I started 2020 with the best of intentions for the year and for my blog but three things have had a say in my progress i.e coping with the aftermath of an office fire, a change in my commuting pattern and finally, the coronavirus.
Coping with the aftermath of an office fire
My Instagram post on 7 March 2020 articulates my feelings on this matter as follows:
STILL HANGING IN THERE: In January 2020 we finally moved back into our Enfield office following a fire on 5 November 2018. Just a few weeks ago I was looking forward to settling into our newly refurbished office and getting on with life as usual after a hard-fought 15 months of recovery I looked forward to life as usual in a busy Legal Aid firm but fate was not done with us yet and partner illness was to have a say.I read somewhere that 1 in 4 businesses in the UK do not survive an event like flood or fire and I am learning first hand why this is the case because the combination of the fire and partner illness means that our firm now faces an uncertain future.
Please keep us in your prayers guys.#fire #insurancebroker #firefighters#fireman #instagram #rescue #smoke#firefighting #firetruck #insurance#insurancebroker #business#healthinsurance #finance #money#entrepreneur #life #realestate#commercialinsurance #insuranceclaim#broker #insuranceagency#insurancepolicy #insurancelife#financialadvisor #insurancebrokers#smallbusiness #claims#theyoyochronicles
Below is a photograph of me at the back of our office on 8 December 2018 trying to clear the building of our damaged belongings. Worried about the risk of cancer, we threw away all the cutlery and crockery that was covered with sticky and stinky oily soot.
Dealing with a change in my commuting pattern
With my mood low and feeling anxiety-ridden from developments at work, my eating and exercise routine has completely gone out of the window. First, I was struggling with a new commuting pattern travelling into Central London and then out again to Enfield Town in zone 5. Then I tried a bus route which on paper should have been the magic bullet. I found that commuting via public transport was taking on average 110 – 120 minutes and on the days when I had to attend meetings with colleagues and advisers outside our office it took even longer.
In the end, the best route to commute turned out to be two wheels with me getting on my bike. So my trust old but reliable bicycle has been commissioned once again once I installed lights which I can re-charge using my mobile phone cable. Here is a photograph of my bicycle below taken on 26 July 2018. You will find it posted on my Instagram page as well if you scroll down to the summer of 2018.
I don’t have to worry about the security of my bicycle like I have done in the past in and around London. In fact, I think I have had about 3 bicycles stolen. It is lovely to be able to park my bicycle in the meeting room each day. It is not a short bike ride and I remember worrying about my fitness levels when I contemplated cycle commuting in 2018. However, I have not found the commute challenging so far and I put this down to the work that I did with Odell to increase my fitness level over 14 months. Cycling has proved so much easier than using public transport and with the coronavirus becoming more and more of an issue, I did not have to worry about self-isolating. I find that cycling is also helping me to keep down my stress levels. However, now that the advice from the government is to work from home, I have had to give up the cycling commute and I am going to have to find a different way to ensure that I get my hit of cardio every day.
Coronavirus
I am going to miss being able to pick up ready-made salads from the supermarkets while we are in semi lockdown to stop or slow the spread of coronavirus. This is a package I took to work just last week with yoghurt and raspberries for breakfast and a huge M&S house salad for lunch.
Dealing with a weight gain of 6 lbs
You will not be surprised to learn that have gone back up to 144.6 lbs. I was not shocked when I weighed myself because I could feel it in my clothes but it is a backward step and I am a bit sad about it. It has shocked me sufficiently into cleaning my treadmill and having a test workout. I had a lot of anxiety around taking off the cover and cleaning my treadmill. I was half expecting a confrontation with an angry family of foxes. There was no confrontation in the end but they had left a couple of unwanted parting gifts.
As for me, I am going to have to find a way to workout to not only reverse the recent gain but keep working towards my goal. More on that in my next blog.
Until next time it’s
#NoToTheYoYo #YesToAstableWeight #NoTimeToPauseForMenopause #YesToAstableHealthyWeight #Menologues #WeightLossJourney
The last time I saw you, you never came with your new weight definitely.
I am a dab hand at hiding weight gain using fashion. That’s why I have been wearing oversized shirts – they hide a multiple of sins!