At the end of last week I hit the proverbial wall so to speak. Thursday night I fell into a heap through my own fault so no sympathy required thanks. I was breaking my own rule of not getting enough quality sleep and little by little I tapped into my sleep bank. By the end of last week I had missed the equivalent of one night’s sleep so no wonder I fell into a screaming heap. *tsk tsk*
So what am I going to do about it then, I’ve re-visited my office hours again and been even more ruthless as this is where I’m spending most of my time when I’m at home. What I want to do is getting done but what I need to do is unfortunately falling further and further behind schedule. So here’s how often I’ll be online here at home starting tomorrow:
Lindy and I spoke on the phone about this and she gave me a stern talking too that not only do I know better but I even wrote an article about it titled “Sleep, are you getting enough?”. I’m going to re-read this article today to refresh my memory of all the important reasons why a bodybuilder needs sleep. Lindy and I are always bouncing thoughts and ideas of one another and when one of us does something that we shouldn’t the other one will step in and sort it out quick smart. She’s a true friend and by that I mean she’s an honest friend who has my best interest at heart. She’s now a part of my immediate family as far as I’m concerned since losing Mum & Dad. I’d be lost without her in my life and for that I am eternally grateful. I don’t know what I’d do without her because friends like this are far and few between so I consider myself blessed, truly blessed.
I had the best day yesterday, the best. Date Day was a huge success and we both had a really good time, just husband and wife enjoying each other’s company doing something that we both enjoy. Our alarms went off at 0500h and yes, I was oh so reluctant to get up but alas I did. We both weighed in, took our morning supplements, ate breakfast, showered and changed and headed into the city in the dark. The things we do. There was minimal traffic (nice change), parking was a breeze (yet another nice change) and as only the food stalls were open only the truly committed shoppers were in at that time. Still I was surprised how many were there at that early hour but it was considerably less than all other times that I’ve been there. As we’d run out of coffee at home our first priority was to find good coffee, it didn’t take very long because I spotted a stall that had a few people hanging around and sure enough we weren’t the only ones with coffee in mind. For the first time in a long time I had a coffee that was hot enough to drink straight away without scolding my tongue that also tasted great.
So first up we walked through all the food stalls to see what was on offer. I didn’t get up at oh my god it’s early o’clock just to grab what I needed at the first stall and leave. Thankfully we did because I managed to find everything that I wanted and organic. Below is a picture of the organic meat where I bought my chicken breasts and beef mince. I explained to the guys behind the counter that the meat that I buy has to be lean, bodybuilder lean. In the past if we need mince we buy girello and get the butcher to mince it up for us, you can’t get leaner than that. They were happy to accommodate my needs so I was happy too.
Then we headed to the produce stalls. As you can see from the picture below I was surrounded by organic produce as far as the eye could see and loving it. I got excited about food all over again, eating clean is easy when you have these choices available to you and we all do. To often do we make excuses why it’s so much easier for one person to another. Given it took more effort coming to the markets than visiting my local supermarket and yes it’s more expensive to eat organic but I don’t put a price of my health and well being. My longevity is my #1 priority and time and money is not an excuse. “If I want different, I have to do different” is always in the back of my mind every single day. My health, fitness and happiness is so important to me. I have a goal and dream and I won’t let anything stand in my way. This is my life and I’m going to live it the way that I want.
So next week I’m going to do my weekly shopping at Macro Wholefoods. I’ve posted about this organic market many a times as it’s another favourite shopping location of mine. That way, I can compare the two locations for stock and prices then work out what’s best going to suit my needs. Either way my weekly time management schedule will have to be re-written to suit but I think this is going to work in my benefit, either ways it’s a win win situation.
At long long last I’ve broken away from the 70kg weight range and boy, does it feel good! It’s been the most challenging health and fitness journey so far in my life and will continue to be for some time yet. Between surgery, eating healthy and daily exercise I’m finally getting the results I want. Only this time around there has been a lot of blood, sweat and tears and this is only just the beginning for me.
It hasn’t been easy by any means but nothing in life worth having ever came easy. If you want something, I mean really really want something you have to work really hard at it and that’s exactly what I have been doing. I’m working towards balance so that I have a healthy mind body and spirit this time around in my life. Everything has to work in harmony with one another and to achieve this is going to take a lot more time and patience of which I have.
Enjoy your weekend and aim high!
Lia xxx
“Goals are dreams with deadlines.”
~Diana Scharf Hunt
Dressings, Marinades & Dips
“When most people think of “healthy food,” they equate the phrase with lame, boring, pizzazz-free lettuce and cucumber salads. Here at Figure Athlete, we know better than most, but even we have our days where we’re looking for something with a bit more excitement.
We’re always on the lookout for something to liven up our boneless, skinless, and flavorless chicken breast, or the third salad in a row for lunch. Want to know my secret for brining a little spice back to my salads, meats, and snacks? The secret’s in the sauce, or dressing for that matter — and I’m not talking store bought!
Why Make Your Own?
Making your own dressings, marinades, and dips at home is much easier and cheaper than you think. And have you even checked out the label on your standard “low-fat” salad dressing lately? Take a gander. The list of non-pronounceables seems endless, and many times, where there’s a reduction in calories, there is an additionin sugars and less than optimal oils.
Besides, the homemade, whole-ingredient dressings not only add flavor, but the healthy oils in them actually make some of the nutrients in the salad (particularly the fat-soluble vitamins and phytochemicals) more easily absorbed by your body.” – Figure Athlete
Read more….
WOW is all I can say about my latest checkup on Monday. Tania my nurse said that if she didn’t know any better she would think that I was at six weeks post-surgery and not two and a half weeks post-surgery like I was which is great news as far as I’m concerned. She was so surprised that she asked me what I was doing that no other patient had done before and all I could put it down to was my bcaa’s, l-glutamine, diet and training. All I did was follow the instructions provided, it was relatively simple to do. But apparently most patients don’t and there lies the problem I guess. Being in the military we simply have to do what we’re told, nothing difficult about that. Tania wished all her patients were in the military because she said I don’t whinge or complain and I do what I’m told, the prefect patient apparently. LOL!!
The tape on my arms has been removed but I still have to wear both the compression bandages. At four weeks post-surgery they can come off and my arms are home free. *yipee* I’m also half way through my recovery with three weeks left before I can remove the body compression garment. It’s not uncomfortable to wear so it’s not really a big deal. My body incision scabs have started to fall off and only a couple left to go. Once that’s happened I can start applying the rose hip oil to help the scars. I’m also allowed to start getting lymphatic massages which help with the healing process. I’m not particularly looking forward to this part but will go weekly because I know how important it is to my healing. Thankfully my myotherapist does lymphatic massage so I didn’t have to go out and source one, she’s just down the road from where I live. Under the skins surface I can feel some lumps and bumps which is all normal. Apparently it’s scar tissue and in time it’ll go away.
Most of the swelling will be gone by eight weeks so that’s no so far away. A lot has gone already so I can’t wait to see how I look once it’s all gone. As for the numbness and sensations, that can take anything up to six months. Tania’s thinking because of my healing rate so far that I won’t have to wait that long, it’ll probably be gone sooner rather than later.
So as you can see every thing’s progressing along really really well. I couldn’t be happier with my recovery and although the first couple of weeks weren’t very pleasant I have no regrets.
Lia xxx
“The greatest wealth is health”
– Virgil
