Saturday 30th April 2022

Today has been a tough day, woke up feeling sad and then found out that a lady who I helped years ago when I was doing some business coaching passed away this week after a short illness and the tears flowed and not really stopped all day.

I’ve tried to busy myself with housework to distract myself from my thoughts but it only works for a while.

Did the Wim Hof breathing technique to see if I can unlock some of the emotions I am feeling at the moment, it was a different experience, to say the least. I used his guided breathing video on YouTube to help me and keep me focused on what I was supposed to do. My hands started to tingle after the 3rd round of breathing & holding my breath, will keep practising this technique, I am also in the process of reading his book too so will hopefully bring it all together.

No gym again today as my knee is still really sore, am planning on going tomorrow to do a bike workout and then onto the lake for a swim in the hope that the no/low impact exercise will aid it along with the cold water.

I’ve got so many things in my life to be thankful for but today all I can think about are the things that I want more than anything in the world that I don’t have…

Friday 29th April 2022

Another day with no formal exercise as my knee just seems to not want to get better!! People keep telling me to rest up but that’s a hard thing to do when you live on your and work for yourself, I can’t just lie in bed and rest my leg as I need to work, cook my tea, feed the cat…

Anyway, as you can probably tell I’m in a bit of a funk about my knee as I was feeling so motivated to do this challenge, I know I set the bar high but that’s how I achieve things in life, I expect a lot of myself! I’m still doing all the other things on the challenge, just parking the exercise, for now, to see if I can find a way to help my knee get better.

Today was a uni day and it’s getting close to the end of the semester & academic year which seems crazy as it only felt like yesterday that we started this semester! Friday is a quiet day for our team as most people either work from home or it’s not that allocated day to work so I’m usually in the office on my own! This is fine with me really as I’m used to working on my own at home, just less of the home comforts but I still enjoy being there and getting loads of stuff done.

Here in the UK, it is a Bank Holiday weekend, I didn’t realise that until yesterday when someone asked me what I was doing over the long weekend! I don’t have any real plans apart from work, housework and gardening!! And will try to fit in some reading too, another book arrived yesterday – A Manual for being Human by Sophie Mort, I don’t actually remember preordering it but I must have done some months ago and started to read it last night & am liking it! I have probably over 10 books on the go at any one time as I like to dip in and out of different books based on what comes to mind when I feel the urge to read…

Thursday 28th April 2022

Well, today hasn’t gone to plan, I woke up ready to go to intervals to realise that my knee is swollen and really quite sore, it woke me in the night when I was tossing and turning!

So I cancelled my place, then thought that it would be ok as I’d do a workout this evening after I get back from the uni. I didn’t have any lecturing today so thought I’d leave around 5pm and could crack on with a workout, I left the uni around 6pm and just couldn’t face doing anything as just wanted food – so today I haven’t done my 2 x exercise and I’m pissed off but I know that I need to listen to my body and not push through as the pain I’m feeling isn’t DOMS it’s my strained ACL shouting at me.

I’m not going to let it deter me from all the other things on my list though and will go again tomorrow with a home workout (mainly upper body) and write today off as being one of those days and not allow it to derail the rest of what I want to achieve.

AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH

Wednesday 27th April 2022

Yay, I made it to the gym this morning!! It was tough though and I was close to tears a few times during the workout. I find it so hard not to think about how fit I was in the past and compare myself to how unfit I feel now. I keep telling myself that I need to simply look forward and start from now but it’s hard to do especially when other people have progressed so much and I haven’t. Anyway, all that matters really is that I’m moving my body.

The day has been pretty full on, back from the gym I did some client work, then popped to the uni for a student tutorial, then went to a business networking event for a few hours and finished the day off with a short swim at the lake, it was bloody freezing, well the water was actually warmer than the air temperature but overall it felt very cold. I did manage 2.5 small loops but only now 2 hours later do I feel warm again and I’ve got 4 layers on my top half and 2 on my bottom half & not really looking forward to removing any of it to get into my PJ’s!!

Another day and I’ve ticked all the boxes on my sheet to get done, despite it being a stretch today to get everything in, it’s teaching me how to be focused on the things that enhance my life instead of wasting time on things that don’t like scrolling on social media.

Tuesday 26th April 2022

Hello DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) my old friend!! Day 2 of exercise and my legs are killing me from yesterday’s workout so walking has been a bit tricky and painful today, although in a sadistic way I quite like DOMS as it’s telling me that my body is repairing itself and making itself stronger! I’ve not had DOMS for months as I simply haven’t been pushing my body so nice to feel like I am now.

Today’s been a great day, I got up early before Sophiecat for a change and cracked on with a workout and was done by about 6.40am, I made some bolognese sauce ready for meals later in the week and was out the door by 9am for a meeting!!

Back home after my meeting, I cracked on with some client work and at 5pm down tools to go out for a walk as my 2nd lot of exercise today, no phone, no music, just me and my thoughts and it was lovely, I did this a lot in the first lockdown and the early part of 2021 but not recently and it was so nice, the walk around my estate takes about 45 minutes if I’m walking at a good pace, not fast & not slow LOL.

Home for food and a bit of telly and now i’m here at my desk writing this blog!! More herb tincture arrived today so will continue to take that for a few more weeks until I can see my friend.

Early days but am feeling good about this final challenge of this year’s transformation/blog!! I’m determined to do it and see what results I get at the end of it.

Monday 25th April 2022

So the plan was to go back to the gym today but I lost my nerve this morning, however, I did do a workout at home which was fab instead, probably not as hard as the gym workout would have been but I’m ok with that and breaking myself in gently really.

It was a uni day today so even without trying I did over 8000 steps and managed to drink 2 litres of water quite easily, although I have peed a lot too!!

I was scheduled to give blood this evening so I decided that I’d walk to the centre & back as my 2nd lot of exercise today and it was also outside so a cross in that box too. I was a little worried that walking for 1/2 an hour afterwards might not be wise but I took it steady, this was my 45 pint donation so I know that I’m usually pretty alright after giving blood.

Day one is complete, once I’ve written this blog post I’ll write in my self-discovery book and will also read my book so they are crossed off already for today. My book of choice tonight is The Wim Hof Method, I’ve followed him for a while on SM and here in the UK there is currently a programme airing on the tellybox where 8 celebrities are “fighting the freeze” with him using his technique which piqued my interest in it.

I know it’s only day one and got another 94 to go but feels good to get some sort of order/routine/accountability back into my life, give me something to focus on. Lets see how long it lasts.

Sunday 24th April 2022

Quite a chilled day, an early wake up with Sophiecat but managed to get an hour in after I fed her.

Today I went to the lake for a swim the water was around 13.4°C so was still cold when you first get in but once you are acclimatised to it then it was lovely, only did 2 small laps about 18 minutes of swimming as knew I was tired from the week, it was just relaxing to get in the water and just float on my back!!

Once home, I grabbed some food and then decided to cook my roast dinner early to have an early tea as planned to go for a walk with my friend.

I spoke to my herbalist yesterday and she is going to send me some more herbs to take for a couple more weeks before we can meet up to have a review. I’ve been taking the tincture twice a day for a month and do feel like the weight of tiredness I’ve been carrying around for years has been lifted, even this week when I had so much going on I felt tired but not the heaviness I’ve felt in the past which is utterly amazing.

I’m planning on going back to the gym in the morning which I’m a bit apprehensive about as it’s been nearly 5 weeks since I last went but know that once I get there tomorrow, each day after that will become easier. I’m starting my 95-day challenge tomorrow. The plan is each day for the next 55 days to:

  • Eat healthy food
  • No cake, chocolate, biscuits, sweets & crisps
  • 2 x exercise a day – one being outside
  • No alcohol
  • Drink 3 litres of water
  • Read at least 5 pages of a self-development book
  • Fill out a page in the self-discovery book

I know this might sound a lot, personally it’s not really as I do most of this regularly anyway or I did in the past and want to get back into the routine of it all again… wish me luck as I know that there will be days when it will be hard!!

Saturday 23rd April 2022

A Sophiecat wake up today at just after 4am, even the birds weren’t awake at that time!! Managed to ignore her until about 5.30am when I gave in and gave her food. Went back to bed until she woke me again at 7.15am!!

Today was all about just relaxing and recharging from a busy week which I have kind of achieved. Once I got up, had a coffee I headed out to do a food shop as the fridge was empty and then the plan was to do some housework before I went out to see a friend for a few hours.

I did a bit of housework but mainly chilled on the sofa.

Went to see a friend for a few hours which was absolutely amazing, just what I needed and she cooked delicious food for us to eat.

Home again and spoke to a friend who is currently in the states for work, we don’t get to speak very often due to the different time zones and life getting in the way but the wonders of modern technology meant we had a WhatsApp video call for over an hour, it was just delightful, I miss her dearly but seeing her face was heart affirming.

Now it’s bedtime, will see if I can persuade Sophiecat to sleep in in the morning as I really could do with a lie in!!

Friday 22nd April 2022

Unsurprisingly I’ve been flagging a little today. Was up with the lark as usual as Sophiecat was demanding food and I simply didn’t have the patience with her this morning. Not really her fault as last night I read later into the night than I normally do as I was close to finishing a book on my kindle and didn’t want to stop until I got to the end (that’s a sign of a great book isn’t it!!).

It was a uni day today so had to bring my A-game for the students! Thankfully it was quieter than usual with a few students absent so managed to get through the lecture and had some extra time to catch up on bits of admin.

Deciding to not start my challenge until Monday, on the way home I bought myself a bottle of beer, some crisps (potato chips) and a bar of chocolate as a “well done” for this week! It was nice but not as nice as I remember it being which is interesting and for the rest of the evening I’ve been wedded to the sofa, just didn’t feel like moving!

A quiet weekend is planned to rest and recover to go again next week, especially as I’m planning on going back to the gym, my knee was feeling a lot better until Wednesday but standing all day delivering training has taken it’s toil but am hoping that it will settle down a bit over the weekend and will be less sore on Monday.

Thursday 21st April 2022

Honestly, I’m not actually sure where today has gone! It was a uni day today and I was out and about visiting students on their placements in business & with Lincolnshire (England) being the 2nd largest county, I’ve managed to do a 120-mile round trip and only visited 2 places and I actually visited places I have never been before which is usual as for many years I spent my days driving around the county visiting food businesses so I have been to lots of the most rural parts but today I’ve been to a few more.

Anyway, my plan was to do a 100-day challenge in the run up to my birthday and finish off this year of blogging nicely. Ideally, I wanted to finish this challenge two days before my birthday as I’m going away for my birthday & will be away the night before and wanted to be able to start to celebrate on that evening. So that meant starting the challenge yesterday, from the get-go yesterday morning I realised it wasn’t going to happen and that I needed to give myself a bit of a break & that was the right call as by the time I got home last night I was dead on my feet. Plan B was that I start today instead and either do a 99-day challenge or not drink alcohol on the night before my birthday, which I wouldn’t be bothered about knowing that I could celebrate on my actual birthday BUT, I’ve fallen down at the first hurdle as today hasn’t gone to plan as I was thinking that I would finish at the uni at 5pm, get home and do my workout then go for a walk and still have time for tea and some telly before bed. I got home gone 7pm and just needed some food & the tellybox.

So now in my head I’m trying to figure out how I save my XXX day challenge so that I do commit to something, I’m thinking 95-day challenge, doesn’t quite have the same ring to it but I guess it is what it is, which would mean I start on Monday coming… which kind of makes sense as this week has been full-on and I can reset at the weekend ready to focus on it from Monday.