My week in Numbers:

1lb off (*Did not run before weigh in*)

3 runs (including parkrun)

1 body pump class

1 circuits class

1 metafit class

My week in words:

Well,  a loss is a loss.  I am back on the wagon, although as you can see the classes aren’t up to usual as several different events conspired to keep me away from conditioning, zumba and aqua.  However I have a feeling that metafit may become a regular outing.  So this is the beginning of the push to get fitter for Christmas, the New Year and then start marathon training!

All the best,

Woody

As a newbie to this blogging lark, I have been reading other people’s blogs to learn more about what is popular and get ideas.  As well as enjoying their triumphs and getting inspiration from them. I find that I am drawn to the blogs of people who maybe in a similar situation to me or have been there.

One great blog is The Fat Girl’s Guide to Running.  And Fatty has a dream of 1 million overweight runners from all over the globe will take part in a single running event. So she has created “One Big Fat Run” and the inaugural event was on 25^th August 2013 and this month’s is on 29^th September 2013.

It is over 5K (a distance that is do-able for everyone), and can be done on a treadmill, in a park, on the roads and whenever you wish on that particular day.

So please check out Fatty’s website and join in with this month’s “One Big Fat Run”.  Good luck and enjoy!

All the best,

Woody

I do realise that considering this is a running blog I haven’t really blogged much about running.  And I have actually been running-regularly 3 times a week since this blog has started.  So I thought today’s update would be a little bit about me pounding the streets.

At present I am following a couch to 10k plan.  I have downloaded an app and merrily follow it.  It’s very simple-it literally tells me what to do and when.

My rationale behind this was that I’d like to be doing 10k comfortably by the turn of the year as that is when my marathon training starts.  I was lucky enough to get a prized ballot entry to the London Marathon 2013.  However I decided to defer it to 2014 (I will tell you the whole tale one day) and wanted to be in better shape than I was at the turn of 2013.

So I have started on this plan and have done six weeks out of fourteen.  It has been 3 times a week and a mixture of running and walking. It’s been very enjoyable thus far, and certainly I would recommend it to anyone aiming to go from couch to a 10k.

With the running, healthy eating and other gym activities I am feeling well at the moment.  One of the reasons for wanting to shift the lard is so I don’t have to carry it around 26.2 miles!  And maybe I’ll even get a little quicker…

All the best,

Woody

On Tuesday there was a programme on BBC2 called “Welcome to the World of Weight Loss”. Here are a few musings about it.

Any time I see a programme about weight loss, I worry it might be fatty-bashing but this was a warm hearted and ultimately uplifting programme.

A clever strategy was it featured so many people from different backgrounds, who not only became overweight for different reasons such as happy relationships, unhappy relationships, guilt, eating for comfort and bullying but it started for them at different times.  This showed the complex nature of weight gain and the importance of appearance in the western world and it is not limited to a certain group of people.

The similarities to religion felt a bit forced and pushy at times, although it did have its merits.

What I gleaned from it was there are a lot of people out there with the same attitudes, thoughts and feelings as me.  I could identify with so many of them shown, especially Jackie who recognises she is an emotional eater but recognition doesn’t help her get on top of it. That’s me!! But what was nice that the support offered and received to people attending the slimming clubs was very apparent and was a huge positive factor.  Several said they couldn’t lose weight or maintain on their own, as do I.   And as Joan said, “It’s for Life.”  How many of us have learnt that to our cost as we pile on the pounds after losing weight?

Other than support I think the other principal issue that came across was control.  People felt that when they were over-eating they were out of control and following a healthy eating regime/diet gave them control back. Mariam, the Slimming World consultant summed it up well when she said when she was in control of eating she felt in control of her life.

So did I learn anything new? No.  Did I enjoy it? A big yes.  What it showed was there are many reasons for people to eat to excess, and our relationship with food is complex. And there will always be weight loss clubs full of people in the same boat as you, to support you.

All the best,

Woody