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A round-up of my first week. Too much going on to keep the diary up daily but used my dictaphone so I wouldn't forget the highs and the lows. I am happy to say there have not been too many lows!
Let's start with my assessment, this I was dreading, you know that feeling-you are sure you are going to hear things you really don't want to hear. Well of course my BMI reached lunar levels, however that was the worst. My treadmill tests were good, my core body strength was excellent as was my leg strength and my upper body strength exceeded excellent-well what would you expect carrying all this weight around-it had to be fairly strong.
Anyway, after having every part of my body pinched and measured by the very professional and lovely calm Clare (who is also my personal trainer) I actually left feeling quite optimistic. At least I wasn't starting quite from the bottom. I later discovered that Clare's very serious exterior masks a delightful sense of humour which escapes when she hears muscles screaming in agony-she admitted 'I love my job'.
My next low was the food. Still haven't got over that veggie
burger.......
That awful lunch was followed by an equally awful evening meal. By this time I was seriously doubting if I would last a week let alone a month. If I was going to go through torture, was it too much to expect some lovely fresh fish and vegetables-isn't Canada famous for it's salmon?
At breakfast the next morning, having rejected blueberry panacakes for some nice poached eggs on wholegrain toast, I was joined by Regula to go through the nutrition programme I was to follow. Poor lady, I bet she wished she hadn't asked. However the upshot was that she would be speaking to the chefs and did say that the day I arrived they had the last breakfast for a wedding party of 100. She also said she had devised the nutrition programme carefully to give a balanced diet. I think the part that went wrong was the chefs' interpretation of the balanced plan, i.e. vegetables do not have to be 'zucchini' every day and protein does not always have to be beans and chicken.
Things have improved now and it seems that certain chefs really do make an effort not just to give us the
correct proportion of protein, fats, fibre etc., but also make to make it appetising. There are still others who it seems open the cupboard/fridge and say 'okay, what do we have? fibre-hot black beans and sweetcorn, protein-cold turkey slices with jam, vegetable-zucchini (so undercooked it was inedible)-seriously this was the final supper that caused us on the 'Spa Programme' to rebel and demand more variety.
This aside, everything else is wonderful. The people are true professionals in their fields. Your welfare is their primary concern. The personal service is second to none. The best hotel in the world could not compete with the personal care these people give you, and they are all happy, friendly and give you their time anytime. Walks are tailored for your ability as is everything that you partake in from yoga to cardio to hikes to - well, you name it. On top of which there are the full pampering health facilities, numerous workshops covering topics such as The Art of Letting Go (old habits and repetitive behaviour-not, unfortunately, as cousin Helga would have-shooting anyone who has seriously causes you stress!), Healthy Boundaries(yes Helga there are some). These classes are given by the lovely
Sandy, again highly qualifed in her field and more than that, very human. I had a strange experience with Sandy which I will tell you about personally, it is not for public consumption, however it was good and very uplifting.
My typical day during my first week is a mini hike at 7-30am. This is usually through the woods where there are numerous trails marked out of varying lengths and hilliness. It is a good start to the day, especially for me when it is cool and fresh. Breakfast about 8am. Then some kind of assessment, personal training, bit of cardio, Aquafit at 11am, lunch around 12 and then on a couple of days, the 90 minute hike (more about these later). My first week was hampered by adjustment to jetlag and altitude. I had forgotten my Nytol and after several wakings at 3am the staff got me some from town. Sleep has improved but strangely, only when I take Nytol. I can't believe that with all the exercise and fresh air, I don't sleep like a log-but I don't, I can wake 3 or 4 times so am having to take a pill every other night to ensure
I sleep through-very annoying.
The low spells that I expected to go through did not happen, in fact it is the opposite. Every day I feel better and better. There are some really nice people on the programme. Marlene from Ontario is in the room next to me and we share the same sense of humour-at least we are the only ones who seem to get each other's jokes! Several of us like cards so our card school starts this evening-I mentioned money but no-one seemed to take me up on this. Strangely enough Marlene asked if anybody played Euchre. This is a game which I frequently played with my Guernsey family and had not heard of anywhere else. Everyone else in our group looked at her blankly but when I said that I also played, several want to learn. Having just looked the game up in Wikipedia, it refers to it being played in Southern England, Southwestern Ontario and Guernsey-how strange is that?
As my health improves, I am increasingly doing back to back classes without having to 'rest' in between. Some of you may not understand this, but as my level of fitness declined, I was
increasingly reluctant to do anything (activity or social event) which did not allow me a break inbetween-so this is a major breakthrough for me. To know that I can do the morning walk, an hour and a half of cardio and then go straight into the Aquafit is a big thing for me. My aches and pains have disappeared, no back and kneeache, no headaches to speak of and a general feeling of wellbeing.
Another, not health related, bonus for me is to discover that all of my appliances, my e-reader, dictaphone, telephone, all plug directly into my laptop for charging and it also has a card reader for my camera-miracles of modern technology-so really was no need to bring all these chargers and cables-we live and learn! By the way my boys, my Kindle E-reader is fantastic, especially as here I can connect directly to the Whisper Net wireless signal and download books directly to my Kindle-best present ever, thank you-I am the envy of the ranch. People say, have you read this? and I can just click on a button and it is there.
Back to the 90 minute hikes. I have knocked these on the
head for now with the blessing of the trainers I may add. I have done two so far and by a strange twist of fate, neither were through the woods but around lakes and both happened to be on days when there was full sun in the high 20's and no shade, they nearly killed me. I cannot do them in the sun and this is where it became apparent that my lungs are not working at full capacity. This is obviously the affect of my last bout of smoking and is the only thing that is hindering me. Instead, I have been advised to continue doing the morning hikes and increase the cardio and hope that I can get my lungs in better working order and attempt these hikes again in my third week. Whilst they do take two leaders so that one stays back with the slower walkers, it is not nice to feel you are holding people back everytime so will not attempt again until I know I can do it.
Well I am off to lunch now and then having the pedicure and paraffin wax treatment so will leave you with a few photos-sorry for
any typos haven't got time to check, must run.....
P.S. Lost 7 pounds in first week.
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Zoe
non-member comment
Hi Sue
Hey Sue I'm so pleased its going so well for you, it sounds like a wonderful place and well worth the expense. I wish I could have been there to see you leading the food revolution!!! Keep up the good work and I can't wait to read the next installment. XX