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9 Belfast Bites


jmcbn

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Not sure if I mentioned here previously but I forze my membership on my old gym last week, and joined a new gym run by an old coach of mine - the coach who actually first introduced me to Whole30. It's a semi private gym - only 6 members per coach, and for your membership fee you get x3 one hr sessions, x1 one hr circuit/Hiit class, and x1 lifetsyle class per week focusing on the four pillars.

Well with this being my first official week there I thought I'd make the effort this evening to go along to their Lifestyle class. From here on in I'll train right after the class anyways so it will become a regular thing, but with just joining recently all the Wednesday evening slots for this week were already booked. It's only a 5min drive/20min walk from home so off I went.

This evening's topic was foam rolling, and after a long & informative talk/demonstration by the Coach the floor was opened to questions. From foam rolling & stretches the talk quickly turned to the key principles of the gym surrounding sleep, exercise, nutrition & mental health. One rule is that everyone take a daily omega 3 supplement, and when I asked about other supplements, mentioning that I also take magnesium & Vitamin D3 I was quickly shot down by one of the oldest members - a nurse working for the NHS who probably hasn't read a medical book/article since she qualified some years back - who seemed to think that regardless of poor weather & winter clothing that 15mins outdoors was adequate to get your VItamin D and that supplementation isn't necessary, and they never recommend it to anyone. M'kay, well it's been all over the mainstream news lately - and they're probably only about 5yrs behind the rest of us,  the same as they are with the whole 'low fat' thing, and a quick Google will confirm that for you, but yep, there's always one, right? :rolleyes:<_<

Anyway, I wasn't going to argue on my first night, and I was already WELL out of my comfort zone being the only newbie and no familiar faces amongst the members so I left it there & headed home at the end of the class, stopping off at the shop around the corner for a few essentials. As I was at the check out one of the other gym members came in to pick up some tea-bags, apologised for my earlier ostricisation, rolled her eyes a little at the nurse episode & invited me to sit with her for the lifestyle class next week - I'd been allowing sneaky feelings of doubt creep in as to whether or not I'd made the right decision about joining, but things might work out okay there after all...

Next training session is tomorrow - early doors.

In  other news, my sister is home!!! It's been a long & gruelling six weeks for her, now to really focus on putting some meat back on her  bones....

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Tomorrow is St Patrick's Day and as an Irish female, born & bred in Ireland, this is actually my first ever *proper* celebration of the day, joining my mum to watch my RAF Veteran dad parade to the local British Legion where he'll be presented with his shamrock, and then we'll spend the afternoon eating Irish Stew, and listening to Irish folk music, whilst having a wee dram or two.

There was an alternative invite which was hard to turn down as it it involved Guinnes & treacle GF french toast, with maple cured bacon, cider baked apples, minted whipped cream, toasted pecans & maple syrup, but I know that would have ended badly - to be sure, to be sure - with probably more guinness than toast being consumed...

You'll note that nowhere have I mentioned corned beef hash, cabbage, or green beer - that's just not how we do things here - and if you really must join us in celebrating our Patron Saint then you should at least try to get his gender right. Patty is a derivative of Patricia. Or a burger. Paddy is the nickname you're after ;)

So, in honour of our Patron Saint (who happens to be Welsh NOT Irish!), and in celebration of our wonderful ancient culture, please enjoy a little 'Freedom' with Alan Kenefick - one of the absolute best in his field - Happy St Patrick's Day!!
 

 

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Hope you had a good St Patrick's day!

Loved your post. 

I find the celebrations here just too much for me. I have never taken part as I just think it's an excuse for people to drink themselves silly. And green beer....yuck!  

I DID see a ton of corned beef going through the checkout at the grocers the other day. I thought it was strange! Glad to hear it's not how it's done :lol:. If I was doing the gluten thing I would much prefer some steak and Guinness pie...if that's allowed :) 

Gym stuff going better?? 

Glad to hear your sister is home!!! I hope she starts to feel better soon, I can't imagine being ill and in the hospital for so long. Do you live near her??

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Well there's no wheat in Guinness (although it IS made with malted barley), and I'm sure there's a decent GF pastry out there - so that's a yes from me!!

St Patrick's day celebrations were a little subdued given that we woke to the news that my sister was re-admitted to hospital overnight (and thankfully, yes, we all live within 5mins of each other). We're not entirely sure what the problem is right now, be it a bad reaction to the oral meds she'd been switched to which wasn't apparent until there was a build up of them in her system, or some kind of infection because when her cancer nurse came in with her consultant to assess her yesterday and they removed the pick in her arm they found the last inch or so of it to be all bloody & covered in gunge - the nurse said she'd never seen anything like it.

So she spent the weekend in a pre-admittance ward as her consultant was off for the long weekend, being fed whatever food hadn't been used up elsewhere. She was fortunate to be in a side ward because of her low immunity, but the staff were woeful, useless even she said, and she began to feel resentful and angry. Thankfully when my folks went over last night she was moved back to the Respiratory ward where she was previously, and will remain there until at least Friday. They've sent off some swabs from the pick to see what they cultivate, they're doing some x-rays because she's complaining of extreme back pain, and they'll assess why she's completely lost her voice. She's not hoarse, and has no pain in her throat. She just has no voice.

On the up-side she DOES have an appetite that comes in waves according to when she last had pain meds so I took her some supplies over the weekend. I was hoping to not have to top those up, but we'll see how the next few days go.

In other news training is going well - I've made some headway in breaking the ice with the folk at the new gym, am REALLY enjoying the sessions there, and although I'm still feeling like I'm out of my comfort zone I kind of feel good about putting myself there.

Interestingly the head coach is planning on taking everyone's measurements at the Lifestyle class this week so that we can all track progress, and since I've historically taken my measurements on a Monday morning I did mine yesterday. Last time I took measurements was right before Christmas (coincidentally 20th Dec - so exactly 3mths ago) right after the HTK Challenge and given that Christmas followed, and I've been quite social since then, and have even tailed off in training, I wasn't expecting to see great things at all so I was a little bit surprised to see that I've lost 6cms (mostly from my waist/hips) from putting in really very little effort at all.

What has changed for me since Christmas?

  • I'm eating rolled oats maybe once a fortnight; other than that my diet remains the same as it has always been postW30, with a slackening on the no added sugar rule, and occasional dairy/alcohol. No snacking, three template meals. PostWO when required. I don't do preWO.
  • I'm focusing much more heavily on rest & recovery, and NEAT movement.
  • I'm moving from my desk every 30mins.
  • I'm meditating or journalling daily - I can't seem to time manage both...!!
  • I'm taking a 30min walk outside, at the same time every day, rain or shine. And in fact I've been walking more in general - walking to/from the gym, walking to the shop...
  • I've upped my water game.
  • I've decreased the number of training sessions per week, but do *some* kind of leg work at each session. Classic cardio is at an all time low.

How much weight have I lost? I've no idea. I haven't weighed since I finished my first Whole30 (when incidentally I didn't lose a single pound but DID lose a substantial amount of body fat), and have no intentions of doing so any time soon. The fact I'm losing cms shows me I'm continuing to trade fat for lean muscle and that's all I need to know.

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This week I made two bad judgement calls, and both on the same day.

First I assumed that sunshine on Wednesday morning would mean sunshine all day. I mean we had the first day of Spring, right? Yeah, I'd say rookie error, but I've been living here long enough to know that sunshine in the morning means nothing as often we get all four season in one day, especially this early in Spring. And so the short, light weight jacket & cotton scarf I'd worn into work were a complete waste of time since 10mins after arriving at the office the heavens opened and I didn't get to venture out again until home time. :(

That's the first day in as long as I can remember that I haven't got out for some kind of walk over lunch, and it's been WEEKS since I haven't had a brisk 30min walk, and boy could I feel it in the afternoon - there was no crash cos that comes from food, but I really struggled to stay focused. That 30min walk has become a kind of meditation time for me, I clear my head of work, and power down the streets - no phone & no screen - and I get back to the office totally re-charged.

On Thursday I brought an old coat, hat & scarf & left them all at the office so that next time I can still get out in spite of (or despite? I can never remember...) the rain.

Secondly I had high FODMAP foods at every meal. Yeah, and my stomach did not like that - not one little bit. :blink:

I've become a little blase about the whole FODMAP thing of late and they've been making more and more of an appearance in my food prep/rotation so this was a good wake up call. I had butter chicken over cauli rice for breakfast, a kind of a curried minced beef/sprouts/cabbage/leeks/green beans mix I've grown rather fond of with a dollop of mayo for lunch, and fried eggs over roasted root veg for tea. There was probably one sweet potato in that entire oven tray of veg, so maybe 5 or 6 cubes on my plate, but as soon as I was done eating the bloating started, the wind began to build and I had to take myself off to bed. I won't be making that mistake again in a hurry...!!

Ok, time for what I've been warned will be a brutal gym session followed by a quiet night at home with only my revision notes for company - I've been looking forward to this all week!!!

 

 

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Holy. Sweet. Peaches.

Brutal was an understatement, and yet that is EXACTLY why I'm LOVING my new gym - because I get pushed beyond MY idea of my limits each time I go.

Warm up: Bear crawls (slow & low) x3 lengths of the gym, alternated with straight leg sit ups x3 sets of 10.

Work out: Legs - 100 reps each of - goblet squats/deadlifts/good mornings. 1min rest between each exercise. Upper body - x4 sets of 25 reps each arm - one arm floor press & one arm dumbell rows.

Weights were relative to everyone's individual strength, selected by the coach who very obviously thinks I'm a lot stronger than *I* think I am! :wacko:

Finisher: 100 crunches

 

And in other news - my sister is home & doing well on the oral meds. Still waiting on the results of the swab.

 

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:o

WOW. 

I'm sitting feeling sore after my back workout today.....which was NOT 100 of anything. Good for you!! 

And glad to hear your sister is home. Sounds to me like that PICC may have been the culprit! Yuck! 

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And again. Holy. Sweet. Peaches!!!

Hammies & abs are ACHING today, and I'd a dull ache elsewhere meaning I'll ache all over tomorrow. I say *had a dull ache* elsewhere because Saturday morning is a HiiT class (which was really good fun - a good bit more chat with the other members plus my first ever bungee sprints!!), and our finisher today (there's always a finisher) was crab walks with resistance bands round our ankles - x4 sets of x40 steps -  10 to the right, 10 to the left, 10 to the right, 10 to the left = one set. Oh my aching glutes!!!! :blink::o:unsure: And I dread to think what I'll be like tomorrow...... :huh:

BUT it's been glorious sunshine all day here and I was out making the most of it before coming back in for more revision & to prep dinner for the boys.

Life is SO much better when the sun shines.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Four (well, three & a half) days left at the office, some tidying up/re-potting etc to do in the garden & then it's time to relax into Easter..... :ph34r:

LOL j/k - just been planning some mountain trails & a day on the coast for our 4 day break in the North West...... :lol:

Now to plan/purchase some non-perishables to bring along with us to keep us all on track!!

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Jeez - you've had a tough stretch lately.  I only have time to skim but I hope sis is doing better and fattening up on healthy food :) Hope your SI joint is cooperating and the pain is better and whatever germ you had is a distant memory (I assume it is based on that killer workout!).  

I hope you are still around these parts when the Master gives me a little more free time ;)

 

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lol, wouldn't we love to be that babe in a vat of chocolate.

We're heading out onto the trails too. Camping. Brrrrrr. It's been wet wet wet, but they're calling for sun for the weekend. 

Currently sitting here avoiding packing and prepping our food......there MAY be a box of GF Mac and cheese that will hitch a ride.....because, camping :ph34r:. But will we eat it.....that's the question. 

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Mac and Cheese - it is YEARS since I had that!!!!

We've camped before at this time of year (well, Glamped in little wooden pods) but there was no real fun in it. As soon as the sun falls (if it makes an appearance!) you have to go inside, and for me part of the fun of camping is sitting outside looking at the stars, so we're staying in a Hotel and using that as our base. We're actually headed in the opposite direction on our way there to do Legnabrocky Trail in the Cuilcagh Mountains. It's a part of the Marble Arch Geopark in County Fermanagh, and the top section to the summit has been laid in board-walk which I thought would make it a little easier for the boys, although there are A LOT of steps - they call it the Stairway to Heaven so I'm hoping the views will be worth it. In fact I'm just hoping for a clear day right now!! It's about a 2hr drive there from home, and then another 2hr drive from there to where we're staying (kind of in a V shape - if we drove direct to the Hotel it would also be 2hrs) so there should be a good nights sleep that night!

My sister's situation is a little complicated. She is the only person in Ireland with the type of infection that she has. The samples taken from her lungs all have to be sent to England for cultivating. The ABs that she needs are neither available in ireland, nor funded on the NHS so her consultant is fighting to change that. She's currently back on the ABs that had her re-admitted to hospital. She started off on a much lower dose to try & allow her body to adjust, and it's been gradually increased. She's not in any pain this time, but her voice is almost gone again. Unfortunately until such times as her consultant can get the other ABs she'll just have to deal with it. And it's not short term. It's indefinite. If she stops the ABs the bacteria starts growing again, and even in the short time she was AB & nebulizer free the bacteria had fresh growth or spores & she had fluid on her lungs, BUT she is a fighter - aren't all cancer patients? She will not let this get her down.

The PICC results surprisingly came back completely clear - everyone was surprised about that - and she is gradually gaining weight. My folks are taking her out to lunch today actually to an 'all you can eat' Chinese Buffet - my idea of hell, but they figure there'll be a good selection of food that she'll like & they can fill her to capacity & then send her on her merry way..... :lol:

Food-wise I'm trucking along nicely. No major gut issues, no dramas, no worries. I'm kind of in my happy place so why would I want to go anywhere else?

Gym-wise I am LOVING my new place!! I was so apprehensive about the change, but every day I can see improvement in strength, flexibility, and motivation. I look forward (with a little dread!) to every work out & come away feeling proud of what I've achieved. And I'm making friends, and it hasn't been *too* hard to do that - well, it's been easier than I'd thought given that I'm just not into small talk & all the girly chat.

We do A LOT of work with kettle bells and Bulgarian Bags - something I haven't used for years and it's been good to get back to it - and So. Many. Lunges. Squats. Dead-lifts. And Burpees. Death by Burpees was our finisher yesterday - one burpee in one minute, then two in a minute, then three in a minute, then four & so on...... what seconds you had left in the minute once you were done was your rest period, so it's starts easy, but Holy Sweet Peaches does it get hard, fast! At the end there just is no rest - or capacity to breathe, or will to live LOL

Anyways...... one more day at the office, a catch up with friends this evening, a HiiT session on Saturday followed by a Sports Massage & some gardening & then relaaaaaaaaaax!!!

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7 hours ago, jmcbn said:

Anyways...... one more day at the office, a catch up with friends this evening, a HiiT session on Saturday followed by a Sports Massage & some gardening & then relaaaaaaaaaax!!!

One day even with kids I'll be able to do this, one day even with kids I'll be able to do this, one day even with kids I'll be able to do this... ;)

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I was thinking about about your kin in the shower. Can you load her up and get her down to Athens. Let those lungs dry out and heal. When I hit that Shannon airport, within a couple days I came down with pneumonia. Going from the high plains desert regions to your springtime humidity was a shock to my lungs. Even with all of the snow, we're still low humidity. 

The sun filters through the southern Italy skies there like nowhere else in the world. Your skin doesn't burn like it does with snowburn/sunburn with high altitude sun.I just see her focusing on art and painting, being inspired and healing those lungs. Can you get her out of there for the summer,away from mold and rain. Change her environment for healing. There's nothing like southern Italy and Greece to transport you to another world and time for inspiration.Art and lung healing.  

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My sister doesn't much like to travel these days sadly, or I'd gladly take her. She has been trying to spend more time outdoors though, and in fact was at the Butterfly House today in the sunshine (although there was a definite chill in the air!!) - a beautiful place out in the middle of nowhere, with amazing rambling gardens where they breed all kinds of butterflies... And she has a little sun trap at the bottom of her garden where she likes to sit in the mornings - her garden is a work of art, all kinds of flowers & mirrors & wind chimes, and little bridges & walk-ways.

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I wish she would go with you. I'd like to see her secret garden and the Butterfly House.

You know firsthand how healing it is in Greece, having lived there.Wish I could load my folks up and meet all of you there. We'd get them fixed up in their sunchairs, fresh drinks and lots of vege dishes. Hugs and kisses all around. 

I am working on the Only in my Dreams machine. Every dream is recorded in wild and colorful details. It's the place where miracles happen and everyone finds their pathway to healing.

If you order today, I'll throw the dream interpretation video in for free.  big smile2 smiley

When I was there, the locals all have beautiful skin. They told me to use fresh lemon juice every night and EVOO as face serum during the day. That's it. Strikingly beautiful skin.  

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Legnabrocky Trail done!

We were very lucky with the weather considering the heavy & sporadic rain we had here yesterday & thankfully dressed in & packed layers because it very quickly got hot hot hot on the way up... The trail is gravel about two thirds of the way with qute a few steep inclines before the boardwalk kicks in, and actually the section of boardwalk right up until the bottom of the steps (known as The Stairway To Heaven) is the hardest part - it's only wide enough for single file with a small drop down into the bog on either side in certain sections, and the sections were kind of uneven. With it being Easter Monday it was a lot busier than usual and so if anyone decided to stop or sit down to take a breather we had to wait until there was no-one on their way down to pass... Once we made it to the top (2182 ft) it was very marshy & rocky but we managed to manouevre our way to a flatish rock for a picnic lunch (I'd various ziplock bags of what was left in my fridge - roast chicken with a little tupperware of mayo, some cherry tomatoes, a stick of celery, a roasted red pepper, x2 dill pickles. The boys had the extra sausages I'd cooked yesterday with some veg/rice salad - seared in butter as they like to do in Greece - and some grapes). We'd have sat a while longer & taken in the amazing views if it wasn't so freaking cold & windy up there!!! :o:wacko: So, layers were very swiftly put back on one by one & back down we headed in the direction of the car park.

A little over two hours in the car found us at our Hotel, so we're all checked in, unpacked, rested & thinking about dinner.

Wi-fi in the room is coming & going so I'll add a pic when it's playing ball & I can sync my phone with my photobucket account................................................

 

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First of all, that's crazy about your sister's infection!!!!?!?!?! Yikes! I just read something really interesting about superbugs and antibiotic resistance. Of course I can't remember where I read it....or what it was about....just that it was interesting :wacko:

Your hike sounds amazing. Isn't fresh air just the best??? I confess I haven't been getting as much as I should be, but I'm bound and determined to get this house in  tip top shape for upcoming company and it's taking longer than I thought. 

Yes, post pics! Get lots of relaxing in, and enjoy :) 

 

 

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@Carlaccini - no one will sing the praises of God's own country higher than me!!! LOL It's a great trail, but was way too busy yesterday for my liking - I'd like to go back when the weather is a little warmer, and the crowds a little smaller, and we can happily stay at the summit a little longer..... ;)

Today we swapped the mountains for the sea and barely met a soul the entire day. Bliss.

We followed the 'Wild Atlantic Way', which stretches from the North to the South of the island, and most of which we've covered previously, but we were graced today with empty roads & mild weather for this time of year. We left straight after breakfast (scrambled eggs, bacon, mushrooms, & grilled tomatoes for me; sausages, bacon, fried eggs & baked beans for the eldest; bacon, some baked beans, and a banana for the youngest), made a number of stop offs along the way, and were back in the hotel for late afternoon.

We dandered across the Peace Bridge into the Maiden City, had a wander round the shops for the boys, then walked back to the Hotel in a (refreshing) shower of rain..... rested our weary feet for an hour or so in our room, missed the 'two for one' dinner deal in the restaurant <rolls eyes> and then it was fish all round for dinner, with the eldest ordering x2 (!!!) portions as he'd wprked up such an appetite!

Tomorrow we're off on another mountain/forest trail so we're back now resting the legs again.

More pics to follow......!!

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First stop today and, albeit a little grey, was very mild & peaceful.... This area is just within a part of the country known as  'Amazing Grace Land' which is where the writer of the afore-mentioned hymn, John Newton, was washed ashore in a storm before he found God and was the inspiration for his words.

IMG_4253_1.jpg

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The wi-fi died in the room again last night and since we're not actually *in* the room a great deal I really can't justifying paying for an upgrade to premium so the photos will have to wait...

Today will be spent either in forests or on the shores of the Lough Foyle - I'll see how the sky is looking once breakfast is done & dusted. I've two five mile walks in mind if we opt for forest/cliff top, and one ten mile loop if we opt for the lough..... Either way I'm expecting there to be even fewer people around which will make for a perfect day.

But first I see eggs in my immediate future B)

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