Food diary
Originally uploaded by mariecandme
One thing I’ve learned with this experiment is that often – it’s not what Marie Claire is telling me to do that is the interesting story. It’s the people I meet and the things that happen along the way.
As I sit here writing from the usual hotel that I stay at in Bristol, I’ve got myself into a bit of a funk. I wasn’t doing great with the food and exercise advice to begin with, but I’d lost a couple of pounds in the first few months and things were starting to shape up. However, incidental exercise doesn’t seem to be cutting it. Taking the stairs and chasing people down the street isn’t going to be enough to reverse the bulge.
And there is a bulge – I’ve just caught sight of it in the mirror.
This links back to one thing leading to another I suppose. In each month there has been some sort of diet advice. Eating 5 meals a day, hypnosis, asking myself why I want chocolate every time I reach for some etc. This month is keeping a food diary. My food intake has rocketed. It’s disgusting. As I flick through the pages of the last week, it’s no surprise that I look and feel the heaviest I’ve ever been.
Looking at the diary my food intake has rocketed, for 3 reasons.
The first is that there has been a flurry of chocolate being brought into work recently. Left over trick or treat treats, treats brought back from holydays etc.
2. Is that I’ve had a lot of social and work meals recently.
3. Is my mood. I’m stressed out, and when I’m stressed I eat.
October’s Marie Claire ran an issue on fertility. It urged the reader to run some checks as it were to see if all is present and correct in there. So rather than spend the money for a fertility test, I decided to go to the Doctor and have them do it for me.
I had 3 blood tests to begin with. One showed my Rubella antibodies were fine. One showed that I was slightly anaemic and the lab lost my third one. So I went back and had another 2 tests. These tests are to test my progesterone levels, these levels indicate if I am ovulating or not. 2 weeks ago I called up for my results.
Me: Hi, I was just calling for my blood tests results.
Receptionist: OK, what’s your name?
Me: Mrs T
Receptionist: OK, well it just says, 4&5 – erm, I don’t know what that means so you will have to call the nurse tomorrow.
Being of an impatient nature I couldn’t wait 24 hours so decided to search on Google for what it all meant. My heart sank as I read forum after forum of stressed out women, claiming to have the same results as me and it meaning trouble.
So I called back the next day to speak to the nurse.
Me: Hi, I called yesterday for my blood test results.
Nurse: Ahh yeah. It’s a 4 and a 5 – erm, it looks like you didn’t ovulate.
Phone goes down – hand reaches for Chocolate. Did I stop to ask myself why I was reaching for the chocolate? No. I didn’t bother, because the answer was bloody obvious.
My ovaries being on strike answers a few questions though! Why has my skin been bad, why is my weight being hard to control, why have I managed to get away with 8 months of no contraception and not be on the bake? Etc.
It kind of put a few things into perspective though. Health and wellbeing especially. Maybe if I start looking after myself a bit better, I can convince the eggs to venture out once in a while.
So thus far, I have only been doing the incidental exercise and keeping the Food Diary. I’ve not tried combining everything.
Maybe if I eat the 5 small meals a day (each with some lean protein) and one with some full fat dairy. Make sure one of these meals contains celery, try to eat before 7 (this is the hardest!), listen to my hypnotherapy MP3, ask questions about chocolate AND keep a food diary this will help?
I also attempted my first little run on Sunday. Admittedly it was from the Sun Bed shop home, all of about a minute and because I wasn’t wearing makeup. But none the less, it was a jog, and it was one more jog than I’ve done all year. It made my throat burn!
But maybe that’s the key, maybe everything needs combining to work? I’m not sure when I’ll get time to write, work live or breathe. But it’s worth giving it a go for at least a week to see what will happen.
Keep your fingers crossed, I’ve got 2 more blood tests this month – I’ll shake those bloody eggs out with the help of Glen Harold, Jogging and Marie Claire’s diet club if it’s the last thing I do!
