Functioning with Fatigue

Today I suffered. With fatigue.

I was fine when I woke up; I made the boys their breakfasts, I cooked and ate my own breakfast. But somewhere around 9am, and my second cup of tea, I started to feel unaccountably weary. I just wanted to go back to bed and sleep. And sleep.

But I couldn’t. The two boys were looking at me to provide some kind of activity for them. It was a beautiful day; sunny, warm and very little wind. How could they miss out on that because I wanted to sleep? So I told them that I’d take them to the beach for a swim before lunch.

Somehow (after a strong coffee) we managed to get out of the house by around 10.30am. We walked to the beach. We found a spot that wasn’t too crowded and I dragged the buggy across the sand, near to the water’s edge. We put our towels out. The boys put their trunks on. And I did all this with my brain functioning like a zombie's (except instead of wanting to eat brains I wanted to get the boys to the beach).

Then we went for a swim – and the water was amazing.

And then, miraculously, I started to wake up. The fog started to leave my head and I was able to think about things other than sleeping or closing my eyes.

Whether it was the walk that did it, the sea or the joy of watching the boys playing in the sand and splashing in the water – I don’t know. But I woke up. And since then, the rest of the day has been fine. I managed to get two loads of washing washed and dried, ironed and put away. I made dinner for the boys (although one of them had a tantrum and went to bed early). I went for a short run, made dinner for Andy and me, washed up and then made Andy’s lunch for tomorrow. And now I’m writing this blog.

There were two notable factors about today’s weariness:

1) I wasn’t hungry, not at all, all day, and

2) Not at one single point ever did the thought of eating biscuits occur to me – a few weeks ago if I woke up feeling tired I would eat biscuits at the earliest opportunity.

So when fatigue strikes, my advice would be to just power on through. Don’t reach for easy way out and eat sugar. Maybe even have a cold shower. It might not seem like it while your brain is foggy, but you might just achieve quite a lot if you fight the urge to get back into bed and eat biscuits.

photo credit: dreaming in milan via photopin (license)

The Many Different Shades of Disappointment

Disappointment, I have come to realise, can affect you in either a positive way or a negative way. Depending on how you choose to view it, I suppose. It can come in many different shades; from a mild dissatisfaction to outright disillusionment, frustration and regret.

Last week, for me, was peppered with disappointments. I’m talking strictly about my 800-calorie-a-day Blood Sugar Diet here, not about the Rio Olympics British gold medals nor my husband’s attempts at helping with the housework.

Below I will list, individually, last week’s disappointments:

• I failed to stick to my daily calorie limit for six out of seven days
• I missed two runs
• I ate seven yogurt covered rice cakes (I love these – but they are not allowed until my eight weeks are up)
• Instead of drinking one small 185ml bottle of red wine (126 calories) with my steak on Saturday night (a treat while my husband was away), I drank a whole 750ml bottle (514 calories) and woke up the following morning with a terrible headache
• I didn’t lose any weight at all. Not even a single pound.   

Combine these disappointments with the fear and panic that I will give up on the diet after straying from it, leaving mum all on her own, and you have a recipe for self-flagellation and destructive thoughts.


However, there are two sides to every story (someone once told me there are four sides to every story, but that’s another story). For every single one of my pessimistic bullets points above, there is a small glimmer of optimism just waiting to be caught:

• My daily calorie count stayed below 1500 on every day except one (the wine day)
• Since missing two runs I now can’t wait to get my runners on tonight and attempt a four mile jog along the beach (renewed enthusiasm) and I did manage to get out three times this week, which is more than the previous week
• Even though I snacked on rice cakes, I managed to stay out of the biscuit tin (previously unheard of). I also steered clear of crisps and ice cream (hurrah)
• Renewed realisation that two large glasses of wine are ok, I should have probably stopped there and next time I hope I will (fingers crossed…)
• I didn’t gain any weight – I stayed the same. 

So there we have it. I have listed my week of diet disappointments and turned each of them around into something I should be pleased with.

I will stick to the 800 calorie limit every day this week to make up for my ills and to give mum my full dieting support. At the end of this week we’ll have hit the halfway mark, something that seemed impossible on day one. So, let’s keep this up and see how we get on.


Weight Loss Summary for Week Three:

This week I lost: 0lb
In total I have lost: 7lb

This week Mum Lost: 1lb
In total Mum has lost: 7lb

Combined Weight Loss Overall: 14lb

   

All the Better for a Frozen Berry Bowl

Everyone needs a go-to breakfast that’s quicker than boiling the kettle. Something you don’t even have to think about. Something you can make with your eyes closed while you’re still half asleep. And it has to be tasty. It has to be so tasty you look forward to eating it.

For me, that something used to be toast with an unhealthy spread (chocolate spread was a favourite) or sugary cereal. I could make it with my eyes closed and I didn’t even have to think about what I was doing.

Whilst on the 8-week blood sugar diet that has had to change. I can no longer have toast or cereal in the mornings and the suggested breakfasts of eggs and shakes can be a bit time consuming (and produce more washing up than I would like!). This is how I fell into the ‘frozen berry bowl’.

We always have a large tub of Greek yogurt in the fridge. And recently I’ve had frozen berries in the freezer. The perfect breakfast for me at the moment is two tablespoons of yogurt with about 100g of frozen berries – blueberries and raspberries are the favoured ones at the moment. I also add a small handful of flaked almonds – about 5g. This comes to around 200 calories - perfect. 

Once the berries have started to defrost a little (about five minutes) I mix my bowl of yogurt and berries together. The cold berries turn the yogurt into a kind of ice cream and the result is honest-to-god amazing. It tastes too good to be a breakfast and I am literally salivating whilst writing this; I can’t until morning.

So there you have it. My go-to breakfast. My frozen berry bowl. If you make only one change in your life, try swapping your morning toast or cereal to a ‘frozen berry bowl’. I promise you, it will not disappoint!    

  

Three Litres of Water a Day

Three litres of water a day seems a lot to drink. But is it...? 

It is vital that you drink between two and three litres of water a day while on the 8-week blood sugar diet to try and prevent constipation and headaches. In fact it's a good idea to drink plenty of water whether you are dieting or not. 

You can drink any calorie-free liquid that you wish; fruit tea, tap water, fizzy water, tea and coffee (but go easy on the milk). I enjoy a mixture of all these, every day.

You must absolutely not drink fruit juices or fruit smoothies. And absolutely no sugar filled fizzy drinks at all. At a push you could have a diet fizzy drink but do this infrequently, if you go out or are doing something special.

If you are not keen on drinking tap water (I’m not) try buying a large bottle of ‘nice’ water. I like Volvic or Buxton. You can then see how much water you are drinking and it becomes more rewarding. Or buy a water filter which definitely helps make the water taste better. If you are really struggling with water, try adding ice and a few frozen raspberries, a slice of lemon or a squeeze of lime.

I thought it would be interesting to work out how much fluid I drink in a day. So, during the course of an average day I’ll have a large-ish cup of tea with breakfast (if I’ve got time – which at the moment in the summer holidays I’ve got plenty of – I might have two) let’s say that’s 400ml. I have an effervescent multivitamin drink in the morning too, let’s say that’s 200ml. I’m already on 600ml!

I’ll drink a glass of water, maybe two throughout the morning and another with lunch (1200ml). 

Maybe another cup of tea after lunch (400ml). And about four o’clock I’ll have a coffee (250ml). That’s an additional 1.8L of fluids. And the day is not over yet! 

I’ll have a glass of water with dinner (400ml) and if dinner was particularly salty perhaps another, and after I have washed up I’ll sit down with a peppermint or Redbush tea (250ml).

This works out to just over three litres of water in one day – I never knew I was consuming so much liquid! And I haven’t even been trying!  

    

You will notice that you pass a lot of water too – this has got to do with drinking so much water, obviously, but there is also an interesting scientific reason about the release and use of glucose from your body. I’ll try and write a blog about that one day…

  

On Any Given Tuesday

There is an element of empowerment in calorie counting.

If you ask any one of your friends or colleagues how many calories they have consumed today, I bet most of them wouldn’t have a clue. Some of them might hazard a guess. And a one or two may not even know what a calorie is.

On any given Tuesday before I embarked on this 8-week diet, I would not have been able to tell you how many calories I had consumed (food and drink) in the last 24 hours. And to be honest, I would have been scared to know the truth. 

Some days I imagine I was eating in excess of 3000 calories, and on occasion I imagine even more than that. Sometimes I would find that my dinner actually got in the way of my snacking ("Oh, I can't have that biscuit now as it's not long until dinner; I'll eat it after dinner" is how my thought process went). Or, that I was squeezing my dinner in even though I wasn't hungry as a result from all my snacking. Sometimes I would find that the nice things I was eating (M&Ms, Malteasers, whole tubs of ice cream) stopped tasting nice because I ate them so frequently. I would then resent the food I was eating for being bad for me and not tasting nice any more, and I would resent myself for not being able to stop eating it! Vicious circle.  

Today I am on day sixteen of my Blood Sugar Diet. I have started to appreciate the natural flavours of foods a little more. The sweetness in natural berries is enough for me. I really look forward to meal times and enjoy every mouthful - not snacking in between meals allows me to enjoy my meals even more.  

So, if you asked me how many calories I have consumed today, I can tell you I have eaten a grand total of 840 calories. I don’t feel hungry. I don’t feel tired (well a bit but only because it’s late). I don’t feel grumpy. I actually feel great. I feel more energetic and just generally better all over.

On any given Tuesday, anyone can take on the 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet and WIN. Just like me. 

Running on 800

It has been fifteen days since my last biscuit. Fifteen biscuit-less days which have gone by fairly quickly. 

My husband has joined us on the diet now. He isn’t weighing out every nut and counting every single calorie like we are but he is eating the same foods, and most importantly, not snacking between meals on sugar-loaded biscuits and chocolate or ice creams (of which there is an abundance of in our freezer at this time of year – how I’m avoiding them is beyond me). He’s had a tough first day; I can see it in his tired face. But hopefully over the next couple of days he’ll adjust, and feel a lot better.

So what I assumed would be a lonely, unhappy time for me is turning out to be a bit of a diet social. I certainly do not feel alone with this.  

I weighed myself this morning and I’m pleased to announce a loss of one solitary pound. A loss is still a loss no matter how small (small positives are still positives too!). My mum weighed herself and she has lost two pounds. We are both pleased with our efforts.

I went for a run today. Three miles in my new Nike Free Runs. I went along the beach and soaked up the atmosphere like a sponge. And although I am still slow, having not done much training this summer at all, I felt stronger and faster than I felt yesterday morning when I went out. I loved it so much I might even go again tomorrow evening!

Breakfast, 200 calories

With regard to running having only consumed 400 calories, at the point I went out, I didn’t feel it negatively affected my run at all. Now maybe if I was training for a marathon… but that’s a different matter altogether, maybe even another blog... 

To summarise:

This week I lost: 1lb

In total I have lost: 7lb

This week Mum Lost: 2lb

In total Mum has lost: 6lb

Combined Weight Lost Overall: 13lb 

Well done to us! 

Small Steps with Smaller Plates

I’ve started eating my dinner from smaller plates. This way I can’t load so much onto my plate and over eat. Although I’m calorie counting, I am prone to making a salad without paying much attention to the calories of iceberg lettuce and cucumber. I’m a bit more careful with tomatoes, peppers and carrot ribbons though. My salads will often overflow to two thirds of my plate with a small chicken breast or steak taking up the rest. My dinner plates are quite big, so in order to stop me overfilling my plate I have started using a smaller one.

Now, I’m not saying that eating loads of salad is bad for you. Far from it. But, when sticking to 800 calories a day it’s important not to consistently break the limit – even with salad. Which is why I have started to be a little more mindful.

Getting used to using a smaller plate (if you don't already have one) will help when returning to a ‘normal’ diet following the 8-week blood sugar diet. It will help you to control your portions when you no longer have to calorie count and it will hopefully train you not to over eat (hopefully - I couldn't guarantee it though - I'm a massive over eater).

I also read somewhere once (a very long time ago) that blue is a good colour for your dinner plate as it prevents you from eating too much – by suppressing your appetite! Therefore, (can you guess the colour of my dinner plate?) the colour of my small dinner plate is blue. 

Apparently you will also eat less if your food contrasts with the colour of the plate you’re using (http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/discoveries/color-your-plates-matters). Or if you want to eat more greens, buy a green plate. Interesting stuff!

It may only be a very simple and small step but it is at least helping me go in the right direction. It’s not rocket science but it might help me to lose an extra pound. Who knows? It’s got to be worth a try though, hasn’t it?      

Saturday Sweet Day

When I was little, my parents would only let me have sweets on a Saturday. This became known to me as 'Saturday Sweet Day'. And it worked. My teeth were healthy, strong and white. I didn't get fat or ill, or spotty. I didn't crave sweets or chocolate. That all came later, when I was university, but that's another story for another day.

Today we had a Saturday Sweet Day of our own and the boys had their sweets, the very ones which had been tempting me last night. I had three of their sweets today. I am not ashamed and I do not feel guilty. I have stuck to the diet all day today apart from those three sweets.

We've had salads for lunch and dinner. Our dinner was an amazing steak cooked by my husband - he always cooks our steaks. It has been a beautiful sunny day and we've all spent quality time together, for which I am truly thankful. It has been (mostly) peaceful and relaxing.

Mum is doing well too. Sticking to the 800 calories a day doesn't seem so hard for Mum. But then she lives alone with no one to buy sweets and ice lollies for (I very nearly failed today when all the boys had ice lollies, but I resisted). There isn't as much temptation in my mum's kitchen as there is in mine! But hopefully we are both making progress and at the end of day six things are looking good.

Fingers crossed that my willpower remains high for tomorrow...

Good night :o)