With almost 2 weeks of really not doing anything stupid such as jogging, walking too fast or housework my back seems to be improving (again). I am away next week so will be trying to relax as much as possible then too. I walked a little yesterday and while my back was pain free the outside of my left thigh felt like it had been punched, hard.
I have not run properly since July 27th - about 9 weeks! On that day I managed my furthest distance of 5.77 km/ 3.58 miles. If I didn't hurt my back I would definitely have hit the 10k mark by now and probably running further than that. So that is what I am focusing on. When I am able to run again I will build up to that distance again. Of course, typically, when I am fit and well again we will probably be under 6 foot of snow!

An alternative to my blog

While I don't have a lot to say apart from moaning about how painful my back is and how much I am eating at the moment (I'm getting a bored of it too), have a look at my sisters blog.
She is married, has two lovely girls and husband who unfortunately has been struck with cancer, twice! It's not a doom and gloom blog but a light hearted look at everything (people, hospitals, appointments, mess ups) that comes with it. She is a bit of a hoot too!

She is at

http://meadyourchildrenandcancer.blogspot.com/

Wk 22, Days 4 + 5 not doing great with the food tracking

I haven't run, walked or anything this week. I feel a lb or two going on my waist line due to the lack of exercise and the lack of discipline with my food tracking, but my back is getting easier each day I don't exercise. The outside of my left thigh does feel as though someone punched it and gave me a 'dead leg', not sure why.
 I did all my stretches this morning as we have an hour long journey in the car today we are off to the seaside and I am very glad to see the sun out this morning.

Thursday food - 1431 calories
1 slice toast and tea
cheese sandwich with 1 slice bread and half fat cheddar and Tea
2 digestive biscuits and Tea
Rice with homemade chilli con carne
Glass of wine
Friday food  - 1600 calories? guessed a bit as we had dinner out
1 slice toast and Tea
Chicken breast, sugar free jelly (jello) tea,
digestive biscuits (5 throughout the afternoon!),Tea
Wine
Humus and pitta bread
Chicken, salad, new potatoes

Wk 22, Days 2 + 3, Biscwits

I'm lumping some days together now while I don't have any running news or details for progress to give you on a daily basis. I'm not doing any running or any walking either this week and possibly next week too. I am giving myself complete rest. Because of that there is not really a lot to say.
My back is still full of pinches, twinges and twangs :-(
Oh and I have had the results of my x-ray and it was as I thought, "no significant abnormalities". I know its a muscle spasm but the x-ray has kept hubby quiet for now!

I have been trying to stick within my calories but stupidly bought a packet of McVitie's Digestive biscuits the other day and although they are hidden behind the tea bags I do remember from time to time they are there! It's very difficult to eat just one.

Tuesday calories - 1500
Wednesday calories - 901 + a bowl of penne arrabiatta in a restaurant, probably around 400 cals?

Wk 22, Day 1. Calories and hobbling

Still in pain but better than the weekend. Hubby paid for the car to stay at the station all day so I didn't have to get it in the morning. I managed a hobble to the shops to get the dinner but that was full of sharp intakes of breath and contorted facial expressions.With that and my lopsided stature I'm sure the locals thought I had mental health issues!

MyNetDiary have been lowering my calorie allowance in accordance with my weight loss. I have now got to a point that it is 1200 calories per day for a 1.7lb a week loss. Now my appetite is back from my 'down in the dumps' low appetite of a couple of weeks ago I am finding 1200 to be not enough so I have requested I lose 1lb a week instead of 1.7lbs and thankfully the allowance has gone back up to a respectable 1522 calories a day. This gives me lee-way to have a glass of wine or a biscuit or two. It doesn't matter to me how quickly or slowly this weight loss happens, as long as it does. I am already feeling a lot better and more comfortable having lost 2 stone/28lbs and that has taken 4 months so if another stone/14lbs takes me until Christmas that's fine. I am not a slave to mynetdiary but its good to keep me in check.

Food - 1513 calories
Breakfast
Toast
Tea
Lunch
Weight watchers lemon and chicken risotto
Apple
Afternoon
2 x Digestive biscuits
1 slice of Malt loaf
Tea
Dinner
Chicken stir fry
Apple

Week 21, Results and Reflection

Its all going horribly wrong. I seem to have hit a wall. I've just added another ounce to my weight! I really think I need to get my scales looked at. Having said that I was quite greedy yesterday. I probably went over the calories. I haven't been good at the calorie counting of late so I am going to start again in earnest today.

All my clothes that are now too big for me are washed, folded and sitting in carrier bags waiting to be taken to the charity shop. I am now a clothes size smaller and fitting into clothes I have had sitting in the wardrobe for a while (in some cases a few years!), waiting for me to get into them. I have enough to keep me going until it gets really cold then I will have to go shopping but I don't want to do that until I have dropped another size. I'm not doing very well at that at the moment so back pain or not I need to get on top of the eating again.

That elusive last stone (14lbs) is in my sights. I've just got to get over that wall.

Wk 21, D5, 6 + 7- 5 minutes of jogging!!! Woop Woop!!! Then, crash and burn :(

Friday
I managed a 3 minute, 2 minute and a 1 minute run this morning! I fully intended to stop when my back hurt but stopped because my throat was hurting with the sudden stretching to allow the extra air in! I remember that feeling when I started running from scratch back in March this year. My lungs were fine, my legs were fine and even my back didn't complain, so I walked a bit then jogged again for another 2 minutes. The last jog was only a minute because I reached the car at that point otherwise I could have run for longer. I realise now that starting the Couch to 5k programme from scratch is unnecessary but I may start from further into the programme just to get my discipline back.

Sunday
I wrote the paragraph above as soon as I got back from the run/walk. Since then my back has been in such agony that it was the worse its been for several weeks. I finally went to get my prescription painkillers that I didn't think I needed and I drank a vat of wine on Friday night to numb the pain. Neither worked.
Saturday morning took me 10 minutes to get up out of bed and a further 5 minutes to put some clothes on. We were supposed to spend the day in London and go to see Emmie the Great in Camden in the evening. We stayed at home during the day apart from a shuffle to the shops (in pain) then hubby went to the gig on his own. He said it was brilliant. :-(
It's now Sunday morning. I am not in as much pain but still, it is pretty uncomfortable. We now have an hours drive to see my mother in law in Harrow. I'm wondering how many pain killers I can take before its dangerous to my health.

In conclusion. I'm not going to run at all until my back is 100% better.

Sorry, I haven't got the food diary for you for the last 3 days, partly because I have been immobile so could not keep getting up to either make myself food or enter it onto the computer and partly because most of my calories came from wine (medicinal purpose of course)!!!

Wk 21, D3 +4 - No exercise for two days.

No station run for me on either of these days. I drove to Tunbridge Wells to visit some sisters (my siblings, not nuns!) and stayed overnight. Lovely.
It was nice to drop into my old work and see some people I haven't seen in some months. They really noticed my weight loss and were amazed at how I looked. 2 stone (28lbs) make a huge difference!

Wednesday
Food - 1,456 calories - went over a bit because of the wine!
2 crumpets with peanut butter
Tea
Digestive biscuit
Coffee
Baked beans on toast
Wine

Thursday
Food -1087 calories without the thai chicken noodles. We ate out and its impossible to say how much the dinner was.
Toast with butter and marmalade
Tea
2 Biscuits
2 slices bread
Coffee
thai chicken noodles (out)
wine

Wk 21, D2 - Things are looking up!

I managed 3 x 1 minute jogs within my station walk this morning! That's more than I have been able to do in 6 weeks! I was just looking back at my posts in August which is when my back went into spasm and remembering how painful and debilitating it was! At least now I can throw in a few light jogs here and there. I stopped each jog just as my back was getting a bit tight. I don't want to mess up my recovery.

I am thinking of starting my getrunning Couch to 5k running programme from the beginning again. At the start its consists of 60 second runs with 90 second walks between. I think this is a perfect way to get me back into it again. As my back gets better I will continue to build up my fitness. Before my back went I ran 6k/ 3.7 miles so I really want to get up to that distance again soon.

I saw the physio again this afternoon and she gave me some stretches to do to release the nerve pain that shoots down my left thigh from time to time. She also offered to do acupuncture on me again but I declined, remembering the one painful needle that made me bite the pillow as it was slowly pulled out last time. I'm pathetic with pain. I told her about my running, she seemed pleased and told me to keep it up but always stop IMMEDIATELY  when there is a niggle. I think I will start the couch to 5k programme again when I can run a bit further without twinges.

Exercise - station walk/jog :-) - 156 calories burned
Food - 1209 calories
Breakfast
Muesli with milk
Tea
Lunch
Lamb sandwich
Apple
Tea
Afternoon
Crumpet with peanut butter
Tea
Dinner
Piece of Salmon
Yoghurt
Glass of wine

Week 21, Day 1

I didn't have a station walk today. I baby sat for my friend for a few hours in the morning. Running around after a toddler certainly puts your back through its paces! I was however, very pleased to note the recovery time for my back was much shorter than it has been. Once home, a cup of tea and a few stretches I was up and out the door again. Last week I would have had to lie flat for an hour at least before it stopped hurting!

Exercise - none recorded
Food - 915 calories
Morning
malt loaf
cup of tea
Afternoon
Cheese sandwich
apple
bar of dairy milk
Evening
2 spoons of bolognese sauce with parmigiana cheese

Wk 20, Results and Reflection

Well something has gone wrong with either my scales or my body as this week I have

PUT ON 2LBS!!!!!

I have no idea why. I have eaten a bit more than the last few weeks but definitely not over my allocated calories. I have even been doing a lot more walking so who knows? It's just one of those weird things. Although, the only explanation there is - and this is perfect for us girls - is that is was my 'ladies week' so maybe it's water retention?

Wk 20, D6. Very long walk

I managed a 7.12km/ 4.42 mile walk today, with a spot of lunch half way. Hubby and I walked along the river to the next town at Weybridge and back again. It was quite warm today and after a while I began to wish I wasn't in my jeans. It's the longest walk I have managed in 8 weeks and my back, although it felt a little tight in one spot, was pain free. I burned loads of calories doing it but I also ate quite a lot today. It's that time of the month where I just wanted sugary carbs!

Exercise - long walk burning 600 calories
Food - 1530 - I ate a lot today
Breakfast
shreddies with milk
Tea
Lunch
Chicken sandwich Tea
Soreen malt loaf
Afternoon
Maltesers
Dinner
Roast lamb
Roast potatoes
Wine

Wk 20, D5. New app to track my walks

Station walk this morning was good but my run keeper has stopped finding the GPS signal.
Recently I have switched to an app called runmeter which finds the GPS very quickly. It tracks your walks and runs in the same way as runkeeper but has other bits and bobs to it such as being able to race against yourself (your best time on a particular route). The thing it doesn't do is send all your info to a central hub like runkeeper does. With runkeeper I can go to my page in their website and look at all the activities I have done with it going back months or even years. I could put all my runmeter walks onto runkeeper manually but that would mean more time at the computer, sitting and doing my back in. Besides, I'm getting more used to runmeter now, and what with runkeepers inability to find a signal I am beginning to find runkeeper very annoying! Oh and I think Runmeter tracks me less calories burned than runkeeper does but well, I know its not an exact science.

Exercise - station walk 2.16km. 148 cals burned tracked by Runmeter.
Food - 1107 calories
50g Muesli with milk
Tea
Banana
Cheese sandwich
wine (bottle shared with hubby)
pretzels (handful)

Wk 20, D4. X-ray

So I went to the Doctors today, even though my back felt better. She gave me a prescription for painkillers and sent me off for an x-ray on my back. She had no real answer to my back problem but she said an x-ray would at least check my spine and hopefully rule that out as a possible cause. Tbh I think I just keep over doing it and making it worse myself because rest, which is what I should be doing, is very, very boring indeed. Especially when no-one else is about. I know I should rest as soon as I get a niggle but it's so frustrating. Anyway the Doc will get the results in a week. I haven't got the prescription yet because I'm not sure I really need them. I didn't do the station run yesterday. I took hubby in the car at 6.30 am came home and went back to bed. I eventually woke up at 9.40am! Bliss.

Exercise - none
Food - 860 calories

Soreen malt loaf for breakfast
Weight watchers quiche for lunch
Home made sausage casserole and an apple for dinner
Cups of tea throughout the day

Wk 20, D3. Wednesday

Not a lot to say about today. I did the station walk, My back is a little less uncomfortable than yesterday. I made an appointment to see the GP for Thursday.

Exercise - 126 calories burned on station walk
Food - 933 calories tracked plus lamb steak, butternut squash, gravy and beans followed by a chocolate muffin shared with hubby in the pub! This probably takes it up to 1300 which is a first in a long time!

On another note. My sister is writing a blog which is extremely well written, sad, funny, inciteful and educational about how her family are coping with cancer. Her is the link.

me, ady, our children and cancer

Start at the first one in August called 'from then till now'

Wk 20, D2 back pain is back!

....maybe the acupuncture was successful but only for 3 days. Maybe I overdid it with the housework and jogging on Monday but today my back was uncomfortable all day. I did the station walk and that was ok. I had clients all morning and that was ok, but after the supermarket and getting home, sitting down for some lunch, that's when it got uncomfortable. Damn this bloody back pain! It's been 6 weeks! Surely it should be better by now? Hubby is nagging me to go to the GP but what will he do? It's not bad enough for painkillers so he will just stick me on a waiting list to see a physio in some far off place for 15 minutes in another 6 weeks time! I'm thinking of getting some more needles stuck in me.

Exercise - 153 calories burned
Food - 672 calories consumed

Pot noodle (haven't had one of those in years!)
3 x crumpets with butter (it was a wet and windy day)
4 x Tea
Apricot halves and custard

Wk 20, D1 - couple of jogs!

I managed a couple of jogs on my station walk this morning. I thought I would give it a go as my back has been so much better. I stopped when I could feel the muscles tighten in my lower back but it's more than I have been able to do for about 6 weeks!
I had the morning free so with my new vigour I started on the housework in earnest. Then I had 5 hours of work to do - hairdressing which involves mainly standing. By the evening my back was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Damn it, I overdid it! Out came the hot water bottle again!

Exercise - 151 calories burned
Food - 763 calories
Muesli
Tea
Cheese roll
small pasta with chicken

Wk 19 - Results and Reflection

My appetite has improved a little this week but it is still small. I'm not worried about it though because I don't feel weak or faint or anything and my weight loss is better - not like the 5lb loss I had in  a week a few weeks ago. Even though it gave my weight loss a boost I didn't feel well that week and has opened my eyes to depression big time!

This week I have lost 2lbs 5oz. This has taken me up and over the 2 stone mark and 2/3rds of the way to my goal I have just under 14lbs to go.

I have kept up the walk to the station this week apart from Friday but I walked alot over the weekend. My back was very uncomfortable on Thursday. I saw the physio and had acupuncture which seemed to make my back worse for the rest of the day. Almost miraculously though, the next few days where very much pain and niggle free.

I haven't been good at tracking the calories burned or consumed so this week I must do that properly.

Wk 19, Days 5, 6 +7 - maybe it's a miracle!

I cannot believe how much my back has improved since Thursdays painful day of sitting, physio and acupuncture! I am open minded about this stuff so it could have been the acupuncture or it could have been that my back is improving all the time anyway or it could be due to my lying down most of the afternoon and evening after the physio or it could be the combination of all three! Anyway, whatever the reason my back has been relatively pain free for a few days now. I even managed to sit on the sofa for an hour without pain!
I walked around town on Friday without a problem. Saturday was good for a walk and a picnic by the river, no backpain that day either. Sunday we walked for an hour then sat and had a coffee, again no pain, no twinges. I'm quite excited by this turn around and am dreaming of running again. I just hope my lungs are still up to it!

I had a sort out of my clothes on Sunday and have managed to get a pile of my biggest clothes in a bag for the charity shop. I am down a dress size now and fit very comfortably into it too. One more dress size and I will be where I want to be. I am hoping that will be by the end of October.

I didn't track my walks so I don't know how many calories I burned over the last few days. I also was very bad at tracking my calories but I know I didn't go over 1300 each day. Since my appetite loss through being fed up of being housebound I can't seem to manage a whole meal. This is a very good turn around for me as all my plates of food where clearly too large for me before anyway.
So, I guess now I am eating like a slim girl and not a fatty! :-)))))

Wk19, D4 - Acupuncture

I sat too long at the computer this morning. My back was quite painful.
I had the physio at lunch time. This was not the person I usually see as she was away. I was intrigued to see what a new person would say. I told her I was feeling pain down my leg if I sat for too long. She didn't like the sound of that and told me that's a sign of my back getting worse not better. She got me bending in all directions as my usual physiotherapist does and immediately asked if I had been diagnosed with scoliosis! That was a worry. Then she said my spine looked off centre probably because I wasn't standing straight.
I lay on the bed and she massaged my back then asked if I had a problem with needles. I said no. Then, "have you had acupuncture before?" Again I said no. I am not one for 'alternative' nonsense I prefer tested proven science but as my back was bad I thought I would give it a go. If anything at least I could say I tried it. She put the needles in. I was very surprised I didn't feel them, only the tapping as she tapped them into my back. One of them she put in however was really uncomfortable so she took it out and put it in a different place which was fine. She left me for 5 minutes "while the blood flow increases round the area" I can see how blood flow would increase around an area with 6 needles stuck in there, but if its blood flow that's needed my hot water bottle would do the same. She also explained the needles would put tiny holes in the spasmed muscle which, would allow the muscles to stretch out more afterwards. I can see the logic there too. After 5 minutes or so she took the needles out, again I didn't feel them at all apart from the last one which was excruciating! And she did it slowly telling me the muscle was very tight around that one. You don't say!!
The verdict? I spent the day with the worse back pain I have had in a long time. I got my hot water bottle and lay on the sofa for a few hours until I was able to stand up straight without too much ado. Acupuncture is not for me at all. I'm glad my usual physiotherapist is back next week. Hubby is insisting I go to my GP and get an MRI but I really don't think it's needed. Surely if it's a disc problem it would hurt all the time and be getting worse not better?

Exercise - station walk 141 calories burned
Food -  1051 calories
Breakfast/lunch
large bowl of muesli with milk
Tea
Dinner
Home made fish pie
wine

Wk 19, Days 1, 2 + 3

This week so far I have only walked to the station on twice, Wednesday and this morning (Thursday). Monday was out as it was a Bank holiday and we were on our way back from Bath. Tuesday was out because I went to see my new niece for the day in Tunbridge Wells. It is an hours drive so I put a towel behind my back to support me in the car and drove down there. The towel support worked up until the last 10 or 15 minutes of the journey when my back just started to get uncomfortable. Other than that it was fine. My niece is 6 weeks old so as this was the first time I have been able to sit in the car for that long it was the first time I had seen her. You forget how small babies are when they are new.
On my walk yesterday I decided to jog a little to see what happens. I jogged about 10 steps but my back became very uncomfortable so I stopped before I did any damage.
I have been busy with work this week so I have been happier in myself. Especially as I was able to visit my family too. As a result my appetite has come back a bit so I am eating more - not too much to put weight on though! I am still using MyNetDiary to track my eating.

Exercise - 280 calories burned on the station walks
Food - I only tracked yesterdays properly which came to 901 calories
Breakfast
Tea
Banana
Lunch
Cheese roll
Tea
Dinner
home made sausage and bean casserole

Wk 18 Results and Reflection

This week I lost 2.7 lbs which took me up and over the 2 stone mark! I am 2/3 of the way to my goal which I should hopefully hit by the end of October. I have been able to up the walking as my back seems to get better each week. My appetite is still not good although I made up the calories with glasses of wine over the weekend!