I always liked the idea of a photo every hour, it makes for a more realistic photo diary. It also means you have to think consciously about what you’re going to frame for that hour. I like the honesty it shows, a real insight into someones actual day to day life, be it fun, boring or mundane reality. It’s also actually quite hard, and I probably didn’t do it strictly every hour on the dot… As my first one, I know some of the photos are not that exciting/great. But I think it’s good practise and hopefully I can improve as I do more of these!
Here is my first photo diary of a Saturday…
11am: my new favourite breakfast. Granola that doesn’t have bloody wheat flakes in it. I’ve cut out gluten again as my IBS has been crappy and i’m going to be put on a strict ‘fodmap’ diet soon by a dietician.
Ingredients: Jordans simply granola (it’s oats, which don’t contain gluten. Though sometimes people who are extremely sensitive to gluten cannot eat oats because they are made in factories with wheat a lot of the time! But for me, they’re ok) / Real greek yogurt – I like FAGE as it’s proper greek. Not ‘greek style’. / Blueberries and raspberries. So good!
12pm: Walking through Dalston to go to Andy & Eliza’s new house. Spotted a Metal Gear Solid fan. Strong hoody.
12.30pm: LAMBY. Eliza’s toy from baby days!
1.30pm: The life of a Hackney cat.
2pm: Stamford Hill – On the bus to IKEA. Stuck in hell traffic. 
3pm: IKEA cafe, it would be rude not to.
4pm: I’m always so tempted to buy the kids stuffed toys at the end of the showroom. Anyone else?!
6pm: Waiting for a taxi. 
8pm: Re-potting my new plant and moving older plants. I don’t have a garden so the living room floor is definitely the place for some indoor gardening..
9pm: I made some baked eggs with leftovers from the night before.
How to:
Small roast potatoes
A tiny bit of red onion
Cherry tomatoes
Coriander
2 Eggs
Salt & pepper to taste
Put them all in an oven proof dish and bake until the eggs are cooked. Easy :)
I love seeing these ‘photo an hour’ posts, it’s a nice way of getting a little insight into someone’s life! Loving the little cat asleep in the bag :) also, welcome to the FODMAP club! I have struggled with severe IBS for years now and ended up not leaving the house very much the last few years, ended up being a huge source of anxiety for me. Having seen a dietician and been on the super-strict low FODMAP plan for three months, I saw a huge improvement. I won’t lie, it’s so hard and really restrictive (the dieticians tend to be pretty straight up with that!) but I feel so much better for it. I was supposed to be on the ‘reintroduction phase’ but life got so complicated I ended up going off the diet, and I can tell. Going to be back on a low=ish FODMAP diet again. I really hope it works for you! Not a magical cure, but it’s amazing how much better it can make you feel. :)
Glad you think it’s a good idea and not too hideously boring haha. Oh god, it sounds like you’ve had a rough time with it :( I’m so sorry to hear that!
I’ve also had ‘IBS’ for over two years now. I also have panic disorder (it’s under control) but I don’t think it helps. The IBS came on just before I ended up having a nervous breakdown. Happy days! Since then, it’s just never gone away. Sometimes it’s so bad and I cut lots of things out. Lately, it’s been so bad I started to worry there’s something worse wrong, I never had such bad pain before, but it became so bad?! Anyway, I had a calprotectin test which I’d never had before (apparently it’s quite new) – and it did show that I have inflammation. Not massively high – but I do have it. Which is a bit concerning. Now I’m gonna have to go through all the tests at the hospital. In some ways, it’s a relief because I know it’s not all in my head (I knew it wasn’t anyway, but you know what I mean..) I make myself feel bad about it.
I am so relieved to hear you found it helped a lot. I’ve read loads of good things about it too. I’m mainly concerned about cutting out alcohol…. :( Did you do that? My appointment is at the end of November – pretty annoyed I have to wait that long but oh well. I’ve had it for this long anyway…
I’m going to a place in Green Lanes in North London – don’t suppose that’s where you went?! xx
I also have panic disorder, it DEFINITELY makes IBS/digestive system issues so much worse. The connection between my mental health & my physical symptoms went basically unnoticed by doctors, so they spent years just dismissing me as ‘making a fuss’ or ‘teenage hormones’. It was only when I ended up in hospital having torn a hole in my stomach lining from throwing up that the doctors there started taking me seriously. IBS (‘the other end’, haha) started later, and it got so much worse when panic disorder really kicked in. Cue panic attacks about not knowing where toilets were, panic attacks when using toilets, panic attacks about leaving the house, panic attacks about the prospect of panic attacks… oh man. It’s so shitty, and I’m sorry you’re having to deal with it too! I had all the scopes everywhere, my inflammation test was luckily not bad so no Crohn’s. It’s very frightening, but I totally get what you mean about it almost being a relief – it was so good to have someone take my years of pain seriously, and tell me it wasn’t normal and that something had to be done. Also the ‘not knowing’ what’s wrong is a huge anxiety source… which makes it all worse again!
I was referred through a doctors prior to my move to North London, so I ended up going to the Royal London Hospital – though if I’d gone through my North London doctors I’d probably have been sent to the Green Lanes one! Sorry I can’t help you there.
My dietician said to cut out alcohol if I knew it was a trigger for me – I think it’s dessert wines & rum which are definite no-nos on the low FODMAP list, because of what’s in them – but she said if I wanted vodka or something that was generally ok. Not everyone is triggered by alcohol (thank god!). I don’t drink that much anyway, so it wasn’t too big an issue for me, but I think one of the main things to be concerned with was mixers with the alcohol – some of them are high in FODMAP baddies. My dietician did also say that I shouldn’t worry about having a couple of slip ups on the strict phase, because it’s very difficult to stick to, so don’t panic too much. They’re aware it’s a tough one to stick to.
If you want to chat about it more any time, you’re welcome to email me or find me on twitter! :) I’m @heartsofsand there & my email is laura _ blair (at) live (dot) co (dot) uk. :)
I’ve been after wheat flake free granola for absolutely ages (for IBS reasons too) thank you so much for mentioning that! Now I just hope my local store stocks it. I love photo an hour posts, I agree at how personal and honest they are. I’ve tried to do them myself, but I usually end up feeling terribly boring when I actually look back at the photos and realise how little I seem to have done. It’s tempting to do them on busy days, but then that defeats the whole honesty of it!
Hooray, now you can have this delicious stuff! It’s soooo good. I think the boring element is what I like the idea of! You should totally try it! I hate how perfectly curated everything has become online – in such an ideological way. I want to see more normal – and in myself too! xx
Just found this post via Amy (http://www.thecreativeoutlook.co.uk/2015/10/a-photo-every-hour-monday.html) and 100% agree with Laura too, I LOVE these kinds of posts so much! So candid and raw and just… real. Would love to see more of these :) x
[…] enthusiasm for the beginning of a new week but so long until the weekend! I wanted to try and do this photo every hour on a work day, so here is an average weekday. Monday […]