Category Archives: exercise

Wow. ‘Normal sized’ people diet too?

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Who knew? Well, I probably did, but I was clearly not taking any notice of it! Why this didn’t sink in before, I have no idea.

Of course slim people watch what they eat too. They cut down those calories before a holiday or a weekend away… and then again when they get back. I accept that there will always be exceptions – the person that can seemingly eat anything they want and never gain weight – but ultimately if you increase your calorie intake vs your calorie expendure, you will gain weight – and vice versa.

But back to the slim-jims … they might eat less Monday to Friday, so they can relax a bit over the weekend. Or maybe they’ll do some extra exercise to compensate.

Wow. That sounds simple. Although it’s taken me most of my adult life to realise this, I’m trying to be one of ‘those’ people. The ones that conciously eat … and the ones that enjoy their splurges, but stop the food party afterwards!

PS Off to the gym this afternoon to try out a new, personlised programme – got a feeling I’m going to feel it later on!

When do you know you’ve succeeded? And what are you doing this week to achieve your goal?

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I find it interesting as people are now asking me how I’ve lost weight. In their minds it is as if I have already succeeded. (By the way, there’s no one easy answer because I’ve changed just about everything, from using the stairs and not the lift – to my entire eating habits. I’ll come back to this – probably – in another post.)

I wrote in my last post that my mantra was ‘get it off, keep it off’. Well, I’m still in the ‘getting it off’ place – a few more pounds to go.

But it got me thinking – how do I know when I have been successful? I don’t feel like I am successful… yet! Yes, I am part of the way there, but I think it has to be to do with the latter part of my mantra ‘keep it off’.  As we know, a massive proportion of dieters regain the weight after they have dieted.

So I think I’ll be able to say that I have been successful if I am the same weight as I am now (or less) in one year’s time. That will be an achievement.

In the mean time – to keep losing those few extra pounds so that I achieve my goal – and to counterbalance going out for lunch AND dinner on Friday (can’t wait!) – I’m going to:

  1. Make sure I drink at least 2 litres of water a day (yes, water helps!)
  2. Get to bed before midnight (yes, sleep matters)
  3. Go to the gym on Sunday for an ‘MOT’ (health check) and workout (no surprises, here)
  4. Watch ‘The Biggest Loser’ for motivation!

What about you? What will you do to help achieve your goal this week?

Until next time…

 

 

 

“Is this plane seat smaller than the others in the row in front?”

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Slightly too long pause.

British Airways Crew “Er… no, madam!” Uh oh. It’s just the size of my bottom, then, causing the trouble! Not an auspicious start to my holiday and not a very comfortable two hour flight. Thank goodness it was a short haul flight!

Well, that was then, last year. Things are a bit different now. Thankfully.

What sparked this particular memory was this wonderful image I found on Facebook on Detox International’s Facebook page last week – which really resonated with me.

Website: Credit: https://www.faactually I just woke up one daycebook.com/pages/Detox-International-A-life-changing-experience/276360322420371

It struck me then once you have decided you want to change – then you do. It’s not that difficult, you just have to want it enough. It can apply to any area of your life – big or small.

This is what happened to me after the plane incident. Last June I started ‘Project Me’. I didn’t blog about it. I didn’t really talk about it – except to those closest to me. I just did it. I am still doing it.

I am trying to become healthier by the day by losing the unnecessary weight and becoming more active. And becoming more aware of myself – because somehow, somewhere, I had lost ‘Andrea’ – she was buried deep in extra layers. And boy did ‘she’ like to reward herself with food and drink. Tough day? Glass of wine! Good day? Glass of wine? Normal day. Oh, let’s have some nice dinner. And on it went.

So my first trigger for action was the (small!) plane seat.  The second was choosing what to wear every day had become a trauma. It was taking longer and longer to find something that looked vaguely flattering, to hide my increasing bulk.  But, really, the plane was the trigger. Enough was enough. I enjoyed my few days abroad, but I knew I had to do something about it. Summer was coming and I had a big programme of events to deliver for work – where it would be difficult to eat healthily. Timing was terrible. But deep inside, I had to start. So start I did. I bought a pedometer. I found myfitnesspal.com – a free app that calorie counts your food. And that was the start.  So gradually, I am changing and I need to stay changed!

My mantra is ‘get it off, keep it off’. I have a feeling it will be the continuing challenge of my lifetime. I’ll be blogging about my journey from time to time – sharing things I have discovered  about myself in the hope that even one other person (apart from me!) will be helped or inspired to make some positive changes in their lives. Until next time!

The day on which the swimming got more tricky!

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… and I have to actually read the instructions for the training!

I managed to get in my mid-week swim in! Yay! And this, despite working in the office and not from home today. But I did find it tougher this time. Maybe because I did it in the evening. Maybe because I’ve had 3 very long work days. Maybe it’s because I’m just not fit enough! Maybe it’s because I did the second training session for the 5K smimathon and there was no breastroke at all – in over 60 laps – which is my normal swinming stroke of choice!

I was amazed how hard it was doing backstroke; legs only (edit: not for all 60+ lengths; just for 12!) and I realised the importance of taking the rest breaks during the session – well, it is on the training plan, after all, which is what I’m supposed to be following!

I think I’m going to sleep well tonight! How are you all doing?

 

PS: This was what I did – copied text from the training plan, link below!

Session 2: For this session you’ll need: approx 1 hour, a hat (if required), goggles, kick board, drinks bottle (pre, during, post), energy bar (post training), heart rate monitor (optional)

Session target – 1800m (72 lengths) Main session target heart rate: 50-60 beats below max heart rate (BBMHR)

 Warm up: Swim for 8 minutes alternating 4 lengths front crawl and 4 lengths backstroke – without resting. Rest: Up to 1 minute after the 8 minutes. Effort level: Easy

Main session: 

  1. Swim 16 lengths front crawl. Rest: 45 seconds every 2 lengths.
  2. Lying on your back hold a float above your head or to your chest and kick for 12 lengths using backstroke. If you don’t have a float your arms can be by your sides or straight above you in a streamlined position. Rest: 1 minute after each length
  3. Swim 16 lengths front crawl: aim to get faster from lengths 1 to 8 and then again from lengths 9 to 16.  Rest: 30 seconds every 2 lengths.

Effort level: Moderate

Swim down: Swim for 6 minutes using a stroke of your choice – without resting.  Effort level: Easy

Here are the training plans and swimathon links respectively: http://www.hertsmereleisure.co.uk/docs_centre/bletchley/Swimathon%20Weekend%205k%20training%20plan.pdf

Swimathon: http://www.swimathon.org/index.php

The day on which I start swimathon training …

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Just a quick post tonight – and to say I’m trying my best to establish a habit – and planning when I do my exercise!

I haven’t quite yet decided if I’m going to do a swimathon or not, but I even if I don’t, I can train as if I’m doing it – which means I have a structure and am increasing my training.

I looked at the 5K training plans and tonight I did the first session plan. It took me just over 60 minutes – and it says it should have taken around an hour, so that’s ok I guess 🙂 I swam about 1600 metres.  

You can find the training plans here, if you’d like:

http://www.hertsmereleisure.co.uk/docs_centre/bletchley/Swimathon%20Weekend%205k%20training%20plan.pdf

If you fancy doing the swimathon, just take a look here:

http://www.swimathon.org/index.php

PS: By the way, I’m loving your comments and discussions on Facebook, Twitter or G+, but don’t forget you can comment here, too, and you can sign in with your usual profile eg facebook… It’s just over on the left of the page!