Tag Archives: Weight Loss

To Gym or not to Gym…

fitness, , ,

gym

It seems incredible but it will shortly be 2014. And with the New Year comes New Year resolutions, and many of them revolve around getting fitter. And already in my gym there are advertisements about the offers for the New Year. And how many of us join the gym in January, get our money’s worth for a few weeks and then end up paying many month’s subscriptions and not going near the place. Oh, so not just me then? So here are my thoughts on choosing a gym. I am hardly a wonderful role model. I have been to several and not used them to their full potential, and they’ve ended up being very expensive. So I know what not to do!! But at present I am a gym bunny, so I hope you find these ramblings helpful.

Do you really need to join a gym?

Examine your reasons why you are thinking about joining the gym. Can you achieve your fitness using other mean, i.e. running or joining a sports club? If you think that you won’t be a regular user, what about pay as you go or finding exercise classes run in halls?

What do you want from your gym?

Gyms come in all shapes and sizes with price tags to match. Think about what you want from your gym. If you love swimming and aqua aerobics it makes sense to join a gym with a pool. The more facilities the gym has the more expensive it will be, but enquire whether they offer different memberships, such as swim only or off peak membership (My dad and step mum have this and it saves them a fortune). Have a look around the gym and talk to gym users. You can get a feel for the place, and whether it will suit your needs. Check out the classes it offers and what else is included in the price. Ask about the induction and what support you get. It certainly varies. One gym I went to you got five sessions with a trainer. My present gym (which is comparable in facilities and price) only offered one.

Location, location, location

This is the key. If you want the gym to fit in with your life, the more convenient the better. So think about when you will exercise. Depending on when this is will depend on where the best place for gym is. For instance if you exercise during your lunch break, a gym near your work place is ideal. If you’re an early bird then a local one will be better. If you are a long suffering parent of a sporty child it could be that wherever they do sport has a gym and rather than sitting around, use the gym (I did this when my eldest was at a different swimming club, very convenient). This will help ensure you use the gym and it fits into your life.

A gym can be an inspiring, friendly place where you can achieve your goals. But it can also be an expensive luxury. If you take the plunge, a little bit of time thinking about your requirements and being realistic can save you pennies and gain a wonderful tool in your fight against the flab!

All the best,

Woodyrunning spoon

My Week

My Progress,

calendar

My week in numbers:

4 lb off

3 runs including 1 parkrun

1 body pump class

1 body conditioning class

1 zumba class

1 aqua aerobics class

 

My week in words:

How can I not be pleased as the weight loss seems to be catching up with how I feel?  Winning slimmer of the week was good too!  I do think the weight is affected by whether I run before or not, and from next week I’ll mark it (pre or post run) so I can keep track.  I am psyching myself up for next week and half term, a change to my routine and after that it’s full steam to Christmas, and trying to shift some more lard.

All the best,

Woodyrunning spoon

 

 

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 lbs lost

3 runs including 1 parkrun

1 bodypump class

1 Zumba class

1 Aqua Aerobics class

1 gym session

My week in words:

Very pleased! Very pleased! Very pleased!  1 ½ lbs, I always consider, a nice steady weight loss.  I have been pretty good all week-the only blip at the weekend I had a couple of cakes.  But then on the positive that was it.  No “oh dear my diet’s gone”. Just continue with what I have been doing.  And I have been enjoying it.  Some lovely recipes-the sweet and sour chicken was gorgeous- and am loving the exercise especially getting a new PB at parkrun and even enjoying zumba!  I just want to keep in this groove for as long as I can…

I hope that your week was good too.

All the best,

 

Woodyrunning spoon

Weight loss support…Slimming Groups

healthy eating,

scales and measure drawing

Last week I waxed lyrical about the benefits of group exercise sessions.  And today I am singing the praises of the slimming group.

It has taken me numerous weight loss attempts to come to the conclusion that I need the support of a slimming group.  I can’t do it on my own, no matter how much I convince myself.  For me, my greatest weight loss successes have happened when I have attended a slimming club.  It doesn’t suit everyone, but I like the weigh-in, the structure of a plan and the support.

I try to stay at my Slimming World meetings but as it clashes with parkrun and often my children’s commitments I am unable to every week.  But even if I quickly pop in to weigh, I know I am always assured of seeing a friendly face, can share how my week was with someone, and catch up with friend’s successes.  And when I do stay I draw inspiration from other members, whether it’s their weight loss, ideas, understanding or just the realisation that I am not alone, there are others out there fighting the same battles.  My Slimming World group feels like a wonderful comfort blanket and I am grateful to them all for what I have gained from it.  So if you are struggling alone remember the Slimming World’s motto: “When you’ve had a good week, the group needs you.  When you have had a bad week, you need the group.”

All the best,

Woodyrunning spoon

My Week

My Progress,

calendar

My week in numbers:

1lb loss

2 body pump classes

1 aqua aerobics class

3 runs

 

My week in words:

1lb off.  A loss is a loss, and after two weeks ago’s disappointment and then the great loss last week I am not too upset.  What has pleased me is that I am still “in the groove”.  Talking to many of my friends at Slimming World, a lot of them have fallen off the wagon and some have been more successful than others getting back on to it. But I have stayed focused, kept up with my exercise regime (apart from missing zumba as my knee was twinging a little) and have enjoyed it.  It would be lovely to lose 3lb every week but I would be happy to look back at a month and have lost ½ stone.  And continue to enjoy my food, keep control and enjoy exercising.  So far, so good!

I hope that your week was good!

All the best,

Woodyrunning spoon

5 tasty treats…all under 100 calories

healthy eating,

Fruit and veg

I don’t know about you but sticking to a healthy eating regime after years of pretty much eating what I want is tough.  Don’t get me wrong, I love fruit and some of the meals I’ve cooked do not taste like they are low fat, and are incredibly full of flavour, but I feel like I am missing something (which I am, lots of calories, lol!)

 

So here are 5 of my current favourite treats.  Treats that won’t break the calorie bank and give me something to look forward to! And all for under 100 calories.

 

  1. Freddo bar016

A small chocolate bar that is 95 calories.  Perfect for any chocoholic to enjoy without too much guilt.  A friend of mine has one a day and woe betides anyone in her family that takes her Freddo!

 

2. Special K Biscuit moments013

A handy little pack of two biscuits that are chocolately in the middle.  A lovely little treat that are 98 calories for the two biscuits.

 

3. Iced gemsiced gems

One of my favourite treats from childhood and also from adulthood.  A fabulous bag of biscuity loveliness that are only 99 calories.  Yum! Yum!

 

4. Special K cracker crisps015

Every so often I fancy something savoury.  And these hit the spot.  86 calories a bag they are tasty and won’t ruin your healthy eating.  And they are fab with a dip!  Sweet Chilli is my favourite flavour at the mo.

 

5. Pink and Whites018

My current favourite.  This marshmallow sandwiched between two wafers brings joy with every mouthful.  A treat that feels so much naughtier and only 50 calories each piece.  Divine.

 

So what are your little treats? Care to share?  Whatever they are, enjoy them!

 

All the best,

Woodyrunning spoon

My Week

My Progress,

calendar

My week in numbers:

3 ½ lbs lost

3 runs including 1 parkrun

1 bodypump class

2 zumba classes

1 aqua aerobics class

 

My week in words:

 

A much better result on the scales this week.  Although whatever it said I feel so much better.  I feel that I am making good choices; I am (mainly) enjoying my exercise (Zumba incident apart) and my food.  It was nice to get a compliment at work, and am hoping that my clothes will start to feel a little bit looser soon.  And did I mention how much I am enjoying the exercise?  It makes such a difference not just to weight loss but to my self-esteem.  I am hoping my enjoyment and motivation stays high!

Hope your week was good!

All the best,

Woodyrunning spoon