Emily Rose: The Reboot

Hi, Em. Your walk sounds just lovely. Did you drive to get there? If not, could you check with the police if it's ok? It sounds very restorative.
I just ordered a digital copy of Normal People. I don't like reading books online, but it's better than not at all. I'm 13th in the queue.
 
Walks in nature are the best and I miss them so much!
 
Hi Em it's the one thing we are not doing is driving to all our favourite walks because I have been stopped many times by the Garda . But last time we did one before lock down they were busy . If no one else is around I don't see a problem with it .
In agreeement with you on lots of people rule breaking . Be interesting to see what Leo says on Sunday week .
 
I love the sound of your woodland walk! It sounds so refreshing - more than that: renewing. (I now see that Cate has said "restorative" - yes! :) )

As for people adhering to (or not) restrictions - it feels to me like it's a very interesting playing out of different countries' cultures. The strict adherence in some places, the quiet negating of rules where they don't seem to make sense in other places, the rowdy demnds that restrictions end in yet a third place. Come to that, the different stance taken by police in different areas is interesting, too.
 
- Oh cool, let me know what you think Cate. Yeah, I have to drive there. I'll probably start going before work from now on, so hopefully I will avoid them.
- Yes, they are lovely LaMa.
- Yeah, it's going to be interesting, that's for sure Petal. I don't even know what to expect at this stage.
- Apparently, the guards are going to be clamping down a lot more here in the lead-up to the next bank holiday. They probably need to Amy, roads are busy.

Okay, so I'm going to go through my walk in the woods daily, then my food/exercise for the day, then anything else I want to add.

A Walk in the Woods - Day 1 - 12.10pm
My walk in the woods wasn't very relaxing today. I decided to take a new route because I have the day off and had a bit more time. Well, I ended up regretting that bigtime when I found myself a little bit lost and slipping and sliding all over the place because it was so mucky. At one point, I had to cross a river on stones/branches! I am not an adrenaline-junkie in the slightest - this was terrifying for me! But I got through it, and eventually found my way back to safety without falling on my arse, so that was good. I do not like falling. Or failing. It was interesting that the same fear I felt when slipping is the same as the fear I feel sometimes when I get asked to do something last minute at work and I'm not sure I'll get it done on time. Overall, I would describe my walk today as a big adventure.

Food
- 2 slices toast, 1 with butter, 1 with butter and cheddar cheese; scrambled eggs; coffee and milk
- 1 pear; stomach ease tea
- cup of 7up free; breakaway bar
- pasta with veggie chilli; 1 slice garlic bread
- bottle of white wine 13%

Exercise
- Woodland ''walk''
- Walk to and from the hotel where blood donor clinic was on (30 min each way)

Cigarettes
10

I actually had a very enjoyable time at the blood clinic. I sat around a table after donating afterwards having my 7up and bar and talking to a man and woman that had also donated. It was the most social I've been in ages! It was really lovely. I don't know why I am having wine again, I just am. I wasn't that hungry today for once, so food wasn't too bad. Working on Wednesday again, so no wine for the rest of the week and back to the woods tomorrow for more! My iron levels were 14.5, which was fantastic. Nice to know I am still healthy, despite my best work! I do feel pretty good right now. Yes, there has been lots of drinking, but also lots of rest, so it's all balancing itself out I think. I will always find an excuse to drink wine, that is the problem. Anyway, off to watch Westworld, penultimate episode in the series, so it should be good!
 
For sure, as Cate says, be safe. But great about not actually falling! or failing, come to that. :) The "feeling of fear" - meaning the physical feeling of a clench in the middle? Fascinating how the body translates emotion into physical response - how it does, and why.

Agreed about a visit to the blood bank - it's like a free health check-up. Well done you, on impressive iron levels - they must have loved your blood! (cue What we do in the shadows)
And I love that there's (non-vampiric) refreshments afterwards. Country women can be competitive about anything, and when the different local Red Crosses used to take turns hosting the mobile blood bank when it came through to a regional town they would compete as to who could put on the best refreshments! ah... happy days! :D
 
Definitely too adventurous for me but great that you kept everything together. And excellent about the iron levels, definitely one of my weak points for much of my life.
 
- I will Cate. Today was better.
- That sounds amazing Amy. They used to offer you a can of Guinness here in the past, but that was before my time sadly.
- Considering how good your diet is LaMa, it's obviously just one of those things for you.

A Walk in the Woods - Day 2 - 11.20 am
I took my normal route today and the place had dried up a bit, so it was a lot gentler and calmer. I saw my next door neighbours there as well, so I am not the only rule-breaker in town! I really tried to savour my stroll, listen to the sounds of the birds and the river, and take in lots of oxygen. At the end of it, I sat on a log, basking in the lovely sunshine. A beautiful butterfly landed near my feet, and I started thinking about that idea of the souls of the dead finding their way into butterflies, and I was wondering if it was my nana. I got a bit emotional, then I snapped out of it. It was just a pretty butterfly, lol.

Food
- porridge, blueberries, chia seeds, soya milk; glass of orange juice; coffee and milk
- cappuccino; 50g cheese and onion crisps; lemon slice
- can of 7up; 140 g of jellies
- massaman curry with rice, potatoes and veg; coffee and milk

Exercise
- Woodland walk
- Interval run - 10 x 400m

The run really took it out of me, probably because of the blood donation yesterday. It took all the strength I have in my body to keep going. That's the reason for the 7up and all those jellies after - to get my energy back up. Probably better ways to do it, but I made dinner afterwards, so I was happy with that. I'm trying not to let the bumps along the road throw me off course completely.

Cigarettes
10

Had a pleasant day. Really dreading going back to work tomorrow. I am really thinking about looking for a job abroad as soon as those opportunities start to open up again. I always said I would if I was still single at this age. I just don't see a future here for myself anymore.
 
Your walk sounds lovely, Em. I think a lot of people will start doing more of the things they just dreamed about before, when this is all over.
 
Lots of sunshine sounds wonderful! It's cold and grey here today, and I'm having to try to get myself motivated to walk at all! (But I will.)
What was it about your walk which broke rules? The distance from your home?
 
Tapping a lot of blood from yourbody means fewer red blood cells means less oxygen carrying capacity. The opposite of what athletes do when they spend a couple of weeks training high in the mountains. It takes around two weeks to get the count back to normal I think.
 
- Probably Cate, if they have the money. :frown: That's the worry.
- Yep, too far away from my home. I didn't go today Amy, only went to the shop (one trip, good for me).
- I was thinking about the athletes' training when I went for my run yesterday and felt really shit, that's funny LaMa. I'm sure it's a similar kind of misery. More on that below.

Had an absolutely horrendous day in terms of energy - felt faint and cold and really worried I'd developed the dreaded virus. If I hadn't done the blood donation and completely overdid it yesterday (which I now realise, in hindsight), I would have been ringing my mum asking what I should do.

But, I think it is just a reaction to yesterday - I've taken it easy today, no walks, no nothing (it was pissing rain anyway) - so hopefully, energy levels will be restored somewhat tomorrow.

Food today was pretty good, had a massive bar of chocolate alright, but had eggs and toast for breakfast, light lunch of yoghurt, fruit and almonds, and another curry for dinner. Finally back in the 170s after a depressing few weeks. It was good to see the walking and runs made some impact. Still have a long way to go, but I'm on my way.

Might do a May 1st weigh-in with all the stats, we'll see.
 
I'm glad you have recovered from the run after giving blood, Em. Also glad you have had a good April weight & exercise-wise :)
 
Oh, good! about being back in the 170s! (Come and give us a wave at the slightly silly 170s Club! :willy_nilly: )

Sorry to hear about your feeling cold and faint yesterday. I hope a bit of rest and the good eating - egg on toast! curry! - has really brought your energy levels back up by the time you read this. And that the May Day weigh shows up cheerfully as well. I'll join in. I'm not looking forward to it much, but yours sounds like it'll be good!
 
Hey Emily, you are sounding pretty good, maybe a few ups and downs but more ups than downs, pretty good. I like that you are walking and hiking, enjoyed your day 1 "big adventure " sounds like my kind of hike! Sometimes pushing things to the limits can give you a feeling of accomplishment, just be safe. I am also happy to see that you are losing weight again, that is great!
 
I seem to remember getting an exercise moratorium after donating blood. Can´t remember for how long though. Glad you´re feeling better.
 
- It's been mostly bad for April in terms in weight Cate, but there was a little ray of sunshine there yesterday!
- I'm not sure about that Amy - tomorrow will reveal all. Definitely feel better today in terms of energy levels.
- Thanks Rob. And great news about donating yourself, well done. The 650 calories is an added bonus I didn't know about!
- Thanks LaMa.

Right. I am actually really tired this evening, had a hectic but quite enjoyable day in the home office, although I made a mistake and I am afraid that might blow up into a huge drama tomorrow, but hopefully because it's close to the bank holiday weekend, people might be cheerful and it will be okay. I am normally very on top of things, so I don't really care. I am not going to give myself a hard time about it or preempt what might happen. Bygones!

Anyhoo. I just wanted to do a little thing to mark the end of what has been one of the strangest months of my life. It hasn't been the loneliest, not even close, which is interesting. I think even though I am making stupid decisions left, right and centre, I am still in a much more positive frame of mind than I was 5 or 10 years ago. I have made strides, even though sometimes it feels like I am stuck on a loop. And I am in some ways, and it is incredibly difficult to stop relying on food, cigarettes and alcohol to hold my hand through the lonely, sad and bad times, but this is really the ONE THING I want to get right. And it's the only thing in my life that I have complete control over, which is so interesting.

I started watching BoJack Horseman last night, and he has problems with alcohol, and one of the other characters tells him 'that he hates himself and he has no self-control'. I don't want to hate myself and I want to get that control back. It's a minefield, because every day that I try to quit smoking, or not buy chocolate in the shop or drink wine, it is a huge battle in my head, and it's really exhausting and I just give in. But it's really keeping me stuck. It's the only thing really holding me back I think, because if I don't have to constantly worry about this stuff, I will have so much more energy to put into other people, hobbies, anything really. I need to free up my head bigtime.

I wanted to take a look back at the month that was April 2020, from my limited perspective. Let's start with the bad things:
- Too much drinking.
- Still smoking.
- Coronavirus. (Notice how it's not the first thing on the list.)
- Still eating too much junk food.
- Weight going up again.
- Moments of real loneliness and boredom.

But then, the good things:
- Managed a good few smoke-free days and breaks from smoking. I learned a lot about what I can do to try to ignore the cravings and just carry on.
- Started really cooking again and have picked up a few new meals, which is cool.
- Getting a break from the madness that is my workplace at times - it's definitely been nice to not have to go in every day to a mad busy schedule.
- Weight hasn't gone out of control.
- Spent a lot of time talking to my parents and really had time for them.
- Huge increase in my daily exercise.
- Discovered my woodland haven.

So, you know, not a total disaster.

What do I want for May? Everything. But let's put it down:
- Quit smoking entirely.
- Get my eating under control.
- No drinking.
- Start seeing real results on the scales.
- Keep exercising consistently.

What I hope for:
- Back in the office. I miss people and a proper structure to my day and wearing clothes that aren't loungewear.
- End of lockdown with no huge spike.

It's not going to be an easy thing, I am sure I will make a few mistakes along the way, but I just wanted to put it down here and really commit to making May 2020 a positive month after what has been a very despondent time for me and a lot of others. The only way is up!
 
I think a LOT of people would concur with your summary of these recent times. I immediately poured myself a gin and tonic and opened a packet of crisps when Boris appeared on the TV to announce lockdown. We're bound to use our tried and tested coping mechanisms when we're stressed. Sounds like you know what you need to do, so hope it starts well tomorrow :)
 
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