Doing it Igor thstyle!

 

It’s done. I’ve signed up as an organ donor. Well, actually I have to wait for the pack to arrive in the post, but essentially it’s done.

 

And it was laughably easy as well. Here’s what you have to do…

 

Call the Organ Donor Foundation of SA on 0800 22 66 11.

 

Then the nice person on the other end of the phone will ask for your details. Name, address, contact numbers. Then they’ll post you the info pack. In it will be all the information you need about being an organ donor, a sticker for your ID book and one for your driver’s licence, a card which you’ll need to fill in and keep with you, and a letter with your ODF reference number.

 

If you’ve run out of free minutes or have already abused your office phone beyond what is humanly decent, then you can visit www.odf.org.za and register that way.

 

It’s probably a good idea to chat to your family before hand and let them know what you’ve decided to do. I’ve already told mine and they’re fine with it. That way, if anything should happen and I prematurely shuffle off this mortal coil, my family knows what I would have wanted and can sign the consent forms without any fuss or deliberation.

 

T

TerriFirma - Back to school, hold the Marmite

 

Isn’t it terrible, when at the end of the month (or even five days after payday) you look at your bank balance and all of your money has vanished? That’s been happening to me a lot lately – like for three years. And it’s been really freaking me out.

 

I’m making a concerted effort to save money and seeing it just vanish is not very nice.

 

Then I realized where it was going. Or at least, I have a theory about where it’s going. All those times I buy breakfast and lunch in town. I can easily spend between R30 and R50 on food in town a day. That has got to stop. Say we go with the least possible amount R30 – I’m essentially spending R150 a week and roughly R600 a month. Grief.

 

So today I brought a sandwich with me. I have effectively spent no money today (unless you count the petrol it took to get me here). And a cheese and Goldew* sandwich on low GI bread is actually a yummy lunch. Washed down with a cup of coffee and two green teas with mint, oh and water. Not only am I doing the financial safer thing but I’m not spending money on food that’s only going to make me put on more weight.

 

Granted, it’s only the first day, but I’m feeling pretty happy with myself.

 

Tonight I’ll make my sandwich for tomorrow, or even pack in some stuff to make a baked potato for lunch – now that’s a good idea. Yum.

 

It’s time to teach my body that I don’t need R30 butternut soup, lasagna, pie, wrap, pasta for lunch. A simple sandwich will suffice – like back in the good old days of school. But you won’t catch me making marmite or peanut butter sarmies.

 

T

* They’re the new yellow fruit from the people who brought us Peppadews. Yum. A more sweet and sour taste, with less of a bite.

TerriFirma - Kicking it up a Gear

 

 

For the past little while I’ve been feeling like I’m sitting at a threshold and just couldn’t force myself to stumble over it. It is so frustrating going to gym and not seeing the results on the scale. After much contemplation I decided the best thing to do would be to kick it up a gear.

 

I hate running. Really really hate running. If you’re shaped like me, running should involve all sorts of steel corsetry, reinforcements and the type of machinery you’d expect to find on a space shuttle. In fact, running is on a par with skipping – or anything else that involves bouncing or wobbling.

 

And yet it’s clear I need to add a little extra oomph into my workout in the morning. So as of last Wednesday I started to run on the treadmill at gym. Gone are the days of just “walking fast”. Now I head for the treadmill first and jog for a while, then walk fast, then jog again. I’m varying the intervals to make it a little less boring.

 

I’ve also loaded my iPod with some great music to run to. It really does make all the difference.

 

So yes, I’m feeling good and so terribly proud of myself. But, oh the agony after the first two days. My hip joints were very unimpressed with me. Thankfully the pain has worn off and after this morning’s stint I’m not uncomfortable. Granted, my intervals were a bit odd this morning on account of the fact that there was a fire in a neighbouring building, and well – firemen (need I say more?).

 

Oh and, the small good news is that since last Monday I’ve lost 0,6kg. I know that’s not a huge amount, but at least it’s something to make me smile and keep at it.

 

T

Jeez woman, forgetting something?

 

 

This post isn’t so much about exercise or eating right, but it is about general health and common cleanliness.

 

There’s something that has always bothered me, but I’ve been noticing it more and more lately… women who don’t wash their hands after a visit to the loo. Yes, it’s horrible to think about – but it happens more often than you’d care to think.

 

And I’m talking women who really should know better. These are the same women who probably sterilize their baby’s dummies for eight hours if their little bundle of joy spits them onto the floor (which has probably only just been cleaned and polished by the maid). They freak about their kids eating snails or about the husband patting the dog and then hugging them. But why then, do some of them go to ladies room and waltz straight out, bypassing the basins?

 

A woman at gym on Monday morning (ah, there’s the fitness link!). Had a long conversation on her phone with the people who had installed her underfloor heating in the wrong place. Then she rang her husband and popped into a nearby cubicle (I won’t even go into the fact that she didn’t lock the door). She chatted to him while busy on the toilet, flushed and then walked straight past me and out to her car. I stood there horrified.

 

You’d think that, at the very least, the presence of a witness would urge her to even just splash a little water across her manicured fingers.

 

It happens at the gym, at work, in supermarkets – everywhere. Someone I know once commented that he didn’t like to touch the railing on escalators, I laughed at him. But looking at the behaviour of the general public, he may have a point.

 

It’s bad enough that people can cough all sorts of germs into your faces and not have the grace to apologise or even attempt to cover their mouths with their hands. But the idea of door handles, railings, pedestrian robot buttons… money!

 

When I was on holiday in London in 2006 I popped into a Burger King essentially because I had been jiggling on the tube and needed a loo that would most probably not be gross. As you walk into the restaurant there’s a wall with TV screens along it, I didn’t pay them much attention until I realized that they were CCTV images of the basins in the loos. So basically everyone could see who washed their hands and who didn’t. Really weird – but they must have been put there for a reason, right?

 

Incidentally while I was in there a homeless woman came in, went into a cubicle, left the door wide open, hitched her skirts up and “went”. She had a long chat to me while I was at the basin washing my hands.

 

Oh and, even she, a woman who has probably never even been into a building with underfloor heating, stopped for a moment to wash her hands.

TerriFirma - The Glitch

 

 

It’s been a week since I last wrote – and wow has it been a week. Picture this…

 

Monday morning my alarm goes off. I open one eye. It’s dark and the rain is pounding on my roof and I can just imagine the raging rivers coursing down the pathway next to my house. In a moment of complete bravery I clamber out of bed and, after a stand-up fight with myself, head off to gym. It’s a great work out and I’m impressed at my resolve.

 

Tuesday was my birthday. I decided that gym would not be a nice way to celebrate turning 29. It was a great day and I took cake to work etc.

 

Then I went out to dinner with my family. It was either food poisoning or the remnants of the flu I had a few weeks back – but at 2.30am I was up, erm, un-eating my birthday dinner. For a good few hours. I know, it’s horrible, but at least you weren’t there at the time.

 

Needless to say I took Wednesday off. My addled, miserable, sleep-deprived brain was quite adept at working out just how atrocious I felt and just how far the Ladies is from my desk. Despite running the risk of colleagues assuming I was nursing a birthday hangover I stayed in bed and managed to eat one slice of bread. So, obviously – no gym.

 

Thursday morning I woke up feeling a little better but still pretty grotty. I decided to skip gym again – for everyone’s sake – but I went to work. Probably not the wisest decision as I was still pretty queasy. Having to concentrate on staying upright is not really normal.

 

Anyway – enough complaining.

 

I eventually got my appetite back in time for tea at the Nellie on Saturday. It was fantastic. Too much coffee though, but I enjoyed every morsel. Rather distressed I only managed to fit in one scone – but I had enjoyed the little quiches and sarmies first.

 

In short, all my good gym intentions went a bit haywire last week. But I’m back on top form and will be there tomorrow morning.

 

Going grocery shopping in a bit. Run out of stuff like bread, milk and potatoes. I think I’ve managed to succeed in just buying what I need so far. Here’s to another frugal run around Pick n Pay.

 

T

TerriFirma - The Cheesecake of Doom

 

 

Yes, I went to gym after work on Thursday before dinner, and yes, I worked really hard. And yes, I ate the duck.

 

It was delicious.

 

My friend and I had a lovely evening and they cleaned up around us as we sat and chatted long after our plates had been cleared. Felt a little bad as we left to find all the kitchen staff sitting around looking thoroughly bored if not a little grateful we’d finally decided to leave.

 

The idea of hitting the gym hard before a big meal like that is a good one. But then, I kind of went and sabotaged my own good efforts. On Friday night I went to see Kurt Schoonraad’s show Spiders and Mayonnaise at On Broadway, and after dinner I ordered the cheesecake. I’m not the world’s biggest cheesecake fan, but this – well, it’s a thing of beauty. I tried to tell myself I’d only eat half a slice, but somewhere behind that pathetic denial, I knew I would scoff the lot.

 

*sigh* and while we’re at it I should probably mention the Cosmopolitans I made and enjoyed last night at a friend’s house party.

 

So, all in all, it’s been a bit of a dismal weekend on the healthy decisions front.

 

What it basically means, is that tomorrow morning when my alarm goes off and I open my eyes just a crack to check the time, there will be no option of hitting the snooze button. It’ll be up and at ’em and off to the gym. And as I slouch miserably towards the treadmill I’ll remind myself of the Cheesecake of Doom.

 

I’m in the mood for a tasty stew again tonight, especially with all the rain we’ve been having. My garden resembles a marsh and since the landlord came and took all the gutters off – well, I have a permanent waterfall-effect. So something warm and wholesome will be perfect. I don’t have a fire to curl up in front of, but I’ll sit up against the wall heater and pretend.

 

 T

TerriFirma - Duck it, I’m going to gym!

 

First, a bit of boasting. Yes, I know, it’s tiresome, but…

 

Last night I finished work at 6.50pm. And, despite the fact that all I wanted to do was drag myself off to my bed, I went to gym. To make it even more impressive (drum roll, please) I worked very hard on the crosstrainer and treadmill. Now, I know you’re not supposed to really measure it like this, but I completely smashed my calorie burning records.

 

I was thoroughly impressed with myself. And yes, I turned into the crazy muttering woman in the corner as I kept egging myself on. I was just thrilled with myself for choosing to stick to the commitment I’d made. I hadn’t been able to go in the morning since I had a man in a blue mask trying to climb down my throat at 8am. The dentist – oh injections are a great way to start a Wednesday.

 

To make it all the more impressive, I’d had to miss out on having dinner with my friends, at Arnold’s in Kloof Street, so that I could stick to my plan. And while it may have been vaguely masochistic to join them after gym, and then still ask them what they’d all eaten, I really do think I made the right decision.

 

Besides, I’m going out for dinner tonight with a friend and I’m almost certainly going to order the crispy duck pancakes. So I just need to balance all my other choices around that.

 

At gym last night I walked a wide circle around the scale. I figure that having a run-in with it once a week is more than enough. So Monday is the official day.

 

I’ve also decided that I far rather prefer going to gym in the morning before work. Firstly, it wakes me up and gets me ready for the day, and secondly, it’s not as busy and the atmosphere isn’t so – driven. A fellow gymmer (I don’t care if it’s not a real word) in the change room suggested it could be because in the morning no one has woken up enough yet. I think she’s right.

 

Oh and thirdly, walking on the treadmill at night is a bit horrifying. Because the window, which in the morning gives me a view out over the workers chasing bakkies up Strand Street, at night turns into a tell-tale mirror. It’s a bit disconcerting, feeling like I’m making an amazing effort and then looking up to see that I look just the same as I did the day before. But I consoled myself with the fact that in a few months I’ll be able to see the hard work pay off. I’d better, otherwise I may just be overtaken by super-human strength and some of the aforementioned workers may find themselves squashed by a treadmill or six.

 

I’ll be going to gym this evening before dinner. Call it a desperate attempt to make having crispy duck pancakes a little more “okay”. Duck is one of those things that ruins a menu for me. Once I spot it listed, everything else blurs into the background and I’m sold. Risotto tends to have that effect too.

 

The problem happens when they’re both on the menu…

 

T

 

TerriFirma - My nemesis

The stew was great, by the way. Really healthy, so easy and delicious. Better yet, there are leftovers for dinner tonight.

 

Along with the new resolve to eat better I’ve also decided that there’ll be no more of this once-a-week-gym-session nonsense. In my defense, that wasn’t because I figured that was all that was needed – it was because it’s winter and the prospect of getting out of bed is horrendous. Seriously, I lie in my bed with the doors and windows closed at night and I can still see my breath clouding in the ice cold air. And no, I’m not exaggerating – it’s that bad.

 

All that aside, however, I forced myself to get up this morning and schlepped out to my car and off to gym. Once I got there it felt great. It’s a 20 minute walk from where I park to gym, so I figure that’s good enough for a warm up. Then I did 20 minutes hard work on the cross trainer and another 20 minutes fast walk on the treadmill. After that I all but floated across the gym to the showers. The endorphin rush after a workout is amazing, it must be my favourite part of the whole performance.

 

As I headed for the showers they changed the CD, to that dratted song they use for The Biggest Loser. You know the one: What have you done today to make you feel proud? Quite. I’m glad there was no one else in the changing rooms to hear my sarcastic snort – by that time the endorphin rush had gone and I was hot and sticky and ravenous.

 

Despite that, I always feel really good about myself after a workout. Somehow though, that feeling isn’t anywhere in sight to remind me when it’s time to get up in the morning.

 

The nemesis in the title is none other than the scale at the gym. Never mind that it’s positioned right next to the circuit, it also weighs me 0.9kg heavier than at home. Although I have been doubting the accuracy of my home scale lately. I suspect the devious little bugger has been lying to me. Anyway, I weighed myself before my workout this morning and I think it’s best to just stick to the one scale. I’m not quite ready to share what it said – but I will share what I lose as I lose it. Fair’s fair, if you’re not going to be there half dying on the treadmill next to mine…

 

 As I left gym this morning, having convinced myself that I didn’t need the chicken mayo pumpkin seed roll from the bakery downstairs, I walked past the extractor fan – the gorgeous aroma of baking biscuits assaulted me. Yes, it grabbed me by the arm shook me around and damn near left me in a sobbing heap on the ground. I managed to claw myself over the Strand Buitengracht intersection anyway and up to work.

 

So all in all a successful day I think. Let’s see if I make it out of bed tomorrow again.

 

T

TerriFirma - Getting started

Exactly a week ago I decided that enough was enough. Granted, it may have had something to do with the fact that I was gripped by a raging fever and trying to bravely fight off the flu, but I realised that I just wasn’t as healthy as I used to be. And I put it down to a few things.

Firstly, in the middle of flu season everyone insists on coughing and sneezing on me. At work, in the street, in the shop… everywhere. By the time I get where I’m going I’m covered in a not-so-thin layer of infectious diseases.

Secondly, I haven’t been going to gym. Well, not often enough at any rate. As a result my body has been feeling all feak and weeble and generally uncooperative. So when the common garden variety cold comes along, instead of standing up to fight, my immune system rolls over and plays dead.

Thirdly, it had been ages since I prepared a proper meal for myself. Going out to functions and meetings after work meant that I was surviving on hastily prepared packet meals where you just add water, or on champagne and canapes. Sounds grand, but trust me, you can only eat so many tiny spring rolls.

So I decided to take decisive steps. I went out to Pick n Pay and bought a bunch of banananas, some fat free little yoghurts, a 500ml bottle of water and a strip of small packets of raisins. The bottle of water was so that I could keep refilling it to drink at my desk the banananas were because I need to eat fruit and the raisins… well they were my sad substitute for sweets.

After a week, I have had a bananana and yoghurt everyday. The raisins, while a nice sugary treat, would work out to be too expensive, so I didn’t buy any more of those. And I’ve been drinking water instead of fizzy drinks.

In fact, this week, I didn’t buy any fizzy drinks, chips, sweets or chocolates. I’m pretty impressed with myself really. And it hasn’t been that hard. Although I have a theory as to why. What with all the petrol and food price increases I’ve been aware of my money - or lack thereof. So each time I’ve walked past the vending machine or corner cafe I’ve repeated this little mantra: “You want to go to the UK in February. DON’T DO IT!” And it’s worked. Two birds and all that. Save money and stop eating junk.

On Friday I went grocery shopping and bought a load of fresh veggies which I cooked up last night and put in small bags into the freezer. That way all I have to do is plop the veggies into the pan when I need them. It also means that I won’t have to face the ordeal of scooping soggy baby marrows off the bottom of my fridge in three weeks time.

Tonight I’ll be making stew. Yum.

K, bye for now. I’m going home early.

T

TerriFirma - The odyssey continues…

For a while now I’ve been thinking about what direction I want this blog to take. I don’t want it to be a lament about my non-existant love life or a angry commentary about all that annoys me.

I’ve also been missing writing my TerriFirma for the CapeTowner. so I decided that I could combine the two. Hence today’s title: TerriFirma - The odyssey continues…

It’s a way for me to stay accountable for where I’m at when it comes to all things health related. TerriFirma was essentially a series of columns following a 12-week weightloss and fitness clinic I attended at Dynamix gym in Cape Town. It was hard and sometimes difficult to write about - but I loved it.

I loved knowing that there were people out there reading about my experiences and finding things that they identified with. Never mind the fact that I lost around 15kgs on the Dynamix programme.

Anyway, what with work issues and all sorts of other stuff, I’ll be honest, I’ve let things slip a bit. I don’t go to gym nearly as often as I should and I’ve been so busy that I haven’t paid much attention to eating proper meals.

*sigh* It can be a bit crazy sometimes, functions and parties and getting home late to a snackwich instead of real food.

So, I’m going try to re-incarnate some of what TerriFirma was, here on this blog. I’ll still write about other stuff too, so this won’t just be a “oh I’m so fat I could cry” exercise. Never fear.

I’ll let that suffice as an intro and explanation.

Let the games begin.

T