There and back again

St George. A town 500 kms west of Brisbane, affected by floods for the third time since March 2010. I was sent out on Community Recover from Friday 10-Thursday 16 February. I'm still rather exhausted by the experience, so if this isn't the best blog post I've written, I apologise now.

My job as a Community Recover Worker was tough. 11 hour days, working in a new environment with people I didn't know, entirely out of my comfort zone. Dealing with clients, something I'd never done before, was at first challenging but ended up being rewarded. Everyone I saw said thank you and most left with a giant smile on their face too. I always thought I wasn't a people person, but perhaps I was wrong.

Working such long hours meant meals were provided and there limited opportunities to source alternatives. I'd planned ahead and taken some snacks, such as packets of prunes, little boxes of almonds and sultanas, Special K bars, to make sure I wasn't raiding biscuit tins on snack breaks. This worked quite well. What didn't work was that the meals were stodge. Fried food, large slabs of meat, white bread, white bread, white bread, bacon, butter. After eating relatively healthy for some time my body seriously did not like it. In addition, I drank every night.

Somewhere in the midst of all of this drinking I agreed to sign up for Michelle Bridges 12 week body transformation challenge thing. I have really had the time and or energy to properly investigate what this means, but if I've had good weight loss by the end of week 7, I'll be going to Melbourne with one of the women I met on recovery (my roomie for the week).

The night before we all left to come home, clever old me went and put my food in a concealed hole. Ended up spraining my ankle. I have to wear an ankle brace for six weeks, no running for four weeks and no bike riding for another week. This sets me back a little - but I'm not going to let it beat me. The plan is to get in the pool and jog and do squats and lunges several times a week. Did it today, and it wasn't too bad. I'll attempt it again tomorrow. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that 30 mins burns almost 200 calories.

The worst part - getting home and stepping on the scales - back up to 109.3. Hoping in seriously drops back down again this week. I don't want to be a whale forever.  While I'm temporarily crippled I have to be far more strict with my food, so no more little treats, loads of fresh, raw fruit and veg and just keep tracking.