I’m struggling…
I’m doing something about it and losing weight slowly and I’m really trying to get back into walking. I do love walking but weight related lower spine pain is making it difficult. Why the HELL have I let myself get heavy enough again so this becomes an issue?
I’ve been inspired by a few people recently, firstly my partner Richard who quite often walks 3 miles to work. He’s pulled out his walking boots and is making a concerted effort to get healthier. Some of my work colleagues have been walking too either on a treadmill or just out and about. That’s where I found out about this wonderful FREE phone app called ‘MAP MY WALK’. Everytime I go out and do some exercise I’ve been switching the app on and it records my walk and estimates the amount of calories burned!
This weekend I had a goal of walking in total, 10 miles in short bursts. At the moment I’m up to 7.5 miles but cold and wet after having come back from Bestwood Country Park with my youngest daughter, Em. To actually go out again and do another 2.5 miles today will take a huge effort as if I’m honest, all I want to do right now is get into my bed and go asleep!
I know that’s not the attitude to have but….
Oh and I bought my first every pair of proper walking boots, I have to try and break them in first. They are very nice. I also found a great website with lots of walks on ‘The Walking Englishman’.
I’m figuring getting out and about more and walking is VITAL to losing weight and keeping it off.
Thanks so much for coming back and reading the blog. I truly have so little free time these days to keep things so regularly updated but sometimes things in life change.
I’ll try and do a new recipe real soon.
Love C xxxxx
Carolyn, if you remember I wrote to you months ago now about a WWII book and two foraging books that I thought might interest you or that you could use as a give away. You said you were interested and would get back to me but, as I can understand, life got in the way I guess. If you are interested please let me know or I will give them to a local charity shop.
Good luck with the walking and weight loss.
I am interested in your books. jaimbeth at yahoo dot ca
Jaime,
I have had no response from Carolyn so I guess the books are yours. I am currently in England but will be back in the US in June. Shipping would, I believe be cheaper from there is you are willing to wait. Also, I sent you a private email with my email address. Please let me know where to send the books. I am glad they are going to a good home.
I do apologise and glad they have found a good home also. My life is here there and everywhere right now so often don’t check on things for quite sometime or messages get all mixed up with others and I miss them. Sorry I didn’t mean to appear ignorant or anything. C xxx
Carolyn,
Not to worry. You have had many changes recently and that can lead to life chaos. But, I know you will find your feet. Just continue to believe in yourself and you can conquer the challenges. I have lost a lot of weight three times in my life and I am determined that this time I will not go back. I am too old at 60 to do it again. I will be rooting for you.
Thanks Sandy- BTW just looked at your blog and I love the piccies of Skipton Castle! We visited Skipton not so long back but it was a fleeting visit for a couple of hours and it was very rainy! xx
Sandy that sounds good, do you have a blog?
My husband and I, as part of our first stage of retirement, are US residents transplanted to England and living on a narrow boat. Our living space is 242 square feet (hence the need to keep possessions to a minimum). We are enjoying cruising the canals and getting to know this wonderful country and people. I do blog about our life here as a way of communicating with friends and family back home so it is very rough and informal. You can find my rambles at englandbycanalboat.blogspot.com if you want to see what I mean.
I too have a narrowboat If you are ever on the Bridgewater Canal, you could find it at Agden. Alas I don’t live on it. My boats name is Adreva, which is named after my Grandma Eva. It was her dream for us to have a boat as she loved sitting on the front, watching the world go by knitting and chatting to people. Adreva stands for A DReam for EVA. My Grandma lived with us for the last five years of her life, and missed us getting our own boat by 18 months. Anyway I look forward to seeing you on the cut at some point. Happy cruising.
We are currently heading towards Skipton now that the canal is reopened so we should be in your area sometime this summer. We tend to travel slowly with lots of stops to explore the areas we are going through. What are some landmarks we can look for to find your boat. If possible, it would be nice to meet for a pint.
As an aside, I lived with my grandmother from birth to age 12. Aren’t grandmas wonderful?! I love that you named your boat after yours.
Hi Sandy,
The best landmark is just after The Old No 3 pub (unfortunately closed at the moment). Under an electric pylon, then a short run to Agden Bridge. Immediately after the bridge the Lymm Cruising Club Agden mooring start (offside) My boat is about the 12th one along. You can’t miss it, it is Green, with Red Panels, and Adreva is written on the side in large Celtic letters filling the largest panel. I am planning on traversing the South Pennine Ring this year (69 miles and > 200 locks!!). Skipton was the destination I went to on my first ever canal holiday in 1982. My first locks were Wigan Flight. The scenery is magnificent after Foulridge Tunnel. I hope you are enjoying yourself, even in the cold. I find that you can keep adding clothes when it is cold, but can only take so much off as it gets hotter, and I have seen a 70 year old man in a pair of speedos on the back of a boat (not a pretty site!!).
If you are on Facebook, friend request me and I can pass on my details.
Lastly, Sorry Carolyn for hijacking your blog messages again!!
Map My Walk is terrific and it can be extra fun to add up all those miles. I’m currently (virtually) walking across Canada on the Trans Canada Trail. You can log in to “your trail” and keep track of steps or distance and it moves you across the country. http://tctrail.ca/explore-the-trail/. If anybody knows of other “virtual” walks, especially across England, I’d love to hear about them.
Thank you for the tip of about map my walk I am going to five it a try.
I’m struggling myself to get back in the 1940s diet mindset and am feeling quite low about the weight I’ve put on since starting a new job in November but am determined to get back in the swing of things. Tonight we had a 1940s oxtail stew and your eggless sponge with jam and tea for dessert. It was fab and reminded me of how much I enjoyed the recipes and following your adventures.
Keep going – Slow and steady is the only way. And remember you’re not alone! x
I’ve put on weight over the winter and can sympathize. I have a bad knee that bothers me when I get too heavy, making it painful to walk. Good luck to you, and SO nice to hear from you again.
Oh life’s like that Carolyn…you lose focus or have greater interests and you don’t notice until things start to hurt or fall apart!…but you have done it before and you will again so a big hug to you on your journeys!…loving those kinky green boots! xx
Goodness girl, what the heck are you doing? You have had a set of wonderful chances here, with your experiment, with this website…and you’re blowing it all off? Why are you messing with it?
The Huffington Post wrote about you! What will people think now? Time…time…that’s a nice excuse, isn’t it? How come there are so many people in the world that aren’t putting on weight? They must be doing nothing all day! I tell you, stop making excuses, prioritize (and your weight loss is a priority), and go for it.
I don’t want to have to read a “she lost 7 stones but then she regained weight and her experiment went to hell”…goodness, you can do it, you’ve done it before. No I’m not sympathizing, I won’t pat your shoulder and nod saying “life is hard, isn’t it?” I’m kicking your butt! There are plenty of people out there who prove everyday that despite hardship they can do what they WANT just because they WANT it. The ball is in your court…do you want it?
I have to agree with Mir, – I am busy, but I subscribed to your blog and spent some of my time today reading what you write.
don’t give up.
Ouch! Hope what Mir said was said with the best of intentions…..sometimes we all need a push, but it helps if it comes with a hug.
Glad to hear from you again, Carolyn, and look forward to sharing the 1940’s journey with you again!
Sometimes the best helping hand is a good firm push.
Thank you Mir for saying what needed to be said. I’m speaking for myself. I started living off rations four years ago when my diabetes was getting out of control. My weight and my heart disease was contributing to this also. I started doing research on a rationing diet after watching The Supersizers Go… program on WWII rationing. The claim was that people were healthier after the war so I thought, why not give it a try.
I found Carolyn’s blog while trying to find recipes and I was very inspired to give it a go. Within four months my diabetes was under control and I had lost 34 lbs. My doctor was very impressed and told me to continue doing whatever I was doing. I wouldn’t have stuck with it if I couldn’t follow along on Carolyn’s journey. Just by following her blog I didn’t feel alone or foolish for trying something as radical as rationing in the 21st century.
Two years ago I moved to another state and quickly learned that the doctors here are not as impressed although my diabetes is still under control without drug therapy. I’m ashamed to say that I’ve regained some of the weight and am struggling with losing it. I’ve sort of strayed from the rationing diet too because I get a lot of ridicule. But, like Mir said, if I want it bad enough I can do it.
I will continue to pop in on Carolyn follow along on her adventure. I wish you every success in meeting your goals. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!
Carolyn,
I want to say a huge thank you for having the courage to get back on track and letting all of us out here in Internetland know that mistakes are sometimes made and it’s up to us to correct them. It’s obvious that anyone who asks the question “How could you?!” is perfect, never makes mistakes and enjoys putting people on a pedestal expecting a perfect statue anytime they wish to look at it. *removes tongue from cheek*
Life isn’t like that. Sometimes circumstances do take ALL of our energy and we let other things fall by the wayside. You are a perfect example of having that happen and having the strength to re-address the issue when you are able to. You aren’t perfect and that’s what I love about following your blog. You are so very real.
I’m a snowbird…Houston has been tough. The food here is amazing. The portions are huge. When my hubby and I go out, we share a dish and take home enough for another meal. Still, I’ve gained about 35 pounds over the winter.
I went out to dinner with some friends, ate 1/4 of my plate and everyone asked if it was bad. The waiter offered to take it back to the kitchen and get me something different. I explained that no, the food was fine, I was full, It’s all okay. I really felt that people were disgusted with me for wasting food. Everyone else at the table cleaned their plates. There were a few over weight people, a few average people and a few thin people. I did notice that the overweight women ( like myself) were menopausal. So were 2 of the skinny women, who ate their large platters clean. I also know that the thin ladies both have sedentary jobs and don’t hit the gym or exercise. It’s not JUST about calories in and calories out. Bodies are different.
In a few weeks, I’m heading back to Nova Scotia from Houston. It’s an hour and a half to the nearest restaurant. It’s easy there for me to follow a reasonable diet. I have several of your recipes copied out. I found a lovely 1940’s jade green recipe box for them. I’ve been reading and studying was history, war novels and war fashion. I’m really looking forward to almost making a game of living the entire summer on a ration book diet. It doesn’t address the winter months, but at least it takes care of the majority of the year for me.
You are not on a pedestal in my house. You are in the kitchen, with a cup of tea, letting me know that I can keep calm about my winter weight gain and carry on with healthier choices.
So THANK YOU, Carolyn. I hope we can make this new part of the journey together.
With Gratitude,
Memy
Oh, I also have a question: Have you talked to any one in Britain who remembers if cream was available for purchase during the war years. I am trying to figure out the points system for everyday foods other than just the basic ration.
Rationing is restricting calories! Whether you use a WWII ration book or count calories. You only get so much per day/week/month.
Mir, I got one question have you ever been morbidly obese? If not, apologize!!! Attitudes like yours, is one the reason a lot of the morbidly obese quit trying.
Carolyn, I commend you for recognizing that you have fell off the, restricted calorie/I need to move more, wagon. Don’t give up! I discovered as Memoryamethyst has that eating out causes me to gain weight. For every meal I eat out, I gain about 2 pounds/1 kilo and then it takes me a week to a week-and-a-half to lose it again. And congratulation on the 7.5 miles this week. If you don’t get that ten in you want this week, there is alway next week, Don’t give up, you can do it!
Lots of hugs, lady, because good health and weight loss is a life-time commitment.
I’ve just got back from India, where I lost half a stone. I think it was mostly that the heat took my appetite away but also because the food there was so damned healthy. There were loads of times when I chose a menu that the Indian people said was heavy and filling, and “you won’t want to eat again today”. These meals didn’t seem excessively filling to me though. We have got used to such a high fat/carb/sugar diet that it seems normal to us to consume more calories than we need. Since I’ve got back, my lunch has been chapattis and dhal with raita and pickle, and the weight has continued to go. It’s nice to have a change sometimes. You might benefit from a break from the 1940s too. I was a bit stuck in a time warp back there in wartime Britain with you.