Category: Health, weight & wellbeing

Health, fitness, exercise, food, contentment

“I Am What I Am” – Could I live by this Paralympic anthem?

On By auntyamoIn Getting to grips with God stuff, Health, weight & wellbeing1 Comment

WOW The Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Paralympic Games was A.MAY.ZING!

Little Amo 🙂

I know it might sound like a bit of a cliché but it really has made me think about my outlook on life! I’m such a lazy mare most of the time. And though I hide it (pretty much) on this blog, I can be a bit of a complainer.

I spend a ridiculous amount of time looking at everybody else’s life and asking God to make me someone else or even just like someone else. I want less fat and more intelligence. I want less insecurity and more hilariousness. I want less work and more money.

It was quite striking to see hundreds of people celebrating the difference between them and the Olympians we saw march into that same stadium a month ago. They celebrated that which makes them Paralympians.

Curehead and corsage days

For years I strove to be different. I worked hard on my ‘look’ and made sure I had a look that was noticed by everyone. I wanted to stand out from the crowd. But ended up hanging out with a gang of people who looked just like me!  Outside confidence hid the fact that I was never happy.

Spoiler alert… Most of my confidence and bravado is still a tribute to my acting abilities 😀

The life I have and the person I am is the creative work of God! So maybe I should look in the mirror and say something along the lines of, “Enough of your moaning, Amo! Get on with the life you have, and stop wishing for another life!” That contentment, no matter what , is a very biblical principle. Paul says in the book of Philippians, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation”

I wish I was like that! I would love to be like Paul! You see… there I go again! 😀

I wish I was like her!
oh hang on it’s me 😀

I wish the greatest of success to all the athletes. Especially our Irish heroes. And I hope that the Olympic motto – “Inspire a Generation!” does exactly that.

I was certainly inspired tonight!

At the ceremony Stephen Hawking said “Look up at the stars and not down at your feet” If I may add… and look to the One who made them – the stars… and your feet!  🙂

Armchair Olympics

On By auntyamoIn Getting to grips with God stuff, Health, weight & wellbeing, Humour2 Comments

So there I am with a large mug of coffee and a packet of chocolate digestives criticising the gymnast cos her triple somersault wasn’t perfect…

They have to keep their legs straight – how many times do I have to say it?!?!?!

Anyway…. I suddenly have a moment of crisis. Am I really committed to anything?

There have been lots of ads on the telly lately, focussing on the commitment of athletes who have made it to the Olympics. Not just the last four years, but a life time of early mornings, hard work, sacrificing time and money – committment!

Am I actually committed to anything? Other than getting to the bottom of this packet of biscuits?

Anyone familiar with the Bible will know that themes of perseverance and running the race are used to help explain the Christian life. There’s also a lot of farming analogies, which make much more sense to me now that I live in a rural community. Just last week I was chatting with someone about arranging a get-together but we weren’t sure if it was possible. I was asking what time some of the farmers would be finishing work.  The answer came… “As long as the sun is shining the lads will work.”

“Yeah Amo!” I thought, kicking myself “like they clock out at 5!  helloooooo?!”

Suddenly it dawned on my that ‘Make hay while the sun shines’ is not just an old adage – it’s a work ethic!

I think the problem is that all this running and jumping over things is highlighting the fact that the things I’m passionate about and committed to are in my head and my heart. I can’t think of one that I need to get out of my chair for! Which is a bit worrying really!

Don’t get me wrong. I do move. I had to go all the way over there to get these biscuits. But I’m not committed to moving.

Maybe I should combine my thinking with some athletic efforts! I could record my blog posts with my handsfree kit as I run around the carpark outside the apt. Or maybe I could get a bicycle and a loud haler; go cycling around Kildare shouting, “Here’s a list of the people I love… ”

Yes! Yes, I think this might work you know… all I need to do is get my favourite Bible verses printed on a leotard (might not be room for ALL the Psalms…) and then I can show them gymnasts how it’s SUPPOSED to be done!

That’s it! That’s what I’m going to do. Just one more biscuit tho eh?

Put the calories on wallpaper and I’ll re do my kitchen!

On By auntyamoIn Health, weight & wellbeing, Humour1 Comment

I am someone who struggles to make good food choices. I know I have a problem with food. And it’s not ONLY that I have two hands and just one mouth. Although that is a shame… 🙂 But I do wrestle with food issues and often lose the match. So I think the idea of putting calories on menus is a great idea.

Twitter is abuzz with differing opinions. Restaurants fearing the worst, nanny state gone mad with food policing. Then there’s comments about empowerment and best practice. There’s also a lot of talk about the fact that calorie counting is a thing of the past and that it’s the saturated fats (or the carbs – depending on what side of THAT argument you sit on!) that need to be counted.

I’ve also read comments about how fine dining is an indulgence and it would just ruin it for everyone. Apart from the fact that it would cost the already struggling restaurant owners a fortune!

You see from my perspective, I believe I have an addiction. Don’t misunderstand me. I think alocohol and drug problems are a much much bigger struggle for people and they have far more issues to cope with. But I’m a comfort eater who became a compulsive eater. But I can’t NOT eat ever again. I would love to be able to cut food out of my world, but I can’t. So anything that would help me at the moment of decision, is a help to me.

Going back to alcohol – there are %vol alocohol labels on wine bottles and I’ve never read one before buying a bottle of wine. Even if I did it wouldn’t affect my choice. (My wine choice is usually based on 1. is it Merlot? 2. is it under a tenner?!)

Let’s face it these days eating out is a treat. Not like a few years ago when it was almost commonplace! But for those who do spoil themselves a bit and maybe spend a few more quid than they really have on a meal out… they don’t want added guilt of the calorie count – I get that. Neither do I frankly!

I’ve only seen calories on a menu once. It was in the Kudos Bar in the Clarion Hotel in Liffey Valley and it did inform my choice. One of the dishes had a coconut based sauce (I think) and it was considerably higher than the other dish. So I opted for the lower one – it was fantastic, I really enjoyed it AND I had the benefit of feeling good that I had made a good decision.

So restaurateurs and food fans, you go fight the good fight if you don’t think this is a good thing. But I’m all for it.

After all I’m just a fat girl… sitting in front of a restaurant menu…. asking you to put the caesar dressing on the side!

Ahhhh Mrs. Miles lovely to see you again, will you be staying long with us this time???

On By auntyamoIn Getting to grips with God stuff, Health, weight & wellbeing1 Comment

 A few weeks ago that familiar and hateful voice started to poke me in the ear with it’s verbal pencil…  “Amo… it’s time to… “pack up your sugars in your old kit bag and diet, diet diet…..” What a dismal thought. What was even more dismal was that this would be attempt #20 probably and here I am nearly 40 battling the same old (excuse my swedish… ) shite! As usual I ignored it for a while, smiled at family and friends who are ‘in the zone’ and kept my head down.

But I knew I’d have to do something. So I prayed. I pray quite a bit about a lots of things. (Mostly to do with myself if I’m honest.) But I prayed that God would help me. That he would inspire me and forgive me for being so rubbish at looking after myself. I thought maybe I wouldn’t write this in the blog and I’d start with my usual positive…. ‘here we go again… haha… aren’t me and me big bum just hilarious….’ But then I thought well if I’m going to talk about it I might as well be honest from the start.

So this is where I started… sighing… dreading talking about it and FACING it…! But as usual, God being the merciful One that He is made it a bit easier for me. First thing that happened was when I was researching books for work. Minding my own business I stumbled across a book by Lisa Terkeurst called ‘Made to Crave’ I laughed at the thought of it.  Then I saw the subtitle…  Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food.  I literally felt pain when I read that, and thought to myself… imagine if that were possible! I really didn’t want to read a book, but I spotted a 60 Day Devotional based on the book, so I ordered it.

The next thing was being introduced to ‘myfitnesspal.com’ One of my family, currently ‘in the zone’ showed me the iphone app. An iphone app about pretty much anything will get my attention! But it’s actually very helpful.

So on Monday I did what I’ve been promising to do every Monday since I was about 14. I started again…. I’m quietly and cautiously optimistic. Glad to have started again, at least it swats the ‘guilt bugs’! But I’m not kidding myself. I blogged for a year about weight loss and actually in one post declared myself to have conquered ‘this whole eating thing’ There’s a death knell if ever I heard one! Not long after I stopped blogging about food, and around the same time I stopped addressing the issue. That was more than 2 years ago!

This subject haunts me I don’t deny it. But as I checked-in to the all too familiar ‘Hotel Flabylon’ the devil, dressed in his best concierge outfit, with his smart ass smile said with his usual cynicism… “Ahhhh Mrs. Miles lovely to see you again, will you be staying long with us this time???”

I smiled right back at him, signing in with more flourish than necessary and said… Let’s just see shall we!?

My Big Fat Wedding Dress :)

On By auntyamoIn Health, weight & wellbeing2 Comments

Dedicated to Karen Mulreid the newlywed and Jean Keeley the bride to be xx

There’s lots of wedding talk at the mo and it has reminded me of the prep for my wedding and one of the funniest days of my life…

Being someone of generous portions, sorry I mean proportions, finding a wedding dress was not very straightforward. There was the shop that had 200 wedding dresses in stock but only 2 that would go anywhere near me. One of them had that much boning in it that after I stepped out of it stood of its own volition for a good 5/6 seconds before falling to the ground in slow motion. The other one I’m sure was actually a marquee that had obviously been delivered to the wrong place!! It was just missing the ropes and the pegs!

My favourite encounter has to be with the lady who tried very very hard to sell me a dress but was very concerned about offending me. I was tempted to stop her and reassure her that I was aware that I was in fact not a size 10 and she didn’t have to apologise to me for that… but I was having too much fun 

Her sales blurb went something like this…

“Ohhhh ‘bride to be’ you must be excited. The girl who just left is a bundle of nerves, says she hasn’t eaten in a week. Are you the same? Oh… eh.. sorry. Anyway we do have a large, oh sorry, broad… well anyway…. a varied selection of dresses for … (averts eyes) the… larger lady. We have a catalogue here that you can look through and all these styles can be… well… re… well made to measure for…. (averts eyes) the… larger lady. We have a bespoke service too if you’d like to design your own style of dress. Obviously we’d need to leave plenty of time to make a dress your… I mean to make YOUR dress should I say… (panicked voice now reaching fever pitch….) how long til you wedding did you say?????”

She was close to tears by this stage. I was so sorry for her but it is definitely my funniest wedding shopping memory.

I didn’t buy my dress from her in the end. Got it made by the guy the Royal family used.

He makes the marquees for the Royal Garden Party!

Another old blog post of mine – Cadbury’s now owned by Mac’n’Cheese brigade!!!

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I’ve been looking at my old blog posts and found this one from almost a year ago…

What a sad day. After months of fending off a hostile takeover, Cadbury have finally bowed to Kraft’s offer.
Now I’m feeling very delicate and fragile at the moment (another story) but the one of the things gives me comfort is chocolate. In fact I do believe it is an addcitive substance. I’d love to walk up to a drug addict and say, “HEROIN??? come on!! have you never dipped a bar of fruit and nut into your tea and sucked the melting chocolate off while keeping a finger free to catch the bit rolling down your chin?????? Now that’s a high!!”

But some one told me that not to do that. Not advisable… apparently!

Kraft make soups, freeze dried mac’n’cheese and all sorts of other highly processed instant stuff. Yum… not! And I know Iriah jobs are important and blah blah blah but WHAT IF THEY CHANGE THE RECIPE!!!! Now that WOULD BE a serious national disaster.

As life progresses I realise more and more that it is true… God really IS the only one I can rely on. I’m struggling with some disappointments at the moment. And even the faithful chocolate could end up being a pierce’n’ding product — although I’m not sure quite how that would work; but you get my point.

There was an attempt at a hostile take over of God. More than 1 actually. But he fends them off — every time. And thank God that his recipe won’t change!

Right let’s make some tea…. 🙂