I'm back again. Summer can make your days busier. Mum and I spent some time at my brother's place, cat-sitting, while he went to Tauranga for 5 days holiday. The first day there both of us kept dozing off for some reason. Maybe we have been busier than we thought. The second day it was a wet and horrible day so we read and watched TV. The third day we went for a long walk up hill and down dale from my brother's place to the local King's Plant Barn.
We wandered around and looked, had afternoon tea at the café there and came home with a cream dahlia and some apricot carnations. It was nice wandering amongst green, growing plants. We also went to the fruit shop next door. They had plums at a good price so we got them and I made 4 1/2 jars of homemade jam a couple of days ago. It is lovely and we had to have some that day on toast for lunch. Our way home had had its own dramas. I suggested Mum cross the road at a different place and where she went didn't have the proper lower curb. Her mobility scooter stalled and I ended having to give her a push to get going. Cars were having to go around her for a bit but luckily there was a place off the road not too far away. Made Mum look a bit like a ditzy old lady. We survived.
The fourth day we did a lot of gardening. We weeded, trimmed and disbudded galore. The garden looked so much better but I left 6 bags of rubbish for my brother to get rid of afterwards. He is used to that. We do that each time we go over. I had no gym there so did extra cleaning to get some exercise. The gym has seen me more often since getting back and I have done some good walks too. The excess Xmas weight has gone and I am 105kgs now. My waist measurement is just over 100 cms so have now lost 35 cms on my waist. I still have almost that again to get back to the waist measurement I had as a young adult. I used to be 36-27-37 (in inches) in my late teens, early twenties. It is a good decrease though.
We have been into the swimming pool on site a few times but it remains rather chilly. It is one way to get you started on doing your exercises though as that is the only way to warm up enough to stay in the pool. Now if young kids could refrain from jumping almost on top of us and their parents would not tell them to just ignore us when we politely pointed out the sign (saying NO jumping, running or rough housing) on the fence, it might have been more enjoyable. I must sound like a crabby person at times as I also insisted that the renter upstairs remove her car so Mum and I could actually get her mobility scooter out so we could go to the shops the other day. I was a bit niggled as I had asked her politely to leave the space free on two days during the week (Monday and Friday). They have another car-park for their use so it is not too much of an imposition. Anyway that is off topic.
The exercise in the pool is good to do as I feel more stretched and relaxed afterwards. Taller even as my back muscles are more relaxed. The gym is having an effect and I am feeling muscles under a much smaller layer of fat. I moved my leg the other day and even my mother saw the sharp calf definition. Straight on my arms look slim but they are still large viewed from the side (not as large though). Each week is a week closer to a much smaller body and each day the my exercise is done and the diet is followed ( damn those chocolates that go down so easily) is a good day. Xmas junk has a lot to answer for as it takes a little while to get back to the
no-chocolate mindset. Sugar really is an addiction that can niggle in your mind for appeasement but we are getting it behind us again. Doing things helps.
THINGS I DO TO KEEP AWAY FROM CHOCOLATE;
- exercise
- drink water
- do housework
- do handcrafts (knitting, embroidery)
- read a really good book (one that you really hate to put down as it means coming back to the real world)
- walking to the library to get that good book (exercise done too)
- hide it out of view
- don't have it in the house
- don't buy it while at the shops
Some of the tops I got at Xmas are getting looser. Yay. I brought a dress on Friday. It has been a long time since I last brought a dress. For a number of years I have had to get separates as my breasts have been too large to fit the top of a dress and still have the dress look right. Even better it is a size 18 and it was on sale before Xmas for $69.95 down from $99.95 and I got it for $39.95. I love getting a good bargain. I got a lovely veiled fascinator hat for $1.00 and shoes for $19.00. I love that sort of shopping. They are for my nephew's wedding and I even got the present cheaper. We only have 2 weeks to go so I was glad to do everything in one trip.
I love the hyacinth blue colour of the top and the pattern seems to give more shape to my body. Well keep on with your personal journey and I will be more diligent in sharing mine again. I'll be back next week. Hopefully exercised enough to drop 1-2 kilos or more. 105kgs=231lb, 100cms=40in and my waistline had snuck up to 54 inches. I have 13 inches to go(another 30.5cms). We will get there.
