Food and Exercise Round-up

I haven't blogged for ages!  Somewhere in the past few weeks - I don't think my weekly logging has always been spot-on - it's been my Weight Watchers 1 year anniversary - a year since I reached my goal weight.  I'm really pleased with myself.

The Stats

Wednesday 5th February 

Weight: 8st 9lbs
BMI:  20.7
BFP:  24.4%

Wednesday 12th February

Weight:  8st 9lbs
BMI:  20.7
BFP:  35.5 (!)

Wednesday 19th February 
Weight:  8st 8lbs
BMI:  20.6
BFP:  24.7%

Wednesday 26th February 

Weight:  8st 10lbs
BMI:  21.0
BFP:  23.7%

The Food

None of note, just the usual...although I did bake!

Sticky Stem Ginger Cake

And baked lemon and sultana cheesecake from an old recipe book.

The ginger cake was particularly delicious, it was quite an unusual recipe in that there was a lot of liquid in the mix (black treacle, golden syrup and milk) and the cake mix was actually a batter.  It made what was essentially a ginger-flavoured brownie - very moist and squidgy, with a real deep warm kick of ginger from the stem ginger.  The office was very happy with that one!

I had a meal out a Pizza Express with a friend one lunchtime, and I have to say that I was disappointed.  You don't get much for your money or your calories - although I do like the idea of the mini-puddings with coffee.  We had chocolate fudge cake!

It was okay (a bit dry) but I have to say that I could have made better myself.  I am starting to be seriously hard to please when I go out!

The Exercise

Again, much as usual...I decided to add in some hill/speed work to my running schedule and did a killer session one lunchtime.  In spite of the fact that there were serious hills I logged my fastest recorded mile and my fastest recorded 5k (which I can't get the app on my phone to show to post on here).  It was BRILLIANT (in a near-death-experience kind of way!).  However, my knees were very sore afterwards and the niggle in my left thigh came back also - I'd say the knees took about three weeks to recover.  I was not impressed and am hoping that they recover quicker after the next session.  I love hill/speed sessions and hope that I don't have to limit them too much.

Alastair and I have been on some lovely walks.  One in particular in Teesdale was gorgeous - a long cold walk followed by afternoon tea in the gorgeous Rose and Crown at Romaldkirk.  There was a wood-burning stove and the tea came with home-baked chocolate chip cookies!

 

Hello, Garden!

I ventured out into the garden for the first time today!  There are signs of Spring everywhere.

It was colder than it looked though - I raked the gravel in the front garden, potted up some broad beans for the cold-frame and retreated inside to my warm kitchen!

Next time I need to tidy the back garden and have a go at pruning the clematises - it's a mess out there!

Food and Exercise Round-up (weeks 49 and 50)

The Stats

Wednesday 22nd January

Weight:  8st 8lbs
BMI:  20.5
BFP:  23.5%

Wednesday 29th January

Weight:  8st 11lbs
BMI:  21.0
BFP:  25.1%

The Food

I was briefly very pleased with myself for getting back to my pre-Christmas weight and BFP, but then it all went a bit wrong.  Some dodgy pork and some seriously bad pre- and post-long run fuelling led to an upset stomach followed by feeling better and eating *everything* which in turn led to some weight gain.  Never mind, next week is another week...!

The Exercise

If things were a bit dodgy on the food front, the exercise front was much better over the two weeks.  As usual I cycled, ran, Cross Fitted and walked.  Thanks to some conveniently-timed strike action I got a long run in on 23rd January.  I ran from work to Finchale Abbey.

And on the way back things started to go a bit wrong...my return was plagued by the dreaded *bathroom issues* but I managed 11.28 miles in 2 hours.

And then I ate a cream scone, which was just silly and which I heartily regretted not very much later!  It was very nice at the time though (date and walnut - yum!).

Alastair and I did a little "porly walk" on Saturday, and by the start of the next week I was back on top form.  So much so that - in another conveniently timed strike on the Tuesday - I ran a half-marathon!!!

I set off having not eaten a thing since a modest breakfast loaded up with Garmin, phone, belt-pouch-thing containing Shot Bloks and a sensible post-run snack.  I reprised my Finchale Abbey run with a couple of extra loops (including a very hilly pull up to Newton Hall - that's why the first few miles are so slow).  Right up until about mile 10 I wasn't sure I was going to make it to 13.1, but I surprised myself by not only doing so in a really good time but going into real overdrive in the last mile (hopped up on Shot Bloks I think).  Look at that average time!

Not fast by any stretch of the imagination I know, but fast for me and that's what counts.

I celebrated with pepperoni pizza and red wine for my tea that night (once I was sure that everything was in order following the run!) and it was delicious.  Then the next day I weighed in and found out that I'd put on 3lbs since my last weigh in.  How can you put on 3lbs in the week you've run a half-marathon...life is not fair (and no, it wasn't muscle alas)!

Food and Exercise Round-up (week 48)

The Stats

15th January 2014

Weight:  8st 9lbs
BMI:  211
BFP:  24.3%

The Food

None of note, as I've been practising post-Christmas abstemiousness!

The Exercise

Starting on Monday 6th January I had a seriously good week exercise-wise.  I did what I call a full house - I cycled to work every day, I ran twice, I Cross Fitted once and I did a long walk (20+ miles).  Noteworthy at any time of year, almost unheard of in January.  I am loving the mild weather after the past two winters.

My Tuesday run was a nice threshold session with my new running buddy - a work colleague who's much faster than I am but who's training for a marathon and needs to practice running at marathon pace.  It works out perfectly for both of us as her pace is a threshold pace for me (she's not very good at running slowly at marathon pace yet!), and it's good fun running with a friend.

My Thursday run was a solo 5k which I sneaked in in just under 30 minutes - I started off trying to practice running 10 minute miles - my target half-marathon pace but got bored with that about half-way through and started running for speed!

Alastair and I did a wonderful walk on Sunday.  We started with an absolutely heavenly caftiere of coffee at the lovely Burgoyne Hotel in Reeth.

We walked over the top to Bolton Castle in bright sunshine, stopping at a very handy lunch stop on the way.

 

The battery in my phone ran out after Bolton Castle so, to my great regret, I didn't get any photos of the truly spectacular sunset we were treated to.  It was a stunning, rose-pink and gold sunset that turned the sere grass of the moors a beautiful, otherworldly pink, and although the sun itself was liquid gold right until the moment it dipped below the horizon the sky turned a dramatic scarlet before fading into twilight.  It was truly breathtaking.  We did the last couple of hours of our walk under a sky of the deepest black chipped with such bright stars - it was wonderful.

Food and Exercise Round-up (week 47)

The Stats

8th January 2014

Weight:  8st 11lbs
BMI:  21.2
BFP:  27.3

The Exercise

My work year started on the 2nd January, and I was immensely cheered up by the fact this this was a Thursday...because Thursdays are run days!  I did a nice little 5k in a respectable time.

Thanks to the mild weather it was a cycling day as well, so all in all a good start to the working week (and it's always good to start the working week on a Thursday!).

On Friday Jules came to visit!  We Cross Fitted.

It was brilliant.

Saturday was our rest day - with the exception of some quite strenuous shopping - but we did sneak in a little stroll from Craster to Dunstanburgh Castle.  It had been a grey, dull day but a lovely sunset sneaked up on us whilst we were walking back.

On Sunday we all drove to the picturesque Thorpe Thewles so that Jules and I could do a long run on the Castle Eden walkway whilst Alastair did a walk.

Nice and slow and steady...and followed by Sunday lunch!

The Food

My official post-Christmas abstemiousness was relaxed almost immediately when Jules came to stay, although we ate very healthily overall.  I cooked a delicious meal from the cookbook Jules bought me for Christmas for Friday night.  The book is Dale Pinnock's The Medicinal Chef and the main course was Sweet Potato and Chickpea Bake.  This was delicious, it was kind of a veggie Shepherd's Pie with a sweet potato and goat's cheese topping and onions, chickpeas, spinach and sundried tomato paste underneath.  I put pumpkin seeds on the top too for extra crunchy deliciousness.  The dessert was Spiced Apple Wedges (baked in cinammon and maple syrup with pecan nuts, amazing) with Blueberry Compote.  The blueberry compote included a sprinkling of chilli flakes - I was dubious but the chilli went perfectly with the very sweet stewed blueberries and really added a depth and warmth to the dish, which I served with 0% fat Greek yoghurt.

Although it's not very modest to say so I think my food was the best of the weekend - Jules and I had a nice lunch at The Corbridge Larder in Morpeth (not Corbridge!) - in fact my Greek platter, consisting of olive bread, feta cheese, stuffed vine leaves, aubergine jam, roasted red peppers and olives was very nice - but we did think that the cafe itself looked and felt a bit like a canteen - not helped by the fact that it opened into the bus station on one side.  The food definitely tasted better than the premises promised!

In the evening we found ourselves in the Hermitage Inn in Warkworth.  On the whole this was a disappointing experience - my vegetable stir-fry was somewhat below average and Jules' dessert was made in a factory and disgustingly sweet.  I also had an undrinkable cup of coffee - and for me to say that means it was really bad!  Jules said her fish pie was nice though, and I had an absolutely amazing Spotted Dick and custard.  It was perfect!  It was a sponge rather than a suet pudding and it was obviously home-made, as light as a feather, delicately spiced and stuffed with the most delicious plump raisins.  I can't recommend much else about the place but I would recommend that Spotted Dick!

On Sunday we had another disappointing meal, this time at the Hamilton Russell in Thorpe Thewles.  Alastair declared his oven baked cod inedible ("it tastes like rubber") and I only ate my roast beef dinner because I'd just run 8 and a half miles and was absolutely ravenous.  To alleviate the trauma I went home and cooked treacle sponge for Alastair and "guilt-free sticky toffee pudding" for me and Jules.  With real custard made with egg yolks and vanilla seeds.  I have to say, they made us feel much better.

Disappointing food aside, which didn't matter at all  in the great scheme of things, it was a wonderful weekend with a wonderful friend and I really enjoyed it.  A very good start to the year!