This is the time

Pre-dinner blahs... I feel you there, Felici.

I agree about the "standing in the kitchen for hours" part, too. I'm only willing to do it on special occasions, now. They still come around, but I don't consider each meal to be a special occasion; I have to have convenient foods, or else I go off plan.

I'm just wondering how long it will be before some well intentioned person says "You might as well do it right, if you're going to do it at all." It's one of the things that really ticks me off, when people take the attitude that it's "all-or-nothing" when it comes to eating healthier.

Maybe it's time for you to take a break from your routine? I know you are spending a ton of time in the kitchen, maybe you could eat a little bit more conveniently and use the extra time for some more exercise or walking? If it doesn't work, go back or even try something else.
 
Cerella –

It was someone here talking about her stretch session at Curves that helped me bother to give the stretches a go. I didn't want to feel obliged to add any more minutes per day to being fit. However I guess I will do what it takes.

Qjay –

Thanks for the empathy. I am no kitchen natural. :D

Most of the food I make is pretty simple. However, I do overcomplicate it at times and could manage some efficiencies with better planning.

I think the blahs might be something that comes from somewhere else (? too hungry/too tired/started too late/off day/husband looked at me wrong/aggravating kids?) and just pounces on my kitchen work as something it's easy to get grumpy about.

Thanks for highlighting the issue for me, Qjay. It is worth working on so it doesn't trip me up another day when it's a bit worse. Planning ahead and starting early helps. In fact thinking about this now has shown me two healthy low stress options to make things easier than my original intention to buy fresh fish - despite not wanting to fit in the time to buy it.

Friday night we are going out to eat as an early celebration of my daughter's birthday, so that will be a change.



Tomorrow will be tiring because I have a class in a nice school, but they're so little (3 1/2 to 4 1/2) that they're very draining. I was so excited about my first day back at work a couple of weeks' back, but this time I am remembering how early I fell asleep afterwards!

Maybe my blahs last night were displaced from my resentment at myself for accepting more difficult work than I intended yesterday, in classes at a school where I have previously felt extremely stressed. It's not until the week after next though and I have coped there before. Probably it was the right decision to take it, and I just need to have more faith. Some days are hard, some weeks are hard – that’s just normal.



Breakfast ~ 7:30 1 slice wholemeal toast with minimal margarine and strawberry jam. 2 weetbix, 1/3 C diced peaches. 1C lowfat soy milk. 1 boiled egg. ½ glass tomato juice. 1 C White coffee ~ 40 ml Hilo milk

Exercise 12:30 20 min aerobics + stretches (20min).

I just did the faster set today. I was a bit stiff before I started and they felt a bit more tricky than yesterday. I think if I want to skip the first lot another time I might still do the warm up from that DVD before I go to the faster one.

Lunch 1:30 2 slices of wholemeal bread. 100gm lowfat cottage cheese. 1 tomato. 1 nectarine.

Snack 4:30 1/2 Salada cracker

7:10 Spaghetti. ¾ C pasta, ~ 140 gm tinned salmon, onion, garlic, tomato paste, green olives, 60 ml litencreamy evaporated milk, parsley, marjoram. Lots of sugar snap peas. 2 broccoli florets. 1 tiny stalk celery 1/3 capsicum, 1 mushroom. 1 teaspoon lite French onion dip. 1 nectarine.

Too many olives. I forgot to separate them from my share of the sauce. Probably not a big deal though.

Water: 2000ml Yesterday’s Bedtime: 11:20

On plan:90 days. Achieved food target: 75 days. Exercised: 74 days. All goals: 7

Still not making that bed time. I'm doing better than I was. I think that's because I started aiming at 10.00pm! My official goal is still 11:00 for now though.
 
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felici said:
Cerella –

It was someone here talking about her stretch session at Curves that helped me bother to give the stretches a go. I didn't want to feel obliged to add any more minutes per day to being fit. However I guess I will do what it takes.
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Ya I cant remeber what they say but it really adds to and increases your work out - I cnat remeber the percentage - stretching doesnt take much time and it makes you feel good and it s worth it if you ask m e- it cant hurt to try
 
You are doing so awesome! And you are so thorough (Is that spelled correctly?) in your entries! And you are doing yoga? Wonderful! Stretching is my favorite!
 
So keeping the children from accidentally dying is exhausting? I can understand how that goes. The main part of your fatigue there comes from two things:
One, you're on your feet a lot more than you are used to, and doing a lot more bending and stretching than you're used to, as well.
Two, you are out of your routine, and out of your comfort zone, so you are having to pay attention to so much more than you normally do; it adds up.

You're going to be fine, you're going to earn a nice day's wage, and you're going to enjoy being tired enough to get to sleep at a decent time. Have fun!
 
Be gone soon

Thanks. :) I did read your message this morning before I rushed out. I did have a great day. By now you are just getting up again I see.

Cerella

I could feel the stretches doing me lots of good. The ones I was doing took 20 minutes though. I suppose I should research an alternative for days like today.

meadowscm

Nice to see you here. I'm really happy with my progress so far. I am not doing yoga though. Maybe some time in the future.


Qjay

I have always found the first week back teaching very tiring. Even when I was first out of uni, normal sized and teaching high school. I expect the activity and comfort zone do have a lot to do with it as you said. For some reason, this time I was also talking my head off which had quite an impact.



I thought today's children might be even more in my ear, being a little younger but actually it was a great day - more like my work last year at that school, which was pretty much fun for me. I have another day there on Tuesday.

The school that worries me, is different and rather depressing. The building I was in was inadequate. So many of the children had less going for them than in other places. There are a lot of refugees for example, sometimes with little English. When I was there last year there was a lot more fighting amongst the kids. There were a lot more behaviour issues to deal with. The assistants were less able and sometimes unnecessarily crabby.

Last year I had one little boy there who drove me crazy. 5 years old - but I swear he deliberately pressed every button I have over and over!! Goodness knows what has made him like that. I was concerned for him and for me too! He was definitely the most challenging child I've taught. Kind of reminded me that Preprimary isn't necessarily a game for me. Now without thinking, I am sure to have him again! Either him or his identical twin in the other class! Just because I escaped without strangling him last time....

Anyway today I agreed to take a Year 6-7 class in another school for two days a week for the rest of the term! That means I have to prepare lessons for them. :eek: I didn't pretend I know how. At least the school knows that it is way different to my usual work. She told me they were "lovely" too. I believed her - lots of nice classes in that school. Now I have my brain switched back on, and I'm thinking they better not be the "lovely" ones I had there in library for a half hour last year!! Suddenly my intention to work more this year, hence take on work I would have passed up, is coming to pass.
View attachment 2724



:D Something very good happened to me today. I ran down a slope! I also kind of ran around a tricycle track 2-3 times. Compared to last year I noticed a massive difference in my ability to move, and pass things to children from awkward positions, move quickly when I needed to, stand up quickly, and just generally get around in the classroom. It's heaps better than it was.


Breakfast ~ 7:30 1 slice wholemeal toast with minimal margarine and strawberry jam. 2 weetbix, 1/3 C diced peaches. 1C lowfat soy milk. 1 boiled egg. ½ glass tomato juice. 1 C White coffee ~ 40 ml Hilo milk


Lunch 12:15 1 C pumpkin soup. 16 almonds . 1 salada cracker.

Snack 3:30 1 pear. 1 Salada cracker.

That was the rest of my lunch. So lunch was rushed and so was the snack!! It was worth rushing to get my exercise in at a time that worked well.

Exercise 4:00 1 hour at the space near my girl’s dancing.

I finally made it to exercise while she danced! It was cool weather today and this was the best space in the day for getting in some exercise. Mind you we have pretty much run out of fresh food now!! Meh! This was better than shopping.

I did a little warm up then at least 20 minutes fast and slow intervals in 5 laps round the football oval.

There was no one else there. I took the dog but she didn’t walk with me. She just mooched around for a while then on the third lap I saw that she had laid down on the boundary line, on the side nearest the car. I was on the far side. When I drew level with her she hopped up and headed down her side of the oval and as I came closer she tried to head for the car!! I had to call her back again the next lap too. Every time my body was pointed towards the car she tried to leave. She just didn’t get the idea of doing laps! Well, I have previously been reluctant too. Anyway eventually we headed off for a little walk in the bush. It’s not a great place to walk but we found a rabbit hole and the dog had fun trying to jump on a lizard.

7:40 100 gm crimson snapper with sweet chilli and lime. 40 gm rump steak. 40 gm roo steak. 1 corn cob. Salad – cos lettuce, cucumber, mushroom, sugar snap peas, balsamic vinegar.

I magically cooked that snapper to perfection. It had already been frozen and defrosted but tasted like crayfish. (Lobster). It was worth the smear of sugar from the sweet chilli sauce.

Water: 1500 ml or 2250 ml Yesterday’s Bedtime: (?) 11:10

On plan:91 days. Achieved food target: 76days. Exercised: 75 days. All goals: 7 days.
 
felici said:
Cerella

I could feel the stretches doing me lots of good. The ones I was doing took 20 minutes though. I suppose I should research an alternative for days like today.
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Curves tells us you only need 15 secs a stretch ... sometimes I stretch for 30 when I have the luxury of time which isnt often - LOL - or sometimes I stretch super fast just to stretch - you use your own judgement
 
lizards are cool. I never see them outside here. Only once when i went to florida. They were all on the side walks. Real ones. i thought it was AMAZING!!!
 
Cerella -

Thanks for the info. :)

bmohearn -

I like lizards. I couldn't see what my dog was amused by. I could tell what it was from her behaviour. She never catches any, but she stamps her front feet on the plants they hide in trying to make them move. We get tiny skinks and geckos in the garden. In the bush there could be bigger things. We're always impressed if we actually spot something out there.
 
hehe lizards are cool - but scarey (because they wriggle so much and look like mini dinosaurs!)

Keep up the great work!
 
Thanks wishes!! :D I'm not quite sure what the dog has in mind to do with a small, wriggly, dinosaur lookalike, but she grins and waves her tail with great enthusiasm when she gets the chance to try some contact.

I don't find my new walk spot all that attractive but that time slot is reassuring. I've realized that as I lose my later walk time with the sun going down earlier, the afternoon is getting cooler and making the earlier time more feasible. (OK no cracks about how obvious that was ... OK?)
 
Congrats on the regular work, you must be really excited! Your dinners always look so tasty, if I'm in the neighborhood, I am definitely going to come over for dinner some night; all I had was a bunch of grapes and some sugar-free gum.

Your descriptions of your poor dog always make me laugh, I'm not sure whether to feel sorry for her, or be glad she gets to go out and play with "mom" all the time ;)

How is this going to affect your "free" time?
 
Hello and welcome. I myself joined recently for pretty much the same reason- I need something to keep me going and not just for a short while. What I would recommend to you is to space your food out throughout the day, and eat 6 small meals instead of 3. Drinking a lot of water is helping me and it's great that you're going to do that, too. Have you ever tried yoga? My sister was pretty inactive except for walking a lot during the day, and she's been doing yoga and eating healthy and wow did she drop a lot of weight. You can take a beginner's level class at a YMCA or other health center or just buy a cheap DVD at Wal-Mart or a place like that. I think you might enjoy it because it's light but really works to tone and trim your whole body. Also, it makes you feel great!
 
Qjay

We do eat well. If you're ever in the neighbourhood, you're very welcome!! :D

We have a LeanCuisine ad here (probably copied from an American ad that you've seen), with a mum ringing her daughter and saying "I hope you're taking care of yourself." Grapes and chewing gum. Hmmm. :)

I think I'm happy about the regular work. If they put me on a contract, that might pay off in a nice way one day. (Eventually enough contract work will add to an increment and I'll be paid more). I like the idea of doing the whole job again for a little while. It's like weight training I guess, feels a bit heavy but makes you stronger.

Yesterday was our first rainy windy day for a while. I wonder if that is the reason I had another 5 phone calls today, that I've had to say no to.

I too am wondering where I will find the time ! Working every day is ok. I have pretty much figured that out. However, lesson prep out of the age group I know about, has got to take a chunk of time. Maybe I'll use weekends? I will have to be disciplined about how much time I let it take. I think that's part of the "balance" I need to work towards so that I can take care of myself. It is not the technique I would have used in the past when I would go, "New Project. That's it. Emergency mode. Feed and clothe the family. Work on the project. Forget everything else."

Anyway that's my idea so far. The good thing about working with the older kids is that I should end up feeling a lot more confident about walking in and taking over that age group another time, thus giving me additional comfortable work, while staying near my home and kids.

I will have to emergency plan for a first day next week. I need to liaise with someone about what's going on but he's not available until Tuesday at the earliest. Monday's a holiday here but after that I'm working all next week and 4 days the week after.

LazarusGirl.

Hi! :) I hope you get what you need from the forum. It's been a big help to me.

I'm pretty happy with my food right now, but I know there are some knowledgeable people recommending the frequent meals. Sometimes I eat my meals so slowly they're like 2-3 snacks run into each other anyway. :D

I've just started learning some low impact aerobics and I'm kind of planning to learn some pilates after I think I'm on top of that, but I suppose I might as well add on beginner's yoga afterwards! :D Lots of good options!! :D
 
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Breakfast ~ 7:30 1 slice wholemeal toast with minimal margarine and strawberry jam. 2 weetbix, 1/3 C diced peaches. 1C lowfat soy milk. 1 boiled egg. ½ glass tomato juice. 1 C White coffee ~ 40 ml Hilo milk

Lunch 12:15 1 C pumpkin soup. 2 salada crackers 100 gm light tuna with lemon and cracked pepper.

I have run out of fresh vegetables, and cottage cheese, and chicken……..

Snack 5:00. 1 Salada cracker.

Exercise 5:30 1/2 hour slowish walk near home.

I tipped over a bit on some uneven paving this morning and wrenched all the same bits I pulled 2-3 weeks’ ago. I have the idea it’s best to keep moving without pushing it. It took me no more than a week to be okay last time. I might try a swimming pool tomorrow afternoon.

7:00 Sizzlers. Dammit. 2 spoons “pumpkin” soup. ~ 1 sardine’s worth of whiting, half with batter half without. ~ ½ C seafood extender with celery and dressing. ¼ piece of cheesish toast. Corn, peas, a taste of “Indonesian rice” 1 pommes noisette. A half a fork of coleslaw. Lettuce, ~1 tbspn chargrilled veges, broccoli, mushrooms, 1 tbspn beetroot cubes, 2 nice kalamata olives, 1 gherkin. 1 tbspn apple crumble, mostly apple, and 1tbspn bread and butter custard. 2 Pepsimax. 1 “cappuccino”.

Late in the day our target café for dinner was changed to this place. I didn’t think about it too much - after all the point was to please my daughter. Once there, I found it quite challenging to choose some food to suit my tastes!! It took a while before I worked out how to get some protein. By then I wasn’t feeling too strong minded about dessert. I reckon this was a time when it was better to have a little than to have none. I barely deviated from my target foods so I’m not feeling guilty. :D

Water: 1500 ml Yesterday’s Bedtime: 12:00

As we get more of these cool days I will need to be more careful about the water.
 
Who knows what big things lrk in the bushes - eek - that would creep me out !!! I even hate the fact that we have cyotes and such that come up to the house and into the yard scavenging for food - they are just liek dogs however they are creepy looking sickly dogs - there is just somethign abt them

The old balance between work and home and hte kids and not to mention exercise - LOL - Im still trying to find that balance - good luck to you on figuring how to work things out - how mucha nd when and such :):):)
 
Thanks Cerella! There's nothing written in concrete is there - nothing about technique and balance anyway! :D

There are no really big things in the bush I walk in around here. They are just remnant patches, not even big enough for a few little kangaroos. When I said "bigger things" I was thinking of, "lizards - bigger than tiny" - just different to usual. Bobtails (blue tongue lizards), are not uncommon though. They look weird I guess. When we were kids we used to repeat tales about how their bites wouldn't heal properly and would reopen annually! (Hehe). There are no big monitors or anything, though I suppose if there were I would be impressed.

Bobtails can look fierce like this

View attachment 2735

but are really just slow moving cuties - probably 9 - 12 inches long.

View attachment 2736

Whatever the dog goes after is small and fast. She likes bobtails - she gets up close and stares at them and wags her tail, but she doesn't try to stamp on them!!

I always take a bit of care just in case there's snakes - though that bush near the dance place seems too cut off from other natural places to support them.
 
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Weighed today. 96.3 kg (190 lb) That’s down 0.3 kg (1/2 lb). I didn’t have the light feeling I associate with a bigger loss but I thought it might have been a bit better than that. I’m feeling bloated and a bit off today so maybe it’s some random thing. Then again, maybe it would have been better with a bit less protein and fruit and more exercise. It would be nice if it was more predictable but as it is I will just have to keep doing what seems right from week to week. I can’t up the exercise next week anyway. On the weekend I’m still trying not to hurt my leg and after that I will putting my effort towards just fitting some exercise in.

Breakfast ~ 9:00 2 weetbix, 1/3 C diced peaches. 1C lowfat soy milk. 1 boiled egg. ½ glass tomato juice. 1 C White coffee ~ 40 ml Hilo milk

I felt full from just eating weet-bix so skipped the toast I normally have. I just finished the egg and juice to be good.

Lunch 1:30 Toasted wholemeal sandwich with a little lowfat hard cheese, the lean bit out of one rasher of bacon, 1 mushroom and 2 cherry tomatoes.

Snack 5:00. 1 Salada cracker.

Exercise 5:20 Jogged in a swimming pool for 40 mins. I use a section that’s about up to my shoulders so that I can get some resistance on my arms too. It felt fine while I was in the water, but my sore leg was a bit sore afterwards. I might try some tapes in the morning though.

7:00 Veal with a little cheese and ratatouille (zucchini and capsicum). Mashed potato, microwaved carrots. Tub of diet apricot yoghurt.

Water: 2000 ml Yesterday’s Bedtime: 1:00

On plan:93 days. Achieved food target: 77 days. Exercised: 77 days. All goals: 7 days. (Every now and then I do get to bed by 11:00 – but somehow that always ends up being linked to some bit of off plan food or missed exercise!)
 
Morning you - eeewww to the lizard - I wouldnt want to see that thing when I was out walking around - LOL - I will stick to squirrels and birds - LOL -

Joggin in the pool for 40 mins - that is a great idea - I like that - I think I might have to try it !!! I dunno what day you are in over there but I hope you have a good weekend or had a good weekend - you are one full day ahead arent you ??? Well my weekend just started - whatever day it is over there I hope it is good to you !!!
 
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