Trying to lose!

17th Oct 2019 – fantastic food and exercise day…

But, BLOODY HELL am I knackered!!!

Evening all, hope your day has been good.

My day started disappointingly, again I didn’t get up in time to do my stretches, but as Paul was cooking dinner (scrummy liver) I squeezed it in when I got home from work.

As knackered as I am, questioning whether I really do need to exercise, I mean, it’s killed me tonight, how is this possibly any good for my health?!?!? I do appreciate that there is no way I could have mirrored this effort just a couple of months ago… So YES I really must help myself by carrying on.

And besides…..

Where will my fitness and flexibility levels be in another couple if months?

Now that’s an interesting question, and give me a half an hour, when I hope the aching will subside, and I’ll be pleased to consider it!

So, whine over, let’s focus on the facts of the day…

Food – 28g natural nuts, 2 bananas, 1 hard boiled egg, 1 nectarine and my salad.

This evening we had liver, Paul didn’t add fromage frais or cream frais this evening, and actually, apart from making the dish pretty, the meal is totally tasty without.

Fluid – 300ml milk (more than usual, finishing off the carton), 1l water – I really wanted to get back to water today, 3 teas, no fizzy! Now, that’s better, I was becoming used to fizzy again.

Exercise – 20ish minute stretches, 37ish mins cardio

We shall be having a chocolate each tonight, and unless any have mysteriously vanished, that should leave us 1 each tomorrow, and that will be box gone! No one who knows me will believe a box of chocs lasted me well over a week, or that I shared them 🤣

Anyway folks, that’s my daily report.

Good night for now 👋

My eyes – day 6/21 – product trial

Evening all, hope you are well.

The product I’m using states I should notice a difference within a week, so I’m wondering if I should cut it back from 3 weeks to two. I’m not sure yet, so if you have any thoughts do let me know 😊

So as usual, if you think either eye is showing any improvement, please do comment which eye, as you’re looking at the pic.

As ever, Thank you 🤗

16th Oct 2019 – an off plan but not terrible food day.

Hi all,

Today I worked from home and had a poorly niece staying over. I say poorly, she had a great afternoon, no poorliness at all.

My presents from niece, collected on a walk with my daughter.

A worn out niece. I really should have put something waterproof down 🤣. Paul’s sitting next to me tonight!

My daughter was available for practically the whole day, so really I didn’t do much, she took care of my niece for the most part.

So time for me to report on the day!

Food – 28g natural nuts, 1 hard boiled egg, 0 banana – the niece nicked it, and as she’s only 3 years old, I couldn’t really nick it back 🤣, i did manage a few berries. Salad for lunch.

With daughter, (One day to be) daughter in law, oldest niece and youngest niece all round, and with youngest niece being poorly, dinner was a freezer raid, and blandish food only. And 1 chocolate.

I had a couple of frozen chicken pieces, a couple of pork chops and a couple of undetermined pieces of boneless chop sized pieces of meat, I cooked that up in stock in the oven. Brown rice also cooked up in gentle stock, tinned sweetcorn, frozen sprouts and carrots, packet mash (courtesy of the girls).

And having cooked bland, littleun decided not to join us 🤣.

Fluid – 200ml milk, 2 cans of Pepsi max…. I KNOW! 2 cups of tea, NO water!!!

Exercise – none yet, but I’ll be doing my 15min strength and 7min cardio in about half an hour.

There’s my day, laid out, I’m not too disappointed, there’s nothing intrinsically bad, just not as nutrient rich as I’m aiming for. I am annoyed with myself about my fluid… MUST try harder! There was absolutely no reason for all the tea and fizzy, water would have been much better!

So goodnight for now, unless you also check out my eye product trial, which I’ll be posting soon. 🤗

15th Oct 2019 – update

Hey all, we had a lovely time round our niece’s home, she cooked pasta, chicken and veggies, and she made a beautiful sweet sauce to go with it. I’ve nicked the recipe!

I forgot to take water, so I had 2 cups of tea, 1.5 sugars in each.

My youngest niece is currently poorly, luckily I’m working from home tomorrow, and my daughter’s available later in the day, so I’ll be baby sitting.

The niece we visited is youngest niece’s big sister, so she’ll collect littleun after work. This means I need to freezer raid for dinner for nieces and daughter and daughter in law!

At least this will clear my freezer out a bit!

Anyway, that’s it from me.

Night all.

15th Oct 2019 – good food day, will be good exercise day

Hey all, hope you are well.

First things first, after last night’s post, I had greek yoghurt with seeds and honey.

I’m writing up this post earlier than usual, our eldest niece has invited us round for dinner, and I know I wont have much time by the time we get home.

Our niece is not an entirely healthy cook, however she has promised us chicken, rice and…. shockingly…. veggies!!! Now our niece is not a veggie type girl, so I think it’s lovely that she is preparing some for us 🙂

Work has been one of those satisfyingly busy days, I feel very pleased with the work load today.

So, on to business.

Food – 28g natural nuts (walnuts, pecans, brazils and pistachios), 160gish fruit (pineapple, red and green grapes and strawberries), salad (of course!) 1 banana.

Exercise – I didn’t get up in time for the stretches, but i’ll be doing my 37ish minute cardio before we go to our nieces. Paul has stated he may not be home in time, so I am to do these on my own 😀

Fluid – 200ml lactose free milk, 2 glasses of water about 650ml), 1 can of pepsi max (i know, i know – I need to cut it out!), 2, no 3 cups of tea. I’ll take some water with me to our niece tonight as well.

So, that’s it from me for now. I’ll pop a pic of dinner on later, and let you know if I’ve slipped up anywhere.

Wishing you a good evening/day, where ever you are 🙂

My eyes – day 5/21 – product trial

Hi All, popping on this post now as we’re visiting with our niece tonight.

So here’s my face – staring at you yet again (not at all freaky!)

I never realised just how wonky my lips are, I mean, I knew they were, just not that wonky 😀

If you would be so kind as to comment ‘right’ if my right bags seem better in pic 2, ‘left’ if the left bags seem more reduced in pic 2, ‘none’ if no difference spotted.

As ever, thank you very much 🙂

REBLOG – Tuesday Tip: Cellulite Facts — Every Step Fitness

Morning all, I’v been following Dr Nancy P for a few weeks now, I find her posts about health and fitness fascinating, easy to understand, and not long winded. This reblog is just one great post. If you get a chance, I would definitely recommend checking out the blog.

Tuesday Tip: Cellulite Facts 🤓 Cellulite, that dimpled, lumpy appearance of the skin, is something over 90% women (and 10% men) suffer from. But can you get rid of it? First things first cellulite is normal, it can affect anyone, at any age and fitness. It’s caused by fibrous connective tissue pulling on the fascia […]
Tuesday Tip: Cellulite Facts — Every Step Fitness

My eyes – day 4/21 – product trial

Nearly forgot to use the product last night, was just getting cosy in bed and had to jump right back out again 🤣

Anyway, here’s photos for today. Do let me if either eye has any improvement, or comment none if you see no difference between photos.

That’s it until the next update 😊

Byeeee

14th Oct 2019 – good food day, great exercise day!

Hey all, PHEW! What a day! Hope you have had a good day.

Work was a weird day, computer problems and a few issues.

Tonight has been exhausting, visited with mum, cooked dinner, spent an hourish chatting to my daughter and her fiancee, phoned my sister, did my exercises, and now I get to relax with tv and blog.

So without further ado, let’s get on with the day!

Food – 28g natural nuts, 1 hard boiled egg, 160g fruit, salad.

Dinner was the usual Monday salmon and quick cook rice with frozen peas.

Daughter’s fiancee is poorly, so we finished off biscuits (1 each) and had a couple of chocs. The box is nearly gone now, there was a time I would have finished the box in one night, and not shared 🤣

Fluid – 200ml milk, 3 cups of tea, 1l water.

Exercise – hoping today is how I will continue! Got up early enough to do my stretches, walked fast to mum’s, took about 20 minutes and just completed strength programme.

I’m pleased with today, although I did forget my banana… again!

So that’s my day, looking forward to a good day tomorrow. Hope you have a good day too.

Teddy bye.

How do I support someone with Depression and Anxiety?

Advise very much welcomed!

As you may know from my posts, I have a daughter who deals or tries to deal daily with anxiety and depression. She actually has a blog here on WordPress, but doesn’t do anything with it. Sometimes she likes and comments on my posts 🙂

I am so utterly proud of my girl, she is beautiful and witty, kind and clever. I just ADORE her! And she’s AMAZING at music, even if she just can’t get to grips with actually reading it.

A little while ago we went to lunch and she was asked to go and see if there were any spare tables. She clammed up. She couldn’t do it. There was a slight altercation between me and the other member of our party who bluntly told me my daughter just needs to get over it, and I need to stop pandering to her. The conversation stopped when I advised this is what anxiety is. We then proceeded to have a nice lunch and all was forgotten between me and other family member.

My daughter thanked me the day after, for helping her and not forcing her to go. I didn’t realise she had heard. I needed to ask her if I had done the right thing or whether I should have tried to encourage her to go on her own. Apparently I did the right thing.

It’s so hard to know what to do!

There is a part of me that thinks I should try to be more forceful (that being said, she is WAY taller than I am, and is a fully grown adult at the grand old age of 22 – the same age I was when I had her :)), but then is this a hang-up from old mentalities? I mean, people apparently didn’t suffer with anxiety and depression years ago, and now loads of people have it? I say this flippantly, this is something I do not think, but I need to be honest and say the thought had crossed my mind in the past – I am well aware loads of people have suffered in the past, but we now acknowledge the mental pain people are in.

But then, how should I support my daughter?

When my daughter first sought help, thanks to her lovely girlfriend (now fiancee) helping her to acknowledge she needed help, and then together they told me what was going on, Paul and I immediately changed our approach to our daughter, we just assumed she was a moody school leaver who was too lazy to get a job!

Because we became a lot more encouraging, we stopped being naggy parents, we stopped (most) of the arguments about the normal stuff – jobs, housework, parents will know what I mean, she was able to find an equilibrium in her life, she was able to find the confidence to be able to openly communicate with us. I don’t mean she was suddenly cured, that all she needed was a couple of months, I mean she was able to be who she is openly, and she knew we would bend over backwards to accommodate her.

For my part, when we talk, I try to encourage things I know will help, good eating, some physical activity, fresh air, but we don’t live in the same house anymore, so I’m limited, and she does know all this. I try not to make her mental state the most important thing in her life, I encourage her in her music. I ask her how she feels, trusting her trust in me to be honest, we chat like any other mum and daughter, we’ve always had a great relationship, for 11 years we were each other’s family. Then Paul joined us, then Amy’s fiancee joined us.

It disappoints me that my daughter can not get the therapy she needs on the NHS, I can’t afford anything else. She is currently having therapy, but it lasts 20 minutes, sometimes 30 minutes and she isn’t getting anything out of it. She is currently weaning herself off one tablet to try another, on doctors orders. I can see her slipping into a slump at the moment, and I can’t see what I can do!

So, I’ll continue to be as kindly as I can, I’ll continue to not judge, I’ll continue to talk, I’ll continue to try and bring up the things I know should help – though that can be difficult the lower she sinks, as she will take it as a personal affront. I’ll just continue to the best type of parent I can be. I’ll keep fighting her corner where I need to.

But, if anyone else has any advise, please do help me out. I would really appreciate it.

In the meantime, here are a couple of links i found useful, I have let my daughter know about the podcasts on the NHS.

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/anxiety-and-panic-attacks/for-friends-family/#.XaSRN_VKjIU

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/supporting-someone/supporting-someone-with-depression-or-anxiety

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/generalised-anxiety-disorder/self-help/

http://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/tips-supporting-someone-anxiety/