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My Week

My Progress,

calendar

 

My week in numbers:

1 ½ lb off

3 runs

1 bodypump class

1 aqua aerobics class

1 body conditioning class

1 zumba class

My week in words;

The lateness of this post is nothing to do with disappointment or anger like last week, but being busy taking the children to a swimming gala all weekend.  The weight loss: meh.  I am back to where I was two weeks ago despite all the effort and hard work I have put in.  Ho hum.  I am definitely taking the long game approach and keep telling myself that while I am doing the right things, good things will happen.  And I am going to try and focus on other marks of progress, such as looser clothes and increasing weights at Body Pump rather than a number on the scales.

Hope your week was good.

All the best,

Woodyrunning spoon

 

 

On and off the Wagon

healthy eating, Motivation, My Progress,

Fruit and veg

After Saturday’s weigh in disappointment , I knew I should shrug my shoulders and feel confident that as I was doing the right things the weight would come off this week.  Or read my musings on keeping on the wagon.  But I didn’t.  It was hard to keep motivation high when I didn’t feel I was achieving anything.  So I slipped off the wagon.

The saving grace was that it wasn’t a big fall.  To date (Thursday afternoon) I only slipped off on Saturday and got straight back on Sunday onwards.  And I ignored the three large bars of chocolate that my mother in law has bought for me and went straight for…mini bags of maltesers, cereal bars and iced gems!  Not good but not as bad as it could have been.

So this week if I have put on I will hold up my hands up and say I deserved it.  And if I have lost weight, I will admit being totally bemused by it all!

All the best,

Woodyrunning spoon

Guilty TV pleasures.

healthy eating, Motivation, ,

television

No I don’t mean Glee or repeats of The Golden Girls, but at the moment my guilty TV pleasures are the weight loss shows.  I find when I am “in the zone/on track/in control/in the groove” or whatever you want to call it I enjoy these programmes.  However when I am not-I don’t really want to know them!

The three (I can hear my husband’s THREE from here!) shows I am currently watching are Downsize Me, Fat (or Obese): A Year to Save my Life and Fat Families.  All have their merits as well as their weaknesses but the aim is pretty much the same: take an overweight person (or people in Fat Families case), show them what they are doing to their body, encourage them to change by improving their diet and increasing the amount they exercise and showcase the results.

And the results are generally quite good.  Especially for A Year to Save My Life, as they had, well, a year.  They are given a personal trainer for several hours a day and in FF and AYTSML several pieces of exercise kit.  They have access to dietician and diet sheets. As well as to the inspirational trainers that assists them.

One of the best things they do is really show what being overweight does to your body.  And Downsize Me goes further and invites a “Crash Test Dummy” or an ordinary, usually fairly fit person to live on the diet that the overweight person has existed on.  Some of the changes to their body are remarkable (although I do watch all these shows with a hefty dose of scepticism at times.)

What I would really like to see is if a year or two down the line have they maintained their weight loss?  Have they lost more or have they gone back to their unhealthy ways?  And there are the odd returning programme in FF and DM.  The results are mixed, no-one shown went back to being as large as they were, but some had put weight back on.  And some had done extraordinarily well.

So despite my cynicism and the flaws in the programmes, I do find some interesting points.  It’s a reminder of what being overweight is doing to your body and how shedding even a few pounds and getting more active can help.  I find it fascinating to see the causes of overeating tackled, and some people can pinpoint a reason.  I also love seeing how the coaches emphasise the mental side of things as that is an area I am finally realising its importance.  And most of all I just love watching other people’s successes (in the main) and take heart from them.

All the best,

Woodyrunning spoon

My week

My Progress

calendar

My week in numbers:

1 ½ lb ON!!!!

3 runs

1 body pump class

1 body conditioning class

1 zumba class

1 aqua aerobics class

 

My week in words:

The headline figure and the fact it has taken me a day to write this entry tells you all you need to know. Disappointment, annoyed, bemused are three of the emotions I have felt.  I feel like it’s a case of “Déjà vu all over again!”

Other than a meal at my mother in laws (and we are talking pie and chips and ice cream and meringue, not an enormous 5 course meal) I have been on track with exercise and diet.  I feel better.  I look better.  It’s just a shame when the scales say otherwise.  And it’s harder and harder to keep the positive mind set needed, as well as the long term view when every other week is a setback.  But I must, if I want to achieve a healthy, fitter body.  So let’s remind myself that:

path-to-success

All the best,

Woodyrunning spoon

 

A rant about the lack of plus size clothing

fitness, ,

rant face

 

I warn you, I am going to rant.  So if you are of a nervous disposition, you may want to look away now.

Picture this: we are all being encouraged to eat healthy.  You know that it’s the right thing to do.  You get yourself motivated-it’s a big step.  You’ve decided to eat healthily but when you come to look in the shops there is no healthy food.  At all.  There is a wide selection of food that is not healthy, there is food that will just about do, but it’s not the fresh smelling, fat busting healthy food that you have promised yourself.  Actually you are now a little dejected.  Maybe this healthy eating lark isn’t for you.  It’ll be much easier to stick to the unhealthy stuff.  After all it’s like the manufacturers don’t want you to be healthy.

Crazy, eh?

Shall we substitute in exercise gear for plus-sizes for healthy food, and it now becomes painfully true?  We are being encouraged to exercise and for people carrying a bit of padding it can be quite a scary proposition.  And the fact that there is very little technical clothing that fits plus sizers is so depressing.  We have as much right as slim exercisers to be kitted out in clothing that will be do a specific job.

Please would manufacturers realise that there are some people of ample proportions that like to exercise.  It is soul destroying to see all the wonderful clothes (often discounted) offered in small sizes and nothing in larger sizes. We would like to feel like ‘proper runners and exercisers’ with technical gear rather than finding anything that fits.  Not very encouraging really, and that to me is what hurts the most.  The fact that us plus sizers have put our head above the parapet, are trying our best, but sportswear manufacturers don’t appear to appreciate that. Imagine if one did…think of the custom.

Rant over.  Normal scheduling is now resumed!

All the best,

Woodyrunning spoon

Choosing an exercise class

fitness, ,

old-worn-sneakers-13616441

 

The last few weeks I have been hitting the gym regularly.  Not the treadmill, cross trainer and weights part of the gym, but the exercise class part of the gym. And I have been loving it.

It can be intimidating to be with a group of fit people doing a class that often you have no idea of what is going on and how you do it.  Well that was what I thought.  But I blundered in nevertheless and just thought I’d give them a try. And unsurprisingly I found all the people warm, friendly and encouraging.

So how can you decide on what class to try? Is it for you?  Well these pointers might give you the confidence to try.

  • What do you want to achieve with your class?  Is it to improve your fitness level, lose weight, have fun, have an hour’s relaxation or tone your body?  Decide what you want from your class and then find a class that best matches it.  There should be a description of the class on a leaflet or poster or try googling it (I know, I know, when in doubt…)

 

  • Think about your likes and dislikes.  If you are petrified of the water, aqua aerobics is not for you.  If you have always enjoyed boxing, maybe body combat is.

 

  • Try to be realistic about your fitness level when matching to a class.  If you haven’t exercised in years going to “a killer abs session that is so tough your ironing board stomach will weep” might not be a good move.  It’ll put you off. Exercising and ironing.

 

  • If you are not tied to a gym then try a selection of class providers to find one that suits you.  Classes do have different atmospheres and it could be that you prefer the relaxed zumba class in the school hall to the more formal one at the health club.

 

  • Try a selection of classes.  Don’t be afraid to try new ones.  But I would suggest, unless you had a shocking experience, to give each a couple of weeks.  As you know I didn’t enjoy my second zumba class and was going to give it up, but tried it again and am now appreciating it.

 

  • If you find a class you like rebook it ASAP.  There is nothing like knowing it is all booked up for you.  No excuses then!  Classes and gyms vary but I love the fact that as I go for one class I can book my class for the next week.  After all it would be a hassle to ring up and cancel-may as well go to the class!

 

  • When you are in the classes, don’t forget to smile!  Seriously, a smile, nod or a laugh can help break the ice with many people.  It also helps to build up morale as well as seeing everyone’s human side. I promise you most people have them.

 

If you are going to take the plunge, good luck.  Honestly, I am really enjoying my classes, and at the end feel really satisfied and fulfilled by them.  With the running and healthy eating, it is making such a difference, and I am so pleased I plucked up courage to give them a try.

 

All the best,

Woodyrunning spoon

 

My Week

My Progress

calendar

My week in numbers:

6lb off

4 runs (including 1 parkrun and #onebigfatfun

1 body pump class

1 body conditioning class

1 zumba class

1aqua aerobics class

 

My week in words:

As you can imagine I am much happier this week than last.  As my consultant said “The scales owed you and they paid up”.  And that’s what it felt like.  I was as in control last week as I was last, I still love the exercise regime I am doing and even did conditioning followed by zumba for a 2 hour session!  I felt it was due to me.  It is so nice when this happens but as I alluded to last week when setbacks happen it can be hard to keep yourself on track.  So if it’s you, please take heart.  Good things come to those who try!

(And the best part of the weigh in?  Not me losing 6lbs, not me getting my 1 ½ stone sticker, but my friend losing 4lbs.  You go D! Chuffed for you!)

 

All the best,running spoon

Woody

 

London Marathon- I’m in!

Running,

old-worn-sneakers-13616441

Around this time of year a magazine drops through the door of runners that is either greeted with great joy or despair.  I am talking about The Virgin London Marathon acceptance or rejection magazine.

VLM_2014_Logo

If you don’t know what I am talking about here is the gen:

Every year tens of thousands of people apply for a place at the London Marathon.  And there is an anxious wait to find out of you are one of the chosen few.  That news comes via a magazine.  You will either receive a magazine that effectively says “hard lines, better luck next year” (I have had that a couple of times) or “congratulations, you are in” (joyfully received!).

In October 2012 I received that wonderful “you’re in” magazine.  And I trained and trained.  But I never seemed to get any faster, long runs were not getting easier, my diet was not good and a half marathon broke me mentally and physically.  Fortunately my brother persuaded me to defer entry until 2014, so it wasn’t a surprise that I received my “you’re in” magazine.

So this time I am determined to start and finish it.  I have loved the London Marathon ever since I watched the first one in 1981.  I have been up to watch it several times including see my brother complete it.  I know how lucky I am to get a place and this year I am determined to make full use of it.

So I will be documenting my training, all my highs and lows and my journey towards what I hope will be a fantastic experience of completing a long held dream.

All the best,

Woodyrunning spoon

Motivational Quotes Part 2

Motivation

punctuation-marks-quotation-marks

As I recently found a quote so useful, I thought it was about time I shared a few more pearls of wisdom.  And so here is part 2 of my motivational quotes series.

 

Vince Lombardi: It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.

Lee lacocca: You’ve got to say, I think that if I keep working at this and want it badly enough I can have it. It’s called perseverance.

Unknown author: Sweat is fat crying.

Earl of Derby: Those who do not find time for exercise will have to find time for illness.

Unknown author: What you eat in private, you wear in public.

Henry Ford: Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right.

 

I hope you find one or more of them helpful.

All the best,

Woodyrunning spoon

 

My week

My Progress, Uncategorized

calendar

 

My week in numbers:

1/2lb ON!!!

3 runs including 1 parkrun

1 bodypump class

1 body conditioning class

1aqua aerobic class

My week in words:

1/2lb on!! I was slightly surprised although not shocked.  I have put it down to the fact I went out Friday night with some friends to a Chinese buffet.  I was fairly restrained and hope it was just that.  I am confident in what I am doing, I am feeling well, fit and happy and so next week will continue on doing what I am doing.

That’s the plan!

Because, as I have spoken about in Dealing with disappointment it is about looking at the bigger picture.  But so much depends on what’s between your ears. It can break you, or you can look back and realise that this little hiccups have made your success all the sweeter.  I’m hoping for the latter.

All the best,

Woodyrunning spoon