A Drift

Credit – John Noonan

It is so easy to feel a drift when everything seems not quite a bit right. I feel currently everything is flowing with very little control from me. When I feel like this, I usually think it is good to set tasks that help me anchor – go back to certain habits.

The thing that has thrown me off this time rounds is my sciatic pain (or that is what I think it is). I’m going to the doctor tomorrow to find out. It has meant that I cannot go back to PT (my last PT session was quite useless). I had to stop cardio for a while and now that I have restarted it, it needs to be done fairly slow (according to MFP at leisurely pace (didn’t feel very leisurely to me when I was doing it! Thank you very much)). I have been going for body stretches and my glutes and hamstring are really tight, which is also not helping. I seem to be discovering new aches and pains every time I go.

Ahh but I digress – back to anchoring habits. Some of mine are

Making a list of Everything, Every morning I make a list. In my list I include three things – things I cannot control but would like Allah to take care of (my daily prayer), the way I would like to feel that day and then all the tasks for that day (work, personal, family,). It helps me to organise my thoughts and focus on things that are important.

Exercising. It sounds really strange but exercise every morning as the first real activity gives me purpose and direction for the day.

Vitamins. Taking vitamins every morning.

Food Diary. Recording food on MFP really helps me focus on what I am eating and how I am eating it. It automatically helps prevent excess or binge eating.

Gratitude and prayer. I go through phases of writing a gratitude journal but I also sometimes at night, just count my blessings. It is a great way to end the day. Just the blessings in that day but also generally in life.

Blogging. It really helps me to bring my day together.

Organising things for the next Day. This means for the gym (take out clothes, organise water/keys, etc to take), and the work next day.

I am not sure what other people do bring their life together when they feel adrift. I would love to know.

Next Goal

I have realized that having large goals while great can also be overwhelming. It can sometimes send you adrift so I have decided to break down my goals into more but size things. It is similar to what I was doing before with my goal setting for each month but may be in more digestible bites.

My short term goal is to loose 23.9 lb. I would ideally like to get there before end of October. So for August, I would like to focus on losing at least 10lb.

Also, I would like to start doing 30×3 times by end of August. Currently, I am at 1×1 because of my very annoying hip pain.

The Disappearing Act

Not so much … just busy.

A lot has happened since I was here last.

Balloon Update: My balloon came out after 3 months. It was really crazy months with work, Ramadan, travel, family, etc. However, I still managed to loose weight. I didn’t loose as much as I wanted to but I was on the right track. It also forced me to eat cleaner, which I have continued doing.

What is next? The next is continuing with the habits. Logging food. Doing exercise. Keeping you updated.

I am on a mini (not so mini now) break from exercise as my I had locked hip and it has been in too much pain. I’ve to go back to moving it a bit and that involves starting slow treadmill.

Sunday

It was a good day, Allhumdillah.

It started early and I got my cardio done. My guest started to roll out of bed slowly and we had a slow morning, talking, breakfast and tea. It is one of my favourite things about having guests – the conversation, the tea and just connecting.

I took them to the shops or more like I wanted to get some things for my house and I asked them to come to the mall with me. We walked around shops, did lot of window and got some Chinese food. I was quite proud of myself as I did no noodles or rice, and just had meat and shrimp from the dishes we ordered However, it did not sit well with my stomach and it has been aching since then. I have walked and walked, but I guess it needs to come out of my system before I can start to feel better.

I had heard that people have reaction to certain food after gastric sleeve (not so much after gastric balloon) but today I have suffered. I hope this is one off as Chinese food is one of my favourites. I am not sure I am ready to give it up.

I had some Greek yogurt but even that made me uncomfortable.

Here is to hoping it will subside and I can get a good night sleep. otherwise – it will be a long day tomorrow.

Exercise: 42 mins – 21 mins elliptical, 21 mins treadmills, steps – 12,936, Active calories – 1033, mood – stomach ache ::( (yes it is a mood).

Saturday

I would have liked it to be a slow day. The kind of day where you just laze in bed and do nothing. But, instead it was keep moving and don’t stop kind of a day.

I have house guests for the next two weeks so I needed to sort out the guest room, food and also out away the winter decor. They were starting to look quite out of place since mercury is already starting to hit 30 in this part of the world.

I don’t think I actually sat down today. It was constant moving through out the day. Didn’t do gym today. Have to do tomorrow.

Exercise: 5 mins, cal: 645, steps: 8178. Mood: pleasantly occupied

One Month Check-In

I have been thinking it is so important to remember how far one has come because it is so easy to forget it. I am at the weight which I was in September 2022. It was after months of struggle that I had gotten to it. The drop had come so slowly that by the time it arrived, my motivation had all but disappeared.

I am not going to pretend that having the ballon has been some kind of a magic wand and the weight has just magically disappeared. I have to watch what I eat, exercise and do everything else. However, having it has made it easier to not be consistently hungry or feel deprived. I am sure most people would argue that I could have done it without the balloon but I have tried so many times and it is hard.

I have also been a lot more conscious of what I am eating because I get full very quickly so it is important to eat things that give my body what I need.

I have struggled with drinking enough water and getting enough protein in my system. I have started drinking protein shake as dinner/snack to make sure that I am getting enough protein.

I have been using MFP to record food and I have found myself focusing more on nutrients than calories. The calories have stayed in check automatically and that has been a huge thing.

I have also had to get my stress hormones checked and realise that my cortisol is quite high so I have had started taking some supplements to help – Omega 3 and Ashwagandha. It is too early to tell if they are helping but let’s see.

Yesterday: Strength – 59mins, Steps – 6877, Active Calories – 1036, mood – ok.

Weight loss to date: 18lbs.

It’s been a minute

Credit: Sunbeam Photography

Firstly, Happy Women’s Day! It is important to acknowledge that we have come a long way. It is also important to acknowledge that there is still a long journey left. If you believe UN Statics – 300 years before men and women will have equal pay.

The celebration of how much we have achieved is important. However, what is more important is recognising that we need to pull other women up with us. We need to celebrate them and push them forward.

Chicken Chilli for the Winter

The weather has turned in the hot Middle East. It was 30 degrees, and then one morning, the temperature dropped to 10 degrees. The scarves, jackets and boots came out. In the ME, winter is short and awaited. We like to take walks in winter and sit in our balconies with hot cups of teas.

In winter, I make the chicken chilli. It is one of those hearty and wholesome food, which is healthy and fills you up. I tend to use dry beans (so it is a weekend grub for me) but you can use canned/pre boiled beans. I tend to use the beans and vegetables I have on hand.

This is from some weeks ago.

Winter Chicken Chilli
make for 2

1 tbsp coconut oil
100 g onion
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 clove of garlic (chopped)
1 tsp chopped ginger
1tsp red chilli
1/2 handful of garam masala (not grounded)
salt to taste
130g lean minced chicken
100g red bell pepper
200g tomatoes
125g chickpeas (boiled)
75g black beans (boiled)
25g red beans (boiled)
100g black chickpeas
2 scallions chopped
1/2 bunch of coriander
1/2 cup sweetcorn

1. Saute onion until they are golden brown, add cumin seeds, caraway seeds and mustard seeds and fry them until they start to change colour/pop;
2. Add garlic, ginger and spices (except salt) and let them cook for few minutes.
3. Add chicken and cook until it changes colour. Add salt and mix well.
4. Add the red pepper and tomatoes and let it cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add all the beans and fill the pot with water.
6. Let it cook until the beans are soft. Take a hand potato masher and mash the beans.
7. Add sweet corn and let them cook until they are just soft.
8. Take the pot off. Add coriander and scallion.
9. Eat it hot with some greek yogurt.

 

PS – the weather is already starting to heat up.

 

 

Last Week

Last week was very interesting. I did not loose any weight even though my eating habits are now completely different. The amount of food I am consuming has also drastically reduced. I think it maybe because I am about to get periods, or there maybe an actual underlying problem that I need to uncover about my body.

I also feel that I am not getting enough water. It is quite frustrating.

Random Prompts Sometimes Hit a Cord

Who are your favorite people to be around?

Credit: Teodor Drobota

I am not a children person. I know it is a controversial statement. I don’t swoon over children – babies, toddlers, etc.. I generally find it annoying when parents keep showing you their kids photographs or swooning over their kids, or women loose the ability to have a conversation about anything else except their kids once they have children.

I am also one of those people who get really annoyed if I have screaming and crying children in the plane. I also feel really bad for the parent and I know they are doing their best. I completely get the pain of the parents and also there is nothing that they can do it. Most of the time the child is in pain and agony. I have siblings who, as kids, suffered when we were travelling so I am very aware of the inevitability of the situation. However, it still pisses me off if I have to be in a confined space with no outlet with a screaming/crying/howling child. It gets on my nerve.

So, the person whom I like being most around was a complete surprise to me. It is one of my siblings kid. I love spending time with the child whether it is reading, playing with Lego or other toys, creating scenes from movies, watching videos or just talking. Sometimes we can both be in bed and do our own thing. My favourite person in the world is as much a surprise to me as it is to anybody else in the world.

In general, I also love spending time with my family. It is probably because we don’t see each other all the time but they are definitely my favourite people.

I have few close friends who are spread across the world but when I do get to see them – it is pure joy.