..that will be crafted into a Marathon Duck!

I have had a rather rough few weeks. After the Clapham 10km I have been feeling quite poorly.
There have been several reasons.

I was suffereing from stomach cramps from the wheat intolerance I was in denial about (previously blogged). All week I had been training and suffering. I began to realise it really was from what I was eating and not a bug.

This then turned into another issue of what to eat to refuel! I was running on empty by the end of the week, and my confidence had taken a real knocking.

On the day of the race it was very hot and that Duck suit is not a cooler! I kept up my fluids but my energy reserves were completely gone by 9km.

The following week was spent doing some research, trying some new receipes and really learning to accept I just can't walk into a bakers and buy a yummy cake, or enjoy duck wraps, or peck at biscuits... all wheat, (even spelt) was off the agenda forever.

I then had the fun that both my ears had become blocked, an annual problem! With loss of hearing, the build up of pressure leading to a perpetual headache, and loss of balance, meant I couldn't run.

I had to follow the ear wax softening regime before I could get my ears syringed.
Today, I was able to get them sorted and I am (nearly) back to normal.

On Sunday, my 62 year old Mother suffered a major stroke. She had had a heart attack at 50, and has been treated for Angina from 55. My Uncle and her Father have had similar health issues on a similar time line. Major shake up and wake up call. I have been medication for high blood pressure and high cholestral for six years. I shall be 50 in just four years time.

So now, with returned gusto and medical incentives to get back on track with the training I thought it would be a better idea to enlist some professional help. A Personal Trainer. My body is now a real conundrum of medical issues which could do with some advice on how to insure I am not damaging myself, and how to strengthen and beat the food concerns.

Gareth France is a Personal Trainer who came to visit me today for an initial consultation.
Poor man endured my constant chatter for two hours. Mostly relevant chatter! I was building the picture of me before I started the training, all events of the last couple of years with my training, and what has happened recently. He listened, took notes, and smiled. A mighty Challenge in the guise of the Rambling Duck for him!

He is now putting together a training programe for me, and putting me in touch with his Nutrionalist, to help take me forward to the next stage of my training. It's getting serious now, and the A-Team has been enlisted! I shall be continueing with the training blog then so you can watch the change. The Personal Trainer is like the Potter at the Potter's wheel crafting the lump of clay into the perfect model of athletism! (see images below!)

My training will continue in earnest on 1st September after the family holiday. A holiday which will see me pack my trainers and garmin, so I can continue my own basic running program as I have got the Pangbourne 10km race on 11th September!

Then its the 10mile Great South Race, 30th October! Not a lot of time!

But I am a determined Duck..I am motivated by the charities and people I help, as well my personal desire to show I can run. Plus it's the best way to thank those who help me!

Oh I wish I could eat it all without any problems!

Over the last couple of years I have been fighting a real battle with weight. I do so much walking and training you’d think I’d be skinny as a rake! Sadly not.

For some strange reason the weight just keeps sneaking on. I have tweaked my food and tried a variety of diets and ideas, with the help of doctors, dieticians and fitness instructors. I have foxed them all!

My regular intake of porridge, Soreen  Malt loaf, and some Nakd bars have now been crossed off my list as I am now trying the latest notion, at the request of the doctor, and that is to be totally wheat free. Not even oats or barley! Or spelt or buckwheat! Not even if it says gluten free! Nothing with the four wheat proteins, from the same grass family as wheat, is to pass my lips for three months. I haven’t been diagnosed as a coeliac, but there is the possibility that I do have a high wheat sensitivity, and my body sees wheat as a toxin. It stores it as fat cells on my body.

Being totally wheat-free is not easy. You only have to try giving up wheat to realise that it is contained in all of the foods I most enjoy, pasta, bread, cakes, biscuits pastries. Its in sauces, yoghurts, gravy..oh the list is endless. Wheat is in all processed and ready made food. Zimples..I think of my Nana and go back to basics and cook food from scratch. I was brought up on Lebonese/mediteranean style cooking. Hmm, just lacking the sunshine! I also have to plan ahead better. Cant do a wrap or sandwich for an easy lunch. Nowt wrong with a potato, sweetcorn & hard egg salad though. Just have to think, plan and relax. Food is to be enjoyed.

Wheat has a number of problems. Firstly, because wheat is so predominant in Western food, we tend to eat too much of it. When we eat a particular food too often we are in danger of developing a food intolerance. The reason why wheat and dairy are the most common triggers for food intolerance is because they are the most common foods in our diets. Eating a particular food too often can cause the digestive enzymes to be overwhelmed. When this happens the particular food is not digested properly. This is more likely to happen with foods which are not particularly easy to digest in the first place. Wheat is not an easy food to digest.

Wheat is highly sprayed and heavily processed. During processing wheat germ is stripped from the grain and this reduces its nutritional content. This means that the body is less equipped to process the toxins from the chemicals from spraying and from the refining process. The liver quickly becomes overwhelmed and stores the toxins in fat cells. Secondly, the wheat protein, called gluten, is very hard to digest.

When we become intolerant to a food eating it causes bloating and water retention making us appear overweight. When we cut out that food the bloating and water retention subsides.

Secondly, when we eat a food we are intolerant to it affects the efficiency of our digestive system. Poor digestion causes constipation which means we are not getting rid of waste products. This causes the toxin levels in our body to rise and the liver stores the toxins in fat cells. As the toxin levels rise, fat cells are created and maintained to assist with storage of toxins. When cut out the food we are intolerant to, our toxin levels fall and the body disposes of the fat cells.

I am having fasting blood tests each month for the next three months to monitor the effect a wheat free diet has on me. I am also living by a diabetic diet, as there is also the implication I may have diabetes 2. I also have a high cholestral which was lowered with the use of statins. These didn’t agree with me, and I often had cramps. I don’t want my biggest muscle, the heart, cramping out on me, so I came off those tablets. My cholestral is also being monitored to see if I need to go back on the tablets, as I may have a genetic issue, so diet alone may not help me.

I also have high blood pressure, and this doesn’t ever seem to go below 138/92 despite being on 160mg valsartan per day, walking a minimum of 10 miles a day, training and eating a sensible diet. So all the above tweaks should help too. I am also cutting out caffeine completely. I already drink 2 litres or more of water a day, and lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, pulses and nuts.

Yes, I am a doctor’s conundrum at the moment. But other than that I am fit, healthy and well, with a cheery disposition.  Hopefully my issues can be solved with a change in my diet; some people don’t have that option. Thinking of you with fibromyalgia, cancer, crohns… and so may other illnesses where research is still a long way off from finding a cure.

Thankfully, Nakd do have a range of gluten free bars that I can still enjoy. When I am doing my long distance hikes and endurance training I like to have a quick energy fix of a delicious moist bar. There are 7 yummy flavours to choose from - Cashew Cookie, Cocoa Orange, Ginger Bread, Pecan Pie, Berry Delight, Cocoa Delight & Cocoa Mint.100% raw 35g bars that are all natural, no added sugar, gluten, wheat, dairy & GM free. Just raw fruit & nuts cheerfully smooshed together in Wales. Try them! You can order mixed cases of the GF bars here.

This was a slow week with a few hiccups for work. The children are I work with all seemed under the weather and a little unhappy. I had to dig deep to keep them happy and relaxed; a hard task, which had me frazzled at the end of each session. I had to sing a lot of nursery rhymes, do a lot of walking, play some very silly tot games such as peekaboo and This little Piggy..repeatedly, over and over and over again! But that is what my job is about. Whatever it takes to make sure they stay calm and relaxed, and going home with a smile, Thus the parents know that their child is in safe hands, with an agenda just for their pleasure, giving the families true respite.

I have a repertoire of songs and things to do for all the age groups, just based on my own experiences, plus supportive television programmes and reading material. A little research is literally child’s play.

So, after my intense full on day, how do I relax and recover?  It’s not always good or healthy to reach for a glass of wine or box of chocolates? I rly on walking. It truly is my therapy. Walking is my exercise and sanity too. I enjoy a few other things too such as reading, swimming, cooking, photography.. But walking means I can just put on my shoes, grab the dog and go!

As I have mentioned before, I have problems keeping my weight off. I am past the need for it to be a vanity thing; it is more about health and the benefits. Through walking I have made lots of friends, all who enjoy being outdoors and joining up with me for a variety of different sorts of “walks”.  It could just be dog walk, a ramble along the river, or a power walk with Nordic walking poles to really get a good cardio and all over body work out! I also love the freedom to walk for miles, camp over night, then continue walking further on – long distance backpacking.  I fit walking in daily so that it is not seen as a necessary evil to lose weight or diet! The dreaded words!!

I have the same view of eating. I love my food. I have done a thousand different types of diets! And what I have learned? Some one else gains pounds from my lack of loss of lbs!!! I have been put off certain types of food due to the faddy diets – I struggle with wet food such as smoothies and soups, due to various meal replacement shakes.

So, in order for me to get a balance on losing weight and getting fit I have a cunning plan. Embrace life and the fun things in life! Move more and eat less! I have just signed up for the Team Warrior 90 Day Challenge.  I have set myself the target to lose a stone in weight, drop a dress size and be able to do a 10km walk in a faster time than I currently do. It is important I have fun and don’t feel deprived! I want to be able to chew gorgeous tasting food, enjoy a glass of wine, enjoy the gym, a swim and improve my levels of fitness for extra energy and strength.

I will use the Cardio tracker app on my phone to map & record my time and distance, logged on a google map. I will use a Polar Heart rate monitor to record my calorie burn and effort, so I can see an improvement in fitness. Plus I can see what my calorie burn is to know not to exceed a certain calorie amount, which I think will be about 1500 calories. I will show an indication of calories eaten, but not obsess about it. In the past I have been to obsessed with tape measures, scales, calorie or point counts etc and really it should be about a whole heap of other factors to record the results. Cook good food from scratch with minimal oils,sugars and salts; eat less, move more! Avoid processed and/or refined foods; just choose natural.

I have taken a photo of the vital statistics and will be quite brave to show them here. In 90 days time I am hoping there will be some movement on the tape and scales in a positive direction; plus a photo showing some good times for the 10km walking! With improved fitness and shedding of some unwanted pounds I am hoping to be even bouncier with more zest and energy to be out there doing as a Duck does best. waddling long distance for charity!

Day 1   
Weight     13st 12   
Neck         36cms   
Chest        115cms   
R. Bicep    30.5cms   
Waist        105cms   
Hips           112cms   
R. Thigh      63.5cms