Cate's Diary

Cate
Enjoy the dinner with family . We are having my son tonight too and will do some bbq I think .
When I feel a little more well which I hope be this weekend I will to some squats and arm work too .
Thanks, Petal. We had a lovely evening, even though our GD & our son smelt very strongly. I didn't say anything about it & I didn't cuddle either of them either. Our GS, however, I did get to give a cuddle. :beating: I have a feeling it's fabric softener that I smell on them.
<3 chocolate&cherries <3
I wouldn't say anything to G, but it wasn't as nice as usual. It may sound crazy, but I think I prefer to have my fruit on it's own with maybe a nice chocolate on the side. I did nag him to make a cake for the kids though :blush5: They loved it. Our GS said "Yum, yum, yum, yum...." as he took his empty bowl up to the sink.

I weighed myself this morning because I didn't want to & hadn't for a week. Not good.....:( I'm struggling. I think I will have to have a 500 cal "fast day" to snap myself out of this.
Some serious self-talk required, of the positive kind, as I am not feeling kindly toward myself at the moment.
 
I don´t know if it helps, but here are some of the positive things I know about you. You´re...
- authentic
- loving and caring
- intelligent and always ready to learn new things
- hilarious
- tenacious
- disciplined
I could come up with more but these are the ones that popped into my mind first.
 
Cate
Sorry about the fabric conditioner.
Good your meal was nice and the cake went down well .
Do you think it’s harder each time to lose weight . I know this weekend will mess with my metabolism but I am going to try avoid bread stuff as much as possible and ice cream.
 
Thanks, Petal. It gets harder & harder to lose weight & easier & easier to put it on.
I have had a good day today though as I have been on my own all day (from 7.45 am until 5.15 pm) & I ate well.
Breakfast was Greek-style yoghurt, with rhubarb, prunes & almond meal.
Lunch was a light beef & vegetable soup, followed by an apple & a walk.
Mid-afternoon when I got really hungry I had the rest of my lunch- a small avocado, some cucumber, raw carrot & 40g cheese & chive dip, 4 small brown rice crackers.
No wine.
Dinner- a selection of home-cooked curries (beef, vegetable & dhal) on a mix of rice & quinoa, served with a little yoghurt & rhubarb chutney & 2 microwaved small pappadams. Delicious!
Followed by a small fruit platter.
Calories for the day- 1463.
My Fitbit is not syncing to MFP. Apparently, it's a glitch with the system at the moment.
I have started a challenge (to myself as much as to anyone). Feel free to join me. I can rename it or adjust it if anyone wants me to.
Lessons from today- ditch the dips(eat cheese rather than dips with so many additives), move more & read less (I still haven't done the squats), buy some light yoghurt from wherever, rather than the full-fat local one & concentrate on willing myself to get slim again. This will not do.
 
I did my squats and some upper body work so I´m with you for today at least :) Do you rent out G´s services, by any chance? I want your dinner :p
 
Wow, thanks so much for the info on environmental sensitivities. It really helps to confirm that my immune system crashing from allergies is not something I made up. And I am totally floored that they do not have to list the fragrances in products in the ingredients lists. I have been looking at the ingredients in salad dressings and other convenience foods lately and I wonder how many of those preservatives have been studied to see what they do to the human body. I need to see if maybe it's the non-organic brands of teas that are why I suddenly could not have caffeine any more. Maybe if I do organic, I can have tea, which would be like if most other people could have sugar - I am not that into sugar, but black tea is my favorite vice in the whole wide world. I also need to see if things like salad dressing can be frozen so I can make my own big batches and save money and avoid the preservatives, because after reading the allergies articles you listed, I think I should try going organic as much as I possibly can.

Do you ever feel like you reach for comfort foods because you are feeling low energy from allergies? I do a lot, so I need to figure out how to get my immune system healthier so it doesn't crash every time I encounter a smoker or air freshener. I am currently cleaning drywall dust off the walls and ceilings of the house which makes me itch from head to toe and I get cranky (irrationally so) and tired. Can't wait until this is over, so am going to muscle through this in the next several days and have it done with.

Thanks, too, for the info on arthritis and rose hips. We were at an open mike night (my 11 year old plays electric guitar and sings, so she was performing) and my mom came with us. Many of the performers at this lovely community center in the mountains are guys in their 70's and even 80's and they play phenomenally. My mom was talking with one of the organizers because she used to play flamingo guitar but can't now because of arthritis, and the organizer guy said that he takes Hiactives Cherry Extract in pill form, the brand he uses is Swanson. He said that within a couple of months, he could play guitar again after taking this. So I think we are right, that vitamin C in natural form and in high doses is probably a cure.

Glad you had a nice time with your family!! Hope you can find a nice way to remind them about scents so you can hug them all next time around.

You make your own curries - wow! Sounds delicious!!! I love reading what you are eating - inspires me to make healthy, yummy things, too!
 
I did my squats and some upper body work so I´m with you for today at least :) Do you rent out G´s services, by any chance? I want your dinner :p
LaMa- Dinner was scrumptious & we are having exactly the same tonight :) We have this marvellous cookbook called "The Complete Asian Cookbook" by Charmaine Solomon. If you can get your hands on it, it is well worth buying. The Sri Lankan section is our favourite & we have never had a failure out of it. We (G) cook up a reasonable quantity each time & always freeze a few little tubs, so that when we go to the freezer we can choose a selection- West African chicken or a S.R. Chicken curry, beef curry, vegetable curry (always) & now a Dhal curry (my request). G now does a 1/3 Quinoa, 2/3 rice combo & fries the seeds etc & then cooks the rice with the reduction method. It is so light & yummy!

Marsia-
People thinking that allergic responses are in your head is one of the biggest problems with MCS. It sounds like you had better be very careful to protect yourself. Those crashes that you get when in contact with cigarette smoke or air fresheners could well end up resulting in a major crash like I had. Mine was a gradual increase in reactions until that day. It is mind-boggling that perfume ingredients do not have to be listed. Lots of things are mind-boggling.
I hope I can find a way of broaching the scent thing again with our son gently. He is very defensive about his fragrance & gets very cranky about it.

July 1- Got on the scales again today & the kg that shouldn't have been there had gone back to where it belonged so I am back to needing to lose 10 kg, rather than 11. Phew. Day 1 of my challenge to self- lose 5 kg, or more, by NYE 2018. Yesterday was a good day & it feels really good to feel that I have a focus. Thanks for joining me LaMa & Marsia xoxo
 
10 squats before my shower. My legs were quite stiff & sore from doing 25 yesterday. 10 in the morning will do for now.
10.2 km on my exercise bike @ about 30-31 kph. I was only going to do 5, but kept going & worked up quite a sweat. That felt good.
Breakfast- Yoghurt, fruit & almond meal.
Lunch- Veggie soup with some organic oat toast, followed by a small fruit platter.
Currently drinking green tea & am slightly peckish, but will wait until dinner to eat again.
Dinner will be the same as last night- curry selection etc. YUM.
 
Thoroughly enjoyed all the catch up there . Love sound of the Sri Lankan curries.
I’m off to find the challenge now .
 
Well done on the biking! Good thinking to reduce your squats when you´re already sore. Must think of long-term sustainability.
 
Wow, I knew that the last 20 lbs is hardest to lose, but wow, you really exercise hard! You are going to be able to run half marathons by the time you reach your goal!!!

I got to the point with allergies where I was really low energy for about a year and a half. Then discovered herbs, and made tea with the turkey tail mushrooms growing on the property, and that got my energy back in a few months. Now I harvest lavender for tea, too, and between the two and some fresh grated ginger and lemon tea, I don't crash nearly as often. Cutting out most sugar really helped, too. I have come to find that fresh remedies are way more potent than taking vitamins and things from the drug store. I am really starting to view food as medicine!
 
I looked up the Complete Asian Cookbook, and it looks great! Are there many hard to find ingredients? My husband's family is from the Philippines, and they gave me a Filipino cookbook, but I have no idea what a lot of the ingredients are, so I haven't made anything from the cookbook they gave me yet. I love trying to cook things like Thai coconut soup, but thus far my attempts taste good, but nothing like they are supposed to taste!
 
Thanks, Petal. I'm really glad you joined the challenge. It will be fun :)
Thanks, LaMa. I'll stick with just 10 squats a day I think as they are hard on my knees. 10 k on my bike is not sustainable either, but I just felt like getting into the spirit of the 6-month challenge & I just kept on going. I was going to do 5 km & struggled for the 1st 2.5 km, got my speed up to 31 kph & grabbed my book. Then I got to 5 & thought I'll get to 7.5 & then it became 8 & then 9 & each time I thought "I might as well do one more" & then I fell off the bike at 10.2. It was good though.
Thanks, Marsia.
but wow, you really exercise hard
But, HA! No, I don't, but I did yesterday. I reckon your ceiling mopping would be more.
"I looked up the Complete Asian Cookbook, and it looks great! Are there many hard to find ingredients? "
I can buy almost all of the ingredients in our small local town, where we have a small wholefood store. There is also an Asian supermarket in Launceston, which is only 60 km away. You don't need to buy anything in great quantities & you will have them for a long time once you buy them. There is a Philippines section in her book. It is well worth stocking up on the ingredients as they vary from curry to curry. It is our favourite book & after travelling to Sri Lanka last year we realise that the recipes are authentic. I just love their cuisine. It may be worth sourcing .all of the ingredients in your Filipino cookbook & concentrating on that. Be confident about your cooking. I bet your Thai coconut soup was delicious.

I feel so much better after just one good day of really concentrating on getting back on track! I slept like a log.
 
Cate
Wow that's a great exercise day and a good way to start the challenge .
Marsia I agree about the sugar giving crashes . Once I cut out afternoon sweet snacks my energies rose a lot
 
In the long run squats will be great for your knees but for now I agree being consistent is more important than doing loads.
 
Hi Cate! I know what you mean about sleeping like a log! Feels really good. It's inspiring how you really went for it on the exercise bike to start the challenge!

I looked up Sri Lanka and it looks amazing. What did you especially like when you were there? I would like to travel to Thailand and go back to South Korea some day with my family. I actually got hungry for Thai coconut soup from writing about it and made some last night. I didn't bother with looking up the recipe and it came out the most authentic tasting yet! I think you are right about having confidence in my cooking!

Happy new exercise kick-start!
 
Halfway through the year is always a good time to revise your goals. That's what I'm doing too.

Those curries sound absolutely scrumptious!
 
Thanks, Petal, LaMa, Marsia & Em. I'll come back & reply individually tonight as I have to leave soon xo
Have done 20 squats already.
 
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