Another good day! Down another lb for a total of 42 lbs or 3 stone as they say over here. Since I need to lose 125 lbs (just a lb short of 9 stone), I'm 1/3 of the way there. Woo Hoo!! Very motivated about the whole thing right now.
I guess one of these days real soon I need to switch over to the new view. I keep getting all these dire warnings about the new look coming and I'd hate to log in one afternoon and not be able to get to my blog.
Not too much to say for today. I worked an overtime but I still have 3 days off before I start back to work. Tomorrow is still a Bank Holiday so I think my stay-at-home project for tomorrow is to go thru my clothes and get rid of some of the big stuff. I'm hoping I can also get rid of a temporary wardrobe so I can put a book shelf on that wall and get some books off the floor.
I've lost enough weight that Saturday I was able to buy one of those silver Celtic rings they sell all over the place in Scotland--and have it fit (comfortably, I might add!) on my ring finger. Yippee! So much nicer to reward myself with something like that rather than a food reward!
I still need to do my brain exercises on Lumosity then it's a bit of reading and bedtime. Such an exciting life I lead...
Monday, 4 June 2012
Sunday, 3 June 2012
03 June 2012
After the crap week I had, it turns out yesterday was just what I needed! Yesterday had kind of a gray start here in North Yorkshire, but the weather report said sunshine in Dumfries and Galloway, so we set out for Sweetheart Abbey around 7:30. It's a 3-hour drive to the village of New Abbey and it was still pretty socked in and windy but it wasn't raining... Anyway, I had somehow managed to let my Historic Scotland membership lapse, so I rejoined. One of the cool things I discovered yesterday is that Historic Scotland is now doing stamps of their properties (or the staffed ones anyway) and you can get your membership book stamped as you visit the places. The Japanese do a similar thing and I collected stamps while I was there.
Sweetheart Abbey is undergoing a major renovation right now, so there's lots of scaffolding but I still got a couple of good shots. We didn't stay long because it was cold and windy, so we headed over to the New Abbey Corn Mill, another HS property very close by. Now "corn mill" is a rather confusing description, since they were grinding oats--not corn--there, but I vaguely remember that "corn" is a generic term for cereal grains over here. They have a short film and then you get a guided tour; the mill is still in operation some days and they sell the resulting porridge oats at the shop there. They had some benches set up and we had lunch there--and watched a heron catch his lunch, too.
From there, we moved on to Dundrennan Abbey, which is supposed to be where Mary Queen of Scots spent her last hours in Scotland before her exile to England. It's a beautiful ruin and is normally a staffed property but there was no one there for the shop so I couldn't get my book stamped or get a guidebook. From there, we were going to head back to Caerlaverock Castle but first we stopped off at a couple of places we saw sign-posted.
Orchardton Tower is the only round tower house in Scotland and it was pretty neat. The first door you see leads to a lovely barrel-vaulted storage cellar; when you go back outside and walk a few steps around the tower, you come to the steps leading up to the living quarters. The rest of the floors and the roof are gone but they have a nice artist's rendition of what it might have looked like. You can still see where the floors would have been. From there, we went to Drumcoltran Tower, which was actually a farmhouse and sits today in the middle of a working farm, which gives you some idea of what it would have been like--without the mechanization :-)
And then we were on our way to Caerlaverock Castle, a medieval Maxwell stronghold. They have a good film there on the sige of Caerlverock Castle by Edward I in about 1300. Tony Robinson does the film and everything I hear him, I always think 'Baldric' from the "Blackadder" series :-) But he does a good job with the seige. The castle only held out for a day and a half, which may not sound like much but Edward had 3000 troops and 60 defenders held them off, which I thought was pretty good.
By this time, it was 5:30 and things were closing up, so we started home. The TomTom routed us right past Ruthwell Church, so we stopped--and the guy was only just getting ready to lock-up so he let us see the cross, an amazing Anglo-Saxon cross from around 600! We saw 7 sights all together and we even managed to drive by the Devil's Porridge to see what is up with that (it's a WWI exhibit), even though it was closed for the day. By the time we were blasting across the A66, the weather had truly gone to pot but we had a great day!
And amazingly, I finally lost another lb! FINALLY!! Even though this is supposed to be a PV day, I think I'm going to stick with my original plan and have a little mini-attak phase just to give the diet a good kick. So I'm down 41 lbs total. Yippee!
Sweetheart Abbey is undergoing a major renovation right now, so there's lots of scaffolding but I still got a couple of good shots. We didn't stay long because it was cold and windy, so we headed over to the New Abbey Corn Mill, another HS property very close by. Now "corn mill" is a rather confusing description, since they were grinding oats--not corn--there, but I vaguely remember that "corn" is a generic term for cereal grains over here. They have a short film and then you get a guided tour; the mill is still in operation some days and they sell the resulting porridge oats at the shop there. They had some benches set up and we had lunch there--and watched a heron catch his lunch, too.
From there, we moved on to Dundrennan Abbey, which is supposed to be where Mary Queen of Scots spent her last hours in Scotland before her exile to England. It's a beautiful ruin and is normally a staffed property but there was no one there for the shop so I couldn't get my book stamped or get a guidebook. From there, we were going to head back to Caerlaverock Castle but first we stopped off at a couple of places we saw sign-posted.
Orchardton Tower is the only round tower house in Scotland and it was pretty neat. The first door you see leads to a lovely barrel-vaulted storage cellar; when you go back outside and walk a few steps around the tower, you come to the steps leading up to the living quarters. The rest of the floors and the roof are gone but they have a nice artist's rendition of what it might have looked like. You can still see where the floors would have been. From there, we went to Drumcoltran Tower, which was actually a farmhouse and sits today in the middle of a working farm, which gives you some idea of what it would have been like--without the mechanization :-)
And then we were on our way to Caerlaverock Castle, a medieval Maxwell stronghold. They have a good film there on the sige of Caerlverock Castle by Edward I in about 1300. Tony Robinson does the film and everything I hear him, I always think 'Baldric' from the "Blackadder" series :-) But he does a good job with the seige. The castle only held out for a day and a half, which may not sound like much but Edward had 3000 troops and 60 defenders held them off, which I thought was pretty good.
By this time, it was 5:30 and things were closing up, so we started home. The TomTom routed us right past Ruthwell Church, so we stopped--and the guy was only just getting ready to lock-up so he let us see the cross, an amazing Anglo-Saxon cross from around 600! We saw 7 sights all together and we even managed to drive by the Devil's Porridge to see what is up with that (it's a WWI exhibit), even though it was closed for the day. By the time we were blasting across the A66, the weather had truly gone to pot but we had a great day!
And amazingly, I finally lost another lb! FINALLY!! Even though this is supposed to be a PV day, I think I'm going to stick with my original plan and have a little mini-attak phase just to give the diet a good kick. So I'm down 41 lbs total. Yippee!
Friday, 1 June 2012
01 June 2012
What an absolutely dreadful week! Work sucked, too much walking to that miserable class and I didn't even lose any weight--and my knee is just killing me from all the walking. Tomorrow, as long as it's not raining, we're off to Sweetheart Abbey and Caerlaverock Castle in southwestern Scotland, so that should be fun. I'm off 5 of the next 6 days, so hopefully my knee will get to feeling better.
I'm going to get my lunch for tomorrow knocked together, make my oat bran pancake for tomorrow morning and clean out the car and then I'm off to bed.
I'm going to get my lunch for tomorrow knocked together, make my oat bran pancake for tomorrow morning and clean out the car and then I'm off to bed.
Thursday, 31 May 2012
31 May 2012
Three days down and one to go with this training session. I'll be glad when it's over. I guess the class isn't so bad but I don't enjoy the trek out to the classroom. I stepped it off and it'a almost 1/2 mile each way! Now I know walking is good for me--but I'm not so sure forced marches fall into that category...
Not much of a day today. I;m coming up on a long break split by a single dat shift on Monday. Not too sure about the weather, but we'll see.
Not much of a day today. I;m coming up on a long break split by a single dat shift on Monday. Not too sure about the weather, but we'll see.
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
30 May 2012
I just managed to get my chicken skewers grilled before the rain moved in! It's only sprinkling right now but I'd rather not sit out in the rain with the barbie :-) I picked up some chicken skewers last night from Weeton's along with my fillet steak and I'm seriously impressed. I think the chicken skewers are way better than the beef ones.
So now it's off to make my oat bran pancake for tomorrow's brekkie and then bedtime. Today was a bit better than yesterday--at least I'm not quite so cranky. I guess I finally made my point about how ridiculous it is to walk all the way out to the training room, especially since there's nothing there that isn't in any number of the closer conference rooms. Sheesh! I know walking is good for me but it's about a mile round trip and there's no where to stop and rest along the way.
I had a salad with some prawns for lunch but I massed up and added a couple of spoonfuls of salsa--little realizing just how hot it was. It was good but my tongue was burning for hours afterwards. That stuff should come with a health warning!
So now it's off to make my oat bran pancake for tomorrow's brekkie and then bedtime. Today was a bit better than yesterday--at least I'm not quite so cranky. I guess I finally made my point about how ridiculous it is to walk all the way out to the training room, especially since there's nothing there that isn't in any number of the closer conference rooms. Sheesh! I know walking is good for me but it's about a mile round trip and there's no where to stop and rest along the way.
I had a salad with some prawns for lunch but I massed up and added a couple of spoonfuls of salsa--little realizing just how hot it was. It was good but my tongue was burning for hours afterwards. That stuff should come with a health warning!
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
29 May 2012
Well, I got lazy last night and just steamed the veggies (brocolli and asparagus), then made a great dip from some fat-free creme fraiche and the left over garam masala from my Betty's class. Pretty good stuff! The chili, garlic and ginger will keep for a couple of days... When I do what I origininally planned, I'm going to take a non-stick pan, hit it with a light spray of PAM, then add chopped garlic, chopped ginger, chopped chili and a few drops of sesame oil. The I'll add fresh brocolli and asparagus, stir fry a little and add a splash of soy and some chopped green onions and garnish with sesame seeds. Depending on how that turns out (and how can I lose, really?), I might throw in some tofu the next time.
Today is a protein day, so I'm firing up the grill again. I'll sit outside and read a bit while the grill heats, then do a small steak.
It was my first day (of 4) of a class for the job and I'm pretty darn disgusted! It's a good thing I'm over my cravings or I could have done some serious damage to some Reese's cups. As it is, I just want to hit someone but unfortunately my list of possibilities is too long. I guess I'll just read.
Today is a protein day, so I'm firing up the grill again. I'll sit outside and read a bit while the grill heats, then do a small steak.
It was my first day (of 4) of a class for the job and I'm pretty darn disgusted! It's a good thing I'm over my cravings or I could have done some serious damage to some Reese's cups. As it is, I just want to hit someone but unfortunately my list of possibilities is too long. I guess I'll just read.
Monday, 28 May 2012
28 May 2012--I'm ba-a-a-ack!
After a long--and totally inexcusable absense--I'm back at the blog :-) And as of this morning, I've lost 40 lbs total. I'm also very proud of the fact that I haven't had any sugar since 2 May, and amazingly, after about the first week, it just gets easier.
Since it's Memorial Day, I decided I would grill something tonight, so I headed out to Weeton's in Harrogate to see what they had. I ended up with some yummy-looking beef skewers and some broccoli, asparagus, red chili and spring onions. I'll grill the skewers and stir-fry the veg with some garlic, ginger and soy sauce, which should be fabulous.
I am currently on the cruise phase of the Dukan Diet--and will be there for quite a while longer. I think this is the diet I've been looking for for years! I just don't like fruit and so many diets are very heavy on the fruit. Also, so many diets are not sustainable for the long-term but I think this one will be. Plus, it's not all about just losing the weight; this actually has a program to help you stay at your new, healthy weight--and it's not BMI-based! Oh, wonder of wonders!! So many diets want you to get down to your BMI weight, which in some people's cases just isn't worth doing. My goal is to get more active--not wear single-didit dress sizes. Already I'm noticing a difference: quite a few of my tops and jeans are loose, I'm not as breathless and my knee is feeling better. And I've gotten past my first hurdle--about 4 lbs ago is where I've stopped/gotten bored with my most recent dieting efforts.
So wish me luck! If the veg are good, I'll post the recipe tomorrow.
Since it's Memorial Day, I decided I would grill something tonight, so I headed out to Weeton's in Harrogate to see what they had. I ended up with some yummy-looking beef skewers and some broccoli, asparagus, red chili and spring onions. I'll grill the skewers and stir-fry the veg with some garlic, ginger and soy sauce, which should be fabulous.
I am currently on the cruise phase of the Dukan Diet--and will be there for quite a while longer. I think this is the diet I've been looking for for years! I just don't like fruit and so many diets are very heavy on the fruit. Also, so many diets are not sustainable for the long-term but I think this one will be. Plus, it's not all about just losing the weight; this actually has a program to help you stay at your new, healthy weight--and it's not BMI-based! Oh, wonder of wonders!! So many diets want you to get down to your BMI weight, which in some people's cases just isn't worth doing. My goal is to get more active--not wear single-didit dress sizes. Already I'm noticing a difference: quite a few of my tops and jeans are loose, I'm not as breathless and my knee is feeling better. And I've gotten past my first hurdle--about 4 lbs ago is where I've stopped/gotten bored with my most recent dieting efforts.
So wish me luck! If the veg are good, I'll post the recipe tomorrow.
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