London - functions in Blitz, but snow too much to deal with! Obvioulsy ran out of salt too!

As you can see from the photo London had some pretty deep snow, starting Sunday 1st Feb (my birthday) and really picking up Sunday night to cause a transport disaster for millions on Monday morning. The headline in a lot of the papers is that London can cope with the Blitz at wartime, yet cannot cope with snow....... the excuse being thrown around is that we haven't had snow in these volumes in 18 years!!! I can understand if buses (yep the great RED London bus we all know and love) were not running in certain areas but NO! a central decision was made to have NO buses in the whole of London yesterday......... At least a lot of snowmen were made and kids had two days off school (pros and cons to that) and there were a lot of fun snowball fights....... but really........ how embarassing that London came to a standstill like that.

Even though most people couldn't get into work yesterday, my route was unaffected so I was at work by 830. Some transport resumed today (like the buses) BUT as the snow became compacted from people walking on it, and grit still wasn't being put down ... and temperatures were still low, the pavements which were lovely and crunchy and picturesque yesterday, were like ice rinks today.

I watch Dancing on Ice on a Sunday, I don't practice it to and from work thank you :-)

I slipped 4 times, but lucky did not fall.......... But gosh when I was younger London DID used to cope with snow and you would see salt everywhere. They didn't even bother to put any on my station platform....Salt was obviously in short supply yesterday and today. They obviously some years ago sold our snow ploughs to the highest bidder... are you telling me they sold our salt tooooooooooo??? And that was probably the action of some bright spark trying to make their excel budget look good...........

Across London more than 1,000 colleges, nurseries, primary and seconday schools closed for a 2nd day today. Ice on the roads (you know the ones WITHOUT salt) made the school run dangerous...........

It's like someone did an order at a dehli and said:
Heavy on the snow and hold the salt!

I love what I read in the london paper tonight:
"Boris is happy to take the credit when things go right; he should show some leadership and take some responsibility when they go wrong".

As I said in the subject heading the buses did not even stop in the BLITZ! The entire bus fleet was suspended yesterday - a measure not even taken during the blitz. 10 out of 11 tube lines were either completely or partially suspended.

And back to Boris (oh Mayor of London - bring back Ken Livinstone!) he was photographed on the london paper tonight jogging and cycling this morning....... oh how VERY dare he! He is jogging ON THE ROAD, on the black bits where the tires clear.......... a clear admission that the pavements were like ice rinks! What message does that send..........? London take to the streets..... stay healthy and keep up your daily run, but do it on the road where you can get knocked over....... or be hit by a car skidding on black ice (there was LOTS of that this morning).. But no....... his road was clear as it was probably covered in camera men! How very contrived and fake and not the least bit endearing.

Boris I would have preferred to see you with a shovel in your hand, talking to workers struggling to get to their offices....... Also the caption under his photo had the audacity to say "true grit" when the WHOLE problem with London is we have not seen one bit of grit...........

And how embarassing that it made International News, so that the whole world now knows we can't cope with 8 inches of snow........

There endeth my rant......... for now.......... Oh and in the photo, I am the one on the left.

Wii Fit and Goodbye to January

It's my birthday tomorrow, and I already know my hubby has got me the Wii Fit that I asked for. Can't "weight" so I went to HMV yesterday after yoga and bought a spare control as I know the Wii only comes with 1 (oh yeah forgot to say, I don't have a Wii, so poor thing, had to buy a Wii toooooooooooo). Anyway, I bought the control, and the game that's just come out, "My Fitness Coach" in anticipation of getting my gift tomorrow.

I just googled Wii Fit in Google Images and the above image came up. That's got me ready to expect to see a screen like that! Oh dear, I bet it will say I am obese, as my weight loss ticker (on my sidebar) tells me my BMI is 30.5. Other resources have told me it is 32. Whatever... it is definitely more than in the image above....... Still can't understand that classes me as obese though, as I am only a size 16 (UK size). Although I suppose I am comfotable at 10.5 stone and I am currently 13.5, so that is obviously sufficient to make me obese.

A blogger a few weeks back (can't remember who) said that she saw herself in the mirror and she was bigger than she thought. I always have that problem. Because if I really really really knew inside, how I look outside, I WOULD do something about it. People reading this will say but YOU ARE doing something about it......... aha .......... well I ate naughties in Portugal like chocolate biscuits etc........ and it hasn't stopped since I got back.......... This week I have even had a few glasses of COKE, and a few years ago when I was mega healthy circa 2003-2006, I would not have even touched coke............ I have eaten a lot of bags of crisps this week, I have had pasta several times, which has not agreed with my stomach AT ALL...... Wednesday night I went food shopping, and the leaks, celery, and 2 cucumbers I bought are STILL in the fridge uneaten........ it's like I have gone into a gear this week, where bad tastes good and good tastes bad. Due to my supergreens knowledge I KNOW exactly what THAT means........ it means I have been acidic all week, which means I crave acid........ whereas when I eat salad, eat veg, drink greens, and drink lots of water I go alkaline, which means I crave veg, salad, and water..... With me, once I flip the switch from acid ON to acid OFF it is actually quite easy, it's just an acid day, so easily turns into an acidic week!!!!!!!!!!!

So I have to say goodbye to January, knowing that I leave it the same way I entered it. Such a shame, when people like Carol Vorderman have proved (with her famous 28 day detox) how much can be achieved in a month. That just reminded me that I have her DVD, so as I am in the sitting room I have just turned it on, so it is now in the background to give me some much needed inspiration. STUPID thing with me is that I enjoy healthy food, so I just have to get better with the self discipline. Monika and Keyur regularly have sticks of celery on their desks and I always grab a couple and munch on them, with the same enjoyment some people would save for chocolate.......... so as long as I make time to be healthy, to prep the food, to buy the food and don't grab naughties when stressed, I would be fine,........ oh and also obviously very important to flip that aforementioned switch so that I am in the right GEAR and craving the right things........ In a blog a few weeks ago you will remember I lost 3 pounds in a few days, due to being alkaline......... yeah I put it back on but at least I know how to do it. I need to just do it AGAIN and this time build up a momentum AND sustain it.

With having gym membership I should not need a Wii Fit, but I just know it will be motivating for me as I am a bit of a techie and ALSO very visual, so if the above screen is anything to go by, I think it may do just the trick. People at work say it gives you your FIT age! I hope mine is not too old, but at least you have the motivation of watching it come down.

I have wanted one for ages, but was also spurred on by Heather's review at Setting Her Free.

Once I am up and running on it, I will write again. Really excited.

Liska Life xx

Health, weight, link to blog post worth reading

Read here, for the blog that contained the following words:

"Maybe we should start wearing cucumbers and avocados around our necks
to ward off the pandemic of acidic FAT that is killing more people than The
Plague. Metabolic and Dietary acidic Fats build up in the body and are stored in
the body fat. Cucumbers and Avocados, together with an Alkalarian Lifestyle,
neutralizes excess acid in the body and prevents acid accumulations and deposits
in the fatty tissues. Excess Acidic Body Fat is the Plague of our generation,
and proper alkaline food intake is the answer to the dis-ease of Acidic Fat,
just like Garlic was the answer to avoiding the acids that caused The
Plague".

Robert O. Young regularly blogs about the benefits of an alkaline lifestyle.

Approach is, lose acid, lose weight, and it works. I need to get back onto it, desperately.

Going to bed, so that's all I have to say for tonight.

Liska Life x

Chocolate is not ALWAYS worth it!!

I bought a Cadbury's Creme Egg on the way to yoga on Friday night. I just had a craving (not for chocolate) for a sugar rush. I felt depleted and lunch seemed so long ago, and I knew it would be too long before I ate again (what with yoga and all). Well an organised dieter has snacks in their bag (don't they). No such luck with yours truly.

So I popped into Tesco Express, bought the aforementioned sin, and ate it. Within a couple of hours I had a spot, which now, 4 days later is like a little boil on the side of my chin.

I had forgotten all about the egg, even though the spot hurts, but it all came flooding back when I just read Busted, at Pasta Queen.



So I just posted the following comment there:

"I bought a cadbury's creme egg on Friday (on the way to yoga) and ate
it! Realised my mistake when I got a spot a couple of hours later, which now
even today, feels like a boil on the side of my chin.I have heard of a second on
the lips, a lifetime on the hips, but now we have "days on the chin" hee
hee. Actually, that's so funny, I think I will post it. Although the spot is not at
all funny".

So yes, another reason not to give in when the chocolate beckons. A fellow blogger - Belinda - recently said "Remember it doesn't taste as good as skinny feels". Good motto I think.

Liska Life

Time to get real

On 14th Jan 2009 I proudly updated my ticker to show a 3 pound weight loss.

On getting back from Portugal I soon discovered that I was back to 13.5 stone.

Well I just weighed myself again and still 13.5 stone. So the scales don't lie, but for the last few days my ticker has been so I sadly just updated it to reflect the fact that I once again have 42 pounds to lose and am once again up at 189 pounds.

I didn't take Super Greens with me to Portugal and have not drunk them since I returned, so I am now off to the cupboard to dig them out and drink a gallon :-) as the days I lost that weight, I WAS drinking my greens. When something is working, you don't stop doing it, unless you are as stupid as me.

So target for 2009 was to lose weight, and here I am 25th Jan, at the same weight I was at Xmas.

I need a big fat kick up the bum.

Bye for now,
Liska Life :-(
x

Stress and eating

We all know there is a huge link between stress and eating.

Well I just found a very very informative and comprehensive blog post about the very subject:

http://www.kundaliniyogablog.com/-2007-09-15-stress-reducers-yoga-and-a-balanced-diet/

Read it all the way down, as it is quite long but well worth a read.

Liska Life x

Today

I spent the day at White Tantric yoga today - it happens once a year in London, always in January. Wanted to sweeten the post with a photo and found this image here.

It was a surprisingly gentle day. And the vibe was very very mellow. None of the kriyas were particularly tough. There was a happy atmosphere which was spot on as Yogi B mentioned the happy word in his opening paragraph today.

Anyway I just had a hot bath to make sure I won't ache tomorrow and I am now off to bed to sleep incredibly well.

Liska Life x

Back on UK soil

Hi

Well, I am back from Portugal.

Having spent so much time with 2 beautiful girls over there (Kristina and Tatiana), daughters of friends: Victor and Emma, I just read Barack Obama's letter to his two girls and it really is beautiful.

I hope the wishes for a better future that we all send to him, spur him on to achieve everything we hope he will. I know one man can't be Superman, but anything is an improvement on George Bush, and Barack Obama is so much more than just change for changes sake. I have faith he will do some great things while at the helm.

With that in mind, I hope I do some great things with my weight loss - back on the wagon tomorrow :-) Holiday over. That is the trick I guess... to focus as if a nation is depending on me.... :-) To be accountable and responsible. Set objectives and targets, and steer back on track if the ship is going off track.

So I am off this computer soon, to unpack, make a very healthy dinner of salmon and veg for hubby and I, and generally get ready for work tomorrow. Bit of input, and the output is always better :-)

Bye for now
Liska Life x

Scales can lie?

I was convinced I had lost some weight in Portugal as my tummy feels flatter :-)
But Emma just leant me her scales and I was heavier than at my heaviest....... so rather than think it is the consequence of holiday eating, we have decided that the scales must be faulty :-)
So I will go on my trusty scales in my funny socks, when I return tomorrow.
Shame to leave this lovely place and my friends, and the 2 gorgeous little girls.

Bye for now, Liska Life x

A great blog

I just love this post.

Basically, writing a "Dear John" letter to food. What a great idea.

If I did that though, I would have to find a new friend. Hee hee.

Bye for now, Liska Life x

Barack Obama's Inaugural Address

I was probably one of the few people on the planet who did not watch the inauguration today, but I have just read the beautiful Inaugural address at:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stateupdates/gGxHZR

Quite an interesting article from the Telegraph here.

George W. Bush left his office with an approval rating of only 22 per cent, making him the most unpopular outgoing president since polls began......... So for Barack, the only way is up...

... and we are all behind him, cheering him on. Right now, I think he is exactly what the world needs.

Here's a toast to the 44th President

Liska Life xxx

Worth a read - Chronic Malaise and the "cure"

This post from Dr Robert O Young is really worth a read.

Liska Life (still happy in Portugal) x

Our funny lives - where we are today

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIG2NM-EieI&feature=channel_page

This video says a lot about where we are today. The economy of now. Worth watching.

Liska Life x

In the Algarve - Portugal today

On holiday in Portugal now to see Victor, Emma, Kristina and Tatiana.

Lovely weather today, but very very early start.

Liska x

ooooooooooh so tired

Ooooooh I have been up since 5.30 a.m. and am absolutely shattered. So off to bed. Got a horrible head cold. Can't wait to have a rest at the weekend. I ate alot of naughty things today if I am honest - but here is the place to declare it, to incentivise myself to get back on the wagon
:-)

Lost 3 pounds and very happy

Got on the scales very late last night and was delighted to discover, now that I am alkaline and on the right track, I have lost 3 pounds.

So very happy about that.

Yiiipppppeeee

Target weight and Google

Google's fitness tip of the day is:
Set a target weight for a specific occasion such as a vacation or family reunion.

Well the date I choose is 6th April and the target weight is 10.5 stone, meaning a loss of 42 pounds.
Note I haven't said a year - hee hee.

Oh go on then - let's make it 2009 :-)

Liska Life x

On the right track and ever so happy

I just wanted to pop on here and say for the last 3 days, I feel really happy and really feel like I am on the "right track".

A couple of posts ago I mentioned being inspired by Metro 15 and NyceNoelle. I continue to be so, and the ripple effects from Sunday's inspiration are still there, i.e. the housework led to Xmas decs being boxed up, beautifully, which led to hubby putting them ever so promptly in the attic.

All that made the flat look beautiful so we had a lovely dinner in a lovely flat last night.

And because I had been food shopping it was of course beautiful fresh salmon and fresh vegetables.

I have drunk about 4 litres today so far - half water - half Super Greens and had porridge with rice milk for breakfast and a huge salad for lunch.

I feel gggggggrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeat and I cannot wait to report some weight loss.

Liska Life xxxx

Google's Fitness Tip of the Day - spooky

I was just about to turn the computer off - I promise, when I scrolled down and noticed Google's fitness tip of the day is:

Surround yourself with people and things that remind you to live a healthy lifestyle.

That is so so so so so in the theme of my post, that I just wrote. So it was "in the air" to have that frame of mind.

This is the point of having a community of bloggers that touch base with each other.

The universe is with us :-)

Liska Life - over and out - for today x

Getting on with it, being inspired and getting out of that Egyptian river called Denial

3 blogs have inspired me.

During the week I could tell that where I had gone wrong was my lack of planning.

Reading a post from the final 15 made me realise my mistake. Metro 15 started planning her cupboards back on Saturday 3rd: http://metrofinal15.blogspot.com/2009/01/plan.html


That day (3rd Jan), I got up early to go to the hairdressers, as one of my new year's resolutions was to use a Toni & Guy voucher I got for Xmas last year. Then when I came back home I took my Mum to a local hairdressers so she'd look nice for going back to Ireland and then we ended up having our nails done :-) Anyway, next day was taking her to the airport, and doing loads of housework once back, but I continue to be inspired by Metro 15.

Then yesterday, I went to "blogs of note" and stumbled across:
http://lifesfreetreats.blogspot.com/2009/01/letters.html
I immediately felt my heart open to leave a comment, about the fact that I felt inspired to write a letter to my Mum. Then today, I thought, yes.........later......

but here comes the 3rd bit of inspiration:

I was reading Nyce Noelle's blog at http://nycenoelle.blogspot.com/, when I discovered that she said:

I really appreciated the blog about letter writing. It gave me the courage
to finish a letter that I was wanting to send...

I thought Liska, get on with it, write that letter, so today, I finally wrote the letter to my Mum, as during weekdays, I am not very good at getting anything done, as I tend to do long hours at work. So it was today or never.

That wasn't the end of Noelle inspiring me though, as in the same post:
http://nycenoelle.blogspot.com/2009/01/i-can-do-this.html

She said:
I feel a little bad because I meant to Blog however I have been so busy
accomplishing my goals I set out to do I did not have time!!!

This made me realise that I got fat because I was in denial, and I do nothing about it because I use avoidance tactics and I realised that my blog has BECOME another of life's avoidance tactics, so at just after 12 o'clock this afternoon I turned the computer off and organised things, so that me and hubby could go food shopping and since I got in, I have done loads of housework, which is such good exercise. So Noelle, thank you for inspiring me to get off my butt; it's meant I can eat healthy this week with all the right food in.

Hubby took me food shopping this afternoon, so I would have the right food in (that was my mistake last week) and the cupboards are finally clear of remnants of Xmas. So this afternoon I spent £80 on veg, more veg, brown rice, buckwheat, lemons, limes, salad etc........

In the last 3 hours I have drunk 3 litres of water. First litre and a half was with fresh lemon juice squeezed in and 2nd was with Innerlight Super Greens in. Trying to make sure I am a little alkaline ready to start big style tomorrow.

To put the above in perspective I will type a bit from "The PH Miracle for Weight Loss":

You must commit to getting all the water your body needs to be healthy, and at a
healthy weight. To that end, take a minute right now to figure out how much water you need, and plan how you're going to get it... Every day you need 1 litre of alkaline water for every 30 pounds you weigh. Thus a 210 pound person needs 7 litres a day.........

For anyone who has the book that is from page 191.

Last time I did it my skin felt fabulous, so I can't wait to be healthy again, and as I am on a strict time-frame, I think this is the healthiest and quickest option for me. Plus when I am being "green" I have alot more energy which could really come in handy. I have spent the last few months tired all the time. In September and October there was 5 weekends in a row where I spent at least one day (sometimes 2) completely vegging in pjamas.

Bye for now, I am going to turn the computer off soon and make myself a very healthy dinner.

Liska Life x