A healthy balance - this post has nothing to do with art or illustration and it's a bit long!

[caption id="attachment_1350" align="aligncenter" width="642"] my house at the end of my walk at 8.15 this morning[/caption]

We were all up at 4.30am this morning as my daughter had to be somewhere to catch a coach to the Paralympics today!

I went back to  bed for a sleep but instead found my mind whirring away with thoughts of  gift tags and whether or not I had I put them on moobaacluck.com and updated the images elsewhere. I knew I wouldn't sleep.

A couple of hours later I had listed gift tags on my site and corrected some SEO; eaten breakfast, written some emails and printed out the days orders. All before 7.45am.

The sun was struggling to emerge but I decided to go for a walk and found I needed to wear a fleece. Autumn is really here!

I am on a health drive at the moment. In early October I am having an operation and want to be as healthy as I can to give myself the best chance of healing. I've learned that for optimum health your ph needs to be at 6.5 'dipping' into 7 at least once a day.  To achieve that I've had to cut out wine, all pork and derivatives, cakes,no white potatoes,crisps, no salmon or seafood ( waah!), chocolate, biscuits, white flour, cut back on wheat generally, no tea or coffee. This isn't self proscribed - I have instructions. I also need to try to eat my main meal in the middle of the day - only eating meat then - if at all, but making sure I eat a small salad first. And drink a lemon juice solution which helps alkalise your system - but I now know, you can easily go too far the other way, I feel a bit spacey at 8 ( although I may be imagining this)?! So I am keeping tabs on myself and learning how my body reacts to certain food.

Fortunately  I love vegetables and salad, rice and grains which is what I am left with mostly! Sweet potatoes are encouraged. I roasted lamb at the weekend and did a huge tray full of parsnips, sweet pots, carrots and white potatoes with garlic and balsamic vinegar. It was easy not to serve myself with potatoes - honest.

I went up to London at the weekend to meet two friends for lunch and see the Shakespeare exhibition at the British Museum. I wasn't an angel - it was a special occasion and a limited three course menu with a free glass of wine. Was I about to pass this up?! The first alcohol I've had in 3 weeks was a small glass of absolutley delicious Merlot. I wonder if my taste buds might have become more acute in such a short time. It tasted wonderful!

Wine I had cut out a while ago just because I notice that I feel low the day after drinking any really. Thinking about this as I write it.. my mood on Sunday was not the best. One small glass! I wonder?

Physically I am losing weight which is a great side effect - it's subtle and early days. I love indulging myself with avocado or fruit salad for breakfast and loads of veg; once the children are back at school I will try harder to stick to the rules. I know that in November it will be a challenge to eat a big meal in the day time without forward planning. About time I started to use the slow cooker my mother bought me last Christmas!!

As a designer maker I am coming up to my busiest time of year and still have so much to sort out and prepare. I am so determined this year to get as much as I can painted beforehand. When there is a gap in orders at this time of year I must not sit back! And yet I must - absolutely must get out of the house everyday.

How much better I feel having had a 30 minute walk before work. If I leave it thinking I will walk later in the day, I won't.

It's so important when you are a sedentry artist with a time consuming way of working  to make sure you move everyday.. somehow I think my to-ing and fro-ing to the summerhouse isn't quite enough!

What do you do to stay healthy? One of my Twitter friends is doing a burst of intense skipping alternately with a run the next day which I think is a fabulous idea. It's all about aquiring new habits isn't it. Rather than beating yourself up if one or two days slip by with you acting like a vegetable and in my case - eating them too!

Comments

  1. Well done Gabs, with your healthy eating, you are doing so well. I found cutting out wheat & sugar the easiest thing of all. If I ever eat anything sweet or something that has wheat in it now, it makes me feel bloated and poorly. I really don't miss cakes or bread at all. I'll be thinking of you in October, hope everything goes well for you xx

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  2. I also just started walking this week now that the weather isn’t so hot anymore. I can feel how tight my hips / joints have gotten from sitting at the computer too much! Surprised that fish is off the menu. Wishing you a speedy recovery in October. x- femi

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  3. thanks so much Femi - yes the fish surprised me too... I think it's just sea water fish/sea food but I can't remember off the top of my head. Know Tuna is one of them - and salmon which we have a lot of normally. I don't think I'd be able to do this forever and I am not sticking to it absolutely. Just close to as I can. Keep up the walking ! x Gabs

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  4. Thanks Ali :) Funnily enough what Billy sent me says I can have bread - as long as with butter and jams!? but just not more than 1 slice a day and no white flour. Always butter with it. Which I was very pleased about as I've always thought natural fats ( in small quantities) were good for you. Never been a substitute fan. So far I've been fine about no cake or biscuits.. but it's hard as dh and the children have those things a LOT! x

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