It's a first...well kind of...

I have always made no secret of the fact that I'm not into exercise. It's not that I'm lazy, I just find exercise boring...and I hate that sweaty feeling that you get when you've been working out. Well, that and the fact that I'm stuck in a cycle of fat because I don't exercise and difficult to exercise because I'm fat. Anyway recently I decided to get out of my funk, quit whining and do something about my ever decreasing fitness levels.

Since getting sick in December I've lost 25 pounds, most of it through sickness originally, but then as my appetite came back i had to fight really hard to keep it off - before going for even more weight loss. 2 months later and I've lost 25 pounds now, so today I thought it was time that I embarked on an exercise plan. So, when I got home from work I went into the garage and dusted off my treadmill.

I'll be honest, my efforts were pathetic by most people's standards. But I did way better than I expected as I managed 15 minutes at a fair pace.  So this evening I'm pleased because I'm seeing some pretty good results from my lifestyle changes now. My weight is down, my fitness is better, I'm sleeping better and my blood pressure is lower (though it was also within normal limits before too...surprisingly!).

I've also been trying to work exercise into my daily life by doing more housework. I'm loving having a cleaner more organised house, and I get the benefit of FREE exercise too.

For those of you who are busy people, how do you squeeze in a little extra activity? I'm not necessarily looking for organised activities like the gym and classes, but ways to just generally be more active. There must be other improvements I can make.

Must dash, dinner is about to burn!

Stuffed mushrooms are my new best friend!

I wanted to do something a little different today and so I thought I'd share one of my favourite recipes with you. I love stuffed mushrooms, and this particular filling is tasty and easy. It's a great one for kids to help out with too.

I'm posting this because I've had a lot of emails this week about my weight loss and people asking what kind of diet foods I eat.  The answer is I don't eat diet foods, I eat REAL food...normal food. It's just that I'm eating less of that...and more of the low energy density stuff...like fruit and veggies.

These ingredients fill 4 medium mushrooms.

Ingredients
20g fresh chopped parsley
50g pine nut kernals
25g fresh parmesan cheese shavings
50-100g soft goats cheese (depending on how you like it)
4tsp fresh breadcrumbs
4 field mushrooms or 2 large Portabello mushrooms
1 clove of garlic

This is the best kind of goats cheese to get as it keeps it's shape well and doesn't run all over the oven tray

Instructions

Dry fry the pine nut kernels

Remove the stalks from the mushrooms, put them (top side up) on an oven tray, prick with a skewer (or something sharp) and spray with olive oil. Put in the oven at 200 deg C for 5 minutes, then drain water from the tray, turn the mushrooms over and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the fresh parsley, garlic clove, Parmesan cheese and pine nut kernels to a food processor and blend until it looks "crumbly"

Once the mushrooms are cooked, divide the pesto between the mushrooms, top with the goats cheese and sprinkle 1tsp of breadcrumbs over each mushroom. Cook in the oven until browned on top and the cheese has melted a little.

I serve this with a side salad made from rocket, cucumber, vine ripened cherry tomatoes and grated carrot. Gotta have that grated carrot if you want to see in the dark :)

 If you try it, let me know what you think!

A twist
Sometimes I save 1tsp of the pesto and the stalks from the mushrooms and fry it (with a spray of olive oil) 2 spring onions, 1tsp of pine nut kernels and a tiny bit of garlic. I then serve this on the side.

Time for a quick update...

Hi folks, I just wanted to share a quick update because I've had a few emails asking for a progress update LOL.

My goals for 2011 (click the link in my sidebar to find out what this is all about)
I've now lost 2.5 inches off my waist and 25 pounds. I'm feeling fitter and have a bit more energy now, so I'm really pleased with that progress.  In other news, I am still managing (just) to keep on top of my housework thanks to having a regular schedule. It takes me about half an hour a day and then a little longer at weekends...but I now have a house that looks more organised and feels more homely. Andy seems to be liking the new organisation too....and if you're reading this honey a little more help would be nice. Feel free to pick your chores from the list on the fridge :)

Health
My infection does seem to be clearing up with antibiotics this time...thus proving all of my doctors and the surgeons wrong. All of them said the antibiotics wouldn't work, because they NEVER work. So far I'm still proving them wrong :)

Work
I'm still working full time, still feeling under the weather but not bad enough to not be at work. That's good because I enjoy my job and miss it when I'm not here!

Family
My sister is now completely better, thanks to those who prayed for her a few weeks ago. She's back at work and sounds much better.

Hubby and I went to his works Burns Night supper on Friday. We stayed in a hotel in Sheffield (where he works) and had a great slap up dinner in the evening, followed by a Celidh and free bar. The night was a real bargain...half price executive room...only £5 each for a 4 course meal...free drinks all night.  What more could we ask for?

I don't drink so I just nursed my one diet coke for the evening but I think Andy was regretting the alcohol on Saturday morning. He was still over the limit when we woke up (and feeling dodgy) so we skipped breakfast and I had to drive his car home. Of course I got my own back when we got home by being as NOISY as possible. "Sorry dear what did you say?". "Oooooooh your head hurts because I'm vacuuming?". "Don't worry dear I'll be done after the other 10 rooms are done". LOL

I always try to get room pics BEFORE we trash the room but forgot this time. The pics doesn't show the ridiculously high ceiling. Gorgeous traditional styled room...with VERY creaky floorboards.

Ok that was the more upbeat post I was promising!

I have some news on the infection front...it isn't any worse today since yesterday (that I can tell) so hopefully the antibiotics might be working this time since I caught it early. I say *I* because the doctor was utterly useless and I basically had to diagnose myself and tell her what was wrong. Needless to say I won't be seeing her again if I can help it!

So...fingers crossed :)

It's back!

Ugh! Despite my best efforts to boost my immune system, the infection I had before is back. I don't believe it. I honestly don't believe it. I've had so many antibiotics over the last 6 weeks that how can I possibly have ANY more bacteria within a mile of my body. Seriously. How? I am so hoping that these antibiotics work because I seriously don't relish the thought of  more surgery. Hopefully it won't come to that, I guess I'm just pessimistic because antibiotics didn't work last time...and every doctor I've spoken to tells me they don't normally and the only answer is (usually) surgery.

So the plan now is take the antibiotics and - if they don't work - wait for the pain to get so bad that I'm screaming in agony and then go to A&E and be admitted to surgery. 

Ok sorry to sound so negative, I'll try and write a more upbeat post later. I just wanted to update you because some people had emailed me asking for an update.