2014 - The year of no more excuses!

[snowflakes]

Saturday 01st February 2014

Food & drink:

• 2 litres Robinson's no added sugar squash
• pineapple fruit snack pot
• 3 egg scramble/omelette with mushrooms, yellow pepper, 1 slice of salami and sprinkle of cheese, cooked with a little butter
• Kingsmill 50:50 bagel, toasted, one half topped with pork rillettes
• portion of leek & potato soup
• Aero finesse mousse pot
• banana
• half a medium jacket potato with tsp salsa, tsp sour cream & tsp grated cheese

Exercise:

• 1 hr 15 minutes brisk walking/running plus 20 minute slow hobble home once my shoes got wet/muddy and started to rub

Sleep:

• Good last night, although it wasn't for the couple of nights previous.

Weight:

• 164.8 lbs

 

[snowflakes]

Today's food has been a bit excessive... almost all of it consumed at work. I have a love-hate relationship with that place. It's good that it's a job and I have some money alongside my studying, but it can be SO boring and there are so many temptations and all I want to do is eat! It also involves just sitting at a computer for 7 hours straight which burns zero calories. At least in the hospital I'm moving around a bit. ARGH.

Sunday 02nd February 2014

Food & drink:

• 2 litres Robinson's no added sugar squash
• 1 can diet coke
• 2 kiwi fruit
• blueberry Danio yogurt with tbsp rolled oats mixed in
• portion of chilli con carne & basmati rice from Sainsbury's hot food counter
• harvest grain baguette/batton type roll with 3 mini Cathedral City cheese portions
• 6 Sainsburys mini chocolate brownie bites
• 2 mini Quorn scotch eggs
• Portion of leek and potato soup
• Tesco steam bag green vegetables

Exercise:

• None

Sleep:

• Good but alarm didn't go off so overslept by about 2 hours!

Weight:

• 164.0 lbs

 

[snowflakes]

Terrible day in terms of food choices!

Monday 03rd February 2014

Food & drink:

• 1.5 litres Robinson's no added sugar squash
• 2 large eggs, scrambled with semi-skimmed milk & small amount of butter
• half a Kingsmill 50:50 bagel
• M&S peanut & chocolate popcorn cereal bar
• Kinder beuno
• banana
• (I'm pretty sure I ate more than this, but it's now Wednesday and I can't remember?!)

Exercise:

• None

Sleep:

• Not so good, but got up on time.

Weight:

• Not weighing until the weekend.

 

[snowflakes]

Need to stop buying chocolate, I'm never going to get anywhere if I carry on like this.

Tuesday 4th February 2014

Food & drink:

• 2 litres Robinson's no added sugar squash
• can of diet coke
• Asda mini cheese & tomato pizza with 1 slice of salami added
• Co-op smoky tomato & pulled pork soup individual pot
• Cathedral City mini cheddar portion
• Percy Ingle smoked salmon & cream cheese on white kaiser roll
• Cadbury Wispa
• 1 chocolate Hob-Nob
• Asparagus cup-a-soup
• Pear & peach fruit pot
• Aero finesse mousse pot

Exercise:

• Walked for 1 hour

Sleep:

• Got about 4 hours sleep, feel crap right now.

Weight:

• Not weighing until the weekend.

 

[Saruk88]

Hey - I am still around! Had a mega busy few days so am off to sleep - will report in properly tomorrow!

mmmm chocolate - hope it was yummy but try and get back on the wagon missy!

 

[snowflakes]

Hello, love! Thanks for checking in. No worries, hope you had a lovely kip. Chocolate is my nemesis...

Wednesday 5th February 2014

Food & drink:

• 2 litres Robinson's no added sugar squash
• M&S peanut & chocolate popcorn cereal bar (won't be buying again, really weird texture/taste)
• M&S macaroni cheese
• Sainsbury's melon medley pot
• Cathedral City mini cheddar portion
• Sainsbury's chicken & gravy individual shortcrust pastry pie
• Sainsbury's carrot, swede & potato mash
• Tesco steam bag green vegetables

Exercise:

• Walked for 1 hour

Sleep:

• Didn't go to placement because of tube strike, but still woke up at 6am... then went back to sleep until midday, so that's probably thrown my sleep pattern out even more than it has been.

Weight:

• Not weighing until the weekend (...but I sneakily checked this morning and was somehow 162.6 lbs)

 

[Saruk88]

Hey! Sorry for being AWOL! Had a busy few days.

looks like you had a good day yesterday., well done chick! I know what you mean about chocolate. Ahhhh - I love it! I love baking things (especially brownies) and I really want to try loads of different flavours and give fudge a go etc but I know if I do it I'll eat it! So annoying. Why do I have to be a chubba! Haha.

Your enchiladas thing sounds so good! I absolutely love Mexican, I need to cook it more! Nom nom nom.

Amazing work on getting to 162 - looks like you'll be well into the 150s by your birthday! Ah, what I would do to be your weight! I'm excited just to get into the 100s!

 

[snowflakes]

Oh wow... I totally fell off the face of the planet! Ooops!
My final exams happened and things just got crazy... I've never been so stressed in my life. But the great news is that I passed, so I'm thrilled to bits with that. Less thrilled at how my weight crept from 162lbs to 167 lbs... almost back where I started, and months down the line. So it's time to get serious again... I feel like the exams are the last vaguely legitimate excuse I could claim. Absolutely no excuses now.
Sarauk, thank you so much for checking in on me even though I disappeared! Hope to catch up and see how you're doing

 

[snowflakes]

I know there are only 9 days of April left, but I really need to get my butt in gear! I'm going to try and do 6 hours between now and the end of the month... that's 30 mins per day plus an extra hour and a half somewhere in there...

 

[snowflakes]

Right, so I'm hovering around 164 lbs - I think it was higher a few days ago because of my period. I've downloaded a new app for my phone called Eatly, where you take a photo of your meals and other people rate how healthy it is.. so I'm hoping a bit of pressure from that might help! I've made a rule that I'm going to snap EVERYTHING I put in my mouth...

Saturday 26th April 2014

Food & drink:

• 2 litres Robinson's no added sugar squash
• seeded roll with hummus, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, avocado & alfalfa sprouts + spoonful of potato salad
• apple & peanut butter
• 2 pieces of sushi (1 crab & 1 salmon)
• leek & potato cup-a-soup
• chicken in honey & mustard sauce with mushrooms, carrots & asparagus + brown basmati rice
• 1 chocolate digestive biscuit
• ciabatta roll & primula cheese spread, cadbury flake (this is where I caved to emotional eating and ate crap)

Exercise:

• None

Sleep:

• Fell asleep as soon as I got home last night, then woke up about 11pm and cleaned the kitchen until about 2am (we have builders in and they've made a horrible mess of the place). Tried to sleep but tossed and turned for ages, then just as I was falling asleep about 4am, my housemates came home making loads of noise. Then the builders were back at 10am hammering and stuff... so feeling a bit tired!

Weight:

• 164.8 lbs

Update: UGGHH I thought my period was over but I've been having horrible cramps today. Really craving chocolate but being good... opted for a couple of pieces of sushi and a cup-a-soup instead. Hoping the soup will help soothe everything.. if not physically then at least mentally, I find hot soup very comforting.

Update: I ate a roll with primula cheese spread and a cadbury flake. The whole time I was screaming at myself not to... but I did anyway. I feel rubbish and I really wish I wasn't at work right now. I can't go home sick because I need the money. I swear my uterus is trying to kill me... I'm in pain, bloated, tired, cranky... bleh. Only 2 hours to go. * collapses in a heap feeling sorry for self*

 

[Saruk88]

Hey snowflakes - welcome back!

Amazing well done on passing your exam! It is so hard to study and lose weight I feel - nice food always, always helped me get through long day revising etc.

Hope your pains are much better now. Oh the woes of being female! And basically staying the same across those couple of months is amazing in my opinion. Well done!

 

[snowflakes]

Thank you, love! Absolutely, on some days food was the only thing to look forward to!
For some reason my period was about twice as long as usual... finally sorted itself out, but I find it so hard to stay on track during that time. Ugh.

OK, here we go... so the last couple of weeks have been unexpectedly manic - someone at my part-time job is off on long term sick leave, which means there are a lot of shifts going, which is great because I need the money, but also means I've been there pretty much every day. I've also been juggling my elective placement in A&E which is... sort of going well. It's a big hospital so everyone is really well trained and efficient, so there's not much to do and it's easy to feel in the way. My experience in A&E in a much smaller hospital was better. However, I did get to go out with the HEMS trauma team last week which was INCREDIBLE. Definitely the best thing I've done in medicine so far, and probably up there with the coolest things I've ever done in my life. We went to a guy who'd been in a road traffic accident and he was in a really bad way so they had to perform surgery on him at the roadside - on the ride back to the hospital I had my hand inside this guy's chest whilst the doctor performed open cardiac massage. Crazy.

I've just come back from a weekend in Snowdonia in Wales with friends. It was really good fun, although we seemed to mostly survive on cheese on toast and wine! And we went out for a posh dinner on the Saturday night... there was Key Lime Pie involved... not the healthiest! But delicious, and we did go hiking so hopefully it balances out.

I've been eating pretty well since I got back and yesterday I even got some exercise in by going for a run.

Tuesday 06th May 2014

Food & drink:

• 2 litres Robinson's no added sugar squash
• can of diet coke
• salad with butterhead lettuce, mixed baby leaves, peashoots, boiled baby potatoes, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, cress, alfalfa & radish shoots, yellow bell pepper, smoked peppered mackerel, creme fraiche and herb dressing
• handful of Walkers Sensations Peking Spare Rib oriental crackers
• minted lamb meatballs with mixed peppers and red onion in tomato sauce with 7 grain mix
• 2 chocolate digestive biscuits
• a third of a medium Costa gingerbread latte

Exercise:

• None

Sleep:

• Have been falling asleep reasonably easily but not waking up feeling very rested. Had a very early start for A&E teaching, but it turned out to be cancelled.. grrr.

Weight:

• ?

Wesdnesday 07th May 2014

Food & drink:

• 1 litre Robinson's no added sugar squash
• can of diet coke
• salad with butterhead lettuce, mixed baby leaves, peashoots, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, cress, alfalfa & radish shoots, yellow & red bell pepper, smoked peppered mackerel, bacon bits, a few croutons, sliced pear, drizzle of ranch dressing
• handful of Walkers Sensations Peking Spare Rib oriental crackers
• wholegrain soba noodles with stir fried veggies, quorn pieces & pad thai sauce
• 1 chocolate digestive biscuit
• blueberries & strawberries
• half a bottle of Naked Green Machine juice/smoothie
• M&S mint truffle bar

Exercise:

• half hour run (some walking, but mostly running, yay)

Sleep:

• Reasonable.

Weight:

• 166.4 lbs

 

[snowflakes]

Ugh. Still super busy. Weight still not budging (it's not going up either, so I guess that's one small mercy). Stress is increasing. I don't really know what to do, I just feel like I don't have the energy to do everything AND concentrate on eating better and trying to squeeze more exercise in. But I HAVE to.

I watched the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead recently. I was really amazed at the transformation the guy underwent during juice fasting. Last week I was getting a bit desperate because it's been 5 months of repeatedly just falling off the wagon, so I thought maybe I could give that a try. I bought a cheap juicer from Argos and tried it out... the juices were tasty and surprisingly filling! But they were a pain in the arse to make... messy, noisy, and you need so many fruits and veggies to make even the smallest glass of juice! But I persevered for 3 days after reading that from Day 4 you usually start to feel amazing and full of energy. But by midday on day 3 I had an absolutely horrendous migraine. I nearly vomited on the tube on my way in to work and had to lie down in a dark room for a bit when I got there. I took some medication to see if that helped but it wasn't great so in the end I caved and had something to eat and then felt much better within the hour. So on this occasion I think it's safe to say that juice fasting did not work for me. Over the 3 days I did lose 3 lbs, and I did feel quite energetic considering, but that migraine was just too much. I wouldn't rule out trying again.

But so I haven't wasted my money, I'll definitely be making use of the juicer, perhaps drinking a juice for breakfast on some days instead of food as proponents of juicing claim the nutrition is more easily absorbed by your body.

So here I am, sat on my butt at work, feeling huge and bloated and dumpy and frustrated with everything. My biggest issue is just letting everything else get on top of me and letting being health slip to the bottom of my priorities. Perhaps it is time to start considering a group based thing like Weight-Watchers or Slimming World to provide an unavoidable weekly reminder...

 

[snowflakes]

I like the nice organised single-post list format I've been posting in, but I need to get over my pernickity/perfectionism about the little details. It's more important to post and keep accountable, and I can't format things the same from my phone, so I'm just going to be posting everything regardless.

Monday 19/05/2014

handful of salted Kettle chip crisps
salad of M&S santini tomato side salad, baby spinach, 1 tbsp M&S potato salad, 75g smoked peppered mackerel
300g strawberries
1 chocolate digestive biscuit
2 handfuls chiwda/Bombay mix
bowl of Glorious Brazilian beef & bean soup
2 small carrots
Kinder Country chocolate bar

1.5 mL summer fruit squash
And no Diet Coke! Aiming to cut down as finding I'm drinking loads of it at work since I'm spending so much time there and we get it for free.

Overall: a few too many 'treats' - 2 chocolatey things, the crisps & Bombay mix. Again, it's the temptation of things just being there when I'm at work. Must resist. Maximum one treat item per day from now on.

 

[snowflakes]

Tuesday 20/05/2014

200g strawberries (66 cal)
3 slices toasted Warburtons seeded bread ('mini' 400g loaf so little slices) with the littlest scraping of butter and Marmite (298 cal)
Fage pomegranate & raspberry greek yogurt split pot with 2 tbsp rolled oats stirred in (207 cal)
M&S mint truffle bar (210 cal)
Sainsbury's rotisserie hot & spicy chicken thigh (no skin, and the counter assistant gave me the tiniest one there) (230 cal)
salad: baby mixed leaves, baby spinach, tomato, cucumber, 1/2 avocado, alfalfa/radish sprouts, celery, 75g smoked peppered mackerel fillet, tiny spinkle of bacon bits & tiny drizzle of ranch dressing (557 cal)
large tbsp M&S potato salad (75 cal)
banana (105 cal)

2 litres summer fruit squash

1748 cals / 4 out of my 5-a-day / only one treat item

The chicken thigh and the truffle bar weren't in my original plan but overall I'm pleased with today. It's a day of quite high fat I think, but mostly healthy fats and I do find it keeps me more full and feeling satisfied. And I didn't go over to see my friends and eat pizza with them this evening, so that's definitely a victory.

Aiming for lots of fruits & veggies tomorrow, a bit less fat, and a slightly lower calorie count. I'll be at work in the evening so will be avoiding the chocolate biscuits and diet coke! Aiming to get some exercise in there too.

 

[snowflakes]

This morning I went to a teaching session with all the registrars from the emergency department. We went over how to use the decontamination suits in case of a major chemical incident, and then had a talk on hydrocephalus and lumbar spine impingement/corda equina syndrome. It was really interesting... but what was even more interesting was their discussions about exercise! A lot of them work on the HEMS (Air Ambulance) team and the job often involves running from the helicopter to the scene, and the kit bags are insanely heavy (at present I can only just lift them, they're about 20-25 kg), so they have to be quite fit. It made me feel really bad about myself and the level of exercise I do. It's pathetic really - I can barely do a press up and I doubt I could even run a mile. I really need to get fitter but in the past when I've tried I've overdone it and had joint problems like tendinitis/bursitis due to my hypermobility.

I'd go for a jog this evening but tonight is my only chance to work on the presentation I have to give next week. I don't know where I'm going with this, just needed to rant. Grrr.

 

[snowflakes]

Woke up with a headache this morning, hoping it doesn't develop into another migraine! I've had more than usual recently, I think they're sometimes triggered by warm weather/dehydration and I definitely have more in summer.

I've got to work on the PowerPoint presentation for next week and I'm dreading it. In includes a critical appraisal of a research paper and they are just about my least favourite thing ever. I hate stats. Didn't get much done last night and today is my last chance as no more spare time, so this headache needs to eff off!

Weight at 166.4 lbs again today, stayed the same for the last 3 days!

 

[snowflakes]

Wednesday 21/05/2014

500mL green juice: apple, melon, celery, pear, cucumber, kale, spinich & ginger. (300 cal)
1/2 Sainsbury's tuna & coriander fishcake (274 cal)
Roasted veggies: red pepper, red onion, courgette, garlic, extra virgin olive oil (150 cal)
Mixed baby leaf salad, 1/2 an avocado, celery sticks (160 cal)
Potato & leek cup-a-soup (115 cal)
* Mars ice-cream bar (140 cal)
100g strawberries (40 cal)
Glorious Brazilian beef & bean soup (114 cal)
Wholewheat pitta bread (154 cal)
* 3 chocolate digestives (261 cal)

* Can of Diet Coke
750 mL summer fruit squash:

1708 cal / 6 of my 5-a-day / 3 treats

The coke and the biscuits were a result of a really stressful shift at work. But I need to stop making excuses! And remember to drink enough.

 

[Saruk88]

Hey mate!

Sounds like you're doing well! did you avoid getting a migraine? Hope you did.

Keep going with your presentation - you'll be so much happier knowing you out a lot of work into it! Will catch up properly soon!

 

[snowflakes]

Hiiiii love! How are you getting on? I think I have enough posts to come visit your diary now, I hope!
No, sadly not *grumps* I've had loads lately, dunno what's up with that but it's really annoying. I think it's probably just stress - builders are STILL here and we're having a nightmare with the landlord over it all.
I ended up doing the presentation the day before I was due to present it, talk about last minute (I've had 6 weeks to work on it, lol) but it went really well and Prof gave me some great feedback, an A grade for my elective overall and has taken a copy of the presentation to use in his teaching, which is pretty cool! So nice to have that all out of my hair. I don't have to go in for the rest of the week, but I managed to dislocate my shoulder last Friday so this Friday I will be back at the hospital for a fracture clinic appointment because they thought I would need an orthopaedic referral for surgery. It was so weird to be a patient in the emergency department surrounded and treated by the people I've been working with! The cute radiographer had to show me to the minor injuries waiting room because I didn't know where it was, despite 6 weeks there (patients are always assigned a room/cubicle by the time I see them). He's super nice and super hot... might pop in tomorrow, ostensibly to help my friend with her practical exams, but also to maybe accidentally on purpose see him again hehe.

Right... on to food. Apart from the day I dislocated my shoulder (where I may have inhaled a large bag of popcorn and lots of chocolate) I've been eating quite well, just not making a note of it.

Wednesday 28/05/2014

2 scrambled eggs, slice of toast (Warburtons seeded mini loaf) with butter, olive oil roasted baby plum tomatoes & mushrooms, teaspoon of bacon lardons (450 cal)
* 2 bags of wild berry Skittles (466 cal)
Couple of mouthfuls of Glorious Rio Carnival soup (20 cal)
Sainsbury's salad bar, medium pot (approx. 300 cal)
BBQ Pulled pork/bacon/bean/tomato creation with wild rice, steamed sweetheart cabbage & avocado (approx. 650 cal)

* Can of Diet Coke at work
Half can of sugarfree Red Bull
1.5 litres Robinsons squash

1936 cal / 5 of my 5-a-day / 2 treats

I ate quite a lot, but also did a lot of exercise (for me!). 2.5 hours of non-stop dancing at Morning Glory (Morning Glory London - Rave your way into the day) and about 45 mins walking.