Thanks for the comments....Day 1 of the diet went surprisingly well, we enjoyed the food and didn't feel like we were missing out on anything, and certainly not starving. The only thing I've noticed is that through the night and this morning I have brain fog, blocked sinuses and feel very headachey - possibly some withdrawal symptoms. If so, it'll go soon. I am prone to sinus trouble anyhow.
I'm finding it useful to involve husband in the meal preparations - he's interested and enthusiastic and thus more likely to stick to the diet. Plus I get help with things like chopping veggies and can delegate some prep to him, win win!
With our roast chicken leg last night, I sliced and roasted half a cauliflower, sprinkled with a little paprika and sage. It was blooming delicious, don't think I'll ever have plain boiled cauli ever again. The 'gravy' made from the juice from the tin of tomatoes I had for breakfast, with some water, a chicken stock cube and some herbs added, then boiled and simmered until reduced and thickened a bit, was lovely. Plenty of flavour and no carbs from added cornflour or gravy granules.
Today's food:-
Breakfast - Fresh fruit salad....homegrown strawberries and blueberries from the freezer, with chopped plums and a mango.
Lunch - Homemade chicken soup made with some frozen cooked chicken and stock, and fresh veggies - the other half of the cauli, a large leek from the garden, one carrot and some mushrooms. As I'm not using anything to thicken the stock, I'll blitz the cauli and carrot into rice - they'll absorb liquid and give the appearance of thickening the soup.
Dinner - Some minute steak, cut into ribbons and flash fried with a spray of oil from a spray dispenser just so it doesn't stick, with a splash of red wine vinegar. Served on a bed of spinach, tinned chopped tomatoes and mushrooms, with broccoli on the side.
My anxiety levels are a bit high at the moment, for whatever reason, I'm having to take more of the anxiety meds to control it. I have been taking just 1 tab a day (I can take up to 3), but have increased it to 2. Hopefully that will help. Am still weeing for England now I'm taking the additional diabetes med, that must be helping me to lose weight! And it means I get extra exercise running up and down stairs to the loo all the time....(well, not running, more like a faster climb than usual!). It's a pity the previous tenant ripped out the downstairs cloakroom and turned it into a coal shed (Grrr. I assume he must have got permission from the landlord, although I can't think why they thought it was a good idea!!).
Tuesday, 27 November 2018
Monday, 26 November 2018
Starting a new, short term diet
Thank you for the well wishes, we are both feeling much better now.
I bought a new winter coat for a very good price online, however, when it arrived and I tried it on, I was disappointed to find I can't do it up. I knew I'd put on weight over the past few weeks (and my weigh in along with the diabetes review confirmed it), but not being able to do up a coat in the size that fitted me before really brought it home to me. With my new determined attitude though, I'm viewing it positively - I really like the coat (husband does too) so am keeping it....I'll just have to slim into it won't I?!
Since my diabetes review with the head nurse (I won't call her Nurse Huffy anymore as she really wasn't), I've been thinking about how to lose the extra weight, but without actually doing anything about it. Well, once again Sue of A Challenging Year blog has come up trumps - she and her Lovely Hubby have just started a 7 day diet. It's 7 days only because it's very drastic - it's a diet that was originally developed to enable people who need an operation to lose a lot of weight very quickly before the op, it's not meant to be followed indefinitely. It's called The Chemical Diet - apparently it works by producing a chemical reaction between certain foods which enables the body to drop a lot of weight very quickly - I don't pretend to understand (or even believe!) that, but it's obvious that if you stick to the diet you WILL lose a fair bit of weight, simply because it's clearly quite low in calories and cuts out most carbs and fats.
Husband and I (he wants to lose about another stone) are keen to give it a go - the idea of doing a diet, even a drastic one, for just one week at a time is very appealing....if we lose even as much as half a stone (the diet claims to result in a loss of a whole stone, 14 pounds) that'll be a huge incentive and boost. We can't do the diet as given, though, mainly because it contains a lot of grapefruit which neither of us can eat - husband isn't allowed it because of the statins he's on, I have a citrus allergy. So, using the general idea of the diet, I sat and planned a week's diet, personalised for us. We'll still only do it for 7 days, it wouldn't be sustainable for longer - we'd get bored, we'd start craving foods we weren't allowed, and as it cuts down drastically on certain food groups (dairy for one), it wouldn't deliver all essential nutrients for good health for a sustained period of time.
(Going off on a tangent for a moment, on the subject of dairy, how do vegetarians/vegans get enough calcium in their diet if they don't eat dairy? Having never looked into it before, I really don't know, perhaps one of you can enlighten me).
So we're starting today. We're allowing ourselves tea and coffee, preferably black, but with just a splash of skimmed milk if we really can't face black - better that than either refusing to drink it and having no hot drink option, or giving up at the first hurdle. Lots of water (which I drink anyhow, although husband doesn't). Absolutely no oil or spread or sauces of any kind, food to be flavoured with herbs and spices and moistened with a little vegetable stock if necessary. No eating between meals (not that we do much of that).
So here's what we're having today:-
Breakfast - 1 slice dry toast topped with grilled fresh tomatoes for husband, tinned toms for me (I don't like grilled fresh ones). I'll keep the juice to use later.
Lunch - Tinned salmon on a bed of salad - lettuce, tomato, cucumber, sliced red pepper, sliced gherkins, watercress. Dressed with a squirt of lemon juice and/or vinegar, mixed with the juices from the salmon tin. I can take a tiny bit of citrus juice without it affecting me too much, I couldn't eat a whole fruit though or drink a glass of juice.
Dinner - Roast chicken leg with roasted cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli. I'll mix the saved tomato juice with a splash of the green veg cooking water and use that as a sort of gravy, I'll add some herbs/spices and boil to thicken and concentrate it (no gravy granules or cornflour allowed to thicken it).
I'll make sure husband has plenty of veggies at lunch and dinner, he's a big eater and likes a good plateful.
I did wake up in the early hours and lie there wondering if we could do this....but it's only for 7 days and I do have the lovely new coat as motivation! If it works out alright, we're thinking we'll do a 5 day version of it every 2 or 3 weeks. Also, it'll be lovely to go back to the diabetes nurse for my review in 3 months time and show her I'm a stone or two lighter.
I bought a new winter coat for a very good price online, however, when it arrived and I tried it on, I was disappointed to find I can't do it up. I knew I'd put on weight over the past few weeks (and my weigh in along with the diabetes review confirmed it), but not being able to do up a coat in the size that fitted me before really brought it home to me. With my new determined attitude though, I'm viewing it positively - I really like the coat (husband does too) so am keeping it....I'll just have to slim into it won't I?!
Since my diabetes review with the head nurse (I won't call her Nurse Huffy anymore as she really wasn't), I've been thinking about how to lose the extra weight, but without actually doing anything about it. Well, once again Sue of A Challenging Year blog has come up trumps - she and her Lovely Hubby have just started a 7 day diet. It's 7 days only because it's very drastic - it's a diet that was originally developed to enable people who need an operation to lose a lot of weight very quickly before the op, it's not meant to be followed indefinitely. It's called The Chemical Diet - apparently it works by producing a chemical reaction between certain foods which enables the body to drop a lot of weight very quickly - I don't pretend to understand (or even believe!) that, but it's obvious that if you stick to the diet you WILL lose a fair bit of weight, simply because it's clearly quite low in calories and cuts out most carbs and fats.
Husband and I (he wants to lose about another stone) are keen to give it a go - the idea of doing a diet, even a drastic one, for just one week at a time is very appealing....if we lose even as much as half a stone (the diet claims to result in a loss of a whole stone, 14 pounds) that'll be a huge incentive and boost. We can't do the diet as given, though, mainly because it contains a lot of grapefruit which neither of us can eat - husband isn't allowed it because of the statins he's on, I have a citrus allergy. So, using the general idea of the diet, I sat and planned a week's diet, personalised for us. We'll still only do it for 7 days, it wouldn't be sustainable for longer - we'd get bored, we'd start craving foods we weren't allowed, and as it cuts down drastically on certain food groups (dairy for one), it wouldn't deliver all essential nutrients for good health for a sustained period of time.
(Going off on a tangent for a moment, on the subject of dairy, how do vegetarians/vegans get enough calcium in their diet if they don't eat dairy? Having never looked into it before, I really don't know, perhaps one of you can enlighten me).
So we're starting today. We're allowing ourselves tea and coffee, preferably black, but with just a splash of skimmed milk if we really can't face black - better that than either refusing to drink it and having no hot drink option, or giving up at the first hurdle. Lots of water (which I drink anyhow, although husband doesn't). Absolutely no oil or spread or sauces of any kind, food to be flavoured with herbs and spices and moistened with a little vegetable stock if necessary. No eating between meals (not that we do much of that).
So here's what we're having today:-
Breakfast - 1 slice dry toast topped with grilled fresh tomatoes for husband, tinned toms for me (I don't like grilled fresh ones). I'll keep the juice to use later.
Lunch - Tinned salmon on a bed of salad - lettuce, tomato, cucumber, sliced red pepper, sliced gherkins, watercress. Dressed with a squirt of lemon juice and/or vinegar, mixed with the juices from the salmon tin. I can take a tiny bit of citrus juice without it affecting me too much, I couldn't eat a whole fruit though or drink a glass of juice.
Dinner - Roast chicken leg with roasted cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli. I'll mix the saved tomato juice with a splash of the green veg cooking water and use that as a sort of gravy, I'll add some herbs/spices and boil to thicken and concentrate it (no gravy granules or cornflour allowed to thicken it).
I'll make sure husband has plenty of veggies at lunch and dinner, he's a big eater and likes a good plateful.
I did wake up in the early hours and lie there wondering if we could do this....but it's only for 7 days and I do have the lovely new coat as motivation! If it works out alright, we're thinking we'll do a 5 day version of it every 2 or 3 weeks. Also, it'll be lovely to go back to the diabetes nurse for my review in 3 months time and show her I'm a stone or two lighter.
Saturday, 24 November 2018
Steam rollered
Having gone back to bed this morning, I now don't feel too bad, just a bit like I've been run over by a steam roller. Husband is feeling much better so this virus, or whatever it is, is clearly a short-lived one, thank goodness.
I did some baking this afternoon - well, I'd got pastry out of the freezer yesterday in order to make a few things for our (now postponed) dominoes night with our friends, so I needed to use it. I'd also defrosted some sausages, intending to make sausage rolls - couldn't be arsed to do anything fiddly though, so made a large sausage tart. I made up a small pack of sage & onion stuffing and mixed the skinned sausages in, along with a few squirts of tomato puree and some grated cheese. Spread the base of the pastry with cranberry sauce then put the sausage mix on top.
There was a bit of pastry left over, so I made a dozen mince pies with some of my homemade mincemeat.
I also baked a trayful of jacket spuds whilst the oven was on, we'll have one with the tart, the others will be frozen individually wrapped. Worn out now.
Thank you for comments on the last couple of posts. Annabeth, I can't be bothered to ask the blog administrator to get rid of the post that had my blog link published in it - what's done is done. But good point, I hadn't even considered the GDPR regulations - I just thought she had a cheek publishing the link without my permission (she didn't even ask).
The thermal face masks (2, so he's got one to wear whilst the other is being washed) came today, very speedy service. He likes them, although they make him look like a mugger! Good job we live in a tiny hamlet and everyone knows him, even with the mask on he'll be recognisable because of Betty, teehee.
I did some baking this afternoon - well, I'd got pastry out of the freezer yesterday in order to make a few things for our (now postponed) dominoes night with our friends, so I needed to use it. I'd also defrosted some sausages, intending to make sausage rolls - couldn't be arsed to do anything fiddly though, so made a large sausage tart. I made up a small pack of sage & onion stuffing and mixed the skinned sausages in, along with a few squirts of tomato puree and some grated cheese. Spread the base of the pastry with cranberry sauce then put the sausage mix on top.
There was a bit of pastry left over, so I made a dozen mince pies with some of my homemade mincemeat.
I also baked a trayful of jacket spuds whilst the oven was on, we'll have one with the tart, the others will be frozen individually wrapped. Worn out now.
Thank you for comments on the last couple of posts. Annabeth, I can't be bothered to ask the blog administrator to get rid of the post that had my blog link published in it - what's done is done. But good point, I hadn't even considered the GDPR regulations - I just thought she had a cheek publishing the link without my permission (she didn't even ask).
The thermal face masks (2, so he's got one to wear whilst the other is being washed) came today, very speedy service. He likes them, although they make him look like a mugger! Good job we live in a tiny hamlet and everyone knows him, even with the mask on he'll be recognisable because of Betty, teehee.
The dreaded lurgy
Looks like both of us have got some kind of mild flu-like virus. Husband went back to bed after breakfast yesterday, got up for lunch but didn't feel like eating it, then went to bed again. We didn't eat much for dinner as neither of us felt like it, then had an early night.
I've been up since 03.30 with generalised aching and a thumping headache, the same symptoms husband had yesterday, am about to go to bed again. We're supposed to be having friends round for our dominoes and pizza night, but will put it off till next week instead.
Oh, the new diabetes med is certainly making me wee....must have gone about a dozen times yesterday. At this rate I'll be slim in no time! (as if!).
I've been up since 03.30 with generalised aching and a thumping headache, the same symptoms husband had yesterday, am about to go to bed again. We're supposed to be having friends round for our dominoes and pizza night, but will put it off till next week instead.
Oh, the new diabetes med is certainly making me wee....must have gone about a dozen times yesterday. At this rate I'll be slim in no time! (as if!).
Friday, 23 November 2018
Bit worrying
We both had a bit of a scare yesterday. Husband goes out with a neighbour and his dog, Betty's 'frenemy' (they alternate between playing together happily and snarling at each other, although don't do any harm to one another) for dog walking each afternoon, they're out for about an hour. Well, yesterday he was back within half an hour and didn't look very well at all - he was extremely breathless, noticeably so, and said he didn't feel well. I first ascertained whether he had any chest pain (he didn't), then sat him down in an armchair, gave him a blanket, turned the heating up and made him a hot drink. The breathlessness eventually wore off, but he still didn't feel well. I asked for advice on the Pumping Marvellous (the heart failure charity) Facebook group, and quickly got several replies. The general consensus of opinion was that HF patients don't do well in cold weather (it was freezing yesterday), especially if they're breathing in cold air. The advice was to make sure they're wrapped up warmly if they go out, wearing several layers and keeping all extremities covered up. People also suggested wearing a thermal face mask (like a ski or motorcycling mask) or a scarf wrapped round the mouth and nose, so they're not breathing the cold air in directly. And speak to GP if worried.
I was reassured by the knowledge that it's a common reaction to the very cold weather....that charity FB page is so brilliant, I've had lots of helpful stuff from them - as they're all heart failure patients themselves, they know exactly what they're talking about. Another friend also sent me a link to a thermal face mask, I've ordered 2 and they'll be here Monday or Tuesday.
Husband slept like a baby last night....I on the other hand had a terrible night, kept waking up every half hour or so, checking he was still alive! This morning he says he still doesn't feel well, although the breathlessness has gone, and he's gone back to bed....from what he's described, I think he's coming down with a virus or something. Whatever it is, it can't be too bad as he ate all his dinner last night and made himself porridge for breakfast!
When I started up this new blog, for various reasons I tried to make it 'Private, for invited readers only'. Blogger wasn't having it though for some reason (probably my error!), I kept getting emails from invited readers saying they were denied access to the new blog. So I reluctantly set it to public. I was advised yesterday that someone has published a link to my blog on a forum we both belonged to. What a blooming cheek! Nothing I can do about it, what's done is done. Hey ho. I can't stop people reading my blog, unless I have another go at making it private - which frankly I just can't be bothered with again - but won't let it bother me or stop me from writing what I want. And I will exercise my right not to publish comments if I don't want to.
I was reassured by the knowledge that it's a common reaction to the very cold weather....that charity FB page is so brilliant, I've had lots of helpful stuff from them - as they're all heart failure patients themselves, they know exactly what they're talking about. Another friend also sent me a link to a thermal face mask, I've ordered 2 and they'll be here Monday or Tuesday.
Husband slept like a baby last night....I on the other hand had a terrible night, kept waking up every half hour or so, checking he was still alive! This morning he says he still doesn't feel well, although the breathlessness has gone, and he's gone back to bed....from what he's described, I think he's coming down with a virus or something. Whatever it is, it can't be too bad as he ate all his dinner last night and made himself porridge for breakfast!
When I started up this new blog, for various reasons I tried to make it 'Private, for invited readers only'. Blogger wasn't having it though for some reason (probably my error!), I kept getting emails from invited readers saying they were denied access to the new blog. So I reluctantly set it to public. I was advised yesterday that someone has published a link to my blog on a forum we both belonged to. What a blooming cheek! Nothing I can do about it, what's done is done. Hey ho. I can't stop people reading my blog, unless I have another go at making it private - which frankly I just can't be bothered with again - but won't let it bother me or stop me from writing what I want. And I will exercise my right not to publish comments if I don't want to.
Thursday, 22 November 2018
Jack's 4 ingredient Christmas cake
Thank you for comments. Have just picked up new tablets, they didn't have them in yesterday, I'm not going to start taking them until tomorrow first thing. As they will make me wee more, it makes sense to take them early morning - I don't want to be getting up at night any more than I do already! I'm making an effort to drink more water today, to get into the habit of doing it.
I made Jack Monroe's cake, exactly to her recipe and instructions....I did add the extra 5th ingredient of 2 tbsp. marmalade. Dead simple to make, one of the easiest cakes I've ever made. It cooked well, taking slightly longer than the 50 mins she specified - my oven isn't overly hot though, so that's probably why. It also didn't burn on the top at all, even though I forgot to put foil on it. Here's the finished cake, and a slice cut:-
As you can see, the fruit sank to the bottom and the cake above the fruit has a slightly unusual texture....it's quite springy and a bit kind of rubbery, not crumbly or cake like at all. However, both husband and I agree it tastes fine, very nice in fact, with quite a strong citrus hit from the marmalade. I will make it again, with perhaps some added dried cranberries, maybe some nuts. Not a fail at all, a perfectly nice cake, but probably more of an everyday cake than a special event one.
I made Jack Monroe's cake, exactly to her recipe and instructions....I did add the extra 5th ingredient of 2 tbsp. marmalade. Dead simple to make, one of the easiest cakes I've ever made. It cooked well, taking slightly longer than the 50 mins she specified - my oven isn't overly hot though, so that's probably why. It also didn't burn on the top at all, even though I forgot to put foil on it. Here's the finished cake, and a slice cut:-
As you can see, the fruit sank to the bottom and the cake above the fruit has a slightly unusual texture....it's quite springy and a bit kind of rubbery, not crumbly or cake like at all. However, both husband and I agree it tastes fine, very nice in fact, with quite a strong citrus hit from the marmalade. I will make it again, with perhaps some added dried cranberries, maybe some nuts. Not a fail at all, a perfectly nice cake, but probably more of an everyday cake than a special event one.
Wednesday, 21 November 2018
No sign of Nurse Huffy!
Thank you for comments - Hazel, I hope you and your sister got good news.
My appointment with the diabetes nurse went very well actually, no ticking off and we had a very good discussion. The subject of statins was raised again, obviously, and again I declined which she accepted without question. By a useful coincidence, just a few days ago I read in the paper (The Daily Fail, which isn't usually right about most things) about a fairly new diabetes medication, dapagliflozin, which not only reduces blood glucose (by diverting it to the kidneys so you pee it out in quite large quantities), but also helps to reduce weight - when peeing out sugar you're also getting rid of calories. And, as an added bonus, it has cardiovascular supporting properties. So it seems to be a good thing - I didn't just take the Daily Fail's word for it, I looked it up on a couple of reputable websites. One downside is a possible side effect - because of all that sugar you accumulate in your wee, it can give you thrush or a UTI. Not everybody gets the side effects, of course.
Anyhow, I discussed it with the nurse and we are both in agreement that I will start taking this new med, alongside my standard Metformin, I'll take it for a 3 month trial initially and then have more blood tests and another review with her, to see how I've been getting on with it. The only thing is I can't have that particular med, but she'll prescribe another one very similar - it's more or less the same thing, same drug group, just a different manufacturer. She said they can't prescribe dapagliflozin, for 'various reasons' - I said 'cost I expect'! She laughed and said 'well yes, can't pull the wool over your eyes can I?!'. Although why one company can manufacture a drug cheaper than another company making the same drug, I don't know, but what do I know? Nor do I care, as long as it's basically the same drug and works the same. The nurse has advised me to drink more water whilst taking the new med, to reduce the risk of thrush or a UTI. She also told me not to use soap when washing my lady bits down below, just plain water, as soap can wash away all the good and helpful bacteria! Told you we have good discussions....haha.
Right, changing the subject - a few days ago, Jack Munroe of Cooking on a Bootstrap posted a recipe for a very quick and easy sort-of Christmas cake, which is only 4 ingredients (or 5, if you want to add a citrussy kick, which I will). I'm giving it a try today - it's 200ml ginger ale or beer (I'm using Crabbies ginger beer, as I just happened to have a bottle in the larder), a whole jar of mincemeat, 2 eggs and 200g SR flour, plus 2 tbsp. marmalade for the citrus kick. Mix, put in round baking tin, cover the top with foil to stop it burning, bake for 50 mins or so at 170 deg c. Sounds pretty perfect to me - the mincemeat contains the fruit, sugar, spice and fat so that's 4 things you don't need to add, what could be simpler? I'll do it as Jack says this time, husband can taste test it and give his verdict, then I might make it again with a couple of additions....bit more spice and some nuts or cranberries, maybe.
Cold and foggy this morning, fog gone now but very grey and dull as well as very cold. Definitely an indoors day.
My appointment with the diabetes nurse went very well actually, no ticking off and we had a very good discussion. The subject of statins was raised again, obviously, and again I declined which she accepted without question. By a useful coincidence, just a few days ago I read in the paper (The Daily Fail, which isn't usually right about most things) about a fairly new diabetes medication, dapagliflozin, which not only reduces blood glucose (by diverting it to the kidneys so you pee it out in quite large quantities), but also helps to reduce weight - when peeing out sugar you're also getting rid of calories. And, as an added bonus, it has cardiovascular supporting properties. So it seems to be a good thing - I didn't just take the Daily Fail's word for it, I looked it up on a couple of reputable websites. One downside is a possible side effect - because of all that sugar you accumulate in your wee, it can give you thrush or a UTI. Not everybody gets the side effects, of course.
Anyhow, I discussed it with the nurse and we are both in agreement that I will start taking this new med, alongside my standard Metformin, I'll take it for a 3 month trial initially and then have more blood tests and another review with her, to see how I've been getting on with it. The only thing is I can't have that particular med, but she'll prescribe another one very similar - it's more or less the same thing, same drug group, just a different manufacturer. She said they can't prescribe dapagliflozin, for 'various reasons' - I said 'cost I expect'! She laughed and said 'well yes, can't pull the wool over your eyes can I?!'. Although why one company can manufacture a drug cheaper than another company making the same drug, I don't know, but what do I know? Nor do I care, as long as it's basically the same drug and works the same. The nurse has advised me to drink more water whilst taking the new med, to reduce the risk of thrush or a UTI. She also told me not to use soap when washing my lady bits down below, just plain water, as soap can wash away all the good and helpful bacteria! Told you we have good discussions....haha.
Right, changing the subject - a few days ago, Jack Munroe of Cooking on a Bootstrap posted a recipe for a very quick and easy sort-of Christmas cake, which is only 4 ingredients (or 5, if you want to add a citrussy kick, which I will). I'm giving it a try today - it's 200ml ginger ale or beer (I'm using Crabbies ginger beer, as I just happened to have a bottle in the larder), a whole jar of mincemeat, 2 eggs and 200g SR flour, plus 2 tbsp. marmalade for the citrus kick. Mix, put in round baking tin, cover the top with foil to stop it burning, bake for 50 mins or so at 170 deg c. Sounds pretty perfect to me - the mincemeat contains the fruit, sugar, spice and fat so that's 4 things you don't need to add, what could be simpler? I'll do it as Jack says this time, husband can taste test it and give his verdict, then I might make it again with a couple of additions....bit more spice and some nuts or cranberries, maybe.
Cold and foggy this morning, fog gone now but very grey and dull as well as very cold. Definitely an indoors day.
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