taking responsibilty to get me where I want to be

efes_shareholder

Another hour and 15 minutes in the gym last night and now I ache!
Its so busy during the week , I think I will have to try some off peak times at the weekend or see if I can get up extra early as it seems to wake me up rather then wear me out , that said Today I am tired
I am going to give myself a night off tonight and then aqua aerobics tomorrow just to mix it up

I finally got on the scales last night and I wish I had done so weeks ago.....It gives a higher number then I anticipated however I know I don't look the weight it shows ( I have always weighed more then my appearance suggests)
I'm not writing off being a greek goddess but I may need to change my expectations , I have three weeks to do what I can and what I am doing can certainly only assist.
My travelling companion asked me why I am bothering as we always return looking pregnant anyway !!!

Reminded the son that he owes me some phone money and once that comes in I will be allocating it to Very
Also requested £22 in the account from quidco be sent to my account and this will be going to the capital one account.

efes_shareholder

So a bit of a spendy evening but all for the right reason I hope , I think I am suffering from middle age spread.
I already eat in my opinion quite healthy which is why the weight I now am surprised me but I know as you become pre menopause excercise is more important then ever ( hence the gym programme)
I went to tesco after work to grab a couple of bits that we don't have at home namely scan bran , cottage cheese , eggs , mushrooms , bacon and Yakult.
I've always suffered digestion problems and Yakult was one of those things which helped but I've let slip.
Its not ideal having to purchase these when I already pay ample housekeep however shopping has already been done this week and these are my "wants" so I'll suck it up , all in all I spent £10.91 here.

I rested up last night and for the first time since my weekend I was asleep by 9pm and went til 6am when the alarm woke me without any disturbances at all , I feel so much better for this , aqua aerobics tonight and I can feel myself lifting the dark cloud which I felt was getting closer and closer a few weeks ago. the new regime is having the right affect on me

No response from the youngest son regarding his "debt" - He is in the middle of his final assessments and not very good with contact in general so I won't pester him too much however it wont be "forgotten" because he chooses not to respond

Gym payment debited today , I was given a special "bring a friend" reduced rate for the first month and from here on with it will increase to normal rates so I need to remember to call them in my lunch hour and downgrade my membership so that I don't pay the "prem" membership.
I have taken my best friend , daughter and sister in on this so its been worth it but now if they want to go to the gym they can arrange their own memberships rather then attend on my back.

efes_shareholder

So aqua aerobics last night , spent £7.80 - Beginning to think I should have stayed with this centre for my gym and classes but the 12 month contract was off putting

2 weeks today until the pay packet replenishes the account , the account is currently healthier then this time last month , just have to mantain this and make sure I dont fall outside the remits of trying to be on course

Have received my check up with the hospital as my follow up to the cell removal late last year - really not looking forward to "vag" cam.
Will also have stupid car park charges at the hospital so I will do a whizz round the blocks nearby and see if I can find a permit free zone but sometimes its easier just to pay to be onsite rather then risk a ticket

Gym after work again which will total 4 visits and one aqua session this week ..............I can feel the shape changing slightly so hopefully another 2 weeks I wont be too ashamed to pull on my bikini
I've been trying to eat healthily too , gonna weigh myself again over weekend and fingers crossed I will see a decent loss

efes_shareholder

good morning MSE'

Well where did the weekend go?

I did an hour and ten minutes in the gym on Friday night and discovered the massage chairs - why had I not found them before !!

Saturday I had an early morning sunbed and then came home to tackle my room .............one of those jobs that you start determined and then consider why you started 3 hours later

3 bags for the charity shop and 4 bags of rubbish later and I downed tools as I was losing the will to live. I literally had everything out of my drawers , wardrobe , out of storage boxes , emptied shelves and wiped down everything and everywhere.

I then went to the pub with friends - I utilised the hip flask I was bought at Xmas and filled it with a £5 quart of Vodka and allowed myself £15.00 spending money for the night , this has to be the way forward !!
I left my cards at home however the card reader went down in the pub so it needn't have mattered

Yesterday I got up early and finished the room , stripped the bed , swept the floor and gave that a going over.
My sister came over to visit so took a coffee stop.
Picked middle daughter up and went to the local shops , purchased a bikini and some toiletres for upcoming holiday and had a weatherspoon lunch
Then went to the cinema to see pokemon ! Not my choice but the seats recline and we got cardboard ears so I embraced and kept them on for the movie.
The things we do for our kids
Dropped her off and then picked my sister up for another gym session before finally getting home at about 21-45
Like the gym at this time on a sunday as its bordering on empty but wish the excercise helped me sleep rather then rejuvinated me

Today the Barclaycard payment has left my account and that should be it for the month .............optomistic that there is enough funds for the remainder of the week and that potentially I may have a surplus in my account
That said , the dog bill is in which mum is paying me back for so quite likely it will need to go towards this

Now its monday and I am wondering where my weekend went !!!!

efes_shareholder

£19.51 has hit my account from quidco so I am going to send this to the capital one bill which is hanging about and really could do with clearing

Been reflecting on the last year and although I think I am heading in the right direction , I have done a little "shifting" around rather then clearing and I really do need to budget better and not overspend
I am so guilty of putting trips on the calender to give myself something to look forward too ...........its like a bit of an addiction and although I know I have cut back on what I agree to do there is still room for some more improvement
I've not made as much improvement as I wanted on the debt busting but this wasnt helped with needing the car and money that could have gone to the debts now paying for that.

The gym has definately been a good distraction and although some nights I really don't want to go I am currently doing some kind of activity 5 nights out of 7
I can already feel and see the difference in my body and as I am approaching menopause it can only help as I don't like my middle age body and I want the one back that I had in my 20's !!
Although its only a guestimation I think I have shed around 5 - 6lbs in the last week just by activity and cutting out the rubbish
I've upped my protein intake and been having eggs , mushrooms and tomatoes for breakfast ( although today I couldn't face it so it was weetabix and a banana) and cut out the bad carbs which I didnt eat much of anyway - potatoes , white bread , pasta and rice

I have another 10 days until I go away if I mantain how I am now I will be happy and as with Greece I expect a relatively "healthy" eating regime whilst I am there

The most important change I guess is those cancer sticks , although vaping isnt ideal its much much cheaper and its working , this is a huge saving for me - So proud of my mum for ditching it too and losing 3 stone at slimming world - Maybe we can be a healthy household yet

efes_shareholder

So today I feel heavy and sluggish - pretty sure its womens problems looming , will make myself frequent gym and reward myself with a massage chair after.

Had my well lady check after my procedure at xmas - It was as horrendous as I expected and I am keeping my fingers crossed that after this , I will be back every 3 years. Hospital parking fees are ridiculous , £3.00 for a hour !

Paid the quidco coupe off of capital one and my son paid his owings which have now been allocated to the very account.
It's all on track but I'm feeling frustrated at the inability to stretch the salary to pay more but this is my own fault all things considered

Things to sort - Car insurance and gym membership , I'm on a higher tariff now for the latter following promo period so I have to contact them to have it decreased , typically the only thing you can't do online.

efes_shareholder

Its nearly the weekend

Gym completed last night and I ache like daddio today , I think maybe 5 evenings of excercise out of 7 may be a little too much too soon so I am going to adjust to every other night

My eating plan is still on track and tonight I am going to try Lemon and Ginger tea and also tomorrow lemon , ginger and cucumber water as this is supposed to be great at helping to shift the middle age belly - with a week to go to my holiday I will try anything. I've piled on the pounds during the months where I felt down across the winter.

As for spends , I purchased two tickets to the screening of the champions league final at my teams stadium with my friend. These were £11.00 each and are my treat as my friend has kindly offered to take us and collect us from the airport after the event and I know he will not take a contribution for petrol , so this is my thank you as I know longer need to cover parking and fuel for this.

Today I am toying with aqua aerobics , i can't decide if it will help my aches however not going and resting at home is a saving of £7.60 so that is some motivation to rest on my bed instead !!
I'm inclined to go home and sort out some " to pack " piles as this weekend is the last oppurtunity to purchase anything needed and I really should know if I need anything
Its not helped that the washing machine at home isn't working and wont be fixed until Tuesday , I will be calling in a few favours rather then paying for the laundrette

Kitten868

Wow ES! You're such a gym bunny. That's brilliant work.

My comments before were wrong - I didn't realise your debts were on 0%.

Weird tip. Yakult doesn't have enough probiotic to do anything. You need at least 2 million. I buy probio, they come from boots or Amazon or Holland and barrett and they helped me immensely. I had cystitis, thrush and urine infections every week and now nothing. They really make an impact on improving all your healthy bacteria. I don't work for their company I just want to share as if it can help you that's great.

Do you think you'd be better setting yourself little milestones? Xxx

efes_shareholder

Hi Kitten

Oh thanks for the tip - I've just bought another pack of yakult however I will be taking your advice , there is a holland and barratt at my local centre and as luck would have it , looks like your suggestion is on special offer.
Added bonus , I can take tablet form on my travels - I've suffered for many many years with my digestion and probably had every test known to man for the prognosis to be as if with many that a cause can't be found "IBS"
Charcoal capsules get the cramps under control but I am all for anything which helps this area , also suffered urine and kidney infections along the way so lots of thanks for your suggestion
I was given some Jamaican bush tea to try and help me "go" which I had last night , it was productive but the taste was absolutely Vile.

I think goals and small steps are the way forward - The B/card is ticking away nicely in the background and is the biggest debt so I am going to look at clearing the smaller ones firstly
I can clear the capital one by the end of July , and in fact I WILL clear the capital one by this date and sooner if I have the means to do so.

I can start to add to my EF - this happens from Junes paycheck

I didn't go to Aqua aerobics last night and instead had a quick pre holiday 10 minute sunbed and picked up some supplies at the supermarket - namely all these things to try and make me healthier

Gym tonight after work and I may treat myself to a bottle of red , I saw my local shop had some to clear at £2.99

efes_shareholder

The weekend has passed.

Friday evening was spent in the gym with the reward of a bottle of red after , the special in the shop was only on white which I would drink much quicker then red so I opted for a £5 bottle of merlot and then chilled out for the evening.

Saturday morning , I was up early , £40 in the car which I hoped would cover until I get back from hols but I have already done 240 miles so I think it will need a top up - I drove myself , My BFF and daughter to the market , weather was glorious so again we went topless.
Bought some car freshners , a top and a playsuit however the playsuit does not fit GRRR , its fine except my body is too long however it is my sisters birthday next month so she can have it as an early present
Had my first naughty food in forever and ate at the food van £3.80
I then went for a sunbed - Big mistake , I hadn't realised how much I had caught the sun during the day out as it hadn't come out yet , a few hours later I had a lobster appearance , fortunately it was gone the next day.
Saturday evening was over to Mr rome for pizza on him ( again trying to avoid these types of food but once in a blue moon won't hurt) and I took along a bottle of red £6.99 so not to arrive empty handed

Sunday was operation house clean , and then I died my hair - was intending to visit the gym but had a really offensive period and really did not have the energy to take my heavy legs so I took myself off to bed instead.

Yesterday a trip to the shopping centre with my daughters , more so for them then me , I bought a beach towel for primarni for £3 mainly as the washing machine is broken at home and there is a backlog and not sure I will be able to wash and dry mine as well as having them available for the showers at the gym and some nude undies for the outfits where my knickers could show on holiday.
We had a weatherspoons lunch although I wasnt especially hungry so I just had one of the starter bites ( Halloumi fries )
After the girls went home , I went to they gym , matalan was open and there was a white top i had been toying with and having found nothing else I decided to buy it. It was £10 and will be great with Jeans or shorts.
I now no longer need any further summer clothes this year - please remind me of this often!
There was an added bonus that the purchase came with a car park voucher so instead of my normal 90p car park this was now free

I surprised myself with the gym session , I did my usual 5 miles on the bike and then a good hour of circuits on the apparatus. Since I felt rough still this was a great acheivement
I also had a massage chair session

Today is 3 more days until payday and I know I have sufficent funds - I must tackle the gym membership and the car insurance this week

OHH...FORGOT TO ADD , I bought the Probio as suggested , will let you know how I got on.