Food Finds and The Mountain

We did it.

"Suicide is the permanent solution to what is often a temporary problem"

Tommy Mulligan, father of Tomas Mulligan.  

On Saturday, myself and 4 others climbed Carrountoohil as a challenge to ourselves and, personally for me to raise some well needed funds for Pieta House the Centre for Suicide Prevention. 

I had been looking for a challenge at the start of the new year and someone on facebook suggested climbing Carrountoohil, so I thought, yea sure.  Thinking that it would be easy.  I was way off the mark.  Two days later and I'm still walking like one of The Bangles in Walk Like an Egyptian from it.

We look so clean there

I couldn't have asked for nicer people on the climb.  Elaine and her 2 daughters, Brona and Aoife were so lovely.

We started our climb looking like shiny new pins.  I myself was in the new gear including hiking boots.  I looked the part but it was only looks. 

It took us 8 and a half hours, going up and down The Devil's Ladder and it is aptly named.  This was not climbing, it was rock scrambling. 

The Devil's Ladder

You know, I had not actually thought about the toilet situation.  Obviously there are no facilities on the mountain but 8 hours is a long time to be out and drinking water with only the great outdoors.  I know very trivial but do you ever notice that when you start thinking that there is nowhere to go to the toilet, it becomes all that you can think about!   

Before I go on to the food finds for this week, there was something that our guide said to me when we were about to go up The Devil's Ladder that I thought was so fitting, for weightloss, life and for those who are in need of Pieta house assistance,

 "Don't allow the enormity of the task to overwhelm you,  when you feel that it is too big a task to complete, just take it 2 steps at a time.  Focus on the next 2 steps only, after a while you will realize that you have nearly completed it"  

I followed these instructions because I did get the fear looking down and I just literally concentrated on 2 steps. 

This was how I lost my weight and it's how I climbed the mountain, sometimes the bigger picture tricks us and allows the self doubt to slip in.  

Pieta House are opening a house in Kerry this year and I wish them all the best of luck. 

So the best food finds for this week are, 

Salami slices, delicious on pizza.  2 slices are 1 WeightWatchers Propoints.  I bought this in Lidl. 

Muller Mini Corner with a strawberry compote works out at 2 WeightWatchers Propoints.  I also bought these in Lidl. 

Spar own brand salty crackers, 5 crackers has a Propoints value of 2.  These are lovely as a snack or with cheese and soup for lunch. 

3 WeightWatchers Propoints and I bought the 16 pack for E1.00 in Centra, so if you have children, these are great value, WeightWatchers and money wise.

I'm so excited about these.  Someone on Facebook posted that these are now 3 WeightWatchers Propoints.  I had forgotten how gorgeous these were and I actually felt satisfied after having these and they served me well as we were eating them on top of Carrountoohil. 

Enjoy the Niptuck way, so you don't have to!