Shopping Locally

I love fruit. I don’t think there is a single type of fruit I don’t enjoy and it’s one of those foods that makes me feel better when I eat it (I know some fruits can be naturally quite high in sugar but, right or wrong, I work on the basis that unprocessed foods are probably ok for you in moderation).

I try to buy a variety of different types of fruit each week and then have at least two different types each day- so I’m getting variety and a range of different nutrients and tend to have it as a mid morning snack.

This can be expensive!

This blog isn’t about the scandal that is fast / processed food being cheaper than the stuff that’s naturally good for you, or a lecture about how, if you value your health, paying more for food is an investment.

It’s about local markets.

I’m probaby a bit late to the game with this one- you may already buy your fruit from local market stalls. I live in Manchester City Centre (in the UK) and don’t drive and there aren’t lots of lcoal markets so I’ve always relied on supermarket fruit- which tends to have a short shelf life and if you want a nice variety is not cheap.

I recently discovered the fruit and veg stall in Picadully Gardens on a Staurday (I think there is also a fruit stall in the indoors Arndale Market too aong with a fish monger and butchers- all of which I’ve yet to try but I will). I’ve been going weekly for a fews now and last Staurday I got a punnet of strawberries, punnet of blueberries, punnet of blackberries, box of grapes and tub of apricots for a fiver. That’s good value- plus it doesn’t go off really quickly so I can make it last the whole week and the Blackbrries were HUGE and really juicy.

It’s actually also really nice to get served by the same people every week rather than using the self scanner at Asda!

I need to shop locally more often and fully intend to test the value for money of the other market stalls inside the Arndale over the coming weeks. If you don’t already, I can highly recommend finding your local market and giving them a go, because eating well can be expensive – so if helping out local business also helps your own wallet it’s a win all round.

On another fruit related note – it’s been bought to my attention that I may eat Kiwis strangely.

I eat them with the skin on!

Now I’ve been led to believe this provides more fibre and vitamin C than eating the flesh alone but apparently it creeps some people out!

I can’t be the only person to do this?

You Control You

I feel like my posts this week have been quite deep so I thought I may as well keep to the theme (don’t worry next week I’ll write about falling falt on my face doing box jumps or something).

I feel like I’ve changed and progressed a lot in the last twelve months and most of that has come from a change in mindset. I’ve written about this previously in various forms but essentially I’ve just started doing little things, considering certain questions I hadn’t thought about before which has led to me taking more control of my outlook and emotions.

What are my aims- for this week, month, year, five years, 10 years?
Why do I want to do these things?
What is my purpose for doing what I do? What purpose will doing these things serve and will it get me closer to my aims?
What do I need to focus on right now to get to where I want to be?
How can I use my goals to motivate me to do things right now?

By starting to think about these things and structuring my life around these questions I feel like I’ve started to gain more control. Even if things are not perf6ect right now there is a purpose for what I am currently doing which fosters a more positive outlook that before.

There are lots of things that happen in life I can’t control of course but I can control me and my reaction to those things and turn those reactions back to focusing on my why and purpose. This is so much easier said than done and I often have blips where it doesn’t quite happen immediately but building mental fortitude takes time.

Have a read of this email which pretty neatly sums up where you can start with thinking about your why:

Why?: https://mailchi.mp/08cb9784151a/free-workout-316403

Fat Shaming – a Real Life Story

A couple weeks ago I was walking down the street at lunch time (on my way to buy an icecream… errrr… I mean an apple …) and a man called me fatty. Literally. A stranger. Just called me fat.

Now I’m not skinny but I’m not fat by any means. I’m quite strong and reasonably defined – but not overweight.

I am also apparently quite thin skinned because this throw away comment really ate away at me all day and knocked my confidence a lot.

I’d not had the best week food wise (and was on my way to get icecream) so it fed into all my negative perceptions of myself, because I already felt a little bit out of sorts.

I mulled it over several times in my head and with people before I felt better about it. I wanted to write about it at the time but to be honest it actually knocked my confidence too much to commit it to paper.

A few weeks later and with some perspective, I want to make two observations about this comment.

First, for your own mental wellbeing learning when not to give a shit matters. I lost so much of my day being upset about the opinion of someone I’ve never met. More to the point it wasn’t even an accurate comment because I’m not fat – would I have been so upset if he’d have said today is Tuesday (when it was in fact Thursday), an equally inaccurate comment? Of course not. Even more importantly – if I was fat his opinion on the subject still wouldn’t matter.

I’m healthy and fit – what anyone else thinks of my choices surrounding my body or lifestyle are irrelevant as long as I am happy with what I’m doing.

Second, setting aside point 1, we should all be careful with our words. I’m almost positive that man thought nothing more of that throw away line. I mean yes, it was unnecessary and mean, but he probably never gave it a second thought. Yet it affected me for hours- knocked my confidence, bought up insecurities. If he had thought about that would he have still said it? Perhaps… but I think he was probably just a dick to be honest.

What we say without thinking and see as insignificant may mean more to and affect the person we are talking to in a much bigger way. That doesn’t mean we should never speak our mind- sometimes people get too easily offended- and we can’t be held responsible for how others interpret our words and their meaning. But. If we know something could be taken negatively (calling someone fat for instance- a pretty sure bet) and there isn’t an actual need to say it – why do it? Even if you think it’s not a big deal- it could be to the person you are talking to. It’s just spiteful. Be a nice person not a prat.

So the next time someone decides to shout an insult at me in the street (I’m sure it will happen some people are just idiots) I shall ignore them and be happier for it knowing I’m more in control of my own feelings that I was just a few weeks ago.

So really the man did me a favour.

Gym Pet Peeves…

In no particular order…

People who hog EVERY SINGLE DUMBBELL for their workout and almost faint with panic if you ask to share.
People who make dramatic noises whilst lifting. I get the impulsive random noises as you struggle to reach the end of the set. It’s the grunting like Monica Seles everytime they do a rep I don’t get.
People who come to the gym in normal clothes. Does anyone realy think it’s ok to exercise in jeans, shirts and loafers? Apparently so.
People who get dressed in the shower- yes there is a queue so, no, spending 20 minutes moisterising and putting on your tights when you could do that in the changing room itself is not good etiquite.
When people try to come into the studio during a class to do their own workout – why would you think this is ok, I’ve never understood?
People who make fun of or act superior to others in the gym. I don’t get why people do this- we all started somewhere and it takes literally no effort to just be nice (or say nothing at all). Women should feel welcome in the weights area, everyone should feel comfortable in the dance studio – there should be no off limit areas for anyone (ok maybe men shouldn’t go into the ladies changing rooms…).
Gym’s which do not know about the products they offer and the benefits. In an ideal world all staff would have a basic idea of what classes are on and what they are about so they can accurately inform members. We do not live in an ideal world.
Fitness professionals who present other classes or methods of training in a negative light. You may well think that yoga is pointless and that’s your opinion – but as a member of staff (freelance or not) don’t tell the members that. It’s just basic professionalism. You can give your opinion but position it so it doesn’t trash another professional.
There are never enough free weights.
Not enough gyms have running tracks.
Ladies only areas in gyms. 1. If there were men only areas we would cry sexism. 2. They are always crap, with random bits of equipment they class as ‘girly’.
Gym cafes which only sell junk food.