The first thing I have noticed is my head is clearer.  Almost like a fog has begun to lift and my thoughts are coming into focus. For those that have never experienced such a feeling it is sort of like being not quite awake, you go through your day in a bit of daze, can’t make decisions, your thoughts are muddled, easily confused etc…. You know something not right but you are so confused and unfocused you really can’t tell what.

It is early days and I am curious to see what next week brings.

My measurements have reduced more than I have expected:

Hips: has gone from 128 cm to 123.5cm /48 inches

Waist: 113cm to 106cm /41 inches

Bust: 121cm to 113cm/44 inches

I have hoped on the scales all week and have instead enjoyed the shrinking tape measure.

Today I restarted my exercise program which will consist of a 30 minute walk/jog/walk, over slight undulating ground. Next week once my system has become accustom to this I step it up bit. But steady steps I think will be the go.

Fingers Crossed onwards and upwards.

A strange Purple colour only a few fungi scattered in the undergrowth.

Back in 2011 I had a Heart Attack followed by multiple Bi-passes. All very sudden and surprising because just two days earlier I had been given a clean bill of health by my doctor (needless to say had new doctor). For a year prior having been diagnosed with High Cholesterol, we monitored my diet, took the medication, exercised, and did everything I was told. My hubby was very diligent and if I strayed he put me back on track.

So with all my numbers in the excellent zone, the doctor happy etc I was given the all clear…

What nobody could tell  me was why I had gained 10 kg in a year, even with a very healthy meat and vegetable low fat low sugar and low salt diet, why no matter what I did was it staying on and in deed multiplying, why I was constantly tired and my exercise ability had gone from 2 hrs a day to maybe 20 minutes if we were lucky. Then along a Heart Attack and there was part of the answer.

That was 3.5 years ago, my numbers are now great again, it appears my body makes to much cholesterol for my system to handle and it isnt in the food.  However the weight is staying and there are a few other issues which seemed to have stemmed from the diet I was placed on to lower my cholesterol etc.  The main change to my diet has been eat more, bread, cereals, no butters, animal fats, etc low fat milk and on it goes… I use to eat minimal bread and cereals, butter sure if I had bread, but that’s about it my only vice these days is cheese I really like my cheeses and well I do like my milk but in coffee.

Back to the story… I have always been around 80 kg so not small but not huge. This weight has been relatively stable, I struggled to loose any more than a kilo or two, but when I went on this “Healthy Diet” (the heart dietician recommended), I began to pack on the pounds, now after 3 years I am 94 kilos and cant seem to shake it. On top of this I have had a pain in between me shoulder blades, bloating, cramps, wind like you would not believe, nausea, travel sickness, constipation and on it goes.

Doctors had given me such advice gems as stop eating MacDonalds (the closest is 156 km away), you must be eating a lot of take away (the take away here was filthy), what do you do sit on the lounge all day (we had just returned for a 2 week bush camping trip etc) it was getting to the point I was ready to tell them all to get stuffed.

Then a new Doctor came to the surgery. This was my last hope. I went in and said to her straight I want a doctor who cares as much about me not dieing as I do… are you such a doctor? she said yes… and set about one of the longest appointments I have had in recent times.

She ran tests, asked me questions and sent me scans… after 2 months we had a few answers and two possibilities.. one gale stones this accounted for some of the pain in my abdomen (yes its little) and a couple of thing which lead to specialised (wont bore you with those).

The point I have been getting too seems to be all of my weight issues and extra diet issues may come from an allergy. Which nobody bothered to look into. Not one doctor or dietician asked me about my diet they all just critised it.. I was having muesli or porridge for breakfast,  fish and salad or grilled chicken with steamed vegetables, with Multigrain bread and perhaps some so good ice cream. and the weight was steady increasing… whats to change?

So it appears, I may or may not have Celiac Disease which is a very nasty disease affect the intestines or it may be an intolerance to Gluten either way it is looking more and more likely this is one of the things causing my winding city belly, it can also be one of the causes of my weight gain and many of the other issues which I  have suffering with.

I have been waiting nearly 6 months for scope tests to be done and I am sick of it. Apparently I will need to be back on gluten for 4 weeks before my tests so that’s what I will do.

So as of today the 2nd January 2015 is the day. Christmas is done, I have decided to take command of my health and see for myself if this is indeed one of the problems. This is not an new years resolution but a measured and controlled choice, and i am using the blog as a means to make sure I stay on track and to remind myself of my goals.

Once a week, on the same day, I will weigh and measure myself and see what happens… My routine will include NO Gluten for the first 2 weeks, then I see how I am feeling, next to go will be dairy (or at least Lactose), and then I will see how I am feeling after a further 2 weeks. I think it goes without saying I shall be stopping all cakes, lollies, sugars etc…

I do think this will be the only real way of seeing if this is the cause of my weight and dietary problems.

Today measurements (cant believe I am doing this):

Waist: 113cm/44inches

Hips:   128cm/50inches

Bust:  121cm/47inches

Weight will have to wait for new batteries… estimate 94kg/207lbs or 15 st arghhhhhhhhh

Current goal is a weight of 89kg. 5 kilos is a realistic goal.

Fingers Crossed!

A little something to warm your heartstrings

This is one of those moments. a Moment to stop and stretch the legs.

A bridge to far?

Taken in Thailand, any idea where we are?

I will mention these Elephants are very well looked after and are working animals. In my time here, all the animals we saw were treated with respected and care.

and the Crowd goes wild

It was an amazing place to visit and will happily go back, next time might even volunteer or go on a trek.

Leave me a comment let me know where you think we are…

There is those who are neither, who are the thinkers, the creators, the dreamers and the inventors, the fringe dwellers.  The majority of people are happy in the space they find themselves, but there is an increasing number of people who aren’t.

The Convenience of the city is alluring, the pace, the bright lights, the excitement, the availability of everything good, bad and indifferent. Huge numbers of people find their Sense of Place here among the like-minded, but many of us are finding it a shallow, unfriendly, uncaring, superficial space to inhabit. Others find  issues in the Country the remoteness, inconvenience, lack of services, the  nature of a small country town, all can be unexpected and leave the newcomer feeling excluded.

Motto of the 21st Century

Given the impracticability of climbing under a rock and waiting it out, the lack of a Sense of Place is leading to the rise of ‘The Grey Nomads’ retiree’s who sell up and buy a mobile home or caravan,  the travellers who sell up grab their passport and go everywhere and the modern gypsy’s who just pack up and go. These are all examples of this growing discontent ‘Humanity is on the Move’.

Many of us feel lost, you can be lonely in room full of friends. So many people say they feel alienated, separate, an outsider, perhaps it is a ‘Sense of Place’, which is at the heart of the matter.

A sense of place means different things to each individual, but when you break it down to its core you find it is a need to belong, to feel a part of something, or just to be excepted.

Many of you will be shaking you head saying ‘no the human need is family’. To a point this is true, but family moves, children grow, have their own families and move on. If you are honest you can recognise there is always that relative you really don’t like and those members you miss immensely. The constant is the space you occupy.

Perhaps you think it is a sense of Purpose which drives you, but to this again I say ‘nope’! Your purpose evolves as you do, as life evolves, as circumstances evolves and as relationships evolve, your purpose evolves and changes. What you wished to be when you were 5 has changed and evolve. You might have wanted to be a fireman and you may well be fireman, but it will be nothing akin to the life as a hero you dreamt, the same with any emergency workers, perhaps you wished to be an astronaut but were to fat, or a doctor but can’t handle the sight of blood, and on the list goes. So to this ends I will say it is as important as family, but it is not at the core of human need.

A place to belong is a driven emotion. It is something which drives you to either plant roots or move on, it inspires you to change. For some it is the need to plant yourself into a tribe which fits you and into which you fit in, for others it can be quite different.

In the right place you will grow family through close friends, the right place can develop a sense of purpose through community involvement.  There is a calmness and a feeling of well-being and contentment which can come when you find you place. for others a Sense of Place is the journey it is found in the freedom to move through the world, immersing themselves in the experience of living.

In the right place you can feel free to be yourself and finally breath deeply, knowing you have found the home your spirit needs.

I guess the point of this post is to inspire you not to limit yourselves based on the expectation of others. To see there is always another way and if your life is not working for you where you are why not try somewhere else. you are only limited by your own expectation don’t get suckered into the expectations of others.

 Your Life is Yours! Live it!

This is one we found on a trip to Thailand.

Do you know where I am?

Any Idea who I am? Or Where?

Check the tags for clues

Places most locals know about and kept hidden from the new-comer or the visitor. One of the challenge we like to give ourselves is to find these spots. By doing so you are granted the opportunity to immerse yourself in the culture and history of an area.

Some of these places have spectacular scenery and all you need to do is step around the next bend or be brave enough to push the branch out of the way. Others are not beautiful, some you have venture down the dark stairs, or follow the dank dark corridor to find but if you do they will offer a social commentary you would have missed and others yet still proved you with a view of the world beneath you feet or above your head.

if you just looked up this it is amazing what you can see

From time to time I am hoping to include images of just such hidden places.

I hope you enjoy the beauty, the mystery, the fun and sometimes the frightening images and adventures to follow.

Just when you think you have everything sorted, your plan is firmly in place,  ‘There is no stopping you!’

Life throws you a Hand Grenade, tells you to catch and just as you do you realise Life has pulled the pin.

This is how life has been for quite sometime for this little chook…

Quick outline deaths in family, very quickly followed by major Health issues, then more deaths in family.

This lead to Blogs being hacked, complete brain meld, more health recovery and now finally perhaps we are heading in the right direction.

All this adventure has taught me many things but perhaps the most poignant being ‘Life is too short.’

When  you are surrounded by those whose journey along the road life is ending and you are find yourself a hairs breath from joining them, there is a realisation which for me jumped up and hit me in the face…. that being ‘what am I doing?’

So many things are far more important than buying a big house, driving a flash car, wearing the designer what ever.  If you are worrying about accumulating stuff, you will never enjoy what you already have and into this very point I fell.

I Want to Breathe has become a metaphor for my life. It is not just a catch phrase, but a recipe for a life I hope will be well lived.

If you can not breath, if you feel suffocated by your journey why not step out and catch your breathe.

Life Must be Lived

Today so many are driven by the modern construct of society it goes like this:

Birth, School, Work, Marry/Family, Buy house, Work Harder, buy Car, Work More, Private School, Work longer, Pay Mortgage, Retire, Die.

That is modern life. Nowhere in the list is there any real opportunity to live, to enjoy the things you have.

So to this Ends I dedicate This Blog to remind every reader there is a world out there, nature is there to nurture, and the sky wont fall if you step away from craziness of the modern world to see it.