My new hobby...Running

Well I have to start of by saying SORRY. "Forgive me it has been a while since my last confession"... Ha ha couldn't resist always wanted to say that. I have been rather busy the last while. I first had my best friend visiting then the in law's and to top it my Step family. Was lovely to have them all but, after that was hubby's operation and that set him back for a bit again, so much for me time. He started back on track and I took up running!!!

Yes I said running lol.

I have a moto..."Never say Never". Gotta tell you I use to cycle as a kid sold my bike and said never again. ( I want a bike now) I said I would never have kids... I have 2...by choice. I said I would never be a runner... Funny how I said these things as a youngster and look now. I altered my view on life shortly after I decided that I was in fact ready to have a kid. From that day, if a friends said they would never I said "never say never".

I started off with just a 10min run/jog. Increased it to a 15min and then up to 20min run. At this point I was looking at the Santa Dashes everyone was talking about but was not ready for all that. I kept going and got up to 2miles in 20 min...and low and behold I fell ill. I was that ill that I lost my voice. You know how it is, you have responsibilities that comes first. Had all kinds of things going on at school so had to just plod on and get done with it. I was ill for nearly 3 weeks.

I managed to get my self all well again just in time for my mum to arrive for Xmas holiday. However at this time my last recorded run was end November. Obviously with family here and it being Xmas and all, there was not much time for anything else other than indulgence. Well all things a side I really enjoyed having my folks here and I really enjoyed Xmas. My exercise consisted of a lot of site seeing in particular going up the Conwy Castle towers a few times, lol.

Hubby also for once listened to what I "desired" as far as Xmas prezzies go, and I got loads of things for my new running hobby. Got a heart rate monitor watch and chest strap. Running shoes and outfit and accessories. Was pretty pleased with them and couldn't wait to test them. I had to wait unfortunately till the folks had left and I was actually jealous when friends started to talk about there first run of the year etc.

Any who. Got going as soon as they left and was pretty happy with my goodies. Was a slow start but was still able to do 2 miles. I was just doing it at a slower pace. 2 days later and I was feeling good again. Tried going a little further everyday. My goal for this year started off as The Liverpool 5k Santa Dash and a few of my group members said they would be up for the challenge.

One evening a friend sent me a message with a link... http://www.sportrelief.com/the-mile. Said her family was gonna do it, and she thought I might be interested. You have to agree it looks like fun since the family can do it to. It is a fun day of 1, 3 or 6 miles and as ours takes place at the Gulliver's were we get free entry after the race. This seems like a brilliant day and this is become my more immediate goal. This gave me a bit of a boot up the ... The next day I went out and pushed even harder. I was up to 2.7 miles and and decided that if I can do that I can do the full 3.1 miles.  I then realized that the park that seems so far to drive to is in actual fact only 1.5 miles away from home ha ha. Seemed easy enough.

I was doing ok. Not to out of breath, only get a little tired on the few uphills I got coming back. Once back on straights and got my breathing back under control I was ok again. I can proudly say I can do a 5k and not worry about it. I am trying to go little further and went 3.2 miles to day. Don't think I will push much further than that, maybe just go up to 3.5 miles and then start to work on time.

From what I figured out most people have different ideas of how you should train. Personally I don't think that if you run as a form of exercise that it really matters, but do agree that you should know your limits. I started off with just going for as long as I could and as it got easier went for a little longer. Don't push yourself that you drop when you get to the end. And read some info to get an understanding. Make it a mission to run at least 3 times a week and make it a habit.

A little motivation. Make a deal with yourself that you'll run for 10min. If you can't commit to that, just put on your running clothes. It's harder to talk yourself out of running once you're dressed.

I am looking forward to my challenge this year. I first have the Sainsbury's Sports Relief Day to look forward to and then I will be doing the Liverpool Santa Dash. I am planning  to do it as a Sponsored run and will be donating to either BOFAS or BASK. These organisations are involved with the research of knee ligament reconstruction and the improvement of Foot drop. They are both close to my family, as my husband surgeries were all experimental. For now I am doing the running for both of us as he will more than likely never be able to run again.

If you are thinking of taking up running, keep hold of this "Running is the greatest metaphor for life because you get out of it what you put into it." Oprha Winfrey and "There is no such thing as bad weather, only soft people" and have fun.

Just wanted to share this page with you gave me some insight http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/beginners/start-running-now-our-get-going-guide/4741.html

How do you know if you're exercising too much?

 At Slimming World we are not required to do exercise while following our eating plan, however it has advantages that they do remind us about. There for they have Body Magic Awards that they do to give us some motivation.

Body Magic Awards

Bronze standard

45 minutes per week (spread over at least 3 sessions in 5, 10 or 15 minute blocks), maintained for 4 weeks.

Silver standard

6 x 15 minutes or 3 x 30 minutes per week, maintained for 4 weeks.

Gold standard

10 x 15 minutes or 5 x 30 minutes per week, maintained for 8 weeks.

Platinum standard

When active living is a lifestyle! Maintained Gold Standard for second time

Most of us that have joined SW wasn't doing enough exercise or for that that matter none at all. We all know we can benefit and some might not even know the risk of being over weight. Health risks associated with being overweight or obese include type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, arthritis. Exercise can lower body fat and reduces risk of diseases. Regular activity reduces stress, anxiety and depression. There are some people that exercise to much so beware to much can make you susceptible to injuries and illness. 

The research tells us that you should exercise thirty to forty-five minutes a day, five days a week. It is sufficient to acquire health benefits and as much as your body needs activity it also needs rest, to much exercise can lead to long term health problems. Here are a few pointers of to much exercise: Typical symptoms include insomnia, achiness or pain in the muscles/ or joints. fatigue, headaches, sudden inability to complete a workout, not hungry, no energy and elevated morning pulse. Too much exercise can cause injuries such as stress fractures, strains and sprains, low body fat, fatigue, dehydration, osteoporosis and arthritis. Women have also been know en to stop there period when exercising to much. If you feel you show these symptoms you should see your doctor just to make sure.


The big secret is moderate activity instead of big sessions once or twice a week. Create a routine that best fits you be it 15 min a day walking the dog add on to that a fast pace walk for 15min on the way to fetch the kids at school and maybe even 15 min on the kinect with the kids jumping around. Break it down and then it doesn't seem that big a deal, does it. 


Before you know it 45min a day is really not that hard as you get more confident in your self you will increase your fast pace walk to 20min then to to 30min. You will do your 45min as a session with out thinking about it and your on your way to a healthier life style.

Holiday

I am backkkkk... Yes I know I have been gone for a bit but I am back. I have had a lovely 2 weeks off from SW while having visitors from South Africa. I have not taken much time off from SW since I started so I felt no regret in having a very flexi two weeks. It is not every day that you have family from abroad.

Most days we ate SW meals. I don't cook differently. If you visit you eat what I eat. I just had more syns than normal. Well you can't exactly not eat your fav chocolate from SA, it would just be wrong lol. We walked to the shops instead of driving, and even the family enjoyed it. They shopped up a storm. and then we had to carry it all home again. So that was my BM for the week, lol. (I did not have time to do my normal exercise routine.)

However, the day after they left all went back to normal. I went straight back on plan and had about 3 days before WI. Yesterday was WI day and I was so pleased with myself coming back from "holiday" and I had lost 3lbs. Yeah me.

Moral of the story is. When you go on holiday take the time off from SW. Make the correct choices when choosing food, in other words, instead of taking the high fat content meal pick the low fat choice. Have loads of fruit and salad and do a lot of activities.  If you want the Cornetto cone have it, don't think twice. If you want the blueberry muffin, have it. Hell if you eat the bag of peanuts so be it. It is holiday. My advice is go rock climbing, swimming, snorkeling, bike riding or even fast pace walks. every day. Then have some fun.

On your return, go back on plan the very next day. That way you will get your frame of mind right again.

I enjoyed my holiday. I did a lot of activity and chose low fat options. I flexied my syns and went back on plan after they left. I went to my very next WI and lost 3lbs. It goes to show it can be done. Even if I had gained I would still have made the same choices. It was worth it.

Have fun on your next holiday...

Body Magic

When most people start there slimming world journey they look at the plan and wonder if they will be able to do this. The consultant makes it sound easy enough with the extra easy plan, but when they start to talk about body magic I think that just scares you... I know it did me. I was that bad that I use to drive the kids to school and back and considering that it is only an 8 min walk either way I was really not doing anything to help myself.

Well before you go, "but I can't do exercise", this is how I started off. The first few weeks I just did the eating plan, getting my head to the right place was more important. I gradually started with fetching my eldest daughter from school in the afternoons and she really enjoyed the walk. I then started to walk her to school in the mornings. So there we have two school runs a day at least 3 times a week.When the kids started there summer holiday we started to walk to the park and I might add, for a 4/5 year old a 25 min walk there, play time and 25min walk back is no easy feat. This was the easy way to entertain the kids so we went often.

When the kids went back to school I started to walk home the long way around, this meant instead of the usual 8 min walk home I did a 25min walk home. Mind you I didn't do this more than twice a week at the start. Come Xmas time I started to get greedy, walked more often and further, honestly it did not help my weight loss. In other words if you don't feel up to that kind of exercise keep it simple.

Almost 11 months down the line I have now got a routine. Most mornings I walk the kids to school, The youngest still gets fetched from school 50/50 as she doesn't like the walk home and most of the time we are on our way too or from the shop. At 3 I fetch the eldest and the joke of it all is she hates it when I fetch her with the car (how is that for motivational walking... lol).

I recently decided to get myself the Zumba DVD's for home. I didn't feel very comfy in exposing myself till now anyway, and the classes are a tad expensive for me at the moment. I have lost so much weight and after 2 kids my tummy has excessive skin that just is not tightening up. Anyway, I started off with the basic DVD work out, it's only 20min and is a slow start so you can learn the steps. I did this a few times till I felt comfortable then gave the Cardio party ago. Tad more difficult but the work out felt great, I took it up a notch and tried to do this 3 times a week the first week. well I felt so good I tried the Sculpt and tone DVD...a lot harder, but damn did I feel the work out later. I really enjoyed it and upped my game and started to do it more often. I would really recommend this to everybody who doesn't like the normal gym workout or aerobics. It is more like dancing in a club, even if you do it at home.

You will see in a previous blog post that I talked about android apps that you can use for tracking this kind of thing, so go have a look.

There is other ways of doing your BM and the consultants will explain more about that. I am just sharing what I have experienced so far. Everybody is different remember that.

My advice is work at your own pace as you lose weight you will want to add a bit more body magic. You will feel better, you'll want to do some toning etc. Have fun that's the most important.