Day 15: Monday 14 Dec
I had a busy day today where I was flying in and out all day! I was at the gym at 7:00AM and did some cardio for 1 hr 10 mins (5 mins cross trainer; 2 ½ mins stepper; 3 mins run on tready @ 9 km/hr followed by an hour on the upright bike). I had a job interview at 10:00AM that went for over an hour and a half which I felt was necessary for this position. It would be a disability support worker working with a client with severely debilitating OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) and osteoporosis. I’ll be doing a trial/training shift on Wednesday. If both myself and the client is happy with how things went, I’ll be jumping on board to being a regular carer for this client. I have a really great feeling about it. It will require a bucket load of patience and will be challenging, but she’s such a sweet lady. I think I’ll find it really rewarding. After arriving back home after that I ate lunch then headed off to my physio session which was to be the most unpleasant treatment I’ve had to date. “No pain, no gain” I think is the plan of attack now. Tim did some dry needling on me – ie. sticking acupuncture needles right into the muscle and twiddling (a word?) them around and making the overactive muscle twitch. F*#! it hurt. By the end of it I felt like I’d been punched big time in my neck and right scap(ula). Tim informed me that it’ll get worse over the following 24 hours – which is how it has its effect. So, clearly I wont be doing much tomorrow! Got to let it calm down. I went home after physio via the shops and proceeded to spend lots of money. So much for me not bothering about Christmas presents this year. I had so much fun though, and I enjoy thanking people for what they’ve done for me. I’m into adding a bit of a personal touch to my pressies now – what’s the point of having something just sitting there getting dusty? I also found myself lashing out and treating myself too – I bought two music CD’s. I’m really sick of my limited playlist on my original (first generation) iPod Nano. I’m so excited now though. One of the albums I got was Maximum Base Overdrive – a 3CD set of hip hop and dance music mixed by DJ Samrai, Tom Piper & DJ Suae, and the other was Lady GaGa’s The Fame Monster. Refer to my 'Teasers of a Different Kind' post to see why I haven't yet listened to either of them.
After doing some shopping, I swung by the park that Gav, my PT, runs the weekly outdoor training session to say hello. I wasn’t going to train – I was too sore (as I knew I would be after physio) and Gav is being quite firm with me to not train twice a day for a couple of weeks while we get on top of my sleeping issues. I also gave him the heads up that Tim doesn't want me doing any upper body stuff with weights in my PT session on Wed morning. I was thinking that maybe I would have to cancel it, but Tim said “cardio and lower body stuff is ok – so you can’t get out of that one [PT]. With any squats you to with weight make sure its with a weight plate and hold it across your chest.” Gav said that he’s already planned an awesome session for me for Wednesday and its got no upper body in it. “It’s for your hike.” YAY! Everyone is being so supportive of my commitment to summit Mera Peak in Sep 2010. Gav is going to have me fit and strong and Tim is working on climbing-specific stuff with me in the pilates studio too (in addition to a lot of stuff geared at improving my scapula control). I’m so excited!
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Day 16: Tuesday 15 DecI know my 30th birthday was Sunday week ago (on the 6th), but we hadn’t got around to having a cake and a party because my parents and I went down to Surfers for the afternoon. On the Sunday just gone, I made a Lite Mixed Berry Cheesecake to have as my birthday cake. I adapted an ‘Extreme Lime Cheesecake recipe’ I had made some weeks ago – so instead of ¼ lime juice and rind I put in 100g of frozen mixed berries, and instead of lite lemon/lime jelly I used lite raspberry. It looked really pink! As you can see here. I wasn’t going to have any at all, but I ended up having the tiniest slither. And it was really yummy – the chunky berries in it were really good. When I was up at Coles this morning, I got some party food too – for the others to have. I must say, I felt like a fish out of water in the confectionary aisle and the sweet biscuit section and the potato crisps section! I really do feel like a reformed eater now. I’m unsure if I’m more guilty about admitting I used to frequent the confectionary aisle every day or more proud that I no longer need to. Or want to. Just for ‘old times sake’ I found my hands pluck my favourite Bounty chocolate bar. It’s a tribute to me because I honestly used to buy one or two of them and eat them both instantly, one after the other. I know Mum likes coconut things too, and Dad has a sweet tooth and will eat anything with sugar in it or coated in chocolate so they can cut it up and share it amongst them. (I took a photo of the bounty too!) It was an amazing feeling being so unemotionally attached to something that I once used to be so dependant on. I really feel I have overcome the need/want for anything sweet. How did it happen? It all comes back to being committed to my goals: my Nepal trek/summit climb… and there’s one other than I’m on the verge of releasing into Blog World! Stay tuned.
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Day 17: Wednesday 16 DecThis afternoon I did my first trial/training shift as a disability support worker, working with a client with severe obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), anorexia, osteoporosis and scoliosis. Obviously, to protect the clients privacy, I’m not going to say too much more about her ‘case’ but I had a challenging afternoon. It’s a real eye opener when you see real people in the real world (ie. in the community, still living at home) struggling to cope with, for this client, what must be a bunch of debilitating ‘conditions’/illnesses. At university, we may spend all of 20 minutes discussing obsessive compulsive disorder, 5 minutes on eating disorders. It really does not offer real insight into what it must be like living with such illnesses. So, it’s only when you take your nose away from the text books and see it in the real world that you have a relatively tiny idea of the impact such illnesses must have on one’s life. Fact was, I left the clients home with a smashing headache – clearly dehydrated, hot and bothered (mentally as well as physically). One of the many things the client has issues with is dust – so of course, no doors or windows are allowed to be opened. As someone who had only spent a few hours with this client, I could see she clearly looked dehydrated, hot and bothered too! I wasn’t surprised one lil’ bit given her environment. One pissy pedestal fan just doesn’t do much when there is no outside air flow coming in. At the very least, she needs at least three ceiling fans. But, I somehow doubt the Department of Housing would deem that as necessary. Although, from an OH&S perspective, they really ought to. Because, it sure ain’t easy to change someone’s beliefs when they have OCD, just like it wouldn’t be easy trying to get a teenage girl with an eating disorder to believe that she isn’t fat, and that eating a chicken salad and an apple wont cause her to gain 10kg instantly. It is really sad seeing these people live like this. Really, really sad. They are complex illnesses that are difficult to understand and difficult to treat.
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Day 18: Thursday 17 DecHere are my new Pilates ToeSox that I ordered from HF Industries. They arrived at 2:30PM via an Australia Post courier – he must have known I had a pilates class at 4:00 this arvo! I was so happy that I got them before my class. I got a black pair and a white pair. I wore the black pair tonight. Tim laughed at them “what are these? They’re funny” and proceeded to tickle my toes! And I said they have a special grip on them too and showed him “I always feel like I’m going to slip – now I wont.” They weren’t cheap ($22 a pair!) but gee I love them. They’re like mittens for your feet. They’re awesome. I say Tim should sell them at his physio/pilates clinic!
As you may be rapidly realising, I’ve been investing a reasonable amount of cashola into my health, fitness and personal growth. What I’m sowing now I will reap rewards for many, many years to come. So, I’m by no means (at this particular point in time at least) stressing about this initial outlay. After each of my physio sessions when I settle the account, I’m asked by the receptionist “are you in a private health fund?” and of course, I reply “no.” However, over the past week or so I’ve actually replied a little differently. “No, not yet but I’m thinking about it.” And it has been the lovely Nicole at Tim’s Birkdale clinic who has prompted me to research it half-seriously. She said on Monday that some of the funds are waiving the two month waiting period for particular services – of which, physiotherapy is one normally with a two month waiting period. “Which for you at the moment could be good.” Thanks cheeky Nicole! Although suffice to say you’re very observant as I’ve been in there 1-2 times a week for the past four weeks now with this ongoing neck/scapula issue and I’ve recently restarted my studio pilates with Tim as well! Anyway, I finally decided to join Australian Unity today on their Comprehensive Extras option. (I’ll think about adding hospital as I approach my 31st birthday, but I can’t see the point now).
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Day 19: Friday 18 DecKeeping a daily food diary has easily become a non-negotiable for me – just like brushing my teeth is. I’ve been diligently using a template that Gav, my PT gave me – an A4 page that I’ve been photocopying and writing everything I eat in by hand. I’ve changed and added a few things to suit me – like, I added a column for ‘QTY’ so I can clearly see how much of each thing I’m having and a column for ‘h:mm’ to indicate the duration of my training sessions. But, to be honest, I’ve been less diligent about calculating the number of calories I’ve been eating each day, and tallying up the macronutrients (fat, protein and carbs). What I’m currently doing is good, but having the other info would be better. So, this morning, at the absurdly early hour of 3:30AM (I woke at 2:50) I turn my computer on and open up www.CalorieKing.com.au with the intent of starting to input my food so I can have a concrete idea of how much I’m eating and what my fat, protein and carbs add up to at the end of the day. What catches my attention first up? The banner at the top of the page saying: ‘Check out our amazing Nutrition & Exercise Manager desktop software, now 50% off!’ I’ve thought about getting the desktop version before. But here is my golden opportunity to take advantage of a great offer. I don’t delay and whip out my wallet and place my order. Yipee! I was even more delighted to see that they have just put out a new edition of the software… and now you can group snacks between meals. In the online edition they group all snacks at the end of the day and I get really annoyed by that. I’m (more than) a little excited! It is now only $22.48 so if you’re interested, hop to it now! I love CalorieKing because it is Australian and uses the most updated food database. *I love this desktop software so much better than the online version. It’ll just take a bit of time to save my ‘favourite foods’ into it again. I’m going to trial eating 1600 calories a day and see how that goes. Don’t ask me what I have been averaging as I wont be able to tell you! Naughty me.
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Day 20: Saturday 19 DecDisaster struck this morning when I scrapped the tub clean of my protein powder. I usually have four scoops with my oats for breakfast and there was only just two scoops. So, it was off to see Paul again at Healthy Habits – Gav sent me to him a few months ago. I’ve been using REFLEX NUTRITION Instant Whey – I get the choc mint and choc orange flavours and really like it. They are easy to drink – quite thin. Paul was out of the choc orange, so I got a 2.27 kg tub of choc mint. I’m going to aim at having three scoops twice a day as I think I have a bit too much of it on some days. Gav has been on my case to go back and see him for something for my ongoing sleeping issues. Gav said he sent his brother to see Paul some time ago and what he gave him worked. It’s worth a try and if not, its only $60-$70 that I’ve ‘wasted.’ Paul suggested I try the ULTIMATE NUTRITION GABA – Gamma Amino Butyric Acid. I’d rather something natural than a prescription or over-the-counter medication. I’m not going back on tranquilisations or sedatives. Been there, done that. Not for me. I feel so seedy and groggy and yuk when I wake the following morning.
Having said the above, I did book an appointment to see a doctor about my sleeping and also to get a routine blood test to check a few things out (blood sugar, iron, Vit B12, thyroid function etc). I’d be happy with a referral to a sleep specialist. The doctor I’m seeing was one Tim, my physio, suggested was good – ‘she’s young and quite progressive.’ Sounds good to me, thanks Tim.
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Day 21: Sunday 20 DecI’ve been getting increasingly ‘frustrated’ by my lack of anat & phys knowledge when Tim identifies particular muscles of my neck and pectoral (shoulder) girdle that are weak and/or dodgy (knotty!) or being naughty (ie. bad posture). So, out comes the anatomy colouring book (don’t laugh – it’s really cool!) and the anatomy and physiology text in order to get educated! Besides, I’ve been chatting with Tim over the past month about returning to my paramedic work. I’d join QAS (Queensland Ambulance Service). So, there’s no time like the present to start reviewing stuff, right? It’s good when you’re the one in control of your learning, opposed to being surrounded by deadlines and assignments and exams. I’m working on my preparation for the QAS fitness testing. But, because of my Nepal trek/climb, I’m not sure when I’ll apply. The application process is lengthy, so maybe I’ll see how I’m travelling with my personal stuff (confidence, decision making, assertiveness etc) by mid-year. I’m sure there’ll be no issues with my physical fitness and strength by then! How is this contributing to my physical, mental or emotional health? I’m getting educated about my muscular weaknesses AND I am working towards re-entering the paramedic profession after my short stint with Ambulance Victoria this year.
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