Justine Forrest: Great training week, feeling really good. Have str...

Justine Forrest: Great training week, feeling really good. Have str...: Great training week, feeling really good. Have streamlined our diets for the last month or so. Trying so hard not to eat any additives or pr...

Great training week, feeling really good. Have streamlined our diets for the last month or so. Trying so hard not to eat any additives or preservatives. Everything is made fresh from scratch and I'm only allowing myself  my banana cake for my sweet cravings. All our bread is home-made and I've even dusted off my pasta making machine. It's not that much different to what we're used to, as I always make bread and cook everything from scratch anyway. Always have done. It's surprising how much cheaper making everything from scratch is and I also get an extra kick out of the fact I'm providing my family with the best I can afford. I'm as busy as the next person, so having no time is no excuse. I think it helps that I'm an immensely organised person. Oh and that thingy called -Tesco food delivery service is also an ingenious invention hahaha, couldn't manage with out it!
What a fab weekend I've just had. Cooked and baked for two days solid and then on the second day a friend of mine, a professional photographer, came round to take a foody shoot of my creations. Charlotte did an amazing job, everything looked so darn delicious. It was so much fun and I will reveal the reasons 'why and what for' eventually!!! hehehe. Check out Charlotte's website :- http://www.holden-photographer.co.uk/Site/Welcome.html
Today is cake Thursday, but because i'm being really, really good I'm now re-naming it 'Healthy Snack' Thursday, well for the moment anyway. I will always 'NEED' cake in my life, some people like a drink, I have cake as my vice. I tell myself it could always be worse and that way I don't  beat myself up about eating a big slab or two lol. My moto in life is - 'you can have your cake & eat it', I'm living proof lol.
Oh and if you do fancy eating or giving cake this Valentines Day, why not check out my website for my award winning chocolate brownies :- http://www.browniesbyjustineforrest.com/ ♥
 

Freezing Febuary!

Keeping very busy at the moment, have so much in my head. Training's back on track, too. The thing with me is, I've noticed over the last 3 years, everytime I achieve something - I then want to better it straight away, I spend my life not giving myself enough credit for things I've done and beat myself up about everything!!  It's not such a bad thing, it certainly drives me on to want more for me & my family. It's like my running, I hate it most of the time, the only time I actually enjoy a run is when we're heading home, but it wont beat me, I will carry on until I'm getting some kind of pleasure out of it. If it wasn't for the charity that I'm doing it all for, then it might be a very different story!?!  I dont know if I'll keep running when the London Marathon & the Great North Run are done this year, but I have actually inquired  about places in the New York Marathon for next year, yes I'm mad, but anyone who knows me well enough will tell you how determined I am when I put my mind to it!!!  Went for a long run first thing Sunday morning with my hunk of hoo. It was such a beautiful morning, made even better by the fact it was my ickle mans 11th birthday, yay. He had a lovely birthday weekend and got very spoilt  'obviously' lol. Monday we went back to Alder Hey for his big M.O.T. Everything went really well and his consultant was very pleased with his progress and he dropped two of his drugs. Now he can go back to playing his beloved footy and also playing out at break times at school. He came back the other day saying he feels much better when he's playing and he doesn't get out of puff as much and even his friends have noticed too, bless!
January's always a very busy appointment time for all of us. On average we have 4 appointments a week between Christopher, Millie and myself. Millie was back at RPH on Thursday to see her cleft lip & palate team from Alder Hey. It went ok, Millie now needs more surgery at the back of her throat because there's a large gap in her muscles there and they think it will help with her speech if corrected. They also think because of Millie's Cerebral Palsy she may have a delay on her speech and signals coming from her brain. That was a shock for us all, but it does fit with things she's experienced academically. This will be Millie's 8th operation and I know it's going to be the hardest one for her because most of her previous surgery she cant remember because she was so little. They think Millie's op will be this summer at some point and it will all be done at Alder Hey!!!  She wont be able to eat any solids for 3 weeks post op, but Millie's been through all that before when she wasn't allowed solids for over 6 weeks.
Today, I've been for an M.R.I scan at Fulwood hospital. Over the last year I've been for a series of tests. Once upon a time I would never go near a hospital for myself or to any well womans clinic because of my size. I didn't want anyone ever knowing my weight as I was so ashamed about it. So now when they send for me to have any tests I automatically want them done to make sure I'm fit and well. Today was an experience, the tunnel thing I could cope with, it was the noise and I suppose it didn't help that I needed a wee very badly and I had to stay in this tunnel, very still for half an hour. While I was lying there, I was taken back to when it was my 26th birthday and Millie went into hospital to have a C.A.T scan on her brain. She was just 6 weeks old and we chose not to  have her sedated to keep her still. She, as she always is, was amazing and stayed still and never cried the whole time she was strapped down and inside the scan tunnel. I remember when the results came back a few weeks later, they stated that Millie had a shrinkage on one side of her brain and we should keep an eye on her to see if she was developing normally. Another moment in our lives when I felt my heart had been ripped out and blamed myself for Millie's problems. We were then told  to wait and see how Millie developed. Up until that point, apart from Millie having fits for the first few days of her life and having a cleft lip and palate, we thought there was nothing else wrong. Millie carried on showing no signs of brain damage, then at 6 months old our health visitor thought there was something wrong down the left side of Millie's body and sent her to The Willows in Preston to be assessed, that's when her Hemi-pleghia - cerebral palsy- was diagnosed. Thinking about that today made me feel so grateful, Millie could have so easily been confined to a wheelchair and mentally not with us. She's such a fighter.
Another thing that struck me was the size of the tunnel itself. There wasn't that much room around me, I certainly wouldn't have fitted in when I was 14 stone heavier, even if they had have squeezed me in there!! They play you a cd while your're lying there and the one they put on for me was the same cd I use to listen to when I first started walking around Longridge to lose weight, now that did make me chuckle, if it wasn't for the nurse telling me before I went into the tunnel to keep very still I would have been dancing away to the tunes and smiling!!!!!  x    

Last week of January!

Well what a week! Christopher sang & danced his heart out at the M.E.N on Tuesday night, how proud was I?? I cried my eyes out the whole 2 hours & 15 minutes, never been as proud, it was immense and so overwhelming. He did pay the price though and didn't go to school the next day because he was so tired and lifeless, so we spent the day snuggling and eating the left over crimbo chocolates as a treat!!!!. If you all hadn't noticed 'I love all my kids so much it hurts'. Millie and Alex also had a great week. Millie got her school report, which was glowing as ever and her parents evening was the same. All her teachers said she's a joy to teach and a fantastic member of society. She tries her hardest at everything she does, which we already knew because if there's one thing I try to instill in my children it's that anything is possible and you should give every opportunity a go and put 100% into it, which I think they all do. Sometimes, when I pick Millie up from school and watch her walking towards me, she totally blows my mind. She's had so many hurdles to get over in life and she's achieved so much, all this with her disabilities, she is truly inspirational and she certainly inspires me on a daily basis. Alex had a great week too, her training session on Sunday with the Lancashire Girls Golf Team went well and she also had a great write up about all her golf achievements over the last couple of years in the Longridge Golf Club news letter/e-mail. Alex is the quiet one of our family, but don't let that trick you into thinking she's soft, because that girl has got some serious courage and strength going on.
I've hit the wall with my training for the London Marathon this week and everything is overwhelming me. My running and gym work are going well but I'm just feeling the pressure of keeping focused. I'm so hungry all the time and I'm trying so hard to eat as healthy as I can because I do understand the importance of it when your training so hard. Hoping next week will be a turning point after we get this birthday weekend over with. I always struggle at this time every year since Christopher was born, mainly because we went through so much for the first nine weeks of his life as he hung in there. It's harder for me this year because of  what he went through last summer. Things could have turned out so differently for us all and that frightens the life out of me. It's just something I have to find a way of dealing with and get myself out of this- end of January rut- I'm in, I'm so tearful all the time.
Sunday will be Christopher's 11th birthday and that in itself is an amazing achievement with everything he's been through in his short life. So we make every birthday a special one. Going through what Christopher has keeps me grounded and makes me not take life for granted, as there's always someone worse off and Christopher is doing amazing. He's been through it and he'll always have his heart condition, which he'll need treatment & drugs for, but hopefully he will carry on doing well and achieving his dreams. He goes back to Alder Hey next Monday for a M.O.T on his heart and hopefully he'll have some good news about one of his drugs, we'll see. For the moment he carries on being closely monitored because of the surgery he had last year. Hopefully, someday, his appointments and tests will go down in numbers and he can get back to playing his beloved football, but if that's the price we have to pay for sharing our lives with him then it's a small price. So today I've been ordered to make 2 fudge cakes for Christophers'  birthday cakes, one for Sunday and one for his class at school to enjoy. Every year when he blows out his candles we all wish for the same thing, so far our wishes have come true and Christopher carries on getting stronger and stronger. Here's to many more wishes coming true for my ickle man. Good luck to Christopher for Monday at Alder Hey Children's Hospital and hopefully good news! xxxxx

3rd week of Jan ♥

Went out for a lovely surprise romantic meal with my hunk of hoo this week. He even surprised me with a gorgeous new top. I do pull his leg, I call him my Gok Wan/Vidal Sassoon, I try not to give him too much credit - it would only go to his head, but he does have really good taste. He's great to take shopping as he'll tell you exactly what you look like when trying clothes on, he definitely isn't one to say everything looks good on you and he never gets bored, bonus! At times it does get a little annoying that he's so honest, but all my friends think that's a wonderful thing and they all wish their fellas were like that. I will give him 10 out of 10 for being very romantic and having good taste, well he did marry me lol.!!!!
Well I've had a fantastic response to posting some of my recipes on my facebook wall, so much so that I'm working on a fantastic idea with the lovely Rosemary Melbourne, watch this space.
My little Christopher is singing at the M.E.N next week with his after school 'Glee Club'. He's beyond excited, bless. We're all going to watch him and I'm pretty sure, even though it's at the M.E.N and it's such a massive place, we'll still be able to hear him, think he takes after his Mummy!!
It's also Christopher's 11th birthday on the Sunday of that week and he's having a friend to sleep over and they're going to watch WWE all night, apparently. So proud of that little boy and what he's achieved in his short life, he's overcome such adversity and come out the other end still smiling and happy. On the Monday after his birthday, he has another big M.O.T at Alder Hey Children's Hospital to see how things are. It's not all been plan sailing since spending all summer in hospital with him, I can tell you, and at times he's such a huge worry for us all. He's come home from school twice this week because he's not been well and then he's had a series of what I think are heart palpitations, nothings ever simple,  I do hope this is just a glitch and he carry's making a good recovery from his surgery.
Third week into January and so many people are starting to wane with their NY resolutions, it is hard to stay focused and on track, but by February things should start getting easier, you just have to persevere in whatever you're trying to stick to, whether it's staying fit or to lose weight or to stop smoking etc etc, keep strong and carry on. You've got to be in it to win it! Summer will soon be here and what a different person you'll feel.
My marathon training is going well, my leg feels much better after being fitted once again for new running shoes. Back to pounding those Longridge streets. Started going out at 6am for a run before life starts for the day, then coming home to microwaved porridge made with water and a touch of skimmed milk, honey, sultanas and dried apricots. You should try it, it certainly makes a difference having a good healthy breakfast inside  you and it's slow releasing too, so keeps you going all morning!!!

week 2

It's now the second week of January and I'm still on it like 'SONIC' lol.
Had to go to my osteopath this week, as my left shin started killing me, even to walk on never mind run. The results were that I've got a torn tendon/shin splint, so I've had a few days off running and upped my other gym training to compensate. So just waiting for my new trainers to be delivered now then I'll see how my leg feels.
Been asked for lots of recipes over the last few weeks, so I've started a recipe wall on my facebook page. Its a mix of cheap family friendly meals, mixed with healthier lifestyle tasty choice meals & snacks, I've had an amazing response about them with lots of comments about me writing a cookery book with my recipes!!??
I'm blogging on a Thursday this week and Thursdays only mean one thing in the Forrest home - 'Cake Thursday' lol. Well that's what I've named it, as every Thursday I make a different cake/pudding and I take some down to the gym for the personnal trainers Darren & Mark to taste test for me before the family get the rest. Today it's my families favorite, it's Brioche Bread & Butter Pudding with proper vanilla ice-cream. It's my hubby's new  favourite. See, that's one of the things I do try to advise people and get across to them, a little bit of what you fancy does you good as long as you know when to stop and you don't go onto eat the whole family size dish full!!??!! I used to!!!
I truly believe in life -  anything is possible and you can achieve your goals, you've just got to want them enough!

Week One!

The first week of January is nearly  done & dusted, hope everyone's feeling fit as a fiddle and there's no January blues going around??!!??  Me, I'm rearing to go!!
Spent a lot of time this week at hospitals, on appointments , and I am happy to say no great changes in everyone's health here at the Forrest Family (which is always a good thing), oh, apart from, after a year of on going test's, I've just been diagnosed with Endometriosis. I've still got more test's to have next month to see how my consultant is going to treat it. I feel good apart from the extra bleeding from other areas when i'm on my periods and I also feel rubbish and have heavy legs at those times too. In saying that I ran on the treadmill at my gym for 2 hours the day I was diagnosed and I felt flipping fine'ish, considering I was on my periods and I felt I was dragging lead weights around on my legs !! Please believe me, I only ever brag about my running because I'm still in shock that I can. I spent so many years  morbidly obese, not being able walk very far. Also, I might sound like I enjoy running but I can categorically state 'I HATE IT'. The only time I enjoy it is when I've finished a run and I feel amazing and obviously I do it all for my charity, which I'm working very hard raising money and awareness for. I do think keeping a healthy diet and doing lots of exercise helps with lots of conditions though, I know from experience that when I was 14 stone heavier, I had lots of medical issues and 'ALL' of them have cleared up since losing my weight, I know it doesn't always work for everything and everyone but really  it has to help.
My training for the London Marathon is going really well and I feel good now all the Christmas junk food has been eaten or put away and we're eating extra portions of fruit and veg. I hate all those temptations at Christmas, but I'm pleased to say I didn't put on any weight, well I don't think I did! You see I didn't weigh until today so as to not mess my head up and now I am the same weight as before the party season began. One of my top tips is to hide those 'evil' weighing scales. I spent years being a slave to them and really, at the end of the day, it's all about how you feel, you can tell from your clothes if you've lost or put on weight, I don't need my scales to tell me this. It totally messes with my head, if I've lost but only a bit I'm disappointed!!! If I've gained because of water retention and it's that time of the month, then I'm gutted again and I'm more likely to seek solace in junk foods.Once a  month is plenty. Through my weight loss, I use'd to get Chris to hide our scales in our loft because I knew I couldn't get up to get them!!! It really does help.
Well, I've had Sushi for lunch courtesy of Tesco's home delivery. I just love fish and now I live a healthy lifestyle I pick healthy tasty things to eat. It's the quality with me these days not the quantity. Don't get my wrong, I couldn't afford to feed the whole family everyday on this stuff, but for a treat for myself when I'm training so hard, it's nice and it gives me something to look forward to at meal times. Tea tonight will be a large brown pitta bread topped with a low cal houmous, topped off with slices of red pepper, cherry tomatoes and red onions, then for pud, natural yogurt, strawberries, blueberries, honey, dried apricots and grape nuts. Then much later on, when we're all snuggled up watching the telly, I'll join the family and have an options hot chocolate drink, well it is Friday night lol!!!
Oh, before I go, the feature editor from Chat Magazine rang earlier to tell my my featured article about my weight loss has been published in their monthly magazine (NOT their weekly one) It's a special addition magazine all about weight loss and it's on sale now and is out all January.
All year round friends and people I don't even know get in touch with me to ask about how I lost my weight and have I got any tips and handy hints for them, no more so than this past week. I do always try to help everyone, well I've been there and come out the other side and still maintain it, I call myself a recovering foodaholic because that is what I am, I will always struggle with food, but now I finally know how to mange it and stay healthy. It's really rewarding for me to be able to pass on my knowledge and I really do hope it helps others. There really is no better way than taking advice from someone who has experienced all of these issues and achieved massive lifestyle changes. I spent the last 20+ years being morbidly obese and thinking the only option was surgery (that was no option for me) or diet groups, I am extremely pleased to say it can be achieved and maintained all on your own, I am living proof!!! x