Last night, after so many times hearing about the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred which can be viewed for free on youtube, I finally did it for myself. If you just skimmed through the video it might look easy but trust me, it's not! I was sweaty by the end and could really feel it in my thighs and arms. I like the fact that it is only 25 minutes long, or even shorter if you don't count the introduction and the cool down. I get bored of exercise pretty quickly if I'm not enjoying it so I need things that are shorter but still DO something.
Aside from walking regularly which I don't mind, I know it is important to also use your muscles (or "lift heavy things" as Mark Sisson would say) a couple of times a week. The trouble is, I always procrastinate like crazy when it comes to strength training because lifting weights just isn't fun to me! Or I do a workout once, and never again. So I have learnt to not worry about sticking to a consistent routine, as long as I am lifting heavy things a couple of times a week and generally keeping active. This page has a whole bunch of free workouts to watch and so I am just going to mix it up and keep trying out different ones. Sure, I'll go back to the 30 day shred sometimes too. But if I did it all the time it would drive me crazy. I really do have to just end up forcing myself to exercise sometimes.
If I really don't want to do a whole workout at once I just do it sporadically throughout the day - like doing some lateral raises when I walk past my hand weights, or walking lunges on the way to the bathroom, or running up and down the stairs when I feel like it, etc.
I have pretty much acknowledged my laziness when it comes to exercise, and that you just have to make the best use of what you have really. I'm never going to be one of those people who is "addicted to exercise" I don't think, or who loves lifting, or whatever. I can deal with that as long as I keep moving around a lot throughout the day and don't sit on my butt the whole time!
Showing posts with label Exercise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Exercise. Show all posts
Sunday, 25 May 2014
Wednesday, 22 January 2014
Farewell, sugar. It hasn't been nice knowing you...
It has come to my realisation that I will never be able to "moderate" myself when exposed to sugar. I thought that I would be able to have a little bit now and again but for whatever reason, when choice comes into the matter and there is the option of being able to have some, it just screws with my mind and I want to binge on it. I mean, sugar is an addictive substance so it is not surprising that having a "little bit" just makes you want to have more and more.
So I have decided that what I was doing during my 3 weeks of no sugar - i.e. only having sugar in the form of whole fruit - is what I want to continue to do for the rest of my life. The only exception I will make is for parties and special events, because I think it would be nice to be able to bake something for occasions like that and I do love baking, and I have lots of people to share the food with. But in day to day life, living without sugar and starch is now my norm. And I am happy to live without binge eating.
As I promised myself the other day, I have stopped weighing myself and obsessing over what the scales say, and I think it has made a difference. My work pants are looser than they were the other day! So I think that shifting the focus away from "losing weight" and onto just living day to day life as healthily and actively as possible, is the key. Besides, as I know from experience, the scales are not always reliable!
I had to take my car to get serviced yesterday, and pick it up today, and both times it involved a half hour walk. Luckily the weather is a bit cooler and overcast, but I still slip-slop-slapped. Today after I picked my car up I drove it to a local park and did some sprints, inspired by this article from Mark's Daily Apple. Like skipping, sprinting appeals to me because it doesn't take long!
So I have decided that what I was doing during my 3 weeks of no sugar - i.e. only having sugar in the form of whole fruit - is what I want to continue to do for the rest of my life. The only exception I will make is for parties and special events, because I think it would be nice to be able to bake something for occasions like that and I do love baking, and I have lots of people to share the food with. But in day to day life, living without sugar and starch is now my norm. And I am happy to live without binge eating.
As I promised myself the other day, I have stopped weighing myself and obsessing over what the scales say, and I think it has made a difference. My work pants are looser than they were the other day! So I think that shifting the focus away from "losing weight" and onto just living day to day life as healthily and actively as possible, is the key. Besides, as I know from experience, the scales are not always reliable!
I had to take my car to get serviced yesterday, and pick it up today, and both times it involved a half hour walk. Luckily the weather is a bit cooler and overcast, but I still slip-slop-slapped. Today after I picked my car up I drove it to a local park and did some sprints, inspired by this article from Mark's Daily Apple. Like skipping, sprinting appeals to me because it doesn't take long!
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
The Lazy Person's Guide to Keeping Fit
Let's just begin with the fact that I am in inherently lazy person who has always hated playing sport, always came last in P.E. in school, and over the years has planned to do about 100 different exercises "regimens" I found in magazines and online only to never actually do them. I never really enjoyed exercise, and will procrastinate from doing almost anything (even posting a letter, I kid you not.)
Therefore, if you're a person like me, with whom sheer willpower and "just doing it" simply do not work when it comes to going to the gym, then here is what I have learnt along the way:
You have to find something that you enjoy doing and which also happens to be exercise.
I've always enjoyed dancing. Recently I was at a party where we played "Just Dance" on Wii, and it was so fun! But I was sweating afterwards as well - so buying it for myself to play at home was a no-brainer. I've also bought Zumba DVDs and downloaded dancing workouts online which I do occasionally but not so often it becomes boring.
I've always enjoyed walking to clear my head, revel in nature and see the happiness it brings my dog so that part is easy. If you find walking boring, use an ipod or get a friend to come with you.
If you enjoy swimming a few laps occasionally, playing tennis now and then, or riding a bike on the weekends, then all those things done at leisure really add up as well.
Do housework.
Seriously: vacuuming, scrubbing the shower, doing the laundry and tidying up are all full body exercises. If you did half an hour a day you would not only have a ridiculously clean house but be adding in some extra incidental activity as well - not to mention that it is very therapeutic!
Save the boring resistance exercises for after your enjoyable activities.
I really do not enjoy doing squats and pushups and weight lifting but I know that it is important for my health and fitness and bone strength. Sigh. I've never been a gym bunny, I can never motivate myself to do a resistance training session in itself but after I've been doing some dancing or walking, and I'm already warmed up and wearing exercise clothes anyway, throwing in a few body weight exercises really isn't that hard for me.
Skipping is the bees knees.
It's appealing because not only is it fun, you will find yourself naturally challenging yourself to do more skips in a row, and it only takes a few minutes. Like, literally 3 minutes is all I have spent doing it each day.
I have been building up slowly, by starting off with 5 sets of 20 skips in a row, then the next day 25, the next day 30 and so on. I am currently up to 45 skips in a row. Since it is such a high intensity exercise that really gets your heart rate up, you don't have to do it for very long, and it releases human growth hormone which burns fat. So if you need to give your weight loss a kick in the butt then I recommend trying skipping. It worked for me.
A word of warning: please please warm up and stretch before you start skipping. I made the mistake of not doing that the first day and sincerely regretted it the next day when my back was really sore. But I powered through and kept going, just made sure I stretched and warmed up, and by day 3 the pain was gone.
Skipping has a whole bunch of benefits and is a total body exercise, and you can pretty much do it anywhere with some floor space and enough height. And I know I said it before but I love the fact that it only takes a few minutes a day. Because if you didn't already know, I am really quite lazy.
Sometimes, a little willpower is required to get me to go out and do the skipping or to go for a walk but those things are a lot more achievable for me than hitting the gym for a spin class or something. So find what works for you!
Therefore, if you're a person like me, with whom sheer willpower and "just doing it" simply do not work when it comes to going to the gym, then here is what I have learnt along the way:
You have to find something that you enjoy doing and which also happens to be exercise.
I've always enjoyed dancing. Recently I was at a party where we played "Just Dance" on Wii, and it was so fun! But I was sweating afterwards as well - so buying it for myself to play at home was a no-brainer. I've also bought Zumba DVDs and downloaded dancing workouts online which I do occasionally but not so often it becomes boring.
I've always enjoyed walking to clear my head, revel in nature and see the happiness it brings my dog so that part is easy. If you find walking boring, use an ipod or get a friend to come with you.
If you enjoy swimming a few laps occasionally, playing tennis now and then, or riding a bike on the weekends, then all those things done at leisure really add up as well.
Do housework.
Seriously: vacuuming, scrubbing the shower, doing the laundry and tidying up are all full body exercises. If you did half an hour a day you would not only have a ridiculously clean house but be adding in some extra incidental activity as well - not to mention that it is very therapeutic!
Save the boring resistance exercises for after your enjoyable activities.
I really do not enjoy doing squats and pushups and weight lifting but I know that it is important for my health and fitness and bone strength. Sigh. I've never been a gym bunny, I can never motivate myself to do a resistance training session in itself but after I've been doing some dancing or walking, and I'm already warmed up and wearing exercise clothes anyway, throwing in a few body weight exercises really isn't that hard for me.
Skipping is the bees knees.
It's appealing because not only is it fun, you will find yourself naturally challenging yourself to do more skips in a row, and it only takes a few minutes. Like, literally 3 minutes is all I have spent doing it each day.
I have been building up slowly, by starting off with 5 sets of 20 skips in a row, then the next day 25, the next day 30 and so on. I am currently up to 45 skips in a row. Since it is such a high intensity exercise that really gets your heart rate up, you don't have to do it for very long, and it releases human growth hormone which burns fat. So if you need to give your weight loss a kick in the butt then I recommend trying skipping. It worked for me.
A word of warning: please please warm up and stretch before you start skipping. I made the mistake of not doing that the first day and sincerely regretted it the next day when my back was really sore. But I powered through and kept going, just made sure I stretched and warmed up, and by day 3 the pain was gone.
Skipping has a whole bunch of benefits and is a total body exercise, and you can pretty much do it anywhere with some floor space and enough height. And I know I said it before but I love the fact that it only takes a few minutes a day. Because if you didn't already know, I am really quite lazy.
Sometimes, a little willpower is required to get me to go out and do the skipping or to go for a walk but those things are a lot more achievable for me than hitting the gym for a spin class or something. So find what works for you!
Thursday, 9 January 2014
Past the halfway point in my 21 day sugar detox!
So today is day 12 out of my goal of not having sugar in any form except fruit for 21 days. Woo hoo! I actually had to look up what day number I am up to, I had actually lost track because it has become such a natural thing. I have had a few desires to eat sugary things, but they have been pretty benign and I haven't been tempted to act on them. Rereading books like "Fat Chance: The Bitter Truth About Sugar", "Pure, White and Deadly" and "Sweet Poison" have helped to keep me going, as well as knowing that in a few weeks I will try using stevia or dextrose in baked things. I'll be interested to see how I go with eating chocolate after a few weeks - whether I will find it so much sweeter and richer. Hopefully!
Anyway, I seriously don't know how people could think they are ever being deprived without sugar. This is what I ate today so far and what I will be having later:
- Breakfast: Scrambled eggs made with tasty cheese and cream, and crispy bacon on the side; an orange; and coconut tea.
- Lunch: Chorizo sausage with a side of sauteed spinach and garlic; 2 slices of grain-free bread toasted and spread with butter and jam; black tea
- Afternoon tea (at work): Chunk of swiss cheese, one of the energy bars I made with nuts and dried apple.
- Dinner: Chicken kebabs
I have to make a special mention of this butter. It is Mainland Butter Soft, which is soft spreadable butter, and it is soooo good to have with toast and so easy to spread, unlike normal sticks of butter you have to soften on the bench for hours or put in the microwave! Love love love.
Also, I am so happy to have finally broken my plateau with weightloss. And you know what has done it? Skipping! I knew I needed something high intensity and I knew I had a skipping rope lying around in a drawer unused. I have built up slowly, first starting with 6 sets of 20 skips, then gradually going up to 30 skips, and today I am up to 35 skips in a row. And it literally takes all of 3 minutes to do this, which appeals to me... My Just Dance 4 DVD also arrived in the mail so had fun dancing along to that! Hold the phone, I am going to do a more detailed post on exercise later.
Anyway I have to rush to go to work now because I just spent 10 minutes looking up the benefits of using a skipping rope!
GOING STRONG!
Anyway, I seriously don't know how people could think they are ever being deprived without sugar. This is what I ate today so far and what I will be having later:
- Breakfast: Scrambled eggs made with tasty cheese and cream, and crispy bacon on the side; an orange; and coconut tea.
- Lunch: Chorizo sausage with a side of sauteed spinach and garlic; 2 slices of grain-free bread toasted and spread with butter and jam; black tea
- Afternoon tea (at work): Chunk of swiss cheese, one of the energy bars I made with nuts and dried apple.
- Dinner: Chicken kebabs
I have to make a special mention of this butter. It is Mainland Butter Soft, which is soft spreadable butter, and it is soooo good to have with toast and so easy to spread, unlike normal sticks of butter you have to soften on the bench for hours or put in the microwave! Love love love.
Also, I am so happy to have finally broken my plateau with weightloss. And you know what has done it? Skipping! I knew I needed something high intensity and I knew I had a skipping rope lying around in a drawer unused. I have built up slowly, first starting with 6 sets of 20 skips, then gradually going up to 30 skips, and today I am up to 35 skips in a row. And it literally takes all of 3 minutes to do this, which appeals to me... My Just Dance 4 DVD also arrived in the mail so had fun dancing along to that! Hold the phone, I am going to do a more detailed post on exercise later.
Anyway I have to rush to go to work now because I just spent 10 minutes looking up the benefits of using a skipping rope!
GOING STRONG!
Monday, 11 November 2013
A More Sunny Mood
Writing my last post helped me to vent some frustration and I felt better not long after that because I had a look at my Pilates book and got excited to try a new section, about extra moves for the lower body. So today I did the beginners level section and then did the new lower body section. I made myself slow down and make sure I do all the moves with precision, because doing the repetitions in a rush to get it over with will do nothing for you really. I enjoyed the moves because some of them were reminiscent of what I used to do in dancing classes in our warm ups. I was proud of myself for doing that today because I very nearly put it off until tomorrow.
I plan to do that again tomorrow as well as trying yoga again. I found it so challenging last time so this time I'm going to take a more positive attitude and just do what I can and remember that I will gradually improve, little by little. Even if I only do half the moves prescribed for the first week, I will do them with as much precision as I can and hold them for as long as I can.
Ugh I had all these little random things to write about but I keep forgetting. Need to keep a notebook or something...or just write it on my phone.
Sunday, 27 October 2013
Incoporating Pilates into Everyday Life
To help improve my posture and bring the things I'm learning from Pilates into the rest of my life, I'm going to try to concentrate on a few things as much as I can. I've put a post-it note on my mirror that says:
Golden String
Shoulders Back & Down
Naval to Spine
Breathe Deep
I'm hoping it will remind me to imagine a golden string coming out the top of my head pulling me up straight, to pull my shoulders back and down, to bring my naval to my spine (i.e. suck my gut in) and breathe deep to maximise my lung capacity. I will try to remember those things when I'm working too, as my job as a phlebotomotist involves bending over a lot. Maybe each time I bring a new patient in I will remind myself of those four things. "Pilates for Dummies" also suggests doing a cat stretch every morning which I will definitely do because I really want to stretch and strengthen my upper back. I'm so over having back pain, and I've only had it for a week!
Tonight I started with 5 sun salutations (Surya Namaskara) to warm up and then did the Pre Pilates Fundamentals routine. I did the butterfly stretch intermittently as well as I'm trying to get more flexible in this position (and hopefully work my way up to the splits - one day!) I'm proud to say I can now rest my head on my feet in this pose.
I also did the Warrior I pose and Temple pose. All up I spent about 35 minutes doing these things. It goes quicker than I realised. I thought I'd only done it for 15 minutes until I checked the time!
From doing yoga for only one week and Pilates for two days I swear I can already notice slight differences in tone, especially in my arms. My arm muscles are definitely bigger and it must be from the planks I do in Surya Namaskara. I don't want to get bulky but I really don't see how that can happen from doing yoga and Pilates.
While I was doing the 'C Curve Roll Down Prep' I was noticing as I rolled down that my arms and thighs were really taut so it just shows that Pilates tones your legs and arms as well as strengthening your core.
Golden String
Shoulders Back & Down
Naval to Spine
Breathe Deep
I'm hoping it will remind me to imagine a golden string coming out the top of my head pulling me up straight, to pull my shoulders back and down, to bring my naval to my spine (i.e. suck my gut in) and breathe deep to maximise my lung capacity. I will try to remember those things when I'm working too, as my job as a phlebotomotist involves bending over a lot. Maybe each time I bring a new patient in I will remind myself of those four things. "Pilates for Dummies" also suggests doing a cat stretch every morning which I will definitely do because I really want to stretch and strengthen my upper back. I'm so over having back pain, and I've only had it for a week!
Tonight I started with 5 sun salutations (Surya Namaskara) to warm up and then did the Pre Pilates Fundamentals routine. I did the butterfly stretch intermittently as well as I'm trying to get more flexible in this position (and hopefully work my way up to the splits - one day!) I'm proud to say I can now rest my head on my feet in this pose.
I also did the Warrior I pose and Temple pose. All up I spent about 35 minutes doing these things. It goes quicker than I realised. I thought I'd only done it for 15 minutes until I checked the time!
From doing yoga for only one week and Pilates for two days I swear I can already notice slight differences in tone, especially in my arms. My arm muscles are definitely bigger and it must be from the planks I do in Surya Namaskara. I don't want to get bulky but I really don't see how that can happen from doing yoga and Pilates.
While I was doing the 'C Curve Roll Down Prep' I was noticing as I rolled down that my arms and thighs were really taut so it just shows that Pilates tones your legs and arms as well as strengthening your core.
Saturday, 26 October 2013
Pilates - The Fundamentals
So I learnt a good lesson last week when I over-enthusiastically started practicing yoga - that you can injure yourself if you jump straight to more advanced moves you're not ready for. I have had upper back pain since last week coinciding with when I started yoga and so that's why I bought the two books about it, so I can learn about it properly, start from the basics and work my way up.
I decided I want to practice Pilates as well, to strengthen my back and core and tone my muscles. Luckily I already have the book "Pilates for Dummies" which I bought and read ages ago but never got in to. I think now I'm in the right mood for it or have the right attitude though. Anyway, I'm going to throw my ego out the window and start right from the basics, with the "Pre Pilates: The Fundamentals" part of the program. I'm going to do that for a week or however long I need to really perfect it and make sure I have the strength and flexibility to move on to the next level. I did it this evening and even at the basics level I can feel it in my abs!
I thought it might be a good idea to document as I go exactly what I'm doing, in case anyone wants to know later. These are the Pre Pilates moves I am practicing this week:
- Shoulder Shrugs
- Shoulder Slaps
- Arm Reaches/Circles
- Coccyx Curls
- Tiny Steps
- Upper Ab Curls
- Hip Up
- C Curve Roll Down Prep
- Balance Point/Teaser Prep
- Rolling like a ball (modified)
I'm sure you could find those online. So, that's it! I'll check in about that next week.
(Image: http://numovesphysiotherapy.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Pilates.jpg)
I decided I want to practice Pilates as well, to strengthen my back and core and tone my muscles. Luckily I already have the book "Pilates for Dummies" which I bought and read ages ago but never got in to. I think now I'm in the right mood for it or have the right attitude though. Anyway, I'm going to throw my ego out the window and start right from the basics, with the "Pre Pilates: The Fundamentals" part of the program. I'm going to do that for a week or however long I need to really perfect it and make sure I have the strength and flexibility to move on to the next level. I did it this evening and even at the basics level I can feel it in my abs!
I thought it might be a good idea to document as I go exactly what I'm doing, in case anyone wants to know later. These are the Pre Pilates moves I am practicing this week:
- Shoulder Shrugs
- Shoulder Slaps
- Arm Reaches/Circles
- Coccyx Curls
- Tiny Steps
- Upper Ab Curls
- Hip Up
- C Curve Roll Down Prep
- Balance Point/Teaser Prep
- Rolling like a ball (modified)
I'm sure you could find those online. So, that's it! I'll check in about that next week.
(Image: http://numovesphysiotherapy.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Pilates.jpg)
Monday, 21 October 2013
Ashtanga or Iyengar?
So, it turns out that when I get into something, I REALLY get into it. It's only been about a week since I started yoga and I've done it on almost every day - even on the day I didn't really do it I still did a couple of poses. I downloaded a yoga app and did one of the programs from it today, and it was more challenging than usual. But because I want to make sure I'm doing it correctly and not developing any bad habits, I've also just ordered two books online -
- "Light on Yoga" by B.K.S. Iyengar, which is apparently THE bible when it comes to this form of hatha yoga.
- "Ashtanga Yoga: The Practice Manual" by David Swenson.
These two styles of yoga seem to be the two main ones, and the best. I couldn't decide between either so I decided that I would try out both. I like the idea of perfecting the asanas which comes with Hatha yoga, but I also like the flowing style of Ashtanga yoga. I enjoy moving from pose to pose on different breaths and I like that it gives me a light sweat too. So ideally I would like to perfect and incorporate both styles. Maybe a different style each day?
The reason I got these books as well is that I want to fully discover all the aspects of yoga - not just the physical side but the spiritual side as well. I don't want to be a yoga hack I want to really know what I'm talking about and the meaning behind everything I'm doing.
Sure, I know that learning from books means that I don't have a qualified instructor guiding me in person, but I'm someone that likes to learn things for myself and teach myself. This is a journey I want to undertake myself. Plus, I don't want to pay for classes and then have to motivate myself to actually attend them. I've never been big on group classes for some reason. I like going at my own pace.
Anywho, it's time for me to hit the hay. Now I just have to wait patiently until these books arrive in the mail...
(Image: http://cache1.bdcdn.net/assets/images/book/large/9781/8912/9781891252082.jpg)
- "Light on Yoga" by B.K.S. Iyengar, which is apparently THE bible when it comes to this form of hatha yoga.
- "Ashtanga Yoga: The Practice Manual" by David Swenson.
These two styles of yoga seem to be the two main ones, and the best. I couldn't decide between either so I decided that I would try out both. I like the idea of perfecting the asanas which comes with Hatha yoga, but I also like the flowing style of Ashtanga yoga. I enjoy moving from pose to pose on different breaths and I like that it gives me a light sweat too. So ideally I would like to perfect and incorporate both styles. Maybe a different style each day?
The reason I got these books as well is that I want to fully discover all the aspects of yoga - not just the physical side but the spiritual side as well. I don't want to be a yoga hack I want to really know what I'm talking about and the meaning behind everything I'm doing.
Sure, I know that learning from books means that I don't have a qualified instructor guiding me in person, but I'm someone that likes to learn things for myself and teach myself. This is a journey I want to undertake myself. Plus, I don't want to pay for classes and then have to motivate myself to actually attend them. I've never been big on group classes for some reason. I like going at my own pace.
Anywho, it's time for me to hit the hay. Now I just have to wait patiently until these books arrive in the mail...
(Image: http://cache1.bdcdn.net/assets/images/book/large/9781/8912/9781891252082.jpg)
Friday, 18 October 2013
Yoga Update
Since I'm such a party animal (cough), I'm spending my Friday night in, sipping on "mint slice" tea and relaxing. So... I wasn't lying when I said the ANZAC biscuits were addictive - I had to will myself to not eat the whole lot today!
It's my 4th day in a row of doing yoga and I'm super proud of myself. I'm actually noticing tone in my arms ALREADY! Today I did this sequence I found in Women's Health magazine. I had to write down on the page when to inhale and exhale whilst doing the sun salutation, but I'm getting the hang of it gradually.
I've found that I'm more likely to do other body weight exercises (like plies and donkey kicks) after I've finished my yoga sequence - I guess it gets me in the mood for it and warmed up. I can't believe I'm saying this, after so many years of saying yoga was boring and useless, but now I really do love it.
Wednesday, 16 October 2013
Yoga - I did it! (My journey to becoming fitter)
After my post the other day about not being that fit and wanting to change that, I set out to do something. That was to start doing yoga today, following some asanas (poses) that I found on the internet and pinterest. And guess what? I just did it! After going for a nice long walk with my dog, too! I'm proud of myself for following through on doing that.
(This will be me one day soon!)
So how do I feel after? Stretched out and relaxed. And I actually enjoyed it. I found myself incorporating exercises we used to do at the start of dance classes too. I would love to become more flexible and toned, and I know yoga has a whole lot of other benefits too, such as a greater connection between mind and body.
A lot of those poses are harder than they look, and I'm looking forward to the challenge of mastering them, day by day, bit by bit.
I like the idea that I will be benefiting myself and my health just by doing even 5 asanas every day. It's something that can be done anywhere and you can do with a small amount of time or when you have lots of time on your hands.
It's funny because in high school we had to do it for a P.E. lesson, and I tried it with a friend at the gym once. Both times I found it boring and not beneficial. I don't know what it is, maybe I'm just at the right place mentally, or maybe I prefer doing it by myself at my own pace, but I enjoy it now.
(Photo credit: http://funlifefitness.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/1006-yoga.jpg)
Sunday, 13 October 2013
Am I a "fit" chocolate lover?
Okay, I'll admit it. Though the title of this blog would lead you to think otherwise, I'm not actually that fit.
When I started this blog, I wanted to emphasise the point that you can be fit and healthy but still enjoy the delicious things in life such as chocolate, without the need to deprive yourself or employ huge amounts of "willpower". While I don't think it's wise to binge on lots of chocolate all the time, the ability to indulge is really important to me. What kind of a life is that anyway, where you have to stop yourself from eating amazing food all the time? I guess that's why I feel the need to make paleo treats and baked goods, because even though I follow a healthy paleo lifestyle, I'll always have a sweet tooth and a love of creating beautiful desserts.
Now, back to my point. While I have indeed lost 15kg over the past 9 or so months, not much of that was due to exercise. You know the old adage - weightloss is 80% what you eat and 20% exercise? I guess it depends on what starting point you came from, but for me it definitely holds true. However, I do want to be more active as well! Because I know it's good for my health, because I want to be able to participate in life to the fullest, because I want to be able to play a casual game of tennis for more than half an hour. Not to mention I would like to strengthen and tone my muscles as well (can't hurt that summer is around the corner for us down in the southern hemisphere).
Of course, walking is the easiest way to keep up activity levels but I'd really like to get into more resistance training - and even yoga! I think yoga would be great for stress levels as well as flexibility. Having Hashimoto's disease (more on that in an upcoming post), I'm more and more aware of the total balance of health, not just what shows up on the scales. Keeping your stress levels down, getting enough sleep and feeding your body healthy food is really important to the whole population, not just those with autoimmune diseases.
Chocolate lover, yes, no question. Fit - watch this space!
When I started this blog, I wanted to emphasise the point that you can be fit and healthy but still enjoy the delicious things in life such as chocolate, without the need to deprive yourself or employ huge amounts of "willpower". While I don't think it's wise to binge on lots of chocolate all the time, the ability to indulge is really important to me. What kind of a life is that anyway, where you have to stop yourself from eating amazing food all the time? I guess that's why I feel the need to make paleo treats and baked goods, because even though I follow a healthy paleo lifestyle, I'll always have a sweet tooth and a love of creating beautiful desserts.
Now, back to my point. While I have indeed lost 15kg over the past 9 or so months, not much of that was due to exercise. You know the old adage - weightloss is 80% what you eat and 20% exercise? I guess it depends on what starting point you came from, but for me it definitely holds true. However, I do want to be more active as well! Because I know it's good for my health, because I want to be able to participate in life to the fullest, because I want to be able to play a casual game of tennis for more than half an hour. Not to mention I would like to strengthen and tone my muscles as well (can't hurt that summer is around the corner for us down in the southern hemisphere).
Of course, walking is the easiest way to keep up activity levels but I'd really like to get into more resistance training - and even yoga! I think yoga would be great for stress levels as well as flexibility. Having Hashimoto's disease (more on that in an upcoming post), I'm more and more aware of the total balance of health, not just what shows up on the scales. Keeping your stress levels down, getting enough sleep and feeding your body healthy food is really important to the whole population, not just those with autoimmune diseases.
Chocolate lover, yes, no question. Fit - watch this space!
Monday, 21 May 2012
Thoughts, Updates, Fitness
Hello! I'm getting back into the groove of blogging. I have missed it. Keeps me mindful.
Firstly I want to talk about two experiences I had tonight. One I am going to stay neutral and objective about, and just observe what I think happened. The other one is simply great.
Tonight I cooked ravioli for dinner. It was one of the packets you get from the supermarket of premade ravioli that you boil, and then you heat up the sauce that goes with it. So all in all, not a culinary masterpiece but it tastes okay for what it is. The thing was I was in a rush to make it because I had to go out to my volunteer meeting (that's another story I'll tell one day soon) so I had to eat it in a rush before I went out too. And I was hungry.
The perfect storm really. Not that anything terrible happened just that I pretty much stuffed it all in my mouth really quickly, and also I covered it entirely in parmesan cheese. Which I guess tells you that it can't be that amazing if I have to put that much parmesan cheese on! I just didn't get a chance to really sit back and enjoy it. And I realised while I was eating it too. But I think it was just a situation where nothing much could be done about it - I was in a rush, had somewhere to be, and was hungry, I had to make dinner because no one else was home to do it... I think it gave me a good opportunity to see how you can't fully enjoy the food when you don't focus on it and give yourself time to enjoy it. Luckily I wasn't too stuffed full afterwards, just a bit overfull.
Anyway, volunteer meeting went well and then, I had planned earlier today with my friend to go for a walk/jog in the park after our meeting. Which we did, and it was great! We only went for about 15 mins but I enjoyed it and got something out of it. I haven't done any strenuous activity of late and it felt good in my bones to get that blood pumping and my muscles working. Also I enjoyed being able to do it with a friend and chat at the same time.
Which leads me onto the next thing I wanted to talk about, fitness. I think fitness is an important thing that can be separated from weight loss. I want to commit to being active because I feel better when I do, physically and mentally. Also I want to be able to do everyday things such as walking flights of stairs without getting puffed out as much. And the feeling I got tonight from going for that walk/jog was so good. Doing that exercise showed I need to strengthen my back more as well because my upper/middle back is uncomfortable right now.
I'm so excited because on Wednesday I'm going to a ballet class! It's adult beginners. I did 10 years of jazz and a bit of hiphop but I have never done ballet before. I have always loved dancing and it's been the activity that I actually enjoy doing and love to do whether it's for fitness or not. So I'm super pumped to start up again. I'll let you know how that goes.
Firstly I want to talk about two experiences I had tonight. One I am going to stay neutral and objective about, and just observe what I think happened. The other one is simply great.
Tonight I cooked ravioli for dinner. It was one of the packets you get from the supermarket of premade ravioli that you boil, and then you heat up the sauce that goes with it. So all in all, not a culinary masterpiece but it tastes okay for what it is. The thing was I was in a rush to make it because I had to go out to my volunteer meeting (that's another story I'll tell one day soon) so I had to eat it in a rush before I went out too. And I was hungry.
The perfect storm really. Not that anything terrible happened just that I pretty much stuffed it all in my mouth really quickly, and also I covered it entirely in parmesan cheese. Which I guess tells you that it can't be that amazing if I have to put that much parmesan cheese on! I just didn't get a chance to really sit back and enjoy it. And I realised while I was eating it too. But I think it was just a situation where nothing much could be done about it - I was in a rush, had somewhere to be, and was hungry, I had to make dinner because no one else was home to do it... I think it gave me a good opportunity to see how you can't fully enjoy the food when you don't focus on it and give yourself time to enjoy it. Luckily I wasn't too stuffed full afterwards, just a bit overfull.
Anyway, volunteer meeting went well and then, I had planned earlier today with my friend to go for a walk/jog in the park after our meeting. Which we did, and it was great! We only went for about 15 mins but I enjoyed it and got something out of it. I haven't done any strenuous activity of late and it felt good in my bones to get that blood pumping and my muscles working. Also I enjoyed being able to do it with a friend and chat at the same time.
Which leads me onto the next thing I wanted to talk about, fitness. I think fitness is an important thing that can be separated from weight loss. I want to commit to being active because I feel better when I do, physically and mentally. Also I want to be able to do everyday things such as walking flights of stairs without getting puffed out as much. And the feeling I got tonight from going for that walk/jog was so good. Doing that exercise showed I need to strengthen my back more as well because my upper/middle back is uncomfortable right now.
I'm so excited because on Wednesday I'm going to a ballet class! It's adult beginners. I did 10 years of jazz and a bit of hiphop but I have never done ballet before. I have always loved dancing and it's been the activity that I actually enjoy doing and love to do whether it's for fitness or not. So I'm super pumped to start up again. I'll let you know how that goes.
Saturday, 25 February 2012
You got to have friends
I've heard many times that you should work out with a friend because you're more likely to do it, they'll help you push yourself, they rely on you to turn up, etc. I have worked out with friends a few times but never consistently. But my friend came over today and we went for a walk (before the sun went down so it was hot and I sweated off all my sunscreen) and because we talked the whole time I barely noticed we did it for 50 minutes. Then I didn't think we'd do any more when we got back home, but we were looking at a workout in a magazine and she talked me into doing it! We ended up doing 3 rounds of it which took about half an hour and it was great because if she hadn't been there I wouldn't have done anything!
I think that what I need my friends' help with the most is the more boring, hard stuff like strength training. I always plan to do them, design my own special circuits, look them up online, but I never end up doing them by myself! Or if I do, I don't push myself hard enough and don't do enough rounds. I think when there's someone else there you can encourage each other.
So we have planned to meet up once a week to do something similar and I'm really glad. I feel so much better after doing that with her. Even my skin feels nicer! (Although maybe that was the apricot scrub I used in the nice cool shower I had afterwards.)
Although I wish I could just walk everyday which I enjoy the most, I know that strength training is necessary so you have strong bones which is important for preventing osteoporosis and bad posture when you get older. Also, can't hurt that it makes you more toned!
Like I said, I've done it in the past but now I'm going to fully commit to doing strength training with my friends. I know I just can't do it alone, and you know what, that's okay! I freely admit that I need help for motivation in this regard.
Image from http://images.teamsugar.com/files/upl1/1/12981/15_2008/workout.jpg
Sunday, 4 December 2011
Families are Funny
That was the title of a favourite childhood picture book of mine, and it seemed like a good title to use for this. Because, well, families are funny! At times they are the people you can always rely on and who will love you no matter what (hopefully). At other times you're fighting like crazy. At other times...well, they can just be really unhelpful and annoying.
I used to have trouble over my mum constantly commenting on what I ate and how much I exercised, always talking about diets etc. It really brought me down and I hated it - instead of helping me (which was apparently what she was trying to do) it just made me feel worse and made me want to rebel. I eventually told her to stop and thankfully she has for the most part. But now my sister has moved back home and it seems she has decided to take over mum's old job...
Today I was making toast for lunch - peanut butter and jam on (separate slices!!) of wholemeal grain bread. It was what I really felt like having at the time and to me that is a perfect mixture of nutrition and intuition - I went with grainy bread, light peanut butter and a little jam isn't going to do anyone any harm. But as I was making it, my sister says to me: "I thought you were trying to be healthy?" in this really judgemental and condescending way. I wanted to slap her! She then proceeded to tell me how she thinks I eat too many eggs. Well for starters, how the hell would she know, and secondly, I don't! I shouldn't even have to justify myself but I feel like I have to. She also told me that I should eat cranberries because they are good for me, after I said I don't like cranberries.
What does she want - for me to only ever eat carrot sticks and lettuce? I could never do that, not only because it would be boring but also because it would not be maintainable so what is the point?
I guess she doesn't understand because she hasn't read "If not dieting...". I know I shouldn't get frustrated because I am doing this for me and not for anyone else and she doesn't know what she's talking about. But it can be hard when you're living somewhere surrounded by that negative criticism, and you have to keep reminding yourself that you know what you are doing and you can make your own smart decisions. I'm not going to let it derail me.
In other news, last night my boyfriend and I went for a huge long walk, for an hour and a half! I didn't intend to go that long but he suggested we go to the shops two suburbs away down the main road and I just thought, why not? Walking is very enjoyable in the night air. When we got there he went in and got us both a drink at the servo and I waited outside, and when he came out he had bought us both a treat - a curly wurly for me because he knows I love them:) I ate a bit of it but I didn't feel like it at the time so I told him I would save it for the next day and I did. Being able to do that just feels like freedom, freedom from compulsive eating (which is a title of a book by the way, I have not read it though). Those moments will keep adding up I hope.
I used to have trouble over my mum constantly commenting on what I ate and how much I exercised, always talking about diets etc. It really brought me down and I hated it - instead of helping me (which was apparently what she was trying to do) it just made me feel worse and made me want to rebel. I eventually told her to stop and thankfully she has for the most part. But now my sister has moved back home and it seems she has decided to take over mum's old job...
Today I was making toast for lunch - peanut butter and jam on (separate slices!!) of wholemeal grain bread. It was what I really felt like having at the time and to me that is a perfect mixture of nutrition and intuition - I went with grainy bread, light peanut butter and a little jam isn't going to do anyone any harm. But as I was making it, my sister says to me: "I thought you were trying to be healthy?" in this really judgemental and condescending way. I wanted to slap her! She then proceeded to tell me how she thinks I eat too many eggs. Well for starters, how the hell would she know, and secondly, I don't! I shouldn't even have to justify myself but I feel like I have to. She also told me that I should eat cranberries because they are good for me, after I said I don't like cranberries.
What does she want - for me to only ever eat carrot sticks and lettuce? I could never do that, not only because it would be boring but also because it would not be maintainable so what is the point?
I guess she doesn't understand because she hasn't read "If not dieting...". I know I shouldn't get frustrated because I am doing this for me and not for anyone else and she doesn't know what she's talking about. But it can be hard when you're living somewhere surrounded by that negative criticism, and you have to keep reminding yourself that you know what you are doing and you can make your own smart decisions. I'm not going to let it derail me.
In other news, last night my boyfriend and I went for a huge long walk, for an hour and a half! I didn't intend to go that long but he suggested we go to the shops two suburbs away down the main road and I just thought, why not? Walking is very enjoyable in the night air. When we got there he went in and got us both a drink at the servo and I waited outside, and when he came out he had bought us both a treat - a curly wurly for me because he knows I love them:) I ate a bit of it but I didn't feel like it at the time so I told him I would save it for the next day and I did. Being able to do that just feels like freedom, freedom from compulsive eating (which is a title of a book by the way, I have not read it though). Those moments will keep adding up I hope.
Monday, 28 November 2011
Omelettes and workouts
Yes this will be a post about two unrelated things. Firstly, I just wanted to share a really good omelette recipe I have discovered after experimenting with different ingredients. I think omelettes are great because they taste great and you can stuff them full of a bunch of different healthy things. I put in 2 eggs, a small clove of garlic, some diced ham, chopped basil or spinach, and grated tasty cheese. It tastes so good, it's just filling enough and you can have it at any meal. I love that I got my serve of green leafy vegetables today so easily!
Secondly, workouts. Well I always feel overwhelmed by all the different ones that are out there in terms of strength/resistance training. I usually end up stalling because I can't decide which one to do and I end up spending all my time searching for new and better workout routines. So I decided I'm just going to do them all! That is, I'm going to have a go at all the workouts I come across that I like, and I think mixing it up is best for your body because it is always being challenged.
Today I finally did one of them and I'm really proud of myself because I've been putting it off for weeks. It was a total body routine which probably took about 15 minutes...I only did one circuit of it and you're meant to do two but I think I'll work up to that. Well, it was a good workout and I was sweaty and red faced and puffed out after! My thighs are a bit trembly too so it's good to feel it working:) If anyone is interested I'm happy to share what it was. Although I'm quite sure no one even reads this blog at the moment haha.
Secondly, workouts. Well I always feel overwhelmed by all the different ones that are out there in terms of strength/resistance training. I usually end up stalling because I can't decide which one to do and I end up spending all my time searching for new and better workout routines. So I decided I'm just going to do them all! That is, I'm going to have a go at all the workouts I come across that I like, and I think mixing it up is best for your body because it is always being challenged.
Today I finally did one of them and I'm really proud of myself because I've been putting it off for weeks. It was a total body routine which probably took about 15 minutes...I only did one circuit of it and you're meant to do two but I think I'll work up to that. Well, it was a good workout and I was sweaty and red faced and puffed out after! My thighs are a bit trembly too so it's good to feel it working:) If anyone is interested I'm happy to share what it was. Although I'm quite sure no one even reads this blog at the moment haha.
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Incidental Exercise
Well, the stairs instead of lift part isn't really applicable for me because where I work, you have to take the lift - if you take the fire stairs the alarm goes off! I could take the stairs instead of escalator in the food court I walk through every day though. And I have started to walk to the second closest train station in the afternoons, which adds about 5 extra minutes of walking per day. I mean it's not a lot but I'm sure it adds up. That's the whole idea I think, that all those little extra activities you do will make you more active without you really realising.
Also - housework! For me that works up a sweat, especially when vacuuming and when cleaning the bathroom because that really requires scrubbing. My mum is always telling me to do more housework and I suppose that instead of having a bad attitude about it I could turn it around and realise that doing some chores would actually benefit ME.
I should probably view walking the dog as incidental as well - I should see it as something that needs to be done everyday for the health of him, and in turn for the health of me...because maybe if I don't view it as "exercise", but just as something he has to have like food and water, I'll be more likely to do it!
I think the good thing about all these little things is that on days where you haven't done any purposeful activity, it helps to make you feel like you have at least done something and that can really keep you going.
You know, I used to walk 20 minutes to half an hour every school day because I walked to and from school. Now that I don't do that any more I think I should be trying to make up for it by being active in these other small ways.
If anyone has any good "non-exercise" ideas, feel free to let me know!
(Pic from fuzzypc.com)
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