Beating Back The Beast - two weeks, five days

On tonight's episode of Master Puke NZ we have the culinary delight of beef patties served with a salad of Cabbage, Silver Beet (Chard) Italian Parsely and Chives.

Food is frigging fuel!

Today was grocery shopping day. Today made me grumpy about food, mainly because there is hardly an aisle in the store that does not contain chocolate in some form or another. Sadly the family has to eat and I have to shop for them, and everywhere I go I have chocolate shoved under my nose! To top it off the super market had the chocolate gods, The Whittaker's, chocolate on special. Front and centre was the fruit and nut bar............sigh.

I can only imagine the looks I was getting as I gazed longingly at the display as I slowly pushed my shopping trolley past in true Bridget Jones fashion. I can only imagine those looks because my attention was riveted firmly on those bars that were calling my name. How I avoided mowing down old ladies and little children is somewhat of a minor miracle. Perhaps I should not be allowed in charge of a trolley until I am past this stage of my withdrawals.

I stood firm though and that is thanks to you my readers. I didn't want to let you all down. I am a third degree black belt for goodness sake, I need to have self discipline. I have many times pulled this statement out to save myself. Whether it be from chocolate or to drag my sorry butt out of bed and through my days. To get the livestock fed and to take care of my chores. Many times I have berated myself that I am a black belt, harden up and prove it. It almost always works without fail. Thank goodness for that little reminder to my psyche that I am made of sterner stuff than the Beast. 

So thank you everyone for your support you saved me today when I might have faltered. Pulled me back from the metaphorical edge, albeit grumpily.

Today I hate my food more than ever! Especially after the torture of shopping and having a guest in the house, cooking yummy food for them while I ate the Master Puke offering. Food is fuel!!!!!

Beating Back The Beast - two weeks, four days

I love learning, I try to learn something new every day. The beast also likes learning and tries to show me new ways it can mess with me on a regular basis. Sometimes my learning coincides with some new thing the Beast is showing off.

Since the beginning of the year I have had this problem with swelling around my eyes and lips. When I stopped chocolate for those three months this settled a little but would still flare up. Sometimes so badly I would only go out with my sunglasses on. Scared I would frighten little children and increase the cardiac incidents in my local area!

I happened to be reading an article about a blood pressure drug the other day and it listed one of the side effects as Angioedema. Apparently similar to hives. Well we have been down the hives path and apparently I have not listened well enough to the Beast and it has changed things up on me. I ate fruit yesterday instead of chocolate. Surprise!!! I woke up this morning looking like I had done several rounds with Joseph Parker! NZ's latest boxing protege for those who don't know him.

Yay me !

So this led me to look up Angioedema to see whether this was what I am suffering from. Seems most likely it is ...

Angioedema- 

Hives are often called welts. They are a surface swelling. It is possible to have angioedema without hives.

causes are

Angioedema may be caused by an allergic reaction. During the reaction, histamine and other chemicals are released into the bloodstream. The body releases histamine when the immune system detects a foreign substance called an allergen.

I am fairly certain this was caused by blackcurrant and apple fruit snacks. All natural, no cane sugar, just fruit. BUT.......

Picking my way through this thing is like walking a mine field. Takes balls and bloody mindedness but I will beat this Beast. I WILL!

Tonight was stairs night, no arm work but my whole body was feeling the after effects of the reaction to that fruit. Sigh .....tomorrow.

Beating Back The Beast - two weeks, three day

No Chocolate! Two days without chocolate. I not feeling any different yet. Maybe in a few more days. Still want chocolate, still wanting to gnaw my arm off in lieu of chocolate. But I have resisted. I am hoping the shift away from chocolate again will help the inflammation in my tendons. My right arm is particularly bad at them moment and I am trying hard to limit the damage. Trouble is I do not want to stop training and the gardens at this time of the year need many hours of work. So I have to get inventive about the things I am doing.

Today's workout was an ab workout added to around three hours spent in the garden. No mean feat gardening around here. The wilderness has been beaten back a little today and weather permitting maybe some more this week. Back to training tomorrow night after a public holiday yesterday. Will have to make the class a good one to make up for the day off. Also will have to start thinking of some challenging exercises that do not involve arm work.

Chicken and salad again for dinner tonight. Food is fuel....food is fuel.... if I repeat it enough times I may just convince myself.

Beating Back the Beast - two weeks two days

Today was a win !! I did not eat chocolate! As a hardened chocoholic that is quite an accomplishment, I do however want to eat my own arm off!

Why is it so hard to forgo the creamy, brown delicacy that is chocolate. It disguises itself as the elixir of life. We find it irresistible. We give it as tokens of our love and gratitude yet it is an insidious monster. Looking all harmless and inviting it tempts us to taste it, calls to us with a voice only we can hear but once it passes our lips it's true identity is revealed and it feeds the Beast within  us.

So today was a win I did not partake of this temptress, the Pied Piper of the Beast. I did not let it pass my lips.

I have an admission to make for the first three and a half months of this year I did not let the temptress lure me but I stumbled to my demise around Easter time. You see Whittaker's makers of the finest chocolate this country produces pulled out all stops to bring me back into the fold. For the first time they made Easter eggs and not just any old Easter eggs, these tasty tempters were in the shape of a kiwi with it's egg. How could I resist. the Pied Piper had found my weakness, the thing I had always wanted most at Easter, chocolate in the egg form from the chocolate gods, the Whittaker's.

I bought one and hid it in my wardrobe. I would let it sit and wait for my birthday that was a few weeks later. Perhaps by then I would have forgotten it was there. FAT CHANCE! That bloody egg called to me every day to remind me it was there. The Pied Piper's flute was loud and insistent, come the 23rd of the month I flung open that door and ripped into the foil guarding my treasure from me. I scoffed that thing in seconds!

Since then I have managed a few days at most to resist the temptress. So today, a day without chocolate is a big thing. It is a day of strength when my body is not feeling so strong. But the biting of the Beast in the tendons of my arms fortified my resistance. The stab of pain in my hamstrings reminded me to turn away from the Piper. I didn't train today but I did a lot of yard work. I did not train today but it was still a win to me!

Today the beast goes hungry!

Chicken salad for dinner.

Beating back the Beast - two weeks, one day

This weekend has been all about my writing and my books. Two days at a writing seminar and then today I have been out at a local heritage park reading to the kids and hoping to sell a few copies of Battle For Arohanui and Little Bridie Boo the Puppy Who Grew..

It really is about making connections when you are in this game and today in little old Ashburton I made a few. I spent the day in the company of the gorgeous Princess Bridie, who although  her usual sweet and gentle self is a little too royal to enjoy the paparazzi and throngs of admirers that her mother adores. She was tolerant of the attention but didn't thrive on it as Millie does. I told her if she is going to be the star of her own books she will have to, 'Suck it up Princess.' I was given The Look for that one.

We garnered the attention of several people today, a reporter from one of the local newspapers and a book reviewer and also the local Rotary club, I can only hope that something comes from these connections made today. With all the setting up and taking down of our stall as well as the days interactions I have to admit to being shattered by the time I got home. So today's workout consisted of 20 wide pushups, twenty martial arts pushups, 10 triangle pushups, 20 sit-ups and 20 squats. A pathetic attempt but at least I did something.

Scarlet is that you I hear? ....tomorrow.....

I did see this quote today from Elizabeth Taylor and it struck a chord with me....

You just do it.
You force yourself to get up.
You force yourself to put one foot in front of the other, and god damn it, you refuse to let it get to you.
You fight.
You cry.
You curse.
Then you go about the business of living.
That's how I have done it.
There's no other way.

The beautiful Princess Bridie my companion for the day.

Beating Back the Beast - two weeks

My run mapper asked me to describe my run today, I gave it a one word rating......horrible. I had spent the day at a writing seminar and when I got home really wasn't feeling up to training at all. It's crazy but the Beast likes to mess with my head. You would think  sitting around doing nothing physical at all would be like a rest for the body wouldn't you? Not with the Beast playing its games it's not.

I had to cross my legs today to manage to write in my notebook. You know how you cross your legs and push up on your tip toes so you don't have to hunch over? Or is that just me? Anyway all that l;eg crossing and tip toeing left my knees swollen and sore to touch and my feet aching. Ridiculous I know but that is the way of the Beast. Even if you give it no reason to bite it will strike anyway.

Running seemed like an onerous chore by the time I got home, but I committed to this thing so there is no backing out. I managed to do a 2 k run walk and shaved around 20 secs per k off the run compared with last week. Not as much as I had hoped to do but I suppose if I factor in the condition of my  knees and feet plus the fatigue that was threatening to drown me
it was a reasonable effort.

Tonights effort for dinner was roast chicken with coleslaw and roast kumara, mmmmm I love roast night and although the kumara may have some negative side effects it does leave me feeling satisfied after my meal.

Bring on week 3

Beating Back The Beast - one Week 6 days

I have spent the evening feeding the mind, as essential as feeding the body. I attended a writing seminar given by Brian Turner a NZ Poet Laureate, as famous as his sporting brothers Glen and Greg. Brian calls himself a politiacal animal and suggests it is up to us a writers to ask questions, I pondered this on my long drive home.

Here is my question. Why do we the people let traditional medicine continue to peddle the poison's of the pharmaceutical companies upon us? Why do we allow governments and bureaucracy to tell us we must follow blindly and take their drugs and their toxins into our bodies?

It is my understanding autoimmune disease begins in the gut. I have done a lot of research over the years and it always leads me back to this understanding. The seat of the immune system is the gut. So why are so many of us suffering from gut problems so serious they lead to our immune systems attacking our own bodies or failing all together?

In my case I feel strongly that antibiotics have played a huge part in the break down of my gut. I was a child who suffered many chest and throat infections. With the knowledge I have now I am certain it was caused by intolerance to dairy products. Back then though Dr's were gods! No mother should have the temerity to question the word of the Dr. So they pushed antibiotics down my throat and into my sensitive gut instead of looking for the cause of my respiratory problems.

Finally my gut gave up the fight and I was left with the Beast. A beast that would destroy its own host given half a chance. Would a traditional Dr listen to my concerns? Would a traditional Dr answer my questions honestly?

Brian it seems I have a lot of questions but for the most part they would appear to be rhetorical, for I already know the answers to them. I have been treated to the contempt and scorn of the traditional Dr for many years, for I have had the temerity to question them.

Perhaps my true question to them and the powers that be should actually be, when will you put the welfare of your people, your patients before the financial gains of the big machine? When will we matter more than the almighty dollar and power?

Perhaps these are things I should have  meditated on earlier when I was doing my stretch program. I will leave you with this thought. I do not believe it is just the writer who should be asking these questions. Whether it be our health or our environment we should all be asking the questions that need to be asked. We should all be looking to take responsibility for our part in it. For our health for our children's health.