So baby steps, yes? Finally went for a walk/run today. Went out my street and kept going until I found water, then turned down another street and came home. Worked out my route using running ahead afterwards, and I went 4.41km today. Which is 2.7 miles and doesn’t sound nearly as impressive. But it is more than I would do at home. And I wore a scarf which helped a lot with fixing my lung-issue. I have to pull it over my mouth and nose, and I must look like an idiot running like that, but it’s so worth it. Now, I want to find a 3km run so that I can work on being able to run all of it, and then I will increase to the 5 and then to the 10. Woot. I think my baby steps will have me doing at least the 3km each day, since it’s basically just around the block. And I’ll try to do my exercise DVD, etc. too.

For dinner last night I was very impressed with myself — I made a pasta with tomato, zucchini, mushroom and capsicum sauce. Today I think I’ll do roasted cherry tomatoes and spinach with cheese (and maybe some muchroom, since I need to use it up.) The french girls are making dinner, which is nice of them. I don’t want to think about the amount of calories in their cheese, though. So I’ll just ignore it.

Posted at 11:49 am | No Comments »

I think that, come tomorrow, I will be officially settled enough to get back on track — properly. I’m still sick, but at least now I can bound up the stairs rather than drag myself up them, and the breathing thing does seem to be happening a little easier. I’m still tired but that should hopefully be fixed by going to bed early — again.

And I’m tired of excuses. You know you’ve gone on too long with them when you’re the one who is tired. There’s this saying “Excuses are lies you tell yourself.” Which is cool. Although I like to think illness is a reasonably valid one, particularly since I’m a bit of a wimp when I’m sick. And now I’m set; I have a place to live, I have groceries, I know my area reasonably well. Tomorrow (around noon) I will buy a scarf to wear when running. And perhaps a long-sleeved shirt or three. This exercise thing is important and it’s important to me to get on top of it.

So I’m hitting the sack in about 15 minutes. Even though that means I’ll have spent a large portion of my day sleeping. (In fact, I was awake from 8am to 2pm, then again from 6:30 to now. So about 9 hours, which just seems a little sad.) I do feel a little better, though. And tomorrow morning, just after dawn (which sounds so much more committed that ‘around 9:30am’), I’ll go for a run. A nice run. A polite one, which is not too hard. And all will be well.

Posted at 8:03 am | No Comments »

50 posts! That’s 50 times I have made a conscious decision to record, to make myself accountable, to distract myself and to mentally ready myself to lose weight. It feels good. Really good, actually. I’m quite proud. It should continue in the future, maybe even progress.

So today I found my local greengrocer, and got my vegies for the next week - perhaps even the next 2 - for under 8 pounds ($16). Then I hit up the butcher and got about 2 weeks worth of meat for 16 pounds ($32), and finally I went to Tesco’s and got the Other Stuff. For each thing I went to the store, walked back to my flat, and then walked to the next place. My flat is up three flights of stairs — my butt better look damned good by the end of six months!

Tonight I had sausages and mashed potatoes (or ‘Tatties’ as they call them here). The sausages were from the butcher and they were the best meat I’ve tasted in a long time. They were honestly amazing. So delicious. I’ve got 6 more in my freezer (portioned out — see I have been busy), and I know that I’m going to enjoy them. The other thing about the meat is that it’s all been portioned for me. While I don’t have scales, and I don’t know the exact weight, I can tell by looking at them that they are around the right size (steak = palm, etc.) It’s fantastic that I have a place so nearby that does good quality, good serve food. I’m really excited about it.

I’m also coming across recipies, and I kind of want to share them as I try them. I’m not sure about recipe copyright, though? Will look into it and see. There’s a great recipe for Easy Beef Wellington that I really want to try.

Life is so exciting — this whole being grown up thing can be hard, sometimes, and scary and also annoying, too. But it’s also fun, exciting, and definately makes me feel like I’m the one in control. Which is kind of cool.

(Oh yeah, and I also had Ben and Jerry’s Half Baked Ice Cream — Vanilla, and chocolate swirl ice cream with cookie dough and bits of brownie…it was goood. My special ‘Welcome to Edinburgh’ treat. After this, I think I’ll move back to the frozen yoghurt, though.)

Posted at 6:07 am | No Comments »

Three weeks into the Scottish Experience, and I’ve only just moved into my apartment. So I’m going to excuse myself for not sticking to what I wanted to do, because when you’re at the mercy of a) the student cafeteria or b) someone else’s cooking, there’s just not much that can be done to improve the situation.

However, I have just moved into my flat. Mine. I feel so grown up. I’ve never lived on my own, never taken care of things that are important and everyday things. And doing it now makes me feel more responsible. So, this is what I’m planning to buy tomorrow at the Supermarket, to be able to get me through the first week or so, but also to set me up for Cooking For Myself (a big step).

• Tinned tomatoes
• Basil
• Olive oil/spray
• Tinned tuna
• Pineapple juice
• Carrots
• Eggs
• Rye bread
• Tomatoes
• Spinach
• Low-fat ricotta
• Pizza bases
• Low fat cheddar (grated)
• Salt
• Tea
• Coffee
• Sugar
• Garlic
• Sausages
• Bacon
• Bananas
• Green beans
• Puff Pastry
• Tomato paste
• Ben and Jerry’s Half Baked Ice Cream

I’ve been eating lots of crap, yes, but I’ve also been walking a lot and doing a lot of exercise. On Saturday I went to a Ceilidh, which is a sort of Scottish folk dance. It was amazing — so much fun, but my legs have been sore for days. I love that I walk more here, it feels fantastic. And I’m involved in a run soon!

I’m kind of sick, but I’m hoping that I can fix that soon. It’s not too bad now but I think I should coddle myself for a few days. I’d rather do that than ignore it, because it’s much harder to get out and eat well and do exercise when it feels too hard to get out of bed.

Posted at 5:48 am | No Comments »