Jane's BLOG

Even though I have been doing plenty of exercise classes while at Hopewood I normally have to miss at least one class per day because of appointments….not today! So it’s off for a walk in the great outdoors (45mins) and then a top up for 15minutes on the treadmill before breakfast. Stuck in a rut so it’s paw paw, lecithin and flaxseed for breakfast with 6 Almonds for protein…no Blueberries on the buffet – nevermind.

Let that settle then off to Aqua-aerobics, pool is at 34 degrees so not too bad. After Aqua it’s off to the Gym for a “Body Blast”. I’m the only one in the class and have to work hard for the six that are missing!

a)      5 step ups….run to other end gym….5 star jumps…run back, 10 step ups….run to other end gym….10 star jumps….run back….step, run, jump, run… etc etc until 50 steps, and 50 star jumps at each end…but that’s not all.

b)      10 sit ups, 5 push ups, 20 sit ups, 10 push ups….etc etc until 50 sit ups, 25 push ups…..still not finished

c)      5 squats, lunge walk to other end of gym, 5 squats, 10 squats, lunge walk to other end of gym, 10 squats …etc etc etc until 30 squats, lunge walk 30 squats…did I mention I was carrying a heavy weight for this one???? Surely that is all….no

d)      Six laps of the gym to warm down (thankfully it’s not to big a gym)….

Whew, takes a little while to cool down but 15mins later ready for a stretch class…can’t remember too much about that as I’m suffering from exhaustion!

Okay, time to shower, relax and do some of the jigsaw before lunch. The rest of the day passes in a blur of yoga, meditation and steamed vegetables.

Early morning walk is not doing it for me so have to hit the cross –trainer to get the heart rate up. Morning Blood Sugar is 4.8 so not really shifting despite hardly any carbs…last “health and vitality breakfast” – my fellow diners are amused by my eating blueberries with a fork??? Is there another way?

Based on the smell emanating from my washing pile and the diminishing number of clean trackies etc in my draws I figure I’d better do some washing before my clothes walk home – even though it is still raining. Get a load of blacks in before breakfast and out again before aqua-aerobics…Get a few things in the dryer but find that most cannot be tumbled dry must make other arrangements (or pretend I hadn’t read the labels). Have to skip Boxercise because of increasing pain in right shoulder – will be seeing the Osteopath this afternoon for a quick checkup – so have plenty of time to remove wire draw unit from wardrobe and transform it into an excellent heater side clothes dryer…(photos to follow). Hanging now sorted so proceed with the ‘light’ wash….time flys so I am nearly late for basic stretching…whew these household chores really suck up the time!

Last meal of “health and vitality” is a salad and a ‘Hopewood Quiche’ not bad but due to a mix up I get the wrong one and have to leave the potato….nevermind. Back to hang out the whites – realise the bag stand will also need to be brought into service. Quick visit to the Osteopath who confirms that I have strained the Rhomboids, Tetroids, Triceps and several other geometric shaped muscles as well as pulled a tendon….exercise is very dangerous.

No time to sit around feeling sorry for myself need to race off to find out about the benefits of fasting – did you know that the longest fast ever was 382 days?…I thought not. Time for some carrot and tomato soup…no more special juice for me.

Need to rearrange the washing and turn the heater up – or else I will have damp patches…room is now a sauna. Want to avoid the humid air so back to the jigsaw until it is time for yoga. Have to modify some poses to account for sore arm but nail the meditation at the end…reeelaaaaaxxxxx.

My first meal from the smorgasbord and it is ……..green salad and vegetable frittata with a small (make that very small) amount of cashew nut salsa. Add a side of strawberry, spinach and walnut salad and life is good. No dessert.

Decide to skip Tai Chi for Chit Chat – which is pretty much the same thing – ? and then back to my room and get a football update from Peter and a quick chat to Lara.

Wake up to the sound of rain pattering on the roof and quickly jump up and get ready for the ‘morning constitutional’. After a brisk walk it’s back to breakfast, followed by a few pieces of jigsaw and out to the pool for a double wet aqua-aerobics. Pool was still 30 deg even with the rain!

Out of the pool and quick change for hydrotherapy and morning juice. Had to do a little ‘real work’ and got carried away nearly missed having “Fun with Dynabands” which turned out to be tough and fun. Worked up a great appetite just in time for the Tofu Patty and salad for lunch.

Still raining so the afternoon outing to Nepean Gorge is cancelled and Stretchersize is on instead. Must have over-stretched something on the upper right (neck, back, arm) so had to get hot packs and zen spray from the Healthcentre and rest until it’s time to visit the naturopath.

I’ve apparently being doing quite well, though my liver is still not behaving….very naughty liver. Maybe I should punish it with a nice bottle of red? Oh no red available it’s green veg and curry dahl! Dahls….

The rain provides quite a nice sound track to Yoga and Meditation and then I float to bed after a sweet goodnight with Peter and Lara.

Posted late due to temporary DoDo extinction

Couldn’t sleep during the night so decided to do the tread mill instead of the outdoor walk and had a bit of a sleep-in listening to the rain on the roof. Blood glucose at 8am (5.1mmol) and then to the planned treadmill for 20mins at 130 beats per minute…managed to get to 150 so lowered the mill to 8% slope instead of 10%. Breakfast was back to the favourite of paw-paw and blueberries with lecithin, flaxseed and a side of 6 almonds (to replace the protein previously provided by the yoghurt).

Off to aqua-aerobics and only two of us left in the class so we have to work twice as hard….shower etc ready for a juice (no beetroot this time) and a turn in the shuttle (as the VibraSaun is affectionately known). When the shaking is over a quick change and off to join the fitball class…..man those balls are big and tricky to balance on. Get through with the balls and off to lunch. I discover that the salad has a name “HopeWood Salad”. No new vegetables to report. The side was spicy bean casserole and was so tasty I think even Peter would like it.

Bit of a rest after lunch before heading of to learn how to make delicious vegetarian food. I got to wear the blue plastic gloves to roll the patties, balls and croquets of falafel – I say again variety is the spice of life and three different shapes of falafel is certainly variety. Got to taste a croquet of falafel with a tasty dip (minus the yogurt as I’m banned from yogurt at the moment) – wonder if I will have to declare it!.

After winning the Hopewood Chef’s challenge off to yoga and I notice I am definitely more flexible – Yay for me! The relaxation at the end is a bit short – never mind because the talk on “Successful Management of Our Stress” is following on closely after the afternoon Juice.

Message from stress management class is “if the oxygen masks drop down fit your own mask first before helping others” – this must be the Virgin Blue Stress management class. I have a whole double sided A4 page of other hints and tips if you are interested.

Finished not-stressing just in time for dinner – Asparagus Frittata and steamed green vegetables – no other colors! Just the green ones.

One last meditation for the day using the hand over head technique – which is quite successful and then a call home to speak to both my darlings (so need to redo the meditation as it is very hectic there at Burrandong Cres).