Fibromyalgia, Pacing, Cooking and baking!

Some of you that are regular readers of this blog will know I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia this year. Whilst this is not one of my passions, I cannot wave a magic wand for it to disappear!

For any who suffer a long term chronic condition, it is learning to live with it or rather it live with you!

There will be days when it will feel like it is winning and days when you feel a bit like your old self again but different for deep down we need to accept we are not going to be the same as our old selves completely again.

I read a recent article quoting a well known doctor, who stated with the limitations on our mobility, fatigue and pain, it is quite likely for a person to gain 25 to 30 lbs in weight in the 1st year of diagnosis.

Here I was HORRIFIED, no one, I repeat no one wants to gain that much weight and have no control over it. Anybody reading this who has a chronic condition needs to learn to pace themselves.

What does that mean? To you? Or to me?

Well it will mean different things for everyone but the key is we need to learn to do things differently.

These are some of the things I have learnt so far and I hope by sharing they can help you.

Initially I would rest during the day, maybe put on some washing, come back to writing and then cook a meal, eat it and then BANG! Energy gone, the plug had been pulled, it was as much as I could do was to leave the table, so that clearly was not working even though I thought that was pacing.

No pacing to a professional is breaking that task into smaller bite size chunks! I was told peel potatoes in the morning, rest, prep meat rest and totally rest even meditate!

Sorry! We don't eat meat and 2 veg everyday these days, that maybe belonged to our parent or grandparent generation. We eat rice, pasta, some dishes only take 20 to 30 minutes to prepare and cook and you can't leave a stir fry to rest can you?

So how does it work?

Well yesterday being Sunday, I could do just that, prep the potatoes, rest, prep the meat rest, prep the vegetables etc. Resting in-between but we can't do that every day so:

A key is on a good day, if your making something that can freeze, make double, freeze half so you have a ready prepared meal for those not so good days.

Yesterday we had a lovely roast Chicken, why is that of use to you?
Well I did twice the vegetables and today was able to put the extra veg into a slow cooker with some beef and make a casserole then you guessed it rest!
I then stripped the chicken carcass from yesterday, made myself a chicken sandwich, good lean protein is good for us apparently. With the meat left over, I prepared a sweet and sour sauce, combined with the meat to marinade, cover and placed in the fridge for a lovely stir fry tomorrow.

So by pacing myself yesterday with the preparation of vegetables, I had enough prepped and stored in fridge overnight to quickly assemble a slow cooked casserole today of which there should be enough to freeze a couple of portions for another day. The chicken spare not only gave a nice lunch but is now ready prepared for tomorrow's meal so I don't need to worry about it.

This gave me sufficient energy left to use my food processor to whizz up a crumble to cover my frozen rhubarb I had previously prepared, which is now sitting in the fridge waiting to go into the oven later.

So if you take one thing from this Post today. Use the kitchen gadgets to help, rest in-between and with a little planning pacing is possible with good healthy food with a home cooked meal in the freezer, waiting for those not so good days and we all have those. It beats picking up the phone for a takeout!

Later I will share with you some of my healthy meals, which you can double or half and freeze to make life a little easier.

If you have any pacing tips, cooking or baking, so we all don't gain the dreaded 25 to 30 lbs. Love to hear from you.

Top seven Passions

What is Lesley Galston Passionate about and why you should care? Really why would you?

Some of my passions will be yours and here is my top 7 and why!

1. HEALTH.   self explanatory really  health is something we cannot buy, we all want to remain in as good a health as possible. If not we need to learn to adapt/ change how we live so our health condition lives with us and not takes over. I have been diagnosed with Fibromyaglia but it lives with me, sometimes I will trip up, only human, so it will feel as if it rules my life. Any chronic condition like this, there is no magic cure, we learn to adapt. So occasionally I will blog about health. I have over 20 years experience as a health professional as well as living with a chronic condition.



2. READING. I once read a quote from Stephen King, if you do not read, how can you write. I have loved reading long before I became a writer. Here I hope to share my passion for reading, just as you can share yours. I remember buying the first Harry Potter books to see what all the fuss was about. I wanted to expand my son's reading from Fantastic Mr Fox by the childrens master Mr Dahl. Once I read the first book I was hooked. What series of books has hooked you from the beggining to the end?


3. WRITING.      I am a writer, an author so occasionally I will share things I have learnt as a writer but I do not want to write just another writing blog, there are many good ones out there. My writing blog Nick Daws, my teacher and mentor, Bubblecow, helping writers to become published, Kristen Lamb, I recently discovered her and she is the reason for the revamp of this blog to Lesley's passions. I could just write a writing blog but the only readers I am going to attract are fellow writers and while I have made some great writer friends. I need to expand my readership. Share my writing, my books.


4. RELATIONSHIPS.   I am not an expert nor an cousellor however, relationships help define who we are. I am a daughter, a mother, a wife, a sister, a friend. We have family relationships, work relationships and we have our networking. Having a blog is a form of networking, I am reaching out to readers of blogs, to many I have never met personally but will develop a relationship with if they decide to follow this passionate person.


5. COOKING.       We al have to eat, so what a better way to share but to share our passion for food. I love to cook but I know there are others who struggle and give up. Hopefully by sharing my passion for cooking, baking, some of it might rub off on to you. My mother did encourage me in the kitchen but we were limited to my families taste. Not everyone will share your passion for what you like, but you can try to experiment.
The first time I proudly made spagetti bolengese for my family, my father asked where was the chips/fries. He has misunderstood and thought it was spagetti out of a tin! Lesson learnt and never forgotten!


6. RED WINE      Well yours maybe be white or rose' I do drink them sometimes but mostly I share my passion for red wine with my husband. We love trying new wines, we joined a wine club, which stated they would replace any not to our liking, so far we have found none we have not liked. Growing up as young adult I loved the German whites that were all so vogue of the time, Black Tower, Blue Nun, Leibfraumilch, and Mateous Rose. I have seen them return in popularity recently as fashions hit the revival of the seventies.


7. BEACHES.     I have always considered myself fortunate that I grew up in South West England, I was never very far from the sea, a beach to walk along. To take in the sea air. The sounds of the ocean lapping against the shore. Huge waves crashing with such energy. The sealife that surrounded you, from the seagulls, to the crabs, to the cockles and whelks clinging to the rocks. I live in the country for now but know my heart yearns for the beach and the sea. To me it is instant relaxation. Not to sunbathe, but to walk, feel the sand between my toes, I can close my eyes and I am there.

Well I have shared my top seven passions as this blog develops I may share more. What are your passions?

What stirs your soul? Please I would love to hear from you, feel free to share your passions, I will always reply, don't be shy. Thanks for stopping by, I hope to blog on one of my passions on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Come and join in.