Browsing Tag

Healthy

Out of the darkness

The clocks have gone forward, the weather is milder and it’s nearly Easter. So, spring is here and we can finally goodbye to winter. A new beginning.

I haven’t written for months, despite my aim to do so regularly from the start of the year. All of my brainpower has been taken up with work, and it’s sapped pretty much all of my energy for creative hobbies and desire to sit in front of a computer when I’m not there! It’s been an all-encompassing 3 months since the company I work for was sold, with lots of new challenges and opportunities rapidly opening up, in equal measure. I’ve worked in largely similar types of organisations in similar ways for a long-time, so this new world is making me think differently and try new ways of working. There’s great excitement and healthy nervousness in that, but I’m out of kilter; working long hours, getting stressed and not spending time on the things I enjoy.

It’s felt right to focus on work for the first quarter, but going forward I need to make some adjustments. That pace is fine for a period of time – it’s necessary when you’re getting used to something new, adjusting to change and have to put extra effort in, but it’s not sustainable. I need to do more prioritisation and make active decisions about where to put my effort.

I’ve signed up for some personal coaching sessions which should really help and fortunately, it’s nearly time for a holiday – my first days off since December, and I can’t wait. Holidays are such a good time for re-calibrating and taking stock. I’m fitter (and a bit slimmer) than I’ve been in years and that’s making me feel good, and I’m really enjoying life in our new home. There’s tonnes of work to do in the house but it’s been dark and miserable so I’ve hibernated and ignored it. Looking forward to thinking about interior design projects and what to do with the garden over the coming months. I’m also looking forward to cutting back on working evenings and weekends, to allow time for exercise, writing and photography.

In the past few weeks the universe has reminded me how important it is to stop and take a moment to breathe. There’s so much you can’t control. Happiness, uncertainty, stress, death and illness have all been present recently and the only thing you can control is how you respond to things, but I know that to do that well I need to achieve balance by making time for the things that help me to stay healthy in mind and body.

31st March 2019

Live

My 30 for 90 challenge

While I was lounging around on the bed in the hotel in New York I watched a dreadful infomercial for a set of exercise DVD’s. The terrible ad went on for about a week, extolling the virtues of a very expensive set of fitness videos – but it did plant a seed of an idea in my head.

I flirt with exercise on and off, I have done for years. But since giving up martial arts I’ve never found anything I could stick with to replace it. I’d like to go back to some form of fighting sport, but I definitely couldn’t keep the pace these days, and my flirtation with other forms of exercise very rarely leads to a second date. I’ve lost count of the number of gyms I’ve joined over the years or the number of false starts. Or the number of excuses I’ve used to to not find a way to fit exercise into my day.

So, my plan is quite simple, though fairly ambitious for me. I’m going to fit in 30 minutes of any type of exercise for 90 days. Ninety days. It seems like quite a long time, but the duration of the experiment isn’t the important bit – it’s saying to myself ‘it’s only 30 minutes, you can make time for it’ that will be the biggest behaviour change. It feels achievable. It feels quick and it feels like something I can stick to. So I’ve joined the gym next door to work, I’ve downloaded My Fitness Pal and Day 1 is done!

Day 1: Body Pump

Daily exercise:        Body Pump
Venue:                         City University Gym
Type:                            Weights/strength
Duration:                   40 minutes

I decided to do a class as the first exercise, and I really enjoyed it. It’s a 40-minute class that they run straight after work. It’s mostly weights-based, with lots of work with a bar. It felt hard, I couldn’t quite do it all and my arms are still like jelly while I’m typing this, but I do feel good for getting started.

Thanks to Lauren and Nikki for taking up the challenge with me. It’s good to have other people to egg you on. Let’s go on this journey together.

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15th March 2016

Live

Car booting and park walking

Busy few weeks, at work and at home. The weekend before last I got it into my head that I was going to do a car boot sale to get rid of some of my old rubbish. Since moving the Lavish office a month ago the garage looks like a furniture warehouse and there’s loads of stuff that can go. The furniture will need to go on eBay, but the smaller things can be sold and a boot fair seemed the obvious place to start.

I somehow managed to talk Himself into coming with me, though it seemed to slighly defeat the object that we had to go and buy ANOTHER table just to put the stuff I wanted to get rid of on. Especially as I’ve got at least 3 spare tables already. Only none of those would fit in the car!

We went to Brighton Racecourse, set up our stall and waited. And waited…I’ve done car boots before and always had people clambering over the car as you’re unloading it. Not so much here.

We eventually sold a quite a few bits, though we came home with way too much stuff – I’d hoped to get rid of most of it. So now I’ve still got half the car boot stuff AND an extra table…Hmmm

Last Sunday, another early start as I got up to get into London to do the Hyde Park Race for Life with my pals Mel and Lauren. When we first started losing weight we booked to do the Race for Life as a sort of mini-milestone. None of us are exactly sprint runners, so we’d already decided beforehand to walk the course. We set off at a steady pace and completed the walk in just under an hour. It was a beautiful sunny day and as ever, reading some of the dedications pinned to the ladies was emotional. We raised a bit of money for Cancer Research (thank you to everyone who donated) and had a nice morning with a bit of exercise thrown in. And when I got home there was even an on-brand pink cocktail waiting for me.

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2nd August 2014

Live

Time for change

So, after much prevaricating, the time has come to try to do something about losing weight.

This is the first week of the low carb eating plan and it’s been interesting so far! I think I’m doing OK with the food and the hunger pangs, though my craving for something sweet is driving me a bit mad. And I haven’t quite given up the alcohol fully – a work-do-thing midweek made that difficult, so I’m easing into that one next week 🙂

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10th May 2014

Live

Holidays are healthy

I’ve been back from holiday for a week now, and have serious post-holiday blues! This is an unknown phenomenon for me, as usually once I’m back I barely give the holiday a second thought. But this time it was so great that I can’t stop thinking about it.

While this one is up there as a serious contender for Best Holiday Ever, I don’t think it’s just the stuff we got up to on the holiday itself that has left such a mark. Before we went, other than 5 days off in September last year, I hadn’t had a holiday for 18 months. Or in fact taken any real holiday time off at all. In that time I’ve made big changes and been through very stressful situations, all while just keeping on going. I hadn’t thought much about it, as you just get on with the day-to-day, but with the benefit of a bit of rest and relaxation and some headspace I realise now exactly how ready I was for the break.

Two to three days into the holiday I started to get ill and came down with the biggest nastiest cold-thing I’ve had in at least 10 years, which I think was my body adjusting to suddenly doing nothing. I was determined not to let it spoil things, but it definitely took the wind out of my sails for a good few days and the remnants of it are still hanging around now. But thankfully, the other thing that’s outliving the time away is the relaxed, rested feeling!

Working long hours for days on end can have a real negative effect on your mental and physical health, and I’ve come round to the idea (finally) that it’s really important to take regular breaks, if only to:

De-stress – Stress has an impact on our minds and bodies – we need time to wind down. Holidays are great for catching up on sleep and recharging. There’s nothing like a little siesta in the middle of the afternoon, just before cocktail time!

Get inspired – I always have loads of ideas on holiday and the time to read, think and take in new experiences is really inspiring. I wish I could bottle that feeling.

Motivate myself – Holidays are great to help re-motivate. I always come back with some sort of ‘resolution’. They don’t all get stuck to but I like the feeling of rebooting that I get from it

Eat, drink and be merry – Laughter is a fantastic medicine and having fun with friends or lovers has to be one of life’s ultimate greatest pleasures. Plus you get to try loads of new food and drink.

I did find it hard to switch off and I did still check my emails and think about work while I was away, but for the first time in a long time I’ve been reminded how much better I feel and perform when I’ve given my mind and body a break! Already looking at destinations for the next holiday…

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3rd May 2014