Progress

Under current circumstances, I am sure you'll forgive me for not blogging sooner. My sweet little girl has decided to reduce her night time sleeping a little bit, which is a mild concern. Translated: my darling little one has decided to become a cling on, crying hysterically if her mumma doesn't cuddle her constantly during the evening hours, which is positively the most annoying, life draining pain in the butt ever (the not sleeping- not my little girl). 

During this pleasant time, I may have deviated from my healthy eating regime, just a little. Ok, truth. A. Lot. Nothing says "move outta my way and let me eat those darn carbs!" quite like a few weeks of a new born baby sleeping pattern with a megga energetic toddler. 

There are some positive aspects to come out of this. I have been able to train. Certainly slow progress, but as we all know, slow and steady wins the race. After a miraculous, almost perfect sleep last night (almost- but not quite), I managed to train this morning. I am recovering quicker than the first week, and instead of wondering how on earth I will ever move or walk again, I am now wondering when I can push on to the next level of resistance. Go me! Though the scales say I have gained a tiny bit of weight, I'm not discouraged. I am definitely stronger, and my hips have shrunk slightly. Very encouraging!

Another positive is the realisation that its OK to slow down when going through a tough season. I owe nothing to anyone except my husband and girls (overseas student included). If all I do in a day is hug my toddler and make sure she is loved, and the others are too, whether I make it to gym or not (or get outta my pj's or not!) doesn't matter- I've had a successful day. Keeping things in perspective really matters during certain challenging times.

Next week, my summer subject starts for uni. I hope and pray my little girl sleeps. If she doesn't, I will aim at doing my best under current circumstances. It's the best I can do, and I will be kind to myself. Remember, we love others as we love ourselves, so being kind to ourselves vital. 

Self love also means being kind to my body. Hubby and I discussed this. Even when tired, I need to train at least twice a week, even if only at half pace. No point in staying weak and unfit- that helps no-one. That also applies to eating. Granted, exhaustion does make will power almost impossible to enforce at times, but I can't keep over-eating carbs until my bubba sleeps better. That could be months away! No, positive control has to be put in place. And this blog will once again keep me motivated. It worked before, so I know I can do it again!

Now, let me catch you up on some inspirational photos; healthy food and the stunning area I am blessed to live in!

A healthy veg shop. 

I love the colours, and by buying your fave fruit & veg, it's almost a guarantee you'll eat healthier.

Stunning Cabba Headland. 

Hubby and I still try to have date days where possible, and a nice walk often makes us both happy.

Another headland pic. 

Beautiful Sth Beach, Kingscliff.

Cudgera Creek, my fave place.

Exploring with daddy :)

Another Cudgera Creek snap.

Just so beautiful here.

An example of a healthy lunch of mine.

An old fave: Zucchini quiche/ slice...

...served with a simple tomato/ fresh home grown basil salad.

A lean chicken breast salad.

2 coconut cream/ chia/ berry smoothies I pre-prepared for breakfast to soak overnight.

Rockmelon flower- perfect brunch.

Trying to wear my sweet little girl out! 

She loves the freedom of running on the beach, even after a night of limited sleep.

And that is your lot for another day. I hope to be back much sooner, but I will at least attempt to keep a food diary and weigh in weekly again. 

Until next time, thanks for reading :)

Bringing you up to speed

Welcome back! It has been a little too long, wouldn't you agree. 

I am sure though, the wait has been worth it. I have sooo much to tell!

However, as regular readers will know, we must begin with some beautiful scenery, and maybe food :)

Bedroom window sunset views.

An amazing, slow roasted veg vegan curry. Addictive! 

Beautiful Tweed River.

Hubby and I dolled to the 9's for a Black Tie night. Yes, we do look hot. Thank you for noticing :)

Another stunning bedroom window sunset snap.

A beautiful morning greeting from my back yard.

There, now that the prettiness is out of the way, let's get into the fun part- finding out about my life! As I have so much to share, I will lay this out in point form. 

• A Tassie Holiday! You may remember my last post, where I talked of my loss and grief. Thankfully, soon after, hubby, bubby and I went to my hometown to stay with relatives and have a brilliant getaway. We were spoiled, explored, stayed in a manor, saw amazing scenery and fell in love with many aspects of this amazing state. We can afford to live there too, but decided to bring the closeness and culture we found back up with us. 

• Sadly, in Tassie, my sweet bubby came down with a raging ear infection. Then hubby got ill too. Though we still managed a great holiday, it was exhausting with health issues. On our way home 12 days later, I got ill. And then, our little family got virus after virus for what felt like forever more. In reality, at one point, the total was 4 viruses in 8 weeks! Insanity right there. But what can you do when these things happen, except weather the snotty storms, and take out shares in a chemist. 

• During the snotty storms, I was attempting uni. Uni actually started whilst I commenced my holiday, but study failed to happen while away for many, many reasons.  Once back, I found getting into it a little daunting at first. But thus far, I have received a credit and a distinction for my efforts. I am nervously awaiting 2 more marks as I type! So far, so good, so fingers crossed!

• Dealing with post miscarriage issues was also a bit challenging during all of this. My body still had strong pregnancy hormones for most of my holiday. The second they stopped, I got a massive bleed, completely out of cycle rhythm. The next bleed occurred when back, way over a month later, and was an anovulatory one- ie: no egg. I found that quite depressing. Apparently, falling pregnant is high immediately after a miscarriage. I can only assume that doesn't apply to perimenopausal woman. 

• On a positive note, my cycles have been text book spot on lately. A good sign. I'm just not sure I want to go down that road again. I am so far doing well at, and enjoying uni. I have just joined a new gym and the thought of being fit and super strong again excites me. And- my sweet bubby is a super energetic, gorgeous, chatty, funny, demanding toddler, who daily delights my soul. I don't feel ripped off by loss but incredibly blessed with my current lot. I think that means I'm ok with losing a baby. The pain has gone. 

• I am also suffering horribly with mood swings. A normal, but completely unbearable side effect of slowly losing my reproductive womanhood. Its more than a little difficult to cope with. Exercise definitely helps, as does the right food. Waiting to fall pregnant again doesn't sounds appealing when the things that balance me out prevent pregnancy. Big decision looming!

• A month ago, I should probably add, we accepted another sweet German teen. We hadn't planned on more students until my now non teen moves out. This sweet girl was painfully homesick and not happy in her current placement, so we were asked if she could stay with us for 3 months. How could we refuse?! So, bubby came out of her room and into ours. I'm not sure hubby and I are loving the experience! Privacy and sleep are out of the question, but it certainly makes for an interesting, crazy, messy, fun season :) 

• In regards to the gym, I needed to do something! Remember all my healthy eating? Out the window these past few months whilst dealing with illness and chronic sleep deprivation. The result? A weight gain of nearly 6 kilo's, an unfit body, and a raging sugar addiction to boot. Groan. It was me who allowed myself to get this way, and me who needs to take positive steps to reclaim health. I can't keep eating for fatigue- that only leads to more health issues and weight gain. Time to take back my health!

• I love negotiating. I was debating whether or not to join my non teens gym, when my old one contacted me. I told them I could get a better deal when they replied with a nearly $200 discount and an extra month thrown in. Yay! I also booked a proper personal trainer. What do I mean by proper? Someone doing a university degree in health and rehabilitation recovery, who knows human bodies, assesses your movement abilities, commitment levels and past and present injuries. After my initial consult and bio scan ( I'm now in the overweight category) I'm a bit excited for tomorrow mornings first training!

• My only criticism of the plan is my daily calorie limit. I find that system very outdated. Portion control- Yes! Whole food- Absolutely! But low fat foods are typically manufactured that way and, in my opinion, should not be recommended to people. They are often higher in sugar too. Anyway, calories are not equal. If I eat 100gms of sugary, starchy food, it will NOT have the same effect as a high protein food. And saturated fat is not the enemy, even though it blows a low cal diet plan out the window. So, my goal is to reduce portions, eat as much real food as possible, avoid carby comfort eating and not calorie count. Oh, and exercise at least 3 days a week!

That is where I am up to for now. I aim to blog at least weekly from now on, so you can follow my progress.

I hope you have enjoyed that informative bit of info and some lovely scenery. I will remake and post that vegan curry too- it's cheap as chips to make and as health as it is delicious!

Until next time, thanks for reading :)