The diary of a spod.

[spod]

Hiya Jayney! You are more than welcome to poke you nose in!!! Its a bit of a mishmash of a diary, more random wafflings of a tired, over emotional (on occasions) expat.

This week I am v. tired and I know I am cos I have even got annoyed with being stared at, which I can usually ignore or find funny but yesterday and today it has really grated and I have ended up saying something to the starers.

Oh well. Off to bed to try and shake this tiredness thing - its only 8pm so hopefully I can sleep through til the alarm goes off at 5.45...

Have not eaten too badly today so feeling ok with the whole weight thingy.

xx

 

[Janey2004]

Hiya Jayney! You are more than welcome to poke you nose in!!! Its a bit of a mishmash of a diary, more random wafflings of a tired, over emotional (on occasions) expat.

This week I am v. tired and I know I am cos I have even got annoyed with being stared at, which I can usually ignore or find funny but yesterday and today it has really grated and I have ended up saying something to the starers.

Oh well. Off to bed to try and shake this tiredness thing - its only 8pm so hopefully I can sleep through til the alarm goes off at 5.45...

Have not eaten too badly today so feeling ok with the whole weight thingy.

xx

Glad your sounding positive. Sleep well. My diary is full of inane ramblings but it kinda helps, doesn't it. Catch you soon xxxxxx

 

[Silence]

Just thought I'd say a quick hello to a fellow "tired, over emotional (on occasions) expat"
Keep your chin up hun.

~Silence~

 

[caws]

I wish I was an ex-pat and then I could be a tired and emotional ex-pat aswell !

 

[spod]

Its COLD today. I am having to wear a long sleeve top and I have put the heating on in my classroom. Yesterday was so hot I sat out on my friend's balcony all afternoon in the sunshine (I have tuesdays off work). brrrrrr today tho.

Today I am a tired, but not overly emotional expat who is VERY excited!!!!

I have had a facebook message from a friend (who I have known since I was 7 years old) and he is coming to Shanghai (about 90mins on the bullet train) in 3 weeks time. Its so exciting cos we havent seen each other for about 10 years.

Anyway. I need to lose weight. pronto. I am HUGE (might be a slight exaggeration) compared to last time we saw each other and I know I have lost a lot recently, but I really dont want to meet up with people and look as huge as I do. (huge is an exaggeration cos I am not huge...just very fat).

I know he wont comment (or my husband would deck him), but I want to look nice. Esp. as his girlfriend is stunningly gorgeous (in a bleached blonde, skinny, model-esque kind of way) So operation "Get Healthy" has started. again. BUT properly this time. Its TOTM and I feel crap and I think I have put weight on, but I havent weighed myself, so I dont think I will this week and I shall on Monday.

Plan of action (that I will stick to because I need to):

Drink at least 2 mugs of green tea a day. (because its nice and it good for you too and it might warm me up cos its getting a little chilly)

No alcohol. (drinking cocktails (have made friends with the owner of a cafe / bar & we were trying out their new recipes to see if the were good enough for them to sell - tough job) after a whole bottle of Baileys with the help of husband and friend really is NOT a good idea esp after a bottle of wine with dinner) Have had no alcohol since Sunday, so thats good.

Eat properly. This has gone wrong already 'cos I have had no breakfast. Must have 3 meals a day of good nutritional value & proper size portions.

No snacking. Esp. not steamed buns.

Exercise. Really must do some exercise. 1 lesson of Tai ji a week is not enough. Will walk faster to the bus stop. Will get off the bus a couple of stops early - (when possible). Will start on Friday with a long day out at a park walking (fingers crossed it is good weather).

So thats the plan. Any other good ideas are always welcome. Must be able to shift at least a couple of pounds in the next 2 weeks . Really want to wear my smaller jeans & trousers, but they are slightly too tight on my legs still. I WILL DO IT.

Hope everyone is having a good Wednesday!
xx

 

[Silence]

I'm loving this new-found optimism in you spod! Well done hun!!!
I'm sure operation Get Healthy (great code name by the way) will be a success. If you need any back up agent spod just let us know. (sorry - I'm being a geek)

~Silence~

 

[Janey2004]

Sounds like a plan Spod. I've got the pre TOTM blues to I'm keeping my head down for a bit. On the over emotional side today. Lovely to meet up with old friends. I caught up with one of mine from liverpool recently. Its like we had never been away from each other. Have a good one xxxxx

 

[spod]

Cheers guys!! No worries about being a geek Silence (I got excited at work over a database that highlights the students who are failing / nearly failing etc in different pretty colours...now thats sad and geeky!!) and I am v. sure I will need back up at some stage!!

Jayney - Its horrible having the totm blues. Really ******* up the whole healthy eating thing I think!

Hope you guys are all having a good day. I have been pretty good food wise. Its been quite chilly today so I had tomato and egg noodle soup (which sounds odd but is really good!), then this evening we went out for dinner and I had no alcohol (yay me!) and drank green tea (yay me!) and I ate lots of veg and health chicken and some bbq lamb.

Anyhoo, off to bed cos still v. tired and still trying to shake the tired feeling thing.

Have a feb Wednesday!
XXX

 

[spod]

the starred word is b*ggers - its not as bad as it looks!!

 

[Janey2004]

Aye Right LOL (joking!) Sleep well xxx

 

[Silence]

I hate that they star the word b*gger. For me it's part of my everyday language - I don't even consider it to be a swear word!!!

Well done on the no alcohol and green tea Spod!!!

~Silence~

 

[spod]

I use the word b*gger a lot - is it offensive any more? But I do swear like a trooper. hmmmm. maybe its not becoming of a lady??!

No alcohol today either (am I starting to sound like an alcoholic??) and all my friends were drinking at the Japanese restaurant we went to at lunch time, but I had fruit juice. woohoo! Also had a cold noodle salad for my lunch (and a couple of dumplings). Not hungry this evening (for the first time in ages!) so just going to have green tea and toast (found a french bakery with a genuine french chap who imports stuff from France. My husband thinks he's in heaven (he's half french) and the bread is great).

Walked quite a bit today too (went shopping) and we walked for a few hours, so I guess that counts as exercise!!

Off to do some ironing & washing...not so much fun!!

Hope everyone is having a good day too.

 

[Janey2004]

I use the word b*gger a lot - is it offensive any more? But I do swear like a trooper. hmmmm. maybe its not becoming of a lady??!

No alcohol today either (am I starting to sound like an alcoholic??) and all my friends were drinking at the Japanese restaurant we went to at lunch time, but I had fruit juice. woohoo! Also had a cold noodle salad for my lunch (and a couple of dumplings). Not hungry this evening (for the first time in ages!) so just going to have green tea and toast (found a french bakery with a genuine french chap who imports stuff from France. My husband thinks he's in heaven (he's half french) and the bread is great).

Walked quite a bit today too (went shopping) and we walked for a few hours, so I guess that counts as exercise!!

Off to do some ironing & washing...not so much fun!!

Hope everyone is having a good day too.

I dont think it is, well I hope it isn't I say it all the time too as well as some unpostable stuff too. God on ya on reisisting the alcohol....soooooo hard when everyone else is having one. Well at least the washing and ironing burns calories. I should be doing that too. Better get off this chair and go to it.
Have a good one xxxxx

 

[Silence]

Ooooooooh French bread. hahaha it's easy for me to say, I live in France!!! I shouldn't really eat it, but sometimes its soooo hard to resist... when you pass the bakers and you can just smell it.
I ADORE Pain aux raisins (or escargots as we call them in Alsace)

Well done on resisting the alcohol and all the walking whilst shopping!!!
Glad to see operation Get Healthy is still underway. Well done Agent Spod

~Silence~

 

[spod]

Cheers me dears! Been v.v.v.v.v. good today. Went for a girls day out with a couple of friends (+ friend's baby) to a National Park and we walked from 9.45am til 12.30 then had a picnic lunch (lots of fruit, pistachio nuts, dofu, water & a very little biscuit) then we walked for another couple of hours. Went to the local cafe & met our husbands and I drank water and watermelon juice (no coffee and no alcohol) then we handed the baby over to them for babysitting duties and we went for a facial. Then we met up with OHs again & went out for dinner to a Sichaen BBQ and I ate lots of veg and some chicken and I had 2 very small glasses of beer.

So I have been a good girl and not eaten loads of sh*te and walked lots too.

Feeling good.

Hope all of you have had a good Friday too.

xx

 

[Janey2004]

Cheers me dears! Been v.v.v.v.v. good today. Went for a girls day out with a couple of friends (+ friend's baby) to a National Park and we walked from 9.45am til 12.30 then had a picnic lunch (lots of fruit, pistachio nuts, dofu, water & a very little biscuit) then we walked for another couple of hours. Went to the local cafe & met our husbands and I drank water and watermelon juice (no coffee and no alcohol) then we handed the baby over to them for babysitting duties and we went for a facial. Then we met up with OHs again & went out for dinner to a Sichaen BBQ and I ate lots of veg and some chicken and I had 2 very small glasses of beer.

So I have been a good girl and not eaten loads of sh*te and walked lots too.

Feeling good.

Hope all of you have had a good Friday too.

xx

Aw Spod, sounds like you had a fabby day. A facial!! Lucky you, dead relaxing. Nice to treat yourself like that. You've got some will power going on there xxx

 

[spod]

Thanks Janyey. Am actually feeling really good about this whole getting healthy thing. Facials and manicures are so rediculously cheap here as is everything else. Facials only cost £5 and manicures are £2.50 (and the bus is only 10p in the winter (no air con) and 20p in the summer). Have seen the photos from yesterday and whilst I dont look as good as I would like, I dont feel I have to delete them! (Which is great as there are some really nice photos of the 4 of us)

So, a quiet-ish weekend today. Got some marking to do (and more ironing - I really want to get all shirts / suits / everything ironed so I dont have to do it through out the week cos I hate it.) Husband has gone for a hair cut and massage so I have the apartment to myself for a couple of hours for the first time in ages. I have only been here to sleep this past week, so its nice having some quiet time not having to be sociable.
The washing is on and I am wasting time posting on here and replying to emails until its finished.

Got my friends coming round at 5pm cos the men are going on a boys' night out so we are having a girl's night in (as we have to babysit) with a dvd (possibly Made of Honour or 27 dresses) and ordering in food (all restaurants deliver here - so its not like having takeaway in the UK, which is great).

Weighed myself this morning and I am still 80.5kg, so at least I havent put any weight on, which I though I had (but I havent lost any since 3rd November). So I shall be v. good for the next week and see if I can get in to the 70kgs. So weigh in next Sunday or Monday (Monday is official weigh in day).

So food for today:

Breakfast: missed it cos I was asleep (but have had 1 plain steamed bun and a yakult drink thing)
Lunch: Green tea or Lavender and Lemon tea
Salad (lettuce, pine nuts, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber & a vingarette dressing)
Dinner: dont know exactly yet but it will be a chicken dish, a dofu dish, a couple of veggie dishes and either a fish, pork or beef dish. ('cos we are predicatable like that!) I will be good with portion size. And I will not drink any beer.

Snacks: None. Especially not the cookies that are in my kitchen cupboard...
Lots of green tea / water / waxberry juice.

So should be a good day eating wise. I really want to keep losing weight, so I need to keep this up. (I am a bit worried tho, that now I dont look so hideously huge and I look ok-ish I wont be as bothered with sticking with this healthyness thing) Hmmmm. Will have to keep up the motivation some how. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Have a fab Saturday!

xx

 

[Silence]

You have to focus on how much you want to look like you did on your 21st birthday. Put a picture up somewhere and keep reminding yourself that although you are doing really really well, you have more work to do because you have not yet reached your target.

Have a nice girls night in spod!!!

~Silence~

 

[Janey2004]

The picture thing is a great idea. I have virtual me at goal on the fridge, always a good motivator for me.

 

[spod]

The picture is a great idea, but I dont have any pics of me here (my 21st was waaaay before anyone I knew had a digital camera (not even sure they had been invented??) ) so I will just have to find a nice dress or pair of boots that I want to buy and put a picture up of that I think.

Was v. good again with food yesterday - still no alcohol (but husband obviously had some on my behalf when he went out...). Didnt have what I had planned but husband got some noodle soup (made fresh you can see them make the noodles - its sooo cool!) which we had for lunch and then in the evening we ordered in Japanese food, but its a new restaurant and we didnt know what we were getting and the thing I ordered was a kind of noodle soup (with veg), so I had an awful lot of liquid yesterday. (Noodle soup is a bowl of noodles + meat / veg in a soup - its not like western soup, more like soggy noodles - its hard to explain!) Got bored of eating more noodles half way through, so only ate half, but I was good and drank my soup.

Going out today once husband has had a massage and going to a western style cafe, so I shall have the salad I was going to have yesterday and more tea (had 1 mug today already). Have weighed myself again (yes I know its bad to do it more than once a week) but I was only just over 80kg (my scales arent v. accurate). Really want to get in to the 70kgs by the beginning of next week cos 79kg is 12 stone 6lbs...and that makes me feel not significantly far away from my starting point of big fat heffa weight!

I was thinking about why I have not been able to lose weight properly before and I think its because I want instant results (with b*gger all effort) where as this time I have done it slowly. Starting on Slimfast I obviously knew I was making an effort but since getting to China I didnt realise how much I was losing til I had lost quite a bit when we first got here.
Really want to show my parents / family / friends / husband that I can look good and not be over weight (my husband first met me when I was quite a bit smaller, but still over weight).

Anyway, must go and get ready for meeting husband. Problem is what to wear tho - my jeans are getting too big but my smaller pairs of trousers are still a little too tight (on my thighs - nowhere else). Its starting to annoy me!!

Hope you all have a good Sunday and dont fall off the wagon!!! (I'm trying hard not too as well!)

xx