A friend sent me this exercise idea she found. She said it's supposed to be for the over 50's to build muscle strength in the arms and shoulders and that she's up to level 2 already. It seems easy, and I am thinking it could be handy while my ankle is still playing up. Apparently the idea is to do it three days a week.


Exercise for the reluctant

1. Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of
room at each side. With a 2kg potato bag in each hand, extend your arms
straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a full minute, then relax.

2. Each day, you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit
longer. After a couple of weeks, move up to 5kg potato bag. Then 25kg
potato bag and then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 50k potato bag in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute.

3. After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each of the
bags.

Saturday

Last week will be the last Saturday of my girl's netball season and I am ready for that!

Today was like many other Saturday's lately: breakfast in rush before driving to netball with eyes half open, barely on time and to the girl's disapproval. Netball duties (eg today – timing, collecting money, putting out food for half time, packing up at half time to rush back in time for the girl's dancing...) bundled on top of each other so they all almost feel like they won't get done. Drop off at dancing. Rush off to shop for ½ -3/4 hr to make sure we have ingredients for tonight's wondermeal, rush back to collect girl and have hissy fit that she is maybe not happy with the new leotard we bought yesterday but won't let me exchange, take her home and then on with the shopping, and purchasing the too expensive food I couldn't actually find the first time and take that home then out again. And help girl finish off the make up she has messed up because I wasn't there to help and because she didn't need to do it, and finding her ballet tights, I take her to her exam rehearsal, then back to the shops with eyes still half open, trying to find out about yet another electronic item that I need to know about so that I can make a purchase that won't drive us all crazy after it is bought, when we really do understand it, and buying gifts, and half looking at clothes, and oops what about lunch - fitted in there somewhere. Well it was ok. Not what I'd promised myself but probably not bad. And then the shops are nearly shut and it's time to collect her again and I get home and think well good I haven't forgotten about going for a walk, and it's still light, but my ankle hurts still and my enthusiasm is low, and my husband tells me it will take at least three weeks if it's an ankle and there's no point in going to a physio (which is what he always says about physio's, and is not true...) so I walk the awkward dog and I walk grumpy thinking that even walking is no good when I have to walk slowly and the dog is uncooperative and my ankle hurts and then makes my knee hurt.

Only fortunately even being grumpy about walking, does wear off if I'm out walking in the cool dusk, or maybe it's just that I cheer up when I'm nearly home, because that means I don't have to walk any more?

Anyway, my husband has massacred the lamb shanks I bought, and served the vegetables hard and the potato runny, and didn't like the recipe and lets me know that it's not healthy anyway. Though I had thought it would be, he's right. The fat in the shanks isn't trimmed like it is in the lamb I normally buy and it isn't drained away because they're cooked in the liquid, but I eat two anyway, because the rest of the dinner is pretty unsatisfactory. What a crap reason. And then I remember that I impulse bought sugar free lollies yesterday. And eat some before I look at the calories, which are still quite substantial if you eat !0!! Bugger. And then I sort a giant mountain of clean clothes, which made my ankle hurt again. And then I clean the kitchen which has tomato puree and lamb fat from one end to the other ....

So anyway. I'm glad next Saturday is the last netball game, cos during the netball season, Saturday's are not my favourite day really. Actually maybe any term time Saturday...

Breakfast 8:15 2 weetbix, 1/3 C diced peaches , 1C low fat soy milk. 1 slice wholemeal toast ½ + ½ with plum and cinnamon jam and vegemite. Boiled egg . 2 x coffee with 40 ml Hilo milk.

Lunch: 12:30 Bread roll with pizza topping.
2:30 Bag of snow peas.

Snack: McDonald's cappuccino

Dinner: 7:00 Lamb shanks cooked in diluted tomato puree and white wine (see above). Mashed potato (see above). Carrots and broccoli (see above). Diet apricot yoghurt. 10 sugarfree lollies ( a calorie bargain at 140 - unless you translate that into fruit) . Coffee with milk.

11:00 Green tea.

Wow, you're a great writer! That sounds awfully hectic, but I hope the dinner is fantastic and your ankle feels better--enjoy the lamb!!

Thanks CG. It was hectic! More hectic than I can actually record to be honest, but at least Saturday's end, and Sunday was better.


Sunday

Breakfast 11:00 2 weetbix, 1/3 C diced peaches , 1C low fat soy milk. 1 slice wholemeal toast ½ + ½ with plum and cinnamon jam and vegemite. Boiled egg . 2 x coffee with 40 ml Hilo milk.

Lunch: 2:00 Gorgeous wholemeal muffin with a very little ham, some low fat cheese, grilled eggplant, mushrooms, tomato, and olives. Coffee with milk.

2:30 Cup of tea with a little milk. At Mum's. Despite the afternoon tea.

Dinner: 7:00 Take away roast chicken which I removed the skin from. About 3 pieces. Peas, gravy. Microwaved potato. Diet apricot yoghurt.
I was trying not to be caught out with being left hungry, which has happened to me with takeaway meals in the past. However, I think I had too much chicken because I felt over full later.

Anyway then they had a couple of tv shows on that I actually liked – which is rare for me so I sat and watched them, only all our lounge chairs encourage laying down and the combination of everything sent me to sleep.
Which of course is not at all a good thing for me because I woke up groggy and headed for the pantry and the fridge. Something is still protecting me – I ate healthyish food – but more than I needed for a snack.

Snack: ~ 10:00 15 cashews. 4 sugar free lollies.

11:00 Green tea.

Exercise: 5:50 A quick (25 min) and very pleasant walk in the Warwick Open Space.

It had been raining all day and I was glad of a chance to get moving in the drenched bush. Even in the fading light I could see the spring flowers getting enthusiastic – the first donkey orchids were out, and I could see buds on the pink fairies and one I'm sure is a spider orchid – my favourites. It was easier on my ankle – maybe cos I'd had a sedentary day, or because the ground is mostly sandy, or because the walk was short? Anyway it was nice and reminded me that despite the short drive to get here, this is a very good walking option, especially for the next few weeks.

Monday

Breakfast 7:00 2 weetbix, 1/3 C diced peaches , 1C low fat soy milk. 1 slice wholemeal toast ½ + ½ with plum and cinnamon jam and vegemite. Boiled egg . 2 x coffee with 40 ml Hilo milk.

Snack 10:30 Coffee with milk. Apple.

Lunch: 12:40 2 slices toasted wholemeal bread with slices of shaved ham, low fat cheese, tomato. 1 Orange. Coffee with milk.

I was working in a school I was unused to, and I became quite confused about how much time I was supposed to have to eat in. And there were complications that made me cautious so I skipped eating the bag of snow peas and baby carrot I had brought. Which I wouldn't mention except now while I'm reflecting on what I ate next, which was weird, I wonder if the little muck up at lunch time had any impact. I remember being drowsy at lunchtime too, which I hadn't expected, as I'd thought I'd slept enough.

“Snack” 3: 20 A piece of leftover chicken, which I took the skin from again. 2 slices wholemeal toast. One with jam, one with vegemite. A tin of baked beans. 2 weetbix with peaches and low fat soy milk. Finally I remembered that I'm supposed to have a drink and STOP EATING. That was 5 ½ serves of carbohydrates in one hit. Since I started this diet I have never done that. I came home from work feeling really hungry and wanted a bigger snack than normal, but I had no idea what. I had no sense at all of fighting my urge to keep eating. I just felt like I was tired out and going to do what I felt like. So then I fell asleep sitting up in front of the computer and after a while woke up and went to sleep in my own bed, with my boots still on.

Exercise: About 5:15 I made myself get up and went and did some housework, then went for yet another crummy slow local walk, taking about 45 minutes to walk 15 minutes worth of distance, with the dog pulling me home in the end. I had eaten so much that my stomach was hurting at 6:00 – 2 hours after I finished eating.

However - BONUS GOOD MOMENT HERE - I have been walking every day again for more than a week, so with all the ups and downs lately, at least that is actually happening. I'm not that keen on exactly what my exercise and food has been lately, but walking every day was a goal I struggled with for a while, so I'm pleased with that progress. Also, despite thinking the food's not special I'm still walking past the cake, and the chocs, and so on. I haven't been craving anything awful - just been awkwardly hungry from time to time. And I still find this forum and diary helpful to deal with some of the crappy, non-craving impulses I have had lately. It's still a big deal to me to think in advance that if I ate something I can't approve of myself, I would have to write about that, or fudge that, or give up my diary ... It's still a useful extra brake. The other thing that's been useful at impulse time has just been to remind myself of my goal and how much more I want that, than any snack bars sitting near the cash registers.

Tonight, I didn't actually bother with dinner but eventually I felt a bit hungry again and had

Snack: 10:00 a diet apricot yoghurt and my leftover snow peas and carrots that I had expected to eat and been balked of at lunch time.
Plus I drank about a liter of diet coke. Was I dehydrated?



Lately I keep thinking about this kid's book. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle. Which despite being a little kid's book is fairly well known. Anyway this is the bit that keeps recurring in my mind.

On Saturday he ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice-cream cone, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake and one slice of watermelon. That night he had a stomachache!

The next day was Sunday again. The caterpillar ate through one nice green leaf, and after that he felt much better.


It is the nice green leaf bit I like.

Ha! How cute! I remember that book!!

When I was dieting properly early this year, I kept thinking of that kids game, "Hungry Hungry Hippos". I like alliteration Congrats on your walking goal, yiah!!!

Feli, you have had one crazy past week to say the least. Never a dull moment in your household, similar to mine I hate to say. HEHEHEHEH But, I do like the fact that your still walking, and I think your ankle is getting better right? I love that book also, I actually have it too. I used to read it to my sons all the time. I bought from the school scholastic sales every week. We always read together when the boys were in school, It was the best of times. Enjoy them when their young, as they grow up so fast, and it's true!!! Your meals for the day sound good as always!! Please, Please take some pictures of those flowers, I LOVE FLOWERS and I've never heard of most of those you mentioned, would love to see them. Have a wonderful day today!
Kim

Curvie Girlie :

I think that book is a pre-school classic. I doubt there is a child in my state that has managed to start primary school without it!

Miss Ladybug :

Yes. It's been busy. I keep thinking, it will quiet down soon, but the quiet time seems to be constantly staying a couple of week's away. I do think that this is probably an age when I'm able to get a lot of enjoyment from my time with my children. If anything my son is easier to get on with now than he was any time before he turned 11. He is 14 now. I am just keeping my fingers crossed .

The electronic equipment I am working on choosing and purchasing just now is a camera. I don't have one that works right now, so I have no flower pictures of my own.

These are the kinds of flowers I was talking about. They are small terrestrial orchids. The main colourful parts of the flower are probably just 2-3 inches, but somehow I find orchids capture my interest in a special way. A lot of people seem to have a similar response.

Donkey orchid


Pink fairy orchid


Spider orchid



Unfortunately my ankle has not been getting better. Just not getting worse. However, that's hardly good enough, because at this level I can't even get a decent daily walk, let alone start extending my exercise efforts. So today I went to a physiotherapist. She worked on it a bit, which helped. Also, she said the ankle won't get better unless I'm careful with it and don't keep walking after the walk starts to make it hurt. Which is not that far.

I will have to build slowly up to longer walks. Though I can walk in the morning as well if I wanted, or do aquatherapy (instead of going to work), or walk in the pool by myself – but that last one is easy to overdo... So I can do more, but only if I can manage to walk first thing in the morning, which I have often told myself would be a good idea but never, ever achieved. I have never had good mental control when I first wake up. Note I am talking about the past. I am not going to damn my future, but I'm not hopeful about achieving in that area, or setting a goal that I can't currently conceptualize myself achieving.

Also she said that the things I thought might have contributed to make the ankle start hurting, probably all did. So, things I did, which I don't want to do in future are:
- suddenly start a whole heap of jogging on the trampoline after doing none for a while
- jog on the trampoline without my trainers, and hence without my arch support
- wear my low heeled, no arch support court type shoes for more than one evening at a time, or when there's no real call for it (ie don't get gung ho when I wear them for one evening and my feet don't hurt, cos actually I need them for the ankle as well...)

Tuesday

Breakfast 7:00 2 weetbix, 1/3 C diced peaches , 1C low fat soy milk. 1 slice wholemeal toast ½ + ½ with plum and cinnamon jam and vegemite. Boiled egg . Coffee with 40 ml Hilo milk.

Snack: 1 coffee with milk.

Lunch
: 1:00 3 slices wholemeal Vienna loaf. 3 field mushrooms, 1 shredded slice ham, EVO oil. Snow peas. Carrot. Coffee with milk.

Snack 4:00 2 inches sausage roll (because my daughter prepared it for herself and left a piece behind in the car – ie impulse eating a little bad food instead of deliberately organizing something better in advance).

Dinner: 7:00 Restaurant. (Sister in law's birthday) Grilled (yet somehow also oiled) mixed seafood. “Salad” ie 2 leaves lettuce, ¼ tomato, 1tbspn shredded red cabbage. Glass of white wine. Bacci torte. Cappucino. It all tasted great. I am making torte do the duty of my carbs for tonight's meal. Though most likely it was enough calories for the whole of lunch and dinner in one. I didn't deliberately eat well or badly while I was out, just had what I felt most like having. If we were to suddenly start eating out regularly I would need to adjust this, but for now a meal in a restaurant is still rare so hopefully safe.

MMM Can I come eat with you today. OH PLEASE!!! that all sounds fantastic! I'm so sorry about your ankle, that just makes things so much harder on you I'm sure! Those pictures are gorgeous, thanks for finding some and posting them for me to see. I love WILD FLOWERS, those are my favorite. I always pick them when I'm out on a walk and bring them back, bugs and all to put in a small vase in the kitchen. I can't help myself. My boys used to pick them when they were small and bring them in for me. AHHHH Those were the days. Can you even imagine your life without crazy chaos?? I mean how dull would it be right?? I will take it any day, it's better than sitting around being bored or depressed right? And I've been there and done that. Life's to short already, so take it as it comes and savor it!
Kim

Hi Felici, so sorry about the ankle. Hope it gets better soon!

Miss Lady Bug: I'm sure you're right. Crazy chaos is the preferred option over dull. I do enjoy the odd quiet day though!!

I was pretty excited this week, while spending most of one day dealing with the girl and her dance exams, to find that they have now changed the time and day of one of her classes ... and it will now be heaps more convenient! With the finish of netball as well, as of next week we get one whole extra evening free of clockwatching, plus a later start on Saturday and a bigger break before returning to collect her!! I'm VERY pleased!!

Tom: Thanks. I'm feeling rueful about the ankle. I see that I could have prevented this slow down with a bit more care. However, though this makes my exercise a lot more limited for now, at least I'm not stopped altogether from walking and the sun is setting later again and giving me a bit more flexibility in when I walk, so I'm not too badly off. I doubt I'm exercising enough to burn any noticeable calories though, so I'm trying to tighten up my food a bit for now.

Wednesday

Breakfast 7:30 2 weetbix, 1/3 C diced peaches , 1C low fat soy milk. 1 slice wholemeal toast ½ + ½ with plum and cinnamon jam and vegemite. Boiled egg . Coffee with 40 ml Hilo milk.

Snack: 1 coffee with milk.

Lunch: 1:00 2 slices fresh hi topped wholemeal Vienna loaf. 2 shaved slices double smoked ham. Small pear chopped with tub of low fat natural yoghurt. Coffee with milk.

Dinner: 7:30 Salad: ~ 110 gm tinned red salmon, 50 gm light tuna with basil and sundried tomato, ~ 130 gm 4 bean mix, 2 tomatoes, parsley, jalapenos, limejuice. (I wish I'd remembered to buy coriander, and perhaps it's time to look for a different type of beans for my salads too, but even just dressing this with jalapenos and lime was a great move – thanks for the inspiration mal. 1 large pear, and ½ tub low fat natural yoghurt. Coffee with milk.

Walking to exercise turned out not to be an option, though I did walk around the city for 2 ½ hours with the kids buying them jackets. I figured that was enough ankle damage.

Thursday

Breakfast 7:30 2 weetbix, 1/3 C diced peaches , 1C low fat soy milk. 1 slice wholemeal toast ½ + ½ with plum and cinnamon jam and vegemite. Boiled egg . Coffee with 40 ml Hilo milk.

Snack: 1 pear. 1 coffee with milk.

Lunch: 12:30 Toasted sandwich: 2 slices hi topped wholemeal Vienna loaf ~ 30 gm lite cheese, tomato. 1 carrot. 1 navel orange . Coffee with milk.

Snack: 1 slice tall Vienna bread toasted with plum and cinnamon jam. 1 medium mandarin. 1 white coffee.

Though the coffee was a little rushed in the end, this combination of decent, not-incredibly-rushed lunch and decent, not-incredibly-rushed snack both helped me feel satisfied and comfortable about sticking with moderate amounts of food. I really think this is a helpful way for me to go to keep myself on an even keel and not wishing for a higher calorie day. I've noticed that rushed meals can be a bit of a trap as I'm inclined to leave out the veges and even sometimes feel as though I barely ate despite having had almost as many calories as normal. Though this can't always be avoided, I'd like to be a bit conscious of the impact so that I can try to offset it.

Dinner prep: 2 carrots.
Dinner: 7:30 140 gm bluespot emperor, a little flour, truly minimal EVO oil, fresh lime juice.
2 slices light wholemeal Vienna batard. I don't know what it is with the bread naming around here. One of the bakeries I go to has “wholemeal Vienna” bread which is in a batard shape and sometimes called batard and sometimes not, and is always somewhat dense. Yesterday the other bakery had something that looked like the old “Wholemeal Loaf” but was called “Vienna”. I said, “Is this a dense bread”, no it's like a normal wholemeal but softer. Well it was very nice. It was soooo tall that I couldn't fit it in the normal sandwich bags I give the children. Today I sent my son to the same bakery to buy another one and he came back with a batard. Which was all but demolished by the end of dinner time, because it was so small. ? If I was counting calories I would seriously have to weigh the slices each time to work them out because the names all sound the same but the sizes and type of bread are all quite different. I absolutely don't care because I love it all, but I'm guessing a bit to try and keep the amounts equivalent.

Enormous chopped salad: spinach, cucumber, zucchini, snow peas, capsicum, mushroom, grated celery & carrot, amorosa tomatoes, balsimic vinegar. Without intending to, I let this sit in the vinegar for about ¾ – 1 hour before I ate it and I think it improved it. Truly yummy.

I didn't feel like having a tangy pear/yoghurt combo after all the tangy salad though. Had 1 sugar free jube and 1 sugar free chocolate caramel type lolly instead (~ 30 cals all up). Coffee with milk.

Exercise: 5:35 35 minute walk at Warwick. A different patch of bush to the other day, looking for the red beaks my husband said had started blooming.

sounds like a yummy day...

I learn so many new words in your diary -makes me feel smarter

Glad to be of service, mal.

Nice to know there's an upside to my being obscure.