Stuff Christmas...

...and with all our energy we did just that!

The 24th saw us up bright and early (OK, cloudy and early-ish) and off to the gym to get ourselves warmed up for the season's fun and festivities.

We worked pretty hard and thoroughly enjoyed it, then went for a large, satisfying cuppa at our lovely, welcoming local greasy spoon cafe to wish them a Happy Christmas before going home to bacon and eggs for breakfast which set us up nicely for the day.

The afternoon was relatively relaxed and quiet as we had made plans for the evening. These plans were a little unusual for us, as they included meeting up with a bunch of strangers and concentrating single-mindedly upon food. Yep, you read that quite right. We planned to devote our festiveness (is that a word?) to all things edible. When I said 'stuff Christmas', had we gone Christmas crackers?

Well no, not exactly.

What we actually did was meet up at a church hall with a group of willing volunteers from all walks of life and started peeling and chopping megatons of carrots, also rather significant quantities of parsnips, butternut squash and swede to roast. Together we prepared a gazillion Brussels sprouts, made humongous quantities of piggies in blankets and stuffing balls, boiled up a gigantic cauldron of creamed sprout, leek and potato soup, and cut up two lovely bits of prime beef and veg for massive pots of beef stew to slow cook overnight. We generally got ready for Christmas Day, when dinner was to be cooked and served to up to a hundred and fifty people at two venues.

When I say dinner, I'm not just talking turkey. This was to be a serious dinner - there was the soup (with croutons and crispy bacon lardons too) and an array of lovely appetisers, both veggie and carnivore friendly, and then the full nine yards of roast turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

There would be roast gammon or the beef stew (and Yorkshire puds) for those who didn't want the traditional roast bird, fresh salmon or bass for those who didn't eat meat, and a variety of veggie options too. And that's before we even get as far as puddings. Not only was there to be the obligatory Christmas pud and mince pies, but loads of other delights, including lovely fresh fruit to dip into a chocolate fountain!

While we chopped and stirred and seasoned on Christmas Eve, outside the kitchen the church hall was being transformed into a Christmas wonderland, with a tree, tinsel, crackers, pretty lights and beautifully decorated place settings. Similar decorative arrangements were going on at the other venue, but since there isn't as big and well equipped a kitchen at that one we were preparing the food for both sites. Busy, busy, busy, and we got home around ten o'clock with interestingly orange hands from all those carrots!

Then, before we knew it, we were right back to the kitchen around nine thirty on Christmas morning. From then on we cooked, and carved, and served, and cleaned up and thoroughly enjoyed being a small part of this very special event. It was full on and we didn't sit down for a moment, but didn't even think about it until it was all over and we finally left to go home just after seven in the evening. It was great and the other volunteers were wonderful people. Every one of them worked as hard as possible to make the day as happy and successful as it could be... and a success it was!

This was all done, in the true spirit of giving, for everyone - people of different ages and faiths, for single parent families, for couples, for single men and women, for the homeless, for the elderly - for anyone who would otherwise have been alone, lonely, or needy at Christmas. What's more, this plethora of goodies was provided free of charge by an amazingly caring and generous woman, Mo Fayose. You can read more about her HERE.

Yep, we 'stuffed' our Christmas with joy, and friendship, and hard work and had fun doing whatever needed doing. In part, our gift was a sense of satisfaction in a job well done. Other gifts came from seeing the faces of the people who came to the dinner, and from those who popped their heads into the kitchen to thank us sweaty volunteers for sharing Christmas with them.

If I'm honest, I find Christmas a wee bit difficult these days - not least because I miss my darling Mum a lot. But this year I know she would have been so proud of the pair of us. That in itself was the greatest gift of all, and something that made this fat lass very, very happy.

The Christmas social...

...is coming to a venue near me on Tuesday evening. So am I prepared for this fun and festive foodie feast? You betcha!

I used to dread occasions like this and through the 'diet' years found it really hard to be moderate and sensible and to eat and drink responsibly. But, over the years I've sorted out a few strategies to help me. Hey, that grey hair has some use, huh?

One of these strategies is NOT to starve myself beforehand and go to the venue hungry - in the past I've tried that, saving myself for the evening, and I've decided it wasn't a good plan. It was actually a very bad move for me, as everything looks so tempting and tasty and seems like a good idea. Saying 'yes' in these circumstances is apparently a lot simpler than declining!

So, how to manage the food aspect? Well, Tuesday is one of my Oxfam volunteering days and I always take a pot of stuff with me for my late IF 'breakfast' meal.

This week will be no different, and my little box will contain chopped up bits of raw cauliflower stalk (from tonight's dinner), some small chunks of nice salty cheddar cheese and some lovely Turkish olives sprinkled with Palestinian zataar. I may add a cherry tomato or two if I feel like pushing the boat out. I usually also take a small pot of mixed nuts. That, being my usual fare, will keep me satisfied through the day so I won't go out for the evening hungry.

I try to remember to clean my teeth just before walking out of the door - residual minty toothpaste taste makes the first food/drink taste bleh, so slows down the start of things. Though I don't do it now, in the past I've found eating an apple about ten minutes before walking into the venue works too, and apples are a nice 'clean' food so there's no need to clean your teeth to get rid of odd bits that lodge between your gnashers after an apple!

The other food related tip is to look at (er, closely scrutinise!) the menu ahead of time. I go out having already chosen exactly what I am going to eat before setting foot into the joint. On that subject, two courses are quite enough - no need to go for three as I'd never do it any other time of year so why do it at Christmas. I also tell the organiser what I've chosen before I get there (helps them out in the melee), and carry a piece of paper to remind myself of my selections. This means a definite decision has been made - no room for shilly shallying, no indecision, no capitulating to anyone else's urging, no making impulsive choices. Just sensible choices that fit with the way I choose to eat.

If the set menu, and it's usually a set menu at Christmas, means my selection automatically comes with something I'd rather not eat (some form of potatoes, for example) there are a few options. Firstly, you could ask the kitchen to leave them off. The downside is that a lot of venues struggle with this at hectic times of year though - their aim is to serve as many (often not 100% sober) folk as possible in short order and they may not appreciate or be able to fulfill 'special requests'. No problem, when the dish arrives just push the offending articles to the side of the plate and leave them there. Not always easy though as they often look pretty yummy, so consider offering them to someone who doesn't eat kookily like me. In my experience there's usually a hungry man at hand who is all too happy to take them off my hands to pad out their meagre restaurant 'festive' portions. I often find the Brussels sprout haters are more than happy to swap my roasties for their little green horrors too.

Then there's the alcohol side of the equation. I'm not a great drinker usually, but it's easy to get carried away in company, especially when everyone else seems dead set on draining the bar dry and wants me to be 'sociable' and join in!

So, for one thing I always drink a large glass of water before leaving the house. OK, it means I'll doubtless need the loo on arrival, but it also means I'm not thirsty and can make a glass of white wine spritzer last a looong time. Note the spritzer bit - looks like you have a good large glass of a recognisable drink (which seems to be expected), but you can get away with a small serving of wine and lots of sparkling water or soda water. Then, when we sit down I always ask for a big jug of tap water to be brought to the table (and replenished regularly) and intersperse one glass of wine with several glasses of water. My bladder helps take care of the quantity imbibed!

The dessert course can be a bit of a trial (especially if, like me, you've just chosen a starter and main). But a coffee, black if you must, makes a perfectly acceptable substitute and there is rarely a problem sipping that while everyone else tucks into their sweet and sticky desserts.

A few other tips...

One is to wear something very close fitting (and definitely non-elasticated) at the waist. Amazing how conscious that makes you of the amount you consume.

Another is to be sociable - hey, this is Christmas after all! This means talking to people, getting up and moving around to speak to everyone, dancing (if necessary) and generally doing anything to minimise time and access to the food and drink.

Oh, and if your Christmas social happens to be a buffet... load your plate with salad (or the platter decorations) before anything else goes onto it. This usually tastes pretty good and leaves minimal room to load up with the stuff your own dietary preference views as 'naughty'.

Right, enough blether. Merry Christmas, chin, chin and onwards ever...

Connie good, fat lass bad

Well, I'm delighted to say that I did get back on Connie, the lovely rower (let's hear it for good old Connie), and I have increased my morning times since. That's all well and good and I am really pleased with the way it's going. But, oh, if all of life were like that.

Unfortunately, there's a 'but' and that is that I seem to be battling a nasty case of the Januarys... or should that be 'oh hell, now what else can go wrong' January blues! This is mostly a work-related thing so in theory I 'should' be able to go home at the end of another (hassle-filled) day and forget it all. Should... not can!

It's been pretty full-on since that oh so distant festive break ended (whoooee, but that seems like an age ago now...) and things have not exactly gone smoothly since. I seem to be paddling like hell to get nowhere fast a lot of the time, and feel like I'm falling behind on planned work because of all the fire-fighting stuff!  This 'too much going on' has quite often stopped me getting out to walk at lunchtimes too, and I'm less than impressed. And the stressing and mild sense of panic also means I want to eat... anything will do. This is somewhat of a daily struggle.

Although I've mostly won on this 'eat me' front, so there haven't been any disastrous effects on my weight (er, yet!), all this doesn't do much for my positivity and, for some silly reason, I can't let go of it at the end of the day. I guess it doesn't help that often I wake up and fret about things in the early hours too so I have also been growing increasingly tired.

Worse, I'm taking my bad attitude, frustration and short temper back home with me and my poor lovely hubby catches the brunt of it nine times out of ten. Not a great plan for maintaining marital harmony. Thankfully, he's a very patient, understanding man, so I'm very lucky.

The more logical half of me manages to keep relatively calm and cheerfully say 'hey, all this shall pass' but, unfortunately, my emotional part has her fingers firmly stuffed in both ears and is singing 'lah lah lah lah lah' at the top of her voice whilst running around like a headless chook.

The upshot is this - I'm officially fed up with January. Could we give February a try please? Who knows, it 'might' be better!

To end on a more upbeat note, I've been for my mid-life 'are you going to keel over soon' health check and it was hilarous. It started pretty well when the automatic 'I guess your height, weight and blood pressure' machine decided I was two inches shorter than I actually am! Ho hum. OK, so we corrected that pronto. Not that it's a huge deal, but hey, these are 'my' records and a three percent error will make a noticeable difference to that jolly old BMI value you know.

Then I did a silly thing and apologised that my BP was bit higher than I'd expected (at 129/59). Hmm, must admit here that this was because the fat lass got a tad tetchy when the instructions on the high-tech whizz-bang machine and what you 'actually' have to do didn't tally = instant grrr and raised BP! Oh, the rather surprised nurse said, but it's really good and your resting heart rate (55 bpm) is great too! Alright, so our perception differs a little here, but never mind.

Then the weekly alcohol intake, exercise patterns, smoking, family health history questions came and went. All responses seemed to make her a happy bunny. Doing OK so far... and those bloods results (full lipid panel amongst other bits and bobs) are still to come back, but the reaction when we discussed diet was an absolute cracker.

I was asked whether I felt my diet was 'good', 'poor' or 'alright'. Now who's going to say anything less than positive, eh? I told her mine was 'super' thanks. She then asked if I was aware of the 'low-fat diet' advice so I said that indeed I was, but added that I totally ignored it.

Oooops! There was a sharp intake of breath, so I explained that I followed a ketogenic diet and this helped me maintain substantial weight loss (at this point she checked on my records to see what I had been, and 'ooohed' a bit).

Then, because she looked a wee bit bemused at this 'ketogenic' business, I started to explain what it was, i.e. low carb - yep, this seemed an acceptable thing to do, with moderate protein - er, I guess that probably seems OK, and that this means my diet is high in fat - WHAT!!

Oh dear, I'm not convinced that she (or her student) expected me to manage to leave the consulting room before I dropped like a stone from imminent heart failure. Hmmm, I think both of us might look at those detailed blood results quite closely. An interesting morning, eh?

Onwards, and a shade frustratedly, ever...

Post-holiday blue meanies

Oooh we had such a wonderful time away last week. Spending time together somewhere remote, quiet and beautiful, relaxing, reading, listening to great music, walking (mostly without getting too wet), meeting great dogs and their owners, buying and cooking lovely local food and imbibing the odd glass or two of delicious Spanish red wine.

But all good things come to an end, and apparently so quickly, and it's been back to business as usual (in spades!) this week. We've both had a few work problems to deal with and I guess the inevitable has happened... so, post-holiday, we're just a bit 'down'.

Oh well, just you think of Mum's blessings my dearie! We had a super time and have some lovely memories (and photos) to look back on. At least the sun is shining this morning, the autumn colours are gorgeous and I'll be off for a lunchtime walk before too much longer.

Onwards, ever...

Feeling girly...

Holy moly! At one time, I would not have said, or even thought to myself, that this fat lass was a particularly girly sort of critter. Instead I spent most of my formative years as one of those young 'ladies' who heartily eschewed all thoughts of make-up, 'fancy' clothing, high heels and hair-dos.

Indeed, I grew up as a classic tomboy, fighting my darling Mum every step of the way when she wanted her little girl in sweet little dresses, ribbons in her hair and lacy-topped short white socks. But in my world bruises, dirt, scabby knees and falling out of trees (I was great at climbing, rubbish at getting back down) were a more regular occurence... much to poor Mum's horror.

I dabbled briefly with a marginally more 'feminine' phase in my teens, but didn't really feel comfortable nor that it suited me and I certainly couldn't be fussed with all that hair-do messing about, nor make-up nonsense! So I firmly settled into being more of the rock-chick type, in hippyish bell-bottom jeans (that my darling despairing Dad used to say had been painted onto me!) and a ratty old tee-shirt... er, while I could still fit into such wondrous things, that is.

Then, as a fat lass adult (first fat, then growing steadily fatter), my main priority was to conceal my increasing bulk as far as was practical. I guess it was rather hard for me to begin to feel feminine when I thought that I closely resembled an object capable of sinking the Titanic.

So, sombre colours, shapeless tops and long skirts (well below those chubby knees please) were the norm for me back then. Disguise me please - so should I wear trousers? Nope - that was definitely a case of 'does my bum look big in this', so no fear! Then, let's slide around the perimeter of a room, speak and walk quietly, try to blend in to the wallpaper and don't attract anyone's gaze if you can avoid it. Bare skin? No way, Jose! Yes, 'draw no attention' became my motto and my mantra. And, as I didn't like 'me' and hid whenever possible it really didn't matter what my hair looked like, did it, so I left it long and straggly, and often chopped bits off it myself. You can imagine the result.

Roll forward to the present day, and there's been something of a revolution (and a fair degree of revelation, come to that). I sit here typing away in a flared, pale pinky-beige knee-length skirt, with a fitted short-sleeved tee-shirt (OK, I also have a little cardigan too as it's getting autumnal). My hair is neatly trimmed, and about to be even neater once I've seen my hairdresser. My shoes are neat - in fact, I now actually possess 'pretty' shoes with heels (although wearing them can kill my poor dodgy knee!). My toenails are nicely shaped, and often painted - most recently with a subtly pinky-lilac varnish. What's more, even though I still don't 'do' make-up, I had a manicure as a special treat a while ago... and liked it. Whatever is the world coming to, I ask myself.

So, here I am, not far short of 55 and, for the first time in my life, I find that I am capable of feeling girly and feminine. I'm comfortable enough in my skin that showing some of it (er, maybe not those very saggy bits if you please) doesn't really phase me.

This may sound odd, but the sheer sensory bliss of dabbing on a really nice perfume is something I now understand too - a bottle of scent isn't just something to grab and spray to mask any potential whiff of sweaty bodies. Ah yes, I was almost always, always, ALWAYS too darn hot when I was at my largest, and constantly terrified that I might sweat too badly and smell.

The other day, someone who's known me for ages, in both my larger and smaller days, asked me what I liked most about having shed a lot of weight, and my first reply (without a moment's thought) was the health improvements which it brought. Actually, I still stand by that and it is indeed THE most important thing.

But, d'you know, afterwards when she'd gone and I stopped and thought a bit more about it, I really quite like being able to walk out and about with my head held high as a girly sort of girl these days too.

Wow, wow and wow a bit more!

Oh my, but our week in marvellous Madrid was just fabulous. To be honest, we both feel really privileged to have had such a great time.

We walked a helluva lot, as expected, and I rather wish we'd somehow kept track of just how much, but we didn't. In fact we barely touched the Metro (except for the trip back and forth to the airport) as the Spanish architecture is too good to miss and every barrio has it's own special character. Especially loved ethnic Lavapiés, and a good many other areas, though we were not quite so keen on slightly snooty Salamanca. But wherever we explored it was just too good not to walk and enjoy it. A shade hard on the feet (and knees), and pretty tiring too, but who cares, eh?

The weather was wonderful too - wall-to-wall blue skies and sunshine! It did get pretty hot (up to 37 degrees on one day) and it was very dry, so we enjoyed the sun but drank a load of water every day and every night... though apparently still nowhere near enough, to judge by the unexpectedly colourful wee!

We met some lovely people (particularly the two very kind and welcoming young men at Cafelito), and saw such a lot. Outstanding was the most amazing and superb works of art, dating from all periods - ancient and modern, in museums and galleries, as well as lots of street art. There's so much - we spent well over five hours in the Prado and still didn't get to see it all properly!

The beautiful parks and gardens and fountains everywhere were a real treat too... especially in the heat of the day when a lovely patch of green shade with the tinkling sound of cool water was most welcome. I was in my element too - lots of people with all sorts of dogs, so lots of doggie cuddles.

The food was mind-blowingly good, and my niggling concerns about staying LCHF while we were away were blown right out of the water. It was actually very simple, especially with so much to offer in the offal line, so we came back still in ketosis and without having gained an ounce - nice eh?

What did we eat? Well, it may not be everyone's cup of chai (or do I mean café con leche?), but we are both now addicted to orejas (glutinously gorgeous grilled pig's ears), callos a la Madrileña (tasty tripe, with scraps of pig's trotter, blood sausage or chorizo, and serrano ham, all in a wonderfully rich tomatoey sauce) and, best of all, crunchy and delicious zarajos (probably best described as 'intestine on a stick').

OK, holiday over so it's back to earth with a bump...now where in the UK can we find these delicacies and how do we learn to cook them at home...? If I find out I'll let you know.

Onwards...

Got that holiday fever

You may not notice a difference since I'm not writing all that much these days, but I'll be away for a bit. Yep, we're on countdown and off for a week's holiday in a few short days... and it cannot come quickly enough. We plan to walk, and drink water, and walk, and drink the odd glass of 'something nice', and visit museums, and walk, and drink water, and... You get the idea.

I just can't wait to feel the heat of the sun warming my bones again - it's turned all autumnal here and I can't say appreciate it (especially on top of the darker mornings). Can't wait to stooge about people-watching at an airport for a while (which is all part of the happy travels fun), and can't wait to settle in to our hotel room and see our first Spanish sunset... preferably while sipping a small celebratory glass of the finest jerez (fino please). Am very mildly apprehensive about staying LCHF keto while away, when my Spanish is near nonexistent, but I'm sure we'll manage somehow. What the heck - can you say 'jamon y queso'?

Lovely hubby (who's somewhat black and blue at the moment after arguing with a hard pavement... er, and losing) keeps asking me if I'm getting excited yet. Hmmm, I'd say that's an affirmative!

A new word

Hey, it's always nice to stumble across a new word, and that's happened to me today. It's a really appropriate one too. One which made me smile and say 'aha!' when I read the definition.

It's the word 'sophrosyne' (in Greek, the σωφροσύνη above), which originally comes from the name of a Greek goddess who was 'the spirit of moderation, self-control, temperance, restraint, and discretion' and, so the story goes, one of the good spirits that escaped from Pandora's box when the lid was raised.

Now the word means: healthy-mindedness and from there self-control or moderation guided by knowledge and balance. Does that sound familiar...?

Good old Wikipedia goes on to say that the Roman poet Juvenal later re-interpreted this sentiment in one of his verses as 'mens sana in corpore sano', meaning 'a healthy mind in a healthy body'.

In part, his verse went:

    You should pray for a healthy mind in a healthy body.
    Ask for a stout heart that has no fear of death,
    and deems length of days the least of Nature's gifts
    that can endure any kind of toil

Nice, eh?

A new flavour

Wow, what a find. At the back of one of the kitchen cabinets I noticed a bottle of rose water that's been lurking for far too long (bought a gazillion years ago to make a sugar-laden Middle Eastern dessert, I think). I hate to throw anything away unless I have to and it intrigued me, as one of the flavours I used to love was rose (think violet and rose cream dark chocolates - ah, the happy memories...).

This was rose 'water', and it definitely wasn't a syrup, but I wasn't really sure what was actually in it (as the label was not in English) so, out of curiosity I looked up the nutritional information on the web.

Great news - it has ZERO carbs! Yippee, my mid-morning snack (Greek yoghurt and coconut with our last three remaining strawberries) just got a make-over... and it tastes amazing.

As much as I love adding cinnamon to my yoghurt, I have got slightly tired of that recently and it's so nice to have a new treat now and again. I think my little bottle may make it's way to the front of the cupboard, and I can't wait to let lovely hubby try some too.

Wet, wet, wet...

Well, that is one way to sum up our holiday. But, do you know what? It didn't matter a jot and we had a marvelous time despite the almost continual sogginess.

My lovely sister was able to make it after all - I'm so glad, and the four of us got on very well indeed. We walked loads, uphill and down dale, and talked even more, and we ate very well indeed (actually, they were low carb feasts). I'd say we probably consumed a good deal more red wine than is truly good for us too. What the heck - it was great.

We were surrounded by forests and beautiful mountains (and sheep!) and every day we breathed in the fresh, clean country air. We saw the amazing autumnal colours develop in the week we were there, and explored to find stunning waterfalls (the rain helped there, I guess), including one extraordinary one from behind, accessed by paddling through a rocky cavern - wow, what an experience!

We didn't get chance to light the log fire (damn!) as it was so mild, but those same balmy temperatures for this time of year (around 14 to 15 degrees C, both day and night) did mean we could go outside in just our slippers and nighties, when we got up in the early hours, to see the stunning night skies... er, between downpours, that is!

We did talk a lot about our lovely Mum, so there were some moments of sadness and a few tears were shed, but we both agreed that she'd have absolutely loved being with us in this gorgeous place... and she was with us in spirit.

I'm still tired (guess that'll be the case for a while still) but feel renewed in my mind and was ready to face the joys of returning to work after a week's absence. I may regret saying this... but (apart from an email inbox fit to bursting) it hasn't been too horrendous so far.

Counting down

It's that time of year. Only a few more days and we'll be heading off for a well-deserved and long-anticipated break in a cottage in the middle of nowhere. No TV, no mobile reception, no papers, just trees, sheep, great walks on our doorstep and the chance to kick back and relax.

This is somewhere we've been before, but this time it'll be a little different, as we're going to be joined by my lovely sister and her hubby. That's great, and it'll be really good to spend some quiet time together. What between losing our darling Mum a few short months ago, and with everything else that went before... some of which is still causing problems...I think we both need it.

It will make the food side of things slightly more complicated though, as they aren't low-carbers. In fact they're dedicated biccy and sweet stuff fans!

No criticism intended but, in a funny sort of way, my darling lovely hubby and I feel far less restricted and more free with our dietary habits than we feel they are. Neither of them handle 'strong' flavours too well so we'll have to take care with the chilli, spices and even garlic. My sister won't eat beef (remember the BSE scare?) or anything even slightly offal-related, and my brother-in-law won't eat pork, er, unless it's bacon (I know, I know... I just don't understand).

They are not adventurous eaters, but us? Well, we'll not only eat just about anything that (as lovely hubby puts it) 'used to make a noise or move around', but we're 'hey, let's give it a go' when it comes to trying something new.

Still, we've had a long chat about it (I guess my sis was quite worried about our foodie weirdness) and I think we've convinced them that we'll be able to eat pretty much the same for most meals - just we'll load up on the low-carb things we do eat and ditch the grains/sugars/high-carb bits. It'll work out fine.

One thing we both agree on is that a drop (or two) of red wine won't go amiss!

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

That just about sums up my weekend (imagine me wearing a great big cheesy grin). It was fantastic! We set off for the wilds of Wales (to a hamlet over the border but not a million miles from Oswestry) in the 'oooh my Lord!' early hours of Saturday.

Off we went to meet the artist we've commissioned to make us something special in celebration of our forthcoming tenth wedding anniversary. What is this wondrous thing? Well, those of you who are made uncomfortable by sloppy and romantic stuff can skip the next bit...

We've had a marvellously detailed cast made of our joined hands (you can see every hair and wrinkle), showing my wedding and engagement rings in all their glory, and the finished piece will take pride of place on our living room wall where everyone can see it. The whole process was such a lot of fun to be involved with, and once we have collected it I'll put a picture of it in another post.

This cast was only stage one though. The finished article will be a 'hammer & chisel-free' marble piece that's actually made of a sturdy synthetic resin with added ground marble. So we'll have something with all the appearance of a beautiful Roman sculpture, but with no pesky stone chips to hoover off the carpet!

It got better. Eating was great as we had a series of car picnics (the best of all was an avocado, iceberg, red cabbage and ham salad with hard boiled duck eggs and mixed seeds). Also, the hotel we stayed at on Saturday night serves a stonkingly good low-carb breakfast. We feasted on smoked haddock and poached eggs (me) and bacon, scrambled eggs and mushrooms (lovely hubby). Phew! it was good and it sated us until early Sunday evening.

We seemed to eat absolutely loads, but when I hopped on the scales this morning my weight is down a tad again. Funny how these things go.

Then, the gala concert we went to in Birmingham on Sunday afternoon, after joining in with the Bullring's tenth anniversary celebrations (coincidentally), was outstanding too. Three of the top British brass bands to listen to, all in one go, with the Black Dyke, Fodens and Cory all playing their socks off. What an afternoon!

Nice to have something positive to share. Have a good week folks.

Still here, still OK

Hello folks. I'm still here... although you might well have thought otherwise since it's been a while.

I've been away on a well deserved and eagerly anticipated holiday, and wonderful it was too. Relaxing, with fresh air, the very best company I could wish for (it was just the two of us), loads of walking and good, wholesome, home-made low-carb food. Who needs eating out when you can cook up a storm... so we did just that.

That means we both got back from holiday at just about the same weights as when we set off. A rather nice feeling. I do have to admit to consuming a tad too much red wine and Woodford Reserve, but it wasn't completely over the top and, hey, we were on holiday.

We also had the sunshine (praise the Lord) and it was SO beautiful. There was still quite a breeze though, so it felt quite chilly at times... and this brings me to my second confession. The fat lass (and lovely hubby) did a very silly thing. We 'forgot' it was June, we 'forgot' the sun was strong, and we went out on a five hour walkies trip (cliff paths and beaches) wearing short sleeves and no sunscreen.

You'd have thought two sensible grown-ups would have known better, eh? Er, nope. Guess what? We fried!

In fact, neither of us actually even realised it until we got home and decided various bits and bobs felt a tad 'warm' and 'tingly'. When we checked later on, we'd both turned a delicate shade of lobster! Ah well, a week down the line and the red turned to brown, which was lovely, but we're both now peeling like snakes! Non-venomous ones, of course.

It did us a LOT of good to get away. The stresses and worries of recent weeks faded into the background for a while and we remembered how to relax. We slept properly too, which was a real bonus.

Life has a tendency to hit you again when you get back, and the worries about my Mum are still ongoing, but I do feel at least a bit better able to cope with it all again.

So, it's onwards ever...

Weather blues

Lord, but I'm fed up with the British weather. I'm fed up with being cold (it's the middle of May, for heaven's sake - I should be getting gently toasted!) and I'm fed up getting wet.

I know it shouldn't, but it affects my mood and motivation and makes maintenance massively more challenging. With the seemingly never-ending grey skies and wet stuff, I find that I DO want to munch and I DON'T want to get out and walk. A dilemma, because I know what I 'should' do.

So, I've been casting about for little games to make my recalcitrant self behave. Singing to myself sometimes does the trick to lift my mood, so the fat lass has got inventive.

With huge apologies to Carole King... I've made up some 'alternative' words to one of her songs. I'm just trying to motivate myself to get my backside out and walk, even though today is yet another grey, wet, November-ish sort of day, and this makes me giggle. If I walk while I'm giggling... that'll do for me.

So, limber up those vocal cords, and sing along with me:

The weather here has not been nice as it can be, 
but I guess that it doesn't matter much to me
For all the fun I'd have if summer'd come to stay, 
I think it's going to rain until September

I don't need sunny skies for things I have to do, 
I can't stay at home the whole day long cos work is due
As far as I'm concerned each day's a rainy day, 
and I think it's going to rain until September

I'd really love to have a picnic on the beach, 
like everyone, I love the summertime,
but you know sunshine while your rays are out of reach, 
this summer isn't any friend of mine

It doesn't matter that the skies are grey not blue, 
if it rains on my head 'cause walking's what I'll do
I'm only hoping for the sun to shine all day, 
but I think it's going to rain until September
 
September, September, 
oh I think it's going to rain until September

Water, water, everywhere...

Duh! Friday was one of those days.

There was the fat lass, thinking she felt hungry, but knowing she couldn't actually still be hungry because a delicious lunch had been munched not all that long ago (OK, if you must know - it was two large, juicy, deep red and fragrant chopped tomatoes and a spread of hot pepper paste on a slice of rye bread) .

The old 'bad' side of her started hunting about for something 'acceptable' to eat, and was getting close to doing something she'd regret when (thankfully) the penny dropped. Silly old fat lass! She was not hungry at all. What she was feeling was thirsty!

I usually fill my water bottle first thing when I get to work, and then have emptied it to refill again by just after lunch. What's more, I usually have a big mug of lemon tea mid-morning. However, Friday was a little hectic and although I drank most of my tea (albeit cold) my water bottle remained, filled to the brim and unloved, on my desk. It was also a summer's day, even if not the hottest summer's day ever.

Aha, dehydration! OK, that was remedied easily enough and... as if by magic, the hunger disappeared. Elementary, my dear Watson!

A trip out to a lovely waterside pub (on the banks of the River Nene) for lunch with friends on Saturday was also on the cards. We knew this was going to be a serious indulgence so planned accordingly and daintily nibbled a suitably 'minimalist' breakfast before we went.

I couldn't even consider fighting my way through three courses (oh, how things have changed!), so skipped the starter and sipped a spritzer instead. Mind you, lovely hubby's starter of home made chicken liver pate looked and smelled delicious and I did steal some of his salad accompaniment. He had a monster-sized battered fish fillet (from Moby Dick?) and thick-cut chips as a main course, and pronounced it to be very good - but couldn't finish it all, it was such a big portion.

I opted for the Ploughman's for my main course (laughably on the 'light bites' section of the menu) and was not disappointed. I think it would have stuffed two ploughmen, to be honest. There it sat, on a wooden trencher, a substantial hunk of freshly-baked, warm cottage loaf (and generous pat of butter on the side), an ample(!) chunk of cheddar, a thick slice of lovely home-cured ham, a quarter of a gorgeous home made pork pie with beautiful hot water crust pastry and loads of lovely jelly (which was delicious!) and the usual, plenteous, accompaniments of pickled onions, a Branston-style pickle and a fantastic chunky and spicy piccalilli (of which I am a serious fan). I'm afraid I couldn't do the cheese, bread and butter justice... but the rest disappeared!

Between the four of us, we shared some deliciously indulgent (and highly calorific) puds. Even so, we didn't manage to eat everything and felt a bit guilty that we couldn't. We groaned outside for a stroll by the water afterwards. Neither lovely hubby nor I wanted anything to eat for the rest of Saturday!

More water on Sunday morning. This time in the form of a lovely walk along the river Cam, setting off about 7.30 out towards Baits Bite Lock. We figured that we probably walked about six and a half miles in total (when we added in our little 'oooh, I wonder what's down there' diversions) and had a fabulous morning out in the sunshine. Chatted to people out for their own constitutional, made friends with a variety of dogs, saw rowers, runners, cyclists and strollers, watched herons, ducks, swans and a gazillion pigeons. Food was rather more restrained than on Saturday and our tummies said a heartfelt 'thanks' for that. A very good day.

In fact, a very good weekend.

Happy, happy, happy days

My darling lovely hubby and I have enjoyed four glorious days together, away from it all on a smallholding in the countryside (mostly dodging the downpours!) with a very charming and welcoming hostess and host. We had the added bonus where we stayed of lots of canine cuddles from an elderly, near-blind but very sweet-natured Standard Poodle, and a vocal and demanding Siamese cat gracing us with her presence when she chose to do so (mostly whenever we tried to read the newspapers). Bliss!

Even the truly abysmal weather could not spoil the amazing Jubilee weekend we've just had... and I have to say that it was pretty extreme for June!

While we were away we drank way too much coffee-shop coffee (we had to get out of the chilly wind and rain whenever possible, eh) and munched the odd cake too. We ate very well indeed (including fabulous eggs for breakfast from the hens pecking about outside our bedroom window) but we still managed to be 'fairly' sensible and not come back feeling like a couple of Goodyear blimps.

We walked as much as was wise in the inclement weather (even if not as much as we'd hoped or planned), went exploring through some beautiful villages in the pouring rain (must go back in better weather), had fun at a Jubilee-themed craft fair and enjoyed jazz in the garden at an art gallery's slightly soggy summer exhibition where we also spent far too much money (don't ask). All in all, we had a great time.

It's back down to earth with a bit of a bump today though, and it's also lovely hubby's first full day back in the saddle after his recent surgery. Work for me isn't going too badly (amazing - dare I even think this, let alone actually write it!) and I just hope it's being kind to him too. Went for a lovely walk at lunchtime (er, not exactly in the sunshine, but hey, it wasn't torrential) and I made it back to work just before the heavens did open up with a vengeance... again. Talk about changeable!

Whilst I was out I bought some fresh raspberries for tomorrow's lunch and checked out the fresh pea situation - the British ones are just coming through. Yippee! They're still silly money (hmmm, funny how the price hasn't fallen) but ooooh, they are delicious. Much smaller than the imported Itailian ones from last week but fresh and sweet and wonderful. Summer in a pod.

Maybe life is finally settling down to something like normality once again. I do hope so, and then enjoying proper exercise and a focus on loss/maintenance will become an easier task once more. Not that we've abandoned it completely of late, I'm glad to say, but it is harder when those dark worry-clouds build on your horizon.

The motto? Take life's little pleasures wherever you can find them, and keep going. Onwards ever...

A wonderful (if wet) weekend

Arrrrrgh! I'm not used to late nights any longer (the fat lass is getting a bit long in the tooth, methinks), so this morning saw me dragging myself unwillingly out of bed and running a tad late. Still, a visit from my lovely sister and her hubby this weekend was just what the doctor ordered. It has been so nice to chat and set the world to rights together, and just to spend time with eachother.

We did the usual whirlwind cleaning session on Saturday morning so the place looked (and smelled) all squeaky clean and welcoming when they arrived. Where does that dust come from, eh? We polished and put lovely fresh flowers in a vase, and made up a little bunch for their room too.

The weather was indisbutably not conducive to going out and about. That was because we had our customary Great British Bank Holiday special weather arrangements in place - it's the law that Bank Holidays should be wet, windy, wild & woolly, and, just to add to the fun, darned chilly too! So we spent most of our time indoors inside in the warm and dry, just relaxing (although sis and I did spend a few hours perusing the local clothes shops, trying on but not buying). Heaven!

We certainly ate well*, but we didn't go completely crazy with our shared meals and actually ate very moderately for the rest of each day. Er..., on reflection we found that we drank more than we usually do, but not to the point of feeling it the next morning. The big thing is that we generally all enjoyed just being able to spend a few days together.

*On Saturday night, I cooked a batch of kedgeree for us all, with rice, onions, good fish stock, spices, red peppers, lots of garden peas and some lovely meaty cod-loin. It was served up in a couple of 'sharing' bowls so we could help ourselves to as much or as little as we liked. It looked appetising as I'd decorated it with a few pretty pink jumbo prawns, some hard-boiled egg quarters (dusted with paprika) and chopped coriander. So, it looked a treat (wish I'd remembered to take a photo before the troops dug in!), it was pretty healthy, and it tasted good too. Pudding? Nope! Not needed.

Sunday evening was lovely hubby's turn in the kitchen. He cooked us a real treat too - a wonderfully warming and satisfying chicken and tarragon casserole with lovely button mushrooms. He served it with swede and potato 'rustic' mash (i.e. left with some texture, not smoothed to the point of blandness) and a beautiful bowlful of steamed sweetheart cabbage. Gorgeous! Again, no pudding, but we did follow it with a bit of cheese and some crackers (er, and a glass of port), but didn't go mad with it.

Yep, we all ended up feeling pretty well fed, but it was a comfortable feeling rather than the groaning 'oooh, shouldn't have done that' sensation of yester year. It felt 'normal' somehow. Nice.

Amazingly, I got on the scales this morning expecting a small to moderate rise, but that hasn't happened.Rather a good start to the week, even if I did have to run through the rain for the bus.

Feeling fighting fit

OK, so that isn't strictly 100% accurate but it ain't too far off either. Life feels pretty good.

Lovely hubby and I went for a fabulous two-hour stint at the gym over the weekend and had a whale of a time. It was brilliant, really quiet (there was a local half-marathon on which kept the numbers down), and even the showers were warm this time. We both LOVED it, and came out of there into the glorious spring sunshine buzzing with energy and dancing with joy! In fact we went for quite a long walk afterwards too.

That pesky asthma-beast behaved itself quite politely and let me do everything I wanted to, with only a little coughing to remind me he hadn't gone away completely. C'mon beast... it's about time you went into hibernation!

As to feeling fit, well a small proportion of me (mainly around the pecs and shoulders) is a tad achy-sore this morning, but that just proves I did some work, n'est ce pas?

I decided to mix things up a little and do some different cardio stuff, rather than my usual routine, and also to add in some additional weights work. It went really well, although I struggled with the newer version of the elliptical (see picture) to begin with, at least until I got the hang of it and got into my stride. For some reason I started off backwards on this new one!

It's amazingly different to the old-style one that I'm used to using, but in a good way as it's very smooth. I shouldn't really be surprised, I guess. After all, the new stair-stepper is a world away from the squeaky, clunky older ones too. Hmmm, one other thing I noticed was that I am urgently in need of a new gym bra. The old one doesn't really fit any longer and certain parts of my anatomy were somewhat less comfortable than the norm. Must do something about this, pronto.

I do love our gym - there's none of the neon-lycra-clad poseur brigade about it's clientele and it is so good to have well-qualified and helpful staff at hand to show you exactly how to set up and use 'new' bits of gym equipment correctly. I had almost worked it out for myself, but confirmation from one who 'knows' is very reassuring.

The daily morning rowing stints are going pretty smoothly too (if still a bit of a daunting prospect when the alarm goes off at 5 a.m.!), and I'm looking around for other abs exercises I could use in our all too short period of time in the mornings, to give me a little variation in what I do.

From a food standpoint, things are also back to going pretty well. I was a bit naughty last week (actually quite a lot naughty, and paid for it with a smallish gain) but am back to sense and good healthy eating again so that excess should come back off without too much trauma.

Onwards ever...

Wonderful weekend, miserable Monday, but a tolerable Tuesday?

Saturday brought us quite a bit of walking, which was lovely, but also quite a bit of sitting down (on a coach journey to visit a friend, which took about three hours each way). It also brought pretty moderate and reasonable eating, as I could happily portion share with my friend as her appetite and mine are quite similar, with neither of us often stretching to eat complete restaurant portions. A successful day, all told.

And Sunday? Well, we didn't make it to the gym, as we'd planned, but the deeper than expected snow meant we both had a darned good workout anyway, clearing the white stuff from all the paths for about an hour and a half to two hours just after first light. I guess that counts as decent exercise, eh? Certainly feels like we used a few muscles. It was pretty though and, boy, it was C O L D!

Food was once again quite decent. We had planned to treat ourselves to a naughty-but-nice bacon buttie at the local greasy spoon after our exertions, but went indoors for home-made porridge instead (just polishing my halo as I write). The hearty winter stew we cooked up in the slow cooker for a late lunch was a good thing too. Not only was it tasty and warming (with a healthy dose of garlic, cinnamon and cumin), but I'd got carried away with the prep so it contained way more veggies (of all sorts) than it did meat. What's more, when we started dishing it up we decided there was too much, so it'd do us for two days. Guess what was going to be on the menu Monday night.

Unfortunately, the good news sort of ends there. After a great morning, I started feeling pretty rotten in the afternoon and actually went back to bed for a few hours late on in the day as I felt so groggy. I ended up having a very uncomfortable and pretty sleepless night on Sunday, with bunged up sinuses, an aching jaw (hmmm, coincidence?) and a throat like raw meat.

Getting up on Monday morning was hard work, and I really didn't appreciate slithering into work in the icy slush. Not a great day. It felt like my day at work was only made possible by throat sweets and paracetamol aplenty, although I felt a teensy bit more human later in the day than I did first thing. Flagged by evening though, as you do.

Today saw a little bit of an improvement. Although the bug is still rampant I had a somewhat better night so have felt slightly less 'orrible! My headache is down to manageable proportions, but the throat is still quite a picture. Not only do I have the swollen,tender and undercooked steak look but I've sprouted a couple of odd yellowy-white spots too. If this doesn't go away pretty soon I may have to take it to the doc. Until then, throat sweets 'r us. Unfortunately, not being used to so much sugar, I've now broken out in mouth ulcers to add to the fun. Ho hum.

Here's to a reasonable rest of week. Onwards ever.

A well deserved break

Well, I won't be around for a while.

I'm off for a well deserved, relaxing break with my darling lovely hubby. Yes, we'll eat some nice things, but we won't go mad and we will do as much walking as we can in the lovely fresh (chilly?) air.

It's really nice to be going away having met the target I set for myself. More work will ensue when I get back though!