100 Pounds Lighter

I've fallen off the wagon again. I was ill from mid-November to New Year and put on loads of weight over Christmas. I lost a stone in January, then managed to put it on again in February. Careless. March was a yo-yo month, and again I haven't been well. I have been feeling stressed and have turned to food. I thought I had conquered my emotional eating, sadly this is not the case. Yet.

I will not be beaten. I made this before and after image to remind me how far I had come. I'm no longer 100lbs lighter, but I am still a lot lighter than I was. I am still running, albeit slower than last year. I'm still on my journey, hanging in there by my fingernails, determined not to slide back to poor health.

I'm starting (again) today. In a year from now, I'll be glad I did. Will you join me?

If I have inspired you to lose weight or take up running, please consider nominating me for a Brilliance In Blogging award. There is an Inspire category.

Thank you.

100 Pounds Lighter

Back on the Treadmill

This is not a metaphor for the daily routine of work, school and the rest, I literally got back on the treadmill at the gym and I couldn't be happier.

I felt so at home, so relieved, to be back exercising again.

I got a cold in the middle of November, that lingered until the week before Christmas, then ho ho atchoo, I got another cold on Christmas Day. This was on top of a few months of an asthmatic chesty cough (that required an x-ray and CT scan to rule out the Big C - that was a scary few weeks).

So I haven't exercised for eight weeks. I'm still not feeling great, but I knew I had to get back to looking after myself.

Having the longest cold known to mankind left me feeling very sorry for myself. I'd been struggling at Slimming World too. I found that unless I stuck to the plan 100% for the whole week, I gained weight. One week I had just one evening off the plan and put on 4lbs. This was demoralising and I'd got into the old diet mentality of thinking that the diet was ruined and then having a few days off. Of course this meant weight gains, so I began yoyo-ing. By the beginning of December I was feeling pretty hopeless. I needed a break and decided to forget about eating healthily. Things would have been different had I still been out running four times a week, but I wasn't well enough. As is traditional with the emotional eater, I comforted myself with food. After all, it was Christmas.

Enough is enough. As of today I am back eating healthily, exercising and taking care of myself. It was a big and difficult step, but already I am feeling happier and lighter. I have the euphoria of having been for a run, albeit on the treadmill at the gym. Like anyone who lived on fancy biscuits, mince pies, cherry brandy, cheese and Gaviscon over the festive season I am now craving simple fresh food.

I'm also in training as I've signed up for the Comic Relief Danceathon at Wembley on 8th March, as part of the mighty Team Honk. That's six solid hours of dancing with the goddess that is Claudia Winkleman. I can't wait.

I'm a little annoyed with myself for putting on a bit a lot of weight over Christmas, but I understand why it happened. It may happen again from time to time, but the most important thing is that I know I can lose it again. It's also a relief to know that I'm still nowhere near the weight I was in October 2012 (when I started at Slimming World). In the meantime, thank goodness for forgiving leggings and Phase Eight over-sized knitwear.

Happy New Year, friends.



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Back on the Treadmill

Running Kit: Must-haves and Nice-to-haves

I recently wrote about how I started running. For those of you who are thinking of taking up running, or who have just started running, here are a few things you need, and a few things you want.

MUST-HAVES

Running Shoes

It is vital that you wear the right shoes when you're running, to avoid injury. Any decent running shop will do a gait analysis and recommend specific shoes for you. This will either be on a treadmill or they will watch you jogging around the shop. If you're not happy on a treadmill, tell them. Try on all the shoes they bring out for you, run around the shop in them. If they don't feel as comfortable as slippers they are the wrong shoes for you.  You will probably need a half size bigger than your normal shoes. Decent running shoes are expensive, but they are worth it. My running shoes are by Saucony. They were £80 and they have been excellent, right from the first step. I ran 16 miles in them this week. I love them.

Socks

Buy proper running socks when you buy your running shoes. Try them on together. Running socks are padded and designed to fit beautifully. The last thing you want is a blister. With my combination of shoes and socks I haven't had a single blister in over 150 miles of running. 

A Sports Bra

You need to minimise bounce when you're running to avoid damaging your breasts, and to stop jokes about giving yourself two black eyes. I like Shock Absorber bras, they are brilliant for (my) large breasts. They have to be tight, but comfortable. I use also mine to store my inhaler, phone, a tissue and my door key. I'm sure they're not designed for all that,but it works for me.

Getting them on can be tricky sometimes. Here is a photograph of me with a fat lip. I was putting on a sports bra and managed to punch myself in the face. Oops.

NICE-TO-HAVES

Specialist Clothing

Yes, yes, I know clothes are a 'must-have'. No one wants to see a naked runner. You can start running in leggings or jogging bottoms and a t-shirt, but once you start sweating cotton is too heavy. This is the time to invest in some Lycra. Material that wicks the sweat from your body will keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter. I wear vests in the summer, with cropped tights, and long-sleeved tops in the winter, with full-length tights. Supermarkets all carry their own sports ranges. I like Karrimor from Sports Direct. Look out for their frequent 90% off sales.

Jackets

A light-weight jacket is a must for running in the rain. When it's cold you'll need an extra layer to start with, but make sure it'll be comfortable tied around your waist

Baseball Cap

I wear a baseball cap if there's any chance of rain, as it keeps my specs dry. It is also useful to keep the sun off your head, and it keeps my hair out of my face.

GPS Running Watch 

You will probably want to start recording your runs, to see how you're pacing yourself and to keep track of all those personal records. I have a Garmin Forerunner 10. It's the entry level Garmin and I bought it in an Amazon flash sale for £60. I'm very pleased with it. I love looking at my stats on my laptop when I get home from a run. You can see your pace go down as you go uphill and follow your route on the map.

Run Planner

If I'm planning a new route I like to know the distance I'll be running. I use the G-Map Pedomter. It's free and super simple to use. I used it to plan my first 10k.

Heart Rate Monitor

My husband uses his heart rate monitor all the time. For him it is the best indicator of his efforts. I used mine a few times, to make sure I wasn't killing myself. I wasn't. 

Water

Unless it's super hot, or you're running over 10k, you don't really need to carry water. There are plenty of lightweight running water bottles. I have a small one from High5 that is easy to carry.

Gym Membership

I joined a gym last December when the footpaths were too icy for safe running. The treadmill is great for pacing yourself, but I find it pretty boring. If I go to the gym I usually go on the treadmill, cross trainer, bike and rower, and use the weights. This way I am working other parts of my body. The gym was a life-saver when I had a painful knee and couldn't run for a couple of weeks. I was able to keep my fitness levels up. Choose a gym that is near to your home or work, otherwise you won't go. I'm lucky that my local leisure centre has a small cheap gym. It's five minutes from my house and rarely busy.

Arm band
I have an arm band that holds my iPhone.


Have I missed anything?



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Running Kit: Must-haves and Nice-to-haves

How I Started Running

How do you start running?

Well, you just have to run.

I've always watched the London Marathon and thought that I'd love to be able to run. Being inactive and overweight pretty much my whole life meant that this was not a serious consideration. I'd call runners 'freaks' as I drove past them, one hand on the steering wheel, the other in a family bag of Maltesers.

In 2012 I had Cognitive Hypnotherapy and joined Slimming World. By September 2013 I'd lost around three stone, but was in a yo yo/plateau holding pattern. I was more active, choosing to walk short distances instead of taking the car, but hadn't taken that next big step: to exercise.

I mentioned to a school mum friend that I'd like to see if I could run. She suggested that I walk around the football field near the school and when I got to the short end I could try running - very gently - along that end. That was all, then I could walk back to the car.

I was nervous, in fact I was terrified. I had NEVER run anywhere ever.

I walked along the long edge of the football field. I turned the corner at the end of the field and started a gentle ambling jog. By the time I was half way along, I was out of breath This was hard work. I wondered if I'd make it to the end. I kept going. At three quarters of the way along I was struggling. I felt my whole body wobbling as I panted. The arms of my rain jacket rubbed rhythmically against my sides as my elbows pumped. Still I kept going. Somehow I made it to the next corner before I started walking again. Puffing and walking.

I had 'run' 100 metres.

I walked back to the car, triumphant.

What a buzz.

If I could do it once, I could do it again.

A couple of days later I went out for a walk with another school mum friend. She had a running app on her phone. I was going to try to run for 60 seconds, then walk for a few minutes, then run again. She was my personal trainer that day, encouraging me, cheering me on, keeping time. I managed almost 4 minutes of running that day.

I downloaded this Couch to 5k app onto my phone. This changed my life.

I followed the app religiously. After I dropped the boys at school, three mornings per week, I set off walking around the football field. I kept up with all the running segments. The sense of achievement from ticking off another run was huge. I went out rain or shine. I was hooked.

I sneaked a peak at later weeks on Couch to 5k. I thought I'd never EVER manage to run continuously for 3 minutes, or 5 minutes, or 8 minutes. The thought of running for 20 minutes seemed unattainable, but as the weeks went by I managed all of these. I soon left the football field behind and ran alone, or with a friend, around one of the smaller lakes nearby.

This is how I started running.

In December 2013 I ran my first 5k.

In April 2014 I ran my first 10k.

Maybe one day I'll run the London Marathon after all.



Blah blah never start an exercise programme without checking with your GP first blah blah

How I Started Running

Ten Things I Thought I'd Never Say

1. I just ran 10k
2. I love running
3. I can't wait to run again
4. I can't sit still for long
5. I feel fit and strong
6. I love going to the gym
7. I enjoy getting hot and sweaty
8. I love the buzz I get from being active
9. I am full of energy
10. I tried on those size 12 trousers, and they did up

I hardly recognise myself these days...

Ten Things I Thought I'd Never Say

Taking Control

'Before' and 'During', there is no 'After' yet...

As I continue on my weight loss journey, I realise that my focus has changed.

When I first met Dawn a couple of years ago, I was morbidly obese and desperate to lose weight. This desperation didn't stop me eating cakes, chocolate, biscuits and ice cream though. What I really wanted was a magic wand.

There is no magic wand. In addition to Cognitive Hypnotherapy (disclosure, some of it has been provided  free of charge) I have been going to Slimming World for sixteen months. Sometimes I have struggled to stick to the healthy eating plan, mostly when I saw it as being on a 'diet'. How I hate that word. I have stuck at it though, as I feared that if I stopped going to my weekly group I would put all the weight back on and then some, as I have done in the past.

Then something changed. This is all down to Dawn. She whispered something to my subconscious and it stuck. Without being consciously aware that I was doing it, I started to become more active. I started walking more, enjoying being out in the fresh air. In September I decided to try to run, just to see if I could. And I could. Since then I've been running three times a week. I've joined a gym, for icy mornings when the paths are slippy and for when it's tipping down.

This morning, as I ran my fastest 5k to date (42.48 minutes, if you must know), I started wondering what it is that keeps me running. I love running, but it's not easy. Some days are easier than others, some days it's hard work. What kept me focused today was how strong my legs felt, how there is less fat to wobble than there used to be, and how this is getting me closer to my next half stone award at Slimming World. I am on the cusp of moving from a BMI that labels me 'obese', to one that just calls me 'overweight'. I felt powerful.

Now I know how good it feels to run, to get fit, to feel my body changing. I also cycle, row and use the cross trainer too, just for fun. I enjoy feeling my muscles getting toned on the machines at the gym. I feel in control of my body for the first time in my life. I enjoy eating healthily and am starting to see food as a fuel for my body, not as a treat, or comfort, or the enemy. I don't want to eat a load of sugary fatty rubbish. I will have that stuff occasionally, but I will eat well the rest of the time. I will eat like a 'normal' slim person. That is my plan to get to a healthy BMI - and to stay there.

I am taking control of my body and my life. I will be as fit and healthy as it is possible to be. I will see my children grow up.

Biscuits are not the boss of me.

I am taking control.


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Taking Control

Run, Fat Girl, Run

I hated cross country running at school. We used to shuffle out of sight of the school, sit in a field, and smoke, until we saw the fit girls heading back to school. We shuffled in after them, tucking our lighters in our knickers.

I'd always looked at runners as if they were from another planet. In my entire adult life I had never run for a bus. I had never run at all.

Then I met Dawn Walton, Cognitive Hypnotherapist.

Dawn has been helping me get my head in the right place, so that I could lose the excess weight I have carried all my life. It's working, I've lost 4 stone.

One entirely unexpected benefit of her Weight Loss Coaching is that I am far more active that ever before. I choose to walk over taking the car. I walk faster than ever before. I now run things up the stairs, instead of waiting until there's a huge pile of stuff to go up. I'm not scared of stairs. I no longer get out of breath running up them. I used to have to sit down to recover after any burst of activity.

Six weeks ago I thought I'd have a crack at the Couch to 5k training programme. I never expected to get past the first week, but I did. Every time I looked ahead on the app, to see what future weeks held, I thought I'd soon reach a point where I couldn't keep up.

Today I completed Week 5, Run 3.

Week 5, Run 3 is as follows:
Walk 5 mins
Run 20 mins
Walk 5 mins

Guess what? I did it. I ran for 20 minutes.

Unbelievable.

I think 20 minutes, non-stop, makes me a runner.

I get it now. I get why people love to run. There's something primal about it. It's just you and the path. I love the fresh air and I love the feeling of all those endorphins rushing around my body.

Three words I never thought I would write:

I love running.



Disclosure
Dawn let me try the Weight Loss Coaching programme for free, in exchange for a review on this blog. If I need Dawn now, I pay her. Just so we're clear.

Run, Fat Girl, Run