Hey Ladies,

I'm back after a nice day off - Women's Day! It was spent reading, watching dvd's and eating. The last was not good, and I'll start the diet again next week. The big boss is away for the rest of the week, so very little work is going to done in this office! Main plan for the day - to cut my nails!!! Have also brought two books so hope to get through to at least lunchtime! We may be going out for breakfast just now (that means whenever - it's a direct translation from Afrikaans). There is lots of mist this morning so it's quite cool, but will probably clear later.

Meg

back from the doctor today. very interesting. i will be having blood tests to check everything out (unfortunately the testing clinic had closed so i need to make another trip into town). I am still feeling dizzy and headachy but not as bad. She checked blood pressure and there is something hinky with my standing/sitting BP but probably not enough to be serious. The doc thinks that it is most likely withdrawal symptoms from stopping the antidepressants. I’ve skipped doses and stopped these pills several times without any side effects over the last 8 yrs but I guess it’s possible that at different times your body reacts differently. The blood tests are to check anaemia (possible as I have a blood clotting disorder like very mild haemophilia) and a few other things. She said it’s okay for me to stay off the antidepressants for now but to monitor closely. She said that she didn’t think there were any other options for me. so if I need ADs I would need to go back on the same pills (but at a lower dose) as she says we’ve tried pretty much all types of them.

my eating today has been bad and the exercise didn't happen. i was still a bit dizzy so i skipped dancing class.


hey meg the day off sounds gorgeous. do you speak afrikaans?

Sweet - Sorry to hear about the blood pressure probs. I tend to get low bp at times and the dizziness is really not nice! As for the Afrikaans, yes, I'm fully bilingual. I mostly speak it here at work, as nearly everyone is Afrikaans. I unfortuanately don't speak too much of the other 9 official languages, but would like to!

My eating is also just beserk at the moment - definitely as a result of my routine being interrupted! Don't think that I'm even going to weigh myself this week, I'll just make sure that I read all my diet stuff again and start over on Monday. Having the pensioner move out and now having to do the cooking for myself has also made a dent in the diet. I was reading a vegatarian cook book last night and found some nice, not too difficult recipes that I want to try soon. Last nights supper was chocolate icing, curry and roasted veg and coffee!!

I'v just got hold of the new Kathy Reichs, so may not be doing much of anything tonight while I whizz through that. Also got a new thick Jilly Cooper!

Must go and print some docs before we go for breakfast!!

Have a good weekend.

Meg

have you read jan burke? i love her books.

you had chocolate icing with veges??? that sounds weird LOL

i'm pretty tired. i have been setting up a forum for mental health and well being. i got a bit over excited and stayed up too late and then couldn't sleep because i kept thinking of things. insomnia is also on the list of things hehe. hopefully it will drive traffic to my website too which would be great. but before that happens i have to put some articles and weblinks etc there

i need to get members. so far i am the only member ROFL. it's getting lonely. still it's been up < 24 hours so i guess i'm expecting too much.

The icing actually bracketed the vegies!
I do think that you should give your forum a few more days at least! I'm off to the library tomorrow, maybe this afternoon if we leave early and will make sure to see if I can get one of her books. Our libraries are not always great, but it means that I don't have to buy all of them! We went out for a huge german breakfast - eggs, bacon, sausage etc, so lunch is being skipped.

See you Monday.

hmmmm i still think the icing and veges sound strange!!!

still feeling a bit blah. light headed and tired and not getting anything done. i feel like it was a bit of a waste of a day. did some lawnmowing and other than that i just fluffed around and felt sorry for myself

had a big dinner. not really a binge. had some healthy veges in it but i did have some junk food earlier in the day. no exercise

so far noone is flocking to the forum hopefully it will pick up once i've done the press release but i was hoping to get a few more posts in there before i tell the world about it!!!

Monday has arrived! My joints are all achy from all the sugar that I've consumed this weekend and now my right wrist is also feeling a bit dodgy! Have decided that it must from PMS that I'm so out of sorts and craving sugar. The diet is being re-started today and will make a point of getting some cycling in every day so as to keep the joints okay! It's especially bad when my thumbs are as sore as they've been this weekend. Didn't bother to weigh myself yesterday so just going with the last weigh-in!

Must go as work is calling.

Meg

I've started exercising!
It was a struggle and I definitely did not want to but I forced myself to walk the dogs for 20 mins. I am trying very hard to keep my promises to myself. We walked 10 mins and then turned around. I liked the feeling of achievement and being out in the fresh air. It was good to leave the house. I’ve been here 9/11 of the last days. I’d be lying if I said the walk was enjoyable. I get spooked by cars going so close by and Jasmine gets frightened too. but we did it and I can tick it off as a start in the right direction

The food was a total disaster so we;ll just not mention that and my fatigue is still an issue but i'm hoping the exercise will help

Meg i've not heard of sugar or PMS causing aching joints??? are you talking about arthritis or general aches? there is a type of arthritis that is affected by starch and best suits a low carb diet, otherwise aches are not really related to diet. ok not true. magnesium and calcium deficiencies can cause problems.

have a good day

Sweet - It's osteo-arthritis. Especially in my hands and knees. I did a quick trawl through Patrick Holford last night and he mentions that sugar is a nono and given the amount that I consumed this weekend I'm not really surprised that everythings sore! Since last week I've noticed that my knees are also especially creaky - I sound like castanets in stereo when I get up out of a chair! I may be lacking a bit of good oils as well - ww means minimal oil added to food. I've managed to deep six the diet again today, so may just try to do exercise this week while trying to keep the eating under control! WTG on the walk!!! I'll try for at least 30min on the bike tonight.

Have a nice evening.

ok have you tried apple cider vinegar? it helps with arthritis. taken first thing in the morning with water and also again at night? the other things as i'm sure you know are low starch, low GI, flaxseed oil, reducing weight and increasing stretching and exercise. it sounds like you are on the right track

i binged and i am stillo eating cookie dough this morning. yummy in a bad way

Sweet~ Step away from the cookie dough!!!!

Ok so I'm back from my little trip,I gained 2 pounds, but I think it's water weight, and I'm SOOO tired, I'll have to catch up on the posts tomorrow,G'night!

Sweet - I haven't tried the Apple Cider Vinegar, but do take EPO, Salmon oil, calcium, vit c and a few others. I have one that I take that has tumeric, boswellic acid and other things, that I can't do without!! I did manage 32min on the bike last night and then did one set each of a number of exercises - crunches, rows, curls etc. Wrist still sore today, but did manage to get quite a bit of sugar in yesterday again. Have decided to just ride it out this time, while trying to keep it sort of under control! (Wish I had cookie dough to eat!) I may include flax oil as well, as I only get about a tablespoon of mayo per day, with minimal other added oil!

Wendy - good to have you back. The rest of us are also battling, so take heart! I think that I need to revamp my diet a bit again! Will be going to the veg shop this afternoon, as my brother said that they had really big butternut yesterday! I'll also stock up on other stuff.

Have a great day, y'all

I just feel like eating unhealthy but at the same time I'm dying for a chicken ceaser salad, that's crazy!
Almost lunch time here so I better go and get something on the table for RJ and I, I'll be back later to chat.

hmmmm yumnmy
have the salad. has all the major food groups

my blood tests came back low iron. not anaemic but it will be contributing to the high levels of fatigue

meg i know people who swear by the apple cider vinegar. it can also be taken with a little honey. both are supposed to help with arthritis. he says it makes it a lot easier for him to run. with salmon oil you have to be careful of mercury poisoning. i can't remember all the details but it depends where the salmon is taken from

i have been up half an hour and i am still so tired my eyes can't focus. i totally loved that cookie dough yday but i have to try to be good

i want to go for a walk but i don't want to go on these busy roads so i may think about taking the dogs into town in the car

Sweet - cookie dough is good, but the slump that follows isn't! I LOVE any kind of dough. As for my aching joints, I read up on an Arthritis website yesterday with hints from sufferers and looks like sugar is a big issue. I think my flairup was a combination of butter and sugar! I tend to ear very little added fat and had a fair wack over the weekend. I've now got myself some raw honey and will be trying that for a week or so. The wrist isn't improving, but isn't getting worse either. If it's not better by next week I'll have to see about going to the doctor. I exercised for 50min last night and even made it up to my moderate heart rate! I did 16kms! Will do it again tonight, but maybe only 10kms, as the 15 really tires me out and don't think that I should do it two days in a row. I had a healty dinner with fish, cabbage and butternut with strawberries to follow. Strawberry season is on here and it means that I'll eat them til they come out of my ears!