The Great Slump and How It Ended.

I was doing well folks.  I was frugal.  I was tending a happy (if not overly productive) garden.  I was enjoying productive crafts as my spare-time entertainment.  I was on the road to a better, more natural and environmentally friendly life.

Then came what I am now referring to as 'The Great Slump'.  The last few months (half a year really) has seen my efforts and my general diet do a bomb-dive while frivilous spending has spiralled upwards. 

I was eating real trash (read - corn chips with BBQ sauce and cheese in the microwave for dinner,  take-out more often than not, carb-only meals based usually on pasta for other times etc.) and knowing it was bad for me but not having enough care or drive to fix myself back onto the straight and narrow. 

I often didn't have anything to cook or eat in the kitchen because I refused to buy veges and fruit at Coles/Woolworths but then didn't take the time to go to the markets.  Or I'd waste my food budget on other things and then say that I could eat "poor" for the rest of the week until payday.  I bought meat but it languished in my freezer because I didn't have any veges to cook with it.  I'd get home from work and look at my disgustingly messy kitchen and decide it was all too much effort to cook tonight.  Breakfast every day was a cup of tea and nothing more.

And thus it dragged on, getting worse and worse.

But I have come to the stage in my life where the consequences of a lacks-a-daysie view on diet and excercise make themselves known much more than was ever the case in my youth.   So it was that I found myself in a doctor's office with a month-long chest pain and lung tightness.....   I've since undergone some xrays and blood tests and am waiting on the next appointment to find out more about the state of my health.

But one thing is sure - it was the kick in the pants that made me realise that I cannot continue on as I've been.

Doctor's orders were to take in leafy vegetables, lots of other veges, fruit and nuts.  Keep up the dairy and yogurt (she was exceedingly pleased by my home-made bread and yogurt).  Much more protein - fish, chicken and meat.  Much less salt, sugar and fat.  

You know... sensible, no-brainer stuff.

What ensued was a giant shop for vegetables and other health-it-up ingredients at Coles that night.  I got home and cleaned enough of my kitchen to cook an omlette with fried tomato, onion and silverbeet.   Every day since has seen a packed lunch filled with vegetables and a piece of fruit and dinner has been cooked each night.   I've been choosing water over tea at work and  had only one piece of chocolate in the week. 

Yesterday I signed up for a Food Connect subscription which runs through to November.   Fresh vegetables and fruit without the markets or supermarkets - all pre-paid.   But more about that tommorrow.   I've got two chickens in my backyard who will one day in the future produce a steady supply of eggs.

I'm also promising myself to make sure that I have one weekend-day in a fortnight is booked in as 'at home time' - no matter what invitations or events come my way.   I need that time to get my house and my life in order and to rest and recoup.

And I also have promised myself to take the time to reflect on life, my journey through it and how I intend to improve the way I waste  spend it. 

So hopefully that means you'll be seeing a fair few more blog entries from me.