night, I will have a long hot bath reading a book, and using some of the spa creams I got at Christmas. I don't usually do this but I fancy it tonight.

I am so happy with how I ate today, probably the best I've eaten all week. There's a lot to be said about being able to take time out and cook a nice dinner, makes a nice chance to the usual rushed dinners I make.

Sedetary lifestyle

I read recently that sitting down for 8+ hours per day can shorten your lifespan quite considerably, even if you then exercise vigorously for a few hours per week. I would recommend you take a peek at that article, as it is quite informative.

I sit behind a desk for 7 hours a day so I am pretty screwed, and then I usually spend my lunch break sitting down eating and then reading a book. I'm guessing quite a few people are in  this situation as well.

I do make a point of getting up once over hour/hour and a half (I go to the water cooler, or make a cup of tea, or what have you) but that only aounts t a handful of minutes during my working day. Then I usually come home and watch TV or read (I tend to leave house work until my days off!).

But maybe that's the answer. I can't really move about that much at work for obvious reasons, but if I made a point of doing a bit more house work and be more conscious of the amount of time I spend sitting down at home it could make a big difference.

I will admit this is very hard for me, but I'll let you know how it goes. I hope others will join me too!

How are we doing so far?

Improvement from yesterday for me :)

Breakfast: egg and potato bread;
Snack: a handful of almonds and walnuts;
Lunch: mixed leafy greens and chicken salad, then one chocolate;
Dinner: chicken jalfrezi and rice (leftover from Wednesday, yum!)
Evening snack: a banana and two mandarins.

Total portions of fruit and veg: 2 and 3.5 respectively. Woo hoo!

5-a-day

I am quite annoyed at the fact that getting my 5 portions of fruit and veg a day is so hard most of the time.

Worse yet, the UK government says that's the *minimum* recommended amount.

Other countries (e.g. Australia) recommend 7 a day, specifically 2 portions of fruit and 5 of veg.

This is something I really struggle with. Seldom do I manage to reach the 5 a day target, even less exceede it.

I simply need to try harder, but when I do food kind of takes over my life and I need to plan every single meal in advance to make sure I get enough.

I will continue to keep track of it though, and I'm hoping this blog will help with that (as I'll be accountable for any slip-ups!)

Yesterday

Food-wise wasn't actually so bad. I had weetabix for breakfast, then a salad with tuna for lunch.

I was just let down by the obscene amount of chocolate, before and after dinner (some of the team won chocolates and were kindly sharing them, plus I had a chocolate desert at the meal).

Yes, chocolate is my weakness. I probably had about 3, 3.5 pieces of fruit and veg yesterday. It truly is an uphill struggle.

The night was tremendous fun though, so I guess it was worth it (even if I was feeling a bit hungover this morning!)

I love socialising, but I am quite shy so it does take me a while to loosen up. Having a few drinks took care of that ;)

Too many drinks?

I was out with work peeps this evening. Three course dinner and drink paid for.

I am just home now, slightly drunk and very full (I have soo overeaten this evening).

Plus I still don't have a new pair of trainers. Must sort that out tomorrow.

How are we doing so far?

Successful day, I think.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs on toast and black coffee;
Snack: banana and 1 kiwi;
Lunch: mixed greens salad with a bit of tuna;
Dinner: homemade chicken jalfrezi (super healthy and tasty) and some rice;
Dessert: some chocolate.

I ate about 4.5 a day today, so better than yesterday.

My trainers have started hurting my feel so couldn't go to the gym, not impressed! I couldn't even walk in them, and I've has them less than a year.

I did quite a bit of housework though so at least I did move about!

Stress and food

Over the last three weeks, I've been working on a different line of business (last day was yesterday, I'm back to my normal work as of tomorrow).

As a result, I've been so stressed, and lost quite a bit of weight as I was never hungry.

In my first post I said I weighted 59 kg, but in actual fact I've been hovering close to 58 kg for about a week now. I don't really count it though as I didn't get to it by being healthy, far from it, and I expect to gain that back once I am back to my normal work.

I am really annoyed that stress with this new position would affect me like this, as it's something I would like to do more of and I'll not be able to otherwise I'll get sick. I will need to find a way of minimising the stress of it or find a way to deal with it better.

I did force myself to have at least one good meal a day, and even ended up eating A LOT of chocolate, but it clearly wasn't enough. My body needed nutrients, not empty calories. Incidentally, I had no energy to go to the gym either.

So I don't know, I'll need to think about this one before I do this short-term job again.

Stress has never affected me this way before.

How are we doing so far?

Posting from my iPod so apologies for any spelling mistakes.

So far, food intake has been as follows:
Breakfast: sausage roll;
Lunch: whiting in a garlic/herby batter, peas and a few oven chips;
Snack: banana and 2 kiwis;
Dinner: cheese and onion toasty.

Not the healthiest of days, I only managed about 3.5 of my five-a-day, plus had a lot of fatty foods (see sausage roll!)

Tomorrow should be a lot better though.

Fitness-wise, I walked about 50 mins today in total (not all in one go -to and from work, and to the shop and back), but sat for most of the day (I work in an office).

I am off tomorrow and am planning to go to the gym :)

In the beginning...

I am new to blogging but have been following a lot of blogs "incognito", as it were. So whilst I am not used to writing about my fitness, I do read a lot about it.

Since last July, I have lost 4 kilos (about 8.8lbs), and now I weigh 59 kilos (9st 4.1lb). I have mainly cut out junk food and joined a gym, though since Christmas I haven’t been as disciplined fitness-wise. I also have a massive sweet tooth which I have let get the better of me recently, and I hope that having a blog will help me stay on track.

I want to be fit and healthy not because I want to specifically live longer – I just don’t want to die early (I know this won’t prevent any rogue busses from running over me!)

So there you have it. I don’t think I have much weight to lose as such, I just need to get fitter and stronger. Gym, here we come!


Edit I forgot to say, I think I am 164 cm tall - or 5.38 feet (I think I might be a smidge taller than that, but I can't remember exactly!) I am in my mid-twenties :)