Cate's Diary

Ooh Sue, Did I say that? I must have! LOL at myself..I think I have really changed a lot. I know I feel much more positive these days. I also don't think anything gives me more pleasure than thinking that I may have inspired someone to lose weight and change their lifestyle. I still say if I can, anyone can. Thank you for telling me that. It really does make my day. There is life after reaching your goal weight and it is worth working at to maintain it. I guess I should learn to never say never. I love weights. I think I was probably picturing people wanting to have big muscles. I had no idea obviously how much fun it is & how good it feels to be stronger. I keep coming back into the forum today. I had better go spend some time with my LH. Mind you, he has his eyes glued to the footy on tv. Cheers for now, xo Cate
 
HI Cate,

I cant wait when i have finished this diet and i can look back and see what i was thinking now while on the diet... I imagine so much would change! There is so much i cant see myself doing, but when i am slim that might (and probably will) change!!! The changes we go thru is much more than the physical.

Jim
 
Jim- I think the physical changes are minor compared to the mental changes necessary to ensure we don't go back to being how we were. I didn't realise quite how much I have changed until I went back & read about 10 pages of my diary last night. :eek: It's another great reason for letting it all pour out. It's very therapeutic & one day we can all look back at where we came from & be amazed. Well done on your 1st week's loss of 14lbs. I don't know how much I lost 1st week but loved seeing a loss of 10kgs in the 1st month. I really recommend you stay off the scales for another 3 weeks. I know it's hard. You're doing very well Jim & I'm glad to see it's getting better for you. Cheers, Cate.
Nicky-I hope you have a lovely week-end(long?) too. It's pouring here & we are both sitting in our chairs in front of the fire. I was going to say like a pair of old grannies(which we are) but here am I tapping away on my laptop. Not quite the same mental picture as I have of my Nana & Pa! My LH is in his dressing-gown & slippers, reading Donna Leon's Acqua Alta, which I finished last week. He has a dog on his lap. I just have my laptop but am showered & dressed, mainly to be warmer.
I love it when he's home at the week-end. I'm also glad it's raining so he didn't go off to golf. Selfish I know!
Today-
Is weights day. I'll leave them until after lunch. I read somewhere in the forum that it's best not to exercise first thing in the morning-something to do with your spine being stiff(?) I find it best to have had a decent meal first as I have more energy & stamina.
We are going to have a cooking day so I will be kitchen bitch. I don't mind cutting up onions, doing dishes etc.
I don't have much to say for a change so will head now.
Hope everyone has a lovely week-end. Take the opportunity to get extra sleep if you can & drink that water. Speaking of which....
Cheers, Cate.
 
Yesterday-
Was lovely. Did my bike & weights after lunch & then about an hour later my husband suggested going for a walk around our block, which we did. Had a lovely dinner last night with a bottle of Henkell Trocken.
Today-
I did the dishes after breakfast to warm my hands up as there's snow on the mountains & it's fairly chilly. I got my hands nice & warm & then went to pour our coffee & bumped the bench somehow & poured boiling water all over my left hand. I screamed with pain & quickly put my hand under running cold water from out tank & was told by my LH to keep it under water for 10 minutes. I think that is called irony after taking so long to warm my hands up I then had to get one hand cold & keep it cold. I wish it felt cold now. In fact I ha better go back & do it again as it's starting to get really hot again. Better go. i'm typing this one handed. Bye, Cate
 
Hand- I held it under freezing cold running tank water for the 1st ten minutes & then again about 6 times during the morning. Every time it started to sting I put it under the tap. Today it is fine. No blisters. Phew!
W/E-
Too much food & wine consumed I feel. All healthy, no junk but much more than I would eat if he was at work. I must plate my own meals up. I rode my bike yesterday to compensate a little & also because I feel restless if I don't exercise. I have a self-imposed new rule that I am allowed one day off exercise a week but have not felt like that for a while. I move more all of the time now. We have a sunken lounge & I often run up the stairs for eg. I flex my feet when I'm in my chair, do hamstring stretches etc. My LH has given up giving me funny looks.
Today-
Is really windy again. I don't like walking in the wind as it is uncomfortable but also feels dangerous as I have to walk under gum trees which are notorious for dropping branches. I'll ride my bike soon I think & do my weights this morning, rather than after lunch. I'll have a snack before though as I had yoghurt & apple for breakfast a couple of hours ago. I feel like I need more fuel! This is something I must do some homework on. I have an ap't this Thu with the exercise physio. I'll ask her as well. I'm going to ask for exercises to do on the off-weights day that don't involve getting down on the floor as I don't like that.
Got a message on FB today from our YS who's in Egypt ATM. Happy but blistered.
OK- housework to do. My LH vacuumed yesterday so I had better do my bit. Vegies to cook for dinner, dishes to wash, clothes to wash, mopping(can wait until tomorrow)..... books to order from the library, FB to check-whoops! Side-tracked again!
Cheers, Cate
 
Exercise-
Waited until after a very healthy lunch of a tuna salad (with cabbage as have no lettuce) followed by some lemon yoghurt.
8km bike, followed by weights-2 sets of 12 reps each. I feel this is my limit at the moment.
OS visited briefly (to nick some of our wood)
Did some housework but no mopping-ugh. I'd rather ride the bike.
OK now to order some books. I keep forgetting. Cheers, cate.
 
Hi Cate

doing a quick catch on your diary. You've come along way since starting Cohens...good for you.
It must feel good to be maintaining after 2 years.

Keep well - Sam:)
 
Hi Sam, Hope you're feeling better soon. Colds are such a bugger. They make me feel miserable. Thank you for visiting my diary and for your sweet words. Sometimes it takes another person to point something out to you that you can take for granted. It does feel good to be in maintenance. I have changed mentally. I feel much stronger. Thanks Sam, xo Cate
Diaries-
It's funny because you don't realise quite how much you change. I have been reading some of my diary from 2 years ago & I didn't really realise how bad I used to feel about myself & how down I used to get. It's another good reason to keep a diary I think. It makes you feel even more determined to work at staying positive, feeling good about yourself & being determined never to go back there.
I wish I could say that it is easy to keep weight off but it isn't. I will have to stay vigilant I'm afraid. I think that I will always have an intolerance to man-made carbs like bread. I will just have to live with that.
I know that depression has always been in my family & that I am vulnerable. I have learned strategies to fight depression that I can call on when I need them. I know also that bad feelings pass. Looking after my body by eating healthily really helps me mentally as well. Walking is my best medicine. I cannot tolerate medication for depression because of certain side effects so have to do whatever I can to fight it without. Turning to unhealthy food as "comfort" can no longer be considered an option. Researching motivational quotes etc really helps me feel good as well. Whatever it takes!
Weights-
I think I was a bit too vigorous yesterday & have a sore muscle in my back. There is one weight exercise that I find difficult so I won't do it tomorrow & will ask the E.P on Thursday whether I should drop it altogether. I feel it is too hard for me with 2x2kg weights. It's a little funny in that it feels like a torn shoulder muscle but is on the opposite side to the one I tore bush-walking with a backpack. I have a strange sense of humour. I'm doing weights & walking, Tai Chi etc because I can no longer carry a backpack & go bush-walking & now I've done it again. I should have stopped when it felt too hard rather than push myself to finish 12 reps twice. I'm so stubborn & determined sometimes that it's too my detriment. LOL. I've always been a bit of a "bull at a gate"....Taurean!
Today-
For some reason I am absolutely ravenous. I had yoghurt & apple for breakfast & my stomach is rumbling loudly! I might have to start having more for breakfast I think. Perhaps it's the cold weather. Maybe I'm losing weight! Wishful thinking there. I will have to knuckle down soon as I want to get back to the bottom of my GW range before my LH's 60th. I haven't weighed for a while as I keep forgetting to before breakfast. I'll weigh Friday & then go back to weighing Mondays as it feels like the right day for me. If I weighed on Fridays I would be more likely to eat more at the w/e. Don't ask me why but it's how my brain seems to work. Put a little weight on- bugger, I may as well have whatever & diet Monday. Lost a little- good, I can have a little extra & diet Monday. Weigh Mondays & you stay on your toes! I'm a tad crazy I know!
I feel a little stir crazy today as I haven't left our place since last Friday. This will be my 4th day at home in a row. Tomorrow Tai Chi, coffee after, Wed E.Physio. I have been riding my stationary bike every day as it's been so cold & windy & wet but today I must push myself out the door & go for a walk.
I have drunk a 750ml water bottle trying to stave off my hunger but it's not working. I must go eat something. I need protein I think. I might go have a decent snack & go for a walk before the sun gets hidden behind the clouds again.
Bye for now, Cate
 
Hey Cate,

Apples will bring on hunger for some people so you starting the day with yogurt plus apples sounds to me a deadly combination :p I dunno I may be wrong. I usually pair yogurt with mango and never apples in the day because I'm afraid I'll get too hungry to last till dinner. So, I usually take my apples after dinner :)
 
True Flamie, true. I have been able to eat stewed apples without feeling hungry though for ages but may give them a miss in the morning for a while. It's good to switch things around a little. I'm having eggs tomorrow with mushroom & tomato on a couple of crackers.
I went for a 45 minute walk this afternoon & it is so much more tiring & invigorating than the bike. I came home very puffed. I'll have to get out walking again more often. I collected a bag full of rubbish along the way. I can pinpoint where it comes from. 2 families only.
Back to the housework. My sister rang & I got sidetracked onto the computer.
Cheers, cate
 
Hi Cate. Internet is down at work so haven't been able to catch up much. My last visitor left this morning so I'll be able to settle down now and have a good read of what you've been up to in the last few days. But tonight.... I'm heading for an early-ish night. Too many late nights and early mornings the past few days!
 
Today I have briefly called in at the MIL's, been to Tai Chi, shopped for groceries, after having crackers & cheese in the car & have spent hours typing up 8-ball stuff for our local association. Ouch. I have stiff fingers & there goes the day. I haven't done my weights today. I might leave them until tomorrow afternoon after seeing the E.P again. My shoulder muscles feel fine again.

Weight- has crept up a little bit more in the last week so it is near red alert time. I now weigh 3 kgs over the top of my GW range. This is not on! Time to knuckle down. I don't eat things that are unhealthy ever but I am eating more because of the exercise I think. We have also had home-made fruitcake & biscuits in the house which are delicious & very tempting. I drop weight really quickly when I go back on Cohen's so it won't take long to shift & I sure have the knowledge these days. Really I don't even have to eat Cohen's quantities just the original food unweighed. I guess I'll have to work out which I want the most. Get back down within my GW range or eat cake & drink wine (not together!) LOL at myself. Kicking myself up the bum as well!!

My lovely husband & his job problems.
My LH has had today & yesterday off which has been nice. He is faced with a bit of a dilemma. He has been working lots of hours as people have been off sick & workers comp. One of these people is no longer able to come back & they have asked him if he would like to apply for the full-time job. If he does they will also advertise for another casual to replace him. If he doesn't then they will employ someone else full-time & he will go back to only working 2-3 days a fortnight which we cannot live on. It is so political at his work at the moment & he is not enjoying that aspect of it much. If they don't fill the full-time position then they lose it or they would just get another casual & share the hours around. It's a pain.
I suggested talking to his main boss who he gets on with very well & seeing if there is a way he could work 4.5 days a week by using some of his annual leave or something like that. He would get 7 weeks annual leave & sick leave etc. I'll leave it up to him to decide though. He is not enjoying the politics at his work at the moment. He has a new minor boss who seems terribly incompetent but is trying to make her mark & is upsetting everyone. She even admits she has no idea how kitchens run.

Anyhow, probably no-one is interested in all of that. Sometimes I am just thinking out loud. It's something that is on my mind & is worrying me I must admit. It is probably why most nights he feels like a glass of wine!
I'll weigh again tomorrow & every day until I decide to knuckle down.
Cheers all, Cate.
 
A riddle for you!

I put this riddle as my Facebook status & I have them absolutely baffled. Their answers have been hilarious. Have a crack at it!
"My life can be measured in hours, I serve by being devoured. Thin, I am quick, Fat, I am slow. Wind is my foe. What am I?"
 
Ditto Cate!

Can your LH use the job as a gap filler until something else might come up that he prefers? Not easy when you need or want work, but don't want the politics and hassle that comes with it. We never seem to be able to choose all our work associates. With difficult economic times, it's not easy to just assume something better will turn up, either.


No kicks up the bum, Cate! I wasn't allowed to, so you aren't either! Seriously, if kicks are getting handed out, send some my way. I have had a seriously awful week.
 
I thought it was an easy one but you should see some of the guesses. Seriously I have laughed out loud many times at them! I added "As I get older I shrink" & told them that 2 guesses were close- firewood & bees. I mean really!! They are very smart people (our OS, one of his Parks friends, my sister & our YS's GF are particularly smart.) It's very funny.
OK- no bum kicking. I have got my a... into gear. I have lost 1kg in a day just by being "good." Now 2kg over top of GW range & going down...Knuckle down time. I was much happier when I got on the scales this morning & that is enough to get me back on track. Not that I went off it really. I think I was just eating too much. That was a highlighted full stop. All healthy food, just too much of it.
My clothes all feel a little bit tight as well & that is not a good feeling. I love them being a bit loose. Speaking of clothes..
Clothes-
I had about 10 mins spare before Tai Chi yesterday so ducked in to the Salvos op shop & tried on 3 pairs of pants & bought 2 of them. I pair is all black & stretch with a fold-over top. Fit perfectly. The other are pin-striped black, tan & grey & also fit perfectly. They both looked really good. Total cost $9 as one pair was half price.
LH- Is not going to talk to his boss today as he is not sure what he wants to ask for. I'll leave it up to him now totally. I told him if he went for it & got it he could always toss it in any time.
Exercise-I just looked up my exercise log & I have missed only one day in the last month. I allowed myself one day a week so that I didn't feel it was a chore at all but hey, only one day in a month without planned exercise. Wee Hoo!!
I'll come back this afternoon & catch up with everyone. Cheers for now, Cate
 
Yesterday-
I just realised I didn't come back. Grandson day. I also had an attack of the grumpies last night. One of my son's FB "friends" went onto his page & told him the answer to my quiz. He isn't one of my "friends" and never will be as he's so negative & grumpy most of the time. What a spoil sport. I said to my husband that I do not like this guy & he said "What's to like?" which is not like him at all. I'm over it today. It was no big deal but it had been so funny & he just ended it & it seemed mean.
Exercise Physio-
Got another good report & am stopping one of my weights exercises until I buy 2 x 1kg weights or get a resistance band. Well actually I'm going to keep doing it but pretending I have a band. She is also going to give me some alternate exercises for the non-weights days. She showed me some to do on a fit ball & said that my core strength is excellent, meaning I have very good balance apparently, which I put down to Tai Chi. She agreed. She said most people who try to do these exercises for the first time are really unbalanced & clumsy. She has suggested that I do some more Tai Chi on my off weights days as well. I can tell that I am getting better balanced every time I go to class. I practise doing Tai Chi walking around the house, much to the dismay of one of my little dogs who barks at me whenever I do it.
1am this morning-
Our YS rang from Egypt just to say hello. He knew what time it was but wanted to speak with us. I think he is really getting homesick. Actually I think he is really missing his GF as that was the first thing he mentioned- had I been speaking to her, is she ok etc. He had emailed her about 4 days ago & hadn't heard back. I said she's been busy packing ready to move again & hadn't been on Facebook much but was getting excited about going to Vietnam. She has been a bit cranky I think with him. It would be hard to be the one at home while seeing photos of him, usually with some girl's arm around him, being tagged on FB all the time. We often chat on FB but I played down how often. I sent her a text message this morning. I hope she gets in touch with him soon & is not playing silly women's head games. He is always honest & up front. I know how she feels as I went through the same thing 34 years ago. Anger is in there somewhere even though it's not very logical.
Today-
I have a full day to do whatever I like with no need or wish to go anywhere. No weights to do as I did them yesterday. A walk is in order some time today even if it rains. First I might have a look at eBay at wrist weights & resistance bands, fit balls etc just for fun. I may set up a mini gym!
Weight- Same as yesterday. I told the EP that I want to drop about 5 or 6kgs & she said that if I did I would then have no trouble maintaining it with the exercise that I am doing. Sounds like a good idea.
I feel a little tired & lazy today. I suppose you can't be full of beans & super-positive every day. A walk will be good. Dishes first. Cheers, Cate.
 
St Swithin's Day is the 15th July. In folklore-
"St Swithin’s Day, if it does rain
Full forty days, it will remain
St Swithin’s Day, if it be fair
For forty days, t'will rain no more."
It rained on St Swithin's day this year in Tasmania & it has rained every day since!
I did the dishes & then made a big tuna salad for my lunch & then a big container of fruit salad with Cohen's original fruit. Then it was lunch-time(after 12) so I ate lunch, followed by a small bowl of yoghurt & fruit salad & I have not been for a walk & it is raining & quite chilly so I just decided that I will hop on my bike instead( again.)
I just got a msg back from my YS's GF & she said of course he is missing us & that she didn't think he would be back on the internet so soon but will reply tonight. I am liking this girl more and more every day. I have to be careful not to get my hopes up too much! I will stay friends with her regardless I think.
OK Cate, stop being a lazy bones. Off to the bike. No. It just stopped raining. Raincoat on. I'm away!
Hi to anyone reading my diary. I hope you have more energy & enthusiasm than I do today! I have had enough of this weather! Cheers, Cate.
 
We stayed friends with a particularly sweet girl that we HOPED would become a daughter-in-law. Didn't happen, but she will still occasionally send us a message. She's moved on in place and time, but nothing wrong with keeping up a relationship with a sweet girl!
 
Back
Top