Mika's Diary

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Diary:

I'm getting a bit bored of my diary format, so going to make it a bit more chatty rather than just a generic list.

Exercise:
It is now day 12, but due to having a busy weekend I've pretty much only started the 'next stage of the March exercise challenge' today. Bought some 4kg weights, since my arms are actually super weak! I've been jogging either on the spot, or around the block for a minimum of 20 minutes in total each day - usually 5 minutes at a time, which is a good start. (I did 30 today!) Managed to fit in a 30 minute walk each day, and other basic cardio exercises. I'm going to try to do 10 sets of 12 reps on each arm every day, and more if possible! Also started doing basic strength exercises such as sit-ups, push-ups, and crunches - aiming 12 of each per day, mixed with a few other stomach exercises. I still can't plank for over a minute, and really struggle with push-ups, but I think it's because my arms are so weak, so hopefully the weights will help with that!

Foodwise:
For the most part I've been eating very healthily, with lots of protein. I've been having a boiled egg and mushrooms for breakfast, with a few small tomatoes. I always eat tuna or salmon half an hour before exercise. I had a bit of a weakness yesterday because I visited my mother and she had bought a cheesecake, so I had about 1/6 of it (it wasn't huge and apparently high in fibre) This encouraged me to do 30 minutes of jogging today though, which I am now trying to turn into 30 minutes per day.

This week I have friends visiting who want to go for a meal and drinks, and a family birthday meal at the weekend. Determined to eat healthily but hope I don't cave when it comes to drink! However, we are also planning to climb a popular hill this weekend, it is 407 Metres of uphill walking, some of which is very steep, so I hope that will compensate!
 
Day 13 - And I am really starting to feel it.

Exercise:
Managed to do 10 sets of 12 reps on each arm this morning with my 4kg weights.
Had a nice 30 minute walk this morning, and 20 minutes of jogging for 5 mins at a time.
Also done a bit of cardio exercise, but going to fit a bit more in before bed.

Food:
Breakfast: Large mushroom and a small slice of veggie pizza (it is going to be out of date soon and I hate wasting food!)
Lunch: 80g Salmon slice, 4 tomatoes, and cauliflower rice (my new favourite thing)
Dinner: Just going to have another small slice of veggie pizza, it's got to go!
Snack: Had 2 jaffa cakes.

Had 3 coffees so far, all black with no sugar :) Huge improvement there!
I managed a 1 minute 10 second plank, but not sure I could do it again!
 
Mika134 said:
I'm getting a bit bored of my diary format, so going to make it a bit more chatty rather than just a generic list.
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I know we are all different, but I love chatty :D I just skim over figures, readings etc & rarely take it in. Chatty I really concentrate on.
I can see improvements all 'round, Mika & you are doing really well. Strength training I think would benefit everyone. I must try to get back into a routine myself.
 
cate said:
I know we are all different, but I love chatty :D I just skim over figures, readings etc & rarely take it in. Chatty I really concentrate on.
I can see improvements all 'round, Mika & you are doing really well. Strength training I think would benefit everyone. I must try to get back into a routine myself.
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Thank you! You're right it is a lot easier to read than just a list :) I was getting bored of my own diary so this is a much better way to keep it a bit interesting.

Day 14

Exercise:
Lots of weights today. I tried following a dumbbell training video but had to take breaks all the time! Would say I managed about half an hour in small bursts at a time with 4kg weights.
Had a 30 minute walk, and 20 minutes jogging, and I'm meeting some friends for dinner and going to walk for another 20 minutes to meet them, might jog actually...
Cardio - Sticking to my plan. 12 reps minimum of each. Done a lot of squats today - some with weights. So big improvement there.

Food:
Breakfast: Large mushroom, boiled egg, small tomatoes.
Lunch: Small slice of veggie pizza.
Dinner: Going out, but will have a healthy option below 450 cal if possible, and NO alcohol.
Snack: Well at work a customer ordered a chocolate milkshake for his kid, but when the kid arrived with his mother he wanted strawberry. We told him not to worry and me and my colleague split the choc milkshake between us, so half of that.

Had more food than usual, but going to make up for it at the weekend.
 
Halfway through and I am EXHAUSTED also I just remembered March has 31 days but close enough!

Food Diary:
So last night despite saying I was going to have a healthy option, the place we went to had minimal choice and almost nothing for vegetarians, so I ended up eating a 780cal meal and felt extremely bloated this morning. I had no alcohol though, only water.
This morning I was still feeling insanely full, attempted a scrambled egg but just couldn't do it, so I took a fruit bar to work. Didn't even end up eating that until 4pm. I did manage to have 3 black coffees however, no sugar.
Got home and had a veggie samosa, spaghetti hoops, and the last of the veggie pizza which wasn't much. About 310 cal.
Tonight I am going to the pub, going to stick to Guinness and attempt 2 pints max. (it is the lowest calorie draft they do and high in protein)

Exercise Diary:
After waking up extremely bloated from last night, I had a slower 30 minute walk.
Then managed a 10 minute session with my dumbbells, had to take breaks but it is an improvement over yesterday.
Did 20 mins of jogging on my lunch break, and a few cardio exercises once home - about a 5 minute session so far.
Also the odd dumbbell exercises just for the sake of it for a minute each time.

Other stuff:
Bought a book, haven't read in ages but it's pretty good.
 
Probably won't have much time to update over the weekend, so here's today's entry!

Day 16

Food Diary:
For breakfast I had a samosa and spaghetti hoops - it was the last one so wanted to be rid of it to switch to something more healthy.
The beer last night made me super hungry, so for lunch I had a bunch of cauliflower rice with salsa dip, and a boiled egg.
Going to visit family tonight so will take a snack bar with me for the train. Might have a small meal later on (tuna salad most likely)

Exercise Diary:
30 minute walk, 25 minute jog in small 5 minute sessions, some 4kg weight training and a small bit of 5kg weight training but not much as I'm just far too weak. Going to do cardio later because I'm super tired!

Other stuff:
Book is really good. It's such an easy, chilled read which is what I like. It's called "I'm Right Here" by Yvonne Cassidy.


Weekly Summary

Things that need to change:
Ditch samosas for something healthy.
Use heavy weights if possible.
Attempt 1 and a half pints per week... yeah I don't think I can do that one.

Things I've improved upon:
No sugar in coffee any more!
 
I just read some reviews of the book on Goodreads & they put me off it. Just reading I find so relaxing- much more so than watching TV or a movie. I escape to books.
Small changes add up. Being aware of the things that you would like to change & just trying to do so, is also a step in the right direction.
 
I never read reviews for books because my tastes are very different to most. I loved Game of Thrones, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Jekyll and Hyde and obviously classics like To Kill a Mocking Bird. However "Modern Life story" books bore me, and I don't have much attention span for the "Murder Mystery" series that is insanely popular.

However, this is the 2nd book I've read about mental illness, and I'm enjoying this one far more than the last. It's a very easy read and was incredibly cheap. It depends if you are into that type of thing I guess, I studied psychology so it's kind of my passion :p I love reading about therapy sessions for some reason!
 
I'm interested in psychology too & am currently reading "Untangled" by Lisa Damour, to try to help me have more understanding & form a good relationship with my 11-year-old grand-daughter. It's already beneficial to me.
 
cate said:
I'm interested in psychology too & am currently reading "Untangled" by Lisa Damour, to try to help me have more understanding & form a good relationship with my 11-year-old grand-daughter. It's already beneficial to me.
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That sounds good! Might give it a read some point. The last one I read was a long time ago, but I remember disliking it because the therapist wasn't very good in the sense she kept talking to her patients parents and breaching privacy. "I'm Right Here" has a few instances of that, but as she isn't a main focus of the story it's a lot less distracting. Went to a boot sale and bought a bunch of books for 10p each, some best sellers, so gona work my way through them :) You're right reading is very therapeutic!


Diary Entry for the weekend.

Right so it hasn't been great to be honest. Saturday I woke up with an incredibly sore throat, and turns out I've got tonsillitis again. I get it once per year, normally in October though (I remember because it's always halloween time) had a lot of back and fourths with doctors and they're really reluctant to take them out as apparently it's not frequent enough, but they look super gross. All white and pushing together and it's impossible to eat anything solid. So I've been pretty lazy. The weather has been a nightmare - not just snow and ice but terrible winds, so haven't been outside at all.

Tea really helps, even though I'm not a tea drinker naturally I always drink it when I have tonsillitis, so had 2 cups of tea both mornings with sugar. Sorry but can't drink it without and dieting doesn't take priority over pain right now! Had soup for lunch yesterday, attempted an orange as vitamin C is a MUST for any kind of infections, but couldn't swallow it so had a Vitamin C tablet instead. Then I slept all afternoon.

Today so far had 2 cups of tea, threw them up, then found this cup-a-soup pasta which is manageable. The pasta is really soft and feels cushiony, but I'm struggling to gulp so ended up just having half of it for now. Might try the rest later (hate wasting food) Probably not going to be working out or exercising until I'm better.
 
Day 19

Food Diary:
Actually felt a lot better thanks to antibiotics and painkillers. I've managed to eat some soft things. After work I finished the cup-a-soup pasta, and had a whole large orange (Vitamin C is fastest way to kill tonsillitis, know from experience!) Just had a small jacket potato, mashed it up, let it go a bit colder than usual and added spaghetti hoops. Might try some porridge before bed.

Exercise Diary:
Not done much as I'm really drained, managed about 10 minutes jogging on the spot in small bursts, a few squats and few mins cardio. Tried my dumbbell weights but didn't get far - even the 4kg ones seem impossible to fully lift right now.


Hoping to be rid of this illness a.s.a.p and get back to working out properly :) The one good thing is that whilst on antibiotics I won't be drinking, so that will cut out some calories this week!
 
cate said:
Don't even try to push yourself when you are so sick Mika. Vitamin C & rest & lots of TLC xo
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Thank you :) I've done absolutely nothing today.

Day 20

Managed some vegetable soup and about 1/4 of a large orange, going to eat the rest later and attempt some porridge, because my throats always less painful at night.

No exercise whatsoever, just slept all day lol.
 
I'm glad the medicines seem to be helping! Agree with Cate. Be sure to let yourself heal before you start back on anything too vigorous.
 
Thank you both! I'm feeling much better today and the swelling has gone down majorly. The weather is also much better so it's easier to go outside (it was hurting to breath in the cold air.)

Day 21

Food Diary:
Feeling better, I woke up and had veggie soup with some added chopped veggies and chopped mushrooms. Because after not eating for 2 days I was pretty famished. It was approx 270 cal.
After work I had a jacket potato with tuna and tomatoes - 180ish cal
Going to have some oat porridge with sliced apples later - approx 180 cal

Exercise Diary:
Feeling much better I ended up going for a full 40 minute walk before work.
Then I walked to and from work which totalled up to another 20 minutes.
Did 15 mins of jogging in 5 minute bursts throughout the day.
A few lifts with my weights - 10 on each arm, twice.
Going to do a bit more before bed.

Other Stuff:
Really glad to be feeling better, I felt a burst of energy after that nice breakfast. Think I might start having larger breakfasts and smaller later meals because it really made a difference today.
 
I find having a decent breakfast leaves me much less hungry later & a lot less inclined to snack. I'm glad you're feeling better Mika xo
 
cate said:
I find having a decent breakfast leaves me much less hungry later & a lot less inclined to snack. I'm glad you're feeling better Mika xo
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Thank you! It was really energy-fueling. Also discovered that chopping a granny smith apple into porridge tastes just like apple crumble, and is equally filling and good for energy :)
 
Day 22

Decent Day.

Food Diary:
Had porridge with an apple for breakfast - about 280cal
Jacket potato with tuna and tomatoes for lunch - About 300 cal
Just had veggies in the afternoon - about 150cal


Exercise Diary:
Went for a 40 minute walk before work which added up to 1 hour after walking to and from work.
Did 20 minutes jogging in small bursts and 20 minutes with my dumbbells in small bursts.
Small amount of cardio.

Most importantly - Didn't drink at all due to having to finish my course of antibiotics, so that's gotta have cut down some calories!
 
Day 23

Food Diary
Ate a bit more today than usual but not too bad.
My boyfriend bought me some protein porridge which is super nice, but it's more calories than my regular porridge. Set me up nice for the day though so had that and an apple for breakfast which came to about 280 cal.
For lunch I had a small slice of cheese and tomato pizza because our neighbour's at the sandwich shop were giving it away (200ish cal)
Veggies with a low fat curry for dinner - about 300 cal at most

Exercise Diary
Woke up late so didn't manage to go for a walk, but did 30 mins with my weights and going to switch to the 5kg ones tomorrow as my arms are much better now! Walked to and from work which was about 25 minutes. Managed a 20 minute jog at lunch. And going to do some cardio before bed.
 
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