Project Mortgage Neutral Begins

ajmoney

A couple of weeks ago I asked to have a blood test as a follow up to one that was done a few years ago to see where my blood sugar levels are. I was in the pre-diabetic zone two years ago and after 3 months managed to get back into the normal zone. I found out the other day what the higher level was but I don't remember what the lower one was so I will try and find that out next time I have an appointment. This time it tipped slightly into the pre-diabetic level although not as high as before.

I have not been happy with my weight for a while but have found it hard to do anything to change it or keep it stable. I definitely get tempted by sugar which is why I asked for a re-test. If I can slowly reduce my weight I think this would really help. Ideally I would like to lose 10kg but I know this isn't going to be quick.

I used to walk a lot but I am less confident going out in the evening, especially while it is dark and have lacked in motivation to get out. After I had finished dinner and cleared up tonight I decided to go for a walk around my estate. The route I normally take is just under a mile and a half and isn't flat. I really enjoyed getting some air in my lungs and am going to try and do this once day. I didn't put any effort into it as I am working on keeping my stress levels lower and I know I don't sleep as well when I exercise harder later in the day.

My nemesis is lunch at work. I like to eat in the canteen as I enjoy the social aspect and it gets me away from the office for a while. I get tempted by the wrong foods that aren't going to help bring my blood sugar and weight down so need to try hard with this. I am going to try some different options this week to see how it affects me, if it doesn't go well I can start to take lunch in but I would rather not.

KajiKita

Can you not take your own food in to eat in the canteen? Or supplement what you buy there with a tub of mixed beans and HM dressing? Hummus, thinned down with vinegar, with extra salt, pepper and Dijon mustard is my go-to when taking salads in. 

Well done for getting out and doing a walk! 😊👏

KK

LadyWithAPlan

I get you on the sweet treats, I have never had 'one biscuit' or  a few crisps ever.. However i do remember reading a trainer saying that if we got one flat tyre we dont then go around slashing all the other tyres, yet people when they overeat at one meal basically do the equivalent of that and decide instead they will start  'tomorrow'  and overeat that day

well done on the mortgage neutral

ajmoney

KajiKita said:

Can you not take your own food in to eat in the canteen? Or supplement what you buy there with a tub of mixed beans and HM dressing? Hummus, thinned down with vinegar, with extra salt, pepper and Dijon mustard is my go-to when taking salads in. 

Well done for getting out and doing a walk! 😊👏

KK

I like this idea, I hadn't thought of taking my own food in and eating it in the canteen. It would mean I don't need to eat anything out of a box either as I could decant to a plate. I am going to see how my resolve and willpower are and reassess at the end of the week.

@LadyWithAPlan I can't just have a small amount of something either but I am less likely to crazy with other people around. I chatted to the person I spend the most time with about food choices yesterday, he sees my diet as ok, I mentioned it was the sweet stuff when no one is there that is the problem, It is not all the time by any means though. 

I know as a rule that sugar is not what I am craving so I am going back to trying something I did a while ago and planning to have sweet stuff when I am in company.

Watty1

is there a club you could join to go for walks in the evening with?   My running club has a walking group, and it walks maybe 3 miles as a group on a Tuesday and Thursday evening?    I won't walk or run without WattyDog of a dark evening, well actually I never run with WattyDog as he is a liability but I don't mind walking with him as he is of substantial size and can bark, sometimes on command (that is a bit hit and miss but I taught it as a useful skill when we were out together).

Working_Mum

I think that Park Run do a walking section - they certainly do in my area. That may be worth investigating.

I sail very close to the wind with regards to being pre-diabetic (I also have a very sweet tooth) - I have recently discovered the Glucose Goddess and her take is fascinating and rooted in science - using her approach has helped me (this isn't medical advice obvs just a suggestion for you to investigate further).
 
You are doing really well with making positive changes, you should be proud.

((WM)) 

ajmoney

Thanks @Watty1 I don't have much free time in the evenings though

@Working_Mum I am so glad you know about walking at parkrun, I am in charge of my local event and love that it means so many different people can get involved. I have been walking at them for months due to an injury and volunteer loads too. I will have a look at the Glucose Goddess, thank you.

It wasn't a particularly filling lunch today but I had soup and a ham salad roll. On the walk up to the canteen I was reciting to myself what I couldn't head for  let's see how tomorrow goes.

I mucked up dinner as I got home from work very late, still needed to go shopping and was pretty hungry. I ended up grabbing some chicken and salad from the deli and will finish soon with some fruit.

ajmoney

Next week I am going to take my own lunch to eat in the canteen as the options I am happy to get mean I am hungry fairly quickly. Happy to keep experimenting.

ajmoney

Not feeling great so opting to get lunch at work this week so I only have to find the energy to prep one meal a day. Happy with my progress so far though as I lost a pound in the last week without too many drastic changes. I am aiming for the same this week although it is my birthday this weekend so I am happy to enjoy whatever food I fancy and maybe a bit of cake too!

With ten days to go until payday my account is looking good, especially considering I am waiting to be reimbursed for buying some stuff for work. I am not really challenging myself money wise so might see if I can set myself something for during March and see how I get on. I want to maximise putting money into savings over the next few months as I have no idea what the interest rates will look like at remortgage time and suspect the focus might shift.

ajmoney

I have a few days off coming up. Tomorrow I have a couple of meetings in the afternoon (dial in from home) even though I am not truly needed in work so I am hoping to be productive around this. Initially I wanted to spend some time in the garden but I have a list of things I need to/should do. I will see if I can tick some of them off this evening so I can get outside for a bit.

I finally got a decorator out to give a quote a few days ago, I have no idea if it is good or not but it is £2480 for 3 rooms. I have someone else coming out tomorrow and then I hope to sit down with my friend to work out a price for the work too. He has said he will beat all the quotes and I know he will do a job but I feel a little guilty as I really liked the guy who came out the other day. My friend has also said he will help out with some of my garedning jobs too. It is a shame he is 16 miles away and not just around the corner!!!! Things are looking up on this front though.

Savings rates...I currently have 6.5% and 3.5%. The lower one os easily accessible, I feel it could potentially be higher but with the rates coming down recently I might be wrong. I need to have another look at these.

One of my main jobs tomorrow is to sort out online access to my tax/NI contributions as I have never successfuly set this up and need to know by the deadline if I need to top up my NI contributions. When I have tried this before I have been on hold for so long that I have given up.