Peace

My knee is a lot better (rest helps who knew!) and my cough, whilst still lingering, has improved. So my plan to spend the back end of 2024 creating good habits and finding my groove is going pretty well.

I think in the past, unless I was at the size / shape I wanted and doing lots I felt like I wasn’t in the right place, but actually I can say that, whilst no where near perfect, I’m eating reasonably well and I’m being active. The habits are coming and I’m feeling pretty good and I know that from that the weight loss will eventually follow.

It’s all a process and I need to get things in place bit by bit if I want to feel good whilst I’m losing weight. I don’t want to sacrifice enjoying things for the sake of getting to my goals a bit quicker.

One thing I have decided is that I only want to do things that I enjoy and make me feel good. I’ve given up forcing myself to aim for goals I think I should aim for and am looking to do more pilates and classes which are maybe less manic but more focused on technique and strength. I also accept that as I’m older and my knees are not what they once were, I am going to struggle with some things – that’s ok – I can work with that.

I feel like my mindset has shifted a bit and that in itself has made me feel better about myself even though I am not yet where I’d like to be and I think that’s a pretty good thing.

Post Tunisia

I’ve been back from Tunisa for a couple of weeks. I did nothing whilst I was away (there wasn’t a gym so I used it as a break) but I tried to jump straight back into training and eating well upon my return.

My knee had other ideas though! I don’t know what I’ve done but I had a huge bruise one day and then it swelled and I can’t really bend it. It’s started to affect my back too- honestly it’s so tight!

I’ve had to take a few days off – it needs to heal so I don’t make it worse. So I’m trying to eat well and do other things to keep healthy – getting outside, some Pilates (Tower Pilates and lengthening your back – hello!) and I’ve booked a Cupping Session for Sunday.

I feel frustrated about this set back but it’s also given me time to really reassess how I want my training to look, my goals etc. I have a plan for the next 12 weeks with weight loss and habit forming being my goals.

Oooops

I fell off the rails a bit this weekend and did nothing.

It’s tough when you have a couple of days that don’t go to plan to get yourself back into a positive mindset and moving again.

However, I’ve got one week until I go away again and I want to feel good going into my holiday, so I’m planning on getting back to training and eating well this week.

Almost immediately it made me feel better (albeit a bit hungry1) and I went to the gym at lunch time for 30 minutes of weights with a BlokFit class tonight (something new again, which i believe is circuit based, but I’ve done the strength class and enjoyed it so hoping I’ll like this one too).

Just a reminder to myself that a bad day is only an issue if you let it affect all the subsequent days too!

Small Changes

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve found myself getting back into a bit of a routine with exercise. That’s not to say I’ve done everything I planned of course, but I’ve been to a couple of strength classes ata new studio, a couple of Tower Pilates classes and I’ve been going to the gym to do some weights sessions regularly.

More than that, I’ve felt like I’ve been trying harder. Not just going to the gym and doing the minimum to tick it off, I feel like I’ve actually tried to push myself.

Partly, I feel like going to some new places has helped, because it’s been different and made me focus more. Also I think the Tower Pilates has helped, because I really feel the small controlled movements and it’s reminded me that doing things properly is more important than just volume of training.

My diet feels better too, again not perfect, but I feel like I’m eating more controlled and sensibly and more to my actual needs (instead of mindlessly comfort eating).

Do I see the effcts yet? Honestly, no, although I have lost half a stone over the last 9 weeks, so I know things are changing.

Do I feel better though? Yes I think I do. I’m away this weekend and then I’ve got 2 weeks before my beach holiday so I’m going to keep pushing in this manner and see where I get to.

I’m Back

Well I haven’t written a blog post in ages!

This being fundamentally a fitness blog I’ve kind of lost my way with it as I quit teaching fitness classes and subsequently lost my fitness mojo too.

After years of having the regimented timetable of classes (which essentially means you have to exercise regardless of how you feel) the loss of structure made me feel a bit adrift. That’s not to say I haven’t trained, I’ve still lited sporadically, started attending some new classes which I really enjoyed and have run a half marathon and 10k. It’s just not quite the intensity I’m used to, and that, combined with illness and hormonal changes I’ve put on weight and generally lost a lot of confidence.It feels like I’ve not quite managed to gte that spark back.

I signed up for a challenge in October with the aim of getting myself out of that funk, but realised it was too soon and that made me even more demotivated. So I’ve had a total rethink.

I’ve split my goals up into several chunks over the next 16 months or so (obviously subject to change) and will be focusing on different things one block at a time, to give myself more structure and make it all seem much less overwhelming.

For the next 10 weeks I’m focusing on the basics. Rebuilding some strength with some basic lifts and overload in the gym, working on my diet to lose some weight and trying some different things to get myself out of a rut.

Last week I tried a Tower Pilates class (the tower looks scary but it was actually good fun and I really felt like I’d worked afterwards) and I’ve signed up to a block of sessions at that pilates studio. I’ve also signed up for a trial of Class Pass and have booked in a few different classes over the next couple of weeks.

Hoping that by breaking my goals and training into periodic chunks I’ll start to feel the difference and feel good again.

Some weeks are tougher than others

The last couple of weeks have been busy at work so I knew I’d struggle to do loads during this time.

I’ve managed to run a few times though and as soon as I was quieter at work I got myself back to classes and did a step and cycle class on Wednesday. Generally I’ve felt pretty lacking in motivation though so I’ve also skipped workouts I could have got myself to.

I’ve been eating a lot too, I really find the food side so much harder than exercising! I’ve also struggled to regularly stick to healthy habits which is something I need to be more consistent with.

It’s starting to get a bit lighter though now so I’m hoping that will lift my spirits a bit so I can get outside more. Not looking forward to this week much but hoping that I can at least get to the gym and eat a bit better so I can look back on the week and be happy with my progress.

Small Steps

So since my last blog post I’ve been to Malta.

One of my non fitness goals was to travel more so that was my first trip of the year. I stayed in St Paul’s Bay and visited Valletta, the Island of Gozo and the uninhabited Island of Comino. Whilst I was there I ate what I wanted but did do a fair number of steps and I used the hotel gym twice.

So I feel in terms of exercise I’m getting back on track, I can’t run as far or lift as heavy as I used to but I’m feeling goo about the positive habits. I even did my first Park Run of the year this weekend, a 39 minute 5km at Fletcher Moss in Didsbury (first time doing that one and it’s pretty), then I went a did a gym class after that!

I’m a bit gutted because I didn’t manage to get a place on the challenge I wanted at the end of the year but I’m going to keep aiming for it an it might have to be a start of 2025 completion for that.

I’m still struggling with my diet though, I’m eating better since I got back from Malta but still not quite in a calorie deficit. I have about 6 weeks until my next adventure so I need to see if I can sort this before then.

Winter Mood

Do you find it harder to exercise in winter? I do and I don’t think I’m alone.

On one hand there’s less of a desire to go out and do things like sit in a pub garden and so I should have more time to dedicate to going to the gym, but equally when it’s cold and dark the urge to stay at home is strong.

Less sunlight and colder temperatures can certainly make people feel more tied and less motivated. Light subconsciously boosts a lot of people’s mood, obviously in winter there are fewer hours of daylight so it’s not uncommon for us to feel more fatigued during the winter months. Beyond that, cold and wet weather and even snow can make getting outside to exercise harder, when the weather is particularly bad even travelling to a gym may be difficult. So whilst actually getting up and doing something would probably make us feel better, getting started in the first place often feels like a much bigger obstacle.

Now in the past, when training has just been so habitual I did it without thinking, this seasonal change had minimal effect on how much I did. But in recent years it’s become much more of a notable thing for me.

The solution of course is sill to work on making exercise a habit rather than something you need to be motivated to do. Like going to work or brushing your teeth, tings you just ‘do’ no matter whether you feel like you can be bothered or not, when training becomes a habit the weather won’t matter.

For me that means planning it in, making dates with people to do stuff and putting sessions in my diary like appointments so I don’t end up putting it off, as I do this I know I’ll start to rebuild those routines back into my week so how much I feel like training won’t matter, I’ll just go do it.

Too Many Balls

Do you ever feel completely overwhelmed with everything that is going on?

I suspect a lot of people do because one of the most common reasons people give for not exercising or looking at what they eat is that they are too busy.

I’ve said here before that really this can be overcome with planning, working out what you need to prioritise and what you can realistically do, being realistic about your goals. I stand by this, but I also get it, it’s something I’ve struggled with recently.

I think it’s a natural feeling to have sometimes, to be completely overwhelmed. Whether you already train regularly, eat pretty well, juggle lots of jobs and tasks or whether these are things you aspire to do but don’t feel like you do right now, sometimes it just feels like there’s too much stuff.

Sometimes out of nowhere the balls your kept in the air for ages feel like too many balls or trying to change one small thing in your house of cards feels like it will bring the whole thing down.

This is when you need to stop and evaluate.

‘Hustle’ is great. If you want things you do have to work, whether that be in your career or working towards your ideal physique, but when you attempt to do everything perfectly you can end up reaching the point you actually are doing nothing because it’s all just got too much.

Sometimes you need to sit and look at everything on your to do list. Take off some of the pointless tasks that don’t really matter. Look at your training, look at your diet and pin point exactly what is you need to focus on right now and forget about everything else you hear about and think maybe you should be doing too.

My plan for the 8 weeks or so before Christmas? Well I noticed these last few months I’ve been putting off important shit because I’ve felt a little bit overwhelmed. When I’m overwhelmed I comfort eat, when I comfort eat I feel sluggish and don’t really want to train.

My plan? I’m going to track my food, not cut stuff out or eat too differently (I’m not good when I cut things out) just make sure I’m staying within my TDEE. That will make me feel better about training – Training I need to rebuild. Not spend hours in the gym, but plan my sessions in and treat them like appointments and be 100% present in the session to be the best of my ability that day.

Essentially I’m planning to finish 2023 by focusing on doing the basics well. That’s going to make life feel simpler and therefore reduce that feeling of juggling lots of balls.

If right now you feel like you can’t hit your fitness goals because you’ve too much on try taking a look, seeing what you can drop and what really simple things you can commit to right now to get you closer to your goals by the end of the year.

Mental Health Day

Where is the fine line between using exercise to assist your mental health and it starting to affect your mental health?

I know many people (myself included) who at some point found that exercise helped improve mood, anxiety symptoms, depression and just general sense of well being. A common thing you will hear amongst regular exercisers after a session is ‘I needed that’.

And it’s proven that exercise is very beneficial for people’s mental health and well as physical.

It can become the opposite though. A bit like an effective drug, it can in cases become addictive, where the idea of not training has a negative effect on how a person feels.

I know myself I often feel worse about myself in general if I have a spell of inactivity and I’ve known people fearful of taking a break because it’s the thing that helps them.

The issue when this becomes the case is that it makes it hard to cope if you get ill, injured or have something that truly prevents you from training.

Tuesday was World Mental Health Day. As part of days where we look at how we can improve our mental health it’s also useful to understand the wider picture and how some things (like advice about exercise) aren’t always black and white. If you do struggle with not being able to train, to the point where that affects you negatively, as opposed to being able to train helps you, it’s worth taking a moment to consider how you can tackle this.