Going Green

30 days to a happier, healthier me - day 8



Since I've been working so hard on my health and doing really well, it must be time for a treat. I'm going to treat myself to a beauty treatment each week. Wow, so many treats in that sentence. We all need a little pampering from time to time but beauty treatments can be very expensive so I do most of mine myself. Often, my Mum buys me beauty masks, hair masks, foot masks...you name it, Mum can find a mask for it. I've been through my cupboards and found myself an Avacado & Oatmeal purifying facial clay masque. Yes, another pressie from Mum. Must be a posh one 'cause it's a masque not a mask, hehe. I'm going to put it on now, put my feet up and read a magazine for a wee while.

The things we do for beauty, I could probably use this pic for next Halloween and scare a few children with it. I'm feeling relaxed and my skin feels all tingly and fresh. Next week I'm thinking of giving my hair a treatment, Mum's bound to have bought me a mask for it.

The rest of my challenge is going well, I've already been on one walk and taken pics for walkabout to post on the weekend, organised a new recipe to cook later on in the week for Simply Delish, been eating my fruit and veggies and sticking to my alcohol limits. Haven't had an alcohol free night this week and probably won't till next week but I'm OK with that, 'tis the silly season after all.

See you tomorrow,
Don't forget to treat yourself when you can.
Love KB
xxx

Previous 30 days to a healthier, happier me are here.

5+ A Day

30 days to a happier, healthier me - day 4



I'm going really well with my 30 days to a happier, healthier me challenge. It's taking me a while but I'd rather be successful with the first few days before moving onto the next stage.

My next goal is to eat 5+ servings of fruit and veggies per day. By the way, a serving is approximately the amount you can fit in your hand...more info at 5+ a day website.  I already love my veggies but fruit I can take or leave. I also find that some days I'll eat heaps of veggies and the next I'll barely touch them. My focus is going to be on eating 2 serves of fruit and 3 serves of veggies daily, not just when I feel like it.

The benefits of eating fruit and veggies are enormous. Many studies have proven that eating a variety of fruits and vegetables reduces your risk of developing certain cancers and can have a beneficial effect to your heart and blood circulation. Also, eating fruit and veggies can give you more energy and help you lose weight as you're less likely to snack on junk food.

Growing our own fruit and veggies is a huge advantage

Yeah, yeah, I've heard all this a million times but I still don't eat enough fruit and veggies. Time to get serious and just do it. I love chocolate and ice cream and if it's around...I eat it. So, I've stopped buying the tasty ice creams I used to stock in the freezer. If I want chocolate or ice cream now, I have to physically get off my bum, go to the shop and buy it. This seems to be working quite well so far as I usually can't be bothered going to the shop just for one item. Whitesnake buys me a sweet treat every now and then and I think that's perfect. Sweets should only be eaten as a treat after all. So now when I feel like something sweet, I have some raisins or a banana instead. We won't mention the custard square I ate earlier *blushes*.

I think that with most of the changes I'm making, I have all the information I need already, it's just a matter of committing to the changes, keeping an open mind, making more conscious choices and remembering that everything in moderation is the way to go.

I'll keep you informed as to how I'm progressing with the fruit and veggie plan and the other changes I'm making.

See you tomorrow,
Be kind to each other.
Love KB
xxx
         

  

These Feet Are Made For Walkin'

30 days to a happier, healthier me - day 3




Whenever I feel like exercising, I lie down until the feeling passes.
- Robert Hutchins

I couldn't have said it better myself, Robert, hehe.

One of our favourite, local walking tracks 

I started off well with my exercise plan about six months ago. I wore my pedometer for a few weeks to monitor how many steps I was taking. I was only shy of the 10,000 a day by around 3,000 steps, which works out to about a half an hour walk. Funnily enough, the instructions with the pedometer suggested that an average day plus a few extra steps here and there and a 30 minute walk, should do the trick. But of course, I wanted to try finding a way around it, LOL! You can read KB's tips on easy ways to reach your 10,000 steps a day here. Shame I can't take my own advice, hehe.


I was reading an interesting book about womens' health and it suggested looking at walking not as exercise, but as a chance to get out in the fresh air on your own to think and meditate on your life. Sounds much better than exercising. Changing my frame of mind about these things has helped me heaps. The funny thing is, once I get out there, I love it. Coco usually has me giggling about something within no time, I listen to embarrassing pop music (without fear of mockery from Mr Whitesnake), come up with writing ideas and inspiration for life in general
 
The reason my walking is so sporadic is because vigorous exercise brings on similar symptoms to a panic attack. In the past, when I was out on a long hike, I would experience shortness of breath, rapid heart beat etc and I thought I was going to have a heart attack, when in fact, I was fine and experiencing a panic attack. Sounds so silly when I write it down but it can be a terrifying experience. Whenever I reach for my walking shoes, there's the fear in the back of my mind of having a panic. My walking went by the way side AGAIN after I had a big panic about a month ago. Time to get back into it. Actually, walking is one of the best things I can do for myself when I feel anxious but the thought of going walking can sometimes bring on anxiety. Bit of a vicious cycle with me but I shall keep plodding on.  My plan is to go for at least one 30 min walk this week and increase by one walk per week, until I'm walking 4 times a week. I plan to walk a steep track twice a week to really get my heart pumping.
 
Wish me luck!
 
Love KB
xxx

P.S. Still on track with day 2 of my plan...I've already had one alcohol free day for the week (my week starts Thursday - don't ask) and just one tipple last night. Go me!

Read more about 30 days to a happier, healthier me here.

Keeping Up With KB

Hi all,

I'm feeling soooooooooooo good today. I've made a great start on step 2 of my 30 days to a happier, healthier me challenge. I've had my two alcohol free days for the week (which I started on Thursday as I said I would). It was a lot easier than I thought. The first day, I kept telling myself during the day that maybe I should start after the holidays but once I'd decided to go ahead, I stuck to it. Yay, go me. The next day was easy and  I barely thought about it. It made me realise how much I have relied on alcohol in the past. Some days, the thought of having a glass of wine after work was the only thing that got me through the day. I know that sounds terrible but I need to be honest with myself about these things and as you know, I tell you lot everything. I'm not sure if that's a good thing at times but it's just me being me. Anyway, I feel really good about achieving part of my goal and I'm looking forward to continuing on with my 2 alcohol free days a week and reducing my alcohol intake overall. My next goal is exercise and I'm going to start working on that after our little holiday.

Speaking of holidays, Whitesnake and I are looking forward to some well deserved time off, starting tomorrow. Woohoo! We're not going away anywhere but we have made plans to catch up with friends for Whitesnake's birthday (it's on Wednesday - don't tell him I told you), we really want to watch the new Harry Potter movie and the rest of the time we're going to relax and enjoy the nice weather.  Can't wait!

I've posted a recipe on our joint blog - Simply Delish Cheesy Twist Muffins. The recipe is soooo easy and delish. Go have a look and leave a recipe of your own if you wish. We're hoping to cook up a few recipes while on hols, that our friends have shared with us.

On a sad note,  29 miners are trapped underground on the West Coast of New Zealand. My thoughts are with the miners and their families. I hope you will join me in wishing them a speedy rescue and recovery.

Love KB
xxx

P.S. I've been a bit slack with my visits to all my wonderful readers but I'm going to put some time aside to visit y'all during out little break. Thank you so much for all of you who read, comment and click on my goggle ads. At this rate, I should be able to afford to buy a postage stamp with my earnings in no time, LOL!  It's very much appreciated and you're all very important to me. 

           

Easing Up On The Drink

30 Days To A Happier, Healthier Me - Day 2




Ok, now I know where I am health wise, it's time to move on to the next stage.  My first goal is going to be the hardest for me, which is why I put it high on the list. I want to reduce my drinking. I've already reduced the amount I drink by half but I need to drink even less to stay within a healthy limit.

Next stop....NZ Alcohol Advisory Website.

According to ALAC, a safe limit for me is 14 standard drinks per week, with a couple of days alcohol free each week and no more than four standard drinks per drinking occasion. Sounds reasonable until I looked up how much a standard drink is - a very small glass of wine. Yikes, I spit out more mouthwash than that when I brush my teeth.. Oh well, I'll give it a try and see how I go.

So, what have I learnt?

No more than 2 bottles of wine per week.
2-3 alcohol free days a week...nightmare!
No more than 1/2 bottle of wine in one sitting.

By the way, the limits are different for men, lucky buggers.

It's not exactly the best time with holidays, a special birthday and Christmas coming up but I've gotta start sometime...right?  Me thinks I'll start when Whitesnake goes back to work, so that's this Thursday.  Wonder how many drinks I can get in before then? Hehe.

Wish me luck..I think I'm gonna need it.

See you tomorrow,
Love KB
xxx 

See more of my 30 days to a happier, healthier me, here.

Know My Numbers

30 Days To A Happier, Healthier Me - Day 1

Summer is well and truly on the way, the perfect time to make a few changes to bring me closer towards my goal of having a healthier lifestyle. I'm doing really well and have taken on board many changes already but my aim for this challenge is to be more consistent with the healthy stuff.

My first step was to find out where I was health wise right now. I bought myself a notebook and jotted down a few results. I decided to work on lowering my cholesterol and losing a little weight around my middle. Blood pressure and resting heart rate are normal.

I also logged onto knowyournumbers to enter my blood pressure and cholesterol. My heart risk is normal for my age. This was great news to me as there is a history of heart disease on one side of my family and it's something I worry about at times. I'm a natural born worrier but Whitesnake has made me so happy, I have to now invent things to worry about, hehe.

My next stop was realage. According to Dr Oz, I have a few years more under my belt than I should have. I really like this site as it calculates what your real age is and then gives you little tips to improve.

Righto, so now I know where I am health wise and the few things I want to work on. No surprises there really...I need to excercise more and drink less wine.

See you tomorrow for Simply Delish. I cooked up a sesame chicken recipe and it was sooooo good. Whitesnake licked his plate, much to the disappointment of Coco, 'cause there were no left overs.  

Love KB
xxx

Keeping Up With KB

Things are going really well with me. I've had a little anxiety but it's been manageable. The level of anxiety comes down a little every day after I've had a big panic attack. As long as Whitesnake doesn't come up behind me and scare the life out of me by tickling me (as he often does), I should be OK.

Watched a couple of good DVDs the other day/night. One was Marley and Me , which I loved apart from the ending. I will apologise in advance in case you don't already know but the dog dies in the end. Why do people have to ruin a perfectly good story by killing off the dog in the end? I cried buckets and spent an hour telling a rather bewildered Coco that I loved her so much and I wanted her to live forever.


The next movie was about a girl who cooks her way through a Julia Child cook book and blogs about it. Hmm, cooking and blogging, why didn't I think of that?  I refer to the movie Julie and Julia which I really did enjoy but poor Whitesnake had to sit there while I continuously paused it and said, "I could have done that AND I would have been funnier." A life of cooking and blogging sounds like heaven to me.


In other news...our babies have grown to double the size. Don't worry, I haven't had some kind of alien birth, I'm referring to our baby fruit and veg. This is the first time I've attempted to grown anything and I'm so excited. I keep jumping out of my seat at the most inappropriate moments saying, "I must check on the babies." or " I must water the babies." I wonder what the neighbours must think?

I'm going to begin my 30 days to a happier, healthier me tomorrow. I've taken on board Whitesnake's advice and I'm not going to stress myself out if I can't do it in 30 days. Actually, I'm doing most of the steps already, I tend to be really healthy for a week and then decide I must reward myself by drinking a rather large bottle of wine or eating lots of chocolate and end up right back where I started. So I'm not going to move on to the next day until I feel comfortable that I have the first day sorted. I want to be more consistent about the whole healthy living thing. It'll probably take my 30 months rather than 30 days but if I can get the end result I 'm after, I don't care if it takes me a life time.

Righto, that's me all caught up. Time to organise Whitesnake's dinner and check on the babies again.

Bye for now
Love KB
xxx

30 Days To A Happier, Healthier Me

These past few days have been a little rough for me due to a huge panic attack I had. You can read more about my panic attack here. I'm feeling much better today thanks to some excellent work books (The It Series), some me time and the support of my darling Whitesnake.

I've been enjoying taking part in the 30 days of me challenge and although I am still working on the challenge, I've decided to go off on a bit of a tangent (as is my way) and start my own challenge - 30 Days To A Happier, Healthier Me. This will help me get back on track health wise which will in turn help me overcome my anxieties. I've given myself a rough idea of how I will go about this but I've also allowed myself the flexibility to change this and go with the flow. One of the reasons I have had problems in the past is because I like to make a plan, stick to it and beat myself up if I don't stick to it...not good for me in the long run. I've also given myself permission to not have to move onto the next challenge until I am ready to (so it will most likely take me longer than 30 days). I can feel myself relaxing already!

So here's my plan of action:

1.    know my numbers

2.    reduce alcohol intake

3.    30 minute walk

4.    5+ per day

5.    try a new recipe

6.    go walkabout
7.    walk 2x this week

8.    treat myself to a beauty treatment

9.    read

10.  eat a healthy breakfast

11.  cut down on caffeine

12.  get enough sleep

13.  challenge my brain

14.  walk 3x this week

15   date night/day

16   get my hands dirty

17   have a me day

18.  gratitude journal

19.  take a multivitamin daily

20   don't eat 3 hrs before bedtime

21   protect my skin with sunscreen every day

22   remove makeup before bed every day

23   floss

24   wear perfume

25   walk x4 this week

26   drink more herbal tea

27   relaxation techniques

28   increase calcium intake

29   mc twice a week

30   review




Feel free to join in with me if you like, your feedback and support would be great too. I'm still going to work on the 30 days of me challenge, when I have time but my own challenge is more important at the moment.

See you tomorrow
Love KB
xxx