Updates archive

After spending the past week or so having a regularly scheduled blog crisis, I spent most of last night hunched over my laptop (literally, my back is killing me this morning) poking and prodding at the keyboard, trying to come up with something new. I’ve felt for a while that my blog wasn’t accurately representing the content held within. OK, some of it is complete tosh and/or just personal ramblings, but there’s a lot of useful stuff spread over years and years of archives that is impossible to find.

It’s not visual, it’s not massively pretty or revolutionary in its design, but there are the following changes:

• Lots of text — I’m playing to my strengths here. I’m never going to be one of these bloggers with tons of amazing photography. I can barely take a selfie that doesn’t make me look like my brain is leaking out of my ears.
• No ads — now that I’m relatively financially stable again, I no longer need the ads to contribute to hosting costs etc. As nice as the extra few quid is, they made my blog load slowly & look messy. Some of my posts will still have e.g. affiliate links in, but that’s always been the case (and I usually remember to point them out)
• Good content made prominent — I’ve made some of the stuff people are actually searching for easier to find with clear links from either the home page, or the main navigation.
• Stripped out distractions — I’ve removed sidebars from single posts and pages to put the focus solely on content. This may bite me in the ass and reduce session length, and I may need to add e.g. related posts at the bottom of posts, but we’ll see.

It’s not done. (It’s never done.) There’s still stuff to do:

• The search box needs re-adding
• I need to do more testing of responsive versions
• I need to add object-fit support for IE (or not, if I’m feeling mean ;) )

I also need to work on populating the new snippets section with e.g. useful bits that I use when developing websites, as well as more blog posts with KNOWLEDGE and WISDOM (or something). I have so much experience to share and I really feel like I should get back to my roots with tutorial writing & actually useful blog posts.

Anyway, let me know if you spot any bugs.

Day 22 – 22nd Feb:

Made more of an effort to eat well today as Sundays are normally so manic I only eat one meal. Also got some fresh air and light exercise tromping round the woods in Ironbridge with the kids. Still feel fairly “normal” – typical me, basically. No boost, no tiger blood, no obvious benefits to this challenge at all. Considering the amount of hype it gets and the amount of people who rave about their low carb diets being the best thing since sliced bread, well… I’m clearly abnormal.

Day 23 – 23rd Feb:

Crap night’s sleep thanks to Oliver waking me up 6 times, couldn’t get back to sleep after 4:45am. This morning would be a large Americano from Costa type of morning, why did I give up coffee for February too?^*

I’ve been reading the blogs of some ultra runners who train and run during whole30 and/or with a paleo diet this evening and can’t help but feel slightly cheated that these people can run 50 miles like this and I’m struggling to run for 3. I wonder if I’m doing something “wrong”? Maybe I should track my meals this week to see if other whole30-ers can make some suggestions…

Day 24 – 24th Feb:

Another bad night’s sleep thanks to Oliver, I think he’s coming down with something. I probably am too as I have 4-5 mouth ulcers and that’s usually the first sign something’s not right.

I finally noticed a positive side effect of this month’s challenge: my nails are ridiculously strong compared to usual. Normally my nails rip or break on an almost daily basis, but I’ve not had that problem in a while. I have one nail that is particularly long and it’s great for nose-picking ;) Apparently this is likely to be the increased water I’m drinking, so may actually be because of giving up coffee rather than specifically whole30-related.

Had a massive chunk of turkey meatloaf (recipe coming soon) and some roasted brussel sprouts and walnuts for breakfast. Bolognese with big portions of veg instead of pasta for lunch, possibly with a banana if I’m not full. Workout night tonight so I may try and fit in some sweet potato around 5ish to see if that helps with my problems working out.

Day 25 – 25th Feb:

Another bad night with Olly so feeling knackered now. :(

Sweet potato before last night’s workout seemed to help. I was able to better cope with 3 rounds at 11.5kg (dumbbell) and then I threw in 15 back squats with the barbell bar (7.5kg; can’t afford weights for it yet) and then further dropsets down to 9.5kg. Was probably the longest/toughest workout I’ve done in ages but felt pretty damn good. Followed it up by a PWO hardboiled egg and then chicken & veg stir fry.

Unfortunately I left the other half of last night’s stir fry, which was to be my lunch, out on the side and the cats tipped it everywhere to get the chicken out so my meals are badly planned and probably a little wonky today. 2 x hardboiled eggs + lashing of homemade mayo, followed by a banana for breakfast. I’ve got 3 big chunks of turkey meatloaf with a quarter of a cauliflower for lunch. Sweet potato for pre-run later. Will probably have steak, chips & salad tonight because it’s Wednesday and I go to Gaz’s and it’s something easy to cook that we both like.

Less pissed off with whole30 affecting my strength following my good workout; my run tonight will be the real test and will confirm whether the difference was the sweet potato or coincidence. I am however pissed off with the fact that over the course of about a week I’ve suddenly lost a cup size. My boobs are disappearing under my very eyes! :( As well as being one of my favourite body features, none of my bras fit properly now. Why can’t the ring of flab around my middle disappear this quickly?

Day 26 – 26th Feb:

Guess who ran a solid non-stop 8km last night? YEAH. Only stopped at 8km because my foot started twinging and I was worried I’d injure it again if I kept going. It was really weird because as I slowed down to a walk, my muscles were almost pushing me forwards as if they wanted me to keep going. I’ve not felt that before. I definitely would have had enough in me to do another couple of km, and annoyingly I was on track for a sub 1 hour 10km as well. Oh well, better to stop short this week and still be able to run than push it to 10km and end up out for 3 months again.

No kids last night so slept better. Two hard boiled eggs and what’s left of the meatloaf for breakfast: all about that protein.

Day 27 – 27th Feb:

Oliver actually slept through last night for the first time all week and I still spent half the night awake. What is up with that?

Thigh is hurting today from Wednesday’s run. While I was running I did think I was favouring the one leg a bit so it’s probably a result of that. Going to skip tonight’s run and aim for parkrun tomorrow morning to give it some extra rest time.

Food-wise I’m still on track. Tuna, cucumber & homemade mayo for breakfast. Massive chicken & avocado salad for lunch. No idea what I’m eating this evening…

Day 28 – 28th Feb:

Nothing interesting to note. Still going. Didn’t parkrun in the morning because tiredness caught up with me – stayed in bed.

Day 29 – 1st Mar:

Didn’t sleep well last night and ended up with another typical Sunday: not eating properly because of distractions. Would have been nice to fix this while doing the whole30 but never mind, I’ll make it my next priority. DIY-ing til late night, scoffed some sort-of-chilli (i.e. it was compliant therefore didn’t contain beans and wasn’t served with rice) before bed.

Could have had a coffee today.. didn’t.

Day 30 – 2nd Mar:

Last day. I feel like I should be champing at the bit to get my chops around some cake and chocolate but to be honest I’m still sure I’ll continue a mostly whole30 approach to my meals, giving myself a bit of freedom on Fridays and Saturdays.

Scrambled eggs & avocado for breakfast. More of that chilli(ish) for lunch, with a banana if I’m still hungry after and then roast chicken tonight to make up for not having it yesterday.

Still haven’t had a coffee.

^* Giving up coffee for the month is part of my 30 before thirty challenge, not part of whole30

Day 15 – 15th Feb:

Normal Sunday: in other words, mad rush to pick up the kids, no time to sit down and eat til late. I did manage to grab a couple of hardboiled eggs and some chicken around 2pm but basically didn’t eat til my evening meal (which was massive to compensate). It might be that lack of food that caused my *ahem* annoyed outburst at the end of yesterday’s log entry but this is not a recurring thing – I eat plenty on every other day of the week.

Day 16 – 16th Feb:

Nothing particularly exciting to say. Tired and snotty, not feeling great – unrelated to whole30 though.

Day 17 – 17th Feb:

Had a vivid dream about vodka coffee ‘cocktails’ (if you can call half a cup of coffee mixed with half a cup of vodka a cocktail) last night. Maybe this is my brain finally noticing I’m doing this whole30 stuff. Says it all that out of all of the things I’m missing, my brain picks vodka and coffee to think about.

Tried to put on my only skirt and a blouse for work this morning and they basically fell off. I can’t really afford to lose any more weight, so the fact that this is the only result from whole30 so far is a bit annoying. Might need to go raid a charity shop, if nothing else but because I’m curious if I can now fit into a size 10.

Day 18 – 18th Feb:

Tired today, struggling to get going. No vodka dreams last night. Worked out with a lighter dumbbell (9.5kg) though and still struggling. Not enjoying feeling weaker :( I’m out of the ovulation phase of my cycle now so would expect any hormone-related strength issues to have passed. Still feeling pretty peed off with the whole thing (whole thing, har har, a pun) for this reason, and because I guess general stress and life “blah”s.

I don’t know why I’m moaning, the challenge itself is not actually challenging. I am making all my normal foods and mostly just changing what I serve them with: spag bol with veg instead of pasta, skipping yorkshire puddings with my roast, curry with more curry instead of rice ;) People keep pulling this face when I explain whole30, like I’ve just done a shit on their kitchen floor? But the reality is that for someone who cooks every day it’s a piece of piss. I just wish it wasn’t messing with my strength and stamina.

Day 19 – 19th Feb:

Slept well last night. Feeling oddly nervous today that I’m approaching the end of week 3, which is when I gave up Sugar Free September (twice). I guess I’m determined to see it through so that I don’t feel like the past couple of weeks or so have been a waste, even though I’m disappointed in the effects on my workouts. I need to make sure that my meal planning is tip top and I have emergency compliant snacks available to get through the next week and a half.

Second day of feeling oddly bloated and uncomfortable after eating avocado with my lunch. Maybe this new addition ain’t so great after all.

Hoping to run later, fingers crossed I’m not dying a few km in again.

Day 20 – 20th Feb:

Didn’t run, went to Ikea, because that’s enough of a fitness/stamina test for anyone :P

Slept well again but still feeling “blah”. Where’s my fucking tiger blood?

Day 21 – 21st Feb:

Tired. Bored of not being able to have a glass of wine on a Friday night. One more week to go.

Day 8 – 8th Feb:

Slept well, late morning lie in (even though I was supposed to be picking the kids up, oops!)

Running around after the kids/doing chores all day so didn’t get chance to eat – this is fairly par for the course on a Sunday when I’m trying to get everything sorted before the busy week ahead. At least it meant I wasn’t tempted by the jammy dodgers the kids were tucking in to!

Decided to workout because of my 2 missed workouts in week 1. Struggled to lift at my usual weight but wasn’t sure if that was lack of food rather than dietary changes. Completed the full workout anyway, then chucked an extra round of lifts on at a 2kg lighter weight for good measure.

Been a tad grumpy today which could be the whole30 but is more likely some external circumstances (which I won’t go into here)…

Day 9 – 9th Feb:

Slept well but woke up at 4am again. Eggy muffins for breakfast that I prepped yesterday, leftover spicy mince & tatties (w/veg) for lunch. Clearly I can categorically say at this point that if white potatoes hadn’t been added to the whole30 allowed list I would not have got this far.

It’s weird because I’m not really seeing any noticeable whole30 related changes, be that positive or negative. I know I keep saying it but I think that’s because my day to day diet is awesome. I guess this also means there’s no harm or reason not to stick it out til the end especially as I’m more interested at this stage in reintroducing foods after day 30 to see if anything happens.

Day 10 – 10th Feb:

Slept quite well again, only woken by children (no avoiding that, bah). Eggy muffins for breakfast and I’ve got leftover spicy pulled pork (it was supposed to be a whole30 compliant BBQ sauce but my experiment failed, oops) & potato for lunch – need to nip out and get some microwaveable veg to go with it as I underestimated how much veg I’d go through this week!

According to the timeline, today and tomorrow are the days I’m most likely to quit because “the newness has worn off”. Quite the contrary, at this point I’m enjoying the fact that being more organised with breakfasts and meals in advance on Sunday is giving me more time and less to stress about in the mornings and evenings when I rush back from work and have to get the kids fed and into bed for a reasonable time. I mean, I wouldn’t mind a big fat slice of cake right now but I’ve not had any cravings since the early days. I suppose that’s one positive to the whole30 I’d not predicted.

Day 11 – 11th Feb:

Not a brilliant night’s sleep – Olly was having bad dreams so was crying out, which woke me every bloody time (even though he carried on sleeping). Damn my uber-sensitive supermum hearing.

Worked out last night, really struggled with the 11.5kg dumbbell but finished the workout and then did 8 back squats with the barbell bar – perfecting my form before I think about adding weights (not that I have any yet :P) I’ve actually been looking at some of the pre and post workout meal advice from whole30 too, in case my lack of planning in that department is contributing to a stalling of progress with the weights so may experiment a little and see if that helps.

Day 12 – 12th Feb:

Went for a run last night and almost immediately had a pain in my gut like I’d been punched really hard – not sure what that was about. I had eaten a few almonds and an orange about half an hour before my run so hoping it was that and not a taste of what’s to come running through whole30! Only managed 4.2km which was disappointing because I wanted to do double that.

Slept better last night though, although didn’t want to get out of bed this morning.

Had some avocado this morning because it the was the only decent source of good fats I could think of whilst running around Sainsbury’s trying to find breakfast. Never really liked it but it was ok. Could have done with some salt and pepper.

Mood is shaky today, and last night. Low level annoyance at virtually everything just bubbling away.

Day 13 – 13th Feb:

Low level annoyance yesterday turned into full on breakdown by the afternoon. I nearly burst into tears in Tesco because the woman asked me if I needed any help with my packing (probably because I felt like responding “no, just MY LIFE” … but I didn’t.) Ended up sobbing all over Gaz all evening. Still low today, but trying to bear in mind that this is smack bang OVULATION TIME for me. Fuck hormones! On the plus side, this does rather reassure me that my hormonal mood fluctuations are not caused by birth control or diet, which was the primary motivation for doing the whole30 / birth control “detox”. Let’s get a fuck yeah up in here for birth control!

Had avocado again for breakfast (other half of yesterday’s). It might not taste of much and the texture is a bit weird but it does help fill me up for longer so might buy it again.

Day 14 – 14th Feb:

Today’s challenge was finding a whole30 compliant lunch in a motorway service station. Whereas normally I’d just have a burger and coffee for probably less than a fiver, I ended up spending £7.80 on a fruit salad, compliant “handcooked” crisps, nuts and a coconut based smoothie from Waitrose. Ridiculous amount of money on what was effectively a giant snack. I could have done 2-3 homecooked meals for a family of 4 for that money.

I have to admit that after this little lunchtime disaster, which admittedly I could have swerved with better planning, I am feeling frazzled by the whole30 thing. It’s not cured me of my horrible mood swings, which was the main reason for trying it; it’s made no difference to my sleep (although some nights I’m sleeping soundly this isn’t a guarantee and I often wake early and can’t get back to sleep); and worse, it seems to be affecting my running and weight lifting. I have lost weight, but that’s not a motivation for me at all… not when my strength is affected.

If it doesn’t improve this week I’m bombing out early and I don’t care if that makes me a quitter.

Day 1 – 1st Feb:

Spent much of the day preparing food for the week. Quiche-type thing (no crust) for breakfasts, homemade mayo for my coleslaw, etc.

Moods have been fine for about a week but I think that’s because I’ve been seeing my counsellor again. I am suffering mega cake cravings but that’s normal for this stage of my cycle, although is probably worsened by the knowledge that I can’t indulge.

Had an early night (8pm-ish), woke up a few times overnight but was awake at 6:30 with the alarm perky and ready to go.

Day 2 – 2nd Feb:

Dull headache from about 11am onwards, possible caffeine withdrawal?

Mood fine / stable. Hungry most of the morning despite two slices of the eggy thing & an apple, again possibly worsened by period? Despite hunger, the carby/cake cravings much lower than day 1.

Period arrived full-on, yay! :S

Day 3 – 3rd Feb:

Slept well last night, don’t remember waking at all which is a rarity these days. Wonder if that’s the lack of caffeine, or just coincidence? I haven’t been a massive coffee drinker for ages but I guess it’s possible that 2-3 cups of a morning could have an effect.

Beef stew for breakfast because why the hell not; left it cooking in the slow cooker overnight.

Today is a workout day. I’m hoping because I’m including potatoes daily I’m not going to notice problems caused by lack of carbs. I typically can’t hit my normal workout levels during menstruation and I ache like a bitch today so not holding out much hope anyway.

Mood is fine / stable, although I’m stressed about money :(

Day 4 – 4th Feb:

Didn’t work out last night in the end as the shoulder ache that started in the day was agonising by bed time. Despite being in bed by 9pm I was tossing and turning til around 1am until I caved and took a couple of ibuprofen. Slept OK then til just after 6am.

Eggy thingies for breakfast, chicken curry for lunch then steak later at Gaz’s.

Hoping to run later to make up for the lack of workout last night.

Day 5 – 5th Feb:

Ran last night as planned, 7km in ~45 minutes which is a good time considering it’s only my second one since I started again. Really pleased that the weight lifting and exercise bike has been enough to maintain fitness over the past 6 months. Didn’t sleep particularly well though, shoulders were aching again as well as horrible cramps (period-related).

Mood is still stable / cheerful. Not yet experiencing the “kill all the things” rage mentioned in the whole30 timeline but then my symptoms so have been generally mild; most of the unpleasant bits can be equally attributed to hormones as potential diet change. I think (hope) this is a reflection on my usually sensible diet :)

Day 6 – 6th Feb:

Slept soundly last night, perky and cheerful when I woke up. Wasn’t able to work out last night because of horrid abdo cramps (hurry up and fuck off, period).

Today I’m mostly wondering how the hell I’m going to find whole30 compliant food tomorrow while I’m at WordCamp Birmingham.

Low level headache all afternoon :(

Day 7 – 7th Feb:

Woken up at 4am by Gaz/the cats but otherwise slept fine. Giving up coffee doesn’t seem to have helped my problem of not being able to get back to sleep if I wake from around 4am onwards. I end up just lying there tossing and turning for hours.

Spent half the day at WC Brum and ate only an orange and a banana. Didn’t eat a proper meal til late evening (chicken breast wrapped in prosciutto, roast sweet potato, veg)… oops.

Moods fine/stable, no headache. Achy shoulders seem to have gone.

I officially released the premium version of my PHP mail form last night. Partly because it’s been on the cards for a while, and partly because I wanted to get started on my plan to be mortgage free in five years. I can’t hang about if I need to be paying in £1,633.09 per month.

If you’re using the free version and want a bit more from it, you should definitely check out the features of the premium version :)

Next step is to release access to the members area which will include a drag and drop form generator and priority support. If you’re interested in getting access to these features, subscribe and you’ll get an e-mail when it’s released.

I failed another Sugar-Free September.

It’s not my fault, honest. The biscuit spread leapt out of the jar into my mouth. The jelly beans tempted me with their sweet, sweet goodness. The cocktails proved too much for my willpower.

Oh well, maybe next year :/

Gaz asked me the other night “so you’ve had no sugar AT ALL this week?”

And I said “well yes, I’ve had a banana, and they contain fructose”

And after some further discussion he went on to ask with a raised eyebrow, “who made up these rules anyway?”

Well, I did. I did because nowadays I see sugar added to absolutely everything. Meat, pies, pastries, bread, drinks, sauces and stocks. In fact, if last year’s challenge taught me anything it’s that virtually everything that you can find in a supermarket inside a wrapper has sugar added to it in one form or another (and yet we wonder why we have a problem with obesity? Anyway…)

I figure that given our dependency on sugar, and the way it’s hidden in things to play tricks on our brain to make us want more, giving up sugar would be a fairly tough challenge. Certainly more tough than just not drinking booze for a month (which actually was a breeze — don’t know what all the fuss is about) and probably equally as beneficial for my insides if not more so!

Obviously not all sugar is created equal, and lots of foods naturally turn to sugars in the body, so that’s where the “double standards” comes in. Banana – fine, because the sugar is not added as an ingredient; can of coke? Not so much. Of course that doesn’t answer why I’m avoiding fruit juices as well – that’s more of a distaste for the juicing fad which sees a bucketload of high fibre fruit and veg (yay!) blitzed into a mushy sugary mess (boo!) but let’s not upset the diet and “lifestyle” bloggers here by dissing smoothies ;)

So what’s the shiz with my actual progress? Well, so far so good. I’m not seeing any noticeable withdrawal symptoms, nor any obvious weight loss. I’ve had a couple of random cravings, some of which are probably hormone-fueled and some my habit of comfort eating during times of stress, but have managed to completely avoid all obvious sugar sources. I did have one potential slip-up on Sunday where I consumed some salad which had a smidgen of dressing on that PROBABLY had sugar in, but I can’t be sure so am not counting it as a failure. I’ll let you lot decide if that’s cheating or not :p

• Izz’s first day of school went fine :) the highlight of her day was apparently the chocolate pudding she had after lunch
• I’m on day 3 of Sugar Free September 2014 and apart from some odd cravings on the 1st, which I think were hormone-driven, I’m doing fine
• I’ve gained a new geek t-shirt, by thieving it from Gaz ;)

:D

Despite having moaned at length over the past 10 years about advertising on personal blogs, the rise (and fall) of “Pay Per Post” and networks of that ilk, I took the decision this morning to drop an adsense advert on my blog sidebar.

I am aware that this makes me a giant hypocrite, that some of you will promptly cry “eurgh” and never visit again, but it turns out that we all have our limits and being able to buy my ex out of the mortgage so that I can keep a roof over my kid’s heads is mine.

:)

Despite the fact that you’re all sat watching — refreshing regularly — to monitor the progress of my blog’s live development (you are, right?) I thought I’d give a run down of what’s happened so far, and what’s yet to come…

• New search bar across the top so you can easily search from anywhere (and follow me on twitter etc ;))
• New logo, which was originally designed for my pro site, which I’ll be using as my personal ‘brand’ from now on
• The Projects and WordPress sections are in – although yet to be populated
• New (unfinished) About page
• The background kitty is in… poor squished background kitty
• Everything is responsive — figured it was about time (although tweaks need to be made)

Next on my list to fix…

• Finish About, Projects and WordPress pages
• Check & style archives / search page
• Properly style up drop-down menus
• Sidebars in general.. they’re a bit meh at the minute
• Footer
• Revamp Scripts section (release new version of BellaBook)

After that I need to start populating with content, start linking my pages together properly, related posts plugin etc. I’m thinking about starting a regular(ish) newsletter but I’m not sure what the demand for that would be?

Anyway, there we go. Feel free to share your thoughts so far (and any bugs – although I probably know about them)

Or in other words: fucking things up as I go along :D I’ve decided that if I’m to follow through on my vague-ish plan I need to just crack on with it because if I start development offline it’ll go the way of 99% of my projects and never see the light of day. At least this way you get to see / bug-test as I go along, and I have motivation to keep working on it. Or that’s the theory anyway.