I was delighted to hear that Katrina of The Body Toolkit is doing an online 7 day retreat starting at the beginning of May and I signed up straight away!  After all I am not spending much right now or going anywhere any time soon, and to spend some lockdown time on improving our health (and probably losing a few pounds) seems like a very good idea to me. See details here.

Some of you may remember that I went on a health retreat with Katrina in Januray 2017, never having been on amy kind of retreat before. By the end of it, I had noticed a distinct improvement in my eye condition (I have macular degeneration) and am thrilled to be able to say that three years on my condition is stable with even a slight improvement in one eye. I wrote about that experience here and here.

I will be forever grateful to Katrina.

She is lovely - a totally genuine person, passionate and knowledgeable, patient and kind, and I can't wait to experience more of her positivity.

Maybe some of you will do it too?

That would be brilliant.

..of the silvery moon..

I've joined a Pilates class - in a yurt - as part of my efforts to get stronger this year.

Love it!

Run by the excellent Hannah Louise, the setting adds to the pleasure. The yurt is heated by a woodburnr and lit by  candles and last week was so warm Hannah had to open the door even though there was snow on the ground!

I gave up on the last Pilates class I tried because the smell of cleaning fluids was overwhelming and the windows could not be opened, so this is much, much better and is three villages along the shore road, in the grounds of Old Kilmun House.

Here is Hannah's email if you are near enough to join her classes    [email protected]

Do you think the environment makes a difference to your attitude to exercise? (I have yet to see a gym I want to be in!)

Thank you so much for all your good wishes!

I feel a little bit of a fraud as I truly was only 'under the weather' and not really ill. I am trying to prevent becoming ill as I have been with people in varying stages of unwellness ranging from a bit of a cold threatening (me) to acute bronchitis (one of my best friends).

I have however taken all of the advice you kindly offered, including dipping my feet in the loch as suggested by Laura, wild swimmer extraordinaire - known to break the ice to go into the water! Only my feet so far Laura - and note the thick coat!

I enjoyed getting cosy with the furry cushion and the Christmas throw bought in Stockholm many years ago when I fulfilled a long held ambition to experience Santa Lucia Day in Sweden. Magical.

Had lots of tea, honey and lemon, the odd drinking chocolate, soup and my version of the classic Scottish cold cure - the hot toddy.

Cointreau or amaretto, juice of a tangerine and hot water.

I rested a lot with my feet up, taking it easy. I listened to a wonderful concert by two of my favourite musicians Steven Isserlis and Stephen Hough on Radio 3 on a dark night when the wind was howling and the rain was lashing.

Take it easy?  Put my feet up? I know some of you will be saying Chance would be a fine thing!

I hope you are well and that if you are not, you also get some chance to ease up and try a gentle, more nurturing approach instead of battling on. Not always possible in busy lives with multiple responsibilities and Christmas rushing upon us....

It seems to be working for me and I know how lucky I am, but I will be glad to get back to normal.

Here's to your good health!

What a strange expression!

Just a bit of a sniffle.

..to get fitter!

I went for a paddle at dusk..

Since I took up the Wim Hof method I have come to like the cold!

..but isn't it a good idea to exercise while you make your smoothie?

I could do with one of these.

I so enjoyed all your kiltie memories!

Now promise you won't laugh when you look at this link (okI know you will! I laughed too.).

No, I will not be sitting in the snow half naked any time soon, or anytime ever.

How I came across this I have no idea - things often just find me. Intrigued and super-sceptical I watched a few videos and Ted Talks and eventually thought I'd give the breathing a try. Deep breathing is good for you, right? I felt pretty good after just one round and began to do just one round most mornings. It only took a minute or two and I felt energetic and ready to go after it. This was around the same time I began to finish washing my hair with a cold rinse (which I mentioned a few weeks ago). That perked me up a bit further and seemed innocent enough.

Then one morning after my lovely warm shower I turned it to cold and timidly put my hands and feet under it for a few seconds. It took me about three weeks to stand fully under the cold water and ACTUALLY LIKE IT.

Yes, me.

The wimp.

I love it.


I joined the free mini class then unsubscribed easily and wasn't bombarded with unwanted  emails. I do it on my own in my own time now. A new habit.

Hello those of you who are still with me!

One new hardrive and a considerable amount of stress later I am so happy to be back here after a gap of wh a full week which made me aware of how much this daily blog means to me.

It is like a touchstone in my day, making me take stock of where I am at, and having like-minded  and generously responsive people to share that with.

June days have been full of contrasts. There have been times when I could hardly see the loch..

and days that look just as you wish June to look.

How has your June gone so far? Are you designing and planning your summer?

I have got off to a healthy start with a breathing exercise which makes me feel great in the mornings.

More tomorrow!

..snowdrops usually appear beside this bridge, photographed earlier this month. I hope to go and look tomorrow but the forecast is for sleet and snow so....maybe I'll stay by the fire as I seem to have been doing for most of January apart from a weekly journey to the city. Feeling very lazy but enjoying it, and giving myself perhaps 6  out of 10 for my health and fitness efforts :-(

What mark would you give yourself?

I've just watched a programme called The Truth About Getting Fit in which Dr Michael Mosley describes how to get maximum results with minimum effort.

Along with your encouraging words just what I needed to know! (BBC4 iPlayer and parts can be seen on YouTube.)

Apart from going out to fetch wood I've been lucky enough to have  a cosy day reading by the fire. It's been blowing a gale all day and the noise of the north westerly wind coming down the glen is still very loud although it was forecast to subside by now. I have however done a little bit of (effective) exercise.

Yay!

I'm going to avoid the slippery slopes this year - both actual and metaphorical. The road outside is so icy this  morning - like glass! - that I will stay home again though I'll take a walk to the shore, the grassy path will be safer I hope.

The other slippery slope is the one that finds me eating as if it is Christmas Day from about mid-December. Some people start sooner - as soon as late October when the Christmassy treats start appearing in the shops often at half price to tempt us further!  Of course you eat them before Christmas and then buy more at full price.

I'm not falling for it.

A couple of months of indulgence then a hard time in January trying to lose the weight and regain the hard-won fitness I achieved through the year?  No thanks.

So here's my strategy.

Starting today I will get fit for Christmas. I will drink more water, move more and indulge less for the next 7 days. Then I will feast for 3 days (and by feast I don't mean stuff myself!), live super-healthy for another 5, feast for 2 then get active and eat wisely for all of January because i have a very special plan for February and I want to be fit enough to enjoy it to the full..

Fit for Christmas starts today.  In my head I am already there, in reality I am still in my cosy dressing gown at 10.30am by the woodstove writing this - but I am drinking a big glass of water...and have put the FitBit on charge.

9pm and feeling good!

Went for a walk, drank lots of water, ate lightly but well, stacked wood and did some housework. I think I did about 5000 steps but the FitBit stopped and went back to zero as it wasn't charged up enough. About 4500 steps more than usual though. Will do 15 mins of Louise Parker's exercises (really hard!) then have a hot bath and hopefully a good sleep.

I'm going to enjoy this.

I think.

Well, I enjoyed it today.


NB  Even more folks have said Hello in Friday's comments - what fun it's been.

...but (to paraphrase FlyLady) even imperfect efforts bless your body.

 If you don't look after your body you won't have anything to live in.

,I am so glad I gifted myself six days to concentrate on my health. (It does take time and maybe no-one else is likely to give that to you!) Time to consider what you need to prioritise, to figure out what suits you and how you can fit it into your lifestyle.

It's easy to be overwhelmed by the barrage of health and wellbeing advice, so much of it contradictory, and much of it taking the form of Only 10 minutes a day to.... Only 30 minutes a day to achieve.... Only 40 minutes etc but by the time you factor in work/childcare/household tasks/others' needs - it all adds up to more than 24 hours!

I am feeling lighter, both literally and metaphorically, and more energetic. I have come up with a new weight beyond which I will not go.  I am even more interested in the subject and in finding out more, and am I imagining it, or am I thinking more clearly?

The city again today, but wild and wet. Beetroot and goats cheese tortelloni with sage hit the spot today. How pretty is that? A starter size, eaten slowly, is usually enough.

Tomorrow - the pros and cons (from my very limited experience!) of retreats away or at home

You are a great bunch!

My determination was flagging last night and this morning. I was feeling good, had lost as much weight as I wanted (and more than I expected) and was thinking maybe 6 days is too much to do on my own, maybe I could stop now
but reading Swissrose's comment I began to look at some videos and the pep talk from Dr Jason Fung and the LCHF video by Dr Andreas Eenfeldt - I love the ethics of his approach described in the last 10 minutes of so - gave me just the boost I needed. I reminded myself that part of the plan was to take the time to do some research, lit the fire, made a juice and sat down to listen and learn.

Tomorrow I visit the opthalmologist.  My eyes are the real reason I am doing all this. (See under Simply Seeing - Or Not.)  I'm looking for macular regeneration not degeneration..

I think it helps.

And I am fitter!

Lingering snow on the tops. Here below - mud, but 6349 steps.

 
Lucille's comment yesterday (I immediately went and looked up The 4 Pillars) got me thinking it would be good to take a look at the health and wellbeing books I have found interesting and/or useful over the years.

there has been a huge shift in attitude towards taking responsibility for our own health and wellbeing  - ie self help.

I've read lots of these books and found them fascinating. I've always had a craving for sugar and was cured of a (mild) depression and educated about sugar by Potatoes Not Prozac by Kathleen Desmaisons.. I like the writing of the late David Servan-Schreiber, notably Anti Cancer A New Way of Life and Healing Without Freud Or Prozac. You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay I use as a thought provoking reference book every now and then, and books about gut health have been useful (I am a convert to kefir!) Gut by Julia Enders is the one I have kept. Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers was quite influential at one point. Zoe Harcomb probably changed my eating habits more than anyone and my current favourite is Lean For Life by Louise Parker. Her 4 principles are Think Successfully, Live Well, Eat Beautifully, and Work Out Intelligently - which just about covers it all wouldn't you say?

Do you have favourites?

Day Five has gone well except I seem to be doing fewer steps each day!!

Yorkshire Steam II  :-)

Yorkshire Steam

Day four and all's well.

Skin brushing, water and lemon, morning pages, three juices one soup, two meditation sessions, one short exercise session, 4lbs weight lost, 2079 steps (must do better!), Fly Lady's Home Blessing Hour, some reading, some researching online, and still full of energy. Loving this health week but also planning my next meal...prawn, cucumber and cashew salad I think. Mmm. Looking forward to Friday night.

Thank you for your encouragement for my health week at home efforts! The main thing I realised today was how important company is.

I managed dry skin brushing, morning pages, Three fresh juices and one soup, but only 5,665 steps for which I had to take the bus into town where there were pavements cleared of snow and ice which I could walk on. I had the odd pang for a nice cup of coffee and a slight headache some of the time - probably withdrawal from coffee. But so far so good. Not all easy but not hard either....

Perhaps if you want a tiny try at a health retreat you could substitute fresh green juice, bought or homemade, for  breakfast or lunch for a few days and see how it feels?

Icy fingers over the porch today. Tonight I went and stood out there for a bit, stargazing and listening to some very screechy owls quite close in the forest. Another very hard frost.

I am really intrigued that making a public commitment to something makes (most of) us actually do it. Even something as simple as filling out a new address book or taking up the hem on a pair of trousers. (See this recent post.)

I had thought I wouldn't blog daily during my health retreat week (I am starting tomorrow) but I am realising it may be harder than I think to do it by myself and I may need a little cheering on....

So may I check in with you once a day?

The 10,000 steps every day may be a bit of a challenge as I've become an awful wimp of late...am loving being inside looking out.

From the front door this afternoon.
I love the patterns.

From the sitting room window.10 minutes later.
I love the glow.

After the success of my first ever health retreat last January (see here and here) I am planning to do a home version of it this month.

Here is the plan so far.  I am preparing now. Over six days later in the month ...

I will start the day with water and lemon juice and skin brushing, morning pages and a freshly made juice. I'll have three juices every day and either soup or a very light meal in the evenings. I'll walk 10,000 steps each day, take naps and magnesium baths, read poetry and motivational books,. do a little yoga, and switch off all technology for most of the time and certainly 2 hours before bed. (Sorry probably no blog posts for the duration!).

I'll also make appointments with my doctor and optician. I may have a massage and/or a sauna. I will try and find a body lotion without parabens or sulphates which doesn't smell of coconut. (I don't like to smell of food!). Any recommendations welcome.

I can hardly wait!

At least one reader of the blog has gone on Katrina's wonderful retreat and I do recommend it. It was a treat as well as a retreat and worth every penny.

I have a used copy of Jennifer Loudon's The Woman's Retreat book  - quite a tome but dipping into it might give you some ideas if you fancy a retreat. It is subtitled A Guide To Restoring, Rediscovering and Reawakening Your True Self - in a Moment, an Hour, or a Weekend. (There's a copy for £2.90 on Amazon today.)

More when I come back here in a week...meanwhile you might like to browse previous Januaries?

Hyacinths to feed thy soul..

Starting from the bottom here - I learned a lot from Zoe Harcombe's Stop Counting Calories and Start Losing Weight and will keep the recipe book of these two for a few recipes which have become favourites, and one of my principles is not to count calories, or to totally eliminate any one food group.

French Women Don't Get Fat I have written about on 10.9.14. Sorry I cannot get the link to work :-(  (There are a lot of posts under Simply Eat if you have time to browse!)  Her light-hearted joie de vivre approach and emphasis on the pleasure of food makes the recipe book a keeper.

Lean for Life is my current favourite. Although I have given up trying her too-intensive-for-me six week programme I will incorporate many of her ideas and love her positive can-do attitude to health and fitness, and the recipes are lovely.

I will donate the top two as again I have taken on board what I want from them. I have adapted the 5:2 diet to have mainly vegetable juices on one day a week, two if my weight has gone up a little (there is a weight beyond which I will not go...)

I'm lucky  to gain only a couple of pounds now and then, but I'm pretty careful about only eating good, real food.

I just don't want to spend much time cooking it!


Meanwhile, the sun shone for a few hours today and the second brood of five baby swallows are about ready to leave the nest above the studio window. Yay!

Three carrots, two small apples, one small pear, cucumber, celery, spinach, kale and ginger..

Phillips Viva Collection juicer 700W XL feeding tube, Easy Clean.

One for now, one in the fridge for later or in the freezer for a day when I don't have time or am travelling. I do this about 9 days out of 10 and have supermarket fresh pressed juice for the 10th day.

Lovely.

For me the incentive to get healthier began with my eyes.

I am an artist and when the optician told me I had macular degeneration and gave me a leaflet saying it was the leading cause of blindness all I could think was 'No. Not my eyes. Please not my eyes.' I waited for her to tell me what would be done but she was very quiet (and wouldn't look me in the eye. It must be hard to tell someone this I guess). So I asked what could be done and she said there was no cure and no treatment but I could try eating more colourful vegetables and take a supplement called Macushield that was thought to maybe slow down the process. And, she added, if there was a sudden change in my sight to get myself to the hospital straight away.

Mercifully the degeneration has been quite slow, but to cut a long story short, I recently thought if eating more vegetables is the only thing on offer how can I get the maximum amount of vegetables into my body? I browsed the web and chanced on this health retreat! I thought about it a lot (I'd never been on any kind of retreat and thought I couldn't afford it), but after some months and at a rather low ebb I gulped at the price, and went ahead and booked it in January this year.

I think it may be the best money I have ever spent.

I made the decision that if I was going to be blind I was going to be slim and healthy and energetic and blind!

I've been given a Fitbit and it has motivated me already to move more.

Instead of loading myself up with everything that needed taken downstairs I found myself thinking 'I'll just make two trips it will be more steps'.

6,743 today.

Without really trying.

Wonder if I can make the recommended 10,000....

Getting up earlier is one of my new habits since I went to the wonderful  health retreat in January (see this post).

That was such a good decision! At the time I booked it I felt as though I was running on empty and I can truly say I haven't looked back. More good decisions and good habits followed. By making a few simple changes I eat better, sleep better and move more.

I mention it today because I have been talking to Katrina and she tells me there is now one place due to a cancellation, on her next retreat..see here. Perhaps it is for you? :-)

I love this card which says 'Make It Happen'.

Have you acquired any new good habits?

Am I more positive than before I went on the retreat?   Hugely.

Am I healthier? Undoubtedly.

Am I slimmer? Yes, by 5lbs.

Am I happier? Yes, I am

Thank you Katrina, Carolyn, Mo, Lorna, Donald and Sally!

Not wanting to put you off but....this puts my puny fitness goals into perspective!

I've decided not to let it make me feel I should give up, but to make me see that our goals are easy to achieve in comparison....Would you agree?