I'm over here...

Hello blogland!

I don't know if anyone still reads this.

Its been a while... if you're looking for me, I'm over here these days:

www.facebook.com/hilaryhudsonphotography

I would love it if you dropped by to say hi!

Write that week off

Right, so I went SO well for 2 weeks.  Tracked my food, tracked my exercise, started to see results.  Started to feel great.

Even my physio told me that I was fully recovered from my Pelvic Crossed Syndrome, and basically set me free!  I was exuberant!  I had the all-clear to start doing lower body exercises again, and to trial jogging!  OMG!!

And then, last Friday, it hit me.  The Flu that has pretty much claimed everyone in my broad circle, finally got me.  And as I lay dying on the lounge last Friday night, I thought "Why does this always happen when I get a good rhythm going?"

And it wasn't just me.  Husband woke up on Saturday morning and started heaving his guts up... so there's me shivering with fevers and chills, body aches and nausea, and my husband trying not to vomit up his water and also with body aches and chills... and two healthy kids running rings around us!

The whole weekend was spent in a horizontal position.  There was lots of moaning to be heard. The kids pretty much subsisted on any packet of food that could be opened by a parent with one hand and one eye open.

Husband bounced back quickly, and was back at work on Monday.  However I took until yesterday to begin to feel human again.  Ugh...

So - lets strike that week off and start again shall we?

Fall over, get back up

Well I kinda fell off the radar last week...

This sums it up:

1. Husband went away for work for the week, I was single mumming it for the week -and I must say I take my hat off to those who do it all day, every day - phew its hard work!
2. My 16 year old pussy cat went to the vet for some more medication and check up, and his kidney disease is worsening and now I have to try to give him sub-cutaneous fluids under his skin a few days a week.  On top of that, he really needs some dental work as he has some decaying back teeth - but he's so small and lost so much weight (he's only 2.9kgs now) that its risky... I could lose him just from having some teeth pulled.  The cost of this is also a very big factor, which makes me feel incredibly guilty and so so sad.  I spent most of last week crying.
3. Glandular Fever relapse number 2... when does it end?  More night fevers, stomach aches, swollen tonsils... and little sleep.  I now have her pumped up on the following: Olive Leaf Extract, Homeopathic drops, Probiotics, Multi-vitamins, fruit/vegetable juice, salt-water gargles and no sugary/junk food or snacks!
4. Head cold for me.  The least of my worries.

Some old habits crept back in last week. Blah.

I have gotten up this week with renewed determination though.  We are finally sleeping well again so I have printed up my plan and stuck it on the fridge.  I'm going to ask my husband to randomly check with me through the week how my training is going, or how my nutrition is going.  I think this is going to have a big impact on me, as I have felt for a long time now that what I am missing is ACCOUNTABILITY.    I don't even care if he doesn't listen to the answer, I just want him to ask me.

Today I was looking through my bookcase and came across my old falling-apart copy of "Body For Life"!  Wow, what a blast from the past!  I did a BFL style resistance training workout this morning and loved it. It was nice to enjoy exercising again.  I also did 20 mins on the treadmill, I don't know if this was too much for my hip issue, but time will tell.

I am also re-reading "Fatitude" by Craig Harper.  Forgotten how helpful that book is.

Anyway, its time I started work for the day - bye for now!

Glandular Fever revisited

Skye had a relapse last weekend.  We thought she was breezing through this, pfft - glandular fever?  No problems, she's such a resilient kid, she's back to normal and bouncing off the walls!

Famous last words.  Last Saturday she crashed in spectacular fashion.  We were scheduled to go out for dinner with friends and kids on Saturday night.  By lunchtime she was complaining of a bit of a tummy ache.  By 3pm it had evolved into a massive headache (I hesitate to use the word migraine, because she's 4 years old, but maybe it was, it came and went in waves) which didn't respond to either paracetamol or Ibuprofen... at 4pm she was vomiting all over herself and by 5pm she fell asleep on the floor with her head on my lap.

SO!  We stayed home, cancelled plans.  We've kept her quiet all week and pumped her up with vitamins, vegetables, beetroot/fruit smoothies and lots of rest.  More blood tests on Monday revealed she is recovering, albeit slowly.  We have to go back for MORE tests in another month to make sure its still resolving.  Glands are all still up too.  Poor baby girl.

Anyway, sounds like another excuse from me - once again my exercise plans are foiled! 

However, heres something BIG.  Alcohol - had a glass of wine on Saturday night (after 2 whole weeks off) and I totally didn't enjoy it.  What?  Did I just say that?  Hmm.  Anyway, I went another week without any and felt good.  Sleeping awesome now that I'm not getting up in the night to a sick child.  Had some wine last night and DID enjoy it though - however I really don't feel like I want to slip back to relying on wine AKA 'mamas little helper' again.

Also, big, massive improvements from me in terms of snacking.  I'm just not doing it.  I don't know why, but its awesome. Feeling much more in control.

Now just gotta get cracking on doing some more resistance sessions!

One step forward, one step back

Last weeks commitments all turned to crap when I came down with a lovely dose of Gastro!  Wednesday-Saturday was a bit of a write off, physically I was wiped out and every time I sat down I almost nodded off to sleep - so training didn't happen as I battled low energy and continuing stomach cramps for days.

When it came to food, all I wanted was plain, bland, safe food.  I resorted to toast as a quick and simple filler that I didn't have to put any thought into.  I bought myself some peppermint tea too, as I know from past experience with Koby that peppermint can do wonders for the digestion.

Now, for the last couple of years, I've been of the belief that I've become gluten intolerant, because any time I eat anything like bread or pasta, I bloat up like a balloon and suffer terrible wind!  I can get away with small amounts though.  But last week I drank 3 large cups of peppermint tea per day, and ate toast.  And there was no bloat, no wind... I am absolutely amazed at this and have tested this a few times since.  I've tried pasta, with peppermint tea chaser - no reaction.  I've had toasted sandwiches, no reaction.  I'm very excited about this and will continue to monitor it and see how it goes.

So anyway I did lose some weight last week, although not the best way to do it!

I have also stayed true to my commitment of not having any alcohol, which I'm quite proud of, since I really love a glass or two of wine!  I do feel better for it, although I've had a few moments where its crossed my mind, but once I've eaten dinner I'm over it and its not an issue.

I've started drinking hot lemon water in the morning.  I have no idea if it actually does what everyone claims it does, but its worth a shot, and its all part of my water quota for the day anyway.

Back to the physio tomorrow, hopefully my hips have improved some more!

Weekend round up, Monday goals

The weekend started with our 5 year wedding anniversary!  5 years, wow!  My husband surprised me with some beautiful pink sapphire earrings, he did his research and found out that the sapphire is the traditional gemstone for a 5 year anniversary, very sweet :)

We had planned to have a night out on Saturday and send the kids to the inlaws, but with an unwell 4 year old, and a 2 year old with red, bleary eyes and starting to cough and swipe at his dribbly nose, we cancelled it and stayed home instead.  We'll have to take a raincheck on that I guess.  I made home-made pizza and drank wine in my trackies instead.  Actually I drank way too much wine over the weekend, and as a result I felt dreadful, didn't sleep well and now resolve to stay off the grog for a couple of weeks.

Today was D-day for Skye when we get the results of the blood tests and tonsil swab.  One out of 3 markers for Glandular fever came back positive, so they retested for another virus called CMV.  She got the all-clear for that, so Glandular Fever it is!  She's been under strict instructions to REST... yeah try telling a 4 year old to rest!  Seriously!

Anyway, apart from no alcohol for 2 weeks, my goals this week are:

Training:
2 x resistance sessions
4 x cardio sessions

Nutrition:
4-5 small meals per day
2-3 litres of water
No chocolate

General:
In bed by 10.30 every night.

Seems pretty simple really.  The trouble with being in bed by 10.30 is, I've gotten used to staying up later than that.  So when I go to bed early, I just tend to lie awake until my normal sleep time anyway.  Which is frustrating.  I just need to persevere with this... I know it requires me to switch the TV and ipad off by at least 10pm, and I like to do my physio stretches before bed as its quite relaxing and means I can sleep without hip pain too.

Today I knocked over 1 x resistance training, and 1 x cardio.  Plus endless bloody physio stretches and exercises!


 

Commitment

• I will post here at least once a week.  More if needed.
• I will report in on how I'm going, how I'm feeling, what went well and what didn't go well
• I commit to having just ONE free meal per week
• I commit to drinking at least 2 litres of water each day
• I will track my progress with measurements and bodyfat percentage.

In typical "me" fashion, no sooner did I decide on this plan of attack, when my daughter came down with tonsillitis... again.  So the last few days we have been coping on little sleep, one hot feverish 4 year old, one tired mama and most definitely no exercise.

Eating is still on track, but I am having an additional strong coffee each afternoon this week, when I'm trying to work.  I thought about chocolate a little while ago (we still have a small mountain of easter chocolate in the house) but it was only a fleeting thought. 

Today involved a two hour wait at the GP.  I wasn't expecting to be so long so the Childrens Nurofen wore off while we were there, and her fever came back with a vengeance.  Then the doc ordered a tonsil swab and blood tests - yeah try getting a 4 year old to sit still while they're suffering a fever and crying their heart out.  Its no fun for anyone!  Stress!!

Pretty happy that I still managed to stay on track today, despite the stress.

Back to Basics

Once upon a time this used to be a fitness blog... then somewhere along the way it morphed into a mummy blog/general life etc.  I've been thinking about resurrecting this blog for a while, but a sudden urge struck me last night, and well, here I am again.

After a year of faffing about and not getting anywhere, I need to have some accountability again.  I'm tired of going around and around in circles.  I'm tired of making excuses for myself.

Its time to get my act together and actually make some progress in my fitness and health again.

I am a work-from-home mum, with 2 part-time jobs, 2 little kids, I do the books for my husbands business and I'm in the process of starting my own business.

I am busy, but so is everybody else.

I'm tired and stressed and feeling flat.  Every day feels a bit like groundhog day.  I've created bad habits recently that I must stop.  I get very little "me" time, once the kids are in bed, my husband often goes to bed earlier than me - so I turn off the TV, get out my book and start snacking.  Then I stay up WAY too late, don't get much sleep, feel exhausted in the morning, get cranky with the kids through the day (often resorting to a glass of wine at the end of the day) and the cycle continues.

I am a full clothing size, and 5kgs over where I am comfortable being.  It is not a massive amount of weight, but I have been losing and gaining the same 2-3kgs over and over for at least the last year.  I go well for a week or two.  Then something happens and I don't deal with it well.  A kid gets sick.  Or I get sick.  Or I injure myself.  Or we go away camping and it all goes out the window.  Start/Stop, start/stop... sigh

I'm limited at the moment to what I can do (exercise-wise) due to something called "pelvic crossed syndrome", and under some strict instructions from my physio.  But that doesn't mean I cant get my bad habits sorted.

My accountability is here.  I thought about starting a fresh blog, but I like it here.  It feels like home.  There are years of old posts here to motivate me and remind me of what I CAN achieve.

I'm going back to basics.  More soon.