Blue Monday Update

It’s been 2 weeks since I began getting back to the basics with how to work with my food for PCOS and Fibromyalgia. 

The first week was extremely hard, I have to admit that it didn’t go to plan. The kids hadn’t gone back to school yet and it was hard going. There were a few sweeties here and there. I don’t know about you, but when the kids are out of their routine, it takes me out of my routine, and then I struggle to keep myself motivated.  I don’t think the Christmas chocolate helped at all. Too much!! And I made sure to give a lot of it away too. We’ve kept a little, up high on the cupboards, for the kids Friday treat snack at school.  

I have done my utmost to stick to the dairy free and gluten free. I’ve always been pretty good at the dairy free, I struggle with the gluten free when it comes to a little bit of crusty bread (oops!) 

I have found that I am able to eat sourdough bread without any (or minimal) pain, which is fantastic on one hand but, flip me have you seen how much a loaf costs?!? I might as well buy the gluten free version. 

Anyone else, who has to eat the alternative foods, think it’s absolutely ridiculous how expensive it all is? And don’t even get me started on the cheese, the normal one I go for (lactofree- the one with the cow on the front) I haven’t been able to get it for weeks, I tried a couple of the others and a) they stink b)the taste like vomit!! Seriously…who makes them and thinks that they are tasty? The smell alone was enough to turn my stomach … and my sons. 

I decided then to do my meal plan starting from that Sunday, I order all my groceries online. It’s easier for me to do it that way … and better because then I won’t deviate from my list (IYKYK) 

Meal plan - 

Saturday - it was supposed to be a korma day, but because it was also the Newcastle versus Sunderland derby, we had people over and I cooked some chicken wings, had a Mexican dip and nibbles. Later that evening we didn’t actually want anything big. 

Sunday - we had the most yummy honey and mustard gammon done in the air fryer, with rice and broccoli. It was simple to make and extremely delicious. The kids loved it too, they had seconds and left clean plates … always a good sign in my book.

Monday - most Mondays my husband goes to help a friend and is home late, so the kids have burgers, Dale and I eat later. Most of the time I have a big salad with chicken and some dressing. 

Tuesday - we tried a new recipe today, it was delicious. Refried butter beans, roasted chickpeas, chicken with rice and flatbread. The kids again loved it. Was so good that they approved of the meal. It always helps.  The roasted chickpeas were really good, they added a nice crunch to it. I added curry spices to the butter beans- always a plus for the kids. 

 

Wednesday -  Dale took me out for lunch. It was so lovely because I wasn’t feeling the best. It meant that we weren’t hungry that evening and I had a rice cake or something before heading to bed. (I was in bed sleeping for a few hours, got up and had my snack and went back to school) 

Thursday - Was spaghetti. I had made this already and put it in the fridge. I’m planning on doing this every week. Having a dinner already made up, in case we have a night where we’ve been visiting someone and are a little later at getting home. Means it’s a quick heat up and it’s ready to go. 

Friday - Pizza night for the kids. It’s quick and easy for us as it is Kids Club at Church followed by Youth Club for the oldest and Dale. 

I took the meal prep seriously this week. I had pre-made jelly for Mattias (so much cheaper than the pots) although after the first day I realised that the pots we had were not going to work. I found pouches to make the jelly in that are silicon. That is what will be used from now on. I make up 4 for him, for Monday to Thursday and then he gets his treat break on Friday. 

I made up breakfast rolls for Jonathan, they are in the freezer - ham, egg and cheese in a muffin. He takes one out at night and sticks it in the fridge to defrost for the morning. 

I’m attempting to manage things in a way that works well for the family and myself too. The more prep I’m able to do the better, means that it’s easier for Dale if he needs to cook (which is mor often than not) and it means that we are eating meals that are quick to make or are able to go into the slow cooker and be ready with minimal effort. 

It is so easy to rely on the freezer and pizzas etc, but I am hoping that the kids and us adults will be healthier this year. If I’m able to plan things better then it’s better for us all in the long run. I’m also hoping that Jonathan wants to give sourdough bread a go. He makes a very good loaf of bread and it would be so handy if he kept going. Though the process is so long isn’t it! 

For lunches (for Dale and myself) I made a big pot of carrot and lentil soup and stuck it in the fridge. We got some of those food flasks that were on offer in Lidl (for Dale at work but also for festivals too)

I did manage to cut down my caffeine intake, I missed it immensely the first couple of days. But tea isn’t bad - and chai tea with a little maple syrup and coconut milk is delish. (I used the zero sugar maple syrup stuff) 

I feel like I’ve just word vomited on a page - but I did say I’d write it all down didn’t I? 

This week the meal plan is a little different, I didn’t manage to get the soup made yesterday but I’m making it today. It’s a new one for us - Lasagne soup … watch this space to see if it tastes good.

This week, is week 3. I have meal planned, prepped what I can. I really enjoyed my breakfasts last week of stewed apples and sliced banana with my cup of coffee. The apples are already in the fridge ready for me to make it easier. 

Do you know what sucks? I have to make things easier. Easier because I’m no longer like I was before. I and no longer the very active and (don’t laugh) exercise loving person anymore. I can’t stand and bake for hours, I can’t go for walks, I can’t be … me. 

We went out to a gala on Saturday night, I took most of the day to get ready because I knew I had to go about it slowly. I got ready and felt really good about myself (wow! That in and of itself is a big thing for me to say) I took my pain medication with me, I knew I would need it. And off we went. It was just us with the two littles. Later into the evening my pains began to get really bad, thankfully I brought my medication with me. After a while I did feel a little less pain. I was able to sway with Mattias on the dance floor - yea that was it … SWAY! For goodness sake! years ago I would have been able to actually have a bit of a dance with them. Now I couldn’t. As long as I stayed in one place … without my heels on I was ok. 

Because of the gala my Sunday was spent in bed. We didn’t have the meal that was planned, I didn’t get round to all the jobs I wanted to have done. I was in a lot of pain. I stayed under my weighted blanket for most of the day. The pains were shooting up and down my legs. I couldn’t get comfortable. I was exhausted too, so was in and out of sleep when the pains in my body allowed me to.  The sleep wasn’t restful. I was moaning with the pains in my sleep. 

Im hoping that the next two weeks will be a little easier for me. The structure is back, the routine is back in place and I am determined. I don’t know if this will help me to lose weight, but I’m hopeful that my stomach will be better and my symptoms of PCOS will improve. I need to manage those both as well as I can. There isn’t much I can do about the fact that my baseline for movement is rubbish, but I can work hard on what food I am putting into my body. 

I’m not promising that my verbal diarrhoea will be always upbeat, I think this will be more like a journal for me to keep up with what I am doing. How my food is going and a little about how I’m doing mentally I guess. I want to try and keep a record of things here. Plans I want to implement and hopefully by putting them here I will follow through. I’ve set reminders in my calendar so that I will keep my writing up this time. 

No-one has to read it, I don’t care. This is my little space, where I talk about what I’m struggling with. I may post pictures, I might not. Depends on where my head is at I guess. I’ll probably include the kids party things, things that they are doing and just where my life is taking me. If you’re along for the ups and downs of the ride, have some pointers on food or things to help with either PCOS or Fibro (or an incredibly sensitive stomach) let me know in the comments.   

Till next time 

L x