Keeping the faith

Yes I know I've only just started out on this venture, but this week has been really HARD.  The weather this week has been atrocious, with icy winds, rain and sleet.  Added to that, I've had a busy, stressful week and a fair few sleepless nights.  So I've only been out for a walk three days this week.  I don't belong to a gym so the great outdoors is my playground, whatever the weather.  I was hoping to achieve more than this, and I do feel disappointed, but the motivation was really hard to find this week.

Added to this I've still been down the 'naughty' cupboard quite a few times.  I've eaten plenty of fruit and veg, but when the going gets tough, this woman reaches for the choccies.

I am disappointed because I feel so good when I've exercised and eaten right.  I know I have eaten badly this week, my body feels sluggish so I don't know why I do this to myself.

So is there any advice for me please.  What do you do when the going gets tough? How do you stop yourself from straying from the healthy eating path?  What motivates you?

A different frame of mind

I've decided to stop dieting, which is something I've been doing since my twenties.  I currently weigh more than 200lb and every diet has ended up with me giving up and eventually weighing more than I did before I started.  I have had some success with WeightWatchers but then I'm one of these people who will eat one low calorie dessert and then will eat another one, just because it is low calorie.  Whenever I am on a diet I always think about food, it is a constant for me and I never seem to be able to forget about it.  I feel like I am in a constant state of denial.

This week I have been watching a lot of Youtube videos posted by the Bondi Lifeguards and it is very apparent that diet and fitness is a way of life, not something to pick up and put down when you feel like it.

This is why, this time I'm not dieting. I'm walking and exercising so that I can become fitter and stronger and of course healthier. I do like myself, I have lots of good points so I need to look after myself a lot more.

I have walked every day for the last 10 days, (except one) and I'm up to a mile and a half.  I am very proud of that achievement. I have also started adding an ab routine into my day which I was taught by a personal trainer when I used to frequent the gym.  I do feel a lot better already and my tummy muscles appear to have been shocked back into life. 'Clear!'

One of the benefits of watching videos of fit young men and reading tweets from them is that it does seem to adjust the frame of mind.  I find I am now gravitating more towards the fresh fruit and veg rather than the chocolate bars.  I still buy chocolate bars, don't get me wrong, but rather astonishingly they are lasting much longer.  My mental state is changing! Good grief!  I am also trying to listen to my body and giving it what it wants, rather than what I can lay my hands on in a fit of boredom, sadness or excitement.  Yep I am an emotional eater and when I'm bored I am not reaching for the carrot sticks.

I also noticed when reading blogs and vlogs and tweets from the Bondi boys that there is still room for fish 'n' chips or a snickers bar. And I realise that denying myself something only makes me crave it all the more. It is not about denial anymore, it is about choice.  If I choose to eat something sweet and sugary then that is my choice.  It is there if I want it, but because it is available quite often I will now choose a healthier option. It's all a case of mind games.

All through my childhood and up to my twenties I was a fit and healthy person. I belonged to dance clubs, a running club, a swimming club and a judo club. I did weekly aerobics and cycled everywhere. I am not sure where it all went drastically wrong, but I am looking foward to getting back to the sort of person I was, although not going to a different club every night.

So I am going to continue to listen to the sublime messages the Bondi boys are sending me, and added to the voices in my own head, hopefully somewhere down the line I will make some sense to you all.

A Promise To Me

I have discovered a new television show called Bondi Rescue. Now having avidly watched all the episodes it has left me rather inspired and with a lot of thinking to do. I have had several 'Wow' moments as I've watch the athletism of these Bondi Boys. The Ironman Challenge and the regular lifeguard test show how completely fit these men are. Which brought me thinking a little more about myself and my fitness levels.  They are quite frankly completely crap.  A kilometre run, then kilometre swim, followed by a two kilometre board paddle...do me a favour. The nearest I would get to the Ironman Challenge would be a quick sprint upstairs, a splash in the bath and then a total collapse across an ironing board.  This I realised, really would not do.  So Saturday found me making the most of the first sunny day in weeks and going for a walk.  I enjoyed it so much, I went again on Sunday and then again on Monday.  I went yesterday too and today.  I feel very good about this and extremely proud of myself.  I am a very big girl, with at least 50lbs to lose.  But until now it has never bothered me.  I've been quite happy lumbering after over 100 children and squeezing my backside between minscule dining chairs.

Now the thing is, I have a slight problem. I have a dodgy knee and the complaining ankle and anything too strenuous does tend to make one or the other play up.

I am lucky however, in that in every other respect I am extremely healthy.  For someone my size, I am lucky to have low blood pressure.  I don't smoke and only occasionally drink. I have no illnesses or other complaints and I do think that if I can ease the weight on my dodgy bits, I could be 'quite a fit bird.'

So, as a treat to myself and in honour of all that is fit and good and Bondi related, I am going to get fit. I don't want to be skinny I just want to be healthy.  And to be honest with my addiction to sugar, skinny just 'aint gonna happen.

So there is no strict diet.  Just exercise. Walking and lots of it. It will benefit my body and whilst I am stepping out my stride I can daydream to my hearts content about fit, ripped men, on a beach somewhere on the opposite side of the world.  Come on...what's not to like?

I am of course going to tweak my diet. I'm going to add lots of healthy food like fruit and veg, and be very vigilent about what I put in my body, but I'm not going to deny myself either. If I end up in Costa's and I am offered a piece of cake...who am I to refuse?

And I'm going to tell you all about it as I start my journey to Bondi Body Beautification.  I have received such a boost from watching the show and enjoyed every twenty odd minutes of free time I have spent with the boys.  So those minutes are going to continue but out there on the streets not in front of the box.

I hope you enjoy the journey and share it with me.  If you do, share with others, tweet and facebook me to your friends and come be inspired with me.