Rhyme and No Reason!

Blogger, author and rhymester who likes to find the humour in life.

Episode 480: Getting Organised for Autumn: 5 Goals for September — September 3, 2015

Episode 480: Getting Organised for Autumn: 5 Goals for September

Reading Simply Marquessa’s blog about September being a month for renewal, It has inspired me to set myself a few goals for this month.  It is certainly a time of change for me, and I believe that having clear and manageable targets set out, will help me to achieve them.

  1. To continue with this new ‘lifestyle’ change. I am actually doing pretty well, having lost a further 2lbs bringing the total to 5lb. One more pound and I will be ‘overweight’ rather than ‘obese!’ (How funny that for once in my life, I am looking forward to being overweight)!  The exercise is going well too, as I seem to have found a bit of motivation and energy so am making the most of it!
  2. I also quite fancy having a go at Writing 101: Finding Everyday Inspiration. As you know, I am not a writer, but I might try to learn a few skills, and stretch myself more.
  3. I am going to have a bit of a clean out of my blog, trying to use mostly the Reader. Being confronted with loads of emails makes me stressed that I have so much catching up to do, and I put off writing posts due to spending hours catching up (the long way), flicking between email and Reader!
  4. Take more photos for my blog. I always admire those bloggers that take loads of beautiful photos that they use in their posts. I need to take more notice of my surroundings  – and take photos of it!
  5. Prepare myself for my new job. I have not given in my notice yet as apparently some of the paperwork and checks take ages to go through. I already spent a good hour yesterday printing and scanning, and completing assessments and questionnaires. I have to work out how to use a SatNav as well, and that will not be easy given that I am a dunce with technology!

I am hoping that this month, ‘I will be able to expand my mind and shrink my body!’

Episode 468: An Apple A Day…… — August 22, 2015

Episode 468: An Apple A Day……

Last week saw me at an appointment with a ‘Health and Well-Being Advisor.’  I am having a bit of trouble managing my weight still  and am seriously lacking in motivation due to being in a bit of a low mood. Anyway, this, of course, is having a knock-on effect with my Diabetes and I am constantly getting other minor things wrong which are annoying.

Anyway, time to take things in hand and I trotted off, to be told what I already knew, that I was overweight and unhealthy. Unfortunately, things were worse than I had anticipated. I had reluctantly braved the scales that morning to see what the damaged was, and was not impressed with the figures, despite trying not to put all my weight on there and make it worse! The problem with having a big tummy us that you can’t see the display on the scales so my balancing act was not helping and I had to let loose the full load!

I was greeted by a very slim and smiley woman who assured me that we would be able to sort something out and get me into some kind of diet and exercise routine. My height and weight were measured (in metric, I had done it in feet and inches and stone as the figures were smaller), and then my BMI (body mass index), was worked out.

I had done enough of these myself on patients to know that the result was not going to be pretty and it wasn’t. Morbidly obese! Morbidly obese, Oh My God, how the hell did I let myself get into this state.

The next little treat was the hips to waist ratio. Christ, please let my hips be bigger than my waist….PLEASE!  I jokingly mentioned that there was not a lot in it, and sure enough it was only 3cms. Again I joked that I had not been blessed with an hourglass figure. At least my hips were bigger than my waist…JUST!

These numbers were crunched on the computer and it was gauged on a coloured thermometer type thing. Needless to say, it shot straight up to the top which was not only red but had a sad face emoticon to add insult to injury! Well, actually that was not the only insult as there was an explanation as to each category and mine was ‘over fat.’ Over fat,  How bloody rude! Kick a girl when she is down why don’t you.

She then wanted to see what my fitness levels were. What hideous torture have they got planned for me this time? I wondered. Luckily, it was just a sit to stand test to see how many I could do in 30 seconds. I actually passed this one with flying colours, having completed 15 when the average was 12. Mind you, thinking about it, who was it average for? Not some young athletic type I am sure of that!

The penultimate check was the good old body fat measure. I had to stand gripping what looked like a steering wheel device for the WiiFit, with my arms outstretched until it scanned me over and displayed my overall blubber content! Well, at least it was less than half!!!

Last but by no means least, was a questionnaire to assess mood. Well as you can imagine, it was right down there in the lowest quarter. It might have been a bit better if they had done that first, but I doubt it would have been by much.

I came home armed with charts and wheels and ‘My Fitness Pal’ app downloaded on my phone; my already low self-esteem in tatters!

Maybe this is just the kick up the arse I need to do something about it!

Episode 180: Fitness Not Fatness — February 25, 2015

Episode 180: Fitness Not Fatness

Having been diagnosed with diabetes Type 2, I am trying to change my lifestyle habits in order to try to keep my blood sugars down, thus avoiding having to take medication, for as long as I possibly can.

This means, not only eating healthier meals with smaller portion sizes, but taking more physical exercise. The days that I am at work I know that I am constantly running around, but I need to do much more exercise for the rest of the time.

There is one exercise class though that I really wish I could go to, but it is too far away unfortunately! It is a kind of aerobics class called ‘Jungle Body’ but the reason I would love to go is because it is run by a woman who weighs 18 1/2 stone, This is roughly 117.4kg and 260 pounds!

Now I think this woman is an inspiration. She has already lost 5 stone herself (31 kg and 70 pounds) and has totally altered her unhealthy lifestyle. She is now 6 dress sizes smaller, and a lot fitter.

She is right in thinking that women would prefer to go to her classes as she is not judgemental of them, plus they are not intimidated by her, as they possibly would be if she were slim and svelte.

As I have an extra day off today, I decided to be proactive and plan my meals out, so that I know I have the right foods available and don’t raid the fridge! That was all well and good, but we needed to go food  shopping first! No bloody car means trudging 40 mins to the Supermarket. Great, a bit of exercise to boot.

Mr Grump came with me, armed with his backpack to lug the shopping home with, and off we trotted.We have done this walk a few times recently due to having no car, but it was starting to get a bit boring now! My trainers were rubbing my toe, and I was hungry as we walked through the industrial estate (which houses all the restaurants and takeaways), due to only having a few tablespoons of sugar-free muesli for breakfast!

Anyway, we had to get rather a lot of stuff, so the backpack was bursting, plus we (by that I mean Mr Grump), had 2 more heavy carrier bags, and I had one to take as well. Poor Mr Grump was grimacing all the way home. He resembled a snail with his huge backpack on his back and his skinny little body underneath all the weight. Bless him. Of course by the time we got back home, I had worked up one hell of an appetite!

I have a feeling that these lifestyle changes are going to take a bit of getting used to. However, I am inspired by that fitness instructor; her dedication is paying off, so there is no reason why I can’t do it as well.

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