Ouch!



Well, I still can't do any exercise, since I can barely walk. I don't have an injury, I just ache. That Davina workout is so good (and I have tried a few). It really does work if you put the effort in, but my inner-thighs and my bottom and the back of my legs are so sore, I was aware every time I moved in my sleep. That is how much my fitness has slipped since February. I'd been doing Davina's two DVD's for three months almost every day and had no problem doing that. I know that the next time I workout (maybe tomorrow) the aching will be less that time. Fitness and stamina do improve pretty quickly.

Anyway, reasons the Davina Power of Three DVD is so good:

1. It's not namby-pamby dancing.
2. It's a no-nonsense workout that gets straight to the point with no messing about.
3. It's hard work and really is good for stamina.
4. You don't need a lot of room to do it.
5. It incorporates free-weights. Resistance training is a very important part of exercising.
6. There are hundreds of squats in this workout, but there are lots of variations, so they're not boring.
7. The stomach section is good. I hate stomach exercises but there aren't so many in this that it's beyond me. But there are enough to make a difference.
8. It really gets your heart-rate up with intervals of cardio throughout.
9. I like Davina.

If I don't feel like doing the whole of the Power of Three workout, I'll do the cardio-box from Davina's 30 minute workout DVD. Now, that is fun! Lots of springing about and kicking out and punching. It's very upbeat and burns about 170 cals (as opposed to the 350 or so for the Power of Three).

Now is the time to apologise for the artistic quality of my photos on this blog. I haven't been worrying too much about presentation, in favour of just posting a pic of something as it is. So, please excuse spills, cutlery, and general lack of effort!

Weight today 8st 11

Fat 29%

Food consumed:

• shredded wheat with a little milk
• spicy couscous with spinach
• almonds
• some peas
• butternut squash roasted with onion, in balsmaic vinegar & olive oil, chicken with hot chilli coating, roasted punnet of cherry tomatoes and green and yellow pepper
• 4 pints of wtar
• 1 cup of black coffee

No fruit today, as I've run out and it's shopping day tomorrow.

Recipe for Spicy Couscous

Bunch of spring onions, red or yellow pepper, 1tsp each of cumin, coriander and paprika. Generous pinch of saffron. 225g of couscous. 350ml of stock (I use chicken stock from a cube). A few cloves of garlic.

Stir and fry the crushed garlic, coriander, cumin and paprika in just a little olive oil for a minute (but don't burn the garlic!). Add the stock, saffron, chopped spring onions and chopped pepper. Heat until it comes to the boil and then pour in the couscous. Give it a good stir. Take it off the heat and put a tight lid on it. After 5 minutes or so, stir it and it's ready! You can squeeze some lime juice on, or add pine nuts or whatever. I'm not afraid of adding a little more oil, myself. I don't really count calories but I like to have some idea of how much of something I can eat without being a piggy-wig. Cooked using 15ml of oil, there are about 1000cals in this recipe. The weight of the whole lot, cooked, is around 750g. A portion of about 200g is approx 280cals (ish). When on a diet you must consume enough calories to stop your metabolism from slowing down. You must eat enough.

Yum yum yum.