22 May 2014

No wonder I like it so much...

OK, it's official - I've turned into a rabbit. Just take a look at yesterday's lunchbox.

A fascinating fact that I stumbled across today as I Googled for nutritional benefits whilst I was munching my way through a lunchtime bag of wild rocket (yes, a whole bag - I'm addicted to the stuff and can't stop at just a few leaves!).

This peppery heaven of a salad leaf (also called aragula) is actually a close relative of my beloved kale and broccoli - it's one of the cruciferous vegetables! Nuff said, really.

Happy bunny, this fat lass.

14 May 2014

Back in action

Hooray!, we got our sorry selves back to the gym on Monday night  ...albeit pretty gently to begin with, after being 'missing inactive' for ages (actually nearly a month's absence - damn, all that wasted subscription). It was, by turns, great, hard, wonderful, strange, fun, exhausting and any number of other descriptors, but it went a whole lot better than either of us had expected.

Yesterday was fine, but this morning I am somewhat aware that my upper body got some unaccustomed use. However, I'm actually quite surprised that my legs (especially my thighs) still seem to be talking nicely to me after sessions on the Wave, Recumbent and various other bits 'n bobs! The abs are absolutely fine, dandy and OK, which doesn't surprise me at all though, as weeks of coughing (which I'm still doing!) seems to have kept them pretty much used to being deployed. Silver linings, eh?

I'm delighted to say we both did our full sessions, although it took us longer than usual and neither of us did those little extras we'd grown used to doing. On a slightly less joyous note, we did both feel like we'd run the London and Boston marathons back to back afterwards! Boy, were we tired. Still, we're back in the saddle and planning our next visit later this week. Ooooh, it feels good to be back.

07 May 2014

Love at first bite

You'll have doubtless figured out by now that this fat lass absolutely loves the cruciferous vegetable family and will happily munch away on them given any opportunity. So I'm thrilled to bits that I've found another way to enjoy one of my favourites.

We buy cavalo nero whenever I see it, and usually we'll have it lightly steamed, or sometimes sauteed with panch puran spices in coconut oil. Yum! But we bought rather a lot this week, so rather than let it go to waste (a heinous sin in my book) I thought I'd try an experiment...

Hmmm, now it is quite fibrous, but does this really need to be cooked? What the heck, let's give it a go - so I removed the stalk and chopped it finely to try raw in a salad. Yep, that worked and it was great, so I have round two in my lunchbox with lots of celery, about an inch off a long pointy red pepper, mixed seeds and a little cheese, with a chilli, lemon juice and hazelnut oil dressing. Why did I not take a photo - it looks delicious.

Update: it was delicious! I think it might become a favourite.

06 May 2014

Ups and downs

Yep, life has these, doesn't it, and they can be a little perplexing.

Health status and coughing for one thing. I've decided that I don't appreciate this bug thingy, and really want it to push off now. One minute I seem to feel a lot better and I bark less, but then... whammo! The cough returns and I feel bleh again. I just start to consider a gentle return to the gym, but then... down we go and it's no way, Jose!

Other ups and downs relate to mood and positivity which, again, has varied somewhat erratically over the weekend. To set the scene - we are mid-downsize and clearout and I'm finding some aspects of this quite a challenge. The logical part of this fat lass knows we must do this (as part of planning for the future) and is fully on-board with the idea. Then, unfortunately, the emotional part of me takes hold and goes into a tail-spin about disposing of something trivial (with sentimental attachment sure) which I'd actually forgotten about until we hauled it out of the dust-balls and I clapped eyes on it again!

Another example is the needle on the scales, which has been both over the Bank Holiday too. It did, as I'd expected, register a small rise on Saturday and went up to 54.5kg... but (and I'm not complaining here) for no better reason than 'just because' it has dropped again this morning and the scale read 53.5kg (which I don't actually quite believe). Water retention? Actual weight changes? Who knows. Either way, I'm not fretting it and we'll just see what happens next.

Hey ho. Onwards, as always...

02 May 2014

Cough, cough, cough...

...and a growl or two.

So, it seems that the leftovers from the chest infection business still cling on and to be frank, I'm now getting pretty cheesed off with it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm fully aware that I'm just a whinging wuss. I know I'm way better off than many folks as this isn't life threatening, nor incapacitating, or anything much at all except feeling a bit 'tight' and breathless on exertion, and the blasted cough being an ongoing, almost constant, irritation. But even so... I want it to go away now please, and my poor work colleagues are probably just as fed up as I am with the repetitive barking sessions through the day.

Hmmm, just a thought but it'd be nice to have enough sustainable breath back to contemplate a return to the gym too. Hey ho, roll on the Bank Holiday weekend.

On a more positive note (gotta look out for those blessings, eh?) I re-checked my peak flow yesterday and it was good news - actually much better than I'd feared. My PEF averages have been about 450 litres/min over the last year or so (a bit higher than expected for my age, height and gender, especially given the asthma history). Yesterday's readings had dropped a shade, but even though I haven't done anything energetic (except bloody cough!) for nigh on two weeks, they still averaged 430 litres/min. I'm pretty happy because it means the asthma hasn't made a comeback nor got the upper hand. A definite positive this, in my books!

I do have a nasty feeling that my weight will have increased when I weigh this week though. My trousers feel a little tighter and I feel generally flabby and slug-like. Not surprising given the lack of exercise, and a tendency to put a little bit more in my lunch box than I usually do. This is comfort nibbling, my dears - and I really need to find a way to stop relying on food for this.

Still, even if the scales concur, it is something I know I can reverse... just as soon as I stop coughing! Ah well, onwards ever...

 
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