All the other stuff
& that is exactly why I will never give up trying to lose weight.
I am not worried about how I look, it’s the fact that I feel sluggish, that I get puffed out much quicker than used to, that I have lost a lot of strength and confidence in my legs since my accident that bothers & motivates me.
We only have one body and I have finally realised if I want the best performance from it its time I started treating it a little better
Wow, I knew it had been a while since I last posted but I hadn’t realised it had been almost 6 months.
So what have I been up to, not much if the truth be told
Unfortunately between Christmas & New Year we lost our beautiful furbaby, at 18.5yrs old he had had an amazing life, in recent years there had been times when we had feared we would lose him but at Christmas it came as a total surprise, the day before had been my husbands birthday and we had all had a lovely day, but the following morning he woke in the early hours disorientated, refusing to settle, eat or drink, walking into walls and furniture, crying, all totally out of character, it was like he was telling us it was time, saying goodbye was one of the most heartbreaking things I have ever had to do, even now 3 months later we still miss home every day
Life without Ernie is very different, he was one big of the reasons I gave up work last year, at his age we didn’t like leaving him alone for more than 2-3hrs at a time, if we were home he wouldn’t sit still unless we were sat with him so I spent much of my time with him on the sofa all cuddled up, now I have my whole day to myself.
At the start of the year my husband and I stepped on the scales, neither of us were happy with what we saw, I was over a stone heavier than my previous heaviest weight, of course I was disappointed but I also knew I had enjoyed the eating and drinking that had lead to the gain.
My husband has always found it fairly easy to lose weight, me on the other hand not so much, we booked a holiday to Mexico at the end of March to keep us focused, he set himself a goal of 2st (12.8kg), I set myself a goal of 1st (6.4kg) he hit his goal I was a few lbs short of mine but was still happy, as it was the most consistent weight loss I had achieved in a long while.
One of the things we done to help us with the weight loss was to start running again and we also joined up to a weekly boxing class called Fightklub (I’ll share more about Fightklub another time)
We are now back from Mexico, we are facing the scales tomorrow, I know it wont be pretty
I am hoping to start posting more regularly & hope you enjoy what I write.
Weight loss is a really big deal to me at the moment, I know there are lots of people out there that will say you shouldn’t diet, you should be happy in your own skin, but I don’t find the word ‘diet’ offensive, in fact the dictionary definition of the word diet is ‘the food eaten by a particular group or person’ it doesn’t even mention weight loss, but the fact of the matter is that I do need to lose weight so it that means that I have to make some changes to what I eat (ie my current diet) so be it.
During my time as a Leader for Weight Watchers I often heard people talking about rewarding themselves for their weight loss, I have to be honest it’s not something I had ever considered as I had always been fortunate enough to be able to buy what I wanted when I wanted and patience has never been one of my best qualities, but times change, I have given up my job and while I am still able to make those purchases, I am now thinking twice about them, so suddenly rewarding myself for my weight loss seems appealing, plus in the past I have often made food a reward and that is a habit I want to stop
So I have decided I will reward myself for every 7lbs I lose & when I reach 5, 10, 15, 20 & 25% weight loss etc, these may change but at the moment here are what I think my rewards may look like
7lbs – new gym top – loving my new top ‘Don’t wait for it – Work for it’ top that I treated myself to for reaching my 7lbs
5% (9lbs) – new Fitbit charge 2
14lbs – new colouring pencils
10% (18lbs) – perfume
21lbs – new colouring pens
15% (27lbs) – new gym leggings
28lbs – new gym top
35lbs – new Fitbit Strap
20% (36lbs) new make up
42lbs – new trainers
25% (45lbs) – tikiboo gym capri’s
49lbs – new haircut/colour
50lbs – new clothes
Do you reward yourself for reaching your goals, what kind of rewards would motivate you?
Ever since my accident last year I haven’t really enjoyed running, it’s something I do because I have to, I could of and probably should have walked away from the London Marathon but I know I would have regretted that forever and I am glad that I took part and I am proud of how I ran on the day, but since then not so much.
I think what I need to do is go back to basics again, at the moment I am struggling to run a mile let alone 5k & the thought of a Half Marathon petrifies me even though I have one less than a month away.
A few years ago I was able to run a 5k in just under 30mins now I am struggling to do them in under 35mins, I got my 10k time down to just under 1hr 5, my most recent 10k was nearer 1hr 16, my first Half Marathon was my fastest 2.26 (if you ignore the 12 minute delay mid way through, thanks Run to the Beat) I think I will struggle to complete Royal Parks in under 2hrs 45
I come up with every excuse not to run, so after Royal Parks I am not booking anymore races until I have re completed C25k and hopefully refound my love of running.
But in the meantime I do have to face up to the fact that I have Royal Parks Half in 2.5 weeks, in an ideal world I would try and come up with a plan for even just a few runs between now and then but with the Shine walking Marathon this weekend (a sore throat, achy body and a bit of a temperature that I am desperately trying to ignore, in the hope that it will be gone by Saturday) its really not looking likely, so the plan is to get Shine out of the way, hopefully then I will be able to get a run in towards next week & a one or two again the week after and then the plan for Royal Parks race day will very much be to go out and enjoy myself, I will be the queen of selfies & take in the atmosphere and the sights.
Have you ever fallen out of love with an activity you had previously enjoyed, what did you do to reignite that flame?
I have been talking about this on Instagram for weeks but have yet to put my words into practice
While my eating has definitely been better there is still room for improvement, I am finding myself caught off guard where dinners haven’t been planned and there is nothing in the house.
Doing all the gym classes on offer aren’t going to help me if I am still eating rubbish.
So this week I am going to plan my meals in advance to ensure I stay within my allowances and to ensure I am eating to fuel my body, I have a 26.2 mile walk to do Saturday night, so my nutrition needs to be spot on.
Me & Taffy helping Mo on one of his London 2012 training runs
When I queued at the start line of the London 10,000 race back in 2012, I never realised what an impact the other athletes taking part would have on me.
Mo Farah producing a sub 30 10k time at the London 10,000 in 2012
I am not sure I had even heard of Mo Farah before that day, all I can remember is just as I was turning onto the Embankment and around the 1.5km the runners in front of me seemed to slow a little and everyone’s head was turning to the right, a ripple of applause was going through the runners and the crowds and that was when I saw a group of male runners approaching the 9km mark (yes I am that slow but in my defence there were over 10,000 runners and a staggered start) and I later heard that the guy who had won the race was Olympic Gold Medal hopeful Mo Farah, see so me lining up on that crowded start line was actually me going out and supporting Mo on an Olympic training run.
From that moment on I seemed to hear his name everywhere, to be honest, I had zero interest in the Olympics, London 2012 was an inconvenience for me not a cause for excitement, being an East Londoner and having the Olympic Stadium only 4 miles from my front door meant a summer of extra crowded commutes, probably train delays, tightened security, I honestly couldn’t name you a positive. That was until I heard that the Olympic Torch was coming to our local Country Park and along our High Street, suddenly this was getting hard to ignore, I mean the Olympic Torch is famous, and while I know it wasn’t the original Olympic torch coming to Barkingside, the idea behind people carrying the flame to the stadium is a piece of history and even though it meant getting up at 6am on a Sunday morning, a piece of history happening so close was becoming hard to resist.
Shiny Gold Torch
So on that sunny July Sunday morning I dragged a grumpy husband and equally grumpy dog to Fairlop Waters Country Park to watch the Olympic torch be carried across the lake, from that second on, I was a little bit hooked on the Olympics, who was I kidding I WAS hooked, Swimming, Athletics, Diving, Gymnastics, I was watching it all, totally gutted that I hadn’t even attempted to get tickets, seeing empty seats in the stadium yet on the website being told there were no tickets available for sale
Running with 2016 10,000m finalist Jo Pavey
While I had already dedicated 2012 to getting fit, Olympic fever definitely inspired me further, don’t get me wrong I never expected to get to an Olympic level but I have been fortunate to do some pretty amazing things including running into & on the tracks of the Olympic Stadiums in both London & Amsterdam, as well as running with British 10,000m European Gold Medalist Jo Pavey and more recently chatting London Marathon nerves with Dame Kelly Holmes.
Me, Taffy, Jemma & Alice inside the Olympic Stadium before the 2013 Anniversary Run
I will never forget the goosebumps and emotions I felt running into the Olympic Stadium in 2013 as part of the National Lottery Anniversary Run a 5-mile race that took place in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and finished inside the Olympic Stadium. the last kilometer of the race saw us enter a tunnel which took us a whole lap underneath the stadium as we run underneath the stadium the theme tune to Chariots of Fire played, you could see the emotion on people’s faces and then you turn and come out and complete a 3/4 lap of the Olympic track, as you come out into the stadium the cheers were deafening, if there was ever any doubt that you could finish this race the crowds were not going to let you give up, those cheers were going to get you around, no matter how fast or slow. everyone got the same applause.
Me carrying an Olympic Torch during the 2014 Anniversary Run
Olympic Stadium in the background
I wish I still had the same passion for exercise that I had in 2012 & 2013, I really did get a buzz out of every event I took part in. I had kind of hoped that Rio would reignite that flame inside of me but unfortunately I think the time difference has meant that I have found it difficult to really follow the events I wanted to, although Ernie (my 18yr old Jack Russell) very kindly got me up just in time to watch Jessica Ennis compete in the 800ms last night and also watch Micheal Phelps compete n the 4x100m relay and win his 28th (OMG) Olympic Medal & Team GB win their 6th Olympic Swimming Medal our best swimming haul ever, so as I sit here writing this while watching the Olympic Women’s marathon, again knowing that me going for a little 26.2 mile run with Jemima Sumgong through the streets of London back in April may help her win the Olympic Marathon just as she did in London this year, I am determined to make 2016 count, I am determined to finish 2016 fitter and hopefully slimmer than I entered it.
Does watching sport motivate you, have you ever taken up an activity after watching it, or has the Olympics inspired you to start getting fit?
I would love to hear your stories & will be sure to keep you updated as to how I am getting on.
NB Between me typing this post & it going live Jemima Sungong won Olympic Gold in the marathon, hard work & coincidence or am I really a lucky charm to Olympians worldwide?
If you are an active user of social media & a runner or wannabe runner, it’s highly likely you have heard of Julie Creffield and her blog The Fat Girls Guide to Running which is the worlds only resource specifically designed for plus size runners, and home to her global Too Fat to Run? campaign, where her mission is to get 1 million overweight women running.
As part of the Too Fat to Run campaign Julie hosts a monthly FREE to enter virtual 5k race & the next one is being held this Sunday 31st July (you can sign up here), whether you are able to run the whole thing, do a combination or run/walk or even want to use this as a starting point and plan to walk the whole thing, that’s fine, as long as we get up off the couch and move!
As well as offering a free monthly race Julie also offers an online running club, which offers support, advice and accountability, and has written a number of running books that are available on Amazon here, I can highly recommend Getting Past the First 30 Seconds & 5 weeks to 5k a course that she also ran live on ITVs This Morning earlier last year with a group of viewers.
I haven’t been asked to write this blog post I have done it simply because Julie inspires me every day, I am fortunate to live fairly local to Julie so not only can I follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram but I also get to see a friendly face at most of the races I attend, the one above was taken at the Great Newham Run a few weeks ago (Race recap to follow next week, I promise)
If like me you are taking part in Run Hackney this weekend, then you might want to think about treating yourself to a relaxing post race float at Floatworks
I am sure you have already heard about the benefits of Epsom Salts to help ease the pain of aching muscles, well times that by 100 as you step into the biggest bath of Epsom Salts ever, imagine how good that’s going to make those aching muscles feel?
When I had a job in the City I used to have monthly floats at the Floatwork studio in London Bridge, at first I was nervous as I suffer from claustrophobia & a fear of water (I can’t swim), so the first time I visited I left the tank door open until I relaxed (don’t worry you are always in a private room), I am not entirely sure how my friend convinced me to go for my first float – it was probably the lure of a Groupon offer, but I am glad she did, as with a demanding career my monthly floats soon became a really good way to relax & have some me time, an hour to switch off and unwind
Following a change of ownership & move from London Bridge to Vauxhall, I was really excited to be invited down for a float to celebrate Floatworks relaunch at the start of April, the new studio is situated just a 2 minute walk from Vauxhall Station & is designed to ensure complete tranquility during your visit
When you arrive you are asked to complete a short questionnaire before the float process is explained to you, you are then invited to leave coats, bags shoes etc in a locker & before you are shown to your private room, the rooms are small but adequate, and contain the tank and your own private shower
In the room you are left a towel, some ear plugs and vaseline to cover any cuts or grazes, before you are left to undress/change and enjoy your float session.
As I mentioned in the past I have found the sessions so relaxing I have fallen asleep, I’m one of those people that find it very hard to switch off from daily life, unfortunately this time I was a bit like ‘ohh I wonder if I can snap a quick selfie to share on Instagram’
Post float, you have a shower, shower gels, shampoo and conditioners are all supplied, before getting dressed and being invited to spend some time in the Floatworks chill out area, where they offer complimentary juices and green teas, they even have a hair care area complete with hair dryers, straightners
So would I recommend Floatworks, absolutely, I definitely intend to go back myself, I had planned to go after the marathon but unfortunately stairs were not my friend so I couldn’t face the trip into London.
If I were asked for feedback, my suggestions would be a hook somewhere in the room to hang clothes, offer clients two towels, if you have women attending one isn’t enough when you are encouraged to sort your hair out in a room upstairs & maybe a bath pillow, the pillow won’t fit with the luxe feel of Floatworks but for first time floaters who may take a little time to relax these will definitely stop you coming out with neck ache (& on a personal note pack a toiletry bag with deodorant, hairbrush etc to take into the float room, rather than leaving them in your locker and then having to make a dash to the loo to put on deodorant and run a comb through your soaking wet hair)
Want to know a bit more about what floating is and the benefits of it, here’s a snippet I have pinched from the Floatworks website
So what is Floating
Here comes the technical bit!
Also known as floatation & float therapy, the floatation experience is delivered through a super-saturated Epsom-salt solution, 25cm deep and containing 525kg of magnesium rich Epsom-salts.
The solution is heated to skin temperature (35.5°C) and the environment in the tank is controlled so that the air is also skin temperature. Once you are settled, it is impossible to tell which parts of your body are in the water and which are not.
This creates an environment similar to that of the Dead Sea but without the sensation of temperature or movement, which lets you float effortlessly on the surface of the water, enjoying a feeling of total freedom & weightlessness!
Our Isopod tanks are the best on earth, specifically designed to block out all external distractions including sight, sound, tactile sensations and gravity. This environment brings long lasting and transformational experiences.
Floating has become increasingly popular, as more people have learnt about floatation therapy’s remarkable benefits.
So why float
We are still exploring the depths of the benefits, and this long list will get longer as each year goes by and floatation therapy becomes ever more popular:
Have you ever tried Floating or is it something you’d like to try?
Floatworks currently have some fantastic opening offers and are also offering a 20% discount if you use the code MYFLOAT this discount CAN be used in conjunction with their other offers
NB : I was offered a complimentary float from Floatworks to celebrate their launch weekend, I was not asked to write a blog post in return but as I enjoyed it so much & had previously paid to visit I wanted to share my experience
Against all the odds, leg still not 100% healed, a chest infection that lasted the whole of March and made me so run down I had to start a fresh course of B12 injections at the beginning of April, I completed the London Marathon last weekend & I absolutely bloody loved it
I am still struggling to put the day into words but I wanted to let you know I made it and promise you that a full race recap will follow soon I promise, along with more regular blog posts will follow soon
Happy tears, that bling & those nails!
Absolutely nothing to report on the running front unfortunately, I have had an awful chest/viral infection for over 4 weeks, at least my physio will be pleased he wanted me to rest my legs
I had been hoping to do my 20 mile run this weekend but as I was getting breathless walking a mile that was never going to happen, the plan now is to eat well for the next 3 weeks and try and get better, I am hoping to try and get out for a few runs this week and if I am feeling better I will try and do 18 miles next weekend, even if I walk the whole thing Id be happy just to have done the mileage but realistically I just can’t even see me being ready to walk 8 miles let alone 18, but I will keep you posted
Are you training for an event, how are you getting on?
Project Healthy Fit Me 