Wow, this is tedious.

So, I have sat and done nothing for way too long now! Plus side, I have wedged up some sleep hours to make use of when I'm back to it.

I have worked from home the last couple of days as the chair at work really wasn't helping.  Its coincided pretty well though as I've been working on something off the support desk so it isn't causing too much of an issue.

I went back to David again this morning. My alignment is tonnes better but there is still the stiffness from the healing process of the damage. I need to start moving around gently again and see how I get on.  I can mainly feel it in my SI joint when I'm sat now and when I'm stood up, I feel like its a fight to stand up straight which is my psoas muscle doing its thing and that is incredibly tiring.  I think it would be a good idea to wfh again tomorrow and then try going in on Friday and taking one of the kitchen chairs with me. 

I read something yesterday about AGE's (advanced glycogen end products)from food possibly having an impact in the onset of dementia. These are caused when the food, mostly meat, is exposed to high heat and cooked for long periods of time.  There isn't a huge amount of information on it when I have looked as it is still research in progress.  This is what the Alzheimers society has to say on the research. The long and short of it is that in test subjects, the AGE dense food raises certain processes in the brain that are known to contribute to dementia. No testing has been done on subjects with dementia though so research is still ongoing.

Obviously, with the family history that Tom has, I am hot on anything that could possibly help stave it off and if its something as simple as diet then I'm all over it.  The society suggest that following a Mediterranean diet is the best way.  The problem is that Tom really isn't a fan of seafood or fruit, something that that really needs some work. We are going to cut down on red meat and make sure Tom is hitting his fruit and veg quota every day.  We don't eat processed foods or refined sugar anymore, which is advisory for cognitive health.

I made sweet potato cottage pie for tea, we had already taken the beef out so seemed pointless to not use it.  They say that the way it is cooked can increase the AGE content considerable and all meat should be poached or steamed and exposure to high heat, dry heat and high heat for a long time are huge contributory factors.  So no frying, no grilling, no BBQing!!! Horror, I love BBQ's. But I think we can have the odd treat! I made sure it was crammed full of veg too, so we ended up with loads, that's my lunch tomorrow sorted!

One of the recommendation is on portion sizes of meat, we generally have 125g each, it recommends no more than 65g a serving.  There is a Mediterranean food pyramid that you can use as a guide, I think we will easily be able to adjust and red meat is something we have discussed before.

Looks shocking, I am done trying to make things look pretty.. I just love the colours.  It was a little under seasoned which isn't something  we are normally guilty of!

Look at the difference 5 days makes, I love this time of year

Totally unproductive

That's the description for my weekend! I had to literally sit and do nothing.  Not my strong point and not something I enjoy. So damned annoying.  Plus side, my back felt really good towards the end of yesterday so thought, as long as I could take some pillows to prop myself up that I would be fine... Oh dear, how wrong was I?!?!

I couldn't get comfortable at all, the chairs all have wheels which didn't help and come 3pm I was almost back to where I started and gave up and came home. Luckily I managed to get hold of David my chiropractor and he squeezed me in...  His comment was that I was fairly well banana'd!! I had managed to do quite a good number on myself that's for sure.  I was out in the upper lumber region and this had caused my psoas to go into spasm, which is why I was struggling to stand up straight.  Apparently this is what your body does as a defence mechanism to protect your back. I have had this happen before and remember that being excruciating when I look back. I managed that doing horseshoe sit-ups.

So, I am working from home tomorrow so that I can be comfortable and hopefully repair.  I was supposed to be going to Sunderland to see a customer on Wednesday but that's not going to happen unless I improve dramatically.  Soooo damned frustrating, I hate not being able to do anything!!

Spoke too soon

My back is horrific, that'll teach me to assume its not too bad. I can't sit or stand straight without being in a considerable amount of pain and not even codine is touching it.  Its a thousand times better in the morning and gradually tightens up through the day.

I had a hot water bottle on it all afternoon which eased it a little but its starting to hurt again now I've been up for a couple of hours. I have come down to the horses to basically supervise Tom, not because I don't trust him but whilst the girls are only going out on the weekends they can be somewhat of a handful if not worked first.  He was absolutely fine though, I forget how much stronger and heavier he is than me!

I have had to cancel my dress fitting, I'm gutted!! But I need to be able to stand up straight to get it right.. Not impressed.

I have a sports massage this morning, so hopefully she will be able to get into whatever muscle has gone into spasm and I have also contacted David, my chiro, to see when he can fit me in as an emergency. 

I absolutely hate this, it terrifies me that it may be something that keeps me out of action for months and all my hard work goes out of the window! Fingers crossed this is just a strain and I will be back to it in a week.  We were supposed to take the girls out for a ride this morning as the weather is good fora change, that's not happened.  We were supposed to be taking the bikes out again, that's not going to happen!! Damn it

On the plus side, spring is just around the corner. The snow drops and crocuses are flowering and you can smell the air changing.  I love the spring, its so full of promise and at the same time, you don't expect too much of it as its spring, not summer and anything is better than the dark, cold gloom of winter!

I am now sat wrapped up, leaning against the sofa with a freezing ice pack on my back but loving a nice Turmeric, ginger, extra virgin olive oil and black pepper milk! Lots of lovely natural anti inflammatory ingredients... Other than the milk, just didn't fancy just an infusion. 

 

I only frickin did it!!

I have been trying for a few weeks now to do a yoga headstand.. My understanding of it was that its all about the control so you don't push up into it, you pull up into it.  The instructions that I read about it said you will feel like your legs sort of float up.  Finally yesterday I got that feeling and I managed it. I was really impressed with my stability once up there and I managed to start to feel out some of the hollow back stuff I have seen being done.  I tried it again today with the same results.  Pretty excited about it tbh, it feels like my first major breakthrough.  Small things!!

My sternum pain has increased somewhat, I think I need to start icing it.  I have tried stretching it out but it doesn't seem to be helping.  It seems to have radiated out into my intercoastal muscles around that area now, which is a pain.  Its funny how much more worried I get about a pain that I have never had to manage before. I imagine its going to be something that will stop me doing the things I love.  I would be absolutely crushed if I couldn't exercise and my latest love of all things yoga was brought to an abrupt end. I am fully aware that the fact I am stretching my body beyond its normal (for me) range is going to result in aches and pains and I am more than willing to nurture that as long as it doesn't take too long!

I have managed to make my back ache from the hollow back work and general back strength work I have been doing, so I think I have earned myself a day off tomorrow!! Shock horror, Sarah takes a day off!!

On the plus side, my heels seem to be improving dramatically.  I have made a point of wearing semi high heels at work to shorten up the Achilles and other tendons in that area and made sure at night, instead of my slippers, I have been wearing my walking boots.  I think this is just resting them enough.  I have postponed my PT from this Friday to next Thursday as I didn't want yo aggravate them whilst they are still in recovery!!

I did come on to blog about something else, but I can't for the life of me remember!! Must've been a lie!!

and it goes on...

The ankles/heels are still bothering me!! It feels like the start of tendonitis, so I am being extra careful about what exercise I do.  Its making for a little imagination for my workouts, which is great news!

I got to the gym this morning and something in my chest must've gone into spasm.  I had stabbing pains right behind my right boob and it hurt more every time I took a breath.  I get this from time to time, for it normally passes after a couple of breaths,  but this went on for a good 15mins.  I think it is all link to the pain I get in my sternum when I do certain tricep work, I must have some sort of inflammation in the cartilage that just isn't easing.  The strange thing is, I have  an incredibly sore boob now and if I put pressure on it, its agony.  I have regular mammograms as I am part of a genetic study as our family carries the BRCA1 cancer gene. This is the gene that has been highly publicised by Angelina Jolies double mastectomy. My next check is in two weeks, good timing. Always better to be paranoid with things like this!!

I'm feeling positive about my diet this week which is good, I'm back to enjoying it.  Salmon was on offer in Tesco yesterday, a whole side for £7.  It was at its sell by date but I just cut it up and froze it so, bargain!! That should keep me going for a while anyway.  Today I had it with courgette and leeks cooked in coconut oil, I treated myself to some brown shrimp too.. An indulgence but I love them!

My latest newly found love is Quark! I constantly trawl through instagram and a lot of people use quark on there, so I thought I would give it a go.  We had it last night with homemade turkey and chickpea burgers, which were beautiful and the quark just added a lovely bitter, sweet moistness.

I've used it for my lunch tomorrow too; mashed sweet potato with ground almond and quark. It tastes fantastic, it almost dessert like.  We will be giving it a test run as a cheesecake style thing! I am having it tomorrow with salmon and veg.

I am finding it fairly tricky to stay within my carbs now that I have changed them, I am having to put a little more effort into my breakfast.  I absolutely love my overnight oats, but need to shake it up a bit so that Tom isn't so restricted when he is making our teas! Tomorrow I am going to try scrambled eggs with quark and cinnamon.. No idea what they will taste like, I reckon pretty good though!!

Tonights tea was fantastic, courtesy of the ever imaginative and attentive week day chef, Mr Burgin. He made homemade fish fingers using pollack and rye breadcrumbs and then they were encased in sweet peppers. The fish was beautifully succulent and the rye breads bitter bitterness worked really well. 

I had an impressed with my body progress moment this morning. My lower abs are really starting to tighten up, I just wish the rest would hurry the heck up!! Got a quick pic on the fly, so not the best but you get the idea!!

Faith is restored

It didn't take me very long to pull my head out my a$$ after my little blip on Thursday night.  I went to the gym on Friday morning and just did a mix of all different exercises. I didn't target any specific muscle groups, I just avoided anything that would strain my Achilles and just had fun.

I think this is the problem, I had lost the fun from my workouts and that's bad news for me.  As much as I love to target areas, its really boring after so long so I need to shake it back up again.. Include the fit ball workouts as I love these and generally just workout in a fun way and if it targets an area then that's great, if it doesn't, it doesn't!

Feel good lunch on Friday was coconut oil fried organic king prawns, avocado and scrambled eggs..  A plate of lots of my favourite foods in one place!!

As always, I have decided to have a little shake up of my macros, my body just doesn't cope well with sugars at all so I have upped my fat allowance and reduced my carbs and I am going to go back to making a point of hitting my targets everyday rather than over the week, it just doesn't seem to work for me.  I felt great the week I was being really accurate with everything and make sure my protein was always bang on target too. I feel much more fatigued when I'm not making a point of doing that.

So, yesterday was an exciting day; I ventured into the world of road bikes.  As you may well know, Tom commutes to work and is soon to be commuting into the city center so will be passing my office daily.  As with everything either of us does, we always get incredibly jealous of each other, cycling in being one of the things I am jealous of!! So I decided that I would aim to do two days a week of my commute on the bike and as its a 32 mile round trip, I thought my £100 mountain bike may not be up to it.  Tom knows quite a bit about bikes from being around them most of his life and then researching them for his road bike, so he basically did all the discussing with the guys at Peak Cycles who are brilliant.  They really know their stuff and they have such great selections. I ended up going with one by the same manufacturer as Tom's, Focus the model I went for is the Culebro one; which is actually a 2012 model so I got an amazing deal. It's not a full carbon frame, but has carbon from forks and has amazing quality wheels and group sets (so I'm told) and as I am light, the better wheels make all the difference.

The weather was terrible yesterday, so an outing was off the cards, but today was so much nicer so we scheduled one in..  Amazing, it was such a fantastic ride and being on a bike like that made sooo much difference. I loved it, I simply cannot wait to get out on the road again! #bikegeek

Today is not a good day

I feel really down about where I am with what I am trying to achieve. I feel like I have cut out as much crap as I can, I have forgone some of my favourite things to try and achieve this and I have spent countless hours trying to understand what's going on inside me, the effects certain foods have on us and what we can do to be better basically.

I don't feel like I am benefitting from it, I don't feel better and healthier and everywhere I look and read there is a different opinion and warning around the healthy things that I am trying to do for my body.. If you do one thing then you have to be careful of this and balance it with that, but if you balance it with that then you could end up knackering up something else....

Its as if everything is an uphill struggle, I am constantly working my way around injury. My latest issue is my achilles tendons on both sides. The left is worse, the pain has gone under my foot and into my heel. I can't do right for doing wrong and its got me down today. I don't want to lose faith in what I have come to believe in, but I have some deep digging to do to get through this.