The Hunt for Determination!

Where do people get their grit and determination from? This is something that I swear that I used to have but bit by bit it has crumbled away. I would love to know where I left it but I will need to come back to that!

Anyway, I have people questioning me all the time. Why don't you try this? do that? Surely cost doesn't come into it? Wouldn't you do anything to feel better?

Well in theory it is very easy to ask and expect nothing but 'of course' as an answer. I mean who wants to say that they don't want to get better? However living it is very different! Well it is for me at least!

I seem to be living some sort of Groundhog Day style life. I should be very grateful to have life at all, and I am. However, living in extreme pain on a daily basis, and being permanently exhausted makes it very hard to be on the sunny side of things frequently.

I feel like I have been living in this hole for such a long time that I don't really know anything else. I understand that I used to have energy. I played Percussion in Wind Bands and Orchestras, worked an active job as a Lifeguard and swimming teacher and also had a second job working in a shop. Both those jobs involved me being on my feet all day. I did that, went out partying, saw friends, had hobbies and still remained upright!

Nowadays, I have to psych myself up to get off the sofa to go to the toilet, never mind considering leaving the house or anything more exciting!

The thing I feel I should try to tackle first is my diet. I have been a Vegan since 1 May 2015, but my diet isn't great. I eat rubbish, drink soft drinks, eat sweets etc. Don't get me wrong, I still have the healthy things too, fruit and veg, pulses, whole grains etc. However, the balance is out of whack!

In order to try and build my energy levels I need to eat properly so I feel like I need to eat mostly Whole Foods. Other things I need to do are exercise and lose weight, however I need to get the foundation in place, and I think that if I have the best fuel, then I have a better chance of getting some natural energy back, and then perhaps have some chance at building my resolve and abilities to tackle the bigger problem.

So, does anybody have any help or advice to offer me? I need to come up with the best plan of action to make the changeover. I do feel I am in need of a visit with my Whole Foods Guru as she is always bursting with energy and advice!

Because I feel terrible most of the time, I find it very difficult to cook. It really takes a lot of energy out of me when I do cook, and I suffer for days. Even standing for any length of time is painful and problematic. So, I know I have to change the diet and cook more, but any hints, tips or life hacks would be hugely appreciated.

I really do want to have my life back and I have to start somewhere.

Anybody else in the same situation?

Anybody else want to try this too?

Anyone want to tell me their experiences of already doing this?

I really look forward to some comments and hope we can help each other!

Thank you

The Christmas Tofurky

When we decided to become Vegan in May, we had a wee chat about what challenges we thought may be coming for us! I was quite surprised about how few there were. Aside from my prior mention of being slightly into cheese, or was it a ‘Cheese Fiend’ that I called myself??? Well apart from that, the only other thing that stood out was Christmas Dinner (& Sunday roasts).

This wasn’t something that was possibly going to prevent us becoming Vegan, just something that we thought would be a glaringly obvious change on the big day! (I am pretty sure that one of us had a thought bubble which had a plate with brussell sprouts & roast potatoes and then scratching our head looking at the big turkey the others were eating)

Anyway, a few weeks on and I was desperate for a roast dinner so I got my normal roast veg together and looked into options for meat alternative. Frustratingly, the Quorn Roast is not suitable for Vegans, grrr, actually it appears that none of their stuff is! I am pretty disappointed in this as even before going Vegan, I really didn’t like much meat and heavily relied on Quorn Mince and chicken pieces in my meals!

Turns out there are plenty of meat alternatives out there so we were going to be fine! After a search online I discovered that the Whole Foods Market stocked Tofurky! Now I have only ever heard of this on shows like Friends but was very excited to think we could actually try it! So we got the Tofurky Feast to cook on Christmas Day.

Our first Vegan Christmas Dinner

I was intimidated by it to be honest, but once I got going it was great. There were a couple of baste recipes on the box so I did the one with Olive Oil, Soy Sauce and Sage. I put the roast into a roasting tin, surrounded it with a quartered onion, some carrots, parsnips and potatoes and the baste.
I also roasted veg a different way as I was nervous it all might not work out :-)  Well the whole thing was absolutely gorjus. The baste had made the veg all caramelised and delish, and the Tofurky itself was just amazing!!! We were in absolute heaven! This is definitely something we will be having again! So 1st Vegan Christmas was a complete delicious success!

I would love to hear what others did for Christmas dinner. Anybody else do the Tofurky Roast? I look forward hearing from you!

The 1st of 2015

Many people get swept up in the pressure that New Year brings. Trying to make sure that the perfect Hogmanay celebration is had, and the list of resolutions that will make your year wonderful. I used to be one of them. I always seemed to be under so much pressure for that last day of the year. What to wear, where to go, paying entry fees to pubs that are normally free, higher than usual taxi fares. The whole thing was always a giant pain in the backside, AND it was always a big fat let down! What a way to bring in the new year eh?

I am not sure when this all changed for me, I think it may have been in my early twenties when I had moved away from home, connections with friends were slowly weakening, alongside my desire to go out partying, and then one day I just didn’t care. 

A big part of this for me now is the fact I am so overweight. I have lost all my confidence and dread the thought of seeing a single soul that I know! But aside from that, I am unwell and in so much pain that my perfect night in is with my medication, my heated blanket, working on a wee crochet project and watching my soaps! I feel like I somehow skipped from mid twenties to being a wee old lady!

So my Hogmanay this time went along the following lines - Watched movies with Mr B all day, at around 23:30 we remembered it was the 31st and decided we better have a quick think about things. So we decided we wouldn’t set ourselves up to fail with resolutions that would last until midday on the 1st, but instead we would talk about where we’d like to be by the end of the year and pick 3 particular things we would like to be working on. The number 1 on my list is to lose weight. I need to lose a lot of weight. Not only for my health but my confidence. So I am putting this out there so there’s no hiding from it!

I won’t put a target or deadline but simply that I will make better choices, and aim to be in a better position in 365 days! Does anyone want to join me in pledging or simply attempting anything? No pressure just support! I leave it up to you. I’d love to know if you have taken a different approach than normal or whether you just don’t bother. Whatever it is, I would love to see what others are doing.

Happy New Year to all, here’s hoping we all have a wonderful year!