Ups & Downs

It’s been a couple of days of ups and downs. I didn’t manage any additional exercise on Thursday besides walking to the shops and back, but at least that was 30 minutes of brisk walking, taking my exercise total for the week to 1 hour 10 minutes. Dire.

Friday, I was feeling a bit better and got in a 40 minute Turbulence Training high-intensity weights and intervals workout. 1 hour 50 minutes so far this week. Got one more TT workout to do on Sunday.

Saturday not such a good day. Got up late and had breakfast around 11.30am. Had to drive down to Birmingham, normally about a 90 minute drive, for a 2 o’clock chair massage exam. No time to prepare snacks and all out of protein bars so informed my hubby (chauffeur and test ‘body’) that I would need to eat immediately after the exam finished instead of driving straight home.

Well, not all went to plan. We got stuck in traffic all the way down, arriving 35 minutes late. No time to stop and buy food. The exam took longer than planned, was rather painful and emotionally draining, but I managed to get a pass and my chair massage certification. Yay.

Well, it was already 4.30, 5 hours since I last ate, scoring me a ‘missed meal’ tick and when we got to the services (restaurant and shop complex on a highway where you can refuel car and body) all I wanted was ice cream as a ‘reward’ for all my suffering. Checked all the outlets and found that Burger King were selling ice cream. OK for dessert but I wanted real food first.

Chose a restaurant and on the way in passed a fridge compartment with Eton Mess. This is a mushed up mix of strawberries, whipped cream and pieces of meringue. Yummmm. Put it on the tray. Then I thought, oh **** it, and added OJ. It feels kind of strange that freshly squeezed orange juice is a rebellious choice. Got to the hot food counter and decided to at least offset my carbs with a moderately good option – barbecued chicken, roasted veg, no rice or potatoes.

Luckily, the people before us had ordered food that needed cooking freshly, the girl serving was practicing for a slo-mo championship and we had to stand for ages. As the other options were a burger joint and a fish and chip shop, we waited. And as we were waiting, I had time to think, and reconsider. I’ve been so good, and tried so hard, and I must learn to stop feeding my emotional issues. So much to hubby’s amazement, I put back the Eton Mess, put back the OJ, and picked up a bottle of water. Damn, I wanted that Eton Mess. He, however, didn’t put back his chocolate cake and clotted cream.

The chicken was lovely, followed by a small fruit salad I’d picked up, and then I ruined it by having a bite of his chocolate cake. And then another. And then I licked out the pot of clotted cream. Oh, hell. This was followed by a bathroom break and quick swizz in the newsagent. And you know what they had? Pick and mix sweeties (candy to you yanks). Well, after that impromptu dessert, I couldn’t really kid myself that this wasn’t a cheat meal, so a few sweets wouldn’t hurt… And I did only have a few. But I felt so sick afterwards. And I was really really glad. If I can’t eat sweets, that doesn’t half make the choice not to a bit easier.

Got home at 7 and crashed out. Woke up at 10pm, nothing prepared, and wanted something sweet. Crunchy nut cornflakes to the rescue. Bringing the total for the day to 1 missed meal and 2 ‘cheat meals’. Quite an achievement. And tomorrow is weigh and measure day. Can’t wait.

Finally managed to get back on plan, at least to the extent that the plan included staying up till 3 in the morning! Have just finished 40 minutes steady state on the treadmill (walked 3 km, at an average speed, therefore, of 4.5 kph, or just under 3 mph. Goal: get up to 6km in an hour by the end of the challenge). This was followed by 20 minutes on my new Turbo Trainer!! More on this tomorrow. Exercise for the week now up to 2 hours 50 minutes.

Having my delicious 3am feed – actually, I really like cottage cheese with microwave-exploded blueberries and raspberries with a sprinkling of flax and hemp seeds, and am happy to eat it most nights. Surprisingly tasty with a good mix of textures. OK, bed time. ‘night all.